Burning Legion

The Burning Legion
The Invasion of Azeroth
Main leaders	Sargeras (Original) Kil'jaeden (Interim) Archimonde
Secondary leaders	Gul'dan Talgath Xavius Mephistroth (presumed) Mal'Ganis Balnazzar Varimathras Detheroc
Former leaders	Tichondrius † Kazzak the Supreme † Anetheron † File:IconSmall MannorothUndead.gif Mannoroth † Kael'thas † Magtheridon † Gul'dan † Highlord Kruul † Socrethar † Fel'dan † Fel Lord Zakuun †
Population	Estimated to number in the millions (re-formed endlessly)
Main races	Dark titan  Eredar Nathrezim Annihilan Ered'ruin Felguard Fel lord Mo'arg
Other races	Races of former members from the Alliance and the Horde  Undead Imp Wrathguard Gan'arg Shivarra Voidwalker[citation needed]  Sayaad File:IconSmall FloatingEye.gif Observer Satyr  Felblood elf Furbolg  Fel orc Chaos Orc Fel Arakkoa
Base of operations	Argus
Theater of operations	All across the Great Dark Beyond, notably Azeroth, Outland and Draenor
Main language	Eredun
Secondary languages	Various
Main factions	Shadow Council / alternate Shadow Council, Dreadlord Insurgents, Magtheridon's forces, Kael'thas' forces
Other membership	Scarlet Onslaught, Scarlet Crusade, the Risen, Sargerei, Sethekk

"Let this scar signify the first blow against the mortal world

From this seal shall arise the doom of men,

who, in their arrogance, sought to wield our fire as their own.

Blindly they build their kingdoms upon stolen knowledge and conceit.

Now they shall be consumed by the very flame they sought to control.

Let the echoes of doom resound across this wretched world, that all who live may hear them and despair."

—Archimonde, before the destruction of Dalaran

The Burning Legion (aka The Legion, Burning Shadow, great burning shadow, or Legion of the Lower Planes^{[citation needed]} ) is a vast, innumerable army of demons, infernals, and corrupted races who seek to destroy any trace of order in the universe. They have thrice invaded Azeroth, and were only beaten back at a terrible cost. Much of Azeroth's history — including the First, Second, and Third War — were due to the Legion's influence. It can be said that the Legion is Azeroth's nemesis; it corrupted the orcs who then invaded Azeroth, created the Lich King and is the source of most of Azeroth's scars. It should also be noted that Azeroth is the only known planet that they have ever failed to conquer.

The Legion's mission is to utterly destroy the universe and remake it without the underlying defect preventing true order. In practice, the Legion scours all life from the worlds it invades, they are cursed to roam the greater realms forever to consume the primal energies of magic to survive.

The Legion has ravaged world after world in its mad lust for arcane power and is responsible for the annihilation of countless species.

History

Genesis

The Titans, creators of order in the universe, were aware of the threat posed to their creations by the evil entities living in the Twisting Nether. These demonic beings existed only to devour the living energies of the universe. Over time, the demons began to make their way into the Titan's worlds from the nether. The Titans selected their greatest warrior, Sargeras, to act as their first line of defense. A noble giant of bronze, Sargeras carried out his duties for countless millennia, seeking out and destroying these demons wherever he could find them. Over the aeons, Sargeras encountered two powerful demonic races, both of which were bent on gaining power and dominance over the physical universe. Though Sargeras' nearly limitless powers were more than enough to defeat the demons he faced, he was greatly troubled by their corruption and all-consuming evil. Incapable of fathoming such depravity, the great Titan began to slip into a brooding depression.

While his confusion and misery deepened, Sargeras was forced to contend with several groups intent on disrupting the Titans' order: the nathrezim, Mo'arg, Ered'ruin and Infernals. These demonic creatures conquered a number of populated worlds by possessing their inhabitants and turning them to the shadow. The nefarious, scheming demons turned whole nations against one another by manipulating them into unthinking hatred and mistrust. Sargeras defeated them easily, but their corruption affected him deeply.

Shaken by the evil of demons, Sargeras began to despair of his task and gradually slipped into a brooding depression. As doubt and despair overwhelmed Sargeras's senses, he lost all faith in his mission. Sargeras came to believe that a flaw in the fabric of creation set up an unwinnable battle against evil. His fellow titans tried to make Sargeras realize his erroneous way of thinking and calm his raging emotions, but he disregarded their more optimistic beliefs as self-serving delusions. Storming from their ranks forever, Sargeras set out to find his own place in the universe. Although the Pantheon was sorrowful at his departure, the titans could never have predicted just how far their lost brother would go.

By the time Sargeras' madness had consumed the last vestiges of his valiant spirit, he decided that the other titans were deeply misguided in trying to establish order throughout creation. Under the circumstances, the struggle was futile. The universe had to be destroyed utterly and remade without the underlying defect. Only then could true order be achieved. Thus, Sargeras conceived of a sweeping campaign to bring about the end of all things: the Burning Crusade.

In his fury, Sargeras shattered the prisons of the Nathrezim and all the other demon races he had imprisoned during his time as the Titans' champion, and set the loathsome demons free. These cunning creatures bowed before the dark Titan's vast rage and offered to serve him in whatever malicious ways they could. Thus was born Sargeras' unstoppable army — the Burning Legion.

Even Sargeras' titanic form became distorted from the corruption that plagued his once-noble heart. His eyes, hair, and beard erupted in fire, and his metallic bronze skin split open to reveal an endless furnace of blistering hate.

On the planet Argus, Sargeras found the army he sought — the eredar, a race of highly intelligent beings with a natural affinity for magic in all its myriad forms. From the ranks of these mighty creatures, Sargeras picked two champions to command his demonic army of destruction. Kil'jaeden the Deceiver was chosen to seek out the darkest races in the universe and recruit them into Sargeras' ranks. The second champion, Archimonde the Defiler, was chosen to lead Sargeras' vast armies into battle against any who might resist the Titan's will.

