Eredar

This article is about the eredar lore. For the demonic eredar, see Man'ari eredar. For the eredar that escaped Argus, see draenei. For the other subspecies, see Lightforged draenei, Broken and Lost One.

Eredar
Faction/Affiliation	Augari, Wakeners, Consulate, Vindicators, Independent
Character classes	Mage, Priest, Warlock, Warrior, Conjurer, Sorcerer, Summoner
Racial capital	Eredath
Racial leader(s)	The Triumvirate  Velen  Kil'jaeden  Archimonde
Racial mount	Talbuk
Homeworld	Argus
Language(s)	Eredun

The eredar were a race of supremely talented magic-wielders who arose on the planet Argus countless millennia ago. Exceptionally skilled in magic, their mastery of the arcane arts were renowned throughout the scattered worlds of the Great Dark Beyond. Led by a triumvirate of wise and powerful leaders — Kil'jaeden, Archimonde, and Velen — they built a vast civilization of wondrous cities and a peaceful way of life on their homeworld. Eredath was one of the most illustrious cities of Argus, the pinnacle of the eredar civilization, and the most sacred of all cities.

However, 13,000 years ago, the Dark Titan Sargeras shattered the tranquility of Argus by offering the eredar immeasurable knowledge and power. The eredar were a knowledge-seeking race, as such Kil'jaeden and Archimonde accepted Sargeras' offer. The titan bathed the eredar in his fel might and turned them into demonic members of the Burning Legion. Prophet Velen and his followers, however, managed to flee Argus with the help of the divine naaru, who would rename them draenei, or "Exiled Ones" in their own tongue.

The draenei refer to their corrupted brethren as man'ari (also known as man'ari eredar), or "unnatural beings". Although it is still the name of their race, they have stopped referring to themselves as "eredar" because of the negative connotation it now has, since the vast majority of the eredar were turned into demons.

History

Eredath, once the pinnacle of the eredar civilization, as seen in Legion.

Kil'jaeden, Velen, and Archimonde, leaders of the eredar when Sargeras appeared.

Nearly 25,000 years ago, on the planet of Argus, the noble and enigmatic eredar race arose. They are one of the oldest known races in the universe. They were extremely intelligent and had a natural affinity for magic in all of its forms. Using their gifts, they developed a vast and wondrous society in which art, science, magic, and technology were all as one. Their society was powered by argunite. They were aided in this development by an ancient artifact known as the Ata'mal crystal, a triangular crystal whose origin was a mystery to the eredar, though it had been a gift bestowed upon them by the naaru in ancient times. The eredar hunted great horned beasts for sport.

The eredar were apparently ruled by political regimes under the rule of multiple capable persons. The Second Duumvirate consisted of Kil'jaeden and Velen. Velen was an exceptional master of holy magic, who once used T'uure, a holy artifact of the naaru, to cure a curse that robbed the eredar of their mental capabilities. An order of eredar mages called the Wakeners under the leadership of Thal'kiel first delved into the Void and summoned demons. Presenting this before the duumvirate, hoping to gain the acceptance of them. When denied, he secretly summoned even more demons to usurp the duumvirate and become the sole dictator of Argus. He was betrayed by his apprentice Archimonde, who decapitated Thal'kiel and his order was hunted and their scriptures burned.

The Triumvirate divided.

Argus, after being conquered by the Legion.

13,000 years ago, the dark titan Sargeras, in order to create a great Legion, planned to bolster his ranks by creating demons. He was attracted by the eredar's magical affinity, and he contacted them under the guise of a benevolent being, promising their three leaders, Archimonde, Kil'jaeden, and Velen, vast powers and that he would use his power to transform their race into an even greater one so they may spread his universal union. A troubling vision soon came to Velen, who saw the eredar transformed into unspeakable demons. But despite Velen's misgivings, Archimonde and Kil'jaeden agreed to join Sargeras' Burning Legion. The eredar were the first sentient race to pledge their allegiance to Sargeras. Knowing that other sentient beings would inevitably join the Legion, the eredar declared that their primary language, Eredun, would be the Legion's common language. Argus became a demon world, and the stronghold of the Legion.

