Night Elf Headcanons - Home & Family life
These are headcanons for the Kaldorei that I’ve thought up or figured out with for a comic I’ve been working on. So if they are different from more widely accepted headcanons about the same subjects (or contradict them completely) that is why. Still I thought they were worth sharing! I divided them based on subject so I’m not posting them all in one massive wall of text.
Some parts of these headcanons may already be known and accepted by RPers but I wanted to add some of my own ideas to them as well.
Here’s my headcanons for Kaldorei home and family life!
(creepy Nelf baby knows all your secrets and will expose your entire soul)
They are highly protective of their children and teach them to stay close to home until they become of age. The Night Elves are a reclusive race who have seen a lot of crap go down. They know the world they live in and want to protect their children from it for as long as possible. This usually means that many of them teach their children to stay as close to home as possible and they may keep them hidden away in their glens and meadows and homes. Of course, there is always the wild hair child with an adventurous spirit, but a majority of the children obey and are content to enjoy a quiet childhood and life in their forests studying various subjects. Some Kaldorei may not have left home until they were well into their 100′s. I also like this headcanon as a way to explain Blizzard’s laziness why there are never any really young Night elf NPCs running around. This would also mean that Teldressil was just absolutely FULL of children and young adults and I am honestly trying not to think about it.
Kaldorei who have settled in human cities like Stormwind may adapt to a diurnal schedule. Night elves are obviously nocturnal by genetics, but those who live among other cultures, especially humans, may become more accustom to sleeping at night instead. This can be done to just fit in more and participate within that culture/society in a similar way to every one else who is up during the day, or can be done out of necessity (eg, to get the most out of their profession).
Any Kaldorei who hunt for food use all parts of the animal and will thank Elune in prayer, for allowing them to capture and kill the animal as sustenance/skin/meat/material.
They celebrate birthnights instead of days. Even if one was born during daylight hours, it is common to celebrate the night of that day the person was born. This is typically celebrated by gift giving and a feast of that person’s favorite foods, and them being surrounded by close family and friends. However because Kaldorei are taught to see one another as family in general, it is certainly not uncommon to see strangers and acquaintances giving gifts and attending birthnight parties.
Joining ceremonies take the place of weddings and most Kaldorei are joined for life. The idea of contractual marriage is a faux pas among the Kaldorei, as it is more focused on possessions and property than the union. They put so much importance in the actual union of two souls, that this bond is tied before Elune herself, and not meant to be broken. Parting ways and splitting up is not seen as wrong since many Night elven couples may go years (decades...centuries) without seeing each other for one reason or another. However, most rejoin as if they had never spent any time away, and typically won’t be out searching for another to love when apart. As far as the actual joining ceremonies go, I fully accept this headcanon for their ceremonies. But not all Night elves even have ceremonies. Some chose to have private meetings between themselves, a priest and druid, all before Elune.
They exchange necklaces, often with moonstones in them, instead of rings. (as first mentioned here) Necklaces have quite a lot of significance among Night Elven culture, the most important being a symbol of connection between elves in a Joining Ceremony. However, necklaces are important in general for other reasons. Different types of necklaces are given to commemorate friendships, as a “thank you” or as a sign of respect, love, affection, or honor. A Thero or Thero'shan may gift their Do or Shan’do with a necklace as a tolken of appreciation and respect. Children may also receive necklaces with their owl feather (tokens of good luck given to them at infancy)from their parents or parental guardian when they reach their pre-teen years.
Alcohol is usually saved for specific occasions such as birthnight parties and other celebrations like joining ceremonies, anniversaries, homecomings, new babies, and battle wins. Most do not drink casually.
Some Night elves naturally have more energy and are more alert during daylight hours and fall asleep during evenings and nights. “Morning Dove” Nelfs might often feel out of place among their kin, and may take on careers that accommodate their natural sleep cycle, or live among a diurnal race.
Kaldorei children usually partake in a “first hunt” ceremony where(similar to the first Nelf quest in-game) they learn the importance of the balance of nature and the cycles of life, overpopulation, and the role of the Kaldorei as presumed guardians of the natural order of things. For this ceremony, I coined the term Shand’mushu, or roughly, the “Honor Hunt".
