In my post about creating an RP character, I talked a bit about why I was drawn to play a Draenei, and since my Draenei was my main, it was inevitable that I would eventually look into them as a race of people just out of curiosity. When I began role playing within the World of Warcraft, I searched even deeper to find every single piece of information I could, including reading the novel Rise of the Horde.
The Draenei. They are benevolent, ageless creatures who look like demons and came from a different planet called Argus, and possibly a different dimension altogether. The number that followed Velen and the Naaru across the cosmos 25,000 years ago was only in the hundreds, and after the great majority of Draenei were slaughtered on Draenor with the orcs, even fewer remember Argus and what happened at all. Unfortunately, Draenei do not have the memory to match their lifespans (perhaps to have a 'reason' to the lack of lore). Two of my Draenei characters, Lycannon and Elicoor, are both from Argus, and they only remember the most impactful events from then, and even the several thousands of years after they fled are foggy at best. Of course, it would have been easier to RP characters that were born on Draenor or just before the Draenei landed there, but that's not something I wanted to do.
One of my favorite subjects to talk about regarding WoW is the lore of the Draenei (and the lack of it). If you have a Draenei and have speculated about what they were like as a culture before they left Argus and the arrival of the Naaru, or are just curious about their missing history in general, I highly suggest giving this a read. This is all speculation, as that's pretty much all you can do when regarding their lore, and it is just my take on it. Please feel free to comment, share and give your own opinions, as that's all we really have to go by.
I'll warn you, this is rather long. You can continue reading after the jump.
The characters involved in the current and last storyline I'm running will probably come out of it just in time to realize that Deathwing had been defeated while they were busy getting out of trouble. The main plot revolves around family, with the moral being that blood does not necessarily make one; something everyone must remember when the true points of Warcraft rear their heads in the next expansion - war, survival, and Horde versus Alliance. The culture of the Draenei is characterized by their direct influence from the Naaru and the Light, although they see it from a different point of view than the natural denizens of Azeroth. But what about before the Light, when all Velen had was the Ata'mal Crystal?
Just like the Night Elves were influenced by the Japanese and some Viking customs, so too were the other races of Azeroth loosely based off of real cultures. When a player talks to a Draenei NPC with their sound on, they hear what sounds like a Russian accent. They ride Elekks, or elephants, and they have dances inspired by Middle Eastern and Indian culture. People debate back and forth about what they were based on, and the only reason I've thought about it as much as I have is because Draenei are missing a giant chunk of lore from their beginnings as a race.
So what culture would I peg the Draenei resembling most? That's hard to say, given what little we know about them on a more detailed level. Supposedly they came from a utopian society until Sargeras rolled in and screwed up everything. However, I do not think this is true, and no where does official lore state that Argus was a Utopia. Considering how many Eredar were corrupted by the Burning Legion vesus the few that fled with Velen, I see the Eredar society of Argus pre-Sargeras as having just as many errors and dark spots as any other race within World of Warcraft, and the real world. Even after the Draenei found Draenor, one can find examples of Draenei becoming corrupted again. Some have turned into Man'ari, like Levixus, others have gotten sucked into necromancy like Exarch Maladaar and his Auchenai Death Cult. Draenei can even be seen in the Cult of the Damned and the Twilight's Hammer cult. They are stated to be very intelligent and have a natural affinity for magic in all its forms, so while I disagree with Argus being a Utopian world, I do believe that they were very powerful and advanced enough to create the 'look' of such a thing, with perhaps similar tenancies as the magically gifted Highbourne and High Elves.
