Malorne




 * The enormous stag is a white so pure that he radiates a soft glow, like moonlight. He stares at you with eyes that are silver pools of deep and ancient wisdom, and his mere presence gives off an aura of calm, safety, and peacefulness.

Malorne, or Apa'ro, was an enormous white stag that roamed the land as protector of nature. His power lay in nature itself and he was responsible for the creation and nurturing of nature in the world. He was the father of Cenarius, who inherited his dominion over nature.

Early history
It is theorized that Malorne is older than Elune herself.

The earliest record of Malorne is in the tauren myth The White Stag and the Moon. It describes how Malorne, being hunted by the tauren, bargained with Elune in exchange for help. Malorne accepted Elune's help and loved her as part of the deal. Elune gave birth to Cenarius from that relationship.

Malorne the Waywatcher showed up to help the night elves when a great crisis affected the world or the night elf civilization. Although he has great magical power, he is never shapeshifted into any other form. The stag prevented two civil wars among the night elves simply by making himself present before the astonished eyes of the night elves. Malorne was an excellent diplomat, opening dialogue between and pacifying conflicting parties.

Malorne was able to enter the Emerald Dream and the physical world at any time, and perceived what happens in both realms as if he had omniscience of what happens simultaneously in both planes.

It is even rumored that a circle of druids exists called the Druids of the Antler that has dedicated itself to following Malorne’s example and recreating his mighty powers — but this rumor has yet to be proven.

Relationships
As told in the above myth, Malorne was the lover of Elune, the mother of his son Cenarius. He subsequently became partner to the Dragon Aspect Ysera, who adopted Cenarius as her own. This has led to speculation that Ysera and Elune were one and the same, but this theory has been officially denied.

The Warcraft Encyclopedia, clearly states (several times) that Malorne was never romantically involved with Ysera. The rumor was apparently started by the close relationship between Ysera and Cenarius (now known to be one of teacher and student), which led to speculation that she was his absent mother.

Death
Night elves worship Malorne for his great assistance during the War of the Ancients against the first invasion of the Burning Legion where he lost his life in defense of the world of Azeroth.

Cenarius had gone into a frenzy seeing Ursol, Ursoc, Aviana, and Agamaggan die. Cenarius crushed hundreds of felguards and felhunters.

The demons finally got hold of Cenarius, but before the demons could slay him, Malorne came into the fray blinding all demons with his majestic white flashing body. Malorne's hooves crushed many demons, while his antlers killed many others. Malorne defended his son Cenarius, and with a look toward the elves as if telepathically commanding them to come for his son, Jarod Shadowsong and others dragged Cenarius to safety.

Malorne's fury might have begun to turn the tide against the Burning Legion, had Archimonde not appeared. Black lightning struck the land around Malorne, baking it, then green fire from the ground engulfed Malorne, burning at his coat, while the land and rock formed giant hands that pinned his four legs to the ground. Archimonde swelled in size matching Malorne's height.

Malorne freed himself from his magical trap, and charged Archimonde with his antlers, causing tremors and lightning as demons and Azeroth's races nearby shook and fell to the ground flat on their backs with astonishment. Malorne and Archimonde battled for some time, until, finally, Archimonde managed to seize Malorne and with great force snapped his neck. Cenarius's brave rescuer and father, limp and lifeless, was tossed aside by Archimonde.

Malfurion knowing Cenarius was unconscious and that Archimonde had just slain Malorne, cast a spell that engulfed most of Archimonde's body with vines. The Archdemon, analytical as always, decided to retreat by vanishing in a green flare of flames that consumed the vines.

Shortly thereafter (a few moments, in fact), Alexstrasza, Ysera, and Soridormi, along with their dragonflights, joined the War of the Ancients. Ysera came to a screeching halt at the sight of Malorne and opened wide her brilliant jade eyes (one of only a few times she did so in recorded history) with a deafening shriek. As she tore through the carnage to her friend, thousands of demons were thrown in all directions with her paws and wings. Her rampage continued, making her way through to her goal, until she came still, her chin on Malorne's head; sobs could be heard as She of the Dreaming mourned the White Stag's end.

It is currently believed by night elves, that he transcended death and that he has returned to Elune's side or sleeps in the Emerald Dream.

Resurrection
At the end of the quest Quest:The Sanctuary Must Not Fall, introduced in Patch 4.2, Malfurion successfully resurrects Malorne. After being resurrected Malorne kills Lord Rhyolith and the other enemies attacking the Sanctuary of Malorne. He then runs off towards The Regrowth and is nowhere to be seen till after the quest Quest:The Power of Malorne where he apears in the Sanctuary afterwards.

Power


There is some confusion as to the accuracy of the tauren tale, The White Stag and the Moon. It seems unlikely that a being of Malorne's power would fear the tauren, much less be hunted by them. The question is not about the parentage of Cenarius, but rather, about the circumstances that led to this liaison. Some think it unlikely that the tauren could have posed a threat to him, and thus question the hunt that chased Malorne into the sky. There are likely explanations for the story: Given the tauren's attitude towards demigods and other natural powers, however, it seems unlikely that they would even be hunting Malorne in the first place.
 * 1) The tale is literally true (see below).
 * A) The tauren chased him in such numbers that they posed a threat.
 * B) The tauren had heroes among them that might have posed a threat to Malorne.
 * C) He may not have wished to battle the tauren, due to them being a peaceful race and children of the Earth Mother, and Elune gave him an opportunity to avoid conflict.
 * D) Malorne was less powerful than at the time of his death, his liaison with Elune somehow unlocked latent powers.
 * E) The hunt for Malorne was not a serious life-death adventure at all but it was more of a game between Malorne and the tauren. Malorne did not actually run from the Tauren because he feared them but because he found it fun or exciting to be hunted and played along with mortals. Upon the point when he could not run anymore he simply could not accept defeat in the hunting game at hands of the mortals.
 * 1) The tale is a myth based upon true events; though Malorne was forced to ask Elune's aid to escape a threat, it was not the tauren he was running from, and as the tauren retold the tale over the millennia, they replaced the unknown enemy with themselves.
 * 2) The entire story is fictional, and was created to explain the liaison between Malorne and Elune that led to the birth of Cenarius.

Name
His name was likely taken from the random Keeper of the Grove hero in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.