User:Jormungand01/The Ten Elvish Races

Dark Elves
Very little is known about this mysterious race. They are said to have a cold, haughty beauty, one that in the end repelled. They were lesser beings with minute lifespans and were quick to rashness, plunging into what was believed by others to be too great a risk. They may have been simply another name for the night elves, since it is said that they had something to do with releasing the Burning Legion into Azeroth.

Alternatively it is possible that they were the primitive, nocturnal humanoids who discovered the Well of Eternity and became the first night elves. If this is the case they may in fact be a Dark or Forest Troll tribe. Nothing is certain at this stage, however, and since they have only ever been mentioned in one source there is not much speculation that can be done about them.

Night Elves
The first confirmed elves. Many millenia ago a race of nomadic, nocturnal humanoids stumbled across the original Well of Eternity in the heart of pre-Sundering Kalimdor and were changed by its unlimited reserves of arcane power. Gaining many new powers, such as control over magic, they became more civilized and eventually settled to form one of the greatest empires Azeroth has ever known. From their capital at Zin-Azshari, built on the shores of the Well itself, they waged war on the two great Troll Empires and beat them into submission. Eventually however they fell victim to their magical prowess, and some of the ruling Highborne caste worked to bring the Burning Legion and its master Sargeras into the world. A terrible war then followed, which resulted in most of the realm being utterly vanquished. Ultimately however the defenders managed to defeat the Legion, destroy the Well and retreat as the Great Sundering literally tore the heart out of the continent.

In the ten thousand years since the surviving night elves have turned to druidism as a much less damaging form of magic. They planted the World Tree, Nordrassil, which was blessed by three of the Dragon Aspects and which give them immortality. Retreating into the forests and going into seclusion, they have only recently reemerged when they joined the Alliance and the Horde at the Battle of Mount Hyjal. Eventually the Burning Legion was defeated a second time and Archimonde slain, but at a terrible price - Nordrassil was all but destroyed and the night elves immortality was lost. They have since joined with the Alliance and their priestesses, druids and hunters are among the most feared in all Azeroth.

Highborne Elves
Among the night elves there developed an elite ruling class known as the Highborne. The greatest sorcerers in the realm, they were the favored servants of the queen Azshara but were deeply mistrusted by the other night elves. Over time they evolved away from the others, until by the time of the War of the Ancients they had almost become a seperate race altogether. But eventually, thanks to their endless meddling in the Well of Eternity, they attracted the attention of the Burning Legion and were seduced by its power into aiding the destruction of Kalimdor.