Bearing this in mind, I would say that Draenei resemble loose Spartan, Greco-Roman and general Balkan culture, with some Hindu flavor. That's sort of a weird mix of things to be thrown together, but then the Draenei are alien after all. I'm not an Anthropologist nor an expert on such things, this is just me speculating with what I've been given, and what honestly feels right. Aurhia has a blog with links to her idea of the language, and while it's a bit dated now, I think she did a good job of breaking down a few of the words Draenei use that aren't listed on Wowpedia or on the official site. Many (but not all) of the things she lists have Greek roots and while it's not canon, it does give us an idea of what the rest of their speech sounds like. Very few Draenei have surnames, and while this could just be a cultural trait, I believe that on Argus Draenei could have had multiple names (especially those in a noble, elected and/or otherwise important position), but abandoned them after Sargeras' corruption. Families would have been torn apart, and just like the word Eredar leaves a bad taste in any Draenei's mouth, so would old names they may or may not have been called at one time. Archimonde, Velen and Ki'Jaeden may not have needed anymore names because of how important they are/were, exceeding the need to have anymore than a single name because they were supreme.
What people seem to forget or misinterpret is that 25,000 years ago is when Velen took his people from Argus. It is not when the Eredar 'began' as a race. The time before that is unknown, and Velen could be thousands of years older than the 25k stated. In fact, the Ata'mal Crystal itself was ancient when Velen first communicated with K'ure on Argus all those lifetimes ago. Rise of the Horde states this, and Christie Golden does a good job of working with what they gave her for lore and what they didn't.
Expanding on what Eredar society might have been like pre-Sargeras, one thing I noticed about them is the fact that they had three leaders uniting a people instead of a single monarch or leaders for different clans of the same people. After reading Rise of the Horde and learning that the Ata'mal Crystal (and the subsequent fragments of it) was trianglular in shape, this made me think that the three leaders of the Eredar may have also represented the three points or sides of the crystal. In Blood Watch, this leadership pattern is repeated with the Triumvirate of the Hand. Oshu'gun's said to be a perfect triangle - and with this shape in mind, even before Bloodmyst Isle and even Oshu'gun, I had the thought that Draenei society could be based off of their sacred, triangular artifact, that everything revolved around it considering its powers and great importance therein. As vast the numbers of Eredar there seemed to be at one time, Velen, Kil'Jaeden and Archimonde could have appointed three select members of society in helping to represent, spread and uphold their word, who would then select three lesser members, and so on and so forth in a sort of hierarchical manner, perhaps not unlike the legislative assemblies during the Roman Empire and/or Roman Republic or instead (more simply) how a boss promotes a worker. There is also the possibility that Velen, Kil'Jaeden and Archimonde were elected to serve the roles they did instead of just coming into them or appointed themselves, and I do tend to lean more towards an elected, aristocratic view than not. Considering how many Draenei still currently snub their noses at the Broken (and even more before Velen intervened), a group of Draenei who have been mutated by the fel energies suffered at the hands of the orcs on Draenor, I feel that it is safe to say such a way of life existed long before the Eredar left Argus. This introduces the possibility of how so many Eredar were corrupted, similar to the orcs of Draenor, when Sargeras made his offer, and leans towards the Eredar representing the intellectually advanced race the seem to have been as opposed to the feudal societies of Azeroth. They probably could have had paid servants as opposed to slaves, and fostered a society more like the modern world of today. They may have seen men and women as equal as they appear to currently, and sexual preference might not have been an issue given how long Draenei live and how little the need for children may have been.
I cannot put my finger on how an Eredar family would have worked, but the Draenei family naturally seem very close, especially given the trials they have been through. The greeting used in game points to that, and yes, Draenei do marry. I know my own character, Lycannon, is desperately wanting to settle down and have a proper family, especially after what she went through from fleeing Argus to the genocide of her people, and the fact that her husband is human, a being who only lives an extremely short 100 years at the very best. He is already 40.
As for other customs, Draenei clothing appears to be a combination of more Balkan and Indian influences, favoring nomadic gypsies than the Roman mentioned above might imply (get out of that toga), yet the evil Eredar themselves do dress akin to Spartans. Velen is seen wearing his long white robe with tassels and brightly colored panels and detail work, and Draenei for the most part dress more conservatively than their evil counter parts, mostly likely to show the differences between 'good Eredar' and 'evil Eredar' more clearly. This could have also been a defense mechanism, as appearing harmless would have benefited them greater when seeking a new refuge as opposed to showing up armored to the teeth. (I'm sure they would have had time to create such things during their long travels.) Main Draenei designs and color schemes do not appear to be their own originally, but instead borrowed from the Naaru and associated with them just as their architecture is. Each planet they visited probably gave them different things to work with, and over time they adapted to it, still incorporating the Naaru influence into their nomadic way of life.