Kil'jaeden's first move was to enslave the vampiric dreadlords under his terrible power. The dreadlords served as his personal agents throughout the universe, and they took pleasure in locating primitive races for their master to corrupt and bring into the fold. First amongst the dreadlords was Tichondrius the Darkener. Tichondrius served Kil'jaeden as the perfect soldier and agreed to bring Sargeras' burning will to all the dark corners of the universe.

The mighty Archimonde also empowered agents of his own. Calling upon the malefic pit lords and their barbarous leader, Mannoroth the Destructor, Archimonde hoped to establish a fighting elite that would scour creation of all life.

Once Sargeras saw that his armies were amassed and ready to follow his every command, he launched his raging forces into the vastness of the Great Dark. He referred to his growing army as the Burning Legion. To this date, it is still unclear how many worlds they consumed and burned on their unholy Burning Crusade across the universe.

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

In terms of exact dates, these events are difficult to pinpoint. In the RPG, the titans' arrival on Azeroth happened some 147,000 years ago, which most sources agree happened after Sargeras fell. However, the defection of the eredar didn't occur until 25,000 years ago, some 122 millennia later. This means neither the eredar nor the nathrezim (the most important minions of the Legion) joined until long after the Legion's foundation, and only consisted of non-sapient demons created by Sargeras. Alternatively, the Legion was only formed after the eredar's defection 25,000 years ago, and not Sargeras's fall 122,000 years earlier. With the RPG books no longer being canonical, it's possible that titans' arrival on Azeroth and the Legion's formation happened much more recently than the RPG indicated.

The first invasion

File:Kil'jae.jpg

The Path to Corruption

Main article: War of the Ancients

Many thousands of years ago (10,000 years before Warcraft I) the Burning Legion became attracted to the world of Azeroth due to the reckless use of magic taking place on that world. The night elf "Highborne" under the direction of the Night Elf queen Azshara and her counselor Xavius had been undertaking experiments to draw greater and greater amounts of energy from the Well of Eternity, the source of magical power on Azeroth.

The Highborne's reckless use of magic sent ripples of energy spiraling out from the Well of Eternity and into the Great Dark Beyond. The streaming ripples of energy were felt by terrible alien minds. Sargeras — the Great Enemy of all life, the Destroyer of Worlds — felt the potent ripples and was drawn to their distant point of origin. Spying the primordial world of Azeroth and sensing the limitless energies of the Well of Eternity, Sargeras was consumed by an insatiable hunger. The great dark god of the Nameless Void resolved to destroy the fledgling world and claim its energies as his own.

Sargeras gathered his vast Burning Legion and made his way towards the unsuspecting world of Azeroth. The Legion was composed of a million screaming demons, all ripped from the far corners of the universe, and the demons hungered for conquest. Sargeras' lieutenants, Archimonde the Defiler and Mannoroth the Destructor, prepared their infernal minions to strike.

Queen Azshara, overwhelmed by the terrible ecstasy of her magic, fell victim to Sargeras' undeniable power and agreed to grant him entrance to her world. Even her Highborne servitors gave themselves over to magic's inevitable corruption and began to worship Sargeras as their god. To show their allegiance to the Legion, the Highborne aided their queen in opening a vast, swirling portal within the depths of the Well of Eternity.

Once all his preparations had been made, Sargeras began his catastrophic invasion of Azeroth. The warrior-demons of the Burning Legion stormed into the world through the Well of Eternity and laid siege to the night elves' sleeping cities. Led by Archimonde and Mannoroth, the Legion swarmed over the lands of Kalimdor, leaving only ash and sorrow in its wake. The demon warlocks called down searing Infernals that crashed like hellish meteors into the graceful spires of Kalimdor's temples. A band of burning, bloodletting killers known as the Doomguard marched across Kalimdor's fields, slaughtering everyone in their path. Packs of wild, demonic Felhounds ravaged the countryside unopposed. Though the brave Kaldorei warriors rushed to defend their ancient homeland, they were forced to give ground, inch by inch, before the fury of the Legion's onslaught.

It fell to Malfurion Stormrage to find help for his beleaguered people. Stormrage, whose own brother, Illidan, practiced the Highborne's magics, was incensed by the growing corruption amongst the upper class. Convincing Illidan to forsake his dangerous obsession, Malfurion set out to find Cenarius and muster a resistance force. The beautiful young priestess, Tyrande, agreed to accompany the brothers in the name of Elune. Though Malfurion and Illidan shared a love for the idealistic priestess, Tyrande's heart belonged to Malfurion alone. Illidan resented his brother's budding romance with Tyrande, but knew that his heartache was nothing compared to the pain of his magical addiction.

Illidan, who had grown dependent on magic's empowering energies, struggled to keep control of his nearly overwhelming hunger to tap the Well's energies once again. However, with Tyrande's patient support, he was able to restrain himself and help his brother find the reclusive demigod, Cenarius. Cenarius, who dwelt within the sacred Moonglades of the distant Mount Hyjal, agreed to help the night elves by finding the ancient dragons and enlisting their aid. The dragons, led by the great red leviathan, Alexstrasza, agreed to send their mighty flights to engage the demons and their infernal masters.

Cenarius, calling on the spirits of the enchanted forests, rallied an army of ancient tree-men and led them against the Legion in a daring ground assault. As the night elves' allies converged upon Azshara's temple and the Well of Eternity, all-out warfare erupted. Despite the strength of their newfound allies, Malfurion and his colleagues realized that the Legion could not be defeated by martial strength alone.

As the titanic battle raged around Azshara's capital city, the delusional queen waited in anticipation for Sargeras' arrival. The lord of the Legion was preparing to pass through the Well of Eternity and enter the ravaged world. As his impossibly huge shadow drew ever closer to the Well's raging surface, Azshara gathered the most powerful of her Highborne followers. Only by linking their magics together in one focused spell would they be able to create a gateway large enough for Sargeras to enter.

Malfurion, convinced that the Well of Eternity was the demons' umbilical link to the physical world, insisted that it should be destroyed. His companions, knowing that the Well was the source of their immortality and powers, were horrified by the rash notion. Yet Tyrande saw the wisdom of Malfurion's theory, so she convinced Cenarius and their comrades to storm Azshara's temple and find a way to shut the Well down for good.

