Characters / Warcraft The Horde Quel Thalas

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"We must put this misery behind us. We must enter a new chapter! And so I say to you that, as of this day, we are no longer high elves! In honor of the blood that was shed throughout this kingdom, in honor of the sacrifices of our brothers and sisters, our parents, and our children, in honor of Anasterian... as of this day we will take the name of our royal lineage! As of this day, we are sin'dorei! For Quel'Thalas!"

— Kael'thas Sunstrider, Former Lord of the Blood Elves

The Icon of Blood

The blood elves of Quel'Thalas are descendants of the Highborne of Kalimdor, who were exiled by the rest of the Night Elves to the Eastern Kingdoms, where they founded a great magical kingdom hidden in the northernmost forests of Lordaeron. There, they created the Sunwell, a mystical fountain of power that altered their appearance and empowered them from then onwards. They became known as the quel'dorei, or high elves, free to practice their arcane mastery and create a distinct, unique culture from their night elven forebears, centered on their sacred Sunwell. For nearly 7,000 years they prospered, overcoming every obstacle that threatened their kingdom, including the Amani Empire and the Old Horde. During the Second War, they briefly joined the Alliance of Lordaeron, their king, Anasterian, honor-bound to fulfil a blood debt to the Arathi line made centuries earlier, but seceded and went back into seclusion after the war was done.

Quel'Thalas was soon after attacked by the undead Scourge and their evil prince, Arthas Menethil, who had obliterated his own kingdom. While they put up a fight, the elves were also annihilated: 90% of the kingdom's population was slain, including their king, and their Sunwell was irrecoverably tainted. Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider rushed home to rally the survivors, and christened them the "blood elves" in honor of the fallen. The blood elves worked tirelessly to reclaim their home from the Scourge, also beset by the vengeful Amani remnants and weakened by a crippling addiction to magic; without the Sunwell to sate their hunger, they embraced the prince's teachings (in actuality, Illidan Stormrage's teachings) of draining magic from other sources. Reinvigorated, the blood elves succeeded in taking back much of Quel'Thalas, and rebuilt their great city of Silvermoon. Now without support from the Alliance, the blood elves turned to the reformed Horde.

While they've endured many tragedies over the years (including the eventual corruption and betrayal of their own prince to the Burning Legion), they remain a proud and driven race. Their long-term goals are to redeem the soul of their ancient civilization and protect their kingdom from any and all threats, as they move forward into a more prosperous future.

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General Tropes

• Addictive Magic: Their entire race is addicted to arcane magic, the very powers that once built their kingdom. Even with the Sunwell restored, this is still a problem.
• Arch-Enemy: The Amani Trolls and the Scourge.
• Becoming the Mask: It was originally implied that the Blood Elves were aligned with the Horde out of convenience rather than any sort of bond with their peoples. In Mists of Pandaria, seeds are planted to imply that Lor'themar at least considered defecting to the Alliance during Garrosh Hellscream's reign. But the difficult decision was made easy when Jaina imprisoned or killed all of the Sin'dorei Sunreavers in Dalaran, and the race has almost started Going Native as a result. They, especially Lor'themar, now exemplify the Horde's 'blood and thunder' tendencies and find themselves one of the most trusted members of the Horde's family — and Lor'themar himself seems to revel in it.
  Lor'themar: We shape our own destiny, today! We are the HORDE! We do NOT back down!
• Colour-Coded Characters: Red is probably the most common colour you'll see in blood elf settlements. This is justified: crimson is the high elven colour of mourning, which has become far more prevalent in blood elven society after the Scourge invasion. Their armies are colored red during the missions of The Frozen Throne long before they joined the Horde.
• Cosmetic Award: The Heritage transmogrification armor is unlockable for any blood elf character that's been levelled up to 50 through normal grinding (110 prior to the Shadowlands level squish), has gotten exalted with the Silvermoon faction and has completed a quest series.
• Darkest Hour: The Scourge invasion, which nearly wiped out the elven population of Quel'Thalas. See Despair Event Horizon below.
• Despair Event Horizon: The Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas was this for many of them, particularly the priests and paladins, who felt the Light had abandoned Quel'Thalas in its hour of need, and the spellcasters, who were highly attuned to the lost Sunwell and hit the hardest by magic withdrawal.
• Due to the Dead: They renamed their entire race in honor of the fallen high elves.
• Elfeminate: To be expected from elves, but it's particularly noticeable in this case because the other elves in the setting, the Night Elves, actually avert this trope, while male Blood Elves tend to look like like Pretty Boys. In-universe, it has practically become a Running Gag to have other races (especially in the Horde) mistaking them for female. It should be noted, however, that this only applies in comparison to the other races whose males tend to be very built and muscular, as Blood Elven men are still well-built and masculine (broad-shouldered and chested with a swimmer's musculature) by realistic standards.
• Fair-Weather Friend: By Lor'themar's own admission, the Blood Elves originally aligned with the Horde out of a need for allies rather than any sort of bond they shared with the Horde races. It was implied that, should priorities shift, the Blood Elves would leave the Horde on a whim when the situation became less than favorable for them. Over the course of the expansions, however, the Blood Elves come to find that they're in the Horde for more than survival nowadays, budding in Mists of Pandaria and blooming in Legion and Battle For Azeroth, perhaps exemplified by Liadrin's words describing what her people's joining with the Horde has become. Also, see Becoming the Mask above.
  Liadrin: Make no mistake, ours has not been an easy road, and we have struggled through hard times. But [in the Horde] we face a world that has often turned its back on us. Together, we find strength.
• Fantastic Drug: Their mana addiction. Notably the Wretched, Elves that can't control said addiction are labelled "Crackelf" in the game's files.
• Foil: They have a few of these in the Alliance:
  • To the Night Elves: they are sun-themed elves who built their entire culture on arcane magic, while the Night Elves are moon-themed and flat-out forbid themselves to use arcane magic for years.
  • To the draenei: They mostly use the color red and were the first Horde race to access the previously Alliance-restricted paladin class, whereas the draenei are Heavenly Blue and were the first Alliance race to access the previously Horde-restricted shaman class. They are also a human-looking species in the otherwise monstrous-looking Horde, while draenei are a monstrous-looking race in the otherwise human-looking Alliance.
  • To the Worgen: Slightly similar to above, they are a human-like, attractive species with a Light Is Good theme in a faction mostly made of monstrous Dark Is Not Evil races, whereas the Worgen are a beastly, savage-looking species with a Dark Is Not Evil theme in a faction mostly made of human-looking Light Is Good races.
  • The void elves, who embody a theme that is the cosmic opposite of the blood elves' restored affinity for the Light. With the Sunwell restored, void practitioners are persona non grata in Silvermoon, or anywhere near the holy well.
• Forest Ranger: The Farstriders.
• Good Colors, Evil Colors
  • Light Is Good: As opposed to Dark Is Not Evil which is common among the other Horde races, the Blood Elves frequently use light colors such as gold, and they wield the Holy Light as magic.
  • Red Is Heroic: Alongside gold, they use the color red almost as often as the Orcs do.
  • Red and Black and Evil All Over: The Blood Knights' colour scheme favours reds and blacks, and in The Burning Crusade they competed with the Scarlets for the most ruthless paladin order around. These days, it's more an example of Dark Is Not Evil.
• Heel–Race Turn: Getting set on the road to redemption was the focal point of The Burning Crusade.
• Interservice Rivalry: Originally there was one between the Farstriders and the Blood Knights. The Farstriders represent the more conservative side of Blood Elven society in its strong tied to their High Elven origins, and consider the methods used to create the Blood Knights immoral. The Blood Knights on the other hand represent the more radical side of Blood Elven society of doing what must be done to survive, and see the Farstriders as a relic of the past that failed to protect Silvermoon in its hour of need. This lessened after Burning Crusade.
• Leitmotif: The Lament of the Highborne.
• The Kindness of Strangers: It was Velen of the draenei who stepped in to restore the blood elves' Sunwell.
• Mage Species: Comes with being elves obviously, but Blood Elves tend in particular to have an affinity for arcane magic. Gameplay-wise, they are naturally resistant to magic as a whole and get a bonus for the enchanting profession.
• Mana Drain: All Blood Elves share the "Arcane Torrent" racial ability, which allows them to interrupt an enemy's spell, silence spellcasters, and restore part of whatever their class uses to power their abilities.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Subverted; the name "Blood Elves" might seem like it's supposed to be one at first. However, this name isn't mean to indicate how cruel or blood-thirsty they are, but rather the loss Quel'Thalas suffered against the Scourge. They renamed themselves as a way to honor their fallen comrades.
• Non-Indicative Name: Besides the case examples mentioned below and Blood Elf players that are Death Knights, the race as a whole carries no particular inherent affinities with blood. IN addition the City of Silvermoon, despite Goldsun being more appropriate for the aesthetics.
• Our Elves Are Different: Blood elves are a diverse race, encompassing quite a few elven archetypes. They used to be archetypal High Elves, and still follow some of the tropes in that area (ancient civilization, Shining City, proficient with magic...), but following the event of Warcraft 3 have become more pragmatic, bitter toward humans and tend to favor the color red rather than the blue they used to wear while working with the Alliance. They now suffer an addiction to magic, though after the ending of Burning Crusade, the Sunwell being purified is gradually fixing this. Their culture is sun-themed, and they usually are depicted as blonde, though black, red, and white hair are also common.
• Promoted to Playable: In the first iteration of World of Warcraft in 2004-2007, some rare High Elves of Quel'Thalas existed with an older design, with Quel'Thalas itself not being designed or accessible yet. The Blood Elves (who exist in the Warcraft lore since 2003's The Frozen Throne) became playable in WoW with the Burning Crusade expansion in 2007.
• Redemption Quest: As stated in their post-Cataclysm opening cinematic, they're on a quest to redeem the soul of their ancient race.
• Running Gag: Blood elf males being mistaken for females is a running gag in both the fandom and in quests.
• Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony, in the form of their addiction to and overindulgence of The Sunwell and its vast arcane energies. They become so dependent on it as a race they are largely forced to leech magical energies from other living beings when it is no longer around to sate their appetites, with some becoming addicted to that experience as well and becoming rabid, mindless wretches in the process.
• Sickly Green Glow: Without the Sunwell, Blood Elves learned to drain mana from various sources to curb their magical addiction. One of the prominent sources they got was fel magic by draining captured demons. Even in small doses, fel magic can cause physical mutations. For the Blood Elves, this turned their once shining blue eyes into a supernatural green, reflecting their new source of power.
• Supernatural Gold Eyes: Battle For Azeroth adds these as new customization options for player characters, as a reflection of the Blood Elves drawing on the power of a Light-infused Sunwell. Lady Liadrin was already depicted with these in her Hearthstone artwork.
• The Power of Blood:
  • Sort of subverted. Blood Mages, who are an important part of Blood Elf magic wielders, are actually a Warlock variant who empower normal mage fire spells with demonic energy drained from demons. They still call it Blood Magic, either because of Blood Magic's invention at the same time of the race's renaming, or because of the empowering magic coming literally from the blood of demons.
  • Played straight after Mists of Pandaria, where the Blood Elves gain the Mogu's Blood Golem technology. Blood Golems are magical and mechanical constructs that, to put it plainly, run on blood.
• The Power of the Sun: Subverted. The Blood Elves don't use Sun magic, however, the sun is a very important part of their culture, meant to counter the importance of the moon in Night Elven culture. The Blood Elves speak of an Eternal Sun, and the sun appears a lot in their imagery and artwork. Their font of power was called the Sunwell. If you see a mage though, the odds of them being specialized in or exclusively using fire magic is nearly 100%.
  Blood Elf: The Eternal Sun guides us.
  • Which leaves their capital of Silvermoon with a somewhat Ironic Name.
• Unexpected Successor: Basically their entire government in the aftermath of The Third War. Kael'thas took charge after his father Anasterian was killed, Lor'themar took over the military after Sylvanas was killed, then Lor'themar essentially found himself de facto head of state after Kael'thas went off the deep end and was later killed. Halduron took over the military after Lor'themar was made lord regent, Rommath became Grand Magister after Belo'vir was killed...
• Ungrateful Bastard: In a feat of Story and Gameplay Segregation, the Blood Elves will still gleefully kill any Draenei they come across despite Velen's purification of the Sunwell making them responsible for their entire race's redemption.