Over time, many man'ari eredar who loyally followed Kil'jaeden and Archimonde grew horrified by the bloodshed and ashes left in the Legion's wake. However, Kil'jaeden had a way of invading the mind, any doubt would be known to him immediately, and since doubt was betrayal in his eyes, they continued to serve due to fearing their own death more than their sin.

With his fellow eredar already becoming corrupted by demonic power, Velen, along with those who would follow him, split from the bulk of eredar society — who were, by now, a "twisted demonic reflection of" the original eredar — on Argus with the help of the naaru, renaming themselves the draenei, or "exiled ones" in Eredun. The man'ari (so called because of their transformation into demons) continued to call themselves "eredar" under Kil'jaeden and were infuriated with what they perceived as a betrayal. They hunted Velen and the draenei across dozens of worlds for thousands of years as the draenei used a massive naaru dimensional ship called the Genedar to escape.

The draenei traveled through most of the cosmos and eventually discovered another, safer world to settle down upon. They named this world Draenor, or "exiles' refuge". At first, there was peace with the native orcs living there, and they struck up trade and diplomacy with the shamanistic race. But soon the draenei's existence there was discovered by Kil'jaeden via his agent, Talgath. This time, however, Kil'jaeden decided that instead of launching a full invasion of the planet, from which the draenei had managed to escape in the past, he would use the native orcs to do his bidding for him; thus Velen and the draenei wouldn't realize the Legion was involved and flee until it was too late to do so. Kil'jaeden and the eredar then began to corrupt the orcs, turning them into a bloodthirsty, war-like race by granting them access to warlock magics. The orcs formed the Horde and subsequently hunted down the draenei, almost wiping out the entire race; indeed, they believed they had, but Velen and a few others had managed to escape the onslaught. The draenei then used the Exodar, a dimensional ship from the Tempest Keep to escape to Azeroth, where they allied with the Alliance.

Culture

Please add any available information to this section.

The Crown of the Triumvirate.

The eredar had the habit of using tail jewelry, such as  [Delicate Tail Band] or  [Small Tail Ring]. The more decorative the cuff, the more prestigious the individual.

Back on Argus, the eredar held a yearly sacrament known as the Tishamaat. It is a time to reflect on the burdens of your past, learn from them, and commit to a path forward. Due to the draenei's need to focus on fleeing from the Legion and surviving it had not been celebrated in many years, but the draenei started observing it again shortly after the war against the Primalists.

The Ata'mal crystal was the most sacred artifact of the eredar, accessible only by their three leaders - Archimonde, Kil'jaeden and Velen.

The Crown of the Triumvirate is an ancient relic of the eredar, which was crafted thousands of years ago by the Triumvirate to bring prosperity to all on Argus.

The Crest of Knowledge contained the vast sum of knowledge cultivated by the ancient eredar.

The eredar used to practice the ancient sport of Jed'hin, an ancient sport described as a "basic ritual", and which Councilor Othaar liked to think that it showed how far the eredar had come. One needed not to worry about competitors' heads, as only males with the thickest crests chose to compete.

According to Thal'kiel's whispers about Talixae Flamewreath, the vindicators existed on Argus as a police force.

Language

The eredun was once the language of the eredar, however, after their corruption, the man'ari eredar declared that it would become the Burning Legion's common language, knowing that other sentient beings would inevitably join the ranks of the demons. The Draenei language is likely a dialect of Eredun, if not the exact same language. They use the same alphabet.

The eredar do not seem to use surnames.

Technology

Since the draenei were extremely intelligent and had a natural affinity for magic in all of its forms, they used their gifts to develop a vast and wondrous society, in which art, science, magic, and technology were all as one. They were aided in this development by an ancient artifact known as the Ata'mal crystal, a triangular crystal whose origin was a mystery to the eredar, though their legends suggested it had been a gift bestowed upon them in ancient times.

