Eldre’Thalas as a new home for the Night Elves?

Since the Night Elves have lost Darnassus, people are expecting them to go settle in Hyjal by the new Well of Eternity, and it undoubtedly makes sense.

But what if the druid guardians of Nordrassil did not want the area to become too heavily inhabited/urbanized?

In such case, maybe the Shen’dralar mages could team up with their trainees and a number of displaced Darnassians to reclaim the ruins of Dire Maul and make a new home in the luxuriant forests of Feralas.

After cleansing and rebuilding, it could look awesome!

As seen here: https://www.argentarchives.org/node/238564

And, imagine how many secrets could still lay undiscovered in ruins of the ancient city: it WAS the archive of Azshara’s most precious tomes after all.


Dire Maul Capital Q&A

1. Wouldn’t Hyjal be a much more logical choice?

Not saying it isn’t, but one has to wonder how the druids and priesthood may feel about urbanizing Nordrassil and the new Well of Eternity. Such a powerful and sacred site might be better protected by its guardians and only allow a few trusted adventurers and scholars rather than become a playing field for the masses.

2. How about any other settlements on Kalimdor?

There are currently no large settlements left on Kalimdor: just small villages which could not possibly accommodate all of the displaced Night Elves. Scavenging the ruins of an ancient city for resources to build a new settlement on the same site would be much easier than obtaining/moving them elsewhere. Also, Eldre’Thalas is close to Feathermoon, one of the major night elven military strongholds.

3. But Dire Maul lies within Horde territory?

Not quite. The Chronicles [Volume 3, pg. 120] state that it was Horde adventurers who completed the Dire Maul dungeon, but that’s hardly the same as declaring that the Horde permanently occupied the ruins of Eldre’thalas or that the whole region was conquered.

Furthermore, the Night Elves’ veteran troops being sent down through Feralas to respond to the Silithus feint was a plot point in how the Horde was able to steamroll through Darkshore as hard as it did during the War of the Thorns, and since it can be argued that the Alliance still has more presence there than the Horde, holding a military stronghold vs a small tauren camp, Feralas can very easily be considered at least partly under Night Elf control.

But even IF things had recently changed (not stated anywhere), since it’s clearly the Horde’s (Silvana’s) fault if the Night Elves do not have a capital any more, the ruins could be gifted back to the Night Elves as a gesture of good will and repentance. I am sure the Tauren/Baine would find it reasonable. :wink:

4. But the scrolls hidden in Dire Maul are dangerous!

Nobody says they would all need to be put to use. They could try to salvage what applicable to noble deeds, and destroy or lock away the rest to prevent it from falling into the wrong people’s hands. The point being: the discovery of ancient secrets is always a pleasant theme for a quest line. We could get more insight into Azshara’s character which may come in handy eventually. And sure, there could be greedy NPCs that need be stopped. But that’s what Heroes are for, right?

5. Still, the aesthetics of elven cities belong to the Horde!

Indeed, which is why this is NOT about a small Suramar or a second Zin-Ashari.

Imagine a forest-city rich in temples and gardens where columns and trees all come to make part of the same structure built around nature rather than its place. (If you have not already done so, please check the images in the link above!)

A new night elven capital would need to maintain the same kind of vibe we had in Darnassus as well as we still have in many shrines of Elune scattered around Azeroth. Hence, it should be based on an open architecture that can intertwine with nature and be a whole with it.

Besides, even the reintegrated night elven Highborne originary of Eldre’Thalas can be considered forest-dwellers, having wandered for years in the dense woodlands of Feralals to cleanse themselves off demonic powers before seeking audience in Darnassus.


If you like the idea and you are a Twitter user, please help share the word! :purple_heart:

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I like it.
Even though i dont like the night elves…

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Exactly
It WAS the archive of Azshara’s most precious tomes after all…
Your average Kaldorei would avoid it like the pague
The Shal’dorei on the other hand… :thinking:

Didn’t really end well last time :thinking:

The Shen’dralar lived there. They are Highborne - they were Azshara’s most revered arcanists - and yet they eventually were accepted back into the Darnassian culture (Cataclysm news).

