Project Lore

Proverb is a psuedo-weekly column discussing the lore of Warcraft. It is spoiler heavy for all Warcraft games, novels, and other media. Comment on this post or send a tweet to @Heartbourne and let us know what you would like to see in future columns!



This week on Proverb, as per request of Angusthehaggis on Twitter, we'll be looking at the differences and origins of the modern Quel'dorei and Sin'dorei, commonly known as "High Elves" and "Blood Elves". This article ended up very long, so the second part will be out later this weekend.

The High Elves have a long and rich history. High Elves were originally Night Elves, or Kal'dorei, but through their practice of magic underwent some physical changes that turned them into a distinct race, especially under the physical separation of the two factions due to the exile of the Highborne from Kalimdor. If you aren't familiar with this story, take a quick read of Proverb: The Vials of Eternity.

The Quel'dorei named their settlement Quel'thalas, or "High Kingdom". The northernmost portion was named Silvermoon, with the sprawling capital city bearing the same name. Lush forests composed the southern regions of Quel'thalas, including the Eversong Woods and Eversong Forest. The High Elves

fought many wars with the local forest trolls, namely the Amani trolls. Wars with the trolls raged on for years, and the high elves eventually turned to the human kingdom of Arathor for help. The humans were reluctant, but helped for their own safety from the trolls. The elves taught the humans magic, and together they defeated the Amani empire. In exchange for the help, Anasterian Sunstrider, king of the high elves, pledged loyalty to the bloodline of Thoradin, king of Arathor.

The High Elves largely remained reclusive and distant from the human nations that came and went over the years. Elves are very proud and arrogant, and the elves of Quel'thalas would need good reason to ally with the humans.

Some 1,200 years after the troll wars, the Alliance of Lordaeron was founded, consisting of the seven human nations of the time, in reaction the orc's invasion of Azeroth and the fall of Stormwind. King Terenas sent an emissary to Silvermoon to ask for the elves help. Anasterian decided to help only because Lord Lothar was among the humans requesting help, as Lothar was a descendant of Thoradin. Anasterian sent a small force led by Alleria Windrunner, who soon reported the immanent threat of the trolls and their new orcish allies. The high elves joined in full force to protect their homeland. The newly formed Horde did much damage to Quel'thalas, especially the red dragons enslaved by the Dragonmaw clan of orcs. Anasterian blamed Terenas' poor leadership for the burning of the forests of Quel'thalas. Lothar perished during the war, and the high elves considered their debt to Thoradin's bloodline paid and the humans careless. The nation of Silvermoon largely shut itself off from the world. A few high elves remained outside of Azeroth, but very few wanted to mingle with the humans or other races. A few high elves studied in Dalaran (including Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider), which was the premier location for studying magic, perhaps even exceeding Silvermoon.



The High Elves remained isolated as the Scourge ravaged the human kingdom of Lordaeron. With Arthas leading them as the Lich King's token Death Knight, the Scourge ravaged Quel'thalas, destroyed Silvermoon and the Sunwell, and killed around 90% of all of the High Elves who died defending their homeland, including King Anasterian Sunstrider. The elves would never forget the loss of their great kingdom to Arthas, prince of Lordaeron, adding another mark against the humans' reputation.

Kael'thas returned to Quel'thalas, infuriated at the destruction of his homeland during his absence. He rallied as many High Elves as he could gather, and renamed his people Sin'dorei, or blood elves, to reflect their thirst for vengeance and a new source of magic to quench their thirst after the loss of the Sunwell. Roughly 90% of the remaining High Elves followed Kael'thas and took on the new name. He allied with the humans temporarily, then left them to take an offer from Illidan Stormrage to find new, exotic forms of magic to feed his people.

The other 10% of the high elves remained elsewhere. Many of them were elsewhere during the destruction of Silvermoon or fled. These remaining High Elves were of a loose association to each other and called their organization the Silvermoon Remnant, and still consider themselves to be members of the Alliance.  While the high elves traditionally used the Sunwell to satisfy their thirst for magic, the ones that traveled around Azeroth used alternative sources. For example, current day Stormwind contains a Moonwell with a few high elves around it. Many high elves traveled with Jaina Proudmoore to found Theramore, where they currently hold two seats in her advising council. The high elf population continues to dwindle, as the high elves are disparate and many defect back to Silvermoon to join the blood elves.

Continue to part 2.