I've long been a strong supporter of very high levels of aesthetic detail: NPCs whom interact with one another, random event scripts which bring the city to life, and simple details crafted in such a way that they tell story as you look upon them. And that's what Silvermoon and the land of the blood elves does. Every corner seems to have something waiting for you. In the capital city, the streets are alive, every dark corner seems to have a secret, and every area has a theme. Consider Farstrider Square, where both the rangers and Blood Knights have established their bastions. While soldiers train and craftsman work in the corner's grounds, the NPCs set an intriguing stage through simple pieces of random dialouge. The Blood Knight Champion Vranesh throws condescending smirks toward the rangers; two iniates rant of the haughty attitude of their bowslinger neighbours while thirsting for prideful vengeance. Despite only being minor pieces of dialouge, as a whole it brings the corner to life with hinted themes of politics and drama between arrogant rangers and power-hungry Blood Knights.
The city is full of secrets as well. I was inside the Blood Knight keep when I accidently fell into a small hole in the ground - I had thought I would simply brush off the railing, not climb over top of it. But my surprise was quickly replaced with astonishment. Before my eyes was an massive and incredible being of light and runes being magically leeched upon my blood elves. It soon dawned on me. Hidden below the Blood Knight keep was the naaru the blood elves were leeching off of; it's how they were "stealing the Light". It was a stunning thing to behold. Eventually, after watching for some time, I followed the dark stair case out of the hall in which the naaru was imprisoned, and I came out in the same small Farstrider Square that I had been in for the last while, but through a small passage behind blue veiled curtains which I had not seen yet. And it's precisely that sort of design that creates the "secrets" of Silvermoon. By no means are they hard to find; I would of likely saw the entrance to the naaru's prison before long. But they're hidden enough that now and again they will surprise someone. Even if it doesn't happen to you, their existance paints both the blood elves and their city with a dark side just below the skin that lusts for power and pleasure at any cost.
The mention of pleasure brings me to another dark secret. Silvermoon has a hint of cruel Persion or Drow luxury in its design; beautifully decorative pillows, sheet, and curtains are everywhere. The first building I walked into I mistook for a harem, yet I would see many more rooms of similar excess before I left the city. This in itself is no secret - quite the opposite in fact - but like much of Silvermoon, things are never as simple as they appear. Later in my exploration of the city, I discovered the source of it all. The tailor guild was a simple enough building. It's full of what you'd expect: simple blood elf tailors, tables, and cloth materials. However, the far wall, though covered in blue vieled curtains, clearly opened into a small staircase. I passed through the curtains and made my way down into the basement. I don't know what I expected to find. Perhaps a typical storage room like most every other basement in Azeroth? Simply another room for blood elf craftsmen?
Enslaved leper gnomes being tortured into fueling the blood elf thirst for silk luxury by a cruel succubus demon. Most of the slave labor were busy, their noses to the wall and their eyes locked onto their work. Two slept on the ground nearby, but the succubus would occasionally walk over, whip one of the leper gnomes, and chase him over to a work station. Another sat in a cage hanging from the roof, with a piece of meat hanging right outside of it.
It's such details that bring Silvermoon to life.
