Jaina Proudmoore, the Mage
Lady Jaina Proudmoore is first introduced in Warcraft III, as one of the mightiest and brightest sorceresses in all of Azeroth. Hailing from the nation of Kul Tiras, Jaina quickly rose among the ranks of the wizard of Dalaran, and under the tutelage of Antonidas, Jaina became one of the youngest archmages in Dalaran, and one of the few female ones at that. During her youth, Jaina had romantic flings with Kael'thas Sunstrider, prince of the high elves, and Arthas Menethil, prince of Lordaeon. During the Third War, Jaina eavesdropped on a conversation that her master had with a mysterious Prophet (actually the former guardian Medivh) warning them to take humanity to Kalimdor. Jaina was then sent by Antonidas to work with her old friend and ex-love Arthas to investigate a mysterious plague, which turns out to be the plague of undeath, turning all who ate a particular batch of grain into walking corpses. Jaina accompanied Arthas throughout his journey, seeing the prince grow darker and darker, until at one point Arthas ordered the entire town of Stratholme to be purged because they have all been infected. Jaina and Arthas' mentor Uther refuse to do this act, and left Arthas behind. Jaina would arrive after Arthas was done with Stratholme, and, walking its burning ruins piled with corpses, was approached by the mysterious Prophet once more, and Jaina was convinced to take a large amount of people to go west to Kalimdor, leaving in time to escape the destruction of Dalaran and Lordaeon before the arrival of the Scourge, and subsequently the Burning Legion. Upon arriving at Kalimdor, Jaina briefly engaged with the orcs (led by Thrall as a new Horde) that were there, but the arrival of the Prophet, who revealed his true identity as Medivh, Jaina's humans and Thrall's Horde were convinced to work together. And work together they did. Jaina assisted Thrall 's Horde in defending first against the fel-corrupted Warsong Clan, capturing and purifying the orc Grom Hellscream's tainted soul, and later Jaina's forces would stand alongside the Horde and their new allies, the night elven Sentinels, in facing against the mighty leader of the Burning Legion, Archimonde.
Following the Legion's defeat, Jaina's humans settled and constructed the large island town of Threamore. However, tensions rose when the orcish Horde building their new settlement on Durotar were attacked by humans -- humans that did not come from Theramore. Jaina offered to help to find the parties responsible, and alongside with the Horde champion Rexxar, discovered that her father, Admiral Daelin Proudmoore of the Kul Tiras navy, has arrived. And Daelin's intense racism towards the orcs brokered no compromise. With her words falling on deaf ears, In order to ensure peace, Jaina told her troops to stand down while the forces of the Horde assaulted Theramore and slew Daelin.By the time World of Warcraft begun, Theramore was allied with the kingdom of Stormwind and the new Grand Alliance. Throughout the majority of early-WoW, Jaina's role was mostly as mediator, attempting to get her trusted friend Thrall and the hot-headed king of Stormwind Varian Wrynn to broker peace, something that never quite managed to happen. Jaina also grew close to the crown prince of Stormwind, Anduin Wrynn, who she treats like a nephew. Jaina also discovered the former Guardian Aegwynn at this point, learning much from her before her death. During Wrath of the Lich King, Jaina was instrumental in stopping the temporary truce of Alliance and Horde from devolving even further, telling the Alliance to stand down while the Horde sorts out the treacherous Apothecary Putress, and teleporting Alliance forces out of the Undercity before any more conflicts can rise. During the final campaign in Northrend, Jaina led a group of Alliance champions down into the Halls of Reflection of Icecrown Citadel, meeting the ghost of her old friend Uther Lightbringer and learning about the weakness of Arthas, now the Lich King. After a brief encounter with the Lich King, Jaina would escape with her life, and this information would prove crucial to the Lich King's defeat.
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| Jaina (WCIII) |
Something within Jaina broke after the fall of Theramore. She radiated arcane energy, and her hair was bleached white, and in grief at the death of her entire city and a large amount of her friends, Jaina took the remnants of the Focusing Iris, the artifact used to power the mana bomb, Jaina failed to sway either Varian Wrynn or the Council of Six of Dalaran in waging war against the Horde, and decided to take matters into her own hands -- summoning a living tidal wave made out of water elementals, and would drown Orgrimmar if Thrall and Kalecgos had not arrived and talked her down. Jaina, realizing that she did not want to become a monster like Garrosh or Arthas, stood down, but throughout Mists of Pandaria she would be transformed into the staunchest supporter of dismantling the Horde, the opposite of what she used to fight for. She also served as leader of the Kirin Tor council, replacing the fallen Rhonin. Her hatred grew worse when the Horde stole a powerful artifact, the Divine Bell, from Darnassus, and purged the Sunreavers -- Blood Elven mages -- from Dalaran, unknowingly destroying negotiations between Varian and Lor'themar Theron from having the entire blood elven race defect to the Alliance. Jaina was also instrumental in the campaigns in Pandaria at this era, helping to organize the Alliance forces that would combat the resurrected Thunder King, Lei Shen. A confrontation with Lor'themar Theron (regent of the blood elves) nearly caused tensions to rise, but Jaina agreed to release the Sunreavers begrudgingly. Jaina continued to direct Alliance forces throughout the Pandaria campaigns and the eventual Alliance/Horde truce as they take down Garrosh Hellscream, and participated as a witness during the trial against Garrosh. The trial gave the bloodthirsty Jaina a lot to think about, and seeing her deeds laid bare during the course of the trial, Jaina found some closure in realizing that letting her old hatred simmer would break her and turn her into a monster like Garrosh.However, she once more lapses into hatred when, during the events of Legion, the Horde's seeming retreat costed the lives of many Alliance soldiers, among them King Varian Wrynn. The death of her longtime friend and her belief that the Horde abandoned the Alliance troops to their fate, closing Dalaran to the Horde. However, the rest of Dalaran's Council ends up taking a vote, and a majority of the Council of Six votes to allow Horde members to continue enter Dalaran... something that enrages Jaina, who proceeds to renounce her membership of the Kirin Tor. During the events of War for Azeroth, Jaina ends up going back to her birthland of Kul Tiras, to both face her past and her future.
Jaina has had multiple alternate 'skins' in Hearthstone, in addition to the 'death knight' hero cards that all nine heroes got:
The history of Malfurion Stormrage is very much tied to the history of the night elven race. Malfurion is born alongside his twin borther Illidan Stormrage, and would grow alongside Tyrande Whisperwind, his love interest and future wife. As they grew, Malfurion would grow into one of the most dedicated followers of the demigod Cenarius, and would become the first-ever mortal druid on Azeroth. This would be the age before the Great Sundering, where the night elven race was drunk on the poweres of the arcane and the Well of Eternity under Queen Azshara. The wanton usage of arcane energy would draw the Burning Legion's attention to Azeroth for the first time in history, and they would emerge from the portal created by Azshara's minions. Malfurion, Illidan and Tyrande would lead the fight against the demons, calling the aid of Cenarius, Alexstrasza the dragon-queen, as well as an army of ancients, dragons, wild gods and other assorted races. The War of the Ancients was fierce, and many were felled, but eventually the Azerothian forces would prove victorious, closing the portal but at the cost of causing the implosion of the Well of Eternity and shattering the once-whole continent apart. Malfurion would become the leader of the druids of the night elven race, but would be forced to imprison his brother Illidan due to his addiction to magic and the creation of a new well of eternity. Malfurion would gain the respect of the dragon aspects Alexstrasza, Ysera and Nozdormu, who blessed the new Well and created the World Tree, Nordrassil, making the night elves immortal and also bound to the Emerald Dream. At this point Malfurion would be known as Archdruid. Malfurion and the other druids would go into slumber, sleeping within the Emerald Dream and only awoken in times of crisis. One of these times of crisis would be the War of the Satyr, where Malfurion would be particularly involved in banning the druids from ever using the lupine Pack Form.
