Characters / Warcraft: Illidan and Followers

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A character subpage for the WarCraft universe, including World of Warcraft. For the main character page, see here.

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After Illidan Stormrage absorbed the power of the Skull of Gul'dan and was banished from the forests of the Night Elves, he was visited by Kil'jaeden, who offered him a deal: Destroy the Frozen Throne and prove his loyalty to the Burning Legion in exchange for power beyond his imagination. Illidan gathered to himself an army of naga, satyrs, blood elves and demons and set out to perform the task, but loyalty and power weren't necessarily his only motivations.

After failing to destroy the Throne with the Eye of Sargeras due to the actions of his brother Malfurion and the warden Maiev Shadowsong, and latter parting with his brother on better terms due to helping him save their mutual love Tyrande Whisperwind, Illidan led his forces into Outland where he joined with Akama and his Broken followers the Ashtongue tribe to overthrow the demon Magtheridon, lord of the Black Temple, and claim Outland for himself. Found out by Kil'jaeden and given one final chance to redeem himself, Illidan returned to Azeroth and fought Arthas' armies in Icecrown before being overcome in battle with the Lich King's Champion, retreating back to Outland.

Now, the Betrayer waits within the Black Temple, creating others like himself and preparing for the day he strikes back at the Legion that brought him so much suffering with the very powers they gave him...

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Leaders

Illidan Stormrage

Illidan Stormrage

The Betrayer, Lord of Outland, Master of the Illidari

Class: Demon Hunter (former Mage)

Voiced by: Matthew Yang King (English/Warcraft III), Liam O'Brien (Englis/World of Warcraft), Victor Bohon (Russian/Warcraft III), Vladislav Kopp (Russian/World of Warcraft), Pierre Dourlens (French/WoW: The Burning Crusade), Vincent Violette (French/WoW: Legion)

YOU ARE NOT PREPARED! ^note Sorry, we just had to.

"Betrayer. In truth, it was I who was betrayed. Still I am hunted, still I am hated. Now my blind eyes see what others cannot. That sometimes the hand of fate must be forced.."

Illidan is... complicated. Originally the fraternal twin of Malfurion Stormrage, he diverged from his brother, both with his more caustic, arrogant personality and his adept sorcery. Unfortunately, arcane magic in the Warcraft universe is addictive, and Illidan quickly became dependent on the powers he wielded. Initially a hero during the invasion of the Burning Legion in Azeroth's ancient past, Illidan spent some time in their service (as a double agent with vainglorious but heroic intentions) and, thanks to a "gift" of Sargeras, had both his eyes seared out and replaced with supernatural vision, gaining a strong understanding of fel magic in the process. When the arcane Well of Eternity was destroyed, Illidan betrayed the night elves by creating a new one with a vial from the old Well, and, in defending himself, killed several of his own people. Since this was seen as endangering the world^note He'd intended it to be a source of power to protect the world should the Legion ever return. Or to feed his addiction. It's not entirely clear and the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. Illidan was chained beneath the earth for ten thousand years.

Understandably, this made him a little bitter.

Released to battle the demons during the Third War by his former crush, Tyrande Whisperwind, Illidan cleansed the Felwood by absorbing the power of an evil demonic artifact, the Skull of Gul'dan. Now half-demon, he was banished by the night elves and sought to destroy the Lich King following Kil'jaeden's order, winning the allegiance of Lady Vashj's Naga forces and Kael'thas' blood elves. He failed and was badly injured by Arthas, and fled to his new realm of Outland to escape Kil'jaeden's wrath, where over the time between Warcraft III and World of Warcraft his last well-intentioned hopes were replaced by megalomania and madness. Or so it seemed...

In truth, he never gave up his plans he made ten thousand years ago to destroy the Burning Legion. Having gained an idea of their overwhelming powers and goals, Illidan was determined to gather his forces to eventually assault Argus, homeplanet of the Eredar, and destroy it. Illidan built a new army of fel orcs, demons and began the training of new demon hunters, and, while locating the coordinates of Argus, managed to destroy Nathreza, home of the Nathrezim. In the meantime, he was also able to kill the forces of his former jailor, Maiev Shadowsong, and capture her. However, Illidan's fear to get betrayed by unloyal forces made him unwilling to reveal his plans to anyone outside of his demon hunters, and his brutal authority over Outland eventually led to Akama plotting against his master. Not caring about Outland anymore and solely focusing on his mission to destroy Argus, Illidan lost sight of his former allies, losing Kael'thas to Kil'jaeden, and his control over Outland to the Alliance and the Horde from Azeroth, who marched in and suspected that Illidan in his madness was collaborating with the Legion once more. Right before the Black Temple was assaulted, Illidan sent his demon hunters to the Legion world, Mardum, to steal an important artifact that could lead them Argus. Before his demon hunters could return though, Illidan was taken down by the combined forces of Maiev, who was freed by Akama, and the Azerothian forces.

Illidan returns in the Legion expansion, having been imprisoned by Maiev to have his soul tormented for all eternity. Gul'dan steals his body from the Vault of the Wardens and separates his soul from it, intending to use his body as a new vessel for Sargeras. The Adventurers thwart Gul'dan at the last moment, and reunite Illidan's soul and body. According to Xe'ra, he is the key to defeating the Legion on Argus, being the mythical "Child of Light and Shadow".

