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Ask a Faction Leader: Prophet Velen

Michael Sacco
Updated ·8 min read

WoW.com's prestige in the community has afforded us the opportunity to speak to major Azerothian leadership figures on any subject, and we're letting you, the reader, Ask A Faction Leader!

We recently spoke to Garrosh Hellscream, leader of the Horde's Warsong Offensive, and he shed light on several key issues, including moral dilemmas, basic campfires, faction changes, draenei donk, and the merits of getting eaten by sharks. In this installment of Ask A Faction Leader, we'll be sitting with venerable draenei leader Prophet Velen.

Dear Velen,

Being a prophet, you are probably aware of forthcoming cataclysm. With Thunder Bluff built on 4 mesas, I am worried about safety of the city and its citizens. Since you guys possess some kind of expertise in crashing things (specifically capital cities) I was wondering if you could lend some advice for case it gets struck down.

Best Regards,
Baine Bloodhoof

Velen replies:

Ah, it's good to see Horde leaders initiating a rapport. While I'm certainly not an architect or artificer -- trades better left to younger and stronger draenei -- I have been around for quite a while, so I can give some advice regarding the construction of your city.


Crystals. Tons of crystals. Ask the blood elves to give you some, I'm sure they have huge underground silos just filled to the brim with the damn things. Add them everywhere. On doors, on your roofs, on pillars, hell, even just lying around on the ground.

Want your city to float? Crystals. Want your city to repel attacks? Crystals. Want your city to irradiate local wildlife? Crystals.

Crystals are pretty much the key to doing things. Every things. All of them. One of those things may indeed be "preventing a poorly-built city made of sticks and mud from falling into Deepholm."

Dear Prophet Velen.

I wanted to ask. Are you sure it was a good idea to restore the Sunwell? I mean, the High Elves fed off of the arcane magic, and started to die when Arthas destroyed it. What about now? Aren't you afraid that they will become addicted to the Holy Light? These are the beings that drained poor M'uru of his life, and turned him into Entropius, and that it was Blood Elves that sabotaged the Exodar.

Sincerely,

Rularuu - Blood Elf Warlock.

Velen replies:

Worry not for M'uru, as his fate is the fate of all naaru -- the waxing and waning of void and light. And, in case you aren't familiar with the situation, it was indeed his decision to be captured, to try to put the blood elves back on the right track.

As for helping the blood elves themselves, well, I think that the blood elves we encountered on Draenor weren't aware of what their leadership was really up to. They were just following orders. Which explains why a grand total of one blood elf has even bothered to apologize or say thanks after we restored the Sunwell. And why we still haven't gotten our other four ships back. And why someone in Shattrath following Scryer orders tries to poison our food every day.

Man. Why did we help them?

Dear Velen,

Do you know you always have something floating on your forehead? What is that?!? Have you seen a priest or a shaman about it? You should really get that checked out.

Sotharian

Velen replies:

Oh, I'm definitely concerned about it, but it'll go untreated, as I don't have health insurance. I know, I know, you're probably surprised. Certainly Azeroth must take care of its elders and keep them healthy! But no. Big Mana and its lobbyist paladins have had the healthcare industry under their thumbs since the First War. Until King Wrynn brings about healthcare reform, that is. At least Grand Crusader Snowe looks like she might cross faction lines to make sure the scroll gets passed.

To Prophet Velen,

I have a lot of questions, but I'll ask just one.

A while ago, some draenei were barred from joining the Alliance at Valiance Keep. While this turned out to be a ploy by the Scourge, it made me think: how much are you included in the decisions of the Alliance? King Varian Wrynn is a good man, but it seems that he simply reappeared and took over. Now the forces of Stormwind are one thing, but I see representatives of every race battling the Scourge -- save for the draenei. Were the draenei really barred from service in the Alliance military? Have you forbade your people from formal service? Did you just miss the boat?

Thank you for your time, Prophet.

