Great Sundering

The Great Sundering, also known as simply the Sundering or the Cataclysm,Template:Cite was a world event which reshaped Azeroth approximately 10,000 years ago at the end of the War of the Ancients. This event was triggered due to the Well of Eternity being destroyed.

Prior to the Sundering, there was only one continent on Azeroth and it was referred to as Kalimdor. In the catastrophic explosion, eighty percent of the land mass was destroyed,Template:Cite leaving behind the major continents and scattered islands that are known today: Northrend, Kezan, the Eastern Kingdoms, and the remnant still referred to as Kalimdor.

The site of the Well of Eternity became a swirling vortex of power known as the Maelstrom.

Fanart of the Sundering

Inspiration

The concept of a sundering, or a world being reshaped, is a common theme found in fantasy. Tolkien described a reshaping of Arda, and lands lost to the seas in his writings, and the Dragonlance Dungeons and Dragons gameworld underwent the Cataclysm, where seas receded to the point that a coastal port town became landlocked. In David Eddings' Belgariad, the dark God Kal Torak attempted to use a magic orb that had been used to shape the world in anger and split the world in two and mutilated himself, an event similar to the Sundering.

Rumor

A blogger discovered multiple trademarkings belonging to Blizzard under the name Cataclysm. The news has since spread to WOW Insider , DIGG.com , and others . Rumors and discussions are leading to a conclusion that this is likely the name for World of Warcraft's third expansion, though nothing is confirmed.