Know Your Lore: The Draenei, Page 2

We've covered the events of the Rise of the Horde from the Horde perspective already. Kil'jaeden's agents found Draenor, Killy'J was tired of Velen always getting away so he played it cool and used deception (It's baked into that 'the Deceiver' title he's got) to convinced Ner'zhul that the draenei were up to no good despite thousands of years of evidence that the draenei were basically just chilling out in their weird cities and not really much of a threat to anyone.
Fingers can be pointed here at draenei complacency, although to me that's a touch unfair. Still, it can't be denied that after thousands upon thousands of years of running from demonic maniacs who used to be their friends and neighbors, the draenei as a whole just wanted to have a place to call their own. They didn't react as quickly to the orcs and their sudden bellicose stand as they could have: having once hosted a young Durotan and Orgrim Doomhammer, Velen was under the impression that the up and coming orc leadership was admirable and could be negotiated with. Unfortunately he failed to grasp the true extent of the hostility that Kil'jaeden had created, nor did he know its ultimate source. Had he seen the hand of his old enemy, it might not have mattered, for with K'ure entombed within Oshu'gun the draenei lacked a ready means of escape. Velen made the mistake of attempting to visit K'ure's resting place at this time, which only agitated the orcs further (and led with the Prophet being briefly held captive by the Frostwolf chieftain Durotan, who held Nagrand at that time).
The fall of Ner'zhul and the rise of Gul'dan ended any chance for peace between orc and draenei, and Durotan's betrayal of the means by which draenei had brought him and Doomhammer into Telmor sealed that city's fate, as demon blood addicted orcs slaughtered the inhabitants. While the draenei did not go quietly... their mastery of arcane power, the Holy Light first shown to them by the Naaru, and natural size and strength allowed them to fight effectively and the orcish dependence on the spirits meant that as they took actions the spirits disapproved of, their power waned.... Gul'dan quickly set about replacing waning shamanistic power with warlock magics that the draenei were not equipped to resist en masse. Eventually, even Shattrath City fell. Gul'dan set up camp in the former Temple of Karabor, Velen's own private sancturary, and transformed it into the Black Temple.
This unchecked, unjustified, and rapacious violence was the result of Kil'jaeden taking advantage of the aggressive hunter mentality of the orcs and magnifying it first with paranoid and suspicion and later with demon blood taken from an Annihilan, Mannoroth. While these elements were already present (hey, you try fending off ogres and gronn with good looks, it takes some significant whacking with big, heavy objects to keep those dudes off your back) it was the culmination of Gul'dan's manipulation that convinced so many to willingly enslave themselves to demons. The complete slaughter, the genocide waged upon the draenei was Kil'jaeden's goal, but it was an afterthought to Gul'dan, something he engaged in merely to cement his own power.
As the orcs fell to squabbling and Draenor, poisoned by fel corruption, began to become unlivable, the few remaining draenei gathered together in hidden refuges placed in regions no one would really want like Zangarmarsh. Velen had been forced to allow himself to be protected and removed from the major centers of draenei life as they fell, forced to watch as his followers were slaughtered in vast amounts. Now some of the draenei were finding themselves changed by the fel energies unleashed by heedless orc warlocks.
Fingers can be pointed here at draenei complacency, although to me that's a touch unfair. Still, it can't be denied that after thousands upon thousands of years of running from demonic maniacs who used to be their friends and neighbors, the draenei as a whole just wanted to have a place to call their own. They didn't react as quickly to the orcs and their sudden bellicose stand as they could have: having once hosted a young Durotan and Orgrim Doomhammer, Velen was under the impression that the up and coming orc leadership was admirable and could be negotiated with. Unfortunately he failed to grasp the true extent of the hostility that Kil'jaeden had created, nor did he know its ultimate source. Had he seen the hand of his old enemy, it might not have mattered, for with K'ure entombed within Oshu'gun the draenei lacked a ready means of escape. Velen made the mistake of attempting to visit K'ure's resting place at this time, which only agitated the orcs further (and led with the Prophet being briefly held captive by the Frostwolf chieftain Durotan, who held Nagrand at that time).
