If you've been around a while, and pay attention in a few forums, you know that every now and then I have really odd thoughts. Sometimes these relate to World of Warcraft. This is one of those things. Note that pretty much everything in here is conjecture, opinion, or otherwise not canon.
Sometimes during quests, we learn small things about Night Elf culture.
Highborne and your average Kaldorei didn't really mingle, and may as well have been two different peoples. Fact. We know this.
Your average Night Elf isn't a vegetarian(Though many people seem to think this, strangely enough). Fact. There's even a vendor who sells recipes for cooking that include bear meat, among other proof.
But at the same time, there's some things we can only infer or guess at. Maybe I can bring to light and/or encourage discussion on certain things, maybe we might even get some of them confirmed at some point in the future.
Temple of the Moon: As far as we know, the Night Elves are essentially a theocracy. They are led, ruled, and governed by the Temple of the Moon. The Temple of the Moon is led by the High Priestess(Tyrande) who is essentially the ruler of the Night Elven people in everything but name. If she died, I would not be surprised if their entire culture withdrew from the world for an extended period to mourn and/or choose her successor. If she died during a period of war, that would occur after whoever or whatever killed her was dealt with, swiftly and with much prejudice.
Cenarion Circle: The Cenarion Circle, contrary to popular belief, hold little to no power over the Night Elven people as a whole. They 'rule' the Druids. And I say rule very loosely. They more lead them than anything else, and there's little to say that the Circle holds any kind of real power other than a kind of advisory capacity.
Fangs: Night Elves have them. This isn't as much speculation as it is fact, but I felt it was worth mentioning because so few people are aware of this. They're there. You can see them if you /roar. Try it sometime. The Female's fangs are harder to see because they're much smaller.
Female Face markings: There is so little known about this. Honestly, I am not aware if anything at all is known about them, for sure. What little we can deduce about their markings is that they are an indicator of profession, or some other kind of 'ritual' marking. Perhaps something given when the female comes of age and chooses a profession or path.
This would mean many Sentinels or other combat-related Night Elves would have the "Blade" markings, or perhaps the Claw. Huntresses or Druids may have Claw or other types of animalistic markings.
Diet: Someone in a guild whose forums I check often wrote this better than I believe I could have.
Crime and Punishment: This ties into an RP that I'm actually working at the moment. This also ties into what I mentioned earlier about the Temple of the Moon. As far as we know, the Temple of the Moon is the ruling body of the Night Elven people, with Tyrande at it's head. The Sentinels, again as far as we are aware, are the police force.
It would make sense, then, that a Commander of a unit of Sentinels is essentially like a police chief, but without the trappings of due trial and other 'modern' developments. A trial would be something rarely given if at all. They would be able to pass judgement essentially at whim, to do with criminals what they will.
Even so, they would answer to the Temple, being an arm of it, on any matters pertaining to such, and would even hunt down criminals or other threats as the Temple directs.
I may add things to this at a later date as I think of them, but I believe that this is plenty fuel for the fire so far. =)
Sometimes during quests, we learn small things about Night Elf culture.
Highborne and your average Kaldorei didn't really mingle, and may as well have been two different peoples. Fact. We know this.
Your average Night Elf isn't a vegetarian(Though many people seem to think this, strangely enough). Fact. There's even a vendor who sells recipes for cooking that include bear meat, among other proof.
But at the same time, there's some things we can only infer or guess at. Maybe I can bring to light and/or encourage discussion on certain things, maybe we might even get some of them confirmed at some point in the future.
Temple of the Moon: As far as we know, the Night Elves are essentially a theocracy. They are led, ruled, and governed by the Temple of the Moon. The Temple of the Moon is led by the High Priestess(Tyrande) who is essentially the ruler of the Night Elven people in everything but name. If she died, I would not be surprised if their entire culture withdrew from the world for an extended period to mourn and/or choose her successor. If she died during a period of war, that would occur after whoever or whatever killed her was dealt with, swiftly and with much prejudice.
Cenarion Circle: The Cenarion Circle, contrary to popular belief, hold little to no power over the Night Elven people as a whole. They 'rule' the Druids. And I say rule very loosely. They more lead them than anything else, and there's little to say that the Circle holds any kind of real power other than a kind of advisory capacity.
