The blood elves are high elves who changed their name after the Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas. Their new name is a dirge, referencing both the blood of their many brethren who fell during the Third War, and their royal lineage. For nearly 7,000 years, high elven society centered on the sacred Sunwell, a magical fount that was created using a vial of pure arcane energy from the first Well of Eternity. Nourished and strengthened by the Sunwell’s potent energies, the high elves’ enchanted kingdom of Quel'Thalas prospered within the verdant forests north of Lordaeron. During the Third War, however, the high elves were nearly scoured from Azeroth. Led by the death knight Arthas Menethil, a Scourge army stormed into Quel'Thalas, slaughtering almost ninety percent of the kingdom’s population. Arthas then used the mystical Sunwell to resurrect the fallen necromancer Kel'Thuzad, irrevocably tainting the fountain in the process. Velen, The Prophet would eventually use the essence of a darkened naaru to restore the Sunwell as a fount of both arcane and holy energy.