I somehow imagine their food rich in spices given the real life cultural similarities I see them having, and they are not vegetarians on a whole as a lot of people seem to think (for some reason). Lycannon is, but she has her own personal reasons not effected by culture. Not having bread at a meal would be rare, and it is apparent that they are aware of a healthy, balanced diet (as cited in Rise of the Horde, when Durotan and Ogrim are saved from an ogre by the Draenei), and are a clean people who seem to bathe regularly. Rise of the Horde also has them as being extremely welcoming to guests and genuinely curious, as well as (mostly) patient and very open, similar to the famous Turkish hospitality.
This article isn't so much about how Blizzard found inspiration for the Draenei as what cultures they seem to be most closely related to in an attempt to better the Draenei character and create plausible thought on the history of the Eredar. At least, it's something I can cling to while I'm watching Thrall Kamehameha Deathwing and listen to the Dragon Aspects telling him spoilers to Lord of the Rings and Warcraft III. With Mists of Pandaria on the horizon, I can't see any new Draenei lore being given out in the next expansion, but hopefully Marc Hutcheson will give us something to work with when they finally release Velen's short story. I long for Draenei lore, something that has been cast away in favor now of an April Fool's joke, and one day I might get that, maybe before Warcraft loses completely loses the RPG charm it once had. That's just my opinion.
You can read about the Draenei on Wowpedia, and I suggest reading Rise of the Horde if you haven't yet. You can also read my RP blog, and the Article on WoW Insider is very helpful as well. I'm not an expert, just curious.
The Draenei. They are benevolent, ageless creatures who look like demons and came from a different planet called Argus, and possibly a different dimension altogether. The number that followed Velen and the Naaru across the cosmos 25,000 years ago was only in the hundreds, and after the great majority of Draenei were slaughtered on Draenor with the orcs, even fewer remember Argus and what happened at all. Unfortunately, Draenei do not have the memory to match their lifespans (perhaps to have a 'reason' to the lack of lore). Two of my Draenei characters, Lycannon and Elicoor, are both from Argus, and they only remember the most impactful events from then, and even the several thousands of years after they fled are foggy at best. Of course, it would have been easier to RP characters that were born on Draenor or just before the Draenei landed there, but that's not something I wanted to do.
One of my favorite subjects to talk about regarding WoW is the lore of the Draenei (and the lack of it). If you have a Draenei and have speculated about what they were like as a culture before they left Argus and the arrival of the Naaru, or are just curious about their missing history in general, I highly suggest giving this a read. This is all speculation, as that's pretty much all you can do when regarding their lore, and it is just my take on it. Please feel free to comment, share and give your own opinions, as that's all we really have to go by.
The characters involved in the current and last storyline I'm running will probably come out of it just in time to realize that Deathwing had been defeated while they were busy getting out of trouble. The main plot revolves around family, with the moral being that blood does not necessarily make one; something everyone must remember when the true points of Warcraft rear their heads in the next expansion - war, survival, and Horde versus Alliance. The culture of the Draenei is characterized by their direct influence from the Naaru and the Light, although they see it from a different point of view than the natural denizens of Azeroth. But what about before the Light, when all Velen had was the Ata'mal Crystal?
Just like the Night Elves were influenced by the Japanese and some Viking customs, so too were the other races of Azeroth loosely based off of real cultures. When a player talks to a Draenei NPC with their sound on, they hear what sounds like a Russian accent. They ride Elekks, or elephants, and they have dances inspired by Middle Eastern and Indian culture. People debate back and forth about what they were based on, and the only reason I've thought about it as much as I have is because Draenei are missing a giant chunk of lore from their beginnings as a race.
