MAIEV SHADOWSONG

Warden Maiev Shadowsong, along with her younger brother Jarod Shadowsong, played a key role in the battle against the Burning Legion during the War of the Ancients. In the aftermath, Maiev asked to be and was appointed the jailor of Illidan Stormrage and took on the mantle of leader of the Watchers. After Illidan rose to power in Outland, Maiev was imprisoned at the Warden's Cage in Shadowmoon Valley, where Akama and his Ashtongue Deathsworn served as her jailors.

Maiev allied with Akama and snuck into to the Black Temple during a Sha'tari attack, where she joined Akama and the adventurers he had rallied in the final battle against Illidan. Fuelled by the desire for vengeance, Maiev struck the final blow that ended the Betrayer's life...but instead of relishing in her victory, she became a shell of her former self, admitting that with Illidan now dead, she was nothing.

Maiev is voiced by the actress Debi Mae West in both Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. She appears to be alive in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and is under the service of Akama. On the other hand, the loading screen image might only reference tribute to her achievements alongside Akama in the Black Temple, and does not insinuate her being alive or dead.

Maiev is a driven, austere individual. She both fears and despises arcane magic, and shows her derision openly to its practitioners. Aloof and silent, Maiev is always concerned with her duties or latest assignment. She does not care for the company of others; she refuses to let interpersonal relationships interfere with her cause. Maiev moves with fluid, deadly grace. Her voice is velvet-covered steel. Maiev is cold; her only warmth comes from her rage when she thinks of the Legion’s destruction and Illidan’s horrible treason. Hers is an achingly lonely existence.^[2]

Maiev sees things very much in black and white, and in recent years, lost belief in the concepts of rehabilitation or redemption that she was trained to uphold in Elune's name. She is unwilling to forgive any association that is tied to the Legion or brings harm to others, whether a large one such as Illidan's ultimately siding with Azshara and causing the deaths of millions of life-forms or a comparatively small one such as Drak'Thul's presence during the raising of the Tomb of Sargeras, leading to the deaths of many orcs.

Maiev is loyal to her comrades and determined to ensure they come to no harm. Her fury at Illidan was originally motivated by her disapproval of his actions with Azshara and the fact that he nearly killed Jarod. Later, she is driven to blind hatred after his murder of Naisha and the other Watchers.

By tracing her personality first as a priestess, then as a warden, and finally as vengeance, we can see how she came to hate Illidan in particular. Her election as Illidan's jailor really meant that she became as much a prisoner as he; they merely occupied opposite sides of the bars. Given that, her resentment and rage towards Illidan is easy to understand.

Her first motivation was to punish Illidan for his transgression (which a Kaldorei tribunal sentenced him to, not she), then to stop him from killing anyone else, and finally, pure vengeance.

TYRANDE WHISPERWIND

Tyrande Whisperwind is the chosen high priestess of the goddess Elune, the former general of the night elf sentinels and the current head of the Sisterhood of Elune. Together with her lifelong mate, the archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, she has represented the highest leadership of the night elves since the fall of Queen Azshara and the Highborne caste ten thousand years ago. In World of Warcraft, she is found inside the Temple of the Moon within the Kaldorei's capital city of Darnassus. Tyrande is the passionate, compassionate, beautiful, brave, wise and occasionally rash, leader of the night elf (Kaldorei) people. As such she is also the leader of the night elf Sentinels. She is also the high priestess of the Moon, chosen by Elune herself, and worships Elune with total submission and adoration. She loves Malfurion Stormrage and will do almost anything to help or protect him. Tyrande is a caring soul at her core, and is willing to do anything to protect those she loves and is sworn to protect — which these days means the entire kaldorei race. For what she has done for them, she is highly beloved by the vast majority of kaldorei and refered to sometimes as "the shining light of our people." She is decisive, and may take courses of action that others find disagreeable, but always has the well being of Kalimdor at the forefront of her thoughts. Illidan Stormrage once observed that she looked like a goddess herself in her war regalia, a compliment Tyrande was reluctant to accept, given her inherently peaceful nature. Tyrande is in many ways the perfect avatar for Elune on Azeroth: she is a caring and gentle soul when she needs to be, but is willing to do whatever it takes to protect her home and her people. Tyrande was originally daunted by her task, but found the strength needed to adapt with the support of her beloved Malfurion.