Kael'thas Sunstrider

See the Illidan and followers character page

Lor'themar Theron

Lor'themar Theron

Regent Lord of Quel'Thalas

Class: Ranger

Voiced by: Gideon Emery (English), Daniel Eldarov (Russian)

Who?

"All we can do is walk the road we are given with such dignity as we can muster, each to our own glory or demise, and pray that there yet remains something of our own hearts when all is said and done. By the Sunwell, I hope that there will remain something of mine."

The regent lord of Quel'Thalas and the blood elf racial leader. He was the former second-in-command to Ranger General Sylvanas, and following her downfall would probably have taken the spot had he not taken up the regency for the absent prince. Lor'themar was a war hero during the Second War, and survived the Scourge invasion during the third. He's been the blood elf racial leader since The Burning Crusade's launch, but received little development during the expansion despite the blood elves playing a central role throughout it.

Lor'themar's relentless underuse eventually turned him into a bizarre mix of an Ensemble Dark Horse and a running gag among the fandom, the regent lord's lack of plot relevance leading to a great deal of fanfiction centered around him (one of which won a global writing contest and was even canonized by Blizzard).

Lor'themar has gradually appeared more and more over the years, going from a largely writer-dependent character to a well-rounded leader combining aspects of all of his characterization thus far. His rise to power has been explored retroactively (In the Shadow of the Sun, Blood Of the Highborne) and his role in the overall narrative has been expanded considerably, taking him from a near-universal joke to one of the Horde's most popular characters.

