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Trying to remember questions I know I have...

When some members of my lore community pointed me to this "guide", I practically had an aneurism. It's all well and good to write fanfiction. It is a disservice to the community to promote your fanfiction as fact. This "guide" is so riddled with suppositions and assumptions that your presentation of night elf society seems to be from another game.

Age
The true Night Elf age, without their immortality, is unknown. However one can speculate using Blood Elf aging (who were at one point Kaldorei and have been cut off from their immortality). If Blood Elves are of any indication, Night Elves live for approximately three hundred years before naturally dying; however some are capable of living for a thousand years even without immortality.

Kaldorei also seem to have a similar rate of growth as humans. Shandris Feathermoon was a young woman at the age of 16 when the War of the Ancients broke out. It is likely that once Night Elves reach a specific age, possibly their mid twenties or thirties, their aging process slowly down or stops completely.

It is said that Night Elves reach adulthood in the eyes of the society at approximately 100 years of age.

You really shouldn't be using blood elf ages as any indication, considering that high elves are capable of living for thousands of years. Anasterian Sunstrider, the king of the high elves from the Troll Wars up until the Scourge Invasion, a lifespan of at least 2,820 years. Furthermore, the official Warcraft Encyclopedia (http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/encyclopedia/508.xml) states "Thus, all elves are now mortal and have comparable lifespans that can extend as long as several thousand years" when discussing the lifespans of high, night and blood elves. The average lifespan of any elf is in the thousands, and as Anasterian was not said to be very old, it is likely that the average lifespan of an elf exceeds 3,000 years.

In addition, statements made by Tarenar Sunstrike (http://www.wowhead.com/quest=27371), a Blood Elf paladin NPC who accompanies you in EPL, indicates he was a child or teenager during the aftermath of Warcraft III (as evidenced by referring to the southern parts of Quel'thalas as the "Ghostlands", a region which would not get that name until after the Scourge invasion) and is now considered an adult in the timeline of Cataclysm, just 10 years after the events of Warcraft 3. If we assume that blood elves mature at the same rate as night elves (which you yourself did), it can be reasoned that the age of "adulthood" is somewhere in an elf's 20s or 30s, just as it is with humans, rather than the century that you claim it is.

Men
Men in traditional Kaldorei culture are the reverse of human culture. In Night Elf society men used to be the artisans, craftsmen and homemakers of the race. Relatively few men were druids but that order within the culture was almost entirely male. Men seemed to take care of children in the same way human females do, often worrying or doting on their children as seen in the game. While nuclear families are not traditional, men still would've likely been the most likely candidates to take care of the children.

This is actually the thin that pisses me off the most about your guide. There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to suggest that night elf men are any more domestic than the men of any other culture. I defy you, DEFY YOU to find an example of gender roles in a night elf family being "reversed". The only instance we have of night elf males taking care of children are single fathers, like Fandral Staghelm and Pelturas Whitemoon. There is also nothing to suggest that night elves had anything but nuclear families, as all night elf families we know of are formed of a "core" group consisting of parents and children living in the same household, as opposed to, say, a clan-like or consanguinal relationship where children are taken care of communally. You deride night elf players for being "purple humans", but the fact of the matter is that all evidence of night elf married and family life point to well, night elves being purple humans.
Night elf society is not "reversed", men are not "on the bottom". Prior to the WotA there were plenty of male soldiers, such as Jarod Shadowsong and the entirety of the Moon Guard, and even AFTER the WotA male soldiers remained to be seen, like Valstann Staghelm commanding the armies of the Kaldorei (and NOT the Cenarion Circle) during the War of the Shifting Sands. Not to mention demon hunters being pretty egalitarian, even if they were not necessarily part of the chain of command.

The reason the night elf military in the modern era is mostly female dominated is because their religion is mostly female dominated. The night elves live in a theocracy where the cult of elune and the civil and military leadership are all joined. Were the priesthood of the night elves to be male or egalitarian, so would the military. In Cata, not only do we have male soldiers in Ashenvale, but male COMMANDERS of the sentinel army (or at least the Silverwing Sentinels), such as Captain Elendilad (http://www.wowhead.com/npc=33302) and protectors Arminon, Endolar and Dorinar (http://www.wowhead.com/quest=13865). This means that not only have male night elf warriors become accepted enough by the Sentinels to join the army, but rise through the ranks to take up high positions. And look closely at some of the spells used by these male warriors- Starshards, AKA, powers granted by Elune. Not only are these male night elves trusted to command other, female warriors, but they are even gifted powers by Elune herself, just like other priestesses.

