Blood elf The Blood Elves or Sin ' dorei in Thalassian ( " children of the blood " ) , are a race composed of former high elves who renamed themselves in honor of their people who were killed during the siege of Quel ' Thalas by the Scourge during the Third War . The blood elves of Azeroth joined the Horde in the " Burning Crusade " expansion , seeking to reunite with Prince Kael ' thas Sunstrider in Outland . They have since reclaimed their capital of Silvermoon City , situated in Eversong Woods . Lor ' themar Theron led them in Kael ' thas ' absence . Now , having discovered Kael ' thas ' true objective ( to summon Kil ' jaeden to the world ) , the blood elves of Silvermoon have abandoned him . Lor ' themar Theron , Halduron Brightwing and Grand Magister Rommath have been presiding over Silvermoon in the absence of any officially appointed leader . Introduction . Those now known as blood elves were once high elves . The transition came about during the Third War , when Prince Arthas turned his attention towards Quel ' Thalas . The Scourge slew more than 90 % of the high elven population , devastating their culture and leading to the renaming . Of the 10 % of the high elven population that remained , 90 % of them adopted the name Sin ' dorei ( " children of the blood " ) or Blood Elves . Prince Kael ' thas Sunstrider was studying magic in Dalaran at the time of the disaster . He returned from his studies to find Quel ' Thalas in ruins . Thirsting for vengeance , Kael ' thas gathered the survivors and renamed them " blood elves " in honor of their fallen kin . Prior to the Sunwell ' s destruction , all high elves were constantly bathed in its magical power . Now bereft of this arcane energy , the blood elves ( and high elves ) suffered from their withdrawals . Kael ' thas claimed that they would soon die without another magical source to replace the Sunwell . The blood elves therefore set about learning to drain magic from alternative sources . Soon , the blood elves clashed with the Scourge and the Amani trolls , who were making inroads into former elven territory . The blood elves defended their homeland , and , eventually , having reestablished a degree of safety to their land and prevented their society from degenerating , Kael ' thas left his homeland . He took a group of the strongest blood elf warriors and spell casters and joined the Alliance against the Scourge . They were eager to avenge themselves on the undead forces ; however , bigotry prevented the human forces from seeing the aid the blood elves could bring to their fight . Due to those human prejudices , Kael ' thas was forced to accept the assistance of the naga queen ' s servant , Lady Vashj , and the reptilian naga during a suicide mission commanded by Grand Marshall Garithos . When the humans discovered that the blood elves were working with the naga , they were imprisoned and sentenced to death by the racist human Grand Marshall Garithos ( who had commanded the New Alliance ) . The blood elves who sided themselves with Kael ' thas escaped with the aid of the naga , fled to Outland , and joined Illidan Stormrage ' s forces . This group of blood elves then helped defeat the demon Magtheridon and claimed his Black Citadel as their own . In exchange for the blood elves ' loyal service , Illidan gave them a place to live , as well as further techniques to siphon mana from anything with arcane power . Blood elves in Outland now hunt demon s and feed off the demons ' magic . As a consequence , despite what other races might suspect , blood elves are hardly on friendly terms with demons . Indeed , blood elves view demons with abhorrence as well . Even blood elf warlock s believe demons are useful tools , not potential allies . It should be noted that while many Blood Elves that followed Kael ' thas to Outland fed upon fel energy , this was not the case for the Blood elves that remained on Azeroth that fed primarily upon mana . Not every blood elf lives in Outland and most blood elves still live in Azeroth , particularly in Quel ' Thalas . These blood elves seek to reclaim their lost homeland and destroy the Scourge at any cost . A lone representative , Rommath , was sent back to Azeroth with a message of hope for the blood elves remaining in Quel ' Thalas : That one day Kael ' thas would return to lead his people to paradise . Rommath has made great progress in teaching the blood elves advanced techniques to manipulate arcane energies . With renewed purpose , the blood elves have now rebuilt the city of Silvermoon , though it is powered by volatile magics . Emboldened by the promise of Kael ' thas ' return , the weary citizens of Quel ' Thalas now focus on regaining their strength , even as they forge a new path into an uncertain future . While they despise most other races , they have come to accept that the Forsaken are different , or at least share the same goals as the blood elves . The blood elves in Outland do not give the Alliance or the Horde much thought . They are busy seeking power and honing their abilities . History . Ten thousand years ago , during the reign of the night elf Queen Azshara , there was an elite magic - using sect known as the Highborne , who dabbled in magics that many other elves considered heretical by drawing upon the power of the Well of Eternity . Fiercely loyal to their queen , the Highborne opened a number of portals under her direction that brought forth the Burning Legion , triggering the War of the Ancients . Some time after the Great Sundering , most of the surviving Highborne were exiled from Kalimdor and settled in the eastern continent , founding the kingdom of Quel ' Thalas . They became known as high elves . During this time , they created the Sunwell , and switched to a diurnal waking cycle . Their purple skin eventually faded to a pale peach color , like that of some human s and dwarves as well as shrinking in stature ( and posture ) . " For the history of the high elves in the years between their exile and the Third War , see high elf . " During the Third War , Prince Arthas led his army of the Scourge against them , ravaging Quel ' Thalas and corrupting the Sunwell . Most of what was left of Quel ' Thalas was burned down by the high elves in an effort to give the Scourge a psychological victory and leave the few high elves left who were making their last stand on Sunstrider Isle . Despite their efforts , most of the high elven population were eradicated during this conflict . In remembrance of their fallen brethren , most of them renamed themselves the blood elves , or sin ' dorei , and swore to avenge their fallen race . Cut off from their source of power once again , the elves went into magic withdrawal . Desperate for aid following the Third War , the blood elves allied with the naga . This was seen as treachery by the New Alliance led by Garithos and they were sentenced to death . Prince Kael ' thas Sunstrider led his followers to freedom , to the extra dimensional wastes of Outland , the remnants of Draenor , and pledged allegiance to Illidan who promised to grant them a new source of magic by siphoning the chaotic energies of demons . Together with their allies the naga , Illidan led the blood elves to conquer Outland , gaining in the process the friendship of the nearly extinct Broken . The blood elves then followed Illidan to the Icecrown Glacier in an attempt to destroy the Lich King ; however , they were defeated by Arthas , who wounded Illidan , forcing the blood elves and naga to retreat , allowing Arthas to ascend the glacier and merge with the Lich King . During the Northrend events , the most powerful blood elves were chosen by Arthas to serve the Scourge as darkfallen , members of the San ' layn . But not all blood elves currently reside in Outland with Illidan : Some have remained in Azeroth . Flushed with their newfound ability to siphon mana from creatures of the Twisting Nether , the blood elves have managed to retake their beloved land of Quel ' Thalas . Silvermoon has been rebuilt and the resident blood elves there plot to return to Outland , where they can reunite with Kael ' thas and achieve the golden destiny he promised them . Unfortunately , the decisions of Kael ' thas to continually accept the aid of the naga and willingness to use fel magic have caused blood elves to be shunned by the Alliance . Thus , the remaining blood elves on Azeroth looked to the Horde to help them reach Outland . Addiction to fel magics and the desperate search for a cure are things the Orcs are very familiar with , and many older orcs who ' ve experienced similar addictions feel a kinship with the blood elves . The trolls who have been the ancient enemy of all quel ' dorei since antiquity accepted them warily . The Forsaken have been working closely with the blood elves to purge the greater Plaguelands of Scourge presence since their induction . Lor ' themar Theron was Sylvanas Windrunner ' s second in command during the Second Battle of Quel ' Thalas , and many Forsaken were high elves culled from the same battle . The aid provided by the Forsaken has included reinforcements , a number of outposts in and around the reclaimed blood elf territories , and a teleportation device between the Undercity and Silvermoon . In Burning Crusade . As of the events that followed in The " Burning Crusade " , the blood elves are caught in the throes of constant combat : with the Scourge presence emanating from Deatholme on one hand ; and continued raids and attacks coming from the Amani troll s , who maintain their own holdings within the ruins and ziggurats of Zul ' Aman on the other . Under direction from leaders within the Ghostlands , young Sin ' dorei ventured forth and worked to disrupt the Scourge efforts , culminating with the eventual battle with and death of their leader , Dar ' Khan Drathir . This set in motion the events that allowed the blood elves to be accepted into the Horde . Meanwhile , the blood elves that had remained in Silvermoon