Xe'ra

Xe'ra (pronounced ZEE-ruh),Rejection of the Gift the Light Mother (also spelled Lightmother)The Burning Heart (quest) or the Mother of Light,Battle for the Exodar was the prime naaru (or the naaru prime), one of the first naaru to be forged during the great ordering of the cosmos. For millennia, she led a crusade against the Burning Legion as leader of the Army of the Light.
She sent her core, known as :Light's Heart, to Azeroth during the Legion's third invasion, in an attempt to aid the mortal forces fight off the invading demons and find the subject of her prophecy, Illidan Stormrage.Bringer of the Light She was made whole again during the invasion of Argus by Azerothian forces, but Illidan rejected her and destroyed Xe'ra.
==History==
Xe'ra was one of the first naaru forged during the great ordering of the cosmos,In the House of Light and Shadow and was allegedly "at the Beginning, when mortal life itself was but a distant dream", when she mentioned that she was among those who failed to stop the Legion's rise.A Thousand Years of War After the fall of Argus, the Genedar split into two separate vessels. The draenei's finest warriors followed the prime naaru Xe'ra aboard the Xenedar as the Army of the Light in an eternal war to bring about the Legion's end. Since then, other survivors of the Burning Crusade have joined the ranks of the Lightforged.Army of the Light#Reputation
Xe'ra kept from the Army, the knowledge that a naaru could fall to the Void, something they would only learn on Eredath with L'ura.Shadow of the Triumvirate
===A Thousand Years of War===
Even though Alleria Windrunner had been advised against it, she started delving into the Void, and left the Army of the Light under the tutelage of Locus-Walker. She would eventually return to the Xenedar, and aid the Army against the Burning Legion. Xe'ra tried to convince her to abandon her endeavor and keep to the Light, but Alleria refused. Although X'era was eventually dissuaded by Turalyon from putting Alleria to death, and despite Alleria's arguments that they were not enemies despite their different affiliations, she nevertheless had Alleria imprisoned aboard the Xenedar, at least until she accepted "the path of righteousness" once again.
At an unknown point in time, Xe'ra became convinced that another mortal from Azeroth, Illidan Stormrage, was "the child of Light and Shadow": a hero destined to end the age of demons.
===Illidan===
One month before the invasion of Outland, while sending his spirit into the Nether to scout the location of Nathreza, Illidan briefly thought he sensed something watching him.Illidan, chapter 14, pg. 197 - 198 A month later, when he sent his soul to Argus and began casting a spell that would allow him to open a portal between that world and Outland, he again noticed the presence observing him. However, it was magically shrouded and eluded his attempts at perception. Once inside the palace of Kil'jaeden, Illidan was caught in a magical trap which almost alerted Kil'jaeden to his intrusion. The watching presence intervened by distracting the Deceiver and freeing Illidan from the trap. It then telepathically told him to leave, at which point his spirit was instantly sent back to Outland. Illidan sensed that his savior was a blindingly bright being of Light, but he refused to trust it since he suspected that it could be a deception by Kil'jaeden.Illidan, chapter 24
The day before his defeat in the Black Temple, Illidan sent his soul back to Argus to finish linking the planet to Outland. He once again sensed the presence watching his work with curiosity while evading all of his attempts to reveal it, which he took as a sign of great sorcerous ability. The moment he finished the spell, the presence overwhelmed him with such immense power that he was helpless to resist. It transported him to an illusory plain of Light, where it revealed itself to be "an elder naaru", "possibly the eldest now remaining in these universes", who had been waiting for the universe to produce a hero like Illidan. Illidan sensed that the naaru was even stronger than A'dal, but remained suspicious that the meeting was a trap by Kil'jaeden. The naaru told Illidan that he was destined to defeat a foe even greater than the Burning Legion, namely the Void, and then shot a bolt of Light into his eyes in order to grant him a vision of a future in which he had been transformed into a champion of the Light, leading an army against creatures of the Void. The naaru then ended the illusion they stood inside, returning them to Argus, and branded Illidan's forehead with a holy rune before bidding him farewell and disappearing. Illidan wasn't sure what to make of the meeting; he thought that the naaru's vision had felt true, but simultaneously doubted that he could ever find redemption in such a way.Illidan, chapter 27 Hours later, when Illidan was killed atop the Temple Summit, the last thing he saw before he collapsed was a vision of the naaru's sigil.Illidan, chapter 31, pg. 399
Although never expressly identified, the elder naaru's description, behavior, and intentions for Illidan all match those of Xe'ra.
===Legion===
By the time the Legion launched its third invasion of Azeroth, the Army of the Light was teetering on the brink of destruction on Argus. In desperation, Xe'ra sent her core, known as :Light's Heart, to Azeroth in order to aid its inhabitants and find the child of Light and Shadow. This action weakened her. Light's Heart cut a swathe through the Felstorm above the Tomb of Sargeras, and radiated enough power that Silver Hand scouts could feel it coursing through their body. It fell near the coast of Suramar where it was first found by gilgoblins, who brought it to a sea giant, from whom an order champion sent by Khadgar would retrieve it. A message from High General Turalyon revealed that Light's Heart had been sent as the Army of the Light's last resort as they were fighting their final war against the Burning Legion. He then asked for the core to be handed to Prophet Velen.
At the Exodar, Velen recognized Light's Heart and stated that it could only be unlocked by another naaru in Xe'ra's line. O'ros, being the last of Xe'ra's line, was thus targetted and killed during the Battle for the Exodar by Rakeesh, who did not want Velen to obtain the information contained with the core. However, the Tears of Elune somehow managed to open Light's Heart at Khadgar's suggestion.
