The easiest assumed ‘Bad Guys’ of the World of Warcraft are the Horde. Led by a race known as Orcs, they are often categorized as bloodthirsty savages intent on the destruction of the human race. But where did the Orcs come from? And why on earth would they up and decide to annihilate an entire race of beings? To answer this, we have to go way back, deep into Warcraft history and take a look at the origin of the Orcs. More specifically, where they came from: Draenor.
Draenor
Once upon a time, there was a world called Azeroth, and a world called Draenor. For now, we’re going to focus on Draenor. Don’t worry, Azeroth will be covered eventually!
The ‘Draenei’
Draenor was a planet co-habitated by two races, the orcs, and the draenei. While the draenei are often portrayed and spoken of by many as the ‘good guys’ of Draenor, the truth is, they weren’t the original habitants of the planet. The original race were the orcs – born and raised, and the only reason Draenor is called Draenor is because the draenei decided to call it that upon landing on the planet. The orcs themselves were generally quiet, shamanistic, and not really prone to violent outbursts, and easily manipulated. Unfortunately, the orcs were placed squarely in the middle of a game impossible to win.
The draenei that settled on Draenor weren’t really ‘draenei’ at all – it was simply a name they adopted, that meant ‘exiled ones’ in their native tongue. These ‘draenei’ were actually part of the eredar race, who originated on a world called Argus. The Eredar were led by three leaders – Archimonde, Kil’jaeden, and Velen. Twenty-five thousand years ago, the three leaders were approached by Sargeras, who offered to transform the entirety of the eredar into a much more powerful race, in order to unify all the races of the universe. The new improved eredar would act as Sargeras’s spellcasters, spreading this universal love all through the universe and uniting everyone into one big happy singsong land of candy, flowers, fluffy bunnies, and basic campfires.
