The Exodar Triumvirate

WoW Insider has a great story about the issues with Draenei lore in-game. The Draenei, since I first got to know them in 2007, have been one of my favorite races, if not my very favorite. Not only are they my favorite color (even their blood!) but they also have an amazing backstory (which conflicted with Warcraft III's Eredar backstory, but whatever - this one is better, because it gives us the modern draenei, as opposed to the Lost Ones we saw in WCIII.) They also look super-badass.

Anyway, the problem that we see with the Draenei is that they all seem to follow every one of Velen's directives to the letter. Now, this is kind of a wider problem in the lore. Each race tends to act in full accordance with their leaders. The Forsaken seem to dive into evil whenever Sylvanas gets ideological, and an amazing number of Orcs let their loyalty to Thrall and his image of a return to shamanism fall by the wayside the moment Garrosh replaced him.

But as one of the less-developed races, the Draenei really seem to be all of a mind. We occasionally see rogue draenei working for equal-opportunity evil organizations, like Twilight's Hammer or just good old pirates, but never as serious characters with real backstories and motivations. In fact, we haven't really seen a true Draenei turn away from Velen's vision since that one Aldor guy in Netherstorm who succumbed to despair.

And as the article points out, and as I've said many, many times, the Draenei have a strong motivation to really bring the pain to the Horde. Sure, their society has a very strong tradition of forgiveness and benevolence, but surely one or two people would like to take revenge on the brutes who murdered their families (if I RP'd, that would be the backstory for my Death Knight, with his experiences in the Scourge removing the last bit of restraint preventing him from going on a vengeance-fueled rampage.)

So then there's this question: What temporal power does Velen hold over the Draenei? We don't actually see much of a true government, exactly (though admittedly, we don't see much of that elsewhere, either.) Certainly the Draenei revere Velen for his spiritual leadership, but what of an actual government?

In fact, Velen does hold the office of a political leader. Way, way, way back, 25,000 years ago (the Draenei must just not age,) Velen was one of the three leaders of the Eredar back on Argus. The Eredar were ruled by a triumvirate, and as far as we know, they had no religion to speak of. Velen was a secular leader, along with his "brothers" Kil'jaeden and Archimonde.

We know next to nothing about pre-Sargeras Eredar culture. After all, the Man'ari Eredar we have encountered have spent 25,000 years warped by demonic magic and serving as part of the Burning Legion. But the Draenei culture is also, presumably, far removed from the original Eredar way of life, both by their existence as exiles and refugees, but also because of the strong influence of the Naaru, making worship of the Holy Light such a core thing. Hell, we don't even call the Eredar Eredar. We call them Draenei - as if they are a different species.

The goal of the Draenei is to eventually return home. Argus is to be liberated, and presumably they wish to return to the lifestyle they once enjoyed as Eredar (I like to imagine that Argus was astonishingly brilliant and magical.)

But with this accomplished, would Velen's work be complete? What form would Draenei structure take?

The Draenei have been gone for a very, very long time, but they are also a long-lived people. Some members, such as Velen or apparently all Draenei Death Knights, were actually born on Argus itself. So while they have been gone for a long time, the society on Argus may not actually be forgotten.

So here's what I'd like to see: The establishment of a secular Draenei government. Velen would obviously remain a powerful and important figure in Draenei life, but this new "Triumvirate of the Exodar" would provide a true structure for their society. (They could even help the Dwarves flesh out their own three-leader government system.)

Do all three members of the Triumvirate have the same duties? Perhaps not. Maybe they reflect the three branches of American government - Executive, Judicial, and Legislative. Thus you could have a Paladin (executive,) a Shaman (judicial) and a Mage (legislative,) reflecting different aspects of Draenei society.

Not only would this be a fantastic opportunity to create some interesting Draenei characters (there aren't really any notable Dranei NPCs beyond Velen, or maybe Vindicator Maraad) but you could also see how conflicts might arise, meaning drama, which is always good for any story.