Characters / Total War: Warhammer - The Wood Elves

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"Protectors of Athel Loren!"'

"Athel Loren shall not suffer the presence of Men, nor Orcs, nor Dwarfs, nor Beastmen. If a foe takes a single step upon such sacred soil, they shall not take another."

On the western slopes of the Great Mountains, between the lands of Bretonnia and the Empire, lies the great forest of Athel Loren. Almost as old as the world itself, Athel Loren is a place steeped in ancient magic, where time seems to flow differently, the creak and groan of living wood echoes, and half-seen spirits dart between the twilit groves. It is under the canopy of this mysterious, enchanted realm that the most reclusive and secretive of the Elven peoples dwell: the Asrai, or Wood Elves.

Originally Elven colonists who settled on the edges of the forest in centuries past, when the Phoenix King, during the war with the Dwarfs, ordered all Elves to return to Ulthuan, they refused to abandon their homes and declared independence. They ventured deeper into Athel Loren, until they reached the great Oak of Ages at its heart. There, under its ancient branches, the Elves first communed with the forest's spirits, and forged a pact: their fates would forever be bound to Athel Loren, living in harmony with the sentient forest, but sworn to defend it against all enemies.

Only a fool would goad the Wood Elves to conflict, for when their homeland is threatened, they prove to be utterly ruthless. Hidden by the forest's mists and boughs, they first blacken the sky with arrow volleys of unerring accuracy; then, before the confused enemy can react, the hunting horn is sound and the Elves ride out from the woods, striking down the foe with blinding speed and wild fury. Accompanying the Asrai are the forest's spirits: vengeful Dryads rip through enemies with seething malice, and colossal Treemen pulverise entire battalions with their gnarled fists.

The Wood Elves hold themselves to be the only true Elves left, spurning both the sanctimonious arrogance of the High Elves and the murderous decadence of the Dark Elves, instead embracing both the light and dark aspects of their souls. To outsiders, their motives can seem inscrutable, and their nature capricious and arbitrary. In truth, the Asrai care little for the affairs of the other races, except to keep their prying eyes and hands away from Athel Loren.

However, even the Asrai have begun to recognize that hiding themselves away from the world is a luxury they can no longer afford. As the taint of Chaos spreads, the Woldroots rot and the weave of life and death spins further out of balance. Every broken branch and withered leaf carries an omen of dark times to come, a doom from which Athel Loren will not be spared if the Wood Elves don't act. The season of war commences, and the hosts of the Wild Hunt gather in numbers unseen before. All trespassers will learn to fear the wrath of Athel Loren and its eternal defenders.

Introduced in Total War: Warhammer with the Realm of the Wood Elves DLC, the Wood Elves are playable in the Old World campaign, as well as the Season of Revelation special mini-campaign. In Total War: Warhammer II, they are playable in the Mortal Empires combined campaign for owners of both I and II, and also became playable in the Eye of the Vortex campaign with the The Twisted and the Twilight DLC. In Total War: Warhammer III, they are playable in the Immortal Empires combined mega-campaign for owners of I, II and III.

