Azeroth ( world ) Azeroth is the name of the world in which the majority of the " Warcraft " series is set . The world of Azeroth is the birthplace of many races , most notable being elves ( night elves , high elves , and blood elves ) , humans , dwarves , tauren , goblins , trolls , gnomes , pandarens and dragon s . At its birth , Azeroth was blessed by the titans . One day , the demonic armies of the Burning Legion came and shattered the peace and led the night elves to sunder their world . Gradually , races were dragged to Azeroth ( such as the orcs , draenei , and ogres ) , others evolved , and others were brought up from the dust itself . The peoples of Azeroth have fought brutally against the demons and their servants , and much blood was , and is still being , shed . After the Third War , three major powers emerged : the Scourge , Horde , and Alliance . Other major powers include the naga , qiraji , and Scarlet Crusade . Although ravaged by conflict , somehow through trickery , betrayal , and sheer blood , Azeroth has survived the Burning Legion four times . However , Azeroth is still torn by conflict , hate , and war . Geographical features . In the ancient past , the world of Azeroth was comprised of one major continent called ancient Kalimdor , but had four known regions . Ulduar is located in the north , Hyjal and Un ' goro crater in the west ( with Uldum in the southwest ) , Uldaman in the east , and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms in the south . At one time , all of the four major continents ( Eastern Kingdoms , Kalimdor , Northrend , and Pandaria ) were part of this one large super - continent . The Well of Eternity lay in the center of what was ancient Kalimdor and was created when Aman ' Thul ripped Y ' Shaarj out from the embedded location there . When the Well exploded at the conclusion of the War of the Ancients , this continent was shattered , leaving behind the continents and islands that exist today . The Forbidding Sea is the expanse of water to the east of the Eastern Kingdoms and the Veiled Sea sits west of Kalimdor . Between the continents lies the Great Sea , while at its center lies the Maelstrom — a massive chaotic whirlpool over the area where the Well of Eternity once stood . It ' s believed that a part of the Well still exists in the Rift at the bottom of the vortex . It has been active since the Great Sundering ten thousand years ago and still there is no foreseeable natural end to its existence . The Eastern Kingdoms are made up of several sub - continents including the southern sub - continents ( Azeroth and Khaz Modan ) , and the northern sub - continent of Lordaeron . The Broken Isles are major island group that may have once been a continent , but now is more like a few large islands ( the main plus the Broken Shore ) . The world of Azeroth also may have land located at the other side , beyond the Veiled Sea to the west of Kalimdor , and beyond the Forbidding Sea to the east of the Eastern Kingdoms . No one is sure or has knowledge of what kind of creatures , lands , cultures , life , and sentient beings live in the other side of Azeroth . It is likely , though , that it is very dangerous . " A handful of ships have ventured from Kalimdor away from the Maelstrom — to the north , west , and south . None have yet returned . " Azeroth also has two moons , the White Lady and Blue Child . History . For much of Azeroth ' s prehistory , the Old God s ruled Azeroth along with their Elemental Lieutenants . Deep within Azeroth ' s core lies a world - soul , a nascent , sleeping Titan that , when awakened , could be extremely powerful . Its echoing dreams reached out to the Titan Aggramar , who then traveled with the rest of the Pantheon to Azeroth . They fought the Old Gods in a global war of ordering . With the help of their constructs ( the antecedents of dwarves , gnomes , vrykul , and giants ) , the titans allowed life to flourish on Azeroth . Satisfied , the Makers built hidden cities for their construct creations and created the Great Aspects to guard the planet before leaving on their cosmic journey . Pandaria was also created at some point , but quickly fell out of the history of most sentient races , due to its magical shrouding mists . It developed a parallel history , largely out of the view of most historians . The trolls are presumed to be Azeroth ' s first sentient race , not including the titan constructs who would later suffer the Curse of Flesh . From Zandalar , they spread across Kalimdor and formed great empires , most notably the Gurubashi and Amani . Later , the Azj ' Aqir empire rose in the west , forcing the trolls to better defend their major holdings . With pressure from their trollish enemies , the empire of the aqir collapsed and split into the qiraji and the nerubian kingdoms . Around this time , the elves appeared in Kalimdor . Using the potent magics of the Well of Eternity ( a legacy of the titans ) , the elves broke troll influence in many regions and established a magocratic empire . At the height of kaldorei power , however , the Burning Legion invaded Azeroth , inciting the War of the Ancients . The night elves were forced to destroy the Well , which caused a Great Sundering that split the ancient supercontinent of Kalimdor apart — creating several continents , Northrend , the Eastern Kingdoms ( continents