An Extensive Guide to Priests

by **Aadaria-Ioanna** Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:27 pm

An Extensive Guide to Priests, info of paladins, lore etc.

An Extensive Guide to Priests (Both for the beginners and the advanced players):

Introduction:

Greetings, fellow player, who has stumbled upon this guide either due to despair or curiosity related to the one of the finest classes in Warcraft asides Paladins, the Priests. Before you go on, you would possibly want to make sure that it is indeed your wish to know more about these spiritual servitors, or perhaps have your character to attain the role of one.

So you have decided to give it a shot. Then it would be really graceless of me to not to welcome you to the illuminating world of the Light and the Priests.

Now it is safe for you to know that what you are going to experience in a matter of seconds, is not consisting of a huge wall of text or any sorts of complexity by neither linguistic nor coherently means, for the purpose of possessing the capability to solve the issues regarding the lack of clarity and ambiguity revolving around addressing each and every player.

I. The Light, the Forgotten Shadow and the Voodoo

A belief based on a religious extent, belonging to either a sapient being or a philosophy is what Priests are revolving around. So those are the most essential subjects that you are ought to be knowledgeable about.

A. The Light is considered to be a non-theistic religious belief based on the philosophy of both inner and ambient tranquility with which one reaches the state of utter awareness regarding the existence of the living and the harmony between the corporeal, incorporeal and substantial worlds.

The philosophy of the Light and its gains could be summed up within the following provisions:

- Inner perfection is sought to perceive the whole with the same manner in an inductive way
- Spiritual awareness and guidance is gained, granting the practitioner the ability to lead others
- Grasping the connection between the individual and the whole universe, conveying that knowledge via the senses and emotions
- Gaining insight about the consequences of each of the actions
- Coming up to the realization that the Light is the glory of the universe reflected upon the soul and mirrored back onto itself

The term 'Light' is present due to the lack of a better description to depict this form of energy which apparently has a sapient source, like the Naaru as the simplest example; which are beings of pure light with an anatomy composed of crystalized, sharp and edged body parts, despite the fact that most of the followers of the Light do not actually worship a God.

Therefore, the mention of the term 'God' by the practitioners of the Light is a way to depict the 'Light' synonymously, thus should not be confused with one of the creation myths where it is featured as a creator. However, recently that term has lost its consistent usage as most of the believers of the Light no longer believe in a deity.

Contrary to that belief though, a very few of the minority believes that there is an exalted and supreme consciousness which is the deciding factor for all of the happenings, and the implementer of the eternal damnation and salvation. It even ends up with some thinking that the Light is a sapient creature with a will and the traits of a god, which expresses in ways that that are not meant to be understood and is able to take notice of believers' good deeds and prayers.

This clash of ideas is most likely caused by the old beliefs in which an omniscient being was the sole creator and ruler of the whole universe. By those times, that being was considered to be the source of the Light which energized the priests and granted them a higher sense of perception. However, due to most of the ancient writings getting lost or destroyed in many of the wars, the current belief is the most commonly accepted one.

B. The Forgotten Shadow is a corrupted reinterpretation of the beliefs and traditions practiced by the Holy Light, and are the religion of the Forsaken. The religion of those who follow and use the shadow is called the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow. It is a religion of divine humanism.

Forsaken who once followed the tenets of the Holy Light often alter their philosophy upon their transformation. Former priests of the Holy Light lost their faith when they became undead. Lost and hurt, these priests founded a new religion based on a self-centered version of their former faith. Dubbed the Forgotten Shadow, this philosophy centers around self-empowerment and a desire to balance life with death. Many of the virtues and principles of the Holy Light exist within the Forgotten Shadow, but are twisted to an egocentric view. While small, the Cult of Forgotten Shadow grows in popularity, especially among Sylvanas’ dark rangers. The cult claims Deathknell as its home, as well as a section of the warrior sector in the Undercity, but it is not yet organized enough to claim much control over anything.

