Cenarius Cenarius is the Lord of the Forest and patron god of all druids regardless of race ( along with Elune and Ysera , his mothers , for the night elf druids ) . He is one of the most powerful and influential demigods of Azeroth . Cenarius has close ties to the Emerald Dream and its inhabitants including the Wild gods . This is due to his father being a Wild god and his adopted mother Ysera being the guardian of the Emerald Dream . He is not himself titled as a Wild god , though he is obviously part one . He is a demigod , which as such , is more than a wild god , being the child of also Elune . He is voiced by Tom Wyner in " " and Neil Kaplan in " " . Appearance . " The giant creature ’ s body resembles a cross between the lower portion of an elk and the upper torso of male night elf . Standing perfectly motionless on four heavily muscled legs , the creature exudes an air of serene confidence . Its body glows with a soothing green light that strangely contrasts with the stern look on its face . " Background . Birth and children . The tauren myth " The White Stag and the Moon " tells of the birth of Cenarius from the union of the moon named Mu ' sha and the white stag named Apa ' ro . Ysera taught Cenarius the secrets of the Emerald Dream and the natural world . The demigod grew into a powerful and cunning being , the union of the heavens and the earth . He has many powers over nature , which he inherited from his father Malorne . He fathered many children . His daughters are known as the fey dryads including Lunara and his sons as the wise Keepers of the Grove , or simply " keepers " , including Keeper Remulos , Ordanus , and Zaetar . According to a night elf legend mentioned in the titles " Warcraft III manual " , " Manual of Monsters " , and " Horde Player ' s Guide " , centaur were Cenarius ' bastard children . According to legend , he fathered at least one centaur called simply " the centaur " ( who in turn was the father of centaur clans himself ) . This means he directly fathered some of the centaur clans . This could include some of the clans living in the Eastern Kingdoms , the Marauders , the Stonetalon tribe , and the Krenka tribe of the Barrens . These centaur tribes have nothing to do with the five tribes Zaetar fathered in Kalimdor . Some believe that Cenarius was the sire of the centaur in the Barrens . Night elves are sometimes referred to as " Cenarius ' favored children " , because of their connection to dryads and keepers , which are described as having the upper body of night elves . Cenarius claims kinship with the night elves as well , but has never said in what way . Cenarius the Shan ' do . Tauren believe that Cenarius ' earliest known association with mortal races was with the tauren , to whom he first taught the ways of druid ism . For countless ages , before the dawn of recorded history , they aided him in protecting the balance of the natural world . Nethaera suggests that , while Taurens believe that they were the first to discover druidism , this is the belief of Tauren mythology and is currently held by most Tauren as being untrue . This belief does explain the opposing viewpoints of Tauren and Night elf druids . Malfurion Stormrage became the first mortal druid on Azeroth . The War of the Ancients and the Long Vigil . When Archimonde began his first invasion of the world of Azeroth , Malfurion Stormrage and the priestess Tyrande Whisperwind called upon Cenarius for aid . Realizing the cataclysmic nature of the threat the Burning Legion posed , Cenarius amassed an army of woodland allies . They battled Azshara and her followers and the Legion ' s diabolical agents , finally destroying the Well of Eternity in a cataclysmic explosion that sundered the world . After Illidan recreated the Well of Eternity on Hyjal Cenarius aided Malfurion in imprisoning the rogue night elf beneath the earth . Cenarius taught the night elves the ways of the forest , and druidism became widespread among the males . The elves became allied with many of Cenarius ' faithful creatures , perhaps most notably the feral hippogryph s who then allowed themselves to be ridden by the night elf archer s . Following the druids ' entrance into the Emerald Dream Cenarius helped Tyrande and the Sentinel s during the Long Vigil . He and his children , the Keepers of the Grove and their dryad sisters , helped to patrol the woodlands from the Moonglade . The Return of the Legion . Following the arrival of the orcs on Kalimdor , Grom Hellscream was sent to harvest lumber in Ashenvale . This caught the attention of the Sentinels who then immediately attacked the orcs . After Grom held them off , Cenarius himself was brought to the forefront . Mannoroth , hoping to use the orcs one last time , spilled his blood into a Fountain of Life , corrupting it utterly . Grom was brought to the fountain , where he convinced his clan to drink the demonic blood with him , despite objections that doing so would go against everything Thrall had taught them . After imbibing , the Warsongs were transformed into powerful chaos orcs who could stand up to the might of Cenarius . In a titanic battle , Cenarius was killed by Hellscream , as Mannoroth had hoped . Mannoroth appeared before Hellscream and his troops moments later and enslaved them , since by drinking his blood they had made themselves susceptible to his control once again . The death of Cenarius at the hands of the orcs , demon - tainted or not , enraged the night elves , cementing their view of the savage , green - skinned ( although red - skinned at that moment ) creatures as their enemies . When Malfurion considered the possibility of allying with Jaina ' s and Thrall ' s forces , observing that they fought against the undead as well , Tyrande vehemently rejected the idea and cited the fact Cenarius had been killed by them as proof that they were the enemy . Since his father Malorne was said to have a strong connection with the Emerald Dream , due to its connection to nature , Cenarius ' spirit was able to live on in the Emerald Dream as a spirit of nature . The night elves believe he sleeps in the Emerald Dream while his wounds heal , and that he will some day join them again . The only clue to Cenarius ' current activities comes from a conversation his son Remulos has with the spirit of Malfurion when players complete a particular quest . It appears Cenarius is now helping Malfurion combat The Nightmare that is disrupting the Emerald Dream , causing the corruption of The Four Dragons among other things . It is believed that he will manifest a new body and return to the world if given enough time to recover . In Cataclysm . Cenarius makes a return with Malfurion Stormrage in " " to fight Ragnaros in Mount Hyjal . While offering quests at the Gates of Sothann , he also appears at the Sanctuary of Malorne during the Firelands Invasion . In Legion . Cenarius , close to the corruption of the Emerald Nightmare , is a boss of that raid in Val ' sharah . Upon defeating Cenarius , Malfurion , who aids in the encounter , pauses to begin cleansing his mentor . Myth . The name Cenarius could have possibly come from the word " Centaurus " , Latin for Centaur . This would be quite fitting , given his anatomy and his connection with the Warcraft centaurs . Alternatively or collectively , Cenarius could also be based upon " Cernunnos " , a Celtic nature god who was often depicted with antlers , similar to Cenarius . Cernunnos is also worshiped by neo - druids , and was worshiped by ancient druids . " Cernunnos is the god of all wild things and nature , woodlands , fertility , and the hunt . "