of Azeroth , Khaz Modan , and Lordaeron ) , and " Kalimdor " . Just before the Great Sundering , the last pandaren Emperor was made aware of the impending disaster and found a way to protect Pandaria from the destruction . He made a pact with unknown forces to shroud his land within an impenetrable mist for ten thousand years . Following the war there was a schism among the elves . The night elves started druidism with Malfurion Stormrage as the first Night Elf Druid ; the high elves refused to give up arcane magic . These high elves were banished from Kalimdor and settled in the north of Lordaeron , establishing the mighty kingdom of Quel ' Thalas . The Amani Empire was still a strong force here , and the two cultures soon clashed in what became known as the Troll Wars . With support from the young race of humanity , the high elves broke and scattered what remained of the Amani empire . Thousands of years later , the Burning Legion attempted to destroy Azeroth once more , this time indirectly . Sargeras forced the once peaceful orcs and ogres of Draenor into Azeroth . The extended conflict with these alien invaders became known as the First and Second War s , during which time the Horde established strongholds in Blackrock , Alterac Valley , Zul ' Dare , and the Swamp of Sorrows . The mighty Horde was defeated by an alliance of high elves , dwarves , and humans . Feeling the effects of their demonic bloodrage dissipate as they languished in internment camps , the orcs were able to remember their peaceful , shamanic roots . Sensing this change , Thrall of the Frostwolf clan set about establishing a new Horde . Angered by the Horde ' s failure , the Burning Legion prepared for yet another invasion , the culmination of their efforts , on both continents . In the east , the Legion ' s Lich King pawn set loose a plague of undeath on the human kingdom of Lordaeron that the Legion so despised . This undead Scourge quickly crippled the northern powers , demoralizing the people of the Eastern Kingdoms in preparation for a Legion offensive . Lured to north by the Lich King , Prince Arthas of Lordaeron became his death knight pawn and the instrument of his liberation from the Legion ' s grasp . The Scourge under Arthas scattered the Knights of the Silver Hand , obliterated Lordaeron and broke the power of the Sunwell in Quel ' Thalas . In the West , the demons and their satyr allies made a more direct assault on their old kaldorei enemies . In desperation , the elves turned to Illidan , a demon hunter from the War of the Ancients who had violated druidic law and had been imprisoned for ten thousand years . During the course of the conflict , Illidan was persuaded by the insidious Arthas to attack the demon known as Tichondrius and drink from the Skull of Gul ' dan ( a small part in the Lich King ' s greater scheme to emancipate himself from his Legion jailers ) . Through the machinations of Medivh , Last Guardian of Tirisfal , leaders of the New Horde and the Alliance were drawn to Kalimdor . There they joined with the night elves to thwart the Legion advance into Hyjal , where the World Tree was vulnerable to demonic attack . While in Kalimdor , Thrall ' s people forged powerful alliances with the native tauren and the Darkspear exiles . Concerned with the separatist Scourge , Kil ' jaeden solicited the half - demonic Illidan into destroying the source of the Lich King ' s power . With the aid of his naga allies , who he had recalled from the Maelstrom , he succeeded in breaking at least some of the Lich King ' s power . Hounded by his night elf jailers and the seething blood elves , Illidan was unable to complete his task . Suffering under the effects of magical withdrawal , the blood elves were persuaded to enter into the ranks of the Illidari . With their help , Illidan toppled the regime of Magtheridon to become the new ruler of Outland . The weakening of the Frozen Throne allowed some of the Scourge to regain their free will . Under the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner , these Forsaken managed to force the Legion - controlled undead from the ruins of Lordaeron and establish a stronghold beneath its streets . Arthas , meanwhile , fought a desperate battle in Northrend to save his master from the newly empowered lord of Outland , who under increasing threats from Kil ' jaeden had taken up his quest to destroy the Lich King once more . Illidan failed and retreated to Outland , and Arthas was merged with the malicious spirit of the Lich King . Following the Third War , the political landscape of Azeroth changed greatly . The night elves joined the Alliance , and the Forsaken joined the New Horde . The remaining citizens of Lordaeron , broken by the Scourge , formed new regimes : the xenophobic and zealous Scarlet Crusade and the compassionate Argent Dawn . The orcish nation of Durotar was established in Kalimdor , as was human colony of Theramore . With the armies of the Horde and the Alliance decimated by the Third War , or occupied with the new conflict in Outland , the defense of their borders became the responsibility of small bands of heroes and adventurers . After major threats in Silithus were neutralized by Horde and Alliance forces in the Qiraji War - Effort , the power - blocs once more formed a tentative alliance in response to the opening of the Dark Portal . The Horde formed an alliance of necessity with the blood elves , while the Alliance warily welcomed the draenei exiles into their ranks . The War in Outland was fought on multiple fronts and against numerous factions . The greatest threat was the Burning Legion , who , after their defeat on Hyjal were mobilizing their forces for yet another invasion of Azeroth , this time via Draenor . Illidan ' s hegemony in Outland proved short - lived . After losing the support of Kael ' thas Sunstrider , whose addiction to fel energy led him to side with the Legion , the scattered coalition of nagas , fel orcs , and demons called the Illidari were defeated by Sha ' tari and Azerothian forces . After the destruction of the Illidari and his own defeat , Kael ' thas returned to Azeroth , where had restored his beloved Sunwell as a means of summoning his new master , Legionlord Kil ' jaeden into the material world . To counter this , the opposing factions in Shattrath , the Aldor and Scryers , joined with the Blood Knights of Quel ' Thalas . This Shattered Sun Offensive succeeded in disrupting the Legionlord ' s entry into Azeroth . After defending their major holdings from a Scourge incursion in Kalimdor and Azeroth , the Horde - Alliance blocs , emboldened by their conquest of Outland , launched a final joint offensive on the Scourge forces in Northrend . Their efforts have been bolstered thanks to yet another internal rebellion against the Scourge by the Knights of the Ebon Blade . The Horde - Alliance entente ended with the crisis at the Wrathgate . The joint forces were routed at the gates to Icecrown when a separatist faction of Forsaken bombarded the living and dead alike with their new strain of blight . At war once again , Alliance and Horde heroes now compete for glory throughout the northern lands : aiding the Kirin Tor of Dalaran in their fight against the blue dragonflight , protecting the Frostborn dwarves and giants from the corrupted Titanic Keeper s of Ulduar , and joining the Argent Crusade in the final push against the Lich King and the Scourge . Meanwhile , deep within Deepholm , the domain of earth in the Elemental Plane , the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing waited , recovering from the wounds of his last battle against Azeroth and biding his time until he tries again to reforge the world in molten fire . His eruption from Deepholm massively damaged the world . The kingdoms of Azeroth witnessed seismic shifts in power , the kindling of a war of the elements , and the emergence of unlikely heroes who rose up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation . After the utter ending of Deathwing , the main antagonists of Azeroth — like restless siblings — the Alliance and the Horde have renewed their conflict for the land and resources of the planet . Mysteriously , the previously impenetrable mists covering the hidden continent of Pandaria have cleared and both factions now attempt to make allies and extend their reach to this newly discovered continent . Unfortunately , amidst their squabbling they have stirred a new menace that is powered by their aggressions . Will the planet ' s heroes heed the warning of the newly met pandaren and unite against this common enemy ? Proto - titan . Recent reports from a recently recovered indicate that Azeroth is a world - soul which is a nascent titan in some early form of development . Origin of the name . Strangely , the term was in use during the War of the Ancients by the night elves , which raises further questions about its etymology and origins . As confirmed , it apparently was from a dialect of Common ( adapted from the term Azotha ) , but why the night elves would use it is unclear . In the RPG . The term Azeroth is a human word and is derived from the term used for the ancient primitive - humans that lived on the world pre - sundering , the Azotha . It is said that when the Arathi brought the scattered human tribes together as the empire of Arathor , they named the land as a whole in homage to their ancient ancestors : Azeroth . It is unclear whether they named the world or named the continent . As an aside , the name Azeroth was found first in another fantasy world entirely . It was the name of a lesser god mentioned in the third chapter of " The Horse and His Boy " by C . S . Lewis . World models . In " World of Warcraft " , globes scattered around the game show what looks to be a sea with only a few islands dotting the surface opposite of the main continents . In the latest model of Azeroth , you are able to see a north polar ice cap . This may suggest that there is a south polar ice cap . In the model , the western edge of Kalimdor looks to be near enough to the eastern edge of the Eastern Kingdoms to suggest that there is not enough room for a big landmass in between them ; although there could be islands of various sizes . Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms may actually be opposite of each other on Azeroth . The Forbidding Sea may blend into the Veiled Sea and vice versa . Spinning images of the world also appear in the introduction cinematics in the game ' s title . It should be noted however , that as with real world history these globes may only represent the known world , and the fact that Azeroth ' s inhabitants know the world to be a sphere , not necessarily the entire world .