Blood Elf

:This article is about the Blood Elves of the Warcraft Universe. For the subspecies of Earthdawn elves, see .
The Blood Elves (or Sin'dorei, in their own tongue- translated to "Children of the Blood") are a faction of the former High Elf (Quel'dorei in Thalassian "Children of the Sun") race in the Warcraft Universe.
Background

The Blood Elves are a faction of the remnants of the High Elves who survived the destruction of Quel'Thalas by The Scourge. They style themselves as Blood Elves in remembrance of their slaughtered brethren. At first they remained loyal to the failing Alliance in Lordaeron and its racist human commander in the region, Grand Marshal Garithos, who despised all non-human races. Despite the obvious talent of their leader, , Garithos saw the Blood Elves as expendable and repeatedly assigned them impossible missions, ordering them to hold off major Undead assaults without any support from Human or Dwarven troops. Garithos hoped to use these battles as a way to gradually kill off the Blood Elves while also taking care of the main threat posed by The Scourge.

During one such hopeless battle against the Undead near Dalaran, a desperate Kael was approached by a contingent of Naga, a serpentine race descended from the Night Elves, and their general, the Sea Witch Lady Vashj. Vashj offered Kael the assistance of her forces and advised him to abandon the failing Alliance. Kael refused at first but was eventually forced to accept Vashj's offer in order to win the battle and save his people.

Garithos discovered this ruse and used the event as an excuse to exterminate the Blood Elves. Along with his brethren, Kael was thrown into the underground dungeons of Dalaran to await execution. The night before the execution, however, Kael was rescued by Vashj, who had infiltrated the dungeons through the sewers. Together, they freed Kael's people, overcame the jailors, and escaped through the same magical portal Kel'Thuzad used to summon Archimonde to Azeroth. And there they came to land on the shattered world called Outland, formerly the Orcish homeworld of Draenor.

Here, Vashj revealed to Kael a startling truth: like the Naga, he and his people were terminally addicted to magic that they had once wielded so effortlessly. The High Elves had drawn their power from the mystical Sunwell in Quel'Thalas for millennia. But once it was consumed by the Scourge, they had been left with nothing to sate their thirst for the arcane. Vashj promised him a solution if they could find her master, the renegade demon hunter, now part demon himself, Illidan Stormrage.

Three days into their march through Outland and other places, they came across a Night Elven stronghold and discovered that Illidan had been captured by the Barrow Deeps Warden, Maiev Shadowsong, who had been hunting him relentlessly since his escape from Kalimdor. The Blood Elf and Naga forces rescued Illidan from the Night Elves who had taken him captive.

Once free, Illidan told Kael that his people's addiction could not be cured but it could be fed and promised the Blood Elves enough magic — from demonic sources — to satisfy them if they would help him conquer Outland. The shattered world would serve as a new home for the Blood Elves and a refuge for Illidan and his Naga after failing to destroy the Frozen Throne. Ironically, the Blood Elves had contributed greatly to this failure, when earlier, at Dalaran, they had helped the Night Elves under Maiev and Malfurion Stormrage disrupt a spell that Illidan was casting to melt the glaciers of Northrend, the Arctic stronghold of the Scourge. With no choice, Kael and his people pledged their loyalty to Illidan in the hopes of their survival.

Illidan taught Kael and the Blood Elves how to draw magic from demons to satisfy their addiction. Illidan, the Blood Elves, and the Naga, then liberated "the Broken" of the Draenei, exiled remnants of the Eredar race who had been twisted by demons and hunted almost to extinction by the Fel Orcs under the rule of Magtheridon, a Pit Lord who had ruled Outland since the closing of the Dark Portal. After closing the dimensional gates from which Magtheridon summoned demons from the Twisting Nether to bolster his forces, the three commanders, assisted by Draenei under the elder seer Akama, stormed Magtheridon's stronghold in the Black Citadel and took it by force.

Moments after the citadel fell, Kil'jaeden, the Burning Legion's last great demonlord and Illidan's new master, appeared. Furious over Illidan's earlier failure to destroy the Frozen Throne, Kil'jaeden was bemused that Illidan was foolish enough to try and hide from him in Outland. Illidan claimed he came to Outland to bolster his forces. Kil'Jaeden saw promise in Illidan's new followers and decided to give him one last chance.

Under Illidan's leadership, the Blood Elves and Naga then travelled to Northrend, where they ultimately failed in their mission to destroy the Frozen Throne and were defeated by Arthas and the Undead Scourge. The Blood Elves and Vashj's Naga retreated back to Outland with Illidan where they established permanent settlements.

