The Nightwell - will it be fixed or destroyed?

[Mace]

Quick Background
The Nelves of Suramar used the power of the Well of Eternity during the struggles of the War of the Ancients to erect an impentrable barrier that sealed and hid most of their city. Before that happened, they used the Pillars of Creation to seal a huge portal the demons had opened in the HQ of the Order of Elune (shortly after the last High Priestess (Tyrande) was commissioned after her predecessor died). It came at a time where there most famous citizens Tyrande Whisperwind, The Stormrage Twins, and the Shadowsong Siblings with a group of NElves from Suramar had started the main resistance to Azshara and her legion allies.

We know the story of how Kur'talos Ravencrest joined the fight, and the Night Elves from this region and largely this city waged a war to Zin'Azshari. While they were thwarting the plans of Azshara and Sargeras en route to the Glory of Azshara, those remaining in the city of Suramar, closed off a demonic portal that could quite possibly have over-run the resistance army and certainly the city. In the final moments before the Sundering, Ellisandre and the Night Elves of the city drew on the power of the Well of Eternity to shield and hide their city as the rest of the world as they know it ceased. It is conceivable that it is because of their effort that the borken Isles remained as an island while all the other land around it plunged into the depth of the sea

The Nightwell
So, one of the interesting features of the nightborne NElves is the nightwell they created using the Eye of Aman'thul, that essentially allowed them to survive starvation that was happening. However over time the font has become corrupted in a "it's broken" sense rather than an "old god shadowy evil" sense or an "evil corrupt fel-power sense"

After they sealed the demonic portal, before the City was sealed up, the Pillars were hidden, but it is possible that either the process used to seal the portal or divide the pieces, or maybe using one of the pillars to such a large extent without the others caused a flaw, corrupting the flow in time. We're not given the full detail, except that the Eye of Aman'thul was used to convert the rich leyline nexus of energy beneath Suramar into an enhance well of arcane power called the nightwell. And over a long period of time it has become corrupted, like a damaged flow - it's not working like it should do, and this causes nightborne nelves who don't use it to eventually become a horrible mindless state "Withered" before dying. Pretty much like you will starve without food/water after a while and die, but this has the extra kick of a mindless phase.

It's the opposite of the high/blood elf situation where they indulged in the sunwell, and the subsequent arcane corruption that results from over-indulgence of arcane energies to feed their hunger pangs during the absence of the sunwell resulted in them becoming Wretched. Another key difference is High/Blood elves had a choice over their issue, not restraining themselves (something they at least could do as many BElves & HElves showed) leads into that cursed state, whereas the nightborne nelves can't choose not to wither if they don't sustain themselves by this energy.

What Happens During Legion
So we have an interesting state. We know the Nightborne NElves in normal state aren't any more good or evil than anyone, making choices they do for their own reasons. Some like Ellisandre their leader chose to align their society with the Legion, others like First Arcanist Thalyssira and the noble Lilleth remember they were once noble and fight. Most nightborne however are terrified of been cast out, so tow the line that is getting them enslaved and harvested by the legion for soul shards. The majority of the player campaign is assisting the night elves of the area, the first you meet is the Nightborne Nelf Thalyssra who explains some of what happens and directs you all over the zone where you meet and gather other Nightborne NElves willing to fight and normal night elves too who have been devastated by the works of the Legion and their allies.

Your campaign leads to the Assault on the Nighthold that will eventually help the resistance overthrow Ellisandre and defeat Gul'dan - which will lead you into patch 7.1 and presumably the Tomb of Sargeras raid that will involve Illidan, first as foe then as friend.


What Might happen AFter Nighthold
The big question though, is what will happen to the nightwell - will blizzard destroy it like they did the Well of Eternity? or will they save it like they did the Sunwell?

What are your feelings on this? Once we win, I can't see the Night elves doing nothing about the nightwell, For the first time since the sealing of the portal 10k years ago, the pillars of Creation have been re-united. Furthermore, normal night elves specialities are cleansing arcane Well fonts of power - this is what they do in the moonwells.

I'm thinking if blizzard doesn't destroy the Nightwell, I'm thinking that cleansing will happen via Elune and the High Priestess, and involve the pillars of creation - cos unless they utterly destroy the nightborne, they're going to have to some how help them out of this.

[Friendlyimmolation]

I feel either way, that the Blood elves will take part of it back home, that's what the reliquiary does.

[DemonHunter18]

will involve Illidan, first as foe then as friend.

Illidan has no friends.at best,we will just use him to defeat the Legion.

there will probably be some cleansing.