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• Action Politician: Along with Rommath and Halduron, though it's more noticeable for Lor'themar.
• A Day in the Limelight: Received one during the patch cycle of Mists of Pandaria.
• And Zoidberg: A meta example, in that his lack of prominence in the game has led to fans not knowing who he is compared to other faction leaders. Lampshaded in a WoW-based parody of the Discovery Channel's Boomdeyada videos, which since spawned this famous line:
  Lor'themar: My name is Lor'themar!
  Random Blood Elf: Who?
• The Aragorn: In Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy.
• Arch-Enemy:
  • Dar'Khan Drathir, who befriended Lor'themar in the past so the Scourge could get into Quel'thalas. Though Lor'themar misses out on fighting him twice.
  • In later expansions, Jaina Proudmoore. She has Sunreaver citizens imprisoned in Dalaran, and he will stop at nothing to set them free.
    Lor'themar: That. Human. WITCH! [flips a bench]
  • Downplayed with Nathanos. He disliked the guy even when he was merely a human ranger; Nathanos disliked him in turn; and Lor'themar was horrified to learn that Nathanos had not only come Back from the Dead, but butchered the high elves of Quel'Lithien Lodge — elves whose predicament Lor'themar felt responsible for — merely to retrieve a book. Despite their grim history, their shared affiliation means they're sometimes forced to work together, but Lor'themar is never happy about it and takes pleasure in seeing his old enemy's plans go down the drain. When Nathanos is killed by Tyrande, Lor'themar is extremely pleased and claims Nathanos was a "braggart and a bully" who got exactly what he deserved; his only regret was that he wasn't there to see justice done.
• The Artifact: His Regent Lord title was originally because he was holding the fort while Sunstrider was in Outland. Even after the denizens of Quel'Thalas learned of the prince's treachery, he's still a Regent Lord.
• The Atoner: Deconstructed in In the Shadow of the Sun, to both his guilt and sorrow.
• Badass Decay: Invoked and justified: Lor'themar going from a celebrated, badass ranger to a politician stuck behind a desk is a key plot point of his narrative. This is further explored in Mists of Pandaria, where he takes a hands-on approach to the Horde's political intrigue and takes to the front lines again.
• Badass Boast: He delivers one to Jaina Proudmoore who has previously demonstrated the ability to wipe out a city on her own.
  Lor'themar Theron Proudmoore! You will release my people from the Violet Hold or I will cut you down myself!
• Badass Longcoat: Lor'themar gets one of these in Patch 8.1.
• Badass Normal: Like Garrosh and Baine, Lor'themar lacks any real powers. He does possess a few spellbreaker techniques beyond his ranger training but his primary power comes from skill with his sword and bow. He insists he can outshoot the Dark Ranger, Nathanos Blightcaller, any day of the week.
• Baritone of Strength: Gideon Emery gives him a downright sexy voice in Mists of Pandaria.
• Becoming the Mask: In his short story, he thinks back to how difficult it used to be to drape himself in the "mantle of authority." As he's grown into the role, the act comes to him far more naturally. He still hates it though.
  • Also represents his place as a part of the Horde's leadership. He originally joined out of convenience and necessity, but slowly, over the course of the expansions, became a part of the family. He even serves as one of Vol'jin's pallbearers.
• Beneath the Mask: A pretty reluctant leader who deeply regrets some of the things he's forced himself to do, and nowhere near as sure of himself as he puts on in public. He also pines for his days lost as a Farstrider.
• BFS: His new sword as of Cataclysm.
• The Big Guy: Finds politics exhausting, preferring to use his blade to solve problems.
• Blatant Lies: Tells Aethas that he is supporting the war effort in Northrend of his own free will, despite Sylvanas openly and publicly blackmailing him into it. In a journal entry, Lor'themar can't recall if he has ever told a more baldfaced lie before.
• Blood Knight: Very much so, he despises politics and doesn't even really want to be Regent Lord (Hence why he refuses to be King), but he keeps the position for the sake of his people. But he would much, much rather be leading a charge than sitting in his throne room.
  Lor'themar: THIS is who I am! No paperwork, no politics, just the white hot fury of magic and steel!
• Butt-Monkey: Was viewed as this at a meta level for a very long time before Mists. In-universe, he was also at the mercy of Sylvanas' whims, with Forsaken support in the Ghostlands being the only thing stopping the Scourge from being a complete threat to Silvermoon. It was also subtly implied that the rest of the Horde looked down upon the blood elves as a whole. However, this has all been subverted since he Took a Level in Badass in Mists.
• Characterization Marches On: It took a while for Lor'themar to find his narrative stride.
• Cool Sword: Was given his own unique one in patch 8.2. Before that he was shown wielding a warglaive, which was then replaced with the Greatsword of the Sin'dorei in Cataclysm.
• Cutscene Power to the Max: On the Isle of Thunder, he shoots down a Zandalari beast rider from the sky and into the water. He then fires another arrow which causes the troll to explode.
• Defector from Decadence: Theron turns the country against Prince Kael'thas when he learns of the prince's collaboration with the Burning Legion. He nearly pulled it again in regards to Garrosh's increasingly polarizing Horde^note privately negotiating for Quel'Thalas to rejoin to the Alliance, but after the purge of Dalaran, he Took a Third Option and backed the Darkspear Rebellion instead.
• Depending on the Writer: Lor'themar is portrayed very inconsistently, depending on whether you're looking at Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy, World of Warcraft, or In Shadow Of the Sun. Mists of Pandaria appear to be mixing all three portrayals together smoothly, making it seem more like Character Development than anything else.
  • His relationship with other characters varies too. In The Sunwell Trilogy Lor'themar is on good terms with Sylvanas but in In Shadow Of the Sun their relations are more strained. Halduron is portrayed as Lor'themar's best friend in the The Sunwell Trilogy and In Shadow Of the Sun, but World of Warcraft seems to have Halduron secretly disliking Lor'themar. Though it is probable that he's just frustrated with him. He does tell Vereesa to shut it when she calls Lor'themar a coward. The two have presumably just hit a rough spot.
• Demoted to Extra: He had a somewhat important role in the comic as the Secret-Keeper, but nothing ultimately came of it, though he casts off the trope in Mists of Pandaria.
• Dirty Business:
  • How he viewed what the blood elves had to do to reclaim their home, reasoning that the Sunwell probably wouldn't have been restored had they not been done.
  • He also feels this way about politics. While noting some emotional sore spots of Rommath's he can use should he ever need to manipulate the magister, he reflects that at one point in his life the idea of exploiting someone's weaknesses like that would have disgusted him.
• Divided We Fall: His rationale behind banishing the elves of Quel'Lithien Lodge.
• Eyepatch of Power: In the Sunwell trilogy he was missing an eye. In World of Warcraft he had both due to Only Six Faces. Artwork even portrayed him this way until his official short story came out, which included the picture that's now on this article. He's gained a proper eyepatch over his left eye in Mists of Pandaria.
• Fantastic Racism: In the Sunwell Trilogy, he is shown to have a bit of patronizing attitude toward Half elves. Though he's surprisingly ok with humans and undead.
• Flipping the Table: The Purge of Dalaran prompts this, albeit for a bench, but still.
• Forest Ranger: He was one and suffers no small amount of longing to duck his responsibilities to go back to the simpler life of a ranger.
• Four-Star Badass: Back when he was a ranger lord, he was said to be directly beneath Sylvanas, the ranger general herself. In the scenario "Tear Down This Wall!", Scout Captain Elsia says he should not risk himself by fighting on the front lines, but he says "Nonsense. This is where I belong."
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Halduron almost quotes this word for word to him in In the Shadow of the Sun.
• The Good Chancellor: Especially in comparison to the last two leaders of Quel'Thalas: he has none of Anasterian's damning prejudice and none of Kael'thas's... raving insanity.
• The Good King: Albeit being "Regent Lord" in name. Although some of his actions fall in the moral grey zone, it was nevertheless for his people and he expressed sadness over those measures. He would even go so far as to become the Unwitting Pawn to protect his people.
  Lor'themar: I will do whatever it takes to protect Quel'Thalas and its people. Even if it means being used.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: A good scar over his missing eye.
• Happily Married: With Thalyssra, whom he married sometime between the events of Shadowlands and Dragonflight.
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Though in the Sunwell manga he wore one in a flashback.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: While confirmed as a ranger, Lor'themar appears to have a preference towards melee combat, rather than ranged. Though he is missing an eye, which would make it difficult to fight with ranged weaponry.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: He is supposedly this with his second-in-command Halduron Brightwing, though as stated above it seems their relationship might be more strained than it appears. Their relationship appears to be patched up a bit as of Mists of Pandaria.
• Hot-Blooded: In the manga. Shades of this come into play in Mists of Pandaria, too.
• I Did What I Had to Do: How he feels about the more unsavory things he's done as Regent Lord, such as exiling the High Elves and approving the formation of the Blood Knights. He's not happy to admit that that is what Kael'thas felt about his own darker actions.
• I'm Having Soul Pains: During his trip back from Quel'Lithien:
  He could not possibly become any more frozen than he already felt. The snowflakes drove into his face and rubbed his skin raw.
