Perhaps I missed it somewhere early on, but how long have the Arathi been in Hallowfall? I can’t seem to find a solid answer with some googling and I can’t seem to find two people who can come up with the same answer. Based on the progress of the towns, I’d suspect generations, but it’s always hard to tell with wow lore…
Faelin was a child, probably around 10ish, when they crashed.
So it depends on what age you think she is now; if shes around anduins age (26? I believe?) Thats about 16 years.
It has definitely not been generations. They talk about how the kids at the orphanage are part of the ‘first generation’ of kids born there.
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The only thing we know, is it was more than a decade, AFAIK.
We know Faerin was the only child there, but they’re also all half elfs (well, not ALL, some are human, some are high elves, but faerin is a half elf), which likely age different than humans. But I don’t think we have any real concrete lore on how half elves age?
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if i remember anything one of the books said they crashed there 1000 years ago and they do have a small idea of the old kingdom is gone due to not getting news from them
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This is completely incorrect.
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As stated, the best knowledge we have is that Faerin was a child, and the youngest person on the expedition that got stranded underground. I don’t know her exact age then, or her exact age now. The range of time is probably 10 years at the absolute minimum to 30 years at the absolute maximum, if Faerin ages at the rate humans do.
Given that she is of mixed human/elf heritage, though, the Arathi could possibly have been underground for much, much longer. I don’t know the particulars of how fast mixed human/elves mature and how long they remain looking young.
No, it was said at BlizzCon, IIRC, but that was changed since then, or they were referring to the Empire in the mysterious continent, rather than the actual expedition. The only mention in-game is that it was over a decade ago, and that Faerin was a child.
We have nothing else to go on except that.
We can also guesstimate it’s at least a few years before the Year 32. (War Within is likely Year 41. Dragonflight ended in Year 40)
We know this because Faerin says the Hallowfall Expedition was well established when Beledar first turned dark. And in one of the chats, Anduin and Alleria realize that the first time Beledar turned dark was when Sargeras stabbed the planet, which was year 32.
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To actually elaborate instead of giving such a short curt post, we don’t actually know all the details on how the split worked. But we do know that -
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Back a thousand or so years ago, the Kingdom of Arathi existed on the known continents. This kingdom flourished for a time, the heart of humanity. Then it slowly died out and all we had left were the remnants in the Arathi Highlands.
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Meanwhile, a very current Arathi Empire exists beyond the Wild Sea, the sea that separates Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdom. We knew this sea existed in the past, its not actually a retcon (though it was first yalked about in Cata). This sea is so rough and impossible to cross that in a thousand years no outsiders have encountered the Arathi Empire, nor they made it out. The hallowfall expedition only survived because of some inexplicable teleportation.
These two were at some point inter-related. Because both had families by the name of Lothar, who obviously share a common ancestor. So either the Kingdom of Arathi traveled across the sea and became very religious and took over a continent, before being trapped by the sea changing (maybe thats why the Kingdom fell? A majority of their people moved elsewhere, including rheir ruling class?)
Or the Empire had colonized the mainlands of our current game, but then got cut off when the sea decided to become a crudhole.
Either way, the Empire still exists as far as we know; and is probably a future setting for us to go raid some Light following human and elves, since they seem to be fanatical fascists.
i understand but one of the leaders said we use to get reports from the kingdom and have not gotten reports of late
Long enough to dedicate their resources to building The World’s Largest Book.
Priorities!
Yea, they’re 100% setting up Avaloren for a future expac, with the Arathi Empire located on it. I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s Midnight. Would make sense to have a new continent, since Quel’thalas isnt exactly a full expansion’s worth of zones.
And since they established high elves went with the Arathi, and we’re uniting the “scattered elven tribes”, I assume that would include the half elves of the Arathi.
The Arathi empire splintered off from the original Arathi over a thousand years prior. The expeditionary fleet we see in Hallowfall were sent across the sea at least a decade before the events of TWW, probably around 10-15 years ago.
the entire place seems awfully large and well decorated and maintained for someone who’s only been here for like 15-20 years that’s constantly at war at several fronts
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unless something was or has changed
The original Empire of Arathor (which, too, is sometimes referred to as the “Arathi Empire”)[13] was the first human civilization[14] and existed in the Eastern Kingdoms between 2,800[15] and 1,200 BDP before collapsing into the modern Seven Kingdoms.[16][17] At an unknown point in time, humans from Arathor and high elves from Quel’Thalas (who had allied with humanity and taught them magic during the Troll Wars)[10][11] left the Eastern Kingdoms and traveled across the sea[18][19] to a landmass where they founded a new Arathi Empire together. The two peoples became one and have remained united ever since. As such, modern-day Arathi are all of mixed human and elven descent and do not call themselves humans, elves, or half-elves, only Arathi.[10][20] They refer to the Eastern Kingdoms as the “old world”[21][22] and to Arathor as “old Arathor”.[23] Since its inception, the Empire has thrived under the prophetic guidance of the Sacred Flame. A succession of emperors interpret visions from the Flame and command their subjects to fulfill or forestall prophesied events, allowing the Empire to flourish
and where it gets fuzzy
More than a decade before the events of The War Within ,[12] the current emperor received a vision of Light, battle, and victory for the Arathi.[1][2][3] He saw a holy land, Hallowfall, and a source of radiant light, the “Emperor’s Vision”,[1][2] in the form of a falling[18] or fallen star.[24] He assembled the bravest and strongest of the Empire into an expedition[3] to seek out Hallowfall,[2] fight in Renilash (the final battle between light and dark),[11] secure the Emperor’s Vision, and return victorious to the Empire.[10][25] General Vaelisia Steelstrike was placed in charge of the expedition,[1] which consisted of the airships of the Third Fleet and members of the Army and the Church of the Sacred Flame.[2][26] Several mages accompanied the expedition so they could set up portals back to the Empire for supplies and reinforcements when they arrived at their destination.[12] Those who signed up for the expedition expected to only be away from their homeland for a few years at worst.[27] The emperor knew the expedition might not return, but trusted that they would enact his will should they find his vision
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The whole thing makes very little sense, even for a fantasy game.
Especially that, given their limited resources, they decided that building The World’s Largest Book was somehow a priority.
and the book would be 1000 years of the lore of the kingdom and the travels not 15-20 years expeditions
They weren’t actually constantly at war in the beginning, only when the Day of Darkness came and Beledar first shifted. Prior to that it was all Light all the time, and considering both that they’re Light-worshipping zealots and aren’t starting from scratch in a civilizational / technological sense, as well as precedence with the likes of the Scarlet Onslaught being able to establish a fortified harbor in of all places Icecrown, it’s not completely implausible.
It’s still weird, mind, just less so given all of that.