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by Alex Ziebart 
May 17th 2008 at 1:00PM
I'm a lore nerd. Plain and simple. Nerdy nerd nerd. Thus, my kryptonite is questions such as, "Who is Aran's son?" and "Why are Blood Elves in Mount Hyjal anyway?" These questions make me weep and wish Know Your Lore was more than just weekly.I've decided to draw a little inspiration from these questions instead of seethe with nerd rage. I ask you, WoW Insider readers, ask me your lore questions! I'll follow them up with nice and easy explanations tomorrow afternoon. If you have a more complicated, more involved questions, maybe I'll take it over to Know Your Lore.
I don't mind getting questions we've answered on the site before, it's pretty easy to miss posts that fall off of the front page, so ask pretty much any lore-related question you'd like, and I'll do my best to answer you! Not everything is as epic as Azjol-Nerub and Oshu'gun, so even small questions are just fine. Don't be afraid!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Lore, Ask a Lore Nerd
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 5)
Sean Riley May 17th 2008 9:25PM
What do we know about the moral beliefs of the World of Warcraft religions? Does the Church of the Holy Light have any teachings on marriage, honor, morality, etc? How should a priest of the Holy Light be behaving, what sort of activities should they condemn and praise?
And what about the other religions?
KLRMNKY May 17th 2008 11:09PM
The best place for this info is the WoW RPG but here are the answers to your questions:
The Church of the Holy Light worships the Light and teaches everyone to follow the Three Virtues which are Respect/Tenacity/Compassion.
If you want to compare it to a real world religion then a mixture of Christian and Buddhisim (sp?) would be a good place to start. it's all about making the universe a better place and both Horde and Alliance members are more than welcome to join.
Honor/morality are part of the Three Virtues which make up the tenats of the faith.
As for other religions you have a few to select from:
Nelfs worship the Goddess Elune and nature as a whole
Orcs/Taurne worship nature as well as their ancestors
Gnomes don't worship anything but technology would be the closest
Naga worship Ashara and the Old Gods
Forshaken worship Shadow as in the Church of the Forgotten Shadow
Sean Riley May 18th 2008 12:54AM
Sorry, should have been more precise.
Better phrasing: "And what about the moral beliefs of the other religions? What does a Priestess of Elune teach, for instance?"
Travis May 18th 2008 1:33AM
What can you tell me about the other portals around outlands (the only one that springs to mind right now is the one in Zangarmarsh.)
They look just like the one you get to outlands through, but are just standing there doing nothing
CvijaFaQ May 18th 2008 2:55AM
Those are gateways to other planets inhabited by demons that Magtheridon used to bring forth reinforcements while he was still the ruler of Black Temple and all of Outlands pretty much. During WC3: Frozen Throne, when Kael and his Blood Elves first went to Outlands with the help of the Naga and allied themselves with Illidan, they helped him close these gates before the assault on the Black Temple.
There are quests for every portal. I think there are 3 portals, one in Zangarmarsh, one in Nagrand and one in Blade's Edge. Quest for the Zangarmarsh one is a part of chain (could be Scryer only) with that Demon Hunter guy in Nagrand, the Nagrand portal quest is a part of the Netherwing faction and the Blade's Edge is a part of the Gas Mask chain.
Sephie May 18th 2008 1:43AM
Is there any chance Naga could become a playable or even allyable race? (I guess with Murlocs becoming allyable anything is possible.) Mostly I just want to know more about the Naga and why they are so cranky? Would they be horde or alliance?
Up in Hinterlands there is a bunch of elves that are alliance friendly. Did they used to have the nelf model and now have the belf model? Are they high elves? Why are they friendly to Alliance?
Hideaki May 18th 2008 2:36AM
>>Up in Hinterlands there is a bunch of elves that are alliance friendly. Did they used to have the nelf model and now have the belf model? Are they high elves? Why are they friendly to Alliance?
