Elune Elune is the major deity worshipped by the night elves . She is associated with the larger of Azeroth ' s two moon s , the White Lady , and is the mother of Cenarius . In tauren mythology , she is known as Mu ' sha , and is the left eye of the Earthmother . Elune is one of the few true deities in the world , and the most powerful Eternal . In the world ' s infancy , she protected all living things and allowed them the chance to grow and thrive . Whenever she found violence , she would cast her calming influence across the land so that peace and healing might be given another chance to thrive . Thus , it was for many centuries , until arcane energy began to leak into the world through the Well of Eternity . Despite her attempts to guide them away , she watched in horror as her spiritual children among the kaldorei were drawn to the Well and seduced by its power . Though her companion Malorne and their child Cenarius joined her faithful among the kaldorei in an attempt to stave off the arrival of the Burning Legion , the demons spilled across the land in a wave of death and destruction that even the moon goddess could not prevent . With the Great Sundering and the terrible loss of life that came with it , the demons were defeated . Just as she felt she had once again brought Azeroth toward a new era of peace , the human kingdoms fell under the corrupting influence of high elven magic , and crumbled into chaos . Shortly thereafter , the orcish Horde came to Azeroth and sparked a new era of warfare that threatens to consume the world like the War of the Ancients did so long ago . Though her kaldorei followers have returned from their time in the Emerald Dream , it has yet to be seen if the moon goddess will take any direct action during this time of trouble . Elune never engages in combat of any kind , nor does she allow it to occur in her presence . Though she never physically manifests in the world of mortals , when she involves herself in a violent situation she arrives invisibly and undetected using her song of peace to calm the combatants until sunrise . Appearance . It ' s difficult to make the goddess out through the luminescence that surrounds her , only catching glimpses of alabaster skin and long , pale hair , graceful gossamer robes and a platinum circlet upon her brow . Her eyes are brilliant orbs of pure moonlight , and she smiles peacefully upon her worshippers . Elune faiths . Elune is revered by those who worship her as the mother of the world , a scion of peace and a protector of all living things . The majority of the kaldorei strive to follow in her footsteps , though most rationalize their need to resort to violence as the shortcoming of a mortal existence . Even those who worship other powers respect Elune for the unconditional love she gives to all creatures regardless of their beliefs or actions . Though she has never shown herself in physical form on the Material Plane , all the creatures of Azeroth know that were she to do so , it would herald the arrival of a long awaited era of peace . Devotion . Formal worship of Elune dates back about 14 , 000 years , before the rise of Azshara and the Highborne , though she was certainly worshipped long before that , probably by the most primitive of kaldorei . Her original cult center was near Zin - Azshari , but the Sisters of Elune moved the temple to Suramar when it was clear Azshara cared more for the luxury of herself and the Highborne than anyone else . After Suramar fell , Elune was the main source of hope for the millions of refugees fleeing the Burning Legion . Elune ' s worship was essentially universal ( no cult centers ) for the night elves in the ten thousand years between the War of the Ancients and the Third War ( the Long Vigil ) . Elune expected dedication from her priestesses , but she did not demand that they give her every waking moment — the Mother Moon was a kind , loving mistress . One of these dedications was called the Ritual of the High Moon . The center of her worship is now the Temple of the Moon in Darnassus . Tyrande Whisperwind is her high priestess , but many priestesses , and for the first time , male priests , are found throughout the world , ready to heal war - weary Azeroth with her light . Night elf beliefs . Elune is the central focus of worship for the Sentinels and the Sisters of Elune in night elf culture , while the druids tend to focus more on nature and Elune ' s son Cenarius , though they believe in her power . Elune has never made herself known to any living creature in the physical plane in a physical form , though she is sometimes depicted as a night elf female with a skin that glows with intensity , eyes of pure silver moonlight , and her clothing adorned with silvery jewelry . The night elves have various beliefs regarding her powers , including , but by no means limited to : " ( Note that these powers are described in a variety of sources , and some may never actually appear in WoW ) " The night elves believe that Elune protects all living beings and let them grow and thrive , casting her calming influence over many races to avoid conflicts . With Malorne and Cenarius , Elune helped the primitive night elves evolve without becoming corrupted by the arcane magic of the Well of Eternity for many centuries . Despite their vigil over the elves , Queen Azshara and the highborne were corrupted by the magic of the Well . As the Night Warrior , Elune is said to have gathered the souls of the righteous fallen from the battlefield and spread them across the sky as stars . Divine interventions . She is not likely to ever appear in physical , or even non - physical form ( except perhaps in a hallucination ) . Worship of Elune is meant to grant peace and these occasional interventions — unlike the Aspects , Guardians , or even mortals , She is not meant to actively defend ( the War of the Ancients and the Battle of Mt . Hyjal notwithstanding ) — She is abstract and spiritual , a light in the darkness , hope in despair . Religious practice . The night elves use the word " god " in plural ( " Gods help us all " ; " May the gods have mercy " ) , and the Temple of the Moon in Suramar had frescoes and murals depicting Elune and many other gods ( actual gods , not demigods ) shaping the world . We infer that the night elf religion , though centered around Elune , is actually polytheistic ( the druids ' reverence of certain demigods supports this ) . Elune ' s worship therefore is more like a dominant mystery cult than a monotheism , similar to the religions of Ancient Egypt or Ancient Greece on Earth . The tauren and the earthen were also known to honor , if not outright worship Elune . The earthen were aware that it was she who gave birth to Cenarius , and were surprised to hear that Ysera was regarded as his mother . It ' s unknown if this means