The History of Dalaran

Past of Dalaran The Magocrat nation of Dalaran was formed over 2,700 years before the Dark Portal as the second city-state -- one of the seven city-states -- which all held to the unifying authority of Strom. (Read More)

Many fledgling wizards left the restraining confines of Strom behind and traveled to Dalaran, where they hoped to use their new powers with greater freedom. These magicians used their skills to build up the enchanted spires of Dalaran and reveled in the pursuit of their studies under the rule of the Kirin-Tor, composed of Six Senior Wizard Leaders - human and elven. The Order of Tirisfal was created when mages abused their freedom to venture into necromancy and demon summoning.

With the citizens of Dalaran gone paranoid, the Kirin Tor feared the Kingdom of Strom would punish the city-state nation leaders if word went out that the demon sightings were result of the magicians' reckless use of magic.

Order of Tirisfalis The humans looked for advice from Silvermoon. The High Elves investigated the demonic presence and reached the conclusion that to monitor and keep demonic activity at bay a secret society had to be formed. Humans and High Elves of the Silvermoon Council formed the Order of Tirisfal -- empowering a single champion to guard the safety of the Alliance, and to ensure a new invasion of the Burning Legion did not come to pass. (Read More)

Only one champion could hold the powers of the Guardian at any given time. If the champion was deemed too old to carry the mantle, a new successor was chosen by the Order of Tirisfal, transfering the Guardian power from the Older champion to the newest champion. It was that way for hundreds of years. The most notorious and last guardian chosen by the Order of Tirisfal was a young special girl named Aegwynn. The secret organization of Dalaran sought to control her like they did the guardians before her. However, her strong spirit and loyalty to her guardianship duties drove her to decide to work on her own without strings attached, to make sure the Guardian would not fall prey of the corrupted members-- who sought personal gain -- within the Order. Some of them consorted with demonic studies and magic secretly.

Aegwynn fought the Burning Legion at the Storm Peaks of Northrend when demons sought to drain the magic off the dragons. Young Aegwynn defeated the demons with help of the dragons, and single-handedly defeated the summoned avatar of Sargeras. She buried the avatar within a temple lying at the bottom of the Great Sea. (Read More)

Using the magic of the guardian, Aegwynn stretched her own lifespan. Eight hundred years later, Aegwynn readied to give up the power of the Guardian, but did not wish the Order of Tirisfal to choose the next successor to the Guardian mantle. Instead, she chose to mate with Nielas Aran, a conjuror at the court of Stormwind. From their union, a child was conceived at Aegwynn's womb. Unbeknownst to her, however, Sargeras' spirit had been hidden within her - all along - and posessed the baby within her womb.

The child was to be Medivh the Last Guardian. With Sargeras corrupting Medivh, Medivh projected his astral form into Draenor to contact Gul'dan. Medivh promised the orcish warlock a new land to conquer. And so it came to be that Medivh opened the Dark Portal, unleashing the First War of the Horde upon the Kingdom of Stormwind.

Dalaran in the Second War The old Violet Citadel of Dalaran was located at the Cross island within the Lordamere Lake -- bordered between Silverpine Forest, Lordaeron, Hillsbrad Foothills and Alterac Mountains. During the Second War of the Horde, the Violet citadel was destroyed by the Blackrock Clan under the command of Orgrim Doomhammer implementing dragons as a weapon unleashed against the unsuspecting mages of the Alliance (Read More)

The Cross island was decimated and crushed into smaller isles. The surviving mages united to rebuild. The Horde was driven back to the Dark Portal during the Second War, after the death of Anduin Lothar. However, Ner'zhul shortly deviced how to duplicate the spellwork to open rifts to other worlds. For this matter, Ner'zhul sent Teron Gorefiend, the death knight, to Azeroth to find three artifacts of power. With the Book of Medivh and the Jeweled Scepter of Sargeras delivered to Ner'zhul, only one artifact remained to be retrieved. The Mages of Dalaran had created a device to focus their magiks in an effort to reconstruct the Violet Citadel. Ner'zhul desired the Eye of Dalaran to focus the dark powers of the underworld for the creation of his portals in Draenor.

Teron Gorefiend and the Shadowmoon Council traveled to the stronghold of the Human Mages at Cross Island, where they now rebuilt their towers amid heavy fortifications. Teron and his forces broke through their shoreline defenses, and captured the Eye of Dalaran. The nation of Dalaran once more destroyed.(Read More -- Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal)

Dalaran and the Undead Scourge Dalaran had been rebuilt this time southeast of Lordamere Lake, leadered by Archmage Antonidas. Peace reigned in Dalaran for fifteen years, after the orcs had been held in internment camps and the Dark Portal sealed by the heroes of the Expedition sent to Draenor.

Among the newest mage apprentices of Dalaran emerged one of great power -- Jaina Proudmoore. She had befriended the Prince of Lordaeron since childhood and had a love affair at one point.

When the plague hit Lordaeron, Prince Arthas and Jaina Proudmoore pinpointed the plague back to its origin ... Andorhal. The Undead came to be because normal humans ate the contaminated crates of grains. Upon death, the victims of the plague rose bound to the Lich King. (Read the origin of the Plague and the Undead Scourge)

Arthas the Death Knight resurrected Kel'Thuzad with the Sunwell of Quel'Thalas, and both came to Dalaran with their Undead Scourge. Archmage Antonidas and other Archmages rose up a magical shield around Dalaran. The shield caused damage to all Undead agents entering within its perimeter or any agent of evil necromancy, such as Arthas and the Cult of the Damned acolytes.