Knowing that the Well's destruction would prevent him from ever wielding magic again, Illidan selfishly abandoned the group and set out to warn the Highborne of Malfurion's plan. Due to the insanity brought on by his addiction and the stinging resentment towards his brother's affair with Tyrande, Illidan felt no remorse at betraying Malfurion and siding with Azshara and her ilk. Above all else, Illidan vowed to protect the Well's power by any means necessary.

Heartbroken by his brother's departure, Malfurion led his companions into the heart of Azshara's temple. Yet as they stormed into the main audience chamber, they found the Highborne in the midst of their final dark incantation. The communal spell created an unstable vortex of power within the Well's turbulent depths. As Sargeras' ominous shadow drew ever closer to the surface, Malfurion and his allies rushed to attack.

Azshara, having received Illidan's warning, was more than prepared for them. Nearly all of Malfurion's followers fell before the mad queen's powers. Tyrande, attempting to attack Azshara from behind, was caught off-guard by the queen's Highborne guardsmen. Though she vanquished the guardsmen, Tyrande suffered grievous wounds at their hands. When Malfurion saw his love fall, he went into a murderous rage and resolved to end Azshara's life.

As the battle raged inside and outside of the temple, Illidan appeared from the shadows near the shores of the great Well. Producing a set of specially crafted vials, Illidan knelt and filled each with the Well's shimmering waters. Convinced that the demons would crush the night elves' civilization, he planned to steal the sacred waters and keep their energies for himself.

The ensuing battle between Malfurion and Azshara threw the Highborne's carefully crafted spellwork into chaos. The unstable vortex within the Well's depths exploded and ignited a catastrophic chain of events that would sunder the world forever. The massive explosion rocked the temple to its foundations and sent massive quakes ripping through the tortured earth. As the horrific battle between the Legion and the night elves' allies raged around and above the ruined capital city, the surging Well of Eternity buckled in upon itself and collapsed.

The resultant catastrophic explosion shattered the earth and blotted out the skies (see The Great Sundering).

As the aftershocks from the Well's implosion rattled the bones of the world, the seas rushed in to fill the gaping wound left in the earth. Nearly eighty percent of Kalimdor's landmass had been blasted apart, leaving only a handful of separate continents surrounding the new, raging sea. At the center of the new sea, where the Well of Eternity once stood, was a tumultuous storm of tidal fury and chaotic energies. This terrible scar, known as the Maelstrom, would never cease its furious spinning. It would remain a constant reminder of the terrible catastrophe... and the Utopian era that had been lost forever.

Somehow, against all odds, Queen Azshara and her Highborne elite managed to survive the ordeal. Tortured and twisted by the powers they had released, Azshara and her followers were dragged down beneath the raging sea by the Well's implosion. Cursed — transformed — they took on new shapes and became the hateful serpentine naga. Azshara herself expanded with hate and rage, becoming a massive monstrosity, reflecting the wickedness and malice that had always hidden within her core.

There, at the bottom of the Maelstrom, the naga built for themselves a new city, Nazjatar, from which they would rebuild their power. It would take over ten thousand years before the naga would reveal their existence to the surface world.

Sargeras' return

Main articles: Aegwynn and the Dragon Hunt, The Song of Aegwynn

Somewhere in Northrend, the demon forces invaded once again. Aegwynn fought against them here and even faced, and defeated, the avatar of Sargeras himself.

The second invasion

Main article: second invasion

For years, since their defeat at the hands of Malfurion Stormrage, the Legion had watched and waited for the moment to be right for a second attempt to conquer Azeroth. Kil'jaeden was given orders to plan the second invasion of Azeroth and was unwilling to take any chances on the Legion's success. He decided that a new force would be necessary in order to weaken the defenses of Azeroth before the Legion's main invasion force arrived.

Around this time Kil'jaeden discovered the world of Draenor and its two races, the shamanistic, clan based orcs and the peaceful Draenei. Of the two races, Kil'jaeden surmised that the orcs, a race seemingly bred as warriors, would be the perfect tool of the Legion. By bending the elder Shaman Ner'zhul to his will, Kil'jaeden was able to enact a series of events that would see to the enslavement of the orcs to the will of the Legion. Complete control was established when Kil'jaeden orchestrated a meeting between the orc chieftains and Mannoroth. At this meeting, the orcs were convinced to drink the blood of Mannoroth and thus cursed themselves to bloodlust and savagery.

The orcs attempted to invade Azeroth twice through the Dark Portal. However, the natives of the planet formed together into an alliance led by the humans, fought back with unexpected determination and casualties were high on both sides. At the end of the Second War, the Alliance of Lordaeron had defeated the orcs and their homeworld of Draenor destroyed by Ner'zhul's attempt to escape into another dimension. The remaining orcs were rounded up and placed in various internment camps by the Alliance.

After the defeat of the orcs, Kil'jaeden determined to create a new force, one that would succeed where the orcs had failed. To this end he captured Ner'zhul and remade him as the Lich King. Trapping his essence in the Frozen Throne, a large block of ice, Kil'jaeden hurled the Lich King to Azeroth, where he crashed on the frozen continent of Northrend. The Lich King's new mission was to prepare Azeroth for subjugation through the release of a Plague of Undeath. Thus, the Scourge was born.

Where the orcs had failed the Scourge succeeded impressively. Within months the Eastern Kingdoms were in disarray. Each soldier or townsfolk who fell to the Scourge was reborn as an undead minion of the Lich King. Finally, the time for the Legion's return was nigh.

Servants of the scourge were able to summon Archimonde himself to lead the assault...with him came the myriad demons of the legion. The second invasion had truly begun. The forces of the Legion swept across the Eastern Kingdoms and soon reached the shores of Kalimdor, home of their old enemy, the night elves.