Malfurion would be awakened ten thousand years later during the events of Warcraft III, a.k.a. the Third War. Tyrande Whisperwind would awaken the druids earlier than they should thanks to the arrival of the Burning Legion once more, and he would fight alongside his love against the demons. Malfurion realized that the leader of the Burning Legion, Archimonde, wished to drain the powers of the World Tree Nordrassil, and would lead forces to awaken the other druids -- the druids of the talon and the claw. They would also ally themselves with the humans and orcs, although not after some conflict between the three forces. Tyrande would also release Illidan at this point, hoping that the demon hunter would prove useful in the war against demons. Malfurion was furious, but he allowed Illidan to act... only to be horrified when he found out that Illidan, while slaying the demon lord Tichondrius, has transformed himself into a half-demon, and ended up banishing his brother once more. Malfurion would later be summoned by a powerful but benign force that revealed himself to be Medivh, the Last Guardian, who caused the leaders of the three warring forces -- the Alliance, the Horde and the night elven Sentinels -- to ally themselves against the Burning Legion. Malfurion and Tyrande agreed, and while Tyrande, Thrall and Jaina would lead the defense against the armies of the Burning Legion, Malfurion would create a ritual and summon all the ancestral wisps that lived in Mt. Hyjal. With the Horn of Cenarius, Malfurion would summon the army of wisps around Archimonde and detonated in an explosion so large it ripped both Archimonde and the World Tree apart, claiming a victory for the races of Azeroth yet costing the night elves their mortality.
In Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Malfurion and Tyrande would be summoned by the warden Maiev Shadowsong to assist in recapturing the forces of Illidan Stormrage, who had allied himself with the vile naga to apparently slaughter the wardens. Malfurion would bring an army of mountain giants with him to rescue Maiev's forces from being besieged by the naga, but Tyrande and Maiev butted heads over the fact that Tyrande freed Illidan and killed many watchers in the attempt. While Tyrande and Maiev hunted down Illidan, Malfurion communed with the forest and was shown a vision of the destruction of the land caused by Illidan's reckless attempts to shatter Northrend with a magical artifact. Malfurion would later be told by Maiev that Tyrande was killed in battle, driving Malfurion into such a rage that he personally led the battle against Illidan's forces... only to be told that Tyrande hasn't actually died, but is actually in mortal peril from the undead Scourge. The Stormrage brothers worked together to save the woman they both love, and Malfurion would give Illidan his freedom -- something he did by going to the realm of Outland, with Maiev's wardens in hot pursuit. Malfurion and Tyrande then simply walked away from the conflict, deciding to help rebuild their people.
Prior to World of Warcraft, Malfurion would join the night elves with the Alliance, and also befriend the tauren Hamuul Runetotem, teaching the druidic art to the tauren people. However, shortly after Malfurion would fall into a deep coma, causing Fandral Staghelm to take his place as archdruid of the kaldorei. Malfurion was trapped within the Emerald Dream, somehow out of reach of the green dragons that control it. It would later be revealed that Fandral Staghelm, corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare, was keeping Malfurion within the Emerald Dream, where the Nightmare Lord Xavius imprisoned Malfurion within a tree in the Nightmare. Malfurion was able to send his influence out, allowing other heroes including Tyrande and the green dragon aspect Ysera to eventually rescue him. After a series of battles, Malfurion would defeat the crazed Fandral, and discover the corruption within the World Tree. Malfurion would help all the other druids in blessing the World Tree, freeing those trapped and limiting the influence of the Nightmare to one spot, the Rift of Aln. Malfurion would then wed Tyrande.
Malfurion would also be instrumental in attending many Alliance meetings, in particular he would be instrumental in creating a summit to get the Worgen to join the Alliance, and convince King Varian Wrynn to get past his own prejudices against the nation of Gilneas. Malfurion would properly appear in World of Warcraft with the Cataclysm expansion, appearing in Darnassus next to Tyrande as co-leader of the night elves. Malfurion would also appear in the region of Darkshore, creating a gigantic swirling vortex of air to hold the region together, while sending his night elven allies to gather the furbolgs, ancients and other allies to calm down the rampaging elementals, as well as stopping the Twilight's Hammer cult and naga in the area. Malfurion would then return to Mount Hyjal, realizing that the activity in Darkshore was merely a diversion, and would join the Guardians of Hyjal in repelling Ragnaros and his fire elemental army from razing Hyjal to the ground. After witnessing Thrall get assaulted by the druids of the flame, Malfurion would then venture alongside adventurers into the Firelands and slay Ragnaros.
Malfurion would continue working as a leader of the Alliance, although his next huge contribution would be in Legion, where he would attend the funeral of Varian Wrynn, and be involved in the druid questline, gathering powerful druids like Hamuul Runetotem, Zen'tabra, Naralex, Remulos and druid adventurers to enter the Dreamgrove in Val'sharah, naming a druid player the new archdruid of the Cenarion Circle. Val'sharah is the location of one of the Pillars of Creation required to close the Tomb of Sargeras and the portal of demons pouring through, the Tears of Elune. Malfurion would enter the Emerald Dream and discover that the spirit of his teacher, Cenarius, is corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare. Malfurion calls for Ysera for aid, but the Tears of Elune is stolen by Xavius's forces, causing Cenarius to succumb fully into corruption. Xavius then proceeds to corrupt Ysera, and escapes with Malfurion as his prisoner. Xavius gives Tyrande an ultimatum -- spend Malfurion's last moments by his side, or protect the Temple of Elune from the invading forces of the Nightmare Lord. Tyrande chooses duty over love, and ends up slaying the corrupted Ysera with the aid of adventurers. At the Darkheart Thicket, Malfurion is freed by forces sent by Tyrande. Malfurion would then aid the adventurers in fighting against the corrupted form of Cenarius, his shan'do, and manages to free Cenarius from the Nightmare Lord's corruption. Malfurion would not dare venture into the Rift of Aln due to his bond with the Emerald Dream causing him to be vulnerable with the rift. Thusly, he entrusts adventurers to go into the Nightmare and slay Xavius.
