Is M'uru faking it?
by Mike Schramm 
Feb 5th 2007 at 1:08PM
We've already wondered if the Draenei are too good for their own good, and now there's a theory floating around about the other faction's new race: it could be that the Blood Elves are being fooled.Inside their capital city of Silvermoon, in the Court of the Sun, you can find a Naaru (ethereal being of Light, there's lots of them in Shattrath, too) being held captive by the Blood Elves. This is how they're using the Light (to become Paladins and generally wreck havoc with Warcraft's lore) for their own purposes, by holding the Naaru named M'uru captive and draining his power.
But Naaru are pretty darned powerful (even Khadgar, if you talk to him, sounds impressed with what they've got), and so a few players, Arlia of Bloodscalp included, hypothesize that M'uru might not be completely on the level about being "captured." Maybe he's just playing possum-- though for what purpose we're not sure. It could be to study the Blood Elves, or to bring them to the Light eventually. Or there's the possibility that "M'uru" is not a Naaru at all, and the Blood Elves don't have exactly what they think they have.
Though it's true we can't know for sure from the lore available now, a few players say that what we see is real: the Blood Elves used to be the High Elves, and are just "magic badasses," capable of draining whoever they want, especially a magical form like the Naaru. But it would be very interesting if this Blood Elf-Naaru relationship was not what it seems.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blood Elves, Lore, NPCs
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Flit Feb 5th 2007 1:45PM
One of the things that I think the expansion did was build a foundation for future world events (hopefully). The Aldor/Scryer relationship and conflict in a single city, the BE manipulation of these powerful beings, and several other things that could possibly be exploited in the future (anyone for a battleground between aldor/scryer, and hence, alliance working with horde?)
Maybe just wishful thinking...
TwhiT Feb 5th 2007 8:24PM
what i wanna know is if Silvermoon gets raid by the allys, and the allys kill the guys holding the Naaru in place, whats gonna happen? lol will the Naaru get loose and kill everything or is it just a farce, and it'll attack the allys as soon as it gets "free".......gotta wonder......
Apocolipto Feb 5th 2007 2:09PM
Well from what i got from the intro and what iv read, Blood elfs were the High elfs that controled the greatest Magic powers in the "world" of warcraft untill there beloved sun well was destroyed, now there pissed cuz there powers are limited and they just want to have all the power in the world. So im guess m'uru is really being drained for power. I think they are only apart of the horde because they are easy to manipulate, I mean They were High elfs before there power source was destroyed. Im sure they were pretty smart foke. So orc, and trolls are probly not to hard to convince. give them a shiny object and they'll do whatever you want.
But ya I think the blood elfs could possibly be there own Class if they had the power of the sun well again.
Zuuler Feb 5th 2007 2:20PM
I think the whole thing got its start with alliance pallys whining that the horde could be pallys too.
Way back when it seems like the BE were allowed to be pallys simply because they used to be in the alliance, thus having access to paladin trainers, and they also used to serve the light.
I am sure some alliance paladins complained about this, saying the BE turned away from the light, so they shouldn't be allowed to be paladins.
In response to this, Bliz added the M'uru back story to make it look like the BE were being bad, thus making alliance pallys feel better about being "good" pallys.
So... if the BE turned away from the light, and paladin's are draining M'uru for their powers over the light, where do BE priests, and any horde priest for that matter, get their powers over the light?
The inconsistency here makes me believe M'uru was an afterthough, much like the Draenei being decended from a race that helped form the Burning Legion and also being anatomically different from any other Draenei in the game. As well as their complete lack of background in any previous lore of Draenor.
In the end though, I think it makes a much more interesting storyline to be followed with the BE pallys. Alliance pally's don't get much like that. So if M'uru was added as a response to crying alliance pallys, I think it backfired as BE pallys now have a better story behind them.
Nerf Uther.
Nerf Lothar.
Nerf 'em All.
