The Auchenai

Admin Antall Innlegg : 209 Join date : 2012-07-18

The Auchenai
by Drustai Defias Brotherhood

The Auchenai are one of the most interesting facets of draenei culture. Where the draenei are Light-loving noble people, "the ultimate good guys of the WarCraft universe", the Auchenai are a doom cult of necromancers. They lie in stark contrast to the other draenei, and, with so little obvious lore behind them, are often ignored or otherwise forgotten by many draenei players. This is a mistake, because the Auchenai offer a look into draenei culture that is available nowhere else.

Due to this, I feel it pertinent that I write up a resource on the Auchenai from what scraps of lore we have available. I believe the position of the Auchenai within the draenei says much about draenei culture that people simply miss. It shows a viewpoint on shadow, necromancy, and death that is actually quite different from one might expect from such a religious race. It certainly is a far different viewpoint than is found in human religious orders, and is therefore a ripe opportunity for culture clashes.

Just who were the Auchenai?

The Auchenai were a religious order amongst the draenei. Known as death priests, they focused on the dead and dying. Funeral rites, helping spirits pass on, and maintaining graveyards. They were still worshipers of the Holy Light, as with all draenei. Some Auchenai were likely present across Draenor, but their greatest temple was Auchindoun, the city of the dead, deep in Terokkar Forest. That temple was remarked as one of the greatest temples on Draenor, second only to Karabor. The Auchenai seem to have shared a close relationship with Aldor, whose capital lay in the nearby Shattrath, as both the Auchenai and the Aldor wear almost equivalent robes--teal and blue for the Aldor, and blue and teal for the Auchenai.

This already brings to light some interesting things to note. Most significantly, the draenei had an order of priests whose focus was on death. No such order exists among any other Light-worshiping race, save the Forsaken. Let that sink in for a moment. The most Light-loving race in WarCraft, has an entire religious sect devoted to death. Not only that, but their necropolis, Auchindoun, is treated as the second grandest temple in draenei culture, just behind Karabor. This tells you, right away, that the draenei culture treated death as something significant. Something so important, that it necessitated a great temple and an entire order of priests.

The entry on Auchindoun on the official WarCraft website proves this sentiment with this statement:

"The original exiles on Draenor found death to be an unsettling and unfortunate consequence of life, and so the draenei hid their dead away in the subterranean grave-city of Auchindoun, a labyrinthine marvel located beneath the forests of Terokkar." - World of WarCraft website

The draenei do not treat death lightly. It is an "unsettling and unfortunate consequence of life". Unsettling. Unfortunate. Consider those words for a moment. To the draenei, death is not something to look forward to, nor expected. It happens, sure, but it's not welcomed when it does.

And it does not happen often. The draenei are a race that is near-immortal, if not immortal outright. They have no biological clock to bother them like humans and other races do. They do not have a death to "look forward to". Therefore, they have no need to 'make the most out of life because it is short' because life is not short for them. To them, life is long, if not endless. One can take their time, things can be savored, you do not have to rush anything. So when death happens, but it is not the end result of a century of life, expected and prepared for. No, to a draenei, when death comes, it is a sudden, immediate end, without warning or preparation. There is no such thing as a quiet death to the draenei. No death from old age in their sleep. To the draenei, each death has as much sudden impact as a murder or a fatal accident. It is a traumatic, painful experience.

With that knowledge, it becomes clear just why the draenei would have an order of death priests. The pain wrought to families out of the sudden death of a loved one is extraordinary, and would necessitate an order devoted to resolving this pain, to treating each and every death with the utter devotion and care that it deserves.

What did the Auchenai do?

So, you are a death priest in a race in which death is rare. What exactly do you spend most of your time actually doing?

One of these was monasterial functions. In Auchindoun one finds a large contingent of monks, complete with staves and melee abilities. In fact, monks are one of the most common NPCs in Auchindoun. Indeed, the draenei have no need for the Pandaren to train them to be monks, as they've had their own for millennia. As such, it is possible that Auchindoun was the largest monastery in Draenor. Therefore, when not tending to the dead, the Auchenai were focused on meditation, prayer, choir, manual labor, and the mind-body-spirit exercise of martial arts. If the draenei follow the same traditions as modern monasteries, then many of these monks would have never set foot outside of Auchindoun once they swore themselves to asceticism.

