Some may have been confused by the new cinematic of World of Warcraft. We explain which characters are actually involved.
At gamescom 2025, the new expansion of World of Warcraft was introduced. In Midnight, we head to Quel’thalas, the land of the Blood Elves, to defend the Sunwell from Xal’atath. But those who are not well-versed in the history of the Blood Elves, the Sin’dorei, may be wondering: Who are those two elves? Are they important? Do we need to know them?
If this applies to you as well, we want to explain in this article who Lor’themar Theron and Lady Liadrin actually are – and why they play such an important role in the past – and future – of the Blood Elves.
Please note that this is a significantly reduced version of the background story. Both characters have many appearances in comics, books, and other background materials. We are limiting ourselves to the main points here.
Lor’themar Theron
Lor’themar Theron is the male Blood Elf who is the focus of the Midnight intro cinematic. He is especially noticeable for his hairstyle, but also for the fact that he has only one eye left, which still has the fel green color of the Blood Elves from the time of Kael’thas. Unlike many other Blood Elves, Lor’themar is not particularly interested in faith or the Light – he is more of a pragmatist who sees the utility of the Sunwell and its importance for the people.
Lor’themar has always been a ranger and served under Lireesa Windrunner (the mother of Sylvanas, Alleria, and Vereesa), but later became a good friend of Sylvanas and ultimately served under her as well.
Most of the time, Lor’themar dealt with the threat of the Amani trolls, who repeatedly invaded the land of the High Elves – a nearly eternal conflict, as the Amani also claim the land as their home. The war between the Amani and the High Elves has been ongoing since the founding of Quel’thalas.
When the Scourge fell upon Quel’thalas during the Third War (Warcraft III), killing both King Anasterian, Sylvanas, and the Council of Silvermoon, Lor’themar took temporary control over the remaining High Elves. One consequence of this war was the corruption of the Sunwell, as the death knight Arthas corrupted the well by using its magics to transform the corpse of a necromancer (Kel’Thuzad) into a Lich.
After parts of Silvermoon were recaptured, Kael’thas, the son of Anasterian, was appointed king, but he quickly left the city. He journeyed to Outland to find a new source of magic for the magic-addicted people of the High Elves, who were henceforth called “Blood Elves” – Sin’dorei. As a reminder of the bloody past the people had experienced.
While Kael’thas was in Outland, he appointed Lor’themar as his deputy, the “Lord Regent” – after all, he had previously proven that he could lead the people.
However, Kael’thas was corrupted on his journey by the powers of the Legion and joined the Burning Legion. After the king attacked Silvermoon and sought to use the remnants of the Sunwell to summon a leader of the Legion, Kael’thas was killed – making Lor’themar the new ruler of Silvermoon.
At the end of this conflict, the Sunwell was also rejuvenated. Through the Draenei prophet Velen and the remnants of a Naaru, the Sunwell was filled with the Holy Light, which all Blood Elves could use to satisfy their hunger for magic.
Since then, Lor’themar has been the uninterrupted leader of the Blood Elves, who is also frequently part of the story. He was part of the War Council of the Horde during Battle for Azeroth and fought, among others, against Queen Azshara.
By now, Lor’themar is even married – to the Nightborne Thalyssra. This relationship has led to a rapprochement between the two peoples of Blood Elves and Nightborne.
According to his position as the leader of the Sin’dorei, Lor’themar is also present in the fight against Xal’atath and the Void, commanding the troops of the Blood Elves. This is also why he is directly attacked by Xal’atath. For Lor’themar to be defeated or broken by mind control would greatly simplify the attack.
Lady Liadrin
Lady Liadrin is the female Blood Elf in the cinematic, who one can almost always see praying at the Sunwell. She is the leader of the Blood Knights, the paladins of the Blood Elves. However, that was not actually Liadrin’s original plan.
Liadrin’s parents were killed by the Amani trolls, so she was raised instead by a High Priest of the Light. He brought her closer to the Light, so she first became a priestess and later a High Priestess, using the Light to strengthen her people, heal wounds, and at the same time inflict pain on all enemies of the Sin’dorei to drive them out of the land of Quel’thalas.
However, Liadrin’s faith in the Light was massively damaged when the Scourge invaded Silvermoon, killing a large part of the people or even resurrecting them as undead. Her trust in the holy power was shaken, having let her down in her time of greatest need.
After Liadrin lived in seclusion in the Shadowlands for several years, where she confronted her guilt of having survived while a large part of her people died, she was summoned back to the reclaimed Silvermoon. Lor’themar and Magister Rommath (one of the highest mages of the Blood Elves) told her that Prince Kael’thas had captured a Naaru – a being of Light that could be used to satisfy the elves’ hunger for magic. But the Magisters had an even better idea: they could subjugate the being and simply take the power of the Light to use it again in battle.
Liadrin, disappointed by the Light, agreed to this suggestion. With the help of the Magisters, she was connected to the Naaru and thus became the first Blood Knight. A sort of paladin who wields the Light not with love or compassion – but as a pure weapon of power, stolen from another being.
Gradually, more and more chosen ones became Blood Knights, rapidly becoming the new elite unit of the Blood Elves – occasionally leading to conflicts with the Rangers. However, the Blood Knights were superior in almost all respects and their power was so important that most had to simply accept their value for the people of the elves.
When Kael’thas returned to Silvermoon, he kidnapped the Naaru M’uru and brought him to attack the Sunwell. This temporarily deprived the Blood Knights of their power. But M’uru had been so weakened by the ongoing abuse that he transformed from a Naaru of Light into a source of the Void – a suffering that was ended by the heroes of Azeroth before it could have greater effects.
Prophet Velen (a Draenei) used the core of M’uru to later rekindle the Sunwell with Holy Light. A Light that also immediately filled Liadrin and made her realize: The Light had never left her; rather, she had lost the connection due to her own change in personality.
Since then, Liadrin has regained a positive, faith-based connection to the Holy Light. She still uses this power with fervor for her people and is quite radical in protecting the Sin’dorei, although she is still plagued by self-doubt.
This also explains why Liadrin sounds significantly more remorseful at the end, speaking of being “not worthy.” She has not forgiven herself for enslaving the Light to create the Blood Knights of Silvermoon. Even though this was many years ago, this memory still gnaws at Liadrin.
For this reason, she also appeals to the Light to not protect herself but her people. Because even if she is not worthy – her people are, or at least she believes so.
We hope that we have removed a few question marks, and you now know who the two elves are that Xal’atath is fighting with. But if you still don’t know who Xal’atath is – her story has been presented here in more detail.
