Anasterian Sunstrider Anasterian Sunstrider was the last high elven king of Quel ' Thalas . His reign , which lasted at least three thousand years , was marked by several conflicts that threatened the continued existence of Quel ' Thalas - ending with its destruction at the hands of the evil Prince Arthas Menethil . Biography . Reigning during the Troll Wars against the resurgent Amani Empire , Anasterian saw that his people were hard - pressed to keep the forest troll s at bay and were perilously close to defeat . In desperation , Anasterian turned to his southern neighbors , the humans of Arathor . In exchange for aid against the Amani , the elves offered to teach the humans magic . With their combined forces , Quel ' Thalas and Arathor shattered the Amani Empire , a defeat from which they have never been able to fully recover . After the Troll Wars , Anasterian pledged the eternal support of the elves to the Arathi , the bloodline of King Thoradin , in gratitude for their salvation . The Second War . During the Second War , he reluctantly joined the Alliance of Lordaeron , honor - bound to fulfill the pledge to the Arathi , of whom Lord Anduin Lothar was the last . Anasterian was forced to contribute more of Quel ' Thalas ' s armies when the outer forests were attacked by the Horde . Following the war and the destruction of Quel ' Thalas ' s borderlands , he withdrew his nation from the Alliance , citing poor leadership on the humans ' part that led to the burning of Quel ' Thalas ' s forests . The Third War . Still reigning over Quel ' Thalas at the time of the Third War , despite his advanced age , Anasterian battled alongside the Convocation of Silvermoon when the corrupted Prince Arthas invaded Quel ' Thalas with the undead armies of the Scourge , but even his unyielding will and extraordinary powers proved insufficient against the merciless death knight . Upon the Isle of Quel ' Danas , he fought a valiant but ultimately hopeless battle against Arthas , wielding a stave in one hand and the ancient runeblade Felo ' melorn in the other . Though he manged to severely wound Arthas ' s steed , Invincible , by severing its forelegs , the act only served to enrage Arthas , and both Felo ' melorn and Anasterian fell under the weight of Frostmourne , which cut through ancient blade and stole the soul of its owner . Anasterian ' s son , Prince Kael ' thas Sunstrider , survived the fall of Quel ' Thalas and indeed the entire Third War . He recovered both his father ' s skull and the broken runeblade , the latter of which he reforged . The skull , which was taken to Outland by the blood elves under his son ' s leadership , was believed by some to be a required component for the dragon s in their effort to restore the powers of the Sunwell . World of Warcraft : Wrath of the Lich King . During the Quel ' Delar questline , after returning to Myralion Sunblaze or Caladis Brightspear , Blood - Queen Lana ' thel replays the events of Quel ' Delar ' s bestowal to the High elves , images of Alexstrasza , Thalorien Dawnseeker and King Anasterian Sunstrider appear during the small scene , which shows Anasterian granting the blade to Thalorien . Abilities . According to " " , he had the skills of a warrior , and was still a powerful mage . He is shown in " " , wearing plate armor . Along with his weapon of choice being the runeblade Felo ' melorn , these all point towards a fusion between a warrior and mage . It is possible that Anasterian was a warmage or battle mage .