RACIAL GUIDES:
NIGHTBORNE
Written by Raniere
Leader: First Arcanist Thalyssra
Capital: Suramar City, Suramar
History:
The origins of the Nightborne date back over 10,000 years to the War of the Ancients, when the Burning Legion’s first invasion saw it pitted against the Kal’dorei Empire in a worldwide war. Fearing the worst as the war dragged on, the Highborne residents of Suramar, under the leadership of Grand Magistrix Elisande, erected a great arcane shield around the capital of Suramar City, protecting it from the Burning Legion’s assaults while simultaneously isolating Suramar City from the rest of the world.
For over 10,000 years, Suramar existed in a bubble, preserving the ancient, flourshing Highborne culture of the Kal’dorei Empire with all of its great achievements in art, magic, and culture. When they eventually ran out of food, the people of Suramar relied on the energies of the Nightwell, a powerful font of arcane energy not unlike the Sunwell of the Blood Elves, to sustain them. Over thousands of years, the effects of the Nightwell gradually changed these Highborne Night Elves into what are today known as the Nightborne, or Shal’dorei.
Until the events of Legion, the Nightborne believed that the world outside their city had been destroyed. But when the Burning Legion returned, Grand Magistrix Elisande surrendered to the demons and became their ally in exchange for being spared destruction. Those who opposed her were cast outside the city, which was an effective death sentence. Without the continual energy of the Nightwell, the Nightborne began to degrade both physically and mentally, becoming the weakened Nightfallen and eventually the feral Withered, a state from which there was and is no known cure.
As Elisande’s government grew more and more oppressive, the number of Nightborne subjects willing to oppose her grew. Eventually, with the help of an alliance of elven races, Nightborne rebels led by First Arcanist Thalyssra overthrew Elisande and cast out the Legion, at the cost of the Nightwell’s destruction.
Freed from their reliance on the Nightwell and liberated from the rule of Elisande and the Legion, the Nightborne are now led by Thalyssra and have become members of the Horde due to their close affinity to the Blood Elves.
Culture:
Isolated from the world at the height of the Kal’dorei Empire, the Nightborne continued the highly refined culture of the Highborne Night Elves. They value beauty, refinement, and etiquette, and can often come across as pompous aristocrats. The use of magic is deeply ingrained into Nightborne society, used for everything from creating swords with blades made of arcane energy to accelerating the flow of time in a wine cellar to age the wine faster. With thousands of years to study and practice, most, if not all adult Nightborne will have some level of magical proficiency.
Nightborne society places a high importance on reputation and nobility, with prominent noble houses exerting considerable influence through their prestige not unlike a medieval society. Social status can be rigid in Nightborne society, although the recent liberation from Elisande may have changed the minds of some. A generally intellectual, artistic, and magically powerful species, the Nightborne have an often regal but fierce demeanor. Once part of the most powerful empire in the world, the Nightborne how seek to reclaim their place in the world; with new allies and enemies, they must establish their reputation once again.
An interesting aspect of the Nightborne culture in terms of roleplay is that, having been isolated for 10,000 years, Nightborne are experiencing modern Azeroth for the first time. When the shield went up there was no Stormwind, there were no Draenei, there were no Blood Elves or Orcs; a Nightborne traveling through Azeroth will experience a new wave of “firsts” with every new place they visit. In spite of their millennia of experience and wisdom, most Nightborne will still be largely ignorant of the modern world, creating interesting opportunities for roleplaying through new experiences.