began to find their way to the Dark Portal and Outland in search of their prince and believed - to - be savior . Their search for Kael ' thas instead led to a most shocking discovery : Kael ' thas ' lust for power had led him to break off his alliance with Illidan and pledge his loyalties to Kil ' jaeden and the Burning Legion , the very creators of the Scourge that destroyed their beloved Quel ' Thalas . A group of blood elves who had originally entered Outland with the prince recognized him for the betrayer he was and , in turn , betrayed him . This group , known as the Scryers , pledged their loyalties to A ' dal and the naaru of Shattrath City and worked in concert with them ( and to some extent the Aldor , though they were more rivals than anything ) to bring down Kael ' thas as well as his erstwhile allies Illidan and Lady Vashj . Eventually they would assault Kael ' s stronghold at the former draenei complex of Tempest Keep and presumably defeat him , though events would prove this to be " but a setback . . . " Soon after the defeat of Vashj and Illidan , Kael ' thas made his next bold move : he and his felblood s managed to gain entrance into Silvermoon , kidnap the naaru M ' uru that Kael had sent to the Blood Knight s from Tempest Keep to use as a source of magic , and spirited him off to the Isle of Quel ' Danas . There they hoped to restart the Sunwell for the purpose of summoning Kil ' Jaeden into Azeroth . Such was the depths of Sunstrider ’ s betrayal that the Blood Knights , under the leadership of their matriarch Lady Liadrin , renounced his leadership and pledged their support to A ' dal and the Sha ' tar . Working with the Scryers and the Aldor factions in Shattrath City to create the Shattered Sun Offensive , they took the fight to Kael on the isle . Inside the Magisters ' Terrace , the much - diminished former Sun King faced these unified forces ( and heroes of the Horde and Alliance ) and was ultimately brought to his final defeat . The Sunwell Restored . After the encounter involving Kil ' jaeden , it appeared that the Sunwell ' s powers were exhausted due to Anveena sacrificing herself , banishing Kil ' jaeden back to the Twisting Nether ; however , Prophet Velen and Lady Liadrin appeared to the scene shortly afterwards . Velen dropped M ' uru ' s small flickering " spark " into the Sunwell and , with that , a huge pillar of light emerged from the Sunwell , at which Velen responded : " In time , the light and hope within , [ " sic " ] will rebirth more than this mere fount of power . . . Mayhap - they will rebirth the soul of a nation . " As of " Wrath of the Lich King " , the Sunwell has been canonically restored according to the game ' s manual , although it is not much reflected in - game until the Quel ' Delar quest chain . In Wrath of the Lich King . After the Lich King attacked Azeroth both the Horde and Alliance rallied to launch a counter attack and end the threat of the Lich King once and for all . However the Lich King was not the only threat as Malygos the Spellweaver decided to destroy all mortal magic users that would not align themselves with the blue dragonflight . Thanks to the efforts of Aethas Sunreaver and the Sunreavers the Horde was allowed entry into Dalaran . Both the Horde and Alliance helped the Argent Crusade with creating the Argent Tournament through the Sunreavers and Silver Covenant respectively . Physical appearance . Blood elves between the Third War and " World of Warcraft " were physically identical to high elves , save that they dressed primarily in blacks and reds to remind themselves of their terrible losses . Many painted runes or mysterious tattoos on their faces , arms and shoulders for warding off demons or celebrating significant kills or simply to look intimidating — something high elves would never do . As well , they adopted hairstyles that went against the norms of high elf society . Nevertheless when approaching Alliance towns blood elves would often disguise themselves as high elves to avoid harm . Sin ' dorei also likely have long life spans , and as well , they may grow old and age in a similar way to high elves . How fast they age is unknown but there is evidence of some Sin ' dorei being old enough to have existed since their exile from their Kaldorei cousins . Blood elven males typically have slender , muscular , and athletic bodies . They also possess long pointy ears , acute senses and keen sight in the darkness . Night elves have long , slanted ears while blood elves ' ears are shorter and tend to point upwards . Blood elven females can possess much the same , albeit typically sporting a slim elven physique . Like all elves , blood elves are considered highly attractive by the standards of most mortal races . While it was once believed that blood elves and high elves were exactly the same biological race , separated more by cultural differences than physiological ones , it has since been determined that they are , in fact , beginning to evolve into