Tyrande Whisperwind grew up together with the two male night elf twins, Malfurion and Illidan Stormrage, in the kaldorei city of Suramar. The three were inseparable, playing in the woods, racing, learning to hunt. Tyrande consistently bested the brothers. As they grew into adulthood together they encouraged each other to find their respective callings. Tyrande was to find peace in the Temple of Elune in Suramar, and became a novice priestess in the order of the Sisters of Elune. Malfurion, meanwhile, was taken under the wing of the demigod Cenarius, but Illidan was yet to find his own destiny, and searched for it in the arts of the arcane. Illidan was enamoured by the very thought of Tyrande, but his brother never even noticed this "contest" of Illidan's over Tyrande's heart.

MALFURION STORMRAGE

Malfurion Stormrage was the first night elf druid, and initiated the mainstream use of druidism among the night elven people ten millenia ago under tutelage of the demigod Cenarius. Through Malfurion's guidance, the kaldorei managed to successfully halt the Burning Legion's first invasion of Azeroth during the War of the Ancients. In its aftermath, he became the greatest of the world's archdruids. Malfurion Stormrage is the twin brother of Illidan Stormrage, as well as the loving and beloved husband of the high priestess of Elune, Tyrande Whisperwind. Together, the two have represented the highest leadership of the night elves ever since the fall of Queen Azshara and her Highborne caste.

Malfurion is often referred to as shan'do, which means "honored teacher" in Darnassian. Connected deeply to the ebb and flow of all life on Azeroth and bearing ten thousand years of responsibility and experience, he is one of the most powerful and venerated mortals of the Warcraft universe. Malfurion was the most dedicated of Cenarius' disciples. In the ancient world before the Great Sundering, Malfurion was a respected scholar loyal to his admired Queen Azshara. He was among the first to notice the distance Azshara and her followers were keeping from their people, and he began to suspect that the powers granted by the Well of Eternity were not as pure as all had believed.

Malfurion Stormrage stands as both prophet and savior to his people. Some time after returning to Kalimdor alongside Tyrande, he learned that a number of night elves were planning to create a new World Tree in the hopes of regaining their lost immortality. Malfurion warned against it, arguing that nature would never bless such a selfish act. Shortly after that, Malfurion returned to the spirit realm known as the Emerald Dream, to replenish his powers after the events of the Second Invasion of the Burning Legion.

Malfurion is the wise and stalwart leader of the night elf druids. He has a fatherly air about him, and takes great pleasure in guiding people to discover insights about themselves and the environment around them. He prefers not to solve problems directly for individuals, or to give completely thorough answers, but rather provide useful hints and advice so that others may achieve discovery on their own.

He is grateful to the orc and human armies for their assistance against the Burning Legion and welcomes visitors of those races with open arms. He also holds great respect for tauren and dwarves. However, Malfurion considers high elves and goblins extremely distasteful, and will expel them from Ashenvale whenever he encounters them. Horde and Alliance politics hold little interest for Malfurion as, in his mind, the needs of his people and their environment transcend what he considers to be petty rivalries between the other races.

ILLIDAN STORMRAGE

Illidan Stormrage was the self-proclaimed Lord of Outland, ruling from the Black Temple. He was born a night elf and, as stated by Maiev Shadowsong, became "neither night elf nor demon, but something more". He was the twin brother of Malfurion Stormrage and was in love with Tyrande Whisperwind. Once an unusually gifted sorcerer, the extent of his powers became difficult to classify due to his powers increasing in large bursts as a Demon Hunter and his having absorbed the powers of the dangerous arcane object known as the Skull of Gul'dan.

