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Ferlions list of Night Elf misconceptions
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Edited by Ferlion on 2/21/12 7:41 PM (PST)
Hello boys and girls, beasts and ghouls, and all other types!
Over the years of my tenure at this fine forum group, I have noticed several common misconceptions about the Night Elven race, many of which are held against Blizzard as moving the Night Elves away from their roots, or other such things. This thread is about debunking many of those misconceptions, and getting some decent conversation going. So, that being said, lets move on to the show, starting with what is probably the most wide spread misconception: Xenophobia Xenophobia: one unduly fearful of what is foreign and especially of people of foreign origin Many cite the Night Elves as being Xenophobic in nature due to their actions in WC3 where the now famous Ashenvale war first started. These same people ignore almost every other instance of the Warcraft 3 and TFT Night Elf campaign. Even if you write off the various races who aided the Night Elves in their campaign, and even the Furbolgs, you have, throughout the WC3 Orc and Kaldorei campaigns spread through Ashenvale : Goblins,Dark Trolls, and, in TFT willingly aided Blood Elves and Orcs both. Even further, the "initial attack" was preceded by Night Elves sending out scouts that were wide spread enough to get tales of the Orcs deeds during the First and Second wars. Cenarius himself ordered the charge against the Orcs, fearing that they had turned back to their demon worshiping days. The Night Elves go so far as to willingly allow Satyr to be part of their culture as long as they are not actively causing trouble, as seen by Terrorhoof and another Satyr. Eventually of course, they do end up causing trouble, which ends up with some demon being killed. Even then though, as was shown in Teldrassil, attempts to teach the demons lessons are made. The ONLY time in recorded history that we know of where the Night Elves were actively xenophobic was during the War of the Ancients trilogy. And that was less Xenophobia, as the Night Elves were not afraid of the other cultures. They looked at them as inferior. Not in fear, but in disgust. And the invasion of the Burning Legion ended much of that. Which brings us to my next misconception. The Guardians of the World Many people are under the impression that Night Elves were appointed by The Aspects to guard the World Tree and the Well of Eternity that was contained by it, and in return the Night Elves were granted the blessings. This is not true. The ONLY Aspect who required something in turn was Ysera. The other Aspects granted their blessings to the World Tree to replace the blessings the Night Elves would have gained by the Well of Eternity. It was not a charge. It was compensation. The Night Elves would have actively LOST immortality and disease free existence without the Well or the blessings. It was NOT a reward for a task. It's also why the other races who participated in the War didn't gain anything. Because ONLY the Night Elves would have had it either way. And speaking of not being appointed jobs, lets get onto the Sentinel Army and the Long Vigil, Burning Legion, and aftermath of the War of the Ancients..... The Long Vigil Many people are of the opinion that the Sentinel Army was preparing itself from another invasion of the Burning Legion. This simply is not true. The Sentinel Army was formed for one reason, and one reason only. To police Ashenvale Forest and to keep Night Elven lands safe. Tyrande Whisperwind herself only started getting a growing discomfort about the eventual return of the Burning Legion centuries after the Long Vigil started. The Sentinel Army and the Night Elves did not have some sort of eternal watch for the Legion. It wasn't about the Legion. It was about the Night Elves rebuilding their empire and policing their very own lands. Over time, the allies of the Elves, such as the children of Cenarius began to appear and help out. Speaking of the Children of Cenarius.... Night Elves and Nature. One misconception of Night Elves that is very hard to shake due to the constant exposure on the Cenarion Circle is that the Night Elves worship nature. They don't. They don't even particularly venerate it. They keep it in balance. They manage local populations of predators and prey in check... But guess what. So do humans. Even real life humans today. When wolf populations get out of hand in the Midwest, hunting season is opened. When Deer populations get out of control, wolves are moved and released into the wild, and regulations are placed on hunting them. It's not about "venerating" nature. It's about making sure a proper ecosystem can exist. As intelligent creatures, Night Elves can recognize these patterns. Just as we humans do. And they use their intelligence to keep things neat. To keep things in line. Comfortable. To many deer, means the deer starve as the population is to large to exist with the food supply that is present, and hunters cannot keep up with fast breeding species. A natural predator is needed. Sentient creatures upset this balance, so we occasionally step in to keep things in check on both sides of the fence. Otherwise, it makes our own lives much more difficult. They respect nature. They work in conjunction with nature. Not because it's nature, but because it makes their lives easier. Now, its certainly true that they take it to a further degree than humans do, but it's more because they have the magic needed to work with nature in a much less....destructive...way. DRUIDS venerate nature. Night Elves, Tyrande included, will burn the forest to the ground if its needed. So..yeah.. Discuss away. |
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Night elf scouts knew of orcs? For how long? I'm forgetting maybe...