The Legion chose as its main goal the consumption of the World Tree on Mount Hyjal, which contained the essence of all life on Azeroth and granted immortality to the night elves. At the final hour, an alliance of humans, orcs, and night elves fought desperately to hold back Archimonde and the legion while Malfurion Stormrage performed a desperate druidic ritual upon the World Tree itself. Finally, Malfurion gave the signal that he was ready and the Legion was allowed to reach their goal...the World Tree stood exposed to Archimonde. As the demon embraced the tree, and began to feed upon its magics, Malfurion's spell took hold. The World Tree released all of its energy into Archimonde at once, destroying both the World Tree and the demon. The ensuing explosion destroyed the tree and laid waste to Hyjal summit. The Legion had been defeated once again, but at the cost of the night elves' immortality.

With Archimonde finally defeated, Kil'jaeden has assumed complete control of the Legion.

Aftermath of the Third War

An army of human and blood elves arose, the New Alliance under the leadership of Lord Garithos and Kael'thas Sunstrider. This New Alliance fought back against the Scourge and the Burning Legion. They managed to retake Dalaran and fought against the undead in Silverpine Forest and Alterac Mountains.

Kalimdor

The Majority Satyr groups are still loyal to the Burning Legion and have stayed on Kalimdor waiting for the return of their dark masters. The remains of the Legion itself can be found in the region of felwood where demons of all varieties can be found, including a few corrupted species such a furbolgs. The Legion also has many still loyal orcish warlocks of the Burning Blade clan hiding in Durotar and even Orgrimmar itself.

Lordaeron

Although the New Alliance suffered a great loss with the blood elves, they continued fighting against the Scourge. However, they were not a serious threat to the Burning Legion. Rather, the dreadlords Balnazzar, Detheroc, and Varimathras who were in charge of the Scourge were impatient for orders from Archimonde and ensured that the Scourge was ready for action, ignorant of the death of their leader. Soon after, Arthas returned to Lordaeron's Capital City. He told the undead leaders that the city was now his and that he wouldn't require the dreadlords' services to watch over it. When Balnazzar retorted that the Scourge belonged to the Legion, Arthas replied that their masters had been defeated, and that the Burning Legion was "undone." He then tried to slaughter the dreadlords but they managed to escape and warn Arthas of their inevitable retribution. Later, the dreadlords found out that the Lich King was weakening, and together with Sylvannas Windrunner planned to overthrow Arthas.

Luckily for the Scourge, Arthas escaped the Capital City and Sylvanas's assassination attempt was thwarted by Kel'thuzad. Soon after Varimathras invited Sylvanas to join the dreadlord's new order, Sylvanas however had no intention of losing her freedom again denied the offer and knew it was only a moment of time before she would be attacked. Using her sister banshees Sylvanas possessed Blackthorn, Mug'thol, Snarlmane, and possibly the Murloc Puddle Lord to bloster her forces and not only did she destroy the attacking undead, she even "turned" Varimathras to her side. Soon after the future forsaken killed Detheroc and acquired an ally in the freed Garithos.

The banshee and her forces laid siege to Balnazzar's base, which he had fortified within the city ruins. Balnazzar then found himself attacked from both sides by Sylvanas and Garithos. Though he was armed with demons and had made many threats, Balnazzar's forces were defeated.

Sylvanas, Varimathras, and Garithos approached Balnazzar. Sylvanas ordered Varimathras to kill his brother as a testament of his loyalty to her. Varimathras was reluctant. Killing another nathrezim was forbidden but Sylvanas was adamant. Balnazzar was sure that Varimathras would never take that final step. He was wrong. However, Balnazzar survived — Varimathras allowed his brother to fake his death in order to fool Sylvanas.^{[citation needed]}  Varimathras then killed Garithos on Sylvanas' orders.

With all their enemies dead, Sylvanas made a proclamation to Varimathras. They would rule the Plaguelands as the Forsaken, and would stake out their own destiny, where none would get in their way.

At some point Balnazzar killed and possessed Saidan Dathrohan's body and began using the Scarlet Crusade.

Outland

Main article: Magtheridon's Forces

Magtheridon still ruled Outland after the Legion's defeat, but, with the help of the escaped blood elves, Illidan Stormrage stormed his citadel and claimed Outland for his own. Although the pit lord was chained and his forces are now part of Illidan's forces, there are still numerous Legion strongholds over the planet and the Cabal, cultists of the Shadow Council, are trying to provide adventage to thier demon masters. The draenei are resisting to the Legion, even a group led by Akama had to join Illidan to defeat Magtheridon.

Stormwind

The Burning Legion in the Blasted Lands were under the command of Lord Kazzak. Thanks to the efforts of Razelikh the Defiler the Burning Legion blostered its ranks with Grol the Destroyer and his Dreadmaul Ogres, Lady Sevine, and Archmage Allistarj. This sect of the legion also includes Ilifar, the only death knight who sided with the legion during the scourge rebellion.

Attempted invasion

This section concerns content related to The Burning Crusade.

Through the Dark Portal

After Illidan's failure to destroy the Frozen Throne, Kil'jaeden sent forces to Outland to destroy him, however, Illidan's forces proved to be equally as powerful and the Legion has so far been unable to gain revenge. During the invasion of Outland, the Legion managed to open the Dark Portal and send troops into Azeroth, led by Highlord Kruul, but the Argent Dawn managed to hold the area surrounding the portal until reinforcements from the Alliance and Horde arrived. After that, the Azerothian resistance pressed on and managed to drive the demons back into Outland where they fought at The Stair of Destiny.

The march of the Legion

The Alliance and Horde managed to defeat the Burning Legion in the first battle and entered through the Dark Portal, going to the middle of Hellfire Peninsula, where the Horde established Thrallmar and the initial Expeditionary Force of the Alliance reinforced Honor Hold. However, a Pit Commander and more Legion forces blocked the reinforcements of both factions, and they stood together to fight in The Stair of Destiny for a long time. Lieutenant General Orion sent an Horde adventurer for reinforcements of Thrallmar, after the notice General Krakork sent out what forces he could. The Legion stationed dreadlords in Felspark Ravine, but the Alliance and Horde defeated them, their imps and infernals. The Alliance and Horde finally managed to destroy the portals defeating the Legion's forces by ground and by air. However the Burning Legion continued to produce fel reavers in Forge Camp: Mageddon, the Alliance and Horde detected this and sent adventurers that defeated this force and destroyed the fel reavers. After the defeat of the fel reavers they aimed Thrallmar with fel cannons, but both Alliance and Horde destroyed the cannons. The final Legion's base, commanded by Warbringer Arix'Amal, still housed warp-portals from which they were drawing reinforcements, but the Alliance located the base and both Alliance and Horde sent adventurers which destroyed the portals and defeated the Legion in Hellfire Peninsula. Kil'jaeden's invasion may have been unsuccessful, but few people know just what he has planned for Azeroth next...

