Ranger-General

Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner

The unique title of Ranger-General (also known as the Ranger-General of Silvermoon, Ranger General of Quel'Thalas, or Ranger-General of the Farstriders, all occasionally written in lower case and with or without hyphen) is the title given to the commander of the Farstriders — the elite group of blood elf rangers of Quel'Thalas. The ranger-general is also the commander of all of Quel'Thalas' military forces and is in charge of Silvermoon's defenses. The current Ranger-General following Sylvanas Windrunner's death is Halduron Brightwing.

Background

The Farstriders is a small but highly skilled group of rangers. The organization can trace its roots back to the Troll Wars when a loosely affiliated band of high elf warriors occasionally worked together to defend Quel'Thalas. Roughly five hundred years ago, a group of similarly dedicated fighters formed and officially took on the name "Farstriders". Their mandate was to protect Quel'Thalas far beyond its actual borders and look after high elf interests all over Azeroth. The commander of the Farstriders was given a unique title: ranger-general of Silvermoon. The title itself predates the formal establishment of the Farstriders, and was first given to a legendary ranger named Talanas Windrunner.

Traditionally, the eldest scion of the Windrunner family was groomed to inherit the title; however, per Farstrider protocol, the investiture of prospective rangers-generals still required an election. Under Anasterian Sunstrider's kingship, the ranger-general was accorded an advisory seat on his councils, opposite Quel'Thalas' grand magister. This custom endured into the regency of Lor'themar Theron, whose ranger-general and grand magister also function as his advisors.

At the outset of the Great Wars, Lireesa Windrunner served as ranger-general. Tradition dictated that her eldest daughter succeed her, but Alleria, who had always found little use for her people's traditions and yearned to connect with the world beyond Quel'Thalas, feuded with her mother over the appointment and ultimately disinherited herself in favor of Sylvanas, her younger sister. When Lireesa was slain on a diplomatic mission to Eastweald, the Farstriders convened to eulogize their fallen leader and acknowledge their new one. In light of Alleria's departure to affiliate herself with the emergent Alliance, key Farstriders lauded Sylvanas' sole dedication to Quel'Thalas, but the younger Windrunner nonetheless proved a polarizing nominee whom certain rangers were reluctant to serve. Alleria returned to shame her sister's detractors and cast the first vote in her favor; Lor'themar Theron, the fallen ranger-general's second-in-command, then swore Sylvanas in with unanimous support.

During the Second and Third Wars, Sylvanas remained the ranger-general. The kingdom weathered the Burning of Quel'Thalas and the Scourge invasion under her generalship, the former in victory, and the latter in devastating defeat. Sylvanas fell in battle against Prince Arthas partway through the Scourge's onslaught, leaving Belo'vir Salonar, her opposite in the Magisters, to assume command of the defense of Silvermoon City and the Sunwell. In the aftermath of the carnage, Halduron Brightwing was named the new ranger-general of Silvermoon, and has served through the reclamation of Quel'Thalas and the fall of the Sunstrider dynasty.

Ranger-generals

• Talanas Windrunner - First ranger-general and original wielder of Thas'dorah.
• Alleria Windrunner - Mother of Lireesa and her predecessor as ranger-general.
• Lireesa Windrunner - Mother of the Windrunner siblings and Sylvanas' predecessor as ranger-general.
• Sylvanas Windrunner - Queen of the Forsaken - Served as ranger-general of Silvermoon during the Second and Third Wars.
• Halduron Brightwing - Current ranger-general of Silvermoon.
• Vereesa Windrunner - Though no longer part of the Farstriders or Quel'Thalas' military, she independently adopted the title "Ranger-General of the Silver Covenant".

Items

Several items reference the title:

•  [Band of the Ranger-General] (specifically mentioned to be the property of Sylvanas)
•  [Ranger-General's Chestguard]
•  [Oathbinder, Charge of the Ranger-General]

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

• Robes of Elven Kings were crafted specifically for the ranger generals. Only one set is known still to exist from that time: Those worn by Sylvanas Windrunner, who was the last of the Ranger Generals.

Notes

• It was customary for newly-elected ranger-generals to symbolically "take care" of the Farstriders by preparing a simple meal and offering the tray to every ranger they would lead into battle one day.
• Ranger generals existed in the Kaldorei Empire as evidenced with Ranger General Feleor of the Rooksguard.
• Oddly enough, the Tales of the Hunt mentions that Alleria "instead [of becoming ranger-general] became a Farstrider", even though the Ranger-General also leads the Farstriders.
• In one of his humorous click-sayings in Heroes of the Storm, Kael'thas says "They made Lor'themar ranger-general? Really? What next, are the blood elves becoming part of the Horde?" implying that before the blood elves joined the Horde, Lor'themar Theron was ranger-general. This is a particularly erroneous comment from Kael'thas: while Lor'themar served as second-in-command to consecutive ranger-generals, he was made regent lord by Kael'thas himself, necessitating his withdrawal from the Farstriders; it was Halduron Brightwing whom the Farstriders elected their new ranger-general.