Light



The Light (also known as the Holy Light, Holy Light of Creation and light of Creation ) is an endless, shimmering sea of energy situated outside the barriers of reality and one of the two most fundamental forces in the world of Warcraft along with the Void, which was born from the absence of the former. The two cannot exist without the other. The Light is not necessarily "good"; it is a primal force with its morality characterized by how it is wielded.

Pure Light cannot exist within the physical universe but shades of it manifest as holy magic. The Light is the source of all life in the cosmos. Summoned by willpower or faith in one's ability to do so, the powers of the Light can be harnessed to heal, cleanse, protect, or harm. Most of its practitioners are called priests or paladins, devoted to cleansing the universe of darkness. Learning to wield this healing force takes years of discipline.

Its positive energies, residing in every living being, in every heart and soul, is everywhere, binding all sentient beings together as one. The naaru, enigmatic beings composed of shards of fractured Light, may be the purest expression of the Light in the physical universe. They taught the use of the Light to the draenei and other enlightened races, such as the humans, but others have come into the study and practice of Light-based magic of their own accord.

The Light cannot fully see destiny, though neither can the Void, for neither are singularly responsible for creation. The Light seeks one path and shuns all others as lies.

Origins and characteristics
Before life began and before even the universe existed, there was only the Light. The Light existed as a boundless sea of living energy, swelling across all of existence, unfettered by time and space. Yet as the ever-shifting sea expanded, pockets of cold nothingness appeared, giving birth to a second, opposite force: the Void. The growing tension between the two opposing energies eventually ignited a series of cosmic explosions that gave birth to the physical universe, the Great Dark Beyond.

The cataclysmic birth of the cosmos sent shards of fractured Light flying through the cosmos, suffusing the newly formed planets of the universe with the spark of life and giving birth to countless life-forms, the most common of which were the primordial elementals. Occasionally, these shards of Light would gather and form clouds of Light from which powerful beings would emerge, among which the benevolent naaru.

The most unstable energies created by the cosmic explosions coalesced into an astral dimension known as the Twisting Nether.

The forces of the Light, including the naaru, have been locked in a cosmic power struggle with the Void and the Burning Legion for thousands of years, with the Xenedar described as the Light's largest remaining refuge, and the only one capable of waging war against the Legion. Sargeras allegedly believed he had already defeated the Light, instead focusing his efforts on the Void, although it was ironically the Army of the Light which ultimately helped end his Burning Crusade.

Appearance


Most of the time, the Light manifests itself as a golden, shinning light, though it has also appeared as a glowing white, silver light,  especially when coming from Elune.

Not all wielders of the Holy Light follow the same path. For example, humans follow the path of the Church, while the tauren Sunwalkers revere An'she, whose power can appear either as red flames or as golden magic similar to other divine magic. The Sunwalker Kodo's eyes and war-drums noticeably emit red and orange flame, while in contrast, the saddle emits faint waves of golden light.

Blood elves wield the Light through the power of the renewed Sunwell. It is a harmonious relationship, no longer one of discord caused by the blood elves' attempts to bend the Light to their will, which will likely have a positive effect on blood elf society in the long run.

Races of the Light
Though rarely seen, the creatures of the Light have been observed to be naturally orderly. They are a necessary part of the universe, much like their counterparts.

Similar to other cosmic forces, beings of the Light can normally only be permanently killed in the realm of Light. If killed in the mortal realm, their essence returns to the Light to reconstitute, though some exceptionally powerful forces can intervene in the process.

And as the Light must keep the Void in check, it would follow that they must also be kept in check by the Void for there to be balance.

Naaru
The naaru are a race of living, sentient energy beings made up of scintillating holy energies from clouds of fractured Light gathered. Though born in the Great Dark Beyond, not within the Light, they are its purest known expression, and have vowed to bring peace and hope to all mortal civilizations and waylay the forces of the Void. They are known to travel through dimensions, and are the sworn enemies of the Burning Legion. However, the naaru themselves have different objectives; for example, A'dal sought Illidan's death, while Xe'ra apparently wanted to forge him into a Lightforged soldier capable of destroying the Legion and the Void. Some of them, such as Xe'ra and the Light Mother have even displayed blatant disregard for mortal creatures' free will, and despite likely doing what they believe is correct, have demonstrated borderline fanaticism, apparently believing the ends justify the means.

