In this video, Maraad says to King Varian: “It is not blood what I seek. When you look at me, what do you see?”
Varian responds: “I see a paragon. A champion of the Light.”
Maraad: “What you can’t see is the burden I carry each day.”
Maraad refers to the assault on Shattrath City by demon-corrupted orcs. He witnessed acts of unspeakable horror. In that moment, Maraad felt rage and thirst to enact vengeance. Maraad refused to lead the refugees to safety and let them go alone into a tunnel to reach safety. Maraad killed orc after orc, sating his bloodthirst. However, when he went through the tunnel to rendezvous with the refugees, all of them were dead. One of them looks strikingly a lot like Yrel. Maraad says: “My heart fell.” at the same time the screen shows the corpse of a female draenei.
Putting one and one together, it seems Maraad was in love with Yrel. Likely platonic love.
SPOILER: Warlords of Draenor
The video shown below is the closing cinematic cutscene that shows Maraad’s fate. Maraad sacrificed to engulf Yrel in a divine shield to prevent her death. It seems Maraad had carried a heavy burden all these years for selfishly choosing to fight the orcs to enact vengeance for all those draenei that fell in Shattrath than to lead the refugees to safety. Yrel was likely among those who died because of him. Now back in time, Maraad gave his life to save Yrel.
Lords of War gives us a glimpse into why Maraad did what he had to do, and gives a special depth to this character and his motives.
