Night Elves and Worgen: Druid allies of the Moon
by Lesley Smith 
Aug 25th 2009 at 11:30AM
Formally humans and now Worgen, the trailer hints that it will be the efforts of the Night Elves which will see the Worgen joining the Alliance. Now this in interesting because the Night Elves have their own history with the Worgen, Velinde Starsong and the Scythe of Elune. But given that the Gilnean Worgen are the only other Alliance race who can become Druids, there's an even deeper link between the two races. Also, given that Druids are skilled shapeshifters, the Night Elves could hold the key to helping the people of Gilneas deal with their curse.
Now the werewolves on which the Worgen are based are lunar creatures. In the most popular mythology they are forced to transform when the moon is full but this is not always the case. Part of this can be seen in the Wolfcult of Northrend's Grizzly Hills who remain in human form until forced into combat. For the Night Elves, who revere the larger silvery orb known as the White Lady as their supreme Goddess, Elune, the Worgen are a part of their mytholgy. While in the past, the Scythe of Elune storyline has been a big part of Worgen lore, how much of it and the pull of the Moon - which is found in traditional werewolf lore - will make it into Cataclysm remains to be seen.
This is part of the excitement of a new expansion, the promise of the unknown is just that, so promising! For a short time, our imaginations can wander without the constraints of fact and detail. We can dream of what we want the Worgen and, specifically, the Druid class to be within the lore of Azeroth. Regardless of what this might be in the end, there is definitely going to be a close bond between the Kaldorei and the people of Gilneas which will shape how World of Warcraft moves into a post-Cataclysm age.
Filed under: Alliance, Druid, Expansions, Lore, Cataclysm, Worgen
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Andrew R. Aug 25th 2009 11:36AM
I can't wait to see the new druid forms for the worgen and trolls. I play alliance and couldn't be happier to have another choice when making a druid. I'm not a fan of the NE and let's be honest. The worgen are just cooler.
xnn Aug 25th 2009 11:48AM
This! I'm really excited to see how they will handle the new druid forms.
Will they also be including new ToL and Moonkin forms in the expansion? Would be nice.
Boize Aug 25th 2009 11:49AM
I too am looking forward to rolling a Worgen Druid.
Currently a Tauren Druid, I have been toying with the idea of creating a Night Elf druid, if only to experience the Alliance side of the game, having only played on Horde my whole WoW time.
The Worgen give me a different opportunity to roll an Alliance druid as, like you Andrew, I am not exactly a huge fan of Nelfs either. But the new, ferocious Worgen would be perfectly suited for a nice, new Feral Druid, in my opinon.
On the other hand, I might level up a Nelf Druid now, and then a Worgen Druid -and- a Troll druid post-Cataclysm, just for the experience of each class and leveling experience (hopefully leveling will be new and refreshed with Azeroth being torn asunder).
Nick Aug 25th 2009 11:52AM
I'm saying goodbye to my Moo-Cow Druid as we type.
regisfrost Aug 25th 2009 11:59AM
But the fact is that you will actually be seeing very little of the worgen form. Out of combat you can strut around in it, but in combat you will be in cat/bear/moonkin/tree/travel/aquatic form pretty much all the time. You might as well be a human druid for all you will see of the true worgen form.
Nah, if you really think worgen look cool just roll a class that gets to be all feral and up in the face, like a Rogue or Warrior.
Moonkinmaniac Aug 25th 2009 11:43AM
I think its likely the moonkin and tree form will get an overhual like we saw with cat and bear. If they meant at blizzcon so much that Worgen get a new moonkin form was that as opposed to a unique one who knows. But I think those who have played moonkin for years would be rather angry or at least I would if a shiny new cooler model rolled off the shelf along with cat and bear and we are ignored. But I'm sure they'll fix them all and if we're lucky travel and seal form too.
tim Aug 25th 2009 2:28PM
While they are at it, why don't they jazz up the new bear form as well.
1. shoulders up, butt down; and
2. increase in size, fog god's sake
I guess I can get used to the in-my-face-butt POV, but it'd be nice if hunter's pets weren't larger than my tank. As a male tauren, you distinctly get SMALLER when you switch to the bear form.
mtsadowski Aug 25th 2009 11:49AM
The Worgen version of the Tree Form will be a walking fire hydrant.
regisfrost Aug 25th 2009 11:54AM
Somehow the idea of werewolves worshiping a the moon seems a bit strange.