Nobody says they would necessarily have to USE all such tomes. They could very well try to understand things that have happened in the past, salvage what applicable to noble deeds, and destroy the rest to prevent it from falling into the wrong people’s hands. :wink:

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Ture
But following that logic, the Exiled Eredar aka. Draeni should reclaim and rebuild Argus (or at least what remained of it)
Nobody says they would necessarily have to USE all the Fel tingies left behind :smirk:

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I’m sorry to inform you that Eldre’Thalas/Dire Maul is officially Horde territory by canon as the elves were driven out by ogres and then the Horde brought it under their wing as per Chronicles.

Indeed they could. But reclaiming an entire planet is a bit different than one city. We’d need a whole expansion based on that. And indeed, who knows what might happen in two or three more expansions… :innocent:

Personally right now I care more about a new city for the Night Elves despite of maining a Draenei. But if you want to make a thread about reclaiming and cleansing Argus of Fel, sure, go ahead, and I will support you there! :purple_heart:

After all, the Pandaren DID manage to cleanse and rebuild the Vale of Eternal Blossoms… despite of it being re-corrupted by N’Zoth’s assaults, that is. (duh, lol)

But now we made peace, and it’s the Horde’s (Silvana’s) fault if the Night Elves do not have a capital any more.

Granting back an old city to rebuild may be considered a gesture of good will and repentance. Just saying…

Ogres lived there!
Could you immagine the smell?
It would take another Cataclysm to clear out that place
Val’shara with the Grand (?) Temple of Elune is way better for them to restart - even have a World Tree there (and with the defeat of the Old Gods, the Nightmare should gone too, the Tree cleansed etc)

Thinking that they would give the Night Elves a new home is folly

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I am pretty sure Baine would find it reasonable enough.

Damn, now THIS could be an issue indeed.

But maybe some secret scrolls contain stain-and-smell cleansing magic that could be applied? :joy:

That’s also a good option, and it would certainly be very interesting to see how they would interact with the spirits of the Highborne of the court of Farondis.

But I can’t shake the feeling that a new capital would belong in the main continents. Although that’s ultimately Blizzard’s call, of course. :wink:

Implying the Horde would ever yeild territory to the Alliance. Even in defeat, they got to keep Azshara.

More realistically, night elves get to hold onto Ashenvale and Darkshore, diminished and without a capital city. They won’t vanish from the world in want of one. Just look at the gnomes.

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How about expanding the town in Ashenvale?

But I can’t blame the OP for dreaming of a restored ancient city. The fan art linked is really impressive.

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A proper capital for the Night Elves would’ve been a nice touch, but I can’t see it happening with all the NE shafting that has been going for years. It’s kinda shame though that WoW lacks the fantasy touch which Warcraft had back in its day, I still like the game, but I kinda liked the differences in the races, their culture and whatnot. They are lacking nowadays.

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On a completely (maybe not so) random note, I totally love your mog. That’s a proper Night Elven priestess indeed. And cool name, too.

(I love your mog too, but isn’t the wizard hat is uncomfortable with the Horns? ^^ )

Awww, thanks! :purple_heart: And well, that’s what the holes are for!

I find that the wide brim hides my alien features and make some humans feel much less awkward around me. (Same goes for the long robes hiding the hooves)

Also, this way the wind can never blow it off my head. :joy:

And you’re a nice pirate I see. Yarr!

I like the idea, during the wrathion quest he mentions in a notice that he went to Eldre’Thalas, so at least the writers did not forgot about that place. I think most night elfs players are fine with both places and just want a capital at all…

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Eldre’Thalas can be restored and the night elves can still hold Darkshore.

Just set up portals between Eldre’Thalas and Bashal’Aran or a restored Mathystra and your good to go. Travelling between the zones is not a contributing factor, unless the leyline portal network is tampered with.

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On a second thought… would you care to elaborate where exactly the Chronicles state that Feralas is a Horde zone now?

AFAIK the ruins of Eldre’Thalas were raided by the Horde in year 25 and it was them who discovered the Shen’dralar feeding on Immol’thar’s magical power and killing the majority of the remaining elves, including the corrupted prince. [World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 120]

But I wouldn’t be able to say how they later gained control of the city or the entire region. Since the Chronicles only mention a raid, I always assumed it was adventurers and that Feralas was just a contested zone which was subject to Horde raids like Ashenvale and other regions in Kalimdor…

But I can’t say I have read the whole of the Chronicles throughougly. As a matter of fact, I do not even own a copy of Volume 3 (yet), so I am genuinely interested. Can you point me to your source?