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• Abhorrent Admirer: Turned more and more into one for Tyrande as he started getting deeper into his lust for power and using the methods of his enemies. After his banishment, he relented in his pursuit of her and even conceded that she was better with Malfurion in their parting message to her while he stayed to help guard Sargeras.
• The Ace: Deconstructed. Illidan believes he is one and this leads him to do rash and flat out stupid things because he thinks he's such an ace that no matter what comes at him, he'll handle with ease. In contrast to his twin Malfurion, who is a Humble Hero considered the strongest Druid ever, Illidan's boasts and actions come across as someone who is desperate to be seen as the ace he thinks he is. He snapped for a time when Arthas, currently at close to his weakest while Illidan himself was at the height of his powers, beat him by using intelligence and skill over Illidan's brute force.
• Alas, Poor Yorick: When he is confronted by players at the top of Black Temple in Burning Crusade, he is seen meditating with the skull of Gul'dan in his hand before the fight begins.
• Alternate Self: In the Time Rifts, from the World of Azewrath - where the Legion won in the War of the Ancients - a version of Illidan exists as the Regent Lord of Kalimdor, having become fully demonic.
• Always Someone Better: Malfurion is constantly shown to be the better person in almost every sense of the word when compared to Illidan. This greatly hurts Illidan since despite loving his twin, he also in a sense hates him because Malfurion is that much more liked, loved, and respected than he ever will.
• Anti-Hero: Illidan is a flawed individual, but by the time of Legion he is far more caring and more heroic even though he still uses ruthless tactics against the demons.
• Badass Boast: "Now you are prepared!" Said to the Illidari at the end of his Harbingers chapter.
• Bad Boss:
  • To the Moonguard in the War of the Ancients. Illidan would lead them in synchronized spell casting, but didn't notice or care that precious few of them could keep pace with him. He ended up working them into the ground, to the extent that even the ancient night elves were happy when Rhonin took charge of the group as he used lower level magicks and gave them a chance for a breather.
  • To his empire in Outland. Illidan presents his rule over Outland as little more than a vehicle for him creating as large and fearsome an army of demon hunters as possible. The primary reason the Azerothian forces were able to defeat so many of his lieutenants without him getting involved and Kael was able to defect to the Legion without him noticing is Illidan simply didn't care what happened to most of his followers.
• Bare-Handed Blade Block: Done with one hand to defend himself from Turalyon after killing X'era. Naturally it results in his hand oozing glowing fel blood.
• Berserk Button: Illidan despises those who try to impose fate upon others or attempting to change their destiny for another's benefit.
  Illidan: There can be no chosen one. Only we can save ourselves.
• Became Their Own Antithesis: His use of the Legion's own power in order to defeat them was once a noble goal, but he eventually became barely an elf and nearly as much a demon as they are. Only the fact he's still focused on defeating the Legion with that power stops him from becoming a full-on Fallen Hero.
• Big Bad: Regardless of how his intentions are interpreted, he's this for Burning Crusade.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Fancies himself the Lord of Outland and was advertised as The Burning Crusade's Big Bad, but is merely a distraction and is ultimately undermined by Kael'thas, who sets up the expansion's true Big Bad, Kil'jaeden and the Burning Legion. Come Legion, considering that he intended to fight the Burning Legion, he comes across as more of a Big Good.
• Big Good: Along with Velen and Khadgar are the leaders in the fight against the Burning Legion after his revival.
• Black Magic: Illidan's inability to keep off the fel magic is but one of several reasons for his damnation.
• Blindfolded Vision: The Illidan novel reveals that he sees just fine, even though he often remarked that he is "blind, not deaf". His demon hunters went through a similar process like him and Illidan remarked that they can adjust their new-gained sight to see like they used to see if they wished. He actually perceives magic much better now.
• Body Horror: Along the way, he grew horns, wings and his feet turned to hooves.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Illidan actually has more innate aptitude for druidic magic than Malfurion, but the slow progress of learning such magic coupled with its lack of esteem in Night Elven society at the time meant that he quickly lost interest.
• Byronic Hero: Arrogant and cunning, thinks he's heroic. Feels misunderstood. Outcast. Charismatic. Rejected by the woman he loved... more examples?
• Cain and Abel: Him and Malfurion. Slightly reversed, Illidan is younger, but is the 'Cain', while Malfurion is older, yet he is the 'Abel'. Interestingly, Illidan never (intentionally) attempted to kill Malfurion, and the one time the brothers nearly came to fatal blows was instigated by Malfurion under the mistaken impression that Illidan's actions led to Tyrande's supposed death (and the moment they realized otherwise they actually worked together to save her in spite of their differences).
• Catchphrase: After undergoing Memetic Mutation, Illidan's most known phrase ends up being "YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!!" Or just variations of being prepared.
  • A less memetic one: "Sometimes, the hand of fate must be forced".
• Characterization Marches On:
  • Initially, Illidan's title of "Betrayer" and long imprisonment came from him betraying his people to the Burning Legion for power during their first invasion. War of the Ancients would change this to Illidan only pretending to join the Legion for power while intending to turn that power against them, with the title coming from people unaware he was a Fake Defector and the imprisonment coming from another crime altogether.
  • Illidan's animosity towards the Legion was originally purely a matter of circumstance, i.e. they were an enemy of his people and he saw defeating them as important solely in that context. The plot of Frozen Throne is kicked off by Illidan agreeing to work for Kil'jaeden and his stated reason for going to Outland was to find a place from the demon lord's wrath after he failed. After being defeated by Arthas, Illidan returns to Outland, rules over it like a tyrant, and goes a little insane. Illidan and Legion would instead present Illidan as having the life goal of destroying the Burning Legion ever since the first invasion. Him working for Kil'jaeden was due to An Offer You Can't Refuse, he went to Outland to build up an army with which to challenge the Legion, his insanity was retconned away, and his tyrannical actions were him preparing for the coming conflict while practicing Poor Communication Kills.
• Character Development: Illidan has gone through multiple changes throughout his life which have shaped him out to be the crusading Demon Hunter he is today. He first went from being a troubled youth, filled with the urge to gain more power and attracting his love interest at the time being Tyrande and having a severe amount of jealousy towards his brother to where in Warcraft 3 he starts out being more of an Anti-Hero in order to fight against the Burning Legion's wake. Though after being banished by his brother Malfurion he was corrupted over to the Legion's side by Kil'jaeden in order for him to dispose of Arthas from becoming the Lich King thus making him an Anti-Villain with noble qualities as he seems to have let go of his grudge towards his brother and works with him to save Tyrande whom he is no longer seeking to attract from when he was younger to where he now wants to stop Arthas from plaguing Azeroth with the Scourge. After failing to do so and failing Kil'jaeden, Illidan retreats to Outland where it seems he lost a bit of his sanity to where others saw him as now from his old heroic self into a tyrannical ruler. As of now in Legion he seems to have grown more wise and seems to have tried to project his actions into entirely stopping the Burning Legion once more and showing signs of learning from his experience after sacrificing his freedom for power by destroying Xe'ra who would've changed his destiny that he no longer wants anymore, as he now seeks to do what is right by stopping his enemies without giving up his freedom and being a slave to another magical being.
• Childhood Friend Romance: One-sided version with Tyrande. This was greatly lessened by his banishment.
• The Chosen One:
  • Deconstructed. A lot of Illidan's less than savory actions were because people viewed him as someone destined for greatness and he was trying to seize the power and accolades he felt he deserved as a result. In some ways he was happy when the Burning Legion first invaded, as this seemed like his destiny of being The Hero unfolding.
  • In Legion Gul'dan claims he is chosen to bring about the fall of Azeroth. On the other hand, at least one of the first naaru, by the name of Xe'ra, believes he is destined to be a champion of Light destined to fight the Void, as shown in the Illidan novel. Illidan himself by the events of Legion seems to have finally realized that he was deluding himself into believing he was the only one capable of stopping the Legion and makes this point very clear to Xe'ra via an Eye Beam-fueled demise when she tries to forcibly make him accept the "Champion of Light" destiny.
• Determinator: Sargeras burned his eyes and showed him how hopeless fighting the Burning Legion was. Illidan's reaction was to try even harder.
• Didn't Think This Through: Given his rash nature, quite often. He seems to only see the positive outcomes of his actions and not the negatives that will come with it.
  • It's implied by Malfurion in Frozen Throne and later confirmed in World of Warcraft that using the Eye of Sargeras to destroy Northrend in order to kill Ner'zhul would have caused a massive cataclysm on par with the Shattering as a result of the devastating amounts of flooding that would have occurred worldwide.
  • Essentially admits his "Hide from Kil'jaeden in Outland" plan was this. Kil'jaeden even hangs a lampshade on how silly the idea of hiding from a near-omnipotent demon lord was.
• Disabled Means Helpless: Averted and lampshaded: "I'm blind, not deaf!"
• Disproportionate Retribution: A rarely talked about fact about Illidan's backstory is that he wasn't just imprisoned for creating a new Well of Eternity, he also killed several night elves in a paranoid tantrum after Jarod Shadowsong criticized his actions. Illidan would have been executed if hadn't been for Malfurion pleading for his life and his attack on her brother is what earned him the eternal hatred of Maiev.
• Double Weapon: His iconic warglaives are a pair of curved blades on each end of a hilt.
• Dreamworks Face: Makes one at the end of the intro cinematic for Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne ^note going by the motion of his mouth, despite wearing a blindfold.
• Dual Wielding: Wields two large warglaives.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: A downplayed example, but between helping kill off Kil'jaeden for real and serving as Sargeras's jailer while he's sealed away, he seems to have realized his goal of defeating the Burning Legion, at least for now.
• Evil Is Easy: Perhaps "evil" is stretching it, but part of the reason Illidan chose the arcane over druidism, despite his massive potential for the latter, was because the process of learning was too long with too few benefits gained in the meantime, along with the fact druidism had not become so important to Night Elf society yet. The fact that his brother Malfurion eventually surpassed him in that field and Cenarius himself told him he was better off learning from his brother than himself just further fueled his resentment for it.
• Evil Overlord: In Burning Crusade
• Evil Sounds Deep: His voice gets quite a bit deeper after he absorbs the Skull of Gul'dan and becomes half demon.
• Eye Scream: Sargeras burned away his original eyes, and replaced them with flames that allowed him to better perceive magical auras. We never get to see him without his blindfold, but in the novels his eyes are described as being surrounded by charred flesh and exposed bone. It's so nasty that it grosses Mannoroth out.
• Eyepatch of Power: An entire Blindfold of Power.
• Fallen Hero: Was a hero in the war against the Burning Legion, but his desire to prove himself and jealousy of his brother drove him to join the Legion to destroy it from within. Then he was imprisoned and freed, only to be forced to work for the Legion again in what caused him to Jump Off The Slippery Slope. From then on, he shifts between Anti-Hero and Well-Intentioned Extremist in his efforts to fight the Burning Legion with the public at large, even Malfurion and Tyrande, seeing him as a villain.
• Fatal Flaw: Lack of communication. Illidan often feels misunderstood, when he apparently has plans everyone would agree is for the good of Azeroth. In his opinion, the ends justify the means. His problem is that he doesn't communicate with anyone about his plans, he views that people should blindly follow and trust him. This is what led to him being called "The Betrayer" and what led to his death, as the Legion abused the fact that Illidan looked like a villain to the Azerothian forces. He ultimately lets go of it in the final battle of Antorus.
• Fate Worse than Death: Life imprisonment is already pretty bad, but if you're an immortal...
  • Kil'jaeden threatened Illidan with this after the latter overthrew Magtheridon. Considering what Kil'Jaeden has done to many of his previous pawns, Illidan's assumption of what Kil'Jaeden will do to him qualifies for sure.
