11/13/2018 06:09 PMPosted by Arisran
You say they're irrelevant to your point, but I brought them up as the group that had the best chance of being any sort of sympathetic to what the blood elves have become, and the story they have carved for themselves.
They did not have the best chance because they are the only High elves that have not seen how things have progressed since their exile. They did not see that the Blood Elves rose against Kael'thas, or the restoration of the Sunwell. All they had was the bitter memories of how they were banished from their homes.
So now because they don't use as much fel magic as they used to, you believe that will be enough to make amends for everything else that's transpired thus far? I would imagine it to be even more difficult to gain the sympathy from those loyal to the Alliance simply because the Sunwell is back (which they can just visit anyways). You can't simply ignore everything else that has transpired since that fracture happened in the near past. The entire defining story about the High Elves you are specifically targeting is a sect that chose loyalty over race. Why would they change their mind now?
Because relations change, and their stay in the Alliance has not been all peaches and roses. High Elves are treated with mistrust, and resentment from almost all the Alliance races, especially the Night Elves. Some of which are openly hostile to High elves. Not to mention many city capitals do not even allow them into their cities. Strange how many High elf fans claim that relations have changed over the years by citing isolated events as proof, yet when I do they're brushed off in light past problems that have no longer even present in Quel'thalas.
Not all High Elves stayed with the Alliance due to their loyalty, many left because they did not agree with Kael'thas' teachings, and left many loved ones and Family behind. With Kael'thas killed (By the blood elves) and the Well restored, many of the problems these High elves had with Blood Elves are also no longer present. The High elves that did stay loyal to the Alliance were when relations were far different, and the two races were still trusted and friendly, but after the third war, and with the introduction of Night Elves into the alliance relations soured. They may have problems with the Blood Elves, but they have problems with the Alliance as well.
And as I stated before, many of the cultural problems that caused the High elves to leave are no longer present, with a few exceptions that mainly apply to Warlocks, and Demon Hunters (which exist on both sides.) The difference is the Void Elves present an even larger threat to High elves, and draw a close parallel to the problems they had with Blood Elves and the Fel. If the Void elves ever evolved and presented an increasing threat to the High elves, I could easily see them fleeing back to Quel'thalas.
They did not originally hate their own kind, no. That is not why they left. The hatred came afterwards during the events of Theramore and the heavy involvement the Sunreavers had towards helping create the mana bomb. Not to mention the massive rift there already was starting in WotLK between the Sunreavers and Silver Covenant.
The Sunreavers were unaware of how the Mana bomb was being used, Theron and the other leaders were intentionally misled by Garrosh into thinking they were taking the capital, not bombing it. This is why Theron and the other leaders decided to secretly meet, and investigate his true intentions, but were ultimately too late.
The Highvale may have some who are sympathetic, but are far, FAR closer to the native inhabitants (Wildhammer) and the Draenei that have taken refuge there. It's one thing to look at what your kingdom has become and feel sorry for them, it's another to change your entire lifestyle to join into what you feel 'sympathetic' for in the first place.
The entire point of the outpost was to help strengthen relations with the other races for the sake of Quel'thalas, not to abandon it in favor to these races. The only reason the Highvale elves remained with the Alliance was because they were cut off, and had no means reaching their capital. Many of the High elves presumed everyone died in Arthas' attack. In the end, the Highvale Elves also have many family and friends in Quel'thalas, and have very little to no reason to dislike them, as they were neither present during the exiles, or the splintering. Considering that some are even friendly to Horde players, it is not hard to believe that if given the chance, they would return home.
The irony is that he states this while both the player and himself are surrounded by both Sunreaver and Silver Covenant NPC's with clear selfish intent to claim the relic for themselves. I'm not saying there aren't sympathisers and those who wish for peace and unity between the races, but they are so disgustingly outnumbered by the two opposing sides that they may as well be a bucket of water against a wildfire. The entire WotLK storyline (including the Quel'dalar) scenario is a constant theme of potential unity blossoming before something horrible happens that further severs the two main factions (Wrathgate, Pit of Saron where the horde and alliance slaves and their corresponding leaders are killed just as they spout something related to working together).
So I'm not saying that there aren't those within those sects you pointed out that don't want unity, but time and again those who look and reach out to the other side for too long and make any headway toward peace usually end up dying somehow for the sake of preserving conflict.
When he states this they are not standing around him in hopes of greed, they are congratulating a Sin'dorei for restoring an ancient artifact that represents both High elves and Blood elves. In the quest text it says they were watching in shock and awh as the blade was purified, having thought it had been lost to them forever. It seems contrived to say they were surrounding them with only harmful intent, when he's literally preaching about the unification of their people, and how they all need to stand together to protect Quel'thalas and the Sunwell. And Auric sunchaser is the leader of the many High elves that reside in Alleria's stronghold, I don't know how you can claim that there differences cannot be surmounted when a notable leader himself preaches his hope that one day they will unify once again.
