It started as so many romances do, with a war. Alleria Windrunner, Ranger General of Quel'thalas answered the call from the Kingdom's human allies to provide troops to fight the Horde. Turalyon was the youngest member of the brand new Order of the Silver Hand. In the First War, the Alliance had been badly beaten by the Horde: the city of Stormwind had been burned, and the survivors fled north to Lordaeron. The government in exile of Stormwind, was technically headed by seven year old Varian Wrynn. In reality though, it was the knight Anduin Lothar who had shouldered the burden of leadership and he was determined to get revenge. So, he started another war.
This is how Turalyon met Lothar, and Lothar took an interest in the young paladin. Turalyon reminded him of himself when he was younger and less experienced: so Lothar figured that with a little experience he could make a good successor. Lothar had no sons, or at least none that he knew of. The first war with the Horde had distracted him from finding a wife, not that he was the sort of man who would have ever settled down with a single woman. In that way, Turalyon was different. The other way that Turalyon was different was his commitment to the Church of the Light's doctrine. One of the doctrines of the church, was that the Light shone on all creatures. Turalyon reasoned, that ought to include orcs. They might be political opponents, but why should the Light take sides in a war between mere mortals? His doubts made him unable to use the Light well, at least in an offensive manner. Unlike many of the other soldiers, Turalyon couldn't bring himself to hate the orcs although he would acknowledge they were distasteful and strange.
Alleria was the first to learn to hate the orcs. Partway through the war, they snuck around the Alliance army and struck a deal with the age-old enemy of the elves, the Amani trolls. They killed her father and brother, and many other elves. They broke one of the Runestones which kept Quel'thalas safe. Although this event caused King Anasterian to give Alleria more troops, it was hardly enough to make up for the harm they had caused. She slaughtered hundreds of orcs and trolls by herself, and pushed the rest into traps laid by her sister Sylvanas and the Rangers. When she could find no more enemies, she finally allowed herself to grieve. In her misery she wandered without thought, and her body took her to Turalyon's tent. He cared for her, and shared in her pain. That was when she truly started to notice him: his calm demeanor, his caring heart, and his good looks.
Not long after, Lothar and Turalyon were fighting side-by-side. Lothar faced off against none other than the Warchief, the leader, of the Horde: the one they called Blackhand. He was big and strong and a good fighter, and he overwhelmed Lothar. He struck Lothar down and broke his massive sword as if it were a twig. Turalyon had just finished healing a comrade, and turned to see his friend dead. It was at that moment that he realized: it wasn't necessary to hate the enemy, it was enough to love his comrades. The Light came to the aid of the paladins because they loved the Alliance, not because they hated the Horde. He flew into a rage, and the Light came to him as it never had before. Wings like an eagle's made of golden light appeared on his back and turned his brown eyes golden, and with Lothar's broken blade he struck down Blackhand. The Horde lines collapsed, and the Alliance army routed them. Those who surrendered, they put in internment camps. Those who did not surrender remained hunted. The whole of the Alliance army saw Turalyon's fury, including Alleria. Alleria looked on it with joy. Turalyon formed the Sons of Lothar, a group dedicated to exacting revenge for Lothar's death. Alleria volunteered, so did Kurdran Wildhammer, Lord Danath Trollbane, and Khadgar the wizard. They made preparations to go through the Dark Portal to the world of the orcs.
Meanwhile, Alleria finally confessed her feelings to Turalyon. She had realized on that night when she went to him for comfort, that he was utterly awestruck by her. This was not surprising of course. Like all elves she was beautiful, graceful, and had the wisdom of a long life. But when he replied she learned that it was not simply those qualities which had attracted his attention. She had shown up to support the Alliance, even when the rest of her people were reluctant. That showed commitment and generosity that were unusual for her kind. He valued those qualities far more than an elf would have. It was not long before they no longer had words to express their desire for each other. Not long before Turalyon gave himself to her, and she carried a half-elven child in her womb. It was also not long before they needed to leave to go through the Dark Portal. They waited until the child was born, knowing that the homeland of the orcs was no place for a child. They named her son Arator, and left him in the care of Alleria's sister Vereesa. Then they went through the portal and were greeted with a world on the brink of death. The only thing to do was jump through one of the other portals and hope it didn't lead to a Legion prison planet. Alleria and Turalyon watched as Draenor exploded on the other side of the portal. But the Draenor they were standing on remained. They had found an alternate timeline.
