Burning Legion

The Burning Legion
File:TheBurningLegionnares.jpg
Main Leader:	Sargeras
Secondary Leaders:	Kil'jaeden the Deciever Mephistroth Mal'ganis Varimathras Balnazzar Detheroc
Base of Operations:	Various conquered planets
Main Factions:	The Shadow Council Dreadlord Insurgents Magtheridon's Forces Kael'thas's Forces
Secondary Factions:	Scarlet Crusade Scarlet Onslaught The Risen

"You are very brave to stand against me, little human. If only your countrymen had been as bold, I would have had more fun scouring your wretched nations from the world! " - Archimonde the Defiler to Jania Proudmoore during the Battle for Mount Hyjal.

The Burning Legion is an enormous army of demons, infernals and corrupted races who seek to destroy any source of order and life in the known universe. Lead by the dark titan Sargeras, they have invaded worlds beyond counting and massacred entire civilizations on their mad crusade to undo the work of their ancient enemies, the Titans. They have attempted to invade Azeroth three times, each time bent on the conquest and extermination of all the races on the primordial world, and each time they have been rebuked, forced to return to the Twisting Nether to regain their strength. They are also directly responsible for all the major wars that the world of Azeroth has been forced to experience with the events of the First, Second and Third wars all being able to be traced back to events put in play by the Burning Legion's leaders.

Despite the constant setbacks that they have suffered and the great losses they have borne as a result of the wars with the tenacious races of Azeroth, they have yet to give up on their mission to finally conquer the planet. They are considered to be the greatest threat that Azeroth has ever faced, and they seem to be an enemy that Azeroth will be forced to face until either side buckles permanently under the strain of defeat.

History

The Birth of the Legion

Long before the War of the Ancients, the first incursion of the Legion into the world of Azeroth, the Burning Legion was nothing but scattered races of demonic beings. These beings, who shared many deadly traits including malice and viciousness, roamed the Twisting Nether, finding worlds within the void and purging them of all life. During these missions of destruction, the demons that would eventually create the Burning Legion, stumbled across worlds that had been shaped by a creator race of mysterious giants, called Titans. These titans, who prized order above all else, would travel from world to world, defeating any chaotic elements on the planets they visited before re-shaping it into a form of their choosing. When the demonic races of the Nether began to invade their hand-crafted worlds, they assigned one of their finest champions, Sargeras, to combat the rising threats that these demons represented.

Sargeras, a noble giant of bronze, took to his assigned task well. He waged a long war against the demonic hordes, slaying many with his massive war-blade Gorshalach. Every demonic race that he defeated he would imprison, locking them away within the Twisting Nether so that they would never harm another world ever again. However with each victory, and each imprisoned race, the corruption that they spread began to affect the great being, who slowly slipped into a deep depression as he was wracked by doubt and despair. As time went on, Sargeras began to lose hope in his mission, but more than that he began to lose hope in the titan's goal of an ordered universe. When his fellow titans attempted to rouse him from this dangerous state they were ultimately unsuccessful. Sargeras dismissed their optimistic beliefs, regarding them as self-serving delusions and stormed from the ranks of the Titans forever, determined to find his own place in the universe.

Sargeras wandered the Twisting Nether, searching for his true path, but as he did so the corruption of the demons that he had defeated infected his noble heart even further, distorting his mind as well as his form. His bronze skin cracked, revealing the hatred that broiled beneath and his hair and beard, at one time as black as night, was set ablaze by the anger that radiated from his heart. Slowly he succumbed to hatred, anger and madness, and by the time the last vestiges of his noble spirit were all but wiped out, he had a new belief, that it was the Titans themselves who were responsible for the failure of creation. Determined to fix their 'mistake' he started to create what would soon become known as the Burning Legion. He traveled to the prisons that held the demonic races he had defeated in combat, and released them from their eternal bonds. Recognizing the hatred and malice that now boiled within the heart of their former jailer every race that he had once imprisoned swore themselves to him, offering to serve them in whatever way they could, using all their malice and powers over the darkness to complete the mission that Sargeras had set himself upon.

