Nerd talk: night elves are horrible as protectors of nature

And I'm not about shits and giggles about power levels like "a very angry orc on roids soloed a demigod". With irony or ignorance, Blizzard have portrayed them as people who in practice aren't much different from goblins or high/blood elves in their approach and break the ecosystems in especially hypocritical manner.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT COSMOLOGY TALK. Everything regarding "nature magic" and "the developers wrote that it's all right" is in-universe, secondary justification for concepts conceived outside of this framework, and such in-universe justifications aren't the topic of this post. Additionally, a large part of matters described here are written before this chart was inserted in the setting, and its backwards compatibility is very meager.

The very first quest of their racial beginning experience goes exactly with the theme of "balance of nature".

>The spring rains were particularly heavy this year, causing some of the forest's beasts to flourish while others suffered. Unfortunately, the nightsaber numbers grew too large, and they will devastate the other populations if they are not culled.

And the Vanilla version isn't much different.

>The spring rains were particularly heavy this year, causing some of the forest's beasts to flourish while others suffered. Unfortunately, the nightsaber and thistle boar populations grew too large. Shadowglen can only produce so much food for the beasts. Journey forth, young <class>, and thin the boar and saber populations so that nature's harmony will be preserved.

What's the problem with it? The increase of a species will lead to thinning of its food supply, what leads to the decrease of the specimen (hunger alone or succumbing to illnesses or easier to become prey for others), so the food supply replenishes and the species becomes more numerous again. The circle is complete. An ecosystem is in dynamic balance with increases and decreases in population numbers being a perfectly normal part of it.

In reality it's more complex with human impact so external help can be necessary, but such details are another topic for another subreddit. Here we have a fantasy folk which fashions themselves as "close to nature". The question is simple: why are such cullings necessary here, under their nose, when many other zones live perfectly well and a new character hunts animals there for more mundane purposes? Is the actual impact of night elves so high that they must artifically keep their ecosystems in check otherwise they quickly fall apart (so they're not only not so "close to nature" but perhaps are also unable to set them in a stable way) — or is night elven perception of nature twisted so every deviation (even perfectly natural) from their stagnant ideal is seen as unacceptable?

Moving on through the levels. The Barrens are famous not only for its size and chat, but also for the Wailing Caverns. Their origin is simple: a night elf druid decided that he must turn this land into a forest, tried to connect to their magical realm to have an energy to do it and got trapped there. Why did he even decide that it would be a good idea? The descriptions of the Barrens state that it's a savannah. A normal and healthy biome with its own ecosystems and lifeforms adapted to its specific climate. What would happen with them if Naralex' plans were implemented? In the best case they'd adapt to this new enforced ecosystem. In the worst case they'll become extinct, replaced by the lifeforms druids would introduce for their forest. It isn't "protection of nature", it's establishment of the idea of "nature" regardless of already existing things.

Of course, it's possible to say that the Barrens once were forests:

>Did you know that the Barrens was once a lush forest? Thousands of years ago, before the first Sundering, it was verdant and thriving, watched over by the Kaldorei. But when the continents were torn apart, and this land became separated as what we call Kalimdor, this valley of nature became a harsh, sun-scorched plain.

As told by Naralex himself.

But it all happened ten thousand years ago. Why did the Barrens went dry? Not because of direct magical influence which twisted the land. It was influenced by an external catastrophe which made a few continents, and when the exact mechanisms of this land going dry are never stated the result was stable for a tremendous amount of years. There's nothing to "fix" anymore — unless night elves are able to fix the Sundering and its consequences wholly, what isn't possible. It's good already.

And the last part about the Barrens and Naralex. A few excerpts from his speeches:

>As Druids, we are tasked with protecting the balance of nature. \*\*\* There is much work to be done before I can make another attempt to restore the Barrens. \*\*\*

>When I first learned this \[\], I saw it as a great tragedy. I decided I would find a way to regrow the forests once more. \*\*\* I was saved by my last disciple, Muyoh, and a band of adventurers. I considered the entire incident a failure. It wasn't until the Cataclysm occurred that I realized I'd been far too successful! When the Barrens was cracked apart, a great font of underground water was breached and flowed up to the surface, full of the energies it was imbued with in the Wailing Caverns. Now I have to answer for my arrogance in thinking I could dictate the flow and shape of nature myself. This overgrowth must be stopped, before it chokes out the natural wildlife entirely.

He went with the disciples to replace Barrens' ecosystem with a lush forest, what caused no resistance in druidic circles. He encountered the Emerald Nightmare with predictable results. The reason he became against his project is that these lifeforms were corrupted by the same Nightmare too — not the very fact of suppressing the nature developed through centuries. But is this "restoration" project his own odd idea or a representation of general night elven attitude?

More like the latter. Here's another example: Desolace. Unlike the Barrens, it was stated to be a grassland; the remnants of the original ecosystem can be encountered on the shore, but the rest of the zone was charred by a direct magical influence. Perhaps this is a case where Cenarion Circle could help to restore the original ecosystem and play their role as protectors of nature... What did they do? Of course, they grew another lush forest, full of alien plants which can't be encountered anywhere in Desolace but which are common for night elf lands.

Druids there have a little bit of self-awareness about what they're doing:

>With such an abrupt change to the ecology, it is to be expected that some of the flora and fauna don't react as well as we'd hope.

But it isn't seen as a problem:

>The former wastelands of Desolace are blooming, bursting with life. Imagine, <class>, if all of Azeroth's wastelands awoke in such a fashion! Perhaps someday...

Replacing the local life with standartized forests is seen as a positive thing. Again, protection of nature.

The next time druids play a major role in the story is *Legion*, specifically Val'sharah. The general lore of this place is hard to navigate and place into a straight timeline, but the relevant parts are straight and clear.

>Malfurion Stormrage says: Ages ago, the first druids molded this land to be a reflection of the Emerald Dream. Malfurion Stormrage says: Merely an echo, but Val'sharah is as close to the Dream as this world can come.

Whatever this land was once is gone. Night elves turned this land into another lush green forest in their fashion, regardless of what it was or was supposed to be.

The most similar attitude is seen among people I've already mentioned: goblins and high/blood elves. The latter replaced coniferous forest (typical for northern Eastern Kingdoms, what can be seen in Plaguelands and around Zul'Aman) with eternal spring and yellow curly trees. The former just cut down everything that grows. The only difference between them and night elves is that high/blood elves and goblins are honest about their intentions.

In summary, night elves don't protect nature. The thing they protect is an abstract concept tailored to their taste which has little in common with the actual nature and they're consistently portrayed as not caring about the ecosystems if they don't meet their ideas about "perfection".