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General Tropes

Talsyn

Argwylon

Heralds of Ariel

Wargrove of Woe

• Absolute Xenophobe: Athel Loren in its entirety hates outsiders in general, only occasionally welcoming animals, but anyone more sentient than that is treated as an interloper that must be killed for daring to trespass into its glades. In fact, even part of the forest spirits considers the Wood Elves as a "recent" breed of parasites (they've only been living in the forest for thousands of years) that dare think they belong here. Dryads are always the most bitter about it. Their dialogue in diplomacy is always dripping with pure venom, regardless of the other party's race.
  • In-game however this is heavily averted with their mechanics: Every one of their cities gives a bonus to relations with a race that starts nearby, and this bonus increases as the health of the forest does. This makes it relatively trivial to gain non-agression pacts and trade deals with your neighbors.
• Achilles' Heel: Fire damage is very effective against treemen units. Also, shielded units can negate much of the damage that the archers cause and they don't have much of an answer in case something actually survives the rain of arrows and gets up close to them due to having some of the weakest infantry in the game.
  • As expected of a race excelling in lightly armored fast moving or stealthy units with no siege weapons they tend not to do great when attacking heavily fortified cities either.
• Amazon Brigade: Wardancers, followers of the trickster god Loec, are composed entirely of women. Same goes for the Sisters of the Thorn, Ariel's handmaidens who ride on deer and throw javelins at their foes.
• Animal Motifs: Deer, specifically stags, and birds of prey.
• Anime Hair: On tabletop, the Spellsingers and Spellweavers have hair floating along with their whole body. The game interpretes this as a static, Super Saiyan-like hairdo.
• Annoying Arrows: Fully, and utterly Averted. Wood Elf archers will tear through anything that underestimates them due to being the best ones in the game.
• Arch-Enemy: To the Beastmen, with whom they have been fighting for time out of mind for control of the wilderness, and to Morghur especially.
• Artifact of Doom: The Sword of Khaine (otherwise known as the Widowmaker and the Slayer of Gods), doubling as an Evil Weapon. The cursed blade was wielded by the Ax-Crazy Elven God of War Khaine, which he used to fell immeasurably amounts of people. To drive back the first incursion of Chaos, the first Elven king, Aenarion, picked up the Sword, which granted him power unimaginable... at the cost of turning him into an Ax-Crazy beserker. The May Patch added this in as an in-game mechanic, as it lets Dark Elf, Wood Elf or High Elf players construct the Shrine of Khaine in Ulthuan. After which, if one's very desperate (or incredibly stupid), gives the player an option to have one of their generals draw the infamous blade from the shrine, turning them into an unimaginably powerful One-Man Army... at the cost of slowly turning them insane, with truly horrible effects mounting on the campaign map the longer the wielder holds the weapon. If somebody actually beats the wielder, the victor gets the option to take the Sword for themselves.
• Ascended Extra: The Zoats were only mentioned in the old 3rd edition book Warhammer Armies and in the 8th edition supplement Storm of Magic and their relationship with the Wood Elves was only hinted at in the lore. With The Twisted and the Twilight DLC they became a full fledged unit in the Wood Elves roster.
• Ax-Crazy: During battle Wood Elves are usually... less than composed, especially in the case of the Wardancers and Wild Riders.
• Badass Army: Living in Athel Loren doesn't allow for weakness. The Wood Elves may lack the discipline or armor of their cousins, but when these wildhearted fey take the field, they do so with unmatched grace and savagery, backed by the power of ancient forest spirits, living gods, and the finest archers in the Warhammer world.
• Berserk Button: Touch their forest and they will turn you into fertilizer for the trees, snacks for the beasts and decorations to ward off enemies.
• Binding Ancient Treaty: During the first Chaos Invasion, Ulthuan was on the cusp of being overrun. Frightful, then-Everqueen Astarielle made a pact with Durthu, who would transport her children Morelion and Yvraine to Athel Loren and safeguard them. In exchange for transgressing the rules of Athel Loren, Durthu made Astarielle promise that the Elves would in the future protect the forest, which eventually happened when the descendants of Astarielle, carrying a little of the worldroot’s essence in them since the babies first traveled inside it, were drawn to Athel Loren and became the Wood Elves. Avelorn, kingdom of the Everqueen, contains many gentle Forest Spirits as a result of the connection to the Worldroots.
• Blood Knight: The Wild Riders really enjoy trampling Beastmen with their elk and impaling Bretonnian peasants with their spears.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality:
  • The forest spirits of Athel Loren see things differently than mortal races do, and their entire value system begins and ends with the protection of the forest. Even if no trespass is intended, the spirits will viciously punish mortals for what they perceive as an attack on their charges, whether the mortals realize it or not. What passes for their hearts recognizes no concept of mercy or compassion. Some of them despise the Wood Elves for this same "trespass", even though they've dedicated themselves to the forest's defense for millenia.
  • The same can also apply to the Wood Elves themselves. Athel Loren is everything to them, so while they aren't as overbearing as the Asur, or malicious like the Druchii, a major part of that is because the Asrai genuinely don't care about the outside world, just their woodland home. Most times they'll let hordes of monsters massacre countless lives outside their forest if it proves to be no threat to them, and sometimes will be that very same horde that's killing and destroying everything if Athel Loren demands it.
• Bystander Syndrome: The result of the slight Chaos corruption within the Asrai's hearts is a haughtiness resulting in them deciding that only their home is worth a damn and thus the Wood Elves would rather leave the rest of the world burn if one single leaf of Athel Loren was spared. That said the wiser among them are forward thinking enough to occasionally help out others to prevent problems coming to the forest in future.
• A Commander Is You: An Elitist/Ranger/Guerrilla faction, with a side of Gimmick. They have some of the best infantry archers in the game, many of whom the unique ability to fire on the move, and some having firing angles of 360 degrees. Elven units are fragile in melee and thus need the support of the tree spirit units to fight in prolonged melee combat.
  • In terms of the first game's Grand Campaign, the faction can conquer any settlement no matter the race, due to the fact that they need to take them to collect Amber, the race's unique resource. This allows them to purchase higher tier units, as well as units that aren't normally available to your choice of starting Legendary Lord, and complete their Wonder-based win condition.
  • In Mortal Empires and Immortal Empires the Wood Elves no longer use amber. Instead they need to increase the health of their magical forests (Athel Loren, plus some one-province outposts spread across the map) by conquering (or allying with the owners of) neighbouring provinces and solving quest battles. Each healed outpost aids in the healing of Athel Loren, turning the Wood Elves into a turtling race designed around keeping their borders steady.
• Containment Field: The Wood Elves have erected several magic barriers marked by waystones in order to protect themselves from demon incursions and contain other malevolent creatures, represented by special buildings that reduce corruption.
• Cool Horse: Their specially trained Elven steeds, some of the fastest and most agile horses bred.
• Closer to Earth: Than the other major elven factions. Their settlements exist with a minimal impact on nature, protecting and nurturing it, while the wild spirits that animate that nature provide for them in turn. Any settlement they take usually gets covered in vibrant forests while they own the place.
• Crippling Overspecialization:
  • While they have fantastic archers, as well as a wide selection of units, the Wood Elves are sorely lacking in the defensive department, as while all their melee units do great damage, they die very easily because of their poor armor and melee defense. The only defensive unit they have are the Tree Spirit units, but those cost amber for the main Wood Elf faction, and are expensive to recruit even when starting as Durthu.
  • In the first game, Wood Elves are forced into playing wide (by conquering everything in sight) for Amber while having little ability to actually hold territory they take. In practice, they play almost more like a Horde army than a 'traditional' faction, unable to hire new armies or units outside of Athel Loren's borders and in a constant state of expanding their borders.
• Dance Battler: The Wardancers, worshippers of the trickster god Loec, have become masterful dancers who move considerably faster than most Elves could be. Performing specific dances as a form of martial art, their animations reflecting how graceful they are in combat. They excel at cutting through chaff, and other lightly armored targets.
• Defector from Decadence: They are descended from the elven colonists who refused to return to Ulthuan during the final days of the War of the Beard. They see themselves the last true elves of the world and consider themselves a more humble people than their arrogant kin from Ulthuan and Naggaroth. It is made clear in a campaign message that the Asrai dislike their kin from Ulthuan, as when the High Elves send emissaries to Athel Loren, the players will receive gold for accepting them and a boost to Research but will get a public order penalty. This is majorly to do with the Asrai's feelings of abandonment, and they see the Asur's attempts at diplomacy as arrogance for now wanting to treat with them after many millennia of silence.
• Difficult, but Awesome: The Wood Elves are infamous for their skillgate playstyle. New players will find them ridiculously squishy, and seemingly overpriced, but the trick is that the Wood Elves play completely different to any faction in previous Total War games. Once a player figures out how to effectively micro them, and use their strengths to their fullest advantage, they'll find an extremely powerful force on the battlefield.
• Don't Go in the Woods: Enforced. Athel Loren is already very dangerous to anyone unlucky or foolish enough to enter it, but the Elves will ensure that the trespasser dies.
• Do Not Run with a Gun: Averted, as the Wood Elves have the ability to allow their archers to fire off accurate snap shots while moving across the battlefield. This makes them a serious threat to slow moving enemy units, but also requires them to be heavily micro-managed since they are very vulnerable if anything actually manages to pin them down.
• Dragon Rider: One of the few things the Wood Elves have in common with their kin is their connection with dragons, with Glade Lords being able to ride Forest Dragons. However, unlike with the High Elves (which is an equal partnership) and Dark Elves (which is a master-servant relationship), Forest Dragons are fairly disinterested in the affairs of the Wood Elves, and are more allies of convenience.
• Dual Wielding: Wardancers when equipped with swords wield one in each hand, as do the more elite Bladesingers, allowing them to pirouette between enemies, striking targets on any side.
• Elves Versus Dwarves: In the first game, the Wood Elves can research technologies to give +40 diplomatic bonuses with every non-Chaos race in the Old World. However, the technology that improves relations with the Dwarf Realms is the very last of these. In addition, Orion is very hostile to Dwarfs on the diplomacy screen, and Confederating with Durthu in the second game requires the player to win 3 battles with any Dwarf armies.
• Elite Mooks:
  • The Wood Elves, possessing the best archers in the game, have the Waywatchers as their greatest ranged units, being expert marksmen who guard the paths leading to Athel Loren's deeper parts. Not only do they have massive range and armor-piercing shots, they also have vanguard deployment, give extra AP damage to nearby Archers, 360 degrees firing angle and are able to shoot while running. Sure, most other factions' top tier infantry can best them once they get into melee, but good luck getting close enough! And their regiment of Renown, The Hawk-Eyes of Drakira, hit even harder, cause units to become frightened when struck by their arrows, and possess smokebombs in case something gets too near.
  • Bladesingers are also this; they are elite Wardancers given heavy stat buffs, alongside magical blades that let them change battle stances, making them effective against chaff or elite infantry, depending on the situation the player find themselves in, making them excellent utility units.
• Event Flag: The game is scripted to spawn waves and waves of Beastmen stacks in an invasion of Athel Loren, once you get the Oak of Ages to a certain level, in both the Grand Campaign and their Mini Campaign.
• The Fair Folk: Wood Elves are far more chaotic than their High Elf kin without quite tipping over into the sheer barbarity of their Dark Elf cousins; they kidnap human children to serve them for eternity, devour human travelers, and that is when they aren't rampaging through the countryside on their Wild Hunts. They might also be behind the Bretonnian Cult of the Lady, manipulating it to better fit their whims. Some Forest Spirits fall under this as well, cruelly toying with anyone they come across. Hunters, questing knights and even the Asrai themselves are not safe from them.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of Celtic societies, particularly those who lived so deep in the forests that they couldn't be found.
• Fantasy Pantheon: They still share the same gods as the other Elves, but unlike the Asur or Druchii, don't too much distinction between the Cadai and Cytharai, worshipping both fairly equally. The top of the pantheon is shared between Kurnous and Isha.
• Fate Worse than Death: Like their kin, upon death, their souls are either sent to Mirai (the Black Pit) to become servants of Ereth Khial, or possibly get captured and devoured by Slaanesh along the way. Wood Elves manage to avoid this fate by binding their souls to Athel Loren itself, strengthening the magical barriers that flow through it. This gives them triple incentive to protect the forest, as not only is it their home, it's the only thing protecting their souls from enslavement or oblivion.
• Fire-Forged Friends: While Astarielle and Durthu's pact started the history of the Wood Elves, the Asrai only became accepted by the forest when they defended it from an army of Dwarves. Ultimately a downplayed trope, as it has moved closer to Teeth-Clenched Teamwork over the years due to the spirits of the forest not wholeheartedly accepting the Asrai and some even conspiring to exterminate them.
• Force and Finesse: The Wood Elves are Finesse (almost every one of them is a Fragile Speedster, Long-Range Fighter and/or Glass Cannon, thus necessitating heavy micromanagement and use of Hit-and-Run Tactics) while the Forest Spirits are Force (they consist of Stone Wall units who have heavy armour, Physical Resistance on top of that and charge defenses but little in the way of direct offense, or Glass Cannon units who are good for movement and damage but suffer in prolonged combat, thus allowing for extensive hammer & anvil tactics).
• Forest Ranger: The trope is practically the Wood Elves' hat. All Wood Elves are in one way or another appointed protectors of their forests and do know how to fight best in them. The rule Forest Stalker is pretty much ubiquitous to all Elves meaning they have no difficulty moving in forests, and do more damage in them. As specific examples there's the Waywatchers, Athel Loren's elite sentinels who patrol the borders of the forest and identify and track intruders. They are such Stealth Experts that said intruders have been marked and followed long before they are aware they have been spotted. Expert marksmen, the Waywatchers can move unseen across the battlefield and spring deadly ambushes of accurate arrows.
• Fragile Speedster: A universal trait shared by almost all Wood Elf units, which are in general very fast, whether they're infantry or cavalry (who are even faster) and as such, all excel at skirmishing and ambushes. On the negative side, barring Forest Spirits, Wood Elves tend to be very weak in straight-up combat due to their low health and low armor.
• Gaia's Vengeance: They fight to protect their home in the forest of Athel Loren, and otherwise stay out of the squabbles of the Old World.
• Gathering Steam:
  • Outside of Athel Loren, the Asrai can only build small watch posts, each with a single building. Mostly these are buildings that give very minor buffs to things like reinforcement rate, weapon damage, recruitment costs, income generation, etc. But these buffs are faction-wide and they stack on top of each other. That means that while the Wood Elves can be underpowered in the early game, by the time they have conquered a lot of territory they can have a huge inbuilt advantage. In addition, their higher-tier, amber-using technologies give massive bonuses to Razing income, Replenishment and Global Recruitment, letting them burn the world to the ground for massive amounts of cash and instantly buying their armies back up again.
    • This has since been changed in later editions of the game: Most provinces only provide their bonuses to the territories directly adjacent to themselves. Instead the Wood Elves need to capture and nourish the magical woodlands around the map in order to execute a Ritual of Rebirth that unlocks a special building for that forest. These unique buildings give insane boosts to all of your armies ranging from immunity to a specific kind of attrition, to damage resistance, to extra damage.
  • In Mortal Empires, each additional Magical Forest the Wood Elves can bring online and heal grants them factionwide bonuses, as does increasing the tier of the Oak of Ages. With two to three fully healed forests under their belts, the elves quickly become extremely powerful.
• Gender Is No Object: Glade Lords can be male or female, both being equal in abilities and function. In the lore, the various levies and ranger corps that the Wood Elves field are composed of both genders and there's no stigma attached to women serving in the military at all, but due to in-game limitations Creative Assembly had to make the battalions exclusively male.
• Giant Flyer: The Wood Elves field a considerable airforce. The neighboring Grey Mountains are home to Warhawks and sentient Giant Eagles who are allies to the Wood Elves and consent to be mounted and fly above the battlefield, carrying a Warhawk Rider, Lord or Hero above the battlefield. There also are a few Forest Dragons slumbering in hidden grotos who reluctantly ally with the Wood Elves from time to time.
• Glass Cannon:
  • In general, despite their elven units — especially the ranged units — dealing rather high damage, they tend to get killed rather easily if put under assault. Thankfully, they have the Mighty Glacier Treekin to make up for that.
  • A more specific example are the Wild Riders, high-tier shock cavalry which are not only lighting fast, they hit like a truck and hurt like hell on the charge. They also die really quick, so it's best to pull them out quickly after a successful charge and cycle charge the enemy with them, lest they get surrounded and killed off in quick succession.
  • Wardancers are elven warrior women wearing body paint and... hardly anything else. But they are very mobile and fight savagely in close combat with two swords. If focused down by enemy missiles, they'll drop quickly; if they fight an enemy unit head-on, they'll be cut to pieces; but if they manage to flank an already-engaged unit, they will shred through it in no time at all.
  • On a strategic level, the only territory that they even can fortify is within Athel Loren itself (and that fortification can be quite considerable.) Every other territory they control consists only of a small literal Hidden Elf Village with a tiny garrison intended to scout and patrol the surrounding area. Unfortunately, while these outposts might depend on their concealment to protect them in the lore, in the game nothing stops another faction simply rolling over them with an army. While they can take any territory, actually holding it is hard.
• Godzilla Threshold: Generally the Wood Elves don't care much to interact with the world outside their groves. However, the decline of the Oak of Ages during the Grand Campaign and Mortal Empires forces their hands, necessitating them to venture beyond Athel Loren, assimilating independent groves and clearing out the hostile elements around the Oak of Ages and each Magical Forest.
