Heroines of Warcraft: They Came Before Edition

In honor of Women’s History month, beginning March 8th, we’ll be running a series of editorials surveying the lore and history surrounding some of Azeroth’s most notable heroines and figures.

In honor of Women’s History month, beginning March 8th, we’ll be running a series of editorials surveying the lore and history surrounding some of Azeroth’s most notable heroines and figures.

EONAR, THE LIFE-BINDER

“No one knows when or why the first titan awoke, but legends hold that his name was Aman’Thul” – World of Warcraft Chronicle: Volume 1, 19

One of the earliest notable female figures in Azeroth’s history comes from a time before history was even known on Azeroth; possibly before even Azeroth itself. Hailing from the race of celestial wanderers, the Titans, Eonar is the only confirmed female titan. While there are some in-game and fan theories suggesting that Azeroth too may be a female, Eonar was at least the first.

Awakened by Aman’Thul, the Highfather, Eonar would become his bronze-skinned consort. She carried an alabaster staff through the cosmos as she stood vigilant as the protector of life, nature, and healing in the universe. She often kept from the field of battle, preferring a supporting role in the great Titan Pantheon. If brought to fight, she remained a fierce force who would confuse and disperse her enemies before engaging them. She stood in opposition to the dark Titan Sargeras, and aided the Pantheon in combating him until her ultimate demise at his hand.

Eonar also spent a great deal of time establishing the titanforged which would one day nurture Azeroth, in addition to empowering the naturally-occurring life which Azeroth itself created, namely, the dragons. While Eonar was defeated, her essence and gifts lived on in the populations of Azeroth. She is worshiped where her memory remains, including both the great red and green Dragonflights, which tasked themselves with combating chaos and destruction, while maintaining nature, healing, and life, within the world.

Some hypothesize a connection between Eonar and Elune, as well as the Tauren’s Earthmother, as all three share many common threads of beliefs and traits; however, at this time, we have no formal notes from Blizzard about how these entities are connected.

ALEXSTRASZA, THE LIFE-BINDER & DRAGONQUEEN

“The nurturing and ever-merciful Freya called upon her creator, Eonar, to empower the proto-dragon Alexstrasza. Known thereafter as the Life-Binder…” World of Warcraft Chronicle: Volume 1, 46

While the Titans would eventually come to create the titanforged to safeguard Azeroth, the planet had already gone about creating its own species of life, one of these were the dragons. While the Pantheon created the Keepers (better known for their appearance in-game in Ulduar) to safeguard the planet and the mechanization they had set in motion, there was nothing let to govern Azeroth’s native entities. Over time, one dragon came to overtake them all and tore about Kalimdor destroying and consuming everything in its path. His name was Galakrond. The Keepers came to decide that they would empower the smartest of the nascent species and help to take the great beast down. These would come to be known as the Dragon Aspects, of which Alexstrasza was one. The Keeper Freya had been created by Eonar and it was she who infused Alexstrasza and her dragonflight with guardianship of all life on Azeroth.

In-game, the Life-Binder can be found in many areas, including atop the Wyrmrest Temple in Dragonblight, and in the Dragon Soul raid. No longer content to step aside and watch the world in its suffering, she brought the Dragon Aspects and their flights together in order to actively defend against evils which would harm life on her beloved planet. Even in light of sacrificing her power to save the world from Deathwing, her fallen brother Neltharion, back in Cataclysm, the Dragon Mother remains the most powerful, if not the eldest dragon alive today. She is also one of the last remaining of the original Dragon Aspects.

YSERA, THE DREAMER

“Freya also beseeched Eonar to bless Alexstrasza’s younger sister, the proto-dragon Ysera, with natures influence. Ysera was charged with keeping watch over the flowering wilds of Azeroth from within the Emerald Dream.” – World of Warcraft Chronicle: Volume 1, 46

While Alexstrasza’s charge was to guard the life of the world, Ysera was in charge of its dream, the Emerald Dream, a place which held the original blueprint for Azeroth’s ordering by the Titans. All creatures would visit the Dream in their rest, but it was Ysera’s domain to watch over. Like her older sister, she would be a part of all lives on Azeroth, and would also take up arms to protect it. She fought alongside her siblings in protecting Azeroth, titanforged and native creatures alike. Ysera spent a great deal of time asleep in order to defend the Emerald Dream, waking only so often when situations were dire enough to warrant it. As a result, in-game, we bore witness to Ysera’s active role in Cataclysm throughout Mount Hyjal, as well as in the Dragon Soul raid, where she used the latent power of Eonar which made her an Aspect of the green dragonflight, in order to help stop Neltharion.

While tragedy befell her this expansion during the campaign in Val’sharah, her spirit lives on in the Emerald Dream and wanders through its purified fields, no longer a creature of both worlds.

Do you have any favourite female characters from the dawn of the world of Azeroth? Let us know in the comments below, or join in the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, or Discord!


Images © Blizzard Entertainment

Storming Suramar and the Reunification of the Elven People

The storming of Suramar is the culmination of centuries of devision and magical evolution within World of Warcraft lore.

With Nighthold’s release coming ever closer, the storyline continues to grow to epic proportions in Suramar. Beyond getting new phat-lewts and encounters, there’s a lot of interesting things lore-wise taking place with what Blizzard’s lining up. Join us as we continue to explore the story of the Nightborne.

Continue reading “Storming Suramar and the Reunification of the Elven People”