Vereesa Windrunner

Vereesa Windrunner is the Ranger-General of the Silver Covenant. An elven ranger who fought throughout the Second and Third Wars, she is the youngest sister of Alleria and Sylvanas, widow of Archmage Rhonin Redhair, and mother of Giramar and Galadin. After becoming a ranger, she met Rhonin in an escort mission and together they helped free the Dragon Queen Alexstrasza from the Dragonmaw clan. Nearly all of Vereesa's extended family were killed by orcs in the Second War and in Prince Arthas's invasion of Quel'Thalas.

When Rhonin became leader of the Kirin Tor, Vereesa created and still leads the Silver Covenant, a militant core of high elves that rejected the admission of blood elves into the Kirin Tor and who took it upon themselves to serve as a military deterrent for any potential Sunreaver uprising. She styled herself as the "Ranger General of the Silver Covenant", her own version of the Ranger General of Silvermoon. After her husband's death and an act of treason both caused by the blood elves within the Kirin Tor, Vereesa joined Jaina Proudmoore, who succeeded Rhonin, in the Sunreaver Purge of Dalaran.

History
Vereesa is a member of the prominent Windrunner family of the high elves. Her elder sisters Alleria and Sylvanas were a ranger captain and ranger-general of Silvermoon City, respectively. She also had a brother named Lirath. Her family lived at Windrunner Spire in the tranquil forests of Quel'Thalas. Eventually, she also became a ranger in the service of the high elven Silvermoon City.

During the Second War, when Quel'Thalas' forest began mysteriously to burn, Vereesa alongside Alleria were attacked by forest trolls. Fortunately, they were rescued by Sylvanas and her rangers. Young for her kind, Vereesa was only a year out of her apprenticeship following the Second War.

Vereesa had a particularly close relationship with Sylvanas, whom she looked up to and tried to emulate her entire life.

After Alleria and her husband Turalyon vanished on Draenor, Vereesa took in their son Arator.

Day of the Dragon
This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

The young Vereesa was inducted into the entry ranks of the Farstriders sometime before the Second War, rising to become among the best of her training group. More than one of her tutors scolded her for her reckless attitude and fighting style, derogatorily comparing her impatience to that of a human's.[6] She did not take an active part in the Second War itself, presumably due to a lack of experience, and had neither seen nor battled a troll her foray into Grim Batol.

Following in Alleria's footsteps, Vereesa too became a ranger. To her disgust, her first major assignment did not involve hunting down the orcs that had been trapped on the planet Azeroth in the wake of the Dark Portal's destruction. Instead, she was asked to escort a human wizard named Rhonin to Hasic, one of the eastern ports of Lordaeron. She accomplished her mission only to discover that there were no ships available to take Rhonin to his ultimate destination: Khaz Modan.

Rhonin claimed that his mission was minor and only required him to observe the orc presence in Khaz Modan. Yet he remained unusually determined to fulfill it. He even appealed to a group of Wildhammer dwarves, asking them to fly him to Khaz Modan on one of their gryphons. At first the dwarves refused, for they trusted humans little and wizards even less. Yet Vereesa had grown fond of Rhonin, and she suspected that his mission was more important than he wanted to admit. Appealing to the dwarves, she persuaded them to fly both her and Rhonin to Khaz Modan. Although Rhonin was separated from her along the flight, she tracked him all the way to Grim Batol, which was a Horde stronghold under the leadership of Nekros Skullcrusher.

