The WoW: Forever Beta starts tomorrow, along with the Skyborne’s introduction into playable Azeroth. Whether BlizzCon was your first time hearing about them, or you just want to brush up on your Elven history, here is a lore recap on the Skyborne’s introduction into Azeroth.
The Lore Behind WoW Forever’s Skyborne
To understand the origins of the Skyborne, we have to go back tens of thousands of years. To quantify this, we will use Before Dark Portal (BDP):
- Before the War of the Ancients: The Highborne developed as the elite of Night Elf society. The Highborne were Night Elves possessing unusually high intelligence, skill or wealth.
- Around 12,000 BDP: The Shen’dralar Highborne settled in Eldre’Thalas, or what we now know as Dire Maul, becoming an isolated Highborne society.
- Around 10,000 BDP: The War of the Ancients and Great Sundering take place. The Shen’dralar survive in Eldre’Thalas but become increasingly isolated from the rest of Night Elf society.
- Around 7,300 BDP: Prince Tortheldrin turns to Immol’thar and begins using its power to sustain the Shen’dralar. His actions eventually lead to conflict within the group, with some rebels fleeing Eldre’Thalas
- The rebels escape: Tortheldrin pursues them, but the rebels eventually make a deal with the wind elementals.
- Zephras Isle is created: The elementals lift part of the land into the air and move it into Skywall, the Elemental Plane of Air.
- Thousands of years pass: The elves remain isolated on Zephras Isle, developing their own culture and eventually becoming known as the Skyborne, or Shen’dorei.
Importantly, the Skyborne are not high elves, although both groups descend from the ancient Highborne. The elves who became high elves (led by Dath’Remar) were exiled from Kalimdor around 7,300 BDP, and travelled east to establish Quel’Thalas around 6,800 BDP. These elves would eventually become known as the Blood Elves following the devastation of their homeland, but that’s another story!
Either way, the Skyborne’s ancestors has already gone their seperate way long before!
And now the Skyborne will finally be playable in WoW: Forever. We meet them on their home, Zephras Isle, which is now in trouble as the island’s protective elementals and supporting pylons are beginning to fail.
Check out this early Zephras Isle sketch by Chris Metzen himself!