Valeera Sanguinar's story is mostly chronicled not in the games, but in World of Warcraft: The Comic. She was orphaned at a young age when Quel'thalas fell to the undead Scourge, and her life was mostly surviving in the streets, eventually being captured and sold to the orc Rehgar Earthfury and forced to fight as a gladiator. Like the rest of her race (see blood elf section), Valeera suffered from magic withdrawals. In the gladiator, Valeera fought and later befriended the older night elf Broll Bearmantle (though there was some friction due to the inherent rivalry between the night and high/blood elves) and the mysterious amnesiac human Lo'Gosh. The three were some of Rehgar's best gladiators, but they eventually escaped, although Valeera was separated from her compatriots. With the aid of Jaina and the former Guardian Aegwynn, they would discover that Lo'Gosh is actually an amnesiac Varian Wrynn, King of Stormwind. Valeera would continue to be a loyal ally to Varian and Broll as they returned to Stormwind to return Varian to his rightful position and help Varian in defeating the black dragon Onyxia. After that crisis, Valeera was offered a place as the Wrynn family's bodyguard, and became one of the few blood elves to be loyal to the Alliance. However, during a fight against a blood elven assassin, Valeera was cursed with the mark of Kathra'natir, a demonic curse. Valeera's addiction was thus exacerbated, and when Valeera's addiction relapses, she would lose control of herself and the demon Kathra'natir would take over her. During a conflict against the Twilight's Hammer Cult to rescue the son of Medivh, Med'an, Valeera was assisted by the mage Meryl Winterstorm, who ripped Kathra'natir out of Valeera's body and sealed the demon within his own body, freeing Valeera from the curse.
Valeera would finally appear in World of Warcraft in Wrath of the Lich King, where she would be found in Stormwind Harbor, contemplating with Varian, Broll and Bolvar Fordragon about the upcoming conflict. Valeera would also participate alongside Broll during the Battle of Undercity. Valeera would be missing in action for a majority of the game afterwards (which is why her inclusion as one of the nine main heroes in Hearthstone was so surprising over more well-known rogues like Maiev Shadowsong, Edwin VanCleef or Mathias Shaw) although she would finally make a triumphant return in Legion. Valeera was one of the Uncrowned, a massive rogue organization and the rogue class order. Valeera and several other well-known rogues would become the class champions for the Uncrowned, and Valeera would accompany rogues with the subtlety specialization to do battle against the mighty female eredar Akaari Shadowgore, slay her and retrieve the artifact weapon Fangs of the Devourer. Valeera would also be instrumental in deciphering an encrypted letter that seems to hint at something sinister within the Alliance secret police, the SI:7, and with the aid of an artifact retrieved by other rogues (a.k.a. player characters), Valeera would the SI:7 leader Mathias Shaw has been abducted and impersonated by the dreadlord Detheroc, who was sowing discord using the organization. The Uncrowned would then subsequently defeat Detheroc and free Shaw.
Anduin Wrynn was the boy-king of Stormwind, son of King Varian Wrynn and Queen Tiffin Ellerian. Tiffin was killed while Anduin was very young, and when Anduin was ten, Varian was kidnapped and missing, forcing the young prince to become king, assisted by Regent-Lord Bolvar Fordragon and Lady Katrana Prestor. The Boy-King Anduin would become king for much of early World of Warcraft, wrestled between the duplicitous Lady Prestor (secretly a black dragon, Onyxia, and the one behind Varian's disappearance) and the noble Bolvar Fordragon. Anduin would be highly involved in getting the two split personas of Varian -- King Varian and Lo'Gosh (it's a long story and we'll cover it when we get to TGT) -- to work together, in particular succeeding in getting King Varian to focus on the fact that he is a king and not Prestor's thrall. Anduin would work together with the dwarven king Magni Bronzebeard and Bolvar Fordragon in helping to get Varian back, and while he was kidnapped by Onyxia, he would be rescued. (We'll cover Varian's story in his own article in TGT)
Anduin would grow alongside his father and the two would often butt heads over multiple different factors. For one, Varian's trigger-happy temper and aggressiveness, as well as the fact that despite all his efforts, Anduin just doesn't have the potential to become a proper warrior. Anduin would sometimes be the only thing that can calm down King Varian when he's on the warpath. Anduin would also be close to Jaina Proudmoore, calling her his aunt. Up until Wrath of the Lich King, Anduin continued to serve as the prince of Stormwind and is found in the throne room of Stormwind Keep. Prior to the Cataclysm, the death of Bolvar Fordragon hit Anduin hard, and he began to spend time in Theramore with Jaina and Ironforge with King Magni. The earthquakes that preceded the Cataclysm happened, claiming the life of Anduin's dwarven friend Aerin, as well as King Magni when he attempted to commune with the earth shortly afterwards. Anduin would be gifted the sacred mace Fearbreaker by Magni prior to his death, and would become a political hostage by an attempted coup caused by Magni's estranged daughter, Moira Bronzebeard. Despite this, Anduin saw goodness within Moira and sympathized with her, both being royal children who didn't quite live up to their fathers' expectations. Anduin would escape with a hearthstone to Theramore, coincidentally meeting the tauren leader Baine Bloodhoof. Baine and Anduin struck an unlikely friendship, and Anduin would gift Baine the mace Fearbreaker. Anduin would later return to Ironforge, stopping his father and an army of SI:7 agents from straight-up executing Moira, whereas living her alive and giving her a second chance might actually cause the three dwarven clan to unite.
However, despite Varian listening to Anduin in the dwarven crisis, they would become even more strained during the Alliance leader summit discussing the admittance of the worgen into the Alliance. Varian is adamant that the Gilneans are traitorous, and in an argument with Anduin, Varian accidentally hurt Anduin's arm. Anduin, while understanding, would leave Varian to train in the priestly arts with Prophet Velen of the draenei, having found his calling while in Ironforge. Anduin's words would later motivate Varian to change, reflect upon his character flaws and eventually work together with the worgen. In Cataclysm, Anduin and Alliance adventurers would uncover and foil a Twilight's Hammer attempt at assassinating his father. While Anduin would continue to attempt to bring peace between Alliance and Horde whatever way they could, the bombing of Theramore and Jaina's slip into wrathful anger ended up being a blow to the young prince.
In Mists of Pandaria, Anduin's flagship, the Vanguard, was shot down by Horde forces and forced to crash-land in Pandaria itself, particularly in the Jade Forest. Alliance forces and SI:7 agents scrambled to retrieve Anduin, who would be attacked by the feral hozen, but would be rescued by the pandaren. Anduin stayed at the Vale of Eternal Blossoms until he was able to contact Alliance forces, but he would refuse to leave, learning the healing powers of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Anduin is very involved with the Alliance campaign in Pandaria, dodging being captured by Horde forces, and learning about the local culture, particularly learning with the pandaren at the Temple of the Red Crane. Anduin would also ask Alliance soldiers in defeating the Sha of Despair. Anduin would later be among the champions of Alliance and Horde that would prove themselves worthy to Xuen, and would participate in battling the mogu.
