Race origins Not all sapient races are covered in this article , only those whom the community has suggested alternative origins beyond what is explicitly stated in the official lore . Elf and troll origins . There is some controversy that the separate origin of elves and trolls may be intertwined , but each race has their own story according to their own history . For players , the history of the elves is longer and more unified , since the night elf of today largely resembles that of millennia past , whereas the troll of today represents a more chaotic fragmented part of a larger troll diaspora whose history is filled with more continuous conflict . Trolls share traits with night elves , such as their body form and their ears . Elves . According to their own history , the night elves were the first race to " awaken " in Azeroth , when a nocturnal tribe of humanoids called the Kaldorei settled near the Well of Eternity between ten and fourteen thousand years ago ( sources differ on the exact timeframe ) . This tribe venerated the moon goddess Elune even before they discovered the Well of Eternity . They made their way out of the jungles to its shores and , as they stared into its waters , sensed a great power . Setting in motion a course of events that would change the world forever , they dedicated themselves to its study , hoping that they would discover the moon goddess Elune within its waters . They built crude homes near the vortex of cosmic energy , and as the powerful Well of Eternity leaked magic into the community it caused them to evolve , making them strong , wise , and immortal . Their skin turned various shades of violet , and they grew taller in stature . The tribe re - " adopted " the name Kaldorei , which meant " children of the stars " in their native tongue . Their studies of the Well eventually led them to discover arcane magic and , after several ages spent in peace and learning , the Kaldorei grew so in power and wisdom that they outstripped the other humanoid races on Azeroth and created the first great civilization , with the Well of Eternity at its heart . Due to their early discovery of magic and the Well of Eternity , they may have thought themselves the first race to " awaken , " having judged other races to be slumbering in ignorance , even though the other races had near equivalent awareness and civilization . There is no doubt , however , that the elves are an ancient race with a long history that includes a few schisms and internal conflicts . Nevertheless , except for the divergence of the night elves and high elves in appearance , they remain relatively similar to their ancestors . The first night elven civilization was relatively small , and they remained mostly isolated around the Well of Eternity in the central region of the super - continent of Kalimdor . As their population grew they eventually encountered the trolls who had spread throughout most of the continent . With their superior strength in magic , they managed to beat back the larger population of trolls , and the two groups settled into an uneasy truce . The conflicts were largely a result of elven exploration , as they created smaller towns and outposts rather than larger cities . The night elven civilization reached its height with the reign of Queen Azshara , but was suddenly and catastrophically shattered by the War of the Ancients and the Great Sundering . The remaining night elves turned away from the great magic - focused civilization that had brought about their downfall , instead focusing on a smaller , druid - based society . Some of the night elves , mostly former Highborne , disagreed with their race ' s new direction and left to form their own civilization across the Great Sea . This group would eventually evolve into the high elves and form the nation of Quel ' Thalas . The other night elves tended to the lands of northern Kalimdor for ten thousand years , defending them against any who would seek to despoil the land . With the second coming of the Burning Legion during the Third War , the night elves came into contact with the other civilized races for the first time in several millennia , and with the loss of their immortality at the war ' s conclusion they have slowly spread out into the rest of the world . Trolls . The trolls ' history is as long as that of the elves ' ( reaching back at least 16 , 000 years ) . Thousands and thousands of years ago , the jungles and forests of Kalimdor were ruled by tribes of trolls , wandering packs of beast - men hunting savage sabercats and kodo beasts and offering up their blood in dark rituals . Petrified remains of troll encampments from these days are occasionally turned up during explorations by the Explorers guild . These trolls had nothing that would qualify as even the smallest of towns . Metalworking was unknown to them , and their weapons were carved from the bones of their fallen prey . Engravings on these weapons show scenes of the hunt as well as fierce duels between trolls , suggesting that they were much like their modern descendants , a society ruled by the strong , the cunning and the bloodthirsty . Their internal conflicts have twisted and fractured their recall so that most of the trolls that may relate their history , the Darkspear tribe of trolls , only know the more recent details of their encounter and alignment with the Horde . They came into early conflict with the elves who both conjured awe and intense hatred . Some say their hatred caused them to re - tell the origins of the elves