I was doing the War Within main story quest and you meet the one armed paladin girl and she “tells her story” about how this group of “Arathi” people found themselves in the middle of the planet. In it she says SHE was a child on the expedition that was marooned in this cavern. But didn’t the Arathi empire disappear or something over a thousand year prior to the start of the modern timeline?
This poses several questions. Is this woman over a thousand years old? Or, were they swept forward in time? Am I off in my understanding of the “lore” of this wacky game? It sure seems like they built a LOT of civilization, under constant attack from other groups, in what would seem to be 20 years. The woman in question looks to be in her 20s-30s.
Have they just given up on a coherent timeline all-together, or am I just misunderstanding the history? (later most likely)
Years ago a group of Arathi Humans and High Elves left Lordaeron to a new land, while following a vision. Over time they became one people, the Arathi and established a new Empire.
After a vision of a clash between Light and Void, the Emperor sent out an expedition to establish their stronghold with portals to the homeland for supplies and reinforcements. However en route to known Azeroth, the fleet was transported into Hallowfall, and all the mages save one, who didn’t know the portal spell, died. They’ve been stuck ever since.
This looks like a quote from some War Within add, but when is “years ago” though?
Like I say, the woman who says she was a child on these ships can’t be more than 30ish. Where is this existing Arathi Empire they left from? Wouldn’t there be people who are still alive in Stormwind who would remember this expedition? I thought the ruins in the Arathi Highlands were all that was left of the Arathi. They have been gone for a long time. Am I misunderstanding this?
They left when original Arathi Empire was active and before it splintered. There is an Arathi Empire on a continent that the seas make difficult to get to.
Exactly when the current Emperor sent out the fleet is unclear. All we know is that the expedition was teleported into Hallowfall and had established themselves in the region before Sargeras stabbed the planet.
When Sargeras stabbed Azeroth, it triggered the crystal to go dark for the first time with them there.
The people in Hallowfall are part of a group of people who left the Arathi Highlands thousands of years before the human kingdoms were even a thing. Some High elves who shared the same vision came along with them
It is hard to exactly nail it down, but they seem to of arrived somewhere around the time of TBC, and had been chilling down there ever since. Up until Sargeras stabbed the world, it was fairly peaceful as Beledar was in a constant light phase—Nerubian attacks were neither common not large in scale, and the kobyss were unknown. Then Beledar began shifting around the time of Legion’s end and the little society they built in Hallowfall began to come apart as the kobyss began attacking, then Ansurek usurped her mother and began attacking aggressively.
They didn’t. The Hallowfall Arathi are what is left of a large military expedition from the Holy Arathi Empire from across the storming sea. They began as an offshoot of the original Arathi empire that crossed the sea following religious visions, but did not fracture like the old world arathi did.
No. She’s in her late 20’s early 30’s and the Empire she’s from sent an expedition to check on the truth of the vision their Emperor had and they wound up in Hallowfall after they were blown off course due to a terrible storm
The Arathi Empire she is from operates from an island somewhere in the Storming Seas. And it’s an entirely different empire from the old mainland one
I suppose that makes sense. There is yet another lost continent, or archipelago, where these people live. But you would think a game which spends SOOOOO much time on needless exposition explaining people’s motivations in detail would have spent a TINY, tiny bit of time to make it clear to the players.
Although, in fairness, they might HAVE done that, and I have become so used to blowing through exposition texts that have no purpose other than to reinforce stuff I could already figure out from context that I missed it.
To be fair, it is a piece of information that is super easy to miss if you’re not paying that close attention to quest texts and the various Stay a while and listen options that pop up throughout each of the zones
Arathi Humans & Highborne Elves -------> Leave and set sail for distant continent -------> Find continent, mix together to become half-elves, and establish Empire -----> Thousands/Hundreds of years pass ------> Emperor has a vision, orders an expedition ------> Faerin as a child sneaks aboard the expedition, which departs --------> Expedition gets stuck in Hallowfall and Faerin grows up there -------> Sword is stabbed into Azeroth crust and the crystal starts going purple -------> Anduin and present company arrive.
How long do elves and half-elves live? I thought the night elves were immortal for a while, but that had something to do with living on the giant tree that granted them immortality. They lost it when the tree was destroyed. Is that right, or am I making it up?
They cannot even make their minds up on how long elves live, let alone half elves. It changes based on the writer/director to be what is convenient for them at the moment.
You are correct, but they have taken no care to maintain that since the long vigil of the night elves was first written.
I think Blood Elves have a lifespan between 1000-5000
Though, it’s never been confirmed.the Night Elves are different because they don’t sustain themselves with an arcane font any more they weened themselves off of it in favor of moonwells and magic trees.
There is a Blood Elf child born from the High Elven arrival in Tirisfal Glades named Lorash Sunbeam so they do live a long time.
Anasterian’s age was never given though he did live long enough to be sickly and old before Arthas killed him(either that or he withered from Arcane overdose due to his position necessitating him getting too close to the Well) which is not the state Lorash Sunbeam was in before he got killed.
Anasterian had 3 Kings before him which should tell you how long the Well of Eternity made his predecessors live. The oldest of these 3 Kings the founder of Quel’Thalas Dath’Remar’s age was never stated(not even during the War of the Ancients) anymore than Anasterian’s age nor was the manner of his death stated(nor was the manner of his 2 successors before Anasterian).