After the Lion's Landing was constructed, Anduin was reunited with his father, who, while still vowing to fight the Horde, makes Anduin proud with the resolution that he's fighting not out of conquest or hatred, but to do what's right. Anduin would be the chief voice in telling the other Alliance leaders not to underestimate or weaponize the Sha. Anduin would also be instrumental during the crisis revolving the sacred artifact, the Divine Bell. Anduin manages to free the legendary warrior the Monkey King with the aid of Alliance warriors, and obtain the Harmonic Mallet -- a tool to counter the mogu's Divine Bell. When news of Garrosh's attempt to use the Divine Bell reached Anduin, he charged on a one-man mission to stop Garrosh, and managed to disable the bell before Garrosh can turn his kor'kron into Sha. An enraged Garrosh shattered the bell, and the pieces slammed onto Anduin, seemingly killing the young prince, but actually merely crippling him. Alliance warriors would recover Anduin, and Alliance-allied pandaren would nurse him back to health. He would remain in the Veiled Stair, and would befriend the enigmatic black dragon Wrathion at this point. Anduin would later be present during the Siege of Orgrimmar, and later during the trial of Garrosh in Pandaria -- with Anduin himself struggling on whether someone as vile as Garrosh Hellscream can change... and is one of the few who actually saw the potential in Garrosh, even warning the despicable former warchief of a plot to poison him.
In Legion, Anduin is left behind in Stormwind during the ill-fated assault on the Broken Shore, which costed the Alliance the life of King Varian. Anduin would receive a letter written by Varian prior to the battle from Genn Greymane and an Alliance champion, and this would galvanize Anduin to still continue working towards peace as he has always been -- telling them that the Burning Legion, not the Horde, was their priority. Anduin would also broker an alliance with a faction of Illidari. Anduin would be crowned King at this point, and despite his own misgivings about himself and how the people doesn't have faith in him, Anduin continues to have faith in the Light and the Alliance, and after a day of self-introspection assisted with Velen and Genn, Anduin would walk throughout all of Stormwind, before finally travelling to the Broken Shore, seeing with his own eyes the threat they face, recovering one of Varian's blades, and resolves to fight for peace, just like his father did.
Lord Uther Lightbringer (sometimes Uther the Lightbringer) is one of the finest and mightiest heroes known by the Alliance. He first appeared in Warcraft II, as one of the handful of named heroes that was playable, with Uther representing the Paladin unit. A young Uther was part of the first incarnation of the paladin order of the Silver Hand, an order of holy warriors formed in response to the First War after the large massacre of the unprepared clerics of Northshire. The Silver Hand was a mighty force that gave large boosts of morale to the forces of the Alliance, and participated in many bloody battles during the Second War, being one of the warriors that repelled the Horde's siege on Lordaeon's capital city, as well as discovering the treachery of the kingdom of Alterac. Uther participated in the final battle of Blackrock Spire, shattering the Horde's grip on Azeroth, personally leading the final assault against the Burning Blade Clan.
Between the Second and Third war, Uther served as one of the most stalwart members of the Knights of the Silver Hand, and one of the mightiest protectors of the people, being both warrior and peacemaker. Uther personally tutored the crown prince of Loradeon, Arthas Menethil, in the ways of the Light, being responsible for the boy's training into a noble warrior. Yet the conflict known as the Third War (Warcraft III) soon brewed. While Uther and his pupil Arthas did battle against orcs and the new threat of the undead, Uther saw Arthas to be haunted by the atrocities that the undead committed, and Arthas grew increasingly dark in how far he went to stop the undead Scourge. Uther and Arthas finally came to head at the town of Stratholme, where Arthas wanted to purge the entire town before they were turned into undead. A horrified Uther refused to obey Arthas's orders and walked away, not willing to participate in the acts that Arthas asked him to commit. Arthas would go on to lead a campaign to Northrend to end the Scourge, but his obsession consumed him, quite literally, and Arthas returned not as destroyer of Scourge but its greatest champion, killing his father, King Terenas.
A broken-hearted Uther stood guard over the cremated remains of Terenas, and was transporting the urn to Andorhal, but Arthas (who needed the magical urn that Terenas's ashes are contained within) arrived to raze the town to the ground, killing Uther's fellow paladins. Uther finally engaged his former pupil in a one-on-one battle, but Arthas was ultimately victorious. With his final breath, he cursed his former pupil, noting that he hoped "there is a special in hell waiting for you". Uhter was slain, and his soul trapped within the cursed blade of Frostmourne. During Wrath of the Lich King, the ghostly spirit of Uther Lightbringer would manifest to Jaina and Sylvanas when they assaulted Icecrown Citadel, presenting them with the crucial information that Arthas (now the Lich King) can only be destroyed in the Frozen Throne. Uther's soul would be released from Frostmourne after the Lich King's defeat, and the noble paladin who met a tragic end would finally be allowed to rest. Uther's body is buried in Western Plaguelands, and several quests in World of Warcraft relate to artifacts that relate to him.
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The story of Thrall, born Go'el (but I will refer to as Thrall for the entirety of this article) is long and complex. He was son to Durotan and Draka, the former being the chieftain of the noble Frostwolf tribe of orcs. Thrall was born in the Alterac mountains shortly after the Frostwolf clan crossed through the Dark Portal from Draenor into Azeroth, and was born with green skin -- a sign of the corruption that have plagued the orcs due to their pact with demons. Durotan would bring his child to show his friend, Orgrim Doomhammer, as proof that the warlocks were corrupting their entire race with their demonic fel magic. However, agents of the Shadow Council, whose allegiance were to the demons, would kill Draka and Durotan, leaving the infant Go'el behind. He would be adopted by Aedelas Blackmoore, a human noble, who would name the baby 'Thrall', and cage him as a slave, forced to fight in gladiatorial matches for his entertainment. Thrall had the savagery of the orcs, but being raised by humans allowed him more intellect than was normal for orcs of the time. He would befriend the human girl Taretha Foxton, who he treated as a surrogate sister. His abuse and internment took his toll on him, and with Taretha's help, managed to escape from Durnholde Keep. Thrall would eventually find his way to an orcish internment camp (which was where the orcs were kept after the Old Horde's loss during the Second War) where he would learn about the culture of the orcs -- how they were once a noble, shamanistic race before the corruption of fel magic. Thrall would seek out Grom Hellscream, warchief of the Warsong Clan, as well as Drek'Thar, former shaman of the Frostwolf Clan, who would teach Thrall in the ways of the orcish people. From Grom he would learn about the history and culture of the orcs, and from Drek'Thar he would learn the ways of his clan and the ways of the shaman. Thrall would be talented both in the art of war and shamanism, being the first orc to be accepted by elemental spirits after the spirits' silence during the corruption of the orcs.
Thrall would meet yet another veteran of the first two wars -- Orgrim Doomhammer, the second warchief of the Old Horde and old friend to his own father, who was impressed enough with Thrall's battle capabilities and his desire to help his people. Together with his allies, Thrall would embark on a quest to free the orcs in the internment camp, sneaking in as a prisoner and then riling up the orcs with a display of his shamanistic powers. However, this campaign would have tragic consequences, as Doomhammer would be killed in battle against the guards, giving Thrall his black plate armour and his weapon, the Doomhammer. In a confrontation with his former master Blackmoore, the human would kill Thrall's friend and confidant Taretha, driving Thrall into a huge frenzy until he killed his former master.