• Green Thumb: By appealing to the spirits of the forest and channeling Ghyran, the green wind of magic, the Asrai have mastered the art of encouraging planets to grow swiftly and into particular forms. The Asrai protect the grown plants and the plants provide for the Asrai. Everything from food to weapons to fortifications are grown in Athel Loren this way, almost to the point of being an example of Magitek Organic Technology.
• Hand Blast: Wood Elven Spellsingers and Spellweavers fight using short ranged bursts of magic when in melee, rather than any form of conventional weapon.
• Heroic Neutral: Though they lean more towards the Neutral than the Heroic, ultimately, all the Wood Elves want is to be left alone in their forest. They have been known, however, to come to the aid of previously doomed Imperial forces, sprouting from the woods out of nowhere, slaughtering the foe in a hail of arrows, and disappearing back into the woods without a word. They also staunchly oppose Chaos, especially the Beastmen.
• Home Field Advantage: Extremely so. The Wood Elves neither have the numbers nor the metal to forge armors, but what they have is an entire magical forest to wield and which quite literally fights alongside them. When fighting in forests, they have a pretty large in-game advantage: Specifically most lords have skills that provide really big bonuses, but only when that lord's army is currently in a province considered forest terrain. These bonuses range from higher attack power, to extra ammo, to ward saves that negate a good portion of any damage received.
• Hidden Elf Village:
  • Quite literally. Few trespass in Athel Loren, and fewer still survive doing so. The Wood Elves generally give little care to what goes on outside their realm, but may the gods help you should you seek to disrupt it.
  • A more specific example is the Elven glade of Laurelorn, which exists deep within the snowy forests of Nordland. As of The Twisted and the Twilight it is one of six Wood Elf exclaves outside of Athel Loren, and exists as its own faction that can be confederated by the main factions.
  • The Heart of the Jungle deep in South Lands conceals another hidden village controlled by so-called Bowmen of Oreon^note Their inclusion has been described as the most obscure lore reference in the game.. This settlement is another exclave, and can be confederated both in Eye of the Vortex and Mortal Empires.
  • Finally, Immortal Empires added the Jungles of Chi'an, harbouring the Spirits of Shanlin, an extraordinarily isolated Wood Elf exclave all the way over in Cathay!
• Horse Archer: Glade Riders, which are mounted on pure-bred Elven Steeds. They come in three variants, with different missiles for each.
• Horse of a Different Color:
  • Wood Elf Wild Riders ride wild deer into battle. Their horned steeds grant them a particularly potent charge.
  • The Twisted and the Twilight grants the Wood Elves Great Stag Knights, entire units of Wild Riders riding Great Stags that count as monstrous cavalry. As high-tier elite cavalry, they can battle Empire Demigryphs on equal footing despite their lack of armour.
• Invasion of the Baby Snatchers: The Wood Elves have a habit of kidnapping human children from Bretonnia and turning them into ageless servants who will gradually forget their families and think the Elves are their masters. Some are captured during the Elves' annual Wild Hunts, others are taken in the night, and some are lured into the forest. While they are treated generally well (possibly getting better lives than they could in feudal Bretonnia), it's more of a Gilded Cage than anything else.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: What Wood Elf archers lack in numbers, they more than make up for it in accuracy, even their basic archers are amazing shots.
• Javelin Thrower: The Sisters of The Thorn are a cavalry unit with this function, with some trappings of Magic Knight.
• Jerkass: They tend to be very condescending, not just to the younger races, but even to each other and their allies.
• Keystone Army: Whichever Wood Elf faction you choose starts the game in control of the Oak of Ages, a unique settlement with a single building that must be upgraded to its highest tier in order to complete the Grand Campaign. If the Oak of Ages is ever captured by another faction, however, you instantly lose the Campaign.
• Kill It with Fire: The Wood Elves have a significant weakness to fire-based attacks, which can easily destroy the various types of animated trees that make a up a substantial portion of their army. Subverted by the Firebark Elders, a unit of Treekin who are constantly shrouded in flames (in-universe due to them absorbing fires that would otherwise harm the forest) and who, besides being immune to fire attacks themselves, can grant fire immunity to nearby troops.
• Knight in Shining Armor: The infamous Great Stag Knights; an elite band of Wild Riders who ride white, furred giant marvelous deer into battle against the foes of the forest. Thought only to be myths made up by drunken peasents, these Sylvan Knights are some of the hardiest warriors the Wood Elves can field, while remaining Lightning Bruiser; they wear extra heavy armor (for Wood Elves), but are even quicker than regular Wild Riders and hit harder due to the fact they are riding prehistoric mega-fauna, making them arguably the best Shock Cavalary in the entire game, and one of the only examples of shock monstrous cav.
• Lizard Folk: Well, turtle people is more accurate, as they heavily resemble a de-shelled snapping turtle; the Zoats are this crossed with centaurs. One of the most ancient beings on the planet, Zoats are usually considered mythical, but they exist, lurking in the deepest parts of the most ancient jungles and forests. They are shy and benevolent, but will defend themselves, wielding massive clubs on stone with their muscle-bound scale arms. Zoats are born with the ability to manipulate the Winds of Magic, and are sought out by aspiring Wood Elf mages. In-game they function as a "weaker" Dragon-Ogre; monsters who are excellent at fighting other Large Creatures and taking on heavy cavalry, but to compensate for their lower stats they have several Lore of Life bound spells that let them support their allies.
• Logical Weakness: Forest Spirt units made of living wood suffer a weakness to fire, manifesting as taking extra damage from units with Flaming Attacks and fire magic. Since they are creatures made of wood, you'd expect that.
• Long-Lived: Asrai live for a long time, but aren't immortal. The Forest Spirits, however are, and many have been in the forest since before the coming of the Old Ones.
• Long-Range Fighter: Wood Elf armies tend to have fantastic range and accuracy, but they tend to have fewer close-range units and often lack the durability for drawn-out melee, and as such must rely on the much slower, yet far tankier Forest Spirits to make the difference. As a result they typically involve a lot of skirmish-style warfare.
• The Lost Woods: Athel Loren, the realm of the Wood Elves. It existed, wild and unsettled, long before Elves ever set foot in the Old World. The forest itself is an Eldritch Location, animated by spirits and aware of what goes in beneath its canopy. The Asrai are the only ones who have ever been able to live there successfully, and only because they submitted themselves to the forest rather than trying to conquer it. Anyone else who wanders inside is subjected to a variety of different fates. If you're lucky and your intentions are purely benevolent, then you might wander inside for anywhere to a few hours to a week, be shown a way out by a benevolent spirit or Waystalker and wander back outside, only to find a decade has passed. If you're unlucky, being torn to shreds by angry spirits is one of the kinder fates...
• Mechanically Unusual Class:
  • Unlike almost every other faction in the game, the Asrai can conquer any city on the map. However, that conquest is very limited, as they are only able to construct a small watch station and a minor building on any conquered territory and can't develop it further. By contrast, the settlements in the territories within Athel Loren (an area only the Asrai can hold) have higher development caps than even regional capitals. This is all balanced against their need for Amber, which is required to build their greatest buildings and units at home and virtually requires the conquest of other territories to supply.
  • In Mortal Empires, the Wood Elves can only build cities in seven locations outside of Athel Loren, but they ignore the Habitability mechanic and can build outposts anywhere. In addition, they can teleport between magical forests using the Worldroots, meaning they won't have coherent territories but rather 'islands' around their magical forests in the middle of other factions.
• Nature Spirit: The half of the army that isn't made of Wood Elves. Most are Plant Persons — the giant Treemen, the twisted and knotted Treekin and the Dryads (who unlike the usual take on this trope are, visually, monstrous and vengeful nature spirits inhabiting the animated wood first, feminine beings second). The stag-horned forest dragons that elven lords can ride into battle are also counted as nature spirits. Argwylon, the faction led by Durthu, focuses on the forest spirits over the wood elves, in contrast to Orion's, which does the opposite.
• Nerves of Steel: The Wildwood Rangers have the duty to protect Athel Loren from its most malevolent inhabitants and guard the frontier of Cythral, a part of the forest used as a prison and out of which said spirits try to break out. As a result, they have to be able to look at all these monsters and stand their ground to fight until reinforcement comes, a duty which they have fulfilled until now. Thus, the Wildwood Rangers are Immune to Psychology.
• Neutral No Longer: They are well known for their Heroic Neutrality, preferring to remain isolationist and protecting their realms fiercely. However, a crisis with a withering curse on the Oak of Ages during their campaign has motivated them to mobilize for war, sending out armies to rejuvenate the sacred heart of Athel Loren.
• Noble Bird of Prey: The Great Eagles and the Hawk Riders. The former are giant eagles and the latter are giant hawks who are ridden by Asrai archers.
• Noble Savage: As they're based on the Celts, and are generally "good", they certainly count, being much more savage and primal than their High Elf cousins. On a good day, if you're lost in the forest, and you don't have any bad intentions, a Waywatcher or benevolent tree spirit will usually help you find a path out.
• Our Elves Are Different: Archetypal wood elves, living in magical forests they're ferociously protective of and in close kinship with beasts and forest spirits.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Forest Dragons are Dragons who have assimilated into Athel Loren to the point of becoming Forest Spirits themselves. They serve as a high-tier unit.
• Our Ghosts Are Different: The Lost Sylvan Knights Regiment are the wandering souls of Stag Knights who lost themselves in the forest, now being reduced to spectral, damned ghosts who take their vengence out on outsider. They have the Undead Special Rule, meaning they behave like Vampire Count units (morale damage causes them slowly to disappear rather than run away), with Ethereal, Fear, and Terror.
• Our Gods Are Greater: The Wood Elven technology tree is based on gaining the favour of the gods of the Elven Pantheon. These gods are divided into two groups: the Cadai and the Cytharai, the former being openly-worshipped and the latter being merely appeased.
• Our Mages Are Different: Hero-tier Wood Elven wizards, known as Spellsingers, can draw their spells from the lores of Beasts, Life or Shadow. Spellweavers, their Lord-level counterparts introduced in The Twisted and the Twilight, can draw from any of those and High or Dark Magic. Among the Forest Spirits, Ancient Treemen draw their spells from the Lore of Life, while Branchwraiths draw them from a mix of Life and Shadow. All Wood Elf casters have the ability Blessing of the Ancients, which grants a bonus to power reserves and regeneration when in forest terrain.
• Plant Person: Treemen, powerful forest spirits possessing living trees, are some of the most powerful beings in the Wood Elves' forces. Also in present are their smaller brethren the Treekin, whose bodies are instead made of dead wood, and the only vaguely humanoid Dryads, both of whom attack in squads instead of being single units like the Treemen.
• Power Floats: The Spellsingers float a few meters above the ground.
• The Marvelous Deer: Two Asrai cavalry units make use of deer as their mounts: the Wild Riders and the Sisters of the Thorn.
• Mighty Glacier: The various Treekin and related forest spirits are unused to swift movement, but they endure as long as trees and hit like battering rams.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Not Athel Loren itself, but still there. Some of the more moderate wood elf clans such as Laurelorn Forest have realized that instantly killing any trespassers on sight isn't worth the diplomatic incidents and costly wars. They're more likely to gently but firmly escort you out of their woods if you ignorantly trespass — you might also just be on the receiving end of a beating if you cause trouble.
• Resurrective Immortality: As the power of nature is in death and rebirth with the seasons, this is a common theme among certain magical Asrai.
  • Orion dies every fall, slumbers through every winter, and is reborn every spring.
  • The Sisters of the Thorn are ageless, but if one falls in battle, her sisters return her body to the sacred halls beneath the Oak of Ages where she will heal and reawaken the next spring. Only if her body is mutilated beyond recognition will she experience death.
• Seasonal Baggage: Seasons, being markers of a distinct period in the cycle of nature, are a recurring motif in Asrai culture. Their history is divided into seasons, representing a distinct period of their land. Moreover, some parts of Athel Loren are perpetually plunged in one particular season, for instance Atylwyth, the Winterheart, which impact a lot of the local culture.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: A whole part of Athel Loren named the Wildwood or Cythral is dedicated to containing spirits that pose a danger to the integrity of the forest, either purely malevolent spirits or spirits that want the Elves exterminated at all cost. Most infamous of all is Coeddil, one of the Elder Treemen that wants Athel Loren to go back to the time Asrai weren't there.
• Stealth Expert: Wood Elves are one of only two factions that have access to the "masterful ambush" stance, which in III hides an army on the campaign map but uniquely allows it to still move, allowing the Wood Elves to launch aggressive ambushes as apposed to most empires which need to lay in waiting.
  • On top of this on research in their tech tree gives a flat +20% to ambush chance, meaning you will have at worst about a 50/50 chance of successfully ambushing someone.
  • Finally most lords have access to a skill that increases this chances further, while also buffing ranaged attack power during ambushes. Orion has an even better skill that gives his whole army stalk ^note hides the unit in question from sight unless its really close to an enemy during an ambush, which is exactly as terrifying to be on the end of it as it sounds.
• Stone Wall: Although in battle Wood Elves are encouraged to play aggressively, in Mortal and Immortal Empires campaign they are the tallest faction in the game. They gain little from taking ground outside of their forests and actually have significant bonuses for simply razing every enemy settlement they overcome. They focus instead on using the Worldroots to heal and unite the disparate magic forests around the world, usually winding up with small, isolated but extremely rich and defensible patches of territory.
• Story Arc: In Mortal Empires post-rework, each Magical Forest has a storyline attached to it, starting with the method of taking it, then a Forest Encounter concerning the local race around it, the gradual process of raising the Forest Health of said forest then a Ritual of Awakening to restore its power and sentience while fighting off three enemy armies and finally a special landmark building unlocked by completing the Ritual that has massive boosts for the entire faction.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Most of the forest spirits consider the Asrai's presence to be the cause of all the destruction and suffering the forests of Loren has endured over several millennia, and would like nothing more than to have them removed from Athel Loren, though some see the benefit of working with them to ensure the safety and defense of Loren from invaders within and without. Regardless, both will put aside their differences and band together when the forest is threatened by real invaders.
• To Serve Man: The lore heavily implied that the Asrai occasionally consumed human flesh, but campaign events in the game outright confirms that they lure unsuspecting travelers to their halls to be fattened up, and then devoured.
• Treants: The mighty Treemen appear in the Wood Elf army roster with a couple of tweaks from their tabletop version, such as legs ending in a tangle of roots instead of feet. The subfaction of Argwylon, led by the Treeman Durthu Oakheart, focuses on Treemen and other forest sprits above the Wood Elves — for instance, only Ancient Treeman generals and not elven Glade Lords can be put in your council — in contrast to the main Wood Elf faction, which does the opposite.
• Trick Arrow: Wood Elf archers are capable of equipping and firing arrows with special buffs that increase their versatility, assuming they have been unlocked in the Tech Tree.
• Tunnel Network: A very special example of one. The Worldroot represents the giant system of giant roots, so large entire armies can march inside of them, that sprawl all over the world, even to Ulthuan. However, the Chaos corruption of the world has withered most of the system, only leaving the major roots. In game they function exactly like the underway stance, letting Wood Elf armies bypass terrain.
• The Unintelligible: The forest spirits' language is incomprehensible — no one save the Asrai can understand them. Durthu's speeches are mostly understandable due to subtitles during his quest battle and the diplomatic menu.
• Unicorn: Unicorns are the same magically sensible horned horses that are attracted to female sorceresses, and spellsingers use them as mounts.
• Weapon Specialization: The faction as a whole makes heavy use of spears for their melee units. Wild Riders use regular spears to skewer their foes, but the Waydancers with Spears wield irregular weapons that seem to be a cross between a sword and a spear, which make them adapt at killing both infantry and large units. The Eternal Guard use long spears and can be equipped with shields, making them a solid choice for being the wall that protects your archers.
• When Trees Attack: The other part of the faction: various forest spirits such as Dryads, Treekin and Treemen join the Elves in battling against intruders. In the lore, some tree spirits are benevolent, others very malevolent, and can do great harm to anyone trespassing in the forest, but all are unified in their desire to protect Athel Loren.
• World Tree: The Oak of Ages: A truly massive, ancient, and magical tree. It acts as a focus for the Winds of Magic that flow through Athel Loren, was the first place the Asrai were able to commune with the spirits of the forest, and is the place Orion rests and is reborn every winter. Each of its acorns is packed with magic, and can cause a great tree to sprout in seconds of it being buried. It acts as a nexus for the Worldroots, by which the Asrai can travel underground to realms distant. Going by at least some background lore it is vital to the continual survival of the planet. It's at the center of the campaign, the player must re-nuture it back to it's previous strength and protect it from Beastmen incursions. If the tree is razed, the campaign is lost and it's game over. It's also the sight of a gorgeous battle map.
• Wreathed in Flames: The Firebark Elders are a Regiment of Renown of Treekin who absorb fires that would otherwise burn the forest, setting themselves permanently ablaze as a result. This allows them to deal fire damage to enemies, as well as granting them and their allies resistance to fire, the main weakness of the tree-focused troops.
• Year Inside, Hour Outside: Alternatively, Year Outside, Hour Inside. Athel Loren’s magic messes with the flow of time, and there are tales of someone stepping in a part of the forest and either exiting almost immediately looking like an old man or stepping out after years of absence but only remembering having taken a few steps.
• You Are a Credit to Your Race: In the fluff, Emperor Karl Franz of the Empire is one of the very few humans the Wood Elves actually like, having even received his iconic gryphon Deathclaw as a baby from them.

