So uh… this is an interesting development.
What we thought were San’layn (Which I guess I should call ‘vampire elves’) are implied to be the same exact species as Dark Rangers. Vampire Elves & Banshee are two different types of the same species. o.o
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Taken from the Twitter link:
Very interesting development. Going to think on it some and comment in a bit.
21 days until the next expansion is announced! 
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Also before anyone freaks out, no, I don’t believe it makes them ‘fake vampires’ or something, it just gives more context.
HOWEVER… I’m confused, actually. Either a LOT of retcons just happened and they destroyed… a TON of lore… or there’s more to this story.
It doesn’t explain:
-The Stormheim human vampyr, who were said to have the same CURSE as the San’layn.
-The different classes we see of San’layn in ICC & Borean Tundra, which are clearly more than just mages.
So. I’m at a loss. I dunno.
Edit: Actually, that piece of lore never specified it was specifically ALL San’layn so. Who knows at this point.
Source: https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/What_the_Bonespeakers_Buried
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As someone that has always bundled them together because I love both which is why I always say San’layn and Dark Rangers in most posts I’m completely okay with this. 
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Yeah I’m fine with them being the same species but both making San’layn just Blood mages (ignoring all the classes they can be…) and ripping out the blood curse is… very disappointing. It’s a major retcon to something I love and I think I’ll be done even trying if that’s the case 
Unless vampyr elves are in fact a different form of Darkfallen with the curse. It just… destroys the lore I loved and it’s not a great feeling.
It doesn’t explain a boatload of questions that have come up again. Reducing them to ‘just blood mages’ and erasing the idea of a curse is so disappointing if that’s what they’re doing here.
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I just want to reiterate that I think Darkfallen/DR options can be used to appease a lot of fans, and if done as customization for BEs I would be fine w Paladin being locked from being used if that becomes a point of contention.
As an AR that’s great of course but it still leaves Blood Elves w no second visually distinct set of options to offset what they did for VEs that infringes on the BE theme. And so I would hope they did in that case something else whether more light options or Felblood but something visually distinct for BEs. Which I think undead options can be but who knows, if it does end up going to BEs I feel like it satisfies a lot of various people for various reasons.
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I suppose another way to look at it could be that maybe Dark Rangers also have the curse, but it just never came up? I dunno, just tossing out random guesses. If they did it right, that could be a neat way to wrap them all up under Darkfallen, maybe.
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Sylvanas raised her own DRs though as well
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Different forms of the curse would be cool, yeah. That would solve that problem, but not the ‘only mages’ thing we see. Unless every San’layn we see can dual class or swapped classes in death.
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That would make sense if she had the curse. That could be what the red eyes mean. Of course I could be completely wrong. I could be forgetting something obvious that refutes my guess.
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The problem is, not all San’layn have red eyes. In fact, we don’t see red eyes for many of them. Lana’thel had pitch black, and the blood princes had amber.
I’m at a loss ;-;
Maybe the lore shared is defining a different breed of vampire elf, not every San’layn…
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Idk tbh but I do hope they find a way to please fans of DRs / San’layn / give BEs a second visually distinct theme. They don’t all have to be appeased in one action like giving the options to BEs but it would seem the easiest
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Rereading it, the San’layn weren’t specifically mentioned. I think it’s just adding another class to Banshee/Dark Ranger, that being ‘blood mage’. Meaning there might be different types of vampire elves (one being a type of banshee, one being borne of blood curse).
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That’s kinda what I was thinking too after reading it.
The San’layn are specifically made from Kael’thas’ later assault on Icecrown.
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Yeah exactly, not to mention the curse being a mutagen, and Lana’thel’s lore. She’s definitely said to have an ancient curse, so there has to be more to it than just ‘blood mages’.
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Blood mages use fel magic mostly.
And that bit about the Darkfallen during that time doesn’t mention the vampyr curse or San’layn.
I think it’s just saying that Dark Rangers are not all literal Rangers and not all the raised high elves from that time became one thing.
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Well, at least they’re adding undead elf lore, as much of a trickle as it has been lately. I hope we get more explanation sometime soon.
Silver lining to the confusing debacle is that at least we know it’s on their mind and might be expanded in the next expansion. Bad thing is… they might destroy the lore I’ve known and loved about San’layn. Something I’m definitely worried about at this point, given how they handled Shadowlands.
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Yeah. You know how people in threads sometimes argue lore while only half remembering it? Sometimes I think that’s how Blizzard actually writes.
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This focus on it has me thinking that we may actually see something of value.
I am worried about them muddling the lore further.
Blizzard of late has been extremely poor in how they handle their own lore… especially when it has to do with the Horde. Literally making them reprehensible monsters whenever they can these days.
With luck this is all just lead up to making Dark Rangers blood elf customization options… and hopefully San’layn as well.
Only sometimes?
Blizzard doesn’t know their lore even a third as well as the players do… and most players a very poor at the lore.
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Yeah, true.
Word of Blizzard: “Blood elves didn’t consume fel. Their eyes are green due to exposure to the fel used to rebuild Quel’Thalas.”
Later official book: “The fel eating blood elves…”
It’s like Blizzard is allergic to consistency.
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