Aaron Nowack Feb 5th 2007 4:18PM
Hypothetically, imagine that the Draenei had warlocks, and the justification for it was that they had captured a lord of the Burning Legion and were stealing its power to use for their own, good ends. Would there be any doubt that - regardless of whether the demon lord originally intended to be captured - its power would ultimately corrupt at least some of the Draenei warlocks?
M'uru may or may not have been intending to be captured, but it would not surprise me if he was allowing the Blood Knights to tap his power, hoping to turn at least some of them back to the Light.
Chris M Feb 5th 2007 4:33PM
Zuuler, I was half expecting you to say 'OMG Nerf M'uru!'
All jokes aside, I think it's a hoax. I mean, I know it doesn't stand for much; but M'uru is one big... thing in Silvermoon. It's not like he's a puny gnome. I 'accidentally' fell down the hole in the center of the Blood Knight training hall, and thought I was falling to my death when I fell through M'uru. I looked up, and saw this huge-arse... thing, titled 'M'uru'. That was enough go scare me. lol
Tried to buff him to see what happened, no dice.
Anyway, I think the Naaru are way too powerful to be enslaved by mere mortals such as the former High Elves. As lore says, even the weakest Naaru can level cities without batting an eye. The thought that the Blood Elves managed to capture and contain M'uru and absorb his power? Sorry, not hitting any dice here.
Chris
Deusirae Feb 5th 2007 5:13PM
Zuuler...Must have gotten your rear-end beat down pretty hard by some Alliance Paladin for a post like that to come out. Sorry if it was me. I would not want to create that kind of turmoil in a person on purpose. That whoopin' was just a game. Nothing personal. Sorry man.
Zuuler Feb 5th 2007 7:38PM
Me? beat by a pally? Only if he had some help, I'm a lock.
When I was lvl 58, I was capping towers in EPL. I ran across a lv 60 pally in tier 2 gear. Came really close to winning that one. Had he been wearing comparable pre-60 gear he would have been a pally shaped splat in EPL.
I just like saying nerf everyone since everyone else says nerf locks since they lack the skill to develop a lock killing strategy. I've already found my way around the rogues cloak of shadows, even killed 1 rogue. CloS does not equal IWIN for me.
Really though, I do remember back in August reading something from Bliz saying BE could be pallys because they used to be in the Alliance and kept some of the teachings.
After a lot of crying from Alliance pallys, the story got changed.
Nerf M'uru.
Quills Feb 5th 2007 7:43PM
Not descended from, ARE. They are untainted Eredar. If you look them up in WoWiki there is plenty of info on the anatomical differences between the Draenei, Lost Ones, Broken and tainted Eredar.
RogueJedi86 Feb 5th 2007 10:59PM
For that matter, do the Naaru even have attacks? I looked at the Naaru in the Exodar and mobinfo said it had something like 330,000 mana. If you judge by that, it'd have to be very powerful.
On a related note, has anyone even tried raiding the BE or Draenei capitals yet?
Zuuler Feb 6th 2007 7:21AM
@8
Yes there is plenty of information on that NOW. Before the only Draenei to exist in the warcraft universe were the broken, and I don't believe any mention of them being related to the eredar was made until the expansion.
Since you're so found of wowwiki, go there and search for ret con, or retcon, I don't remember how they spell it. That will explain the places Bliz went back and changed the lore so they could make something in the game make sense. You'll find something interesting. Prior to Draenei being added as a playable race, the eredar were a race of demons (note they were already demons) that Sargeras defeated, and later recruited into the burning legion. Bliz "retconned" this to add the draenei, saying the eredar were a peaceful race, and that part of their society was corupted by Sargeras to form the burning legion, and the other part escaped to become the draenei.
The anatomical differences between draenei, lost ones, and broken didn't happen untill after the destruction of Draenor, meaning draenei existed during all previous warcraft games, but only made appearances as broken and lost ones. So were were the draenei?
They didn't exist, bliz created them and retconned a major portion of lore to explain were they came from. They are the race that has had the least impact on the world of azeroth and on all warcraft games. Basically, bliz needed a race so they created it, just like they needed a way to explain how BE got pally powers without making ally pallys cry.
