Night Elf
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- See Night Elves (D&D) for the fictional race from Mystara in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Night elves are a fictional race of elves in Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft series of computer games and novels.
Background
Night Elves (or "Kaldorei" in their native tongue) have a skin colour that goes from deep lavender to marble white, long ears, and hair in various shades including blue, purple, green, white and black. Their eyes have a subtle glow to them. The whole race is tall, with the men standing around 2.15 m (7 feet). The men are always of a slim yet well-muscled build, with the women having a similar build, although they appear shorter than their male counterparts in World of Warcraft. Unlike most other Elves, Night Elf men often have thick beards and bushy eyebrows. In Warcraft III, the Night Elves live on the continent known as Kalimdor and were never seen by Orcs or Humans until they were introduced to the Warcraft Universe in . In World of Warcraft, they live on the tree/island of Teldrassil, which is north and slightly west of Kalimdor.Most of the male elves are druids while most of the females are warriors in a group known as the "Sentinels." In World of Warcraft, however, "Sentinels" are not (yet) a playable class, and both male and female can take on the role of druid, warrior, hunter, rogue or priest indiscriminately. In , the Night Elves were neutral but in World of Warcraft they have become a part of the Alliance. The night elf racial mount is the sabre cat. The other races of the Alliance can also learn how to ride a sabre cat if they are exalted with Darnassus.
Before the end of all Night Elf druids were male, and slept for thousands of years in the Emerald Dream while the women were left to protect their society. This brought the females to become hardened. They were described by Grom Hellscream in as too savage to be High Elves.
History
Night elves were immortal until the destruction of the World Tree at the end of WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos. The forces of the Burning Legion had fought their way to the World Tree, which their commander, Archimonde, had set his sights upon. When Archimonde reached the tree, however, he discovered that he had walked into a trap set by Malfurion Stormrage. Thousands of wisps surrounded the Eredar and exploded all at once destroying him and damaging the World Tree. While this prevented Archimonde from destroying the world, it also deprived the night elves of the immortality that the tree had granted them. Not all of them adjusted to mortality well and many were terrified by the prospects of illness, aging, and eventual death.It wasn't long before some of the druids decided to make a new World Tree and thus regain their immortality; an idea that achieved popularity with many of the Kaldorei. Malfurion warned them that such a selfish act would never be blessed by nature and forbade the creation of a new tree. After making this proclamation, Malfurion became trapped within the Emerald Dream and not even the green dragons who lived within the Emerald Dream could find him. With Malfurion incapacitated, leadership of the druids fell to Fandral Staghelm who was one of the night elves in favor of creating a new World Tree. Under Staghelm, a second tree was brought into existence and named Teldrassil. Unfortunately, Malfurion's prediction was correct; the new tree was not blessed by nature and the night elves did not gain new immortality from its creation as intended. The new World Tree radiated corruption that drove creatures and people inhabiting the area mad and filled them with mindless aggression. This is just one example of the negative effects Teldrassil has had on the world around it. Teldrassil's one positive effect is the wonderous city of Darnassus that was built upon it.
After the wars played in Warcraft III and Frozen Throne, which caused the destruction of most of the High Elves, the Night Elves are the most numerous Elven race in the world of Azeroth.
Highborne
The Highborne were the personal servants of Queen Azshara in Kalimdor. Upon discovery of the Well of Eternity, they began to probe the well for secrets to discover the nature of its power. However the Highborne began to spend large amounts of time around it and it began to adversely affect them. Many began to shy away from speaking with the other Night Elves outside of the Highborne circle and increasingly delved into work concerning the Well. After much study, Queen Azshara encountered and made a pact with Sargeras, leader of the Burning Legion. In return for untold power, Azshara and the Highborne would open a portal into Azeroth for Sargeras and his minions. Sargeras rewarded several Highborne with a new more powerful form: the Satyr. However Malfurion Stormrage, with the help of Tyrande Whisperwind, Cenarius, and fellow Night Elves were able to drive the Burning Legion back. But because the summoning was interrupted the spell went awry and resulted in a terrible explosion that destroyed part of the land of Kalimdor, giving away to the Maelstrom. After the terrible destruction Malfurion and his followers reached the mainland with a few remnants of the Highborne. Malfurion did not punish them; he was content that the surviving Highborne could do no more damage without the Well's power. The ones that survived eventually left, under the leadership of Dath'Remar, to look for a new home. However Queen Azshara and some of her followers survived the explosion and sank to the bottom of the sea eventually evolving into the Naga. And there they remained until contacted centuries later by the Betrayer, Illidan.
Highborne ruins dot the lands of Kalimdor from Darkshore all the way to Azshara (the land named after the Highborne queen). Bashal'Aran and Ameth'Aran in Darkshore are the ruins of two large Highborne settlements that are occupied now only by demons and the tormented spirits of the Highborne. The Ruins of Eldareth in Azshara are all that remains of the Highborne Night Elves' ancient capital city. It is now overrun with a tribe of the vile Naga known as the Spitelash. Perhaps the most intriguing Highborne ruin in Kalimdor is Dire Maul. At the height of Highborne power, Dire Maul was known as the city of Eldre'Thalas, inside whose high walls were guarded many of Queen Azshara's most prized and powerful arcane secrets. Though it was ravaged by the Great Sundering of the world, much of the ancient city still stands. The three distinct districts of the city are overrun with a variety of dangerous creatures including Highborne spectres, demonic satyrs, and the Gordok Ogre tribe.
External links
- [The Official World of Warcraft website]
- [Warcraft III Official Guide - Night Elf page]
- at WoWWiki, a World of Warcraft wiki
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