Kel'Thuzad suggested that three Wizards were helding the shield up. Two of the Wizards were in the outdoors and were quickly found and dealt with, lowering down part of the shield. As Arthas and his forces penetrated Dalaran, all the wizards holding up the magical shield were killed, inclluding Archmage Antonidas. Afterwards, Kel'Thuzad picked from the library, the Book of Medivh -- which Khadgar had brought to the Kirin Tor two decades ago. ( Read More )

When all opposition was crushed, Kel'Thuzad proceeded to initiate a ritual using the Spellbook of Medivh to summon Archimonde - the Eredar Warlock, demonlord of the Burning Legion into Azeroth. Archimonde immediately proceed to cast aside Arthas the Death Knight and Kel'Thuzad and took charge of the Undead Scourge himself, moving toward Kalimdor, staging their first wave of invasion into Ashenvale, heading toward Mount Hyjal, where the Burning Legion and its Undead Scourge were defeated.

Time later, the Demonlord Kil'Jaeden offered Illidan a proposal. Illidan gathered the Naga and sailed toward the Broken Isles, where he found the Eye of Sargeras - by orders of Kil'jaeden. ( Read More )

Escaping Malfurion, Tyrande and Maiev's forces, Illidan sail away toward the coast of Silverpine Forest. Arriving to Dalaran, Illidan and a cadre of Naga Witch spellcasters initiated a ritual channeling the energies of the Eye of Sargeras.

Malfurion separated from Tyrande and Maiev to commune with the land of Eastern Kingdoms with his druidic powers. He sensed the land suffered with the blight of the Undead Scourge and proposed to himself to let the druids come into this continent to help heal the land. When suddenly tremors and earthquakes shook the land. Malfurion was in pain, feeling the land hurt abruptly. Malfurion asked the spirits of the wild to show him what caused this. In a vision granted by the spirits, Malfurion saw Northrend's icy floor tremble and break -- ( Read More.

The spirits of the wild revealed to Malfurion who was causing this new threat to the land: In Dalaran, Illidan was causing this with the Eye of Sargeras, in an attempt to destroy the Icecrown and its Frozen Throne -- Kil'jaeden had employed Illidan to kill the Lich King. Malfurion rallied his forces along with Maiev and Kael'Thas' forces to reach Dalaran. There Malfurion defeated Undead Scourge forces in order to reach Dalaran, to stop Illidan's spellwork. ( Read More )

The surviving Humans of Lordaeron took back Dalaran partially from the Undead Scourge and the Burning Legion. Kael'Thas and the Blood Elves were left behind in Dalaran to rebuild the Observatory buildings, while the Human forces were in the front lines battling the Undead Scourge. When Commander Garithos returned, he watched in horror the Blood Elves consorting with the Naga. Actually, the Naga had come to help the Blood Elves from the Scourge, and offered ships to sail toward the islands and remote places to repair the Observatories. However, Garithos saw fit that the Blood Elves should be imprisoned for treason. ( Read More )

The Blood Elves were taken to the catacombs of Dalaran, and held within the prisons, down by the sewers. Lady Vashj and her Naga forces freed Prince Kael'Thas Sunstrider and helped release the Blood Elf Lieutenants. Kael'Thas found the spirits of Archmage Antonidas and the slain-Wizards in the dungeons of Dalaran and freed them from their penance. ( Read More )

Lady Vashj and Kael'Thas led the Blood Elves and the Naga forces upstairs toward the place where Kel'Thuzad had opened a gateway for Archimonde -- months before. The naga witches worked their spellwork to open the gateway while Kael'Thas and Lady Vashj kept the Human forces and the wizard-summoned beasts at bay. Once every single Blood Elf and Naga were through, Lady Vashj and Kael'Thas jumped through the Gateway toward Outland. ( Read More )

Once the Burning Legion and Undead Scourge still in some areas of Dalaran were purged from the premises, the mages, wizards and Archmages of the Alliance joined to rebuild Dalaran.

The Archmages casted a spell that created a massive magical purple-hued dome. No divination spells can penetrate the dome to see what is going on within Dalaran. The mages are rebuilding Dalaran and possibly keeping some experiments at bay. Archmage Ansirem Runeweaver leads Dalaran and guards the safety of the dome stationed at the outdoors. Shield Watcher Morgensen maintains the magical dome and makes sure it stays up.

NOTE: Korialstrasz - consort of the Queen Dragon Aspect Alexstrasza - watched over the lesser races by shapeshifting in the form of a High Elf taking the name Krasus -- as a secret identity very few mortals know of. Krasus became one of the six senior leaders of the Kirin Tor. Krasus left Dalaran at the end of the Second War, after his agent Rhonin helped free Alexstasza from Nekros the Orc Warlock of the Dragonmaw Clan.

After Deathwing was defeated by the Dragon Aspects, Krasus announced to the Kirin Tor that he would take a leave to spend time with his wife. The Kirin Tor would never have imagined that among them was a red dragon undercover. Krasus and Alexstrasza remained in Grim Batol (Wetlands) as their new lair. Brann Bronzebeard thinks that the red dragonflight may be protecting something powerful -- maybe the broken shards of the Demon Soul, or some other artifact; or that Deathwing might be imprisoned in Grim Batol. Nothing has been proven.

Krasus is mentioned in Wold of Warcraft Quest: Tremors of the Earth. It is unknown whether Krasus has returned to Dalaran, since he is the only known survivor; or one of the six senior leaders of the Kirin Tor. Rhonin and Vereesa are known to have become Ambassadors of Dalaran after the Second war-- as mentioned in War of the Ancients Trilogy pocketbooks.

SPOILER: A very detailed info of the Order of Tirisfal may be found in the pocketbook World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred -- released on February 2006. Aegwynn, mother of Medivh, turned out to still be alive after Sargeras exiled her. Aegwynn is revealed to have resurrected Medivh. Read the book !!!