The argunite crystals were once abundant on Argus and their magical properties helped eredar civilization thrive by powering their technology. One example of its use is the  [Argunite Keystone] powering the Argunite Matrix that powered part of the city of Eredath. While the Artificers of the draenei excelled in working with arkonite crystals, the technology available now is only a shadow of what they had on Argus.

Vigilants are armored mechanical constructs inhabited by the souls of the greatest warriors of the eredar. They were invented on Argus by High Wakener Aargon,and represented only a mere fraction of what the Wakeners could do as they delved deeply into the mysteries of soulbinding. Nobles in Eredath notably used household vigilants powered by crystals to protect their estates.

Biology

Detailed skeleton of a female eredar in Maraad's libram.

The eredar and draenei being biologically the same race, the latter having just changed their name after fleeing Argus, they have the same physical characteristics. Eredar are bipedal ungulates, whose females are on average 7'1" tall while males tend to reach 7'5" in height. Their skin tone is generally blue but can range from white to dark violet. Their blood is also blue. Eredar possess hooves and a tail, which tends to be thinner on females and which can be reinforced with plates on males. Tail lengths vary in both males and females though they are often on the longer side. They can also have horns or forehead plates on their heads. While males have tendrils growing out from their chin and neck, female tendrils are thinner and grow from behind their ears. Their eyes glow many shades of blue or purple. When they die, the glow fades away.

The old eredar believed in the value of phrenology - the measurement of skull in order to divine mental aptitude. Believing that an eredar's mental faculties, such as willpower, memory, and perception, could be attributed to the shape and size of various protuberances on that individual's skull, it was theorized that skulls of proficient spellcasters could channel magical energies even after death.

Like the draenei, the eredar do not often have children because they are so long-lived.

Sub-species

•  Man'ari eredar — The eredar that joined the Burning Legion became demons. While they still refer themselves as eredar, the draenei came to know them as man'ari.
  •  Wrathguard — Demonic eredar who serve as honor guard for the leaders of the Burning Legion.
  • Demonic tyrant — The sub-type of eredar who undergo a transformation that grant them strength.
  • Doommaiden — The sub-type of female eredar that have wings.
•  Draenei — A faction of eredar that refused to join the Burning Legion and instead sided with the forces of the Light under the wise prophet, Velen. This includes both those who fled Argus millennia ago and any descendants born afterward, such as on Draenor.
  •  Lightforged draenei — Some draenei, after separating from the main group, were infused with the light of Xe'ra becoming Lightforged.
  •  Broken — Corrupted and mutated draenei transformed by a "red mist" unleashed by the Old Horde during the attack on Shattrath City, which cut them off from the Light.
    •  Lost one — The most severely mutated and devolved type of draenei.
• Broken of Argus — The eredar corrupted and mutated since the draenei flight from Argus.
  • Voidscarred — The void-corrupted Broken located in Eredath on Argus.
• Ur'zul — The demonic creatures on Argus formed from the tormented bodies and souls of Krokul and fallen members of the Army of the Light.

Notable

Note: The following are confirmed to have lived as eredar on Argus before the arrival of Sargeras.

Hatuun as an eredar, before he became a Broken.

Pre-corruption

Name	Role(s)	Affiliation(s)	Status
Sorolis	A member of the Augari at the Conservatory of the Arcane.	Augari	Unknown
Tarahna	Instructor of the Augari at the Conservatory of the Arcane.	Augari	Unknown
Y'selfa	Crafter and jewelry vendor in Eredath	Independent	Unknown
Vorusk	Jed'hin champion and a disciple of Kil'jaeden.	Independent	Unknown
Kuraam	Tournament vendor at the Circle of Aspirants.	Independent	Unknown
Thal'kiel	One of the greatest eredar sorcerers and mentor of Archimonde.	Wakeners, Augari	Deceased
Nuuri	Wife of Prophet Velen and mother of Rakeesh.	Independent	Unknown