Every Auchenai Initiate seen in Auchindoun wears the same outfit as the monks. This implies that most if not all Auchenai initially spend their time in a monasterial role, before attaining a more focused position, such as soulpriest or vindicator.

Monk

Another noticeable NPC in Auchindoun are the Vindicators. Therefore, like many draenei orders, the Auchenai also trained paladins and templars, sworn to uphold the Light and defend the grounds. What they defended it from is up for debate, but consider the fact that every draenei death is a violent, traumatic experience. Angry, violent spirits would have been common, and it would have been up to the vindicators to protect the temple from them. Considering that spirits would assault a person's soul, rather than their physical body, this explains why the Auchenai vindicators wear robes instead of plate armor--their duties involve combating angry spirits, not flesh-and-blood opponents. It is possible they did have armor available, but for most of their service they would have had no need for it.

Vindicator

One interesting NPC seen are the Death-Speakers. These NPCs wear black blindfolds, much like demon hunters. It is unclear if they are a result of the madness affecting the Auchenai post-Orc War, or if they have always been present. If always, then their blindness would have almost certainly been a ritualized process. Considering their names and their blindness, it is very likely that they functioned as mediums. It is probable that they blinded themselves in order to see fully into the spirit realm. While all Auchenai can see dead spirits, the death-speakers would take this a step further, completely cutting off their sight of the mortal realm so that they could witness the world of spirits. It is probable that their function was to more fully convey the desires of the spirits, and to ensure that they rested in peace.

Death-Speaker

Last are the Soulpriests. The soulpriests performed the standard functions of a priest--holding masses and funerals, comforting the surviving loved ones, and so on. They would have been priests of the Holy Light, like all draenei priests. However, their name confers an additional role, and also one that says much about the draenei. Soulpriest. They did not just focus on the living, but also the dead. Remember what we said about how each draenei death is a traumatic experience, likely to leave tormented and angered ghosts? An angry or tormented ghost will not pass on, it will linger until it has been soothed. Therefore, soulpriests, using soul mirrors, would have had the role of tending to these spirits, enabling them to pass on. It is likely they performed this role in tandem with the death-speakers, with vindicators standing by for protection.

Soulpriest

Shadow Magic and Necromancy

Now things get really interesting. As keepers of the dead, the Auchenai would have had to rely on shadow magic and necromancy. Therefore, it is clear that the draenei would have a much, much different view on necromancy than the races of Azeroth, as the Auchenai were not only tolerated, but venerated and respected amongst the draenei.

The simple of it is this: the draenei do not see shadow as unnatural or even 'evil'. In draenei religious culture, shadow is an important part of the universe. This is made clear time and time again in dialogue.

"In the Light, we all cast shadows brother/sister." - Draenei Priest Trainers, World of WarCraft

"Creatures of the void are naturally chaotic. They are a necessary part of the universe, but they must be kept in check by the Light." - A'dal, World of WarCraft

"Regrettably, there is nothing that can be done to stop this cycle. It is a facet of the naaru condition - without the void, the Light cannot exist." - D'ore, World of WarCraft

Therefore, unlike with other Light-following cultures, the shadow is not necessarily something evil. It is natural and necessary, though something that must be "kept in check." Thus, for the Auchenai, whose roles are to tend to the spirits and cast out the shadows preventing them from moving on, the use of shadow is occasionally necessary.

All Auchenai, even those who do not use magic, have some experience with shadow magic. Every Auchenai initiate is made to imbibe a potion that forever opens their eyes to the spirit realm, allowing them to see lingering spirits within the material plane.

