Void elves confuse me

Lore Story Forum
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From a lore and storyline standpoint, Void Elves confuse me so much. The reasons I’m confused are:

  1. If they’re corrupted from delving into the void, wouldn’t every shadow priest look the same? Why did only elves get corrupted like this. Why aren’t there void trolls, or void Tauren? Maybe void worgen, or void humans?

  2. How are there so many? The storyline says it was a small group. I would consider that like a classroom size. Maybe 200 at most. Yet we see them line up as entire armies in the 7th legion. They’re everywhere

  3. If they’re cast out of Silvermoon, and the Horde, for studying void magic, why are blood elves allowed to be shadow priests? Would they not be disowned as well for heading down the same path? What about other races? Would they be thrown out because they pose a danger to the sun well?

  4. How did the alliance just take them in so quickly and without any second thought? These elves were enemies of the horde for years, possibly decades, or even centuries given elves’ life expectancy. Why did the alliance just take them in with no questions asked? If this was so easy, why didn’t they take thrall and saurfang into the alliance? I mean they were outcasts and considered traitors too.

  5. I find it hard to believe a small group of elves are powerful enough to resist the whispers that have broken immortal dragons, or even titans own children, and even drove sargeras to create the burning legion to stop it. You could argue the void drove sargeras mad. If these elves possess such fortitude, they’d be able to channel enough void energy to destroy both horde and alliance outright. Why would they need to join either side?

  6. Alleria… why isn’t she corrupted? She’s obviously their “leader” and yet she remains untouched by the void corruption. She’s delved further into the void than any of them I’d imagine, why doesn’t it show in her appearance?

  7. Void Elf Holy and Discipline priests. How are they even a thing? You’re talking about a being corrupted so drastically by the void, their physical appearance is altered. How can they even come into contact with the light? Let alone channel it. Wouldn’t it obliterate them on contact? Or wouldn’t they corrupt the light and turn it into darkness?

  8. How come we don’t see any mad Void Elves? You can’t tell me every single student in Umbric’s “Class” was successful and not a single one fell into madness? Where are they? Do they just disappear into the he void? Do the void elves kill and dispose of them so they can’t run wild? What happens when they do finally fall to madness?

I’m so confused by this race. There’s so many holes in their lore and story. I feel like blizz just started with the idea of “We need blue eyed elves that aren’t high elves for the alliance. What you guys got? Go!”

And this sad lore was spat out in the group meeting… I’m just confused and not seeing how any of this makes sense

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A Void Ethereal named Durzaan tried to perform a ritual on them to transform them into Void entities like himself. The ritual was interrupted, but was still partially successful. Void Elves are partial Void entities, like a voidwalker. Hence why even the non-casters can make use of Void magic, like the rift racial.

Numbers don’t matter to Blizzard. Night Elves just suffered a genocide, and can still fight to reclaim Darkshore, and field a suicide army at Dazar’alor. Nevermind that Gnomes, Draenei, and Blood Elves are all the remaining 10-20% of their race (less for Blood Elves, some of whom sided with Kael’thas, and some of whom were exiled with Umbric).

:man_shrugging:

You’ve already put more thought into it than Blizzard has.

I’d say, mostly because Anduin gonna Anduin. It took literal genocide for him to figure out Sypvanas was a meaniehead. He’s a trusting sort. Being vouched for by Alleria, a fabled Alliance hero, also goes a long way, I’m sure.

But if you take your Void Elf character on a tour of the Cathedral, it’s clear not everyone is so trusting.

I got nothin’…

Alleria came about her Void powers in an entirely different way, by consuming a fallen Naaru. She didn’t go through Durzaan’s ritual. She’s really more of a High Elf, with Void powers, hence her being different.

Also, Umbric is their leader. Alleria is more like a teacher, coach, and benefactor to get them back into the Alliance.

They’re probably non-canon. Like a Lightforged Shadow Priest.

The Horde arguably does, on Island Expeditions.

If you trust Sylvanas’ toadies to be able to distinguish true madness.

Basically. I feel Nightborne were chosen to be made playable for Horde, first. From there, Blizz had to work backwards and give the Alliance the Blood Elf model, without backtracking on their “no High Elves” stance to save face.

And here we are.

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The Void Elves were corrupted from a very specific infusion of Void, first seen when Alleria absorbed L’ura, then again when the Nexus-Prince in Telogrus forcibly infused Umbric’s group with the Void. Wielding void magics and becoming infused with void magics are two different practices.

Shortly after their induction, we see Ren’dorei walking through Stormwind discussing with High Elves. If you go to Telogrus, uncorrupted Blood Elves are there as well.

It stands to reason that the Ren’dorei have found out how to replicate the process, and those who wish to become Ren’dorei have sought Umbric and Telogrus out.