In Warcraft III, Thrall would become the leader of this new Horde that were unshackled by their demonic past, intent on forging a new path to their old roots of honour and shamanism, and wanted as little as possible to do with humans. Thrall would be plagued by dreams of battlefields on plains, of how the human-orc war was meaningless compared to what is coming. He would meet a mysterious raven-turned-human who identified himself as the Prophet (actually Medivh, the last Guardian of Tirisfal), who instructed Thrall to leave Lordaeron and sail west to Kalimdor to find their destiny. Thrall would free the rest of the interned orcs, and would sail east. Along the way, they would meet and make allies with Vol'jin and the darkspear trolls (after helping them fight back murlocs and their sea witch mistress) as well as Carine Bloodhoof and the tauren (after helping them claim Mulgore for their own land from the centaurs). Thrall's head for diplomacy and the similar beliefs that the three races had would become the backbone of the modern-day Horde. For more of the trolls and the tauren's insertion into the Horde, I've covered them in Vol'jin and Cairne's entries.
Thrall and Cairne would journey to the Stonetalon Peaks in search of a powerful 'oracle', only for the oracle to be the Prophet himself, who had brought to them the human leader Jaina Proudmoore. Jaina and Thrall's forces have clashed several times while on Kalimdor (in no small part due to Grom's brashness and bloodlust), and while they were prepared to do battle, the Prophet would manage to stop them and make them see that they must be allied against the Burning Legion. Grom, at this point, has fallen back into demonic corruption, and Thrall would enlist the help of Jaina to help purify Grom from the blood curse. Thus freed, Thrall and Grom would then head out to face the pit lord Mannoroth, the being that had corrupted the entire orc race. Thrall's attempts to fight the pit lord was brave, but he was overpowered and would have been killed had it not been for Grom's charge, slaying Mannoroth and killing the pit lord, freeing the orcs of their blood curse... at the cost of his own life.
Thrall and the orcs were free, but their battle was not over, for they had to join forces with humans and night elves to fight against the arrival of Archimonde and the Burning Legion. Thrall and the Horde would hold back Archimonde's forces long enough for Malfurion's ritual to summon guardian wisps and detonate Archimonde to work.
In Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Thrall would lead his people to the harsh land known as the Barrens. Naming it Durotar, Thrall would oversee the construction of the capital city of Orgrimmar. Here he would be greatly assisted by the champion Rexxar, although trouble quickly came when orc outposts were wiped out by humans. While he did not suspect that Jaina would betray him, he would send out Rexxar to seek the parties responsible. Jaina's father Daelin Proudmoore was, and he would be put down by Thrall's champions.
In World of Warcraft, Thrall would accept the Forsaken and later the Blood Elves into Horde ranks, and would continue to serve as the Horde's warchief. Despite his good relations with Jaina Proudmoore, Thrall faced a Horde that increasingly grew more aggressive against the Alliance. Thrall would be a quest giver located in Orgrimmar for a good chunk of the earlier expansions, and would send Horde adventurers to deal with certain rogue elements within the Horde. In Burning Crusade, Thrall would journey to Outland -- the land that was once the orcish homeland of Draenor -- and bring the mag'har, a group of uncorrupted orcs, into Horde fold. Among them would be Garrosh Hellscream, son of Thrall's old mentor Grom. Thrall would also meet his grandmother, Greatmother Geyah, and would learn a significant deal of orcish shamanistic culture. While he did not participate in the Northrend campaign, Thrall would send Garrosh, Varok Saurfang and an army of Horde warriors to Northrend to battle the Lich King. Thrall would participate in assisting Sylvanas to retake Undercity from the treacherous Varimathras, and would participate in an ill-fated peace summit on Dalaran while discussing Ulduar.
Prior to the Cataclysm, Thrall would sense the elements of Azeroth crying out in pain, and realized that he can no longer split his attention between being a shaman and being a warchief. To this end, he appoints the popular and well-received Garrosh Hellscream as a temporary (and later permanent) warchief as he goes off to Outland to commune with the elementals of Draenor and attempt to understand just why the elements of Azeroth was haywire. Greatmother Geyah assigned a hot-headed shaman, Aggra, to train Thrall, and while the two butted heads, they would eventually fall in love. Thrall, through his meditations and his journey of self-discovery, would discover the cataclysm that was about to strike Azeroth... but was too late to prevent it as Deathwing would break the world as he tore through the elemental planes to enter the physical one. As he returned to Azeroth, he would find the world a different place. Thrall would shed the armour of Doomhammer, and don simple shaman robes, marking his new role as Azeroth's protector.
In Cataclysm, it was as a shaman that Thrall served Azeroth as. While no longer allied with the Horde officially, he still helped out Horde members on many occasion, such as helping goblin adventurers take down the corrupt Gallywix and inducting them into the Horde, and reassuring Vol'jin that he needs to have a united front with Garrosh. Thrall would commune with the elemental planes at the Maelstrom, using his efforts to attempt to close the elemental rift, working with other powerful shamans of the neutral faction the Earthen Ring. Thrall would go through a journey of self-discovery as he assists the four dragon aspects -- Alexstrasza, Kalecgos, Nozdormu and Ysera -- in various events, eventually finding his center once more and reuniting the formerly-broken Wyrmrest Accord once more. Thrall's next attempt to commune with the Maelstrom causes him to have visions of the mighty Firelord, Ragnaros. Ragnaros gives Thrall a vision of the Firelands, and promises to burn down all of Azeroth in flames. Thrall heads to Mt. Hyjal to warn everyone of the Twilight's Hammer and Ragnaros's arrival, but while they were able to repel the fire elementals, Thrall was struck down and his spirit ripped apart and cast into the four elemental realms by a treacherous druid, Fandral Staghelm. Heroes of the Alliance and Horde would scramble to return Thrall's spirit to Aggra, while also needing to have Thrall come to grips with his own doubts and fears. Thrall would then commune with the dragon aspects, and attempted to commune with the earth. Deathwing would mock Thrall as attempting to replace him as Earth-Warder, while all Thrall took was a mere fraction of the weight he felt while he was the Earth-Warder. During the final battle, after heroes recovered a purified Dragon Soul to combat Deathwing, Thrall would do battle against many of Deathwing's minions, among them the Twilight Father, Archbishop Benedictus. Thrall would be responsible for unleashing the Dragon Soul onto Deathwing twice, ripping Deathwing's armour apart and causing him to crashland into the Maelstrom. Thrall would assist in defeating this one last central form of Deathwing with adventurers and dragon aspects, finally slaying Deathwing and ending the elemental crisis. Thrall would also discard the name Thrall and call himself Go'el (which I'm not going to do) and marry Aggra, fathering a son called Durak.