as being a primordial splinter of the troll lineage , but the possibility of troll descending from elf could also be possible . Appearance - wise , trolls have not changed significantly , but politically and culturally they have broken into many sub - groups . While the night elves were concentrating on learning the secrets of the Well of Eternity , the trolls were spreading throughout the world from their initial location in the southern part as the Zandalar tribe . Early on they split into two empires , the Gurubashi in the south and the Amani up the eastern and north - central coasts . What kept these two empires from constantly warring with each other was the insidious insectoid empire of Azj ' Aqir who they focused on to prevent further expansion . Eventually the might of the two troll empires over thousands of years managed to split and isolate the insectoids to the far north and south areas of the continent , but then before the trolls could attempt to resume any expansion in territories not controlled by elves or insectoids , the coming of the Burning Legion shattered the continent and threw the trolls into disarray . The calamity that broke the world also shattered the unity of the remaining trolls that struggled to survive . Internal conflicts and civil wars scattered what remained . The Gurubashi empire was undone by civil war among the followers of the blood god Hakkar and their opponents . The Amani empire was destroyed by the ascendant high elves with their newly found human allies and finally the spread of the plague of undeath . Just prior to the Second War , Zul ' jin attempted to unite all the trolls under his banner ; however his defeat at the hands of the High Elves of Quel ' thalas shattered his imperial aspirations . Trolls still hold many outposts throughout Azeroth , but only the Darkspear have prospered since , due to their place in the ranks of the Horde . Troll and elf lineage speculation . According to several sources including Dungeons & Dragons Warcraft The Roleplaying Game , Lands of Conflict , Magic & Mayhem , Shadows & Light , , and Alliance Player ' s Guide the ancient feral , nocturnal nomadic tribe were called the Kaldorei , who later discover the Well of Eternity . According to these sources night elves were already called Kaldorei ( and perhaps night elves ) even before the discovery of the well of eternity . The well of eternity gave them magical abilities and evolved them further from their earlier primitive state . According to Magic and Mayhem the Kaldorei tribe existed before the they discovered the Well of Eternity , but weren ' t called night elves until after the discovery . According to some sources like the Warcraft III manual , night elves were not called night elves or kaldorei until after they discovered the well of eternity . The well of eternity changed them drastically : in height , skin color , wisdom , strength , and life span ( making them immortal ) . Blizz ard ' s history of Azeroth does not clearly state that night elves descended from troll s , but some legends suggest the possibility . Alternatively night elves may be descended from Elune herself as some legends state . Which would explain the exact physical features and appearance that they share according to the official blizzard artistic representations of Elune . Cenarius , dryads , night elves , and keepers of the grove share the same physical features at least from the torso up . In fact dryads and keepers are often described as having the upper body of night elves , and night elves are sometimes described as " Cenarius ' favored children " due to their connection to dryads and keepers . It is also possible that primitive race that lived near the well merely changed into Elune ' s image by the magic they were exposed to . Lands of Conflict discusses yet another primitive race that lived before the sundering , the Azotha ( early humans ) which could also be candidates for the race that lived near the well . In the novel The Last Guardian , Medivh tells Khadgar that the Kaldorei were the first to encamp around the well and cast spells . " It should be said that the a few shared physical ' similarities ' is very general and should not be viewed as concrete evidence that trolls are related to night elves . For instance , pointed ears : elves , trolls , dryads , Cenarius , goblins ( one could reason pointy ears are a trait among those native to Azeroth ) . According to Blizzard ' s representation of Elune ( noting it is a Blizzard artist ' s official representation of what Elune ' s appearance is , as opposed to just one of the in - game night elf carved representations ) , the night elves look exactly like her . " According to Blizzard ' s troll compendium , it ' s up in the air as to if night elves are related to trolls or not , as there is simply not enough evidence to prove either way . Within the Halls of Lightning , Halls of Stone , and the raid instance of Ulduar there are several blueprints for different Azerothian races , including Trolls , Tauren , Humans ( or perhaps early Vrykul ) and Elves . The full significance of this is unclear : perhaps they were created by the Titans , or cultivated upon being discovered as native races on the planet . At the very least , the figures demonstrate that the Titans recognized the Trolls and Night Elves as separate races . There are several different sub varieties of both species , the trolls ' including Ice , Sand , Dark , Forest and Jungle trolls . Elven sub races include Naga , Satyr , Harpies and High