"Stranger... I was not forthright with you. Once you drink this potion, you will forever see into the world of the dead. This recipe that you drink of is a rite of initiation for all death priests of Auchindoun. Many go mad after its effects have taken hold. Seeing the dead is ... shocking." - Nitrin the Learned

It is not made immediately apparent that this is shadow magic, as it is alchemy. However, examining the abilities of Auchenai NPCs reveals this spell. Spiritual Sight. School: Shadow. Therefore, the rite of initiation of all Auchenai death priests, as it has been for centuries, long before they turned to evil, is shadow magic.

The Auchenai also possess the ability to summon spirits, and they were capable of this even before they went mad. Nemuraan, an Auchenai and the first draenei to meet the Alliance summoned an army of draenei spirits to aid the Alliance in rescuing Kurdran Wildhammer from the Shadow Council after the Expedition arrived in Outland. This form of necromancy was benevolent, working much like shaman necromancy--asking the spirits for aid after earning their allegiance through granting boons and reverence. This is the purpose of the Spirit Towers around Auchindoun:

"The draenei's custom required them to pay their respects at spirit towers at various times during the day. If you can help secure a tower during these times, you will help the spirits return to peace in Auchindoun." - Exorcist Vaisha, World of WarCraft

By paying their respects to the spirits at the spirit towers, the draenei earned their support, and thus were able to call on them for aid. This support was likely used for divination rather than combat (until the Orc War, of course), and would certainly have been the chief purpose of the death-speakers. Therefore, draenei necromancers, prior to the Orc War, actually served as "true" necromancers. As this form of necromancy is very similar to shamanism (and can even be seen as a form of shamanism), this could help explain why the krokul shaman were so readily accepted by the draenei later... it could have easily been seen as merely an expansion from communing with the spirits of the dead, to communing with the spirits of the elements--of all life.

More important than summoning spirits, however, is cleansing them. Remember, draenei deaths are traumatic. Angered spirits tend to linger. Soulpriests soothe these spirits in order to allow them to move on. The Auchenai used soul mirrors for this purpose. As seen in the Horde quest, What the Soul Sees, the soul mirrors are used to split the dark part of a spirit, which is then destroyed, allowing the spirit to pass on. Thus, the Auchenai used these soul mirrors to combat the darkness within a draenei's soul upon death. It can be assumed that the death-speakers use their abilities to locate the spirits with the most darkness in their hearts, the soulpriests use the soul mirrors to draw out this darkness, and the vindicators destroy this darkness, allowing the spirit to return to the Light. As A'dal said... shadow is necessary, but it must be kept in check by the Light. The Auchenai mixed Light and shadow in order to do the work of the Light, and bring peace to the spirits of the deceased.

This use of shadow and necromancy had a limit, though. The Auchenai did not believe in raising undead minions, nor in forcing the dead to serve them. They offered them boons, respected them, and aided them in passing on. The spirit of a soulpriest in Auchenai Crypts remarks on this fact, noting that the post-Orc War Auchenai have turned from everything they used to be.

"The Auchenai have turned their backs on everything we used to stand for. They've taken to raising the dead as unholy minions!

This cannot stand. Put the spirits back to rest, and massacre those responsible for raising them into undeath." - Tormented Soulpriest, World of WarCraft

"The dead belong in the spirit realm. Just as you belong in this one." - Tormented Soulpriest, World of WarCraft

The Auchenai walked a fine line. Much like shamans, they used their necromancy to soothe and commune with spirits, aiding them in returning to the Light. They did not raise them as unholy minions, and if they ever did request their assistance they did so only with the permission of the spirits, rather than through forceful compulsion. Therefore, this shows that the draenei had a much more tolerant view of shadow magic and necromancy than many other races. When properly used, it could do the work of the Light, rather than be opposed to it. Only after the destruction of Auchindoun did the Auchenai begin abusing necromancy for evil purposes. Only this abuse of necromancy, the tormenting and raising of undead minions, was seen as evil by the draenei. Necromancy itself, however, along with shadow magic, does have a place in draenei culture. It simply must be used with restraint.

It is likely that, after the fall of the Auchenai, the shaman have taken over their role as caretakers of the dead.