Despite this, however, Thrall would see the Horde degenerate under Garrosh's rule, becoming more warlike and aggressive. This would cost Thrall and Jaina's friendship when Garrosh decimated Jaina's hometown of Theramore with a mana bomb. Thrall would be able to calm his old friend from wiping out Orgrimmar with an army of water elementals, but Jaina's reply was cold as he held the entire Horde responsible for her loss. In Mists of Pandaria, Thrall was roped once more into action when Vol'jin was nearly assassinated, and began to coordinate the Darkspear rebellion. Thrall put his support behind Vol'jin, seeing how despotic Garrosh has became, and would round up a large portion of the orcs of Orgrimmar to join Vol'jin, and took over leadership of the Echo isles in Vol'jin's absence. Thrall would participate in the Siege of Orgrimmar, briefly confronting Garrosh personally, but was defeated with Garrosh's command over the vile Heart of Y'Shaarj. Thrall would then attempt to execute Garrosh with the Doomhammer, but would be stopped, and Garrosh would be held on trial. Thrall would appoint Vol'jin the new chieftain, and would later participate in the trial of Garrosh.
In Warlords of Draenor, Thrall would assist to stop the Ironmarch invasion in the Blasted Lands, giving quests to eliminate Iron Horde members and machinery. And having a personal stake in taking down Garrosh, seeing him as a personal mistake, Thrall would be among the first to arrive on the alternate-timeline Draenor. Among many others, Thrall would be involved in the trials of the Frostwolf clan, seeing the deeds of his ancestors. Thrall would be seen in multiple other places throughout the Draenor campaign, and would later do a mak'gora with Garrosh Hellscream. While Garrosh blamed Thrall for putting him in charge, Thrall would be victorious and slay Garrosh, burning him to death with the elements. Thrall would later continue to assist the Horde in battling against Garrosh's Iron Horde, particularly in witnessing the purification of the elemental furies of Draenor.
In Legion, Thrall would join the assault on the Broken Shore on the side of the Horde, but they were routed. Thrall would later journey to the Maelstrom with an army of shaman, to discuss how to defeat the Burning Legion. The Earthen Ring would face the mighty fel lord Geth'xun, and in the process, the Doomhammer was lost to the elemental plane of Deepholm. Shaman adventurers would seek to recover it, and Thrall found that the elements were silent to his call after he used the elements during the mak'gora to kill Garrosh -- thusly, he imparted the Doomhammer to a shaman adventurer as he goes off to re-commune with the elements.
Rexxar the Beastmaster is a mok'nathal (half orc, half-ogre) that arrived alongside the rest of the Old Horde during the first war. Disgusted by the dishonour and brutality of the old Horde, as well as the constant betrayals within the leadership, Rexxar left them and wandered Azeroth, jaded with the orcs and deciding to trust only beasts from now own. Rexxar would roam the Barrens region alongside his faithful companion, the bear Misha, until the events of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Rexxar and Misha came across Mogrin, an orc warrior who came under attack by quilboars. Rexxar was too late to save the orc, but in his dying breath, the orc asked Rexxar to deliver the message he was supposed to give to the warchief Thrall. Rexxar journeyed to the orcish city of Orgrimmar and found that this new Horde was to his liking, filled with honourable orcs and trolls. Rexxar, deciding to earn his keep, assisted the residents of Orgrimmar such as Drek'thar, Nazgrel and the goblin contractor Gazlowe, helping to take out threats from the nearby harpies and kobolds alongside a troll shadow hunter called Rokhan. Rexxar would later encounter a jovial pandaren brewmaster called Chen Stormstout, and the group would wander Durotar and assist the Horde in strengthening their foothold against the harsh land. However, things went south when increased human activity was spotted, Despite the non-aggression pact between Thrall's orcs and Jaina's humans, Rexxar witnessed one of their outposts razed to the ground by humans. This treachery causes Rexxar and his allies to investigate other possible attacks, and assisted the Darkspear trolls of Echo Isles in defending themselves. With the aid of the troll leader Vol'jin, Rexxar would successfully assist in the evacuation of the trolls.
After a supposed peace summit proved to be a trap, Rexxar was tasked by Thrall to meet Jaina personally. With the aid of an orc blademaster called Samuro, Rexxar was able to go through a human blockade to finally meet Jaina, who had no idea of what is going on. Travelling with Rexxar's group, they find the aggressive humans to be slaughtered by naga, and after dealing with said naga, Rexxar and Jaina would find out that the humans are working for Admiral Daelin Proudmoore of Kul Tiras, Jaina's father, who refused to listen to reason. Daelin captured Rexxar and his allies, but they managed to escape. They would then go around Durotar to gather allies. Vol'jin directed Rexxar to the trolls' other allies, assisting the distraught tauren chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof in retrieving his kidnapped son Baine, and beating down the chief of the Stonemaul ogres, earning their aid in the upcoming battle. Rexxar also travelled around Durotar and slew several powerful entities, even going through a portal to Outland to slay several powerful demons. With this army, the Horde was able to stand against Daelin's navy and chase them to theramore island. While the bulk of the Horde held off the Kul Tiras soldiers, Rexxar and his companions snuck into Theramore with Jaina's assistance (who wanted peace) and did battle with Daelin and his most powerful retainers. Daelin was ultimately slain, and the Horde withdrew from Theramore. While Thrall offered Rexxar a home in Orgrimmar, he noted how his home will always be in the wilds, and departed, although he noted that if the Horde needed his aid, he would come.
In Warcraft III, Rexxar was a Beastmaster, and thus could summon the aid of powerful animals for aid. First and foremost is his faithful bear Misha, but he could also summon a quillboar and a hawk (retroactively given the names Huffer and Spirit, respectively) and summon a large amount of thunder beasts to Stampede. In World of Warcraft, Rexxar and Misha would be found wandering Desolacce and Feralas, giving Horde adventurers quests to take down the black wyrm Onyxia. In Burning Crusade, Rexxar would travel to Outland to reconnect with his Mok'nathal heritage, giving out quests to defend Horde territory from savage beasts. He also wishes to make peace with his father Leoroxx, who stayed behind on Draenor/Outland and was estranged from Rexxar due to his past decision to join the Old Horde. He would also ask adventurers to assist him in rescuing his wyvern Leokk from where it was captured by Bladespire ogres. In Cataclysm, Rexxar would return to Azeroth and defend Orgrimmar from the rampaging elementals.
In Legion, Rexxar was part of the hunter class order campaign. The hunter order, the Unseen Path, wants to recruit Rexxar, who, while considering the group honourable, was not interested in joining them. Rexxar was approached by the Unseen Path's Huntmaster (a.k.a. a hunter player), and Rexxar gave the Huntmaster a challenge -- survive in the wild for a night, to prove that the Unseen Path was not merely all talk. The Huntmaster would survive the night and Rexxar would be impressed enough to join, and would later show up in Undercity in several Horde meetings.
How can we describe Garrosh Hellscream, son of Grommash Hellscream, in a single word? It'd be "dick". Because Garrosh is a warrior, a warchief, an ambitious schemer, a cruel warmonger, but more than anything... he's a dick. He was introduced in Burning Crusade, one of the few characters in Hearthstone's nine heroes to not originate from the RTS games, and Garrosh would grow from a minor supporting character to the warchief of the Horde to one of the most vile and hateable villains in all of World of Warcraft's history.
