Headcanon 2: Electric Boogaloo

Argent Dawn
2787

But the naga have only been active in the world for 13-14 years and in the grand scheme of things they didn’t do much up until BfA. That, and you’d only need a few attacks from below by the naga and countermeasures would quickly be developed. A bit like how the Alliance navy learnt to counter the Horde’s dragons during the Second War after their first encounter with them.

The night elves are, however, one of very few nations in Azeroth explicitly stated to have a navy of their own. So there’s that, I guess.

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2788

not anymore lmao

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2789

Blizzard’s naval stuff is dumb. I do my best to ignore it. The last time any of it was interesting was Warcraft 2.

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2790

Elegy and A Good War also proved Night Elves are incapable seamen.
The Horde had a small part of their invading army swim towards and board the ships with ease during the War of Thorns, so Naga would beat them up in no time.

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2791

night elf military capability is entirely defined by what would make it more interesting when the puny little elf girls get stomped on by big strong zug zug honorable orc warrior OCs, ultimately

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2792

We look at this or that instance and say “joke race” but in truth, they all are.

2793

its a bit of the same situation as in Warhammer where some elf swordmaster has been perfecting his craft for some 2k+ years and then he gets cut down by some maniac nobleman riding on a horse and just blasting him with some guns

on the other hand that mega training does come in handy when you are actually doing a 1v1. Pained, Jaina’s bodyguard, was able to hold her own vs both Baine and Vol’jin in the siege of Prelude, so much so that Baine internally monologues that he had to stay very sharp in order to match her.

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2794

Gnomes with their short legs while still managing to maintain the running speed of taller, long limbed folk have excellent stamina and can jog for quite a while. This is the foundation of the annual race, too as they wouldn’t be able to do it were they not so freakishly quick and sturdy.

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2795

The Venthyr measure of “Sins” absent any religion and social order other than their arbitrary aristocracy and reverence of bureaucratic procedure have solidified into observed transgressions documented over untold ages as they were wrenched from deserving souls.

Functionally scientific and well documented on ornate scrolls, the process has created a formal list of universal crimes by which a soul is stained. Ceremonial calling out of transgressions and shaming aside, the List is rarely referenced as such, being public knowledge by now and consulted to inform the individual damned about the ways that they’ve failed their fellow living.

Despite it all, its everyday treatment is less formal in conversation and various exsanguination sessions, some grimly torturous, others closer to therapy. Mere mortals haven’t been privy to the List but would consider it profoundly unjust and alien in its judgement of petty acts as much as monstrous affronts and its peculiar focus on loyalty, even if one’s allegience is tested by vile deeds and at the same time treating tyrants better than their rebellious slaves.

Like so much else of the afterlife, it’s a horrifying rabbithole the depths of which most never truly glimpse.

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2796

Not sure if it’s been discussed here before, but I feel like sharing my headcanon for my favorite magic school.

Necromancy feels so bland and unexplored in wows lore unlike other schools of magic. I usually go with what lore we’ve been given, and shadowlands surely boosted it up a fair bit but not to my own expectations.

While https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/The_Schools_of_Arcane_Magic_-_Necromancy is one link to a study of it gives some insight to it, but clearly from the kirin’tors perspective which leaves much to be desired still

I have Roleplayed a Necromancer myself for several years and have developed my own categories that I have used and thought with others and here are some ideas.

Necromancy can be divided into many category schools of practice much like arcane schools have Divination, conjuration, enchantment, and so on. Necromancy has fewer categories but by Azeroth standards compared to maldraxxus, much has still been left unexplored. Here are some brief examples:

Bone: Simply put the practice of reanimating bone construct and conjuration of magic that requires bone as its main material. From low tire-raising mindless skeletons to hulking giants of bones to even the caster being able to incase themselves in the armor of the stuff for protection.

Essence: Or sorcery is the main focus on mastering necrotic spells and incantation like Necrotic bolts, summon protective wards. This is much in cohorts with shadow magics.

Soulbinding: I have not gone too deep into this, but it mainly focuses on making pacts with spirits and bindings. I’ve used it as a way to preserve the concept of Balance. unless you are cruel enough to just bind a soul to an item by force or help them find peace to earn their trust and make something of a binding that will let the binder learn more of the spiritual realms beyond the veil.

Okay, I’ve rambled enough, apologize for the long rant. All just my own headcanon.

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2797

This may be more interpretation than anything else but I got sick of seeing the Thalassian factions dress code just be explained by “they’re faction coded” so I thought of some more symbolic explanations:

High Elves prefer to use cool shades in their clothing - mainly blues, greens and whites - because their psyche is based around remembering the world as it was. They like to reminisce about how more perfect and uncorrupted Azeroth (particularly the EK) was before that damned Dark Portal openend and everyone was plunged in a constant state of war and strife - of course their own nostalgia may be wrong, but that is often the point of nostalgia in storytelling. But no matter how much they remember, they also know the past is cold and dead and not coming back. That is why the exiled Quel’dorei gravitate towards remembering the cold, dead past and this is reflected in the traditional blues of the Silver Covenant and the Highvale Elves. Small gold accents may be added to these colours by some as reminders to not be bogged down too much by it and to remember they still exist and that is a small victory on its own considering everything that happened.