  • The reason he's come back from the dead is even moreso, as Maiev trapped his soul in the mortal coil to be actively tortured for all eternity until Gul'dan intervened.
• Fireball Eyeballs: What his eyes were replaced with. This gave him Spectral Sight.
• Flanderization: His desire to destroy the Burning Legion eventually became a full-on obsession. To the point that Illidan didn't mind losing his empire in Outland as long as he had a chance to destroy the Legion (and in fact created the empire in question with the intent of throwing it against the Legion when it was strong enough). Of course, by that point almost everyone and everything else important to him was either dead or seemingly forever beyond his reach due to his stigma as "The Betrayer".
• Foil:
  • To Arthas Menethil. Both were young men who tried to live up to everyone's high expectations of them and ended up cracking under the pressure, both made very morally ambiguous choices in trying to protect their world, distancing themselves from their loved ones as a result, both accepted dark powers in order to accomplish their goals and both are seen as traitors by their own kind. However, Illidan was able to keep himself focused, more or less, on protecting Azeroth from the Legion, while Arthas eventually didn't even try to justify his actions and decided to drown the world in undeath.
  • To his brother, Malfurion. Malfurion never sought greatness but his selfless actions during the War of the Ancient made him a beloved hero and leader. Illidan, on the other hand, was marked for greatness since birth and desperately tried to make the prediction come true, ultimately resulting in him driving away everyone he cared about and becoming known as a hated traitor by his own people. Even Illidan's demonic mutations make him look like twisted version of his brother.
  • To Sargeras himself. Both were given insight to forces that could destroy the universe and both rejected their companions' advice on how to deal with the threats, believing that their plans were the only way to save the universe. They both also sought demonic powers and allies in order to carry out their plans.
  • Also to the Prime Naaru Xe'ra. They both dedicated themselves to the destruction of the Burning Legion and formed a powerful army gathered across the cosmos to do so. For a time, they both also thought their way was the best, if not only, way to do it. They both also tried to force their will on a powerful ally, who repaid them by playing a role in their deaths. Xe'ra considered the defeat of the Legion to be destined, had open communication with her followers and favoured the Light. Illidan on the other hand, didn't think much of destiny, would use any power that he thought would defeat the Legion — even if it meant using the weapons of the enemy and for the longest time did a poor job of keeping his allies or subordinates in the loop.
  • In the end, to his jailer, Maiev. He starts out as the less well-adjusted sibling in a pair and develops a vendetta against an enemy (in Illidan's case, Sargeras and the Legion as a whole, in Maiev's case, him), in which he ruthlessly sacrifices anyone and anything. He ends up doing the same thing to his enemy that Maiev wanted for him — imprison him for all eternity.
• Functional Addict: Illidan is addicted to magic, at first arcane, and later also fel. This addiction played a role in him making a second Well of Eternity, which caused problems until the Dragon Aspects changed and re-purposed it, and also in why he consumed the Skull of Gul'dan rather than just destroying it. Ultimately played with, as though Illidan is a capable fighter who has learned a lot of abilities, it has played a role in Illidan being the He Who Fights Monsters trope.
• Go Mad from the Isolation: When Maiev calls him out on being insane, his reply is something of a Blunt "Yes": "Isolation will do that to the mind." If only the other night elves understood that, a lot of tragedy could have been averted.
• Go Mad from the Revelation: This might have been the intent when Sargeras burnt out Illidan's eyes, as Illidan was granted a vision of the true extent of the Legion. Instead, it backfired, strengthening Illidan's resolve and creating not only one of the biggest foes of the Legion, but the one to ultimately get the pieces in place to stop them once and for all.
• Handicapped Badass: He can't see thanks to the Vision of Sargeras yet he's able to sense and feel power thanks to it. In fact, he's stronger blind than he was before. Eventually retconned.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: Chronicle revealed that Illidan originally did plan on betraying the night elves to the demons in exchange for power, but changed his mind after Sargeras showed him the true might and horror of Burning Legion. Since then, Illidan's actions and allegiances have always been based around what could best help him defeat the Legion.
• Hero Antagonist: In The Frozen Throne Scourge campaign. The game through it's main three campaigns shows Illidan from the villainous angle (towards Maiev, his jailer who he understandably despises) and then the Anti-Hero angle when it is revealed he was trying to destroy the Lich King (in an extreme and stupid manner by trying to destroy the entire Northern continent) and is willing to risk his life to save Tyrande from the Scourge. The Blood Elf campaign then gives him a more straightforward The Hero angle for Kael'thas as an inspirational figure who understands his pain and saves Outland and the broken draenei from the brutal Magtheridon. When he finally attacks Northrend, the narrative has shown him to be a far better person than Arthas and when they face off The Bad Guy Wins.
• Heroic Wannabe: Wants so bad to be the Hero everyone praises and the center of attention, the all-powerful vanquishing hero that saves the day and gets the girl. The fact that Malfurion gets the girl and he gets thrown in a dungeon, then banished, and beaten by someone he thought "beneath" him breaks his psyche completely and he becomes bitter and a little mad, determined in his cursed state to get back at the ones who started it all: The Burning Legion.
• He Who Fights Monsters: The risk taken by all Demon Hunters, he succumbed rather quickly... Then it got worse.
• Hijacked by Ganon: Despite appearing first appearing late in Reign of Chaos, he's shown entirely as an Anti-Hero. In The Frozen Throne, Illidan seems to be Big Bad for most of the Night Elf campaign, but the Undead Scourge, the villains of the very first campaign of the previous game, are the last enemies of the campaign that Illidan himself has to fight with his brother. Ner'zhul and his Scourge remain the Big Bad for the rest of the game.
• His Own Worst Enemy: Considering Illidan's actions and refusal to tell anyone what he is actually doing...
• History Repeats: Illidan created a second Well of Eternity right after the night elves fought a world shattering war that was caused by the first one. Ten thousand years later, after the world fought tooth and nail to close the Legion portal in the Broken Isles, Illidan would tear a huge portal over Azeroth that directly led to the Legion homeworld of Argus.
• Hopeless Suitor: To Tyrande. Not that he has ever stopped trying even after knowing that she only has eyes for his brother. One of the sure-fire ways to get Illidan on your side (apart from magic for his addiction) is to promise that your plan will help/impress Tyrande. He stops around the time of his banishment into Outland. He fully accepts it in as revealed in his final message to Tyrande after liberating Argus, having finally come to grips with which brother Tyrande's love belongs to.
• Horns of Villainy: Part of his physical transformation as a half-demon involved growing long, curved horns from his forehead.
• Hypocrite: Illidan mocks Velen for fleeing the Legion and says the deaths of his followers are on his hands. Not only has Illidan's actions in the past resulted in the deaths of many of his own followers but he spent years hiding from Kil'Jaeden in Outland.
• Ineffectual Loner: One of Illidan's biggest problems is his belief that he and he alone knows how best to combat the Legion, causing him to drive away or ignore potential allies. His attempt to go it alone, create his own empire and challenge the Legion on his terms in Burning Crusade quickly falls apart, as people are unaware of his greater plans (which even his followers have serious doubts about) and he's taken out as just another petty, demonic tyrant. When he teams up with Velen, the Army of the Light, and most importantly the adventurers in Legion, he makes considerably more progess.
• Inhuman Eye Concealers: When Sargeras granted Illidan his spectral eyes, he seared out his organic eyes with felfire to do it. Now his "eyes" are balls of magic fire and the flesh around them is burned and exposes bone in patches. For the sake of other people's comfort, Illidan wears a simple blindfold over his eyes to hide the damage, though he can see perfectly fine with or without the obstruction.
• Irony: Those Supernatural Gold Eyes of his that meant he was destined for greatness? They were a sign of latent druidic potential. The same druidism he shunned because he felt it wouldn't lead him to his great destiny.
  • Illidan spent a long time being pursued by Maiev, who sought to put him back in his prison and hold him there for all eternity. He ends up imprisoning and guarding his own nemesis, Sargeras.
  • Illidan killing Xe'ra comes across as this given what he did to Akama in Outland (see above).
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Implied at least. In his final message to Malfurion and Tyrande, he tells Tyrande that, even if he will always love her, she made the right choice in choosing his brother over him.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Let's just say that he did not take his defeat by Arthas, and the subsequent realization that Kil'jaeden will want to punish him for his failure, very well. At all.
• Killed Off for Real: Up until Legion. Due to his nature as a demon, his soul was trapped in the Twisted Nether, leaving his body imprisoned by the Wardens. Alternate Gul'dan would later revive him.
• Large Ham: When Liam O'Brien is the one voicing him. Besides the memetic "YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!", there's also pretty much every line he says in the Well of Eternity dungeon. Especially "I will be the savior of our PEOPLE! I WILL FULFILL MY DESTINYYY!"
• Leitmotif: Illidan's scenes in Legion are often accompanied with a set of brass chords.
  • Bootstrapped Leitmotif: Said leitmotif was originally part of the Black Temple music in The Burning Crusade. Zig-zagged because Illidan's actual original leitmotif was later tied to the Temple itself in Warlords of Draenor
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Illidan may be flawed, but the Scourge and the Burning Legion seek to end all life on Azeroth.
• Love Triangle: Part of this with Tyrande, although really he never had a chance. He likes to think he has a chance, but this only worsens his sanity.
• Magic Knight: Required to be a demon hunter.
• Meet the New Boss: Why he had so many enemies in Outland. His actions as Lord of Outland seemed basically identical to the previous Legion overlords unless you were part of a very select group of people.
• Mr. Fanservice: Half-elf, half-demon, blindfolded, muscular, perpetually shirtless, purple-skinned, winged, clawed, horned, tattooed, definitely interpretable as a woobie.
• Moral Myopia:
  • This guy uses the Legion's power to protect Azeroth, but is often as destructive as they are. One novice Demon Hunter asks whether they're any better than the Legion, and his way of responding is merely "the ends justify the means."
  • Also see the examples listed under Hypocrite above.
• Never My Fault: Though Illidan has sometimes acknowledged when he is to blame, he does have his moments of playing this trope straight. Such as his refusal to admit that his own actions is what turns Akama against him and his Protagonist-Centered Morality (see below).
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: His killing of Xe'ra, at least according to Turalyon, Velen and the Vindicaar.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: A bit of a stretch, given his apparent madness and lust for recognition, but Illidan's entire life before fleeing to the Outland can be read as this. His repeated (and just relatively successful) attempts at heroism simply don't seem heroic enough for anyone to appreciate them, and so he is ignored, shunned, imprisoned and finally banished despite never actually intending to hurt his friends or allies. He goes off the deep end when exiled, but until then the only unambiguously irredeemable thing he ever does is in a fit of frustration and anger when said allies seemingly prevent him from saving them in the long run. Even after fleeing Outland, he saved the Azerothian forces, that entered the Dark Portal, from an ambush. They thanked him by killing his hard-built army, destroying his holdings and eventually killing him. Granted, they never learned of the planned ambush and were tricked by the Legion to attack Illidan.
• Nominal Hero: Illidan ultimately cares most about destroying the Burning Legion. This often puts him on the side of the heroes, and at least puts him against many of the true villains. Yet Illidan has also often deemed his plans justified, no matter what the consequences or anyone else says. While he has tried to be heroic, he has also shunned good advice and for all his talk of sacrifice refuses to follow anyone else's authority (save when he was learning Druidism under Cenarius, which was hampered by his impatience and unwillingness to learn, and during the beginning of the War of the Ancients when he served under Lord Ravencrest). His tendency towards unilateral decisions led him to join the Burning Legion as a double agent without telling anyone (leading many to, mistakenly yet understandably, think he had turned evil), make another Well of Eternity after the trouble the first one caused, do Kil'jaeden's dirty work and then try to use the Burning Legion's resources against them without keeping all of his allies in the loop. Even after he concedes that he can't defeat the Burning Legion alone, he's still dismissive of the solutions and powers of others culminating in him causing dissent among the Army of the Light by killing it's leader Xe'ra because he disagreed with her plan to empower him.
