Warlords' Background Lore

[Krilari]

Hey'a everyone! As easily noticed I've been gone for the past few days because I've been utterly infatuated with the new Warlords of Draenor Expansion. I've landed one character into the 100's bracket while another is close behind. On my way I've made a point to keep little lore additions in mind. Blizz themselves have said that, while the outright situation with the Iron Horde is a deviation from the norm, the background lore provided is intended to be taken as cannon to help sweeten the history of both the Draenei and Orcs. With that said I'll be updating this list frequently as I come upon new little snippets, so be sure to check back in often.

Draenei

• Draenic influence doesn't seem to extend past the southern reaches of Draenor. Outposts are seen in Nagrand, Talador, and Shadowmoon Valley. However there seems to be no Draenic outposts in Gorgrond or Frostfire Ridge.
  
• Auchindoun is not only a grave site, but also a repository of Draenic Souls. This is the closest thing they have to an eternal respite, as it keeps them guarded away from the Burning Legion's thirst for souls.
  
• The crystals the Draenei are famous for finally have some explanation. The gems are calcified arcane that have formed underground. The Draenei have perfected a method to cut the gems to produce various effects, including: creating arcane barriers, increasing haste, increasing resilience, and acting as a general power source. There are dedicated positions in society to crystal-carving. These gems also seem to be heavily used by vindicators.
  
• Draenei train Fey Dragons from a young age to act as flying mounts once they grow to proper size. As to how long it takes for them to grow is in question, but they have plenty of time.
  
• The Rangari are a group of draenei hunters and scouts who scout and spy over the land to gather information. They are led by Exarch Naielle.
  
• The Draenic name for Oshu'gun is Genedar.
  

Orcs

• Nagrand is the Ancestral land of the Warsong Clan and the Burning Blade Clan.
  
• Frostfire Ridge is the Ancestral land of the Frostwolf and Thunderlord Clan.
  
• Gorgrond is the Ancestral land of Laughing Skull Clan and the Blackrock clan.
  
• We now see the chain of evolution in full. Gron -> Orgron -> Ogre -> Mok'nathal -> Orc.
  
• Before Wyverns, orcs seemed to use the Rylak, which are visually similar and display the ability to use a breath attack depending on their birth.
  
• Goren are, in matter of fact, a common Draenor pest found in rocky regions and not a Orcish Demon Hunter.
  
• Orcish spirits have always been drawn to Oshu'gun, even before the Naaru within felt to darkness.
  
• The strength of the Thunderlord Clan is was their sheer numbers.
  
• The Frostwolf Clan was rather splintered across Frostfire Ridge, making them for easier prey by the more aggressive clans. Together, however, they are a formidable fighting force.
  
• A majority of the Burning Blade Clan are, as their name implies, Blademasters.
  

Other

• There are two tiers in Arrakoa Society, the high-born and the outcasts. The High-born Arrakoa throw their enemies from the high tiers of their kingdom into the tainted blood of a dead god. The blood melts their wings away and drives them mad. Anzu has saved the few friendly outcasts we see from insanity.
  
• The Ogre empire has spanned all across Draenor, though Shadowmoon Valley seems to be saved from their wrath.
  
• Ogres are not as stupid as we think.
  
• Draenor does have it's own set of ley lines, according to Khadgar.
  
• There does seem to be some sort of Titanic nature to Draenor, though we do not yet know a fair majority about it. What we do know, however, is that there are titanic artifacts as you find one in Gorgrond during the leveling quests and another as a part of the dungeon quests, the quest in specific handed out by Lorewalker Cho.
  

[muhaha8]

So does this mean, then, that the Burning Blade Clan isn't just something that happens to pop up randomly as essentially an insane asylum? As I recall, that was the lore up until WoD.

[Krilari]

The burning blade has always been a clan known for their blademasters, even before WoD.

[muhaha8]

Mmm. Lore always made it seem as though it was more of a place where they threw Orcs they couldn't control, not really a clan. Then, I suppose, they weren't so bloodthirsty and uncontrollable before the Legion came through.

[Kaghuros]

The Orcish name for Oshu'gun is Genedar.

Wait don't you mean the Naaru/Draenei name? Or was that retconned?

[Krilari]

That was a mistake on my part. Meant one thing typed another. Draenic is genedar. Orcish is Oshu'gun.

EDIT: And repaired on the main post.

[Maarten]

Not entirely sure but... aren't Mok'nathal half Orcs/half Orc clan?

[FlyingSquirrel]

• The strength of the Thunderlord Clan is was their sheer numbers.
  

Thunderlords! Hoo-rah!

Question, though. Has this given us any definitive age on when Genedar landed? Times seem to deviate between 1000 years and 200.

[muhaha8]

Not entirely sure but... aren't Mok'nathal half Orcs/half Orc clan?

I suppose they must have changed things. But I'm interested in that evolutionary cycle too. Orgron? What are these.

[Krilari]

Mok'Nathal are an orc clan, yes. In this instance I'm using them more as an example. The Mok'nathal are half orc/ogres, as were the half orc/ogres that existed prior to orcs.

Ogron are the predecessors to Ogres. They're smaller than gron, but don't quite yet have the ogre's capability for consciousness yet. Here is an example. (Also, I did get their name wrong at first. Ogron, not Orgron. My bad!

EDIT: No definite time on Genedar yet!

[Dae]

So, does this mean that the ogres we've known are a vastly different people than the ones we've known so far in Warcraft? Like, they just lost their culture, or were they physically altered to be more "lumbering beast-esque"?

[Krilari]

Nope. They're pretty similar. We see the Ogron in WoD, however we also do see Ogres- and plenty of them! The Ogre nations are still standing strong in WoD, so the only difference is that in WoW the ogres are upon Azeroth and misplaced from their homeworld of Draenor.

[Kaghuros]

It's main-timeline canon that the Ogres enslaved by the Orcs were bred into stupid and smart castes to act as enforcers and spellcasters respectively, with the Ogre-Magi at the top. Since they haven't been enslaved in this timeline their genetics haven't been tampered with.

[Vooz]

That explains the intelligent ogre warlord in Lords of War (or maybe not so intelligent, standing in biting range of Grommash and all). Does this imply that there are ogres in Outland who were not enslaved by the Horde and, therefore, aren't stupid? Or was their entire race just dumbified?

[Kaghuros]

Well the Ogres at Ogri'la seem to be pretty smart. They're not enslaved by anyone, and they have wonderful magic crystals enhancing their minds as well.

http://wowpedia.org/Ogrila

Edit: I guess it's also worth pointing out that Ogre leaders aren't stupid either. Some of them, like the ones in Blade's Edge who were never under Orc control, are even conspiring against Gruul and the Gronn. There's a long quest chain where you actually get them to be neutral to you by helping them protect their villages and throwing off the yoke of Gronn oppression.