Using a magical artifact known as the Demon Soul, Nekros had managed to enslave Alexstrasza and, through her, most of the red dragonflight. Thus, Korialstrasz had sent Rhonin to Grim Batol with instructions to free Alexstrasza. Disguised as a mage named Krasus, Korialstrasz did not truly hope that Rhonin would be able to liberate the Dragonqueen. Rather, Korialstrasz hoped to trick the Horde into believing that a full-scale invasion was about to occur. While the Horde evacuated Grim Batol, Korialstrasz planned to strike and free his queen. His plan backfired when the massive black dragonDeathwing unexpectedly showed up and began stealing Alexstrasza's eggs. In fact, Deathwing had helped Rhonin reach Grim Batol precisely for that reason: the insane Dragon Aspect wanted to bolster his own failing flight by kidnapping Alexstrasza's children and raising them as his own. However, the other Dragon Aspects arrived to stop Deathwing. With the help of Vereesa and a group of dwarves, Rhonin took the Demon Soul from Nekros and managed to destroy it. Their powers fully restored, Alexstrasza and the other Aspects attacked Deathwing and forced him to flee. Deathwing has not been seen since that time.

Not long after their adventure, Vereesa and Rhonin were married.

War of the Ancients Trilogy
This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

Following the success of the mission, Vereesa was asked to act as an Alliance Ambassador by King Terenas and the Kirin Tor.[citation needed]  She and Rhonin were tasked with touring the Alliance and reminding everyone that there were other threats in the world besides orcs that would have to be faced sooner or later.[8] Along with Rhonin and Krasus, Vereesa was among the few well-known survivors of the Scourge that destroyed Lordaeron, Dalaran, and Quel'Thalas after the corruption of Prince Arthas.

The rest of her family was not so lucky. They were one of the hardest hit by the Scourge invasion into Quel'Thalas. Sylvanas was killed by Arthas and raised as a banshee in his service, later becoming Banshee Queen of the Forsaken.[9] The sisters' grandfather had to battle his own son, their uncle, after he was turned into an undead.[9]

While she and her husband, Rhonin, were preparing for the birth of their twin offspring, Giramar and Galadin, Rhonin was once again summoned by Krasus for help. As a reward for Rhonin's courage, Nozdormu allowed Rhonin to return to Vereesa at the moment she went into labor to ensure he would not miss a moment of the twins' lives. Nozdormu also offered the children the friendship of the bronze dragonflight. A human named Jalia assisted in the birth.[9]

Night of the Dragon
This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

At one time, Vereesa was close to her cousin Zendarin Windrunner: an ambitious young elf whose difficulty fitting the mold of high elven society was similar to that of Vereesa's own. After the rise of the blood elves, Zendarin took well to the teachings of Kael'thas Sunstrider, as his withdrawals from the Sunwell's power were too much to bear. Having suffered from her own magical withdrawal, Vereesa reflected that she too may have joined them, had it not been for Rhonin's support which helped her to recuperate. After the birth of her sons, her love for her children was enough to distract her from the pangs of addiction and loss.[10]

Zendarin, now a blood elf who had always hated humans, tried to kidnap her children as he believed the offspring of a high elf and a human mage would have a lot of magic power.[11] He failed in this attempt.

She appears again in the novel Night of the Dragon, where she braved the depths of Grim Batol, seeking revenge on Zendarin. Zendarin sought to steal the Demon Soul (possibly as an alternate magic source having failed to take Dargonax, or as a secondary objective), the foul creation of Deathwing that had been destroyed by Rhonin years earlier. He would have pulled it off if not for Vereesa's intervention, which resulted in the destruction of the Demon Soul — and of Zendarin himself — when the stolen staff of the Naaru touched the artifact.[12] Vereesa also assists Iridi, a draenei priestess, in destroying Dargonax, as redemption for Zendarin's murder of Iridi's comrade.

Wrath of the Lich King
Vereesa is located in the Violet Citadel of Dalaran along with Rhonin, Archmage Aethas Sunreaver, and Archmage Modera. She created and is the leader of the Silver Covenant, a militant group of high elves who oppose the inclusion of blood elves in the Kirin Tor. She is involved in the Quel'delar quest chain: The champions of the Silver Covenant will fight the forces of the Scourge in the Frozen Halls and its Sunreaver counterpart in Dalaran to restore the magical blade Quel'Delar from its defiled state by the Blood-Queen Lana'thel. She appears as part of the Silver Covenant faction within Dalaran, and is hostile to Horde players as a result. She will not attack, cannot be attacked, and cannot be interacted with.