• No Place for Me There: After the Legion is defeated for good, Illidan decides to spend the rest of his days as Sargeras' jailor rather than return to Azeroth, since he feels that, even if it's what he fought for all his life, a world no longer threatened by demons has no need of demon hunters.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Downplayed, but a part of Illidan's character, especially early on in his life, is that he is entirely willing to take extreme actions in pursuit of noble ends, because he considers it his destiny to be The Hero and craves his rightful esteem. Ironically, when he goes more fully into his extremism he also becomes more genuinely well intentioned and stops craving being hailed as a hero.
• Odd Friendship: With Velen in Legion's "Shadow of Argus" as he is a Fel-infused Demon Hunter and the other is a Light-infused holy prophet. They spend the entire campaign in Argus verbally quipping at each other about their life choices, but by the end when Illidan decides to stay behind, they both genuinely smile at each other and give each other a nod of approval.
• One-Man Army: In Warcraft III: Frozen throne, due to the items that Illidan obtains in the Night-elf and human campaigns, he can become this, to the point of being able to defeat Magtheridon in a one-on-one duel.
• Pet the Dog:
  • His rescue of Tyrande in "The Frozen Throne" and his promise to always look out for her, no matter what, shortly before he fled to Outland.
  • Before he lost what little sanity he had, his interactions with Kael'thas made it clear he wanted to help the young prince and his people.
  • Despite initially arguing with him and being callous about Velen's faith in the Light, he does actually make peace with Velen (in fact Velen's the one to say the final goodbye to him).
• Poor Communication Kills: Illidan is really bad at getting his point across to others.
  • Warcraft III: The magic he was using to try and destroy the Frozen Throne almost tore Northrend apart, so naturally his brother attempted to stop him. Granted he was only doing it because Kil'jaeden ordered him to do so and nobody at the time knew that killing the Lich King would have made the Scourge go wild, he may have at least gotten some sort of aid his methods didn't involve blowing up a continent.
  • War of the Ancients, Illidan worked as a double agent, pretending to join Legion then use the Dragon Soul to destroy the Legion's portal. Only he told absolutely nobody this, and given his previous actions, everyone just assumed he went rogue.
  • Burning Crusade and the Illidan novel: Perhaps in an attempt to justify exactly why Illidan became a raid boss.
    • It turns out that Illidan had promised the Black Temple to Akama after defeating Magtheridon and later after he finishes his work on Outland. However, he kept changing the terms of the agreement and further corrupted the Black Temple, leading Akama to believe he had no intention of honoring their agreement. Leading to his Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal. To deal with this instead of actually explaining his plans, Illidan broke his soul, creating the Shade of Akama and used it to bind him, and the Ashtongue to his cause.
    • During the Expansion, the Sha'tar, Alliance, and Horde saw Illidan at work creating the Fel Horde, enslaving Broken, and draining Zangarmarsh. Before the forces of Azeroth even got to Outland, Shattrath was attacked by blood elves, supposedly at Illidan's command. What Illidan was actually doing was preparing his forces on Outland to invade Argus and stop the Legion at its source. He just didn't tell anybody, completely missed the fact that Kael'thas turned traitor, which is what got the people of Outland against him in the first place.
    • Finally, when Black Temple is actively being assaulted, Illidan sends his demon hunters away on a mission and waits to fight the raiders. He also just monologues about himself and Akama instead of explaining his plan to Akama or the raiders.
  • Even in Legion, this continues. His argument about having The Chosen Many rather than The Chosen One could've been better received if he'd explained it sooner and avoided killing Xe'ra.
• Power Tattoo: Given to him, along with his Spectral Sight, which increased his powers.
• Protagonist-Centered Morality: Sees himself as the protagonist and has one of these. Of course, given he's a mana-snorting power-hungry half-demon stalker with a fragile ego and 13 eggs short of a dozen, all he ends up as is a sideshow to his own expansion that's killed off to make way for more important events, and much later he's brought back only for his body to be stolen by Gul'dan for some purpose while his spirit is running from the Burning Legion.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: YOU! ARE NOT! PREPARED!!
• The Punishment: Illidan was sentenced to life imprisonment for making a second Well of Eternity and his seeming duplicity in serving the Burning Legion. However he has only grown worse due to his ten-thousand year long incarceration, not better as his kindhearted brother naively hoped.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Illidan gives one to Velen and one to Turalyon.
  • He berates Velen for always listening to the Naaru and never taking a stand against the Legion when he should've. He even points out just how much Velen lost by listening to the Naaru from his closest friends, a large chunk of his people, and down to his wife and son and asks how that has worked out for him. This speech actually makes Velen question whether he was doing what was best for his people or just what the Naaru wanted.
  • Turalyon gets the worst of it, Illidan berates Turalyon for his blind faith in the Light, Naaru, and his inability to look outside the box. He even brings up how obsessed Turalyon was with the prophecy of the chosen one and how he fell apart after Illidan refused the gift of Xe'ra exposing how dependent Turalyon is to his faith, though the fact that Illidan also killed Xe'ra contributed to Turalyon's dismay and outrage.
• Refusal of the Call: He refuses Xe'ra's offer to become the prophesied The Chosen One and kills her when she tries to forcibly endue him with her power. He then states that the Legion is too great a threat for everyone to rely on a single person and that it needs to be up to the The Chosen Many instead.
• Retcon:
  • The Illidan novel and the Legion expansion go above and beyond to paint Illidan as an Unscrupulous Hero rather than the tyrannical maniac encountered in the Burning Crusade. The changes has included getting rid of his more insane moments like him claiming to have defeated Arthas, showing new scenes of his life to better explain his motives, and giving old scenes new context, all to make him look more sympathetic and heroic. However, it should be emphasized that the insane tyrant he was in Burning Crusade was a shift from his anti-hero status in Warcraft III and much maligned by the fanbase, and Legion has put him more in line with how he was before then, though some would argue it went too far in the other direction.
  • While how much Illidan deserves his reputation in the current canon is arguable, in the original, Warcraft III account of the War of the Ancients his betrayal was undeniable. There, he sold out his brother and night elf rebellion to Azshara out of pettiness and his lust for power.
• Screw Destiny: Or rather "screw the destiny you decided for me." Illidan does believe he has a great destiny, having been told as such in his formative years due to his golden eyes, but in 7.3 he rejects the "child of Light and Shadow" destiny Xe'ra had been insisting was his the entire expansion. Even earlier in his novel he thought that the idea of him being a holy warrior wielding the Light wasn't who he was.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Hasn't been seen to have romantic feelings for anyone else other than Tyrande.
• Status Buff: In the final battle against Kil'Jaeden, Illidan share his sightless vision with the adventurers.
• Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome
  • Served as the main antagonist of the first expansion, though not the final boss. Apparently after being beaten by Arthas he went all crazy and doubled down on oppressing Outland. A later novel justifies this as being more down to his personality flaws than intentional malice.
  • Inverted in Legion, which greatly downplays how incredibly selfish and even cowardly he often is. In his original characterization he consumed the Skull of Gul'dan just because he wanted more power and no one was there to stop him and later agreed to serve Kil'jaeden in order to save his own skin, damn the consequences to Azeroth. Come Legion, now he's a flawed but brave total enemy of the Legion and absolutely not someone that just craves power and would kneel before them to save himself, no sir.
• Supernatural Gold Eyes: When he still had eyes, at least. He was born with golden eyes, which among the Night Elves are considered a sign of great destiny. The desire to live up to this destiny is partially how Illidan became so recklessly ambitious in the first place. Ironically, golden eyes are actually a sign of druidic potential. Illidan was initially trained by Cenarius together with Malfurion (who had silver eyes at that time, which later turned golden), but wasn't satisfied with the slow progress and picked up arcane magic, for which he also had great potential. Heroes of the Storm actually gave him a skin, where in an Alternate Universe Illidan became a druid and the leader of the night elves, and Malfurion became the Betrayer.
• The Trickster: Neither good nor evil during Warcraft 3 and much of World of Warcraft. Managed to deceive demon lords and to use their powers for himself (Vision of Sargeras, for example). He was very inventive, too — the first demon hunter, using the powers of his enemies against them. His "gift" for his people (the Well of Eternity and therefore arcane magic) and his hard punishment remind slightly of the Titan Prometheus. Like fire, the arcane can lead to high cultural advantages (the magical kingdom of Quel'thalas was often admired by the mages of Dalaran), but also heavy destruction. For the Night Elves, the arcane belongs to the universe, but is far too chaotic to be controlled — a "don't play with the fire"-attitude.
• Token Evil Teammate: As of the 7.2 upgrade, he's one of many leaders who ally against the Legion, and he is, by far, the nastiest, directing the player to strike with utter lack of mercy.
  • Best exemplified in 7.3: Despite being accompanied almost entirely by priests, paladins, and holy warriors, he starts the patch by showing open disdain for Velen's faith in the Light. He's one of only two people on the Vindicaar using Black Magic. When Xe'ra attempts to forcibly empower him with the Light instead, he emanates an aura of darkness and he obliterates her in his refusal.
• Undying Loyalty: For what it's worth, he actually did instill loyalty in demons, who he freed from fel corruption, fel orcs, naga and a not-ignorable part of Kael's forces when Kael turned his cloak. His demon hunters, thanks to sharing a part of the vision Illidan saw and going through a similar process like him, have a deep understanding of Illidan and thus trust him as much as he trusts them.
• Villain Protagonist: Illidan was a protagonist in the Night Elves and Blood Elves campaign of Warcraft III and has been the villain in a few situations (such as the Scourge campaign and the Burning Crusade expansion). The player also assumes his role (or rather, conducts his story from the player's point of view) in one Legion storyline.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Most Demon Hunters seem to have a good opinion of him.
• Voice of the Legion: as Xe'ra tried to force the Light onto him, Illidan's voice briefly gains a demonic echo as he rejected it and killed her.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: Sure most demon hunters are, but since he got those wings on his back, he can't wear a shirt anymore.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: The most charitable reading of his actions. He believes so, and that the only difference between his demon hunters and the Legion is that while the Legion will stop at nothing to destroy Azeroth, they will stop at nothing to defend it.
• Wild Card: He will do anything to destroy the Legion, but he'll do it his own way; his extremist behavior and inability to communicate his plans before acting on them is a large part of why he's thoroughly distrusted by just about everyone. The last thing anybody was expecting when he got to Argus — the homeworld of his enemy — was for him to obliterate the leader of the Army of the Light within hours of his arrival.
• Winged Humanoid: One of many demonic features he gained was fiendish wings.
• You Are Not Ready: "YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!" Ahem. But he did just say it in the beginning of the trailer, a few times when you fight him, and it has since become his Catchphrase.
  • Subverted Catchphrase: in this cinematic, he is inspired to reverse it.
• You Can't Go Home Again: After the War of the Ancients, Illidan was seen as a criminal and danger to Night Elf society, and his absorption of the Skull of Gul'dan's power and Malfurion's banishment of him only cemented that he would likely never again be welcomed among his people or lands.
  • Ultimately happens again in Legion; realizing that he can't live in a world where his purpose is fulfilled he agrees to stay behind as Sargeras's jailer in the Seat of the Pantheon.

