Velen Wow

Twenty-five thousand years ago, the world of Argus was shaped into a paradise by the eredar race who called it home. Velen, who is known and respected for his immense wisdom, compassion and magical prowess, rose as a leader of Argus, alongside Archimonde and Kil'jaeden, with whom he formed a deep friendship and affection.[citation needed] He even saw both of them as "extensions of his soul", so deep was their friendship. He was particularly close to Kil'jaeden, whom they love and respect each other as brothers. One day, the peace of the eredar was shattered. Sargeras, Destroyer of Worlds, had noticed the achievements of the eredar. Instead of destroying Argus, Sargeras appeared before the leaders of the eredar. Presenting himself as a benevolent entity, Sargeras offered to transform the eredar into an even more powerful race of beings, with the goal of unifying all the races of the universe. In return, they would serve Sargeras as his perfect spellcasters, spreading his universal union with every world they touched. Two of the eredar's triumvirate of leaders, Archimonde and Kil'jaeden, along with two-thirds of the eredar population, took the offer. Only one eredar leader realized the true horror of Sargeras' Burning Crusade: Velen.

Velen, unlike Archimonde and Kil'jaeden, had the gift of "Sight", and was granted a vision by the naaru K'ure of the truth of Sargeras' plot. The utopia that Sargeras had promised was a lie, much to Velen's horror. He at first saw himself at the head of a vast eredar force of the Light, spreading the gifts of their race to worlds beyond count, as Sargeras had said; the next moment, he saw the truth. Sargeras had no intention of unification. His vision was one of death, of razing entire worlds to bare rock and ashes. And the eredar were not to be the bringers of enlightenment with their new powers; they would be man'ari, twisted, malevolent shadows of their former selves devoted to the destruction of worlds for the glory of Sargeras' terrible Burning Crusade. Horrified, Velen attempted to warn Archimonde and Kil'jaeden but they didn't believe him and thought it was only a delusion.[citation needed] Velen desperately prayed for guidance. K'ure appeared before him, reassured Velen that his plight had been heard, and instructed him to gather up his followers and go to the highest mountain on Argus, during the longest day of the year. Velen and his followers barely escaped the newly created Burning Legion. From then on, Kil'jaeden vowed to hunt down Velen and his followers and slaughter them, even if it took a thousand years.

The Legion chased the exiles, or "draenei" ("Exiled Ones") as they had come to be known, across the universe for thousands of years. Each time Kil'jaeden approached, the naaru granted new powers to Velen to preserve his race. After millennia of flight, Velen and his people were finally able to evade the Legion and settle on a world they named Draenor.

Draenor

Velen and the draenei were taken from Argus via the crystal-ship that became known by the orcs as Oshu'gun — "Mountain of Spirits". As they settled onto their new homeworld, the draenei came into contact with the orcish clans, and began to trade with them; the relations with the orcs were cordial, but aloof and businesslike. While the draenei established themselves and built the city of Shattrath as their capital, Velen set up his own private refuge at the Temple of Karabor, on the eastern edge of the lands of the Shadowmoon Clan.

While he was visiting the town of Telmor in Terokkar Forest, Velen met two orcs who would later shape the destiny of the Horde — Durotan, heir to the chieftainship of the Frostwolf clan, and the future Orgrim Doomhammer; Telmor's captain of the guard, Velen's friend Restalaan, had rescued them from an ogre attack. Their dinner discussions spoke much of the orcish heritage and of the prophecy relating to the Doomhammer, which Orgrim would receive upon the death of his father — the prophecy of how, after bringing salvation then doom in the hands of the last of the Doomhammer line, it would pass into the hands of one of non-Blackrock lineage, who would wield it and lead the orcs to salvation.

Corruption of the orcs 

Over the eons after their escape from Argus, Kil'jaeden continued his search for Velen and his followers, but was frustrated when he found only traces of where they had been. His agents had managed to locate Draenor, and reported back to him both the conditions the draenei lived in and the people that lived on their world. Realizing that he had found the tool of vengeance, Kil'jaeden appeared to the elder shaman Ner'zhul, and informed him that the draenei were plotting against them.

Over a short span of time, the draenei came under increasing attack by the orcs, convinced that the draenei were their enemies. Concerned, Velen sent a courier to Ner'zhul, asking for a reason behind the attacks, and requesting a meeting in the shadow of Oshu'gun. The orcs, however, had killed the courier, and Ner'zhul did not wish to attend the meeting himself. Instead, he sent for Durotan, who captured Velen and his entourage. Velen tried to explain the true purpose of Oshu'gun to the Frostwolves but Durotan and his chief shaman, Drek'Thar, grew angered by what they perceived as blasphemy. Despite this, and despite the orders from Ner'zhul, Durotan released Velen and his fellows, taking their ata'mal crystals instead.

