| The Sunreavers | |
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Leaders: |
Archmage Aethas Sunreaver |
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Base of operations: |
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Theater of operations: |
Dalaran |
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This article is part of a series on | |
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Dalaran City · Dalaran Crater · Violet Stand · Nethergarde Keep | |
Magus Senate of Dalaran · Dalaran Chancellery · Dalaran Ministry of Foreign Affairs · Dalaran Ministry of the Interior · Dalaran Ministry of War · Dalaran Ministry of Intelligence · Dalaran Guard · Dalaran Navy · Kirin Tor · Sunreavers · Silver Covenant · Council of Six · Magocracy of Dalaran | |
Jaina Proudmoore · Khadgar · Karlain · Modera · Ansirem Runeweaver · Vargoth · Kalecgos · Rhonin Redhair · Aethas Sunreaver · Drenden · Krasus · Antonidas · Purge of Dalaran | |
| See also, Dalaran Organizations | |
The Sunreavers are a faction of blood elves who represented the Horde in Dalaran. Named for their leader, Archmage Aethas Sunreaver, the Sunreavers sought to have their people readmitted as members of the Kirin Tor, a plight they were successful in. They also joined the Horde Expedition in Northrend. The Sunreavers were eventually expelled from the Kirin Tor sometime after Jaina Proudmoore came into power, and those remaining returned to Quel'Thalas. The Alliance equivalent of the Sunreavers is the Silver Covenant.
Following their return to Quel'Thalas, Aethas and the Sunreavers began collaborating with the Thalassian Magisters under Grand Magister Rommath. Several members of the Sunreavers then took up arms in the name of the Sunreaver Onslaught, under Lor'themar Theron's direct leadership. Aethas and the Sunreavers eventually rejoined the Kirin Tor during the third invasion of the Burning Legion.
Many of the Sunreavers' present-day members were Quel'Thalas citizens who had also lived and studied in Dalaran under the Kirin Tor's banner at one point or another prior to the Third War, some having been members for over two thousand years (some of whom are said to have helped humans originally discover magic). Silvermoon's friendship with Dalaran was tested after the Third War, during which the blood elf Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider - also a member of the Kirin Tor's ruling body - and the entire local elven populace was sentenced to mass executions in the Dungeons of Dalaran. Though the elves escaped, prominent figures among them blamed the Kirin Tor for inaction and accused them of doing nothing to avert an attempted massacre in their own city. Silvermoon's relations with Dalaran were further strained when the former joined the Horde.
However, not all of the blood elves held these views, and indeed some sought to mend broken bridges. Aethas Sunreaver, a blood elf archmage on the Council of Six, worked to readmit his people into the Kirin Tor's ranks, knowing that a number of elves would welcome the chance to bear the Kirin Tor's mantle again. Under the banner of the Sunreavers, Aethas's followers, again answering to both Silvermoon and Dalaran, formally rejoined the Kirin Tor. Aethas' efforts even allowed the blood elves' Horde allies access to Dalaran, which began acting independently of faction politics. Aethas and the Sunreavers also had the support of Archmage Rhonin and Archmage Modera, fellow members of the Six.
The Sunreavers' presence in the Kirin Tor was not without its critics. Silvermoon's Magisters, led by Grand Magister Rommath, strongly opposed the notion of their own magi supporting Aethas and the Sunreavers, unwilling to look past the Third War. Rommath himself, a survivor of these events and a former Kirin Tor archmage, was vehemently opposed to Aethas's desire to have Silvermoon support Dalaran in the Nexus War, or anything pertaining to the Kirin Tor's welfare. While more open to the possibility, even the regent lord of Quel'Thalas, Lor'themar Theron, privately agreed with Rommath's disdain, though knew the Sunreavers would find support no matter what the official stance was. Lor'themar eventually accepted Aethas's proposal, commanding him to look after any blood elves who would find themselves in Dalaran during the Northrend war.
The Sunreavers also found opposition from Rhonin's wife, Vereesa Windrunner, an exile from Silvermoon who had made Dalaran her new home. She formed the Silver Covenant, a militant core of high elves, to act as a deterrent to any potential Horde uprising.
Wrath of the Lich King[]
Traditionally barred from Dalaran, the Horde has been accepted into the city through the efforts of Archmage Aethas Sunreaver. His followers have taken up his name and watch over the ward known as Sunreaver's Sanctuary.
The Sunreavers control Sunreaver's Sanctuary, the Horde district of Dalaran. The guards they employ are named Sunreaver Guardian Mages and will expel Alliance players who get too close to the Horde district. They also employ dragonhawks.
