Ashenvale

Ashenvale is the ancient forest of the night elves, a dark green country of giant trees, moonlit glades and ruins far older than any human kingdom. The night elves settled here after the Great Sundering ten thousand years ago and have guarded it ever since. Even so, it carries old scars: during the War of the Satyr, the satyrs' fel magic ravaged the woods, and their descendants still haunt the ruins of Xavian, Night Run and Satyrnaar.

The newest wound came with the Third War. Goblin loggers began cutting the forest, and then the orcs of the Warsong clan arrived under Grom Hellscream. They drove off the furbolgs and the Sentinels who stood against them, and when the demigod Cenarius came to defend his forest, Grom killed him. Cenarius had been the night elves' teacher and guardian; they have not forgiven it.

Since then Ashenvale has been a war zone. The Horde's Warsong lumber and labour camps keep cutting trees in the east, run from Splintertree Post, and the Silverwing Sentinels have sworn to drive every orc out of Warsong Gulch. Astranaar, on its island in the middle of the forest, is the night elves' stronghold, and their patrols watch every road.

Other dangers fill the woods between the two sides. Many furbolg tribes have turned savage, corrupted by demonic influence. On the western coast, the Zoram Strand leads down to Blackfathom Deeps, a sunken temple of the old night elves where something dark now stirs beneath the water.

Written for this site from the game's lore. Further reading: Ashenvale on Warcraft Wiki.