Many Warcraft fans worldwide have read the three books of War of the Ancients Trilogy.  A few details caused confusion among most lorekeepers and for that matter, we contacted Richard A. Knaak to shine some light into the matter.  If you haven’t read the books, be warned the following Q&A may be a Spoiler to some.  Richard A. Knaak replied to few key questions I gathered from RP-PvP.com Forums* concerning War of the Ancients Trilogy.  Here is what Richard A. Knaak said:

War of the Ancients Trilogy reveals that Ysera is mother of Cenarius and lover of Malorne.  Are Ysera and Elune one and the same?

Knaak: Elune and Ysera are not the same.  Here is the explanation, per Blizzard, who did not wish any further elaboration in the novel at the time:

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According to the Sundering, it is said that Ysera is Cenarius’s mother.  However, Dungard the Earthen says that he thought Elune ‘birthed’ Cenarius.

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).

2.  This question has gone around in the Community for some time:  Is Hakkar the Soulflayer and Hakkar the Houndmaster one and the same, or different entities?

Knaak: Hakkar first existed in WELL OF ETERNITY, as Hakkar the Houndmaster, my creation.  Blizzard must have liked the name, because they accidentally took the name afterward for the troll god.  Chris Metzen apologized for the mix-up at the L.A. Festival of Books.

3. The phrase “Sargeras ceased to exist” confused many fans.  Some think it means he died, while I interpreted it as he ceased to be in Azeroth and remains alive.  Could you clear that up?

Knaak: Sargeras ceased to be in the sense of his physical being in the mortal world of Azeroth.  He was cast into limbo, so to speak, as Blizzard wanted. Otherwise, he pretty much would have immediately returned to try to destroy Azeroth again.  ‘Ceased to be’ was used specifically for that reason.

4.  What are your upcoming books?  And when will they be available in bookstores?

Knaak: The second manga WARCRAFT: THE SUNWELL TRILOGY: SHADOWS OF ICE comes out in spring 2006, due to the artwork by Jae-Hwan Kim.

DIABLO: MOON OF THE SPIDER—featuring Zayl the Necromancer—will be out in December 2005.

Special thanks to Richard A. Knaak and to Chris Metzen, for authorizing him to share this with the fans.

Richard A. Knaak is New York Times-bestselling author of D&D books, Dragonlance, Dragonrealm, Minotaur Wars, Legend of Huma, Ragnarok Manga, The Janus Mask, among others.

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Download Richard A. Knaak PDF Ezine

Among his Blizzard Novels are:

Warcraft: Day of the Dragon
War of the Ancients: Well of Eternity (Vol. 1)
War of the Ancients: Demon Soul (Vol. 2)
War of the Ancients: The Sundering (Vol. 3)
Warcraft Manga: The Sunwell Trilogy: The Dragon Hunt
Warcraft Manga: The Sunwell Trilogy: Shadows of Ice (Spring 2006)

You can order them Here

Diablo: Legacy of Blood (#1)—May, 2001
Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow (#3)—August, 2002
Diablo: Moon of the Spider—December 2005

Warcraft: War of the Ancients Book One: The Well of Eternity, Vol. 1
Warcraft: War of the Ancients Book One: The Well of Eternity, Vol. 1

Warcraft: War of the Ancients Book Two: The Demon Soul
Warcraft: War of the Ancients Book Two: The Demon Soul

Warcraft: War of the Ancients Book Three: The Sundering, Vol. 3
Warcraft: War of the Ancients Book Three: The Sundering, Vol. 3

Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy (Volume 1): Dragon Hunt
Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy (Volume 1): Dragon Hunt

Warcraft, Volume 2
Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy (Volume 2): Shadows of Ice

Diablo: Moon of the Spider
Diablo: Moon of the Spider