Legendary Lords

Orion

Orion, the King in the Woods

"The Wild Hunt begins!"

"There can be no further mercy. As I am born from Kurnous' spirit, so shall these dark servants be purged by it. Let them face the rage of the forest!"

Voiced by: George Watkins

Orion, known by many titles such as the King in the Woods or the Master of the Wild Hunt, is the everlasting Lord of Athel Loren and co-ruler of the Wood Elven race. He is immortal, but his existence is irrevocably tied to the seasons. Thus does he pass willingly into his own funeral pyre each midwinter, only to be reborn into thunderous life on the first day of spring. Each year, on the eve of the vernal equinox, the Wild Riders selects a young prince who will bear the mantle of Orion for the coming year. This chosen one is led to the Oak of Ages and given over to Ariel’s keeping.

There, she works the miracle of rebirth, sculpting her lost husband anew from the chosen one’s flesh and Kurnous’ spirit. On the following morning, the chosen one emerges from the Oak’s embrace, a mortal Elf no longer, but reborn as Orion, god-king of Athel Loren. When his realm is threatened, Orion is the first to fight in its defence. Taking up his mighty weapons of war, he winds his great horn and calls Athel Loren to the Wild Hunt. Every Elf feels the lure of their king’s wild summons, and many are overcome by this most primal of urges. Drawn to their king’s side, they gladly abandon their civilized concerns for the thrill of the hunt and the heady tang of blood upon the wind.

Orion leads what was initially known as the main Wood Elves faction, simply named Wood Elves, but was renamed Talsyn as of The Potion of Speed update. He is available in Mortal Empires for owners of Realm of the Wood Elves. Orion focuses on Wood Elf units and has access to the unique 'Wild Hunt' mechanic which encourages expansion and razing while the Wild Hunt is active.

