Lore Has Been Sundered! Part I
Monday, September 28, 2009 at 6:00AMThe Cataclysm information has left a lot of us Warcraft lore junkies scrambling to get as much information as possible, and because of this current state of uncertainty and confusion, we can see misinformation start to rear its ugly head once again.
Most of this has to do with the addition of the worgen and the race / class combinations. This article will do its best to settle some of the ongoing disputes. Yes, I touched upon some of this stuff in recent pre-Cataclysm articles and even in a few podcasts, but now's my chance to focus in deeply on some of the biggest misunderstandings.
This article will come in two parts.
Part I: Ishnu'allakhazam! Night Elf Mages
Surprisingly, this race / class combination seems to be creating more of a stir amongst the lore community than the addition of the worgen. It seems people are more willing to accept something largely "new" over something that, on the surface, seems to contradict what's already in place.
Simply put: night elf mages are more justified by lore than the blood elf transition to the Horde that happened in Burning Crusade (which was a pretty big controversy itself).
"But, Thar! Night elves HATE the arcane! How can they allow mages?"
As far as we know, the night elves were some of the FIRST mages. In fact, it was their close proximity to the original Well of Eternity (and, thus, arcane magic) that became the foundation of their race and their civilization. Night elves were saturated with it, using it in everyday life.
That whole "druidic" thing? It didn't happen until after the War of the Ancients; until after the Sundering. It was a replacement to the arcane, in fact. So, yes, night elf mages go back at least 10,000 years in Warcraft history.
"Oh, right... But, Thar! The night elf highborne we all exiled! They all became high elves!"
No, they did not actually. Yes, most of the ones of which we were aware were exiled by Malfurion and left across the sea to settle in the Eastern Kingdoms and lay the foundations for Quel'thalas. Yes, all of these exiled highborne eventually changed, becoming smaller, lighter of skin, and less nocturnal. And, yes, these beings of the Sunwell became known as 'High Elves.' Oh, and, yeah, many high elves became 'blood elves,' too.
However, some highborne, like the Shen'dralar Ancients in Eldre'thalas (you'll know it better as Dire Maul) were far from the magical storm that their kin unleased upon Ashenvale. Thus, they never knew of the exile and exodus. These Eldre'thalassian highborne continued to live in their city, dealing with their issues entirely of their own (*cough*Immol'thar*cough*).
And let's not forget the version of Naxxramas that existed prior to Wrath of the Lich King, shall we? That version of Naxxramas has pieces of Atiesh within; a staff that was being hunted by many, including a highborne mage named Tarsis Kir-Moldir.
"Okay okay... But, Thar! The night elves hate the arcane NOW, don't they? Why would they accept mages BACK after all the world-exploding they caused?"
Maybe because the world's exploding again (or rather, will be)? And this time it's not the fault of the highborne? Also, if you've been privy to the conversation in the Temple of the Moon in Darnassus, you'll see that there's not a whole lot of acceptance happening:
Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: Sentinel, I would speak with your High Priestess.
Sentinel Stillbough says: You must wait for an audience.
Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: Must I? I doubt Tyrande has more pressing business.
Sentinel Stillbough says: You show some nerve coming to Teldrassil, Highborne. Your kind are unwelcome here. We have not forgotten the War of the Ancients or the minds behind it.
Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: The lure of power is great. Mistakes were made.
Sentinel Stillbough says: And we would not see those mistakes repeated. Return to your exile.
Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: I will not return until I am heard. There is too much at stake. There is a change on the wind, and we cannot ignore it. I have traveled from the dust and ruin of the past to come to an accord. The time may soon come when the kal'dorei require the knowledge and skill we have to offer. I will wait, Sentinel... but I will have my audience.
Archmage Mordent Evenshade looks over at the moonwell with a sigh.
Sentinel Stillbough says: Take your gaze off the moonwell, exile. The power within is not yours to wield.
Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: Calm yourself, Sentinel. I do not seek to use it. I am merely... remembering.
Sentinel Stillbough says: Recalling your treachery?
Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: Enough. I have been apart from this for centuries. The well within this temple may be a pale spectre of the Well of Eternity, but it still holds the same... beauty. Purity.
Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: I had forgotten.
Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: I do not believe admiration and wistful thoughts are against the societal norm.
Sentinel Stillbough says: Watch yourself, Highborne.
Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: You were the one who challenged me for merely looking. I still await my audience with Tyrande.
Sentinel Stillbough says: In good time.
Indeed, very little acceptance at all...
I'll admit, if the highborne return to night elf culture ultimately "unfettered," then I'll be disappointed. The reintegration should be a painful one for both sides, as it's a part of their culture left abandoned for 10,000 years. That's a long time to generate misinformation and distrust, and such things rarely go away easily.
However, it should be important to note that, of all the night elves currently alive, it is Tyrande Whisperwind who stands as the highborne's best chance to be accepted again. Why is this?
