Ishnu-alah comes from Blizzard's Warcraft universe, where it is a traditional greeting in Darnassian, the language of the Night Elves. The phrase translates roughly to good fortune to you and is heard from Night Elf characters and NPCs in World of Warcraft. Players adopted it outside the game as a friendly in character hello in guild chats, forums and roleplay communities. Its gentle delivery and distinct elven sound kept it circulating among fantasy fans long after players first heard it in Azeroth.