[Mace]

Illidan has no friends.at best,we will just use him to defeat the Legion.

there will probably be some cleansing.

he's got all the demon hunters, and they are definitely on our side, he is their leader and he is the key to defeating the Legion, Illidan has a very large role to play, and I think they will use him also to motivate the night elves - who really have done some surpirsing but not unexpected U-turns.. but then if you followed this race closely they do do that... not using the arcane well energy after the sundering was a HUGE U-turn, as was doing so in a 10k year vigil. The minute htis was no longer necessary again back in use another huge U-turn

You see improsonment of Illidan for 10k years, and a huge U-turn when the demons invade in WC3 and Tyrande releases him.

The wardens who improsn demons and Dhs like illidan and the illidari alike utterly agianst fel, take a huge U-turn and help them fighting witht hem - not cos they love fel, but recognising they need the help and now learning these guys while having corrupted bodies, don't have corrupted souls yet. It's not like they trust them, DHs are unstable, but while they remain friend and fighting the legion, there is no better.

One thing you can trust is night elves tend to do what's right even if it is a huge U-turn from previous. THis is why I think that they'll be motivated by Illidan and inspired by Malfruion - besides , it would be so cool to see the Stormrage brothers working together again right? Just like in WC3

[DemonHunter18]

he's got all the demon hunters, and they are definitely on our side, he is their leader and he is the key to defeating the Legion, Illidan has a very large role to play, and I think they will use him also to motivate the night elves - who really have done some surpirsing but not unexpected U-turns.. but then if you followed this race closely they do do that... not using the arcane well energy after the sundering was a HUGE U-turn, as was doing so in a 10k year vigil. The minute htis was no longer necessary again back in use another huge U-turn

You see improsonment of Illidan for 10k years, and a huge U-turn when the demons invade in WC3 and Tyrande releases him.

The wardens who improsn demons and Dhs like illidan and the illidari alike utterly agianst fel, take a huge U-turn and help them fighting witht hem - not cos they love fel, but recognising they need the help and now learning these guys while having corrupted bodies, don't have corrupted souls yet. It's not like they trust them, DHs are unstable, but while they remain friend and fighting the legion, there is no better.

One thing you can trust is night elves tend to do what's right even if it is a huge U-turn from previous. THis is why I think that they'll be motivated by Illidan and inspired by Malfruion - besides , it would be so cool to see the Stormrage brothers working together again right? Just like in WC3

you didn't really need to explain everything.what I meant is that Illidan has no friends.at best,he will be our "means to an end" thing.

[Mace]

you didn't really need to explain everything.what I meant is that Illidan has no friends.at best,he will be our "means to an end" thing.

oh.. yeah, most likely.

I do over-explain sometimes. Usualy its for the benefit of new people, now it's just habit

[DemonHunter18]

oh.. yeah, most likely.

I do over-explain sometimes. Usualy its for the benefit of new people, now it's just habit

well,good for them .

[Hallowseve17]

They will restore the Nightwell and rejoin their night elven brethren. (one can only hope)

[Irian]

It seems like it's absolutely necessary for the Nightborne to have it to survive, but at the same time the night elves have a history with not liking magical wells of the arcane variant. If the night elves weren't an equation I would say that we'd help recreate it, but as it is unless somehow this expansion ends in a miraculous total victory (I'm not holding my breath) it will likely be a contention point.

That being said, I think it'll probably be fixed one way or another. They seem to be pointing the Nightborne towards a somewhat friendly race so I can't imagine Legion will end with "btw, you guys are boned, sorry". I can see the blood elves in particular having some kind of future story with them.

[Combatbutler]

If the Nightwell is destroyed, the vast majority of the nightborne will go with it, after the legion xpack there is only one fount of power left on the globe that could possibly sustain so many of them, the Sunwell.

[Raetary]

i hope we dont destroy it and use it for our advantage.

[Combatbutler]

i hope we dont destroy it and use it for our advantage.

If it isn't destroyed it still belongs to the nightborne, who will most likely tell us it belongs to them alone. That thing is pretty much the only reason they are able to exist after all.

[Raetary]

If it isn't destroyed it still belongs to the nightborne, who will most likely tell us it belongs to them alone. That thing is pretty much the only reason they are able to exist after all.

sure, then lets reforge frostmourne, ress arthas, send him in there and wreck elven faces to ressurect some powerfull guy as lich with the powers of the well.
the well get corrupted and the elves have to destroy it.
most of the elves will die, rename themselves to deathborne, and many of them follow some random elf and go through a big legion portal to another planet.
some few of the deathborne still call themselves nightborne and join the alliance.
while the remaining deathborne join the horde under the leadership of lord dor'lemar geron.
soon the elves that followed the random elf go through the portal came back and rebuild the nightwell and almost summoned kil'jaeden into our world.
we heroes save the day again.
velen comes in and turns it into the sunwell 2.0
then we wreck arthas's face a second time.
and everyone is happy.