• Interspecies Romance: Develops one with First Arcanist Thalyssra of the Nightborne following the events of the Fourth War.
• It's Personal:
  • In regards to Dar'Khan. And now with Garrosh recklessly throwing his peoples' lives away to get the Divine Bell, Garrosh Hellscream's on his list, too^note Specifically hoping that the Divine Bell ends up destroying Garrosh.
  • He's also implied to have a personal feud with Vereesa Windrunner, Sylvanas' younger sister, since he calls her as 'exile' despite he's actually generally tolerant with his high elf relatives.
• It's All My Fault: After the disastrous Blood War, he takes Saurfang's death, very hard, blaming himself for both his friend's death, and Windrunner's rise to power, remarking that his trust in the person she used to be, blinded him to the monster she had become, and he laments the fact he only choose to act when Baine's life was in danger.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: His depiction in-game has been less than flattering, but patch 5.1 of Mists of Pandaria finally shows him taking action and stepping up to the plate.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Wielded one before his gear update.
• Lonely at the Top: Played with. He still has his best friend, but he was forced to exile several of his other former Farstrider comrades after his regency.
• Magic Knight: He has access to anti-magic attacks and a few spells in-game, but he's a fairly standard ranger lore-wise.
• Major Injury Underreaction: He's startled when he loses the use of his left eye to an undead guardian in Blood of the Highborne, though quickly composes himself and brushes the injury off with the notion that he closed said eye when wielding his bow anyway.
• Meaningful Name: His surname translates to "hunter" in Greek, and his profession (ranger/Farstrider) is what all blood elf hunters are inducted to in their class quests.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: With regards to Garrosh.
• Nobody Touches the Hair: If you keep clicking on him, he'll tell you this.
• Number Two:
  • To Sylvanas, in his backstory. Interesting in that Sylvanas tends to order him around as though nothing's changed since then.
  • Halduron and Rommath seem to share the role between them, to Lor'themar.
• Odd Friendship: Oddly enough, despite being fiercely at odds with her in Mists of Pandaria, he develops one with Jaina during Battle for Azeroth.
• Offered the Crown: Both Halduron and Rommath think he should claim it, and considering they're the two highest officials at Quel'Thalas's political table other than Theron himself... And even with Garrosh's increased racism towards Blood Elves and using them as merely tools to acquire the Divine Bell, when he proclaims the forces of Silvermoon to be ready for anything Rommath even suggests that he would make a better Warchief than Garrosh.
• Official Couple: Becomes this with Thalyssra in the short story A Moment in Verse released following the events of 8.3.
• One-Handed Zweihänder: His character model still wields his sword in one hand, despite it now being a BFS.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: One interpretation of his lack of relevance until recently, with most of the other racial leaders receiving attention. Ironically, many fans view his ultimate characterization as having been handled better than many of the other leaders.
• Rags to Royalty: He went from a forest ranger to ruling the country from the royal palace of Silvermoon.
  • Though to be fair, he did climb the ladder to a pretty respectable military rank (second-in-command to the military leader of Quel'Thalas, in fact) before then.
• Real Men Wear Pink: Despite his badassery, Lor'themar appears to be somewhat sensitive about people touching his hair.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Although stubborn at times, he is shown in In the Shadow of the Sun and in Mists that he is willing to listen to his advisors opinions while justifying his own choices, however he may regret them.
• Regent for Life: Of his own choosing, it would seem, since — regardless of the traitor prince's decree — more than one of Theron's associates believe he has a valid claim to the throne at this point.
• Relationship Upgrade: He and Thalyssra get married during the three years between the end of Shadowlands and the start of Dragonflight.
• Rousing Speech: Dishes a few out in the manga and Mists of Pandaria.
• Secret-Keeper: He was one of the very few people who knew the true identity of Anveena. Unfortunately, so was Kael'thas.
• Ship Tease: Has some of this with Thalyssra of Suramar in Battle for Azeroth. They become an Official Couple in the short story "A Moment in Verse" in the aftermath of the Fourth War.
• Spell My Name With An S: Some of the more literary-challenged characters have a hard time saying his given name.
• Still the Leader: Played with a bit in In the Shadow of the Sun after Sylvanas forces him to dedicate troops to the war effort.
• Stop Poking Me!: One of the few faction leaders to get a Stop Poking Me! line: "Do not. Touch. THE HAIR."
• Sympathetic P.O.V.: In the short story; In the Shadow of the Sun.
• Take a Third Option: Lor'themar backs Vol'jin's Darkspear Rebellion instead of Garrosh or the Alliance.
• The Chains of Command: Big time. His people are in tatters, engaged in a desperate struggle just trying to hold onto their ancestral lands, (and if it weren't for Forsaken support, they would barely be able to do even that) his king is dead and his prince went insane, (and is now also dead) leaving him stuck with a job that he hates, he was forced to exile many of his own countrymen, some of whom he personally knew and most of whom now hate his guts, he gets blackmailed by Sylvanas, (who used to be his boss in The Farstriders) Garrosh treats him and his people with disdain, and he desperately longs for his former life as a simple soldier. It's hard not to feel for the guy.
• The Leader: Reluctantly, at first, though he's grown into the role.
• The So-Called Coward: His martial backstory (Lor'themar made his debut in Tides of Darkness spattered in the blood of trolls and orcs he had cut down, and fought his way through an undead apocalypse head-on a few years later) and impressive feats of leadership (not to mention fighting on the front lines regardless of danger to his person in Mists of Pandaria) quite undermine Vereesa's accusations of cowardice.
• The Starscream: Lor'themar fully anticipated the burgeoning rebellion against Garrosh, even flirting with the idea that he'll have to usurp Garrosh as Warchief himself, and before that had secretly been negotiating with Varian Wrynn about realigning the Quel'Thalas government with the Alliance.
• The Strategist: Lor'themar prefers strategy and planning to brute force. Particularly prevalent throughout his interactions with Garrosh. Even this guy picks up on it:
  Tak-Tak: Garrosh all about strength! Lor'themar all about strategy.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • Absolutely everything he does in Mists of Pandaria completely reverses everyone's opinion of him, both in-universe and from fans.
  • In the Shadow of the Sun, suggests that Sylvanas has Lor'themar on a leash and he must bend to her whims when she demands it. Come the Siege of Orgrimmar, Lor'themar is leading the charge and giving direct orders to her. He gives an absolutely scathing warning when she suggests using the Val'kyr to raise his fallen troops, and even warns her against raising Alliance troops, saying it'll be her problem to deal with should the Alliance retaliate to the desecration of their fallen troops, not his.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In the Quel'Delar event and 4.1, Lor'themar is negatively depicted (trying to confiscate the sword from any non-Blood Elf player) and his best friend Halduron is shown to tire of this attitude. In 4.1, he objects to the High Elven "exiles" coming onto his lands to help them fight against their common enemy, the Amani Trolls.
• Took a Level in Kindness: His earlier level gained in jerkass is reversed supremely in Mists of Pandaria.
• Unexpected Successor: Lor'themar didn't anticipate his prince going nuts and the entire kingdom's future falling into his lap alone.
• Unwitting Pawn:
  • In the Shadow of the Sun portrays him as this to Sylvanas. She blackmails him into aiding the Horde offensive in Northrend right after the events of the Sunwell Plateau (when, by Lor'themar's own words, they hadn't even had a chance to bury the dead) by threatening to pull her troops from the Ghostlands.
  • Subverted in that Lor'themar knew this was occurring; he was aware that he had no true choice in the matter, and thus went along with it. He was more of an unwitting pawn to Dar'Khan Drathir.
• Warrior Poet: A Moment in Verse reveals he writes poetry in his off time; the particular sonnet highlighted in the story being an admonition of Kael'thas.
• We Used to Be Friends: Lor'themar banished the elves lodged at Quel'Lithien, whose number included some of his old Farstrider comrades. His history with Dar'Khan counts too.
  • He feels this way about Sylvanas. She used to be a High Elf hero and ranger-general, but he notes that Sylvanas as she is now will casually use their people (and him) to get what she wants.
• With a Friend and a Stranger: He began his regency aided by his longtime best friend and a mage whom he had probably never met before; Rommath had lived in Dalaran for a long while, while Theron and Halduron were rangers back home.
• Yes-Man: Subverted: Rommath and Halduron give him a hard time for bowing down to Sylvanas' wishes, but Theron takes the opposite approach with Garrosh.
• You Are in Command Now: After Prince Kael'thas lost it and was later killed, leaving Lor'themar stuck in the regency indefinitely.
  • This trope turns his most well-known meme (Who?) into bitter irony if you think about it: yes, you've never heard of him before. A guy no one's heard of is in charge of the Blood Elves, because things have gotten so bad that this is all they have left. Luckily he's proved to be up to the challenge.
• You Are Not Alone: How his best friend Halduron helped him out of his slump after the Quel'Lithien fiasco.
• You Don't Look Like You: The art teams can't seem to decide on whether he has an eyepatch (in game), a monocle (cinematics), or nothing (artwork) over his scarred eye. Finally averted in Tides of Vengeance, where he's received a proper unique model with a scarred eye, along with some pretty nice duds.

