WARNING: Potential Midnight spoilers in this post!
The US client briefly showed us the pre-order bonuses for Midnight earlier on 11.2's patch launch day, and while many of them are the usual mount, transmog set, character boost, and game time, we also got the names of a few extra items for the upcoming Player Housing feature.
Alleria Portrait - "The Ranger-General" (Decor)
Turalyon Portrait - "The High Exarch" (Decor)
Arator Portrait - "The Redeemer" (Decor)
Xal'atath Portrait - "The Harbinger" (Decor)
These four as featured characters of Midnight are no surprise (though the lack of Horde may frustrate some), but there's one particular detail that stands out: Alleria as the Ranger-General.
In ages past, the Windrunner family have always held the title of Ranger-General of Silvermoon. Established by their ancestor Talanas during the Troll Wars, the title marks a person as the leader of the Farstriders, Quel'thalas' elite order of rangers who dedicate their lives to keeping the elven lands beyond Silvermoon safe from any threat. The title has been passed from parent to child for over three thousand years within the Windrunner family, and the enchanted bow Thas'dorah, Legacy of the Windrunners along with it... that is, until recent events.
By the time of the Second War, the title was held by Lireesa Windrunner, mother to Alleria, Sylvanas, and Vereesa. Under their traditions, the role was expected to pass to Alleria as her eldest child, but Alleria held little desire nor discipline for the role of leadership, instead wanting to put her skills as an archer to use helping the world beyond Quel'thalas. That desire would become a tragic reality for the Windrunner sisters in short time, when their mother and father were killed in an ambush by the Amani trolls and their new orcish allies. Fueled by bloodthirsty vengeance, Alleria eschewed her new role, passing the title instead to her sister Sylvanas Windrunner and taking Thas'dorah beyond Quel'thalas to fight the Orcish Horde.
In that time, she met Turalyon, birthed Arator, and eventually followed her need for vengeance to the orcish planet of Draenor, where she and Turalyon were considered lost for decades. In Quel'thalas, meanwhile, Sylvanas took to the role of leadership in stride, defending Quel'thalas and securing their borders with the help of her second-in-command Lor'themar Theron and longtime friend Halduron Brightwing. Despite her similar desires to Alleria to see the Farstrider order cooperate with the world beyond Quel'thalas (and even implementing some with the initiation of Nathanos Marris as the first and only human ranger-lord), she ultimately followed the tenets of isolated set out by their King Anasterian.
Sylvanas' time as Ranger-General would come to an end when Arthas Menethil and his undead Scourge army marched upon Quel'thalas, intent on siezing the power of the high elves' sacred Sunwell for themselves. As the first line of defense, Sylvanas ruthlessly fought against Arthas as he marched his way north, and while her actions had little effect on the impossible army, the irritation she caused Arthas earned her a special bout of cruelty when he killed and subsequently raised her as the first banshee. Forcing the now-dead Ranger-General to turn her pained cries upon the innocents of Silvermoon, Arthas completed his march towards the Sunwell, corrupting its waters and resurrecting the lich Kel'thuzad. With their font of power now turned to darkness, the remaining survivors led by Prince Kael'thas were forced to destroy the Sunwell, cutting off their source of magic.
In the wake of Sylvanas' death and the fall of Silvermoon, the high elves renamed themselves into the Blood Elves, and set out to rebuild their fallen kingdom amidst their search for a cure to their newfound magical hunger. While Prince Kael'thas left for distant lands to find that cure, he appointed Lor'themar Theron as Regent-Lord of Quel'thalas and tasked him with securing their kingdom by any means. While other groups like the Magisters set about that through dark acts like the subjugation of a naaru to form the Blood Knights, the remaining Farstriders took a more traditional approach, with the title of Ranger-General now passing to Halduron Brightwing.
Halduron has had scarce appearances across WoW since his debut, but his voice in the council of Blood Elf leaders has historically been one of cooperation at any cost. He was one of the first to consider an alliance with the Horde despite the hostile attitude his people held towards orcs and trolls, and when the time came to defend Quel'thalas from the ongoing Zandalari push for troll supremacy, he was fully willing to work with the hostile high elves like Vereesa Windrunner within the Alliance despite Lor'themar's protests. As we head into Midnight, Halduron seems an ideal leader to help "unite the scattered elven tribes" in defense of Quel'thalas.
...which begs the question of why Alleria would become Ranger-General.
Throughout her story, Alleria has historically not taken well to leadership, neither in the role of Ranger-General nor as leader of the Void Elves, a duty she has given primarily to Magister Umbric while she pursues void threats on her own. So far, that characterization has continued during the War Within, with Alleria taking a lone-wolf path throughout the expansion in pursuit of Xal'atath instead of involving her newfound people.
With this decor title, it offers the possibility that Alleria will grow out of those flaws during Midnight, and take up the role that she once cast aside after her mother's death. It would be a fitting conclusion to her arc, in many ways; she still holds a lingering hatred for the Horde that Quel'thalas is a part of, a hatred she will have to fully overcome during Midnight in order to help rally her scattered people in defense of their home. It does make one wonder for poor Halduron, however, as well as the possibility of an iconic Horde capitol like Silvermoon becoming a neutral hub led by members of both factions.
Likewise, her status as a void-infused elf puts the now holy Sunwell at unique risk, as we saw in the Nightborne induction back in Legion. Simply touching the Sunwell caused Alleria to manifest a portal of void beings above the Sunwell, intent on claiming its power for themselves. With a similar threat facing Quel'thalas in Midnight, how Alleria will overcome that vulnerability remains to be seen, whether or not she takes up the mantle of Ranger-General.
Now, there is another possibility: this is simply a mistake. It wouldn't be the first time Blizzard has made it, with an Arathi character in The War Within referring to her as Ranger-General despite never formally holding a title beyond Ranger-Captain. This could simply be another instance of Alleria being mistakenly attributed the title for the sake of marketing, and not an indication of any upcoming story in Midnight. It could also mean that she's taking up the title as one of the proper Void Elf leaders in the same way her sister Vereesa is Ranger-General of the Silver Covenant, and not that she'll be joining Silvermoon's council of leaders.
Whatever happens, this little teaser title in the Midnight pre-order certainly sparks many thoughts about the upcoming story of Midnight. Do you think this spells neutrality for Silvermoon in the coming expansion, or do you think this is just another error on Blizzard's part? Let us know!
