World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

of flame. These blistering firestorms raged over the world, reducing the Black Empire’s citadels to ash. Elsewhere, Therazane raised jagged rock walls to corral her enemies and shatter their temple cities.Neptulon and his tidal minions then swept in, crushing the n’raqi and the aqir between unyielding stone and the fury of the seas.
    Yet for all their fervor, the elementals could not topple the Black Empire. No matter how many n’raqi and aqir died, more and more would spawn from the Old Gods’ putrid forms like larvae from a hive. The n’raqi and the aqir engulfed the land like an unstoppable pestilence, shattering the elementals’ forms.
    In the end, the Old Gods enslaved the elementals and their lords. Without the native spirits to counter the n’raqi and the aqir, the borders of the Black Empire crept over much of the desiccated world. Perpetual twilight descended upon Azeroth, and the world spiraled into an abyss of suffering and death.

M eanwhile, in the depths of theGreat Dark Beyond,Aggramar continued his quest to eradicate all signs of demonic influence. His battles led him from one world to another, from one demon-beset civilization to the next. Though Aggramar bore the full weight of this task alone, his resolve never wavered. He believed with all his heart thatSargeras would one day return and see that thePantheon’s cause was right.
    It was during his long and lonely journeys that Aggramar sensed something extraordinary: the tranquil dreams of a slumbering world-soul, billowing across the cosmos. The song of life led him to a world that the Pantheon had not yet discovered, a world they would later name “Azeroth.”
    Nestled within the world’s core was one of Aggramar’s kin—one far more powerful than any yet encountered. The spirit was so mighty that Aggramar sensed its dreams even through the din of activity that rattled across the world’s surface.
    Yet as Aggramar drew closer to Azeroth and beheld the world, horror seized him.Void energies shrouded the world’s surface like a layer of diseased flesh. From the ruined landscape rose the Old Gods and their Black Empire. Miraculously, the nascent titan’s spirit remained uncorrupted, but Aggramar knew it was only a matter of time before it succumbed to the Void.
    Aggramar sought counsel with the rest of the Pantheon, informing them of his discovery. Clearly, this was proof that Sargeras had been right about thevoid lords and their plans. Aggramar urged the othertitans to take action with all due haste before Azeroth was lost forever.
    Eonar was quick to champion Aggramar’s cause. She compelled the other Pantheon members to think of the world’s potential. If brought to maturity, this new titan could exceed even Sargeras’s considerable might, she argued. Indeed, it could become their greatest warrior, one capable of neutralizing the void lords once and for all. But more than that, Azeroth was one of them—a lost and vulnerable member of their family. The Pantheon could not abandon their own sibling to the clutches of the void lords.
    Eonar’s words stirred the hearts of the rest of the Pantheon. They unanimously agreed to save Azeroth, no matter the cost.
    Aggramar formulated a bold plan of attack: all members of the Pantheon would travel to Azeroth and purge the Black Empire that had claimed it. They would not, however, take action directly. Due to their colossal forms, Aggramar feared the Pantheon would irreparably damage, oreven kill, the world-soul. Instead, he proposed creating mighty constructs to act as the Pantheon’s hands and prosecute their will against the Black Empire.
    Under the guidance of the great forgerKhaz’goroth, the Pantheon crafted an army of enormous servants from the crust of Azeroth itself: theaesir and thevanir. The aesir were fashioned from metal, and they would command the powers of storms. The vanir were formed from stone, and they would hold sway over the earth. Collectively, these mighty creatures would