San'layn

San'layn, otherwise translated to "Those Who Walk the Crimson Path" in thalassian, are a lineage of elven vampyrs that stem from Kael'thas Sunstrider, the first vampyr raised with the necromantic magic of the dread blade Frostmourne. Unlike many vampyrs that appeared in myth and stories, the San'layn are a rarity among vampyric undead in that they frequently operate together as a faction and a culture, instead of solitarily as observed in other instances of vampyrism.

History

When Frostmourne was hurled through the incomplete Dark Portal during its opening on Draenor, it made its way to Azeroth, but many miles off target where it impaled the mother tree of Quel'thalas, Thas'alah. The corrupting, necromantic magics of Frostmourne killed the mother tree and turned the area around it into a frozen, dead grove that would be known as Deatholme. The Burning Legion sought to reclaim the blade, and the dreadlord Mal'Ganis along with a contingent of other orcs and demons was sent to retrieve the sword. However, Mal'Ganis had schemes of his own, and he began to taunt the elf-king Kael'thas Sunstrider, which in turn goaded the elf king and several of his most trusted followers to also pursue the runeblade in order to keep it out of the Legion's hands.

The race for the sword resulted in a final conflict in the dead grove of Deatholme, where Mal'Ganis had sought to consume Kael'thas's soul and use his body as a puppet to both wield Frostmourne and command the elven people. However, before Mal'Ganis could complete his plan, Lana'thel Dawnseeker took up Frostmourne in an act of desperation. The price the blade took appeared to be the soul of Kael'thas, as the elf-king's body went limp in Mal'Ganis's hands before he could successfully claim it for himself, but in return, Lana'thel was able to defeat the dreadlord and send Mal'Ganis back to the Twisting Nether. The rest of the Legion-loyal forces fled, their prize now out of their grasp.

Lana'thel used the power of Frostmourne to resurrect Kael'thas as the first San'layn, and he in turn was able to turn the elves that had been grievously injured in the quest for Frostmourne into vampyrs, including his best friend, Rommath Pyrewing, who had been fatally wounded by a returned Dar'khan Drathir when the elven traitor returned to pursue his own agenda in manipulating the circumstances around Deatholme. Dar'khan himself was then killed by Kael'thas, and his charred, skeletal corpse was raised into undeath to serve the people he had betrayed.

It was quickly discovered that the wood of the dead trees of Deatholme could be used to create resting places for the San'layn, which enabled them to be more mobile than many other vampyrs. This allowed many of them to join an expedition to Northrend, as Lana'thel had felt a draw towards the northern continent and believed they could perhaps find salvation for their people there.

Description

San'layn look very similar to their still-living kin, but they have subtle traces of their undead nature in the form of their pronounced canine fangs, pallid complexions, and the presence of more pronounced claws. Some San'layn, like other vampyrs, also started to acquire more prominent mutations, namely the presence of broader, more bat-like ears which is further exaggerated by the size of normal elven ears.

San'layn that were starved of blood and anima began to show their undead nature more prominently, as their flesh would wither and become tight to their bones, their claws would become more exaggerated, their lips would draw back to fully reveal extended fangs, and their eyes would become sunken, which would given them a much more distinctly desiccated appearance. San'layn in this state would become much more feral and unpredictable, as the unrelenting Hunger and drive to survival would take over and compel them to feast on as much blood as possible.

Culture

Spawned in the wake of the invasion that destroyed the elven capitol of Silvermoon and killed many of their people, many San'layn have a vicious thirst for vengeance and a loyalty to their people that has enabled them to freely work with one another on a level that is otherwise unprecedented amongst the stories of vampyrism. Elven vampyr spawn are exceedingly rare amongst San'layn, as most of them immediately relinquish control over elves they raise and allow them to fledge into fellow free-willed San'layn.

Anima Manipulation

Velameestra Windrunner introduced the concept of directly manipulating the anima, or life energy, of living things after she acquired the secrets of how to do so from a mysterious benefactor in exchange for forgetting the true name of the dreadlord Tichondrius. Feeding directly upon the anima of living creatures instead of the scarce amounts that could be gained from drinking their blood made feeding both more efficient and more feasible, as sustenance no longer required directly feeding on sapient creatures for those that could manipulate anima. This knowledge also paved the way for other innovations, including the concept of runeblades that could collect the anima of those the weapons injured or slew.

Organizations

Factions of San'layn have started to appear in various elven organizations where they serve as specialize strike forces due to their resilience and undead abilities. Most notable of these groups are the Blood Knights of the Guardians of the Eternal Spring, and the Dark Rangers of the Farstriders. Many San'layn magisters take on the mantle of Blood Mages, though this is not a San'layn specific title, and instead applies to all Sin'dorei that have acquired a mastery over blood magic and anima manipulation.

Notable

Trivia

• While not a firm rule, there was a tendency for San'layn to develop more mutations the further in lineage they were from Kael'thas. This is evident in that Kael'thas himself, and vampyrs he sired directly such as Alleria Windrunner and Rommath Pyrewing, looked largely as they did in life aside from the traits evident in all vampyrs. However, Velameestra Windrunner, who was sired by her aunt Alleria, eventually developed wider, more bat-like ears.
• The color of a San'layn's eyes could be used as a mood indicator as most of the time they are were same color as they were in life. However, in a heightened state, they could involuntarily shift to a reddish glow, which could betray their true nature. Some San'layn were better able to hide this tendency than others.

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Warcraft Creature Types
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Undead Creatures
Corporeal	Abomination (Flesh Giant • Fleshshaper • Plague-dog) • Crawling Hand • Deathcharger • Deathroc • Dullahan • Frost Vrykul • Geist • Ghoul • Homunculus • Lich • Mummy • Nightscreamer • Shadehound • Skeleton • Undead Dragon (Bone Drake • Emberwyrm • Frostwyrm • Magmawyrm) • Vampyr (San'layn) • Zombie (Vargul)
Incorporeal	Banshee (Farshee) • Shade • Spectre • Wisp • Wraith

This page was last edited on March 03, 2024, at 09:19 AM

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