So what culture would I peg the Draenei resembling most? That's hard to say, given what little we know about them on a more detailed level. Supposedly they came from a utopian society until Sargeras rolled in and screwed up everything. However, I do not think this is true, and no where does official lore state that Argus was a Utopia. Considering how many Eredar were corrupted by the Burning Legion vesus the few that fled with Velen, I see the Eredar society of Argus pre-Sargeras as having just as many errors and dark spots as any other race within World of Warcraft, and the real world. Even after the Draenei found Draenor, one can find examples of Draenei becoming corrupted again. Some have turned into Man'ari, like Levixus, others have gotten sucked into necromancy like Exarch Maladaar and his Auchenai Death Cult. Draenei can even be seen in the Cult of the Damned and the Twilight's Hammer cult. They are stated to be very intelligent and have a natural affinity for magic in all its forms, so while I disagree with Argus being a Utopian world, I do believe that they were very powerful and advanced enough to create the 'look' of such a thing, with perhaps similar tenancies as the magically gifted Highbourne and High Elves.
Bearing this in mind, I would say that Draenei resemble loose Spartan, Greco-Roman and general Balkan culture, with some Hindu flavor. That's sort of a weird mix of things to be thrown together, but then the Draenei are alien after all. I'm not an Anthropologist nor an expert on such things, this is just me speculating with what I've been given, and what honestly feels right. Aurhia has a blog with links to her idea of the language, and while it's a bit dated now, I think she did a good job of breaking down a few of the words Draenei use that aren't listed on Wowpedia or on the official site. Many (but not all) of the things she lists have Greek roots and while it's not canon, it does give us an idea of what the rest of their speech sounds like. Very few Draenei have surnames, and while this could just be a cultural trait, I believe that on Argus Draenei could have had multiple names (especially those in a noble, elected and/or otherwise important position), but abandoned them after Sargeras' corruption. Families would have been torn apart, and just like the word Eredar leaves a bad taste in any Draenei's mouth, so would old names they may or may not have been called at one time. Archimonde, Velen and Ki'Jaeden may not have needed anymore names because of how important they are/were, exceeding the need to have anymore than a single name because they were supreme.
What people seem to forget or misinterpret is that 25,000 years ago is when Velen took his people from Argus. It is not when the Eredar 'began' as a race. The time before that is unknown, and Velen could be thousands of years older than the 25k stated. In fact, the Ata'mal Crystal itself was ancient when Velen first communicated with K'ure on Argus all those lifetimes ago. Rise of the Horde states this, and Christie Golden does a good job of working with what they gave her for lore and what they didn't.
'The artifact was ancient, so ancient that none among the eredar could remember its origins, any more than they could remember their own. Legend had it that it was a gift bestowed upon them long ago.'It's a nice way of staying within the boundaries of what Blizzard has come up with so far. Argus itself has not been described at all from any official lore outside of one or two places with no great detail. We know of the city of Mac'Aree and that Argus had some great mountains thanks to a few in-game NPCS - Valok the Righteous, Anchorite Tessa and Jessera of Mac'Aree. That's it. Mac'Aree may have looked different than the usual Sha'tar architecture since Draenei only had the one ship before they landed on Draenor, and it is doubtful that they could have taken building materials with them given their hasty exit from Argus.
