Illidan Stormrage

Illidan Stormrage is a character in the fictional Warcraft universe. He appeared in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion The Frozen Throne, and has more recently appeared in the World of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade

He was, at a time, a member of the Night Elf race and is one of their most ancient, influential and infamous figures. He has also become one of the most popular characters in the Warcraft universe.

Appearance
Illidan is like the Naga and especially the Satyr - a transformed corrupted Night Elf.

He began life as a relatively normal male of his species, tall and muscular with sharp features, glowing eyes, purple skin and long, pointed ears. The only abnormality was the color of his eyes, which were a golden amber instead of the silver eyes more commonly found among Night Elves. Amber colored eyes were said to prophesize greatness, which is one reason Illidan felt pressured to succeed. When Illidan was in alliance with Sargeras, the titan burned out his eyes and replaced them with glowing green flames, which Illidan hides behind a blindfold. The new orbs allowed Illidan to see magical energies in the environment as well as allowing him to see minute details in his surroundings. The eventually imbued him with demonic power (as well as some of the essence of the dead Orc warlock), granting him an entirely new form. Illidan now resembles one of the Nathrezim more than one of his own race, although his skin remains purple and his ears are still long and pointed. He has wings, horns and talons and his skin is covered in green, glowing arcane runes, the latter also a gift from Sargeras. He wields 2 crescent-shaped weapons known as the Twin Blades of Azzinoth.

Biography
Imprisonment
Illidan Stormrage, twin brother of the Night Elf Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, has led a life of misery and strife that has lasted over ten thousand years.

Born of the immortal Horde(Onxyia), Illidan was a prominent figure in the first war against the demons of the Burning Legion. Illidan and a group of Night Elves were the only ones to embrace the magic of the Well of Eternity outside of Queen Azshara and her elite Highborne mages. They caused a rift to grow among the Night Elves, primarily between Illidan and his brother Malfurion, as the magic of the Well was addictive, destructive, and caused immense amounts of devastation when wielded. However, the Well had to be destroyed to prevent the Legion's commander Sargeras from entering the realm of Azeroth, and in doing so, the continent was torn asunder, stranding the Night Elves (many Highborne included) on the considerably smaller continent of Kalimdor.

Illidan, thoroughly addicted to the magical energies, reasoned that the power was a blessing and should be used simply because it was available. He secretly took some of the water which he had saved from the first Well and created a second Well of Eternity on the peak of Mount Hyjal. Shocked at his actions, Malfurion again explained the Well's danger to Illidan but his brother refused to listen. The Aspects then created the World Tree to contain the energies of the Well, but the Highborne, after attempting to re-use the powers of the Well and create a magical storm (hoping thereby to bully Malfurion into allowing the use of the Well magic) were exiled. They left for Quel'Thalas, where they became known as the High Elves and developed their own distinct civilization, dependent largely on magic. Meanwhile, Illidan and his few remaining supporters were banished to underground prisons, fiercely guarded by the Wardens. To Illidan himself, Maiev Shadowsong was assigned as his personal jailor, and there he would remain for ten thousand years until circumstances shifted in his favor once again.

Release
Shortly after the return of the Burning Legion, Priestess Tyrande and Archdruid Malfurion made a desperate journey down into the Barrow Deeps of the Druids of the Claw. These druids had been in hibernation, exploring the Emerald Dream where Ysera lives, but had nestled very close to the prison of Illidan. In the depths of the Barrow Deeps, at the entrance to the prison, Tyrande decided to free Illidan, allowing him to face the Burning Legion with his powers. Malfurion opposed this, and the two went in separate ways. Tyrande and a small cadre of Night Elf Sentinels fought their way to the cell containing Illidan and set him free.

Upon returning to the surface, Illidan led the Night Elves in destroying some of the dimensional gates, then disappeared. Illidan was soon led by (in the sense that he told him about the artifact to achieve his own goals without letting him know about the consequences) the Death Knight Arthas to find a powerful demon artifact, the Skull of Gul'dan, that the Burning Legion was using to corrupt and poison the Felwood forest. Illidan destroyed the artifact, absorbing the power and some of the memories of Gul'dan, and transforming him into a demi-demon; the transformation granted him wings and horns as well as new demonic powers. He then hunted down and killed Tichondrius, lord of the Nathrezim. Despite Illidan's role in saving the forest, Malfurion was shocked that his brother had so totally given himself over to the quest for power and banished Illidan from Ashenvale. The fuming Illidan then stormed off leaving a burning trail in his wake.