During the Third War, it was Tyrande who believed that her mate's imprisoned brother, Illidan Stormrage, could help them fight back the encroaching invasion. It was Tyrande who also slaughtered the Watchers and Wardens who guarded Illidan in the prison. Many people forget this little fact.
Tyrande killed her own people to free someone whom she believed could help against the greater cause.
Who can say that she wouldn't do such a thing again? It shows that Tyrande Whisperwind is a leader willing to do what she believes is right and best for the situation at hand, and it's entirely possible that the highborne's return to night elf society is such a situation.
When you take in all the of the above—the history of the night elves, the fact that there are still original highborne still around, and Tyrande's past characteristic of going against the narrow views of those around her in order to do what was necessary—then night elf mages have a pretty solid footing in already existing lore.
Blizzard's not just pulling this out of thin air.
Reader Comments (11)
I've got three theories as to how playable Night Elf mages will be included in the game, myself. One, is that, for whatever reason, the night elves accept them because of the dire straits the world is in. Two, the highborne don't care if they are or aren't accepted and start training in secret, much like Warlocks in stormwind. Third, for whatever reason one faction of night elves (let's say those led by Tyrande) accept them while another is trying to run them out of town (like, say, Fandral's camp).
You have put into print, all that I have been telling people about this. With a lot of people starting the game after BC came out, they sort of missed running Dire Maul and don't really know about the Shen'dralar.
Heh, I already have an NE mage poking around the back of my head character-wise and her name placeholder toon is already created. She'll be strong and trained, but was hidden away all her life and knowing nothing of the current society of her own people until now. It will be quite the adventure for her. I am hoping Blizz doesn't gloss over the conflict this will bring to Kal'dorei society. It will be a big alteration for them, and yes, quite likely set Tyrande and Fandral further against each other. Malfurion is also returning, and it should be even more interesting to see what his take on all this is. In the end, I think many of the NE mages will end up with the Kirin Tor, because acceptance into general Kal'dorei society is likely to be very slow to happen.
That part about Tyrande having Illidan's guards killed has always been a bit of a puzzle to me. She IS the ruler of Kal'dorei society, why wouldn't they obey her when she tells them to stand down? The reason Illidan was imprisoned rather than put to death for his crimes is that it was recognized his knowledge and skills might be needed in the future if the Legion returned... and that condition was certainly met! It rather makes me wonder if they were geased or spell-bound, or some such thing to the point of not being able to stand down. One of those pretty little puzzles that doesnt really have an answer.
I have two characters I'll be rolling for Cataclysm. One is my Worgen druid (because I'm REALLY curious about how the Worgen lore ties in with the Night Elves and druids, and I WANT to experience that firsthand), and the other is a Night Elf mage.
In-character, Tharion Greyseer despises highborne. He is much like the other Night Elves in this regard. Out-of-character? They intrigue me, especially since they've been so secluded for this long. They're the "night elves of the night elves" with regards to their isolation. =P
@Kayeri: The original reason Malfurion did not sentence Illidan to death for his crimes was because he couldn't bring himself to have his brother killed. Bastard though he may have been (again, per pre-Knaak portrayals), Furion still had a bit of a soft-spot. We also see this with the highborne exile: he couldn't bring himself to sentence those responsible for the Ashenvale storm to death, despite the harsh decree. Thus, he forced them to leave.
Because of this, Illidan was meant to stay imprisoned for ... well, ever. In addition, the Wardens and Watchers who guarded him were wholly loyal to Maiev Shadowsong, and Maiev hated Illidan with a fury we only get hints of in Burning Crusade.
A lot of this has been lost over time due to the War of the Ancients "dilution." Knaak's changing of the characterizations and even altering of the War of the Ancients events to shoehorn his own characters into the story has made the relationships between Illidan, Tyrande, Malfurion, and Maiev very muddied. And since a lot of folk in WoW today never played Warcraft III or Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the popular understanding of said relationship is more shallow than it should be.
Definitely a point, Malfurion couldnt bear it, definitely, and I would have regarded the other as the expedient political excuse for Malfurion's inability to order his brother's death. And sadly, I did not have the experience of playing the early PC games. WoW was gifted to me the November before BC came out as an early Xmas present. And so much has been ret-conned or glossed over or compressed into a very swift event when it wasnt before. I do think this is an awesome universe to play in, though, inconsistencies and all. :) Are the early games still available in a format that would run on a pretty typical PC these days?
As for Tyrande, I would never doubt she is quite capable of that action if she regarded it as necessary to her people's survival, and this would certainly be a case to argue that. It's just one of those things I find curious in the history of the game. :) On your Twisting Nether interview, you mentioned that it's now regarded that the exiled Highborn became the High Elves in one swift event... the igniting of the Sunwell? It's been a few weeks now, so my memory is a bit fuzzy.
