Forgive my lack of knowledge on current Night Elf lore, but Wisps, those glowing ethereal spirits that you can find around Night Elf areas are the spirits of deceased Night Elves aren’t they? Those same Wisps that circa WC3 would transform into Ancients to serve as the Night Elves buildings. How much of the role Wisps used to fill still exist in WoW? Do they still dispel magic (and skeletonize people apparently) by sacrificing themselves?
There are these quests in Felwood:
- There’s so many other spirits still trapped in rotting bodies here…
Do you see? The irontree stompers, in the north. They’re sick with demon-stuff and icky with mold. Poor spirits inside them can’t get out.
You can help! Chop them down, and the spirits can get out. I’ll put the spirits in me and we can all be happy together when I grow up. Will you help? Please?
- The Withered Protector that lurks in the north is the only ancient to have grown to maturity since the ruining of the forest, but his body is sick and his mind is mad. Just as we gathered the spirits of the treants, I would save those that dwell in him rather than leave them behind.
Defeat him, and let his spirits join me before I set my roots.
Those could be Wisps inside the the Treants and Ancients, and could be a more step by step process for how the Wisps would transform into Ancients in Warcraft III.
Hm. We also saw Wisps growing trees in Val’sharah, which could be how they gathered lumber in Warcraft III:
I am not sure on dispelling magic, but in A Good War it turned out the Wisps can attack without sacrificing themselves:
- A wisp flew past Saurfang’s eyes. He absently waved it away with his left hand. It stung—the wisp seemed to lash out at Saurfang’s exposed palm. It darted around and then landed on the top of his scalp, covering his head.
Saurfang snarled as the wisp snapped its power onto his skin again. He swatted it away, hard. More wisps floated high in the trees, moving in distressed, agitated patterns. Saurfang supposed they didn’t like what he had done.
Whispered curses and grunts drew his attention. Other Horde members were slapping more wisps away. Saurfang went still. It wasn’t unusual for wisps to gather and frolic before sunset, but they were not aggressive. Not normally.
But he had seen it happen before, hadn’t he?
High above Mount Hyjal, a demonic lord had stridden toward Nordrassil, intending to claim its power for the Burning Legion. Saurfang had fought in that battle, desperately holding back the tides of demons . . .
. . . while Malfurion Stormrage had beckoned for the aid of his ancestors . . .
. . . and thousands, nay, millions of wisps had answered his call . . .
In small numbers, wisps were harmless.
In large numbers . . .
“Retreat!” Saurfang bellowed. “Horde, retreat now! Run!”
Most of the Horde soldiers obeyed his command, but many did not recognize the danger and were slow to flee.
A voice thundered through the forest, promising vengeance. “Ash karath,” said Malfurion Stormrage.
The wisps descended from the branches as a solid, writhing, glowing wall. They surrounded the stragglers and the slow runners, embracing them in a cocoon of light from which only screams of agony escaped.
“Run!” Saurfang shouted again, and now, there was no more hesitation. The Horde fled, dropping weapons and shields and armor, scrambling to safety. None of them had been at Mount Hyjal that day, but they all knew the story. Wisps tore at the high overlord’s armor. He covered his head with his arms and ran desperately. The heat of the wisps’ fury—the rage of the kaldorei’s ancestors—tried to burn through his armor, to sear the flesh within, to burrow into his bones and guts and rip him apart.
The power of wisps had destroyed a demonic lord. They would butcher the mortals of the Horde.
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We know they can rapidly grow trees at least, and can manipulate wood and even repair it, as seen in [This Quest]
The [Wisp Amulet Archeological Artifact] further notes that:
"Wisps are nature spirits thought to be dead night elves. They exist in tight connection with their forest homeland and night elves in general, performing such beneficial activities as construction, repair and defense of elven communities.
Many wisps sacrificed themselves in order to defeat Archimonde at the end of the Third War, so there are fewer wisps today than there once were."
As mentioned above they can incinerate people even through plate armor. While it is not outright said it seems most likely that they had to detonate themselves because Archimonde was such an incredibly powerful entity… in comparison Horde Grunt #563 is nothing to fry.
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Tyrand throwing Malfurion out on their last fight.
Tyrande tends to raise her voice so much they could hear her all the way to Shadowglen.
“Go hurry up and leaf!”