War of the Satyr
Art by Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
General
- Part of
- Burning Crusade
- Location
- Kalimdor (primarily in Ashenvale)
- Start
- -1,238 KC
- End
- -1,229 KC
- Result
- Night elf victory
• Formation of the Cenarion Circle
• Druids of the Pack sealed away beneath Daral'nir
Commanders
Night elves of Kalimdor
• Malfurion Stormrage
• Tyrande Whisperwind
Lords of the Emerald Flame
• Xalan the Feared
Casualties and Losses
Night elves of Kalimdor
• Heavy
• Arvell
• MelThandris Starsong
Lords of the Emerald Flame
• Near annihilation
• Xalan the Feared
The War of the Satyr was an extended guerilla-based conflict that was fought between the night elves and their now demonic kin, the saytrs, assisted by grunt-level demons such as felguards and felhounds who had managed to linger on Azeroth after the defeat of the Burning Legion. It occurred approximately 170 years after the War of the Ancients, and armies of satyrs attempted to attack the night elves in the wake of their recovery following the Great Sundering. A great majority of the war was fought in Ashenvale, with Malfurion Stormrage, Tyrande Whisperwind, and Shandris Feathermoon serving as the primary leaders of the kaldorei.
The War of the Satyr exacted a heavy toll from the night elves, but the war completely decimated any semblance of central leadership for the satyrs, which forced them to live in small sects and eradicated the bulk of demons that remained on the planet.
History
Following the War of the Ancients, the night elf society turned to natural world in direct opposition to the old highborne ways. Many of them began to learn druidism under the guidance of Malfurion Stormrage and Cenarius, but unbeknownst to them, the remnants of the Legion forces had started to amass in the dark corners of the world. Satyrs who had partaken of the dark gifts bestowed upon Xavius regrouped an expanded their forces, and eventually one of the most powerful of them, Xalan the Feared, rose to a position of respect and awe. He became a leader to the scattered satyrs, and together, they also drew the attention of the Burning Legion remnants that had been trapped on Azeroth after the Sundering.
While night elves went missing to be corrupted into more demonic forces, the process was done discretely enough over a long period of time that the kaldorei were caught unawares when Xalan's amassed force of demons started to strike.
| -1,238 | The War of the Satyr began with the assault on Night Run. |
| -1,236 | The druids were summoned to once more clash with the satyrs near Raynewood. |
| -1,235 | Malfurion began to restrict the use of the Form of the Pack. |
| -1,231 | Xalan the Feared was killed. |
| -1,230 | The Scythe of Elune was created and inflicted the worgen curse on the Druids of the Pack. |
| -1,229 | The worgen were sealed away in the Emerald Dream and the night elves landed a decisive blow on the satyrs. |
Assault on Night Run
The first target of the satyrs was the night elven stronghold of Night Run. The satyrs attacked as a massive, united front that swiftly overwhelmed the night elves present and plunged the fragile, recovering society into another war. The satyrs heralded themselves as the Soldiers of the Emerald Flame and they shouted cries of vengeance for their fallen father, the satyr lord Xavius. In the process, Ashenvale was set ablaze with the destructive fel magics they wielded as they pursued the utter destruction of kaldorei civilization.
The night elves, having been caught unawares, scrambled to regroup and call upon their scattered forces to fight the new threat.
Retreat to Raynewood
The demons continued an extended bout of guerilla-style warfare against the night elves in an attempt to keep them disorganized and vulnerable, and they suffered terrible losses at the hands of their enemies. The desperation of the assaults also bred new satyrs, as the demons continued to capture what prisoners they could in order to use their twisted rituals to corrupt them into new soldiers for the extended battlefield. Tyrande Whisperwind's adopted daughter, Shandris Feathermoon, suggested that the druids be called from the Emerald Dream so that they could aid the night elf military as a fighting force, especially given the rampant corruption that had started to spread through Ashenvale.
Malfurion Stormrage answered her request, and he summoned as many powerful druids back to the waking world as he could muster, including his most talented students. Arvell, Ralaar Fangfire, and Tol'vas Moonshadow were among them, but so too did Fandral Staghelm and Naralex answer the call. Together alongside the Sentinels and the Priestesses of the Moon, the night elves utilized their newfound advantage in the forests of Ashenvale, and they began to utilize the satyrs' guerilla warfare against them.
Another massive conflict eventually erupted not far from Raynewood Retreat. However, despite an apparent victory for the night elves with the clear advantage of druidic magic, decisive assaults, and the aid of the lunar magics of Elune, the conflict had been a laid trap by the demons. A hidden force of felguards attacked the kaldorei from the upper ground on their flank, and they were ultimately forced to retreat amidst heavy losses.
The commanders and various respected soldiers came together to discuss their next steps, and Ralaar Fangfire touted the advantages of the druidic Form of the Pack, as it offered a strength and ferocity beyond the forms that had been sanctioned in Malfurion's teachings. However, the archdruid denied the claim, and argued the Pack Form had been deemed too volatile and dangerous to be utilized, as those that did, including himself, had lost themselves to their fury and risked even assaulting their own. Despite Ralaar and his Druids of the Pack's argument, Malfurion insisted they could not risk a war on two fronts.
