Blood Elf (race RP guide)

== A day in life ==
As the first rays of the golden dawn pierced the thin muslin curtains illuminating his bedchamber, Eldhor Galamin slowly roused from his nightly rest, a smile forming on his lips. He'd been dreaming of his childhood, remembering a game he once played with his little sister, hiding flowers in various places around their village and watching who would find them. Gessen Almavaar, head of the local Druid circle, found so many of them that he fashioned a chain and presented them to the two children. They never figured out how he found so many of the flowers; they thought they were very careful in hiding them.
Eldhor stretched under his fine woolen duvet for one last time, rolled out, reached for his clothes and rushed to the bathroom to perform his morning ablutions. His two housemates and sister were to wake up soon, he recalled, and it was his turn to prepare breakfast. He put on his tunic and trousers, followed by a pair of soft leather boots, a green cloak and left through the door, emerging on the paved ground of the Walk of Elders. He began to made his way towards the Bazaar where peddlers and street vendors already assembled their stalls, setting their freshly-gathered foodstuffs on display. He walked down the plaza of the Walk, passing dozens other Sin'dorei going about their businesses, nodding at the guards on patrol and greeting the occasional Farstrider who happened to walk by, moving out to the woods to attend their duties. Finally, he took a turn to the left, passed the gate and emerged at his destination, already bustling with commerce and trade.
As per usual, the stalls at the Bazaar were not arranged into neat lines or separated by kind, but rather set up the elven way, intersected with one another and with auctioneer posts in semblance of nature's randomness. Stopping for a moment to greet a, judging by the colouration and fashion of her robe, Magus who just left her house and also went shopping, Eldhor headed for the stalls. Greeting acquaintances and exchanging friendly banter with the merchants he knew, he made apples, pears, pommegranates and plums land into his bag, followed by berries, flour, honey, milk and sweet herbs. Throwing the full sack upon his shoulder, he wanted to make his way home but was distracted by a small commotion centered around a huge, hulking figure covered with short fur and with bovine features. Eldhor approached; he knew the new allies of the Sin'dorei, the Horde were very strange: Orcs who once burned the forests of Quel'thalas, Trolls - a tribe which never slighted them though - he reminded himself, Undead ruled by a great and tragic hero of Quel'dorei - Sylvanas Windrunner, no Banshee Queen - and the Tauren. He'd never seen a Tauren before, thus he moved towards the creature, eyeing and absorbing its - or rather his - looks. The Tauren was over eight feet tall, with mottled black and white fur. He was dressed in a leather vest and kilt, as well as a pair of bracers upon his wrists and his head sported a pair of impressive-looking horns. The creature had a lost and confused look upon his snout as he was trying to communicate with a few Sin'dorei guards in a low and guttural language Eldhor recognised as Orcish. He dared a look at his kin gathered around the Tauren's hulking figure, finding out that expressions of friendly curiosity prevailed, along with sympathetic jokes.
"Does anyone here speak Orcish?!" one of the guards speaking to the Tauren cried out in frustration, to which the Magus he'd met before stepped forward with an amused smile. Her rather plain facial features, Eldhor noticed, were unbelievably beautiful in some unspeakable way and her robe was made of the finest velvet embroidered with elaborate, flowing and spiraling motifs of leaves and roses.
"W-why have you been waiting for so long, Magistrix?" the guard asked, completely bemused. 
"Oh, please" the female recoiled with a pleasant smile, "it was so fun to see you struggle and besides, who am I to rob the crowd of its entertainment?" which caused most gathered Sin'dorei to roar out in merry laughter. The female Magus turned towards the Tauren and exchanged a few sentences. Eldhor noticed the Arcanist struggling considerably to pronounce her quotes. Finally, the huge Tauren transformed into a large predatory cat, causing the gathered Elves to applaud, and nimbly ran off. 
"I should follow his example" Eldhor thought, "lest they flay me alive for being left hungry and alone for so long." He smiled and started walking back to where he lived.
In the kitchen, he ground the grain and chopped the fruit, then added milk, honey and sweet herbs to make a light dough. He dropped portions of it onto a magic-powered griddle and soon had morning cakes piled on a plate and ready to eat.
"Breakfast!" exclaimed Caliden as he entered the room rubbing his hands together. Soon the whole house was gathered around the table.
"I must say, your skill at cooking is improving," said Meriel, a Blood Knight initiate, as she munched another of the cakes "I can clearly feel my stomach not being pulled down into my bottom by the today's culinary experiment of yours." he finished with a playful smile.