Demon allegiance
After the defeat of the Burning Legion, Kil'jaeden approached Illidan, who agreed to serve the demon and destroy his rogue creation, the Lich King, who had grown far too powerful for the demon lord to control.

Intent on re-capturing Illidan, Maiev searched for him throughout the Ashenvale forest. They found that Illidan's use of magic had twisted him into a hybrid between Night Elf and Demon. Illidan also recruited the Naga, former Highborne Elves who were trapped beneath the sea when the Well of Eternity was destroyed, and slowly warped into amphibious snake-like creatures over time.

With the help of the Naga, Illidan located the Tomb of Sargeras which contained the Eye of Sargeras, an immensely powerful ancient artifact. At the command of the supreme Demon Lord Kil'jaeden, Illidan was directed to destroy the Frozen Throne and kill the Lich King. Illidan traveled to the Eastern Kingdoms (particularly the ruins of the destroyed wizard kingdom of Dalaran, destroyed by Archimonde during the events of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos) with his minions to cast a spell that would destroy the Lich King. Ignorant of Illidan's true intentions and distraught over his perceived loss of Tyrande, Malfurion arrived and halted the earth-shattering spell half-way through.

Malfurion was ready to take his brother back into custody and even go so far as to have him executed, but relented after making two revelations. First, Illidan explained that the spell had been an attempt to destroy the Undead Scourge, which was the enemy of the Night Elves as well as Illidan's forces. Secondly, Malfurion learned that Tyrande was not dead as he had been led to believe.

In truth, Tyrande had merely been separated from the rest of the Night Elf party after falling into a river and being swept away by the currents. Maiev, putting vengeance above Tyrande's life, opted to abandon her. Instead, she lied to Malfurion telling him that she had seen his beloved "torn apart" by the Undead, and played on Malfurion's grief to support her against Illidan.

The truth came out when Malfurion angrily informed Illidan that Tyrande had died because of his actions. Illidan was understandably horrified and shocked by this statement, but a moment later Prince Kael'thas, who had witnessed Tyrande's plunge into the river, told Malfurion what had really happened and that there was a chance Tyrande was still alive. Enraged to find out that his love had not been "torn apart" at all and that Maiev had lied to him, Malfurion confronted the warden, whose feeble attempts to explain and justify her deception fell on deaf ears. Illidan then told his brother that he and the Naga would be willing to aid in the search for Tyrande—after all, Illidan loved her as well and would never wish her to come to harm. Malfurion accepted his brother's offer, cutting off Maiev's incredulous objection and threatening to deal with her later.

Tyrande had washed ashore in the heart of Scourge-controlled territory. Working together, the Brothers Stormrage and their respective forces were successful in finding her and bringing her to safety. Malfurion and Tyrande were grateful for Illidan's help, and allowed him to go free on the condition that he never threaten the Night Elves again. Illidan, wishing for an end to the conflict with his brother and Tyrande, agreed and bade them farewell before leaving for Outland to escape both Maiev and the Kil'jaeden's punishment for his failure to destroy the Lich King. Seconds later, Maiev and her Watchers burst onto the scene. The Warden was outraged that Illidan had been allowed to leave and chased him through the dimensional portal he had conjured before anybody could act to stop her.

Maiev tracked Illidan down and recaptured him in Outland, but she was again deprived of her quarry when Lady Vashj and Prince Kael'thas, leading a combined force of Naga and Blood Elves, sprung him from his cage.

Free once again, Illidan focused on taking control of Outland for himself. Commanding the combined forces of the Naga and the Blood Elves, he destroyed the four dimensional gates linking Outland to the Twisting Nether, hoping to avoid the punishment of Kil'jaeden. With the gates destroyed and all outside access to the world supposedly cut off, Illidan's forces then concentrated on defeating the armies of demons and corrupted orcs whom remained. These remnant forces were under the command of the Pit Lord known as Magtheridon. They eventually succeeded with the help of the surviving Draenei. Unfortunately for Illidan, moments after his victory over Magtheridon, Kil'jaeden appeared. The gigantic demon towered over Illidan and his allies, all of whom were now at Kil'jaeden's mercy. Kil'jaeden had discovered where Illidan had fled and evidently did not need a dimensional gate to travel there. However, instead of destroying or punishing him, Kil'jaeden gave him a second chance at destroying the Frozen Throne, while promising untold powers of magic. Illidan set out on the quest with the Naga and the Blood Elves he had recruited.

