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Timeline
During the Third WarThe Prison Opens
With the Burning Legion advancing through Kalimdor, Tyrande sought more than soldiers. She needed someone who understood the enemy. Deep beneath the forests she turned toward the prison of Illidan, the man her people had confined for millennia.
Malfurion opposed her decision. He remembered what his brother’s pursuit of power had cost and did not believe a new crisis had made him safe. Tyrande acted despite that warning, fighting past the guards and opening the prison.
Illidan accepted the fight against the demons for Tyrande’s sake, not out of renewed loyalty to the society that had imprisoned him. His release also created another enemy: Maiev would return to find her prisoner gone and Watchers dead. The rescue that gave the defenders a weapon began a pursuit that would last beyond the war.
Sources (1)
An Eye Turned North
Kil’jaeden demanded the destruction of Ner’zhul, whose disobedience had made the Lich King a threat to his former master. Illidan accepted the task. The memories taken from the Skull gave him a route to a weapon powerful enough to attempt it.
With Vashj’s naga, Illidan entered the Tomb of Sargeras and claimed the Eye. Maiev followed him inside, but his escape left her companions trapped in the collapsing tomb. Her pursuit became inseparable from those losses.
At Dalaran, Illidan directed the Eye’s power toward Icecrown. The ritual threatened the land around the Frozen Throne as well as its prisoner. Malfurion, Maiev and Kael’thas intervened before the attack could finish. The artifact was destroyed and Illidan’s promise to Kil’jaeden remained unfulfilled.
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A Rescue Before Exile
Tyrande had been swept downriver while protecting refugees from the Scourge. Maiev told Malfurion that she was dead, keeping him focused on capturing Illidan. Kael’thas revealed that her fate was not certain.
Illidan offered to help find her. His naga searched the river and the brothers worked together against the undead to reach her. For a moment, saving someone they both loved mattered more than the judgment waiting between them.
Malfurion allowed Illidan to leave after the rescue, without absolving him of his actions. Illidan opened a portal to Outland to escape Kil’jaeden’s punishment. Maiev followed him through. The separation ended neither her hunt nor the demon lord’s claim on him.
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The Enemy of My Enemy
Outland offered Illidan distance from Azeroth, but not safety. Maiev captured him there before Vashj and Kael’thas intervened. The blood elf prince pledged his people’s service in exchange for help with their hunger for magic.
The shattered world already had a ruler. Magtheridon drew demonic reinforcements through portals and held Black Temple. Illidan’s forces closed those routes and joined Akama, whose people wanted the sanctuary taken back from its occupier. Together they defeated the pit lord.
Illidan claimed the victory as lordship over Outland. Akama would discover that removing Magtheridon had not restored his people’s freedom. Nor had conquest concealed Illidan from Kil’jaeden: the demon lord found him and demanded another attempt against the Frozen Throne.
Sources (2)
