Quick Overview
The blood elves were survivors of Quel'Thalas who adopted a new name after the Scourge slaughtered much of their people. Led by Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider, they sought to preserve the high-elven traditions that had sustained their kingdom. The destruction and corruption of the Sunwell left their magical culture in crisis. Their service under Garithos ended when he imprisoned them for accepting naga assistance against the undead.
Full History
The high elves traced their ancestry to the Highborne who departed ancient Kalimdor and established Quel'Thalas in the far north of the Eastern Kingdoms. Their civilization developed around the Sunwell, a source of magic that shaped their culture, cities, and political identity. For centuries their kingdom survived wars and disagreements with neighboring peoples, including the great conflicts with the forest trolls.
The Scourge's invasion under Arthas Menethil devastated the kingdom. Silvermoon fell, defenders were killed or transformed into undead servants, and the Sunwell was corrupted during the resurrection of Kel'Thuzad. The loss of this source of power left the survivors uncertain of their future. Kael'thas Sunstrider adopted the name blood elves for his followers to commemorate those who had perished.
The prince's surviving soldiers fought the Scourge in Lordaeron while nominally serving with human remnants of the Alliance. Their commander Garithos distrusted the blood elves and gave orders that placed them in danger. When naga under Lady Vashj supplied aid, Garithos accused Kael's forces of disobedience and imprisoned them. Vashj helped them escape.
The blood elves' earliest history is therefore one of survival after a cultural catastrophe, not of an already restored kingdom. The name sin'dorei records their dead, while their choices after the Third War reflect a loss of trust in former allies. Their identity belongs to the Frozen Throne aftermath, and their later expansion-era political developments need not be projected backward onto the Classic world.
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