Highborne

The Highborne (quel’dorei, meaning “children of noble birth” in Darnassian and “high elves” in Thalassian)^[2] were the upper classes of the ancient night elf civilization and the favored servitors of Queen Azshara. The Highborne were largely responsible for the War of the Ancients, and most of those Highborne who had allied with the demons and survived the war were turned into satyrs or naga. Those that allied with the Kaldorei Resistance before the last battle of the war found themselves exiled from Kalimdor, and eventually became the high elves of the Eastern Kingdoms.

“Ten thousand years ago…the Highborne lived here in prosperity. We considered ourselves above the common ranks of the other night elves. With our every need met by magic and wealth, we led lives of indulgence and amusement. And greed…”^{[1] – Kaldorei Spirit}

Although to this day there are surviving Highborne, they are not treated as nobility by modern night elf society, and in practical terms the caste ceased to exist over ten millennia ago. One notable exception are theShen’dralar, a holdout group against the Burning Legion during the War of the Ancients. They were able to defend Eldre’Thalas (now known as Dire Maul) but in doing so became isolated from the rest of night elven society throughout the Long Vigil.^[3] However, after the Cataclysm, the Shen’dralar under leadership of archmage Mordent Evenshade negotiated successfully to rejoin their kaldorei brethren in Teldrassil.

According to Brann Bronzebeard, there is little physical difference between the Highborne and the rest of the kaldorei (save perhaps the Highborne being slightly pastier), but they consider themselves different enough.