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• Amazing Technicolor Population: Orion is green-skinned in concept art, but in-game his skin color manifests as brownish, like tree bark.
• Back from the Dead: Orion is tied to the seasons. Every winter, Orion dies and his ashes are entombed inside the Oak of Ages. When spring comes, a chosen of the Wild Riders sacrifices himself in order for Orion to be reborn. In spring and summer, Orion is at his strongest. But when autumn comes, he weakens until he once again withers and dies during winter.
• Badass Cape: Orion possesses the Cloak of Isha which is woven out of leaves by Ariel every year.
• Blow That Horn: Orion can use his ornate hunting horn, the Horn of the Wild Hunt as a special ability, to sound the coming of the Wild Hunt and grants insane levels of charge bonus to himself and any ally unit near him. He also uses it in his trailer.
• Came Back Wrong: Orion's personality is partially influenced by that of the elf sacrificed to summon him. It's mentioned in the lore that it's not unheard of for elf lords to try to sabotage him with with cowardly or weak hosts. One of his quest battles involves stopping a worshipper of Atharti from usurping the sacrifice position to "seduce" the next Orion to Atharti's side.
• Cernunnos: Orion is both an avatar of Kurnous and himself based on the mythological figure of Cernunnos. He has the antlers and hooves of a stag, rules over the wildest and most magical forest in the Old World, and often leads The Wild Hunt in its roaming over surrounding lands.
• The Beastmaster: Orion is accompanied by the Hounds of Orion, but unlike the tabletop where they were actual units, they are unleashed as a vortex spell to harm enemies.
• Blood Knight: As the avatar of the elven god of the hunt this is only to be expected.
• Celebrity Resemblance: Orion looks like Mel Gibson which the game even acknowledge where in one of the game's patch notes, Orion issued a proclamation throughout Athel loren denying his resemblance to the actor.
• Death from Above: Orion can use the Hawk's Talon, a giant longbow, to summon a lance of spectral flaming arrows skyward to obliterate the enemy below
• Deadpan Snarker: He shows a surprising inclination towards sharp remarks when dealing with certain races over the diplomatic menu:
  Orion: [To Dwarfs] You do well to kneel before me... Oh! I thought those were your knees. An easy mistake to make.
  Orion: [To Vampire Counts] You're awfully pale. Perhaps a walk in the sun will do you some good?
• Fauns and Satyrs: His lower legs are satyr-like and covered in green fur from the knees down, while his head features some fairly impressive deer horns, making him seem awfully similar to the Wood Elves mortal enemies, the Beastmen.
• Foil: To Tyrion of the Asur and Malekith of the Druchii. Like Tyrion he serves as a Big Good for his race whereas Malekith is effectively part of the Big Bad Ensemble, and like Malekith he has a title with "king" in it while Tyrion is merely a Prince. He has neither the peerless swordsmanship of Tyrion nor Malekith's magical talents, but he has the raw power of Kurnous and his special abilities (Hawk's Talon and Hounds of Orion) to compensate, and also has a ranged attack that they don't. Orion is also very lightly-armoured, with only the Cloak of Isha to protect him, whereas Tyrion and Malekith are both heavily-armoured.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: Downplayed. The Spear of Kurnous is described as having a Summon to Hand mechanic in the lore. Indeed, Orion is seen throwing it and calling it back to him, but it also has a limited ammo quality, presumably for balance purposes.
  • Also there is no mechanic around him dying in the autumn and being brought back in the spring but then the game doesn't track seasons in any way.
• God-Emperor: He describes himself as God-King of the Deepwood since he is both the king of the Wood Elves and physical avatar of Kurnous, the elvish god of hunting.
• Great Bow: Orion has a massive great bow, the Hawk’s Talon, which grants him a special arrow barrage ability. This is a Pragmatic Adaptation of how he could switch between the Talon and the Spear of Kurnous at will in tabletop.
• Heroic Build: He notably has a much thicker build compared to the lithe Asrai, and is so large infact, he's classified as a monster in the game.
• Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: He is an avatar of the elven god of hunting and leads a Great Hunt for the enemies of the Wood Elves when he's active. He sees anyone who isn't allied with him as prey.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Orion has a sync-kill animation where he grabs and lifts up an enemy unit and proceeds to impale them with his spear.
• Javelin Thrower: Orion wields the Spear of Kurnous, an Empathic Weapon that teleports back to Orion's hand whenever he throws it. He can also wield the weapon to great effect in melee.
• Jerkass: Orion is very arrogant, and callous to practically everyone he interacts with on the campaign map.
• Lady and Knight: As the avatar of Kurnous, Orion is the knight and consort of Ariel, Queen of Athel Loren and avatar of Isha.
• Many Spirits Inside of One: Orion's mind cohabits his bodies with the souls of all previous hosts, which can raise their voices to give counsel or reprimand Orion, although Orion undoubfully remains the most powerful spirit inside of his head.
• Large and in Charge: He towers over the Asrai, and is just as tall as the Tree-Kin.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Despite his arrogance, he is still caring towards his queen Ariel, to the point of doing things he doesn't want to on her behalf. In Mortal Empires, he has the Guardian trait (which grants 15% Physical Resistance to nearby Lords and Heroes) if Ariel is embedded into his army.
  • If another faction manages to get positive relations with Talsyn,, Orion will welcome their envoys warmly to Athel Loren when opening diplomacy.
• Praetorian Guard: The Wild Riders of Kurnous, fanatical elves partially transformed into spirits of the forest who ride powerful stag mounts and join Orion on his Wild Hunts. They serve as a hard-hitting Shock Cavalry in-game, and Orion starts the Grand Campaign and Mortal Empires with such a group in his army.
• Resurrective Immortality: He dies every fall and is reborn every spring. Even if killed in battle, his rebirth is only a season away.
• Stealth Expert: As mentioned above Orion gives his entire army stalk during ambushes, hiding *any* unit from the enemies sight unless they are super close or they fire, including allied units from other race that happen to be in the army.
• Smug Super: So arrogant he could almost be mistaken for one of the High Elves and so violent one might assume he was a Dark Elf.
• Summon to Hand: The Spear of Kurnous is enchanted to return right back at Orion’s hand whenever it lands, so that he can throw it again and again, though it has ammunition like any other ranged weapon.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: The King in the Woods wears little on his upper body.
• Willing Channeler: Orion is a wood elf channeling the elven god of the hunt, Kurnous. This elf will always be a volunteer despite the 'honour' essentially being a ritual sacrifice. It is said that whoever dies channeling Kurnous lives on forever in Orion, adding themselves to a Mind Hive of old personalities carried alongside the god.
• The Wild Hunt: Every spring, Orion leads the Wood Elves on a hunt through Athel Loren and surrounding countryside, killing anything they can find. In more ancient times he lead his hunts even further afield.

Durthu

Durthu Oakheart, the Eldest of Ancients

"I am ancient. Eternal. Vengeful. I am Durthu!"

"All has happened before. All will happen again. Suffering is unending — battle, eternal."

Durthu, or Oakheart, is an Elder of Athel Loren, a Treeman so ancient that even Ariel’s millennia-long existence pales in comparison. It was he who first forged a union between Elves and forest, and he also who argued with his fellow Elders that the binding be made permanent. In those days, he was ever a friend to the children of Isha, always willing to help them broaden their understanding of the forest and of the Weave.

Alas, those days are long gone. Centuries of destruction and carnage have taken their toll on Durthu’s valiant spirit. He has borne witness to the rapacity of blooded life, and of the wanton destruction it has heaped upon his homeland. He has seen untold acres of trees felled for kindling or from simple spite. He has watched, time and again, as the Elves have invited calamity on the forest through an inability to sever their connection to the outside world. Worst of all, he has seen his fellow Elders fall, one by one; some slain by their own foes but most destroyed by the enemies of the Elves.

Durthu leads a subfaction centered in the region of Argwylon, where he can recruit forest spirits but will need to pay in amber for Wood Elf units. He is available in Mortal Empires for owners of Realm of the Wood Elves, where he plays more defensively than Orion; he focuses on the (more defensive) wood spirit units and his armies gain upkeep reductions inside Athel Loren.

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• A Lighter Shade of Black: Durthu is this to Coeddil, the second of the Eldest. Durthu hates all outsiders, but he leaves the elves alone and can, on rare occasions, be mollifed enough to grant leave ('leave' as in, you are allowed to leave, now, and he won't kill you) to someone who aids him against despoilers like Greenskins or Beastmen. Coeddil, by contrast, hates all non-spirits and had to be imprisoned in The Alcatraz after an attempt to assassinate Orion. He also has no time for Drycha, the insane Dryad Briarmaiden who serves as Coeddil's agent in the waking world.
• Absolute Xenophobe: Formerly an open-minded Treeman, Durthu has come to hate all intruders whatever their reasons for entering Athel Loren. He still accepts the Wood Elves but has come to shun their presence too, treating them as allies of convenience.
• Adaptational Badass: In the tabletop, Durthu was a 1st level wizard and had no magic items (the Sword of Daith was cosmetic and little more). In-game, he has lord-level casting and gains magic skills as quickly as Teclis and the Slann, and the Sword of Daith is an actual, magic item.
• Arch-Enemy: He views Dwarfs as this and enjoys fighting them and driving them off, for he suffered his horrifying burns from Dwarfen axemen a millennium ago. He barely talks to them on the diplomacy screen with anything less than pure hatred.
• Ax-Crazy: Millennia of despoiling and deforestation have rendered Durthu a living embodiment of the forest's rage. Durthu despises all sentient beings and will kill anyone or anything that enters Athel Loren without his leave, innocent or no. Only elves and other forest spirits are spared his wrath.
• The Beastmaster: Wields the Lore of Beasts.
• BFS: Durthu wields the Sword of Daith, named for the legendary elven master-smith Daith who created it. In-game, it carries a bound spell that allows Durthu to perform an area-of-effect attack around himself.
• Being Good Sucks: He learned the price of doing the right thing the hard way, and has lost countless friends for his loyalty and defense of the Wood Elves.
• Big Good: From the perspective of the tree spirits at least. Durthu is currently the Eldest of Ancient Treemen (that is still alive and not imprisoned) so is the greatest voice of authority among them, and even the Wood Elves will listen when he speaks.
• The Berserker: Durthu has the Frenzy rule for good reasons. He is mad with rage and will swathe intruders like someone cuts down wheat, fighting with both hatred and insanity in a blur of sword cuts.
• Break the Cutie: Stated to have once been benevolent and all-loving and had even vouched for the elven colonists to permanently live in Athel Loren during the aftermath of the War of the Beard. Unfortunately, millennia's worth of war and destroyed trees have severely tarnished Durthu's outlook on sapient life.
• Dark Is Evil: Much more morally dubious than Orion, and also a charred, twisted, downright demonic looking tree. The flipside of this is that he's not as malevolent as Drycha, whom even he sees as unhinged and dangerous.
• Enemy Mine: While in the past Durthu considered the Asrai to be friends of the forest, now he merely tolerates them as allies of convenience. His diplomacy screen quotes towards even friendly asrai factions are chilly, at best.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Despite being a hateful xenophobic tree-man, even Durthu sees Drycha and Coeddil as insane extremists that must be stopped at all costs. So much so, that the usually Elf-hating Durthu will fight against his fallen brother and sister to protect the Wood Elves from them.
• Evil Sounds Deep: His voice reverberates with so much power, and is so deep, it's sometimes hard to understand what he's even saying.
• Face–Heel Turn: In Mortal Empires, Argwylon can be confederated by the Wargrove of Woe, effectively meaning that Durthu joined forces with Drycha. Considering her motives, this implies that Drycha managed to turn him or he fully gave in to his hatred for anything that isn't a tree spirit. It is important to note that he is the only Legendary Lord that Drycha can confederate with.
• Facial Horror: A part of his face is missing, likely the result of many millennia of fighting.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • Has an intense hatred for dwarfs, due to be being greatly damaged by them many centuries ago.
  • In-game, Durthu's Council of Elders mechanic does not allow for elves to hold office, only Treeman Elders. Orion is exempt, due to being half god.
• Fallen Hero: There were times where he was peaceful, spending his time as a teacher and healer. However, millenia of witnessing his fellow Treemen die in great part have overwhelmed his spirit. Now he is little more than a mad Treeman who thankfully spares the Wood Elves when he goes on his rampages.
• Freudian Excuse: A big part of why he hates non-Forest Spirits is that he trusted them many times and has had little to show for it beyond pain and suffering.
• Gaia's Vengeance: Durthu despises all forms of life that don't live in harmony with nature, and even then, he barely tolerates the naturalistic Wood Elves. The final skill of his personal Skill Tree grants Awakened Forest attrition to all enemy armies in the same region as him just from his sheer hatred leeching out into the environment around him.
• Gentle Giant: He was this, being notably friendly and open to the Wood Elves residing in Athel Loren. He sadly no longer fit the trope.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: As seen on his picture yonder.
• Hearing Voices: Durthu is continually haunted by The Lamentations of Despair, projections of his failings and guilt that haunt his sleep and every waking moment. In battle, Durthu can project the voices as a magic missile to inflict their pain on others.
• It's All My Fault: Durthu, among other problems, deeply blames himself for the death of all but one of the Elder Treemen, as they all died in wars caused by enemies of the Elves and not Athel Loren itself. Although the Wood Elves Durthu personally welcomed in Athel Loren were invaluable as defenders, they also seemed to cause the problems they helped solve.
• Knight in Sour Armor: What he is now. While he is constantly wrathful and doesn't welcome the Elves anymore, he is still a stalwart defender of Athel Loren and spares the Asrai of his wrath. If he has nothing else he still has a homeland to defend.
• Magic Knight: In addition to his prodigious physical power, Durthu can cast spells from the Lore of Beasts.
• Self-Inflicted Hell: Durthu is immensely powerful as a result of being one of the two last elder spirits in Athel Loren, as every elder who dies adds their power to the ones still living, but he is so lost to sadness and rage that most of his power is spent unconsciously tormenting himself.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Watching his fellow Treemen die and the forest ravaged by conflict for thousands of years turned the wise and good natured elder into a unhinged monster with a nasty temper.
• Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Some of Durthu's branches are adorned with skulls and bones.
• Skull for a Head: The imagery is there, as Durthu's face is pale with Villainous Cheekbones and prominent teeth.
• Sword Plant: Does this occasionally, though doing so when he is driving his sword into a person.
• The Older Immortal: Durthu is as old as Athel Loren itself, long pre-dating the coming of Chaos.
• Time Abyss: Durthu is truly ancient, at 10,000 years old he is among the eldest sentient beings still alive in the setting. The oldest living Slann are younger than Durthu as is the entire elven race. Only the Old Ones and the oldest Dragon Ogre Shaggoths (such as Krakanrok the Black and Kholek Suneater) are known for certain to have been around earlier.
• When Trees Attack: The most ancient treeman left in the world, and he leads a splinter-faction of the Wood Elves centered around other tree-creatures.
• Wise Tree: When he isn't steaming in his mad rage, anyway. He is parlay to many of Athel Loren's secrets, and taught the Asrai how to commune with the plants and craft wooden items without harming them, among other things.

