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Kaldorei facial tattoos: What do they represent?
来自 Dirania
[Last Updated]:
2019/10/13
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补丁:8.0.1
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Please remember that part of this guide contains head canon due to the lack of lore about the meaning of the markings and the ritual of passage by Blizzard. I do not intend to force any head canon upon anyone. This guide is based upon lore and my experience within the kaldorei roleplay community. Outside the official lore offered by blizzard, every roleplayer is free to interpret the meaning and usage of these markings in game.
There is not much lore to find on the meaning behind the facial tattoos we can give our female
night elf
characters, this is something a lot of roleplayers are missing. I decided to read up on some lore, animal behaviour and similar symbols in human culture and history. With this knowledge I have been able to create a guide about the meaning behind these tattoos. I hope I can give (new) kaldorei roleplayers meaning behind the choice of their facial markings or lack of it.
What do the facial markings mean for the Kaldorei society?
The facial markings are tattoos females traditionally receive during their
rite of passage
. This ritual is to symbolize their journey into adulthood or another important change or step in their life. Stated in the Elegy:
"Night elf females commonly marked their faces when they had achieved a significant rite of passage. Stylized claw marks were a typical marking, but Anaris Windwood had no need for stylized scars. A troll's raptor had attacked her and given her real scars instead. The gashes ran the length of her face, from just below her hairline to her chin. By the grace of Elune, the raptor had not gouged out an eye. Anaris had chosen not to have them healed. Rather, she embraced what she called "the true mark of the soul" with pride."
The age of adulthood is not set in stone, yet the earliest age to reach it is 110. This is of course not the same as physical maturity, elves reach this around the age of 20. Behaviour, knowledge and choosing the path in life is a few important things that decide if the person is ready for the rite of passage. Males do not receive facial tattoos during their rite of passage. The Kaldorei have a matriarchal society, it has only been in the last 20 years that males have been allowed to take on the roles of the females in their society and vice versa. The facial marks however remain a female tradition so far, tattoos on other body parts can be seen on both genders and does have nothing to do with the rite of passage.
What does it mean if a female does not have facial tattoos:
This can mean quite a lot of many things. The first and most obvious is that the female is not considered an adult yet. It is also possible she has not chosen her mark yet, or does not feel worthy of them yet.
The second is that the female has chosen to not follow the tradition of her kin. She most likely could have refused the tattoos or the rite of passage as a whole.
Many of the Highborne that returned to the community have no facial tattoos. Although some npc's in game do show tattoo's there are plenty who do not. Many roleplayers choose to not wear any markings when highborne. This could mean that the tradition to receive these tattoos, became more important to society after the war of the ancients. This is no surprise since the role of females changed much under the leadership of Tyrande Whisperwind. Lastly, when one has reached the age of an elder, it is possible that the facial tattoos have started to fade making them hard to notice.
An example is Delaryn Summermoon:
"Lieutenant Delaryn Summermoon was perched atop one of the low walls of the pool. She was a fellow Sentinel, though younger than Cordressa and below her in rank. Cordressa had mentored her since the Cataclysm had ripped through Azeroth, and they had become close. Delaryn’s pinkish skin glowed beneath her dark blue hair; she still had not chosen her facial markings. I know they do not always have to mark a rite of passage, she had told Cordressa once. But I feel they should. And there is nothing that has made enough of a mark on me yet to choose their form.
How is the tattoo chosen?
The tattoo resembles two things, the personality of the female along with the path that she has chosen. These two things are always connected to each other.
The path that is chosen is not the same as the occupation that she might end up in. This means that the tattoos are not just for a Druid, a Sentinel or a Priestess. They symbolise many things and can be look at from different angles. The tattoos are the choice of the female herself, but her teachers and parents will more than likely advise her in this. Some kaldorei wait for a shaping event in their life, before chosing a marking.
The tattoos:
From left to right:
Upper: Shadow, blades, crane, claws, owl.
Lower: Bear, leaf, serpent, wings, no tattoo.
Bear:
Associated qualities: Might, strength, ferocity, power, survival, balance, wisdom, patience, teamwork, loyalty, warmth, friendship.
