Auchenai
- For the Warlords of Draenor faction, see Auchenai (alternate universe).
 Auchenai | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Main leader |
 Exarch Maladaar |
| Formerly |
 Anonymous Exarch † |
| Race(s) |
  Draenei Ghost Vigilant |
| Character classes | Death priest, Hunter, Mage, Monk, Paladin, Priest, Vindicator, Warrior (formerly Necromancer and Warlock) |
| Capital | Auchindoun |
| Theater of operations | Terokkar Forest, Azuremyst Isle |
| Language(s) | Draenei, Eredun, Common |
| Affiliation | Exodar |
| Status | Active |
“Those who do not respect the dead may become entombed along with them.”
- — Auchenai warning[1]
The Auchenai [ˈɔːkənaɪ], pronounced "AW-ken-eye", are the guardians of the draenei grave-city of Auchindoun in Terokkar Forest.[1] For over two hundred years, it was the duty of their "death priests"[2] and "soulpriests"[3] to take care of the spirits and dead of Auchindoun using the Light. However, the genocide of the draenei orchestrated by the Old Horde pushed Exarch Maladaar to madness, leading him to ordain his death priests to practice necromancy and bring back the dead to serve them. During the invasion of Outland, Maladaar and his followers were eventually defeated by the adventurers.
Years later, now a spirit freed from madness, Exarch Maladaar returned to lead the Auchenai and form a new generation of death priests to take care for the souls of their kin in Auchindoun.
History
Origins and fall
The Auchenai were a later addition to organizations under the Council of Exarchs, after Maladaar - at the time a member of the Sha'tari - discovered that D'ore's remains had drifted deeper into a Void state, and that they were attracting the souls of draenei who died in the Genedar's crash, which allowed the living draenei to commune with their fallen brethren. As nothing like this had ever happened before in the history of eredar society, the Prophet Velen immediately directed Maladaar and a group of Sha'tari to move D'ore's remains to a secluded place. They found a location on the outskirts of Terokkar Forest that was a safe distance from all other civilizations, and then built an immense mausoleum to house the naaru that the draenei spirits were following. The site became known as Auchindoun, "a Home for the Honored Dead", and Maladaar was named as the fifth exarch on the draenei council as the leader of an order called the Auchenai, responsible for communing with the draenei dead and protecting their souls from harm.[4]
During the genocide of the draenei, the Auchenai fled into the tunnels of Auchindoun. Many vindicators, priests, and Rangari joined them with civilians who escaped Shattrath, seeking refuge from the Old Horde's onslaught and to protect their holiest site in Draenor, as they could not bear the thought of the orcs desecrating their ancestors or the naaru housed within. Exarch Maladaar organized the military forces and fortified the tomb city's catacombs, waiting for the inevitable attack. When Teron'gor and his followers stormed Auchindoun on the orders of Gul'dan, they met fierce resistance from the tomb's defenders with their Light-given abilities. The Auchenai also received aid from Auchindoun's spirits, slaughtering many of the Shadow Council's agents.
As Maladaar and his forces closed in, Teron'gor called on his remaining allies to summon a powerful demon, but in their wild desperation they summoned an otherwordly elemental creature known as Murmur who materialized within Auchindoun. The shockwave of its arrival ripped the earth asunder, killing many of the draenei and blasting apart the tomb city. Exarch Maladaar and a handful of his followers used their magics to shield themselves from the blast. Though they survived, they no longer had the numbers to resist the Shadow Council who overwhelmed the draenei and bound them in chains.[5]
Beyond the Dark Portal
During the invasion of Draenor, the Auchenai anchorite Nemuraan helped the Alliance Expedition by guiding them inside the ruins of Auchindoun. Before the battle to rescue Kurdran Wildhammer, he appealed to the spirit of Boulestraan the Blinding Light alongside an army of spectral draenei warriors, and their combined forces stormed the orc forces within the grave-city. In the aftermath, Danath Trollbane offered Nemuraan and his group of survivors to take refuge on Azeroth once they defeated Ner'zhul and the Horde of Draenor, but the death priest refused, stating that they would stay in Draenor as long as their dead lay there, for they would be tended.[6]
The Burning Crusade
In time, the Void energies emanating from D'ore turned mad this priory, as they no longer believed that the dead should be left alone to rest. The Auchenai leader, Exarch Maladaar, was eventually driven mad by the loss of everyone and everything he had ever loved. His lunatic dedication to the preservation of their memory drove him to a mastery of the dark arts.[7][8] Once he turned to necromancy, he created Shirrak the Dead Watcher to guard over the fallen draenei spirits who wander the Auchenai Crypts.[9] Many unsavory experiments were then undertaken in the Auchenai Crypts in pursuit of a greater understanding of the necromantic arts. Many spirits were tortured or destroyed therein.[10]
A month before the fall of the Black Temple, a force of Shadowmoon clan fel orcs led by Grimbak Shadowrage accompanied Illidan Stormrage when he ventured to Auchindoun to gather souls for a portal to Argus. All of the fel orcs, including Grimbak, were slain during the subsequent battle by the Auchenai defending the area.[11]