The Legion however, was not complete, and as Sargeras traveled the long pathways that made up the universe he came across the first sentient race that he would bring under the Legion's control. This race, known as the Eredar, were in tune with the magical forces of the world, so much so that they had a natural affinity for all magic. Deciding that this race would be a perfect addition to the Legion's strength, he reached out to the three leaders of the Eredar under the guise of a benevolent being. He promised the leaders of the Eredar; Archimonde, Kil'jaeden and Velen vast powers and even promised that he would use his own power to transform the Eredar into an even greater race. Out of the three leaders only Velen was suspicious of the offer, and after recieving a vision of his people being transformed into malicious and cruel demonic shadows of their former selves, he set about to warn Archimonde and Kil'Jaeden of the deception that Sargeras was using on them. Disregarding the warnings of their fellow Eredar, Kil'Jaeden and Archimonde accepted the offer to join the Burning Legion, and were transformed into demonic versions of their former selves. The majority of the Eredar race soon followed, although a large number of the Eredar would refuse the offering and instead follow Velen into exile, fleeing the planet Argus and leaving it to the forces of their malformed brethren. As a reward for their loyalty, the remaining leaders were given power and prestige within the Legion's command structure and charged with vital tasks by Sargeras himself. Archimonde the Defiler was appointed as the Commander of the Legion, charged with leading Sargeras's forces into battle where as Kil'jaeden the Deciever was tasked with seeking out other races to join the Legion's conquest.

The appointment of these two Eredar bore the Legion powerful allies. Kil'jaeden tracked down and enslaved the Nathreziem, a race of insidious vampiric Dreadlords with the first among them, Tichondrius the Darkener, pledging his race to Sargeras's control, where as Archimonde would call upon the terrible power of the Annihilan, also known as the Pit Lords, lead by Mannoroth the Destructor.

With the three races now firmly under his command, Sargeras's legion was finally complete. Sending them out into the Great Dark to bring about the destruction of all order and life, the Burning Crusade had officially begun.

The First Invasion of Azeroth

Many thousands of years before the events of the First War, the forces of the Burning Legion would find themselves attracted to a distant planet within the Great Dark known as Azeroth. At this time, the world of Azeroth was still in a very primitive stage, and had a singlular landmass known as Kalimdor. Within the center of this vast continent sat a well of magical energy, known as the Well of Eternity and around this well the impressive empire of the Kaldorei a race of elves who had, much like the Eredar, a natural affinity for magic. Within this great empire, a sect of the Kaldorei, known as the Highborne were experimenting with the well under the orders of Queen Azshara, the ruling monarch of the Kaldorei people.

The reckless experimentation used on the well sent out ripples into the Great Dark, much like a stone casts ripples when it is thrown into a pond. These ripples reached out to many alien minds, but chief among them was Sargeras and the other leaders of the Burning Legion. Sensing the intense power radiating from the Well of Eternity, Sargeras was consumed by an insatiable hunger and in that moment he decided to destroy the fledgling world and consume the energies that the well stored for himself.

To that end, he reached out to the Queen and her Highborne servants, using his great power to enthrall her. Believing him to be a god, she agreed to grant him permission to enter her world and thus, ordered her servants to alter thier magic, turning the great well into a massive portal, from which the armies of the Burning Legion would pour forth. Within an instant the forces of Archimonde the Defiler and Mannoroth the Destructor had poured through into Kalimdor and had begun to lay waste to the Kaldorei capital of Zin-Azshari. Thousands of elves perished in the first hours of the invasion as massive Infernals destroyed towering spires and decorated temples. Vicious and bloodthirsty Doomguard marched through the streets slaying any they came across, while packs of Felhounds roamed the forests killing any who escaped the destruction within. The Kaldorei warriors rallied and attempted to fight back against these new enemies but were forced to give ground time and time again against the relentless onslaught.