Women
Women took on the roles of soldiers and priestesses. Even up until present time The Sentinels, Darnassus’ standing army is made up almost entirely of women. Females were also the keepers of Elune, learning about the Goddess and the theology of their people. It also seemed that women would’ve also been able to be artisans as well, alongside men. Even during the time of the Highborne women ruled the Night Elf people.

A woman ruled the night elf people, along with plenty of male nobles like Xavius. Night elves were not a female dominated society until after they became a theocracy.

Recent Upheaval
Within the last ten years the gender roles within Night Elf society has been blurred. Women were allowed to become druids, men were allowed to be priests. However, it should be noted that even with these lines blurred one does not undo ten thousand years of tradition in just a decade. Priestesses and Druids of their traditional gender likely have a huge social and practical advantage over newcomers, both because of social stigma and that the traditional genders have centuries of experience. It would be almost impossible for a female to become an Archdruid and for a male to reach any rank of importance in the Temple.

The archaeology item Druid and Priest Statue Set http://www.wowpedia.org/Druid_and_Priest_Statue_Set) implies that the night elves were glad to open up both groups to both genders, as they use the word "commemorate", which has a positive connotation. Furthermore, there are plenty of examples of female druid archdruids like Lilandra (http://www.wowpedia.org/Arch_Druid_Lilliandra) and Renferal (http://www.wowpedia.org/Elerethe_Renferal). I would love to see you provide some evidence for stigma towards the opposite sex in priest and druid roles, as from what the game indicates there is absolutely no problem with the roles becoming egalitarian.

Elune
Elune is the main deity of the Night Elf people. The Kaldorei don’t normally worship anything else other than her and usually do not partake in other religions. Elune is the moon goddess and iconography of the moon shows up all over Night Elf jewellery, clothing and architecture. To view the importance of Elune to the people realize that her temple in Darnassus is the largest building present and that the temple gardens take up more than half the city.

Elune represents peace but does not necessarily represent pacifism, being represented as a great warrior. One would use her name while battling for a just cause or to defend something, it would be considered a great offense to ask for her strength in the name of slaughter and senseless violence

A mural in Suramar in the War of the Ancients books described multiple gods worshiped by the night elves, including Elune. This may have been a reference to the Ancient Demigods (Agamaggan, Malorne et al), or to gods that simply haven't been named, but it makes Elune out to be but one of a pantheon, albeit the main goddess of said pantheon.

Ancients
The Ancients are not gods directly, more like Demi-Gods, exceptionally powerful beings on par with Legion lords like Mannoroth or Tichondrius. While the Night Elves do not openly worship these beings many, mostly druids, venerate them and respect them greatly. Many druids seek to be like these Ancients and, as such, we have the druidic forms of the bear, wolf and raven. It would not be uncommon for a druid or singular Kaldorei to choose one Ancient and to follow their path.

The Ancients we know of are: Tortolla, the turtle. Agamaggan, the boar, worshipped by the quillboar. Aessina, possibly a dryad, heard but not seen. Goldrinn, the wolf and the inspiration of the Druid of the Pack. Ursoc and Ursol, the bear gods, revered by the furbolg. Malorne, the stag, Cenarius’ father. Aviana, the queen of all birds, possible progenitor of the harpies. Cenarius, the lord of the forests and friend to the druids.

According to the Warcraft Encyclopedia, "There are no hard and fast rules to define what it means to be a god in Warcraft, save that all gods are immortal". (http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/encyclopedia/417.xml). Said article also mentions a loa, Hakkar, as a god. While it has not been confirmed, there is speculation and a fair deal of hints at night elf ancients being the same or similar beings to troll Loa like Hir'eek and Nalorakk. Since Hakkar is a loa, and loa may be old gods, it is possible but admittedly not 100% sure, that Ancients are considered "gods".

Food
As with many races food tends to intermingle as beings share space, however every people have their own racial dishes. Night Elves seem have their diet modeled after oriental cuisine and some speculation can be drawn from this assumption.

Kaldorei seem to have a mostly vegetarian diet. Kimchi, a stewed and fermented vegetable dish, seems to be a staple, alongside dumplings and rice. This does not mean that meat is excluded as Night Elves do have very skilled hunters. It's likely that deer, boar and bear meat are popular and we've seen that Kaldorei have little issue with eating insect meat.