The Forgotten Shadow is the dark interpretation of the Holy Light's teachings, and many Forsaken find truth in its doctrine. Forsaken turn to the Forgotten Shadow for different reasons. Forsaken who feel isolated and outcast might join their brethren in support of the Forgotten Shadow to obtain a sense of solidarity, of belonging. Forsaken who feel betrayed by the Holy Light's failure to protect them sometimes find that turning their backs on the Holy Light is not enough; they throw aside the Holy Light and embrace its dark twin out of spite. Finally, some Forsaken simply see the value and practicality in the teachings of the Forgotten Shadow. A Forsaken of any class might emulate the values of the Forgotten Shadow, but devoted church members are usually priests. Some become light slayers, and others become shadow ascendants. Even some dark rangers have joined the ranks of the cult.

The curse of undeath proved especially brutal to those humans who once followed the philosophy of the Holy Light. Their lives as Forsaken seem dreary, hateful and unspeakably cruel. Many allowed anger and bitterness to foster in their souls. They had believed in the teachings of the Light, and now find themselves shrouded in eternal darkness. Such Forsaken founded the Cult of Forgotten Shadow.

Priests of the Holy Light who become Forsaken alter their beliefs to more adequately reflect their new existences. Practitioners of the Forgotten Shadow believe that the actions and emotions of the self-have the capacity to change the universe. The Forgotten Shadow shapes reality. There is no inherent bond between self and universe; a bond exists only when a Forsaken imposes her will on the universe. By strengthening her personal power, a Forsaken can impart greater changes to the world around her. Exceptionally strong Forsaken can literally shape the world. Forgotten Shadow priests refer to this central tenet as Divine Humanism.

The Cult of Forgotten Shadow plays an important role in Forsaken society. Shortly after the emancipation of the Forsaken and the formation of their culture, the Forsaken indulged in a momentary backlash against necromancers. Necromancy was seen as the art of slavery, the tool of the Scourge, and its use was repulsive to the newly liberated undead.

The most serious failing of the Cult of Forgotten Shadow is its lack of organization. Dozens of different interpretations of the three or four virtues exist, and no two priests seem to be able to agree on how the faithful should follow the Forgotten Shadow. A single city can hold several different cult leaders, all in disagreement on their philosophy. Members of the Forgotten Shadow spend almost as much time arguing with other members as they do practicing the tenets they believe.

A particularly charismatic and intelligent Forsaken may draw all the disparate branches of the cult together someday. A united front of philosophically aligned Forsaken would be a dire threat to the Church of the Holy Light. Priests of the Forgotten Shadow can gain access to the Death, Destruction and Power Domains.

So as it was provided by WoWWiki, the philosophy of the Light and its gains could be summed up within the following provisions:

- Egocentric perfection is sought for self-satisfaction
- Self empowerment is the main purpose, and plays a key point at manipulating this source of energy
- Will is the only treat capable of activating and deactivating the bond between the individual and the universe
- Balance of death and life is aimed to have harmony
- Divine Humanism, the ability to shape the world, is a tenet only attainable by the worshippers of this religion
- Feeling of abandonment is sometimes too intense for a practitioner so that he completely avoids studying the Light and gives his whole self into the Shadow, while it is normally considered that learning the Light is also essential as long as the fact that their origins lie in the Shadow is not forgotten.

C. Voodoo is viewed as a type of animism, and to an extent that description is true. The trolls’ religion takes a decidedly different dark bent than the shamanistic beliefs of the orcs and tauren, though. Trolls have a complex belief system involving malign spirits and their effect on the world, but no scholar has established what truth is and what simply long-held belief is. The Darkspear trolls come from a dark and bloodthirsty history of sacrifice, cannibalism and black magic. They consider spirits to be individuals much like living creatures. Spirits are greedy, hostile and dangerous. Trolls also believe their ancestors linger on as jealous spirits who miss the land of the living and require blood sacrifices to appease them. Trolls sacrifice and eat their enemies. They conduct these practices for two reasons. First, they believe the sacrifice of sentient creatures appeases malicious spirits. Second, they believe that after death, an enemy’s spirit can visit misfortune on its killer. By consuming the flesh of their enemies, trolls believe they can also consume their enemy’s spirit, or at least damage it enough to render it impotent.