The Sunreavers championed the Horde's cause within Dalaran, allowing them safe haven in the Sunreavers' own sanctuary, and represented them during the Argent Tournament.
After Blood-Queen Lana'thel shattered the legendary blade Quel'Delar in Icecrown, the Sunreavers under Myralion Sunblaze vowed to restore it. Working closely with Magister Hathorel, Sunreaver agents gathered the necessary information required to put the blade's restoration into practice. The journey would take heroes to the innermost sanctum of the Frozen Halls, to the reclaimed Isle of Quel'Danas, culminating in a visit to the restored Sunwell and an interaction with the leaders of Quel'Thalas to cleanse the blade of its taint.
The presence of the Sunreavers in the Kirin Tor's ranks was opposed by a militant regiment of their high elven cousins, also of residence there, named the Silver Covenant. This feud was largely fueled by its leader, Vereesa Windrunner, a high elf who disapproved of the blood elves, though Vereesa herself had no political sway in the city, while numerous members of the six (including Archmage Modera) vouched for the blood elves' readmission.
At some point following the Northrend war, the Sunreavers' goal was a success: the blood elves were officially readmitted into the Kirin Tor's ranks.
Tides of War[]
The organization made a reappearance shortly before the assault on Theramore Isle. Jaina Proudmoore, the ruler of Theramore, sought the Kirin Tor's aid in defending her home against Garrosh Hellscream. Though bound by neutrality, the Kirin Tor agreed to send several representatives to act as a deterrent. Aethas and Rhonin both recommended Thalen Songweaver for the mission, a Sunreaver mage of some repute.
During the attack, however, Thalen was revealed as a spy for Garrosh Hellscream. He abandoned his post and instead allowed the Horde army to pass through; later, he was captured and imprisoned by the Alliance, though freed by Horde agents. Thalen was aware of the true scope of Garrosh's plans for Theramore and had created for the Warchief the mana bomb that promptly annihilated it. He retreated to Silvermoon City after the deed was done.
Thalen's treachery was a blow to the Sunreavers' credibility, who had only recently succeeded in their mission to carve out an equal place in the Kirin Tor's ranks. Archmage Rhonin did not believe the upper echelons of the Sunreavers were aware of Thalen's treachery, but the Kirin Tor leader was killed by the bomb shortly after the subject was raised. Aethas himself, agitated by the betrayal, maintained that he was unaware of Thalen's duplicity, and stated that he would make any amends that he could for it, ultimately supporting Jaina as the new leader of the Kirin Tor.
Mists of Pandaria[]
Landfall[]
While Azeroth was caught in the throes of Garrosh Hellscream's war, the Kirin Tor, in spite of its divided populace, strived to remain a beacon of cross-faction cooperation. Varian Wrynn feared the Horde presence may be a threat, and requested that Jaina exile the Sunreavers; however, Jaina refused, citing the Sunreavers' status as productive members of the Kirin Tor for thousands of years. With the Sunreavers' continued presence in the city ensured, Varian approached the regent lord of Quel'Thalas, Lor'themar Theron, and began talks for the blood elves to leave Garrosh's increasingly brutal Horde and rejoin the Alliance.
Garrosh eventually became aware of this and set a plot in motion to sabotage it. Enlisting Fanlyr Silverthorn, Garrosh ordered him to enter Darnassus and steal an artifact named the Divine Bell, using a Sunreaver portal in order to circumvent Jaina's wards around the city. A Sunreaver agent provided this portal, albeit knowing the act could endanger the Sunreavers' neutrality. With the aid of Horde champions, the [Divine Bell] was stolen. Despite Fanlyr's attempts to cover their tracks, Jaina was able to discover evidence linking the theft of the Divine Bell to someone familiar with the Kirin Tor portal network, inferring them to be a Sunreaver. Jaina returned to Dalaran to confront Aethas directly.
Though Aethas attempted to deter her, claiming he did nothing (a half-truth; Aethas, struggling with his conflicting loyalties, became aware of it moments after it occurred, but was an accomplice through inaction rather than intent), Jaina rebuked him and called for the exile of the entire Sunreaver organization. Aethas challenged this, stating Dalaran was the Sunreavers' city too, and Jaina went about removing them by force after imprisoning Aethas in the Violet Citadel.