They were cast out not simply for studying Void magics. They were cast out for studying the work of Dar’Khan Drathir, the man who helped Arthas bring about the fall of Quel’thelas. His studies and powers were far more dangerous than your average voidcaster. Considering his hostile interaction with Anveena, the connection between his work and endangerment to the Sunwell is there.

Quel’thelas’s relationship with the Alliance isn’t as black and white as the other races of the Horde. Quel’thelas used to be an ally of the Alliance for many years, and it nearly went back to being so during Mists of Pandaria (the Purge ended up halting those negotiations). If you talk to Umbric in Boralus, he lays out that him and his followers never really felt any real loyalty to the Horde, but their loyalty to the Alliance is genuine (for the sake of player narrative, I’d take that at face value). Compound that with the mark of approval from Alleria Windrunner, a popular Alliance hero who had just recently been evicted from Silvermoon for similar reasons, and it’s understandable why they could be brought in.

In A Thousand Years of War, we’re introduced to Locus-Walker, an ethereal who walks the balance of the Void to ensure that the whispers obey him - not the other way around. Alleria has learned said secrets for many years, and now both of them are divulging said secrets to the Ren’dorei.

Although the techniques for not succumbing to the Void are not explicitly known, they exist. That said, that is not to say that they would be able to overcome the more intense whispers that took greater beings (such as Xavius using a corrupted Pillar of Creation to corrupt Ysera). Void corruption is not a set standard, and likely can be taken in concentrated doses.

It does show in her appearance. Alleria possesses a unique ability to change between her normal form and her void form (first seen at the end of Seat of the Triumvirate). Why she has this power and none of the other elves is uncertain.

For gameplay purposes, not lore purposes. Reasonably, a Void Elf Priest would be nothing but a Shadow Priest. The same goes for Mag’har Priests (representing the Shadowmoon Clan), given their very unfriendly relationship with the Light. On the flipside for comparison, a Lightforged Priest would probably never be a Shadow Priest.

We don’t know. The point of the Ren’dorei is that they are a race that have defeated the whispers. The rate of failure is not explored - perhaps because it is not relevant to the story they want to tell, OR it is simply non-existant. We see some Void Elves who act crazy in Island Expeditions, but ultimately their sanity is still intact given that they can still form a coherent team.

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That’s not true. Umbric didn’t find Dar’Khan’s research until after his group had already been banished. Why Rommath banished them and not regular Blood Elf shadowpriests is something that’s never brought up.

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You’re correct, yes. My mistake.

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That’s because Blood Elf shadowpriest could easily be a gameplay mechanic like Lightforged shadowpriest or Void Elf holy priest. As far as I know, there are no Blood Elf lore characters who are shadow specialists.

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She’s pre-newSunwell and one of Kael’s crazies.

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Sure is. But she would have made a better lore tie in for studies on the void than Dar’Khan.

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Probably right. She’s a mage for all intents and purposes (all of the damage she inflicts is Arcane) but it looks like she was experimenting with void energies in tempest keep and gets turned into a Voidwalker… sounds familiar lol.

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Void Elves don’t make sense because they’re the result of Blizzard starting to do a mass influx of character customization options and realizing that they could make allied races instead and monetize it. But they couldn’t give players High Elves as one of them because that would make it way too obvious, so they bent over backwards to avoid adding High Elves and made an allied race out of a group so small in lore than it barely amounts to the graduating class of a town where everyone knows each other.

I will never not believe this is what happened when it comes to Allied races. That’s why the Zanda and Kul Tiran allied races took so long, because they were the only models made from scratch.

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  1. The Void Elves situation is unique and has nothing to do whether or not they take the path of the shadow Priest.

  2. Size is relative. Just like Kalimdor is much larger in lore than it is in game, take the numbers that you see with a grain of salt.

  3. They’re cast out of Silvermoon because of the implied threat to the Sunwell. as for the rest see 1.

  4. You vastly underestimate the reputation of Alleria Windrunner and her husband with the Alliance.

  5. Believe it. it is the Age of Mortals, afterall.

  6. Who says she isn’t. Alleria however is a special case, she embodies a Dark Narru within her.

  7. Discipline is extremely appropriate. Void Elves must employ constant discipline to make sure the Void within does not consume them.

  8. You’ll see them when the story calls for it.

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Blizzard has a way of not regarding number. Orcs and humans should be near extinction now.

Alliance do have issues with them, but because it was Alleria a war hero and legendary alliance hero vouches for them. Anduin decided to let them in. Also, likely anduin would have tried but… years ago people didnt trust saurfang or thrall.

you do notice Silvermoon elves going to Telgorus so yeah.
5.6.
This is due to the teachings of the Locus Walker.

Gameplay excuse only. Lore wise they cant be paladins. Holy and discp is likely they dont want to remove 2 specs from players.

likely because they are so new, we havent seen it yet.

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everyone hated them when they came out, but everyone LOVES them now

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Lol they still hate them.

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