Maiev Shadowsong

Maiev Shadowsong is a fictional character in the Warcraft universe - a fictional universe in which a series of games and books are set. She was the leader of the Night Elf military division known as the Watchers.

Biography

War of the Ancients
After the War of Ancients around 9400 before common era, when the Well of Eternity was destroyed by the clash between the Burning Legion and the Night Elves and it was thought that the Demons will never return due to the destruction of the well, Malfurion Stormrage became the new Night Elf Archdruid. To his horror, however, his twin brother Illidan Stormrage, against his command, saved a few drops of the water of the Well, and emptied them into a previously tranquil lake in a depression atop Mt. Hyjal, thus creating a new Well of Eternity. Malfurion arrested Illidan and locked him in an underground prison in Felwood interconnected with the Barrow Dens, a hibernating place for Druids of the Claw. Maiev Shadowsong and her Watchers were appointed by Malfurion to guard the prison of Illidan, where he remained chained for about 10,000 years.

Reign of Chaos
It is not certain how long Illidan's imprisonment and Maiev's watch duty would have lasted had not the Burning Legion invaded Azeroth a second time in 613 CE. Tyrande Whisperwind, the Night Elf Priestess of the Moon, after waging a losing battle with the agents of the Burning Legion, ventured into the Barrow Deeps with Malfurion and a handful of escorts. Their initial objective was to awaken the Druids of the Claw from their hibernated slumber, but when Tyrande stumbled upon the entrance to Illidan's prison, she and her Sentinels in the group deserted Malfurion and his druids and dryads, defying his direct orders, and liberated Illidan, hoping to enlist his aid to defeat the Burning Legion. Tyrande and her followers were so desperate to get to Illidan that they ruthlessly massacred Maiev's Watchers, an act for which Maiev never forgave Tyrande.

Tyrande never encountered Maiev in the prison, however, at least not while on the way to Illidan's cell. It is unclear where she was at that time and why she could not personally prevent the liberation of Illidan.

After still power-hungry Illidan consumed the Skull of Gul'dan, becoming a half-demon himself, he was exiled from Night Elf lands by his brother Malfurion. Maiev, furious at Malfurion's foolishness of letting a convicted criminal loose, swore to track Illidan down at all costs.

Pursuit of Illidan
Illidan fled to the Night Elf fishing village of Nendis in Azshara, a coastal region to the east of Mt. Hyjal. He cast a powerful spell that awakened the Naga, serpentine sea creatures who were once Night Elves, but their addiction to arcane magic and the immense magical energies released when the original Well of Eternity buckled upon itself greatly deformed their bodies. The Naga began to plunder settlements in Azshara. Maiev, and her watchers, including the Huntress Naisha, defeated the Naga, and followed Illidan to the port of Nendis. Illidan sailed east, and Maiev and her watchers followed him.

The group landed in an archipelago that was littered with Night Elf ruins. Maiev recognized the ruins as those of Suramar, a great Night Elf city of culture and learning that was buried beneath the waves when the Well of Eternity collapsed. From an Orcish hermit stuck on one of the islands, Maiev learned that the islands were raised from the seafloor by powerful warlock Gul'dan nearly 25 years earlier. Maiev concluded that Illidan was heading to the Tomb of Sargeras to reclaim a powerful artifact, the Eye of Sargeras. The Watchers carefully infiltrated the Tomb, finding Illidan already in possession of the Eye. Upon encounter with the Night Elves, Illidan cast a spell that shook the ground violently, collapsing parts, eventually the entire Tomb onto the helpless Watchers. Maiev sprinted out of the Tomb, thus saving herself and living to tell the story.

Upon return to her base camp, she sent a runner back to the mainland to let Malfurion know that she needed urgent reinforcements. Fighting valiantly alongside her soldiers, she held Illidan's advances back until Malfurion's reinforcements arrived. The joint Night Elf force laid waste to Illidan's base of operations, but he managed to escape once again.

Maiev, Malfurion, and Tyrande chased Illidan to Lordaeron, landing in Silverpine Forest. Malfurion left Tyrande and Maiev temporarily to commune with the spirits of the troubled wood, and the two women took a small band of warriors with them in search of Illidan. They came upon a small village occupied by Blood Elves under the command of , the last survivor of the High Elven royal family. Kael explained to the Night Elves that he and his force were abandoning the hopeless situation in Silverpine and headed towards Dalaran, where a mystical disturbance had been noted. Tyrande offered to escort the Blood Elves, much to the impatient Maiev's chagrin.