The fall of Ner'zhul and the rise of Gul'dan ended any chance for peace between orc and draenei, and Durotan's betrayal of the means by which draenei had brought him and Doomhammer into Telmor sealed that city's fate, as demon blood addicted orcs slaughtered the inhabitants. While the draenei did not go quietly... their mastery of arcane power, the Holy Light first shown to them by the Naaru, and natural size and strength allowed them to fight effectively and the orcish dependence on the spirits meant that as they took actions the spirits disapproved of, their power waned.... Gul'dan quickly set about replacing waning shamanistic power with warlock magics that the draenei were not equipped to resist en masse. Eventually, even Shattrath City fell. Gul'dan set up camp in the former Temple of Karabor, Velen's own private sancturary, and transformed it into the Black Temple.
This unchecked, unjustified, and rapacious violence was the result of Kil'jaeden taking advantage of the aggressive hunter mentality of the orcs and magnifying it first with paranoid and suspicion and later with demon blood taken from an Annihilan, Mannoroth. While these elements were already present (hey, you try fending off ogres and gronn with good looks, it takes some significant whacking with big, heavy objects to keep those dudes off your back) it was the culmination of Gul'dan's manipulation that convinced so many to willingly enslave themselves to demons. The complete slaughter, the genocide waged upon the draenei was Kil'jaeden's goal, but it was an afterthought to Gul'dan, something he engaged in merely to cement his own power.
As the orcs fell to squabbling and Draenor, poisoned by fel corruption, began to become unlivable, the few remaining draenei gathered together in hidden refuges placed in regions no one would really want like Zangarmarsh. Velen had been forced to allow himself to be protected and removed from the major centers of draenei life as they fell, forced to watch as his followers were slaughtered in vast amounts. Now some of the draenei were finding themselves changed by the fel energies unleashed by heedless orc warlocks.

Unfortunately, the draenei did not respond to this new problem with the equanimity one might hope for. Already reeling from the carnage of the orcish assaults, many draenei responded to these 'broken' with horror and revulsion and ostracized them from their already reduced society. These unfortunates were named 'krokul', or Broken and were often forced to become hermits... when and if entire tribes were not so stricken. Akama, formerly a priest at the Temple of Karabor, ended up leading an entire tribe of broken.
In their reduced state it would have been fairly easy for Gul'dan to have finished the job, but as was stated above, he didn't really care about the draenei at all: it was Kil'jaeden that had wanted revenge, and he withdrew his influence, sated at having forced Velen to watch his people die by the myriad myriads. (Yes, I reference Procopius.) Gul'dan found himself much more interested in finding a way to keep his people alive, which not only led to his alliance with Medivh/Sargeras and the opening of the Dark Portal, but gave the remnants of the draenei breathing room. (It also allowed Lost Ones, a tribe of broken further mutated by fel energies, to make their way to Azeroth. To this day Lost Ones can be found in the Swamp of Sorrows and Blasted Lands.)
Velen and his followers hid at the former anchorage of Telredor, and Akama lead his Ashtongue tribe of broken. The former Vindicator Nobundo walked the land attempting to reconnect with the Holy Light that he had lost when he was one of the few survivors of the massacre at Shattrath. Then Ner'zhul tore Draenor apart, and created Outland, the shattered ruin of the once lush planet. In the aftermath of his action the draenei actually seemed to recover somewhat, as not only did the orcs have more pressing matters (like pure survival) to occupy them, but the Naaru of the Shat'tar faction arrived at Draenor in what would be known as Tempest Keep as well, to try and lead resistance to the Burning Legion. Together with the Aldor, they helped reclaim and rebuild Shattrath from the charnel pit the Horde left behind.
