So before I discuss anything, just a quick intro. Hi, I RP Jesseht Whispersun on MG. I also RP Shadina Whispersong, and I RP over on WRA as a couple of other characters. For people who know me, and my characters, you may have known already the void is a wondrous subject for me. I’m a huge lover of it, and all things Lovecraftian. For this forum post, I will be using my main Shadina-Gorefiend, for the sake of visibility, as she’s who has Trust Level 3 on these forums, and who I post everywhere else on.
That said, a common complaint about the void elves is how unfinished they feel given their lore, and in BFA we see them do much, but we still have so many questions and answers about the how’s and the what’s involving them from a writing standpoint. I’d like to propose a theory I’ve had for quite some time, and at the urging of my lady, am going to publicly put on these forums. I’d love discussion on it.
That said, I’m just gonna kinda dive into it and do my best to organize my thoughts proper so people understand it. The TLDR of my theory is that every void elf has the potential of being chosen by an old one. I’m guessing this because a comment Alleria makes to void elves on the boat in Boralus is that she’s happy you haven’t fallen victim to the whispers. We know the void elves constantly hear them. Alleria does as well, based on her dialogue.
I’ll explain a bit more about that later, but as we know, the old ones never die. They sleep. So even though C’thun, Yogg-Saron and Y’shaarj have been vanquished by players and ‘adventurers’ (as credited by chronicle specifically involving C’thun), their influence remains. The silithids became active once again when the sword of Sargeras was plunged into Silithus, and this is just one major example of things still being in motion.
So, let’s talk about some specifics. Warriors within Ren’dorei (void elf) society aren’t just warriors. We all know that. They’re Riftblades. So what does it mean to actually be a Riftblade? Well, we can assume / surmise that Riftblades are people who have that warrior spirit of physical combat, a love for heavy armor and weapons, but employ void based abilities and tactics. So if we were to correlate that to a void elf, what’s that really mean? Which old one would idealize with a riftblade and sort of whisper in their ear? My first guess would be Yogg-saron. Some people might also suggest Y’shaarj, but I believe he’s reserved for another idea and person in particular.
Why Yogg-Saron? Yogg-Saron is the God of Death. One of two brutes among the old ones when discussing strength and physical power. Of all the people to employ knowledge to the physical pinnacles involving strength and durability, Yogg-Saron makes the most sense to me. I think he’d pick Riftblades of exceptional power (thus, the player characters through Blizzard writing) and be a driving force.
Let’s take another example. Perhaps a more complicated one. What about warlocks? Wielders of the fel and chaos as a cosmic force. How do they make sense? I think the answer there is C’thun. C’thun was the herald of insanity. A middle of the pack Old One involving physical strength, C’thun’s specialty was sewing chaos and disorder through outright madness. When discussing warlocks, not only do they wield the fel (interchangeable with chaos, largely) which fits into the madness theme quite nicely in a cosmic sense, but warlocks tend to have a disregard for the well being of those around them. Most warlocks (keyword is most) are self-centered by default, and concern themselves with their own goals. Perhaps a warlock is the most raw example of “chaotic neutral”. Someone who will do whatever it means to achieve what they want, and only what they want, with little concern for something bigger (sans a gigantic demon invasion that’ll wipe all of us out).
As a final example, we’ll talk about monks. A huge outlier, most people have come to the conclusion that (like Nightborne), Void Elves became monks in a very short amount of time after they became Ren’dorei as a means of coping with the void through inner-chi and tranquility of one’s self. That’s likely very logical and a completely valid way to go about it. Not discrediting it. Very reasonable. However. What if there was another explanation? What if Y’shaarj, the God of Rage Unbound whispered to them? What if the void elf monks are another way of experiencing the sha as remnants? What if they take those bad qualities, and channel them into a isolated goal? Instead of the mists of Yu-lon, what if void elves wielded the black and sickly silver, borderline liquidy ink and tendrils of the sha? It raises questions.
So I’ve covered each old one, except N’zoth. N’zoth is largely heralded as the dark corruptor. The strategist. I think this one’s a bit more niche, and fits many void elves, but is less about a class or some kind of overarching theme, and is more reserved for people of special interest. In this case, we know the player characters, as of right now, are of special interest. I think N’zoth would be much more choosy with a particular elf if he were to pick one of the Ren’dorei. I think they have to have a special niche. An enjoyment for taking something, twisting and playing with it, and figuring it out. Personally, I like to have it be that he whispers to Jesseht, primarily because of his love for experimentation, and overall enjoyment of observation. He could easily twist my void elf, should he wish, into corrupting others for nefarious or predetermined purposes.
In conclusion: I think the void elves could be and have the potential to be written in a much more flushed out manner. I chose the above examples for a reason. It’s a spectrum. They’re so far out there that every other class can easily fit somewhere in the middle. Mages likely fall in line with warlocks. Same with shadow priests. Rogues could easily fall in somewhere with the Riftblades. As Ghostblades (a throwback to perhaps Wrath of the Lich King, and the obvious deathly circumstances), a Riftblade and a Ghostblade could be getting whispered to by the same person.
I also think that the above theory is sound from a logical standpoint. But I also recognize very little in the void is actually logical, and perhaps, I am looking far too much into things with the idea that it has to make sense. Maybe it doesn’t. But I hope this little fun theory (which is all it is really. A theory.) helps people. I want others to be able to feel more connected to their void elves, like I feel I am with mine with this theory in place. I’d love to be able to communicate and contribute more to the void elf community, as I feel it’s a great one. So I’ll be keeping tabs on this forum thread and will try to be as active as possible if people have questions / wish to kick around ideas.
Thanks for reading!