Sisters of Twilight

Naestra and Arahan, the Twilight Sisters and Emissaries of Queen Ariel

"For The Weave! For Ariel! For Athel-Loren!"^note Naestra (left) and Arahan (right)

"Our queen is in place. The sealing rite begins. Chaos shall not breach this realm!"

"I'm bored already, Naestra. What else can we kill?"

Naestra and Arahan, the Sisters of Twilight, are legendary heroes of Athel Loren, and, much like Teclis and Tyrion of Ulthuan, are Elven twins of unusual circumstance.

High in the alpine slopes of the Pine Crags, the Eyrie of Twilight dominates the skyline. Herein lie the elegant halls of Naestra and Arahan, the Sisters of Twilight. The twins are as different as night from day, not just in appearance, but in personality. Naestra’s spirit is as pure as starlight; Arahan’s as wild as an unbridled flame. While Naestra seeks battle only in pursuit of preventing greater harms, Arahan welcomes it with a wanton joy. If truth be told, Naestra always seems reproving of her sister’s deeds, though this only ever increases Arahan’s delight. Despite their differences, the twins are inseparable — never has one been sighted without the other in all the time they have dwelt in Athel Loren.

The Sisters of Twilight are a Legendary Lord available to those who purchase The Twisted and the Twilight DLC of Total War: Warhammer II. They lead their own sub-faction, the Heralds of Ariel, and start in the Witchwood, in southern Naggaroth, for both the Vortex and Mortal Empires campaigns.

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• Action Girl: Both sisters qualify but Arahan is the bigger example of the two, as she is a Hot-Blooded Blood Knight in contrast to the more calm and gentle Naestra.
• Adaptational Badass: Upgraded from hero-tier on the tabletop to lord-tier in-game, turning them into generals of armies.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite the duo’s bickering, one of their campaign map lines has the duo affirming how much they love one another.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Naestra is unusually nice and friendly for a Wood Elf. Hurt her sister, however, and she can go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge with a savagery that matches Arahan's.
• Blood Knight: Arahan is more bloodthirsty than many characters from the Always Chaotic Evil factions, constantly wanting to find something to hunt or kill or for a battle to start.
• The Champion: They are called the "Emissaries of Queen Ariel" for a reason. While not as personally bound to the god-queen as her knight Orion, Naestra and Arahan serve Ariel personally and have often ranged outside the borders of Athel Loren to fulfill her commands. Thus, they begin their campaign in Naggaroth on Ariel's orders to close the Chaos portal that has opened in the Witchwood.
• Death from Above: The Sisters fight exclusively atop a flying mount, and their lord bonuses and skills encourage the use of Hawk Riders, Great Eagles, and Forest Dragons in their forces while also buffing ranged units and granting Hawk Riders the ability to use the Volley of Kurnous, encouraging a style of play heavy on bombarding enemy forces from the air before swooping in to finish off what's left.
• The Dividual: Naestra and Arahan are bound to each other through both destiny and magic, and never operate individually. On the tabletop, both Naestra and Arahan had to be killed in the same round, or the fallen sister would automatically return to play. In-game, they count as a single-entity unit that shares the same pool of Hit Points.
• Dragon Rider: They can be upgraded to ride the great forest dragon Ceithin-Har into battle. Unlike most forest dragons, Ceithin-Har considers the Sisters of Twilight his friends and willingly joins their adventures for glory and battle.
• Equipment Upgrade: Their unique campaign mechanic is the Forge of Daith, in which the Sisters periodically gain a favour from the eponymous Elven mastersmith Lord Daith with every battle they win^note they cannot gain more than one favour per turn (unless a skill is taken that gives them a chance to win two in one battle), they need to win a battle, not just one of their faction's armies, and they cannot hold more than three at a time, which they can exchange for custom equipment forged by him^DetailsUnlocking an equipment piece cost one favour, then two to upgrade it once, then three to upgrade it to its final form, you can also spend two favours to turn an equipment piece into a hyper-powerful version of itself that only lasts for a limited number of turns before reverting to its previous state, and you can also spend favours to give a temporary buff to your armies faction-wide.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Arahan is the childish and irresponsible sibling to Naestra's dutiful and serious sibling.
• The Gadfly: In the lore, Arahan says and does a lot of things for no other reason than to piss her sister off. In fact, she sometimes gets herself killed on purpose so that the normally-taciturn Naestra would lose her cool and go on a murderous spree to avenge her "death", something that Arahan finds infinitely hilarious. Their in-game banter has Arahan constantly making bloodthirsty remarks at Naestra's expense, or getting her to embrace violence like she does.
• Girlish Pigtails: Naestra has her hair in two braided tails.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Subverted. Naestra, the kind, friendly, All-Loving Hero, is the black-haired twin. The abrasive and bloodthirsty Arahan is the blonde.
• Heroic Second Wind: The Sisters' famous Conjoined Destiny special rule from the tabletop is in the game as a single-use healing spell that they can activate once their health falls below 20%.
• Hypocrite: Arahan will call others out for being violent and destructive, despite constantly being so eager for a fight that she finds peace to be boring.
• Informed Attribute: Lore-wise, the Sisters are also said to be proficient melee fighters, which is why they're depicted carrying spears along with their bows. In-game, however, they're permanently mounted on either Gwindalor or Ceithin-Har, which means they're relegated to using only their bows while their mounts do the melee fighting for them.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Arahan constantly wants to pick a fight with almost anyone she meets. With evil beings like Chaos, Orcs, Skaven and Dark Elves, her distrust is warranted.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While Arahan delights in violence and getting under her sister’s skin, she does love her and shares her loyalty to their queen.
• Manchild: Arahan treats her responsibilities like a game, is easily bored outside of combat, and resorts to petty insults on the diplomacy screen.
• Mouth of Sauron: The Sisters also perform this role for the god-queen Ariel, serving as her representatives in the Asrai's council of lords and ladies. True to form, Naestra acts as the voice of reason whenever they're itching for war and mayhem, while Arahan riles them up every time things get too peaceful and quiet in Athel Loren.
• Multiple-Choice Past: Nobody knows exactly where the Sisters came from, as they just appeared one day in Athel Loren during Ariel's self-imposed exile. Some stories say Naestra and Arahan were once a young elf girl named Naestrahan who got lost in the wild woods of Athel Loren, only to die and be reincarnated by the Weave as two separate beings^note This was their canon origin story until it was retconned in the 8th Edition Army Book. However, in-game blurbs indicate this to be the canon story again, at least in the Total War: Warhammer series. Others say Ariel created them out of her own essence to serve as vessels for her brightest and darkest aspects. Among the Wood Elves, the most commonly accepted story is that the Sisters are simply Ariel's daughters with Orion, therefore making them princesses of their people.
• Nice Girl: Naestra is one of the friendliest characters in the entire setting. She's even courteous to the Always Chaotic Evil races if they somehow attain a positive diplomatic relationship with them.
• Noble Bird of Prey: The Sisters' default mount option is Gwindalor, descendant of Talyn, the King of Eagles. Though not as mighty as Ceithin-Har, Gwindalor is a smaller target and his sight and caution aids the twins' shooting attacks.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: A twofer, no less — the aggressive and impulsive Arahan and Ceitin-Har are the Red Oni to the watchful and cautious Naestra and Gwindalor, respectively.
• Resurrective Immortality: Neither twin will die as long as the other still lives, which Arahan in particular makes great use of in her battle-lust. Once, she was swallowed whole by a Ghorgon, but was able to slice her way out of its putrid belly unscathed, while on another occasion she was decapitated by a vampire, only for her headless body to crush its heart moments later. In campaign, one of the first unique skills that the Sisters can unlock is 'Inseverable', providing them with a higher ward save and less time to recover from a Wounded state.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Naestra tends to get rather wordy in her dialogue, contrasting with Arahan's blunter speech.
  Naestra: The very presence of these emerald horrors imperils our mission, Arahan.
  Arahan: Don't be so coy, sister. Just come out and say "let's kill thousands of orcs".
• Sibling Team: They always fight together and are never seen apart, whether on or off the battlefield.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: The dark-haired Naestra is a stoic, gentle Martial Pacifist, while the light-haired Arahan is a boisterous and reckless Blood Knight. This dynamic can also be seen in The Twisted and the Twilight trailer's climax, as when the sisters aim their bows at the lunging Ghoritch, Naestra is cold and focused while Arahan has a smile on her face.
• Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!: Naestra will scold Arahan if she's rude to the leader of a faction they're friendly with during diplomacy, saying that suspicion and petty insults are beneath her, unhelpful and unwarranted.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: Arahan will express disbelief with Naestra for believing that races like the Greenskins, Vampires, Dark Elves, Skaven or Chaos could truly be redeemed or even allies if negotiating with them as one of those factions with positive relations, saying that she's being unbelievably naive.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: To an extent, Arahan is the Tomboy to Naestra's Girly Girl. Their idle voicelines on the campaign map tell that Arahan enjoys hunting and tending to her weapons, whereas Naestra is a Nature Lover at heart. Interestingly, this trope is flipped around with their in-game models, with Naestra sporting Braids of Action (usually associated with tomboys in fiction), whereas Arahan goes to battle wearing lipstick and makeup.
• Twin Banter: Most of their diplomacy lines are a back and forth between them, with Naestra and Arahan playing off each other's overbearing kindness and unbridled aggression, respectively.
  Naestra: (to a neutral Wood Elf faction) We are all Ariel's children.
  Arahan: Some more so than others.
  Naestra: Hush, sister.
• The Un Favourite: Arahan considers herself to be this when it comes to receiving new gifts from Lord Daith if you pick the permanent upgrade over the short-term one, believing Naestra to be favoured over her and making snippy comments about it. Arahan may invoke this in idle banter on the campaign map, randomly declaring that Ariel likes her more than Naestra, which Naestra annoyingly denies.