The coming of Illidan to Outland brought change that aided and yet also harmed the draenei. Akama and his tribe of broken allied with Illidan and helped him close the portals and reclaim the Black Temple (formerly the Temple of Karabor) from the pit lord Magtheridon but Illidan's ally Kael'thas Sunstrider led a force of blood elves to seize control of Tempest Keep while the Naaru were occupied helping the Aldor at Shattrath, seizing M'uru in the process. This led Velen to determine that the time was at hand to leave Outland once and for all. With Nobundo having returned to Telredor and demonstrated that the draenei affinity for magic extended itself to the elemental and ancestral spirits of the land that the orcs had abandoned to chase after fel magic, Velen began to believe in the words of an old prophecy of his and took direct action for the first time in decades. A force of draenei and broken stormed Tempest Keep, managed to commandeer one of the four satellite structures, and escaped Outland, although not without sabotage from the blood elves loyal to Kael'thas.

A starting draenei PC picks up his story from this point: the Exodar, the crashed satellite of the Naaru dimensional fortress sabotaged by Kael'thas' servants, has ripped a hole in the Twisting Nether and arrived on Azeroth, crashing into islands loosely controlled by the Kaldorei. A starting player gets to experience the aftermath, as injuries are tended to, the new world is explored, contact is made with the Alliance and eventually a great threat is dealt with, earning the respect of the draenei people.
The draenei, led by Velen, provide the Alliance with their real foothold back into Outland, while Nobundo's teaching allows the draenei to tap into the same spirit magic as their enemies in the Horde. It seems that the draenei are in an expansionist phase now, as their presence can be felt in settlements in Ashenvale, in ambassadors sent to Stormwind and Aerie Peak, and even in Northrend where they work to root out corruption. They're done running. Velen took part in the final banishment of Kil'jaeden and the restoration of M'uru, and in so doing re-created the Sunwell, proving that the draenei can do good even to those who have only offered evil to them. Survivors who have touched the Holy Light, heard the spirit's call from their desertion and answered, and worked magic unlike any people before them have joined with allies to ensure that what happened on Draenor will not happen to Azeroth.
Basically, draenei are awesome. Next week, most likely we'll talk about Velen and maybe Nobundo as well.
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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 6)
jealouspirate Mar 31st 2010 7:12PM
I just went back and glanced at the most recent Lore articles that Rossi wrote. From this "series", he started with the formation of the Alliance, then the Old Horde and went through the first, second and third wars.
Really, that just seems like more or less chronological order to me, with the exception of this article on the Draenei.
I think perhaps you're frustrated/confused simply because basicallly the "Old Horde", more or less evil, existed longer than the so-called "New Horde" has. So if we're going chronologically we're going to see more bad Hordies than good ones.
Anyway, I'm not "Orcs saying bad, Humies good" because we all know that's not true, but I really don't think you have a valid point.
Alanid Mar 31st 2010 7:16PM
Mr. Rossi is merely stating the facts - you however seem to have come to this article looking for a fight and because you're losing you're just ignoring his requests for proof and basically saying "you don't understand me waaaa". Please provide proof of his bias if you want anyone to respect your opinion, have a good day sir.
Excellent article Mr. Rossi, I look forward to the next.
Eldoron Mar 31st 2010 7:31PM
Jay, do you realize that the last KNY article about the orcs was not written by Matthew Rossi, but the other KYL author? By the way, if you cannot accept and live with FACTS then I guess you should go and put your head into sand. Orcs are FAR from good. Draenei are generally good. Eredar are very bad (now).
Grendalsh Mar 31st 2010 7:33PM
At most you could claim that Rossi has a bias in SELECTING lore articles that cover the Horde races victimizing the Alliance races. Then again, there aren't a lot of large lore stories involving the Alliance victimizing the Horde. I suppose Rossi could cover how the High Elves invade Trollish lands, but they're Horde now.. Or he could cover how the Humans unfairly persecuted the Forsaken after the undead plague ravaged Lorderon... no? I've got it; how the Dwarves and Gnomes.. um... sat in their undermountain cities and fueded with themselves.. no.. Ahh, how the Night Elves totally were off in the Emerald Dream until the return of the Burning Crusade .. umm no..