a separate race , due largely to their consumption of mana from primarily fel sources . This reliance on fel magic causes the eyes of blood elves to glow green . This readily available source of energy also tends to give blood elves a ruddier or paler look compared to their quel ' dorei cousins . A blood elf can appear like a high elf bearing odd red tattoos across his or her face and arms . However , his or her hair and skin is much paler than that of a high elf , their eyes glint with a green light , and they wear blood - red robes . These represent signs of evolution from their high elven cousins , and it is believed that , with time , they may become as physically distant to high elves as satyrs are to night elves . Recently , those blood elves which were most loyal to Kael ' thas Sunstrider have been gifted by Kil ' jaeden with the privilege of engorging themselves on copious amounts of demonic blood , seemingly hastening their demonic evolution into what have come to be known as felblood elves , developing a variety of demonic traits in the process . Those blood elves and high elves who succumb to their magical addiction and descend into madness are counted among the Wretched . Eyes . Although in lore , their eyes are said to be green , they have been shown to be different in some sources : In " The Frozen Throne " , blood elven eyes were depicted white and pupil - less , both in - game and in official artwork . A possible explanation for this is that when the blood elves first began to feed on demonic magic , it took a while for their eyes to change to the green they are known for today . However , since they were deprived of the magic of the Sunwell their eyes lost their blue hue and became white . This is probably false though , since when Valeera Sanguinar absorbed the magic of a naga Sea Witch ' s trident , her eyes instantly turned purple , the color of the magic in the trident . In classic " World of Warcraft " , blood elves had normal white eyes with pupils . The Sunwell Trilogy also depicted them with this appearance . A possible explanation is that all blood elves having green eyes in " World of Warcraft : The Burning Crusade " is simply an exaggeration by Blizzard to help differentiate blood and high elf NPCs , or it ' s simply a mistake by Blizzard . Culture . Blood elves wear crimson - colored robes to suggest their fiery affiliation and the blood of the fallen elves in Quel ' Thalas . Many concentrate on studying arcane and fire magic , as opposed to the traditional frost and water spells of their lost high elf society . Blood elf architecture is much like high elf architecture ( Allerian Stronghold as an example of high elf architecture in - game ) it involves pendulous creations of wondrous curves and columns , its designs natural , floral , flowing , animal , and borrows much from the French style . Certain buildings share remarkable resemblance to French - European Christian Era architectures . Their fountains seem to defy physical boundaries , creating or warping water in impossible ways . Blood elves have flags that feature a phoenix . In the Third War , blood mages had the ability to call phoenixes from the Elemental Plane of fire . These creatures appear to be deeply connected with the blood elves , possibly because they share a destructive nature , or perhaps due to their purely magical composition . This could allow the blood elves to have increased control over them . Since the phoenix dies and becomes reborn , it could be a symbol for the blood elves — the blood elves metaphorically ' died ' as high elves and were reborn as blood elves . Blood elves speak Thalassian and Common due to having learned the languages of their allies . In " World of Warcraft " players speak Thalassian and Orcish . Magical addiction . Since the destruction of the Sunwell at the hands of Arthas and the Scourge , the blood elves have been forced to deal with the sudden relapse of their addiction to arcane energy . A constant curse since the original Well of Eternity was destroyed , the addiction has become more powerful than ever . Blood elves and Highelves spend their waking days struggling with their weakness , seeking either to sate it by siphoning magical energy from their surroundings or to resist the urge to feed . Due to their addiction , a blood elf must spend one hour each morning in meditation , resisting any distractions from their withdrawal . Blood elves have learned to slake their thirst through the art of Mana tapping , which involves absorbing mana from items and , in the case of bloodelves , living things such as " small mana - bearing vermin " . Within the Warcraft RPG , it is stated that blood elves slaked their thirst through the absorption of fel energies . It is also stated that if a blood elf partakes of demon ’ s blood , the magic addiction abates for a number of days . This is later debunked with the non - canonization of the RPG . While the blood elves do not abstain from draining arcane power