There was a time when there was nothing but a ball of compressed primordial energy at the center of the dark void of nothingness. There suddenly came, in but one millisecond of time, a great explosion that sent the primordial energy out in all directions and at that moment the universe came into existence.
As the new universe continued to expand, the primordial energy began to coalesce in masses large enough to create their own gravity. As time passed, smaller masses within began to coalesce to form stars turning these large masses into fledgling galaxies. There was one such galaxy that formed at the far edge of the universe.
During these dark times of violent birth, a star was born in one of the distant spiral arms of this new galaxy. As the remaining energy continued to swirl around this young star, an unremarkable planet formed. This new planet was to be called Azeroth.
In the time before time, Azeroth did not appear as it does today. The early surface was that of a vast magma sea which covered the whole of Azeroth. The thin atmosphere was a hot two thousand degrees Celsius and mostly composed of sulfur, carbon dioxide, and water vapor.
In its own time, the young planet of Azeroth began to cool. A thick crust began to form on the surface and the temperature slowly cooled to about two hundred degrees Celsius as the landscape became populated by vast ranges of volcanoes. The primitive atmosphere was still too toxic for any creature to exist.
The surface of the young Azeroth continued to evolve as time ticked by. The water vapor from the early atmosphere fell to the surface as rain. Not just simple rain, but massive storm cells dumped torrents of rain on the arid surface of Azeroth. In a short time, in planetary terms, Azeroth was transformed into a planet with one huge continent surrounded by a single giant sea, the Veiled Sea.
This massive continent came to be called Kalimdor. At the center of the continent of Kalimdor was a large lake which contained an enormous concentration of primordial energy. This lake was to become known as the Well of Eternity.
Eons continued to pass as the surface became cooler and the atmosphere became more hospitable to primitive life. Slowly, the violent molten ball became a blue marble in the celestial heavens. Asteroids and wandering comets brought to the fledgling world the beginnings of life in the form of spores. It was then that Azeroth attracted the attention of those from across the far reaches of the universe.
There are ancient whispers from the past that speak of the Titans, a race of giants known to the Dwarven as The Makers. The old legends say that when the Titans traveled to the world of Azeroth that they were the first to step foot on the young planet, but they were wrong.
There were unseen eyes watching the arrival of the Titans. Those who hid in the shadows were curious about these giant humanoids with their metallic skin. They watched as these giants went about their tasks.
Being leery of these strange giant creatures, this elusive race distrusted their motives. Indeed, they remained hidden from the Titans out of fear. However, this unknown race was not so unknown. Many across the universe knew this race as the Hudulfolk, the hidden ones, but these creatures called themselves the Alfar. The creation of Azeroth had left behind a great deal of primordial energy, much of it being concentrated in the Well of Eternity. The Alfar had traveled the great distance to Azeroth to tap into this enormous ancient source of power, which they drew upon from the security of their hidden city of Alfheim.
The Alfar were intrigued as the Titans built their structures across Kalimdor. They watched as the Titans built their vault at Uldaman. They were watching from the shadows when the Titans built the Terrace of the Makers and the nearby complex of Ulduar. There were eyes on the Titans as they built the structures in Uldum, known as the Land of the Titans. Even as the Titans created the Earthen, their stone constructs, they were being scrutinized by the Alfar as they hid in the shadows.
They watched the actions of the Titans very closely, but they were constantly on guard to avoid being seen, fearing that the Titans, or their creations, might one day find their city and bring war upon them. Not knowing the motives of the Titans, it was deemed better to be safe rather than sorry.
As time passed, there came the day when the Titans decided it was time to leave the world of Azeroth, but they did not leave the world without their influence. The Titans left the Earthen behind to carry on the work they had begun.
With the Titans gone, the Alfar became more courageous and began moving beyond their city and came out of the shadows. They explored the world of Azeroth more closely, though they were careful to avoid detection by the Earthen, fearing that the Titans would learn about their presence and return from where they went.
Life for the Alfar was good in these early times. As long as they were careful to avoid the areas where the Earthen were located, they had the whole world to themselves. They held pilgrimages to the Well of Eternity and bathed in the primordial energy contained within. But this was to change sooner than they thought.
One day, others found their way to the world of Azeroth, but these creatures were not the benevolent creatures the Titans had been. These creatures, which would one day be known as the Old Gods by the early races of Azeroth, brought a most unspeakable evil to the young world.