So Garrosh was the mag'har son of Grom Hellscream of the Warsong Clan, uncorrupted by the taint of demon blood, and was left behind on Draenor during the first three wars. He would have no contact with the outside world until the time of Burning Crusade, where the mag'har colony would be discovered by adventurers. Garrosh, knowing of his father's role in the corruption of the orc race, was ashamed of his father. Thrall would later arrive and inform Garrosh of the heroics that Grom has done -- perhaps embellishing too much on Grom's heroics and not enough on his mistakes -- and transform Grom into an idealized hero within Garrosh's mind. No longer is he the son of the orc who corrupted his race with demonic bloodlust, but he was now the son of the orc who freed them from said curse. Garrosh would arrive on Orgrimmar with the rest of the Horde, and he would grow disillusioned with the perceived self-punishing weakness of taking a harsh land like Durotar instead of seizing whatever resources they need, even if they should come from Alliance lands. Garrosh would have no patience for diplomacy, nearly coming to physical blows multiple times whenever the Alliance is concerned, despite advice to the contrary.
In Wrath of the Lich King, Garrosh would be instrumental, being part of the Horde leadership that led the Northrend campaign, although not before challenging Thrall to a trial by combat due to some disagreements about dealing with the Alliance. Garrosh would be named Overlord of the Warsong Offensive, the spearhead of the Horde expedition to Northrend. Despite advice from the older and more experienced Varok Saurfang, Garrosh was hot-blooded, eager to spill the enemy's blood and gain glory for the Horde. Still, at this point, while he championed aggression against the Alliance, he would only do so if it's still honourable and not-treacherous in nature... something that we won't be seeing for too long. Garrosh would also interrupt a summit of Alliance and Horde leaders when trying to deal with the opening of the prison of Yogg-Saron, more concerned with battling against Varian. Garrosh would participate in the final assault against Icecrown Citadel, and his deeds as overlord during the Northrend campaign would make Garrosh famous among the Horde as a capable warrior.
In Cataclysm, Garrosh's popularity caused Thrall to temporarily appoint Garrosh as acting warchief, putting Cairne and Varok in the position of advisors. Thrall would also hand Garrosh Gorehowl, the mighty axe wielded by his father. Garrosh was openly dismissive of any kind of peace talks with the Alliance, and a particularly brutal ambush that seemed to be done by Garrosh's orders on night elf and tauren druids causes the leader of the tauren, Cairne Bloodhoof, to challenge Garrosh to a mak'gora. Garrosh demanded the trial to be to the death, because he's a dick. He would be tricked by the tauren usurper Magatha Grimtotem, who poisoned Gorehowl, allowing Garrosh an easy win as he slew Cairne. Nevermind the fact that he actually killed one of the mightiest founding members of the Horde, Garrosh was far more pissed off that his "rightful kill" was stolen by treachery, although he did eventually support Baine's succession, and would work relatively well with Baine for a time. Because he's a dick. He would also tattoo his lower jaw entirely black in emulation of his father, as well as rip off the monument of Mannoroth, the pit lord slain by his father, to use as shoulder ornaments.
In Cataclysm, he would officially succeed Thrall as warchief, and he would be far more aggressive than he used to be, sending a forsaken army to conquer Gilneas, using the newly-recruited goblins to turn Azshara into a gigantic staging ground for war, and demanding that the tauren actually act aggressively against the quillboar instead of trying to negotiate peace treaties with them. He would also enslave magnataurs and proto-drakes from Northrend, and attempted to conquer Ashenvale, but was repelled. Garrosh's rise as leader would renew hostilities between Alliance and Horde territories in a huge way, as his warmongering ways made him particularly popular among the younger members of the Horde, particularly the orcs. Garrosh would also slowly evict a majority of non-orcs from Orgrimmar, as well as station his kor'kron warriors to keep watch on other Horde territories. Garrosh would particularly butt heads with Vol'jin, nearly causing the darkspear trolls to leave the Horde entirely. Garrosh would later personally spearhead the assault into the Twilight Highlands, although his attempt to attack the Alliance fleet, the arrival of Deathwing's twilight dragons ends up in a disaster that causes Garrosh to be presumed missing in action for a while. The Horde would be assisted by the Dragonmaw orcs -- a clan from the Old Horde that never joined Thrall's Horde -- and Garrosh, upon returning, would welcome these more vicious and racist orcs from the Dragonmaw and Blackrock clans into the Horde. Among them would be Zaela and Malkorok, who would be Garrosh's most staunch supporters.
In Mists of Pandaria, Garrosh would engineer one of the worst crimes throughout Azeroth's history, using the majority of the Horde to attack Theramore in a feint to gather a large amount of Alliance leaders, before dropping a magical-artifact empowered Mana Bomb (itself created with stolen artifacts and a double agent) upon it -- the very definition of the 'dishonourable combat' that Garrosh once despised. This devastated and erased Theramore Isle from the face of Azeroth, killing hundreds. Despite misgivings from other Horde leaders, Garrosh would also tighten his stranglehold over Kalimdor. Other Horde leaders would begin speaking in secret, and a displeased Garrosh would order Malkorok to assassinate the otherwise-loyal Horde captains, the forsaken Frandis Farley and the blood elf Kelantir Bloodblade, blowing them up in a tavern. Because he's a dick.
Garrosh would send Horde forces to plunder Pandaria for resources and manpower for the Horde, and would personally arrive with a gigantic Horde fleet, and Garrosh at this point would also order the darkspear troll leader Vol'jin killed. Again, dick. Also, the complete lockdown of darkspear troll territories. However, unbeknownst to Garrosh, Vol'jin survives, and would slowly consolidate resources and other Horde leaders in taking a stand against Garrosh. Garrosh would attempt to use the Divine Bell, a sacred mogu artifact, to turn his own soldiers into unfeeling sha monsters, but this would be foiled by the human prince Anduin Wrynn, causing Garrosh to, in rage, seemingly kill the young, defenseless Anduin (dick). During the Divine Bell campaign, Garrosh clashed heavily with the blood elven leader Lor'themar Theron, having a total disregard of the blood elves' safety (because dick), causing Lor'themar to slowly defect to the Darkspear Rebellion. In response, Garrosh would oppress and begin executing troll and tauren members of the Horde. But Garrosh himself would spearhead an excavation to unearth the dark powers beneath the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, uncovering the long-sealed heart of the dead Old God Y'Shaarj. As his warriors cut a swathe of aggression and battle throughout the peaceful lands of Pandaria, Garrosh would do battle against the leader of the Shado-Pan, Taran Zhu, and defeat him soundly in battle, using the Heart of Y'Shaarj to completely corrupt the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. So consumed was Garrosh in his arrogance and power that he even discarded his father's precious axe, Gorehowl, and created a new weapon with his Old God powers, Xal'atoh. Garrosh would return to Orgrimmar, and would demand that his 'true' Horde be comprised of nearly entirely orcs.