Elves . High Elves themselves have several descendant races as well , including Blood Elves , Wretched , and Felblood Elves . The satyr are the descendants of Kaldorei who allied directly with the Burning Legion during the first invasion . These former elves were taken by the demon s and twisted into shapes that more accurately reflected their nature . Harpies are descended from female elves who betrayed Queen Azshara , Sorceress - Queen of Kalimdor , and were transformed into hideous bird - creatures as punishment , although there is some reference in the " War of the Ancients " books by Richard A . Knakk that implies that harpies descended from the demi - goddess Aviana . The high elves are a race descended from the Highborne night elves who left Kalimdor and settled in the Eastern Kingdoms , founding Quel ' Thalas . When Quel ' Thalas and at least 90 % of the high elven race was destroyed by the Scourge , they split into two factions . Many changed their name to " blood elves " in remembrance of their fallen brethren , and would soon become close allies to the Naga . Others remained as high elves , disgusted by blood elven values . These stayed true to their old allies , the Alliance , and are scattered among various cities where they are a clear minority . When the Well of Eternity imploded , sundering the world many Highborne were trapped in the blast , however as their bodies were so infused with magic they did not die but were twisted by the powers they had released , influenced through the limited though still quite powerful will of the Old Gods , Azshara and her followers were dragged down beneath the raging sea , cursed – transformed – they took on new shapes and became the hateful serpentine Naga . The creations of the Titans . The Mountain Giant s and the Sea Giant s were crafted by the Titans when the world was young to protect Azeroth . Khaz ' Goroth with Eonar ' s help created Azeroth ' s dwarves , troggs , and perhaps the mountain giants . Golganneth was the father of the sea giants . When the Titans were shaping Azeroth , they created the Earthen . These beings of magical rock were meant to continue to shape Azeroth after the Titans left . After the Well of Eternity erupted the Earthen sealed themselves off in their cities . Centuries later , some of the Earthen of Uldaman awoke to find that they had changed . Their skin was soft and pink . They decided to leave to the surface , eventually finding the mountain of Khaz Modan which they claimed as their new home . Within Ironforge they made a great altar to their creator Titan Khaz ' goroth . There are three known cities where the Titans made the Earthen : Uldum in Tanaris , Ulduar in the Storm Peaks , and Uldaman in the Badlands . It has been revealed that after discovering the Curse of Flesh , the Titans returned to amend it by creating a second version of the earthen , which would be immune to its effects . This explains why there are still earthen in Azeroth today . There seem to be at least two different types of this second version , as the earthen in Uldaman and in Ulduar appear very different . Frost and iron dwarves bear much more resemblance to their earthen ancestors than normal dwarves do . Frost dwarves have the same markings on their foreheads that the earthen of Uldaman have , suggesting a link between them . And iron dwarves have a bluish glow underneath their " skin " , just like the Ulduar earthen . Troggs and dwarves . The original earthen were created by Khaz ' Goroth with help from Eonar . The troggs , like the dwarves , are a mutation from the original earthen design , referenced by the disks of Norgannon . Although the troggs keep the physical toughness of their earthen heritage , they lose nearly all thought capacity and become dumb , short tempered and violent . The titans sealed these mutations away after realizing their uselessness to their cause . The dwarves of Ironforge were originally of a single large clan , Ironforge clan , which was made of three clans : The Wildhammer Clan , the Bronzebeard Clan and the Dark Iron Clan , with the Ruling High King Modimus Anvilmar as the supreme leader . However , when the High King died with no heir , the dwarves plunged into a civil war - the War of the Three Hammers . Eventually , the Bronzebeard Clan won and banished the other two clans from Ironforge . The Wildhammers accepted their fate and built the city of Grim Batol in the South Wetlands , eventually re - establishing their friendship with the Bronzebeards . The Dark Iron Clan , however , were less forgiving and retreated to Blackrock Spire to plan their revenge . Lead by the sorcerer - thane ' Emperor ' Thaurissan and his wife Modgud , the Dark Iron Clan led a two - pronged attack against Ironforge , the Bronzebeard Clan , Grim Batol and the Wildhammer Clan . The battle at Ironforge was unsuccessful and the battle at Grim Batol had some margin of success but Modgud fell in the battle , so the Dark Iron Clan retreated to Blackrock Spire with Ironforge and Grim Batol following close after them . At Blackrock Spire Thaurissan attempted to summon a powerful fire elemental to smite the other dwarves but instead freed Ragnaros the Firelord . Upon the Firelord ' s rebirth the area around the mountain exploded in an apocalyptic fire , devastating the surrounding land and making the Searing Gorge and the Burning Steppes . The Firelord took the Dark Iron Clan and made them his . The other dwarves stopped before the explosion and fled , sealing the only entrance into the Searing