The orcs’ influence tempers the Darkspear trolls’ spiritual beliefs. The trolls willingly support Thrall and the Horde, and they understand that their destructive rituals offend their allies. Under Thrall’s tutelage, the Darkspear trolls abandoned the sacrifice of sentient creatures and took up animal sacrifice instead. These trolls no longer eat their enemies, but practice other methods of trapping, injuring or destroying enemy spirits. These methods include witch doctor blessings, the burning of enemy hearts, drowning corpses and head-shrinking.

Witch doctors hold an important position in troll society. Trolls respect their witch doctors as the wisest and most powerful tribe members, and show them courtesy and deference. Trolls are superstitious. They see bad omens everywhere and rely on witch doctors to interpret and exorcise these omens. Witch doctors govern success or failure in battle almost more than the warriors do; trolls believe that a witch doctor who reads the portents correctly and conducts the proper rituals can guarantee success in any endeavor. Until Thrall’s involvement with the Darkspear trolls, only male trolls became witch doctors. Female trolls have since seen the equality other Horde women possess and crave their own emancipation. Despite their efforts, few female witch doctors exist, and those who attempt to take on the role of tribal witch doctor meet with much derision and resistance. Trolls call female witch doctors “zufli,” a corruption of the voodoo master prefix “zul.” “Zufli” is a derogatory term and literally means “baby witch,” but some females have taken on the title as a mark of pride.

Troll death rituals used to involve ritual mutilation of the body. The trolls believed that simulating the sacrifice of a corpse distracted nearby malign spirits. The spirits, drawn to the pretend sacrifice, would fail to notice the new spirit entering their world. This allowed the deceased’s spirit to pass more easily into the next world and find a place for itself without harassment. Now trolls avoid these rituals because the Horde finds them disturbing and the rituals evoke unpleasant associations with the Scourge. Trolls frown on cremation, as they believe the body provides the spirit with a tie to the mortal world, and to destroy it sets a spirit adrift and confused for eternity. Recently the trolls have taken to cutting the eyes out of a corpse, thus opening a path into the skull where the spirit resides. Often a witch doctor sacrifices an animal nearby to distract any hungry spirits; if the mourners have no time for such a ritual, they may instead cut their arms and let their blood spill to achieve the necessary distraction. To avoid the possibility of undeath, trolls either bury their comrades’ bodies in hidden places or in sections, usually the body in one place and the head in another.

Supposedly, upon his death, an enemy’s spirit lingers in his body for a short time. Then the spirit flees the corpse and is free to wreak havoc and revenge on its killer. Troll witch doctors believe that a fallen enemy’s spirit lairs in the corpse’s head before fleeing the body. Trolls who wish to trap enemy spirits often turn to head-shrinking. To shrink a head, a troll first decapitates his fallen enemy. Then he makes a slit up the back of the head and carefully removes the skull (which he saves or discards). The troll then sews up the incision and boils the head for two hours to shrink. The troll uses scalding hot rocks and sand to fill the head cavity and shrink the head further. When the head is fist sized and rubbery, the troll sews up the eyes, mouth, and neck with elaborate stitching. The enemy spirit now remains trapped inside the head forever. Most members of the Horde look askance at the practice of head-shrinking, but consider it a step up from human sacrifice and cannibalism. Some trolls have techniques to shrink skulls as well, which involve removing key pieces and reconstructing the skull as a smaller version using animal parts and resins to hold it together.