Beverages would likely be fruit based and there is at least one confirmed example that Night Elves do have their own wine, specifically ones created with ginger. Moonberry wine is also created, an apparently potent spirit that is created from the berries that accumulate around Moonwells.

This was actually the thing that was brought to my attention and made me consider creating a rebuttal to your "guide". Your insistence that night elves have a "mostly vegetarian" diet is laughable, based on solely the presence of kimchi sold by vendors.

Kimchi, for those who don't know, is a pickled cabbage dish from Korea. Blizzard, for those who don't know, have a very large Korean following, Starcraft is practically the national sport of that country and the plurality of World of Warcraft's players actually are in Korea, not the US or Europe. Night elves also have korean-influenced architecture (the gate of Darnassus is based off a famous gate in Seoul, the capitol of South Korea, called Sungyemun http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sungnyemun). It is likely that the Kimchi was included in the night elf diet as an acknowledgement of Blizzard's large Korean following.

But let's actually take a look at the Korean diet. Korea is well known for its meats, specifically its marinated beef "Bulgolgi" and its barbecue, and good quality beef is praised in Korean culture and cuisine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_cuisine#Meat_and_fish). The Korean diet is far from "mostly vegetarian", at least, no more "mostly vegetarian" than the other cuisines of East Asia.

Let's also look to other diets of real world societies who live in dense forests like the night elves. If you have forests, you don't have farms. If you don't have farms, you don't have a lot of staple vegetable crops. In fact, those who live in dense forests often have very meat and protein rich diets, like the tribes of Papua New Guinea. And, in fact, the only OFFICIAL mention ever made of the night elf diet, by Brann Bronzebeard in Lands of Mystery, points out just how much WILD GAME the night elves eat. That's meat, baby, which makes sense considering the prominence that hunters have in night elf society and the prevalence of ARROWS, explicitly lethal tools. Night elves don't catch and release, they shoot to kill, and they eat what they kill. Ted Nugent would fit right in Ashenvale.

Children
Kaldorei children grow at the same rate as human children do. They grow up learning how to hunt, fight and play, often taking to the forests or woods. Male and female children intermingle without much of segregation. Common toys are dolls and carved figurines. Women choose to receive tattoos after coming of age as a rite of passage. This is not required though.

Kaldorei, while they age similar to humans, only reach societal maturity at about age 100.

The only information on night elves reaching "maturity" at 100 comes from a part of the RPG that has been rendered mostly moot by later retcons. I sincerely doubt that a night elf would be considered an "adult" at around 20 but would be barred from, say, joining the military or participating in civilian government for another 80 years.

Love
Love in Night Elf culture seems to be a very private matter, with displays of affection rarely being seen in public. Due to how strong females are in the culture it is likely that either gender can initiate a relationship. Courting seems to include gift giving and private picnics and strolls in the moonlight, a more traditionally romantic concept to humans. Jewellery is considered an appropriate gift in this case. As seen in the Archaeology finds, station comes into play between lovers, a lower class being an unacceptable mate for somebody of higher class.

Kaldorei normally do not marry. There is one recorded case of a ‘wedding’, between Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind, but this was actually more of a union celebration than a wedding. It is likely that Kaldorei simply come to an understanding between one another and become life mates without a ceremony. Both parties retain their surnames and their children likely are given one surname agreed upon by the two parents.

There is one implied, some say confirmed, case of homosexuality displayed by a Kaldorei. Sentinel Sweetspring at Star’s Rest openly flirts with Sentinel Amberline, the latter flustered by the approach.

I love how you mention Malfurion and Tyrande's wedding in the same breath as saying it's "uncommon". Wanna know something? There have been more Night Elf weddings featured in the Warcraft series than human, gnome, draenei, troll, tauren and blood elf weddings, and Malfurion and Tyrande's wedding was far from subdued, inviting boatloads of major world figures, personal friends and the goddamn dragon aspects. There is nothing to suggest that Night Elves do not "normally" marry, in fact, considering that Tyrande and Malfurion are the poster-characters for night elf society, it's far more likely that their marriage was intended to show something that was relatively common night elf society rather than something that was rare. I'd also argue that love is no more a private matter in night elf society than in others, as Jarod and Shandris seemed to be ready to jump eachother's bones at a moment's opportunity.

