The Burning Crusade

From wow.incgamers.com

MMO Expansion

The Burning Crusade is the first expansion pack to World of Warcraft, released by Blizzard on the 16th of January 2007.

Definition

The Burning Crusade is known as a vast war of destruction set in motion by the dark titan Sargeras, who commanded the Burning Legion's demonic races the goal of razing and setting ablaze in flames every world that had been ordered and shaped by the ancient titans.

On 2004 -- year prior to the announcement of the Burning Crusade expansion, announcement made at Blizzcon 2005 -- White Wolf Publishing had made an entry about the Burning Crusade in the Warcraft RPG: Shadow and Light publication:

"A great war rages beyond the ken of normal mortals. The universe houses innumerable worlds, and the Burning Legion currently invades a handful of them. Most mortals are blind to this secret conflict, but the wisest and strongest know of it — and some are heroes and leaders in this war. Champions from Azeroth and many other worlds battle across the cosmos, attempting to drive back the Burning Legion and keep the embattled planets safe from demonic corruption. Theirs is a desperate, epic war, and they welcome any who would join them. Beings of all sorts join forces — humans and draenei fight alongside orcs, high elves alongside night elves. Old rivalries are thrown aside in the face of the ominous Legion. All who fight this secret war know that, despite the posturing and ambition of individual demon lords, Kil’jaeden was always Sargeras’ second. He is the Legion’s true leader. Out in the Great Dark Beyond, Kil’jaeden waits as demons and mortals die, biding his time for his minions to grow strong once again."

Lore

Winds of Change: From Dark Horizons to a Beacon of Hope in the World of Warcraft. It has been one year since heroes representing both the Alliance and the Horde stepped through the Dark Portal ....

Outland was once Draenor, home to both the draenei and the orcs. Shortly after reaching Azeroth and joining the Alliance, the draenei were instrumental in convincing their new allies to venture back into the broken land beyond the portal. Likewise, the blood elves urged their new allies within the Horde to journey into the realm where their beloved prince, Kael’thas Sunstrider, had come to reside. The prince had sent his people a message beckoning them onward, promising deliverance and future salvation.

Thus it was that adventurers from Azeroth flooded into the blasted landscape. The blood elves soon learned that the salvation promised by Prince Kael’thas was a lie, that the prince pursued his own terrifying agenda. The paradise they believed Outland would be was instead a perilous realm of unending conflict. Rather than see the prince’s plan reach fruition, Outland’s heroes defeated him and then set out to dethrone Outland’s malefic ruler: Illidan the Betrayer. They began by overcoming one of ]]Illidan]]’s top lieutenants, the naga witch, Lady Vashj. The emboldened fighters then stormed the gates of the Black Temple and confronted Illidan himself. They waged a fierce and desperate battle and ultimately killed the Betrayer, wresting Outland from his iron grip.

The adventures of Outland proved particularly rewarding for the orcs of Azeroth, who reconnected with their ancestral forebears, the Mag’har. Led by Garrosh Hellscream, son of the legendary Grom Hellscream, the Mag’har embody the lost heritage of the orcs and may yet herald a return to the Horde’s former glory. For the draenei, the return to Outland provided a chance to reclaim regions of their former home, face old enemies, and learn at last the fate of those left behind. Back on Azeroth, adventurers of all races converged on the Caverns of Time to combat the infinite dragons’ assault on the timeways – an assault that would have unraveled the very fabric of history.

In Quel’Thalas, the kingdom of the blood elves, antagonists from the past reemerged. The troll warlord Zul’jin, embittered by the orcs’ abandonment during the Second War and the Horde’s recent acceptance of blood elves into its ranks, turned against his former allies. Within the walled fortress of Zul’Aman, Zul’jin directed the Hex Lord Malacrass to infuse the spirits of ancient animal gods into living troll warriors. Once again, intrepid heroes stepped in to conquer the fearsome troll army. Yet despite the bloodshed in the elven kingdom, it was in the heart of Quel’Thalas that hope shone brightest after a hard-fought battle at the site of the Sunwell. Having survived his defeat in Outland, Kael’thas had returned to the ruins of the elves’ ancient fount of power, the Sunwell. There he did the unthinkable, openly siding with the demonic Burning Legion, which sought to usher the demon lord Kil’jaeden into the world through the fountain’s magical depths.

Horde and Alliance forces banded together in the face of impossible odds and vanquished Kil’jaeden, once again protecting Azeroth from the Legion’s Burning Crusade. In the aftermath of victory, the draenei prophet Velen sanctified the legendary Sunwell using the power of the Holy Light. With the Sunwell’s rebirth, the Blood Knights – an order of blood elf paladins who once wielded the Light by force–have decided instead to embrace it and to forge for themselves a new identity as they lead their people into a more promising future. This future may soon be thrown into question, however, for an immensely powerful, dark, and brooding presence awakens in the snowy wastes of a distant land ....

References

• World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Game Manual (PDF)
• Warcraft RPG: Shadow and Light