Life Before Life . Before life began , before the cosmos even took shape , there was Light . . and there was Void . The Light is a mysterious and benevolent force in the universe . Unfettered by the confines of time and space , the Light swelled across all existence in the form of a prismatic sea . Great torrents of living energy flitted through its mirror depths , their movements conjuring a symphony of hope and joy . However , the Light can be considered chaotic . The ocean of Light was ever shifting and dynamic and as it expanded , some of its energies faded and dimmed , leaving behind pockets of nothingness described as cold . A new power coalesced and came to be in the absence of Light in these spaces . A dark and vampiric force driven to devour all energy , to twist creation inward to feed upon itself , this power was the Void . The mounting tension between these two inseparable , yet opposite , energies triggered a series of catastrophic proportions , rupturing the fabric of creation and birthing a new realm into existence . The physical universe , which the Great Dark Beyond represents , was born in that moment . Death and Life . The forces of Death and Life hold sway over every living thing in the physical universe . In the form of necromantic magic , Death acts as a counterbalance to Life . It is an unavoidable force that breeds despair in mortal hearts and pushes everything toward a state of entropic decay and eventual oblivion . It is said that a sacrifice of life is the only way to be ensure the saving of another and sacrificial magic was considered the greatest violation of life . The energies of life , known commonly as nature magic , promote growth and renewal in all things . < nowiki > < / nowiki > Energies can be so chaotic that they manifest as pure fel magic given form - violent entities to lash out at all life , the essence they drop is entropic and poisonous . Disorder is manifested as highly destructive fel magic . This brutal and extremely addictive energy is fueled by drawing life from living beings . Conversely , Order is most commonly perceived in reality as arcane magic . This type of energy is innately volatile , and wielding it requires intense precision and concentration . Arcane mysteries . Arcane mysteries are of life and death . Mages of the arcane are diviners of secrets , balancing the ebb and flow of incredible mystic energies . Unparalleled skill is required to manipulate the volatile forces of the universe . These practitioners push their magical knowledge to its very limits — often to the brink of their own exhaustion , and at great risk to the world around them . Those who master this craft are capable of releasing a barrage of unrelenting power upon their enemies , drawing upon replenishing energies to maintain their assault for as long as the battle demands . A common perception was shared that the magi ' s magic was unholy and possibly even demonic . In the face of demonic power , most heroes see death . Warlocks see only opportunity . Dominance is their aim , and they have found a path to it in the dark arts . Warlocks are magical practitioners who seek to understand darker , fel - based magics including destructive spells . According to how it was described : Fel is chaotic energy . Warlocks convert life into fel , draining the victim as a source of power . In addition , these voracious spellcasters summon demonic minions to fight beside them . At first , they command only the service of imps , but as a warlock ’ s knowledge grows , seductive succubi , loyal voidwalkers , and horrific felhunters join the dark sorcerer ’ s ranks to wreak havoc on anyone who stands in their master ’ s way . Denizens of the Cosmos . Void Lords . Composed of pure shadow energy , the void lords are monstrous entities . These beings are cruel and merciless beyond mortal comprehension . The void lords seek to devour all matter and energy in the physical universe , driven by an insatiable hunger . The void lords exist in their natural state . Only the most powerful of these entities can manifest in the physical universe , and only for limited amounts of time . To maintain their presence in reality , the void lords must consume untold amounts of matter and energy . Naaru . Creatures of living holy energy , the naaru are benevolent . In the Great Dark Beyond , they are perhaps the purest expression of the Light that exists . The naaru have vowed to bring peace and hope to all mortal civilizations and waylay the dark forces of the Void that seek to engulf creation . Titans . Composed of the primordial matter from which the universe was born , the titans are colossal godlike beings . They roam the cosmos like walking worlds , imbued with the raw power of creation itself . The titans use this incredible force to find and awaken others of their kind - - others who still slumber within the far corners of the Great Dark Beyond . The Burning Legion . Within the Great Dark Beyond , the Burning Legion is the single most destructive force . The fallen titan Sargeras created this vast demonic army to scour all creation . With devastating fel magic , which all titans are uniquely susceptible to , the Burning Legion moves world to world , decimating everything in its path . No one knows how many worlds and mortal civilizations the demons have annihilated in their unholy Burning Crusade . The demons that fill the ranks of the Burning Legion are highly resilient . Their spirits are tethered to the Twisting Nether , making them extraordinarily difficult to destroy permanently . Even if a demon dies in the physical universe , its spirit will return to the Twisting Nether and manifest in corporeal form again . To truly destroy a demon ' s spirit , the creature must be killed in the Twisting Nether itself , in places where that volatile maelstrom bleeds into mortal worlds , or in areas inundated with the Burning Legion ' s energies . Old Gods . The Old Gods are the physical manifestations of the Void . They are nightmares incarnate : mountains of blighted flesh and writhing tentacles that grow like cancers within the worlds of the Great Dark . These malignant entities serve the void lords , and they live only to transform the worlds they infest into places of despair and death . Wild Gods . The Wild Gods are primal manifestations of life and nature . They are creatures of two realms . The Wild Gods inhabit the physical world of Azeroth , but their spirits are bound to the ethereal Emerald Dream . Many Wild Gods appear in the form of gargantuan animals , such as wolves , bears , tigers , or birds . Elemental Spirits . The elemental spirits are primitive and chaotic beings of fire , earth , air , or water . They were some of the first sentient creatures to inhabit the nascent worlds of the waking universe . The elemental spirits appear in an almost infinite variety of shapes and sizes . Each of these creatures has a distinct personality and temperament , traits that are heavily influences by a spirit ' s elemental nature . The presence of the fifth element - Spirit - also affects the disposition of these elemental beings . A world with an overabundance of Spirit may gave rise to native elementals who are passive and lack physicality . Conversely , a world with too little Spirit may birth elementals who are highly aggressive and incredibly destructive . Undead . The undead are former mortals who have died and become trapped between life and death . These tragic beings derive power from the necromantic energies that pervade the universe . Most undead are driven by vengeance and hatred to destroy the one thing that they can never have again : life . Elements . The elements are chaotic , and left to their own devices , they rage against one another in unending primal fury . Primary Elements . The elements of fire , air , earth and water serve as the basic building blocks of all mater in the physical universe . Air : Breeze and wind and storm , all these the spirits of air are , and more , the Spirit of Life is in our breath with air . The storm is a destructive force . Storm burns trees . Storm floods houses . But storm can also be life force if you know the right song . Earth : " They " claimed they could sense the life force in earth and even seemingly dead stone . Fire : The Spirit of Life is in our blood ( which was referred to as life energy ) with fire . Water : Water is the element of life and energy . Shamans . Shaman are spiritual guides and practitioners , not of the divine , but of the very elements . Unlike some other mystics , shaman commune with forces that are not strictly benevolent . The elements are chaotic , and left to their own devices , they rage against one another in unending primal fury . It is the call of the shaman to bring balance to this chaos . Acting as moderators among earth , fire , water , and air , shaman summon totems that focus the elements to support the shaman ’ s allies or punish those who threaten them . Shamanic cultures have long sought to live in harmony with , or assert dominion over , the elements . To do so , they call upon the primordial forces of Spirit and Decay . Those who seek to bring balance to the elements rely on Spirit ( sometimes referred to as the " fifth element " by shaman , or " chi " by monks ) . This life - giving force interconnects and binds all things in existence as one . Decay is the tool of shaman seeking to subjugate and weaponize the elements . Life Energy / Essence / Force . Souls . Life essence is what souls are .