Man'ari

Name	Role(s)	Affiliation(s)	Status
Archimonde	The Defiler; commander of the Burning Legion's military.	Burning Legion	Deceased
Kil'jaeden	The Deceiver; acting leader of the Burning Legion.	Burning Legion	Deceased
Arzaal	Leader of the Penitents seeking redemption after the defeat of the Legion.	Draenei	Alive
Akaari Shadowgore	One of Sargeras's deadliest assassins, former wielder of the Fangs of the Devourer.	Burning Legion	Deceased
Lord Jaraxxus	Eredar Lord of the Burning Legion, and one of the three greatest pupils of Archimonde.	Burning Legion	Killable
Sataiel	First necrolyte to walk Azeroth, former wielder of Ulthalesh, the Deadwind Harvester.	Independent	Active
Talgath	Agent of Kil'jaeden, responsible for discovering the location of the draenei on Draenor.	Burning Legion	Deceased
Arch Magus Velysra	Former Arc-Consul of Argus, leader of the Legion Invasions.	Burning Legion	Killable
High General Rakeesh	Son of Velen, turned by the Legion into the overlord of the Rakeeshi.	Burning Legion	Deceased
Lady Calindris	High priestess, former wielder of T'uure, Beacon of the Naaru and Relic Keeper of Argus.	Burning Legion	Killable
Aargoss	The Soulcleaver; former High Wakener of Argus and one of Archimonde's greatest pupils.	Burning Legion	Killable

Draenei and Broken

Name	Role(s)	Affiliation(s)	Status
Velen	Leader of the draenei and the Light's Chosen, prophet of the naaru.	Exodar, Light's Chosen	Alive
Akama	Leader of the Ashtongue tribe and Ashtongue Deathsworn, former Exarch of the Vindicators.	Ashtongue tribe, Illidari	Alive
Chieftain Hatuun	Leader of the Krokul of Argus, former member of the Council to the Triumvirate.	Argussian Reach	Alive
Askara	Holder of T'uure, Beacon of the Naaru and among the greatest healers the draenei have ever known.	Independent	Deceased
Captain Fareeya	The Crescent Glaive. Captain and high ranking member of the Army of the Light.	Army of the Light	Alive
Exarch Hataaru	Chief of the Artificer on Argus, member of the Council of Exarchs.	Council of Exarchs	Deceased
Maatparm	Mushroom collector and one of the original survivors of Argus.	Exodar	Alive
Larohir	Exarch and general of the draenei, Second-in-Command to Velen.	Exodar	Deceased
Exarch Naielle	Exarch and leader of the Rangari.	Rangari, Exodar	Alive
Farseer Nobundo	Emissary of the elemental spirits, High shaman of the Earthen Ring, formerly a vindicator.	Exodar, Earthen Ring	Alive
Grand Artificer Romuul	Artificer in charge of the Exodar and the Vindicaar.	Exodar	Alive
Anchorite Tessa	Anchorite of the Aldor and one of the original survivors of Argus.	Aldor, Valiance Expedition	Alive
Valok the Righteous	Argent Dawn prisoner of the Scourge, killed by the draenei death knight adventurer.	Argent Dawn	Deceased
Archmage Y'mera	Archmage, once a student during the days of the eredar on Argus.	Army of the Light	Alive
Blademaster Telaamon	Blademaster born on Argus, he saw the Legion turning the world into a bitter, dead husk.	Army of the Light	Deceased

Other accounts

Original lore

Originally, before the invention of draenei as a concept, the race of demon was known as "the eredar warlocks".

Eredar were supreme sorcerers at the dawn of the universe. Some believe that they devoured their own world by using radical warlock magics. They consumed all life around them and set out to find more places of mystical power.