Lightspawn
Encountered only recently, Lightspawn appears to be the Light's counterpart to voidwalkers, and can always be found amongst the battlefields of the Light. At least one was seen to have acted on its own to attempt to stop a necromantic ritual on Exile's Reach but was captured instead. After a new adventurer freed it, it left Azeroth. A handful of others can be found in the Netherlight Temple, order hall of the Conclave, but also in Revendreth at the site of the Light's assault upon the realm: the Ember Ward.

On living beings
The Light is often said to bring about feelings of positive emotion—hope, courage, comfort—coming from the "heart." During the ritual that empowers paladins, the Light shines down on them and through them with blinding radiance. It warms at first, then sears. The person feels scoured; emptied, scrubbed clean, then filled again. The Light swells inside and then fades away to a tolerable level.

The Light can cure sickness, remove aches, pains, and stiffness. It can also mend broken bones. Anduin Wrynn believes that restoring an old man's youth is not beyond the Light's power, but it is not in the healer's hands.

Recent events have shown the Light can be just as dangerous as the Void to those who delve too deeply into it. Due to the Light's tendency towards only one path, it can lead the overly devout to closed-mindedness, adamantly refusing to acknowledge any other power or lifestyle other than the Light.

On undead
The Light is agonizingly painful and destructive to the undead. Turalyon for example used the Light for interrogating Gaz Soulripper, causing him excruciating pain. Ashra on the contrary used the Light to heal the Forsaken Felgrim, it was an efficient process but it was painful.

The souls of the undead (Forsaken, death knights, ghouls, etc.) are imperfectly attached to their bodies; the dark magic that sustains them is a buffer that prevents their souls from properly joining with their bodies. This is why undead feel only faint sensations of pain or discomfort from most physical stimuli, and why the Light is so painful to their existence.

When undead channel the Light, they do not disintegrate or explode from channeling the Light, though they may wish they would. Instead, it feels to them as if their entire bodies are being consumed in righteous fire. Forsaken healed by the Light (whether the healer is Forsaken or not) are effectively cauterized by the effect: the wound is healed, but the healing effect is cripplingly painful. Thus, Forsaken priests are beings of unwavering willpower. Forsaken and death knight tanks suffer nobly when they have priest or paladin healers in the group, and Sir Zeliek really hates himself.

There are reports that some Forsaken have slowly experienced a sharpening of their dulled senses of touch, smell, etc., as well as an increase in the flashes of positive emotions that have otherwise become so rare since their fall into undeath. Unfortunately, this may be the cause of the Forsaken priesthood's increased attempts at self-destruction; regaining these senses would force the priests to smell their own rotting flesh, taste the decay in their mouths and throats, and even feel the maggots burrowing within their bodies.

Despite all this, there exists at least one account of someone becoming undead through the power of the Light: Calia Menethil.

Other
The Light is seen in the Ember Ward in Revendreth, where their army retaliated against Sire Denathrius long ago for unknown experiments. They entered from Dawnkeep, among them the naaru Z'rali. The presence of the Light in Revendreth cause venthyr to turn into ash ghouls, and until the successful rebellion by Prince Renathal, this was used as punishment for any venthyr who went against Denathrius.

