We all know the story of how Lightforged Draenei became Lightforged. But in the recent lore we realized that the Light isn’t as good as we thought and it is just another source of power, just like void and every other source. For years Light was something holy and good and recently it doesn’t seem like it. My question is, is it okaz for Lightforged Draenei Paladin to realize that? I mean, they are pretty brainwashed and that is their whole lore, but could it be possible for any of them to snap out of it?
Instead of following it blindly could some of them use it as a tool? Like Blood Elves do it? Would that be acceptable for RP and what is your opinion on that?
Use of the Light comes not necessarily from faith, but belief. That belief can take many forms and doesn’t have to come from any kind of religious zeal.
A Lightforged Draenei who wields the Holy Light not as an instrument of his/her faith but as a powerful tool to turn demons into paste is perfectly viable imho – even if they might suffer a bit of prejudice from their contemporaries.
I’d also be hesitant to describe the Lightforged as brainwashed because that’s a matter of perspective. They’re–as a rule–incredibly zealous and iron clad in their belief, but they’ve had to be. Can you imagine fighting a near-endless war with an unstoppable demonic horde without the mental resilience that faith affords them?
I’d also (like to) make clear that the blood elves don’t all simply use it as a ‘tool’, which was a storybeat far more prominent back in TBC when they bullied the Light and shoved it into the lockers at school. Lady Liadrin–the example of Silvermoon’s approach to the Light–is as zealous as any draenei after the renewal of the Sunwell.
If she’s a model for the Blood Knight Order, then we likely have a vanguard of angry elven paladins who bring the Light’s Justice to their enemies.
But setting aside the Blood Knights, the common populace of Quel’Thalas never forsook their faith. Liadrin’s lot had to deal with a lot of prejudice when the Order was first being set-up and functioning under the basis of thinking the Light is a capricious ally who needed to be bent and broken rather than served.
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To not die in the Lightforging process, they’d need to be inhumanly dedicated. The cream of the crop, standing tall above the rest in dedication and zeal.
I feel like it would take witnessing something truly monumental to even bring the slightest crack of doubt into that devotion. So I guess the real question is, why would they start questioning their faith? It has ever served them well, and the only ‘big evil’ that really comes to mind is the business during the mag’har allied race recruitment on AU draenor, something the Lightforged did not witness.
I sort of don’t really see why you would want to take a race that is, as a rule, devoted beyond belief and then turn them down the opposite path. It sounds like a better fit for a regular draenei.
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Yeah, definitely – ‘regular’ draenei offer the same story potential, without the very restrictive aspect of needing an unbreakable will. Their society & culture are still heavily based on reverence of the Light anyway.
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If you take into consideration that the Light and the Naaru literally saved the Draenei people twice, it play’s a big part in their culture.
A Lightforged that simply uses the Light as a tool should not exist, as in my opinion, they would not even survive the trials that need to be accomplished to become a Lightforged in the first place.
Their faith has to be unwavering, it is quite literally that which has given them a chance to distract the Burning Legion long enough so that their people could find a new world to settle and a chance to survive.
It might fit a regular Draenei better, but even then I would personally question it, considering the part it play’s in Draenei culture.
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I wouldn’t say they’re brainwashed, the Naaru didn’t manipulate them, they saved their species and the light’s power helped them defend themselves and battle endless armies of demons.
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didnt the blood elves brainwash those two protesters in the Bazaar? who wanted to join the Alliance. you can still see it if you go to the Bazaar.
i felt like they did it as a desperate measure. since they are dealing with the scourge and Amani.
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Though they dropped this theme hard after TBC, the original iteration of the blood elves and Silvermoon in WoW was very much a totalitarian police state. It’s a bit disappointing they threw away all these themes and features with the renewal of the Sunwell.
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It’s not a cult mom!
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Did they? They’re still having the same issue we’ve seen in Suramar: mana addiction of the entire populace. Exile means no Sunwell for them, and fel or void aren’t fitting for all. So they likely still have this military dictatorship.