"As is his skill with the sword" Caliden added, "I heard Master Amerain saying he can venture into Ghostlands and he may even get back alive! Ready for the Track of Murder? Eh, Eldhor?"
Oh yeah. Samava's Trail, known as the Track of Murder was a thirty-mile long pathway crisscrossing Quel'thalas along some of its most beautiful natural monuments. Young Farstriders like Eldhor had to pass it twice a day, running all the way. In addition, Farstrider masters loved to add small inconveniences to the track: a missing footbridge over Thorondril or Erlendar River, slick oil spilled over the rocks, a snare cleverly hidden in the grass - all to keep the students sharp and alert.
Eldhor packed a few leftover cakes into a travel satchel and started to dress up for his training. Away went the tunic and breeches of fine cotton, replaced by a similar garment made of soft but very durable wool. It was covered by a baldrick and leggins of leather tanned till near cloth-like suppleness and high durability. Finally, Eldhor donned his new battlemail, specially enchanted to weigh as much as a feather, be as flexible as a suit of cloth and to protect as good as full plate. He strapped a scabbard with a curved Elven sabre to his back and made his way towards the Trail.
As he ran along the Track, Eldhor had ample opportunity to reconsider the traditional dislike between Farstriders and Magisters and he decided that warming up a little would be in order. His undershirt, trousers, as well as his leather baldrick and leggins were all magically-treated, allowing for easy transpiration of sweat, thus keeping his body cool and dry. His boots would stay comfortable after a whole day of training, and foul odours would never be a problem. Finally, the armour...
Eldhor jumped over a spor on the track that to the untrained eye looked completely inconspicious. It wasn't; a little blue bird told him yesterday that an incautious person who stepped on the spot he just leapt over would spend the next half an hour hanging upside-down from an impressive specimen of the common Fire Oak which grew nearby until a Master, roaring with laughter, would come pull him down.
...The armour, as noticed before, was light, flexible and about as effective as a suit of plate. Eldhor made a leap over a cleverly concealed pit, an ancient joke for novices to the Track. In times before the Fall, suits of armour like these were commonplace, he heard.
Ah, I see the stream already, he thought as he made a calculated leap onto the footbridge placed over its banks. Except that there was no footbridge ths time and Eldhor fell right into the middle of the strangely deep creek. As he scrambled towards the bank and got to the safe land, he could swear he heard echoes of merry laughter.
The day was warm and it took only a few minutes until Eldhor was dry again. Before leaving, however, he saw an another adept ignoring caution and ending up in the water. He ran, laughing.
the next part of the run was difficult, through rolling hills, up and down and up again. Once again he admired the virtues of cooperation for even after climbing three hills his breathing was regular and his strides effortless thanks to breathing techniques created in ancient times and which he painstakingly learned from his magic and sword tutors.
The next part of the track led him past a small waterfall and a lake the constant torrent created. He would normally only give it a passing glance, for the place was very beautiful, but today he spotted something unusual: an Elf was bathing in the pond. She was decidedly female, oh yes, only a blind person would not notice that. The nymph caught Eldhor's admiring gaze and answered with her own, deep and sensual. Then she motioned with her head towards something that seemed to lie before Eldhor. The Elf turned his head to look at the path before him and saw more stars than on a new moon night!
He butted his forehead against a wooden plank that had been attached to a pair of Fire Oaks on the sides of the path...
He lay prone for a few minutes until the swirling nebulas and galaxies vanished from his sight, listening to the cheerful, mocking laugh of the fake nymph. Finally he got up and went on, the nymph bidding him farewell from her pond. That was new, he thought as the last strains of dizziness evaporated from his head. 
== Description ==
Blood Elves are taller and more willowy compared to Humans. Their height ranges from 5'7" to 6'4" and they generally weigh 100 to 175 pounds. Males and females are usually equal in height, although males are somewhat more muscular. Elves' lithe bodies are perfectly proportioned, and their movements are almost supernaturally graceful. 
Blood Elves have retained the High Elf hair colour palette (white to flaxen coloured hair), but blacks, browns and reds are not unheard of. Likewise, their skin tones are similar to High Elven, but due to the usage of fel energies some Blood Elves find their skin becoming ruddier or unnaturally pale. Sometimes they develop markings on their skin which may look like odd red tattoos. Facial hair occurs only on males and in very little amounts.
Blood Elves' features are misleadingly similar to those of High Elves, well-defined and elegant, although sharper and more angular than those of humans. Their almond-shaped eyes can be blue, green, red, violet, gold, silver or lavender, however, their true colour is almost uniformly obscured by a green glow due to use of fel energies. Their long ears steep upwards to pointed ends - a factor many claim to contribute to their acute hearing.
