Did the elves and half-elves of the Arathi Empire ever felt the loss of the Sunwell a long ago? Are they still dependent on it now?
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We wonât know for sure until more information is provided, but as a larkâŚ
The expedition was sent out fifteen years ago. The Third War⌠wouldâve been at about that time. Itâs possible the Sunwellâs destruction was felt by the Arathi Empire, and the Emperor interpreted the sense of loss as a sign of Renilashâs approach.
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I remember seeing a Youtube video about when did the Arathi Empire send its expedition it was about the time the Sunwell was reignited. I suspect that the elves/half elves must of felt something as thatâs about when the emperor had his vision. If I had to guess if they did. I would guess they did feel something and we know that High Elves everywhere including those on Outland felt when the Sunwell was corrupted and denied. They also felt it respark with the heart of a Naaru.
So if elves on another planet/dimension felt it. Why wouldnât elves/half elves on the other side of Azeroth? Even if these High Elves/half elves were bubbled on their continent. They are still Thalassians or descendants thereof. Wasnât the Arathi Empire founded 1500 years ago? Isnât that like 10 years to an elf? Alleria herself is over 1000+ years old and most High/Blood Elves are way over a thousand years old. I see no reason why the original High Elves who left with the Arathi humans to found this new kingdom not being alive still or their children and grandchildren even if theyâre half elves.
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The only reason those High Elves might be dead, is because of the Sunwellâs loss, I imagine. Itâs said the very young and very old died due to withdrawal after the Sunwell was destroyed. Imagine this isolated Empire, suddenly and inexplicably afflicted with a plague claiming itâs elders among the High Elves. Depending on if the High Elves even made the Sunwellâs existence known to the humans/half-elves, thatâd be worse.
Alternatively, itâs possible the Arathi have their own font of power that we donât know of. There might be more to this, âSacred Flame,â than weâre aware of.
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I donât think these High Elves are dead or if some are it would of been the sickly ones. Though if we imagine a scenario where all the original High Elves died just by looking at Kyron and Wren as well as the other high elf looking Arathi. The blood of the Thalassians is still very strong making the implication that theyâre maybe first or second generation half elves. If not actually full elf or close to it.
I suspect the reverence of the Sacred Flame and how Faerin Lothar discovered itâs embers to inspire hope and they way these half elves revere it and power. Seems almost like a flame version of the Nightwells used by the Night Elves or a very mini version of the Sunwell. The Half Elves donât show immediate withdrawal symptoms outside of losing their faith and feeling lethargic at the idea of losing their sacred flames.
I think thereâs more at play and I would love if some of the Thalassians be they Silver Covenant or Sunreavers in Dornogal, survivors of the Dalaran crash, went to Hallowfall to meet with their kin. Thereâs a bunch of them and they should all be curious of these half elves. I feel like thereâs a missed opportunity. I think youâre onto something on the idea that another Sunwell may exist in the Arathi Empire. A sacred flame or a sacred fount the elves always find something to keep them going.
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To be fair, the loss of the Sunwell didnât affect the known half-elves all that much, either. Seems their human biology diminished any reliance they had on the Sunwell, if not perhaps removing that reliance altogether.
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Very true! Of course the benefits of being part human⌠would endow them with resistance to arcane withdrawal since that would make these half elves part titan constructs. I think the Sacred Flame acts like a replacement to the Sunwell. The way they revere it, the way they look at the flames and the magical implications. It could also be completely coincidental. I wish they expanded more on it beyond it being a Light magic/Flame combination. Seems like there should be more behind it.
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Decided to read up on the Emperor and the idea that he has âmagic bloodâ sounds like a way of saying, âHeâs more elf than not.â Magic blood implies a connection or addiction to the Sacred Flame because it also talks to him. What do you think Magic blood implies?
âThe emperor is said to have âmagic bloodâ and is believed to be the only one the Sacred Flame speaks to in this way.â
warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Shadow_Curfew_Journal
Difficult to say for certain. Perhaps the Emperor is a High Elf. I rather doubt it, though, since there seem to have been other Emperors before them. Well, unless those were referencing the original Arathor emperors, but the seven kingdoms split off of Strom long ago.
As for the Sacred Flame speaking to the Emperor, to me that comes off as Naaru shenanigans. Not that weâve ever seen the Naaru take the form of fire or anything, but the rigidity of Arathi culture feels like Xeâra had a hand in it. Or at least a Naaru like her.
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Isnât the Third War closer to 20 years ago at this point?
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True. Cameron already noted that the expedition wouldâve been closer to the Sunwellâs restoration as opposed to itâs loss.
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My idea is that the Emperor or past emperors are in fact High Elves or close to it and have a special connection to the Sacred Flame be it through Xeâra or some outside force guiding them and also slowly changing their culture. The fact that theyâve had several emperors since their founding isnât shocking. People die from disease and war. Iâm sure 2000+ years these emperors met their end more to this than just old age especially if they are Half Elves. Though we donât know the longevity of a half elf, I canât imagine them dying in 100 years like their human counterparts.
The Arathi Empire just gives me the feeling like thereâs some shenanigans either from a Naaru or Light being. The Emperor having âmagic bloodâ sounds more of a curse than a blessing, but also implication that having magic in your veins is a trope used when discussing half elves in other media like in the Witcher. Maybe Blizzard is inverting the idea and trope about the emperor and by extension the Arathi Half Elves.