Rommath

Grand Magister Rommath

Class: Mage

Voiced by: Kirk Thornton (English)

Grand Magister of Quel'Thalas and formerly a devout servant of Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider. He was initially sent from Outland back to Azeroth to teach the blood elves remaining in Quel'Thalas the ways of draining magic to sate their magical addiction, as well as to prepare its citizens for the exodus to Kael'thas' "promised land" of Outland. As Prince Kael'thas returned from Outland and betrayed his people, Rommath forsook his loyalty to the prince and instead chose to remain loyal to his people.

Despite the changes sweeping Quel'Thalas with the Sunwell restored, Rommath remains an ever-present reminder of darker days not too far gone. His will was severely tested by the betrayal of his twisted prince, and has motivated him to get proactive when it comes to the welfare of his people and country.

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• A Day in the Limelight: Rommath gets some love in 5.1, leading a strike team into an Alliance-controlled Dalaran to save the Sunreavers from the Kirin Tor.
• Ambiguously Evil: When it became apparent that Kael'thas was destined to die a villain, many players assumed that his most loyal advocate would join him. Didn't happen, and Rommath has gone on to receive some positive development.
• Anti-Hero: Though never presented as a particularly pleasant chap to be around, Rommath's ruthless MO was, at the end of the day, for the welfare of his people, not adverse to using political scheming nor straight up mind control to keep the country united.
• The Archmage: Enough so that Lor'themar and Halduron considered him a shoo-in for membership of Dalaran's Council of Six if he wanted to be.
• Bait-and-Switch Boss: A datamined soundfiles from World of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta suggested he'd be given the role of "Twilight traitor" with a scene where Lor'themar and Horde adventurer confront him, but the idea was scrapped, the entire scene being cut out and the role was passed on to more minor npc like Sauranok the Mystic instead.
• Big Damn Heroes: Arrives in Dalaran to save Aethas and the Sunreavers from incarceration or death.
• Blood Knight: He apparently "never tires" of slaying Alliance, whom he believes attempted to massacre his people during the Third War.
• Break the Haughty: The betrayal of Prince Kael'thas hit Rommath the hardest of all, and the grand magister has been portrayed (by turns) as having kept his brusque personality, though intermingled with the hollow arrogance of a broken man.
• Brainwashing for the Greater Good: Rommath had his magisters employ this on the citizens of Silvermoon.
• Broken Pedestal: Rommath was left more shattered than anyone after Prince Kael'thas went batshit. Rommath was pretty much his mouthpiece in Quel'Thalas, spreading his teachings without question, relayed tales of the glorious future the prince had in store for his people, and was unquestionably Kael's most "loyal advocate." Ouch.
• Brutal Honesty: Seen during his interactions with Aethas, Lor'themar, and even Sylvanas.
• The Cameo: Blood of the Highborne revealed that Rommath was present in Silvermoon during the Scourge attack. His predecessor, Grand Magister Belo'vir, ordered him to evacuate the city after Arthas threatened to kill them all.
• Cassandra Truth: He was one of first Horde characters to have serious misgivings about Sylvanas, coming to view her as a monster who most certainly does not have the best interests of her homeland at heart; he outright told Lor'themar to cut her loose no matter the cost. Come The Reveal in Battle for Azeroth and Sylvanas' full-blown Face–Heel Turn in Shadowlands, Lor'themar realises he should have acted against her sooner. Somewhat justified, as unlike the rangers Lor'themar and Halduron, Rommath has no deep history with Sylvanas as an individual and was more willing to see her for what she is.
• The Comically Serious: A strange example. His humour is dark, deadpan and infrequent, yet his personal arcane guardian is a capslock-obsessed Buffy-speaker who refers to Rommath as "HIS HIGH AND POWERFULNESS." That arcane guardians need someone to program their scripted dialogue in makes you wonder just who was responsible for it...
• The Confidant: He and Halduron are this to Lor'themar.
• Coincidental Dodge: His decision to stay at the camp, instead of march with most of the Elven army to gate of the Nighthold saves him from being trapped within Elisande's time stasis bubble. Not that her spell kill those who are trapped inside, and they're eventually freed even before the heroes brought Elisande down.
• The Creon: Although a major player in Silvermoon's political climate and a man with ultimately noble goals, he is noted to be lacking in personal charisma and is known for his cold, even disconcerting attitude. He therefore tends to stay in the shadows while the more-popular Lor'themar Theron, a respected war hero with considerably more public appeal, is The Face of their regime.
• Deadpan Snarker: When he's not employing Brutal Honesty, you'll probably see him defaulting to this. His conversation with Aethas in Lor'themar's short story is positively loaded with disapproving sarcasm and scorn.
• Despair Event Horizon: Subverted retroactively in In the Shadow of the Sun; Rommath came close after Kael'thas's betrayal, but didn't quite cross the line.
• The Dragon: To Kael'thas, at first, being Kael's most loyal advocate before The Burning Crusade's finale. Nowadays, he and Halduron more or less share the Number Two role (to Lor'themar) between them.
• Good Is Not Nice: His eventual status. He's caustic and willing to mind control dissidents, but when the chips were down he sided with Silvermoon, not the Legion.
• Heroic BSoD: Lor'themar suggests he had quite a harsh one after Kael'thas's betrayal.
• High Collar of Doom: An interesting variant that covers the lower half of his face.
• Honest Advisor: A less conventional example than Halduron, but he's also this. He bluntly speaks his mind about controversial topics and doesn't let a subject go until he either gets his way or is overruled.
• Jerkass Has a Point: In regards to the Kirin Tor begging for their help when they're in a tight spot, but as soon as they become inconvenient, they're discarded again.
  • He opposed Magister Umbric's research into the void and eventually had him exiled for it. Lampshaded in the void elf chain by Umbric himself, who concedes after delving deep enough that Rommath was rightly concerned by what could come of this power. Later, Rommath opposes letting Alleria see the Sunwell, as he knows that she too is contaminated with the void. It's a bit of a Kick the Dog moment for him, but he's vindicated on this point too when her mere presence attracts void beasts who attempt to corrupt the Sunwell.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As much of an asshole as he can be, Rommath does genuinely love his people and his country. Naturally, we see far more of this after his Heel–Face Turn.
• Knight in Sour Armor: He's cynical, jaded, and tends to assume the worst, but he does what he does for the good of Quel'Thalas.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Though angered by the Dalaran purge, he's pragmatic about saving whoever he can and leaving rather than taking on the whole city with only the player and disorganized resistance groups for support.
• The Man Behind the Man: Played straight during the earlier era of The Burning Crusade; Rommath was rarely referenced by name, though his influence and machinations ensured Lor'themar's rule proceeded soundly.
• Manipulative Bastard: It's implied he used to be this, but not so much after Kael's betrayal.
• Marked Change: Of the Power Tattoo variety; he appears to have runic tattoos on his arms.
• Misplaced Retribution: He and Aethas go back and forth on whether or not his hatred for the Alliance, and especially Dalaran, over Garithos's attempt to massacre the Blood Elves qualifies. Aethas states they had nothing to do with it and the Kirin Tor has new leaders anyway. Rommath fires back that while they weren't responsible for Garithos's actions, they also didn't do anything to prevent him from locking up the Blood Elves in Dalaran prison cells guarded by Dalaran magics and that members of the Council of Six from then are still in power.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: Averted with Kael'thas, though Halduron and Lor'themar both thought it was touch and go for a while.
• Odd Friendship: Rommath and Halduron, who lead the two most opposed, diverse, and unalike facets of blood elven culture. According to Halduron, it kicked in around the time Romm chose to fight for Quel'Thalas instead of their treacherous prince.
• Older Than They Look: Blood elves already live longer than humans, but he comments in the quest "What's in the Box?" that "it has been an age of the world or more since I felt any emotion at even a fraction of that" after the player kills a sha creature that comes out of the aforementioned box. He also refers to Aethas Sunreaver as a "young upstart".
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Utilizing Kael'thas's (in truth, Illidan's) teachings was how Rommath retook Silvermoon from the Scourge.
• People of Hair Color: He doesn't seem to care much for the divide between the modern quel and sin'dorei, and dislikes having to fight the former.
• Permission to Speak Freely: He quotes the sarcastic end of this trope to Lor'themar, who knows at this point that if Rommath has something to say, he's sure as hell going to hear it.
• Playing with Fire: Rommath, judging by his in-game abilities, appears to have a preference for fire magic.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Halduron's blue. His outfit is even crimson to Halduron's cobalt.
• Refused the Call: He's pretty much the perfect man to lead the Sunreavers in Dalaran, as a powerful mage decidedly loyal to Silvermoon and experienced in dealing with the Kirin Tor hierarchy. Pity he viciously hates Dalaran and will have nothing to do with it.
• Remember the New Guy?: His fierce hatred for Dalaran comes from him being present during the Frozen Throne campaign.
• Roaring Rampage of Rescue: The gist of his Dalaran rescue mission.
• Shipper on Deck: Is this for Lor'themar and Thalyssra. His words upon finding out Lor'themar was going to sneak off to Suramar: "Go, you love-addled buffoon, or I will strangle you myself."
• Tall, Dark, Handsome and Snarky
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Dishes one out to Aethas in In the Shadow of the Sun.
• This Is Unforgivable!: He states this to the player in regards to the Dalaran purge, chiefly Jaina returning Dalaran to the Alliance and the Silver Covenant imprisoning Sunreavers and killing their Dragonhawks.
• Undying Loyalty: Subverted. Everyone assumed, in-universe and out, that Kael'thas's most loyal advocate would side with his master after his Face–Heel Turn. Instead, Rommath was devastated at Kael's betrayal of their people and sided with Silvermoon. This led to even Halduron, who detested Rommath, saying that there's no chance of him betraying Silvermoon in the future. If he was ever going to turn on them, he would have done it then.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Side effect of being able to forcibly command dissidents to sing you praises, though following Kael'thas' betrayal, he no longer qualifies.