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Night elf scouts knew of orcs? For how long? I'm forgetting maybe... The orcs did not receive a warm welcome on Kalimdor. The night elves dispatched a number of scouts posthaste, and the scouts returned with frightening stories of the orcs' past atrocities during the First and Second Wars. In the meantime, the orcs chopped down a great many trees in Kalimdor, clearly intending to establish a settlement. Cenarius became certain that the orcs had returned to their warlike ways. He led a group of night elves and treants against a large group of the orcish intruders. From the page of Cenarius on the Warcraft Encyclopedia that was on the old Blizzard webpage. Still canon, even if only transcripts from wowpedia and the like are available with the switch. This is NOT from the RPG books, but from Blizzard (old) website. |
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I agreed to the first point. I conceded to the second.
The third one I disagree with entirely. In WCIII, Night Elven archers were taught by Ancients of War. Most of their buildings were ancients. Their primary labor force consisted of nature spirits. It is shown in a Teldrassil escort quest that the sentinels have an extremely high regard for their cats. Though I'll concede that it is nothing spectacular, since as humans we have a similar bond with dogs. Yet at the same time, Sentinels are also all trained to use handle Owls for scouting. Also, while Elune has nothing to do with nature worship, the Priestesses of the Moon are known to take their mounts from Winterspring Frostsabers, which means even the sisterhood has some dealings with nature as those are not easy mounts to obtain. Then let's look at Blade's Edge. It has both a Night Elf village. The forest around that area didn't just "spring up". The Night Elves used their Druidic connections to grow a small forest there because that is the environment they prefer. Even today, many Night Elven quest areas have Ancients wandering around, as well. These guys worship nature and Elune. But like the Blood Elves, their society is divided into sects: The Farstriders/Sentinels, the Druids and the Highborne. With the Sentinels being the ones to primarily venerate Elune. |
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Lets take a look at how humans build. They change their environment to best suite them. With the advent of nature magic, those forests are not just their favored environment because of some veneration of it. They live in forests because their magics and cultures allow them to, and in the long run, they show little regard for nature other than forests.
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How about the fact that they are the only race on Azeroth that can collect lumber without harming any trees? The only part of Night Elven society that isn't all pro-nature are the Highborne. And Night Elven Archers learning from the Ancients of War...what was that all about, if they didn't venerate nature? |
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Edited by Galwen on 2/21/12 8:10 PM (PST)
It was learning from someone who has something to teach.
Gathering wood without harming it isn't veneration of nature. It's not causing it harm when its not needed. Again, their magic is predisposed to not harming nature. I don't kill insects when I don't have to. I don't venerate bugs. There is a difference between not hurting nature when not needed and generating nature. |
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So at what point is it actually considered nature veneration, when the Druids apparently don't count? And the Ancients and wisps don't count apparently, either.
The Night Elves considered Elune and Druidism to be their primary salvations in the War of the Ancients. I mean hell, even a lot of their buildings are trees. They even grew their bank to look like a giant animal. Nature is kind of the Night Elf "thing". Even Elune plays second fiddle to it, in many respects. |
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Edited by Ferlion on 2/21/12 8:22 PM (PST)
No, as I said. Nature is "druids" thing, and Druids are a very, very, very small group. Just, the circle gets so much focus that it overshadows every other aspect, despite the fact that its such a small sect of the Night Elves.
