05-30-2013, 08:00 AM
Hello CotH!
This is something I've been mulling over a lot and I thought I would write a blog post about it to open it up for discussion. ... See, many of the playable races in WoW have very long lifespans. Not all of them are necessarily immortal, per say, but they live long enough that they could well be considered immortal by human standards. The High/Blood Elves are capable of living as long as 2000 years and the Night Elves and Draenei multiplies that by so many times it's not even funny. Even the Dwarves and the Gnomes can hang in there for a few hundred years, which is hard for us humans to fathom since we'll be surprised if someone lives past 100.
... So, due to lacking resources on the topic and being human ourselves with our limited lifespan, I think it'd difficult for us to really comprehend what such a long life will do to somebody's mind. It's also a very common misconception, I've noticed, that someone who is aeons old would naturally know everything and be automatically better than the younger species at everything he does. I disagree, and I'll be explaining why in a little bit.
On CotH, we have plenty of characters who are many thousands of years old. Many of them don't act their age, and some seem to fail to consider the race's past when evaluating just how much they know about the world they are interacting with. ... In this post, I'm going to focus mainly on the Night Elves, Blood Elves and the Draenei. While the Gnomes and Dwarves could probably be addressed in similar manners, I want to focus on the aforementioned three species.
Night Elves
High/Blood Elves
Draenei
... So, with all that said... I hope that is enough to spark some ideas and start a discussion here. I think it's interesting to think about and I hope I've given more people food for thought on the subject. I'll finish this already massive post with another inquiry, to give even more food for thought...
What significance do you imagine these terms would have to a Human, Blood/High Elf, Night Elf or Draenei?:
How do you imagine their concepts of "a moment" would differ? Or "a lifetime"?
... I'll leave you to it!
Love,
Loxmardin
This is something I've been mulling over a lot and I thought I would write a blog post about it to open it up for discussion. ... See, many of the playable races in WoW have very long lifespans. Not all of them are necessarily immortal, per say, but they live long enough that they could well be considered immortal by human standards. The High/Blood Elves are capable of living as long as 2000 years and the Night Elves and Draenei multiplies that by so many times it's not even funny. Even the Dwarves and the Gnomes can hang in there for a few hundred years, which is hard for us humans to fathom since we'll be surprised if someone lives past 100.
... So, due to lacking resources on the topic and being human ourselves with our limited lifespan, I think it'd difficult for us to really comprehend what such a long life will do to somebody's mind. It's also a very common misconception, I've noticed, that someone who is aeons old would naturally know everything and be automatically better than the younger species at everything he does. I disagree, and I'll be explaining why in a little bit.
On CotH, we have plenty of characters who are many thousands of years old. Many of them don't act their age, and some seem to fail to consider the race's past when evaluating just how much they know about the world they are interacting with. ... In this post, I'm going to focus mainly on the Night Elves, Blood Elves and the Draenei. While the Gnomes and Dwarves could probably be addressed in similar manners, I want to focus on the aforementioned three species.
Night Elves
Spoiler:
Night Elves were, until recently, immortal. Many of them are over ten thousand years old (at least in the CotH playerbase). There are those who were around to see the Sundering and the exile of the Highborne, and might even remember what the world looked like before the Maelstrom and the continent split in two parts; Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms.
As a species however, the Night Elves have always been rather reclusive. They keep to themselves, honor their traditions and their lands and the "sacred duty" of their people as watchers of the old World Tree. They really didn't move around much in all their years, their population was rather static and it was very likely that childbirth was pretty rare all those years ago. The men were deep in the Emerald Dream for hundreds of years at a time with the women and the scarce few men lacking the Gift defending the rest of their society, keeping the community stable and alive. They guarded the forests, their kin, and defended from intruders whenever they came and whoever they were.
They really didn't have much in the ways of interactions with other species lest they were hostile. Night Elves weren't exactly known for being friendly, either. Shoot first and ask later; an intruder's an intruder regardless of the shape it comes in.
So, what happens in the mind of a Night Elf who lives for, say, ten thousand years?
The men? They sleep most of that time away. They don't really interact much with the outside world; only the perfect and undisturbed version deep inside the Emerald Dream in the presence of the Green Dragons. They will know the Emerald Dream and its mysteries and be well versed in the magicks of nature, but they wouldn't know the world outside. It might even come as an unpleasant shock to them when they wake up to see what has become of it while they were sleeping. It's like waking up into a living nightmare, I imagine. While the Emerald Dream had its own share of problems once the Nightmare started corrupting it, it was nothing compared to what waited for them in present-time Azeroth. Since they could be gone for hundreds if not thousands of years at a time, when they suddenly were startled awake... It must've come as a shock?