Uses

 * The powers of the Light allow its practitioners to heal wounds, mend broken bones, and even restore life to the dead.      They can also shield them from damage, cure ills and magical curses, heighten the productivity of the mind and body, and remove beneficial magical effects from their enemies. The Light always brings a sense of peace and calmness whenever its blessings are placed on someone. Wielders of the Light can also use Holy magic to smite their enemies or to levitate themselves off the ground. Paladins can augment their own martial prowess as well as those who fight at their side with the Light's blessings and auras. Holy Power can also stun, debilitate, and silence their foes.
 * The Light can be used to put the deceased to rest:
 * A'dal sent Crusader Bridenbrad to the Light itself.
 * When Turalyon blessed the corpse of Anduin Lothar with the Light, his features were described as "relaxed slightly, growing calm, even quietly content".
 * The Auchenai draenei, or "death priests", and the tauren Seers can also use the Light to contact the dead to ask for help, to question them, or to help them rest in peace.
 * The Light magnified Turalyon's voice so it carried to several hundred soldiers under his command.
 * Through the Light, a paladin can develop an empathic ability to sense deep emotions from others, such sincerity, or the nature of their intentions.
 * The Light can be used for interrogation purpose by making someone tell all they know and find out if they are lying:
 * In Beyond the Dark Portal, Turalyon marked the forehead of an orc prisoner with the Light, leaving a burn on his flesh, and forcing him to say everything he knew without being able to lie.
 * He also interrogated the death Knight Gaz Soulripper with his sacred powers, causing him excruciating pain.
 * In the Ashbringer comic, the paladin Alexandros Mograine used the Light on the jungle troll Zabra Hexx to know if he was lying.
 * In the Dark Riders comic, the priest Revil Kost used the Light on a worgen to force him to tell the truth and answer questions.
 * Through the Light, its practitioners can feel a connection that is sometimes established between them, allowing them to know if they are still alive, to communicate words and thoughts, or to have visions concerning them through their dreams. It was the case between Darion Mograine and Fairbanks, between Zabra Hexx and Alexandros Mograine after the latter saved his life, and also between Alleria Windrunner and her son Arator.
 * They can also use the Light to practice divination, through an incantation described by books of priestly magic as a "holy vision" that can granted sight of distant objects and far-off locations.
 * Following a sacred ritual of the Light, a Deathcharger can be redeemed as a Charger and serves as a steed for paladins.
 * The Light can be manifested in the form of chains and handcuffs to hinder living and undead.
 * The Light is employed during an exorcism rite to extract a demon or an evil spirit from the body of someone possessed, purifying the body and the soul from corruption.
 * The Light is used to empower its practitioners:
 * If they succeed the trial of the Forge of Aeons, members of the Army of the Light are empowered to become Lightforged, immortal protectors of the creation.
 * After their training, the Knights of the Silver Hand are empowered by clerics and paladins during their ceremony of induction to join the order, immunizing them to disease of any kind.
 * Before the Sunwell's rebirth, the Blood Knights empowered themselves by sapping the energy from the captive naaru M'uru. Following the Battle for Quel'Danas, they embraced the Light through the Sunwell in a healthier way.
 * The holy magic is employed in the creation of holy water, artifacts, runes,  and lightwells, but also to infuse weapons,   armors, and librams with the power of the Light.
 * The Light is also a source of technology development:
 * The Army of Light uses and develops advanced Light-based technology, including teleportation pylons, warframe, artillery battery, and holograms that Turalyon used to place a message inside Light's Heart.
 * On the alternate, the high arakkoa used the Light's power to create lasers and Apexis guardians.
 * Following the retaking of Gnomeregan, some gnomes were interested in the powers of the Light to save and purify irradiated gnomes. Their research led them to radical advances in Light-based technology.

Influence
The Light is an important part of several races' cultures. Though overlap exists in themes and practices, several of the races have differing viewpoints and methods of wielding the Light. One thing is certain, wielding the Light takes intense focus and a very powerful belief.

Arakkoa
The Skettis Outcasts are arakkoa who shunned the teachings of the corrupted Anzu and embraced the Light taught by the naaru A'dal. Kirrik the Awakened and those like him found a great devotion in the Light. Most of these arakkoa are affiliated with the Lower City.

The high arakkoa of the alternate timeline worship Rukhmar and the sun, similar in ways to how the tauren worship An'she. Unlike the tauren, the Adherents of Rukhmar are fanatically devoted to showing how the sun and the Light favor them over all other races and are genocidal supremacists. They also used Apexis crystals and devices to channel the Light's power into lasers and Apexis guardians. The Arakkoa Outcasts are incapable of using the light due to the corruption in their bodies, similar to how draenei cannot wield the Light when they become Broken.

Blood elves
Before the Third War, high elf priests and paladins were known to have been practitioners of the Holy Light in the same vein as humans and dwarves — some, such as Mehlar Dawnblade, despite their race's general seclusion, were even part of the original Knights of the Silver Hand order. The high elves also had their own priesthood chapters back home in Quel'Thalas, though these were less prominent than their magic-users.

Many of the Light-wielding elves suffered a mass loss of faith during and after the Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas, in which 90% of their people were slaughtered and their kingdom was sacked. Renaming themselves the blood elves, many of them swore off the Light, condemning it as a fickle thing that had faltered in the defense of their people during the undead onslaught.

When Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider and his blood elves conquered Tempest Keep, they discovered a lone naaru who had stayed behind to maintain the keep's defenses. With some difficulty, Kael'thas subdued the M'uru and sent it to Quel'Thalas so that the magic-addicted blood elves could feed upon it.

After long months of study and experimentation, Magister Astalor Bloodsworn and his fellow wizards learned how to manipulate and corrupt the naaru's luminous energies. In the end, the sorcerers devised a process by which the powers of the Light could be transferred to recipients who had not earned such abilities. Instead of feeding upon the naaru's magic, the blood elves would wield the naaru's Light-given powers themselves.

Lady Liadrin, formerly a priestess, had recently renounced her vows, for she felt the Light had abandoned her people. She volunteered to be the first to bend the powers stolen from M'uru to her will. With her decision, a new order was born: the Blood Knights. Most members of the Blood Knights were once part of the Royal Guard – proud defenders of high elven society who came to believe that the Light had failed them in their hour of greatest need. They saw their appropriation of the captive naaru's powers as well-deserved justice.

Eventually, M'uru was abducted and defeated by adventurers, and his heart was used by Velen to purify and restore the Sunwell as a fount of both holy and arcane energy. Blood elves who wield the Light now do so through the power of the renewed Sunwell. It is a harmonious relationship, no longer one of discord caused by the blood elves' attempts to bend the Light to their will.

Notable Thalassian Light-wielders include Lady Liadrin, High Priest Vandellor, Lord Solanar Bloodwrath, and Mehlar Dawnblade.

Draenei
Nearly twenty-five thousand years ago, the eredar race arose on the world of Argus. They were extremely intelligent and had a natural affinity for magic in all its myriad forms. Using their gifts, they developed a vast and wondrous society. Unfortunately, the eredar's accomplishments caught the attention of Sargeras, the Destroyer of Worlds. He had already begun his Burning Crusade to eradicate all life from the cosmos, and he believed that the brilliant eredar would be pivotal in leading the vast demonic army he was gathering. Thus, he contacted the eredar's three most prominent leaders: Kil'jaeden, Archimonde, and Velen. In exchange for the loyalty of the eredar race, Sargeras offered untold power and knowledge.

Although the offer sounded very tempting, Velen had a vision of the future that filled him with sick dread. Sargeras had spoken the truth: the eredar who joined the Dark Titan would indeed gain enormous power and knowledge. However, the eredar would themselves be transformed into demons. Velen saw the Legion in all its terrible might and witnessed the destruction it would wreak upon all of creation. He hastened to warn Kil'jaeden and Archimonde, but they dismissed his concerns, for they had been enticed by Sargeras' promises. They gave Sargeras their allegiance and were transformed into colossal beings of depthless evil. The sheer power that Sargeras commanded made direct opposition unthinkable.

Velen nearly despaired, but his prayer for help was overheard. A being came to Velen and explained that it was one of the naaru, a race of sentient energy beings bent on stopping the Burning Crusade. The naaru offered to take Velen and any other like-minded eredar to safety. Deeply relieved, Velen gathered the other eredar who had thus far refused to join Sargeras. Naming themselves the draenei, or "exiled ones" in the Eredun language, the renegades barely escaped from Argus, with the Burning Legion only moments behind. Kil'jaeden was furious with what he felt was Velen's betrayal, and the demon vowed to hunt Velen and the rest of the draenei to the ends of the cosmos if need be. The Legion chased the draenei for many thousands of years. The draenei visited many worlds and explored much of the known cosmos in their quest to find safe harbor. Still, the Legion would not give up its pursuit. Meanwhile, the enigmatic naaru race blessed the draenei with Light-given knowledge and power.

Draenei serve the Light as either a Vindicator, an Anchorite, or a priest are some of the most common profession choices for the draenei. The draenei prophet, Velen, is also a staunch practitioner of the Light, and the high vindicator has a seat as an Exarch.

Unlike the humans and dwarves, whose knowledge of the Light is tied mainly to religious sects, and the blood elves, who usually channel their powers through the Sunwell, the draenei have a more direct link to it through their relationship with the naaru. Lightforged draenei for example, infuse their bodies with the very essence of the Holy Light. One of Prophet Velen's ultimate goals is to form a prophecized Army of the Light against the Legion, a grand Light-based coalition of all manner of races. The draenei also have an explicit priesthood in the Aldor, an ancient order of draenei priests and priestesses once led by Velen himself, calling themselves the "keepers of the Light".