Alleria and Turalyon received a visit from X'era, the Prime Naaru. She told them of her plan to destroy the Burning Legion and they agreed to help her. Turalyon even agreed to become Lightforged through a holy ritual. This would grant him even greater power, power he would need in order to command the older and abler Draenei (fantasy race of blue goat people, no nobody knows what Blizzard were smoking). That was why X'era had chosen him, he had the ability to command well. Alleria did not agree to become Lightforged, preferring to rely on her bow and her own skills. This was fine, her skills never failed her. She was perfectly able to support Turalyon and the Army of the Light as they became known. She certainly had no trouble taking down the demons that made up the Burning Legion. From their own perspective, Turalyon and Alleria fought the Legion for a thousand years (time-travel shenanigans happened). Turalyon's transformation into a Lightforged made him as immortal as his wife, able to be killed with weapons but not by old age. They began to stop counting the years.
Then Alleria had some encounters with the void, an enemy of the Light or so it was claimed. X'era got mad at her, imposing penalties on her as she began to experiment with the void. Alleria did not understand why, and X'era's explanations made no sense. Turalyon didn't quite know why either, but he trusted X'era's judgement more than Alleria did. Things came to a head when Alleria used void powers under the instruction of an ethereal. X'era locked her in the ship's prison. Turalyon however, did not get mad at her and begged X'era for her release. His practical command instincts kicked in, and prevented him from being as blind as X'era. He saw the use of these powers, the ways in which they covered the weaknesses of the Light. He supported Alleria in her quest to learn more about the void, even as he cautioned her to be careful of her sanity. Eventually Alleria learned how to anchor herself so that the void could not take over her mind: her love for her son Arator allowed her to see what visions were real and which were fake. Even though he could no longer touch her without agonizing pain, Turalyon still loved her. She did grow in her void powers, eventually absorbing the power of a dying Naaru which had gone dark in it's torment. Yet even as she heard the whispers of the void, her heart remained true to her shining husband and beloved son. She saw Arator again, when the heroes of Azeroth finally came to defeat the Legion once and for all. He challenged her decision to leave him, but was willing to reconnect with her. He had grown into a great paladin, with the help of the Highlord of the Silver Hand (the paladin player). Together, Turalyon and Alleria led the charge to defeat the Legion: and Alleria started to fight to keep the void in check as well.
Together, they rejoined the Alliance: as the leaders of two different racial factions. Turalyon leads his fellow Lightforged, even though they are mostly draenei while he is a human. He has largely left behind the man he was during the Second War, and identifies himself more strongly with these people now: besides which they need his leadership, he's the only leader they have ever known. Alleria leads a group of Thalassian elves dissatisfied with the current leadership and their peoples' superstitions about the void. Alleria's reputation allows them to be brought into the Alliance, which otherwise would not have accepted them as members because of their connection to a Horde society. The idea of this power couple ever divorcing is ludicrous: it's not even clear that divorce is possible under the laws of the Alliance. Yet they have grown apart. They have taken their own paths towards different destinies: becoming father and mother to different nations, and embracing what seem to be opposing cosmic forces.
This is not something I ever remember seeing in a story before. Indeed it is an idea that our society still finds very hard to accept: the idea that a woman and a man can have totally distinct passions and still be happily married. The idea that you can sacrifice your own comfort or pleasure, to allow someone you love to pursue their passion when you don't share that passion. Turalyon is content with the Light, and his relationship to it. Yet he sacrifices the pleasure of physical intimacy, no small thing, for her advancement. He does not share her interest in the void, but he loves her. What does that mean? it means he wants her to succeed: regardless of her chosen path. It means he puts her happiness over his own, regardless of what she defines as happiness. That is what love is.
Indeed the lore and mechanics of the game question the very dichotomy our culture likes to set up in these cases. We ask the woman in a marriage to sacrifice for her man: to move to better accommodate his job, to cut her hours to provide childcare while he spends the time advancing himself, to see to the household's food even when he's the one who drives by the store on the way home. Yet, society in no way advances a woman who does this. Quite aside from feminists getting angry at her (which is a whole different topic), this woman doesn't really receive the honor she should get from her husband or society at large. If a man does the same thing, society is even harsher: ostracizing and bullying him endlessly. But for Turalyon, his sacrifice is actively empowering. His will to sacrifice for those he loves, whether Alleria, the Alliance, his son, or the Lightforged, is what enables him to use the Light in the first place. X'era's disagreement notwithstanding, for Turalyon supporting Alleria is as much a part of his chosen path as fighting the Legion. Love leads people to be willing to sacrifice for each other. There is nothing wrong with that. One might even say, that's the point. People who are willing to make sacrifices out of love should be advanced by society. Otherwise we have a society that teaches people not to love.
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