Draenei lifespans

[Shaila]

So, someone brought something up lately that could make how I and some others viewed draenei lifespans as completely wrong.

So, here is what we've been using as a basis so far.

1. Argus was 25,000 years ago.
2. Some draenei remember Argus.

Some of us took this to mean that draenei were either immortal or incredibly long lived. However, there was something we for some reason never considered.

The starting draenei quests mention that they were in stasis pods for their trip to Azeroth.

Which means that until they got to Draenor, the draenei could have been in stasis for all those years, not aging. Furthermore, one draenei says that Argus was "ten lifetimes ago". As Argus was 25,000 years ago, this could mean that the average draenei lifespan is roughly 2,500 years.

[Gryphonheart]

"Ten lifetimes ago" can also refer to any number of things. It could mean Draenei live ~2,500 years, or it could mean that said Draenei has had to build a life for him-/herself on a new world 10 times over. It could also mean that Draenei have considerably shorter lifespans, but rotated in and out of the stasis pods periodically, and that said Draenei has been rotated out 10 times (depending on how long the in-stasis/out-of-stasis cycle is, memories from the prior out-of-stasis phase may seem like a lifetime ago).

It still seems a little vague. Which NPC states that? Perhaps something more can be inferred from the context of the statement.

[Kyraine]

Or maybe 10 lifetimes is a Draenei cultural expression for a very long time. Sort of how we say "that took forever" for something that lasts a long time IRL. I don't think they're immortal, but I also am not sure about the 2,500 year lifespan either. Obviously, going by Velen's appearance in the game, 25K is very old for a Draenei.

Personally, I think that Blizz doesn't give us a whole lot of background for the Draenei, which leaves us RPers a lot of breathing room to do what makes sense to us. As far as which worlds they visited, how the ships themselves worked (was everyone in stasis and the Naaru flew it, did they rotate in and out, did they stay out of stasis for journeys that weren't as long between worlds), how long they live, how many worlds they found, and so on, there's a lot of lore holes for the squids. I like it, to be honest. Sometimes Blizz's habit of being vague about certain things in the lore lets us be more creative with it.