Druids of the Flame
- "Druid of the Flame" redirects here. For the Firelands mob, see Druid of the Flame (mob).
 Druids of the Flame | |
|---|---|
 The banner of the cult. | |
| Main leader |
 Ashendir Hartwood † |
| Formerly |
 Archdruid Fandral Staghelm † |
| Secondary leaders |
 Norana Morninglight |
| Formerly |
Leyara † |
| Race(s) |
Night elf |
| Capital | Unknown |
| Formerly | Sulfuron Keep |
| Base of operations | Ragnaros' Reach, Wildflame Point |
| Theater of operations | Firelands, Dragon Isles |
| Formerly | Mount Hyjal |
| Affiliation | Primalists, Independent |
| Formerly | Ragnaros' forces, Twilight's Hammer (Old Gods' forces) |
| Status | Active |
The Druids of the Flame are a sect of druids founded by Archdruid Fandral Staghelm, who served Ragnaros the Firelord as his loyal majordomo. These vile creatures have turned their backs on Elune's teachings, and twisted by the insane power of the fire, they desire nothing more than to bury everything in ash.[1] They operated mainly in the Firelands[2] and can be distinguished from other night elves by their scarred red skin and burning orange eyes. Thrall referred to them as members of the Twilight's Hammer, and Fandral claimed to answer to the Twilight Prophet.[3]
Decades later, the new iteration of the druids led by Ashendir Hartwood was dedicated to the Primal Incarnate Fyrakk and the Primalists' vision of the world.
History
Cataclysm
While Azeroth's defenders fought to hold back the unleashing of Ragnaros and his fire elementals on Mount Hyjal, Deathwing turned his attention to Thrall. The orc's meddling had unified the Dragon Aspects against him, and thus he called on a new weapon to end him: the Druids of the Flame. They were led by Fandral Staghelm, the disgraced former leader of the Cenarion Circle, who had been locked in a barrow den for his attempted murder of Malfurion Stormrage and his dealings with the Emerald Nightmare.
As the Cataclysm had unfolded, agents of the Twilight's Hammer had helped him escape his bonds, and presented him with an offer: if he served the Destroyer, he would be granted the power to take revenge on the world for the death of his son, Valstann Staghelm. After his defeat during the War Against the Nightmare, Fandral knew that resurrecting Valstann was impossible, and his only desire was now to bring ruin to Azeroth.[4]
Ragnaros himself remade Fandral in flames, disfiguring the night elf but also granting him command over the element of fire. He became the Firelord's foremost lieutenant and the first Druid of the Flame.[4] Fandral then recruited others to his side, mainly druids who were disillusioned with the Cenarion Circle. Like their new leader, these druids were reborn in fire. Near Mount Hyjal, Fandral and his druids ambushed Thrall, and used the orc's own shamanic power to shatter his spirit and hurl the pieces across the Elemental Plane. Each sundered portion of his essence embodied one of his raw emotions.[5]
Among other things, they also attempted to use a vessel of Firelands energy known as a "Solar Core" to annihilate Azeroth.[6]
Meanwhile, Malfurion Stormrage rallied Hyjal's defenders in a massive counterattack against the fire elementals. They drove Ragnaros's army back into the Firelands, and with reinforcements from the Horde and the Alliance, the Cenarion Circle stormed into the stronghold known as the Molten Front. Slowly, they pushed deeper into the Firelands until they reached Sulfuron Keep, where Ragnaros fell before the onslaught of Azeroth's defenders. His greatest lieutenants, including Fandral and most of his druids, suffered the same fate. With the Firelord's destruction, Hyjal was at last spared from his all-consuming flames.[5]
Dragonflight
Thought to have been destroyed with the deaths of Fandral Staghelm and Ragnaros, the Druids of the Flame were able to escape into the Firelands and gained recruits in the wake of the War of the Thorns, as a lot of night elves felt devastated and demoralized by those events. Under the leadership of Ashendir Hartwood, they allied with Fyrakk and the Primalists under the promise of reclaiming their immortality,[7][8] and struck against the Dragon Isles during fire Dreamsurges, coming from Waking Dream portals. Their alliance was later discovered by Shandris Feathermoon and an adventurer in the assaulted Lunedane.[9]
Through a series of books titled the "Molten Treatise", found across the Smoldering Copse, Ashendir Hartwood spread propaganda of his ideologies. He notably extolled Fandral Staghelm for becoming a servant of Ragnaros in order to "reclaim [their] birthright" in the Firelands, and accused the adventurers of his death because he dared to question the established order.[10] He also accused Tyrande Whisperwind to have left her people suffer in order to return with a dying world tree, rather than negotiate the renewal of their immortality with the Winter Queen in the Shadowlands.[11]
The Druids of Flame later blessed 
[Fyr'alath the Dreamrender] as Igira forged it for Fyrakk, who used the axe to open the way into the Emerald Dream.[12] During the course of the invasion, Hartwood was involved in elevating several higher-ranking members of the cult, imbuing them with elemental power, such as Elder Cassaphine who became a flame dryad.[13] Though his acolyte Apostle Fenarelle was slain by adventurers in their first encounter, Hartwood escaped unscathed.[14] A short time later, Ashendir dissuaded Fyrakk from persecuting further attack against Alexstrasza and her compatriots, recalling the Blazing his plan to humble, humiliate, and break them. The death of the "traitorous queen" was thus delayed, and both Hartwood and his master fled once again.[15] Despite empowering additional Druids of the Flame, a second confrontation with Tyrande concluded with the death of another acolyte, Sylvanesh the Ascended, while Hartwood once again escaped.[16]
When Fyrakk launched his assault on Amirdrassil, the Druids of the Flame attempted to breach the Wellspring Temple. However, its protective barrier proved stronger than anticipated, leading an impatient Fyrakk to lash out at the Druids for what he saw as incompetence. During the battle at the Field of Flames, Hartwood transformed into a magma giant to protect Fyrakk's intrusion and was slain by the Dream Wardens.[17] Ultimately, the Druids of the Flame fell before the Defenders of the Dream, their leadership being dashed and what few remained were killed by Fyrakk whoe destroyed the barrier himself. Yet, in the end, Fyrakk failed to corrupt the World Tree and was killed by the heroes, allowing Amirdrassil to complete its blooming.
