Ancient Plague

The Ancient Plague was a virulent disease that struck the continent of Lordaeron during the late Dissolution Period and early Warring Kingdoms Period. One of the final death blows to the crumbling Arathorian Empire, it left vast swathes of the continent depopulated, killing tens of thousands of people across the northern Kingdoms. It is today theorized to have zoonotic origins in a species of giant spider found in the Silverpine Forest.
The economic and social devastation of the plague lead to a rise in immigration to the unaffected Kingdom of Stormwind; a pattern that would be later repeated on a larger scale following the Plague of Undeath. The weakness of the afflicted Kingdoms further influenced the birth and growth of the lesser border Kingdoms and Principalities. In particular, the Baradi of the Kingdom of Tol Barad were almost entirely unaffected by the disease and took advantage of the turmoil to allow their raids to take more territory, more prisoners, and more loot than ever before.
This article is a fanon interpretation of a canon event, referred to in the quests 'A Recipe for Death (2)' and 'A New Plague (3)'. 
Category:Dissolution Period
Category:Warring Kingdoms Period
Category:Diseases