Jason Aug 25th 2009 1:52PM
Not sure why this got downrated, he has a point: typically werewolves abhor the moon, as it is what causes them to become hideous monsters.
catharsis80 Aug 25th 2009 11:54AM
Lore-wise, for me, this still doesn't explain why the Worgen are part of the Alliance, and here's why -- I still don't understand why the Night Elves themselves are part of the alliance. So, in an effort to give the benefit of the doubt, I go to wowwiki.com to try to find out how THAT happened, but all I really find is this statement: "It is currently unknown when the night elves joined the Alliance, but it will probably be revealed in the Warcraft movie." It doesn't even say why they joined. Their first experience with the Orcs were bad, but that didn't last. They teamed up. Also, it seems, according to wowwiki.com, that "Jaina Proudmoore and Tyrande Whisperwind are good at coordinating their efforts on Kalimdor". This just brings to mind the close camaraderie between Thrall and Jaina.
As soon as I understand why in the world the Night Elves ever joined the Alliance, then I will understand why the Worgen would be in the Alliance.
Gorevinor Aug 25th 2009 12:09PM
Let's break down the totally reasonable justification for the Worgen joining the alliance with an interview with Varian Wrynn!:
Reporter: "So what do you think of Orcs?"
Wrynn: "Savage beasts that need to be put down!"
Reporter: "So what do you think of Trolls?"
Wrynn: "Bloodthirsty heathens that need to be put down!"
Reporter: "So what do you think of the Tauren?"
Wrynn: "Filthy backwards animals that should have stayed in the wild!"
Reporter: "So what do you think of the Forsaken?"
Wrynn: "Wretched and cursed abominations that need to be put out of their misery!"
Reporter: "So what do you think of Blood Elves?"
Wrynn: "Wretched and cursed abominations that need to be put out of their misery!"
Reporter: "Uh... I was asking about Blood Elves, not Forsaken..."
Wrynn: "I know what I said!"
Reporter: "So what do you think about an isolated race which is cursed form of a human and now has a pretty large streak of being savage and a bit bloodthirsty and also might be contagious to other humans!"
Wrynn: "Sign em up! They sound wicked cool!"
Sounds... logical... I guess...?
catharsis80 Aug 25th 2009 12:13PM
LOL! Awesome, dude.
Omega2 Aug 25th 2009 12:14PM
Think about it this way:
The Horde is based on Kalimdor. Sure, the Undead and the Blood Elves are on the Eastern Kingdoms, but they are relatively few compared to the bulk of the Horde (Orcs). The Orcs are already a pain in the Night Elves' butt due to their capital being so close to Ashenvale, the ancestral home of the Elves, and the whole Warsong Clan issue.
The Night Elves also lost a huge number of their own in the Third War, not to mention losing their immortality. It was a huge trauma for such a proud race, being left alone in an increasingly hostile world (Felwood is a cesspool, Ashenvale has corrupted places, the animals are also hostile). They had found friends in the Third War when fighting alongside the humans and dwarves of the Alliance, and there would be no way in hell they'd align themselves with the Horde.
So they sided with the Alliance. They are still reclusive and no one in the Alliance really trusted them too much in the beginning. But they are officially part of the organization, and are pictured in WoW as such.
Cyrus Aug 25th 2009 12:21PM
"Their first experience with the Orcs were bad, but that didn't last. They teamed up."
They "teamed up" in the face of Archimonde himself heading toward the World Tree. The situation couldn't be much more dire than that. Once the smoke cleared, though, the orcs were expansionist new neighbors actively deforesting the night elves homeland and they had literally killed the night elves' god. (Well, *A* god, at least.) "Bad, but that didn't last" is really understating it. (Not trying to get into yet another "who is the real bad guy" debate; both sides have their reasons to be pissed.) Name one pair of aligned factions with so much bad blood between them. That seems like plenty of reason for night elves to not like the horde.
As for getting along with the rest of the Alliance, dwarves actually have a fair amount in common with night elves, and humans and draenei, whatever the faults of both races in the eyes of night elves, at least share common enemies with them. (Trolls and orcs with humans, orcs and blood elves with draenei.)