The Sunreavers, disorganized with their leader imprisoned, reacted differently to their predicament: Sunreaver civilians, mostly unaware of their predicament, were set upon by Silver Covenant agents who stripped them of their belongings and rounded them up; hostilities erupted closer to the surface, where Sunreaver combatants attempted to fight off the Silver Covenant enforcers; above ground, several militant Sunreaver magi and warriors held the center of the city, while others struck out and attempted to do battle with Jaina herself. Some Sunreavers simply surrendered and were taken to the Violet Hold, and others (such as shopkeepers who refused to side with the Silver Covenant) were slain at their posts. Dalaran soon became a war zone, and Grand Magister Rommath led a strike team into the city to rescue the Sunreavers. The grand magister fought his way through the city, striking out against the Alliance forces in an effort to locate Aethas and ensure the Sunreavers had a means of escape, be it by portal or dragonhawk. Though many were still imprisoned, others were rescued by Rommath, who also succeeded in breaking Aethas out of the Citadel and escaping the city.
Back in Silvermoon City, Lor'themar Theron and Halduron Brightwing oversaw portals funneling the escaped Sunreavers back to safety. Lor'themar ordered the Sunreavers' strength to be added to that of Rommath's own, while the Sin'dorei leaders vowed to take their future into their own hands. Garrosh's ploy, which had focussed blame on the Sunreavers and, thanks to the purge, sabotaged Lor'themar's negotiations with Varian, ensured that the blood elves now had no way to leave his Horde. In the aftermath of the conflict, the Sunreavers as a whole came to hold Garrosh (whose agents in their organization led to the purge, to begin with) just as responsible for their removal from Dalaran as Jaina herself.
Rise of the Thunder King[]
Main article: Sunreaver Onslaught
Lor'themar Theron rallied his forces to move against the newly-returned Lei Shen, former emperor of Pandaria, whose return heralded a dark future for the continent. With Garrosh focusing solely on the Alliance, Lor'themar aimed to remove the threat Lei Shen poses and to claim the emperor's weaponry for the blood elves' use, as leverage against Garrosh in the event of a Horde uprising. To this end, the Sunreaver Onslaught has formed: a Sunreaver-heavy alliance with support from the Magisters, the Farstriders, and the Reliquary, among others. Lor'themar himself presided over this coalition, though both Aethas and Rommath's magi were also on hand. Players work closely with Scout Captain Elsia throughout the various scenarios on the isle.
Lor'themar eventually confronted Jaina and publicly demanded the release of the Sunreavers imprisoned in the Violet Hold into his custody, who are being kept as prisoners of war. Jaina, leading the newly-formed Kirin Tor Offensive, was also eager for a chance to recapture Aethas, whom she wanted to be brought before her alive.
Siege of Orgrimmar[]
Aethas and several members of the Sunreavers assisted in the Siege of Orgrimmar, fighting in Dranosh'ar Landing against the Dragonmaw clan.
War Crimes[]
Though the status of the Sunreaver prisoners in the Violet Hold remains unclear, Jaina Proudmoore mentioned that she had recently negotiated with Lor'themar. The fate of the Divine Bell was also formally reiterated for the court at Garrosh Hellscream's trial, placing culpability for the theft on a Sunreaver agent working on Garrosh's orders, whose portal had allowed Horde members to steal the Bell.
Legion[]
When Dalaran relocated above the Deadwind Pass, the Sunreaver's Sanctuary was patrolled by Kirin Tor Guardians. When the Burning Legion attacked the city, the Sunreaver mages were seen in the sanctuary, defending it.
Since their expulsion from the Kirin Tor, the Sunreavers have endeavored to secure readmission. Aethas seizes a chance to make this a reality by tracking down the whereabouts of Felo'melorn, the high blade of the Sunstrider line, and with its recovery hopes to reclaim the Sunreavers' place in the Kirin Tor. Aethas contacts his old friend Archmage Modera with this information, who passes it along to a notable fire mage working with Alodi and Meryl Felstorm. A meeting is arranged, and Aethas reveals his intention to reclaim his place in the Kirin Tor in return for his aid in Felo'melorn's recovery. The mission is tied to the fate of Lyandra Sunstrider, a distant relative to Silvermoon's old king, Anasterian; she was called to undeath after falling in Icecrown, during an ill-fated quest to find the blade, believing it would legitimize her claim to the Sunstrider throne.
Felo'melorn is successfully recovered, and Aethas returns to Dalaran to put his plea before the new Council of Six. With a unanimous vote - helped by Modera's endorsement, and the fact that the blade was given to the hero rather than one of Aethas' own Sunreavers - Aethas is welcomed back into Dalaran.
The Sunreavers followed their leader back into the Kirin Tor's ranks, but their presence in the conclave was once again threatened when one of their members turned to the Legion. Aethas and several Sunreavers then aid in re-powering Dalaran's defensive weapon atop the Violet Citadel by siphoning the power of Kathra'natir, the dreadlord imprisoned inside the Nightborne Soulstone.
Adapted from WoWPedia