Hello! I did the sanguine depths dungeon in revendreth a few days ago. It came with a quest from Draven to rescue a prisoner. Much to my surprise, and delight, the prisoner was a Naaru. I do not have a character in the venthyr covenant, so that was pretty much my only exposure to the Naaru so far.
Are the Naaru relevant in the covenant campaign or was that just a one time thing in the dungeon?
From what i know, Denathrius pissed the light realm so much they put a permanent curse on the Venthyr that makes them weak to the light. This Naaru was captured and transformed into a being of death somehow, so is not a regular Naaru anymore, but still wields the light.
I don’t know if she’ll show up in the campaign again. But you can talk to her after the quest. There’s a mirror behind sinfall that’ll port you to her. She gave some background info about the light attack on revendreth.
The Naaru hasn’t been explicitly mentioned outside of the dungeon yet. I assume they’re mentioned at some point further into the Venthry campaign than it’s currently possible to be.
That description, “Our numbers were vast. Uncountable.” Makes you wonder. We think of Naaru as these powerful beings, but maybe they are fodder like ghouls, faceless ones, void walkers, etc. I guess it’s up to Blizzard to design the higher Light beings.
I assume by “we” Z’rali means forces of Light in general. There are lightspawn around the Ember Ward.
That said I assume naaru aren’t the tip-top of the Light hierarchy. Theoretical “Light Lords” probably can’t manifest in reality just like Void Lords can’t, and the naaru would probably be equivalent to Old Gods.
Some of them are treated that way, like A’dal and Xe’ra, others just seems like bodies. I can’t imagine C’thun or Yogg just being a vendor.
And I don’t know. As a higher being, I wouldn’t describe my minions as part of me. Maybe our presence instead of our numbers, and immeasurable instead of uncountable. But that’s just me.
There’s also a Naaru being held prisoner as one of the big gladiatorial fights in the Theater of Pain in Maldraxxus. So, they apparently get around Shadowlands. And people love to lock them up.
…no, that seems pretty standard.
When a General says “We’re going to take that city!” he means himself and his troops. He doesn’t mean a coalition made up entirely of Generals.
I know what you mean, but a General is still the same being as a Private. But also instructs those right under himself, usually a colonel. Colonel tells the Major or Captain, they tell the Platoon commander… but that all comes down, need your troops to believe in what you are doing. Does a Lightspawn need to believe in the cause, or does it just do what its master tells it to do?
So do the Naaru see themselves as just cogs, as lightspawn are, in the crusade that the Light is waging? Maybe. But still makes them seem… I don’t know, disposable.
The Naaru and an army of Lightswpan attacked Revendreth in response to experimentation Denathrius got up to in the sinfall complex. He somehow offended the Light itself, which is sort of interesting because who knew the Light could be offended.
Also there are rankings of Naaru, from the Prime Naaru and down. Also it seems the Naaru have “keepers” who direct them which means at the very best they are middle managers, like Old Gods are.
Remember also the Light sees everyone and everything as having to follow one single path, within which all exist to serve its end goal. “We are one in the Light” may be taken rather literally by beings of the Light.
I’m really interested about this “New type of Naaru”, what was the crime against the Light and what impactful role will it have on the story…?
Sharing Personal Thoughts
You don’t think Keal will be infuse with this new type of Death Naaru to create the next new Allied Race of SL? To set up the Light vs Void expansion now that the Alliance has Alleria and the Void Elf… oooo the possibilities…
Z’rali is a naara who participated in a battle when the light attacked revendreth because Denathius was conducting horrible experiments that were an affront against the light. the naaru destroyed part of revendreth what we now know as Ember Ward where light has great power. but she was captured and tortured now that she is free she decided to stay, as she thinks she was tainted by the dark powers of denathruis and is not worthy to return home.
Gossip
Home. It calls to me, mortal. And yet, I will never know its warmth again.
My kind would not perceive me as I was. They would see only an aberration. Fractured. Tainted by the touch of this realm's dark Master.
Now there is but one path before me. To ensure the Light is felt here. That justice is rendered. And that Death is made to know its place.
So here I remain. Bound by duty. Until my last flicker fades away.
Gossip
We came seeking justice. Retribution. To answer an affront committed upon the Light itself.
Our numbers were vast. Uncountable. Every heart burning with righteous fury.
Many fell. But not before we unleashed a fire that our enemies could not endure. The seething scar of our vengeance still lingers in the firmament.
I lay broken on the battlefield. Until the unseen ones found me. Preserved me. To serve as a vessel for their Sire's rage.
But I endured. I knew the Light had a destiny. For me. And for your kind as well, mortal.
now she lives in Dawnkeep where light has the greatest power!
As a paladin my greatest wish is that Z’rali become a new deity of death like bwonsamdi and in the same way that he has his own kingdom in ardenweald, she can create in Ember Ward a kingdom within revendreth for those who worship the light where a sacred naaru takes care of us after death.
I was going to push back on this nonsense, but then I realized you managed to write an entire anti-Naaru post without falling back on the tired “wind chime” byte to describe one of the most interesting and evocative monster designs in WoW.
the developers said that it is a very special case, that it is not something common and that it almost never happens.
many of us were annoyed that alexandros went to maldraxxus. It would be great if he could meet Z’rali. I imagine that as a draenei you would like to go to a place full of the power of light where you can be with a sacred naaru.
That’s why I was interested in the Naaru. I saw her on my Kyrian Paladin and I was like…“Wait… Naaru are here?” Wasn’t sure if I needed to change my covenant.