Fangs: Night Elves have them. This isn't as much speculation as it is fact, but I felt it was worth mentioning because so few people are aware of this. They're there. You can see them if you /roar. Try it sometime. The Female's fangs are harder to see because they're much smaller.
Female Face markings: There is so little known about this. Honestly, I am not aware if anything at all is known about them, for sure. What little we can deduce about their markings is that they are an indicator of profession, or some other kind of 'ritual' marking. Perhaps something given when the female comes of age and chooses a profession or path.
This would mean many Sentinels or other combat-related Night Elves would have the "Blade" markings, or perhaps the Claw. Huntresses or Druids may have Claw or other types of animalistic markings.
Diet: Someone in a guild whose forums I check often wrote this better than I believe I could have.
Six years ago, when I created my first "release-version" World of Warcraft character, I found myself in a debate in the middle of Teldrassil at the mere level of 4. The debate was concerning the Kaldorei diet. The other party was in general chat insisting that all Kaldorei are vegetarians. Of course I tried to suggest otherwise, which resulted in a lengthy debate. Since then, I've found that I am able to not get "sucked into" debates on general chat channels; however, I wanted to just give my views on the subject, since it seems that most who I encounter RP their characters as vegetarians and are offended that I do not.~ Saeliana
First of all, let me state that if one portrays their character as a vegetarian - for any reason - I am fine with that. It is your right to develop your character as you see fit or in a way that entertains you or benefits your roleplaying, whether based on a personal philosophy or other.
Within the game itself, we see a variety of items consumed by the Kaldorei. Insects is one that seems to appear in a couple of instances. The first recipe obtained is the Kaldorei Spider Kabobs. Later in Silithus, the Cenarion Circle has a quest which results in learning the Smoked Desert Dumpling recipe, which consists of Sandworm meat. Fish, of course, is not out of the question, as we see many Kaldorei fishermen, fishing and selling recipes.
What about red meat? In Felwood there is a vendor named Malygen. He is Kaldorei, and his faction is Darnassus. He sells two recipes involving red meat: Charred Bear Kabobs and Juicy Bear Burger. The only other recipe that he sells is Monster Omelet. To my knowledge, no other vendor in the game - including any for horde - sell these recipes (the Horde use to have a Tauren NPC who did prior to the Cataclysm, but he is no longer appearing in game).
Let's take a peek into the lifestyle of the Kaldorei. They are great hunters/huntresses. Despite the views of DHETA, hunting seems to be an acceptable part of their lifestyle. We see actually more involving hunting than we do plant cultivation. One can assume that some of the hunting is for the purpose of maintaining balance - thinning necessary herds to prevent starvation. Whether done for food or for balance, it is unlikely that a Kaldorei would leave the animal carcass there to rot. The skin would be used for leather armor. The meat would be used for food. This would be acceptable. I do not see Kaldorei hunting for sport and leisure. It would have a purpose.
It is my opinion, and strictly my opinion, that the Kaldorei diet consists of fish, shellfish, vegetables and greens, insects, and meat. I would lean toward the meat being a small portion of the diet - as in more Asian-influenced rather than average American-influenced.
So whether one's character is vegetarian or not, either style would be acceptable and fit into the Kaldorei way-of-living.
Crime and Punishment: This ties into an RP that I'm actually working at the moment. This also ties into what I mentioned earlier about the Temple of the Moon. As far as we know, the Temple of the Moon is the ruling body of the Night Elven people, with Tyrande at it's head. The Sentinels, again as far as we are aware, are the police force.
It would make sense, then, that a Commander of a unit of Sentinels is essentially like a police chief, but without the trappings of due trial and other 'modern' developments. A trial would be something rarely given if at all. They would be able to pass judgement essentially at whim, to do with criminals what they will.
Even so, they would answer to the Temple, being an arm of it, on any matters pertaining to such, and would even hunt down criminals or other threats as the Temple directs.
I may add things to this at a later date as I think of them, but I believe that this is plenty fuel for the fire so far. =)
