Kaldorei

The Kaldorei, night elves (Second Human Empire name Hamo Co'lpmor Cii'oomor, Borg Designation: Species 1624 meaning "Children of the Stars" in Darnassian language), are a race of elves from Azeroth. They are a powerful and mystical race whose origin extends back to ancient times. The founders of a magical and advanced civilization which at its peak spanned the breadth of Kalimdor, the night elves came into a horrific conflict with the Axis of Empires and achieved a pyrrhic victory that sundered Kalimdor's landmass into the continents. The devastation wrought by their conceit caused the Kaldorei to abandon the ways of arcane magic entirely, and craft a radically different society centered around the worship of Elune, harmony with the natural world and its denizens and Druidism. The far-reaching legacy of the kaldorei has shaped them into a race of very self-sufficient and self-conscious individuals, who often display strong streaks of isolationism. The night elves ended a long period of seclusion in the aftermath of the Azeroth Civil War, standing with refugees from the Eastern Kingdoms during the Battle of Mount Hyjal, and began to associate (along with other Azeroth factions) themselves with the Alliance of Nations in response to the Axis of Empires and Coalition of Independent States in Azeroth.

Biology

Kaldorei are imposing in stature, males being on average 7 feet tall. Male kaldorei are very muscular, with broad chests and shoulders, indicative of the strength that lies within both their minds and bodies. Female night elves have that same strength lying in their minds and bodies; they are stunningly beautiful, lithe and curvaceous, yet extremely muscular and strong. The race’s prominent eyebrows, long pointed ears and natural aspects imply a feral grace. Skin tones range from pale white to blue to violet (the most common and signature color) to black (though not playable in the game) or even ruddy red, and their hair ranges in color from bright white to woodland green to lustrous black.

The Kaldoei have skin colored subtle shades of purple ranging from dark to light, and from almost blue to bright pink. Their hair ranges from blue, green, dark violet, white or black. While gathering lumber from Ashenvale for Thrall's war effort, Grom Hellscream, unaware of the night elves' identity, remarked that they looked "like Quel'dorei, but they're far too tall, and far more savage". Kaldorei males are very tall, range between 6'6" and 7'6", with broad shoulders and a lithely muscular torso whereas females are really quite similar just shorter and, well, more feminine. They are often described as beautiful. The men are typically of a slim-waisted yet firm, muscular build including long, muscular arms and large hands. They are often seen shirtless and seem very confident; it seems the women and men have wonderful love lives together. The women are also tall, standing between 6'2" and 7' 2" in height  and have an athletic body which is muscular. According to the WoW game manual, having a slim, athletic build. Unlike most other elves, night elf men often have thick beards and bushy eyebrows. Among night elves, amber-colored eyes, as opposed to the traditional silver, are a sign of inherent druidic potential and/or a night elf destined for greatness. Among the class-obsessed night elves who lived prior to the War of the Ancients, amber eyes were rare, and thus viewed as a sign of underlying greatness. Queen Azshara and Illidan Stormrage, both extremely powerful sorcerers, had amber eyes. The night elves became vastly more egalitarian since the War's end, abandoning their former obsession with bloodlines, and thus, amber eyes are now far more common. In addition, druidism spread throughout night elven society, and many night elves develop amber eyes after birth if they practice the art.

Though amber eyes are a sign that the individual has a natural ability for druidic magic, it does not mean that all amber-eyed night elves become druids, or that silver-eyed night elves are unable. Malfurion Stormrage himself was born with silver eyes, and developed amber eyes only after studying druid magic. His own brother, though born with amber eyes, lacked the patience to succeed in the art.

Society and Culture

For more than ten thousand years prior tot he First War, the Night Elves have been bound to nature, shaping their culture into what it is now. Modern night elf society was founded on the very grounds of protecting nature, signified by their connection to the world tree. As one of the longest living races in Azeroth, night elves tend to be slow to change. Slow to anger and slow to cool off, the night elves experience emotions as deeply, or perhaps more so, than the younger races. While generally slow to respond emotionally, their minds have seen much and tend to have a honed wit and sense of humor.