Yes, those are high elves, and no, they used their own, not-very-pretty model before getting replaced by the shinier blood elf model, since they're one in the same. The blood elves are simply high elves who followed Kael'thas Sunstrider and rely on fel magics as substitute to the Sunwell's energy. This addiction leads to their green eyes, in contrast to the standard high elf blue. The high elves you see in Eastern Plaguelands, the Hinterlands, Dustwallow Marsh, and other locations have the proper blue eyes. Why are they allied with the Alliance? The high elves were part of the Alliance of Lordaeron during the Second War (Warcraft 2). Although their alliance would weaken by the time of the Third War and the fall of Quel'Thalas (Warcraft 3), many high elves were still part of the Alliance forces. If you play the Human campaign, you'd notice that the priests and sorceresses are high elves. Because so many high elves perished during the Scourge Invasion and so many of the survivors followed Kael, high elves seem to be the minority now, but those that were with the Alliance are most-likely still with their human allies. For more information on the differences between high elves and blood elves, and where you can find high elves in WoW, check out their articles on WoWWiki:
http://www.wowwiki.com/High_elf
http://www.wowwiki.com/Blood_elf
Back to your original question, I'll leave it that it would be highly unlikely for the Naga to join any side of the conflict. They're a nasty bunch with their own agenda. For information on that, I'll direct you once more to WoWWiki:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Naga
And, of course, a lot of this information can be found by playing (or cheating) through Warcraft 3 and the expansion, the Frozen Throne (especially relevant for the Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King, including an answer Travis's question about Dimensional Gateways). The game is an incredibly fun time, and this is coming from someone who doesn't usually enjoy RTS games. It has a lot of RPG elements that will make a WoW player feel at home. For all of your other needs, WoWWiki is a limitless resource for Warcraft information! Give it a try, there's little you can't find there.
Ruva May 18th 2008 7:54AM
Why is there an instance portal deep within Dark Whisper Gorge?
KLRMNKY May 18th 2008 11:40AM
It is likely the entrance to Mount Hyjal. Since that place is "off-limits" they put a instance gate to block users from accessing Hyjal from there. In some future X-pac Mount Hyjal might be accessable then that instance gate would either be activated or removed.
Reese May 18th 2008 1:55PM
Who is technically the biggest and most important villain in all of Warcraft history (like, the reason for all the chaos), and what are Illidan's and Arthas' relationship to him? Also, what is the deal with the Lich King, where did he come from, what does he have to do with the story, who was the original, and how did Arthas become him... Thank you if you answer..
KLRMNKY May 18th 2008 2:24PM
Sargeras is the Biggest of the Big Bads and he is responsible for practically everything bad or cataclysmic that has happened in the Warcraft universe. He created the Burning Legion to wipe out all life in the Universe and has tried and failed to invade Azeroth, the Great Sundering which split apart the contienents of Azeroth was thanks to him.
As for Illidian and Arthas? Illidian swore allegiance to Kil'jadean, who is Sargeras' right hand man and the de-facto leader of the Burning Legion until his master gets himself right again and reappears. But since Illidian failed to destroy the Frozen Throne and the Lich King he is very much on Kil's bad side and went to Outland in order to avoid his master's wrath.
Arthas' is a little bit more complicated. Arthas' had no prior relationship to the Burning Legion or Sargeras but since he and the Lich King merged into one single entity, Arthas/Lich King are suppose to be working directly for Kil' and the Burning Legion but they aren't. The LK doesn't want to have anything to do with them and would much rather have Azeroth all for himself and his Scourge.
Now another LK history lesson. The Lich King used to be a powerful orc Shaman named Ner'zhul. Long story short, Ner'zhul joined forces with the Burning Legion because he craved power and lots of it. He orchastrated the orcs invasion of Azeroth, as seen in WC 1 and II, but after some betrayals by both sides he decided to try to escape from Kil'jaden and the end result was the creation of Outland and Ner'zhul being captured by Kil'jaden while trying to escape into those portals. Ner'zhul's mortal body was ripped apart and his spirit encased into the armor and sword, Frostmourne, and he was sent back to Azeroth to finish the job of wiping out all life and the return of the Burning Legion.
The LK is important because he and he only created the Scourge. Kel'thuzad facilitated the spread of this plague into Lorderan and Arthas became his most important Death Knight. The LK is the one and only, he was the first. Arthas became the LK after putting on the armor which effectivly merged both the LK and Arthas into one single entity. Arthas's body and mind combined with the mind and soul of the LK.
Syme May 19th 2008 9:47AM
Where is Snowsong?
skoll May 20th 2008 11:24AM
Can you tell me, why did the night elves joined the Alliance, in WCIII we saw the night elves fought against both the orcs and human, and untill the last campaign they united with the orcs and humans to fight the burning legion, Why alliance not horde?
skoll May 20th 2008 11:29AM
Sorry.. another question.. One thing I could not understand, whats preventing Kiljaeden from punishing Illidan due to his failure to destroy the frozen throne and killing the lich king..You know if Illidan in Azaroth we can understand that Kiljaeden need a summon.. but he is in Outland.. directly under Kil's hand.
