| abstract | - There is some controversy that the separate origin of elves and trolls may be intertwined, but each race has their own story according to their own history. For players, the history of the elves is longer and more unified, since the night elf of today largely resembles that of millennia past, whereas the troll of today represents a more chaotic fragmented part of a larger troll diaspora whose history is filled with more continuous conflict. Trolls share traits with night elves, such as their body form and their ears. === Elves === Main article: Elf According to their own history, the night elves were the first race to "awaken" in Azeroth, (WC3Man 47) when a nocturnal tribe of humanoids called the Kaldorei (WCRPG 20) (WoWRPG #?) (S&L 128) (M&M 14) (LoC 17, 30) (APG ) settled near the Well of Eternity between ten and fourteen thousand years ago (sources differ on the exact timeframe). (APG 128) (WoWRPG 9) This tribe venerated the moon goddess Elune even before they discovered the Well of Eternity. (WoWRPG 250) They made their way out of the jungles to its shores and, as they stared into its waters, sensed a great power. Setting in motion a course of events that would change the world forever, they dedicated themselves to its study, hoping that they would discover the moon goddess Elune within its waters. (S&L 128) They built crude homes near the vortex of cosmic energy, (WRPG 20) and as the powerful Well of Eternity leaked magic into the community it caused them to evolve, (WoWRPG 9) making them strong, wise, and immortal. (WC3Man 47) Their skin turned various shades of violet, and they grew taller in stature. The tribe re-"adopted" the name Kaldorei, which meant "children of the stars" in their native tongue. (WC3Man 47) Their studies of the Well eventually led them to discover arcane magic and, after several ages spent in peace and learning, the Kaldorei grew so in power and wisdom that they outstripped the other humanoid races on Azeroth and created the first great civilization, with the Well of Eternity at its heart. Due to their early discovery of magic and the Well of Eternity, they may have thought themselves the first race to "awaken," having judged other races to be slumbering in ignorance, even though the other races had near equivalent awareness and civilization. There is no doubt, however, that the elves are an ancient race with a long history that includes a few schisms and internal conflicts. Nevertheless, except for the divergence of the night elves and high elves in appearance, they remain relatively similar to their ancestors. The first night elven civilization was relatively small, and they remained mostly isolated around the Well of Eternity in the central region of the super-continent of Kalimdor. As their population grew they eventually encountered the trolls who had spread throughout most of the continent. With their superior strength in magic, they managed to beat back the larger population of trolls, and the two groups settled into an uneasy truce. The conflicts were largely a result of elven exploration, as they created smaller towns and outposts rather than larger cities. The night elven civilization reached its height with the reign of Queen Azshara, but was suddenly and catastrophically shattered by the War of the Ancients and the Great Sundering. The remaining night elves turned away from the great magic-focused civilization that had brought about their downfall, instead focusing on a smaller, druid-based society. Some of the night elves, mostly former Highborne, disagreed with their race's new direction and left to form their own civilization across the Great Sea. This group would eventually evolve into the high elves and form the nation of Quel'Thalas. The other night elves tended to the lands of northern Kalimdor for ten thousand years, defending them against any who would seek to despoil the land. With the second coming of the Burning Legion during the Third War, the night elves came into contact with the other civilized races for the first time in several millennia, and with the loss of their immortality at the war's conclusion they have slowly spread out into the rest of the world.
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