The Slayer

The Slayer

Class:Demon Hunter

The Slayer is a Demon Hunter who became the new leader of Illidan's forces after Illidan's death.

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• The Alleged Boss: In gameplay at least. Despite being the new leader of the Illidari, s/he is constantly shown taking orders from the guys who are supposed to be his/her subordinates.
• Ambiguous Gender: Since the Slayer's gender is chosen by the player, it's kept ambiguous in the lore.
• Anti-Hero: Like Illidan, the Slayer uses demonic powers to fight Legion.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The new leader of Illidan's forces and the most powerful demon hunter, second only to Illidan.
• The Dragon: The Slayer was Illidan's lieutenant and was tasked with leading the attack on Mardum, while Illidan was busy fighting the adventurers.
• Dragon Ascendant: The Slayer becomes the new leader after Illidan's death.
• Enemy Mine: The Slayer teams up with Maiev to stop the invading demons.
• Remember the New Guy?: The Slayer was one of Illidan's main commanders, which indicates that s/he rivaled Kael and Vashj in importance, in the actual storyline s/he was only introduced in Legion.
• Resurrective Immortality: Unlike the other playable characters, who're able to come back from the dead mainly for gameplay reasons, this is a power the Slayer possesses within the lore, thanks to their demonically infused soul.

The sub-leaders

Kael'thas Sunstrider

Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider

The Sun King

Class: Mage

Voiced by: Quinton Flynn (English), Dmitry Polonsky (Russian)

"You may not care for your subjects, but I care for mine. I have lost far, far too much in dealing with humans. I stand only for the elves now - for the sin'dorei. The children of the blood."

The son of King Anasterian Sunstrider, Prince Kael'thas took over leadership of the High Elves after their defeat at the Sunwell at the hands of Arthas and the Scourge. At this time, the High Elves were just learning the true price of their magic addiction; deprived of the Sunwell's energies, they grew lethargic and desperate. Kael'thas promised to find a way to cure the malady, but in the meantime he formed an allegiance with Illidan Stormrage as the latter promised to satiate the Elves' hunger by harnessing the energies of demons themselves. Renaming his people Blood Elves, Kael'thas left them and entered Outland in search of the power to finally cure his people once and for all.

His obsession with power led Kael'thas to side directly with Kil'jaeden the Deceiver, the last undefeated Eredar lord of the Burning Legion. Abandoning Illidan as a lost cause, Kael'thas entered the recently arrived Naaru Dimensional Ship, the Tempest Keep, and began harnessing the magical energy of Outland toward unknown purposes. In the meantime, he sent forces to attack and destroy the rebuilt city of Shattrath, home to the power of the Naaru. These forces betrayed him and formed the Scryers.

Under the leadership of the Naaru, the Scryers and Aldor (remnants of the Draenei) eventually drove Kael'thas out of Tempest Keep. However, his plans were not yet undone. Now wholly insane, Kael'thas returned in secret to Quel'thalas and used the power he had gathered in Outland to rebuild the Sunwell, with the objective of summoning Kil'jaeden into Azeroth. Had he succeeded, Azeroth may well have been destroyed, but Kael'thas never lived to see Kil'jaeden's defeat, as he was finally killed by a group of heroes who hunted him down in his final refuge within the Magister's Terrace.

He is set to return in the Shadowlands expansion; players will encounter him in Revendreth, the Warcraft universe equivalent of purgatory, atoning for his past sins.