D'ore and the Naaru Condition

Now we get to the scary, religious fundamentalism part of all of this. We know that the Naaru, when in a void state, attract the spirits of the dead to themselves as they regenerate, consuming their energies in order to reinvigorate themselves. We also know that the Auchenai rite of initiation allows them to see restless spirits.

This means, the Auchenai were perfectly aware of what D'ore was doing. And then built an entire mausoleum around him with his tomb in the center of it all. And then they summon draenei spirits and use soul mirrors to purge them of all darkness in their souls so that they might return to the Light in a purified state.

Think about that for a moment. Just think. Yes. They are sacrificing draenei spirits to D'ore. Returning to the Light means returning to D'ore, a naaru, a conduit of the Light. Auchindoun is not a graveyard... it is a slaughterhouse. The dead and dying are brought here, purified of any darkness in their souls, and then "fed" to D'ore to aid in his regeneration.

Now, while this sounds scary, it'd actually be seen as a point of glory to the draenei. Afterall, they would not have built such an impressive temple around the corpse of a naaru if it was seen as evil. No, Auchindoun is a monument to D'ore, and the dead are buried in proximity to him for the purpose of restoring him to strength. It is an honor to have one's spirit merge into a naaru. They are literally returning to the Light.

To quote Thelos' discourses on this subject:

"An interesting religious consequence of this one might consider is that for Draenei, being consumed by a Naaru who has fallen into a void state might not actually be so horrible. If by your death you can assist in restoring a Naaru to its Light state, in turn finding yourself merged with such a magnificent creature of Light; is that not an afterlife any Faithful would aspire to? In fact, may the Naaru not in essence by exactly this? A merging of thousands and thousands of souls? What if “Unity with the Light” should be taken as meaning “Unity with the Naaru” ? Is it a coincidence that the Draenei buried all of their dead so close to a recovering Naaru? Was Velen aware of the nature of the Void state? In his dealings with M'uru, he certainly seems like he is aware of the mechanisms of the Naaru. Might Velen have chosen to erect Auchindoun as a means to restore D'ore back to strength?" - Thelos, Draenic Discourses on the Inner Light

The Auchenai were the caretakers of the dead... but the specific dead they are taking care of above all else is D'ore. The Auchenai were purifying the spirits so that they could feed them to D'ore, accelerating his rebirth into the Light. And draenei culture, as devoted to the Light as they are, would have seen this as a good, wonderful thing. In fact, it is quite possible that the Auchenai summoned or otherwise lured the spirits of draenei from across Draenor to Auchindoun. Afterall, not every draenei is buried in Auchindoun. Perhaps draenei funeral rites involved cleansing the spirit of the recently departed, then beckoning it into a soul gem (Exarch Maladaar is described as using soul gems to contain spirits in the quest Wanted: The Exarch's Soul Gem), which would then be taken to Auchindoun and drawn out for D'ore?

Scary. But completely in line with the draenei's worship of the Light. It is possible, though, that only the Auchenai and a handful of other anchorites actually knew all the details of this. Even among the draenei, the commoners might find it hard to digest.

The Fall of the Auchenai

The fall of Auchindoun is somewhat confusing. It is at times stated that it was the summoning of Murmur that created the Bone Wastes, yet Murmur was only summoned a year ago. The Bone Wastes were created long before then. Beyond the Dark Portal mentions that the Shadow Council performed another summoning, one that also caused an explosion. Therefore, there were at least two summonings, both resulting in massive explosions that destroyed much of Auchindoun.

Regardless, both of these explosions are only partially to blame for the fall of the Auchenai themselves. Their madness actually seems to stem from something much deeper.

Remember, that the draenei find death unsettling and unfortunate. It is a traumatic and terrible experience. The death priests were responsible with funeral rites and cleansing the spirits of any darkness within their souls. Suddenly, however, the Orc War comes along and, in the course of eight years, over 80% of the draenei race is wiped out. A race that never dies, suddenly has to deal with millions of dead. The Auchenai would have been very hardpressed over this period, even before the orcs invaded Auchindoun. Never before had the Auchenai had to deal with death on such a massive scale. It would have been physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting.

