Skye is a small and somewhat secretive belief system practiced by members of both the Horde and the Alliance. Skye is the belief that true power can only be attained through a balance of each of the five avenues of power -- arcane, natural, elemental, holy, and fel. The ideal being is capable of balancing all of these powers at once. Once the entire world is able to do so, the Skye followers believe, a peaceful utopia will arise on Azeroth.
History of Skye[]
Before the Great Sundering, as the Kaldorei rose to power and began to tap into the magic of the Well of Eternity, the Highborne House of Skye also began to rise in power amongst the elven race. Members of the House of Skye began to believe that arcane magic was not the only means of power. This turned into a belief that by finding a balance between the two magics, utopia could be achieved. The House of Skye began to experiment in an attempt to achieve this balance.
Their efforts were interrupted by the invasion of the Burning Legion and the War of the Ancients. When the Great Sundering occurred, members of the House of Skye were banished from Kalimdor for their refusal to give up their use of arcane magic despite their acceptance of the druidic power. Unbeknownst to Malfurion Stormrage, however, several of his new followers in the Cenarion Circle were also followers of Skye. Though they had not ever openly wielded arcane magic, and were working steadily to develop their powers of Nature, they did not forget the teachings of the House of Skye.
And thus, the earth was Sundered and so was the Skye.
The Circle of Skye[]
The druidic followers of Skye secretly formed their own organization, hidden in the Cenarion Circle. Calling themselves the Circle of Skye, they attempted to discover ways of balancing the different avenues of power. Their use of the arcane, however, was limited by their fear of the Burning Legion and of retribution by the other Night Elves. Furthermore, they could find no ways of using it in combination with druidic magic. As their culture evolved and the worship of the Moon Goddess Elune became more prominent among the Night Elves who were not druids, the members of the Circle of Skye realized that the Priests and Priestesses of Elune held powers also vastly different from their own. They realized this was a third avenue of power -- one that would also need to be balanced in order to attain true power.
After careful observation of Elune's worshippers, invitations were sent to a few of the more open-minded practitioners of the faith. Many listened to the Circle of Skye and agreed that this seemed a worthwhile direction to follow. A small number rejected these invitations and reported to Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion Stormrage. The Circle of Skye was unaware that their underground existence was now being observed. They experimented in combining the priestly powers with the druidic magics -- but the bodies of the Night Elves were not prepared for so much power to coarse through them at once and the experiments were met with nearly instant deaths.
Malfurion and Tyrande saw this and took action. Although they did not strictly disagree with the teachings of Skye, they could not allow such unsafe experimentation to continue and cost the lives of Night Elves. The Circle of Skye was ordered to disband. Years of living in the shadows of the Cenarion Circle, however, had taught the founders of the Circle how to keep their activities secretive. Unable to meet, the followers of Skye simply researched on their own. They communicated when they could, often through writing. The Circle itself, however, would not convene again for hundreds of years.
And then, the Third War began. The Orc Warlocks wielded magic unlike anything the elves had seen before. This fel magic was something else the Circle of Skye was determined to explore. Unfortunately, they had no idea how to acquire such power -- and use of fel magic remains beyond them to this day. After the Third War, however, the humans and gnomes who could wield such power became of great interest to the Circle of Skye. They sent emissaries out to the capitals of the Alliance, which the Night Elves had just hesitantly joined. These emissaries spread word of the Skye teachings, which caught on among the other races. Small organizations devoted to Skye sprang up through the Alliance, most notably the Valiant Knights of Skye and the Høuse Ðespøine of Skÿê.
When the Exodar crashed in the Azuremyst Isles and the Draenei were welcomed into the Alliance, the Circle of Skye noticed that they wielded yet another form of magic, that of the elements. Jumping at the chance, the Circle sent an emissary to the wreckage to welcome some of the shamans into the teachings of Skye. Though no member of any race has yet managed to balance all forms of power within themselves at once, the followers of Skye within the Alliance hope that, with access to all of the discovered forms of power they may soon be able to attain true power and begin to create a utopian peace over all of Azeroth.