The remaining Blood Elves on Azeroth have reconstructed much of the forests of Quel'Thalas. They have turned to the Horde to help them find their way to Outland where they can once again be united with their leader Prince Kael'thas.

Magic Addiction
Due to the reckless channelling of the vast amount of magic the High elves wielded during the pinnacle of their empire, the High elves developed an insatiable thirst for magic; this addiction, if not fed, will eventually result in insanity, then death. Previously the source from which this thirst was fed was from their beloved Sunwell; a vast magical fountain constructed on an underlying node of power. The Sunwell was one of the most powerful magic artifacts in all of Azeroth. Radiant with magic power, this artifact fed the former High elves with unimaginable magic. One dreadful day, however, the High elves were severed from the source of their magic and as a result, they suffered indignities and fell into darkness. In the High elves' darkest moment, Kael'thas Sunstrider, the last of the Royal bloodline gathered the last of the remaining High elves, renaming them Blood elves in honor to their fallen brethren. He then proceeded to teach them how to tap into other ambient magical sources, feeding upon it to sustain themselves temporarily.

After the Blood elves joined Illidan and the Naga, they were granted powerful demonic magic that not only sustained them, but strengthened them as well. They now revel in the source of their dark powers and have regained much of their former strength. More reckless then ever before these Blood Elves will stop at nothing to gain power, regardless of the costs. While the dark magics they now wield are enough to sustain them, the Blood Elves always look for more ways to boost their own power and do not hesitate to ruthlessly exploit any magic wielding creature, feeding upon its essence until only a shell remains, devoid of all life.

Their 'thirst' for magic may be noticed in The Burning Crusade game, which allows Blood Elf players to play as nearly all of the mana-based classes: Warlock, Paladin, Priest, Mage and Hunter. The Druid, Warrior, and the Shaman are absent from this list, as the Blood Elves long turned away from the naturalist ways of their Night Elf kin, and want nothing to do with the druidic culture, believing only in their race's fortitude.
In Azeroth
The Blood Elves are not necessarily evil, though they may seem hateful, reckless, and arrogant. Much like the Forsaken, they are a race that has endured many accumulated tragedies in recent times and are trying, if by desperate measures, to find their place in the order of things once more. Their unorthodox practices, however, have earned them several enemies and many more critics.

The Blood Elves are at the very least cordial with the Forsaken, as a former High elf, Sylvanas Windrunner, leads the sentient undead and likewise strives to attain a place for her people in Azeroth. The Orcs, having been slaves to warlock magic and demonic corruption themselves, are wary of their new allies but will give them the benefit of the doubt with hopes for their redemption (this is the same reason Thrall allowed the Forsaken to join the Horde). The Tauren, though appalled by the Blood Elves' magical addiction, share the Orcs' viewpoint. The Darkspear Trolls, despite their hatred of elves, remain loyal to Thrall - and it would seem the two races share a common loathing of the Amani trolls, whom the elves of Quel'thalas have fought against for generations. The playable Blood Elves in the expansion have no affiliation with the Broken or the Naga, as they are those who have not yet joined Kael'thas's forces in Outland; Instead, they have remained behind, to show others the way to their beloved leader, Kael'thas Sunstrider. In addition they seek to rebuild their former seat of power; their ancient capital city: Silvermoon, in Quel'thalas.

The Horde's hesitant reception of the Blood Elves pales in comparison to the Alliance's outright rejection of them. The Humans, Dwarves, and Gnomes spurn their former allies as traitors to their cause, while the few remaining High Elves view them with both abhorrence and pity. The Draenei despise the Blood Elves due to Kael'thas Sunstrider sending armies of his followers to wipe out the surviving Draenei once the Exodar crashlanded on Azeroth. The worst treatment of all, however, comes from the Night Elves, who are disgusted by the Blood Elves and are near-genocidal towards them, viewing them as too dangerous to be left alive.

The Holy Light and the Blood Elves
The Holy Light is not only a gift for dedication to the defense of Life, Justice, Truth, and Righteousness; it is a magical power, and as such, it can be stolen, harnessed and used as weapon for malicious purposes. Despite the fact that the majority of the Blood Elves lost their faith in the Light after the destruction of Quel'Thalas, they have found new ways to harness the divine power without the need for the years of rigorous study and faith in the light normally associated with the divine arts. Usually this divine power is only granted to the most devoted followers of the light who wish to heal, save, and sacrifice themselves for the innocent lives of others. However, Blood Elves despise such teachings, which they regard as weakness, and instead now channel this stolen magic for their own twisted ends.