In stark contrast stand the Blood Elves who dress in very splendidly in warm colours like bright red and gold. The Blood Elves remember the tragedies of the past and don’t forget them, but they are not burdened by them every day. Rather than wallowing in memories, the Blood Elves show their pragmatism and determination by rolling up their sleeves and labouring to build a better tomorrow. They look not towards the sunset and remembering their fading day in the cold, dark night; no, they look towards the next sunrise tomorrow when another day and a happier fate awaits. They dress in the colours of warmth and fire to remind themselves of these happier days to come after the darkness of night. They have achieved much since joining the Horde but the work is not done yet.

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2798

When it comes to the explanations of why can’t Pandaren characters return to the Wandering Isle, the answer I prefer is that they technically can. The problem is that the travel is weeks, if not months long in both ways, during which the characters completely fall out of the flow of the events. The reason is absolute secrecy of the coordinates and course of the Isle. No magical mail. Dalaran portal gone instantly after the Legion was defeated and there was no need in the monk order hall. All the isle grounds swept clean from any tracking beacons or whatever can bring hostile outsiders to the place. The only ones who know where to look for it are the higher members of the Shado-Pan and the elder Lorewalkers that need to keep the correspondency flowing between the Isle and the mainland. Speaking of the correspondency, the adventuring island Pandaren likely know only the Lorewalker-approved address where they can send all their letters and packages, that are being sent home with the passenger transports, be it ships or air ballons.

The need for hiding the place from the world is simple: its almost absolute inability to defend itself. With almost paranoid distrust to the outsiders among many of the Shado-Pan it doesn’t take long for them to imagine someone willing to take a whole colony as hostages… if not slaughtering them to the last or even turning Shen-zin Su himself in an enormous glorified pile of alchemical reagents and legendary loot. And with the news of the atrocities happened in Nazmir spread around the world no one would ever want to risk repeating the fate of Torga. So if we actually get a real opportunity for all Pandaren to come home, perhaps there will soon be the problems of hiding it yet again. Or (cultural) conquest by some of the power blocks.

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2799

That’s what they want you to believe. Its a very Art of War esque strategy to make yourself look weak while being stronger. If anything the Exploring the Eastern Kingdoms book shows SI:7 have their fingers in every pie around and have a spiders web of network informants feeing them info.

Though they might have an official spin on what Anduin is doing and where he is though, that much is probable. All regimes have propaganda production after all and its usually the intelligence service that creates it.
As for Turalyon I think capitalising on the fact he’s a war hero, a defender of the Alliance and all will be emphasised but definitely some concern that he’s basically a representative of one of the main cosmic forces in the universe, and not one that is as apparently benevolent as many used to think.

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2800

Isn’t red the thalassian colour of choice for mourning and they dress red to cling white knuckled to the memory of the fallen?

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2801

Red for the blood shed by their people.

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2802

I’m technically correct, which is the best kind.

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2803

The blood of their people, shed. *

My headdie cannony:

Healthstones are lumps of life energy, not fel at all. They are made with shadow magic, however - a variation of the life energy control spell that warlocks exhibit with their drains and what not.

2805

I headcanon it quite different, namely that there are nearly no more Kaldorei in Stormwind, or most of the other Alliance lands, especially due to the fact that the Alliance has made peace with the Horde while the Night Elves kept on fighting.

Most have travelled to Mt. Hyjal and now try to carve out a living on the mountain.

Also with Tyrande and Malfurion “reclaiming” Mt. Hyjal for the Night Elven people, the non Kaldorei Circle members have been banished to the bottom of the sacred mountain, hardly allowed to ascend the slopes except on rare occasions, and Moonglade, for now.

Nighthaven and the Moonglade of Mount Hyjal have become a hot topic amongst the Night Elves and the still partly neutral Cenarion Circle. Most Night Elves feel they should reclaim it, as the Archdruid of Moonglade fought for his people and against the Horde during the War of Thorns and the 4th War, and expel the non-Kaldorei Circle members from the area.

While the Taurens, fairly, argue they and their kin had nothing to do with the War of Thorns and the Burning of Teldrassil and have always proved to be trustworthy allies to the Night Elves, even as members of the Horde.

Although it has not quite reached the point of open infighting, yet, it is still a hotly debated topic amongst Kaldorei and Cenarion Circle members.

Also non of the above applies to the Worgen, who are the sole race the Kaldorei as a whole, are willing to make a exception for.

On a side-note;

Most Darkspear Druids have foregone their membership of the Cenarion Circle(the few that even had one to begin with), preffering to join the ranks of the Dinomancers, Raptari or other Zandalari/(druidic)- or their own organisations. Often they felt belittled and sidelined by the Kaldorei-run Cenarion Circle, old hatreds still ran deep between the two races, and Trolls would often be neglected or forgotton on purpose, in favor of Worgen, Tauren or mostly Kaldorei.

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2807

I mean, obviously maybe a few would’ve chosen to be left behind in Stormwind and its surroundings due to the safety it offers… Since its not located literally next to Horde outposts and capitals! :stuck_out_tongue:

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2808

That still leaves you with roughly a year where the night elves would have been of great use in restoring both Westfall and Duskwood, which would simply be the practical thing to do - it leaves the night elves with something to do, as well as provides them with the means to provide for themselves. Stormwind’s people would be forever in the debt if their breadbasket ceased being a dustbowl.

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