Drycha

Drycha, the Briarmaven of Woe

"All will suffer our ancient! Vengeful! Wrath!"

"In the hallowed name of every Tree Spirit that has fallen due to Asrai negligence, the dirt shall be fertilised with Elven blood this day. I will make sure of it. We shall show that we are the true keepers of the forest, not them!"

Long ago, Drycha held court amongst the roots of Addaivoch, the once-glorious creature known in recent times as the Tree of Woe. Most believe that Drycha lost her mind when Morghur’s death tainted that ground forever, but in truth, she was capricious and malevolent for many long years before that tragedy. Drycha remembers well the days before the coming of the Elves, and has ever rued the folly that shackled the forest to mortal whim and fate. She rarely converses with others, even the Dryads who serve her as handmaidens, but instead chants a mantra of the names of all those fellow spirits whom she believes have been failed by the Elves.

In recent years, strange tales have come to Athel Loren, worrying rumours of Drycha’s activities. On the fringe of the great Drakwald Forest in the Empire, the peasants tell stories of the trees that come alive, hungry for blood. On the edge of the Forest of Arden in Bretonnia, villagers gather only deadwood for their purposes, citing tales of other settlements found ruined and torn, the inhabitants left as scraps of tattered meat by the vengeance of the trees. To many, these events seem as senseless as they are apparently random, but if they are indeed the work of Drycha and her handmaidens, there must surely be a greater goal behind them than mere slaughter — though what that goal is remains to be seen. Alas, even Naieth the Prophetess cannot see the destination for which Drycha strives, for the road leading there is hidden by blood and horror.

Drycha is a FLC Legendary Lord available to those who own either Realm of the Wood Elves or The Twisted and the Twilight and own Total War Warhammer II. She is only available in the Mortal Empires campaign where she begins in Gryphon Wood, inside the Empire's eastern provinces, leading her own sub-faction, the Wargrove of Woe, which has a limited selection of elven units but with unique beasts from the forest to fight in their place. As of the end-of-beta release of Immortal Empires in Total War Warhammer III, she is available to those who own Realm of the Wood Elves specifically.

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• Absolute Xenophobe: She really, really hates everyone and everything that is not a Forest Spirit. The only Asrai under her are those she has tricked into following her, and she doesn't much care about them either.
• Adaptational Badass: Just like the Sisters of Twilight, Drycha is upgraded from hero-tier on the tabletop to lord-tier in-game. She also obtains a host of new rules based on fluff pieces, as well as a unique magic item.
• The Alcatraz: After the Questing Knight Calard of Garamont stabbed her in the chest with his sword, Drycha was banished to Cythral, a high realm in Athel Loren where Forest Spirits that are still hostile towards the Asrai are held. She escaped, and since then has been working to free her mentor Coeddil.
• Ax-Crazy: If her Madness Mantra of the names of all the spirits who have died and her genocidal hatred of any non-tree spirit sapient life didn't clue you in, her gleeful sadism in killing and tormenting anyone she deems an enemy (pretty much anyone who isn't a tree spirit, and even then only the ones who join her) should make it pretty clear.
• Bad Boss: To her elven underlings. Drycha only cares about the fates of her fellow Forest Spirits, and has no concern for the Wood Elves she enchants into fighting for her. This is reflected by their Expendable trait that shows she and other Forest Spirits don't care if they die or run away.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Drycha's elf units are under a mind-altering glamour, believing that they're marching under the orders of Queen Ariel, even if Drycha goes to war against other Wood Elf factions. Their clouded minds result in various stat debuffs, however, making them less effective in combat.
• Casting a Shadow: Drycha is a Branchwraith with the Lore of Shadows.
• Critical Status Buff: Her Fanatical Resolve will raise her attack state as her health goes down.
• Dark Is Evil: She has a purple sinister glow, the forest spirits under her have it too, includes bats, wolves and spiders in her armies, treats the Asrai under her as meatshields/cannon fodder, uses the Lore of Shadows, absolutely hates everyone who is not a forest spirit with murderous intentions... yep, definitively evil.
• The Dead Have Names: Drycha can unlock The Mantra of the Fallen, a Long List of names of all the forest spirits Drycha believes the elves have failed. This passive skill increases the leadership of Dryads in her army, while decreasing the leadership of enemy elves in the local region.
• Enemy Mine: She's willing to work with the Wood Elves despite her xenophobic, genocidal nature if Chaos starts getting too close for comfort.
• Evil Versus Oblivion: Much as she might despise non-Forest Spirits, she doesn't want the Apocalypse How that would ensue if the forces of Chaos had their way.
• Fan Disservice: Drycha has a fairly curvaceous body compared to the other Dryads and Branchwraiths but is still clearly an insane, brutal monster. That being said, she looks better than she did in tabletop artwork and as a model.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Drycha is not popular with the leaders of other groves. She starts with a reduction of -40 to diplomatic relations with all other Wood Elf factions. Even Durthu doesn't agree with the way she does things. Tellingly, she's also the only one who can't recruit Ariel.
• Gaia's Vengeance: Yes, all Wood Elf factions serve this trope to some degree, but Drycha goes far further with it than the other factions in that the Wargrove of Woe outright refuses most elven units to join their ranks and makes up for it with a unique selection of animals and malevolent forest spirits to fight for them, such as wolves, bats, giant spiders and giant hawks.
• Giant Spider: She can recruit units of giant forest spiders for her armies.
• Gone Horribly Right: In Throt the Unclean's campaign. Her gambit to betray Ariel to Throt is successful, finally ridding her of her most hated enemy and permanently breaking the Wood Elves. This leaves nobody to seal the portal to the Dreaming Wood, though, creating a permanent highway for Chaos and dooming the whole forest.
• Heel–Face Turn: Interestingly enough, in Mortal Empires, the Wargrove of Woe can be confederated by any other Wood Elf faction. However, this is a Downplayed Trope, since any alliance with the Wood Elves is likely Teeth-Clenched Teamwork at best.
• Lie to the Beholder: In order to recruit elves in her ranks, she cast a glamour spell on them that makes them believe they are fighting for their queen Ariel. However, this also makes the elven units less effective in combat due to their clouded minds.
• Madness Mantra: Drycha is quite unhinged and spends time repeating the names of forest spirits that died because of elves and humans.
• Mechanically Unusual Class: She can summon wild animals to round out her armies, her forest spirit units are redesigned to look more malevolent, and all her Wood Elf units operate at reduced levels of combat prowess and have the Expendable trait.
• Mouth of Sauron: She is this to the Ancient Treeman Coeddil, who is as xenophobic as Drycha, but still locked in Cythral.
• Oh, Crap!: Has a massive one at the end of both Twisted and the Twilight campaigns when she realizes Ariel is trying to seal a colossal portal to the Dreaming Wood and if she dies Athel Loren will be overrun by Chaos. It's enough that she attempts a Villainous Rescue despite being the one who told Throt that Ariel was there in the first place. Whether or not she's successful depends on which side the player is on.
• Power Nullifier: The Fang of Taalroth, a holy relic from the Cult of Taal, grants the Dampened effect to Drycha's attacks, reducing her enemies' magical resistance when in melee. Much like in the lore, Drycha's main quest involves stealing the Fang from the Empire and using it to nullify the waystones that guard Coeddil's prison.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: In the climax of her quest battle, Drycha proudly announces Coeddil's return in this manner, complete with camera zoom-ins on him as he marches out of his prison.
  Drycha: All will suffer our ancient! Vengeful! Wrath!
• Purple Is Powerful: She has a strong purple tint to her highlights and purple eyes, as do her unique "malevolent" variants of the normal forest spirit units.
• Savage Wolves: Her unique campaign units include packs of giant wolves, among other things.
• Token Evil Teammate: While the other Legendary characters in the Wood Elves roster are at best morally-ambiguous (except for Naestra), Drycha is outright villainous.

Legendary Heroes

Ariel

Ariel, the Queen in the Woods

"LIGHT! ENDLESS LIGHT!"

Immortal mage queen of Athel Loren and the avatar of Isha just as Orion is the avatar of Kurnous, Ariel is co-ruler of the Wood Elves alongside Orion. Unlike Orion, Ariel's form is constant and there has only ever been one. Ariel wields tremendous power over the forces of nature, and could weave them according to her will. She commands the trees of the forest to grow, and vegetation to spring forth from the ground. It is Ariel who weaves enchantments around the Forest of Loren to delay and mislead intruders, or lure them onwards to their doom.

