This discussion on the visual identity of various cosmic forces has me remembering the original concept for the Nightwell was that it channeled a dark arcane energy that was tainted by an ancient one, giving off a void appearance at the base of the well.
This image depicts an ancient one beneath the Nightwell: https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/048/100/393/4k/jimmy-lo-legion-arttemplate-suramardistrict06.jpg?1649204463
The Nightwell with a Void appearance: https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/048/100/423/4k/jimmy-lo-legion-arttemplate-suramardistrict08.jpg?1649204553
It looks like Nightborne, at least in early concept iterations, were going to be the original “void elves.” I wonder what changed internally to reverse course on this concept.
Void Elves were just a quick kit bash to to give Alliance their Tolkien flavored elves. Later customisation options enabled you to remove all of the Lovecraftian visauals to get that blue eyed blond elf fantasy.
At a random guess, I’d pick the development of the Emerald Nightmare raid. Having two void-themed raids in a row would kinda be a hard hit to the whole fel-themed expansion.
Good catch. I kind of like the direction Blizzard went with the Nightborne a bit more though. Makes it easier for them to have a strong friendship with the Blood Elves.
Maybe it was the Blood Elves? A concept by itself can be interesting, by trying to adapt it to the world is another matter. The Blood Elves and Nightborne had so much cultural compatibility that it would’ve been an incredible waste to lose that just because their power was flavored a darker shade of purple than the Sunwell tolerates.
I’m less inclined to believe that, particularly considering that the Void Elf identity, at least on launch, had none of the hallmarks of a “Tolkien” elf, and only now has a surface level resemblance to one.
For sure. Personally, I’m not sure I would like still the Nightborne if they had a void influence.
There were some hints during Legion of something dark residing beneath the Broken Isles (perhaps related to the ancient battle fought there between N’zoth and Y’shaarj), but it didn’t really develop into anything. Other potential factors remained, such as possibly the way that the effects of Withering share a number of notable similarities with those of the pale orcs on Draenor, perhaps reflecting some early plan for there to be Void influence from beneath the Nightwell that could have been responsible for the particularly nasty symptoms of Nightborne withdrawal being so much worse than those of the Sunwell or Well of Eternity, irrevocably turning Nightborne who failed to keep themselves fed into mindless monsters hungering for magic and flesh.
It could have potentially also played into the presence of the titan facility beneath the Tomb of Sargeras (which isn’t particularly far from the Nighthold), which would have predated both Aegwynn sealing the Avatar there and the ancient night elves building their temple atop the site.
In that vein, it could be that the Arcan’dor would have originally been meant to cleanse the Nightborne of said corruption by the end of the expansion, alleviating their dependency upon the Nightwell and removing the threat of Withering thereafter.
Still have no idea what the plan was for that facility. By the time Aegwynn used it to seal away the Avatar of Sargeras, it looked like it was abandoned sans the Maiden of Vigilance. Although it is implied that Aegwynn may have created the Maiden, as it says that she charged the Maiden of Vigilance to look over the Fallen Avatar.