His pursuit of power and arcane mastery led him to commit a number of horrific acts against his own people and the races of Azeroth, including defecting to Sargeras during the War of the Ancients and creating the second Well of Eternity. For his actions, he was imprisoned for ten thousand years, until his release during the Third War. He came to be called the Betrayer for his acts against the night elf people and carried the title of Lord of Outland. Seeking to bring down her erstwhile prisoner, Maiev allied with Akama to invade the Black Temple, where she cornered Illidan in his inner sanctum and struck him down, bringing an end to one of the most tragic stories in Azeroth's history.

Illidan, also known as the Betrayer, was the twin brother of Malfurion Stormrage. He was a practitioner of Highborne magic. In his youth, he attempted to master the druidic forces as his brother had, but the sorcery called to him in a way that the magic of the land did not. Unlike his brother, Illidan was born with amber eyes; at the time, this was regarded by the elves as a sign of a great destiny— however, this actually indicated inherent druidic potential.

A great Demon Gate defended the Skull as Illidan and his forces had to fight mightily to gain access to the artifact. Driven by necessity and influenced by the belief that with the increased power, he could at last redeem himself in the eyes of Tyrande, he shattered the demonic seal and used the Skull's powers for his own. Strength he found, but peril greater than power came to him at once. The battle for control of the Skull came with a heavy price and the artifact's powers changed him. Transformed into a demon, Illidan wrapped himself in shadow and utterly destroyed Tichondrius and his demonic forces. But with victory came devastation. Tyrande and Malfurion sensed the demonic power lurking within Illidan and turned away with disgust and despair. Malfurion chastised his brother, convinced that Illidan had traded his soul for more power. Enraged, Malfurion banished his brother from the forests.

QUEEN AZSHARA

Queen Azshara was the beloved ruler of the elven people ten thousand years ago and is the current ruler of the monstrous naga. After her defeat at the hands of Malfurion Stormrage, and the Great Sundering that sent her and much of her Highborne into the sea, Azshara was transformed into the Empress of Nazjatar — progenitor of the serpentine naga.
One day, the queen was approached by her most trusted advisor, Counselor Xavius, who approached her with the idea of using the power of the Well of Eternity to cleanse the world and make it perfect in her eyes. Their meddling with immense magic, however, drew the eye of an interested observer: Sargeras. Seeking to unleash his Burning Legion upon Azeroth, the Dark Titan entranced Xavius, pulling the counselor under his power, followed quickly by most of the Highborne and eventually Azshara herself. Xavius helped the queen communicate with Sargeras, whom she told of her desire to cleanse the world of the lesser races. Sargeras tricked the queen into making a portal from which was launched the first invasion of Azeroth by the Burning Legion, an event which is now known as the War of the Ancients.

Queen Azshara, her handmaidens, and many Highborne sunk into the sea. The Old Gods chose Azshara as another useful tool and transformed her, her Highborne, and her Handmaidens into Naga. The mighty Queen Azshara still lives and rules the naga. Once she awoke at the bottom of the sea, she ordered a palace built to rival her home in Azshara. After the sundering of the world, however, and for the thousands of years since, Queen Azshara lives still, in the vast city of Nazjatar at the bottom of a deep ocean trench. She has embraced the power of the naga, grown in size, and possesses many tentacles bedecked in jewels and items of power. She plots her revenge on the treacherous Night Elves, biding her time until the growing might of the naga can be brought to bear. Living under the sea, she has become queen of the naga.

Azshara was extremely charismatic. Her physical and mental appeal were such that virtually no one noticed her more negative qualities. The vast majority of her servitors were willing to go to any means to elevate themselves in her eyes, even at the cost of their own lives. When Sargeras was contacted Azshara was elated, thinking she had finally found a mate worthy of her. Azshara is known to have used sorcery to increase her appeal, as proved when Illidan detected her spell shortly after receiving his new eyes. Xavius, who considered himself above her charms, was, in fact, completely enamored. Azshara was certainly powerful enough to do so. Mannoroth discovered, to his chagrin, that Azshara was far more powerful than he, and that only Archimonde and Sargeras could have matched her.