Ultimately, Vereesa's opposition to the blood elves' readmission to the Kirin Tor was doomed to failure: Vereesa herself held no political sway within Dalaran, and the Sunreavers were able to overcome their opposition into the Kirin Tor.[13]

Stormrage
This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

Vereesa was caught in by the Emerald Nightmare. She later attended the wedding of Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind, two old friends and comrades of her husband, along with their twin boys.[14]

Cataclysm
Vereesa is called upon by the ranger-general of Silvermoon, Halduron Brightwing, to help address the threat of a revitalized troll empire brewing in Zul'Aman. She travels to Quel'Thalas, and meets with Brightwing alongside the Darkspear Chieftain, Vol'jin.

Her presence is not well received in the upper echelons of Silvermoon City, and Lor'themar Theron sends a messenger to demand to know why she holds presence in Quel'Thalas. A frustrated Vereesa mentions that Quel'Thalas is as much her home as it is his, and that she will not see it fall to their ancient enemy. Halduron states that he had personally invited her to supplement his own Farstriders, as it would take time to recall enough of them. The two ranger-generals along with Vol'jin discuss their plans for battle.

Tides of War
This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

When Jaina Proudmoore called for aid to defend Theramore Isle against an overwhelming attack by the Horde, Vereesa came with her husband Rhonin to help. However, after the battle, she was informed that the blood elf Thalen Songweaver, a Horde traitor within the Kirin Tor, had been rescued during the attack. After coordinating with Shandris Feathermoon and her sentinels, Vereesa took a scouting party west into Dustwallow Marsh to look for him, and so was not present when Garrosh Hellscream used a mana bomb to destroy Theramore and all its inhabitants, including Rhonin. Vereesa returned to Dalaran to mourn, and accompanied Jaina to plead the Council of Six to take action against Orgrimmar in retaliation for Rhonin's death. She later appeared with her children at Rhonin's memorial service.[15]

Landfall
Vereesa led the Silver Covenant in aiding the Kirin Tor and Alliance forces' purge of the Horde from Dalaran after Jaina Proudmoorediscovered that Sunreavers helped Garrosh Hellscream steal the  [Divine Bell] by using Dalaran portals to infiltrate Darnassus. The Silver Covenant was instrumental in preventing the Sunreavers from escaping and neutralizing any Horde insurrections or Sunreaver sympathizers who were aiding and abetting their resistance to incarceration.

Rise of the Thunder King
Vereesa was serving as secondary leader of the Kirin Tor Offensive, stationed near the Shado-Pan Garrison, where she would accompany members of the Alliance to Lady Jaina Proudmoore's flagship, The Seabolt, on the Isle of Thunder. She revealed that the pandaren were concerned about the return of Lei Shen the Thunder King, but personally she was more concerned about the Horde. Vereesa expressed concern with the Horde presence on the isle, fearful that the world at large would suffer should they get their hands on the source of Lei Shen's power. She was also eager to avenge the death of her husband.

Vereesa also appeared within the Violet Rise when the base had been established.

Vereesa eventually accompanied Jaina to the Bloodied Crossing, and does battle with the mogu forces in the area. After they won the battle against Shan Bu, Vereesa was present when Jaina and Lor'themar face off in the courtyard. United by sharing an unlikely enemy, Jaina and the regent lord came to an agreement, though Vereesa was uneager to retreat, stating that they killed her husband, but Jaina reminded her that fighting here wouldn't bring him back.

Siege of Orgrimmar
Vereesa accompanies King Varian Wrynn's force to seize Bladefist Bay from Hellscream's forces, and takes part in the Galakrasencounter. During the battle Vereesa wears a new outfit that more closely resembles her artwork.

