The corrupted arcanists in the Well of Eternity dungeon in cata have green eyes, however classic was a different era.
Not to mention those that don’t show it on the outside still has the taint on the inside, to be sniffed out by those magically sensitive.
Edit: As for the highborne not suffering withdrawl, this is quite untrue, the lack of magic was quite the bane for the highbrone exiles upon lordaeron before they made the sunwell and became high elves.
There is also a slight passage in the WotA trilogy when Xavius closed the well to the common night elves that they seemed weaker for it.
And that the demon in eldre’thalas was conjured for the purpose of a mana source, and it’s limitations made the prince slaughter his own so that there was mana to go about.
And it was Vashj, a naga. Who identified the arcane addiction and stated that the naga as well suffer the affliction.
simply put, the highborne and by extension night elves tend to have mana.
Highborne indeed. Or, they filtered it by sophisticated methods rather than the elephant’s foot levels of fel exposure enjoyed by the blood elves.
The lack of degeneration from arcane is a different matter but they might’ve bumbled their way into an approximation of the eredar/draenei who never seem to suffer an adverse reliance on arcane despite their mastery.
I believe Chronicles V.3 mentions the Nightmare, which is probably the reason an entire wing of Dira Maul was taken by Satyr.
Definitely possible.
Perhaps, but then again the Eredar used it on Argus, too, where they seemed to be part of the Conservatory of the Arcane.
This could also be because the Well of Eternity’s power was much greater than the potential fel corruption. It should also be noted that few actually used fel magic.
As they have not been starved out of mana. Why would they? However should nordrassil be removed and the well under it’s roots, mayhaps we might see such a thing.
Yeah. The Second Well of Eternity probably keeps them from “devolving” as we see in its absence for the Highborne who founded Quel’thalas. If they hadn’t created a Well with roughly the same effects, they would have all devolved/died.
They were surrounded by Demons and their magics 24/7, though… But as stated above maybe the Arcane power of the Well made the Fel unable to properly manifest within the Highborne!
The current Night Elves don’t rely on Mana… and with the Well closed off from them during the WoTA, they were pretty much starved from mana, still none withered or wretched! Same with Dath’Remars’ Highborne, who were unable to rely on a proper source of magic, for around 2,800(+/-) years
This is what a fel corrupted night elf looks like.
I should have clarified, the window where the well was closed was rather brief and was ended by malfurion blasting xavius tower from the dream. I believe one of the palace towers is ruined in the instance.
As for the night elves, they are still linked to the second well, and moonwells besides. The full extent of it I will admit to be unknown, they might survive without it, or not.
Yea, just refreshed my knowledge on Nordrassil, I assumed it still filtered the second Well of Eternity’s Arcane Magics, but now Nordrassil just acts as a tree to stop the Wells power to grow to great and hide it from external evil sources D:
Also I still think it is up in the air as to how and when the Highborne actually started to change from Night Elven appearance to High Elven(conflicting sources)!
Anyways my point still stands as wowpedia states that after vanilla to WoTLK the Highborne were roaming the wilds to wash of their demonic taint from Immol’thar!
Btw that fel-tainted guardian looks awesome! I would like those DH-eyes for my mage
I’ll post my full theory on this, since I’ve had it lying around for a while now.
Night Elves evolved from Trolls (Chronicles said it was over generations) through the magic of the Well of Eternity. When they had reached the ‘highest’ form possible (high intelligence, virtual immortal etc.) the Well maintained their form. After the Well of Eternity was destroyed, the Night Elves probably would have grown sick if not for the Second Well of Eternity on top of Mount Hyjal. The Second Well, being created from the First Well had the same properties of that first Well, so it maintained the Night Elves’ current form, passively spread through their bond with Nordrassil (connected to the Second Well) and Moon Wells, as well as Anchients of Eternity (WC:III).
So, when the Exiled Highborne moved out of reach of the Well of Eternity’s power, they started to deteriorate because of a lack of magical sustenance (aka, their form changed into what we know as High Elves now, but probably less healthy looking and more akin to Nightfallen of Suramar in overall appearance). In order to fix this problem they changed their environment (instead of them changing to suit the environment) by creating the Sunwell from a Phial of the First Well of Eternity.
Following the logic I used to explain the Night Elves’ unaltered form for 10K years, the Sunwell would have the same properties as the First Well of Eternity, thus stabilizing the High Elves’ current form (getting them healthy again) and then magically maintaining that form through that fount of power. (It probably doesn’t even have to be an offspring of the Well of Eternity, explaining the unaltered form of the Highborne of Eldre’thalas, as they soon had their own fount of power or because they were still close to Nordrassil, and the Elves of Shandaral in Northrend).
Only the Nightborne turn into withered, as unlike both Highborne and their descendants; high / blood elves, the Nightborne relied on the Nightwell for nourishment. It was how they ate, it was what they drank. It’s something exclusive to them. When Highborne and high / blood elves are deprived of the magical energies they require to sate this addiction, they simply die.
Technically true but also a bit inaccurate. While the nightborne mana starved state is called withered.
The blood and high elves have a identical state in wretched. The different word being more due to the two cultures being isolated, but the state is shared in the addiction to mana.
The most noted example is Felendren the Banished, at sunstrider isle.
It’s also true that weakened Thalassian elves (Elderlies, babies/toddlers, already ill, etc.) died from the lack of mana. They just didn’t go through a withered phase apparently.
Overdosed on magical energies, such as siphoning from one arcane crystal too many. Lady Liadrin’s one-time apprentice, Galell, is a prime example of it.
Because they are quite literally starved, they relied on the Nightwell for nourishment, unlike night / blood / high elves and highborne who still require food and water to survive. It’s why, as they continue to decline after being deprived of their connection to the Nightwell, they continuously grow thinner and frailer.
Both share an addiction to magical energies, but they are very different states. One is due to overdosing and over indulgence in magical energies, whereas the other is due to a lack of magic. Without the Nightwell, the Nightborne slowly wither away into first the Nightfallen and eventually Withered, both of their starved appearances being due to the fact that they were cut off from their sole source of nourishment. Simply put, high / blood elves and Highborne relied / relies on their magical founts to satisfy an addiction, but they can wean themselves off it, whereas the Nightborne relied on theirs for nourishment.
Similar, but very different in how they come to be, and different in what they are.
Correct, as is plainly visible in the Magisters’ Terrace dungeon.
I think the simpler explanation is that the Sunwell was just somewhat different from the Well of Eternity, so it gave the Elves around it different properties. I mean it’s very obviously different visually too, so this wouldn’t seem too weird to me.
It’s an interesting question if the High Elves maybe altered the well on purpose, or if the Sunwell was different by accident, and the High Elves just adapted to it, becoming sun-loving, unlike their moon-loving ancestors.
