Moonwell

Moonwells are sacred pools of enchanted water maintained by the night elves. Their waters contain the power of the Well of Eternity and possess restorative and purifying properties. Moonwells are sacred to Elune and are revered as shrines by the Sentinels, while druids make use of the magical properties of their waters.

Moonwells are closely associated with night elven settlements and sacred places, but vary greatly in size and appearance. They can be found as secluded pools in the forests, in private gardens, and within elaborate temples. Although most numerous in the night elves' traditional lands of northern Kalimdor, moonwells have also been established in distant lands, such as in southern Eastern Kingdoms and even Outland.

Properties

Moonwells contain concentrated waters of the Well of Eternity. Drinking from them restores both physical strength and magical power. Their capacity is not, however, inexhaustible; additional water must sometimes be added to a moonwell. The night elves may establish additional wells as their needs increase.

The water remains magically potent after it is removed from a moonwell. Small quantities can be collected in phials and carried over great distances without losing their properties. Transported moonwell water has been used to affect enchanted objects, overcome magical protections, and cleanse the taint of the Scourge.

Moonwell water is also used as a magical reagent. The traditional purification of tainted felcloth into mooncloth can only be performed at a moonwell.

The influence of a moonwell can extend beyond the water itself. Trees whose roots reach a moonwell may take on some of its magic, their wood becoming tinged with blue, and plants growing near a moonwell may likewise absorb some of its energy. Moonwells also ease the magical addiction suffered by the high elves. Simply remaining close to one provides relief, while drinking directly from its waters can suppress the addiction for several days.

Replenishment

Moonwells may require periodic replenishment of their magical reserves.

The small amounts of water transported in phials suggest that replenishment does not ordinarily consist of replacing the entire contents of a moonwell. The magical potency of the added water may instead renew or reinforce that of the larger pool. A similar process may have occurred on a much greater scale in the creation of the second Well of Eternity: after the Great Sundering, Illidan Stormrage poured several vials of water preserved from the original Well into a mountain lake atop Mount Hyjal, whose waters were transformed into a new Well of Eternity.

Creation

A moonwell can be created by preparing a suitable pool and adding sacred water taken from another moonwell. Night elven masons and wisps may assist in preparing the site, while a priestess of the Moon oversees the work and blesses the completed well beneath the light of Elune. The well thereafter requires proper care and is treated as a sacred place.

Moonwells can be established far from the Well of Eternity, including beyond Azeroth itself, and therefore do not depend upon physical proximity to the Well. According to some accounts, ley lines may also be harnessed in their creation, and moonwells are among the sacred sites associated with these currents of magical power.

History

Moonwells predate the War of the Ancients and the destruction of the original Well of Eternity. The ancient night elves guarded their moonwells alongside their cities and regarded them as among the treasures of their civilization.

One such moonwell stood within an ancient temple of Elune at the site that later became Blackfathom Deeps. The Great Sundering submerged and buried the temple, but its moonwell survived. In later ages, corruption from the Old Gods seeped into the ruins and tainted its sacred waters.

Appearance

Moonwells have no single architectural form. At their simplest they are enchanted pools of luminous water. The moonwells scattered throughout Moonglade shine with a pale sapphire light into the surrounding forest canopy, while other accounts describe shimmering pools that glow blue at night and are often situated near great standing stones inscribed with ancient runes.

Within inhabited areas, a moonwell may form part of a garden, settlement, or sanctuary. Some are comparatively secluded and personal; the night elf priestess Selene maintained a moonwell within the private garden of her sanctum near Ashenvale. Others are surrounded by more elaborate stonework.

The greatest moonwells can form the centre of major religious sanctuaries. Within the Temple of the Moon in Moonglade, a great moonwell surrounded the statue of Haidene, the first High Priestess of Elune. Massive stone steps descended toward the pool, which glistened beneath moonlight entering through the temple's stained-glass skylight.

Corruption

The magic of a moonwell can be corrupted. Satyrs have tended moonwells tainted with demonic energy and such waters were said to transform night elves into new satyrs. At the Ruins of Constellas in Felwood, even brief exposure to the waters of a corrupted moonwell could physically alter an animal, causing a small saber kitten to grow dramatically in size and strength.

Demonic influence is not the only means by which a moonwell can be tainted. The ancient moonwell beneath Blackfathom Deeps was corrupted by the influence of the Old Gods. Corruption can also remain within water after it has been removed from its well.

Such corruption is not necessarily permanent. The water taken from a befouled moonwell can be cleansed through the intercession of water spirits, after which the purified moonwell water can still retain sufficient magical power to undo enchantments. Thus the power of moonwell water can survive both corruption and subsequent purification.

Religious significance

Moonwells are sacred places to the night elves and are particularly associated with the worship of Elune. The Sentinels revere them as shrines to the goddess, and moonwells are found both in the wilderness and within temples and sanctuaries devoted to her.

Their sacred character does not prevent their waters from being put to practical use. Druids draw upon their magical properties, travellers and spellcasters collect their waters, and night elven settlements maintain them as sources of restoration and magical power. The distinction between shrine and reservoir is therefore not absolute: a moonwell serves both purposes, joining the night elves' reverence for Elune and the Well of Eternity with the practical use of their sacred waters.