=== Clothing ===
Blood Elves' dressing habits did not stray far from those of their High Elven cousins: they dress in simple, comfortable clothing and their garb always has an elegance in keeping with their normally graceful bearing. Linen, silk, cotton and wool are common fabrics of elven clothing and their tailors have developed the skill to spin even the coarsest of natural fibres into incredibly fine thread that is then tightly woven into soft cloth of surprising strength. Leathers and furs are commonly used to endow clothes with strength and protection. Leather is always tanned to a fine, supple texture. Furs provide both warmth and elegance so all fair-skinned elves often incorporate it into their garb. Soft furs such as rabbit or lynx are preferred over bear and other rough-textured furs. Spider silk, certain mosses and fibres of flower stalks are also sometimes spun into their cloth. Finally, elves use magical treatment and weave different fibres together to create tactile interest and combine the characteristics of different types of cloth.
Colours and styles of clothing vary with individual taste. Blood Elves who live in the country prefer muted tones that help them blend into the surrounding forest; city-dwelling Sin'dorei prefer bright colours that range from pastel to jewel tones. Dyes are mostly drawn from plant-based natural sources, but many magic-using Blood Elves use Transmutation magic for the same effect. Multihued garments are reasonably common, but the patterns of those colours are rarely geometric. Elves prefer irregular swatches of colour that resemble sun-dappled forest floor, wind-tossed storm clouds and, last but not least, complex designs of flowing, growing patterns, often adorned with floral motifs.
High and Blood Elves see adornment and elegance of style as declarations of individuality and a highly-civilised society. A tunic, cloak or pair of trousers may be adorned with embroidery, encrusted with tiny gems or decorated with bits of polished wood. Alternatively, an item of clothing may be cut or pierced in some dramatic way. Embroidery can range from a border done in a contrasting colour to a fantastic design prominently displayed on a sleeve or bodice. Metallic threads are sometimes used for such embellishments by wealthier elves, but the colours of nature, ranging from muted earth tones to bright colours of the sun, sky, sea, moon or briliant flowers are more commonly chosen. Leather and fur are also dyed at times, but are mostly left natural and adorned in other ways.
Fastenings made of metal are rare, base metals are almost never used in elven clothing although precious metals may be used as adornment. Usually elven clothing is fastened with hooks or buttons made of polished wood, careved bone and ivory fasteners ot leather straps are also common.
Footwear typically consists of boots made of supple leather affixed to sturdy soles made of wood or hardened leather; more delicate footwear is sometimes used for ceremonial purposes. Sandals composed of leather soles secured to the bottoms of the feet by long thread or leather thongs laced up to the calf are often used as footgear for dancing or pursuits requiring only minimal protection. Shoes carved into fantastic designs from crystal or other precious materials are sometimes used by the wealthiest of nobles in most important affairs.
All elven clothing, whether for daily wear or important ceremonies is styled for comfort and ease of movement. To an elf, clothing that binds, restricts and fails to give protection, warmth or comfort in situations it is intended for is worse than useless. 
Almost all elves wear jewellery of some kind. The materials may or may be not of exceptional value, but they are always worked to enhance their beauty rather than left rustic and natural. Circlets, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, armbands, anklets and rings are common. Designs are invariably light and airy rather than ostentatious and bulky and often reflect nature in some stylised way. Pendants shaped like birds or leaves are common, as are circlets whose lines are reminiscent of running water. Gemstones are often incorporated into jewellery designs, usually in a way that integrates them with the whole of the piece. Huge, crudely cut and polished gemstones plunked into hammered gold settings and floating chunks of rough crystal are for humans and orcs; elves perfer lightness, artistry and delicacy in their jewellery.
Typical garb for either gender consists of a tunic and trousers covered by a cloak or robe. The tunic is usually made of fine, tightly woven linen, wool or silk and trousers are often made of wool spun fine and tightly woven. Cloaks are made of sturdy cloth because they serve a variety of purposes. They may be worn for warmth, wrapped around oneself for resting or spread on the ground to sit on. Travelling cloaks are usually dyed brown, green or some combination of these colours to help blend in with the surroundings. Cloaks worn in towns and cities are usually brilliantly coloured and richly decorated, often with fur or feathers.
Elegantly cut robes and gowns are beloved by elves attending ceremonial functions and spellcasters. Such gown lends itself well to unusual designs and is often cut to expose chest, legs or midriff.
=== Grooming ===
The iconic elven individualism gives rise to a devotion for personal grooming unequalled in most other races. The elves' strong respect for self engenders an inborn desire to care for their own bodies - especially since these bodies must last for hundreds and even thousands of years.