Notable draenei Light-wielders include Prophet Velen, Vindicator Maraad, Yrel, and High Priestess Ishanah.

Dwarves
Of Azeroth's races, dwarves and humans seem to have the most in common in their worship of the Light, with few (if any) notable differences in their approach, by the fact that humans are the ones who introduced the dwarves to the Holy Light.

While some Ironforge dwarves worship the Pantheon, many follow the Church of the Holy Light, which has some in its ranks, while dwarves paladins are also inducted into the Knights of the Silver Hand, and can also be seen in the Argent Crusade. At least some Dark Iron dwarves also practice faith in the Light, becoming priests and paladins.

Notable dwarven Light-wielders include High Priest Rohan, Valgar Highforge, Moira Thaurissan, and Frida Ironbellows.

Gilneans
In the early days of humanity and its civilization, many tribes of humans had primitive belief systems that incorporated simple nature magic. However, the rise of organized religion such as the Holy Light and the potent arcane magics introduced by the high elves quickly supplanted such traditions. In the center of Gilneas City is located the Light's Dawn Cathedral, the heart of the Cult of Light in the kingdom, where the Gilnean priests are present and officiate.

Due to its relative isolation, the countryside of Gilneas has retained a degree of their ancient culture in the contemporary era, the religious leaders of what was in Gilneas referred to as the "old ways" eventually became "harvest-witches"; those who used their nature powers to augment Gilneas' agricultural output during and following its period of industrialization.

Notable Gilnean Light-wielders include Sister Almyra and Sister Elsington.

Gnomes
The gnomes have had an interest in the Light since they joined the Alliance, but they were so focused on technology and, later, the retaking of Gnomeregan that studying the Light didn't feel necessary to them; the dwarven priests and paladins of Ironforge served as the only connection to the Light they needed.

Now that the gnomes have reclaimed a foothold in Gnomeregan and begun rebuilding their culture outside of Ironforge, however, they've recognized the importance of having followers of the Light in their own ranks. In addition, researching new methods of purifying irradiated gnomes has led to radical advances in Light-based technology!

Notable gnome Light-wielders include "Doc" Cogspin and High Cleric Alphus.

Humans
The Holy Light is a central part of civilized human society. It is the primary human religion and a staple of worship, respect, and honor in the societies of Stormwind and Lordaeron, both of whom have produced Light-wielders of note and renown. Human paladins of the Alliance often become members of the Knights of the Silver Hand, seeking to do justice across Azeroth, while other humans join the Argent Crusade. The humans were the first race on Azeroth to utilize the Light in an offensive manner through the creation of paladins, employing them against the Old Horde forces and then the Scourge. Human Light-wielders must abide by a strict code of moral conduct — instilled in them by teachings of the Church of the Holy Light — and face the gradual loss of their powers should they knowingly commit acts of evil.

Humans also founded the Scarlet Crusade, a branch of errant paladins and priests (among others) driven zealous in their war against the undead. Unlike the Silver Hand's emphasis on retribution through clarity and righteousness over vengeance, the Crusade is vicious, brutal, and indiscriminate in its cause: if one does not stand with the Scarlet Crusade, one is seen as a heretic. In spite of their attitude, the Scarlet Crusade genuinely believes that they are doing righteous work, and thus have not lost their connection to the Light.

Notable human Light-wielders include Uther the Lightbringer, High Exarch Turalyon, Highlord Tirion Fordring, Alexandros Mograine, Arthas Menethil, and Anduin Wrynn.

Tauren
The tauren Seers and Sunwalkers aim to revere the light of hope that the Earth Mother shines upon the world, through the use of An'she's power, by worshipping him and wield his Light powers, essentially believing this practice to be balancing out the night elves' worship of the moon.

Notable tauren Light-wielders include Aponi Brightmane, Sunwalker Dezco and Tahu Sagewind.

Others
Though wielding the Light is most prominent among humans, dwarves, blood elves, and draenei, other races also use the Light — or powers closely resembling the Light — through various means, though their relation to the above powers (all of which have fairly clear connections) are usually ambiguous.