Linear Feb 6th 2007 9:53AM
I'd say the situation with M'uru is suspect on the basis of there being a portal to Silvermoon right in Shattrath, the base of operations for the Sha'tar and their allies. So the Naaru have the means to learn about and even physically access the place where one of their own is captured against its will. For that matter, not sure what it means to the Naaru when they see blood elves running around as Paladins, I guess they just assume they've embraced the 'Light'.
It only gets messier when you consider that Kal'Thaes is one of the major villains of Outland, who is essentially responsible for capturing and sending M'uru back to Silvermoon. From the perspective of the player, as a member of the Horde, you're not supposed to be allied to Kal'Thaes, what's more you'll just end up 'working against him' through quests and instances even as a Bloof elf Paladin. There's just something odd about that.
Dewbie Feb 6th 2007 4:22PM
Anybody find the Naaru imprisoned inside the giant crystal in Nagrand? no? That zone is practically within spitting distance of Shattrath, and the naaru don't know about it.
As a whole I mistrust the naaru... e.g. why do they encourage that little Aldor/Scryer war? Why is everybody always acting elitist/classist about the Lower City? Seems like there's a lot of undesirable qualities in their followers -- fanaticism being one of the ugliest. But hey, I play a warlock, so what do I know?
@12: The Blood Elves on Azeroth have little contact with Kael, just a promise of paradise in Outlands. Those that make the pilgrimage find out that they've just been tooled, and take up the fight against him. That's the story, anyway...
Linear Feb 7th 2007 1:56AM
@13
I'm aware of the naaru within Oshu'gun. K'ure helped guide the Draenei to Draenor, the crash weakened him and he's been dissipating ever since, with a soul-sucking void forming in his place. Those are odd circumstances, which provides some room for the fiction to 'fudge' a reason for other naaru's failure to come to his aid. Plus, it means he was not part of the immediate contingent of naaru who Khadgar contacted, who later arrived to reinforce and aid the surviving Draenei.
As for the Blood elves and their relationship with Kael'thas, I just find something off about the whole thing. Upon receiving the 'gift' of the captured naaru from Kael'thas, the Blood elves obviously accept this, along with the promise of paradise in outland. Despite later discovering that Kael is a villain that needs to be fought against, and that the other naaru in Outland are literally helping the Horde/Alliance (including Blood elves) in that fight, they continue to exploit the naaru they have captured.
So the naaru are ignorant of M'uru's situation or choose to do nothing about it, and the Blood elves continue to exploit M'uru in Silvermoon, as if they have no contact with Blood elves fighting Kael alongside naaru in Outland. If Blizz aimed to portray Blood elves as underhanded or selfish in a way that rivals the other playable races, in addition to the whole 'addict' theme they've implemented, then they've succeeded.
Krianna Feb 7th 2007 11:25AM
I think that you're on to something....
The Naaru obviously are into conversion and guiding others to the light, and anyone who's ever worked in religious outreach programs will tell you that you need to find a way to relate to folks before you can do anything-- the thing that Blood Elves need is power. Not just need it, but crave it and admire it, etc to say it's a really big deal.
There's two options I can see here--M'uru is sacrificing himself to basically give the junkies clean needles, or he's making a basis of folk who he does have influnce with to protect them from the demonic taint, and perhaps bring them to the light.
From the Naaru POV, these elves have GOT to be major trouble makers-- they open a world up to demons, TWICE, one of them managed to make himself a demon and is a major pain in outland, half of 'em are infusing themselves with demonic power for a kick... yeah, these guys are in dire need of help, maybe enough to justify M'uru taking such a major step.
To the folks who keep on saying "Because Bliz made it so!"-- can you PLEASE take it somewhere else? This is working on a story and we all are aware that it's not real; that doesn't stop us from wanting to figure out a way to make it work.
Parrallathan (Hellscream) Mar 21st 2007 1:07PM
Hey all. First time poster, but since this is one of my favorite regions of lore, i thought I'd throw in my two cents.