The House of Skye[]
Unlike the other Highborne, addicted to arcane magic, who refused to accept Malfurion Stormrage's teachings; the House of Skye applauded Malfurion for discovering another avenue of magical power. They attempted to work their arcane magic alongside the druidic powers he was developing but they were rebuked by the Cenarion Circle and by the other Highborne. When the Highborne, led by Dath'remar Sunstrider, were banished from the developing Night Elf culture, the House of Skye were forced to go with them as they refused to forget the arcane magic that was so vital to the teachings of Skye.
Dath'remar frowned on the House of Skye's use of druidic power, and so this became a much more underground practice of the House. They used it in small amounts, hoping that one day they could balance it with the arcane. Still, they were unable to use both the arcane and the druidic at the same time. The Highborne abandoned worship of Elune, and began to focus on the power of the sun. Members of the House of Skye, who had witnessed some of the powers Elune could grant, observed that the sun worshippers had similar powers. They determined that faith itself must provide a holy means of accessing magic. Realizing, as their counterparts on Kalimdor had, that this meant that there was third avenue to power, they began experimenting with ways to harness this power in combination with the other two methods. These experiments had similar disastrous effects as the Circle of Skye's experiments had.
Soon, the Highborne founded the kingdom of Quel'Thalas in the northern parts of the Eastern Kingdoms, after being driven away from Tirisfal Glades by the insanity that plagued them there. There, on the other side of the world from Nordrassil and far from where the Well of Eternity had once been, the access the High Elves had to druidic power began to fade. Wary of the warnings of Malfurion Stormrage, the House of Skye quickly became the chief proponents of erecting the Runestones to protect their fledgling kingdom from the Burning Legion. The creation of the Sunwell aided in the experimentations of the House of Skye, but they were still unable to successfully combine arcane and holy powers without devestating consequences.
During this, the high elves clashed in small skirmishes with the trolls of the Amani Empire. The trolls wielded magic unlike any that the arcane, druidic, or holy powers the House of Skye had seen before. It was not until the Troll Wars, however, that the followers of Skye would begin to understand exactly what these powers were. The elemental power of the troll shamans was, however, unusable by the House of Skye who tried to incorporate it into their experimentation. Without practicing shamans to guide them, however, they were unable to use it at all.
The House of Skye remained at a standstill for many years, until the Second War. The high elves joined the alliance of gnomes Ironforge Dwarves, Wildhammer Dwarves, and humans, although they were not enthusiastic about their new affiliation. The House of Skye found that this was an excellent means of seeing the power at the disposal of these other races. The Wildhammer shamans wielded elemental magic similar to that of the Amani trolls. At the conclusion of the war, the elves attempted to use these magics. Even with the aid of the Wildhammer, they were unable to fully use these powers.
The Third War brought massive and devastating changes to the high elves. The House of Skye experienced the same losses as the rest of its race, and was also split along the same lines. Many of the followers of Skye joined Kael'thas Sunstrider and his Blood Elves. These followers, after Kael'thas had allied with Illidan Stormrage and Rommath had returned to the people of Silvermoon City, began to use and manipulate fel magic as part of their experiments as well. They believed that fel magic was the fifth avenue of power and they were glad they could manipulate it though they were still struggling with shamanistic power.
As the Blood Elves joined the Horde, the House of Skye welcomed members of others Horde races into their midst. This, they reasoned, gave them access to every form of magic and put them even closer to their goal.
Notable Skye Groups[]
Horde
- House of Skye
- Dread Knights of Skye
Alliance
- Circle of Skye
- Valiant Knights of Skye
- Høuse Ðespøine of Skÿê
Real World[]
Skye is a concept created for World of Warcraft roleplaying by members of the Utopia Skye community.