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 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. The title was eventually passed to Lireesa Windrunner, whose eldest daughter Alleria Windrunner was expected to inherit the position. Yet Alleria, who had always found little use for her people's traditions and expectations, chose to focus on more practical matters. Her sister Sylvanas Windrunner rose to become ranger-general in her stead.

During the Second and Third Wars, Sylvanas remained the ranger-general. Following her death at the hands of Prince Arthas, the Farstriders elected Halduron Brightwing as their new ranger-general.

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 not 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 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

• 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.
• Ranger generals existed in the Kaldorei Empire as evidenced with Ranger General Feleor of the Rooksguard.

Speculation

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

• Although Halduron was elected as Silvermoon's ranger-general after Sylvanas' death, the position may have originally been hereditary, passed down through the Windrunner family. With Sylvanas' death, Alleria's disappearance, and Vereesa's estrangement from Quel'Thalas, the Farstriders may have had to look outside the Windrunner family for their new commander.
• Lor'themar Theron was second-in-command to Sylvanas Windrunner during the Third War and some have speculated that he became the new ranger-general after her death. However, there isn't any source that specifically states this. In one of his humorous click-sayings in Heroes of the Storm, Kael'thas says that "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. However, this contradicts the Warcraft Encyclopedia, Kael made Lor'themar his regent shortly before leaving for Lordaeron, and Halduron was elected ranger-general around the same time.