Draenei

The Draenei (in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, pronounced IPA: ) are a fictional race in Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft series of computer games and novels.

For more information on World of Warcraft and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, visit their respective entries.

Background
In the new World of Warcraft continuity, the Draenei are a subset of the Eredar and hail originally from the world of Argus. The Eredar were intelligent and very adept at magic, using these skills to build a powerful society; this caught the attention of Sargeras, the Titan of Destruction.

The Burning Legion and the Naaru
Seeing the Eredar as perfect tools for his Burning Crusade, Sargeras approached the three leaders of the Eredar, Archimonde, Kil'jaeden, and Velen, offering them untold power and knowledge in exchange for their race's loyalty. Archimonde and Kil'jaeden accepted the offer, pledging fealty to the Dark Titan. However, Velen received a vision in which he saw the Burning Legion, its endless ranks of demons, and the devastation that Sargeras planned to wreak upon all creation. He attempted to warn Archimonde and Kil'jaeden, but they and their followers had already become corrupted, transformed into gigantic demons of depthless evil.

Velen despaired, for Sargeras's vast power made him impossible to confront head on; it was then that a being appearing to be made of pure light appeared to him. It explained that it was as a member of a race called the Naaru, sentient energy beings who worked to stop the Burning Legion. The naaru offered to take Velen and any other Eredar who refused Sargeras' offer to safety. Accepting the naaru's offer, Velen and his faction of Eredar barely escaped from Argus and the Legion. They named themselves "Draenei," meaning "Exiled Ones" in their language. Kil'jaeden was infuriated by what he saw as Velen's betrayal, and vowed to hunt him and his followers to the ends of the universe.

Draenor
For thousands of years, the Draenei went from world to world, seeking safety. During this time, the Naaru explained to them their mission: to find the forces all across the cosmos who would stand against the Burning Legion and forge them together into an unstoppable Army of the Light. Moved, the Draenei vowed to aid them, upholding their ideals with the Light-given powers granted to them by the Naaru. Eventually, the Draenei settled on a small world which they called "Draenor" ("Exile's Refuge" in Eredun) and began to rebuild their society. There they met the Orcs, with whom they lived peacefully and often traded with. Because of the teachings of Nobundo, many Draenei even learned how to become Shamans.

Despite their extreme caution, however, Kil'jaeden found the Draenei. Studying the Orcs, he devised a plan with which to destroy his errant cousins. The Orcs were a peaceful, shamanistic race who lived mostly in the grassland region of Nagrand. Kil'jaeden tempted the elder shaman Ner'zhul and his apprentice Gul'dan into using dark magics. Eventually, the entire race drank the blood of the Pit Lord Mannoroth and the once-peaceful Orcs were transformed into a fel-powered, murderous horde. They wiped out eighty percent of the Draenei in a bloody eight year long war. Many of the remaining Draenei were twisted by the fel energies of the orcs' warlocks into two inferior mutations, known as the "Lost Ones" and the "Broken Ones", who may still be found in Outland.

Azeroth

Those who had kept their original form fled in an interdimensional ship built by the Naaru called the Exodar, which crash-landed in the world of Azeroth due to interference from the Blood Elves. Upon meeting with the Alliance, who worshiped the same Holy Light of Creation as the Draenei, they joined the Grand Alliance to fight against the Burning Legion and the Horde.

Appearance
The Draenei are even taller than the Night Elves, and resemble them somewhat in appearance, with bluish skin, glowing eyes, and pointed ears. However, they have several non-hominid traits, such as unguligrade legs, hooves, horns, and tails. Possibly for this reason, combined with their height and strength, they are also nicknamed "blue Tauren", after the bovine race that Thrall befriended in Kalimdor.

Factions
The Draenei have four known variations. The Eredar are the demonic precursors of the Draenei, and serve the Burning Legion. The Broken are draenei who became twisted by the fel powers of the orcish warlocks. One of the most notable factions of the Broken are the Ashtongue Deathsworn who serve Illidan Stormrage, and are led by the wise Akama. Finally there are the simple and brutish Lost Ones, a devolved form of The Broken who have lost most of their mental capacity and their hold on sanity.

Draenei in World of Warcraft
*The male Draenei dance is based upon the performance of Daler Mehndi in "Tunak Tunak Tun".
*The female Draenei dance is similar to that performed by Shakira in her "Hips Don't Lie" video.
*Many allusions to Star Wars may be found in the Draenei quests in Azuremyst Isle, including a reference to Han Solo's claims at making the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs.
*Another reference is made to Pink Floyd by an NPC in Azuremyst Isle, saying "How can you have any pudding if you don't eat yer fish?"
*The title of the Azuremyst quest "Precious and Fragile Things Need Special Handling" is a lyrical reference to the song "Precious" by Depeche Mode.
*The Exodar also features a nod to Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Within the Vault of Lights is a group of Draenei touring the holograms of the various Burning Legion minions. These Draenei are named for the hosts of the Dax symbiont before Jadzia.
*An item that can be received after the quest, "The Kurken's Lurkin'," called "Kurkenstocks" is a play on words, based on the shoe, "Birkenstocks."
*The Draenei have a vaguely Eastern European Accent.
*A fishing quest for the Draenei is called "Red Snapper- Very Tasty!" a reference to Kuni from "Weird Al" Yankovic's film "UHF".
*The Draenei being an offshoot of the Eredar was actually an accidental retcon, as in Warcraft III the Eredar were depicted as an evil race who were responsible for the initial corruption of Sargeras. This was reversed in the Burning Crusade expansion, a move which the developers later admitted had been an oversight on their part.

Mounts
The draenei ride powerful elephant-like mounts known as Elekks.

See Also
* Classes in World of Warcraft

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