Yrel Exarch Yrel ( pronounced " Yee - Rell " ) is a draenei paladin who is one of the main Alliance protagonists in the Warlords of Draenor expansion . Biography . Yrel begins her story as an acolyte who was born and raised at the temple of Karabor . She was dedicated to her faith and spent much of her time in the temple , caring for others and showing great promise as a healer . Her gifts caught the eye of Velen , who accepted her as his pupil . Velen taught Yrel the value of leadership and sacrifice as she developed her other gifts . However , Velen ' s prophetic mind also sensed Yrel would have a large role to play in the future . While at the temple , Yrel witnessed the first battle with the Iron Horde under the command of their new Warchief , Grommash Hellscream . During their assault on Karabor , the Iron Horde captured Yrel , who remained a prisoner until she was rescued by a group of adventurers from Azeroth . Despite having never killed anyone before , Yrel recognized the necessity and joined the adventurers . She aided the group in any way she could , eventually helping them establish a garrison at Lunarfall . Travelling back to Shadowmoon valley with the adventurers , Yrel returned to Embaari Village where she was well known by the villagers . The children flocked around her , chanting her name , joyous that she had returned safely . Yrel and Velen were reunited at Lunarfall . Velen began to further nurture Yrel ' s leadership skills by putting her in charge of a group of Rangari to search for prisoners in Shadowmoon Village . Yrel was hesitant , noting that she had never led soldiers before , but Velen told her she was capable of more than she knew . While the Shadowmoon Clan was in the process of summoning the Dark Star , she discovered her sister Samarra dying due to injuries inflicted by the summoning ritual . Upon her death , she was driven into a fit of mourning and weeping almost uncontrollably . She swore to Samaara : " " I will become strong , I will protect our people . I . Will . Fight ! " " , acknowledging that if needed , she would become her people ' s savior . Yrel and Velen eventually went with the Alliance Commander to stop Ner ' zhul from summoning the Dark Star . Velen tried to reason with Ner ' zhul while the three of them fought to interrupt his ritual , but this failed . Ner ' zhul finished the ritual and teleported away as the dark star began to descend upon them . Velen realized the only way to stop the Dark Star and return K ' ara to her true form of light , was for him to sacrifice his mortal body . He passed the mark of the Naaru to Yrel , who watched as her mentor was consumed by the darkness , purifying K ' ara . Maraad arrived shortly after , telling Yrel that Karabor was being overrun and urging her to flee with her people . Wiping away a tear , Yrel stated that Velen ' s sacrifice would mean nothing if the temple fell . She joined Maraad in an aerial assault on the Iron Horde forces at Karabor . With the help of the Alliance forces and K ' ara , the Iron Horde ' s forces were decimated . After the annihilation of the Shadowmoon Orcs and the Iron Horde fleet , she traveled to Talador to aid in defeating Blackhand ' s fleet , which was stationed in Shattrath City . She , along with Maraad , Khadgar and a group of adventurers managed to break through his forces . On the deck of one of the ships , she witnessed Doomhammer ' s death and shortly after , was shielded from an explosion by Maraad who sacrificed himself to protect her . In Maraad ' s final moments , Yrel asked " " Maraad , how ? " " . His response and final words were " " In the light , we are one . . . " " . Yrel had been saved by another mentor , although they had only just recently met . Shortly after , while Blackhand tortured Durotan on the deck of the ship , Yrel threw Maraad ' s warhammer into the back of Blackhand ' s head , diverting his attention . Blackhand chuckled and asked her " " What do you want , little girl ? " " to which she replied calmly " " Your head ! " " . As Blackhand charged at Yrel , she quickly healed Durotan of his injuries . The massive Orc grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground , but she managed to catch the Frostwolf chief ' s axe as he threw it to her , bringing it crashing down on Blackhand ' s shoulder , inflicting a deep wound . Seconds later , Yrel and Durotan were teleported to safety by Khadgar as the ship exploded . Yrel later aided in the assault on Grommashar , leading a small force to battle Garrosh Hellscream , who she learned was behind all that had transpired . Yrel and the Alliance commander gave Garrosh quite a beating in the battle before he managed to incapacitate them . Luckily , Thrall arrived at that moment and challenged Garrosh to Mak ' Gora , saving Yrel from being killed by Garrosh . The two orcs then left everyone else behind and headed to the Stones of Prophecy , where Thrall was eventually victorious , killing Garrosh with the power of the elements . Eventually , Yrel answered . Accompanied by a champion , she set out accomplishing tasks for the Council of Exarchs which tested her , and , and ultimately passing the council ' s final . With her actions , she proved to the Exarchs that she was worthy , so they granted her a seat on their council and the title of " " Exarch " " so that she might help them lead the Draenei people . Yrel was part of the force which invaded Hellfire Citadel after it had been taken over by Gul ' dan and the Shadow Council . Following the defeat of Archimonde , Yrel approached Khadgar and asked him if he thought the Legion invasion was over . Khadgar replied that Gul ' dan and his demon masters are not beaten so easily and voiced his fear that this was only the beginning . Yrel told Khadgar that if he ever needed the aid of Draenor , the Orcs and Draenei would be ready . Khadgar smiled and bid her farewell until their next meeting , before flying off . Yrel then stood with Durotan and Grom to witness a new dawn for Draenor . In Warlords of Draenor . Yrel plays a major role throughout the Alliance campaign of . Players first encounter Yrel during the Assault on the Dark Portal , as a prisoner of the Iron Horde . Over the course of the main expansion campaign , she hones both her combat and leadership skills , joining players as they quest through each of Draenor ' s zones . She eventually rises to become a respected hero of the Alliance and a member of the