Among the pandaren, some give the impression that the Light is a foreign concept to pandaren, it's notably the case of Jojo Ironbrow when the Tushui arrive in Stormwind. However, some pandaren use the Light, like Yalia Sagewhisper who has found the Light and is actually a Champion of the Conclave, indicating that knowledge of the Light is already well established among some of the pandaren by the time of adventurers' arrival in Pandaria. One possibility is that the term is not used on the Wandering Isle (Jojo's home), but is used on Pandaria.

Night elf paladins are very rare, with only a few being seen in game. Delas Moonfang is a priestess who is learning the ways of a paladin, where her uncle Nerus Moonfang and Alynblaze are ancients, fully trained paladins. However, night elven priestesses who also wield Light-esque abilities, are followers of Elune rather than followers of the Holy Light. Prophet Velen believes there to be some striking similarities between the night elven goddess and the naaru, though this notion has been met with criticism by Tyrande Whisperwind.

The undead, against their nature, also have access to priests, and at least one undead paladin exists. The act of channeling the Light is painful for the undead, but not impossible. Light-wielding Forsaken are fairly rare and are somewhat antithetical to the prime Forsaken religion: the Cult of Forgotten Shadow.

Inhabitants of Drustvar in Kul Tiras also worship the Light. During the invasion of Durotar, the Kul Tiras navy deployed Light-wielding chaplains and elites, under the guidance of a superior officer. At least two members of the Order of Embers also wield the Light, and some Kul Tirans can be found among the Purified that defend Drustvar during Faction Assaults.

In World of Warcraft, trolls and goblins also have access to the priest class, though where they stand in relation to the Light is unclear.

In War of the Ancients Trilogy: The Sundering, Alexstrasza uses healing magic that suspiciously similar to the Light to Korialstrasz. It bathes the Aspect in a golden radiance and its effect are described as calming to Malfurion Stormrage and co., and eases their troubled minds. Krasus also conjures a golden energy shield to protect himself against Deathwing's magma breath in the same novel, which not unlike Power Word: Shield.

Church of the Holy Light
The Church's clergy is renowned for spreading goodness. The vocation of a priest is one of spiritual growth and contemplation. The priests of the Light heal and restore in times of peace, protect in times of war, and guiding the spiritual destiny of their people. They are devoted to the spiritual, and express their unwavering faith by serving the people. For millennia they have left behind the confines of their temples and the comfort of their shrines so they can support their allies in war-torn lands.

Paladins are the martial branch of the Church and seek to be an example of the Light's teachings as well as enforce its laws. Powerful holy knights, these crusaders are called to protect the weak, to bring justice to the unjust, and to vanquish evil from the darkest corners of the world.

The Clerics of Northshire once claimed their mission was to achieve "everlasting peace".

The general ideology of the Light is to strive to be good in all actions. Its teachings are depicted in the Tome of Divinity and the Tome of Valor (Classic).

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 thirteen thousand years, but little is known of how similar or different their practices may be to those of the Azerothian races.

Clergy
Many of these stations exist within the Church of the Holy Light, but some exist outside of that organization.
 * Anchorite
 * Archbishop / Bishop
 * Cleric
 * Paladin
 * Priest
 * Templar
 * Vindicator

In the RPG
Followers of the Holy Light do not worship any gods or beings, the power comes from some benevolent force, known simply as the "Light".

Different cultures and organizations' reverence for the Light is collectively called the Faith of the Holy Light. Most humans, dwarves, and some high elves follow the path of the Holy Light. It is a faith that advocates purity, goodness, kindness, and compassion in the face of adversity. Those who belong to this faith are among the Burning Legion's greatest foes. Some organizations are heretics of the Holy Light — while they still follow the holy light, they have altered aspects of the philosophy.

Domains: Healing, Protection, War. Priests of the Holy Light who serve the Scarlet Crusade can gain access to the Crusader, Healing, and War domains (but not Protection).

Church of the Holy Light
After the Third War, many remaining paladins who served the Silver Hand and now make their new 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 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 in 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 is no regulation or overseer. 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 scholars clash when someone realizes that the texts are beginning to contradict one another. There is 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 to old traditions.

