Ranger-General

Quel'Thalas & The Second War

Far to the south in the continent of the Eastern Kingdoms, a Dark Portal was constructed by the followers of the Burning Legion. This portal would allow denizens of other worlds to travel freely to Azeroth. In this case, the ones passing through the portal would be the orcs of Draenor with the intent of conquering the entirety of the Eastern Kingdoms. This threat saw the creation of the Alliance of Lordaeron (aka "Alliance"): a union between all seven human kingdoms, the Bronzebeard and Wildhammer clans of the dwarves, the gnomes of Gnomeregan and the high elves of Quel'Thalas.

The king of the high elves at the time, King Anasterian Sunstrider, had very little interest in joining the war until he learned that Anduin Lothar, the last surviving ancestor of King Thoradin of Arathor, was the commander of the newly formed Alliance. About 2,800 years prior, King Thoradin aided the high elves in protecting their lands in the Troll Wars; indebted to the human king, Anasterian swore and oath to come to the aid of Thoradin or his descendants when asked. Anasterian saw this new opportunity with Lothar as a way to repay the debt of his people. He agreed to send a small force of rangers to aid the humans, led by the eldest of the Windrunner sisters: Alleria.

Aside from Alleria's rangers, Quel'Thalas remained mostly uninterested in the Second War until it arrived on their doorstep. The Amani trolls, led by chieftain Zul'Jin, had joined the Horde with the promise of having their ancestral lands -- the lands now inhabited by the high elves -- returned to his tribe. The Amani began burning the forests in Quel'Thalas and Sylvanas, the Ranger-General in charge of defense, began to investigate. Fortunately, Sylvanas arrived just in time to save both her sisters (Alleria and Vereesa) from the trolls.

Alleria, suspecting that the Horde may be a bigger threat than first thought, had brought the Alliance forces toward Quel'Thalas. She warned Sylvanas of the rest of the Horde that was marching further south and they coordinated a counter-attack. The Horde would be trapped between the Alliance forces in the south and Sylvanas' rangers in the north. The Amani trolls were defeated and Sylvanas saw to it that any remaining Horde left in their territory were dealt with. While they were successful in defending Silvermoon, the Second War saw the loss of Sylvanas' brother, Lirath, as well as many other relatives.

Once the Second War had ended, Quel'Thalas eventually withdrew from the Alliance. Despite many humans having given their lives to protect the lands of the high elves, King Anasterian believed the Alliance's lack of capable leadership was ultimately responsible for the burning of Quel'Thalas' forests. He also felt that the Alliance needed the high elves more than they needed the Alliance.

Sylvanas would find herself no longer part of the Alliance's cause and would remain within high elf territory. She would continue to teach the ways of the rangers to her talented human subordinate, Nathanos Marris, despite opposition from several of her superiors. Sylvanas would also continue to patrol the high elf lands in its defense.

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