As the Alfar witnessed the power of the Old Gods, they soon realized that if they were discovered, they would not be able to defend themselves against such evil beings. The Alfar collected in the security of Alfheim and discussed their options.
There was a much heated debate as to what should be done. There were few options that didn't include the destruction of Alfheim and most, if not all, of the Alfar. As the hours past, it finally came down to a single option.
They came to the realization that they must leave the world of Azeroth and seek asylum on another world far away from the Old Gods. The first thing the Alfar did was to begin scanning the universe in search of a suitable new home.
After an extensive search they finally found an acceptable planet on the other side of the universe, well out of the reach of the Old Gods. They would be safe on this 'blue marble', if only they could get there before the Old Gods detect their presence.
And so the plans began to build a portal with which to open a wormhole between Azeroth and the new planet. This would not be an easy task because of the great amount of energy required to breach both time and space. The Alfar reasoned that with the power of the Well of Eternity they could channel sufficient energy to open the portal long enough for their race to pass through.
Of course, building a portal would take time and time was quickly running out for the Alfar. They knew that building the portal on the surface where the Old Gods might discover it before it was completed was not an option. They decided to build the great portal in their village of Alfheim, giving them the best chance for success.
Constructing the portal would not be an easy task as it could not be constructed of just any material. The Alfar decided for the portal to be able to withstand the pressured that would be put upon it that it would need to be made of elementium. Foraging only at night, the Alfar collected every piece of elementium they could lay their hands on. Once gathered, they slowly began to forge the great portal.
They began with a large rotating ring which bore symbols of their magic. The symbols were spaced equally around the edge of the ring. A base to hold the ring was also constructed with a ramp on either side.
They worked day and night until the portal was completed. The Alfar began to collect their belongings. They assembled all of the things that they felt would be of use in the new world. As the time to leave drew close, the Alfar gathered before the portal.
It was then that a problem presented itself. The problem being that once they left, there would be nothing to prevent the Old Gods from discovering the portal. It was conceivable to the Alfar that the Old Gods would find a way to activate the portal and follow them to the new world. This could not be allowed to happen.
The answer was far less difficult to arrive at than one might imagine. It simply meant someone would have to remain behind to destroy the portal after everyone else had passed through. While this was not that promising of an option for those who would remain behind, it was the only option that would protect the rest of the Alfar.
After a short time of discussion, an Alfar stepped forward. Althoran timidly spoke up and volunteered to remain behind. Others stepped forward, one by one, until a dozen Alfar offered to make the sacrifice that would guarantee that their people would be safe from the Old Gods.
As the time arrived to activate the portal, all of Alfheim collected around the portal. All at once the Alfar knelt and bowed their heads. There was a moment of silence to honor those who chose to remain behind.
It was finally time to activate the portal. One by one, each in his own turn, they began to channel energy from the Well of Eternity and into the portal. The portal slowly began to shake and tremble as the ring slowly began to rotate in a clockwise direction. The portal rotated slowly at first, but soon it began to spin more rapidly.
The interior of the ring first began to glow a bright blue in color. It was not long before the blue glow turned to a ghostly shade of green. As they continued to channel their magic into the portal, the interior of the ring eventually turned from green to a bright red. As the portal continued to cause the ground beneath their feet to tremble, a glowing white mist formed at the center, replacing the red glow from before.
The white mist resembled a heavy fog rolling across the surface of the ocean. Slowly, the mist began to clear until the interior of the ring took on the aspect of a liquid film that resembled polished glass. The new world began to take form on the other side of the portal as they continued to watch.
As the world sharpened, they were able to see a small island, far from any other shores. While the interior of the island was a cold and forbidding place composed of mountains and lava flows, the coastal areas were grasslands with vast forests of birch, aspens, rowans, junipers, and willows. This seemed an ideal place for them as they would be unseen by those already living on the planet.
Fearing that the Old Gods would discover the portal before they could use it, the Alfar quickly moved through the portal and into the world that lay beyond. With the rest of their brethren safely through, those remaining began to reverse the flow of energy into the ring.
At first, the portal shook and rattled as the ring came to a stop. The ring then began to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. As the ring rotated faster and faster, the metal of the portal began to heat until it glowed white hot and began to melt. Soon, there was nothing but a pool of molten metal where the portal had once stood.
As the Alfar had feared, the Old Gods sensed the immense energy required to operate the portal and quickly tracked down the source. To the dismay of the Old Gods all they found were the twelve Alfar and a pool of molten elementium. Realizing that the rest of the Alfar had escaped their wrath only infuriated the Old Golds even more.