In time, Commander Ra'vaj and his soldiers fought with the Auchenai for days in the Bone Wastes. As the souls from both camps were lifted and taken to parts unknown, Ra'vaj tasked adventurers to burn the bodies on the battlefield,[12] and to keep the growing number of Auchenai occupied while his scouts get behind their lines.[13] They discovered that the Auchenai were feeding the souls to a coffin in order to resurrect their first exarch to defeat the Sha'tar. Their attempt was ultimately unsuccessful after the adventurers destroyed both the coffin and the undead exarch.[14]
The heroes were later sent by Greatfather Aldrimus to destroy Exarch Maladaar and his abominations, so that the spirits trapped in the Auchenai Crypts could finally rest in peace. After his death, the naaru D'ore appeared and redeemed the spirit of Maladaar, which eventually appeared to Aldrimus, kneeling in front of his master to thank him for releasing him from the dark ones' hold.[15]
Cataclysm
Following the Cataclysm, a Tormented Soulpriest appeared in the Auchenai Crypts, furious that the Auchenai have turned their backs on everything they used to stand for, as they still continued to raise the dead as unholy minions. She asked adventurers to put the spirits back to rest and to massacre those responsible for raising them into undeath.[16]
Legion
During the Burning Legion's third invasion of Azeroth, the corrupted Auchenai were still active in the ruined halls of Auchindoun. At the request of the naaru Saa'ra, the champions of the Conclave fought against Idra the Crazed and her Auchenai zealots, managing to reach D'ore and its sacred sanctuary in order to fill the 
[Spark of Light] and reveal its full potential.[17]
Battle for Azeroth
During the Fourth War, Auchenai ballistae were present at the Battle for Lordaeron, indicating that the organization still existed as part of Azeroth's draenei society.[18]
Dragonflight
Years later, the Auchenai started to reclaim the ruins of Auchindoun, with the help of the Omenai. Although dead, but now free of his madness, Exarch Maladaar continues to lead them as a ghost. The Auchenai have slowly been taking the ashes of the cremated dead from the Siege of Shattrath to Auchindoun, and planned to do the same to those who died in the Path of Glory. They were also housing many of the broken and weakened souls in vigilants temporarily, as a physical body would ground the damaged souls' emotions until they have healed.[19]
When the Auchenai received word of the Tishamaat celebration, they moved several souls into vigilants so they could attend the holiday at the Exodar.[20]
Culture and abilities
- Main article: Death priest
The "death priests" are allowed to see the world of the dead after drinking a potion during a rite of initiation. Many did go mad from it, though.[21]
They are able to summon their fallen kin using the Light,[6] while those who once fell into madness used necromancy to enslave the souls under their responsibility.
The death priest Nemuraan showed Danath Trollbane that he was able to use his magic to learn their language and speak it perfectly.[6]
Known members
| Name | Role | Location | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
  Exarch Maladaar
|
Leader of the Auchenai. | Auchenai Crypts, Terokkar Forest | Active |
 Boulestraan the Blinding Light
|
Commander of Auchenai defenders. | Auchindoun, Terokkar Forest | Active |
| Greatfather Aldrimus
|
Mentor of Exarch Maladaar. | Auchindoun, Terokkar Forest | Active |
 Idra the Crazed
|
Member of the Auchenai. | Auchindoun, Terokkar Forest | Deceased |
| Nemuraan
|
Keeper of the dead in Auchindoun. | Auchindoun, Terokkar Forest | Alive |
| Reanimated Exarch
|
Former leader of the Auchenai. | Auchenai Crypts, Terokkar Forest | Deceased |
 Ixamos the Corrupted
|
Member of the Auchenai. | Unknown | Unknown |
 Obora the Mad
|
Member of the Auchenai. | Unknown | Unknown |
Formerly
| Name | Role | Location | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
 Levixus the Soul Caller
|
Former death priest, agent of the Legion. | Auchindoun, Terokkar Forest | Killable |
| Nitrin the Learned
|
Former death priest, father of Levixus. | Abandoned Armory, Nagrand | Alive |
| Ramdor the Mad
|
Spirit and former death priest. | Auchenai Crypts, Terokkar Forest | Active |
Unnamed
Items
[Auchenai Anchorite's Robe]
[Auchenai Boots]
[Auchenai Bracers]
[Auchenai Death Shroud]
[Auchenai Healing Potion]
[Auchenai Mana Potion]
[Auchenai Monk's Tunic]
[Auchenai Staff]
[Auchenai Tracker's Hauberk]
Notes
- In The Burning Crusade, Exarch Maladaar's Dungeon Journal entry implied that none of them were alive, despite not being marked as undead.[7]
- The Reanimated Exarch is described as "the first exarch of the crypts",[14] but the history of the Auchenai and Exarchs given in Chronicle established that Maladaar was their first leader, so it is unknown how he fits in.
Gallery
Auchenai Soulpriest
Auchenai Vindicator
Auchenai Phantasm in Hearthstone.
Auchenai Death-Speaker in Hearthstone.
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References
- ^ a b Auchenai Crypts, on the Official Site
- ^ [15-30] I See Dead Draenei
- ^ Auchenai Soulpriest, Soulpriest Avelia, Soulpriest Daevos, etc
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 54
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 93
- ^ a b c Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 21
- ^ a b Adventure Guide - Exarch Maladaar
- ^ [15-30] Ezekiel
- ^ Shirrak the Dead Watcher#Adventure Guide
- ^ [30] WANTED: The Exarch's Soul Gem
- ^ World of Warcraft: Illidan, chapter 26
- ^ [15-30] An Improper Burial
- ^ [15-30] A Hero Is Needed
- ^ a b [15-30] The Fallen Exarch
- ^ [67D] Everything Will Be Alright
- ^ [15-30D] Raging Spirits
- ^
Holy Ground: Auchindoun
- ^
[10-50] The Battle for Lordaeron
- ^
[50-80] An Old Wound
- ^ [50-80] Lingering Scars
- ^ [15-30] Vision of the Dead
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