Thus, High and Blood Elves have raised grooming to the level of a daily ritual. Each Blood Elven dwelling has access to running water, either in the form of a bathing room to which it is provided directly from the Elemental Plane via a portal (controlled with a simple tap) or a natural waterway nearby. Elves bathe daily, as mentioned above, and they may do it with others of their kind or alone, depending on preference and their preference may change according to mood. Joining an elf in bathing without permission is considered particularly rude. No societal mores ban bathing with the opposite sex, but doing so represents a great deal of intimacy rarely seen outside of families.
Elves produce natural soaps from plant materials that degrade quickly in water. Thus, their penchant for thorough cleaning does no harm to plants, animals nor elementals which may live in the water where they bathe.
Unlike most other races elves take exceptional care of their teeth. Once or twice a day they chew green twigs and force their frayed ends between their teeth to clean out bits of food and shine their teeth. This level of care ensues that they generally lose teeth only due to injury or accident.
Most elves wear their hair long and keep it brushed to a sheen. Brushing such long, fine tresses takes considerable time though, so elves do not regret this and treat brushing as yet an another daily ritual. The rhythm of the brushing movement induces a state of calmness many find useful for thinking through matters of all kinds, while some simply enjoy the tactile sensation. After it is brushed, the hair is styled in whatever way appeals to the individual elf. Some, particularly Blood Knights, braid their hair to keep it away from their faces or choose intimidating, spiky hairdos. Others let it flow freely in cascading locks, pile it atop their heads, twine it with strings of pearls and other gemstones or artfully pin up portions of it with jewelled hairclips.
Tattooing is not an unknown concept among elves, but Quel' and Sin'dorei express vastly different attitudes towards it. Quel'dorei find such alteration too permanent for their tastes. An adult Quel'dorei who tattoos his skin is making a statement about himself that will last for hundreds of years, so the design chosen in one that always fits his personality and tastes. Sin'dorei on the other hand, often tattoo their skin out of simple defiance towards High Elven values and to look intimidating. Painting their skin with kohl or henna or other washable dyes is popular among both racial offshoots. Elves often create elaborate and artistic designs on their skin out of sheer joy of doing so, though some decorate themselves with designs fit for a particular occasion such as wedding, funeral, adventure or other kinds of life-altering events. Body piercings are not as rare as tattoos as many elves enjoy finding new places on their bodies to display jewellery.
The tight weave of most elven clothing makes it resistant to stains and dirt, so elves rarely appear soiled even after sleeping on forest floor. Elven clothes take a long time to make and adorn so they treat them with respect. They wash them often and frequently use special oils and magic to prevent tearing and staining.
== Psychology ==
=== The Passions of Youth ===
Just as human younglings rage against the wisdom of their parents, so do the elven young. Many elves shy of their third or fourth century feel the stirrings of anger, impatience, and a craving for excitement and the shock of the new. That is why some elves choose the path of the wanderer, the adventurer, and they learn of their world and its dangers and mysteries.
Young Quel' and Sin'dorei are most like the humans in their passions of youth, and they adapt to their more transient surroundings They eat over-spiced animal flesh and other abominable foods; they wield simpler, cruder, combat-oriented human magics; and they even mate with nonelves. Many young elves do not accept their racial path and fully embrace their elven heritage until they approach adulthood, between 100 to 150 winters.
Many young Blood Elves, fed by Kael'thas' tales about a new home away from their native soil and drunk with fel magics, drive this point to the extreme by abandoning High Elf traditions and customs outright in blind passion. The Quel'dorei Magisters and Farstriders cooperated seamlessly? Let's instill dislike and disunion! The High Elves were pleasant and patronisingly aloof? Let's cloak ourselves in arrogance and smug superiority!
More reasonable (usually meaning older) Sin'dorei can only shake their heads in disbelief, educate and hope the powers of the renewed Sunwell and the flow of time will give wisdom to these youngsters.
== Life ==
The life of the Quel'dorei was a long period of tranquil bliss until the invasion of the Horde and events in the Warcraft series. Still, like any mortals, they aspired to greatness, endured strife and conflict and marked the passage of time with rituals befitting their culture.
Until the fall of Quel'thalas the High Elven culture was among the richest of any humanoid race. Their long life spans allowed them to pursue their interests for longer than humans do and perfect their skills. The result was a complex culture rich in art, knowledge and all the triats found in the highest of civilizations.