I've kind of become the lore nerd of my guild, so if I tell them something when they ask, I sure would like to be correct about it. ::chuckle::
@Kayeri: You can still find Warcraft III and The Frozen Throne available in battlechests these days. They work just fine on most modern systems. Out of all the old games, Warcraft III and its expansion would be the two important ones to play. Most of that information can be read on WoWWiki, but it's fun to just "see it firsthand." Warcraft I and II, while good for their time, definitely show their age. Also, their stories are far less involved and it'll be much more difficult to get them to work on current computers.
Fair warning, though, the RTS games are the first to generally be retconned, even moreso than the novels. Because of this, some of the events you'll encounter will either be truncated or different from how they're told in World of Warcraft (the location of the Sunwell and the events to reach it are different in the RTS than what we see in WoW and in the Arthas novel).
Regarding the Highborne -> High Elf transition; yes. The original lore suggested that the change happened over time, gradually, as the night elf highborne became less nocturnal and began to use the Sunwell more than the moonwells of their people. They grew less athletic, smaller, and fairer of skin until becoming the high elves we know today.
In the Sunwell Trilogy Ultimate Edition (the big hardback collection) there is a colored prequel section that covers the Highborne exile and transformation. And what we see HERE is that the change happens more swiftly, almost instantaneously as Dath'remar and his fellows raise the Sunwell up from the ground and build the gargantuan structure around it with what is essentially the snap of a finger.
Finally, there's nothing wrong with becoming the lore nerd of your group. =P It can be fun sometimes!
Interesting. Nice to see it all lined out.
Myself, I won't be rolling a NE mage. I've used up all my slots! Instead, I'll be Race Changing my Draenei mage. Who's to say she isn't really a NE who's been disguising herself?
When this was first announced my immediate reaction was that allowing the Highborne to come back was wholly implausible. I still say that it's a stretch of logic, however it is perhaps possible, if exceptional events happen. From what I've seen the most likely case of the Highborne coming back is probably some combination of case 1 and 2 listed above by Omacron.
Even then, the Highborne will probably be even more hated by the Night Elves than warlocks are in Stormwind. People who dismiss the Night Elves of Darnassus as being narrow-minded forget that in the context of the Kal'dorei's experience with the Highborne, they're being logical, not narrow-minded. Every portrayal of the Highborne that I've seen in lore has depicted them as largely arrogant, elitist and completely self-assured of their power. Unless my understanding of Night Elf lore is incorrect, they were the only ones permitted to study the Well and its energies because their higher caste was considered the only caste worthy of it. They even lived wholly separate from everyone else in Kal'Dorei society. For the Kal'Dorei, they were The Man and irresponsible leadership all in one package ramped up to 11.
Instead of marveling at how narrow-minded the Night Elves are for not accepting their "mage" caste, one should instead marvel at how their leaders managed to single-handedly turn off all subsequent generations of Night Elves from arcane magic. And yet, the returned Highborne seem barely apologetic for anything; the only thing the archmage in the Temple says alluding to an apology is "The lure of the arcane is strong. Mistakes were made," maybe the greatest understatement in 10,000 years.
This is not to say that exceptional circumstances could force the Highborne back into Night Elven society. However, I fully expect it to be very, very ugly and the vast majority of Night Elves will not be at all happy to see them back, and rightfully so.
As for me, Alak will be rerolled from Hunter to Mage. After becoming a Demon Hunter under Tharion, he has taken a strong interest into learning as much about the powers Illidan and the Highborne have under their command. Logically it makes sense that, while his comrade demon hunters work in the martial, Alakthul continues his research from when he was a druid, and becomes more keen to magic.
@Rollandren: Not sure about you, but the unapologetic and very pompous Cenarion Druids (Staghelm especially) that are presented in the game bear a striking resemblance to the Highborne. I would reckon to say that their brash, elitist, unapologetic attitude is not merely restricted to the Highborne. The Cenarions, the Wardens under Maiev, and the Sentinels themselves have all shown that they are just as narrow-minded and self-righteous as their Arcane wielding exiles.
Alakthul has a point, but I'd expand it further to say that most of the night elves have a severe sense of elitism. It just tends to get a bit lost in today's lore because it's been "condensed" into a few key characters. But hey, even Malfurion was pretty narrow-minded in some of his views during Warcraft III.
As to how they were turned away. It was my understanding that, after the Sundering, a decree was made that put anyone using Arcane magic (at least to a certain extent) to death. In fact, didn't original lore state that the reason the highborne were exiled is because Malfurion just didn't have the heart to put so many to death after the magical storm was unleashed upon Ashenvale?
Personally, I will absolutely be rolling a Night Elf Mage. I personally love the Night Elf history in general, and after reading the War of the Ancients trilogy my interest in the Highborne only increased. I also just want the challenge of it...to try and RP an even-more-than-usual arrogant Night Elf that even most other Night Elves despise. It will likely be confusing as hell for new RP'ers in Stormwind, and even Veterans who just don't know the Highborne lore.
Plus, I'm already building up and setting aside Caster heirlooms for the new Mage...