The Old Gods found no shortage of tortures for the twelve Alfar who remained. The Old Gods tortured their Alfar captives with a passion. They were tortured in the most gruesome, horrendous ways imaginable. The Alfar were tortured to the brink of insanity and yet it did not end there.
In a stroke of ultimate evil, the Old Gods took the Alfar and pulled the essence of their beings from their bodies and imprisoned them within solid stone. But it was not enough to merely encase them in a stone prison. While the Alfar entered into eternal prisons of stone, the Old Gods kept their minds awake.
The Alfar did not sleep. They felt the passage of time. They felt the seasons change and the days pass until they were but a blur. Incased in their prisons, they felt every moment that passed, but were unable to do anything about their situation. Even their magic could not change the fate that befell them.
The Old Gods, having taken great pleasure in dealing with the Alfar, turned their attention to other things. The Old Gods continued their assault on the rest of Azeroth, finally culminating with the unleashing of the curse of flesh upon the Earthen. They took pleasure in the torture of the inhabitants of the world of Azeroth, but even this was not to last forever.
As time passed, approximately ten thousand years from the present, the Titans heard the cries of their constructs and returned to Azeroth to see what had happened. Seeing what evil the Old Gods had brought to the world, they fought a massive war, known as the War of the Ancients.
The powers of the Old Gods were neutralized and they were banished into the depth of Azeroth, to remain for all times, but not before the Well of Eternity imploded and caused a vortex to form at the location where the well had once stood. This is known to historians as 'The Sundering'.
This vortex is now called the Malestrom and the violence of the implosion changed the face of Azeroth. Kalimdor was shattered and the two halves moved apart, creating the continents of Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms, Northrend, and Pandaria. The continents remained mostly unchanged until the shattering caused by Deathwing.
Afterwards, the Titans once again left Azeroth to its own fate, but this time the Alfar were not watching from the shadows. Instead, the twelve who stayed behind remained trapped in their stone prisons as time continued to pass.
Still, the twelve Alfar continued to remain in their prisons in which the Old Gods had placed them. But their prisons did not remain where they were. The races of Azeroth found these pieces of stone and made use of them, scattering them to the four corners of Azeroth.
For ten thousand years, the Alfar who had escaped wondered what happened to those they left behind. On their new world, the Alfar celebrated the day they arrived to honor those who remained behind. They called this celebration The Night of the Walpurgis.
The Alfar searched for signs as to the fate of their comrades, but to no avail. After expending much effort, they finally found them locked in their prisons of solid stone and lamented that nothing could be done to help them. But something happened to change that.
The Alfar had known about the Dark Portal in Blasted Lands for ages, but they also knew that even if they could release the sacred twelve from their prisons, they could not possibly channel sufficient energy to operate the dormant portal. Hope began to grow among the Alfar when the Dark Portal was activated from Outlands, changing the interior glow from blue to green.
But now, forces have joined together once more to turn the Dark Portal from green to red and opening a path to Draenor of the past. This would be their chance to bring their fellows to their new home. It would take little energy to temporarily turn the Dark Portal to white now that it was already red, but the portal could only be opened from the Azeroth side and only for a short time.
This meant that this was not simply a rescue mission. The sacred twelve would first have to have their souls freed from their stone prisons before anything else could be done. The problem was that their physical bodies had long ago turned to dust. They would need receptacles to hold their essence while they opened the portal.
Since the Alfar could not destroy twelve lives in exchange for the lives of their comrades, they decided on a course of action. They would get adventurers to not only free their corresponding Alfar from their stone prison, they would also have to host their essence until the portal could be opened, at which time they would relinquish those possessed bodies back to their owners.
Their reasoning was that the Dark Portal was open to the past. This suggested that if the Alfar stepped through the portal, they would appear in a time when they still had their physical bodies. This should allow them to be whole once more.
So, with the solution at hand, the Alfar began the search for suitable young adventurers. They would use them to release their comrades from their prisons and then they would possess those adventurers until they could join together in the Blasted Lands to use the portal. It was not simply a matter of taking possession of the adventurers. It first required the release of the Alfar souls from the solid stone that was their prisons.
And so it began. The Alfar searched for adventurers who had the potential to complete the tasks at hand. One by one, they began finding the twelve individuals they required and began guided them toward their ultimate goal.