While other members fought under Fyrakk to the bitter end, others defected from the movement to rejoin their kin, recognizing that the Flame was just using them.[18]
Abilities and equipment
To the untrained eye, a flame druid's staff would be indistinguishable from any druid's staff.[19] Their idols signify their tie to the element of fire,[20] and they carry spellbooks which detail their strange spells.[21]
Flame druids mostly use fire-oriented spells. Much like normal druids, they are capable of shapeshifting into animal forms, but their forms are always fiery versions of the animal in question.
Fire cat
Fire crow[22]
Fire dreamstag
Fire moonkin
Fire raven
Fire runebear
Fire scorpion
Fire somnowl
Fire treant
Druid players can acquire customizations for several of their shapeshift forms to match the Druids of the Flame. Upon learning the form, it can be changed at the Barbershop:
[Cat Form]: Learned at the same time as obtaining the transmogrification 
[Fandral's Flamescythe], which drops from Majordomo Staghelm in the Firelands. This customization is also temporarily available by using 
[Burning Seed] or 
[Fandral's Seed Pouch], but only Fandral's Flamescythe makes it permanent.
[Bear Form]: Learned from the 
[Pollenfused Bristlebruin Fur Sample], looted in the Emerald Dream zone.
[Moonkin Form]: Learned from 
[Feather of the Smoke Red Moon], which drops from Tindral Sageswift in Amirdrassil, the Dream's Hope.
[Flight Form]: Learned at the same time as obtaining the mount Anu'relos, Flame's Guidance, which drops from Fyrakk the Blazing in Amirdrassil on Mythic difficulty.
[Travel Form]: Learned from 
[Mark of the Smoldering Dreamstag], which drops from Talthonei Ashwhisper in the Emerald Dream zone.
Notable members
- Main article: Druids of the Flame NPCs
| Name | Role | Status | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
  Fandral Staghelm
|
Archdruid of the Flame | Deceased | Various |
  Leyara
|
Lieutenant of Fandral | Deceased | Various |
 Ashendir Hartwood
|
Prophet of the Flame | Killable | Various |
| Norana Morninglight
|
Priestess of the Flame | Alive | Various |
 Tindral Sageswift
|
Seer of the Flame | Killable | Amirdrassil, the Dream's Hope |
| Prophet of the Flame
|
Prophet | Alive | Ashen Fields, Molten Front |
| Firodren Dawncaller
|
High ranking member | Alive | Unknown |
Notes and trivia
- They were considered heretics by the Shadow Wardens present in the Firelands. Some of them were captured at the Forlorn Spire to be questioned and then eliminated.[23]
- Players may change into a Druid of the Flame with
[Leyara's Locket]. - A full transmog set is available for players though Island Expedition and
[Elemental Salvage]. - Ebon Knight Frostreavers can have the same skin texture as the Druids of the Flame.
- The Druid of the Flame is a common druid minion in the Blackrock Mountain adventure for Hearthstone. When played, it can shapeshift into either a fire cat with aggressive stats or a fire hawk with defensive stats. When its effects are combined, it transforms into a fire version of a wyvern with combined stats instead.
- In Heroes of the Storm, Malfurion has a skin called "Druid of the Flame Malfurion", depicting an alternate reality in which it was he and not Fandral who became the Majordomo of the Firelands. This version of the character also appears as an alternate druid hero in Hearthstone, rewarded from the 2021 Fire Festival event.
Speculation
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This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.
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Since Leyara was inducted into the organization due to being highly disillusioned with Malfurion's passive stance in regards to the Horde, it is possible that other members of the Druids of the Flame joined for similar reasons. It is also possible the Druids of the Flame are holdout loyalists of Fandral Staghelm after the events of Stormrage, and that their emergence is an escalation of the schism that existed between Tyrande and Fandral during Malfurion's absence.
Gallery
A male druid of the flame.
A female druid of the flame.
A Druid of the Flame in fire cat form.
A druid in fire cat form in Hearthstone.
A druid in fire hawk form in Hearthstone.
A druid in fire wyvern form in Hearthstone.
References
- ^ [32-35 Daily] Traitors Return
- ^ Patch 4.2 Preview: The Firelands (Archived)
- ^ [35] The Nordrassil Summit
- ^ a b World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 214
- ^ a b World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 215
- ^ [32-35 Daily] Solar Core Destruction
- ^ [70] Through the Flames
- ^ World of Warcraft Devs Give a First Look at Guardians of the Dream PTR l WoWCast
- ^ [70] Through the Flames
- ^ Molten Treatise Vol. 4
- ^ Molten Treatise Vol. 5
- ^ A Crown of Flame | Guardians of the Dream In-Game Cinematic
- ^ [70] Lost to the Flame
- ^ [70] The Face of Our Enemies
- ^ [70] Between Fyrakk and a Hard Place
- ^ [70] Forlorn Hope
- ^ [70] Echo of the Firelands
- ^ [70] Burning Out
- ^
[Flame Druid Staff]
- ^
[Flame Druid Idol]
- ^
[Flame Druid Spellbook]
- ^ [32-35 Daily] Bye Bye Burdy
- ^ Shadow Warden#Quotes
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