Many of us have been thinking that the Nightborne has the access to the priest class due to some priestesses being loyal to their goddess Elune.
However, today I have been thinking otherwise, what if, we have access to pick the priest class due to the Star Augur Etraeus and other astromancers? The boss uses several void spells, summons void minions, and casts voidbursts, even enters the void form.
Does this mean the Nightborne priests are astromancers? As we know the Highborne of Suramar were studying the stars as early as twelve thousand years ago. Due to the isolation, the Nightborne kept on with their studies, even inside the Nighthold there is an area called the Astromancer’s Rise.
You can study the stars but necessarily pray to them.
As several NPC Nightborne say upon dying:
Your star is fading.
The most notable ones are said by Star Augur Etraeus:
Stars have spoken, they found you wanting.
As the stars wax, so your lives wane! Held by the majesty of the stars. You are nothing. Less than nothing.
The stars have judged you, and found you wanting
The stars align! Fear their portents!
Does this mean a male Nightborne can be a priest but only as a Shadow priest?
I have literally seen no one voice this and I can’t recall seeing a Elune worship presence amongst the Nightborne in Suramar. If there was, then it must have been minor, like how there’s a small Zandalari troll presence suggesting that they worship Elune.
I’ve seen no evidence of Nightborne practicing a gender set role in their society. For example Nightborne Shadow Priests can be both male and female or any other spec and what not.
Theory comes from the NPCs kneeling before a female statue with a half-moon scythe on her hands. Some have been thinking, it is the representation of Elune in Suramar.
https://imgur.com/a/SJP5emw
Hm?
The Shal’dorei are known to continue the culture of the ancient Kaldorei Empire, meaning, the Shal’dorei has gender set roles, especially seen with the statues in the Surmamar.
Nor in the present, nor in the ancient times, males were allowed to be priests of Elune.
My opinion/question, however, is that the priest class was given to the Nightborne as “astromancers” rather than priests of Elune.
The Priest class is a total lore mess. They use both Light and Void abilities regardless of specialization. A Lightforged Draenei Shadow Priest in Shadowform is infused with both the Light and the Void at the same time LOL. I should not have to go through each race and say “This Priest spec isn’t canon.”
There are races that don’t worship the Light or use Void, but yet, have the exact same powers as a regular priest. How do the Troll loa give Priests the exact same powers as a Light/Void-wielding Priest? Are they followers of Rezan? The Darkspear didn’t know about Rezan. What about Night Elves?
As for Nightborne, we literally have no clue what their religious beliefs are.
People just assume, due to the statues, scythes and etc.
Some saying they have chosen astronomy over the religion.
On another hand, I have seen many RP Shal’dorei guilds, which are not allowing the male Nighborne priests as it is against the lore, of the gender set roles.
However, the Star Augur Etraeus proves otherwise by using the void spells.
It will be wrong for me to say Etraeus was a priest, he was an astromancer, however, Zandalari paladins are not paladins as well, they are prelates. Tauren are not paladins, they are sunwalkers, and etc.
This should mean, that the Nightborne priests are in fact astromancers, not priests.
Decide that on your own. Blizzard has done all the world-building for the Nightborne and other Allied Races that’s going to be done. (In fact worldbuilding was cut back for the Mechagnomes who received a majorly cutdown version of the starting area that existed in beta.)
Given that there don’t seem to be any Nightboune trainers leads me to indicate that Blizzard has given no thought as to how the class fits in society.
I don’t think that the Shal’dorei worship Elune anymore. One thing that really stand out to me to the effect is that they seem to of lost the ability to turn into a Wisp, which it seems is Elune’s doing. A gift to her devoted who follow her path.
The heavy moon symbology I think boils down to the fact Suramar became the seat of power for the Sisterhood after Azashara and the Highborn sort of ran them out of Elun’dris when it became Zin-Azshari and Azashara jumped the fence to “god-queen” status.
When the Temple of Elune was lost during the first Legion invasion, it seems the Sisterhood’s presence within Suramar went with it. It is worth noting that only the more elite Highborn controlled city center was preserved also, as they kind of left the Lowborn outer districts where you’d more likely fine Elune devotees to drown during the sundering.
Also, the Shal’dorei seem really big on tradition, so they never changed the city or its motifs, instead being proud of it being so pristine after all that time when the rest of the empire collapsed under the sands of time. If they have worshiped anything all that time in the bubble it is likely themselves, so to speak.
So, with all that in mind, you could argue that the presence of the priest class is actually an indication of Light-based ideology being transmitted from the Sin’dorei to their new allies. Or you could argue that Blizzard simply wished to give them a healing class and Priest was less culturally egregious than say… Shaman or Druid.
They have Elune symbols all over Suramar from the ruins to the graveyards to the city itself. I can imagine that Elune worship isn’t as popular as it once was, but they had an active priesthood right up until the point they were bubbled. Do you think they all just stopped being priests?