Exile has no effect on the Sunwell’s connection; its magic connects to all Thalassian elves across space and time. It connected as far as AU Draenor with Liadrin’s troops. Proximity to Quel’danas is irrelevant.
They exiled Umbric because his research likely posed a threat to the Sunwell - which, as it turns out, they were correct to do: When Alleria approached it almost doomed every single BElf and HElf on the planet.
Their ‘exile’ also seems to have been extremely light since they were still roaming around Blood Elf territory unaccosted. They weren’t hunted down, they were told to get out of Silvermoon if they couldn’t keep the shadow in their pants after being asked to, and then told to, stop. Had Umbric traveled to the Undercity he’d have likely been welcomed with open arms and remained with the Horde. The Forsaken have no qualms with research into shadow magic after all.
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Which would have made more sense imo than Anduin welcoming the whole lot
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Wasn’t this specified as early as In the Shadow of the Sun? The bit where Lor’themar ambles down to visit Quel’Lithien Lodge to spread the good news about the Sunwell – the locals acknowledged that their magical hunger pangs had eased off lately and then summarily told him to get lost.
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Yeah and then they all started huffing magic artifacts and went Wretched anyway.
That’s High Elves for you I guess. 
Hey, huffing magical artifacts is still–probably–more morally justifiable than slurping mana wyrms like they’re capri-suns
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Kinda in the name.
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YES. This is something a lot of people forget - being away from the Sunwell / being a high elf means you’re still affected by it. I’m not sure about velves as they’re kind of warped, but leaving them aside for a moment…
The Nightborne (I presume Linma was thinking about them) and Blood Elves have a similar, but different dynamic.
For the NB, their dependance from the Nightwell was as essential to them as is water and food to us. Their addiction was taken to eleven, and they had to drain/“devour” magic to live. Taking away from the Nightwell meant that they were unable to feed and this lack of magic would cause the withering.
Instead, blood elves don’t need to eat magic to avoid zombification. The fall of the Sunwell was, compared to the Nightborne, more of a spiritual wound - for a blood elf, surviving without magic is possible and indeed, some individuals have tried to do so (namely high elves, and arguably it might have been an alternative - ie. the aforementioned blood elf NPCs who suggested in TBC that their people didn’t need magic, and ended up being mind controlled).
A blood elf’s addiction to magic is more spiritual than physical. And it is using too much magic that turns them into wretched instead. Wretched also have a higher intelligence than withered, who are feral-like beings.
Indeed, NB and BE respective addictions led them in different places. Thalyssra eventually decides that her people don’t need the Nightwell anymore, “let it die”. Whereas Lor’themar and the BE are renewed and healed with a new Sunwell.
It’s also possible that the nightborne still suffer from the magical addiction that BEs also have, which is the one the highborne had, and the arcan’dor cured only their dependance from the nightwell’s magic. Otherwise blood elves should eat that fruit too damn.
If I remember correctly, the young & old–aka the more vulnerable members of the population–in the throes of mana withdrawal could come down with what medical professionals might call a case of the dead.
In which case, it was absolutely a physical ailment if not necessarily a fatal one for those of sturdier constitution.
Moreover, the Nightborne managed to find a cure to their addiction to the Nightwell with the magical tree fruit. It wasn’t a case of just deciding to do without the Well. Meanwhile, the blood elves had the fortuitous scenario of a sentient wind chime doing a belly flop into the Sunwell and renewing it.
Lor’themar gives the impression of someone who–if given an open choice–would do away with the Sunwell, to prevent a future calamity that might arise from it being destroyed or tainted a second time.
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Oh? Well, that’s interesting! Didn’t know that.
I recall we did see cases of high elves surviving without having to sate their magical addiction - and rangers being capable of resisting more.
I wonder if it will be explored again?
Edit.
But they do decide that though: as of now, the Nightwell is dying (or is already gone) and according to Valtrois, there may have been ways to keep it functional. But Thalyssra’s like, “nah, it caused enough troubles, we don’t need that anymore”. That was very much a conscious choice from the nightborne.
Fully agree
Fully disagree
Been saying that for years @ Lordains especially
For sure
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