Bears are true survivor’s, adjusting to their environment and the yearly cycle of the seasons. They stand for raw strength and power. Bears are quicker than most think and are excellent climbers. They can hide in a hole for a long time when giving birth, not coming out till months later. Symbolically this can mean you take your time to think and reflect, taking several months or years to come with a project, change or solution to a problem.
When looking at the
Ursol
and
Ursoc
brothers you can see that teamwork and siblings are important. They are warm, friendly and are great at friendship and meeting new people. Bears stand for balance, wisdom and patience.
Blades:
Associated qualities: Courage, bravery, righteousness, justice, protection, vengeance, retribution, conviction, focus, battle, purification, extension of oneself, sacrifice, life & death, truth.
At first glance at the word blade we all think of the same thing. A warrior, battle and bravery.
The blade is a symbol for many things though, and does not have to be considered the physical blade in your hands. A blade is mostly wielded by those who seek to bring justice and retribution, to protect the weak and is the extension of an arm or even someone’s being.
It stands symbol for the gate between life and death and is wielded by the courageous and focused. This tattoo is often used by those who see themselves fighting for their beliefs. This can mean with an actual steel sword in your hand, but we can also fight and seek for justice through other means as well. For example it can be through politics and strategy.
Claws:
Associated qualities: Meeting challenges head-on, bravery, ferocity, strength, speed, agility, stealth, hunting, cunning, tracking, pride, grace, intelligence, loyalty, feral, aggressive, predator.
Claws are the symbol for an important animal within the Kaldorei society, the
Nightsaber
. Sabers are ferocious animals, feral and aggressive when leaving in the wild. Those tamed and befriended with the Kaldorei are however extremely loyal.
Sabers are extremely good at hunting and tracking, in combat they are agile and swift. They are able to move around the forest unseen and silent. Hesitation is not something that suits this animal or the person who carries this symbol as tattoo.
They face their problems and challenges head-on and are perhaps not considered to most patient person. They move with pride and grace, truly the ultimate hunter.
Crane:
Associated qualities: Patience, healing, grace, serenity, beauty, protection, water, secrets, devotion, parenthood, teaching, care, creativity.
The crane is a bird with a close connection to water, while water is to most a symbol of healing. The crane is a rare bird, not found in many numbers; it is even harder to find a young crane.
The birth of a crane is rare and raising one is often kept in secret by the parents. They protect their children extremely well and are devoted and patient with the cause.
For this reason the crane is seen as the symbol of a parent and a teacher, a person great at keeping secrets, planning in silence with true patience.
They move with grace and beauty and seem very serene animals. This tattoo often fits a caring person be they a teacher, healer, mother figure or caring leader.
Leaf:
Associated qualities: Harmony, balance, nurturance, peace, healing, wisdom, nature, protection, the wild, dryads, resurrection, survival, cycle of life, slumber.
The Leaf is associated with either
Cenarius
, Lord of the Forest and patron of all druids, or
Aessina
who is the spirit of wilderness. It is the most obvious symbol for healing, nurturance and balance. Nature adapts easily to its environment and is able to regenerate and regrow after surviving severe damage and destruction of the land it lives on.
Many plants can survive through harsh conditions and seasons and trees are known to slumber through winter, growing flowers and leaves again when spring arrives.
It is a symbol loved by druids, but can also be worn by elves who like to bring healing, harmony and balance. This doesn’t necessarily have to be done in a forest but can be done in society as well.
Owl:
Associated qualities: Wisdom, vigilance, stealth, spying, messenger, silence, sharp senses, the night, mystery, secrets, hunting, truth.
The owl is the most beloved of the
Goddess’ night birds
. The sentinels use owls to spy and guard for them as they are excellent at blending in the darkness of the night.
The hearing and eyesight of an owl is extremely good and this makes them, together with their silent movement, skilled hunters.
Owls symbolise the night, mystery and wisdom. They can notice the most smallest of changes in a person or environment, which makes it hard to slip past them or hide secrets from them.
The owl is the symbol for messengers, spies and guardians and also people who excel at working in silence and secrecy.
Serpent:
Associated qualities: Rebirth, wisdom, cycle of life, poison, agility, strength, speed, accuracy, trance, dreams, Ysera, observation, patience.
The serpent is a snake and family to the dragons. The strongest symbol for the serpent is the cycle of death and rebirth, depicted by the shedding of the skin. While a serpent sheds skin, the eyes will become blurry or clouded making it appear they are in a state of trance or even dreaming.