- Bryce

Velen replies:

Ah, yes. I have heard these questions many times from other races, and I must say that I don't know where this worry is coming from! We draenei are quite involved with Alliance decision-making, and we certainly aren't barred from service. You can see us serving in every corner of the planet! Serving in mess halls, serving court papers, serving wealthy nobles, serving wack dance crews. You just have to know where to look!

Mr. Velen,

There have been rumors of existence of life in other planets for a long time. I mean, here in Azeroth we knew only of the orcs. As space-flying draeneis, have you ran into some other races on the universe, say zerg, terrans, protoss or any crew from the Enterprise?

Velen replies:

I'm unfamiliar with the races you mentioned, but we have run into races from other planets in our travels. People who honestly enjoy reality television, for example, or people who wear socks with sandals.

Prophet Velen,

As a Prophet, do you see any new threats to Azeroth?

Rylyn,
Druid.

Velen replies:

My work of late has been mostly non-prophet, but on your request I've done some meditation and compiled a list of threats that appeared to me.

  • Goblin rogues

  • Worgen druids

  • Christian Belt

  • Alliance mail Tier 9

  • Two separate Barrens Chats

  • This one was fairly vague; all I could get was "LF4M RFD MUST HAVE 4+ HEIRLOOMS WILL CHECK ARMORY"

  • The Argent Tournament

  • Loremaster mods

  • A basic campfire

  • Cairne Bloodhoof -- wait, hang on, never mind that one, it's taken care of

  • That neighbor kid with the loud hippity-hop music

  • Can't really understand this one either. Goo Squid? Gun Squad? Gum Squat?

  • Armor penetration -- oop, taken care of too


Mr. Velen,

As part of my paladin training I have to to a report on someone Important who follows the light. In trying to do research on you I cannot seem to be able to find you or the draenei's origins. The hoofs suggest that your ancestors were land dwellers, perhaps bovine in nature. However, the octopus attached to your face suggests something from an aquatic origin. Are the draenei the product of an experiment gone horribly wrong or the outcome of a forbidden love? Please advise, this is 25% of my final grade.

Thanks,

Eronar of Kael'Thas
Soldier of the Blood Knights

Velen replies:

It's heartening to see a member of the Horde so interested in the natural history of my people. I'm happy to help! Our origin is clearly explained in our race's great holy text, "Faraad Al Viraan Tonos Alavaad," or "Why we have hooves and what the heck is with these tentacles anyway." Book IV, Verse 9, Part XIII explains our creation:

"The creators were painted into a corner. They needed an Alliance race that fit for Outland. The issue was that the only canon sentient race from Outland (WC3 draenei) were way too ugly to be playable, but the only other canon race that would fit the Alliance at all (pandaren) was a joke race that had no right to be playable or even present in-game, so the artists took the eredar and tinted them blue and made them really noble-looking (male) or sexy (female), and the writers reversed an (in the scheme of things) innocuous bit of pre-WC2 lore, thus creating an Alliance race that would simultaneously make sense for an Outland expansion, provide the Alliance with a 'big' race to counter the Horde's monopoly on them, and give male Alliance players the chance to play a male character that didn't have a beard, terrifying hydrocephalic head, or hare lip."

We're not really sure what it means. But there you go!



dEAr ProPhET vElEn,

i HAVe pICtureS oF You anD thE EREdaR tWInS.
SEnD mE 100000g iN cASh, oR i shOw thE aLDor whAt yOU ReAllY MeaN by "COMMunIOn wItH tHE HoLY lIGhT."

DetaILs To FoLLow.

Velen replies:

Yeah, I gotta, uh. I gotta go.

That's all for our audience with Prophet Velen! Next week, we'll be speaking with Cairne Bloodhoof, High Chieftain of the tauren! If you have questions for Cairne, whether you need advice or have questions about totems or nursing homes or anything in between, send them via email to sacco@wow.com with the subject line "AAFL".