However, the Fall and the long years without the Sunwell reminded the elves, High and Blood, just how fragile the works of mortals are should those with power really, really wish to put an definite end to them. The Sin'dorei endured, but not without many facets of their society becoming flawed. The resbirth of the Sunwell pushed the wounded culture away from decandence, restoring hope and power to the elves when they needed them most.
Currently the Blood Elven culture is a scene of a battle between decay and corruption which have befallen the race after the Fall and the noble, enduring elven spirit, bolstered with renewed power, hope and light.
=== Leisure ===
=== Arts and Crafts ===
Unlike the rest of Horde races, Blood Elves value art for its own sake. An object of art need not to be anything but beautiful to be prized in their society and they have a habit of turning mundane objects into things of beauty. Strictly utilitarian objects are fine in case of emergency, but why not make them beautiful as well? Creating functional objects with no beauty is often considered lazy and wasteful in both time and resources.
The visual arts are highly valued in Blood Elven society and examples are abound in every household and on every street. Architecture shows this best: floors are neatly paved with red and white rock, walls reach up high in elegant, flowing lines. Buildings are adorned with a web of gold and red ornamentation that resembles flowing water and culminates in stylised phoenix wings, elegantly enhancing rather than overwhelming the basic structure. Entrances and gateways are veiled by thin muslin curtains, gracefully billowing in the wind. Nature itself shows that the Blood Elves have not lost their love for beauty as bushes and flowers are carefully tended to and trees grow in smooth, spiralling curves.
A similar love for beauty and detail is prevalent in other, small-scale crafts: paintings, sculptures, glasswares, carpentry, pottery, textiles and fashion design, jewellery making, weapon and armour smithing and all manner of crafts are considered forms of self-expression. 
=== Technology and Magic ===
=== Love ===
=== At War ===
=== Aging and Death ===
High and Blood Elf children grow almost as swiftly as human children to the age of 15 or so; a 10-year-old Elf boy and a 10-year-old Human boy are nearly the same size and emotional maturity. The Elf will be taller and leaner than his human playmate. He is also quite likely to be more patient, observant and self-sufficient simply due to the influence growing up in an Elf household.
Humans finish their "filling out" and full adult growth by about 20, but elves take a little longer, rarely reaching their full height and weight before age 25. After that elves remain virtually timeless, decade after decade. Not even another Elf can tell at a glance whether an Elf is 25, 50 or 100 years of age. A few minutes' conversation dispels the mystery, of course; elves gain experience, grace, emotional maturity, patience and wisdom during their ageless decades. Even so, some Elves are remarkably poised for their age and some of their romances tell tales of grieving elves 150 years of age who rediscover life and joy in the arms of a lover of only 25 or 30 years but who carries himself or herself like an Elf of 100.
Elves, High and Blood, are blessed with extraordinarily long lifespans and an easy, graceful aging process that features none of the ravages of age that plague other folk. Time does not even begin to touch an Elf until she passes almsot two centuries in age. For two human lifespans, sometimes three, she remains in bloom of youth her features indistinguishable from those of a 20-year old Elf girl.
A High Elf, however, is rarely considered truly mature by his peers before reaching at least 110 years of age. Blood Elves live faster and reduce that age almost by half, accrediting maturity to youngsters barely 60 winters old!
Elves reach middle age at 175, are considered old at 263 and they become venerable elders once they reach a majestic winter count of 350. Beyond that treshold they live for a maximum of 400 years without magical aid before passing away. However, there are many causes of High Elves whose life spans reached 700 years with a group of record-bearers who prolonged their mortal existence to an awe-inspiring 2000 years! "Magical aid" are the keywords. After all, arcane magic is the elves' greatest ally! A small effort of their wills allows them to draw sustenance from the Sunwell and enjoy life and vigor for many ages beyond their natural lifespan.
== Society and culture ==
Roleplaying application: this section deals with the day-to-day aspects of the race's society, elements that are considered common knowledge and the basic assumptions members of the race makes about the world. Consider which of these assumptions your character accepts, which he does not, and how open he might be to alternate ways proposed by other races.
== Relationships with other races ==
Roleplaying application: The above generalisations represent how an average member of the race's society views someone from a given other race. Since there are no average members of society, only individuals, it's up to you to decide how these comments fit. Does your character adhere to the stereotypes presented below? If not, why not? Was there something in your character's past that changed his or her view of a given race from the status quo?
== Religion ==
The general part.
=== How they worship ===
Specialised info about rites, prayers et al.
== History and folklore ==
=== Legends ===
=== Heroes of old ===
== Language ==
=== Phrasebook ===
=== Proverbs and sayings ===
Category:Horde
Category:Guides