When enemies enter the Forest of Loren, Ariel shifts shape into her sylph-like War Aspect. She grows almost twice the height of an ordinary Elf and unfolds huge wings like those of a gigantic moth, covered in tiny scales of shimmering, iridescent colours. Upon her wings are strange markings known as the Eyes of Isha, and the Spirals of Isha can also be seen in the patterns of her wings. Sometimes, Ariel's wings display the markings of the death's-head moth to indicate that she is enraged and in a vengeful mood. Moth-like antennas emerge from Ariel's head, but her face remains that of a beautiful she-Elf with piercing eyes. The upper part of her body is clad in shimmering scales of incandescent green, while the lower part trails away into infinity — like an ethereal or elemental being. She appears to glow with an inner light like the moon and trails raw magic in a shower of glittering stardust. In this form, Ariel can fly around the battlefield wielding her magic. The wafting of her huge wings over the heads of the enemy fills them with both dread and awe.

After having only existed as The Ghost since the original Realm of the Wood Elves DLC in Total War Warhammer, Ariel was officially introduced as a Legendary Hero with The Twisted and the Twilight DLC for Total War Warhammer II. She is available to all Wood Elf factions, excluding Drycha's.

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• The Ageless: Unlike Orion, who has to die and renew himself every year, Ariel is truly immortal and her health is bound to the forest itself. She can be killed through violence (Throt and Drycha are both trying) but it's not easy and would likely be disastrous for Athel Loren.
• Amazing Technicolor Population: She's blue, with green hair.
• Arch-Enemy: Ariel is the arch-nemesis of Morghur the Shadowgave, having battled (and banished) the immortal spawn of Chaos at least twice in the game's backstory. Morghur reciprocates, if only on an instinctual level, as he tends to make a beeline straight for Athel Loren whenever he is reborn.
• The Archmage: Ariel is one of the most powerful wizards on the face of the planet and probably the most powerful wizard in the whole of the Old World, manipulating Athel Loren with naught but her thoughts. The Cloak of Isha that Orion wears is made for him by Ariel every time he resurrects, and the attrition caused by non-Wood Elf armies in Athel Loren is partially thanks to her.
• Animal Motifs: Ariel looks like, and is frequently referred to as, a moth.
• Benevolent Mage Ruler: Certainly the more pleasant half of the Wood Elves' royalty, but she is not without her own faults.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Her eyebrows look like the antennae of a moth, to fit in with her moth/butterfly motif, and grow well beyond the borders of her face.
• Boring, but Practical: Ariel doesn't have the same sort of explosive firepower going for her that her closest mechanical counterpart Lord Kroak does and her unique abilities aren't amazing, but she has a solid if mundane spell lineup of cheap-to-cast spells and the Wood Elves get so many magic-related bonuses that she can spam those spells for several minutes without miscasting or running out of magic, giving most of her army significant bonuses and slowly damaging enemies for the whole battle.
• Deity of Human Origin: She was once a mortal elf, before becoming the living avatar of a goddess and the immortal mage-queen of her people.
• Foil:
  • To Alarielle and Morathi, her counterparts among the Asur and the Druchii. She serves as an on-call Legendary Hero while they are Legendary Lords in charge of their own factions. She's neither as openly villainous as Morathi nor as reasonably kind as Alarielle. They all similar positions of authority within their respective societies as well but go about them very differently. Like Alarielle she uses High Magic and Life spells and like Morathi she uses Dark spells.
  • Also, in a way, to Throt the Unclean. Both are associated with life and growth, but Ariel represents the natural world while Throt's methods of life and growth are extremely unnatural. While Throt loves to use his gifts to play God, even calling himself such while reveling in his accomplishments, Ariel actually is a goddess but doesn't openly flaunt it unless someone angers her. In combat, Ariel is a rather fragile mage while Throt is a tanky melee fighter. And finally, while Throt is not the leader of Clan Moulder but desperately wants to be, Ariel already is the leader of her people.
• The Ghost: In the first game, where she was occasionally mentioned in campaign events or diplomacy but never made a direct appearance.
• God-Emperor: The god-queen of the Deepwood and the living incarnation of Isha. Even Orion defers to her, as implied by some of his diplomacy lines.
• God in Human Form: She's the earthly avatar of Isha, the elven goddess of life.
• Green Thumb: One of her exclusive magic items in the tabletop game allowed her to instantly create forests, and in the lore she is mentioned to control much of Athel Loren's growth.
• Lady and Knight: The Lady to Orion's Knight.
• Large and in Charge: Ariel's war aspect was about three times the size of a normal elf on the tabletop (counting as a monster) and she looks to be about the same size in-game.
• Large Ham: In the trailer of The Twisted and the Twilight she delivers a booming and dramatic speech that would impress Galadriel.
  Ariel: Come my children and deliver nature's FUUUURY!
• Minor Major Character: Like Finubar, Ariel is the Wood Elves' political leader in peacetime. Also like Finubar, she is not present in-game at all. The Twisted and the Twilight DLC changes this if it is installed.
• Morality Chain: She is noted to be one of the few beings who can calm Orion. That said, she can get fairly vicious herself when defending Athel Loren and generally doesn't interfere in Orion's role.
• One Degree of Separation: Downplayed somewhat, but she actually had a sister named Allisara, who was the wife of Malekith, thus making Ariel the sister-in-law of the Witch King.
• Praetorian Guard: The Sisters of the Thorn, a mysterious band of Elven maidens who serve as an all-female cohort of deer-riding cavalry, harassing the enemy with poisoned javelins at range and supporting their allies with two bound spells, Shield of Thorns from the Lore of Life and The Curse of Anraheir from the Lore of Beasts. Ariel has campaign-exclusive skills which can buff them by increasing their casting ability and granting them the Perfect Vigour trait.
• Time Abyss: As the earthly avatar of Isha she is both spiritually and mentally as old as the elven race, and physically as old as her first manifestation during the War of Vengeance some 4,000 years ago.
• Voice of the Legion: Her voice has a natural echo.
• Winged Humanoid: Ariel's model depicts her as hovering over the ground with a set of gigantic butterfly wings.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Ariel draws her magic spells from Qhaysh, Ghyran and Dhar, the Lores of High Magic, Life and Dark Magic respectively.

Coeddil

Coeddil the Betrayer, Maddened Ancient

"Coeddil comes!"

Coeddil is one of the two Treeman Elders remaining within the realms of Athel Loren. It was Coeddil who, at the Battle of Anguish, scattered Morghur the Corruptor's forces and seized the beast himself, but his distrustful attitude of the Wood Elves is legend. He is so incredibly ancient that it is difficult to ascertain his motivation, for Coeddil has forgotten more than many younger beings — the Elves included — will ever know.

It is believed that Coeddil's defeat of Morghur also corrupted his soul, driving him and his Dryad handmaidens to stop Orion's rebirth in what would later be known to the Wood Elves as "The Betrayal". After a fierce and costly battle near the Oak of Ages, Ariel defeated Coeddil and banished him to Cythral, where a fence of waystones has kept him prisoner ever since.

Coeddil is a Legendary Hero available to Drycha, as a reward for finishing her main quest chain.

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• Absolute Xenophobe: He was always against allowing the elves to take refuge in Athel Loren, and since then his distrust and hatred against them has only increased to similar levels as Drycha's.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: Kind of. In game he is a reskinned Treeman. In tabletop lore however he is described as a really scary looking branch monster that stands out among his fellow Treemen.
• Adaptational Wimp: While lacking a model or rules, in lore Coeddil plays the role of The Man Behind the Man to Drycha. Here he is a Legendary Hero to Drycha's Legendary Lord, much like Ariel.
• The Alcatraz: He was imprisoned by Ariel in Cythral for attempting to prevent the yearly resurrection of Orion by slaughtering all of the Wild Riders.
• Ascended Extra: Unlike the Wood Elf characters, Coeddil does not have rules in any official Wood Elf army book but is an important character within the backstory of the Wood Elves.
• Cain and Abel: The Cain to Durthu's Abel, being far more xenophobic and vicious compared to Durthu. Durthu is A Lighter Shade of Black, being able to tolerate the presence of the Wood Elves and having once been a kind Treeman. Coeddil wants the Wood Elves completely eradicated and was completely against them coming into Athel Loren in the first place. At his best Coeddil was highly distrustful of them, now he is genocidal.
• The Corruption: Coeddil was always distrustful of the Wood Elves and always advocated for them to be removed, but it was only when Morghur's tainted blood was spilt on him that he went over the edge. His physical appearance also shows signs of corruption. And on top of that, he also have certain traits that allows him to spread Chaos corruption, showing that even after all those centuries, Morghur's mark on him still remains.
• Heel–Face Turn: Like Drycha, this is a Downplayed Trope. When not playing as the Wargrove of Woe, Coeddil can still be recruited by other Wood Elf factions but only if Drycha have not unlocked her unique item (i.e. before reaching rank 5, a difficult feat to pull off) or he was already recruited by the time her faction gets confederated. Likely Gameplayand Story Segregation, as unlocking Coeddil by doing Drycha's quest means that she will attack the Wood Elves to free him and it is unlikely that the Wood Elves would be fine with him walking free.
• Kill the God: Attempted and failed. During one of Orion's resurrection rituals, Coeddil attempted to permanently kill the demigod by slaughtering all the elves that could possibly used as a sacrifice, hoping to either kill them all and prevent Orion's resurrection or have him weak enough so he could be killed. Ariel managed to stop him, locking him away in Cythral.
• King Mook: He functions as one to the Ancient Treeman, having a unique colour-scheme and lacking a staff. He is able to use a combination of Beast and Dark magic and has a life drain effect around him when in combat.
• The Man Behind the Man: He plays this role to Drycha's Mouth of Sauron as he begins the campaign locked up in Cythral and needs to be freed.
• Mighty Glacier: He is a very good candidate at being the most powerful monster in the game, being even able to take on The Shredder of Lustria in a one-on-one fight. His greatest weakness, however, is his low speed, leading to him being a very good target for ranged units and artillery shots, something he doesn't have much of a counter against.
• Wreathed in Flames: Whatever corruption he went through seems to have given him an eternal smolder from within.

Others

Naieth the Prophetess

A renowned mage and seeress in the Asrai court, Naieth functions as the main quest giver and advisor to the Sisters of Twilight.

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• Ascended Extra: A weird case in that it crosses with Demoted to Extra. Naieth was a special character in the 4th edition Wood Elves army book, complete with her own special item and rules, but was Put on a Bus afterwards. This game brings her back, but only to serve as the Mission Control for Naestra and Arahan.
• Mission Control: In the Vortex campaign, she serves this role to the Sisters of Twilight.
• Nemean Skinning: She wears an elk skin as a headdress.
• Seers: Hence her title, though her main specialty is detecting subtle shifts in the flow of magic to warn Athel Loren of impending danger. In their campaign, the Sisters of Twilight were sent to the Witchwood in Naggaroth because of Naieth's divinations, as she sensed that a Chaos portal had opened there.

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