The Worldsoul Saga will continue with its second part in World of Warcraft: Midnight, but Blizzard hasn't revealed too much information about this expansion just yet. However, the small bits and teasers that Blizzard has announced so far for Midnight are both exciting and curious. After the events of the main campaign in The War Within and its focus on Alleria and Xal'atath, it might not be surprising that Midnight plans to focus on the various Elven tribes that have been scattered throughout Azeroth over the history of that world.
It seems that part of the campaign for Midnight will undertake the task of trying to reunite the Elves. Of course, Blizzard is undertaking other monumental tasks for World of Warcraft, such as bringing player housing to Midnight, a feature that the community has wanted for years. These are both tasks that come with difficulties when being implemented, because reuniting the Elves can change quite a bit when it comes to the faction system, as they've split to join different factions. Then, player housing is always tricky to bring to a game, since there are multiple ways to implement it.
What We Know About The Plot Of Midnight
A Story About Elves And The Void
It seems like the Elves will be at the center of Midnight, as it'll be set in Quel’Thalas and potentially result in the various Elven tribes reuniting against a common enemy: the Void. Of course, the Void as a primary threat for the expansion isn't surprising, since this is the second part of the Worldsoul Saga and the Void was important in the first part. While Xal’atath was thwarted in The War Within, she'll likely have time to regroup and form a new plan between expansions.
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With the setting being Quel'Thalas, the Sunwell will be part of the expansion as well. It's been a while since the Sunwell has played a role, and it was previously corrupted by the Burning Legion as they attempted to summon Kil’jaeden through it. Players were able to witness this moment and stop him in the Sunwell raid from Burning Crusade. With the Sunwell appearing as a plot point again, it's safe to assume that the Void and Xal’atath will try using its power like the Burning Legion, possibly summoning allies similar to the attempt to bring Kil’jaeden through the Sunwell.
How The Elven Tribes Ended Up Separated
The History Of Warcraft's Races
Elves are among the oldest races of Azeroth, but they've gone through several hardships that split them into tribes, each of which developed its own characteristics and culture over time. All variations of Elves can be traced back to the Night Elves, who have one of the prettiest early game zones in World of Warcraft. The Night Elves were drawn to the Well of Eternity and its magic, but they restructured their society around Elune and druidism. At least, one portion of the Elves changed their culture to what is now the familiar version of the Night Elves seen in-game.
The conflict with the Burning Legion that led to the Night Elves turning away from magic split the continent from its ancient form into the continents that are now in-game. This naturally led to various Elven cultures changing, which also led to changes in their appearances over time, as they had different views of magic and had to learn to survive without the power of the Well of Eternity in their new locations. One portion of these Night Elves would seal themselves away from the world in Suramar and join the game as the Nightborne Allied Race.
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There's also the section of Night Elves who embraced magic the most, calling themselves the High Elves. Some High Elves followed Azshara and worked with the Burning Legion, only to then become Naga. However, other High Elves split from Azshara's faction and were exiled after the War of the Ancients, even though they played a role in ending the war. They'd later be attacked by the Scourge on Quel'Thalas, an event that led to them renaming their race to Blood Elves in honor of those who died during the invasion.
Finally, there are the Darkfallen and the Void Elves. The Darkfallen are Elves who were raised as undead by the Scourge then later regained their free will and joined Sylvanas as Forsaken. As for the Void Elves, they are a group who were exiled from Silvermoon for experimenting with the Void, and they were turned into Void Elves after an encounter with void ethereals. Alleria has more-or-less become their leader, as she was the first to master control over the Void, so she now works towards helping others who share her affliction, seeing it as her responsibility.
What Reuniting The Elves Could Mean
A Way To Adjust The Faction System
The importance of the Alliance and Horde in The War Within when it comes to the campaign's story isn't remotely even, with Alleria and Anduin taking the leading roles for much of the campaign. At this point, the faction system often feels forced and outdated, especially when the number of times the factions have had to work together to prevent a world-ending event is taken into account. This leads to an exciting possibility that could come from reuniting the Elves: an end to the faction system or a readjustment that makes it feel useful.
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However, there are some interesting factors to take into consideration. Naturally, the Elves wouldn't reform a single race, as they've all evolved differently with various values, but an alliance between them would require working across factions and trying to mend ancient feuds. The biggest problem in this situation would likely be where the Void Elves fit in among the other Elves, especially when the Void is going to be a primary enemy and the Elves are working to eliminate it.
The Naga are also technically an Elven tribe, so they could be brought in as allies.
A lot of attention for the Midnight teasers is going to the introduction of player housing, but the information given about the campaign story also poses some interesting possibilities about the future of the Elves, and maybe even the future of the faction system. While a faction overhaul would be fun, it seems unlikely that this feature will change too much, especially 20 years into the game's lifespan. Either way, bringing the Elves back together is sure to come with unexpected results in World of Warcraft: The War Within.
Released November 23, 2004
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