History of the Blood Elves From " History of the Blood Elves " at the old official Burning Crusade site . Chapter 1 : The Founding of Quel ' Thalas . Almost seven millennia before the First War , the exiled high elves landed on the shores of Lordaeron to seek out a new home . These outcasts were led by Dath ' Remar Sunstrider , whose surname meant " he who walks by day " . Cut off from the powerful energies of the Well of Eternity and no longer immortal , many of the high elves died from exposure or starvation during their long journey . In addition to these hardships , the elves were forced to flee the site of their first settlement , Tirisfal Glades , due to a mysterious evil influence that drove many of their number mad . As they pressed further inland , the high elves developed a blood feud with the cunning , barbaric troll s of Zul ' Aman , who controlled most of the northern reaches of Lordaeron . Finally the exiles reached a region whose forested glades reminded the high elves of their distant homeland in Kalimdor . The elves drove out the resident Amani trolls and founded the kingdom of Quel ' Thalas . Using a vial of sacred water stolen from the first Well of Eternity , the high elves created a fount of mystical power at a convergence of powerful ley energies in Quel ' Thalas . They named this fountain the Sunwell , and its potent arcane magic fed and strengthened all high elves on Azeroth . Thus , the city of Silvermoon was established . The power of the high elves grew , and they cast an enchantment on the forest that would keep them bathed in eternal springtime . Elven magi crafted monolithic Runestones along the borders of Quel ' Thalas ; these massive stones powered a magical shield intended to mask the elves ' magic from extra - dimensional threats and protect the land from invasion . The hard - won peace of Quel ' Thalas would endure for roughly four thousand years . Chapter 2 : Arathor and the Troll Wars . Thirsty for revenge , the Amani trolls eventually gathered together and staged a vicious campaign to destroy the elven civilization forever . The high elves were hopelessly outnumbered . The current king of Quel ' Thalas , Anasterian Sunstrider , desperately sought allies to aid him in the war , and so it came to pass that the king struck a partnership with the human nation of Arathor . The elves taught a small number of humans how to wield magic . With these new magi and the armies of Arathor , the high elves succeeded in destroying the trolls ' power base . The Amani empire would never fully recover from its defeat . Quel ' Thalas had been saved , and so the high elves pledged their loyalty and friendship to the nation of Arathor and to the bloodline of its king , Thoradin . As a result of the alliance between Arathor and Quel ' Thalas , the wizard nation of Dalaran was formed , where humans and elves would study magic for years to come . Chapter 3 : The Second War ( Warcraft 2 ) . The isolationist elves took little interest in the events of the Second War . Nevertheless , they provided the Alliance of Lordaeron with token support , for the last descendant of King Thoradin , Lord Anduin Lothar , commanded the Alliance military forces . The high elves had not forgotten their pledge . Then the Horde recruited Amani trolls into its ranks . Shortly thereafter , the Horde burned down the borderlands of Quel ' Thalas and slaughtered many high elf civilians . Furious at this wanton destruction of life , the elves subsequently committed all their resources to the war . By the time the Horde was driven back , however , the orc s and trolls had already achieved their true goal : to steal and desecrate many of the Runestones that powered the elves ' defensive shield . The warlock Gul ' dan then used the pilfered stones to power his devious Altars of Storms . Nevertheless , the Alliance ultimately won the Second War , and most of the vanquished orcs were rounded up and placed in internment camps . In the war ' s aftermath , the cost of rebuilding was significant , particularly when added to the cost of maintaining the internment camps . Without a common enemy , the human nations began bickering over territorial claims . To make matters worse , the high elves abruptly seceded from the Alliance , blaming the humans ' poor leadership for the burned forests of Quel ' Thalas . High elves gradually grew further and further apart from their human and dwarven allies . Chapter 4 : The Third War ( Warcraft 3 ) . During the Third War , the evil prince Arthas Menethil laid waste to Quel ' Thalas , wiping out most of its population and reducing large tracts of the mighty kingdom to ash in his quest to reach the Sunwell . Yet not all who fell before Arthas stayed dead : his courageous archenemy , Ranger - General Sylvanas Windrunner , was raised into undeath to serve the merciless prince as a powerful , tormented banshee . As the undead armies closed in on the Sunwell , a high elf named Dar ' Khan Drathir ( who hoped to gain the favor of the Lich King ) aided Arthas by lowering the shields surrounding the Sunwell . Dar ' Khan ' s treachery resulted in an explosion that knocked him unconscious and scattered most of the Sunwell ' s powers . The wizard Borel ( also known as Krasus and the dragon Korialstrasz ) sensed the mystical energy being unleashed and succeeded in trapping a portion of it inside an avatar disguised as a young human girl , Anveena . Unaware of Borel ' s deed , Arthas then used the remaining energies of the Sunwell to reanimate the spirit of Kel ' Thuzad in the form of a nightmarish lich . In the aftermath of the battle , King Anasterian lay dead along with the members of the Convocation of Silvermoon , the high elves ' ruling body . Lor ' themar Theron , Sylvanas Windrunner ' s second – in – command , assumed temporary leadership of the high elves , for the true heir to the throne , Prince Kael ' thas Sunstrider , was still in Dalaran . The few remaining high elves to survive the Scourge ' s invasion quickly grew ill and apathetic . It became clear that the high elves had become addicted to the Sunwell ' s arcane energies . Being constantly suffused in magic had fundamentally changed their race . Now that the source of their magic was gone , they were suffering acute pangs of withdrawal . Chapter 5 : Rise of the Blood Elves . Prince Kael ' thas was the last of the royal line and a member of Dalaran ' s ruling council , the Kirin Tor . When the Sunwell was defiled , he was studying magic in Dalaran . He returned to find his homeland in ruins and most of his people dead . He realized that the surviving high elves were all suffering from the same lethargy , which had been brought on by their loss of magic . Determined to salvage what he could , Kael ' thas rallied the survivors and renamed them the sin ' dorei , or " blood elves " , in honor of those who had fallen to the Scourge . Thirsting for vengeance , Prince Kael ' thas and the healthiest of his warriors immediately joined the campaign against the Scourge in Lordaeron while Lor ' themar and a ranger named Halduron Brightwing remained behind to safeguard the land and seek a cure for their people . In joining the Alliance resistance forces , Kael ' thas and his people were met with suspicion and outright hostility , particularly from the prejudiced human Grand Marshal Garithos . Garithos assigned the blood elves increasingly difficult missions until Kael ' thas was forced to accept the assistance of Lady Vashj and her naga . When Garithos discovered that the blood elves were working with the naga , he felt that his distrust had been vindicated . He imprisoned the hapless blood elf soldiers in the dungeons of Dalaran and sentenced them to execution . Fortunately for Kael ' thas , Lady Vashj arrived in time to break the prisoners free . She then led them to the portal that Kel ' Thuzad had opened during the Third War in order to allow Archimonde entry into Azeroth . Kael ' thas and his warriors followed the naga through the portal and into the shattered realm of Outland . There , the elves met the one being capable of putting an end to their painful hunger : the renegade demon , Illidan Stormrage . Most of Kael ' thas ' group chose to stay in Outland , but Rommath was sent back to carry a message of hope to those blood elves remaining in Quel ' Thalas . Rommath accomplished his mission : relaying tales of a glorious promised land , spreading the teachings of Illidan ( teachings which Rommath smoothly attributed to Prince Kael ' thas ) , and planting the notion that Kael ' thas might one day return to lead his people to paradise . Rommath has since remained in Quel ' Thalas to help rebuild and await the prince ' s return . Chapter 6 : Reconstruction . Months later , the traitor Dar ' Khan – now a powerful agent of the Scourge – returned to Quel ' Thalas . There he battled the avatar of the Sunwell , Anveena , and a band of heroes aided by blue dragon s . Despite the magics he wielded , Dar ' Khan was destroyed in the end . Under the watchful protection of Lor ' themar and Halduron , Anveena has decided to stay in the ruined city and begin the process of renewal . Only a handful of individuals know that Anveena is actually the avatar of the Sunwell ' s power . Lor ' themar and his people keep this secret tightly guarded . Meanwhile , Rommath and the new order of elven magi made great progress in tutoring their brethren to manipulate arcane energies . Soon the spires of Silvermoon rose skyward once again , powered by volatile magics . The blood elves have even begun retaking portions of Eversong Forest . Emboldened by the promise of Kael ' thas ' return , the prince ' s weary people now focus on regaining their strength and forging a new path into an uncertain future .