Secular citizens care little for the debates but prefer their rituals to remain the same. With everything around them changing, faith represents one of the few constants.

Some claim that the Third War was the best thing that could have happened to the Church, and suggest that the Church take this opportunity to rebuild itself. They claimed that the Church had strayed from the path of the Three Virtues and needed to pare back down to essentials. According to these younger priests, their elders had lost touch with the Light and it was time to reclaim that holy communion.

It is said that the Church is finally organizing again and looking at all these texts for consistency and accuracy, but it's unknown if that's true. It is known that the Church is stronger than it's been in centuries. It's rebuilding, regaining ground, and speaking out against the Scourge and other evils.

Notes and trivia

 * Shu-Zen is said to be a holy gift from the Light.
 * Ner'zhul realized that the paladin Turalyon was not just a warrior, but akin to a shaman-except that the forces he tapped were somehow on a grander scale than a mere planet's.
 * The Light made Arthas' hammer seem to weigh less in his hands.
 * In a vision of what would happen if he accepted Sargeras' offer, Velen saw light radiate from him, but it was not the golden Holy Light, it was a sickly green.
 * Reanimated Crusaders in Icecrown can cast the spell Unholy Light, which contrary to what the name implies is actually Shadow magic.
 * In the case of Lothraxion, it is shown that the Light can even alter demons and infuse them with Holy magic.
 * In the older games, the Light was sometimes referred to as the "spirit of humanity", or the "spirit of mankind".
 * The clerics of Northshire Abbey used to call the Light "God", however, "God" has lost its usage since then.
 * According to Mathias Shaw, many of those present in the Cathedral of Light for the induction of Arthas Menethil into the Order of the Silver Hand noted that the Light itself seemed uncertain whether to bless the young prince.
 * Some Knights of the Silver Hand believed that after death, a mage's soul would be damned.
 * In the novella Of Blood and Honor, Tirion Fordring is excommunicated by Uther who can strip his light-given powers but not his connection with the Light.
 * High General Abbendis believed that the Light had called to her, and that it had taken notice of its believers' good deeds, works, and prayers. She stated that the force of its voice had clarity and sense of purpose. However, the entity that called her was actually something else far more sinister - as she said that it commanded her to abandon the Scarlet Crusade to its doom, an act she believed was dishonorable - the dreadlord Mal'Ganis.
 * The perspective of the practitioners of the Holy Light is closely linked to agathism in its philosophy, where the end result is good, even with the evil in between. It is also tied to holism, psychometrics (on oneself), humanistic psychology, transcendentalism, and theological overoptimism. The philosophy shows characteristics of real-world philosophies and religions, such as Transcendence, Pantheism, and the Society of Friends (Quakerism).

Sapiency
The Light is a prismatic ocean of energy, but it has been personified many times by its followers and others, believing that it had a "will", or that it made deliberate choices, or that it was "good", while the Void was "evil", but such concepts do not apply to the Light and the Void, they are simply primal forces with their morality characterized by how they are wielded.


 * There are human sayings such as "Light be with you" or draenei ones such as "May the Light embrace you" and "Open your heart to the Light" or "Light protect us from this madness".
 * Others such as Revil Kost and Ambrose also believed that the Light was some kind of abstract deity that guided mortals for some benign purpose and all actions and fates were all constructs of its design.
 * The general belief was that mortals were chosen to act as vessels for the Light's will.
 * It is likely that the "paradise eternal" that the Crusader Bridenbrad was sent to is the Light. The Light could, thus, be akin to heaven in the Warcraft universe.
 * Tirion Fordring directly addressed the Light and asked it to grant him one last blessing.
 * Dansel Adams interpreted the disappearance of Naxxramas when it teleported as "a miracle of the Light".

The "will of the Light" may also be that of beings of Light, like the "Void's will" may be the will of the void lords'.

Other

 * It is speculated by some that since the Void lords rule over the Void, there could be entities that rule over the Light as well, commonly referred to as "Light lords" by the fans. This is because of the opposite nature of the Void and the Light. It is theorized by some that Elune could be one of the "Light lords", mostly because Khadgar believes that Elune created the Prime Naaru, perhaps as a counterpart to the Old Gods. This would also mesh with Velen's hypotheses about the nature of Elune, and account for the discrepancies in it.

Gallery

 * Trading Card Game and Hearthstone