How do you even interact with the world after such an experience? Try to imagine living your whole life passing by the window in your kitchen and there's this beautiful oak tree standing right outside. You see it every day and you don't question that it's there. Then suddenly one day, it's gone and all you see is a yellow fence and a construction site on the other side. It's difficult to imagine such a situation and compare it to the Night Elves' waking up from the dream, but give it a shot. What would you feel or think, if suddenly one day you woke up and that beautful oak tree was gone?
For the Night Elf women and the men who weren't talented or born with the Gift, the situation was most likely different. They were always around for all that time to watch the forest grow, the old trees wither and die and for children to grow up into adults and eventually, perhaps, have their own children. Their lives most likely looked very much like a human life. Now, don't hang me just yet, but I think their lives were actually very similar to a normal human's life. Sure, they lived for thousands of years instead of a hundred, but, consider this...
Does time really move as fast for someone who isn't in a hurry anywhere?
Humans only have a few moments to live, in comparison. Their lives move much quicker. They are forced to grow up quickly, learn to survive and fend for themselves to make a place in the world where they can grow, settle and form new families so they can carry on the legacy of their species. They don't have the luxury of sitting around for thousands of years without worrying for the continuation for your race since you're still well and alive, and so's your parents, siblings, their parents and cousins, aunts and grandchildren. Night Elves aren't in a rush because there's no real threat to their longevity.
Thus, it'd be logical to believe that time passed much slower for them. Time likely passed for them much like it passed for the trees. Slowly but steadily. So, to clarify... Night Elves and Humans most likely lived mostly the same lives, only Night Elves lived theirs in slow motion. Night Elves most likely didn't even count the days, or the hours. They would settle for counting the years, if even that. Why would they need to count at all? And without counting, would they truly move their lives on at any considerable pace?
A human learns quickly because he has to. Night Elves don't need to. They have all the time in the world. Or had, at least.
... And then, suddenly, they met the humans. And the orcs. And the other races come the Wars and the sacrifice of the World Tree. They probably had limited interactions with the Trolls in the past, but really... This was the first time in so many years that they started interacting with the more fast-paced species. The Orcs started tearing down their beloved forests that they'd watched grow for millenia.
Imagine the shock. And think back to that beautiful oak tree outside your kitchen window, again.
Now, what of the younger Night Elves? Those born in recent years who aren't even 100 years old yet? You could imagine those Elves being strangely alienated from the rest of their society. Their lives started in a time where life had suddenly become more fast-paced. Old habits die hard, as they say, as the oldest Night Elves most likely wouldn't be able to adapt at the same speed as a young Night Elf would.
How would a young Night Elf react to the inaction and passiveness of their older kin? Food for thought.
As a species however, the Night Elves have always been rather reclusive. They keep to themselves, honor their traditions and their lands and the "sacred duty" of their people as watchers of the old World Tree. They really didn't move around much in all their years, their population was rather static and it was very likely that childbirth was pretty rare all those years ago. The men were deep in the Emerald Dream for hundreds of years at a time with the women and the scarce few men lacking the Gift defending the rest of their society, keeping the community stable and alive. They guarded the forests, their kin, and defended from intruders whenever they came and whoever they were.
They really didn't have much in the ways of interactions with other species lest they were hostile. Night Elves weren't exactly known for being friendly, either. Shoot first and ask later; an intruder's an intruder regardless of the shape it comes in.
So, what happens in the mind of a Night Elf who lives for, say, ten thousand years?
The men? They sleep most of that time away. They don't really interact much with the outside world; only the perfect and undisturbed version deep inside the Emerald Dream in the presence of the Green Dragons. They will know the Emerald Dream and its mysteries and be well versed in the magicks of nature, but they wouldn't know the world outside. It might even come as an unpleasant shock to them when they wake up to see what has become of it while they were sleeping. It's like waking up into a living nightmare, I imagine. While the Emerald Dream had its own share of problems once the Nightmare started corrupting it, it was nothing compared to what waited for them in present-time Azeroth. Since they could be gone for hundreds if not thousands of years at a time, when they suddenly were startled awake... It must've come as a shock?
How do you even interact with the world after such an experience? Try to imagine living your whole life passing by the window in your kitchen and there's this beautiful oak tree standing right outside. You see it every day and you don't question that it's there. Then suddenly one day, it's gone and all you see is a yellow fence and a construction site on the other side. It's difficult to imagine such a situation and compare it to the Night Elves' waking up from the dream, but give it a shot. What would you feel or think, if suddenly one day you woke up and that beautful oak tree was gone?