The path through Silverpine saw countless raids from the Scourge, which were always repelled. But as the company reached Pyrewood Village, a large mass of Undead emerged without warning. Tyrande told Kael and Maiev to flee without her and positioned herself between them and the undead on a bridge over the Arevass River. Summoning the full powers of Elune, she called down waves of falling stars upon the hapless undead. At first it looked as if she was holding them off, but then the bridge itself collapsed and Tyrande was swept downriver.

Undaunted, Maiev and Kael continued to Dalaran, where Malfurion met them and revealed that Illidan was in the ruined city with a host of Naga, casting a spell to destroy Northrend that threatened the stability of Azeroth itself. Maiev lied to Malfurion and explained Tyrande's absence by saying that she had been killed by the undead, and reminding Malfurion that it was Illidan's fault that they'd even come to Lordaeron in the first place. Galvanized and enraged, Malfurion charged into the city with what forces he could muster, Maiev at his side, and they managed to interrupt Illidan's dread spell.

Malfurion ensnared the stunned and defenseless Illidan with enchanted roots while Maiev prepared to carry out his execution. Illidan protested that he had been trying to destroy the Lich King, the ruler of the Undead Scourge, but Malfurion told him that Tyrande was dead because of his actions. Kael interjected then and informed Malfurion that Tyrande was likely not dead, but merely swept downriver. The archdruid realized that Maiev had lied to him, ensnared her instead, and freed Illidan when his brother offered his services and his Naga forces in helping to find Tyrande.

Maiev immediately gave chase once she was able to, and came upon Malfurion, the rescued Tyrande, and Illidan himself as he prepared a portal through which to escape to Outland. Blinded by rage and brimming with the desire for vengeance, she and her Watchers charged in after him, ignoring Tyrande's pleas that Illidan was no longer a threat.

The Draenor Campaign
Maiev established a stronghold in Outland and spent days searching for Illidan amid the blasted landscape. She eventually encountered him in battle and managed to incapacitate him, locking him up in a cage which she began to lead back to her base. However, a group of Naga and Blood Elves under Kael and the Sea Witch Lady Vashj engaged her forces for control of the cage. The Kal'dorei and Sin'dorei clashed numerous times before the Blood Elves and Naga defeated the Night Elves decisively and freed Illidan. Defeated once again, Maiev and her followers retreated, planning their next chance to recapture Illidan.

That chance never came. After Illidan returned from his disastrous campaign at Icecrown, he was still too powerful and too elusive for Maiev to engage. Countless times she tried to capture him, but each attempt ended in more pitiful failure than the last as her once-loyal Watchers were killed or abandoned her.

Present
With the release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, the mystery around this character was finally revealed. She was imprisoned by Illidan in the The Wardens Cage in Shadowmoon Valley, a new zone in the world of Outland. Details on why Blizzard "resurrected" her (after her death was stated in several RPG books) are still unclear. The first guild to slay Illidan has confirmed that Maiev arrives during the final stages of the raid, and is the one who delivers the final blow. After Illidan's death, Maiev expresses feelings of self-doubt ("I feel nothing...I am nothing"), for the hunt for Illidan had consumed her very being until the moment she finally killed him.

Jarod Shadowsong
It is revealed in the trilogy "Well of Eternity" that Maiev is in fact, Jarod Shadowsong's sister. Jarod becomes the high commander of the Night Elven armies and also helps mediate the relations with the "Earthens" (Dwarves), Tauren and Furbolgs. With the death of the original commander, Lord Ravencrest, and that of the foolish first successor, Desdel Stareye, Jarod took over, his natural leadership skills leading the Night Elf army along with the Tauren, Dwarves and Furbolgs to victory, being the first to competently and respectfully lead the combined forces of all the races. Maiev is assumed to have volunteered to become Illidan's warden after Illidan attempted to kill Jarod, who had confronted Illidan in the process of making the new Well of Eternity. In Warcraft III, one of the generic names for a Demon Hunter is Shadowsong .

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