[Mace]

If the Nightwell is destroyed, the vast majority of the nightborne will go with it, after the legion xpack there is only one fount of power left on the globe that could possibly sustain so many of them, the Sunwell.

There is also the Well of Eternity, and that's much closer to home. I can see that been opened up by the rest of the night elves because unlike the sunwell, it's not just for enhancement bonus, it is a necessity for survival. Anyway, the night elves don't think about using the Well in quite the same way post WC3 as they did pre-WC3, but you never know.

And we might be making an assumption there, their dependence is directly tied to the nightwell, not just any odd energy, it's in the way the night well works which has made it such that without its particular energy they will starve. So I very much doubt the Well of Eternity or the Sunwell will suffice, they will have to find a way to get them off the nightwell, and if they do that why not just be no longer dependent? or food? or even the normal moonwells.

It's interesting though, but I really like the effect the night well has on the city, it really gives a night feel to it - it actually feels like you're with the Night Elves proper - something that didn't come off properly in Darnassus or Darkshore and use to annoy me because the NElves felt very Diurnal. I hope it stays in some form.

They may turn it into a massive moonwell .. or port the Well of Eternity there instead to cleanse it off.

[Combatbutler]

sure, then lets reforge frostmourne, ress arthas, send him in there and wreck elven faces to ressurect some powerfull guy as lich with the powers of the well.
most of the elves will die, rename themselves to deathborne, and many of them follow some random elf and go through a big legion portal to another planet.
some few of the deathborne still call themselves nightborne and join the alliance.
while the remaining deathborne join the horde under the leadership of lord dor'lemar geron.
then we wreck arthas's face a second time.
and everyone is happy.

It is a fundamental different situation, while the Thallassians relied on their well it, they don't turn into mindless husks without it. The Nightborne will rebel against the legion in the end with our help, helping pushing it back. That well belongs to them and them alone whether they choose to become global players or not after legion is entirely up to them.

Sure that well could be neat, but it is not up for grabs, since blizz introduced the rebellion storyline.

[Raetary]

Sure that well could be neat, but it is not up for grabs, since blizz introduced the rebellion storyline.

that sounds like you took the crap that came out of my mind srsly....

[Combatbutler]

There is also the Well of Eternity, and that's much closer to home. I can see that been opened up by the rest of the night elves because unlike the sunwell, it's not just for enhancement bonus, it is a necessity for survival. Anyway, the night elves don't think about using the Well in quite the same way post WC3 as they did pre-WC3, but you never know.

The well of eternity is almost entirely destroyed by the legion

And we might be making an assumption there, their dependence is directly tied to the nightwell, not just any odd energy, it's in the way the night well works which has made it such that without its particular energy they will starve. So I very much doubt the Well of Eternity or the Sunwell will suffice, they will have to find a way to get them off the nightwell, and if they do that why not just be no longer dependent? or food? or even the normal moonwells.

Considering mana crystals work and tapping into ley lines as well, it would imply they simply need arcane.

that sounds like you took the crap that came out of my mind srsly....

You didn't use "sarcasm" so I always assume people mean what they type, unless i know them a bit better ;P

[ravenmoon]

sure, then lets reforge frostmourne, ress arthas, send him in there and wreck elven faces to ressurect some powerfull guy as lich with the powers of the well.
most of the elves will die, rename themselves to deathborne, and many of them follow some random elf and go through a big legion portal to another planet.
some few of the deathborne still call themselves nightborne and join the alliance.
while the remaining deathborne join the horde under the leadership of lord dor'lemar geron.
then we wreck arthas's face a second time.
and everyone is happy.

you made me roflmao - who's that guy on the forums that keeps going on about Arthas returning or everything is a Lich King conspiracy? I think that would be a wet dream for him.

Anyway, it's high time the night elves get a boost and something strengthening. Having the nightborne nelves join the ranks (i.e.the resistance winning the fight with the backing of the larger portion of the citizens they are trying to free), plus their ancient of City of Suramar and a useable power source would be welcome boost after so much loss since the sundering. So I would like them to save it - but won't hold my breadth, blizzard love destroying - but there might be a chance since Legion has already destroyed so much.

[Combatbutler]

you made me roflmao - who's that guy on the forums that keeps going on about Arthas returning or everything is a Lich King conspiracy? I think that would be a wet dream for him.

That would be Britishbulldog.

[purebalance]

Not to be picky, but one of my huge peeves is in the OP: It's toe the line not tow the line. Toe the line literally implies you're getting your toes as close to a line as possible without crossing it.