Wardens
Wardens are an elite group of Night Elf special ops. Wardens are tasked with destroying or capturing dangerous targets that are either too strong or too well hidden for normal Sentinels to apprehend. Wardens have a special weapon called the Umbra Crescent, the unit’s signature circular blade. A Warden would likely have a lengthy military background, even by Night Elves standards.

One thing you forget to mention is that the Wardens also operate as "secret police" of night elf society, akin to the Stasi or KGB. (http://classic.battle.net/war3/nightelf/units/warden.shtml)

Magic
The Kaldorei only use two types of magic outside of the Highborne. These are holy magic and nature magic. Druids, especially Druids of the Talon, call down the power of the moon and stars, which is classified as holy magic (though Arcane in the game) and use natural magic to make plants grow and to heal wounds. Priestesses use holy magic that comes from their faith in Elune. Wardens have magic, specifically their Blink spell, which comes from their conviction and belief in Elune .

There is nothing to suggest the "star" related magic of druids and the like is holy magic. Like it or not, even modern day night elves have a close relationship to arcane magic, and, in fact, associate Elune with it. Moonwells are fonts of arcane magic, blessed by Elune, that are fed by the ley-lines. As long as arcane magic is associated with Elune, it's fine in the night elves' eyes.

Priests
Priests and Priestesses are always members of the Temple of Elune. As said above females likely have an advantage over male priests, the women having decades or centuries of practice. Shadow Priests are not yet explained by Kaldorei lore, though one could argue that Shadow Priests do not necessarily use darkness and evil, but instead manipulate mental force to harm a foe.

As said countless times above, your speculation that females have an "advantage" over males is just silly. When male commanders of the night elf army can be blessed by Elune, said advantage goes out the window.

Druids
Druids are a large part of Kaldorei culture, the Cenarion Enclave having slightly less power than the Temple of the Moon. Female druids are normally lower on the chain than males due to a lack of time spent in the Emerald Dream. There are two female Archdruids though both are doing ambassadorial duties. Take that as you will.

Druids are split into various branches of druidism; Pack, Claw, Talon, Fang and Wild. Druids of the Claw draw strength from the bear twins and take on bear forms and often wear pelts of those animals to connect with their spirit. Druids of the Talon revere Avianna have an affinity with birds of prey. Druids of the Pack attempted to imitate Goldrinn and became the first Worgen, their branch is discontinued. Druids of the Fang took on snake forms, they were perverted by the power of the Wailing Caverns and had to be put down. Druids of the Wild take on aspects of other animals, such as Nightsabers and aquatic forms.

Do you have any citation that Renferal and Lilandra are operating as "ambassadors"? Please stop making stuff up. If a tauren can become an archdruid on the same level as Malfurion (see: Hamuul Runetotem in Mount Hyjal), then so can a female night elf. Time spent in the dream does not mean you are more or less respected as a druid. I'd also like to point out that, prior to the formation of the Cenarion Circle (specifically in response to the Worgen threat- after the WotA but before the Satyr War, druids were far less organized), there were many "experimental" druid groups along the lines of the Druids of the Pack, and druid organizations are not limited to those we explicitly know about.

Warriors
Female warriors are likely a member of the Sentinels while males are either freelance or part of the Cenarion Circle. Kaldorei warriors prefer to be quick on their feet instead of fighting through brute force, though they are certainly capable of it. The backbone of both the Cenarion and Darnassian armies are the warrior.

I've provided plenty of examples of male Sentinels above. Said gender restrictions were not quite as strict even during the Long Vigil, as evidenced by Valstann Staghelm.

Death Knight
Kaldorei Death Knights are pariahs, even more so than human death knights. Night Elves revere nature and undeath is at odds with nature. The vast majority of Night Elves would likely shun or even act hostile toward a Night Elf who is undead. The death knight itself is likely even more bitter and self loathing than usual. I would not count it out that there was a mass suicide of Night Elf death knights after their freedom, many not even wanting to continue on in such a state.

Once again you make stuff up just to support your warped viewpoint. The Night Elves are not said to have an explicit problem with necromancy and, in fact, Wardens are even instructed in necromancy and are able to raise spirits (see: the Spirit of Vengeance ability). There is nothing saying that a Death Knight would be shunned just because of who he or she is, and mass suicide has never been said to be part of Night Elf culture. They're not samurai, for crying out loud. Consider that player death knights are all made undead against their will, it's not like you could blame them for being undead or "unnatural".

Draenei
Draenei appear to be one of the few races the Kaldorei actively share space with. There are many common interests and aspects between the two races, especially age. Close alliances between Night Elves and Draenei exist.

