KMC Forums - Cenarius

Cenarius is one of the most powerful and influential demigods of Azeroth, Lord of the Forest, and the patron god of all druids.

Gender Male

Race Ancient

Character class: Demigod, Keeper of the Grove, Druid of the Wild

Affiliation Forests of Kalimdor

Occupation Lord of the Forest, Supreme Druid, Defender of the Emerald Dream

Status Slain by Grom Hellscream, but his spirit lives on in the Emerald Dream

Relatives: Elune (mother), Malorne (father), Ysera (mentor), "The Centaur", Remulos, Zaetar (sons), "The Dryad" (Daughter), Malfurion Stormrage (thero'shan)

The tauren myth The White Stag and the Moon tells of the birth of Cenarius from the union of the moon, Mu'sha, and the white stag Malorne. Ysera taught Cenarius the secrets of the Emerald Dream and the natural world.

Elune birthed Cenarius, but gave him up to Malorne because Cenarius was more a creature of the mortal world and could not be with her. Malorne, who had relations with both Elune and Ysera, knew that he could not properly care for his son, but Ysera's love was so great for Malorne that she took Cenarius as her own. Hence being his mother (or adoptive mother).

The demigod grew into a powerful and cunning being, the union of the heavens and the earth. He has many powers over nature, which he inherited from his father, Malorne. He fathered many children. His daughters are known as dryads and his sons as Keepers of the Grove, or simply keepers, including Keeper Remulos and Zaetar.

According to a night elf legend mentioned in Warcraft III manual, Manual of Monsters, and Horde Player's Guide, centaur were Cenarius' bastard children. It is possible this means he directly fathered the centaur described in Manual of Monsters, who live in the Eastern Kingdoms and Krenka tribe of the Barrens. These centaur tribes have nothing to do with the five tribes Zaetar fathered in Kalimdor.

Night elves are sometimes referred to as "Cenarius' favored children", because of their connection to dryads and keepers, which are described as having the upper body of night elves.

When Archimonde began his first invasion of the world of Azeroth, Malfurion Stormrage and the priestess Tyrande Whisperwind called upon Cenarius for aid. Realizing the cataclysmic nature of the threat the Burning Legion posed, Cenarius amassed an army of woodland allies. They battled Azshara and her followers and the Legion's diabolical agents, finally destroying the Well of Eternity in a cataclysmic explosion that sundered the world.

After Illidan recreated the Well of Eternity on Hyjal, Cenarius aided Furion in imprisoning the rogue night elf beneath the earth.

Cenarius taught the night elves the ways of the forest, and druidism became widespread among the males. The elves became allied with many of Cenarius' faithful creatures, perhaps most notably the feral hippogryphs, who allowed themselves to be ridden by the night elf archers. Following the druids' entrance into the Emerald Dream, Cenarius helped Tyrande and the Sentinels during the Long Vigil. He and his children, the Keepers of the Grove and their dryad sisters, helped to patrol the woodlands from the Moonglade.

Following the arrival of the orcs on Kalimdor, Grom Hellscream was sent to harvest lumber in Ashenvale. This caught the attention of the Sentinels, who immediately attacked the orcs. After Grom held them off, Cenarius himself was brought to the forefront.
Mannoroth, hoping to use the orcs one last time, spilled his blood into a Fountain of Life, corrupting it utterly. Grom was brought to the fountain, where he convinced his clan to drink the demonic blood with him, despite objections that doing so would go against everything Thrall had taught them. After imbibing, the Warsongs were transformed into powerful chaos orcs who could stand up to the might of Cenarius.

In a titanic battle, Cenarius was killed by Hellscream, as Mannoroth had hoped. Mannoroth appeared before Hellscream and his troops moments later and enslaved them, since by drinking his blood they had made themselves susceptible to his control once again.

The death of Cenarius at the hands of the orcs, demon-tainted or not, enraged the night elves, cementing their view of the savage, green-skinned (although red-skinned at that moment) creatures as their enemies. When Malfurion considered the possibility of allying with Jaina's and Thrall's forces, observing that they fought against the undead as well, Tyrande vehemently rejected the idea and cited the fact Cenarius had been killed by them as proof that they were the enemy.

Since his father Malorne was said to have a strong connection with the Emerald Dream, due to its connection to nature, Cenarius' spirit was able to live on in the Emerald Dream as a spirit of nature. The night elves believe he sleeps in the Emerald Dream while his wounds heal, and that he will some day join them again.WoWRPG 251 The only clue to Cenarius's current activities comes from a conversation his son Remulos has with the spirit of Malfurion when players complete a particular quest. It appears Cenarius is now helping Furion combat The Nightmare that is disrupting the Emerald Dream, causing the corruption of The Four Dragons among other things.

It is believed that he will manifest a new body and return to the world if given enough time to recover.