Halduron Brightwing

Halduron Brightwing

Class: Hunter

Are you kidding me? I run Sunwell a million times, and he gets Thori'dal!?

The Ranger-General of Silvermoon and the leader of the Farstriders, a blood elven group of rangers dedicated to defending their homeland against any and all threats to its safety and prosperity. A ranger of prodigious talent himself, Halduron was promoted after the fall of his predecessor, Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner during the Scourge invasion that saw Quel'Thalas nearly destroyed. Halduron was largely the Token Good Teammate for the blood elves prior to the end of their focal expansion, proving a more conservative and moderate voice in the affairs of people, contrasted by the more radical approaches of Rommath and his Magisters and Lady Liadrin and her Blood Knights.

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• Badass Boast: "Did you think we could not sense you befouling our forest? You are not welcome here, creature, and you will not be suffered to live."
• Big Damn Heroes: Twice in Blood of the Highborne: he saved Lor'themar's life during the Scourge attack, and showed up to aid the Blood Knights when they fell into Dar'Khan's trap.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: He oversaw the prolonged torture of Zul'jin. Liadrin even called him out for not just killing him.
• Decoy Damsel: Rare male example. In his very first appearance, Halduron pretended to be a defenseless, elderly man to lure an overconfident Amani raiding party into jumping him head on.
• Dual Wielding: Wields two short swords/daggers when not using his bow.
• Enemy Mine: He and Vol'jin joined forces with Vereesa against Zul'Aman.
• Fantastic Racism: Not harshly, but he did object to allowing a human to train with the Farstriders. He doesn't hold any ill will towards high elves, and maintains a friendly relationship with Vereesa, and is one of the few blood elves that Vereesa doesn't hold any animosity towards.
• Foil: To both Lor'themar and Rommath. In regards to Theron, Halduron represents the life the regent lord was born to lead, yet robbed of by taking up the mantle of leadership. As the former second-in-command to Ranger General Sylvanas, it would probably have been Lor'themar who ascended to her place instead of Halduron, had he not been chosen as regent. In regards to Rommath, Halduron represents the polar opposite end of the spectrum: tradition vs progress, the past vs the future, conservatism vs proactivity, etc. They clash nicely.
• Expy: He shares quite a few similarities (both appearance and personality-wise) with Haldir of Lothlórien, right down to the name and fighting style.
• Forest Ranger
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: He quotes this nearly word for word to Lor'themar in In the Shadow of the Sun.
• Good Is Not Soft: He's capable of ruthlessness when the occasion calls for it.
• Guilt-Free Extermination War: Subverted. He's aware that this is pretty much the only outcome of the war with the Zandalari, but goes out of his way to absolve you of guilt for it and say the blood is all on his own hands.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Lor'themar, though a slight rift seems to have developed as of late.
• Honest Advisor: As an old friend of Lor'themar, they have this dynamic. Though their friendship does suffer when that honesty leads to him telling Lor'themar what he needs to do as ruler, rather than what Lor'themar wants to do.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He was described as a "handsome-looking elf with narrow features" in Tides of Darkness. In the Sunwell Trilogy he is seen wearing slicked, shoulder-length hair with bangs parted to the side. In WOW he is seen wearing blond long hair with long bangs.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: In The Burning Crusade.
• Number Two: For Lor'themar. While Lor'themar has lost touch with his ranger roots after years of playing politics, Halduron is as skilled as ever.
• Odd Friendship: With Rommath. Despite being rivals when it comes to the government of Quel'Thalas, Halduron developed a respect and trust for the grand magister after Rommath remained loyal to Silvermoon in the wake of Kael'thas' betrayal. He gets on pretty well with Vol'jin, too, despite their racial differences.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Rommath's red. His outfit is even cobalt to Rommath's crimson.
• Secret-Keeper: He was one of the very few people who knew the true identity of Anveena. Unfortunately, so was Kael'thas.
• Scarily Competent Tracker: His stalking and subsequent disposal of the Amani troll Ter'lij showcased his hunting skills pretty well, even when he himself is the bait.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Despite being his friend, he basically tells Lor'Themar to piss off during the coalition against the Amani, not caring about the problems between blood and high elves, he needs help and he will accept Veressa's.
• Shipper on Deck: Is this for Lor'themar and Thalyssra.
• Spell My Name With An S: Halduron's name has been misspelled a few times since his inception. He's been referred to as "Haulduron" and "Hal'duron" (also "Bright-wing" in Tides of War), though it's probably an oversight.
• Token Good Teammate: Halduron was this for most of The Burning Crusade, teased as early as the first bout of Blood Elf Paladin lore hit. While the government was run mainly by the proactively aggressive magisters and the first generation Blood Knights were fast-gaining popularity, Halduron strived to preserve the soul of the Farstriders, such as strongly opposing the maltreatment of M'uru. He represents the more conservative side of Quel'Thalas, and is one of the blood elves most in touch with the roots of their fallen high elven society.
• Would Be Rude to Say "Genocide": Averted. Mostly. "What I ask of you is little short of genocide..."
• You Are Not Alone: How he helped Lor'themar get out of his slump in In the Shadow of the Sun.

Lady Liadrin

Lady Liadrin

Class: Paladin

Voiced by: Misty Lee (English), Tatyana Shitova (Russian)

Matriarch of the Blood Knights? There's a period joke there somewhere.