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• Addictive Magic: One of the worst examples of what happens when this gets taken too far, he cares more for sating his, and his people's addiction than anything else, and it costs him his sanity.
• Anti-Gravity Clothing: He has three green orbs floating around him called Verdant Spheres and players can loot one for themselves after beating him.
• The Archmage: He was part of The Six in Dalaran from some time before the Third War, leaving shortly before the Scourge sieged Dalaran.
• Aristocrats Are Evil: While Evil and a Prince he cared too much for his dad to be an Evil Prince, as referenced in Arthas.
• Ascended Meme: Part of his long speech from the beginning of his fight in Magisters' Terrace has spawn a joke among the player about the potential return of raid bosses/deceased characters, to the point where it become a utterance and running gag that several characters using the quote.
  "Don’t look so smug! I know what you’re thinking, but Tempest Keep was merely a setback."
• Badass Boast: In Arthas when he faces down against the Lich King's chosen during the final battle at Icecrown wielding his father's reforged blade and Arthas claims he's a fool to wield a sword he's broken once already.
  "...not elven weapons. Not when they are reforged with magic, and hatred, and a burning need for revenge. No, Arthas. Felo'melorn is stronger than ever-as am I."
• Better Living Through Evil: The essence of his Face–Heel Turn to the Burning Legion. Illidan wasn't fulfilling his promise to help with his people's magic addiction fast enough for Kael'thas' liking while the Burning Legion was there offering the quick fix of fel magic.
• Blood Magic: Apparently switches from fel magic to this in the afterlife, with his orbs becoming now crimson instead of green, becoming a literal example of a blood mage.
  • Averted. The red magic he uses now is the Anima produced by souls in Revendreth. Considering he was already a powerful soul before Denathrius started meddling, his new crimson orbs are likely made of the same substance.
• The Caligula: By the end of the Burning Crusade, Kael'thas had run the name Sunstrider into the ground.
• Calling Your Attacks: "Anara'nel belore!", "By the power of the sun!", "Vengeance burns!", "Velomin ashal!", "I'll turn your world upside down!"
• Came Back Wrong: Once he was slain by the Horde, Kil'jaeden had his forces retrieve the body for him to resurrect. By then, most of Kael'thas's sanity had eroded away, leaving only a mindless follower for the Deceiver. His body appears withered and ashen like a corpse.
  • Once again, in Revendreth, where he looks more like a Darkfallen prince, though in this case he at least looks like himself, albeit with white hair, Icy Blue Eyes, and dressed in red and black robes.
• Cool Sword: Briefly wielded his father's reforged sword Felo'melorn ("Flamestrike" in Common) against Arthas in Northrend. To Arthas's surprise, compared to when he shattered it the first time, it's been reforged strong enough to match Frostmourne multiple times in combat, and even when Kael'thas flees it remains in Icecrown to eventually be recovered in Legion as the Artifact Weapon of the Fire Mages.
• Decoy Protagonist: In the Blood Elves campaign in Frozen Throne — once Kael and Vashj reach Outland, Illidan takes over as the most important character.
• Degraded Boss: From the third most difficult raid boss in Burning Crusade to a 5-man dungeon boss in the Sunwell patch. His abilities in that dungeon are even a toned down version of his raid boss abilities.
• Demoted to Extra:
  • Doesn't even appear in the Illidan novel and is only mentioned.
  • In Frozen Throne, his focus is put aside in favour of Illidan during his own campaign. By the invasion of Northrend, Kael is merely a Mook to the undead's point of view, merely being in Illidan's way.
• The Dragon: To Illidan at first, and then he betrayed him and became Kil'Jaeden's dragon.
• Dragon with an Agenda: During Burning Crusade, Kael'thas was preparing a gateway for the Burning Legion to invade Outland and Azeroth while Illidan was completely unaware.
• Driven to Villainy: He probably wouldn't have jumped off the slippery slope had Garithos not pushed him. All he wanted to do was serve the Alliance and claim vengeance upon the Scourge; his dark descent only began after he and his people were nearly executed and exiled to Outland.
• The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: Thanks to the corrupting influence of fel energy, he abandoned any pretense of saving his people and started down a path of destruction; In fact he ultimately signs on with the same guys who GAVE THE ORDER to destroy Quel'thalas (albeit who are now enemies with Arthas, who actually did it to resurrect Kel'Thuzad).
• Evil Feels Good: Prolonged exposure to Fel magic ultimately does this to anyone, but when you need magic to survive, it drove Kael'thas head long into the Legion's service.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: It's not entirely clear if he's assisting Kil'jaeden because he wants to harness his power or if he's completely nuts and has turned into an Omnicidal Maniac.
• Face–Heel Turn: Experienced an infamous one during Burning Crusade. In The Frozen Throne, he was often the Only Sane Man and Token Good Teammate in Illidan's Ragtag Bunch of Misfits. In Burning Crusade, he ends up becoming The Mole for the Burning Legion and goes off the deep end. It was to the point where, like Illidan, Blizzard admitted to ruining his character. Unlike Illidan, they decided that they missed their chance to fix it since his time spent evil already involved bringing him back. The Shadowlands expansion, being set in the afterlife, is set to bring him back so time will tell if his redemption is truly no longer possible.
• Fallen Hero: In a manner not so dissimilar from Arthas himself, ironic given his hatred for the man. Like Arthas, for all his personal faults he genuinely wanted what was best for his people and was willing to go to any lengths to save them. The undead Scourge ultimately attacked his kingdom, and in his desperation he sought darker and more insidious powers until he became the antithesis of everything he once stood for, hated even by his own people.
• Fantastic Racism: He took an issue with the human, Nathanos Marris being admitted to the Farstriders, and even sent a letter to demanding Sylvanas to dismiss him from the corps. Oddly enough, he has no issue working with the Night Elves or taking orders from a human Grand Marshal like Garithos. Although, his opposition against Nathanos may be personal as he was rumored to seek Sylvanas's hand in marriage, and he cannot outright disrespect Garithos, who was his superior.
• Fate Worse than Death: After his death he was cast to Revendreth where the Venthyr promptly set on him for the incredible amount of pride he had. Unfortunately as Denathrius began to act on his Face–Heel Turn and cause the anima drought, he also began to load up Kael'thas on Sins that weren't his so his arrogance and pride amplified the anima he generated. It's not until the players topple Denathrius that Kael'thas can finally enter Revendreth as intended (which is to say, still quite horrible, but with the silver lining of eventual redemption).
• Fatal Flaw: Arrogance. Kael'thas comes from the ruling bloodline of the High Elves, the former Highborn of the once arrogant Night Elves. Magic was his birthright and he held great esteem. But that arrogance made him callous in places and drove people like Jaina away from him. In his arrogant need for a fix for his addiction immediately, he became a thrall to Kil'jaeden and damned many of his fellow Blood Elves to fel corruption. In Shadowlands as his sins are being judged in Revendreth, the Accuser deems that most of his terrible crimes stem from his arrogance. It nearly gets him cast into the Maw as he had to be dragged kicking and screaming into giving up his anima(and the power it grants) to start fresh.
• Forgot About His Powers: Apparently a simple river can stop a Blood Elf magister.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: When he's reporting missing in the Illidan novel, Illidan doesn't care, Akama thinks it's a good thing and while we don't see Lady Vashj's view on it she isn't raising a fuss over it.
• General Failure: The least tactically competent of all the player characters in Warcraft III, he mostly relies on others even when he's perfectly capable of doing things himself.
• Heel–Face Turn: Is being forced into this by the Venthyr in Shadowlands, on pain of eternal damnation if he doesn't clean up his act.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Again, he's basically the elven version of Arthas, falling deeper into darkness to "save" his people until he ultimately betrayed them for their destruction. Then again Arthas had lost his soul and was partially brainwashed by the Lich King, and when his soul returned he showed remorse, while Kael's last words were screaming that the world would burn.
• I Did What I Had to Do: The "Fall of the Sunwell" scenario in Tides of Vengeance reveals that he was the one to destroy the Sunwell, as its waters had been corrupted beyond salvation due to Arthas using the Sunwell to resurrect Kel'Thuzad as a lich. Said corruption would have corrupted the blood elves as well had they remained linked to its magic.
• Irony: Kael'thas was one of the few high elves who wasn't an Ungrateful Bastard and Fair-Weather Friend. He remained in Dalaran even after his father abandoned the Alliance, and the first thing he did after coming into power was reaffirm his nation's ties with it on the grounds of personal loyalty and duty. The Fantastic Racism directed at Kael'thas was fuelled by the high elves' poor conduct during the Second War — and Kael'thas himself was one of the few elves who had done nothing to earn it.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: See, this is what Fel Magic does to you, kids.
• Large Ham: Can he ever stop talking? He even manage a Nothing Can Stop Us Now! speech in his dying breath. And he's voiced by Quinton Flynn.
  Kael'thas: This is preposterous! Am I to assault the undead with nothing but sticks and harsh language?
• Laser-Guided Karma: In the Arthas novel, Kael berates the orcs, calling them fools for trusting demons and becoming addicted to fel magic and thus had no desire to help them. Years later, Kael would do both things, and unlike the orcs, he was not redeemed.
• Light Is Not Good: He and his faction are heavily lightbased and many, himself included, have the word "Sun" in their name. They're often dressed in bright garments too, but they've turned into magic leeching demon associates by the time of "The Burning Crusade" .
• Love Triangle: Part of a love triangle with Jaina and Arthas. He ultimately loses out, but considering what happened to Arthas maybe she would have been better off with him...
• Marathon Boss: In Tempest Keep, he sends four advisers after the raid one at a time, then a group of magical weapons, and then sends all four advisers in at once before he even engages the raid himself.
• Mayfly–December Romance: The reason he did not approach the drastically younger Jaina Proudmoore with romantic intentions at first — the differences in age making their friendship rather awkward. By the time he gained his resolve, she had already fallen in love with Arthas.
• Mirror Character: For Arthas. Both were driven by vengeance to make bargains with evil, and both jumped off the slippery slope as a result.
• Not Quite Dead: "Tempest Keep was merely a setback!" Memetic Mutation aside, he's revealed as alive right after you turn in the quest item you get from looting him, and you're also told that he was saved by one of the Legion's priestesses.
• Old Shame: To the blood elves after the public revelation of his turn to the Burning Legion; the leader of the Reliquary names the continued presence of Kael'thas's statues in Silvermoon City among the reasons for both the Alliance and Horde allegedly looking down on the blood elves.
• The One That Got Away: Jaina was this to him.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Devolves into this.
• Playing with Fire: Vengeance burns!
• Purgatory and Limbo: For is misdeeds in life, he was sent to the penance realm of Revendreth in the Shadowlands. He is one of the major characters who interacts with players in that zone.
• Rebel Prince: It's implied he was this in the backstory, preferring to pal around with his friends in Dalaran than embrace his responsibilities as heir to Quel'Thalas. He tries to step up as the Wise Prince, but...
• Reforged Blade: His father Anasterian's runeblade, Felo'melorn, was shattered by Frostmourne with a single hit during the fall of Quel'Thalas, but Kael'thas had it reforged in order to battle Arthas in Northrend. Arthas lampshades this trope and notes the blade would be weaker and even easier to break, but Kael'thas smugly counters that while human blades might, elven blades don't, and proceeds to prove it by repeatedly clashing with Arthas without fear.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: He always disliked Arthas for stealing Jaina away from him, but having his kingdom fall to the undead and his father killed by the death knight made it personal. Shown in special detail during the Arthas novel, where he directly engages Arthas in a duel and they both take turns sniping at each other while trying to take the other's head. The narration makes it clear he's burning with anger and hatred. During the Venthyr covenant campaign in Shadowlands, he's practically chomping at the bit to get vengeance for the corruption of the Sunwell when it turns out none other than Kel'Thuzad is behind the conspiracy between Maldraxxus and Revendreth.
  • After his death and confinement in Revendreth, he's still looking for revenge against someone from his past.
• Sequential Boss: Both in Tempest Keep AND Magister's Terrace.
• Sycophantic Servant: To Kil'jaeden during the Sunwell events.
• Token Evil Teammate: Kael'thas was this to the Illidan's forces and that's saying a lot, considering that Illidan's forces included demons.
• Tragic Hero: He and his people were very unjustly treated during the Third War. In the end, all he wanted was his people's safety.
• Tragic Villain: Until his first death in Tempest Keep. After his resurrection, he discards this completely.
• Tranquil Fury: When he and Arthas face off at long last in Arthas, it's clear that Kael'thas despises him with every ounce of his being for what he did to his people and his country, but he keeps a powerful lid on it and goes out his way to match Arthas snark with his own, and in fact it's Arthas who loses his cool first (though he still doesn't win, props for that much).
• Undying Loyalty: Before Jumping Off the Slippery Slope, Kael'thas was very loyal to not only Quel'thalas, but also the Kingdom of Dalaran. Even after his father Anasterian ungratefully withdraws from the Alliance, Kael'thas stays in Dalaran as part of The Six. It took Quel'thalas being devastated for him to leave Dalaran, and even then, one of his first moves after rallying the now-blood elves was to join the Alliance in order to retake Dalaran. It's only after Garithos decides to have them executed for Kael'thas making decisions Garithos all but forced him to take that he leaves Dalaran for good.
• We Can Rebuild Him: Fantasy version. He wasn't quite dead after Tempest Keep, and Priestess Delrissa managed to save him by shoving a large fel crystal in his chest. It's what's keeping him alive in Magister's Terrace. Though maybe rebuilt wrong...
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Before becoming an Omnicidal Maniac.
• The Wise Prince: In the first half of The Frozen Throne (although understandably a bit grumpy).

Lady Vashj

Lady Vashj

Coilfang Matron

Class: Sea Witch

Voiced by: Barbara Goodson (English), Olga Kuznetsova (Russian/Warcraft III), Daria Frolova (Russian/World of Warcraft)

"Soon we will reclaim the surface world and take vengeance upon the Night Elves."

Vashj was the handmaiden of Queen Azshara prior to the War of the Ancients. Loyal to the Queen to the point of obsession, she attempted to assassinate Tyrande Whisperwind when she considered making her the new handmaiden. She was, along with the rest of the Highborne, transformed into a naga by the Old Gods when the Sundering caused a great part of Kalimdor to become submerged by the sea.

Ten thousand years later, a period she seems to have spent training her combat skills, she resurfaced as the leader of the naga Illidan summoned as allies. When his plan to destroy Icecrown with a spell failed, she assisted Kael'thas Sunstrider by supporting him with boats and troops, and, when this got him arrested by Garithos, rescued him and recruited him to her cause. The pair then departed to the shattered world of Draenor, where they rescued Illidan from Maiev Shadowsong, who had traced him there, and helped him defeat Magtheridon and gain control over most of the planet. When Kil'Jaeden tracked them down and demanded Illidan to attack the Frozen Throne, she and Kael readily joined him, and, unlike Kael, remained completely loyal after their defeat. She and her troops have since then seemingly focused on draining the waters of Zangarmarsh, storing it in the deepest part of her base for some unknown purpose.