Over the eons, Sargeras encountered two powerful demonic races, both of which were bent on gaining power and dominance over the physical universe. One of them was the eredar, an insidious race of devilish sorcerers, who used their warlock magics to enslave a number of worlds that they had invaded. The indigenous races of those worlds were mutated by the eredar's chaotic powers and turned into demons themselves. Though Sargeras' nearly limitless powers were more than enough to defeat the vile eredar, he was greatly troubled by the creatures' corruption and all-consuming evil. Unable to fathom such depravity and spite, the great Titan began to slip into a brooding depression. Despite his growing unease, Sargeras rid the universe of the warlocks by trapping them within a corner of the Twisting Nether.

Still, Sargeras went mad and decided to undo the Titan's works throughout the universe, he set out to form an unstoppable army that would set the physical universe to the flame. In his fury and madness, Sargeras shattered the prisons of the eredar and the nathrezim and set the vile demons free. The cunning demons, bowing before the dark Titan's vast rage and power, offered themselves to him and swore to serve him in whatever malicious way they could. The eredar were Sargeras's first recruits in the Burning Legion, serving as tactical advisors and intelligence officers.

From the ranks of the powerful eredar, Sargeras chose two champions to lead his demonic army of destruction. Kil'jaeden the Deceiver was chosen to seek out the darkest races in the universe and recruit them into Sargeras's ranks. The second champion, Archimonde the Defiler, was chosen to lead Sargeras's vast armies into battle against any who might resist the Titan's will.

New lore

The idea that eredar were previously mortal before being corrupted has existed long before The Burning Crusade's release. Chris Metzen stands by the lore described in the history section, who for better or worse are among the primary antagonists, more firmly in the backstory.

In the newer lore, Sargeras' first battles with demons may not have been with the eredar; it is possible he may have fought some other demonic race from the Twisting Nether before his battles with the nathrezim.

This is confirmed in the WoW magazine which shows Sargeras also fought the ered'ruin, mo'arg, sayaad, and infernals.

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

All demons, including the eredar, were mortal once, but have been transformed into demons by corruption caused by fel energy. This change included a powerful command of arcane energy. It is said that Sargeras believed that the demons originally were not corrupt, and that it was the Titan's ordering of the universe that was ultimately responsible for the demons corruption. In this scenario, it would imply that the titans considered the various natural races that pre-existed on worlds they visited to be demons, but were actually corrupted by the titans themselves. Sargeras later came back and freed many of them, bent on using them to destroy the Titan's work.

The eredar consumed all life around them and set out to find more places of mystical power. Until now, only the titans have ever challenged them. Each of the leaders, Archimonde and Kil'jaeden, built a hierarchy of demons, jealously protected from the will of the other. These groups strove for dominance of Azeroth and other worlds. But now, at long last, Archimonde is dead, killed by the forces of Azeroth. Individual eredar and a few hopeful heroes of the lesser races have decided that they are the best candidates to replace him. These prideful few have taken their first careful steps toward locating and eliminating the presumptuous competition that might seek to displace them.

These creatures are of impressive size, far larger than any human or orc, with a bulky muscular body and a long tail. Long pointed ears sweep back from its bestial face and horns sprout from its wide brow

Sociology

Pre-eminence in eredar warlock society depends almost entirely upon magical power. Those who command the greatest selection of paramount spells — and thus, in theory, the greatest magical arsenal — rise to higher ranks. Those whose arcane abilities top out at such pitiful cantrips as wish and shape change are grunts and lackeys, scarcely worthy of notice. Because of the very nature of magic, rank, magical power, and overall intelligence go hand-in-claw.

This rule of rank is never deviated from; Archimonde's status among his brethren is backed up by his mastery of the most destructive forms of magic, and his adeptness of all others (recall his single-handed destruction of Dalaran). However, while Archimonde is violent and destructive, Kil'Jaeden is ruthlessly cunning, and coupled with his powerful magic, may even make him an even more dangerous demon than Archimonde.

Trivia

•  [Uuna's Doll] is a rare drop from The Many-Faced Devourer on Antoran Wastes.

Gallery

• 

  Prophet Velen as an eredar on Argus.
• 

  A eredar child and his mother.
• 

  Thal'kiel
• 

  A draenei shrine in Shadowmoon Valley, detailing the flight from Argus.