War Crimes
This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

Vereesa accompanied Jaina to the trial of Garrosh Hellscream. Embittered by the loss of her husband and fuelled by vengeance, Vereesa desired the death sentence to be passed on the former warchief. As the trial continued, however, it became increasingly apparent to Vereesa that he may yet escape this fate and face life imprisonment instead, with even the possibility of acquittance. Unwilling to let this happen, Vereesa reached out to her sister, Sylvanas, and arranged a meeting at Windrunner Spire. Vereesa asked Sylvanas to provide her with a potent, untraceable poison she could use to murder Garrosh, which Sylvanas agreed to consider. While the sisters were wary of each other at first, they rekindled a surprisingly positive bond over the course of their meetings, as they reflected on their childhoods, their deceased loved ones, and the lives they'd both left behind.

As the sisters continued to plot and bond, Vereesa came to doubt what she had left in the Alliance. Noting this, Sylvanas made her an offer: Vereesa could join her in the Forsaken, and co-rule with her. She could rise to a position of great power, with the ability to shape things as the Windrunners saw fit. Seeing what they were about to accomplish in killing Garrosh (something both the Horde and Alliance had failed to do), Vereesa agreed to consider the offer.

The following court day, Vereesa was forced to witness Rhonin's last moments in Theramore through the Vision of Time leaving her in tears. Fuelled with anger and grief at seeing her husband's selfless sacrifice for her, she left for Tirisfal Glades, where she met with Sylvanas, who had provided the poison - a particularly potent strain, that would no doubt give Garrosh a painful end. She had chosen Tirisfal over the Ghostlands to become better acquainted with where she would soon be living; though dark, she believed the glades had a certain beauty. Vereesa's increasing affinity for her soon-to-be home pleased her sister greatly, though Sylvanas had not given her the full story: the Forsaken would never accept a living ruler, so she planned to give Vereesa a painless death and resurrect her as a powerful banshee, like her, so that the two could rule together forever.

Vereesa integrated herself into the temple's kitchens, giving her access to Garrosh's food. Putting aside all reluctance, she succeeded in lacing his meal with the poison, and left to reflect on what now awaited her. On the cusp of joining her sister in the Horde, however, Vereesa began to have her doubts. On one hand, she looked forward to ruling alongside her sister and having access to Silvermoon again, though her time with the cook Mu-Lam Shao (and then a meeting with Anduin Wrynn) made her think of her boys back home in Dalaran. Knowing they would have no place in the Undercity, Vereesa left for Dalaran to be with them, promising never to consider leaving them again. She sent a letter to Sylvanas to tell her of this. Her decision was a blow to Sylvanas, who had greatly lowered her defenses around her sister.

Before leaving, Vereesa told Anduin of her plot to poison Garrosh, leaving the warchief's fate in the prince's hands. Ultimately, Anduin chose to rescue him, though kept Vereesa's secret.

Legion
After the Farstriders acquired information on the whereabouts of Vereesa's sister Alleria, Vereesa traveled to the Broken Shore to join forces with them and plan a rescue attempt. She summons the soon-to-be leader of the Unseen Path to assist in this endeavour. Although she is unhappy to trust the word of a demon, who claims Alleria and her fabled bow were present on a Legion world known as Niskara, inhabited by the Inquisitor demons, Vereesa is willing to take the risk. Ranger Orestes argues that the mission is too personal on Vereesa's side, which she unconvincingly denies, claiming it is simply to recover a strategic asset and nothing more. Vereesa forbids Orestes from taking part in the mission, not wanting to risk lives until Alleria's presence is confirmed, but he goes ahead regardless. Vereesa fights her way through Niskara to rescue both Orestes and Alleria; however, Orestes is heavily wounded, and dies encouraging Vereesa to rescue Alleria. Vereesa narrowly avoids succumbing to an inquisitor's mental attack, but Alleria is nowhere to be found. Only her bow is left, and Vereesa infers that the demons had hoped to lure Alleria back with it. She suggests the hunter champion be the one to claim it, acknowledging them as a hero on par with her sister.[16]

