Enter the Void (Elves)

You might notice that I've written a lot more about Void Elves than other Allied Races, but there's a good reason for this: Void Elves are the most unprecedented race they've ever added to the game. One could argue that Draenei give them a run for their money - back in 2007 (or probably 2005 when BC was announced, which notably didn't mention the Draenei) the only previous version we had seen was Akama and his Broken Draenei (then simply called "Draenei") in the Frozen Throne expansion (in fact, Akama had what we'd now call a "Lost One" model, which is like a Broken Broken Draenei.) The notion that these were the same people as the Eredar, but uncorrupted, only came about with BC and a fairly big accidental retcon (Sargeras was corrupted by the Eredar in the original lore, not the Nathrezim,) but one that I certainly think has been great for the game (Draenei forever!)

The only hints we got of the Void Elves were the fact that Alleria had been delving into Void magic to fight the Legion - all stuff we found out in a patch that also included the first hints at the Allied Races.

It's actually a bit odd (and, one could argue, somewhat shoe-horned in) that Alleria, a Hunter, would be doing this kind of experimentation. Her parallel-research counterpart, Magister Umbric, is presumably a mage, who would very likely be interested in researching all sorts of things.

But we don't really know the motivation here. Magical addiction was sated after the Sunwell was reignited, and now that it also emanates holy magic, we're even starting to see some Blood Elves in BFA having their fel taint removed, getting golden eyes rather than green (or arcane blue.)

So what's the deal? Why would this group of Blood Elves go for this very dangerous magic?

Let's be frank here:

People have been begging for Alliance High Elves since Blood Elves were first made a playable race. The problem is not lore: we've had small populations made playable races, and while the High Elves are definitely a small minority (sticking to the old name and rejecting the Illidan/Kael'thas Fel magic era) one could hardly imagine that the Void Elves are any larger.

So while yes, the Alliance does have true High Elves among their ranks, they are NPCs only. The reason for this is that they just look too similar to Blood Elves. Consider the following two scenarios:

Blizzard gives the Alliance one more race than the Horde, unbalancing the factions. Cue outrage from Horde players.

Blizzard gives the Horde a brand-new, or perhaps Allied Race - but a more profound variant like the Nightborne - and the Alliance is underwhelmed by the very minor visual distinction they get.

So rather than High Elf, they gave us Void Elf, and cooked up a justification to make some blue/purple elves that looked distinct enough from Blood Elves to feel like a true Allied Race (though I'd argue Highmountain Tauren are pretty damn close to the original model.)

But I don't really blame Blizzard for doing something like this. Oftentimes kludgy solutions to existing problems generate a lot of interesting story. Let me remind you of the problem with the Draenei when they were introduced as a playable race - if it hadn't been for that error and subsequent retcon, we never would have gotten the drama of returning to Argus, having Velen confront the man he thought of as a brother, and the fleshing out of the Burning Legion as something that didn't just destroy, but recruited.

So yes, I'll come out and say that it's weird that a Hunter, even one so experienced as Alleria, would be the one to pioneer and master the power of the Void, and that she just so happened to do return to Azeroth while a group of Blood Elves were doing the same thing, but now that we've got that in the lore, Blizzard needs to do the due diligence of exploring just what it means to be a Void Elf.

The other Allied races all have some pre-existing content to show what their lives are like. Maybe the Lightforged are kind of thin, but we can at least assume that they live a very regimented lifestyle and have been at war for so long that it's the only thing that feels natural to them.

But given that we've never seen the Void as anything except utter chaotic evil, with Shadow Priests tolerated in society just about as well as Warlocks are (Forsaken being the exception,) we really need to get a feel for who the Void Elves are.

First off: What sort of person becomes a Void Elf?

The Void Elves are volunteers, delving into extraordinarily dangerous magics in a way that Blood Elf society - the same that happily embraced fel magic to sate their magic addiction - consider taboo. What made them feel they needed power, and what made them accept this avenue to power?

How many are there?

We're told that the High Elves like Vereesa are an incredibly small minority, such that Blizzard basically says "if you want to play a High Elf, that's what Blood Elves are there for." But does this mean then that Void Elves are a larger population? What in Blood Elf society led to such a huge number of people embarking on this utterly dangerous quest?

What is day-to-day life for a Void Elf like?

Did Void Elves bring their kids? Are there going to be little Void Elf children running around, sprouting tentacles occasionally? Do the Void Elves actually live in Telongrus Rift? (Which, by the way, is heavily implied to be the planet Sargeras cut in half, meaning that on top of void corruption there's also a dead titan embryo floating among the ruins.)

What does the Alliance think of them?

Lightforged Draenei joined the Alliance the same time the Void Elves did. We're talking literally black and white (or I guess purple and yellow,) and while I think the vast majority of the Alliance is fine or even eager to have the Lightforged join their ranks (most Alliance societies have some form of Light worship) wouldn't the Void elves be literal anathema to their religious beliefs? And on top of that, what about the fact that until recently, these guys were members of the Horde? The Horde does have some former Alliance races in their ranks (like the Blood Elves, for example,) but the Alliance has never inducted former members of the Horde into their ranks. Between the Void and the Horde, there's a lot of reason for the Alliance not to trust the Void Elves.

What do they think of the Alliance?

Let's be clear: there's resentment amongst the Blood Elves toward the Alliance. They felt abandoned in the Third War, and some might associate the Alliance with Arthas and his attack. Now granted, if they've been willing to get along with the Forsaken, it would seem illogical to blame the Alliance for Arthas. But they can blame it for Garrithos. They're also not very happy with their treatment at Jaina's hands in Dalaran, even if Khadgar and the other members of the Council of Six restored the Blood Elves to the city. And all those things happened when the Void Elves were Blood Elves. Hell, your Void Elf character might have been locked up in the Violet Hold by Jaina back during Mists. And now you're expected to be buddies with her.

What do they bring to the Alliance?

Admittedly, the main thing that any new race brings to the game is a new archetype to play as. I'm going to get a little spoilery, so if you don't want anything about the Siege of Lordaeron scenario at the beginning of BFA revealed, skip down. Basically, when the Alliance is cornered, Alleria shows up with Mekkatorque and brings in a bunch of backup troops through Void portals. Now, is transportation really the main thing that they're bringing? I really want to get a better sense of what benefits they're getting from their void delving.

What are they bringing to WoW?

The biggest thing, of course, is what the addition of the Void Elves brings to World of Warcraft? I do think we need to see more of and flesh out the Void as a cosmic force. The Void Elves are in a unique position to do so, seeing as they are the only race who are inherently connected to it. We just need to see them do so.