Expanding on what Eredar society might have been like pre-Sargeras, one thing I noticed about them is the fact that they had three leaders uniting a people instead of a single monarch or leaders for different clans of the same people. After reading Rise of the Horde and learning that the Ata'mal Crystal (and the subsequent fragments of it) was trianglular in shape, this made me think that the three leaders of the Eredar may have also represented the three points or sides of the crystal. In Blood Watch, this leadership pattern is repeated with the Triumvirate of the Hand. Oshu'gun's said to be a perfect triangle - and with this shape in mind, even before Bloodmyst Isle and even Oshu'gun, I had the thought that Draenei society could be based off of their sacred, triangular artifact, that everything revolved around it considering its powers and great importance therein. As vast the numbers of Eredar there seemed to be at one time, Velen, Kil'Jaeden and Archimonde could have appointed three select members of society in helping to represent, spread and uphold their word, who would then select three lesser members, and so on and so forth in a sort of hierarchical manner, perhaps not unlike the legislative assemblies during the Roman Empire and/or Roman Republic or instead (more simply) how a boss promotes a worker. There is also the possibility that Velen, Kil'Jaeden and Archimonde were elected to serve the roles they did instead of just coming into them or appointed themselves, and I do tend to lean more towards an elected, aristocratic view than not. Considering how many Draenei still currently snub their noses at the Broken (and even more before Velen intervened), a group of Draenei who have been mutated by the fel energies suffered at the hands of the orcs on Draenor, I feel that it is safe to say such a way of life existed long before the Eredar left Argus. This introduces the possibility of how so many Eredar were corrupted, similar to the orcs of Draenor, when Sargeras made his offer, and leans towards the Eredar representing the intellectually advanced race the seem to have been as opposed to the feudal societies of Azeroth. They probably could have had paid servants as opposed to slaves, and fostered a society more like the modern world of today. They may have seen men and women as equal as they appear to currently, and sexual preference might not have been an issue given how long Draenei live and how little the need for children may have been.
I cannot put my finger on how an Eredar family would have worked, but the Draenei family naturally seem very close, especially given the trials they have been through. The greeting used in game points to that, and yes, Draenei do marry. I know my own character, Lycannon, is desperately wanting to settle down and have a proper family, especially after what she went through from fleeing Argus to the genocide of her people, and the fact that her husband is human, a being who only lives an extremely short 100 years at the very best. He is already 40.
As for other customs, Draenei clothing appears to be a combination of more Balkan and Indian influences, favoring nomadic gypsies than the Roman mentioned above might imply (get out of that toga), yet the evil Eredar themselves do dress akin to Spartans. Velen is seen wearing his long white robe with tassels and brightly colored panels and detail work, and Draenei for the most part dress more conservatively than their evil counter parts, mostly likely to show the differences between 'good Eredar' and 'evil Eredar' more clearly. This could have also been a defense mechanism, as appearing harmless would have benefited them greater when seeking a new refuge as opposed to showing up armored to the teeth. (I'm sure they would have had time to create such things during their long travels.) Main Draenei designs and color schemes do not appear to be their own originally, but instead borrowed from the Naaru and associated with them just as their architecture is. Each planet they visited probably gave them different things to work with, and over time they adapted to it, still incorporating the Naaru influence into their nomadic way of life.
I somehow imagine their food rich in spices given the real life cultural similarities I see them having, and they are not vegetarians on a whole as a lot of people seem to think (for some reason). Lycannon is, but she has her own personal reasons not effected by culture. Not having bread at a meal would be rare, and it is apparent that they are aware of a healthy, balanced diet (as cited in Rise of the Horde, when Durotan and Ogrim are saved from an ogre by the Draenei), and are a clean people who seem to bathe regularly. Rise of the Horde also has them as being extremely welcoming to guests and genuinely curious, as well as (mostly) patient and very open, similar to the famous Turkish hospitality.
This article isn't so much about how Blizzard found inspiration for the Draenei as what cultures they seem to be most closely related to in an attempt to better the Draenei character and create plausible thought on the history of the Eredar. At least, it's something I can cling to while I'm watching Thrall Kamehameha Deathwing and listen to the Dragon Aspects telling him spoilers to Lord of the Rings and Warcraft III. With Mists of Pandaria on the horizon, I can't see any new Draenei lore being given out in the next expansion, but hopefully Marc Hutcheson will give us something to work with when they finally release Velen's short story. I long for Draenei lore, something that has been cast away in favor now of an April Fool's joke, and one day I might get that, maybe before Warcraft loses completely loses the RPG charm it once had. That's just my opinion.
You can read about the Draenei on Wowpedia, and I suggest reading Rise of the Horde if you haven't yet. You can also read my RP blog, and the Article on WoW Insider is very helpful as well. I'm not an expert, just curious.
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