Vereesa then leads her rangers to Trueshot Lodge, where she reunites with Halduron and informs him of the mission's events. Representing the Silver Covenant among the Unseen Path's union of all hunters on Azeroth, Vereesa promises the aid of her order to the Path's new leader following their inauguration. As a member of the Unseen Path, Vereesa participated in the defeat of Hakkar the Houndmaster in the Violet Hold.[17]

When an Alliance player reaches Prestige Rank 2, Vereesa can be found in Stormwind Keep alongside other notable leaders of the Alliance. During  [100] A Royal Audience, she is present at the ceremony hosted by King Anduin Wrynn that congratulates the character for their battles against the Horde, following their receiving of the  [Grand Marshal's Medal of Valor]from the King, as well as an artifact appearance.

Insurrection
Vereesa, along with Tyrande Whisperwind and her sentinels, leads a group of Silver Covenant war mages to Suramar to support the Nightfallen rebels in their attempt to reclaim Suramarfrom its Burning Legion-aligned masters. Still vengeful for the death of her husband, and now her king, she counselled against trusting the nearby Horde forces led by Lady Liadrin and Grand Magister Rommath, but a formal, if tense, truce was made between the two armies regardless. Kirin Tor guards comment that Khadgar has had to step in and stop Vereesa from shooting at Rommath more than once, and Liadrin does not trust Vereesa to protect their flank when the time comes to attack the city. Vereesa also finds it peculiar that she'd ever share a camp with the kaldorei, reflecting that desperate times call for desperate measures.

She takes part in the strike into Suramar, and the combined elven army fights its way to the foot of the Nighthold itself, where the kaldorei, sin'dorei, quel'dorei and shal'dorei rebels are confronted by Grand Magistrix Elisande. When she turns to address Vereesa, the magistrix derides the quel'dorei as "peasants playing at nobility", unworthy of the name high elves, and mocks their tendency to "mingle" with lesser races that dilute their bloodline. Elisande then unleashes her time magic, trapping the entire elven army, Vereesa included, in a time stasis, causing their defeat.

Vereesa is freed and can be seen later in the Nighthold cinematic with Khadgar and Lady Liadrin.

Argus
Vereesa later travels with her nephew Arator aboard the draenei's new dimensional ship, the Vindicaar, to Argus. She witnesses the return of her sister Alleria and Alleria's husband Turalyon. Arator has a conversation with Vereesa regarding the fate of Sylvanas and what Vereesa will tell his mother, to which Vereesa responds that the thought of the conversation fills her with dread and the truth will break Alleria's heart.[18]

When Vereesa later informed Alleria that Sylvanas was now Warchief of the Horde, Alleria refused to believe it after everything the Horde did to their people. Vereesa was unsure of how to tell Alleria that Sylvanas was also undead, or if it was even the right time or place to do so. When Alleria pressed her for answers, Vereesa decided the matter would be best discussed in private.

Vereesa can also be found at Darkfall Ridge where she fights demons seeking to reach the Vindicaar.

After Sargeras was imprisoned by the Pantheon at the Seat of the Pantheon, Vereesa commented about how much Alleria changed with her wielding powers that she couldn't comprehend. But in her heart, she remained her beloved sister. Vereesa knew that the news of Sylvanas weighed heavily on Alleria, and that some matters had to be settled face to face. The Windrunner sisters had to meet, and there was only one place for it to be done.

Three Sisters
This section concerns content exclusive to the World of Warcraft comics.