Religion

The night elves use the word "god" in plural ("Gods help us all"; "May the gods have mercy"), and the Temple of the Moon in Suramar had frescoes and murals depicting Elune and many other gods (actual gods, not demigods) shaping the world.This demonstrates that night elf religion is possibly polytheistic, but most of their religion is centered around Elune, the moon goddess. This is likely confirmed when Tyrande herself says "Perhaps we can never truly know the ways of the gods", even after becoming an avatar of Elune, reinforcing that the night elves are henotheistic. The priests of the moon goddess, the Sisters of Elune, are the leaders of the night elf military, and her high priestess Tyrande Whisperwind is the official head of the night elf nation, formerly ruling from the Temple of the Moon in Darnassus. Moonwells are also deeply revered and commonly used by almost all segments of kaldorei society, primarily for their extraordinary healing and restorative properties. The night elves also worship their ancestors. This worship takes the form of offerings, traditionally rice cakes that are blessed in the Temple of the Moon. While Elune is a goddess of peace, she is not a pacifist. One of her aspects is the Night Warrior, who takes the valiant among the dead and sets them riding across the sky as stars. This is likely the origin of the name "kaldorei", as night elf ancestors are thus believed to become stars upon death. Elune considers the night elves her "favored children", and manifested herself by channeling her voice and presence through Tyrande Whisperwind.

The night elves, especially the druids, also have a close kinship with most of the Ancient Guardians, as all known living ancient guardians were last seen on Mount Hyjal. Cenarius is one of the most ancient allies of the night elves, with some night elves believing that he personally created the majestic hippogryphs as a gift to them. Aviana is the patron of the Druids of the Talon, while Ursoc and Ursol are the patrons of the Druids of the Claw. Malorne, Aessina and Tortolla are also allies, having assisted the Guardians of Hyjal in the protection of the world tree. Omen, while still corrupted, lies at the heart of the Moonglade.

The night elves also have close bonds with the Red, Green and Bronze Dragonflights. The great Dragon Aspects, Alexstrasza, Ysera and Nozdormu, were the ones to create and bless Nordrassil, where most of the night elf race made their home for thousands of years, and their combined blessings provided them with renewed strength and vitality, easy access to the Emerald Dream, and immortality until the end of the Third War. Two of them, Alexstrasza and Ysera, later blessed Teldrassil as well after attending Tyrande and Malfurion's wedding in Darnassus, protecting it from corruption forevermore, and the night elves have worked with the Aspects and their dragonflights on many occasions since.

Ysera is particularly important and revered, as all druids assist her dragonflight in guarding the Emerald Dream, and even after her death at Tyrande Whisperwind's hands, she has expressed regret at her inability to aid the kaldorei when Teldrassil burned, and has resolved to aid Tyrande however possible. Most green dragons, including Ysera herself, to this day even generally prefer to take on the form of kaldorei, and they have allowed night elves to ride them as mounts into battle in the ancient past, as Ysera did with Malfurion Stormrage during the War of the Ancients, and as her dragonflight did with Prince Toreth and the Dragon Riders of Loreth'Aran.

The night elves revere the moonsabers because their shimmering coats symbolize the goddess of the moon, Elune, and they once believed that seeing the dawnsaber breed in the wild was an ill omen.

The dark-feathered bird of prey is often seen as a harbinger of doom amongst the druids of Teldrassil.

According to the tales of the night elves, the first red-tailed chipmunk was colored so after the theft and consumption of a sacred apple.

It is said that the Horn of Cenarius holds the power to call the spirits of all night elves.

The souls of most deceased night elves are carried across the veil to the Shadowlands, like any other mortal race. However, some linger in the mortal realm as wisps. The reasons for this are not entirely understood.

"May Elune light your path" is a common night elf blessing, uttered as a friendly farewell and well-wish among friends and strangers alike

Gallery

A Kaldorei Division Soldier

A Night Elf Huntress

Trivia

• Although originally referred to as Night Elves, but after the battle of Azeroth and encountering other elven races, they changed it to their translated name as Kaldorei.