Combine this with being family to the dragons,
Ysera
easily comes to mind.
Ysera is the protector of the
Emerald dream
, keeping one foot in this world and one foot in the other. The serpent is a strong symbol for trance, meditation and dreaming. They are extremely fast, agile and strong, devouring it’s meal whole. They can lie still for a long time, awaiting and observing their prey. Though once they strike, they strike hard and accurate.
Shadow:
Associated qualities: The night warrior, wrath, night, prudence, refuge, stealth, darkness, hiding, silence, mystery, balance, attachment, hidden potential.
Shadow cannot exist without light, it is attached to everything. The shadows are often considered a dark mystery, for who knows what hides and lurks within. It is a great place to find refugee and to observe from.
Associated the
mother moon
, the war chants of the Sisters can call down the Night Warrior's wrath to smite their foes. Most of the Kaldorei are able to blend in to the shadows, to watch and observe or to surprise their enemies. It is the opposite of the light and neither one can exist without the other. Both light and shadow work best together when in balance.
It suits the mysterious and silent amongst us, those who brood in the darkness of the night and strike swiftly once the time is right.
Wings:
Associated qualities: Communication, knowledge, insight, observation, guidance, haste, messenger, sky, wind, distance, freedom.
The symbol of
Aviana
, the winged messenger of Elune. Wings stand for flight, the wind and the skies. With flying comes the strong sensation of freedom and distance and winged creatures are often used as a swift way to travel or carry messages to far destinations. This creates a swift way of communication and acquiring knowledge.
Wings are the perfect symbol for scholars and people who would rather work from a distance. They prefer the sky and striking from a ranged position over close quarter confrontation.
A person who never stops learning, studying and observation is their way of life. They are great at communication and have a broad insight on life.
Sources:
Book title: Animal Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small
Author: Ted Andrews, Winston Allen (Illustrator), Margaret K. Andrews (Photographer)
ISBN: 0875420281 (ISBN13: 9780875420288)
Booktitle: Warcraft: War of the ancients Trilogy
Book one: The well of eternity
Author: Richard A. Knaak
ISBN: 9780743471190
Websites:
http://wow.gamepedia.com
https://wow.gamepedia.com/Life_spans
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/story/short-story/elegy
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评论
评论来自
Gwiez
I like this headcanon. Thanks for sharing, it looks like you put a good amount of work into it.
评论来自
Ishotala
Very interesting, but only 8 of the pictures are showing. (I think the rightmost two are hidden behind the sidebar.) Could you possibly split them onto 3 lines so they are all visible?
评论来自
DaggersEdge
I enjoyed this guide very much! Being an avid roleplayer of a Kaldorei myself, I found it very helpful! Thank you for putting this together for us!
评论来自
Alherya
Actually, is unclear what the rite of passage consists of. If it has to do with them entering their adulthood, it'd be sooner, since Kaldorei are considered adults around their twenties.
Still, nice guide.
评论来自
Queen10Azshara
Hey I loved the article, I was wondering how did you make your Kaldorei look so beautiful. It seems to be a mix of the old and new model, I was wondering how could make mine look like that! IF you could tell me I would be very thankful.
评论来自
xLexi
We really need a guide like this for the Lightforged Draenei's forehead runes. :o
评论来自
Axera
As someone who has always played Horde (and has failed many times to try Alliance), this guide is really insightful and interesting. I'd really like to find more like this that are just simplistic roleplay flavors and educated headcannons. People need to be more informed, especially when it comes to roleplay! It can build community and spark a lot of imaginative creations.
Thanks for writing!
评论来自
Arkonn3
Greetings Dirania,
Where did you find the original form of this list? How funny that I googled "Night Elf facial markings" out of curiosity, and I find this here. It's very similar to what I had created and posted on my guild's guildportal site back in 2010 (Fellowship of Teldrassil). But you've definitely expanded on it and moved some things around, and I appreciate the interpretation. I've noticed my list has made it's way around the internet between RPers and lore enthusiasts, which is flattering, but other people were given credit for its creation. If you did create the above list based completely on your own research as your list of sources implies, then this is a remarkable coincidence. But like I said, I'm happy if people can make good use of it and that it enriches their roleplay.
-Arkonn
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