Upon doing so, the spirit of the order champion was sent to Xe'ra. There, she told them about her prophecy regarding Illidan Stormrage, the "child of Light and Shadow", destined to end the age of demons. Through Light's Heart, she would later continue to communicate with the champion charged to protect her core and try to guide them towards "redemption", as in her eyes the champion's participation (if applicable) in the death of Illidan at the Black Temple was a terrible mistake. Xe'ra claimed that once their work of reuniting Illidan's body with his soul was done, her final task would be complete and she would be lost to the Great Dark Beyond.Awakenings However, after Illidan was made whole again, Xe'ra was not lost.
====Shadows of Argus====
Turalyon, Alleria, and a champion from Azeroth later traveled to the Xenedar, which crashed in Krokuun, where they found the gravely injured Xe'ra and teleported her to the Vindicaar. Light's Heart was placed back at her center, and Xe'ra awakened. She asked Illidan to join the Light and fulfill his destiny, but Illidan refused. Xe'ra thus forcefully bound Illidan in chains of light and attempted to fulfill her own prophecy by force. The demon hunter however broke free and destroyed Xe'ra. An enraged Turalyon accused Illidan of dooming them all and attempted to strike him down, but Illidan blocked Turalyon's blow and told him that his faith had blinded him. According to Illidan, there was no chosen one, only they could save themselves. Velen would comment that her loss was a blow and condemned Illidan for killing her along with Xe'ra's attempting to force destiny upon them. Artificer Rommul would also say Xe'ra's loss was his most troubling experience in the conflict thus far.
The shards of Xe'ra were collected by Velen, who swore that the Light did not die with her and shone in each of them.Essence of the Light Mother Xe'ra's light was then safeguarded within the Netherlight Crucible.An Offering of Light
==Quotes==
===Illidan===
*"I am an elder naaru. Possibly the eldest now remaining in these universes."
*"You or someone like you was bound to [come]. The universe throws up champions in the face of those who would destroy it."
*"The Void is a more potent foe by far than the Burning Legion. It is the ultimate opponent of the Light. It will take all the peoples of Azeroth and Outland united to oppose it."
*"You will defy death. I have seen this. Whatever you were, whatever you are, a champion of the Light is what you will be. You will be a hero. But there will be a price."
===Legion===
==Notes and trivia==
*Archmage Khadgar believed, based on a passage from an ancient cosmology tome he found in Karazhan, that the prime naaru may have been created by Elune.Goddess Watch Over You
*Her interaction with the player is different if they are a demon hunter. Instead of blaming them for murdering Illidan and trying to guide them towards salvation, the Illidari leader, having sided with Illidan, is praised, and her goal with them is to make them understand Illidan's true goal and the sacrifices he made.Destiny Unfulfilled
*Despite having been Xe'ra's subordinates in the Army of the Light, A'dal and the other Sha'tar condoned Illidan's death.Entry Into the Black TempleBattle of the Crimson Watch It's not known if they were unaware of Xe'ra's plans for Illidan, or if they knew but decided to go against her.
*Turalyon would come to agree that Xe'ra had been in the wrong. He later stated to Anduin Wrynn at the Gathering that paladins and priests should let the Light guide them, but never command them, and make use of one's mind and heart as well. Anduin was aware that Turalyon was referring to Xe'ra.Before the Storm, chapter 28 Even long before this, Velen (possibly recalling Illidan's arguments that he must forge destiny by his own hands), while acknowledging Xe'ra's nobility and relentless defiance in the face of the Legion, had also mentioned that even the Light Mother could not be allowed to force destiny upon others.
*In one of the visions of a possible future, shown by the Void, Alleria Windrunner saw Xe'ra declaring her a heretic and calling for her death.A Thousand Years of War Part Three: Shadow & Light, pg. 37
*It is unclear why the Lightforged draenei took no action against Illidan after Xe'ra's destruction at his hands, despite having loyally served and revered the Prime Naaru for thousands of years, although it is possible that the majority were just as genuinely surprised by her compulsion of Illidan to embrace the Light, and Velen, who disapproved of her action, was able to persuade the other draenei to leave Illidan alone, especially at the crucial point of their decisive conflict against the Legion. 
*Xe'ra is the first confirmed female naaru as evidenced by her bearing the title of "Light Mother" as well as both Velen and Turalyon referring to Xe'ra as "she", rather than "it". She also has a feminine voice.
**Before her, K'ara was referred to as a "she" by alternate Velen, but the written text and voice over didn't match,The Prophet's Final Message and referred to K'ara as "it".
*Xe'ra is voiced by Kate Higgins.
*Prior to receiving a unique model in patch 7.3.0, Xe'ra used an ordinary naaru model during her appearance in In the House of Light and Shadow.
*The character of Xe'ra was created to explore the idea that not all naaru are necessarily good from the player's perspective, with naaru all having their own distinct personalities and goals (such as the aforementioned actions of A'dal). While Xe'ra believed that she was indeed doing good, that good was not necessarily good for everyone.Blizzblizz - Entrevista com Interview, 27:55
==Speculation==
*Xe'ra may be the naaru that appeared to Turalyon in Beyond the Dark Portal.Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 13
*The Light Mother behind the Lightbound may be the alternate counterpart to Xe'ra since they share the same title and are related to an Army of the Light.
*As a creature born of one of the six powers who was killed outside of their home plane, Xe'ra likely returned to the Light to be reconstituted and was not truly destroyed. 
==Videos==
<vplayer/>
*
==Patch changes==
*
*
==References==
==External links==
Category:Naaru
Category:Army of the Light
Category:Deceased characters
Category:World of Warcraft: Illidan characters
Category:A Thousand Years of War characters
Category:Krokuun NPCs
Category:Vindicaar NPCs
Category:Before the Storm characters
Category:Shadows Rising characters