Activities in Outland

The Dark Portal being attacked by the Legion.

Doom Lord Kazzak is the commander of the Burning Legion in Outland, he resides in the Throne of Kil'jaeden. Although the Burning Legion in Hellfire Peninsula was defeated, there is presence through all other zones of Outland with the exception of Zangarmarsh.

In Terokkar Forest the Shadow Council is still active, there are many cultists, who are part of a branch called Cabal.

In Blade's Edge Mountains the Legion has accomplished several things:

• Sent imps, fire elementals and basilisks to defile Skald, causing the destruction of the living places for many ancients and the death of most of them.
• In the Bladed Gulch, they use Fel Corrupters to corrupt the creatures of the land. Those creatures became Felsworn and the Cenarion Expedition fights against them.
• At Forge Camp: Anger, the Fel Corrupters used Felsworn Gas Masks to communicate with their masters. The leader of these Fel Corrupters was called Doomcryer. The Cenarion Expedition sent out adventurers that deceived the masters and caused the killing of many mo'args and even the leader Doomcryer.
• The Legion also controls Death's Door, one of the portals that connects to the Twisting Nether that was closed by Illidan, and two warp-gates. Evergrove Druids and some adventurers managed to destroy the warp-gates and defeat Baelmon the Hound-Master, who keeps the portal functioning.

In Netherstorm the main activities are of the blood elves allied with the Legion, the Kael'thas' forces, with mainly the Sunfury outside of Tempest Keep and other groups inside of it. The demons in the zone were led by the eredar Socrethar and did several things:

• A group of demons took control of the Arklon Ruins to make an excavation, and they were led by the shivarra Ekkorash the Inquisitor. Ekkorash posses the  [Archmage Vargoth's Staff], but removed staff's crystalline headpiece not realizing that it works in concert with the rest of the staff. The dreadlord Pentatharon came into the possession of the  [Arklon Crystal Artifact], however it wasn't anything special and the Burning Legion continued searching for something in particular.
  • Ravandwyr sent adventurers to retrieve the staff and Ekkorash was killed in the process, while Nether-Stalker Khay'ji sent adventurers to defeat Pentatharon.
• Culuthas, a dreadlord, took the  [Ata'mal Crystal] and betrayed the Legion. He killed the demons of Farahlon and summoned Hounds and Eyes of Culuthas to aid him. A projection of Socrethar threatens Culuthas to give him the crystal or die, but the Consortium killed the dreadlord and obtained the crystal.
• A group of mo'args and gan'args began activities in the Scrap Field, so the goblins of Area 52 feared that it was a problem for them. For that reason, they sent adventurers to dealt with them.
• Demons at the north of Netherstorm were aiding the Sunfury blood elves at Manaforge Ara and had some bases. The Aldor and Scryer fought the Legion's presence in Manaforge Ara, the alliance between the the blood elves and the Burning Legion was discovered by the Aldor and Scryer.
  • The demons of Manaforge Ara were killed by the Aldor.
  • Kaylaan, a draenei Aldor, joined the Legion when he heard of the alliance between Kael'thas' forces and the Burning Legion.
  • At Forge Base: Oblivion the Legion was led by Forgemaster Morug and had in their possession the [First Half of Socrethar's Stone]. However, Morug was killed by adventurers in order to fight Socrethar.
  • At Forge Base: Gehenna the Legion was led by Silroth and had in their possession the [Second Half of Socrethar's Stone]. However, Silroth was killed by adventurers in order to fight Socrethar.
  • High Priestess Ishanah led the Aldor to fight against Socrethar, but Kaylaan the Lost was in their way. While fighting Kaylaan, Socrethar killed Ishanah; but Kaylaan, seeing his mentor dying, proceeded to resurrect her. Socrethar then killed Kaylann accusing him of attrition.
  • Finally, Aldors and Scryers attacked Socrethar; with  [Voren'thal's Presence] the eredar was weakened and was killed in the battle.

The Fury of The Sunwell

File:Sunwell 800.jpg

Kael'thas summons Kil'jaeden to Azeroth.

Kil'jaeden was not finished yet however, for he had found a new pawn to manipulate in Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider. After his defeat at Tempest Keep, and still blinded by his lust for power, Kael become an all too willing participant in The Burning Legion's next attempt to invade and conquer Azeroth. Kil'jaeden restored Kael'thas' life and power through demonic means and empowered many of his followers will fel energy. Kael'thas sent his new Felblood elves to Silvermoon, where they captured M'uru from Kael's own people and took him to the Sunwell. Kael'thas also discovered that the energies of the Sunwell still existed, in the form of the human girl Anveena, and she was imprisoned and taken to the Sunwell, with Kael hoping to use her energies to reignite the Sunwell, to both bring his new master Kil'jaeden into Azeroth, and to supply himself with a new font of limitless power. However, with the intervention of the Blue Dragonflight and numerous mortal heroes of Azeroth, Kael'thas was killed once and for all in the Magister's Terrace and Kil'jaeden's plans to enter Azeroth were foiled. Anveena sacrificed herself to weaken Kil'jaeden so that the mortal heroes battling him could finally defeat him and send him back through the Sunwell. After the battle at the Sunwell, Velen used what was left of M'uru "body" to reignite the Sunwell, saving the blood elves from their addiction to demonic power and allowing them to continue to use the powers of the Light.

The royal coup

This section concerns content related to Wrath of the Lich King.