Then, the orcs came. The Auchenai, too, were nearly wiped out, pushed from much of Auchindoun. A few did escape, and hid in the Auchenai Crypts. These few, the last of the Auchenai, had little if any contact with the outside world. For all they knew, they were the last of the draenei. After the twin explosions, most of Auchindoun itself was destroyed, leaving a ruin filled with the remnants of the Shadow Council and the remnants of the Auchenai, each claiming separate wings of the necropolis and each hostile to the other.

It is known that the Auchenai became a doom cult following the Orc War. That they were focused on the end of the world. The reason for this is never made clear, but this quote by Ixamos the Corrupted gives the best reasoning.

"The Auchenai accept that Outland is a dying world. Those who seek to restore it are mere fools!" - Ixamos the Corrupted

We know that the Auchenai were attempted to restore D'ore to the Light prior to their madness. This quote states that seeking to restore the world is pointless, that the world is dying. Therefore, they likely view their attempt to restore D'ore as having been equally pointless. They would have come to see their attempts to restore him as a failure, which resulted in them coming to accept the inevitable, to see the world and all of creation as doomed. After all the work they had done, D'ore never rose. D'ore never returned to the Light. For all of the spirits 'fed' to him, he never rose. The world was ending, and still D'ore slept. After all the terror and chaos that they had suffered, D'ore's inability to awaken was what finally made the Auchenai snap.

Why were they raising the undead in the Crypts? Not to undo the Orc War by returning their loved ones to life, they see no point in that. The world is doomed. The Light has faded. Darkness has won. There is no point in fighting it anymore. So, why were they raising the undead and tormenting and corrupting spirits? Perhaps it was to raise an undead army and use it to wipe out all life, to accelerate the ending of everything. To bring about the end of the world themselves, much like the Twilight's Hammer.

Or, perhaps, it was to sabotage D'ore's restoration. The Auchenai spent millennia tending to the spirits, cleansing them of darkness so they could return to the Light, to D'ore, and reawaken him. But he never awoke. Even when the world ended, he never awoke to save them. So, in their anger, they turned against him. Now they intentionally corrupt and violate the spirits, so that they are dark and twisted, instead of pure and whole. Perhaps they wished to turn D'ore into a voidgod, like M'uru, one that would consume them all and finally end everything.

Regardless of why they were raising undead, their madness almost certainly stems from their inability to restore D'ore. They had tried so long to restore him, but lost faith that he would ever be returned to the Light. That was what drove them mad, that was what turned them into a doom cult that sees the world as doomed and that there is no point in restoring it. They couldn't restore a naaru. Why should they bother trying to restore the world?

After this, the draenei turned against the Auchenai. This deliberate attempt to corrupt a naaru would have been seen as the foulest of evils, and raising the undead is evil on its own. It is likely that the draenei would have taken a much harder stance against shadow and necromancy after this, as the Auchenai had fallen so far from their once noble roots.

Antall Innlegg : 3 Join date : 2012-07-30

Just noticed two issues here!

First off, when you repasted this here, you accidentally use the monk picture twice, both for monk and for vindicator. Vindicator should have its own picture. Razz

Secondly, I noticed a mistake I made when writing this:

Quote :: The fall of Auchindoun is somewhat confusing. It is at times stated that it was the summoning of Murmur that created the Bone Wastes, yet Murmur was only summoned a year ago. The Bone Wastes were created long before then. Beyond the Dark Portal mentions that the Shadow Council performed another summoning, one that also caused an explosion. Therefore, there were at least two summonings, both resulting in massive explosions that destroyed much of Auchindoun.

I meant that he had been summoned a year or two ago -prior- to the reopening of the Dark Portal. Therefore, could you fix this here and make it say, "It is at times stated that it was the summoning of Murmur that created the Bone Wastes, yet Murmur was only summoned a year or two before the reopening of the Dark Portal at the start of the Burning Crusade."

Thanks!