that the earthen worshipped her , or were merely better - informed about the origins of Kalimdor ' s demigods . A tauren myth , the " White Stag and the Moon " , relates how Apa ' ro ( Malorne ) fled the Shu ' halo ( Tauren ) by escaping into the sky , but was entangled by the stars . Mu ' sha saw him and fell in love with him , and agreed to free him if he loved her . Mu ' sha ' s actions appear slightly out of character with Elune as understood by the night elves and the earthen , but it might be helpful to interpret it as a " just - so " story that the tauren used to explain the origin of Cenarius . In World of Warcraft . Darnassus ' Temple of the Moon is dedicated to Elune . Players can encounter the Voice of Elune upon the completion of . In Legion . The player character makes contact with the Prime Naaru , Xe ' ra . She confirms that she and the other Naaru were made by Elune in the great ordering of Light and Shadow . This connects Elune to The Light , the same power that humans revere . When Ysera is killed , Elune turns her into a constellation , turns her body into a glade and purifies the corrupted Tear of Elune , a Pillar of Creation . Ysera and Elune . Many fans theorized that Elune and Ysera are the same being , since they are both described as the mother of Cenarius and show great compassion for the lesser races . However , writer Richard A . Knaak has confirmed that they are NOT the same . The Warcraft encyclopedia also confirms that they are separate entities , Elune being Cenarius ' s mother and Ysera being his teacher . Elune as mother of the night elves . While one legend states that night elves descended from troll s ( a theory created by the trolls but fiercely disputed by the elves ) , other legends imply that night elves originated from Elune or one of her offspring , or at least changed into her likeness . If that is so then it would explain why they share resemblance to both dryad s , keepers of the grove , and the biological mother of Cenarius . Inspiration . Elune ' s name almost certainly comes from the Latin root " Luna " , meaning Moon . In modern mythological studies , Elune can be considered a " Great Goddess " figure . As with many lunar fantasy goddesses , aspects of Elune ' s character are likely drawn from the Greek lunar goddesses ( or the parallel of the Roman goddess - the personification of the moon and hunt ) or ( or roman ) . Another possible inspiration is , the Goddess of Stars and patron deity of the elves in ' s legendarium . Elune and Elbereth share many similarities , including appearance , names , epithets , and their relationship to elves . Given the influence has had on Warcraft , Elune may also be loosely based upon the default goddess , goddess of elves and autumn or the " Forgotten Realms " goddess ( notice the similar name , though different pronunciation ) , the generic personification of the moon , or perhaps , the good dark elven goddess of dance , song and moonlight . Elune and Sehanine share a particular habit of rarely , if ever , manifesting themselves , communicating with their Chosen through dreams and moonlight . It is revealed in the fourth edition of D & D that Sehanine is in fact an aspect of Selûne . Speculation . Some have speculated , based on a conversation Tyrande Whisperwind and Prophet Velen in which Velen cautiously introduces the theory that Elune is in fact one of the Naaru , a race of beings made of pure light and capable of bestowing great holy power to those it deems worthy . This would also explain the so called " Voice of Elune " due to the fact that the Naaru communicate through impressions and telepathy . Trolls and Elune . It is possible elements of both stories are true : The night elves may have been shaped from the trolls who found the Well of Eternity in Elune ' s own image . This would explain the resemblance to dryads and keepers , who have a biological link to Elune herself . Following this though : If elves really have descended from trolls , it is possible that before that transition Elune was worshiped as a powerful Loa , different from other bloodthirsty trolls gods . While most Loas are animalistic in nature in rare situation a powerful tribe member rises to the level of demi - god ( Zanza the Restless is such example ) . If this is true she would have changed Dark Trolls into Dark elves . A tribe of nocturnal Humanoids was summoned to the Well of Eternity who made them strong wise and virtually immortal and was further transformed inte the Night elves . Dark Trolls + Elune = Dark elves , Dark elves + Well of Eternity = Night Elves Elune , the Old Goddess ? It has been widely speculated that Elune may actually be an Old God of some sort . Theories range from her being just as evil as the others ( using the Night Elves as C ' Thun and Yogg - Saron have used the Qiraji and the Faceless Ones ) to her being the only " good " Old God . Common Night Elf phrases like " I heed the voice of Elune , " may refer to the same sort of " whispers " used by the Old Gods , albeit benevolent one . Similarly , some speculate that the transformation of trolls into night elves ( if that tale is true ) is similar to the biological changes wrought by the Old Gods upon the Qiraji ( originally Aqir ) , Naga ( originally night elves ) and Faceless Ones . If she is an Old God , it is possible that she is the one trapped beneath the Maelstrom , given that Elune was believed by early Kaldorei to sleep beneath the original Well of Eternity . Elune and the Old Gods usually described as the only actual " gods " in the Warcraft setting , making it possible there is some kind of connection . Besides that , during the war between the Titans and the Old Gods , it is unknown whether she participates . If so , she is likely sided with the Titans and the only Old God to do so . But , it seems unlikely given her omnibenevolent and pacific personality . It can also be assumed that she aided the Titans in shaping Azeroth as the mural in the Temple of Elune depicting Elune shaping the world with " other gods " . The " other gods " could be the Titans , but this is not confirmed yet . On the other hand , Elune , through Tyrande , assisted the brothers Stormrage in destroying the Well ( preventing both the arrival of Sargeras and the release of the Old Gods ) and her followers have routinely disrupted the plans of the Qiraji and Naga , two of the Old Gods ' servant races . Elune also gave Tyrande the power to free Eranikus from the Emerald Nightmare ( widely speculated to be the work of an Old God ) . Additionally , several materials indicate that Elune is fundamentally non - corporeal , while the Old Gods clearly have physical bodies of some sort . It should be noted the evidence presented above is circumstantial , and no official source draws a connection between Elune and the Old Gods .