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• A Form You Are Comfortable With: Despite her soul being "purified" upon arriving the Shadowlands, Vashj chose to have the Necrolords rebuild her body as her naga version rather than a more humanoid body that emulated her Highborne form. If you ask her about this, she tells you that it's a matter of her history and her pride; as Vashj the Elf, she was simply a pretty trophy handmaiden sitting on Azshara's shelf, while as Vashj the Naga, she was a powerful and legendary general with several millennia of victories for her people and was her Queen's second in command by having earned that right.
• Batman Gambit: The reason she offered aid to Kael was so that Garithos would arrest him for treason, so that she could recruit him and his people.
• Came Back Wrong: In Shadowlands, she gets a plethora of distinctive undead features as part of her affiliation with Maldraxxus, with her tail being entirely stripped of flesh.
• Demoted to Extra:
  • Compared to Illidan and especially Kael'thas, Vashj receives very minimal attention in Burning Crusade. It consists of a directionless plot in Zangarmarsh that goes entirely unresolved and then, seven or eight levels later, of returning to the area and killing her.
  • She doesn't even make a cameo appearance in the Arthas novel, despite having helped lead the failed Illidari campaign in Northrend.
  • She plays this straight in the Illidan novel with the focus being on others such as Illidan and Akama. She however is shown to fighting in Illidan's names and helps advances his plans.
• The Bus Came Back: After being killed off in The Burning Crusade, she finally gets a role in Shadowlands as a supporting character in the story arc involving the realm of Maldraxxus, which was the afterlife she was sent to.
• The Dragon: To Illidan, she is deeply loyal to him. She shared originally the position of Co-Dragons with Xavius to Queen Azshara.
• Dragon with an Agenda: She's trying to drain the water from Zangarmarsh, in order to control the denizens of Outland as revealed in Illidan.
• Enigmatic Minion: Lady Vashj originally had Undying Loyalty towards Queen Azshara and was fairly close to her during the War of the Ancients. During The Frozen Throne, she started to follow Illidan for unknown reasons. It wasn't until Chronicles 3 that it was revealed she was under orders from the Old Gods (through Azshara) to get rid of the Lich King. However, given that she still follows Illidan even after he forgets about the Lich King, and her dying words in Burning Crusade are her apologizing for failing "Lord Illidan", it's possible she eventually joined Illidan's side for real, making her true loyalty ambiguous.
• Expy: Of Dechala the Denied One from Warhammer Fantasy, up to looking◊ extremely similar, the main difference being that Dechala uses swords, and Lady Vashj a bow. Beside their physical similarity, both were elven nobles, transformed into multi-armed Snake People, with the help of chaotic deities(The Chaos God Slaanesh for Dechala, The Old Gods for Vashj). Although one could say the status of expies of Dechala, could be extended to the whole Naga species...
• Heel–Face Turn: More or less. She's not happy about the way she went out in Serpentshrine Cavern, but nonetheless she's no longer involved with her former masters due to her being pretty much dead, with her loyalty now focused on her Maldraxxian lieges first and foremost, which makes her an unlikely ally to the Maw Walker during the conflict raging in that realm.
• Flunky Boss: The second phase of her battle involves dealing with four different types of adds while disabling her shield.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Towards Tyrande, regarding Azshara.
• Hellish Pupils: Oddly, she had them already as a Highborne Nigh Elf, but lost them after becoming a Naga, her eyes after transformation being depicted as Gold (in Frozen Throne) or Red (in The Burning Crusade) Glowing Eyes of Doom.
• Killed Off for Real: Zig-Zagged. She was permanently killed off in the mortal plane, but nevertheless returns as a supporting character in Shadowlands, where it is revealed that her soul was sent to Maldraxxus to serve the Necrolords due to her loyalty and combat prowess, and she indeed does serve her new masters with the same fervor as she did Illidan and Azshara in life.
• Last-Name Basis: Originally thought to have Only One Name, but in Cataclysm, it's revealed that her mother's name was Lestharia Vashj. No one has referred to her by or even mentioned her first name.
• Mage Marksman: Equally skilled with a bow and frost magic.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: Half-snake, half-elf, and her hair is made up of snakes.
• Shapeshifter Mode Lock: Chooses this for herself in Maldraxxus, as she feels more comfortable embodying her naga form, where she was powerful and respected, than her night elf form.
• Shock and Awe: Has some lightning abilities in World of Warcraft.
• Undying Loyalty: To Azshara and Illidan, and later to Maldraxxus.
• Yandere: As noted in The War of the Ancients, is one at least up to a level towards Azshara. Lady Vashj there even tries to kill Tyrande out of jealousy, fearing to lose the position of Azshara's favored.

Akama

Akama

Class: Shaman

Voiced by: Steve Blum (English), Vladimir Ferapontov (Russian/Warcraft III), Oleg Forostenko (Russian/World of Warcraft)

"We Draenei have fought the orcs and their demon masters for generations. Now, at last, we will end their curse forever."

Formerly a priest at the Temple of Karabor on Draenor, like many of the draenei, he was turned into a Broken after the orcs' attempt of wiping out the draenei. Leading the Ashtongue tribe of Broken, Akama allied himself with Illidan's forces to defeat Magtheridon, who ruled Outland from the former Temple of Karabor, currently known as the Black Temple. However, Akama realized that the Temple had only traded one evil master for another. Akama has been patiently waiting for a chance to betray Illidan and end his supposed rule over Outland.

Years after Illidan's death, a player Warlock returns to the Black Temple on the trail of the Council of Black Harvest. Akama ambushes the player, but upon recognizing him/her agrees to allow the player to hunt down the Black Harvest within the temple.

In Legion, he can become a Champion of the Illidari if one sides with Altruis the Sufferer. If Kayn Sunfury is sided with instead the Shade of Akama joins.

Akama appears Warlords of Draenor as a normal Draenei.

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• Body Horror: What he suffered through as shown in the Black Temple trailer.
• Brainwashed and Crazy / More than Mind Control: Illidan had used dark magics to bind part of Akama's soul, and by extension the Ashtongue tribe, to Illidan's will. One of the raid bosses in Black Temple is the tainted aspect of Akama's soul... and depending on player choices, he may be once more bound by those same magics. He doesn't take it well... and the "Shade of Akama" is completely Axe-Crazy.
  Shade of Akama: My soul... consumed by hate!
• Defeat Means Friendship: However in Legion if you sided with Altruis as the Illidari Slayer, he admits that you and him have changed the Illidari for the better, and willingly joins you.
• Didn't Think This Through: Is implied to feel this way about allying with someone known as The Betrayer.
• Dual Wielding: Of Kamas.
• Enemy Mine: The only reason he allied with Illidan's forces, though now he's stuck with them.
• Good Shepherd: Before the orcs, he was a proud exarch. In Warlords of Draenor you see this version of him, where he makes a point of using a farmer's scythes to rally him and prove that the farmer can be strong too.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Illidan reveals that for all his good intentions, other Broken Tribes are distrustful of him due to alliance with Illidan.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Seems to regard his alliance with Illidan and later Maiev as this.
• Magic Knight: As a shaman, he can be seen dual-wielding his scythes, and as a paladin as well in Warlords.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: The novel Illidan reveals Illidan promised to return the Black Temple to Akama after the fall of Magtheridon. However Illidan refuses to return and claims that it will returned after he's done with it. The fact that Illidan lied to him before and is furthering corrupting the Black Temple causes Akama to conclude that Illidan has no intention of honoring his word and he subsequently turns against him as a result.
• The Mole: The Shade of Akama fight is basically done to eliminate the last hold Illidan has on him, thus enabling his betrayal.
• More Teeth than the Osmond Family: This is the only remnant of his original appearance as a Lost One.
• Nominal Hero / Sociopathic Hero: The Shade of Akama is a complete psychopath, but he helps the Illidari in their mission to destroy the Burning Legion.
• Punny Name: He wields akimbo kamas.
• Rebel Leader: Of the Ashtongue Deathsworn and later aids in overthrowing Illidan.
• Retcon: Was originally a Lost One, as were all Draenei in Warcraft III. In the Burning Crusade, Akama was depicted as having been one of the newly introduced Broken since his first meeting with Illidan, albeit with the distinctive mouth of a Lost One. Interestingly, the Burning Crusade era artpiece, ''Foes Of Outland''◊ has Lost One Akama in the background.
• Shock and Awe: Being a shaman, his default preference for spells is this, particularly when the Illidari Slayer fights him.
• Sinister Scythe: Wields a pair of kamas as his weapons.
• Supporting Leader: In the Black Temple raid.
• Tranquil Fury: Enters this after Illidan refuses to return the Black Temple after Magtheridon's fall when he realizes that Prince Kael'Thas and Lady Vashj knew it was going to happen all along.
• Undying Loyalty: The Ashtongue Deathsworn have this in regards to Akama, except in the case of Battlelord Gaardoun and his soldiers who are loyal to Illidan.
• Zen Survivor: Akama has endured his people being corrupted, banished from his uncorrupted brethren, and his world shattering. He is still one of the wisest of the Broken and that is able to inspire undying loyalty from his tribe.

Matron Mother Malevolence

Matron Mother Malevolence

The Matron Mother of the Illidari shivarra, who joined Illidan after Magtheridon was defeated. By her own admission, she always found Sargeras a bore and realized that The Burning Legion's goal of destroying all life was no fun when there are so many mortals to play with instead.

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• A Lighter Shade of Black: She and her sisters only fight for the Illidari because they like having mortal playthings to torment. It's still a step up from trying to end all life like the other demons.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: As with all shivarra, she's a six-armed warrior who's equipped with four massive warblades.
• My Eyes Are Up Here: In one of her farewell quotes, she reminds the player to keep their eyes all the way up next time they talk.
• Remember the New Guy?: She's introduced on Mardum and treated as an important member of the Illidari as if she was always around, and is available as one of Demon Hunter's class hall champions. She does at least retroactively explain the Illidari-aligned shivarra in the Black Temple like Mother Shahraz.
• Stripperific: She wears a dress with a plunging neckline and midriff-bearing window.
• The Tease: Her dialogue is filled with flirtation and sexual innuendo.