Assassination at Xavian
After the forced retreat, the kaldorei began to plan their retaliation, and they decided to strike at the heart of the satyrs at Xavian. A covert operation was dispersed, as ultimately the kaldorei forces were faltering on the scope of extended large-scale warfare. Shandris Feathermoon spearheaded the sentinel assault to slay various felguard commanders, and various druids struck into Xalan's inner sanctum. The satyr commander was slain, and the kaldorei were called to retreat.
However, the assassins, worn-down by the assault and sporting injuries of their own, were tracked down by vengeful satyrs and attacked. Arvell was among the most injured, and Ralaar refused to leave his side. The Sentinels made the decision to leave the injured behind to ensure their success. However, the two druids took on the forbidden Pack Form in order to garner the strength to escape, and they swiftly ripped through the pursuing demons. But the two druids also gave in to their rage, and their fangs were turned on their allies as well, just as Malfurion feared. Several sentinels were killed in the onslaught before the druid was able to knock his students back to their night elven forms, and the kaldorei finished their escape.
Following the events of the encounter, Malfurion forced his students to swear to never utilize the Pack Form again, and claimed their penance would by the guilt for the sisters they had slain. Arvell felt the weight of the deed and swore whole-heartedly that he would never take it again, though Ralaar felt they had done what they needed to do to survive.
Later, Arvell and his lover, Belysra Starbreeze, happened upon satyr fortifications that had been built dangerously close to their own, but before they could return to warn their commanders, they were ambushed by demons. They were completely outnumbered, and despite his lover's urging to take the Pack Form so that they could both live instead of his valiant sacrifice to ensure she could flee, Arvell stuck to his vow and ended up slain. Belysra, grief-stricken, prepared for her own death so she could join her beloved, but she was saved by Ralaar, who had taken his Pack Form and decimated the demons, proving that if Arvell had, he may have survived. In this instance, the druid remained in control, and he shifted back to his night elven form so that he and Belysra could return with Arvell's body.
Druids of the Scythe
Malfurion was ridden with guilt at the fall of Arvell, as he had died holding true to the vow he had made, and Ralaar and Belysra made it clear that they believed the forbiddance of the Pack Form had been his death. However, he also realized that the grief would likely read to desperation, and he made the painful decision to try and seal the Pack Form away permanently, even though they did not know what would happen to Goldrinn's reincarnation cycle if they did so.
However, Malfurion was betrayed, as in the moment he sought to use the fallen god's fang to perform the rite, Tol'vas Moonshadow stole it, and he retreated back to Ralaar and Belysra with the fang. Belysra forged it into an artifact that became known as the Scythe of Elune, and with it, she sought to aide the Druids of the Pack in taming the Pack Form once and for all. It did not work as they wished, and instead, the scythe bestowed an affliction that would become known as the worgen curse, and the Druids of the Pack transformed into monstrous wolf-man hybrids with all the ferality of the Pack Form. Initially, it seemed that their control had been maintained, and many of them lauded the affliction as a gift.
The newly named Druids of the Scythe tore into the demons with all their fury, and with their aid the conflict began to turn into the favor of the kaldorei. The worgen prowled the forests of Ashenvale and eviscerated any demons that came into their path, but true to the Pack Form before, they began to lose control. Worse yet, if they turned on their fellows, their virulent bite turned kaldorei into more of the monstrous creatures as the infection of the curse began to spread. Ralaar even turned on his own shan'do, Malfurion, and attempted to kill him in vengeance for Arvell's death.
Just as Malfurion had feared, the conflict had become a war on two fronts, as the worgen tore through the demons, but also turned on their kin as well.
Belysra grew distraught in what she had done, and realized her mistake. Thus she took the scythe she had created and returned to Malfurion with a confession of what had occurred. Malfurion sought the guidance of his own teacher, Cenarius, and it was decided that the only way to prevent more bloodshed was to seal the worgen away forever. A deception was planned, one that would lead the now-named Alpha Prime from the shadows and play into his desire for vengeance. Belysra was sent to speak with him, and bring him and his followers to a place where Malfurion was said to issue an apology and meet justice.
Alpha Prime complied, but Belysra swiftly gave the scythe back to Malfurion, and he and his immediate followers were sealed beneath the boughs of Daral'nir within the groves of the Emerald Dream. There, they fell into an endless sleep, never to wake again. With Alpha Prime gone, the kaldorei began to process of tracking any other straggling worgen down so they too could be put to rest.
Final Battle with the Satyrs
After the majority of the worgen were sealed away, Malfurion entrusted the Scythe of Elune to the priestess Mel'Thandris Starsong. A final conflict was had with the demons, whose numbers had been decimated by the worgen onslaught and who also had never achieved the organization they had before Xalan's fall. In the desperate fight, however, Mel'Thandris sacrificed her own life in order to preserve her fellow night elves and give them the strength to achieve a victory over the demons that was so decisive, they were scattered and forced to live in small groups for centuries to come.
Aftermath
During the war, the Cenarion Circle was formally established to ensure all who practiced the druidic ways followed a code of safety and communication to ensure a tragedy like the Druids of the Pack would never occur again. However, the adoption of the organization was not unanimous, and several druids that had come to believe that, at their core, they were wild creatures and their elven bodies were simply a disguise. These druids chose to leave night elf society completely.
Despite the intention of the decision to seal away the worgen, and the monitoring done on the grove within which they slept, it was not permanent, and they had been unable to foresee that nearly two thousand years later, Alpha Prime and his worgen would be released from his slumber, and the worgen curse would once more spread.