M'uru is likely captured. Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning the power of the Naaru, but it was Kael'thas, personally, who created the containment field in which he is currently held. Kael is the greatest magister - and heck, probably even mage - in Azeroth. According to the lore, Kael'thas captured this arch-celestial while part of a hunter-killer team for demons in order to siphon their blood to satisfy their arcane addiction. After capturing M'uru, he sent his most trusted magister, Grand Magister Rommath (whom is in the Sunspire, chatting with the two other Blood Elf leaders) back to Azeroth with M'uru, along with a promise of paradise upon his return to Quel'thalas (that is also why he is still known as 'Prince' Kael'thas - despite the fact his father, Anasterian, was killed by Arthas during the siege of Quel'thalas, Kael has decreed not to take up his father's mantle until he returns to his people).
After returning, Grand Magister Rommath delivered Kael'thas message, along with his gift, M'uru. Now - why would they need a gift such as this, I hear you ask? This much is simple. During the invasion of Quel'thalas by Arthas the scourge, the high elves called for assistance from the light, and begged it to protect them and their beloved source of arcane power, the sunwell. However, as Arthas swept through the elven lands in a series of quick and decisive victories, he decimated the elves, destroying both Silvermoon and defiling the sunwell with the remains of Kel'thuzad. Such destruction and corruption of their lands made the high elves - now known as blood elves, in memory of the blood spilled by their elven brethren during the invasion - resentful, and they eagerly looked for someone to blame. First, they blamed the alliance - no dwarves, gnomes or humans came to their aid during the invasion, despite their number of claims that Arthas attacked so swiftly that it would have been impossible for them to get any considerable forces up there to help. But afterward, they turned their anger and sorrow towards the Light, for having forsaken them in their darkest hour. It was now that the blood elves began to lose their ability to commune with the light, as more and more of its followers (including the leader of the blood knights, Lady Liadrin, an ex-priest who lost her powers of the light through losing her faith) lost their belief in the light. So, instead of dedicating themselves to it, offering faith and belief in its power, they took it - and became (as they call it) the 'True Masters of the Light', as the light (or rather, the light they take from M'uru) bows to their will - rather than them bowing to it. Now the light has no choice in whether or not someone is worthy of it - the blood knights simply take the light. There still remain a rare few original Blood Elf Paladins - ones who actually use their faith and religious beliefs - but other than that, blood knights don't care for the light - it is merely a tool.
As for the blood elves fighting against Kael, well - as it says in the manual, the blood elves of azeroth have no idea of the going-on in outland, nor do they know of Kael's current solution to arcane addiction - demon's blood. They also do not know of his pact of service to Illidan - and if (and when they do, in the case of those who travel to outland) they to discover it, immediately turn against their prince, for he has fallen too far from the ideals of the blood elves to be considered their beloved leader. After all - he serves a demon, who serves a demon lord - and it was the burning legion who first created the Lich King, and obviously, who in turn created Arthas - the destroyer of Quel'thalas.
That's my take on it, anyway. None-the-less, despite claims, I thoroughly enjoy the Blood Knight lore thats dripping thick-n-fast from the class quests. Dominion over the light? There's a new idea.
Radeona May 6th 2007 2:58PM
I think we are -all- missing a very very important and secret detail here. Go to the place where M'uru is captured. Notice how when you click / scroll over an NPC they give you the title of the NPC, and its race. (Humanoid, Beast, whatever) But scroll over M'uru... unlike the other Naaru, M'uru shows up as "Not Specified".
Curious? I definetly am.
ben1778 May 1st 2007 11:12AM
Feels like M'uru is the poison in the well.
Nothing is free, and i'm sure the consumption of M'aru's energies is not an entirely safe practice since its new and nobody know what kind of long-term effect it may have on the Blood Elves. Perhaps there are traces of evil or something else entirely that gets siphoned with his energy.
A slow buildup of anything. Maybe M'aru is introducing something into the Blood Elf race on purpose, something they can't detect yet. Maybe even fragments of his own memory or racial conciousness. Slowly but surely something is happening, and I don't feel comfortable about it.