The main reasoning and the philosophy behind the Voodoo is as it follows:

- Superstitions are the keystones of the Voodoo, as its priests gain all the power and influence over their people via those means, for the most he time
- Spirits of the living beings are believed to be inside the head, thus beheading, poking the eyes off releases the spirit, while completely devouring, consuming a corpse is the solution to prevent the spirit from getting released, as that renders it destroyed for good
- Head-shrinking is a technique which is practiced to entrap the soul inside the shrieked head forever
- Voodoo has many deities called the Loa. These beings have avatars resembling various animals such as lynxes, bears, dragon hawks and eagles. Also the spirits of the ancestors at any point may become a Loa for the worshipper
- Voodoo is considered to have some close relations to the Forgotten Shadow by a few means, due to their dark origins
- Most of the rituals and cultural manners are often considered as brutal, goreful and primitive.

by **Aadaria-Ioanna** Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:27 pm

II. History of the Light, the Forgotten Shadow and the Voodoo

A. Lordaeron was the home of the Church of the Light, influencing both Lordaeron and Quel'Thalas with its teachings. The Church birthed the Knights of the Silver Hand; but the Knights and the Holy Light were unable to stop the Scourge, as Lordaeron and the Knights fell underneath the decayed boots of the undead. The Church now has a new central location in Stormwind, but there is little in the form of organized study and worship of the Light on Kalimdor. The Draenei have also, apparently, followed the Light for over twenty-five thousand years, but little is known of how similar or different their practices may be to those of the Azerothian races.

Many remaining paladins who served the Silver Hand and now making their home in Kalimdor are attempting to form a new Church, but the going is slow. As the study of the Holy Light was more of a philosophical pursuit than a faith, the destroyed Church in Lordaeron resembled a library instead of a house of worship. Its texts were destroyed along with the Church, many of them burned, most of them buried under thousands of pounds of rubble. What with the wars, settling a new Alliance stronghold and dealing with frequent skirmishes, the remaining scholars and priests have found little time to work on transcribing old information into new books for initiates. Most young followers of the Holy Light learn by experience at the heel of a more experienced person instead of in libraries surrounded by texts.

Some self-appointed sages are taking up the mantle of rewriting the pontifications on the Holy Light, but there are no regulations or any overseers. There are fresh looks at old ideas, as well as old ideas copied word for word by diligent old priests with perfect memories. As one would expect, sometimes these old scholars clash when someone realizes that the texts are beginning to contradict one another. This is the tension within the Church; younger priests feel the Third War gave the Holy Light a chance to renew itself just as the Alliance was renewing itself on Kalimdor, while others demand to keep the old traditions. Secular citizens care little for the debates, but prefer that their rituals to remain the same. With everything around them changing, faith represents one of the few constants to break through the solid statements influenced both by the new and old teachings.

B. The Forgotten Shadow's history lies in the Light's history up to some extent, due to it being the extension of the Light, altered to fit the Forsaken both mentally and physically, as the Light would no longer let them be granted power by itself. After the Banshee Queen, Sylvanas Windrunner, had taken control over the Ruins of Lordaeron, she also took control over the undead around that area due to the weakened state of the Lich King and Arthas. Though while not being able to bind them to her will as strongly as the Lich King, she, instead, granted them the chance to have freedom and rise as the Forsaken.

Fitting their lifestyles, they have sought a new religion as they have felt the abandonment of the Light upon themselves. Whilst locating this new source of energy, which they have named the Forgotten Shadow later as a reference to themselves, they have stumbled across the necessity to comprehend the traits of their previous religion in order to bend this new form of energy to their will and adapt it to their livings. Thus, the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow was born, recruiting not only priests, but many others who would like to contribute to this new sort of belief

by **Aadaria-Ioanna** Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:28 pm

C. III. Practitioners of the Light, the Forgotten Shadow and the Voodoo

A. The practice of the Light on Azeroth had its center at the heart of Lordaeron, which used to influence citizens of both Lordaeron and Quel'thalas back at those times. And for around 25,000 years, Draenei are known to be harnessing holy energies from the Light with the help of the Naaru.