In the end, the fate of the Kaldorei people rested with three individuals. Two brothers Malfurion Stormrage and Illidan and a young Priestess of Elune Tyrande Whisperwind. While neither of the three were military commanders, or could even be considered soldiers, they knew that without aid, this new army of demonic soldiers would wipe out not only all of the Kaldorei but the rest of Kalimdor as well. So Malfurion turned to his teacher, the demigod Cenarius and requested his assistance in mustering a resistance force. Knowing of the threat that the Burning Legion posed, Cenarius agreed to aid the Kaldorei and did so, not only by mustering the forces of nature, but by also reaching out to the reclusive, yet immensly powerful Dragonflights, who since the very beginning had served as the guardians of Azeroth.

The resisitence forces assembled and after considerable planning engaged the Legion at the ruins of the once great capital of Zin-Azshari. The primordial forces of nature, lead by the Ancient Guardians of the world, the ever powerful Dragonflights lead by the Dragon Aspects and the Kaldorei, lead by their own generals engaged in one of the bloodiest battles of the known world. There were thousands of casualties on both sides with even the immensly powerful ancients and dragons shown to be vulnerable to the power of the Legion. Eventually however the battle would turn against the resistence, for even with their newfound allies, they could not match the endless numbers of demons that poured forth from the Well of Eternity. It was in that moment that Malfurion realized that it was the Well itself that allowed the demonic forces free passage into the world and so to stop them, the Well itself would need to be destroyed.

The revelation was met with mixed reactions, especially from the Kaldorei as the Well was not only the source of magical power that many of the Elves relied upon, but also the source of their immortality. However with the support of Tyrande who in turn managed to convince Cenarius and their fellows, the plan to shut down the Well for good was set into motion. Illidan Stormrage however, knowing that the destruction of the well would never allow him to wield the powers of magic ever again, instead chose to abandon the group and race ahead to the palace of the Queen, where he intended to warn her of the coming assault. His warning was well accepted and as Malfurion and his allies moved to attack the mad Queen and her followers, she unleashed all her power against them, putting down many of them within the first few moments of the fight. Tyrande herself, attempting to ambush the Queen from behind, was caught off guard by the Queen's loyal guard and while she managed to slay her attackers, she was greviously wounded by the ordeal. Seeing his love fall, Malfurion slipped into a dreadful rage and using his own subsequent control over the power of nature, resolved to end Queen Azshara's life at any cost.

While the battle raged within, Illidan Stormrage, convinced that the elves would lose to the demon armies, appeared at the edge of the Well of Eternity with a specially crafted set of vials. Filling each vial with the waters from the well, so that he might keep the power of magic for himself, he greedily abadoned his brother to his fate, assuming that he too would fall to the demons with the rest of his people. However the truth was far different from what Illidan expected, for the great battle within the temple had thrown the spellwork of the Highborne into disarray, and without the intense spellwork required to maintain it, the portal collapsed in upon itself taking the Well of Eternity with it.

The resulting explosion, which according to all historical records became known as the Great Sundering shattered the landmass of Kalimdor utterly and blotted out the skies.

The world was nigh unrecognizable after the cataclysmic event. Nearly eighty percent of Kalimdor had been blasted apart, the massive oceans that surrounded the continent pouring in to fill the void created by the explosion. In the center, where the Well of Eternity once stood, churned an endless whirlpool which would forever be known as the Maelstrom.

Despite almost destroying the world, and causing the deaths of thousands of Kaldorei, Malfurion's plan had worked. With the Well of Eternity destroyed, the portal which the demons had been brought through was also dismantled, the demon armies of the Burning Legion cast back into the Twisting Nether from whence they came. This however was not the end of the Burning Legion, as they would return many years later to finish the task they started.

Sargeras's Return

(( W.I.P))

The Second Invasion: The Great Wars

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Aftermath of the Third War

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The Third Invasion

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The Royal Coup

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The Cataclysm

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Current Status of the Legion

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