directly , they are careful to keep their addictions under control , keeping the power their new abilities offer while maintaining self - discipline . Those who lose control over their addiction change into Wretched , and invariably fall into insanity and corruption . As Arcanist Helion ( a starting zone quest NPC ) says , " Control your thirst for magic . . . It is a thirst unending . " It is unknown what state of magical addiction they are in after the Sunwell was restored . Classes . Many blood elves are warlocks or mages , though some become hunters , scouts , or warriors — especially those seeking to be spell breakers , demon hunters , and rangers . A few continue to draw power from the Light and remain priests . Some blood elves take their demonic obsession one step further and become felsworn , while others choose to draw on the magic of the Legion and become blood mage s . Alignment . Most blood elves are not insane or evil — they just choose to fight fire with fire . They are suffering due to the loss of their precious Sunwell ; they all needed — and still need — to feed on arcane energies , even though most of them aren ' t spellcasters . The most powerful blood elf spellcasters are insane , as the magic they wield is corrupting . On the other hand , the Farstriders , using little magic , are considered to be the epitome of selfless dedication . This blood elven sect is considered valiant , honorable and noble on the official site . Relationships . While they hate most races , they have come to accept the Forsaken , as they share the same goals . The western Horde recognizes the blood elves as dangerous , volatile and ultimately destructive . They are on neutral terms with the western Horde , though they still have the idea of them being barbaric . Blood elves feel betrayed by the Alliance and are enemies of both humanity and the night elves . The blood elves try to draw the remaining high elves into their fold — a concept the high elves view with horror and revulsion . Indeed , the existence of the blood elves demonstrates the depth of the corruption possible for this once mighty race , and the high elves see them as a dire warning . Many high elves seek to make amends for evils wrought by their demented kin . Blood elves get along well with the naga — with whom they share Highborne ancestry — and other independent factions . They are not welcome in Alliance lands . The Alliance represents all that the blood elves hate in the world . The humans led the Exodus from Lordaeron , abandoning the blood elves to the Scourge , taking many high elves with them . The high elves are weak ; they have potential to reach blood elf status , but they will not embrace the power and therefore are of little use . The night elves are remembered as the elves who banished them from their homes so very long ago , and those grudges still run deep . The other races are disliked merely for their representation in the Alliance — the friend of my enemy is my enemy , so to speak . The Alliance view them as dangerous ( and mad , in some cases ) . The arcane spellcasters in the Alliance agree that the blood elves have gone too far in their quest for power — even the high elves are sickened and frightened by their former allies ' loss of compassion and self - control . The blood elves have little use for the Alliance , and the downfall of this faction is next on their list after they have purged the Scourge from Lordaeron . However , this view may have changed as with King Varian ' s return as he has come to understand their position through Valeera Sanguinar . The blood elves consider the naga their allies and friends . The other neutral races that interest them are the goblins and some of dark trolls . The goblins are the only merchants who will sell to the blood elves without prejudice ; if an Alliance or Horde merchant would even allow a blood elf to look at her goods , she would most certainly raise the prices astronomically . The troll tribes often have items or information of use to the blood elves , and they hate the night elves with almost the same passion . Many blood elves have insinuated their way back into the world and seek out places rich in magical power — such as Ashenvale Forest . Some blood elves , steeped so thick in pain and anger , have joined the Shadow Council in Felwood . Alignment . Illidari Council In the December 2005 issue of " Computer Gaming World " , Metzen had said blood elves are not an evil race . Tensions from the aftermath of the Second War have become burning hatreds . The high elves officially withdrew from the Alliance after the Second War under the belief that not enough troops were sent to protect Quel ' Thalas , and thus led to a needlessly engorged amount of slaughter and destruction . A few high elves remained under their own volition to continue serving the Alliance , but the loyalty of even these voluntary troops waned after the second sacking of Quel ' Thalas by Arthas — who had recently destroyed his