Putress oversees the destruction wrought upon the Wrathgate by the New Plague.

In the wake of the Battle of Angrathar the Wrathgate, it was revealed that Varimathras plotted his way into controlling a substantial part of the Forsaken faction, using them and his chief underling, Grand Apothecary Putress, to launch a surprise assault upon the combatants at the Wrathgate. This ambush resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Alliance and Horde soldiers, including famed Alliance hero Bolvar Fordragon. At the same time Burning Legion forces under the command of Varimathras successfully took control of the Undercity and nearly killed The Dark Lady herself.

He was eventually faced and defeated by Thrall, Sylvanas, and adventurers during Quest:The Battle For The Undercity (Horde), after which he is not seen again. During the battle, Varimathras made reference to "years of planning" (attempting to undermine Sylvanas) and the voice of an unseen "Master" was heard berating Varimathras for his failure to prevent the Horde party from reaching the throne room, after which point Varimathras enters the fray himself — where he is defeated.

While the Burning Legion was tactically successful in rekindling Alliance-Horde tensions, it ultimately failed in its strategic goal of re-summoning yet another Legion invasion. It remains unknown who the unseen "Master" was, but is presumably Sargeras.

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

By the time of the Cataclysm, the Burning Legion's command structure is mostly wiped out, with only a few survivors and their masters' whereabouts unknown. The Burning Legion may still be a devastating threat to the universe, however, though it has a weaker hold on Azeroth. With the devastation caused by the Cataclysm the Twilight's Hammer Cult were able to successfully take Darkwhisper Gorge from the Burning Legion. Despite this defeat the Legion were able to keep their holdouts in Felwood, Desolace and the Blasted Lands. Despite Balnazzar's defeat and the collapse of the Scarlet Crusade in Stratholme, the legion was able to keep a hold on the city through Balnazzar's new Risen army, which consists of Scarlet Crusaders who are now in a state of undeath. The Scarlets at Tyr's Hand have also fallen to this fate, securing the town for the Legion.

However the denizens of Azeroth are not allowing the Legion to keep these areas in peace. In Desolace the Cenarion Circle aid Khan Leh'Prah of the Kolkar clan in his quest to unite the centaur in Desolace (Kolkar, Magram and Gelkis) and successfully launch an assault on Shok'thokar. In Felwood the Emerald Circle and Cenarion Circle launch their own assaults on the Legion holdouts in the area. In the Blasted Lands both the Horde and the Alliance secure the Dark Portal and send adventurers into the Tainted Forest to end the Legion's hold on the region. Meanwhile the Argent Crusade sent adventurers into both Tyr's Hand and Stratholme and claimed them for the Crusade.

While the legion tried to hold on to it's bastions of power in Azeroth they were able launch an assault to reclaim Darkwhisper Gorge from the Twilight's Hammer that allowed them to require the Gates of Sothann.

Mists of Pandaria

This section concerns content related to Mists of Pandaria.

There is no current additional activity of the Burning Legion in Mists of Pandaria, however the words of Wrathion suggests that the Horde and Alliance will have to unite to fight a greater foe that will come from beyond Azeroth. The image that he displays while saying this shows Azeroth under bombardment by balls of green and yellow fire. This threat was confirmed to be the Burning Legion during the Chi-Ji portion of Quest:Celestial Blessings.

Warlords of Draenor

This section concerns content related to Warlords of Draenor.

The sky will rain fire...the oceans will be filled with blood.... DRAENOR WILL BURN!

Instead of deceiving Ner'zhul into servitude like in the prime-timeline, Kil'jaeden went directly to Gul'dan to corrupt the orcs. However, due to Garrosh's interference with the timeline, Grommash and the orcs never accepted Gul'dan's offer. Insulted by Grom, Mannoroth attacked him, but the orcs were prepared for him, and they fired their cannons at Mannoroth. Before he could regain his poise, Grom lunged at him, and buried Gorehowl deep into his skull, effectively killing Mannoroth. Gul'dan, and the Shadow Council, is captured by Grommash's Iron Horde and used to power the Dark Portal to take them to Prime Azeroth. Under Khadgar's leadership, the Alliance and the Horde were able to successfully repel the invasion, destroy the Dark Portal, and free Gul'dan and his lackeys.

With Kil'jaeden's failure to corrupt the orcs, Archimonde has taken full control of the Legion's operations in the alternate Draenor. As a result, the demons are less behind the scenes and more direct in corrupting the residents.

Exarch Othaar is one of those that had been lured by the demons to help in Draenor's destruction. Believing that Velen is leading their people to their doom, and promised by the Legion with great power, he swears fealty to them and transforms into the man'ari eredar, Socrethar, adopting a leadership role within the Sargerei. He later leads the Legion's attack on Shattrath, and succeeds in taking over the draenei capital. Later on, with the help of the Alliance and Horde, Socrethar is killed and Shattrath is liberated.

Gul'dan on the other hand has been looking for ways to empower himself and the Legion. He sends Teron'gor to Auchindoun gather all the draeneis' soul to be used to empower the demons, and sends Cho'gall to Oshu'gun to subjugate the naaru, K'ure. Both of them betrays Gul'dan and uses the respective energies they were sent to gather to empower themselves. Thanks to adventurers employed by Khadgar, Both are stopped and killed before they could wreak havoc.

Gul'dan later on travel to the Spires of Arak to find a frustrated and brooding Iskar. Gul'dan offers him a cure for Curse of Sethe, and power beyond reckoning. Frustrated over his failure to fully restore Terokk, over the Curse of Sethe, and his ever growing thirst for vengeance, Iskar gladly accepts Gul'dan's offer and becomes the first of the fel arakkoa. He later persuades more Cursed Arakkoa to accept Gul'dan's offer and they swear fealty to the Legion. The Sethekk cult also join Iskar's arakkoa.