The current practitioners of the Light are as it follows;

- Blood Elves (Blood Knights and Priests, via siphoning and harnessing holy energies off from a captured Naaru till the Shattered Sun Offensive is formed. After that organization’s formation, whose aim is to reclaim the Isle of Quel'danas and the Sunwell, clearing the territory off the demons, the Blood Elves was forced to pledge their loyalty to the Sha'tar due to their captured Naaru, M'uru, getting stolen by Kael'thas and his utterly corrupted followers, as they had to maintain their powers someway. )
- Draenei (Paladins and Priests, with the help of the Naaru)
- Humans (Paladins and Priests, via faith)
- Dwarves (Paladins and Priests, acquainted from the humans)
- High Elves (Paladins, Priests and Mage-Priests, both via faith and with the help of the humans)

A. Priests:

The Clerics of Northshire were human priests who served the kingdom of Stormwind during the First War. The clerics served as healers on the battlefield, but were ill-prepared for the hazards of combat, and thus suffered heavy casualties. This order was largely destroyed, and the Second War saw fragile priests replaced on the battlefield by armored paladins, the Knights of the Silver Hand — established by the clerics' leader Archbishop Alonsus Faol and his apprentice Uther the Lightbringer.

During events of the Third War, despite the high elves' official departure from the Alliance, some elves still remained true to their former human and dwarven allies. The altruistic priests of Quel'Thalas refused to abandon their roles as healers and agreed to remain in Lordaeron despite the edicts from their reclusive masters in Silvermoon. The high elven priests used their Light-given powers to heal the wounded and bolster the spirits of Lordaeron’s fighting elite. A holy field medic, these padres roam the battlefield curing the wounds of fallen comrades.

The Anchorites, which is an honorific title given to Draenei priests, follow the path of the Light with the guidance of their Naaru allies. They practically work the same way as all of the other priests who worship the Light.

Normally, the term priest refers to a person worshipping one idealism or deity, often getting granted some powers by that being in return due to their sacrifices and gratefulness. The priests who are the practitioners of the Holy Light are the ones above only. Other priests tend to follow other religions or beliefs.

On the other hand, there are the zealous priests like the Scarlet Inquisitors. Inquisitors are the reason that even the dead have learned to fear the Scarlet Crusade. These former priests and healers, once dedicated to aiding the wounded, have turned their training in the Holy Light to a more devious end, torturing a captured subject without allowing the prisoner the luxury of death. For this reason, inquisitors are given high authority within their own organization, and are feared by their own people as much as their enemies. In spite of their title, inquisitors do not always torture simply to extract information as many enjoy inflicting pain, and that quality makes them dangerous in combat.

B. Blood Knights:

The Blood Knights are an elite group of blood elf paladins serving as Silvermoon's equivalent of the Knights of the Silver Hand. As high elves, many were members of the Church of Light. Many later became priests and a few became paladins. After the Third War, the majority of high elves became blood elves, and soon the race began to lose its light given powers. Thus they needed to find a new way to access the Light. They did this by sapping Light energy from the captive naaru M'uru held beneath the Blood Knight headquarters. In a mad lust for power, Kael'thas Sunstrider sent the felblood to attack Silvermoon City and seize M'uru for his own personal uses. The Blood Knights are now pledged to aid A'dal and the Shattered Sun Offensive in defeating Kil'jaeden.

C. Vindicators:

These fearless combatants who do not necessarily have the powers of the Light rely more on their fighter side rather than their spirituality and insight. Some among the vindicators are able to wield the Light to an extent, but again, the only use of it that they benefit from is little compared to what priests and paladins are capable of, since the vindicators revolve more around the brutal and blood-soaked nature of combat.

D. Ex-paladins:

An ex-paladin is a paladin who ceases to be good, who willfully commits an evil act, or who grossly violates the paladin code of conduct. A paladin must be of good alignment and loses all light abilities if he ever willingly commits an evil act. He loses all of his gifts granted by the Light.