We can't say how many High elves sympathize with Blood Elves because we do not see how they interact with each other en mass. But the fact that there are many High elves that are friendly, and nuetral toward Blood elves suggests that it is something that occurs within their population. The restoration of the Sunwell, and the Sin'dorei's offer of goodwill in allowing them access to it is also promising, and I doubt they just greedily visit without appreciating that it has been offered to them out of good will.
Here's the thing; Garrosh's Horde is still the Horde. They aren't some different group of people. They aren't some different demonic blood infused hybrids. It was the Horde. More so, it was the Blood Elves that helped create the mana bomb with the stolen focusing iris.
It is not the same Horde, that was Garrosh's horde. This is why all the leaders of the Horde defected and created their own Horde to defy him. He acted on his own, and actively deceived the Horde at large to accomplish his goals. This is acknowledged by the Kirn Tor themselves, and part of the reason why they decide to allow them entry back into Dalaran.
Right. She had a moment of weakness because she hated where the Alliance was going with the trial. The fact that there was a trial at all is the reason why she almost decided to leave, but she ended up not doing so because of her family and loyalty and because she wasn't likely looking to die and be resurrected. She was tempted to go be with her sister before thinking better of it.
Justifying it as a "moment of weakness" doesn't change anything. It officially states that Vereesa reconnected with Sylvanas, and that played a large role in her desire to join her in Undercity. This was her idea, mind you, not Sylvanas'. The only reason she decided to stay was for her children, not for her loyalty to the Alliance. Vereesa herself acknowledges that Garrosh's Horde is not the new horde, and that she blames Garrosh for the lost of rhonin, not the Horde itself. Much of the Silver Covenant's hate was misled by thinking the Sunreavers knew and intended for the Mana bomb to be used on Theramore, when in reality most of the Horde had no idea.
I can't speak for Veressa, but you can't make it seem like she was in the same boat as any other person in that world at that time. She just lost her husband to this man and his Horde, nobody was sympathising with her over her loss and that fury was building into wanting to take action. The only other person there that was willing to do that was Sylvanas because (surprise surprise) she's a homicidal maniac with brilliant motives and plans for everything.
Sylvanas loves Vereesa, this is driven home by how hurt she is when Vereesa eventually decides to stay with her children. Sylvanas says "I will never love anyone, ever agian." it was not her desire to manipulate Vereesa to her own ends, but the love they shared as sisters. Even in the 3 sister's comics Vereesa addresses this, and apologizes for hurting Sylvanas. This just goes to show that family, and loved ones play a large role in choosing your affiliation. If Vereesa hadn't had children on the Alliance, chances are she would have left and joined Sylvanas on the Horde. And who's to say that many other High elves aren't faced with similar situations? High elves like the Swiftwinds that loved and missed each other very much, and should the situation arise where they could potentially reunite, how is that improbable? Especially if the Void elves eventually pose some sort of danger to their well being? If Vereesa, the leader of one of the most aggressive partisan groups against the Horde can be tempted, other High elves could easily do the same.
By this logic it's only a matter of time before Blood Elves become a part of the Alliance as a whole because Lor'themar was involved with secret talks with Anduin about rejoining the Alliance in the past, but had a change of heart at the end because of how things turned out.
The Blood elves would never return to the Alliance after Garithos had tried to execute them all. It's important to note that despite Garithos being influenced by Dread Lords, the remaining Alliance that were not under their influenced did not protest against this order, even going as far as to try to enforce it when they made their escape. Blood elves largely blame humans for the loss of the Sunwell, you can even see dialogue in Silvermoon from the citizens condemning the humans for the slaughtering of so many of their kin (High elves and Blood Elves)
The numbers of High elves that remained with the Alliance is also dwarfed by the number of Blood Elves that remained in Quel'thalas. While most of the High elves likely have family and friends in Silvermoon as it is their home, their population barely represents 1% of the Thalassian population, this means that there are plenty of Blood Elves with no relations, or ties to the High elves (Hence why many are indifferent to them.) I doubt all the Blood Elves are going to defect to the Alliance because of a small population that might have ties to them.
This is true and you have provided much evidence to that fact, but at the same time it's important to not ignore every single counterpoint that points to a building conflict in the horizon. It's in everyone's best interest to try and work together, but something always happens to further split everyone apart.
I do not argue that High elves and Blood elves have their differences, and that some might still hold grudges or dislike the Sin'dorei. But my argument has never been "All High elves now like Blood Elves" but rather there have been enough occasions to support them returning to Quel'thalas should a situation threaten them like the Void elves potentially do. My entire stance in this conversation depends on the predicate that Alleria and her followers will present a threat to the Quel'dorei in some way. Either through possibly infecting them with Void corruption, or threatening the sanctity of the Sunwell. And should their livlihood ever be threatened, I could easily see Blizzard rationalizing them fleeing back to their homes, families and loved ones for refuge.
What I like about this theory is that it offers up an explanation for two common requests from High elf fans, and Blood Elf fans. The Void claiming High elves could rationalize Helf customizations in the Void elves, and the High elves that return to Quel'thalas could also rationalize the occurrence of Blue eyes Blood elves.