Later on, the Iron Horde goes into disarray due to their losses to the Alliance and Horde, causing many of the clans to leave Grom. Gul'dan appears to Grom and taunts him for his constant defeats against the Alliance and Horde, and again offers him the Blood of Mannoroth. Grom refuses and attacks Gul'dan, but is easily repelled with Gul'dan's magic. Kilrogg on the other hand gladly accepts his offer and becomes a fel orc. The rest of the Iron Horde follows suit, and Gul'dan effectively takes control of them, turning Tanaan Jungle into the Legion's base of operations.

The third invasion

This section concerns content related to Legion.

The third invasion began when the Tomb of Sargeras was reopened, and the demons of the Burning Legion pour into Azeroth from the Felstorm, a horrific nexus of magic. Their full, terrifying might is fixed on summoning the Dark Titan to Azeroth—and they've already located the key to his return. This is the largest demonic invasion of Azeroth in the world's history. The Broken Shore is the source of this invasion, where the armies of Azeroth defeat the initial thrust of the invasion.

Notable characters

Lords

Avatar of Sargeras

The Lords of the Burning Legion are as follows:

Name	Title	Race	Description	Status
Sargeras	The Destroyer	Titan	Creator and leader of the Burning Legion. Formerly the Champion of the Pantheon, succeeded by Aggramar. Current whereabouts are unknown.	Fragmented
Kil'jaeden	The Deceiver	Man'ari Eredar	Acting leader and self-assumed Supreme Commander of the Burning Legion in Sargeras' apparent banishment. Banished by players during the Sunwell Plateau encounter.	Alive
Archimonde	The Defiler	Man'ari Eredar	Legion Field Commander on Azeroth who lead the armies of the Burning Legion. He was defeated during the Battle of Mount Hyjal, and assumed destroyed until his appearance on alternative Draenor.	Unknown
File:IconSmall MannorothUndead.gif Mannoroth	The Destructor	Annihilan	The General of the Burning Legion and King of the Pit Lords. He was the corrupter of the Orcs and was later killed by Grom Hellscream.	Killable
Tichondrius	The Darkener	Nathrezim	Leader of the Nathrezim and it's Chief Infiltration Specialist. He was slain by Illidan Stormrage.	Unknown

Commanders and allies

Name	Description	Status
Anetheron	Second Lord of the Nathrezim. Took command of the Scourge after the death of Tichondrius. He was slain at the Battle of Mount Hyjal by adventurers and Jaina Proudmoore. Anetheron returns with Archimonde to Draenor and is seen in Hellfire Citadel.	Killable
Azgalor	High ranking pit lord. He was slain at the Battle of Mount Hyjal by adventurers and Thrall. Azgalor returns with Archimonde to Draenor and is seen in Hellfire Citadel.	Killable
Kaz'rogal	Lieutenant of Archimonde. He was slain at the Battle of Mount Hyjal by adventurers and Thrall. Kaz'rogal returns with Archimonde to Draenor and is seen in Hellfire Citadel.	Killable
Mephistroth	Third Lord of the Natrhezim. Considered to be the new lord of the Nathrezim after the deaths of Anetheron and Tichondrius on Azeroth.	Alive
Balnazzar	One of the three Dread Lords that ruled the Scourge. He now corrupts the Scarlet Crusade, first taking the form of Grand Crusade Saidan Dathrohan and currently as the leader of the Risen.	Unknown
Gul'dan	The founder and master of the Shadow Council and the creator of Death Knights. While being pursued by the angry clans of the Horde, he was obliterated by demons in the Tomb of Sargeras.	Deceased
Kazzak the Supreme	Lord of the Doomguards and Right Hand of Kil'jaeden and most trusted lieutenant of Archimonde. He was responsible for the reopening of the Dark Portal.	Killable
Detheroc	The leader of the Dreadlord Insurgents.	Unknown
Highlord Kruul	The current Burning Legion Field Commander on Azeroth, in the place of Kazzak the Supreme.	Unknown
Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider	Lord of the Blood Elves and former servant of Illidan Stormrage. Defeated in Magister's Terrace by adventurers and the Shattered Sun Offensive.	Deceased
Lord Jaraxxus	A Man'ari Eredar found in the Crusaders' Coliseum.	Unknown
Talgath	A high ranking agent of the Burning Legion tasked with scouring the Nether for living Draenei.	Alive
Varimathras	One of three Dread Lords that ruled the Scourge. He was forced into allying with the Forsaken, under the direct control of Sylvanas Windrunner, in exchange for sparing his life after he and his brothers were overcome by her undead forces. Though he swore allegiance to Sylvanas, Varimathras remained loyal to the Legion and eventually staged a coup for control of the Undercity.	Unknown
Gul'dan	The founder and master of the Shadow Council and former leader of the Iron Horde of alternate Draenor, until his banishment to the Nether by Archimonde. Later was sent to the main timeline as Legion's ambassador to the Nightborne in Suramar at the Broken Isles and was responsible for the re-awakening of Illidan Stormrage at the Vault of the Wardens.	Alive
Socrethar	A former member of the draenei Council of Exarchs of alternate Draenor, he and the Sargerei turned traitors and joined Gul'dan's forces.	Deceased
Xavius	The Highbourne high counsilor to Queen Azshara, he became the first of the Satyrs at the hands of Sargeras. Was transformed into a tree by Malfurion Stormrage and sent to the bottom of the Great Sea after the Sundering. He was later found to have been the one controlling the Nightmare in the Emerald Dream, serving the Old God N'Zoth. With the Legion's return to Azeroth, Xavius once again swears his loyalty to Sargeras, seeking to spread the corruption of the Emerald Nightmare in service of the demons.	Alive
Fel Lord Zakuun	A lieutenant of Archimonde tasked with breaking the will of Grommash Hellscream.	Killable
Shadow-Lord Iskar	Former leader of the Arakkoa Outcasts. Took control of the Sethekk after joining the Legion.	Killable
Grand Magistrix Elisunde	The Grand Magistrix of Suramar is known to have allied herself with the Legion following their return to Azeroth.	Alive
God-King Skarvald	King of the vrykul on the Broken Isles and ruler of the lands of Stormheim. Allied with the Legion following their return to Azeroth.	Alive