For the Night Elf women and the men who weren't talented or born with the Gift, the situation was most likely different. They were always around for all that time to watch the forest grow, the old trees wither and die and for children to grow up into adults and eventually, perhaps, have their own children. Their lives most likely looked very much like a human life. Now, don't hang me just yet, but I think their lives were actually very similar to a normal human's life. Sure, they lived for thousands of years instead of a hundred, but, consider this...
Does time really move as fast for someone who isn't in a hurry anywhere?
Humans only have a few moments to live, in comparison. Their lives move much quicker. They are forced to grow up quickly, learn to survive and fend for themselves to make a place in the world where they can grow, settle and form new families so they can carry on the legacy of their species. They don't have the luxury of sitting around for thousands of years without worrying for the continuation for your race since you're still well and alive, and so's your parents, siblings, their parents and cousins, aunts and grandchildren. Night Elves aren't in a rush because there's no real threat to their longevity.
Thus, it'd be logical to believe that time passed much slower for them. Time likely passed for them much like it passed for the trees. Slowly but steadily. So, to clarify... Night Elves and Humans most likely lived mostly the same lives, only Night Elves lived theirs in slow motion. Night Elves most likely didn't even count the days, or the hours. They would settle for counting the years, if even that. Why would they need to count at all? And without counting, would they truly move their lives on at any considerable pace?
A human learns quickly because he has to. Night Elves don't need to. They have all the time in the world. Or had, at least.
... And then, suddenly, they met the humans. And the orcs. And the other races come the Wars and the sacrifice of the World Tree. They probably had limited interactions with the Trolls in the past, but really... This was the first time in so many years that they started interacting with the more fast-paced species. The Orcs started tearing down their beloved forests that they'd watched grow for millenia.
Imagine the shock. And think back to that beautiful oak tree outside your kitchen window, again.
Now, what of the younger Night Elves? Those born in recent years who aren't even 100 years old yet? You could imagine those Elves being strangely alienated from the rest of their society. Their lives started in a time where life had suddenly become more fast-paced. Old habits die hard, as they say, as the oldest Night Elves most likely wouldn't be able to adapt at the same speed as a young Night Elf would.
How would a young Night Elf react to the inaction and passiveness of their older kin? Food for thought.
High/Blood Elves
Spoiler:
Now, the High/Blood Elves... I'll just keep referring to them as Blood Elves from now on. They are also fairly long-lived. Not as long as the Night Elves, but still significantly long-lived. The oldest of them could most likely remember the young years of the human kingdoms or had parents who were alive long before the seven kingdoms started forming. Perhaps they are even related to someone who helped first teach the humans magic, or knows someone who is. Many are also old enough to remember the Troll Wars... or knows someone who does.
Most of the Blood Elves suffered the same isolation as the Night Elves, however. While many still travelled into the human kingdoms and beyon to lend their services to the humans, dwarves and whatnot, most of the Blood Elf population stayed in Quel'thalas. They remained in their beautiful kingdom and groomed it over the years, practicing their magical arts and flourishing in their eternally golden forests. Time moved slowly for them as well while they were closed off inside their own little corner of the universe, independent of most everything else with the occasional discomfort of an emissary or merchant passing by to exhange trade secrets or goods for the wellbeing of either society and the prosperity of elvenkind.
They wouldn't really have noticed how time flew by. Not even the Trolls would've made the elves more observant to the time passing by since they couldn't see any difference from Troll to Troll, ,and the short lifespans of the Amani had no real impact on the way an Elf would continue living their long lives. Death was always present for them, however, and people did die from old age. Not every single elf died as old as 2000 years old, after all, and the reality of their own mortality was always something they had to live with. They wouldn't necessarily accept it, but it was nonetheless a great part of their culture and mentality. Not only did age claim the lives of their relatives, but so did their strifes with the Amani. In a whole different way than for the Night Elves, the Blood Elves would've been disillusioned. They would die eventually, even if not for a long time.
Nevertheless, most of them holed themselves up in their cities and villages and carried on with their lives in peace. They prospered and had plenty of time on their hands. Enough time to make time pass much slower for them. They weren't in a hurry. Not compared to the humans, anyway.