The matriarch and supreme leader of the Blood Knight order, Lady Liadrin is an Iron Lady and Ice Queen whose hands were stained dark with evil by the climax of The Burning Crusade. After seeking forgiveness for her role in the downfall of the naaru M'uru (and learning that events were put into motion far beyond her control), Liadrin began her journey towards redemption, culminating in the restoration of the blood elves' sacred Sunwell. This monumental event has wrought on a new perspective for the Blood Knight matriarch, who has since embraced the positive teachings she had once disdained, and now seeks to break the magical addiction ravaging her people and restoring the sin'dorei to their greatness.

She was the main character in the long-awaited Blood of the Highborne, detailing her backstory and rise to power. She also made a long awaited return to World of Warcraft in Warlords of Draenor, being among the forces that cross the portal and helping the draenei defend Auchindoun from the Burning Legion, and then again in Legion, leading the blood elven side of the assault on Suramar City. She proceeds to be the main diplomat in recruiting the Nightborne elves into the Horde, and in Battle For Azeroth serves alongside Eitrigg and Rokhan in commanding the Arathi warfront.

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• A Day in the Limelight: Her novella. More broadly, her role in The Burning Crusade could count, seeing as she was the mouthpiece in later patches for Silvermoon's blood elves.
• Action Girl: She's a retribution paladin in-game. When she was still in Silvermoon she lacked a blade, so she'd fight players with her bare fists.
• The Atoner: After receiving forgiveness for her part in M'uru's exploitation, Liadrin began an arc-long quest towards redemption. Fighting alongside the faction formed to take down the twisted prince, Liadrin was present to see the Sunwell restored firsthand. This, in turn, wrought on another perspective for the Blood Knight matriarch: Liadrin has since openly stated that the road towards reclaiming the blood elves' glory of old will be a hard one, but with the more positive fate provided by the Sunwell awaiting them, they will achieve it.
• Badass Preacher: She was once a high priestess with passion for the Light, whose faith was greatly shaken in the aftermath of the Scourge Invasion of Quel'Thalas. Wracked with guilt, she refused to beseech the Light, etched out a living as a warrior, cutting down all Scourge remnants that crossed her path, eventually become the first of the Blood Knights. However, after the rebirth of the Sunwell, she has rekindled her faith to the Light, and ever since then leading blood knights order and her people on the path to redemption. Velen has noted how much she had taken to the Light.
• Badass in Distress: In Blood of the Highborne she was ambushed and captured by an Amani trolls raiding party, even being interrogated by Zul'jin himself. During the Third War, she's nearly torn to pieces by an abomination until Belo'vir teleported her to a safe distance. In World of Warcraft: Legion, she was nearly killed by the Deathlord when the Knights of the Ebon Blade attack Light's Hope chapel, and later on she was temporarily trapped within the time stasis bubble created by Elisande during Insurrection campaign.
• Benevolent Boss: Her training is hard, but she cares for the Blood Knight order deeply and takes pride in her subordinates' success.
• Blood Knight: Pun aside, she actually averts it for the most part.
• Break the Haughty: Liadrin was humbled (as in, physically overwhelmed) by the power of the restored Sunwell. That, combined with her revised Iron Lady act, certainly qualify her.
• Character Development: Retroactively in Blood of the Highborne, which covers her roots from well-intentioned priestess to vengeful warrior, then finally to the iron paladin we met in The Burning Crusade, but in the rebirth of the Sunwell she was softened as her faith in the Light is rekindled.
• Commuting on a Bus: She got a cameo during the Quel'Delar chain, and Rommath corresponds with her in In the Shadow of the Sun. She's also mentioned a fair bit by her fellow sin'dorei leaders (such as Lor'themar in the same story).
• Cool Sword: She's seen wielding Quel'Delar in Warlords of Draenor, or at least a blade identical to it. This was later changed to a new sword that's completely unique to her while also giving her a shield.
• Depower: After Kael'thas stole M'uru, though it didn't last.
• Disproportionate Retribution: The Alonsus Chapel. Liadrin doesn't think the "false" paladins of the world acknowledge her order as #1, so she burns their chapel, kills an otherwise friendly paladin NPC, and then takes down a raid of other paladins waiting outside. It's rendered somewhat dubious canon with Cataclysm pretty much retconning the bulk of this particular quest, but still...
• Easily Forgiven: Played with, around the initial Sunwell patch. Despite the self-admitted "evil (she) had wrought", little more than an apology was enough to get in the good books of the Sha'tar.
• Evil Counterpart: To Farseer Nobundo in The Burning Crusade. Both played similar roles and both share similar backstories, but while Nobundo accepted his lost connection the Light and embraced a new way of life, Liadrin, despite swearing off the Light in anger, continued to wield it by forcing it to obey her will.
• Evil Matriarch: Played straight until the redemption arc, during which she deconstructs it soundly.
• Fallen Hero: After her novella, some would argue her BC incarnation was this.
• Final Boss: Of the Death Knight Legion campaign, she is the final enemy you have to defeat before the Light expels you from the Chapel.
• Happily Adopted: By Vandellor after her parents were slain by forest trolls. She in turn ended up later adopting a young blood elf girl Salandria, whom she would train into a Blood Knight.
• Healing Magic Is the Hardest: Firm believer in this.
  Liadrin: Our role is to preserve life and illuminate our comrades in the splendor of the Light. It is far easier to draw blood than to staunch it, and when you lie battered and dying on the battlefield, you will thank the Sunwell for our talents.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Liadrin's dependence on M'uru to fuel her order would backfire spectacularly, when the man who had "gifted" the naaru to her in the first place stole him away.
• Hypocrite: Liadrin said to Thalyssra that the Night Elves and the Alliance walled off, and the former were "sleeping in barrows" while the Blood Elves fought to save the world. This is completely false in every regard, as the Night Elves kept fighting for Kalimdor for 10000 years after the Well of Eternity exploded. In addition, the Night Elves rightfully pointed out that the Nightborne followed another corrupt tyrant after Azshara when Elisande joined the Legion, with no indication they won't repeat the same mistake again and both Thalyssra and Liadrin agree that they were arrogant and mistrusting for pointing that out. It also makes Liadrin come off as absolutely ungrateful after all the Alliance did for them before (supporting the Garrosh Rebellion in Mist of Pandaria, the purification of the Sunwell in BC), while also completely debunking the "walled off" claim. In addition, the "walled off" claim can also apply to the blood elves themselves, as they showed next to no interest in anything but their own borders until the end of the Sunstrider dynasty and them joining the Horde. Similarly, Liadrin supports the notion that "the Horde allows their races to maintain their traditions as opposed to frowning on the powers they dabble in", which would actually carry more weight, if it didn't come a few minutes after Alleria getting banished for the powers she dabble in, which makes it seems less about being open about others but more about open to their traditions.
• Interspecies Friendship: She and Exarch Maladaar seem to have this dynamic in Warlords of Draenor, frequently fighting together several and showing mutual respect.
• It's Up to You: She invokes this for the battle for Suramar, saying that of the assembled forces the blood elves are going to have to do all the heavy lifting.
• Kill the Ones You Love: She was forced to kill both her foster father, risen as an undead, and her Wretched apprentice, Galell.
• Knightly Sword and Shield: Was given a set of these in Battle For Azeroth which she now uses in all of her appearances. The weapons are based on her artwork from Hearthstone.
• The Medic: When she was a priestess.
• Lady of War: She's a powerful paladin, who's as deadly as she's beautiful.
• Mercy Kill: She suggested that Halduron give this to a captured Zul'jin, and their decision to keep him alive for torture is what gave the Amani raiders time to rescue him. She personally delivers two for her foster father, Vandellor, who become an undead thrall, and later her wretched apprentice, Galell.
• Meaningful Name: Although, not from Liadrin herself. Her steed is named "Redemption" which can be perceived as refers to her character redemption arc.
• Misplaced Retribution: Her resentment and manipulation of the Light, though she got better.
• Must Make Amends: She shows up in Warlords of Draenor to aid the draenei in much the same way the draenei aided the blood elves in The Burning Crusade.
• Morality Pet: Salandria, though not truly explored. It was more the gesture that counted.
• Put on a Bus: She's the only blood elf leader who hadn't really had a large role or characterization since The Burning Crusade.
  • The Bus Came Back: After five years, Liadrin finally returned as a major character in Warlords of Draenor and Legion.
• Prophecy Twist: Liadrin and her Blood Knights were heading quite towards the "dark destiny" awaiting the blood elves teased on the encyclopedia. Though somewhat accurate to begin with, a late expansion twist saw Liadrin engage in a Heel–Face Turn to stop the true blood elven villain from damning the entire race: Prince Kael'thas and his ilk.
• "Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one at the battle for Suramar to the other forces present. In summary, Tyrande's Sentinels are guerrilla fighters that won't be able any help for the bloody, street by street fighting that taking the city will require. The Silver Covenant are so clearly waiting for an excuse to turn on the Horde forces that they can't be counted on in battle. Her take on the Nightfallen rebels is less critical, as she acknowledges their bravery but still considers them too poorly armed and trained to be of much use on the battlefield.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After the Scourge invasion, she rededicated her life to hunting down and slaying any undead in the Ghostlands.
  • She's extended her desires to the Burning Legion, the guys who created the Scourge and gave the order for Quel'thalas to burn.
• Ship Tease: With Lor'themar in Blood of the Highborne. Sometimes subtly, other times not. Ultimately nothing ends up happening between them and Lor'themar ends up marrying Thalyssra, with Liadrin acting as the officiator for their wedding.
• Shout-Out: Her name is probably inspired by Liandrin from The Wheel of Time, though otherwise has nothing in common with her.
• Supernatural Gold Eyes: Depicted with them in recent media, notably her Hearthstone avatar, and her new model in Battle For Azeroth.
• Took a Level in Badass: She went from a disenfranchised priestess to a Dark Action Girl and leader of the Blood Knights.