You may also want to point out that some night elves may be reminded of the Eredar who commanded the Legion during the WotA or Attack on Nordrassil, as evidenced by the night elf priestess rescued in Azuremyst who at first assumes the Draenei to be demons.

Worgen
Worgen have a strange relationship with the Kaldorei. They share their city and are being taught druidism but share very few goals and beliefs that their hosts do. Gilneans believe in the Holy Light and have more of a grudge against the Forsaken than the Orcs. While the Night Elves may desire to keep the Worgen close, it would be a challenge to relate to them.

It seems that some Worgen Gilneans are being included into the Sentinel army (http://www.wowhead.com/npc=40362, http://www.wowhead.com/npc=39725), so it seems the relationship between Worgen and Night Elves are much closer than you think, even beyond just druidism.

Orcs
Orcs are the chief enemy of the Kaldorei in the Horde. They push into their forests and killed Cenarius during the third war, which eventually ended in the Kaldorei’s loss of immortality. The Night Elves view everything north of the Barrens as their ancestral home and any who invade that territory their enemy.

And on the other hand, many Kaldorei, including the head honcho of the night elves, Malfurion Stormrage, have no problem working with Orcs. While yes, they're cutting down the forests and are at war with the night elves, many also remember how they banded together to defend Nordrassil once during the Second Legion invasion.

Trolls
Trolls are even worse than Orcs. Within Hyjal and Ashenvale the Night Elves warred with one specific enemy, the Dark Trolls. Before that the ancient Kaldorei fought for survival against the great Zandalari Empire. Hatred for all trolls runs deep and the fact that they are allied with the Orcs and aid them in their conquest of Ashenvale only strengthens that hate. Troll druids would likely be grudgingly accepted into the Cenarion Enclave at the Tauren’s request.

There is nothing to suggest that troll druids are looked down upon by night elf druids and, in fact, Zen'Aliri (http://www.wowpedia.org/Zen%27Aliri), a troll druid, is under direct tutelage of a night elf druid, Ithis Moonwarden. It seems druids, if not the rest of the night elves, are more than willing to put aside racial hatred and are perhaps more progressive than the rest of their race.

Night Elves are flower children/hippies/ditzy
Night Elves are a fierce, xenophobic, feral race. They are almost fanatical about protecting nature and do kill to achieve their goals. It is also strongly suggested that Night Elves bottle their emotions to put on a strong and/or proper front for everyone who watches them. The usual outward appearance of a Night Elf is usually stoic, strong and direct. Ditzy, giggly or boisterous attitudes would be considered shameful and childish.

While I wouldn't call night elves "ditzy", I wouldn't call them "stoic" or "emotionally stunted", either. Night Elves have no trouble expressing themselves, be it anger, love, elation. You seem to have this picture of night elves as always hiding themselves, when that is far from the case: if a night elf has an emotion to express, he or she will express it as he or she sees fit.

05/22/2011 06:14 PMPosted by Melyria

How about non-Kaldorei worshipping Elune?

Doesn't make much sense, considering The Light and Titans are also confirmed to exist. Elune has only aided the Night Elves (And their various allies like the Sons of Cenarius) but none of the Eastern races.

Why would you forsake a power that you know to exist, that has helped your race and likely you, for a goddess that hasn't lifted a finger to aid you in the past?

I could easily see some Worgen converting to worshiping Elune. After all, Worgen would not exist without Elune and Gilneans would not survive without the help of the night elves. And since some Worgen are being inducted into the sentinels, and the sentinels are closely linked with the preisthood of the night elves, I see that as a distinct possibility.

Varian: The average Night Elf would only know his name and his title. His deeds probably have fallen on deaf ears of the Night Elf populace. They're likely neutral on him, seeing as he rarely does anything to directly aid the Kaldorei.

You mean the guy who had two Sentinels weeping before him in The Shattering? The guy who the night elves deferred to to handle the slaying of the druids? The guy referred to as "king" in Darkshore? The guy invited to Malfurion and Tyrande's wedding? They know who he is and respect him.

Greymane: Many Kaldorei may not even know he is the leader of the Worgen who have come to their city as he spends most of his time in Stormwind. Due to how recent they came into their Kalimdor Alliance and how far away he is, the opinion would likely be shaded by the individual's opinion on the Worgen themselves.