Gorge from Loch Modan . Gnomes . It is not known exactly how the gnomes came into being , but like the dwarves , they may be products of the titans . Some gnomes show evidence of their " . . . ancestral powers " ( sisters of steel ) . Sand gnome s may be the link between the Earthen and normal gnomes . Recently it was discovered by ( ironically ) gnomes of the Valiance Expedtition in Northrend that the gnomish race was created by the Titans as mechagnomes . According to Gearmaster Mechazod the gnomes suffer from the " Curse of Flesh " , a condition that eventually befalls all creations of the Titans , just as happened to the Earthen . This may be linked with Ulduar . Humans and vrykul . The vrykul will apparently tie into the Titan creation myth that will unfold as events of the expansion take place , and in a recent interview with lead game designer Jeffrey Kaplan it was revealed that the vrykul are almost like the progenitors of the human race . They were part of the Titan ' s early plans for creating the original race that ultimately became humans , but they have turned slightly evil . ] ] Perhaps much like the stony troggs that evolved from the earthen . The quest states that vrykul children born in a certain time after their gods " abandoned " them were " weak and ugly " . ordered all those children to be killed , but events observed in the preceding quest hint that not all parents obeyed this order and instead hid their children , to grow up far away from Northrend . The Arathi named the land of Azeroth as a whole in homage to their ancient ancestors , the Azotha . There is evidence of a connection between titans and azotha , ancient evidence can be found in the Azotha ruins . Also , in one of the War of the Ancients books Rhonin is believed to be a variation of earthen that had grown taller than the rest . and categorized by night elven scholars ( who apparently never encountered vrykul or azotha ) as being biologically similar . Tol ' vir . Having been created as guardians and well - keepers of the titan research facilities , the tol ' vir , stone beings , alike the earthen and mechagnome s , wrought for the purpose of preserving the cities of Uldum and Ulduar were nonetheless affected by the curse of flesh as much as their kin . Some of them though retaining their earthly structure , were captured by the nerubians and transformed into the obsidian destroyer s , claimed afterward by the Scourge and used in the front lines . Used by the silithid in the War of the Shifting Sands , they proved great menaces even to the dragons . Only few free - willed tol ' vir remain and only in Uldum . Those subsiding to the curse of flesh may have lost much of their power , but did not lose their purpose , and did not leave Uldum and its secrets . Two groups of fleshy tol ' vir now name themselves the Ramkahen and the Neferset – the latter of which has their stone flesh restored by Deathwing . Titan Architecture . As mentioned above under Troll and Elf Lineage Speculation , there are some hints as to the relation of some of Azeroth ' s native races to the titans in certain Wrath of the Lich King raids : in Vault of Archavon and the Ulduar Instances and Raids , several statues frequently line the halls or otherwise decorate the area . These figures appear as constellation - like forms in the shapes of Humans ( or Vrykul ) , Night Elves , Tauren , and Trolls . Exactly what this recognizance in ancient Titan architecture means for the four races is unknown , but certainly implies that all four were present and existed with the Titans ' sanction - - if they were not outright created in some fashion by them - - before they were done with Azeroth . Cenarius ' lineage . Richard A . Knaak ' s novel " The Sundering " stated that Ysera , the Dragon Aspect , was Malorne ' s lover and mother of Cenarius . Later , the author Richard A . Knaak clarified that Elune is Cenarius ' biological mother , and Ysera is his adopted mother . Cenarius has many descendants , the Keepers of the Grove , the dryad s , and the centaur . The origin of five centaur tribes ( Gelkis , Maraudine , Kolkar , Magram , and Galak ) is told by the spirit of Keeper Celebras at Maraudon in Desolace . Keeper Remulos , one of the sons of Cenarius , fathered Celebras and several dryads . Jealous of his brother ' s offspring , Zaetar mated with an Earth Elemental named Princess Theradras . From that unholy love were born the chaotic , misshapen centaurs . Another legend passed down by night elves , claims that centaurs are the children of one of Cenarius ' first three children . According to this legend , Cenarius first three children were , " the centaur " , " the dryad " , and " the keeper of the grove " ( likely Zaetar ) . His bastard son , the centaur , turned on him out of jealousy of his siblings beauty , and was forever punished by his father . The centaur left and his children formed tribes of centaur of their own , which may include the race centaur found in the Eastern Kingdoms and the tribe Krenka . While some contend that Cenarius had only two sons , others argue that is not the case . See : " Keepers of the Grove : Parentage " , " Son of Cenarius " , " Daughter of Cenarius " , " Krenka " , and " Centaur ( Eastern Kingdoms ) " . The Evolution of the Aqir . The aqir were intelligent insectoids that ruled the lands of western Kalimdor during the time of the Amani and Gurubashi empires . They were greatly expansionistic and incredibly evil . They fought against the trolls for thousands of years but were