own kingdom — to which the remnants of the Alliance of Lordaeron took no steps in intervening . Finally , with Lord Garithos ' s dismissive , blatantly racist treatment of blood elven troops and attempt to execute many blood elves for accepting boats from naga , even more fell under the sway of Kael ' thas ' new vision for his people . As a result , blood elves are fierce jingoists , believing that the only people they can truly trust are their own . They are perceived as reckless and haughty , exhibiting none of the serenity or calm judgment of their ancestral peoples , and jumping at opportunity and quick solutions with little regard for the consequences . They believe power is not something to be earned — it is to be taken . Power is something to be manipulated for yourself and the greater good of all blood elves . This reasoning also plays into how the blood elves successfully drained pure Light energy from the naaru to become Blood Knights , and paying no interest to the paladin credos of benevolence or balance with the universe ( although regular paladins can unknowingly be corrupt ) . This may have changed with the Blood Knights ' introduction to the Shattered Sun Offensive , however . Indeed , one can even argue that — while they officially are a monarchy undergoing an interregnum — the blood elves border on being a fascist state . Their contempt for other races and feelings of superiority to them , their aggressive use of propaganda ( such as the Arcane Guardian s promoting a messianic view of first Kael ' thas and then Lor ' themar ) and mind - control ( such as the silencing of the dissidents in the Silvermoon City Bazaar ) , and their general " us against the world " attitude all are hallmarks of historical real - world fascist governments . Only time will tell whether continued cooperation with and exposure to the other Horde races and their philosophies will begin to change the blood elves ' view of the world and their place in it . The official " " webpage mentions blood elves having a " dark destiny " . This likely refers to the fact that blood elves under Kael ' thas had joined with the Burning Legion , under the demonic Illidan and the naga . This likely is not in reference to the majority of blood elves who were left on Azeroth who do not know about Kael ' thas ' decision . Indeed , many of those back on Azeroth chose to turn against Kael ' thas when they learned of it . A large faction of blood elves previously under the direct command of Kael ' thas defected , and are now known as the Scryers , and currently operate to fight against the prince . Speculation . Appearance . Blood elf physical traits are likely to be passed down genetically , though it is also possible that some traits may also be passed down from mothers to children while they are in the womb , or even by breast feeding . Given that most of these traits are the result of exposure to fel energy and not withdrawal ( the surviving high elves do not suffer any withdrawal symptoms other than a slightly more haggard appearance ) , they have been theorized to be permanent , as with the color of orcish skin , changing from brown to green when the race was corrupted with the blood of demons . From a gameplay standpoint it is unlikely that the green eyes would be changed as aside from faction , this is the only way players can tell apart Blood and High Elf Npcs . Could blood elves rejoin the high elves ? With the recent developments of the banishment of Kil ' jaeden and the restoration of the Sunwell , one could argue that the blood elves have in effect been restored to high elves or could return to being high elves . The elves no longer have to turn to fel magic to feed their addiction , and it has been speculated that the Sunwell ' s energies can reverse the physical changes that come with fel consumption ( although there is not yet any evidence to support this ) , hinting at the possibility of reconciliation . At this point , however , there are many cultural differences between the high elves and the blood elves , and there are probably only a handful of blood elves who would even choose to revert . On the flip side , most high elves regard the blood elves as traitors , and would not take them back . This is later confirmed with " Wrath of the Lich King " , where in Dalaran , a faction of high elves , the Silver Covenant stand as direct opposition of the blood elves , the Sunreavers in Dalaran despite the fact that with the Sunwells return the blood elves no longer have to consume fel energies . Despite this opposition , some blood elves continue to hold the desire to unify their once glorious race . A prime example of this mindset is Tae ' thelan Bloodwatcher , the leader of the Reliquary . His goal to cure the elves of their addiction for good , through controlled methods , combined with the Sin ' dorei allowing their cousins access to the Sunwell , could see the already small gap between the two sides of the Silvermoon coin become even smaller .