Who the Skyborne are: Highborne exiles on an island in Skywall

The Skyborne are a completely new elven people. They call themselves the Shandori, the Hidden People, and their story starts in Eldre'Thalas, the city we know as Dire Maul.

After the War of the Ancients, Prince Tortheldrin kept his Highborne going with more and more dangerous demonic power. A group of rebels tried to stop him. They got in his way but lost, and the survivors fled west across the sea with his forces behind them. Out there they met primordial wind spirits, who lifted a large part of their island into the sky and anchored it in Skywall, the Elemental Plane of Air.

They lived there on their own for about 10,000 years, and Skywall changed them. Their appearance, agility, skin tones, hair and eyes are all different from any elves we've met.

Now that home is coming apart. The benevolent wind spirits have disappeared, the ancient pylons holding Zephras Isle in Skywall are failing, and parts of the island are collapsing or falling into darkness. Three groups want to decide what happens next. The Windshapers are spiritual and shamanistic, stay loyal to the elemental traditions and eventually join the Horde. The High Order descends from Highborne magisters, sees the crisis as a chance to be free of the spirits and joins the Alliance. And a hostile cult of Al'Akir the Windlord is using the spirits' absence to spread fear and grab territory.

On either faction, Skyborne can be Warriors, Hunters, Rogues or Druids. Horde Skyborne can also be Shaman, and Alliance Skyborne can be Mages. They get their own Druid forms, voices, dances, customization options and racials. Blizzard hasn't explained what the racials actually do yet, so treat the demo values in the racial abilities guide as a first look.

Zephras Isle is a self-contained starting experience from level 1 to 12. Once you leave, you aren't expected to keep going back there to raid or farm. It's a small, deliberate taste of the Elemental Plane before you land in regular Azeroth. Playing a Skyborne needs the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition.