Saw this on mmo forum that I think would be welcome by all night elf fans and is by far the best approach to take with the night elves, especially if the rumours are true that it’s all become 1 faction ( or no factions - however you look at it after BFA)
I was specifically struck by it, because I know some night elf fans love the pre-sundering fantasy of night elves in their original era, arcane dominated with druidsm and Elunism, while others really feel the Long vigil era that WC3 ends with its more forest nature dominated feel is how they should be. And these guys often argue amongst themselves, so why not do the following…
This topic if I may just quote sums it up nicely. The nightborne and the broken isles provide the perfect opportunity to present one night elf nation on the broken isles, dominated by them after the pre-sundering civilization mindset of the kaldorei while the current Darnassians are perfect for a nature dominated one based in kalimdor. The ingredients for 2 nations with 2 emphasis are all there.
What struck me is how both groups have elements of all there is to the night elves… just different emphasis. The Broken Isle nation has druids and priests, just more arcane and caster focused, but dominated by the mages, while the Kalimdor group hasn’t reversed it’s changes, it still has highborne group, it’s just more druid.
Orignal Post
I first spoke about this 2 years ago, before we knew the nightborne would aid the blood elves for BFA, but with the talk of factions disappearing, it’s time to revisit my idea of 2 night elven nations. I would very much like that. But here is how I’d imagine they would be developed.
The Kalimdor Kaldorei
- The first is the Darnassian group - with Cenarion druids, Tyrande’s sentinel/huntress heavy priesthood and the shen’dralar restored highborne order. These would be a more foresty elf night elf (not entirely forest elves, they are still a combo of dark elf and forest elf - as the highborne would show), but they would have that deep wilds feel, Kalimdor is there home.
- New Capital: Eldre’thalas restored where the highborne and civilians live, with the forest, moonglade and hyjal still being key places for druids. The priests and demon hunters also restore much of desolace ruins - and it is from here they launch their campaigns to totally reclaim Ashenvale and Darkshore. Teldrassil is forever a ruin. Mount hyjal and Nordrassil is their Well of Eternity and World tree. New magnificent Temple of Elune in Sargeron.
- The Warcraft 3 sets and vibe dominate this group, but it also adds the civilization elements of wow through Dire Maul and the highborne - the highborne are restored more to their original pre-addiction selves very much valuing the balance and harmony with nature, like night elf arcane users use to be like before Azshara really transformed the order she founded into a more ambitious frenzied driven group.
Fighting for Hyjal, Moonglade, Ashenvlae, Stonetalon is part of their main focus. Feralas is their main base and they dominate Desolace too, they are however not at war with the peaceful tauren villages, and since their is no more horde or alliance relationships improve. and grow in time.
The Broken Isles Shal’dorei
- The second group is dominated by the nightborne is basically based on the pre-sundering era of the night elves modernised. So the Nightborne led night elf group sees the 7.0 Thalyssra return properly, she had her suspicions about Sylvanas and the horde, but stayed for the sake of the blood elves. The broken isle night elves are an alliance of people dominated by the Nightborne . They have druids of Val’sharah led by Valewalker Farodin helping them, Priests too from the Temple of Elune and new nightborne acolytes training in the restored Cathedral of Eternal night. They are repairing Azsuna and many of the night elf ruins in Suramar. The moonguard now train both nightborne and night elves in arcane combat, the Duskguard become an elite unit specifically for the nightborne high council and the city of Suramar, but they are a wing of the Moonguard which is where they originally developed.
- A new version of the nightwell is restored by the help this times of druids and priests as well as mages, and co-incides with a falling star… it is called the Starwell and is purified by the light of Elune, having a silver colour.
- Shaladrassil is the world tree for duridsm of the area, and Val’sharah druids have a much stronger balance druid identity and Emerald dream manipulation than the Kalimdor ones who are more feral/guardian and resto druid based, due to the nightborne and Moonguard’s arcane expertise working together. Nightborne druids are known as Valewalkers.
- These night elves are very friendly with Demon hunters and thalassians too, void elves are particularly drawn to the dark side of the moon. Demon hunters and Wardens collaborate togehter
- Tyrande is still the High Priestess of all the Order of Elune as well as Malfurion the arch druid over all druids, however the Val’sharah druids and Suramar priests are their own very distinct group. If Prince Farondis gets restored, he eventually leads the the nightborne group as the highest ranking and most magically gifted noble alive.
Cross Nation Orders
- One thing about the night elven nations is that they are not totally separate entities, like the human nations of Loradaron there are institutions that are shared across all of them, but just the emphasis in each is different.