I do think they have an addiction, but in this case its to Light magic or Sacred Flame. Maybe its a cultural addiction instead of a biological one, but the way the Hallowfall Arathi act it implicates more than just a reverence of the Holy Flame. I canât just feel that thereâs something very off about the half elves here⌠plus that vision of Renilash sounds like theyâre being groomed to be the new Light forged army for the Light and are being prepared for the moment they can be remade in the Sacred Flame.
15 or so years would be right about the Fury of the Sunwell which was the end of BC. The change to the Sunwell with Muuruâs spark plays well into the idea that the Blood Elves and by extension the Arathi are being slowly transformed into Light infused people. If the emperor felt the vision right about when Velen used the naaruâs heart then it should be in line with how the Naaru operate. They knew that the survivors of such an experience would willingly give themselves to the Light and with the Light providing all those with Thalassian a surge of Light/Arcane infused magic a boost. The Emperor along with those with âmagic bloodâ a feeling of hope and need to prepare for the war to come.
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I am not sure they would of felt the same sort of magical addiction issues surface; it seems like the Sacred Flame serves a very similar function to the sunwell for the Arathi in that regard given it is basically Light+Arcane+Flame in the same way the sunwell is (now) Light+Arcane+Water.
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I think you might be right about this, the Arathi might use the Sacred Flame as a Sun Well.
I believe I even saw NPC talking about it next to the Forge were Fearin goes to fix her Shield they actually talk about the nature of the Sacred Flame with an Outsider who is studying it.
EDITE: However like mention by someone here, there could be more to uncover later as the expansion continues. IMO it be interesting to see how the Arathi were affected by the MANY events that happened to the Sunwell⌠as well as I LOVE to see if there is ANY linageâs to the Sunstrider Family like someone said in a post that got lock! OOooOoo I hope their speculation is true specially if we visit the Arathi Empire.
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Even if there is a Sunstrider amongst the Arathi, I doubt theyâd have any claim to QuelâThalas. Lyandra Sunstrider had the name and no claim, after all. At this point, even if Anasterian had a brother, or another son who went off with the Arathi, I imagine theyâd have been disinherited. Given how thereâs no mention of any other Sunstriders, itâd make sense for it to have been a burned bridges sort of situation.
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Yeah, but as a fan of Keal⌠I donât need them to be king or any of that royal stuff, in fact I love if they were not. I think it would make their story more interesting specially when he or she finds out what happened to its relatives over here in Silvermoon. Also we already have something really cool happening with Lothemar and ThalyssraâŚ
I think it could be a cool new NPC to develop for the future⌠just please donât kill em Blizz, specially if they join the Horde as they are introduce to the Elven unification people are talking about so much! lol 
Joking a bit out of lore I love if the new mix race between Nightborne and Blood Elf would be called Bloodborne as a reference, joke or meme in game! I KNOW even people who never touch WoW but are fans of the Bloodborne game will turn their heads out of curiosity! 
Possibly. Weâll have to wait and see. Although I personally think Faerin Lothar is awesome, thereâs been backlash over bringing back the name, âLothar,â out of nowhere like this.
I think Blizzard needs to be very careful about which old names get recycled in the Arathi Empire.
First itâs a Lothar, then itâs a Sunstrider, but what then? A Menethil? A Wrynn? MORE Windrunners?
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The pandora box is already opened⌠anything can happends! WoW is like the Marvel Comics at this point!
Joking aside by bringing the Arathi Empire into the picture I think it open all sorts of possibilities⌠and seeing that the Arathi are mix blood they could tie it up to any family at this point.
I think there are subtle way and smarter way to make someone part of a family without using their last name. However this was not my idea but I did like it and mention it.
Iâm really ok if it doesnât happen and would love instead they built up new NPCs like they did in WC RTS, they already done it with quite a few NPC exclusive to WoW⌠and also we have Kealâthas in SL, like so many poster has said nothing stays dead for long in WoW for better or for worsts! We facing Kelâthuzad in the 20th anniversary again are we not? lol 
Anyway, like you said we will see what happend⌠canât wait! 
Liadrin visits Mereldar with Salandria at some point after the campaign; I havenât seen it yet myself, but someone posted screenshots in another thread here. They have a brief conversation with one of the Lamplighters discussing the Sacred Flame, the Light, and how their respective cultures approach they way they wield holy magic. It felt to me like Liadrin was curious about whether or not the Arathiâs use of the Sacred Flame resembled the Blood Knightâs use of the Sunwell.
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Prince Nallorath Sunstrider is missing and he existed 2600 years ago just at the start of the training of Arathi in the art of magic. Then you have Lyandra Sunstriderâs parents and family who while of House Sunstrider are a candidate house not the royal house. Meaning they share the name, but not the royalty. It could be that Prince Nallorath Sunstrider is Anasterianâs brother or cousin. Likely a son or grandson of Dathâremar Sunstrider and we donât know how many children the founder of House Sunstrider had and we do not know how the Sunstriders all relate to each other save the direct line held by the monarchy and not their candidate houses aka the siblings of the monarch and their children/descendants.
If the Emperor of the Arathi is in fact in part or in whole a Sunstrider. He may not have a direct claim as heir to Quelâthelas, but like Lyandra he can claim to be cousins of the main house and by right of his army or his lineage should be obliged the crown or else. Which could be interesting in Midnight if these Arathi show up and demand Quelâthelas and the Kingdom of Stromgarde be handed over along with Lordaeron as there are no official living heirs. Not to mention Alterac. The Arathi Empire can sweep in and literally claim all of the Northern Eastern Kingdoms by right of blood and conquest if they wanted to declare themselves heirs of Thoradin and can be proven to heirs to House Sunstrider as well.
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