Former allies

Name	Title	Description	Status
Queen Azshara	Queen of the Naga	The Queen of the Kaldorei and believed herself "betrothed" to Sargeras, was likely transformed into the first of the Naga and became the Empress of Nazjatar.	Alive
Ner'zhul	Elder Shaman	The elder Shaman responsible for the foundation of the Horde. Was later transformed by Kil'jaeden into the Lich King. After the Battle of Mount Hyjal, Ner'zhul openly betrayed the Legion. After Bolvar Fordragon's rise as the Lich King, Ner'zhul is expected to be deceased along with Arthas Menethil.	Deceased
Arthas Menethil	Lich King	Helped summon Archimonde at the instructions of the Dread Lord Tichondrius. Later merged himself with Ner'zhul and became the Lich King and overthrew the Burning Legion.	Deceased
Kel'Thuzad	The Archlich	Founder of the Cult of the Damned and principle agent of the Lich King in spreading the Scourge. He was eternally loyal to the Lich King even in death and served as one of his most powerful lieutenants.	Unknown
Illidan Stormrage	The Betrayer	The Lord of Outland and brother to Malfurion Stormrage. Former ally of the Burning Legion and Kael'thas Sunstrider. Later awakened by alternate universe's Gul'dan for unknown reasons.	Alive

Major enemies

Name	Title	Description	Status
The Pantheon	The Makers	An elite titan sect led by Aman'Thul. They are a group of titans who shaped worlds and watch over the universe, and the leaders of the titan race that created the races of Azeroth and empowered the Dragon Aspects.	Active
Vol'jin	Warchief of the Horde	Current Warchief of the Horde, and the first non-orc to hold the position. Vol'jin has only recently come into power but his stance against the Legion is no doubt the same as his predecessors.	Alive
Varian Wrynn	High King of the Alliance	The High King of the Alliance forces with a strong hatred for all demons. Many loyal Alliance members helped repel the Legion from Azeroth at his command.	Alive
Tyrande Whisperwind	High Priestess of Elune	The High Priestess of the goddess Elune, the former general of the night elf sentinels and the current head of the Sisterhood of Elune and wife of Malfurion Stormrage. She fight against the Burning Legion during the War of the Ancients.	Alive
Malfurion Stormrage	Archdruid of the Kaldorei	The First of the Druids and brother to Illidan Stormrage and husband of Tyrande Whisperwind. Through Malfurion's guidance, the night elves successfully halted the Burning Legion's first invasion of Azeroth during the legendary War of the Ancients.	Alive
Prophet Velen	Prophet of the naaru	Former co-leader of Argus, Velen was granted a vision by the naaru of Sargeras' true intentions and, with their help, gathered many like-minded eredar and escaped, calling themselves draenei, or "exiled ones." Under Velen's leadership, the draenei have sought a new homeworld to gather their strength and take the fight to the Legion as part of the prophesied Army of the Light.	Alive
Illidan Stormrage	The Betrayer	The Lord of Outland and brother to Malfurion Stormrage. Former ally of the Burning Legion and Kael'thas Sunstrider. Later awakened by Gul'dan for unknown reasons.	Alive
A'dal	Leader of the Sha'tar	Current leader of the Sha'tar. Led the Sha'tar in fighting the Burning Legion in Outland. Guides mortals to band together to form the fabled "Army of the Light".	Alive
Grommash Hellscream	Warlord with the Iron Will	The former chieftain of the Warsong clan and warchief of the Iron Horde of alternate Draenor, Grommash recently escaped his imprisonment by the Legion with the help of adventurers.	Alive
Ner'zhul	Elder Shaman	The elder shaman responsible for the foundation of the Horde. Was later transformed by Kil'jaeden into the Lich King. After the Battle of Mount Hyjal, Ner'zhul openly betrayed the Legion. After Bolvar Fordragon's rise as the Lich King, Ner'zhul is expected to be deceased along with Arthas Menethil.	Deceased
Arthas Menethil	Lich King	Helped summon Archimonde at the instructions of the dreadlord Tichondrius. Later merged himself with Ner'zhul and became the Lich King and overthrew the Burning Legion.	Deceased
Kel'Thuzad	The Archlich	Founder of the Cult of the Damned and principle agent of the Lich King in spreading the Scourge. He was eternally loyal to the Lich King even in death and served as one of his most powerful lieutenants.	Unknown

Non-sapient species

The Burning Legion races consists mainly in demons, but other non-demonic species serve them as well.

Beasts

• Fel beast
• Felhound
• Fel hound
• Felstalker
• Helboar
• Nightmare
  • [Dreadsteed]
  • Felsteed
• Voidterror
• Warp Stalker
• Darkhound

Constructs

• Fel reavers
• Abyssals
• Infernals

Races of other organizations

This list includes the organizations that serve the Burning Legion.

• Shadow Council races

Organization

For more background information on this organization, see The Warcraft Encyclopedia/Burning Legion.

Hierarchy

Sargeras was the original leader, but Kil'jaeden is running things while Sargeras is missing. The Eredar Warlocks serve as the Legion's overlords and strategists. Pit Lords serve as generals and ground commanders. Dreadlords are a step below Pit Lords. Doomguard are four steps below dreadlords, serving as "Marines - captains, military leaders, etc." Terrorguards are close in rank and role to doomguard. Felguard serve as rank and file soldiers.

Numbers

The number of demons in the Twisting Nethers are infinite. However not all demons are part of the Buring Legion. During the War of the Ancients, Sargeras gathered the Burning Legion, at that time it consisted of one million demons. Despite the Legion's defeats, their numbers do not appear to have decreased due to Sargeras' ability to endlessly re-form his minions again and again.

Technology

The more mechanized side of the Legion is only present in an all-out invasion.

Organizations who serve the Legion

Currently

• Shadow Council and the cults who serve them†
• Alternate Shadow Council
  • Iron Horde
  • Sargerei†
  • Sethekk†
• Underblade
• Dreadlord Insurgents
  • Scarlet Onslaught / Scarlet Crusade
    • The Risen
• Kael'thas' forces†

Defected

• Illidari†
• Scourge
• Horde
• Highborne

External links

Template:Welink

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