The Illidari

The Illidari as a whole

The Illidari are an elite faction of Illidan's army, composed of Demon Hunters, Broken, Naga, and Shivarra.

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• Arch-Enemy: To the Burning Legion.
• Badass Army: The Illidari are able to invade demonic worlds and win.
• Color-Coded Armies: A more complicated example than other armies in Azeroth and beyond:
  • The Naga forces switch between purple, blue, and cyan, depending on who the player is controlling during The Frozen Throne. During the Night Elf campaign they're purple as the Night Elf armies are blue. During the Undead campaign the Naga led by Illidan are blue while the Naga led by Vashj are cyan.
  • The Blood Elf followers are consistently red. During the Blood Elf campaign the Naga, Illidan, and Vashj are also colored red to match.
• The Corruptible: It is a constant struggle to control the fel energy and demon souls inside of them. Sadly, some Demon Hunters crack under the constant pressure or give in to the tempting promises of the demons and join the Burning Legion as Felsworn.
• Cultof Personality: Downplayed, but to some extent, they seem to have that attitude with Illidan.
  Illidari: Lord Illidan knows the way.
• Determinator: One of the marks of the Illidari. Those remaining on the Fel Hammer have personally suffered at the hands of both the Legion and the Wardens, watched their allies tortured and slain by demons or worse, and know full-well that their enemy is nigh-infinite — and are still fighting for Azeroth.
• Elite Army: Before they included Mooks, the Illidari only consisted of a small but powerful army of demon hunters.
• Elite Mooks: Unnamed demon hunters, even when they haven't nominal importance, are still experienced warriors.
• Hazy-Feel Turn: In Legion, they are allied with the Horde and the Alliance, but their motivations remain the same.
• Inhuman Eye Concealers: The Demon Hunters all go through the ritual of blinding themselves to obtain spectral sight like Illidan. Many demon hunters hide their eyes with various masks or blindfolds, while some don't bother to hide their inhuman eyes.
• Loyal to the Position: A minor example as they are still loyal to Illidan, but the Illidari remain at the service of the slayer, regardless of whether he chose to Altruis as Right-hand. Justified as what matters most to them is to destroy the burning legion.
• Mooks: The Coilskar Naga, The Ashtongue (Broken Draenei) and The Shivarra are the footsoldiers of the Illidari.
• Mook Lieutenant: Lady S'theno, Battlelord Gaardoun, and Matron Mother Malevolence are in charge of their respective races.
• Pragmatic Hero: For the Illidari nothing is more important than the Legion's destruction, and many times the sacrifices are necessary.
• The Remnant: They went from being an elite faction of Illidan's army to representing his entire army.
• Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: Demon Hunters are the "cans" in this case. Each Illidari kills and consumes the essence of a demon that wronged them in the past. This traps the soul of the demon inside the Hunter to be used as a source of strength.
• Token Enemy Minority: The Shivarra are demons, but are part of the Illidari.
• Winged Humanoid: Demon Hunters can temporarily grow a pair of leathery wings to glide short distances.

Vandel

Vandel

Class: Demon Hunter

A main character in the book of Illidan.

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• Adaptational Wimp: In the book, Vandel is a powerful demon hunter, while in the game is a NPC of level 1.
• Audience Surrogate: In the book, the reader follows Vandel as he becomes a Demon Hunter.
• Demoted to Extra: Despite being a major POV character in the Illidan novel, in-game he's a minor, low leveled NPC
• Heroic Wannabe: He spent years wandering Outland searching for Illidan, hoping his drive and determination to avenge his son would impress the Betrayer enough to take him as his student. He was a little disappointed to learn not only did hundreds of other elves have the same idea but they also got to the Black Temple long before he did. Nevertheless, he manages to stand out as one of Illidan's star pupils.
• Outliving One's Offspring: His son Khariel was killed by the demons of the Burning Legion.

Kayn Sunfury

Kayn Sunfury

Class: Demon Hunter

Voiced by: Dave B. Mitchell (English), Alexander Hoshabaev (Russian)

A loyal follower of Illidan.

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• The Ace: Kayn is described as "Honorable and demanding, as well as a fearless leader and a master strategist, he believes that cooperation and sacrifice are necessary to defeat the Burning Legion.
• As You Know: The player has the option to ask him about Mardum, even when the player character (The Slayer) should already know that information.
• Both Sides Have a Point: Kayn has a point when mentioning that the betrayal of Altruis caused the death of some demon hunters.
• Cutting Off the Branches: He is treated as the default Illidari commander for non-Demon Hunter players.
• The Lancer: He seems to be the canonical choice.
• Mutually Exclusive Party Members: With Altruis. Justified as Kayn refuses to work with a traitor.
• Name of Cain: Inverted. Kayn is undyingly loyal to Illidan, whereas his foil Altruis betrayed Illidan and is still weary of Illidan's methods even after rejoining the Illidari.
• Undying Loyalty: Completely loyal to Illidan, even after his death.

Altruis the Sufferer

Altruis

Class: Demon Hunter

Voiced by: Greg Chun (English), Alexander Noskov (Russian)

A renegade demon hunter who broke off from the Illidari during The Burning Crusade. He enlisted the adventurers' help to sabotage both the Legion's and Illidan's efforts in Nagrand before being captured by the Wardens and imprisoned in the Vault. He was later released with the rest of the Illidari when the Legion invaded Azeroth.

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• A Lighter Shade of Grey: To Kayn and Illidan. Kayn is a pragmatic strategist who would rather do anything he can to fight the burning Legion in any way they can, while Altruis believes there are limits to what they can do before the Illidari stop being pragmatic and just start to Kick the Dog, which is why he broke off when Illidan's campaign in Outland took a turn for the tyrannical. This is best exemplified with Akama, while Kayn gets sick of his refusal and just rips a new Shade of Akama to bind him to their service, Altrius actually talks things out and manages to convince Akama himself to join you of his own will. In general, if the PC Demon Hunter chooses Altruis over Kayn, it seems to indicate a sort of reform in the Illidari as a whole to "Do what must be done, but remember where you came from" versus Illidan's "Nothing is more important".
• Defector from Decadence: Why he left the Illidari and helps the adventurers fight against them during the events of The Burning Crusade; he decided that Illidan had become no different than the Legion he was sworn to fight. This is deconstructed in Legion, being that his betrayal resulted in the death of four demon hunters, turning him ironically in someone like Illidan.
• Dragon Rider: He rides a nether drake named Nethrandamus during his stay in Outland.
• Easily Forgiven: Although Illidan makes note of how odd it is that he is the Slayer's second-in-command, he decides to make nothing of it.
• Hypocrite: Despite disapproving of Illidan's actions, in his betrayal he killed members of his own people.
• The Lancer: He seems to be the non-canonical choice.
• Meaningful Name: Altruistic. While he doesn't do anything really altruistic, he is still the less extremist member of the Illidari and never lost his sense for justice despite his dark and violent path.
• Mutually Exclusive Party Members: With Kayn. Justified as Kayn refuses to work with a traitor.
• Welcome Back, Traitor: Despite that Atruis is considered a traitor, the player can choose him as his right hand.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Kayn criticizes him for betraying Illidan, and causing the death of their own people. Ironically, Illidan himself doesn't seem to care much. And if chosen to be second-in-command, Illidan comments upon it briefly before letting it go.

Kor'vas Bloodthorn

Kor'vas Bloodthorn

Class: Demon Hunter

Voiced by: Amy Walker (English), Maria Fortunatova (Russian)

Kor'vas is a night elf, who became a demon hunter after the death of her family.

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• Action Girl: Kor'vas is one of the strongest Illidari.
• Badass in Distress: During the Legion's third invasion, Kor’vas spends a short time being imprisoned by a demon before the adventurer frees her.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: In the Illidan animated short, Kor'vas asks the questions that allow for Illidan to be Mr. Exposition, while flashing back to her days before joining the Illidari. She was a survivor of a demonic attack that claimed the lives of her parents, and pretty much everyone else around her. She came to Illidan to get revenge, nothing left in her but rage. Flash forward to the end of her training, and she's taking on a Pit Lord and later, helping lay siege to a demon-controlled world.
• Only Sane Man: When Kayn and Altruis fight over their different ideals, she calls them out on the fact they still haven't escaped the Warden's prison which is currently under attack by the Burning Legion.
• The Kirk: The balanced voice between Kayn's zealot and Altruis' renegade.
• Women Are Wiser: Is one of the few Illidari who makes a conscious effort to differentiate their cause from the Legion's.

Jace Darkweaver

Jace Darkweaver

Class: Demon Hunter, Mage (formerly)

Voiced by: Josh Petersdorf (English)

Jace and Allari are the leaders of the Illidari delegation. Jace led the Illidari delegation in the Alliance. Both gain the trust of the leaders of each faction after helping to expose the demon infiltrators.

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• Continuity Cameo: "Darkweaver" was one of the random Demon Hunter heroes that could appear in Warcraft III, implying that they are the same person.
• The Engineer: Jace is in charge of the Fel Hammer's systems, and directs the player in acquiring the devices needed to launch an attack on Niskara.

Allari the Souleater

Allari

Class: Demon Hunter, Mage (formerly)

Voiced by: Unknown

Jace and Allari are the leaders of the Illidari delegation. Allari led the Illidari delegation in the Horde. Both gain the trust of the leaders of each faction after helping to expose the demon infiltrators.

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• Shout-Out: Her weapon and title are a reference to Soul Eater.
• Sinister Scythe: Allari's weapon, the Scythe of Souls, which she uses to interrogate demons.

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