Now, there were those Blood Elves who lived for the mostpart of their lives amongst the younger races. Humans, more specifically. How would that change the way that they look on the world around them? How would you imagine it feels to be an elf amongst humans, perhaps growing up with a few human friends who grow older while you remain youthful even when they wither, grow old and grow grey hairs until the finally pass away from old age. Death would suddenly become something much more significant in your life since it's all around you. Lives come and go in what could feel like a moment or a few years, to you. At what point does a Blood Elf in this kind of situation break, seclude himself, or fall into some form of depression as it dawns upon them that they have to watch their surroundings grow up and die time and time again while they, themselves, remain young and alive.
The would most likely grow more acutely aware of the passage of time and start to either cherish the smaller things and take good care of the shorter and more precious moments, or they would withdraw and cease association with the short-lived races while watching time slip through their fingers like finely grinded sand.
How do you imagine that feels? Have you ever had a pet? Like a rat, a hamster or a guinea pig? Maybe even a rabbit?
Do you think that's a valid and relevant comparison? What are your thoughts on that, if you agree/disagree with the comparison?
What about a favourite spring flower? You watch it bloom, wither and die. Is that comparable, in any way?
Most of the Blood Elves suffered the same isolation as the Night Elves, however. While many still travelled into the human kingdoms and beyon to lend their services to the humans, dwarves and whatnot, most of the Blood Elf population stayed in Quel'thalas. They remained in their beautiful kingdom and groomed it over the years, practicing their magical arts and flourishing in their eternally golden forests. Time moved slowly for them as well while they were closed off inside their own little corner of the universe, independent of most everything else with the occasional discomfort of an emissary or merchant passing by to exhange trade secrets or goods for the wellbeing of either society and the prosperity of elvenkind.
They wouldn't really have noticed how time flew by. Not even the Trolls would've made the elves more observant to the time passing by since they couldn't see any difference from Troll to Troll, ,and the short lifespans of the Amani had no real impact on the way an Elf would continue living their long lives. Death was always present for them, however, and people did die from old age. Not every single elf died as old as 2000 years old, after all, and the reality of their own mortality was always something they had to live with. They wouldn't necessarily accept it, but it was nonetheless a great part of their culture and mentality. Not only did age claim the lives of their relatives, but so did their strifes with the Amani. In a whole different way than for the Night Elves, the Blood Elves would've been disillusioned. They would die eventually, even if not for a long time.
Nevertheless, most of them holed themselves up in their cities and villages and carried on with their lives in peace. They prospered and had plenty of time on their hands. Enough time to make time pass much slower for them. They weren't in a hurry. Not compared to the humans, anyway.
Now, there were those Blood Elves who lived for the mostpart of their lives amongst the younger races. Humans, more specifically. How would that change the way that they look on the world around them? How would you imagine it feels to be an elf amongst humans, perhaps growing up with a few human friends who grow older while you remain youthful even when they wither, grow old and grow grey hairs until the finally pass away from old age. Death would suddenly become something much more significant in your life since it's all around you. Lives come and go in what could feel like a moment or a few years, to you. At what point does a Blood Elf in this kind of situation break, seclude himself, or fall into some form of depression as it dawns upon them that they have to watch their surroundings grow up and die time and time again while they, themselves, remain young and alive.
The would most likely grow more acutely aware of the passage of time and start to either cherish the smaller things and take good care of the shorter and more precious moments, or they would withdraw and cease association with the short-lived races while watching time slip through their fingers like finely grinded sand.
How do you imagine that feels? Have you ever had a pet? Like a rat, a hamster or a guinea pig? Maybe even a rabbit?
Do you think that's a valid and relevant comparison? What are your thoughts on that, if you agree/disagree with the comparison?
What about a favourite spring flower? You watch it bloom, wither and die. Is that comparable, in any way?
Draenei
Spoiler:
Oh, the Draenei are another piece of cake, entirely. They are virtually immortal, legally, seeing as none have been known to ever die of old age before. We don't really have a lot of lore regarding them and what they were like while they live back on Argus 20,000 years ago or whichever number that was. It was big; that's all I really know for sure right now.
We have no real way of knowing what their old lives were like. We know that they were most likely a magically excellent race with a deep understanding and knowlege for the arcane arts, which is what drew the Legion to them in the first place and made them prominent members of their army and... respected and feared adversaries. Being as long-lived as they were, however, it's safe to assume their society didn't work like ours. None of the Draenei treat age like any important matter at all and it doesn't seem to be a significant part of their surviving culture, either.
