Full disclosure: I was a Fandral fanboy waaaay back when. Prior to his villain-batting, back when he was just a smug night elf who was more militant than Tyrande. I liked that he had at least tried to restore his people’s immortality instead of just accepting the creeping death of mortality like a good, moral hero would.
With that said, it wasn’t just Fandral who grew Teldrassil. Malfurion was opposed to it, and so were the Aspects, but a whole lot of druids agreed with him. As did a bunch of Ancients who were living in Darkshore. Fandral was definitely the driving force, but it was a large group effort that brought Teldrassil into being. And once it was grown? The night elves transplanted their entire civilization to it. They built a new capital city in its boughs, as well as numerous towns and villages. Clearly, a large portion of the night elf population approved of the new World Tree.
This isn’t to absolve Fandral, just pointing out that it’s not as cut and dry as something like Illidan creating the new Well was. The creation of Teldrassil was much more complicated. I can’t tell you how much I wish we had a novel covering that time period: Mt. Hyjal devastated, Felwood corrupted, Moonglade becoming neutral and the Horde beginning their incursions into Ashenvale. It’s a sin that the most tumultuous time in kaldorei society for 10,000 years is completely ignored in the lore aside from a paragraph or two.
I know, and I was aware of that. But given I was more talking about why people look at Fandral the way they do and call it hubris, I didn’t really feel it necessary to mention he wasn’t alone. We the players get a more objective view of events in game.
But to the average night elf on the streets, I’d imagine Fandral wasn’t so bad a guy. He was a war hero, after all.
In all honesty, I looked forever to try and find out where I’d read this. It stuck in my brain for some reason, but as I can’t seem to find my original source, I’ll take the L on this. He did push for the nelves to be more militaristic again, so maybe I linked it with him wanting them to expand.
I care only for the fact that its going to end up a den to a host of monstrous creatures born from the ashes of the flames that burnt it to the ground.
I like how he comes to the Story Forum to suggest we shouldn’t take the story seriously. Pack it in people, we’ve been doing this all wrong. Time to go home.
Because it’s yet again slapping the Night Elves with more suffering and this time it was something only retconning can bring them back from. We’re allowed to be annoyed.
Except that we know how that will turn out now that the Dragon Aspects for all intents and purposes don’t exist any more to bless it. The burning of Teldrassil is an act that can’t be undone, can’t be made right.
Whatever the future the Night Elves have… it’s not going to be a revival of the past.
Nordrassil looks like it’s doing just fine without blessings. Any new tree will probably be as well, now that Fandral and Xavius aren’t around any more.
Seeing how the “Heart of Azeroth” necklace is become a sponge for all sorts of power including dead dragons, a new treehouse for nightelves could be way of depowering it, just like we sacrificed our weapons to deal with the sword of Sargeras.
Alternatively we might use it to heal Azeroth who just creates a new tree for night elves.
Also without an old god gnawing at its roots a new world tree probably doesn’t need a blessing
Nordrassil was blessed at it’s creation. Those blessings didn’t go away with the Night Elve’s immortality. Teldrassil was also clearly not in the same class as the others that we refer to as “World Trees” which in the main were only very large trees, not sub continents in their own right.
From World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume III, Page 80:
The World Tree Nordrassil was imbued with powerful enchantments from the Dragon Aspects, enchantments that granted the night elves immortality and immunity to sickness and disease. Malfuion believe that he and his fellow druids could ignite these magics, causing an explosion that would annihilate Achimonde and the Legion invaders.
…
By the time Archimonde reached Nordrassil, Malfurion and his druids had completed their work. Countless incorporeal spirits known as wisps emerged from the forest around Hyjal. They closed in around Archimonde, but they did not attack him. At Malfurion’s urging, they instead channeled their energies into the World Tree and ignited the enchantments within.
A shockwave of blinding energy erupted from Nordrassil, shaking Kalimdor to its roots. Archimonde was instantly destroyed. So were most of his undead and demons. The Legion’s hopes of seizing the second Well of Eternity were shattered.
Page 81:
Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion Stormrage remained in Hyjal and began rebuilding. Most of the surrounding woodlands were in ruins. Worse yet, Nordrassil had been damaged by the explosion. Many of its great roots, which had provided life-giving energies to the world, withered and died. Though Nordrassil would heal in time, the enchantments from the Dragon Aspects were gone.
I can’t help but imagine all the Sylvanas fans and the “who cares about Teldrassil” “Hahaha burnt Night Elves” type people look like the kid Sid Phillips from Toy Story.
I mean, a World Tree is a World Tree, and it served a purpose for the greater whole of Azeroth. It’s destruction while the planet is dying and shortly after Ysera’s death is likely to have a greater negative impact on a global scale, far worse than anything the nelves are currently suffering.
I’m starting to think Sylvanas wants to kill Azeroth.
Who cares?! Are we to murder children at the Stormwind orphanage next, because they’re Alliance?
You’re joking, right? The Alliance hasn’t been a legitimate threat to the Hordes’ existence since the 2nd war, when they still though that all Orcs were “black bloods” or demonic in origin. When you had people like Daelin Proudmoore in charge of what was likely the strongest navy in world at the time.
And even then they were only a threat because the first thing we did when the Horde came to Azeroth was nothing less than to burn, pillage, and slaughter through human settlements. Heck, the Alliance itself only exists BECAUSE of the Horde.
The Horde has a habit of making the Alliance into a legitimate threat to themselves because they’re the ones’ who always start the conflict, not the Alliance. The Alliance only exists to react to the Horde and it always has. If the Horde doesn’t attack them, then they have nothing to worry about.
No one should genuinely care about anything in this game or its awful story.
More to the point though, it wasn’t really about Teldrassil itself. It was about the massive loss of life for no other reason but to crush the Night elves will to live. She wanted to kill Malfurion to deliver that blow, but since Saurfang didn’t come through, she decided to burn Teldrassil instead.
Even extra more to the point, the entire War of Thorns crapped all over the Night elves to prop up Sylvanas as some sort of ubervillain and Night elves will never get the retribution they need.
You are absolutely correct that it’s something that can’t be made right.
If peace were to be brokered, it wouldn’t be out of forgiveness. If history isn’t lost to the ages, I’m all but certain it’ll be a black mark on the Horde’s record forever. The only feasible way to peace is the dismantling of one political group, or a treaty on the premise that if this war were to ever be resumed, it’d be ruinous, uncertain if it’d even be successful and to the detriment of civil living.
That said, Dragonflight or no, it’s not as if the Night Elves are just going to roll over and take it. Their story might just be that trope of ‘personal merit that paves the way to the better day, not seeking succor from higher powers’.