Welcome to this week’s installment of Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week, wherein we shine a spotlight on strong women who inspire us. Now, this not only includes fictional female characters in geeky media but creators as well. These ladies are a prime example of female empowerment and how crucial it is for youth to have said example to follow.

Disclaimer: This post is full of spoilers for Blizzard Entertainment‘s World of Warcraft franchise. If you aren’t caught up with the game, I suggest playing through it first!

Tyrande Whisperwind

Fast Facts:
Tyrande saying goodbye to Ysera in World of Warcraft Legion

Tyrande saying goodbye to Ysera in World of Warcraft: Legion

Tyrande Whisperwind is the chosen high priestess of the goddess Elune and head of the Sisterhood of Elune. Alongside her lifelong mate, the archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, she is the face of the Night elf race. She has lived for over 10,000 years and watched as Azeroth has changed through war and rebuilding. After pushing back the Burning Legion and making a pact with the Dragon Aspects, Tyrande and her people became immortal. In return for this gift, the druids, including Malfurion, were expected to roam the Emerald Dream and help balance it. Tyrande went on to rule their people independently, only seeing her love in times of turmoil.

To protect her people, Tyrande formed the Sentinels and placed her adopted daughter Shandris Feathermoon into command. For the next few thousand years, Tyrande led her people with strength and compassion. When the Burning Legion returned alongside the Scourge, Tyrande unwillingly joined forces with the humans and orcs. During the war, the tree that gifted the Night elves their immortality was destroyed and, in turn, ended their pact with the Dragon Aspects. She decided to join the Alliance to protect her people and help Azeroth.

Things for Tyrande and the Night elves have remained quiet (in the Warcraft sense) until before the fourth war. In an attempt to take out one of the strongest Alliance races, Horde chieftain Sylvanas Windrunner attached and burned down the World Tree Teldrassil. This event kicked off the war and the two factions went head to head. Tyrande was unhappy with the turn of events with the war and made a pact with the goddess Elune to become the Night Warrior. This new power allows her to fight back against the Horde and take back their homelands. But this power comes at a cost, one that may end Tyrande’s life forever.

The Real Deal:

Tyrande Whisperwind is the real deal. For thousands of years, she led her people on her own through multiple wars. During this time, she learned everything she needed to lead her people through strength and compassion. When they lost their immortality, she agreed to align the Night elves with the Alliance to protect her people and be apart of the way Azeroth progressed. But what is more important is that Tyrande isn’t perfect. The decisions she makes might not be the choice others would make. But every choice she makes is with the belief that it is the best way to help her people. It drove her to become the Night Warrior to become strong enough to take down Slyvanas.

Why She Matters:
Tyrande facing off against Nathanos in the pre event for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

Tyrande facing off against Nathanos in the pre-event for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

Tyrande Whisperwind matters for so many different reasons. She is a strong female character in a male-dominated video game on the most basic level. Tyrande has led an entire race for thousands of years and for most of it, her male counterpart was sleeping. She is a powerful fighter with a range of skills that make her a threat to nearly everyone. But it isn’t just her brutal strength that helps her. She has one of the best tactical minds in World of Warcraft and has helped form battle strategies through multiple wars. But it isn’t just the great things that make Tyrande matter. It is her flaws that make her who she is. In World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, Tyrande is on a vengeance path that could very well end her life. But it’s her love for her people and her need to find them vengeance that drives her forward. It’s events like these that show us that even the strongest leaders can fall.

So be like Tyrande. Be a badass leader, stand by your people and fight for everything you believe in but remember that even the strongest leaders have flaws.

RELATED: Looking for another strong female crush? Check out our Geek Girl Authority Crushes of the Week here!

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Julia Roth
Catch Me
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