Wisps are Elunite, as shown in Wolfheart. Night Elves find it easier to build from wood. Do you think humans would be any different if they had the magic Night Elves had? Its about ease of access and manipulation. Not respect and veneration. Humans build with mortar and stone and steel. We don't worship those things. We just find it easier due to our ways of building things. Night Elves have nature manipulation that makes wood easier to manipulate. And even then, they use it on stone. Their important buildings and such are all marked to be made of stone. As something special. Something to be proud of. Take the Temple of Elune in Darnassus. They work alongside nature, certainly.. But as I said, so do humans when they are able. Even in the real world. It's just Night Elves are much more able to work with nature than any other race. It's not got anything to do with veneration. Its got everything to do with ease of manipulation. Most sentient creatures won't harm things, plants included, when they don't need to be harmed and other, easier options are available. Night Elves always have an easier option. They certainly respect nature though. Most sentient creatures do, as the inherent concept of life is sacred. Special. |
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Uh...nope. The original idea behind Night Elves was that all the women were fighters and all the men were Druids. This held true in WCIII. Sure, there's some Rogue/Warrior types of males in Darnassus. But the Druid trainers are all male and--oh yeah--even when Malfurion wasn't around, Fandral was considered one of the racial leaders of the Night Elves because of his position in the Cenarion Circle. Even the new "visit the Moonwell" quests in the starting area talk mostly about Malfurion and the Druids. You are making a very big leap here to downplay it all as if it isn't a core part of the racial identity. Night Elves are essentially a combination between Dark Elves(D&D) and Wood Elves. |
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Edited by Galwen on 2/21/12 8:39 PM (PST)
No. That's something that got picked up somewhere. I don't think it was ever said all, or even most men were druids, only that all druids were men.
The now non Canon RPG and encyclopeda both state the circle was small, and the encyclopedia states all druids are members of the circle. Also fandral was never a leader outside of mechanics. I t was made very clear in stormrage and seeds of faith. He wanted power. He didn't have it. Circle government was completely different |
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Xenophobia:
I could go either way on this. While I do think that they WERE originally subject to large amounts of Xenophobia, the more modern Night Elf is likely far less so. Sure, one might say that, well, the time the Night Elves have spent among other races and allies isn't significant compared to thousands of years of introversion, but I'm not sure the Night Elves are quite so inadaptable as that. I would say that there's likely a solid mix of traditionalist and more open minded Night Elves, as would be expected in most cultures. The Guardians of the World: Actually, this WAS something of an assignment - a pact between the Aspects and Furion to protect the new well from the Burning Legion. It is true, however, that only Ysera asked for anything, which, in retrospect... what did she really DO for the Night Elven druids other than chain them to the Emerald Dream? The Long Vigil: This can be taken multiple ways, but I would say that given that the terms of the Pact the Aspects made with Furion, I have to say that the notion that it was NOT specifically against the Burning Legion is untrue. Indeed, the primary concern Tyrande held was that the Burning Legion would inevitably return for the second Well. Night Elves and Nature: I cannot find anything to agree with here. Everything Night Elven culture not-specific to Elune is based of off is in reverence of nature. The "balance" argument is applied in relation to unnatural influences (such as Teldrassil) throwing off what's best for nature to thrive and flourish. The Forests of Ashenvale are held, not just as a homeland, but literally sacred. Nature and the preservation of their forests is not just some mere "convenience", it's what the Night Elves live and die for. |
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Edited by Ferlion on 2/21/12 11:35 PM (PST)
Page 173-175 in The Sundering Book 3 of the War of the Ancients details the blessings of the World Tree. There was no bargain or pact. In fact....
“Here stands before you Nordrassil. The World Tree is brought into existence!” intoned the Aspect of Life. “For as long as it stands, for as long as it is honored, the night elves will thrive! You may alter, you may follow different paths, but you will ever be an integral part of Kalimdor…” The whole follow different paths thing is kinda directly against any type of pact. First off.. Everything Night Elven culture not-specific to Elune is based of off is in reverence of nature. Elune is the centerpiece of Night Elven culture. Druidism is not. It's a small sect. The "balance" argument Is quite clear that they talk about the ecosystem, not just natural and unnatural influences. The first quest you do as a Night Elf has you thin the heard of predators in the area as there were to many. . The Forests of Ashenvale are held, not just as a homeland, but literally sacred. At least one Demigod used to walk them. They are also eternally blessed by Elune to always be night time.