Greymane seems to split his time between Stormwind and Darnassus, and Greymane interacted with many night elves during the journey from Gilneas to Kalimdor. (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/features/genngreymane.html)

05/26/2011 01:00 AMPosted by Melyria

Do you think that since Theramore has openly attacked the Horde to create a new front in the Kalimdor war in support of the Night Elves that the Night Elves themselves might begin to appreciate humanity as an important ally?

Actually, there is no proof that the Humans did this to aid the Night Elves, even if it did by splitting the front. In fact, there is proof that the Humans were attempting to make an assault on Mulgore and wipe out the Tauren in a preemptive strike.

Considering that there are almost no Eastern support in Ashenvale (there is a total of a handful of gnomes who are basically there to explain Horde machinery) I don't think this would make Night Elves any more close with the human race. In fact, it could have the exact opposite effect.

In lore Darnassus is linked to Stormwind via a ship lane. In theory, humans could have sent some reinforcements to the Night Elves to help push the Horde back but instead they're trying to grab land in the south. This could very easily be seen as abandonment or greed in the Kaldorei's eyes.

All of the Alliance races, including humans and night elves, cooperate in Stonetalon. You have human knights fighting shoulder to shoulder with night elves, and dwarves teaching them to use guns!

Omacron, I appreciate the input, however much of the guide is based on a logical progression. At the same time, much of the information you claim conflicts with information taken directly from the RPG books (and has not really been contradicted since). Things like the group families, Kaldorei men being more artisans, etc.

As for things like diet, I said mostly vegetarian, which is to say that meat does still exist in their diet but it is not the focus in the same way other cultures have it.

On the item of necromancy, I find that you're taking a bare bones effect from WC3 and trying to expand on it when it conflicts with past lore. Wardens gain their power from Elune, much like how Priestesses do (skills such as Blink and Greater Invisibility rely on the Warden's faith) and Avatar of Vengeance is no different.

The undead upset the nature of balance, which Night Elves deem one of the highest priorities in the world, something they will fight and kill to protect. A Night Elf Death Knight would be a blasphemy of the highest degree. As well, Necromancy (specifically the Necromancy granted through the Scourge) is a vein of Fel Magic that is, at its base, infused with demonic power.

Now, you have every right to not follow my guide and there others out there. However, I've looked at said guides (mostly after I wrote this) and I've noticed that they are strikingly similar in the information they provide. One is on the EU forums that basically is a slightly longer winded version of my own, with a couple of points up for contention.

I may be making Troll and Night Elf alts soon, so this guide help me out a lot. Thanks! :)

05/27/2011 01:07 PMPosted by Finaj

I may be making Troll and Night Elf alts soon, so this guide help me out a lot. Thanks! :)

You're very welcome. Glad I could be of help.

Edit: Remember to vote up if you like this guide :3

05/27/2011 01:07 PMPosted by Finaj

I may be making Troll and Night Elf alts soon, so this guide help me out a lot. Thanks! :)

I haven't the slightest idea which guild you should put your Kaldorei alt in.

No no, not the slightest idea at all...

Thank you for taking the time and effort to make this guide, Melyria.

On a side note, I think watching the cinematics of Warcraft III are a good idea for those not familiar with them. I find myself a bit saddened that many WoW players aren't aware of the kaldorei's incarnations in previous games.

Edited due to lack of sleep.

Bump!

05/27/2011 02:26 PMPosted by Zaldaan

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=33302 - Captain Elendilad, a male night elf who seems to be the commander of the assault upon the Mor'Shan Rampart. He's wearing Sentinel army gear and seems to remain hidden, issuing orders to his troops.

The Silverwing Sentinels are a somewhat progressive unit of the Sentinels, given that they recruited outlanders to fight for them. Every other Sentinel unit is, apparently, female.


Given the others, I think there needs to be a distinction between "Sentinel" and "Warrior". Nobody is saying men can't be warrior or couldn't be warriors. Sentinels, however are warriors of the FORMAL military. There is a difference between the Sentinels and units like the Astraanar Skirmishers, who are more akin to militia than they are a formal unit.

A key example is Feathermoon, where Sentinels are usually trained. They are all female, which does have certain implications.

Again, there is a difference between being a militia or freelance warrior and being inducted into the formal, traditional military.

I see....and I can understand your reasoning.

But why would the Sentinels willingly let themselves be commanded by "freelancers" and such, such as Protectors Endolar and Arminon(the third Protector is a woman)?

Well, in regards to the troops north of Astraanar, all of those are militia and not sentinels. Females can be militia too.