Did the destruction of Draenor save everyone

Lore Story Forum
#1

When in the AU Draenor, we see that in the background there was another looming threat besides just the Iron Horde and the Legion: the Zangar Encroachment.

This mushroom invasion was everywhere from Nagrand to Tanaan and as far as we know, it may still be invading and causing problems for Yrel and her light army.

Aside from its invasion, we can see it has different effects on different species, evolving the podlings into intelligent sporelings but infesting the orcs and goblins, turning them into mindless zombies.

In terms of weaknesses, we saw very little, with it seemingly being only weak to fire. The Zangar shrooms even managed to thrive in the face of Draenor’s destruction, turning the bed of the Zangar Sea into a thriving ecosystem with a variety of spore-based life that wasnt previously present on the planet. That said, this did seemingly stop the outward spread of the mushrooms.

If the planet hadnt been destroyed, could the orcs have accidentally brought the invasive fungus to Azeroth while their own world was being consumed, leading to Azeroth being taken over by the Encroachment?

#2

It’s worth remembering that by the time the MU orcs came to Azeroth, much of the environment on their Draenor had already been severely depleted and ravaged by their reckless use of fel magic, which had allowed them to eradicate their own Primals, so MU Draenor’s overgrowths and fungal encroachments alike probably no longer posed the sort of active threat we saw on AU Draenor, as they’d have been significantly weakened and culled by the Horde thanks to the planet’s fel corruption robbing them of soil nutrients and other creatures on which to feed.

It’s also possible that the aggressive fungal encroachments on AU Draenor may have been a recent development instigated by imbalances in the ecosystem. The Iron Horde didn’t use fel magic until the very end, but they were systematically bludgeoning Draenor’s elements into submission and conjuring the Void, which may have upset the natural balance of things in other ways. In particular, the northeast fungal encroachment in Arak is suspiciously close to the Shadowmoon Clan’s heavy use of the Void in southwest Shadowmoon Valley.

Even the Iron Horde’s weakening of the Highmaul ogres and ramped-up efforts to subjugate the Breakers could have contributed to the fungal encroachment starting to get out of hand, as otherwise there would have been more gronn available to keep the various Primal agencies at bay and the ogres would have been better positioned to police their own coastal holdings. Overall the AU orcs weren’t very actively invested in fighting the Primals themselves, and even the MU orcs may have only been able to exterminate their world’s Primals because the fel had already severely damaged the ecosystem that supported the overgrowths.

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#3

The warlocks probably burned it all.

Fel flames have no silly compulsions about “the balance of nature” or anything like that compared to the relatively chill Draenor elementals.

#4

We do have a sign of danger that occurs. After the Mag’har recruitment scenario, we see some botani followed us to Azeroth, and they immediately flee into the wilderness. Compared to the Botani, I’d take my chances with Yrel’s group.

#5

I don’t think we’re gonna get full fledged zangarcaps and genesaur though. Unlike Draneor we do have an entire organization of druids on tap, and barring that, the Kirin Tor is now acutely aware of their threat and knows not to leave exposed orifices when nuking botani masses.

Not having a ton of ambient spirit energy around will probably not help them grow either.

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#6

What if the Botani tap into the Emerald Dream?

#7

Don’t temp me with a good time! The Botani ran into the Barrens heading towards the Wailing Caverns. Do you remember what was used to turn that area into an oasis? Botani are going to have FUN! Also, in Stormwind the genesaur that was killed left a body and his remains created verdant area just above the city. If a Botani were to find his remains… even better times! Imagine if they brought genesaur seeds and podling seeds. We see in Dragonflight podling invasion near Veldrakken. Someone brought podlings into the MU.