Night Elves Got a New, Fully Functioning World Tree. Why Aren’t They Immortal Again?
Been a while since I’ve paid attention to WoW’s story, so please fill in the blanks for me, here.
I always thought the Night Elves used to be immortal due to their pact with Nordrassil: a world tree blessed by the dragons.
Teldrassil didn’t restore their immortality, because it wasn’t blessed by nature/the dragons.
Hyjal was restored in Cata, yet nothing changed for the Night Elves.
Now we have Amirdrassil: a world tree blessed by Elune and supported by the dragons.
Are the Night Elves immortal again? If not, then why? How does any of this work at all?
So, other than “Blizzard doesn’t want them to be immortal anymore”, what is the in-universe logic of any of this?
It’s my perception that the new tree was to allow the dragon aspects to get their powers back. As far as I am aware, the nelfs remain mortal. As to why? With all the nelfs and wisps that have been killed, settlements and cities attacked, overrun or otherwise destroyed, I can only believe that there’s something about nelfs that p.o.'s the devs.
Because its still the age of mortals(it is even one of the final quests of Amirdrassil). Azeroth doesn’t need the night elves to remain immortal anymore. And the night elves of all people should understand death(you know the realm that gave them their new tree) is just part of the natural cycle.
I’m sure the night elves will still live for thousands of years but not forever. Also, I assume this also means the pact with Ysera that requires all druids to sleep for decades at a time is broken. Malfurion and co can just live their best lives with their respective families especially now that other mortal races are making sure the Emerald Dream remains safe.
If memory serves, the nelfs became immortal after Nozdormu added his blessing to Nordrassil. When Nordrassil was damaged, all the blessings of the aspects were destroyed along with nelf immortality. When Teldrassil was created, Nozdormu refused to give his blessing. Now, as you say, we have Amirdrassil which does not have Nozdormu’s blessing. It may be that Nozdormu has been messed up because of the whole Murozond thing. Insofar as the game is concerned, the nelfs have never been immortal and I don’t expect that to change.
Illystra got it pretty much on the mark, Nozdormu or the newly empowered Aspects have blessed the new World Tree. Originally when the Aspects were empowered by the titans they blessed the First World Tree, after Cata they lost the power to do so. After Amidrassil, they got re-empowered by Azeroth, but not the Pantheon. So its a reach to say that being empowered by 1 Titan, one that isn’t even fully born, they don’t have enough power to bless the tree and linking the Nelfs to the tree so they regain Immortality.
I don’t recall that any of the aspects have blessed the new tree and, as Pariahdark pointed out, their new powers came from a different source and may not work the same. It’s my perception that ‘they’ don’t explain a lot of stuff, e.g. the ‘what sword’ in Silithus. I guess I’d like to ask, why are you so hot to trot about nelf immortality? It was a big deal for the Archdruid but he was portrayed as a jerk and, ultimately, a traitor to the nelfs. I don’t recall any other nelf for whom immortality was a big deal.
I only started thinking about it because I saw some Night Elf npcs talking about immortality in the Emerald Dream. And also because it’s weird that, considering how much immortality meant to the Night Elves, they don’t even…ask? Or we don’t even get a clear explanation on why or how any of this works. I mean, they created Teldrassil in part to try and get their immortality back. This has always been a running plot point within Night Elf society.
That’s all, really. I would be fine with Nelves never becoming immortal again. I just find it odd that after they get a new tree and it’s not even slightly addressed in any way.
So again, I’m not hot to trot for their immortality. I dont even play Nelves. It’s just one of those moments where I can’t tell if Blizzard is being intentional or if they just forgot to address this in any way.
And if immortality wasn’t a big deal to the majority of night elves? Well, that kinda takes the meaning out of their sacrifice at the end of WC3. At least a bit. It makes it seem like less of a sacrifice in the first place, I guess.
In all my years playing nelfs (up to SL), except for the archdruid, no npcs I interacted with said anything about immortality. I guess I’ll have to hunt down your reference in the Emerald Dream and see what it is they say. Thanks for the reference.
Now another thing crosses my mind. ‘They’ claim that the realms in SL were powered, as it were, by new souls. If the nelfs were immortal, none of them would have gone to SL and Elune’s sister would have had problems long before the Jailer messed with things. I’ve read articles where cataclysmic events, like The Sundering, left survivors which implies that there were some who did not survive. However, immortal means exempt from death or oblivion, so I’m wondering if this immortality isn’t immortality but more like Tolkien described in that elves do not age and are exempt from disease but can still die as a consequence of some natural or unnatural disaster, or war.
I think they’re talking about the Druids of the Flame. Most of them teamed up with Fyrakk because they lost their immortality back when Malfurion blew up Nordassil to stop Archimonde.
And I guess they saw corrupting Amidrisaal as a way of getting those powers back?
Wow. Really never? Not at all? Not a single time in all of WoW history?
I haven’t played a Night Elf since Teldrassil burned down, but that’s definitely not what I expected based on my memories. But I can’t argue with someone who mains Night Elves.
Lol, and here I thought the night elves were heroic for sacrificing their precious immortality to save the world. Turns out it wasn’t a big deal to them after all XD
…How? I’ve been wondering that too. Why do the druids of the flame think burning down Amirdrassil will give them immortality?
But yeah, all this time I really thought the Night Elves sacrifice of their immortality was a big deal to them. Shows what I know.
No idea, as I’m not aware of any canon arguments/claims…
However, while working through the dream we keep running into NPC’s who point out they have to make a choice between “renewal” and “preservation”.
I doubt this is an accident. Renewal suggests new growth but can also suggest the restoration of that which is worn and damaged, much like what age does to the body.
Preservation however is just holding on to what already is.
Wait… are you under some impression that the Nelves’ former immortality meant that they were immune from dying from physical trauma? As in they were invincible?..
