Assorted lore facts

[Feralan]

This thread is designed as a collection of lore tidbits, primarily about the Kaldorei and for players seeking to learn the basics or refreshing their memory about something. It is a tidier continuation of this old thread, which in turn was reposted from out original website:
shadowsentinels.proboards78.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=lore&thread=6&page=1

I'm focusing on concise summaries; for many or most of these tidbits, more extensive information is available elsewhere. Enjoy.

Status: Done until I find something to add, comments are welcome.

[Feralan]

History

• Prehistory: The Kaldorei discover the Well of Eternity, settle around it and explore its powers. Rise of the Highborne sorcerers as the ruling caste. Cenarius, who has been guiding his mother's people, leaves them to their own decisions. Subsequent creation of a vast Kaldorei empire, destruction of the Amani and Gurubashi troll empires. The old nature-worship loses importance, Cenarius and other great Ancients are viewed as mere legends by most, though Malorne, Ursoc and Ursol still make (occasional?) appearances. Elune is still worshipped, but many revere Azshara and magic almost as deeply.
  
  
• ~ 10,000 years ago: The War of the Ancients / the Sundering. The Highborne open the world to the Burning Legion; they and their masters are defeated only with the aid of the Aspects, the Ancients, the tauren and the Earthen (ancestors of the dwarves). Death of Malorne, Aviana, Ursol and Ursoc, and Agamaggan. Restructuring of Kaldorei society under the leadership of the Sisterhood of Elune. Formation of the Cenarion Circle, formal beginnings of druidism. Illidan creates the second Well of Eternity on Mount Hyjal and is sentenced to imprisonment as a result. The Aspects Ysera (green), Nozdormu (bronze) and Alexstrasza (red) grow Nordrassil, the World Tree, on top of the new Well to keep it locked away and inaccessible. Through Nordrassil, the Kaldorei receive the blessings of the Aspects for the same purpose. Mist rises to cloak Kalimdor from outside detection.
  
  
• ~ 7,200 years ago: The second betrayal of the Highborne who refuse to accept the strict prohibition of sorcery, and their subsequent exile when Tyrande and Malfurion cannot bring themselves to excute so many of their kin. Some time later, the druids enter the Emerald Dream to fulfull their pact with Ysera, and the Long Vigil begins.
  
  
• ~ 1,000 years ago: The War of the Shifting Sands. Rise of the qiraji and their silithid servants. Catastrophic losses for the Kaldorei under Fandral Staghelm's leadership (oddly, there has been no word about what Cenarius, Tyrande and Malfurion were doing). With the aid of the uncorrupted Dragonflights and heavy losses, the qiraji are driven back and sealed into their city of Ahn'Qiraj.
  
  
• ~ 7 years ago: The return of the Burning Legion, AKA Warcraft 3. Creation of the Scourge, corruption of great stretches of land, death of Cenarius. Tyrande wakes the druids from the Emerald Dream. Eventual victory for a joint army of Kaldorei, Horde and Alliance forces (the few who went east with Jaina Proudmoore) through the sacrifice of Nordrassil.
  
  
• post-WC3 and pre-WoW: The shaky peace between the allies of the Third War falls apart. The Warsong Clan resumes its attack on Ashenvale and the Kaldorei, attempts at diplomacy are rebuffed. (This was likely why the Kaldorei joined forces with the Alliance.) Malfurion disappears into the Emerald Dream. Fandral Staghelm as his "successor" grows Teldrassil despite Malfurion's warning and without the approval of Keeper Remulos and the Dragon Aspects. (This means your character cannot have been born on Teldrassil -- it has existed only for a handful of years.)
  

Faith and Spirituality

• Elune: Mother Moon, the White Lady. The one true deity of Azeroth is the goddess of the moon, the mother of Cenarius, and considered to be the loving mother of the world, and of the Kaldorei who honor her above all. Strongly associated with peace, healing and tolerance. Elune is said to quietly guide and protect all living beings so they can grow and thrive, but does not (or very rarely) interfere directly and never appears in physical form. Instead, she sends visions and dreams to faithful, or even "straying" Kaldorei to guide them back to the proper path. Peace and natural harmony are often called "Elune's song" both metaphorically and literally. As the Night Warrior, she gathers the souls of the fallen to set them on the sky as stars, and charges her followers with the protection of the world from its enemies.
  (Known to the tauren as Mu'sha, the left eye of the Earthmother.)
  Her symbol (or one of them) seems to be the crescent moon.
  