In the Silver Enclave, Vereesa discussed the family reunion between the Windrunner sisters with her sons. While Giramar had hopes this reunion could heal the rift between their families, Galadin argued the their aunt Sylvanas was evil and was now working with the Horde that killed their father. Giramar thought that accusing people of being evil only challenged them to show people how evil they could be while Galadin saw little potential in the goodness of undead beings. Vereesa ended the spat by reminding her sons that they were brothers and there may come a day when they may only have themselves to rely on; all the while musing there was a time when she and her sisters had relied on each other. Vereesa's sons hug their mother goodbye and agreed to Vereesa's wisdom before Vereesa enters a Dalaran portal to her destination.

Vereesa met Alleria in their favorite spot in Eversong. Alleria greeted Vereesa by affectionately calling her "Little Moon". With such golden hair, Vereesa said that it was only fitting that Alleria's nickname was "Lady Sun", although since her transformation with the Void, Alleria felt she could no longer bear that name. When Vereesa questioned how the Void had affected her, Alleria assured Vereesa she was not influenced by the Void's dark power and her love for her loved ones has kept her anchored. Vereesa and Alleria catch up on what has transpired since Alleria was away, including the Alliance-Horde war escalated by Garrosh Hellscream and the death of Vereesa's lover Rhonin during Theramore's Fall. Vereesa mentioned that she had a brief reconnection with Sylvanas when they plotted revenge against Garrosh during his trial in Pandaria, but she had abandoned the plot and warned Anduin Wrynn who subsequently saved Garrosh from being poisoned. Although concerned about Sylvanas' darkness, returning to their homeland has given Alleria hope of them starting anew as she reminisces about happier times with her sisters and their fallen brother Lirath Windrunner. Sylvanas interrupted Alleria's nostalgia by locking hands with her as they did when they used to dance together. Alleria greeted Sylvanas by her nickname, "Lady Moon".

They made their way to the undead portions of the Ghostlands and Sylvanas told Alleria the tale of how Arthas Menethil led the Scourgeto desecrate the kingdom of Quel'Thalas. Sylvanas provided the Windrunner sisters skeletal horses as they proceeded to purging the undead they met in their path to their ancestral home of Windrunner Spire. During their journey, the sisters played the game "One is a lie" in which they each made three statements with one being a lie. They eventually encountered Goldenmist Village which was inhabited by shades of people they once knew. As the Windrunner sisters defended themselves against the attacking shades, Alleria accused Sylvanas of manipulating Vereesa into murdering Garrosh Hellscream. Sylvanas defended her character and revealed it was Vereesa's plan from the beginning and held Vereesa's lack of nerve responsible for the fallout of Garrosh's actions thereafter, including the third invasion of the Burning Legion. Sylvanas' rage culminated in her unleashing her banshee powers on one shade and brutally eviscerated it. Disgusted by Sylvanas' savage brutality, Alleria transformed into her Void form to declare that the sister she once knew was gone. Sylvanas retorted she had no choice in becoming undead while Alleria abandoned them and chose to become a Void abomination. As the two sisters argued, Vereesa tried to stop the quarrel and claimed that neither of her sisters were there for her when she needed them and had hurt her feelings when they let her believe they both had died. Vereesa tried to dissipate the hostilities by refocusing their efforts in clearing their home of the undead and revealing the verdicts of their game. Vereesa was the first to reveal her truths: she does believe the blood elves will reflect on their actions and rejoin the Alliance and she does fear losing her sisters, but her lie was she has moved past Rhonin's death and that she sees him everyday in her sons. She concluded her confession with her telling Alleria she envies her time with Turalyon. Alleria tells Vereesa that much has changed between her and Turalyon and she has doubts of their love surviving. Alleria tells her truths and her lie but when it was Sylvanas' turn to reveal her truths and lie, she refused to continue the game. Alleria told Sylvanas to keep her secrets and created a Void portal to return Veressa and her home. Before they left, Veressa apologized to Sylvanas for promising to stay with her after their plot with Garrosh and changing her mind at the last minute by letter. Tearfully, Vereesa told Sylvanas she hopes one day she can forgive her. Vereesa then returned to her sons.

Adapted from WoWPedia