Additionally, a paladin’s code requires that he respect legitimate authority, act with honor, help those in need (provided they do not use his help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents. While he may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a paladin will never knowingly associate with evil people, nor will he continue an association with someone who consistently offends his moral code.

If they break any of these, they may not train any further as a paladin. He regains his abilities and advancement potential if he atones for his violations. An ex-paladin may only restore his paladin hood if he is truly repentant and desirous of setting his misdeeds back into the right path. This atonement requires undertaking a quest, through the spell of atonement.

The Scarlet Crusade has a couple of ex-paladins dedicated to training new paladins who join the organization. Among the paladins who keep joining the Scarlet Crusade, some may balance their commitment to the Light with the dark deeds done by the Scarlet Crusade, while the rest abandon the teachings of the Light and find their abilities changing to suit their new mindsets. Many of these ex-paladins become Scarlet Knights; broken Knights of the Silver Hand, who are transformed into loyal zealots of the Scarlet Crusade by Scarlet inquisitors.

The Scarlet Crusade's loyal knights are convinced by their Inquisitors that the Church of the Holy Light will eventually see their way of life as necessary. The common folk are terrified of the Crusade, and only a few dares to oppose the Scarlet Knights due to the most having much fear for their lives. Scarlet Knights work with the Scarlet Crusade priests, who rebuke undead, forcing the undead foes to cower long enough for the mounted knights to do their work. They also run down fleeing enemies.

Also, many members of the Argent Dawn are known for having cast off their traditional mindsets and titles as paladins to find ways to turn the Holy Light toward destructive uses.

Even the most honorable paladins can fall prey to the temptations of the Lich King. Some who devote themselves to his cause become the horrors known as death knights, the elite members of the Scourge who lead the armies of the Lich King.

Amongst the ex-paladins, there are also the ones who were stripped of their powers by a higher authority whilst not committing a serious offense, like turning evil. That rare and harsh punishment is called 'Excommunication'. One of the examples to the excommunicated paladins is Tirion Fordring, who though managed to regain his powers later somehow, most likely due to him going through the spell of atonement.

E. Paladins

The term 'paladin' is relatively new to Azeroth as they were invented during the Second War by Alonsus Faol, who had founded the Order of the Silver Hand, training priests both in combat and mentality, making them efficient by any spiritual means whilst ensuring that they are also capable of out powering even a talented warrior on the battleground. Unlike that how it took the inhabitants of Azeroth so long to find this way of exercising and perpetrating the Light to adapt into a way in which it makes the practitioner more durable and withstanding any sort of difficulties.

F. Paladin Warriors:

The paladin warrior does not battle “evil” in the general sense. This prestige class is for those select holy warriors who defend Azeroth from the advance of undead and demons specifically. While the presence of evil is reprehensible to a paladin warrior, destruction and entropy are his true enemies. Above all else, a paladin warrior vows to uphold his faith in the Holy Light. Empowered by the Light, these mighty warriors brandish weapons and holy fire in battle against all who would trample the meek and innocent. Paladin warriors universally belong to the Knights of the Silver Hand.

Initiates must seek out a paladin warrior for training and initiation. Typically, the paladin warrior assigns the supplicant a quest to accomplish that will certainly be a tremendous challenge to achieve.

By: Ulec

by **Jeanpierre** Mon Jul 08, 2013 1:35 pm

It's a very interesting write-up, but I would recommend to label this a guide to Light, Shadow and Voodoo rather than priests per se. Starting from this, one could fill in the gaps of playing a priest, but it doesn't really give a starting point for Priests specifically.

Still, good write-up! Thanks.

by **Lexgrad** Mon Jul 08, 2013 2:15 pm

I liked the pictures.

by Sponsored content

An Extensive Guide to Priests

An Extensive Guide to Priests

Re: An Extensive Guide to Priests

Re: An Extensive Guide to Priests

Re: An Extensive Guide to Priests

Re: An Extensive Guide to Priests

Re: An Extensive Guide to Priests