They manage use of The Light by siphoning the energies of a captured Naaru known as M'uru, a being that can best be described as The Light incarnate. Using their dark powers, the Blood Elves are able to bless their people with the power taken from the Naaru. This gives them the ability to become paladins. While these Blood Elf paladins, known to their people as Blood Knights, have nearly all the same abilities as those of the Alliance, their darker ties cause them to have unique skills.

World of Warcraft Gameplay
Blood Elf racial abilities

Blood Elf racial abilities include:

:Mana Tap
::Reduces target's mana by 50 and charges you with Arcane energy for 10 min. This effect stacks up to 3 times. 30-second cooldown. Scales with level.

:Arcane Torrent
::Silence all enemies within 8 yards for 2 sec. In addition, you gain 10-161 Mana (10 Energy for Rogues) for each Mana Tap charge currently affecting you.

:Arcane Affinity
::Enchanting skill increased by 10.

:Magic Resistance
::All resistances increased by 5.

Classes

Blood elf characters can play as the following classes:

*Hunter
*Mage
*Paladin (Blood Knight)
*Priest
*Rogue
*Warlock

It is interesting to note that Blood Elves are the only race that cannot be Warriors. This is likely to go along with the Magic Addiction portion of the race, considering Warriors do not use spells like the other character types (although this does not explain why Rogues are a playable class for the Blood Elves).

Class Specific Racial Traits

Priests
receive the racial ability Consume Magic. Consume Magic dispels one beneficial Magic effect from the caster and gives them 120 to 154 mana. (453 to 488 mana at level 70) - instant cast, two-minute cooldown.

Paladins
receive Seal of Blood. Enables all melee attacks to deal additional Holy damage equal to 40% normal weapon damage, but the Paladin loses health equal to 10% of the total damage inflicted. Unleashing the Seal's energy will judge an enemy, instantly causing 295 to 325 Holy damage at the cost of health equal to 33% of the damage caused. (210 mana at level 64) - instant cast.

Reasons for racial abilities

The elves have long delved into the magic and arcane as evident by their cultural centerpiece, the Sunwell. Thus, they have developed a natural Arcane Affinity as a result of the well's magical presence, making the blood elves naturally skilled with arcane arts such as Enchanting. The elves' constant exposure to the Sunwell also gave them a natural defense against many kinds of magical manipulation, granting them a natural Magical Resistance. After the destruction of the Sunwell during the Third War, the remaining blood elves developed the skill of Mana Tapping to feed their magical addiction, allowing them to tap into the arcane energies of other beings. Arcane Torrent comes as a natural manipulation of these consumed energies and allows the elves to absorb and unleash the energies gathered.

Trivia
*The male Blood Elf dance in World of Warcraft is actually based on Napoleon's dance from the movie Napoleon Dynamite. It was originally based on the "Jack Rabbit Slims" dance scene from Pulp Fiction, but was changed after a lawsuit (unverified) was threatened by choreographer Robert Kehr.
*The female Blood Elf dance in World of Warcraft is actually based on a YouTube video of a girl trying to recreate Britney Spears' Toxic performance during live concerts.
*Male Blood Elves were originally thinner, rather than their current toned form. Some beta-testers complained about the perceived femininity of their look. Blizzard gave them a more masculine build though this may not have been the only deciding factor. However, male blood elves in World of Warcraft retain some effeminate aspects in their voiced emotes, such as /silly ("Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?")
*The male blood elves in World of Warcraft are voiced by veteran voice actor Cam Clarke.
*The female blood elf flirt "No, no I won't do that. But my sister will..." is a reference to the ZZ Top track, Tube Snake Boogie.
*The Blood Elf racial mount is a variation of the plainstrider called a "Hawkstrider". Which bears resemblence to the Chocobo from final fantasy games.
*One of the Male Blood Elf flirts "I know every rose has its thorn, but if you would just pour some sugar on me we could rock and roll all night and par-tay every day..." is from the songs Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Pour Some Sugar on Me and Rock and Roll All Nite by rock bands Poison, Def Leppard and Kiss, respectively.
*According to a survey made by the [http://www.warcraftrealms.com/census.php?serverid-1&factionid-1&minlevel10&maxlevel70&servertypeid=-1 Warcraft Census] at 08-15-07, Blood Elves are currently the more popular of the 2 playable races that were introduced with the Burning Crusade expansion pack, are currently the most popular Horde race overall (the 2nd most popular horde race being the Undead), and are currently the 3rd most popular race in the game (ranking behind the Humans and Night Elves).

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See Also

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