Council of Exarchs . She ultimately joins in the final assault on Archimonde within Hellfire Citadel . Relationships . Samaara . Yrel had a very close bond with her sister Samaara with the two taking care of each other and Samaara being supportive of Yrel ' s decision to be a healer . When Yrel was imprisoned by the Iron Horde , Samaara assumed she was dead and entered a period of mourning . Yrel was very pleased to surprise her sister when she returned to Embaari Village , as they hadn ' t seen each other since Yrel had been taken prisoner . When Samaara was kidnapped by the Shadowmoon Clan , Yrel showed clear signs of concern . When she found her sister dying in the Shadowmoon fortress , she instantly fell to her knees and went into a fit of weeping . As Samaara lay dying , she told Yrel that although she did not choose this fate , Yrel could still choose her own . With her last breath , Samaara told Yrel she would be watching over her . Yrel vowed to become strong and protect her people by fighting the Iron Horde . Velen . Yrel became Velen ' s student after showing promise as a healer and devoted acolyte . Velen began to teach her the meaning of leadership and the need for sacrifice . The two developed a close bond as mentor and student , with Yrel calling Velen " uncle " as a nickname . Velen sensed a dark secret dwelling within her soul and believed that at some point in the future , she would have a much larger role to play . During the events in Shadowmoon Valley , Velen nurtured Yrel ' s leadership skills further by putting her in charge of a group of Rangari . Yrel was hesitant , noting that she had never led soldiers before , but Velen told her she was capable of more than she knew . After Velen ' s death in the act of purifying K ' ara , Yrel looked up at the now - restored Naaru , full of both joy and sorrow . Velen ' s death further convinced Yrel that her fate was no longer that of a healer . Although Velen ' s death didn ' t have as big of an impact as Samaara ' s had , it still cemented her fate . Ner ' zhul . When Yrel first learned of Ner ' zhul , she only knew that he was the leader of the Shadowmoon Clan . As she saw the Shadowmoon ' s atrocities increase , she developed an anger toward the chieftain for attacking her people without explanation . When Yrel learned that her own sister had been sacrificed to summon the Dark Star , she developed a seething hatred for him . Yrel ' s opinion of Ner ' zhul may have been affected when she learned that he was blackmailed into doing everything he had done , but this is not made clear . It is also unknown if Yrel was pleased with his eventual death , or was saddened due to the fact that he and his clan had lost everything due to her actions . Grommash Hellscream . Yrel had initially only seen Grommash twice and had never met him , but developed an anger toward him due to the fact that his minions had enslaved her . She was further infuriated when she learned that Ner ' zhul had been blackmailed by Grommash into summoning the Dark Star , thus Samaara and Velen could still be alive if Grommash had left the Shadowmoon alone . Events such as the murder of Doomhammer at the hands of Blackhand when he refused to comply with Blackhand ' s belief of conquest in Grom ' s name , as well as watching Maraad die , further increased her dislike of him . During the events in Hellfire Citadel , Yrel and Grommash were forced to fight along - side one another against the larger foe of the Burning Legion . It would appear as though this experience caused Yrel to possibly develop some forgiveness , or a better understanding of why he had done all he had . If nothing else , she now seems to at least be willing to work along - side Grommash for the good of Draenor . Maraad . Yrel developed a respect for Maraad shortly after the two met , with Maraad teaching and training her in magic , combat and leadership . The two became mentor and student during their plight in Gorgrond , later increasing to friendship during their adventures in Talador . When Blackhand used a fire blast during the battle on his flagship , Maraad used the last of his power to prevent the blast from killing Yrel . She knelt and asked him how he did it . With his final breath , he told her " in the light , we are one " . Yrel briefly looked down upon his broken and lifeless body sadly , before turning back to Blackhand . She took his warhammer as her own , possibly in honor . Maraad and Yrel got the chance to meet once again in the catacombs of Auchindoun during Yrel ' s to become an Exarch ( although Maraad was then a spirit ) . Their teacher - student relationship was further cemented , as Maraad questioned Yrel and pushed her to use her abilities to the fullest as they fought one another . When Yrel bested Maraad in combat , Maraad told her that she had surpassed even his own abilities , and that Velen would have been be proud . He gave Yrel his blessings in uniting the Draenei people , before bidding a final farewell . Blackhand . Yrel developed a serious hatred of Blackhand upon witnessing his actions in Talador , especially in the slaughter of hundreds of innocents willingly . She was further infuriated when she learned that he had joined the Horde out of his own will , unlike Ner ' zhul who had been blackmailed into joining . She therefore saw him as a cold monster . When Blackhand killed Maraad on the deck of his ship , a personal enmity between he and Yrel developed . Yrel , with Durotan ' s aid cut into Blackhand ' s shoulder with the Frostwolf leader ' s axe . Blackhand , dazed and severely wounded , vowed that they all would die . Yrel coldly told him that he would die alone , and the vessel was torn to shreds as Khadgar rescued the two . Blackhand managed to escape , fleeing to Blackrock Foundry . Durotan . Yrel and Durotan are tolerant and respectful of one another , as they have a common enemy and both of them have lost close friends to Blackhand , but their friendship is wary . The two fought side - by - side in Talador against Blackhand , and again in Nagrand to defeat Garrosh Hellscream . Garrosh Hellscream . " You will be brought to justice this day , monster ! ! ! " - Yrel confronting Garrosh Hellscream Yrel had never met Garrosh , but upon learning that Garrosh had set everything in motion , along with possibly learning of his actions in the Prime universe , Yrel saw him as nothing more than a monster who needed to be brought to justice .