Yes A high elf thread still I want it focused on how many were truly affected by Lother’mar decisions. People have repeated ad nausem that it was only the Quel’Lithien Lodge elves who were banished. Which is actually contracted by Quest for Pandaria. (Baenan spat on the floor near the elf’s feet. “Ye blood elves wouldn’t know nobility if ye had th’ definition tattooed on yer foreheads. Pathetic, slavering magic addicts, ye even sold out yer own people!”) Note how it was a general statement of what blood elves did to high elves and not just those from the lodge.
And then we have this nugget from Wowpedia:
Most of the remaining “high” elves had chosen to remain with the Alliance following the Second War and did not return to their kingdom following the Third.[10]
However, The referenced text actually states: Yet SOME high elves remained outside of Quel’thalas, disgusted by the actions of their brethren and to this day still support the Alliance. It does not mention that most of the high elves had chosen to not return.
The ones that accompanied Allerian to Outland remained there presumably for the same reasons Blood Elf Pilgrims gush over the place, the plentiful magic in the Nether. Whether any joined Turalyon’s army and still survive is unknown. at most t hey represent one percent of the former population of Quel’thelas, a tenth of a tenth. The ones that remain in Azeroth are a fragment of even this small number.
I think there are actually 3 groups/waves of immigration from Quel’thelas. When Dalaran was founded thousands of elves moved to Dalaran to teach the humans. This is why so many High Elves are found there. They were there for centuries and would remain for centuries more. These elves would travel back and forth between Quel’thelas and Dalaran, but for the most part Dalaran was their home.
Then we have the Second War. Thousands left to fight with Alleria Windrunner. This wave of elves founded lodges and communities all over Alliance lands and bolstered the High Elves connection to the Alliance and especially with Wildhammer Dwarves, Humans of Stormwind and beyond. Many more went with Alleria to Draenor and went the planet blew up they remained around Outland, but particularly in Allerian Stronghold as that’s where many congregated.
Then we have the Third War and exile. During the Third War the Scourge marched to Quel’thelas and obliterated it. 90% of all High Elves in Quel’thelas were wiped off that only 10% remained and of that 1% chose exile, when Lor’themar demanded that the elves adopt the policies and teachings from Illidan via Rommath, as we see those that refused left when the choice made by the Thalassian government was not acceptable to their personal ethics.
Later on with Umbric overtime other Thalassians left for their own reasons, some political, others personal. These are Void Elves and Silvermoon Scholars and High Elf Wayfairers we see in Telogrus Rift.
Ultimately, we are talking about 2 major groups who were disgusted by the actions of their kin - those who happened to be outside of Quel’thelas when the Scourge hit and later on the exiles who left the country after they were pressured to toe the line of the Thalassian state. Technically a third group is discovered on Outland which would also be High Elves and they agreed with their Alliance aligned kin and did not recognize their Blood Elven families especially seeing firsthand what Kael’thas did in Terokkar and Netherstorm.
If I had to answer your question the vast majority of High Elves alive today were of the latter group who chose not to return during the Second War or were simply residents of Dalaran etc. The exiled group was 1% of the 9% of Thalassian survivors.
Okay so obviously this was facetious, but my point is that I don’t think this is a useful question. Every number Blizzard ever gives, whether it’s an actual count or a proportion, is an off-the-cuff guess. The idea that you could draw and useful conclusions here is nonsense.
It not so much an actually number so much as the various claims that the exiling was limited mostly to that one lodge from Lother’mar’s short story. I mean in the other elf thread people keep talking about how now it doesn’t make sense that high elf still are not returning to Silvermoon when if the whole Exile thing was a more widespread thing to the remaining high elven population it would just be a bigger deal in general.
Didn’t find anything saying most of them chose to be exiled either. Which again leads to this thread. That Blizzard has remained fairly silent on the population of exile/those who never returned.
There’s one group of explicitly exiled elves that Lor’themar expresses regrets over their exile during the mana tapping (there are void elves, but they at least were given a warning about continuing those studies I believe) So not something done willy nilly.
And in the UVG, which provides a quick overview of the lore, they felt that the remained language was a better generic term for what happened than exile.
Nothing concrete, but I feel like it’s not unreasonable to feel that it’s not unlikely that it was the high elves not wanting to take part in what the blood elves were doing to survive more than just a blanket exile.
Of course, it could simply be it was the closest one Lother’mar could get to/wanted to try to deal with them first. Once that failed, he just didn’t try to pursue anyone else. It was just a short story(a fan short story to boot) it needed to remain well…fairly short/focused.
I mean this is nothing more then headcanon. It is just as likely that is precisely because of a blanket exile that the Silver Covenant members were even more millitant and willing to go to greater lengths of violence against the blood elves.
Please explain how saying that since the UVG in it’s blurb on high elves said remained with the alliance rather than were exiled by Lor’themar, suggests that it’s pretty plausible that that’s the more common story is me headcanonning.
Also. REALLY? You call what I said headcanon and pull out the jump to conclusions mat in the next sentence?
Because again the blurb literally said SOME, as in it was not a general statement about high elves. That whoever posted what is on wowpedia is actually not correct and was themselves jumping to conclusion.
Nothing(which as a Visual guide meant it skip ALOT of lore), but then again, we have other media, like the short story, stating that MULTIPLE high elves felt that they were “sold out by their own people”.
And if the main issue was exile, they’d probably talk about that more than just sticking around with the alliance since it’s just an at a glance thing.
Note that that does not necessarily mean exiled, it’s a pretty broad phrase that covers a whole range of “we were screwed over by them” scenarios. Elves like Alleria could feel that way about Anasterian pulling back forces to deal with trolls instead of fighting against Gul’dan’s attack on Lordaeron. Possibly exiled elves, or ones who know them. Cut off from supplies without notice. It’s not very specific is it?
Actually, it is precisely because it was a glancing thing that would mean focusing on sticking around with the Alliance(in a book that obstensibly promoted the factions) would be more important to tell then going into the minuet of the reason for high/blood elf shcism.
Which if this was the only thing would be vague. But again we had a second short the specifically mentions they were kicked out because they did not want to suck magic. A trait all high elves would share.
I mean if the main reason was exile it’d be just as quick to say “The High Elves were pushed even further to the Alliance when they were exiled from Silvermoon”
Multiple vague things does not a solid point make. And expanding one known instance into a universal, especially as that story makes it clear how difficult a decision that was, needs a few more intermediate steps to show.
Or Blizzard like things being vague “disgusted by the actions of their brethren” can easily imply the entire magic sucking thing(and all things associated with it) in one sentence without having to make an entire novel.
This is warcraft, most lore is intentionally vague/is not given enough spotlight even at the best of times.
Except at the time this lore was done the high elves were effective a minor faction and not even playable on the Alliance. There was little incentive to create /expanding on everything and thus all we are left with are few snippets here and there.(hell, the high elves were already getting more lore then some of the playable faction as it was!)
What is universal is the high elf felt betrayed by the blood elves and at least blood elves do feel culpable about it.