Danny Zaidman May 21st 2008 12:34AM
@Skoll
Basically, nothing. Other then the fact that big Killy J is a bit busy in the Sunwell Plateau. It is quite possible that he doesnt even know about Illidan's faliures. Kill'jaedan might even be getting some punishment from Sargeras (which is also impossible, coma and all) due to HIS faliures.
And now I ask you lore fans to answer an opinion-based question. I'm sure you are all familiar with Illidan and the whole Demon Hunter thing. For those of you who arent, let me explain it to you in a few lines of text. Basically a Demon Hunter is usually a Night Elf (although other races are known to have followed this path) who makes a ton of sacrifices to gain immense powers. These powers are used to combat the Burning Legion. Illidan is the most famous of the bunch (among Shadowsong, Terrorblade, and others).
Now here comes the question. Do you think what Illidan did for the Night Elves is noble or not?
My Answer: I think that making the ultimate sacrifices to try to save your race from a demonic invasion is very noble. This is why I will bad if I were to kill him.
"His pursuit of power and arcane mastery has led him to commit a number of horrific acts against his own people and the races of Azeroth, including defecting to Sargeras during the War of the Ancients and creating the second Well of Eternity."
It can be argued that all these acts were for the greater good of the Night Elves (or to get some Tyrande action?)
Corrupted Hero? Or Noble Monster? You decide!
trinikrusader Jul 16th 2008 12:00PM
On Illidan:
*He hates demons - in Warcraft III, when having his spat with Furion after being freed, he spits "I WILL hunt down the demons, but know this- I do not owe our people ANYTHING."
Like all demon hunters, he's practically overwhelmed with hatred for the Legion. He was the first and most prominent demon hunter - Sargeras himself put out his eyes and most of the demon hunters in the game seem to be associated with him. The novel account suggests that during the war against Azshara and the Legion, he had been trying to defeat/repel the Legion all along, but was too wrapped up in his desire for power to use any sane methods in doing so. The Warcraft III manual contradicts this, saying that he betrayed the Night Elven resistance to Azshara and was convinced the Legion would win. Oh well.
The game seems to be that the power/magic thing were really his major downfall. No, he wasn't a "hero" and he certainly wasn't selfless, but he wasn't a monster either. He was more of an antihero. The average person has some rudimentary loyalty to the place where they grew up, and if we're using the novel as our reference point, it seems that's what he wanted - to kick the squatters out of his proverbial backyard.
His voiceovers in WC3 sounded so... whiny though. Even in demon form. Ick.
By WC3: The Frozen Throne, he finally revealed the other side of the power coin: he had wanted to impress Tyrande. Tyrande rewarded his devotion by finally revealing why she'd rejected him for 10 000 years. Ouch. Basically, she was preferred the "inner strength" vibe to the "demonic tyrant" vibe. Furion's patience, discipline and compassion pretty much beat Illidan's hotheaded zeal.
And STILL he carries around a Memento of Tyrande. What a trooper.
@90 Great summary! I think there's one detail that shouldn't be left out though - like Sargeras, Ner'zhul isn't a "pure" villain (?!?!) - he BECAME evil rather than being evil from the beginning.
He first met Kil'jaeden in his meditations (or whatever shamans do) and negotiated with him because he wanted to advance the lot of the orcs. When he realised how evil the Legion were, he tried to back down, believing they would destroy his people. The Legion empowered the selfish, power-hungry Gul'dan instead, and that's how Warcraft I started. We don't see him again until the expansion to WC2, where he starts off trying to gain power and ends up breaking Draenor into Outland, and fleeing for his life, abandoning everyone else.
Bumwaller Jun 16th 2008 10:43AM
This could settle a debate we've had at work...a number of us play WoW. What are the ages of the leaders of the major races? Thanks.
Doc Jun 25th 2008 10:13AM
What are the statues of hooded figures with swords in duskwood and around the dark portal (?) they are the statues that are also on the wow loggin page
Fast Jul 25th 2008 12:52PM
What do the signs around the circle of rogue ability "Distract" stand for?