Project Lore

Proverb is a twice-weekly column discussing the lore of Warcraft. It is spoiler heavy for all Warcraft games, novels, and other media. Comment on this post or send a tweet to @Heartbourne and let us know what you would like to see in future columns!

Fan rendering of Ysera, night elf and dragon forms

Of all the dragonflights, the green and red dragonflights are considered to be the most peaceful. Alexstrasza, the aspect of the red dragons, the Life-Binder, rules over Wyrmrest Temple and has long been a protagonist of many perilous adventures. Ysera has not gotten nearly as much attention as Alexstrasza, but with Neltharion as the main antagonist of Cataclysm, Malygos killed in the Nexus War, and Nozdormu likely involved in the Infinite Dragonflight (see previous Proverb columns), Ysera and the green dragonflight may be one of our last remaining draconic allies.

Ysera, like all dragons, was created by the Titans from the great proto-dragon Galakrond. The titan Eonar gifted her with the powers of nature. Eonar also imparted some of her power to Alexstrasza, but the form it took was more specifically in life energy. Ysera was tasked with safeguarding the natural world and the Emerald Dream, an alternate realm that exists parallel to the mortal realm where all mortals dreams take place, among other things. The Emerald Dream exists much as the world was at its shaping, a lush, green paradise. It is what the world would be like if sentient beings were not to exist. Even those who can walk the Dream, including its master, Ysera, cannot alter the Dream; it will always quickly revert to its unaltered state. Many powerful beings, especially those skilled in the ways of natural magic, can exist in both realms at once, or move their spirit through the Emerald Dream while their physical forms remain in the mortal realm. Novice spellcasters can easily become overwhelmed by the serenity of the Dream and never return to their bodies. Their physical forms slowly die of starvation, destroying their spirit as well.  Ysera, known as The Dreamer, nearly always has her eyes shut, wandering the Emerald Dream in spirit while she freely roams the mortal realm. Ysera often takes the form of a female night elf with green robes, hair, and eyes, especially in the Emerald Dream.

Ysera's current (temporary?) model in her night elf form in WoW

Cenarius, the patron of the Druids, was "adopted" by Ysera. Cenarius' actual parents are Elune and Malorne (known to the Tauren as Mu'sha and Apa'ro), but as Cenarius was much more mortal than Elune, she entrusted him to Malorne for his upbringing. Malorne was very close friends with Ysera, and Ysera seemed a more proper mother figure for Cenarius' life. Cenarius learned much about natural magic from Ysera's teaching and became a master of the wistful Emerald Dream. Perhaps 55,000 years after these events, Cenarius imparted this information to the night elves, training Malfurion Stormrage as the first druid. Many druids maintain a very close relationship with the green dragonflight, as they both spend much of their time tending to the natural world and the Emerald Dream. Many druids even become dragonsworn.

Soon after Cenarius began training Malfurion, the Burning Legion invaded Azeroth. The night elves fought a difficult war and many of the Ancients, including Cenarius, ultimately helped decide the outcome. Neltharion, later known as Deathwing, tricked the other four dragon Aspects, including Ysera, into sacrificing much of their power into an artifact known as the Dragon Soul, later called the Demon Soul. He did not impart any of his power to the artifact, and as such remained much more powerful than the other dragons. Malfurion and Krasus attempted to travel to the lair of the Aspects so that Krasus could commune, but Neltharion had erected a strong barrier, making it impossible for them to enter. Malfurion entered the Emerald Dream to seek out Ysera to grant them an audience with Ysera. After repeatedly mentioning that he was a student of Cenarius, Ysera allowed his spirit passage to the meeting of the Aspects. While the Aspects discussed the demon soul, Malfurion investigated it silently with his mind. Neltharion noticed his meddling, and attacked him with silent spells. Malfurion attempted to escape to the Emerald Dream, and Neltharion surprisingly was able to follow, and follow undetected to Ysera. Neltharion took on an even more fearsome form in the Dream, but appearances in the dream world mean little. The implications of this event are many; the fact that powerful spellcasters such as Neltharion can enter the realm without communing with nature is interesting, as is the possibility of such beings entering the Dream without Ysera taking note.

Creature of the Dream

Neltharion's madness drove him to use it against anyone not of his flight. This caused a desperate struggle that resulted in the vast majority of dragons perishing, including practically all of the blue dragonflight. After a long battle, the demon soul was taken from Neltharion and sealed far beneath the earth, with an enchantment that prevented it from ever being wielded by dragonkind again. The War of the Ancients, as it later became known, ended with great losses, such as the death of most night elves and the exile of the highborne. Illidan Stormrage recreated the Well of Eternity using the Vials of Eternity, which caused his imprisonment at the hands of the remaining night elves. Ysera rewarded the night elves by planting a great tree in the Well of Eternity using an acorn from the Mother Tree G'Hanir, which perished with the death of its master Aviana during the War of the Ancients. This new tree became known as Nordrassil, the first World Tree, which greatly aided druids with natural powers, including the entry into the Emerald Dream. This direct endorsement from Ysera of the druids may have been one of the reasons druidism grew. This tree was blessed by the remaining Aspects. Nozdormu's blessing made the tree timeless, and the night elves inherited from it the power of immortality, causing them to never age (until the tree's eventual destruction).

Look for part 2 tomorrow!