eventually defeated and their empire Azj ' Aqir were split into two city - states : Azjol - Nerub and Ahn ' Qiraj . C ' Thun created his avatars in his own image from the silithid ( Who came from near the Well of Eternity ) . The qiraji are the descendants of the aqir that fled to Ahn ' Qiraj . The qiraji retained their insectoid forms , but evolved in many different ways resulting in a caste system in their society . The qiraji waged the War of the Shifting Sands against the night elves for many years before the elves , with the aid of the bronze dragonflight , trapped the qiraji behind the Scarab Wall until it was reopened . The nerubian s are the descendants of the Aqir that fled to Azjol - Nerub . They lost their insectoid forms and became spider - like . The spiderlord s , which are described mixture of beetle and spider , and the fact they reproduce through queens , are links between the races . These spider - like humanoids reigned on the continent of Northrend until the War of the Spider , when they were tragically defeated by the Scourge and many were turned into undead crypt fiend s . Some speculate that Nerubians are the avatars of an unseen emperor , similar to how the qiraji are avatars of C ' Thun . One theory is that the silithid and aqir are in fact one and the same , and C ' Thun directly created the qiraji from the aqir . But despite evidence to support it , the latter is often dismissed due to an argument of intelligence and its controversy . Another is that the avatars C ' Thun created from the silithid were the aqir , with the qiraji and nerubians later splitting off and evolving differently . Neither have yet to be confirmed by Blizzard and are both merely speculative histories for the races . Corrupted species . Strong demons — the heroes of their kind — can corrupt individuals , tribes , or even whole species . While not all the corrupted species were created in this way , the majority were created by demons or the use of demonic magics . Eredar lineage . Eredar physiology has been shaped by demonic influences over the course of the many aeons since Sargeras first encountered their race . When the Dark Titan approached the Eredar , the majority chose to develop their already - substantial magical gifts by joining the Burning Crusade . The demonic eredar , called the " man ' ari " ( eredun for " wrong " or " twisted " ) , have since developed into powerful warlocks and wrathguard s . Only those who followed the Prophet Velen and the naaru refused to join the Burning Legion , escaping from their homeworld Argus in an interdimensional transport made of a single huge diamond ( now Osha ' gun , in Nagrand ) . The transport crashed into a planet inhabited by primitive orcs , ogres , and arakkoa . These eredar named themselves the " draenei " ( " exiles " ) and their new home , Draenor . After generations of peace , Kil ' jaeden and Burning Legion rediscovered the draenei . The Burning Legion used corrupted orcs to all but wipe out the draenei race . While those who survived the attacks on Karabor and Shattrath were in hiding , it was discovered that some of the draenei had been corrupted by their contact with the demonic energies of the fel orcs , causing them to mutate physically and mentally . Unable to feel the touch of the Light , the " krokul " ( " broken " ) draenei were initially shunned by the unaffected draenei . Some of the Broken continued to devolve — these pitiful beings are known as the Lost Ones , and are now barely sentient . Draenei player characters are unaffected draenei , who escaped from Draenor with Velen after taking back one wing of Tempest Keep , the Exodar , from Prince Kael ' thas and his blood elves . Evolution of ogres . Supposedly , the Ogre race started as an offspring of the Seven Gronn , the giant Ogre Gods . The early Ogres looked like Ogre Lord s , giant , cyclopean creatures with bony , calcified protrusions ; as well as being smart and powerful . From these came regular Ogres : more humanoid in shape , two - eyed , smaller , not as intelligent , and generally inferior to Ogre Lords . As the Ogres lived on the same world as the Orc s , a new race would appear that was the result of a union between the two races , the Mok ' Nathal . The Mok ' Nathal were powerful warriors who are revered amongst the Orcs , but shunned by the Ogres . The Gronn are angered by any Ogre half - breed , finding them an impurity in their bloodline . Another branch of the Ogres are the two - headed variety . These were created by the orc warlock Gul ' dan . Two - headed ogres were held in high regard by their single - headed brethren , and often held positions of great importance , such as the tribe ' s Shaman . Also , due to the added intelligence of having two heads , the two - headed ogres have an easier time grasping and controlling magic . Goblins . The ancestors of modern goblin s were enslaved by the jungle troll s of Kezan and forced to mine kaja ' mite ore . Exposure to kaja ' mite . Goblin alchemical experimentation later produced the hobgoblin s . Currently , there is little information about the gilgoblin s , which are presumed to be related to goblins and expected to appear in the . Goblins are not known to be related to any other races , however they do bear a strong resemblance to imp s and humanoid sprite s as well as Trolls . Murlocs . Murloc s have one known offshoots , the Mur ' Gul ( see the corrupted species section above ) , and another suspected offshoot , the Gorloc s . Origin of the species evolution line . Titans