| Eldre'thalas, Capital of the Shen'dralar | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Ruler |
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Established |
-2,000 P.S. approximately |
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Government |
Absolute monarchy |
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Races |
Highborne |
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Status |
Ruins |
Eldre'Thalas was an ancient kingdom of the Highborne Empire founded some 12,000 years ago in the jungles of Feralas. It has come to be known ominously as "Dire Maul" by traders and explorers and carries a foul reputation as a dangerous and remote locale. Today, the halls of Eldre'thalas are haunted by Highborne spirits and various undead. Several districts of the city, mainly the gladiatorial arena and slave pits, have been captured by the Gordok Ogre Tribe.
From the Sundering to the Shattering, Eldre'thalas served as the hiding place for surviving Highborne scholars known as the Shen'dralar. In-fighting between the royal heir Prince Tortheldrin and the Archmage Estulan led to rising tensions and civil war among the caretakers of the Anthenaeum. The Prince Tortheldrin had amassed a following of Highborne zealots who had begun secretly sacrificing their peers to the demonic beast, Immol'thar, in order to fuel the fires of immortality. Since the Highborne of Eldre'thalas were not blessed by the World Tree Nordrassil, they were forced to use Fel Magic to remain immortal in their hidden archives.
King Varian Wrynn earned the title of Lo'gash as a gladiator in the arenas of Eldre'thalas, and came to the city in a time when the Gordok Ogres had turned the gladiator pits into a profitable business for their clan. Shady men and women from the corners of Azeroth gathered annually to witness the bloodsport of professional Arena fighting in Eldre'thalas, arriving in goblin zeppelins to avoid the dangerous wilds of Feralas.
Founding[]
- See main article: Highborne Empire
Eldre'thalas was founded by the House of Tortheldrin, a great house of the Highborne Peerage. During the Highborne Empire's long reign over ancient Kalimdor, Eldre'thalas was cherished by the noble Highborne families for its debauchery and entertaining displays of violence. The arena of Eldre'thalas was the largest gladiatorial venue at the time, and it drew a massive crowd year-round from the various corners of the Empire.
It was also a major hub for the Empire's slave trade, and it was there that tens of thousands of slaves were bought and sold for various uses by the Highborne nobles of old.