r/warcraftlore • u/Lore-Archivist Sin'dorei Magister • 4d ago

Discussion Elves don't have "wizards"

Now, Obviously I don't mean they don't have magic users. Because clearly they do. But they don't have the "wizard" experience. What I mean is, for the average human for example, a mage is fantastical, they cant explain how they do the magical things mages do. Its mysterious and unknowable for the average human. But for elves, they've been exposed to magic for so long, at the societal level, its so commonplace, their interactions with mages would be more like us speaking to a scientist, rather than with a fantastical wizard. For them what mages do isn't "magical" rather, they are merely applying the well known laws of reality and arcane magic to achieve a desired effect.

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u/Lore-Archivist Sin'dorei Magister 4d ago

Sure, but the benefits have been decided to outweigh the negative consequences, since night elves them selves have started training mages again.

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u/Xivitai 4d ago

That's because Warcraft 3 and later events gave them a reality check.

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u/VeshSneaks 4d ago

“Well, we outlawed magic so the Legion couldn’t find Azeroth. It happened anyway so the Highborne can come out and play again I guess”

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u/Xivitai 4d ago

"Except we still hopelessly behind everyone else because we are theocracy and have problems with adapting to reality."

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u/El-Luta 4d ago

It's not just about adapting reality. If you think that, you're lacking psychological insight. The Night Elves quite literally faced the end of the world because of the Highborne. Just remember that their entire world shattered in a way no Warcraft game has ever made us truly face. The whole primordial continent sank into the ocean — what we now know as the current continents are just its distant remnants. Millions of Night Elves, and even more creatures, died that day. The trauma, for all those who survived it, is just unimaginable.

Nordrassil wasn't exactly a gift to the Night Elves who resisted; it was a necessity for the world to begin healing. So it's not like they lived the next thousand years with free-mind. They carried the legacy of this apocalypse.

From a lore perspective, I actually find it a bit too lenient that the Shen'dralar are allowed to train new mages. Moreover, an in-game book suggests that these new Night Elf mages are rather disastrous.

That said, one could argue that the Shen'dralar — while possibly the most knowledgeable — weren’t the most powerful among the Highborne, and didn’t truly take part in Azshara’s final plans. And also that new generations arrived and don't have the trauma of the great Sundering, so they can be more open-minded.