A night elf (pl. night elves), sometimes capitalized as Night Elf (pl. Night Elves), is a humanoid being in Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft media franchise. Known as the Kaldorei (lit. 'Children of the stars') in their native language, the night elves were introduced as one of the four playable factions in the 2002 real-time strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and later became a playable race aligned to the Alliance faction in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft. Night elves are depicted as tall, purple-skinned elves whose society is associated with forests, the moon goddess Elune and druidic nature magic. The history of the night elf civilization is centred particularly on Tyrande Whisperwind, its high priestess and long-serving political and military leader, and Malfurion Stormrage, the first night elf druid and founder of its druidic tradition. Other major night elf characters include Illidan Stormrage, Maiev Shadowsong and Shandris Feathermoon. Artist Samwise Didier described the night elves' visual palette as a synthesis of various traditions of elves in popular fiction, combining lunar and dark imagery with a reverence for nature. Their design deliberately departed from the fair-skinned and blond-haired elves common in the high fantasy genre through their exaggerated height, purple skin and blue or green hair. In Warcraft III, their environmental identity was also expressed through gameplay mechanics including living tree buildings, non-destructive harvesting of lumber, and abilities affected by the game's day-and-night cycle. The night elves have received commentary for their distinctive visual and gameplay design as well as their changing portrayal within the Warcraft media franchise, particularly following the destruction of their homeland in the plot of the expansion World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth. Academic analysis has examined the night elves' religious and environmental symbolism, their use of East Asian visual references and the gendered popularity of female night elf avatars.
Concept and development The night elves were created during the development of Warcraft III. Warcraft artist Samwise Didier said that Blizzard wanted to create an original variant of elves by combining two established fantasy archetypes: the moon and darkness themes associated with dark elves in Dungeons & Dragons, and the nature-oriented traditions of woodland-dwelling elves influenced by the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. The resulting race of elves was given the name "Night Elves", with purple skin, blue or green hair, and an average height of over seven feet. Didier described the concept as a difficult internal proposition because Blizzard's team was accustomed to more conventional elves resembling Legolas, with blond or brown hair. According to Didier, the public accepted the night elves more readily than many members of the development team, and a strong illustration was ultimately important in demonstrating that the unusual blue, green and purple palette could work. The night elves' relationship with nature was incorporated into the mechanics of their playable faction in Warcraft III. Their principal structures are sentient trees that can uproot themselves, move and attack opposing units. Wisps gather lumber without destroying trees, while a Tree of Life entangles a gold mine rather than requiring workers to enter it. The faction was also designed around the day-and-night cycle introduced in Warcraft III. Female night elf units possess Shadowmeld, allowing them to become concealed while motionless at night, and several units and structures regenerate more effectively during nighttime. Their military design emphasises ranged units, mobile heroes, magical support and heavy tree creatures rather than the conventional fortifications used by other factions. For the 2014 expansion World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor, Blizzard redesigned the original female night elf player model. Lead character artist Tyson Murphy said that the developers attempted to preserve the race's distinct but subtle character while increasing the model's visual detail. The revision added greater muscle definition, improved textures, ears integrated into the model's geometry and slightly pointed fingernails intended to suggest a feral quality.
Description
Background In the franchise's fictional history, the night elves established an ancient civilization centred on the Well of Eternity and the use of arcane magic. Their society was devastated when Queen Azshara and her followers' use of the Well attracted the demonic Burning Legion, causing the War of the Ancients and the destruction known as the Great Sundering. Tyrande Whisperwind and brothers Malfurion Stormrage and Illidan Stormrage emerged as leading figures in the resistance to Queen Azshara and the Burning Legion, with Malfurion becoming central to the defeat of the Legion. Malfurion learned druidism from the demigod Cenarius and transmitted its practices to other night elves, while Tyrande rose to lead the priesthood of Elune. Night elf society is organised around the relationship between the priesthood of Elune and the Cenarion order of druids. The survivors of the War of the Ancients and their descendents largely rejected arcane magic, adopted druidic practices and lived in isolation in northern Kalimdor. As Malfurion and the other druids subsequently spent long periods within the Emerald Dream, Tyrande remained responsible for governing and defending night elf society for more than ten thousand years during Malfurion's absences. Rather than ruling as a monarch, Tyrande historically exercised political and military authority through her positions as high priestess of Elune and leader of the Sentinels, while Malfurion's authority derived principally from his position within the druidic tradition.
Appearances
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