I found this little tidbit rather interesting. It was always stated that every Kaldorei became a wisp, instead it seems only a select few do?
Also it seems it is a type of Soulshape, like what the Winter Queen grants to souls who come to Ardenweald. They are careful not to outright say it on a meta level as they tossed out a random ‘other’ theory, but it sounds likely it is actually Elune’s doing.
Not really sure what this makes of Aessina… given her title is The Wisp Mother. Perhaps she was a Kaldorei that got elevated sort of like how Bwonsamadi did? or some sort of nature spirit that reports to Elune.
I will note the blatant bias the Brokers show as beings of Death, they inherently dislike anything of Life which it seems Elune is in charge of?
I dont recall ANY lore that even confirms wisps were night elf spirits let alone all night elves become wisps:
Wisps are ancient spirits of nature that inhabit the forestlands of Kalimdor. Legends say that Wisps are actually the disembodied spirits of the Night Elves themselves, but these rumors have yet to be proven. The Wisps act in unison with the Night Elves and serve to strengthen the demigod like trees known as the Ancients. Beckoned by the Night Elves, Wisps are capable of animating various trees and expanding themselves into rough-hewn structures of living wood and stone.
I’m pretty sure the definition of Wisp has changed half a dozen times.
Originally (WCIII) they were just nature spirits. There was no suggestion that they were the souls of the departed.
Then Night Elves were put in WoW with their “Wisp Form” death racial, so they sorta had to associate them with dead Nelves for that ability to make sense.
And ever since they’ve been waffling back and forth between the two.
Wisps are the spirits of our night elven brethren who have become one with the forest. But their minds and the way they perceive things are very different than in life.
In the short stories Elegy and A Good War they are recognized by both sides as the ancestral spirits of the Kaldorei.
BfA proper had wisps pour out of Arberdine after the horde sort of killed everyone. Later on, Horde players raising fallen Kaldorei and they either became an undead or manifested as an angry wisp you had to destroy.
Thinking about it that recontextualizes it so that those who became a Dark Ranger were very likely simply not chosen/blessed to become a wisp to begin with.
This seems to suggest that Druidism, or an individual predisposition for it, is almost certainly a requisite for becoming a wisp, as it mentions an “intrinsic” bond with nature magic…
The ones we saw were Delaryn and Sira both of which had lost faith in Elune. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the Dark Rangers as well as the destroyed Souls were apostates(who had forgotten about how they kept faith even during the more devastating War of the Ancients)!
Interestingly enough the Night Elven Spirits we rescue from the Maw in Quests are the ones who do have faith in Elune. Did Elune want them to bring their Anima to Ardenweald to her Sister and so let them pass to the Shadowlands?
So does that mean the majority of those 1000 Night Elves who died in Teldrassil are Wisps? I’d hope so!
So even if you want to make this argument, I gave you a list of examples up above indicating Kaldorei become wisps that you seem to be conveniently ignoring.
And we have Anaya Dawnrunner. Proof that not every night elf spirit is destined to be a wisp.
No they are not. Especially considering racials have been removed. Are you telling me humans are no longer preceptive or that dwarves are no longer good at finding treasure?
On this note, shadowmeld is probably canon but I doubt every night elf can do it. I mean it seems like it would be useful for civilians fleeing the Horde back in say Lor’danel to shadowmeld but you see most of them out in the open. Heck, lore books don’t see to have them use this ability often.
As for orcs, some of them like Duraton are taught not to use their rage and we know some gnome engineers sometimes border on incompetency.
Okay, so why would Blizzard include a racial where Night Elf players become wisps if Night Elves don’t become wisps when they die?
There is also that BFA questline in Darkshore. When you’re raising new Kal’dorei Dark Rangers for Sylvanas, sometimes they become wisps and attack you. I can’t link it, but it’s called “Dark Ranger Round-Up”.