  
  
• The Ancients: AKA "Ancient Guardians". (Not to be confused with the ancients, the great sentient trees.) These demigods are the most powerful and primal spirits of the natural world. All have (or had) a physical manifestation, but most interfered rarely with life on Azeroth except in the great war that bears their name. Their spirits are said to rest in the Emerald Dream, gathering strength for their eventual rebirth, but they still watch over the waking world as well. The Kaldorei honor and revere, but do not outright worship them. They include:
  
  
• Malorne: The White Stag, the Waywatcher. Consort to Elune and father of Cenarius, close friend of Ysera the Dreamer. One of the most powerful and beloved Ancients, Malorne is deeply tied to the natural world (including the Emerald Dream) and devoted to nurturing and protecting it. He is revered for his wisdom and as a scion of peace, known to have stopped conflicts with his mere, soothing presence. Malorne died protecting his son during the War of the Ancients. Though peaceful, he fought with nature's fury, destroyed and routed countless demons before dying at the hands of Archimonde himself.
  (Known to the tauren as Apa'ro.)
  His symbol seems to be an eight-point star or compass rose.
  
  
• Cenarius: The Forestlord, the Heart of the Land, patron and teacher of the druids. Son of Elune and Malorne. Father of the dryads and keepers of the grove. Appears as a great stag with the upper torso and head of a night elf, antlers, leaves growing in his hair and a gnarled wood-like claw for a right hand. He inherited great power, wisdom and cunning and a deep connection with nature and the creatures of Azeroth from both his parents. Too much a being of the physical world to stay with his mother, Cenarius was raised by Ysera in the Emerald Dream. Apparently claiming some kinship with the night elves, he came to them long ago to teach and guide them, but left grieving when they chose sorcery and power over harmony with nature. Malfurion, Tyrande and Illidan "rediscovered" him shortly before the Sundering. Cenarius was instrumental in rallying the Ancients, the Aspects and other allies against the Legion, and stayed with the Kaldorei in their Long Vigil until the pit lord Mannoroth empowered Grom Hellscream and the Warsong Clan to kill him (during the events of WC3). His spirit lives on in the Emerald Dream where he aids his foster mother against the Nightmare.
  His symbol seems to be the upward-facing moon crescent with a small circle between the "horns", as seen on the fur of shapeshifted druids.
  
  
• Aessina: One of the greatest wilderness spirits. Sadly, nothing more is known about her, not even if she is still "alive" in the physical world. Her shrine in Ashenvale is frequented by dryads.
  Her symbol is a deciduous tree, often shaped into the upper body of a woman (like at the Shrine of Remulos and the dryad groves in the Howling Fjord).
  
  
• Agamaggan: A titanic, ravenous, fearless juggernaut of a boar with thorny vines growing from his body. His strength and savagery were crucial to stopping the Burning Legion in the War of the Ancients. He died in the Barrens after a long and vicious battle; his skull is said to be the entrance to Razorfen Kraul. The quillboar tribes worship him as their god. Less important to the Kaldorei than the other Ancients, he is still revered by some for his strength, courage and as a symbol of the wild, unspoiled past.
  
  
• Aviana: The Raven, Mistress of G'Hanir (the Mother Tree). Patron of the Druids of the Talon. Originally an ordinary raven, Aviana was elevated into an Ancient through service as a messenger for Elune, Cenarius and the other powers, and subsequently adopted all winged beings as her own, even the great dragons. Her realm G'Hanir was the resting place for the spirits of her "children", a giant tree that bore the seeds of all trees of Azeroth. Known in various shapes to various cultures across Azeroth, patron for knowledge-seekers and keepers of secrets alike. Aviana is the only Ancient to have taken mortal form; she even studied magic with the Highborne for a while before realizing its corrupting nature and fleeing back to Elune's side. Upon her death in the War of the Ancients, G'Hanir was destroyed as well. Ysera grew Nordrassil from a rescued sapling of the Mother Tree.
  
  
• Ursoc (the Mighty) and Ursol (the Wise): The Bear Twins. Patrons of the Druids of the Claw. Giant, inseparable bears with glyph-marked fur, they were friends of the night elves and visited Kaldorei settlements quite often (especially during holy lunar festivities) to converse with the elders and play with the children. Ursol is a shaman and woodcarver, Ursoc a fighter and brewmaster; both posses strong healing powers. The furbolgs worship them as gods. Like most Ancients, they fought and died in the War of the Ancients.
  

[Feralan]

Society

• Kaldorei society is led by the Sisterhood of Elune in peace and in war. It is a true though benevolent theocracy. On a local level, town elders need not be priestesses, and neither are all military officers, but overall the priesthood is firmly in charge and commands the highest respect.
  
  
• The druids are technically not a part of normal society but an autonomous organization (especially, I suspect, since the Circle was opened to the tauren). Both groups work together closely of course, and under normal circumstances would not refuse a request from the members of the other group. But when push comes to shove, a druid does not have formal authority over the Sentinel guards, just a priestess does not command formal authority over a druid or a Warden of the Circle. The exception would be druids serving as local community elders, I think, like in Auberdine.
  
  
• Kaldorei take lifelong mates but they do not marry. This brief statement from the Alliance Player's Guide is not elaborated on, so my interpretation is that the concept of relationships as legal contracts that require the endorsement of a religious, civil or military authority is unknown (and probably baffling) to the night elves. If two Kaldorei declare themselves mated, they are a couple in the eyes of their society, simple as that. These bonds are very deep and serious, however, so grand declarations of love in-game should be rare and well thought-out.
  
  
• Nuclear families are also an alien concept to the night elves. The whole culture is quite tribal in nature, with close bonds between the members of a community -- are all "related in spirit". Children are raised within and with the help of the entire community, and the definition of "family" extends to chosen friends as well as blood relatives.
  
  
• There is no nobility in the Kaldorei civilisation. In the old days, the Highborne were the noble ruling class, but after their fall the priesthood of Elune assumed the mantle of leadership and the society became -- or, more likely, went back to being -- what is described above. As it is, there is no room for the conceit and decadence of "superior birth", and given the lessons of their own past, most Kaldorei would likely look at nobles of other cultures with at least some suspicion or incomprehension.
  
  
• Except for druidism, many important aspects of Kaldorei life were/are predominantly the domain of women: hunting and gathering, the priesthood and the Sentinel Army in particular. This means the "usual" gender roles of men as all-important warrior-providers and women as meek and helpless homemakers do not work with this culture at all. For the Kaldorei, "femininity" is probably tied to strength and faith, battle prowess and hunting skills, and that is what most men would look for and admire in a mate.
  

Relations with Others

• The rumor that the Kaldorei are the descendants of trolls has been confirmed as just that, an in-character rumor. Blizzard has made no out-game statement about it being true or false. Long ago, the night elves crushed the troll empires with their superior magical powers, but given the subsequent fall of the Highbone themselves, this is likely not a point of pride in modern Kaldorei society.
  
  
• High/blood elves, naga, satyrs and harpies are all descended from treacherous and outcast Kaldorei. As a result, relations with them range from "strained" (high elves) to "mortal enemy" (nagas and satyrs in particular).
  Rumor has it harpies were cursed into their current form by Azshara for an unknown reason, so they may actually be innocent of any real crime. There is also a rumor that they were transformed followers of Aviana who went mad and became twisted after her death. Whatever the truth, they are as violent towards Kaldorei as towards anyone else.
  
  
• Demons and the various creature and servants of the Old Gods (qiraji, silithid, Twilight cultists) are the prime sworn enemies of the Kaldorei, and so is anyone who consorts with these abominations. The recent devastations of the world by the Scourge and the various atrocities of the Forsaken place undead and necromancers in the same category. Anyone who even remotely shows any empathy towards warlocks would be viewed with suspicion at best, and most likely downright hostility. Please keep this in mind when dealing with other races.
  
  
• The arcane and its users users are anathema to the Kaldorei since that kind of magic is a beacon for the Burning Legion, runs contrary to the natural harmony that the night elves protect, and causes addiction and corruption in its users (though not as quickly and totally as fel magic). Apparently the night elves can sense that addiction in others and react badly to its "stench", which is one reason why relations with the high and blood elves are so tense. Mages and their ilk, if their visits are tolerated at all, are kept away from sacred sites like moonwells.
  Note: The in-game "arcane" spells of druids have been confirmed as being in that magic school for game mechanical reasons only, and lore-wise have nothing to do with sorcery. Instead, they are supposed to be holy powers, granted by the grace of Cenarius' mother, Elune.
  
  
• The tauren were allies in the War of the Ancients, and Cenarius walked with and taught them for a good while. Because of this and the tauren's respect for nature and ties to the spirit world, as well as Malfurion opening the Cenarion Circle to them, it is quite possible that many Kaldorei (especially druids) view the Shu'halo as kindred spirits. Relations are soured by the Alliance/Horde divide though, especially the warmongering in Ashenvale. (Many good tauren roleplayers show some more or less cautious goodwill towards the Kaldorei in return, though not all do.)
  