Maybe it's not Rossi who has a bias, but the Horde that has pretty much consistently screwed with everyone else, MAKING lore. (Except the Tauren, they get a free pass.)
Angus Apr 1st 2010 12:08AM
Grendalsh:
Go play WC3:TFT. The High Elves, devastated after the Prince of an Alliance faction carves a path through their city and destroys the magical power that has sustained them.
Prince Kael'Thas goes looking for help and a Human General sends him on a suicide mission then gets mad when he survives because some naga saved him.
The result was the Blood Elves.
Everything they did after that was in response to getting betrayed at their time of greatest need. They had been loyal supporters of the Alliance and were basically hung out to dry be a racist that figured they were useless now that their power was broken. This same race taught the humans and gnomes magic, provided archers and mage-priests and they were suddenly alone when they needed their allies help.
Of all the betrayals in this lore this one gets glossed over the most. The history would have been very different if the humans had helped the high elves.
Vailkaris Apr 5th 2010 2:35AM
I have respect for Know Your Lore, and I would not classify myself as a "For the Horde" chest pounder, though I can say I have seen some bias involving these posts. To a lot of people the things the Orcs have done can be offensive, leading to the idea that the Horde is bad. The Horde is more that the Orcs, they have a huge range of races, from the clearly evil Forsaken, to the peaceful Tauren.
Saying the orcs are responsible for the massacre of the Draenei is like saying when I killed the healer on Lady Deathwhisper it was my fault, they were clearly under the influence of powerful magics that did not allow reason.
$am Apr 1st 2010 6:22AM
Sorry but there is bias here for Dranei
You make them loot too good, while they didn't give any hint at all for the owners of the planet they live upon that the burning legion 2nd in command want to bring misery and suffer to them
You made them look "bad" because they didn't react fast enough, while the real "bad" part is they didn't warn the orcs that the most evil force in universe is chasing them and won't stop
I wonder if the orcs would welcome the dranei if they knew that, I wonder if you will accept a guest in your house and you know that he is chased by one of most powerful evil force in universe
What the orcs did was wrong, but at their defense they were heavily tricked and they didn't even know about anything like that, while the Dranei hoped to hide here and they didn't try to warn their neighbors all that time they lived together
ProTech Apr 1st 2010 7:55AM
@Angus:
Well that human Prince is Arthas and he ravaged the High Elves in the Undead campaign, so the High Elves should be pissed at the Undead because of this. Arthas first action was to kill Therenas the ruler of Lordearon, and destroy the human kingdoms, it's really hard to say that he was Alliance by then.
So the only wrong the Humans did to the High Elves was a Human General who did not helped the elves after most of the Human kindoms was destroyed along with Quel’Thalas. That was one general no one heard about before and if I know correctly was killed in the same campaign. I still don't understand how a simple human general (a nobody) can make the High Elves as a race join with the Undead, who was probably the same Undead who ravaged the Quel'Thalas before they brake free from the Scourge.
The Horde was the bad guys in all of the Warcraft games prior to WoW, and I think who plays Horde is OK with it. I always thought people playing Horde because they wan to be badass bad guys. I cannot think of any undead player who wants to be in a noble and holy Horde who wants to help lesser races, be peace with nature and help the growth of trees etc. They are bad guys and they like it that way :D
Jeremiel Apr 1st 2010 10:03AM
I just wanted to pick up on what $am said, though I guess I'm coming a bit late to the debate:
I do not defend the actions of the Orcs.
However, it grates with me when I read things like this (from wowwiki):
"Though otherwise a peaceful, private race, the draenei carry an intense hatred for all orcs and will slay them whenever the opportunity arises."
Don't get me wrong: I do indeed see the Draenei as the victims of all this. However, I would think that especially the older and wiser Draenei - those who have lived long enough to have experienced (though I'm sure even younger ones who have heard of) their flight from other worlds upon being discovered by Kil'jaeden - would surely reserve their hatred for the true perpetrators of the genocide.
