Fans of Warcraft will likely remember Sylvanas Windrunner – the Banshee Queen that formerly served as the Chieftain of the Horde faction. In Blizzard‘s lore, Sylvanas Windrunner once served as the High Elves’ greatest Generals prior to her “corruption” via the Lich King. In World of Warcraft, players got to witness her quest towards freedom and her attempts to make change in Azeroth based on her own ideals.
As a leader, her thirst for vengeance becomes the perfect antithesis to the pacific Thrall and the noble Anduin Wrynn. However, Sylvanas’s story has more secrets for players aside from her role as an anti-hero in the Warcraft mythos. Interestingly, just what else should players know about Sylvanas Windrunner?
10 A Broken Siblinghood
At first glance, Sylvanas seems to be the only prominent member of the Windrunner family. After all, Sylvanas’s status as the Ranger General of the High Elves is no mere feat. However, Sylvanas’s family is actually more expansive than one might expect. Moreover, Sylvanas herself has siblings – most of which have made a reputation for themselves outside popular lore. For instance, her sibling Alleria Windrunner served as Silvermoon’s ranger-captain when they were still part of the Second War’s Alliance of Lordaeron. She used to head the expedition to Draenor with the Alliance but disappeared with her lover Turalyon in the planet’s destruction.
Meanwhile, their youngest sister Vereesa helped free Alexstrasza the Dragon Queen from the Dragonmaw Clan. Like Sylvanas and Alleria, Vereesa also became a skilled ranger. Meanwhile, they have two brothers, one of which named Lirath who unfortunately perished at the hands of orcs.
9 Conflicting Transformations
Fans are highly aware that Sylvanas gained her status as the Banshee Queen when Arthas Menethil transformed her into a banshee in Warcraft 3. Interestingly, other Warcraft media had conflicting accounts of how this actually happened. For instance, the original Warcraft 3 and Arthas’s signature novel showed that Sylvanas instantly transformed into a banshee after her death in Arthas’s hands.
Meanwhile, the Lament of the Highborne and Ghostlands show a different story. In these media, they show Arthas first bringing Sylvanas’s corpse into an altar. It was only then that Arthas performed the ritual that transformed Sylvanas into a banshee.
8 A Mission For Independence, Recognition
When Sylvanas regained her freedom, she used her newfound powers to help other undead be free of the Lich King’s grasp. Sylvanas also started to gather allies amongst the ogre clans and even members of the Burning Legion. She called this new faction the Forsaken, with a quest of annihilating the Scourge and finding a place for themselves in Azeroth.
Officially, the Forsaken are headquartered in Undercity. They are also formally members of the Horde, albeit they only serve their own interests. As a result, even members of the Horde try to keep a close eye on the Forsaken and their various activities.
7 Regaining Her Body, Freedom
As the Banshee Queen, Sylvanas served under the Lich King during the height of his power. However, when the power of the Frozen Throne started to wane, Sylvanas started to regain control over her senses. Her rage and fury helped her tear apart the Lich King’s control and became the unliving embodiment of hatred. Due to her many conquests, Sylvanas gained a reputation as one of the most powerful magic-users and fighters in the Horde.
However, her power may be linked to somewhere else – her body. In the lore, banshees often roam Azeroth as malevolent spirits. Interestingly, Sylvanas somehow got a hold of her corpse and regain her corporeality. As a result, it makes sense for Sylvanas not just to possess a banshee’s powers but also the deathly abilities of a Dark Ranger.
6 A Mixture Of Powers, Abilities
Despite being simply a Dark Ranger and Banshee, Sylvanas has grown to have a wider range of abilities as well. Aside from her skill in archery and her extremely powerful voice, Sylvanas boasts magical abilities such as mind control, draining life, and creating skeletons. Moreover, despite regaining her body, Sylvanas still has the ability to alter her corporeality at will.
Additionally, Sylvanas gained other abilities through pacts with different creatures. For instance, the Val’kyr’s pact allowed Sylvanas control over life and death – even capable of raising creatures to undeath. Meanwhile, her allegiance to the Jailer also gave Sylvanas an immense power boost in death magic.
5 A Song Fitting Of Struggle
In Burning Crusade, an item called the Lament of the Highborne becomes the focal point of some quests courtesy of Sylvanas herself. Players need to return the item – a book – to Sylvanas prior to her attack to the attacking worgen. When players interact with the book, they can read the lyrics of the “Lament of the Highborne,” a song describing an event that could be the Troll Wars or the Fall of Quel’Thalas. However, some think this song actually talks of the losses of the elven faction in the War of the Ancients.
Interestingly, Sylvanas actually sings the song at some point in the MMO. Fans might wonder if Sylvanas singing the song may also her loss of life and the price she’s paying for rediscovering herself and her new place in Azeroth.
4 An Artifact Of Her Past
Introduced in Legion, Artifact Weapons served as a “reminder” that player characters can themselves wield even the most powerful of weapons in Warcraft lore. In turn, even legendary swords such as Kael’Thas Sunstrider’s Felomelorn became accessible to players. However, Sylvanas herself seems to have a weapon that represented not her power – but instead her past. Sylvanas gets an artifact weapon in the form of Thas’dorah, Legacy of the Windrunners.
In the lore, Thas’dorah serves as the heirloom of the Windrunner family. They crafted the Thas’dorah with a bough from the mother tree residing in Eversong Woods. It’s said that Thas’dorah is as old as Quel’Thalas itself. Interestingly, prior to Legion‘s beta, Thas’dorah used to find itself linked to Sylvanas. However, the powerful bow officially found itself on the hands of Sylvanas’s sister, Alleria Windrunner.
3 A Mysterious Ring, Mysterious Coin
In speaking of Kael’Thas Sunstrider, players who square off against the Blood Elf ruler in the Eye of Tempest Keep can obtain an item called the Band of the Ranger General. As an item, it provides additional Stamina, hit rating, attack power, and critical strike. However, what’s more interesting is its description. Its flavor text reads that the Band actually belonged to Sylvanas Windrunner. This is interesting in itself, as one might wonder how the prince obtained the ring when there doesn’t seem to be any direct relationship between the two elves.
Meanwhile, players who love fishing might want to stick longer in Dalaran. If they’re patient enough, they can find Sylvanas Windrunner’s Golden Coin in the fountain. As the name suggests, this coin once belonged to the Banshee Queen.
2 A Complicated Relationship With Character Models
Prior to Sylvanas’s signature look, Blizzard had a bit of a struggle trying to find the best way to put her in the Warcraft MMO. For instance, in Warcraft 3, Sylvanas transitioned from having two models (a Banshee and a retextured Shandris Feathermoon for Reign of Chaos) to a shared model (the Dark Ranger in Frozen Throne).
Meanwhile, in Burning Crusade, Sylvanas had a retextured Night Elf skin despite her High Elf ancestry due to height restrictions. Meanwhile, Sylvanas received a Blood Elf model with a unique texture for her Wrath of the Lich King appearance.
1 A Similarity With Space
Interestingly, even Warcraft shares similarities with its space-based sister franchise in terms of characters. For instance, one might consider Sylvanas quite similar in character and nature to Arcturus Mengsk, one of the primary antagonists in the Starcraft franchise.
As fans might recall, Sylvanas abandoned the Horde to focus on her Forsaken faction. Similarly, Mengsk also led a rebellion within the Terran Dominion. Moreover, both leaders have done so based on their personal beliefs. Mengsk sought to propagate human intergalactic domination. Meanwhile, Sylvanas’s quest for power made her leave the Horde.
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