Death doesn't really seem to have been a significant part of their lives until recently, either. Not until they landed on Draenor and the slaughter began, at the very least. They lost many of their family members and friends when fleeing from Argus, but... That only really concerns those who are old enough to have lived there. Those who were born on the Oshu'gun or any of the inbetween worlds they traversed in their flight from the Burning Legion never really had that as a major part of their lives. They were just running away, endlessly, while caring for their ship, raising their families and doing their utmost to keep old traditions and their culture alive by speaking of them with their children. These children would grow up into a Light-worshipping and small community aboard the Naaru vessel, intimately familiar with the Light as a force and the Naaru as creatures and saviors of their kind.
... But that's it. Until Draenor, nothing else really happened in their lives. So what would they really have been doing for all those years? They allegedly celebrated each birth like it was a joyous community event with Velen himself presiding over many of them because it was such a big deal. They didn't really have much else to do aboard the ship than to socialize with their families, and start preparing themselves for joining the Army of the Light like they'd pledged when they were first saved. Otherwise, their lives were entirely uneventful.
... Maybe they were fine with that, though. Immortal as they were, they probably didn't even notice the thousands of years that passed by before they arrived on Draenor, finally. They didn't live there for very long at all compared to where they'd been before. Many Draenei were most likely born on Draenor, however, and how would that've affected their mentality later compared to a Draenei who was born either on Oshu'gun, or on Argus? Would they have the same perception of time, considering their interactions with the Orcs on Draenor prior to the massacres?
... What of a Draenei who was born shortly before the massacres begun, or even during them? Their few years in life would've been very eventful, between being born and then crash-landing on Azeroth when the Exodar malfunctioned. Wouldn't their mentality, technically, develop to be more akin to that of a humanoid on Azeroth? As opposed to their immortal and stuck-in-their-habits brethren?
What would "immortality" even mean to such a young Draenei? Would they be able to conceptualize it at all?
We have no real way of knowing what their old lives were like. We know that they were most likely a magically excellent race with a deep understanding and knowlege for the arcane arts, which is what drew the Legion to them in the first place and made them prominent members of their army and... respected and feared adversaries. Being as long-lived as they were, however, it's safe to assume their society didn't work like ours. None of the Draenei treat age like any important matter at all and it doesn't seem to be a significant part of their surviving culture, either.
Death doesn't really seem to have been a significant part of their lives until recently, either. Not until they landed on Draenor and the slaughter began, at the very least. They lost many of their family members and friends when fleeing from Argus, but... That only really concerns those who are old enough to have lived there. Those who were born on the Oshu'gun or any of the inbetween worlds they traversed in their flight from the Burning Legion never really had that as a major part of their lives. They were just running away, endlessly, while caring for their ship, raising their families and doing their utmost to keep old traditions and their culture alive by speaking of them with their children. These children would grow up into a Light-worshipping and small community aboard the Naaru vessel, intimately familiar with the Light as a force and the Naaru as creatures and saviors of their kind.
... But that's it. Until Draenor, nothing else really happened in their lives. So what would they really have been doing for all those years? They allegedly celebrated each birth like it was a joyous community event with Velen himself presiding over many of them because it was such a big deal. They didn't really have much else to do aboard the ship than to socialize with their families, and start preparing themselves for joining the Army of the Light like they'd pledged when they were first saved. Otherwise, their lives were entirely uneventful.
... Maybe they were fine with that, though. Immortal as they were, they probably didn't even notice the thousands of years that passed by before they arrived on Draenor, finally. They didn't live there for very long at all compared to where they'd been before. Many Draenei were most likely born on Draenor, however, and how would that've affected their mentality later compared to a Draenei who was born either on Oshu'gun, or on Argus? Would they have the same perception of time, considering their interactions with the Orcs on Draenor prior to the massacres?
... What of a Draenei who was born shortly before the massacres begun, or even during them? Their few years in life would've been very eventful, between being born and then crash-landing on Azeroth when the Exodar malfunctioned. Wouldn't their mentality, technically, develop to be more akin to that of a humanoid on Azeroth? As opposed to their immortal and stuck-in-their-habits brethren?
What would "immortality" even mean to such a young Draenei? Would they be able to conceptualize it at all?
... So, with all that said... I hope that is enough to spark some ideas and start a discussion here. I think it's interesting to think about and I hope I've given more people food for thought on the subject. I'll finish this already massive post with another inquiry, to give even more food for thought...
What significance do you imagine these terms would have to a Human, Blood/High Elf, Night Elf or Draenei?:
- ...a second?
...a minute?
...a half-hour?
...an hour?
...half a day?
...a day?
...a week?
...a month?
...a year?
...ten years?
...a hundred years?
...a thousand years?
...ten thousand years?
How do you imagine their concepts of "a moment" would differ? Or "a lifetime"?
... I'll leave you to it!
Love,
Loxmardin