Lightbound

Not to be confused with Lightforged.

Lightbound
Yrel and her Lightbound
Main leader	High Exarch Yrel
Secondary leaders	Exarch Hellscream
Formerly	Exarch Orelis †
Race(s)	Draenei  Lightforged draenei Vigilant  Mag'har orc Ogre
Character classes	Battlemage, Blademaster, Paladin, Priest, Sharpshooter, Soldier
Sub-group(s)	Kor'gall clan (allies)
Status	Active

“The Light can heal the scars of war! This once-fertile land is now lifeless dust. That's what your hate has done!”

— Exarch Orelis fighting Geya'rah

The Lightbound are an army of draenei, Mag'har orcs, and ogres from alternate Draenor led by High Exarch Yrel in service of the naaru. They waged war against the unified orc clans known as the Mag'har for the safety of Draenor.

History

Lightbound flooding Gorgrond.

The Lightbound gathered in front of Beastwatch.

After Warlords of Draenor

After Archimonde's fall, the orcs and draenei worked together to drive the Burning Legion from Draenor. The two peoples then lived in peace alongside each other for years. During this time, more naaru arrived on Draenor and, without demons to fight, the draenei became fixated upon the Light. At some point, Draenor began to deteriorate for unknown reasons. The Lightbound believed that the Mag'har orcs were choking the life from Draenor and dooming the land to desiccation, and blamed the Mag'har for the once-fertile land becoming lifeless dust, while Grommash Hellscream believed that it was the Light that had doomed the planet. Having received visions from the Light Mother, the High Exarch knew that the Army of the Light would bring order to countless worlds in the Great Dark Beyond. But first, the Mag'har needed to be taught to trust the naaru as well, for they brought peace and order. The naaru compelled the draenei to spread their influence among the orcs.

The Lightbound sent sermons, explaining they wished for all the people of Draenor to be unified in purpose. Those resisting the Light were seen as an infection that prevented "Draenor's heart from being whole". Many orcs converted to the Light willingly, but others had the Light forced upon them. Some orcs even sided with the draenei against their own kin, including Grommash's own son. War followed, until the two sides found themselves in a stalemate in Gorgrond, where the Lightbound refused to attack Hellsreach Citadel.

Battle for Azeroth

This section concerns content related to Battle for Azeroth.

Convinced that the Mag'har had no hope of winning against the Lightbound, Kor'gall, Greatson of Kor'gall and his followers secretly joined them. While the Mag'har were dealing with the ogres, Lightbound forces led by Exarch Orelis captured Evermorn Hold and used it as a staging ground for an attack against Beastwatch. However, the Mag'har repelled the assault and retaliated. In their assault on Evermorn, Overlord Geya'rah, Eitrigg, and a Horde champion killed Orelis. As the Mag'har celebrated their victory, High Exarch Yrel and her entire army arrived on the field. With her vastly superior numbers, the High Exarch offered Hellscream and the Mag'har one last chance to embrace the Light by joining the Lightbound. However, Grommash refused her offer, and stayed behind with Lantresor of the Blade to push back the Lightbound while the Mag'har led by Geya'rah fled to Azeroth with Eitrigg and the champion.

Members

Named

Name	Status
High Exarch Yrel <Voice of the Naaru>	Alive
Exarch Orelis	Deceased
Exarch Hellscream	Alive
Grand Anchorite Almonen	Alive
Kor'gall <Chieftain of the Kor'gall Clan>	Deceased

Unnamed

• Lightbound Battlemage
• Lightbound Blademaster
• Lightbound Bulwark
• Lightbound Dragoon
• Lightbound Sharpshooter
• Lightbound Soldier
• Lightbound Warpriest
• Radiant Naaru

Mechanicals

• Lightbound Battery
• Lightbound Vigilant

The subject of this section did not make it out of the beta stages.

• Lightbound Warframe

Notes

• Upon arriving to Draenor, Eitrigg and the Horde champion were taken prisoner by the Mag'har on suspicion of being Lightbound spies.
• At some point, Durotan fell in battle against the Lighbound.
• The Lightbound seem to be analogous, or related, to the main universe's Army of the Light. They use the same batteries and warframes, armor suits, tabard, and they also receive visions from a "Light Mother". The High Exarch's sermon also mentions the Army of the Light by name.
• The Light Mother mentioned is very likely Xe'ra's alternate reality counterpart. The naaru's "singular purpose", savoring nothing more than being proved right, and conversion of others to the Light is also mentioned elsewhere.
• After her people formally joined the Horde, scarred by her experiences with the Lightbound, Geya'rah later declared the Alliance embracing the draenei and their Lightforged kin alone was reason enough to crush their cities to dust, and that while there were draenei on Azeroth, she would see to it otherwise.

Speculation

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

• It is currently unknown what really caused the planet to begin to die. While the Mag'har and the Lightbound blame each other, it is possible that both Mag'har's industrialism and the Lightbound's spreading of the Light contributed to the planet's decay. Alternatively, something could have caused this timeline to collapse in on itself, with the planet dying as a side effect.
  • Another possibility is that when Kairoz used the  [Vision of Time], it merely delayed the timeline's collapse, meaning the deterioration may have been inevitable as the timeline falls apart. This would also explain why the Horde's attempt to re-connect with alternate Draenor's Mag'har connected with its equivalent to the time of the Prime timeline, rather than the time Kairoz and Garrosh escaped to, as the timeline continued to unfold on its own, despite its slow but continuous collapse. Chronicles mentions that alternate timelines are natural but unstable and will eventually dissipate into nothing if they are left alone, but beings from their realities can remain in existence "indefinitely" if efforts are made to preserve them. The bronze dragonflight apparently expected the Horde's arrival at the Caverns of Time and went to considerable efforts to assist them, implying they believed it was "meant" for them to reunite with the Mag'har and recruit them from alternate Draenor. The game, however, is far less cut and dry on the subject, suggesting some timelines collapse, and others do not.