At Northrend, he confronted the Lich King's greatest servant, the Death Knight Arthas. After a heated battle, however, Illidan was defeated by Arthas and his runeblade, Frostmourne.

Following the battle, Arthas left Illidan lying motionless in the snow and ascended to the Frozen Throne, where he merged with the Lich King. It is unclear what happened to Illidan afterwards, but he did indeed survive and return to Outland, whether he travelled under his own power or had to be taken back by Kael and Vashj and nursed back to health. According to IMDb, "The in-game animation between Illidan and Arthas was originally planned to be a video cinematic. Time constraints, however, forced the scene to be done inside the game. The developers have said that their greatest regret about this change is that many assumed Illidan died, when the video would have revealed that Illidan survived to watch Arthas's transformation." Illidan then escaped back to Outland, where he is a fightable boss character in the MMORPG "World of Warcraft."

World of Warcraft
Illidan is the final boss of The Burning Crusade. Prior to this expansion, players could discover a dialogue between Malfurion Stormrage and Keeper Remulos, which revealed that Illidan sat brooding atop his throne in Outland.

::- Malfurion Stormrage in a conversation with Keeper Remulos in World of Warcraft.

Similarly, Illidan losing his mind over his defeat at Arthas' hand was seen when he invites the player to the Black Temple to face him in combat.

::- Illidan Stormrage challenging his opponent to come to the Black Temple, in Burning Crusade.
Blizzard has stated that Illidan was the most powerful coded character in World of Warcraft before the expansion was released. It is unknown whether this will change in the expansion, however, considering his past defeat at the hands of Arthas before Arthas gained the power of the Lich King; this probably indicates that Arthas had not been coded into the game at the time of that statement. Based on statements made by Chris Metzen at BlizzCon when cries were made for Arthas, even a 40 person raid of characters at level 70 would be no match for him. Since Illidan will be defeatable with a 25 person raid in the expansion, it is highly unlikely that Illidan's power will even compare to that of Arthas.

With the announcement of The Burning Crusade, it was confirmed that Illidan would be the most powerful boss enemy in the new area of Outland. At BlizzCon the head lore designer said of Illidan: "You don't so much "kill" him as much as you sorta get in his way"; possibly indicating that when his health is depleted (or close to depleted) he may simply roflcopter away. This is also hinted in the FAQ of the Burning Crusade site:

- Question: Will it be possible to kill Illidan in the Burning Crusade?

- Answer: Illidan doesn't think so. As a matter of fact, at 20% he states that it is not his time and roflcopters away. [http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/burningcrusade/faq.html#raids]

However, Illidan has been confirmed to be killable in the Burning Crusade with the world first kill by Nihilum.

In the Burning Crusade cinematic intro, Illidan is the narrator at the beginning and is also featured prominently at the end, soaring into the sky, unsheathing his twin blades and challenging players who dare venture into his realm of Outland with the words: "You are not prepared!"

Illidan the Demon
As is the case with certain demons, Illidan does not consider himself a servant of the Burning Legion. Indeed, Illidan has alternately been the Legion's ally and its enemy at various points in the past. A rarity among demons, he has retained vast tracts of his original personality despite his demonic transformation. As a demon, he is fundamentally evil and often cruel, but he has thus far been able to preserve a few tattered remnants of nobility. Their inevitable conflict with his ambition and his hunger for power makes him a dangerously unpredictable adversary. The dominance that Illidan lusts for has been speculated to be a selfish need for power, however it can be argued that Illidan's general motive from the beginning has been to protect his kindred, as can be noticed in the Warcraft Trilogy "War of the Ancients". There is no surprise as to why Illidan eventually delved into insanity, from his love Tyrande Whisperwind choosing his twin brother Malfurion Stormrage over himself, to his pact with the demons on numerous occasions.

Illidan the Raid Boss

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See Also

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