Aethas Sunreaver

Aethas Sunreaver

Class: Mage

Voiced by: Jim Pirri (English)

The leader of the Sunreavers, and a member of the Kirin Tor's Council of Six. He managed to get the Horde accepted into Dalaran, and even succeeded in the official readmittance of blood elves into the Kirin Tor. He remains deeply critical of the Horde's Warchief, Garrosh Hellscream, and is of the opinion that the Sin'dorei would do well to get as far away from his rule as possible.

Returns in Legion, on a quest to recover Felo'melorn and atone for his lapse of judgement in Mists.

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• Accomplice by Inaction: Though not a supporter of Garrosh and not in on the plot to steal the Bell, Aethas did become aware of the heist moments after it took place and chose to keep silent.
• A Friend in Need: Rommath goes out of his way to save him during the Purge of Dalaran, despite the pair not having the... tightest relationship.
• Ambition Is Evil: Averted. Lor'themar notes Aethas is carving out a position for himself in Dalaran's hierarchy, but finds the younger man's ambition despite everything that has befallen their race encouraging.
• Ascended Extra: Played a relatively small role in Wrath of the Lich King and a bit of an expanded one in Lor'themar's short story, but in patch 5.1 of Mists of Pandaria he suddenly steps into the limelight.
• Ambiguous Innocence: The Horde-side Landfall quests go to lengths to convey his disdain for Garrosh and the "true" Horde at large, which makes the chances of his complicity in the Divine Bell heist dubious. That said, he acts incredibly suspicious, and Word of God clarified that he was indeed aware of, if not complicit, in the bell's theft.]
• The Atoner: In Legion, he helps the player character acquire Felo'melorn and the Council of Six allow him back into Dalaran again.
• Been There, Shaped History: He has a high rank and was even one of the Council of Six members, but he didn't exist in the canon until Wrath of The Lich King and the overlapping Mage manga. His "out of nowhere" appearance wasn't handled very elegantly either until In the Shadow of the Sun was canonized to elaborate on it a bit.
• Character Tics: Subverted. He wears a helmet at all times which masks his expressions, though his body language occasionally still gives it away.
• Cool Mask: Never seen without it until patch 5.4.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Lor'themar thinks Aethas has a hard time juggling his loyalties to Quel'Thalas and the Kirin Tor.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Jaina effortlessly kills his high magi and incarcerates him before he can lift a finger.
• The Faceless: Subverted. He is shown as a young elf with brunette hair and a goatee during the Siege of Orgrimmar in Mists.
• Foil: For Rommath and Jaina.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Somewhat, considering both he and Rhonin recommended Thalen Songweaver (a spy for Garrosh Hellscream) as a gesture of goodwill.
• Informed Ability: Like Rommath, he's considered quite a powerful magus, but has yet to really display his magical power. He holds his own at the Bloodied Crossing and the Siege of Orgrimmar in Mists, though.
• Kick the Dog: In Legion he aids the players obtain Felo'melorn from Lyandra, a friend of his that was killed and raised by the Scourge. While confronting her, Aethas calls her a monster and a walking corpse which pisses her off greatly. Considering that she was her friend and that she clearly doesn't possess complete free will, he regarding her as such is quite a dick move.
• Not So Stoic: Aethas nearly collapses in front of Lor'themar in 5.1, desperately informing him about what occurred in Dalaran between trying to catch his breath.
• I Want Them Alive!: Jaina wants him to be recaptured and brought before her alive in 5.2.
• Odd Friendship: Seems to be burgeoning with Rommath. He also expressed a great respect and admiration for Jaina in Tides of War, though that went downhill fast.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: If somewhat inept at controlling his own people.
• Redemption Promotion: Averted. He's allowed back into the Kirin Tor, but doesn't return to the Council of Six.
• Sour Supporter: To the Horde following Garrosh's rise to power. Borders on not being a supporter at all, given he actually approved of moving against the Horde at Theramore, and straight up states that the blood elves need to leave the Horde.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Somewhat debatable, some blood elf players/fans perceive him as selfish for hand Felo'melorn over to the reformed Tirisgarde. As an exchange ticket for the Council of the six to allow him back to Dalaran again. Instead of using it to bargain with the freedom of Sunreaver prisoners in the Violet Hold, whose fate is unclear or return it to his people.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Was banished from the Kirin Tor in Mists. Revisited in Legion, when he's welcomed back into Dalaran.

Tae'thelan Bloodwatcher

Tae'thelan Bloodwatcher

->Class: Mage

Why are Blood Elves interested in the Titans again?

"Greetings, my name is Tae'thelan Bloodwatcher. I have spent the better part of a lifetime training in the art of sorcery and gathering like-minded Blood Elves to form the Reliquary. You see, there are ancient, powerful relics found throughout this world that I plan to use to free my people from their addiction and unify them again as the proud, indomitable race we once were. Magic is something to be embraced and, I assure you, a force that can be utilized free of corruption with proper teaching. As it stands, the other races of the Alliance and even the Horde mock our kind for our half destroyed capital, still-standing statues of Sunstrider and blunder after blunder across the world. No more."

High Examiner Tae'thelan Bloodwatcher is the leader of the Reliquary. He's out to acquire powerful magical artifacts for his people's use, to free them from their addiction to magic through controlled means.

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• High-Class Glass: He sports a fantastic monocle.
• Power Floats: He's seen in a constant state of levitation.
• Purposely Overpowered: Subverted: he has an incredible amount of HP and is a ?? boss besides, but isn't tagged for PVP and can't be fought in-game.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: His moderate outlook on magic clashes quite a bit with the BC-era magisters'.
• The Rival: The Reliquary is the Horde counterpart to the Explorer's League. The big difference come in how and why they excavate, while Brann and Harrison Jones are likely to leap headfirst into an adventure in any given ruins, Tae'thelan and Beloc Brightblade are content to sit back and jump in when the opportunity presents itself to steal victory, or simply pass the task down to some adventurer and hope they get the job done. Also, while the explorer's League gathers dangerous artifacts to keep from being misused, the Reliquary seeks the same artifacts to make sure that only the Blood Elves can use them, regardless of how dangerous.
• Rousing Speech: See his quote above.

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