Over time, attacks against the draenei became increasingly violent. The newly established Horde, now directed by Ner'zhul's apprentice, Gul'dan - who had become Kil'jaeden's pupil in the art of the warlock - began to assault and destroy draenei settlements to appease their new master. Durotan led the assault on Telmor, utilizing one of the captured crystals to allow him to lower the draenei's defensive cover. Velen's refuge at the Temple of Karabor was also attacked and defiled by Gul'dan and his new warlocks, who renamed it the Black Temple and set it up as the headquarters of their Shadow Council.

After the attacks increased — including the final assault that destroyed the city of Shattrath — Velen and some of his followers went into hiding in Zangarmarsh, establishing Telredor, and were never found by either the orcs or Kil'jaeden's minions...

Escape from Outland 

Velen and his remaining followers remained hidden over the decades that passed since the draenei were massacred by the demonically-possessed Horde. During that period, great changes occurred in Draenor: The Dark Portal to the world of Azeroth was opened, and the orcs invaded - but after years of warfare, they were finally defeated. When Ner'zhul, in a desperate attempt to escape Kil'Jaeden's wrath, tried to open portals to other worlds for the Horde to conquer, the incredible energies tore Draenor apart. In order to prevent this catastrophe from affecting their world, the Alliance Expedition under the command of the archmage Khadgar sealed the Dark Portal, cutting off both the orcs already in Azeroth and those they were battling on the fields of Hellfire Peninsula.

Almost two decades passed before anyone travelled through portals to Draenor - now known as Outland. The half-demon night elf Illidan Stormrage, accompanied by his naga and blood elf allies, sought refuge from Kil'jaeden after Illidan failed to destroy the Lich King, the imprisoned spirit of Ner'zhul who controlled the Scourge back in Azeroth. As the blood elves, under the command of Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider, took up residence in the naaru interdimensional fortress of Tempest Keep, Velen decided it was time to gather what remained of his people and find a new place to take refuge once more.

Aided by the Broken Farseer Nobundo, who introduced shamanism to the draenei, Velen personally led a raid to capture the Exodar, one of Tempest Keep's satellite structures, and attempted to use it in order to escape Outland. The blood elves, realizing the draenei's intentions, sabotaged the transdimensional "engine" of the Exodar. As the draenei attempted to travel the dimensional planes, the reactor malfunctioned, hurtling the Exodar and its crew across the Twisting Nether until one month ago, where it appeared - coincidentally - in the world of Azeroth. The damaged Exodar screamed across the skies of northern Kalimdor, pods ejecting and spreading across a small island chain off the coast of Darkshore, before crashing on the west coast of what is now called Azuremyst Isle.

After the dust settled and the draenei began to establish themselves in settlements built from the wreckage of the Exodar, Velen and his people set themselves to exploring their new homeworld. Word of a heroic Alliance of Light-wielding races had reached the Prophet and his people, and they set out to discover their potential new allies in their continued resistance to the Burning Crusade.

Today

Having survived the crash, Velen continues to lead the draenei people from his new refuge in the Vault of Lights, deep inside the largest intact portion of the crashed Exodar, which now serves as the draenei capital in Azeroth.

Velen's Vision

In recent years, Velen, the noble leader of the draenei, was granted a vision....In it he saw the Broken: formerly healthy draenei who had de-evolved during the orcs' murderous crusade to wipe out the draenei race. According to Velen's vision, the Broken would rise to power once again and aid their displaced brethren.

Velen's vision was given substance in the form of Nobundo, a one-time draenei vindicatorwho had regressed while the orcs decimated his race and tore the planet apart. Like his fellow Broken, Nobundo had lost contact with the Light, and so he ventured far into the deserts of Outland to meditate and pray for guidance.

After decades of silence, an unfamiliar voice finally answered his prayers. It was not the Light that whispered to him, but the Wind. The breeze spoke to him of lost truths, of the might of the elements--of the delicate balance of power embraced by the shaman.

Nobundo listened eagerly and learned all he could. When he judged the time was right, he departed the desert determined to use this knowledge to help the draenei race. However, most draenei refugees greeted the sight of a Broken with skepticism and outright prejudice. Only one of the healthy draenei did not shun the Broken: the wise and perceptive Velen.

Velen had heard the philosophy of the shaman before, but Nobundo revealed new truths. The elements were timeless; they stretched across the cosmos to inhabit every world they touched. With the proper training, the draenei might learn to wield this overlooked, seemingly inexhaustible source of power. Velen rejoiced to realize that his vision was coming to pass. Accordingly he took Nobundo with him when he and his fellow refugees took possession of the naaru satellite structure Exodar from the blood elves. Thus it was that Nobundo journeyed with the draenei to the world of Azeroth.

Nobundo found that unlike the desolate wastes of Outland, Azeroth possessed abundant elemental energies. He shared his knowledge of shamanism with the draenei on Azeroth, and all who adopted its path flourished.

The time for the draenei shaman to test themselves draws near, for the battle against the Burning Legion is once again at hand. And the fate not only of Azeroth, but of all worlds, hangs in the balance.