As I have said, I do not defend the Orcs. As shown by individuals such as Durotan and his Frostwolf Clan, the Orcs did not have to fall prey to the corruption, so yes, those who did are very much to blame for the evil they committed. But in the bigger picture - and I would imagine that the long-lived Draenei are very good at seeing the bigger picture - they are only the tools of a greater evil.
I would think that while Draenei will certainly not be fan of the Orcs, and would be right to be wary of them, their hatred should be reserved for the puppetmasters. In fact, I would think that there might even be a little uneasy guilt amongst some of them for the knowledge that (through no direct fault of their own) it was their landing on Draenor that brought the planet and its people to ruin.
I would also point out that the Draenei are praised here for having helped the Blood Elves of Silvermoon rebuild the Sunwell... If the reasoning here had been "even though they're members of the Horde", then that's all well and good. But I would question the labelling of the Blood Elves as "those who have only offered evil to them", when the Blood Elves of Silvermoon have in fact been betrayed by, fought against and helped vanquish Kael'thas and his forces in Outland - the latter being the faction who did wrong by the Draenei.
Dashriprock Apr 2nd 2010 12:40PM
I think the problem is Blizzard and not the author of this article. The Alliance side seemsto be portrayed time and time again made to look like good guys, its not their fault this happened to them, they are all just victims. In the game there are dungeons where you fight orcs, you fight trolls, you fight against blood elves, you fight the undead, and you fight variations of them a lot in this game an they seem very similar to the characters you play. On the Alliance side it seems that you don't fight your same race that much, I can't think of too many evil night elves, gnomes, or draenei (in their current forms not naga, broken or mutated). Dwarves have a bit in common with troll and orcs but the dark dwarves feel really different where as the orcs and trolls you fight seen very similar to the ones you play, and humans are just humans they will fight anyone and seem to be as easily manipulated as the orcs.
xvkarbear Mar 31st 2010 6:28PM
Where does the lore from the last 6 paragraphs come from?
Matthew Rossi Mar 31st 2010 6:33PM
From the Unbroken short story, the backstory published to Tempest Keep when Blizz released it, and the draenei starting area quests as well as the Sunwell final encounter.
xvkarbear Mar 31st 2010 6:43PM
Oh cool! I never heard of the unbroken story before now. (I find the official wow website very hard to navigate so I never investigated it much)
I had just finished the rise of the horde book, and wanted to know where I could read the rest of the story for the Draenai.
(I also asked this question for the queue.. so tell whomever is doing the queue today that she/he doesn't have to answer it!)
Outis Mar 31st 2010 6:46PM
I really liked the Unbroken story =D
"Everything that is, is alive."
reswab Mar 31st 2010 6:39PM
Great wrap up but never forget grammar rules. I had to re-read parts one or two times to understand what you wrote.
wtfpanda Mar 31st 2010 6:39PM
SPACE GOATS!!
Karmatrain Mar 31st 2010 7:12PM
Coast2Coast!
MusedMoose Mar 31st 2010 7:20PM
Funny how so many people call the draenei "space goats", but never call the orcs "green men from another planet."
Because really... from the humans' perspective, that's exactly what they are. *grin*
icepyro Mar 31st 2010 11:24PM
Dranei have traveled through more space (or nether if you prefer) than other races... and orcs don't really look like men... well maybe some of their women do.. =S
Besides, it's just so much easier (and funner) to say "space goats" than "dranei" and certainly easier to say "orcs" than "these green monstrous barbarians that come from a broken planet once shared with SPACE GOATS".
=D
farseer-lolotea Apr 18th 2010 9:56AM
No, it's really not "easier" to say "space goats" than "draenei."
It's just as many syllables, more keystrokes, originally meant "talbuks" anyway, and is less accurate (if you see THAT much resemblance between a draenei and a goat, I'd suggest getting your vision checked) than calling orcs "Martians."