THEIR forests. Thats the key. It's their land. Night Elves are not fighting over trees. They are fighting over land. Just as humans live and die for their land. Just as Dwarves do. Its their land, and the nature part has nothing to do with it. And, just as added proof. The Magnataur were on the move. Wolfheart, page 327. From Tyrande Whisperwind herself. And, I'll just point out that burning the forest down isn't really something you do when you worship nature. Because they dont. The only Night Elves who go gung ho about nature are the Druids, who we have, unfortunately, gotten the most exposure for, and it's sustained this misconception. But that right there? Yeah, that's the nail in the coffin for the whole nature thing. The war in Ashenvale isn't about lumber. Its not about trees. Its not about clear cutting. It's about the Horde invading their lands. Now, the Horde may need the lumber, and thats not the point of this thread, but yeah. Tyrande and Shandris were discussing burning down the forest. |
Wolfheart, page 327. I really don't think one quote from a book is enough to say for definite what they do or do not worship or hold to be sacred. Unless of course the quote specifically says otherwise, which this doesn't. It doesn't say "Night elves don't venerate nature.". It highlights the lengths to which they would go to protect themselves when threatened. |
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Wolfheart, page 327. If you hold something sacred, it generally takes precedence over your person. |
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So tell me then why the Night elves chose to expand into Feralas, while ignoring the Barrens and Dustwallow Marsh? And I'm talking before the third war here, when the only thing they had to contend with were Centaur and roaming packs of Tauren. Oh, and Quilboar, if they count. Wolfheart, page 327. It would have pissed off the Druids, yes. But the Druids could also grow back the trees easily. I posit that the line was put in there to underline the Elves' desperation.
Nope. The Night Elves keep animals as allies, not just pets. There's Shadumbra, who roams central Ashenvale, fighting for the Sentinels and Dryads. There's also that Hippogryph who patrols eastern Ashenvale in the area where the Sentinels' Archers scout out the Horde.
Tell that to those guys standing around the Horde lumber camp complaining about the Horde's brutal tree cutting tactics.
It's really NOT a misconception. Even Chris Metzen made a joke at the Blizzcon before last about the similarities between the Na'vi in Avatar and Night Elves. I've always understood that since Night Elves are your favorite race, you like to think about them a lot and learn everything you can about them. But you also try and fit them into your specific purview and in this case you're ignoring a huge facet of their theme. NO other race in the game has giant trees helping to defend their outposts and villages. Night Elves aren't just "purple humans" when it comes to nature. They're damn forest Elves. |
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Furthermore! The idea that Night Elves are a combination between Dark Elves and Wood Elves is not something tacked on. Behold, the concept art you've no doubt seen:
http://images.wikia.com/wow/nl/images/5/5e/Night_Elves_-_Concept.jpg With such lovely notes as: The females of the Tribes are the primary Hunter Gatherers A nature-based society would have much value for hunter-gatherers. Each child is required to take a "Rite of Passage" to find his spirit animal Animal worship kind of lends itself to nature-worship. The Kaldorei have built giant keeps deep into the mountains and forests of.... This is where the "Dark Elf" thing comes from, since originally they were supposed to live underground as well as in the forests. Now your argument is going to be obvious: Concept doesn't count, right? Wrong. Even with ideas here scrapped, the basis for them still made it into WCIII. Night Elves do sometimes live underground. In the Barrow Dens. But it's only Druids that do so. The rest live in the forests. The Rite of Passage thing was changed to be that Druids took a totem animal and changed into it. Which was changed again in WoW to say that player-Druids take totems from several different animals. And the females were of course changed into the Sentinel Army, making Night Elves in general far more civilized. There is no Elune in that concept art. Just nature-themed stuff and talk of the Well of Eternity. It's a part of Night Elven culture, and this early concept art shows this. Downplaying the role of Druidism among Night Elves is folly. It's a core part of their theme. Even Elune is referred to as the "Moon Goddess", and the Moon plays a vital part in the natural balance. Do you have something against this part of the theme? So be it. There are plenty of male night elves out there(See: Demon Hunters, Rogues, Warriors, Hunters) who don't give a damn about Druidism. Indeed, they might not care for Malfurion at all. Maeiv showed there were Night Elves who oppose him and his ways. But it doesn't stop nature worship from being a core part of their society. As Fandral showed, even Night Elves who are jerks believe in nature. |
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In before Ferlion tries desperately to compare them to the Drow.
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Wouldn't end well for him. Drow worship Lolth the Spider-Goddess.
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