GuyverIV Aug 25th 2009 12:33PM
"Their first experience with the Orcs were bad, but that didn't last."
...their first experience with the Orcs was them transforming into demon-tainted blood crazed monsters that slaughtered a revered demi-god that had guided and taught the keldori for thousands of years. Not quite the thing you get over that quickly. Given that the Warsong are still harvesting the forests of Ashenvale, and the thick taint of the legion in the Felwood, joining the Alliance in the wake of losing their immortality for more strength makes a fair bit of sense.
As for the worgen, they were former members of the Alliance, and since it seems the first thing that happens when the Graymane wall comes crashing down is the Forsaken try to muscle in, well I can pretty much understand why Gilneas would try to return to the fold, and with the support of another current Alliance member, even Horde-hating twit King Varian would probably decide they were at least as tolerable as Death Knights.
catharsis80 Aug 25th 2009 12:40PM
"The Orcs are already a pain in the Night Elves' butt due to their capital being so close to Ashenvale" How are they a pain in the butt? Also, I might note that the Tauren welcomed the Orcs to Kalimdor, and didn't consider them "a pain in the butt", but saw their need, and helped them.
"there would be no way in hell they'd align themselves with the Horde."
The lore says otherwise: "Tyrande and Malfurion had allied with Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore". Thrall = Horde.
"the orcs were expansionist new neighbors actively deforesting the night elves homeland and they had literally killed the night elves' god."
Grom Hellscream and his orcs killed Cenarius. This was rogue action done without the Warchief's approval. Also, he was under the influence of Mannnoroth, a DEMON. If the Night Elves can't see that it was not the actions of the Horde, but of a rogue Orc that did it, well, I don't know what to say.
I DO see that Night Elves have some things in common interest with Alliance races, but they have the most history with Horde races in Warcraft III, as rocky as some parts were. Bottom line, when I started playing WoW, I was dumbfounded that Night Elves were not on the same side as Thrall. Therefore, if the reason the Worgen are joining the Alliance is because of the Night Elves' help with their curse, then it still doesn't make sense, because it is based on the Night Elves' alliance with the....Alliance. (that sounded redundant)
Dave Aug 25th 2009 12:46PM
There's one big point here that seems overlooked. So many of the alliances in the Warcraft universe (on both sides) revolve around a central ideal: The enemy of my enemy is my friend (or its corollary, The friend of my enemy is my enemy). We already saw in the trailer that when the Greymane Wall breaks down, the Forsaken see it as an opportunity to take control of Gilneas (and with Southshore gone, why not...it would give them the whole region). The Worgen would be unable to fend off the Forsaken (and, by proxy, the whole of the Horde) by themselves, so they turn to the Alliance for help. Are they a natural fit with the Alliance? No. But they're already fighting the Horde.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
catharsis80 Aug 25th 2009 12:49PM
@Dave
Very true. However, I sometimes wonder if the lore writers completely ignore that SYLVANAS is the head of the Forsaken. I mean, would she REALLY be like, "HEY! Gilneas is available! Let's charge in and take over! CHHAARRRGEE!!!!!"
No, she wouldn't. That's stupid.
Cyrus Aug 25th 2009 1:05PM
"Also, I might note that the Tauren welcomed the Orcs to Kalimdor, and didn't consider them "a pain in the butt", but saw their need, and helped them."
Did you actually read all the replies you've already got? Orcs intruded on the night elves' homeland, not the Tauren's. Tauren, as close to nature as they may be, are not particularly close to forests specifically; grasslands are more their thing. Night elves, on the other hand, live in trees and literally befriend some of them.
"Grom Hellscream and his orcs killed Cenarius. This was rogue action done without the Warchief's approval. Also, he was under the influence of Mannnoroth, a DEMON. If the Night Elves can't see that it was not the actions of the Horde, but of a rogue Orc that did it, well, I don't know what to say."
Grom wasn't *the* Warchief, but he was close to him politically and personally. And he chose to drink Mannoroth's blood - twice. You're expecting the night elves to have an unrealistic, nearly impossible level of willingness to extend good faith. Why? It makes no sense.