  
• After the exile of the remaining Highborne over 7,000 years ago, Kalimdor was shrouded in mist and faded from the memory of the outside world until the events of WC3. During this time there was no contact between the Kaldorei and any of the races on the eastern continent. Even the high elves forgot their origins -- maybe because the exiles did not want to remember them, or for their descendants to learn of them.
  

Miscellaneous

• The Kaldorei age of maturity has been given as both ~150 and ~300 years. My suggested compromise: the former is true physical maturity, the latter the age at which their long-lived society considers its young to be true adults with a basic working experience of the world and their chosen path. One could view the time between physical maturity and full maturity in the eyes of society as a "journeyman" period in a Kaldorei's life.
  
  
• Their maximum lifespan after the loss of Nordrassil is still unknown. While the World Tree stood strong they were ageless, and even before the Sundering they lived for millennia (allegedly due to the "mutation" caused by the Well of Eternity).
  
  
• Kaldorei are nocturnal. They do not suffer any penalties in the sunlight, but by nature they are active at night. Keep that in mind when writing and roleplaying. A character may be grumpy and tired when waking (or woken) too early, i.e. during the day.
  
  
• Kaldorei buildings are supposed to be living, growing things created by nature magic. That fits the concept of them being "built" by wisps in WC3, or at least it seems more logical that they would grow/shape something rather than actually building it. It is also a nice idea for a nature-loving culture, though sadly the architecture we see in the games hardly looks living and grown.
  
  
• Alcohol is not unknown to the Kaldorei. Ursol and Ursoc (two of the Ancients) were masterful brewers, moonglow is an alcoholic beverage for the Lunar Festival (and other special occasions, maybe) that makes the imbiber glow for a while, and moonberry juice is (according to the Alliance Player's Guide) actually a very strong wine which gives those who drink it a sort of "spiritual kick". So while the night elves are no heavy drinkers like the dwarves, they need not be teetotallers either.
  
  
• In rare occasions of great danger, Kaldorei druids may still hear the voice of Cenarius whispering brief warnings or gentle urgings to aid his followers.
  
  
• A word on druids as player characters or family members: due to the pact with Ysera, the druids were in the Emerald Dream for over seven thousand years, leaving their bodies hibernating in barrow dens all throughout the forests. As a result, a druid would either belong to that group of ancient Dreamers, or was trained during the past few years. Still, if you need a little more freedom regarding druid ages for your backstory, I think it is not inconceivable that Cenarius would have picked up other gifted students during those seven-odd millennia, trained them, and then sent them to join the others in the Dream. And the War of the Shifting Sands storyline revealed that a good number of druids were awake during that time, which gives an official "window of opportunity" for a druidic parent or other ancestor to continue the family line.
  

[Feralan]

Ignore this post, it contains stuff I'm working on re-organizing.

• Elune is a goddess of benevolence and anti-conflict. If your character is a devout follower of Elune, your character is probably rather pacifist, and not pro-war.
  (Note: as shown by Tyrande's actions and mannerism in WarCraft 3, not all followers or even priests of Elune have to be pacifists. Demons and other enemies of the world cannot be fought with kind words or corner time, after all, and the Priestesses of the Moon lead the Sentinel Army which means they are exposed to violence. But I do think that, if possible, a devoted believer should show compassion, attempt to mediate conflicts and seek non-violent solutions. So, fighting enemies like the Warsong, the Venture Co., the Burning Legion, the undead and the silithid with relentless ferocity would be a matter of course for a "proper" Kaldorei. But seeking out battle for the sheer thrill of bathing in blood would be abhorrent to a devout follower of Elune.)
  
  
• Kaldorei respect and commune with the spirits, and their strong bond with nature is one of the things that sets the race apart from the Alliance (and many other races). A Kaldorei does not kill plants or animals needlessly, and if she does need to kill, she shows respect to her prey and use as many of its parts as possible so the death will not be wasted.
  
  
• Because of the above, the Kaldorei are vehemently (and violently) opposed to the ruthless exploitation of nature that many other races and organizations practice. They would never see a forest as merely a handy source of lumber waiting to be cut down, or label a wolf "evil" and deserving of a torturous death because it killed a farmer's sheep. Characters who express such opinions would likely be viewed with shock or suspicion, maybe pity for their inability to understand nature and the spirit world, but probably also active hostility.
  

[Feralan]

(Reserved.)