- Both groups have wardens, druids, highborne, priests etc, however the capacity and emphasis on both is different. Yet some are largely independent of nation politics and culture. Of particular note are the Wardens and Demon hunters who have very specific mandates that allow them to operate in both nations but also amongst other races. Think of them like the Ebon Blade or Cenarion Circle - except they are exclusively elves, with the wardens being female and night elven only, while the demon hunters have blood elves and other races like naga and broken even though they are night elven dominated. Easily see a branch of the illidari operating with the blood elves and in outland, while some operate in the broken siles with the nightborne nation and others in kalimdor.
The emphasis I touched on above but will repeat for emphasis.- Druids: Larger in the Kalimdor nation, with the bigger Cenarion institution, - their focus is more feral druids, guardians and restoration. The main world tree is their purview, and with Teldrassil burnt they steward this, they are all members of the cenarion circle, but they serve the kaldorie nation too after the war of thorns.
The smaller group is in the Broken Isle nation, their focus is the Emerald dream and Balance druidsm - they have a heavier arcane influence due to the nightborne and valewalkers - Farodin did note in Suramar the nightborne even in their most reckless state did care about life and the delicate balance, the arcan’dor saved the nightborne and many nightborne found a new respect for druidsm when they heard the exploits of Malfurion Stormrage and the victory their kin had over the legion twice, something they with all their arcane power were not able to do. As such many nighborne bring new advancements in combining arcane with nature in new and exciting spell work that supercee the passive ambience arcane energy from oonwells boosted nature, while some nightborne have opted to become dream wardens, a revived order of Valewalkers has arisen that actually combines arcane and nature studies- Priests. The Kalimdor group has the strong female warrior aspect to the order of Elune that the Sentinels dominate. Many of the orders older arcane teachings were mostly set aside as tyrande’s women had to lead the nation itself and protect it. This gives a more hunter/warrior feel to the Kalimdor group priests, the casters are more healing focused.
The broken isle group order is revived by Tyrande, however tis one operates closer to how the order was during the pre-sundering era, with much hidden arcane knowledge in the reclaimed Cathedral and a lot of ancient history of the priest, nightborne acolyets joined the order in large amounts, drawn to exploring new ways which were very old ways of using the arcane, again impressed by the success and power of the high priestess, they naturally have a great aptitude to the arcane applications of the priesthood, and their order is more caster orientated.- The Highborne: highborne order is restored amongst the Darnassians, it is characterised by the nobility the highborne had before addiction and recklessness became the norm, led by the shen’dralar and having many new and ancient darnassians rejoining, they bring their reverence for the wilds and respect for the harmony of nature to the more hardcore arcane wielding shen’dralar making them a distinctive in a way not commonly practiced by the time the first invasion came.
Their are highborne amongst the nightborne and broken isle night elves too, they lead the arcane handling and orgnaisation oand are a much larger entity than the the new highborne order amongst the kalimdor night elves.
Conclusions
It is basically 2 different locations focusing heavily on 2 different aspects of the night elves. While the second group is the nightborne group, there are a lot of night elves involved with that, and while you can play your night elf in that nation, the proper route would be to role a nightborne. So the night elves of this group are kinda like how the high elves are now.
This allows the nightborne identity to remain distinctly of the night elven era it is based on, rather than being some second rate blood elf side kick, hence the much stronger emphasized kaldorei roots in the other groups playing a role.
The contrast in the two is pre-sundering and long vigil thrust into a new age, where the Kalimdor lot a closer to the long vigil character, and the Broken Isles are a modified continuation of the Pre-sundering era.
other considerations could have Demon hunters available to the nightborne selection screen but as Illidari, as you have Illidari with the kaldorei in Desolace as well as on the broken isles on the broken shore with training colonies in the former legion invasion areas.
What I like about it is that you have one nation where your night elf toon and nighborne are one people closer to the original kaldorei in the pre-sundering era, addiction free, arcane loving, but also nature loving druids and preists amongst them. These guys are friendly with Thalassians too, but they are kaldorei folk. And if your toon is a nightborne you’re from that nation, if you’re night elf, you can play as part of this or part of the other group.
The other group are xenophobic, reclusive, don’t like outsiders, want their territories in kalimdor back, they’re more feral, forest based. They have highborne too, cos of the new city, the changes from wow aren’t undone, it’s just that it continues pretty much with the druid and sentinel emphasis… not particularly friendly with humans - or anyone else for that matter. Theya re also quite dangerous, and use their knowledge, magic and power in all areas to protect htier lands well, they’re very aggressive thanks to the War of Thorns. And while in their communities they are benevolent and kind, they are not like that to outsiders and stragners at all. It’s both similar and very differnet from howy ou’ve seent hem in wow, it’s morelike how you first saw the nighte lf sentinels in WC3.
And I love it.