This would cause the start of the Siege of Orgrimmar, where both Alliance and Horde members all attacked Orgrimmar to flush and slay Garrosh's so-called True Horde. Garrosh's minions -- Malkorok, Zaela, Nazgrim, and other allies of the Old Gods such as the Sha of Pride and the Paragons of the Klaxxi -- did battle against the combined forces of the Alliance and Horde, but eventually were felled until only Garrosh himself remained. Garrosh would beat Thrall, having weakened the shaman by ordering his own dark shaman to enrage the nearby elements, before engaging the army of adventurers before him. Even with the power of Y'Shaarj coursing through him, Garrosh would eventually be worn down and defeated, and be held captive by the neutral faction of the pandaren.
Easily one of the greatest villains in Azeroth's history, Alliance and Horde members are divided as to what is to properly be done with Garrosh, and they ended up setting a trial before the August Celestials of Pandaria to decide Garrosh's fate. Despite this, Garrosh found most of the proceedings to be a joke, while his agents, led by Zaela, worked to free him. Garrosh would be assisted by the bronze dragon Kairozdormu, who would allow Garrosh to escape -- to 35 years in the past, specifically to Nagrand, the lands of the Warsong Clan.
Garrosh's machinations here would lead to the creation of the splinter timeline that was the setting of Warlords of Draenor, for he approached his father -- Grom Hellscream -- and reject their drinking of the blood of Mannoroth. With the iron star technology and knowledge of how events played out, Garrosh and Grom were able to slay Mannoroth and prevent the orcs from ever drinking demon blood, forming a new Horde -- the Iron Horde. Garrosh then, to thank Kairozdormu for his help... killed the dragon. Because he's a dick. Garrosh would gain the respect of the Warsong clan, and while he wouldn't reveal his true nature until later, he would earn Grom's respect and his warriors. The orcs were not slaves to the demons this time around, but they were now working under Garrosh's design. Alongside many other warlords of Draenor, Garrosh would plan to take the Iron Horde to present-day Azeroth as the tools of his revenge, able to manipulate the various clans to properly work under him due to knowledge of their future movements. He would coordinate the Ironmarch's invasion of Azeroth, and would continue his war-mongering ways until he was confronted by none other than Thrall, who issued a mak'gora. They battled at the Stones of Prophecy, where Garrosh and Thrall battled with their weapons -- Garrosh is furious, blaming Thrall for choosing him as warchief in the first place (dick much?) but Thrall proceeded to end the former warchief's life with a strike of the elements, finally ending the story of Garrosh Hellscream -- a well-intentioned hero who became one of Azeroth's most despicable villains.
This article has gone on long enough, so for Gul'dan we'll only be covering the original Gul'dan. In Warlords of Draenor an alternate-universe Gul'dan is plucked by the Burning Legion and became one of the main antagonists for Warlords of Draenor and Legion. Gul'dan grew of the village of Gorgrond but was abused and eventually cast out of the village due to his weak deformity. Letting his hate and resentment drive him, Gul'dan was told to go to the Throne of Elements to find his destiny. However, Gul'dan was rejected by the four elements and he screamed his fury. Rejected by everything around him, Gul'dan heard other voices, voices of the Burning Legion and the demonic powers. Thus Gul'dan became a willing servant of the Legion, becoming the first orc warlock and accepting their power and returning to his village, burning it down and erasing it from orc history. Gul'dan was instrumental in the plotline of Warcraft I and II. Prior to the First War, Gul'dan was absorbed into the Shadowmoon clan, claiming that his clan was wiped out by ogres, but once within the clan he would quickly rise among the ranks and become an apprentice to the shaman Ner'zhul, who was a highly respected leader among the orc people, and began manipulating him. Through Gul'dan's machinations, he would establish a secret council loyal to the Legion called the Shadow Council, and eventually depose Ner'zhul when the elder shaman realized that they can no longer call upon their ancestors and the elements. Gul'dan would remain the driving force behind the creation of the first Horde, placing the bloodthirsty Blackhand in charge, opening schools of necromancy and warlock arts to spread his influence, and would eventually offer the clan chieftains the blood of the pit lord Mannoroth, bleaching the orcs' skin green and turning them into a bloodthirsty war machine bound to the demons, and Gul'dan would set the orcs to exterminate a large amount of the draenei living on Draenor.
Gul'dan's closest servitors was the mighty ogre Cho'gall, an anomaly among the normally-brutish ogres due to his above-average cunning. Gul'dan taught Cho'gall of fel magic and power, and would eventually place Cho'gall at the head of the Twilight's Hammer clan. Gul'dan would also take the half-orc, half-draenei outcast Garona Halforcen under his wing, training her to be an assassin, although he was often cruel to the half-orc. Prior to the First War, Gul'dan was contacted by another pawn of the Burning Legion -- the mighty human sorcerer Medivh, possessed by the demon Sargeras. Together, they would construct the Dark Portal that would lead the Horde into Azeroth, sparking the bloody First War. Any who disagreed -- like the Frostwolf orcs Durotan and Draka, parents of Thrall -- were killed on his orders. However, when Medivh's tower of Karazhan was besieged by Alliance forces, Gul'dan, desperate to find the location of the enigmatic Tomb of Sargeras (where the Burning Legion promised him immortality), ransacked Medivh's mind through a mental link and when Medivh was killed by Alliance champions, Gul'dan, still connected, was put into a coma.
- Frost Lich Jaina depicts an alternate timeline where Jaina became a death knight, unique to Knights of the Frozen Throne.
- Fire Mage Jaina and Kul Tiran Jaina are both based on Jaina's War for Azeroth outfit. The former depicts her wreathed in flames, when Jaina traditionally uses ice and water spells in WoW.
- Scholar Jaina and Apprentice Jaina are both based on Jaina's time as a student in Dalaran.
- Archmage Jaina is her appearance after the destruction of Theramore, similar to her regular portrait.
- Arcanist Jaina, like all other 'Rewards Track' portraits, depicts Jaina dressed in the 'Tier 1' armour from vanilla World of Warcraft, the Arcanist Regalia set for Mages.
- Netherwind Jaina depicts Jaina dressed in the Tier 2 Netherwind Regalia from vanilla World of Warcraft.
Malfurion Stormrage, the Druid
The history of Malfurion Stormrage is very much tied to the history of the night elven race. Malfurion is born alongside his twin borther Illidan Stormrage, and would grow alongside Tyrande Whisperwind, his love interest and future wife. As they grew, Malfurion would grow into one of the most dedicated followers of the demigod Cenarius, and would become the first-ever mortal druid on Azeroth. This would be the age before the Great Sundering, where the night elven race was drunk on the poweres of the arcane and the Well of Eternity under Queen Azshara. The wanton usage of arcane energy would draw the Burning Legion's attention to Azeroth for the first time in history, and they would emerge from the portal created by Azshara's minions. Malfurion, Illidan and Tyrande would lead the fight against the demons, calling the aid of Cenarius, Alexstrasza the dragon-queen, as well as an army of ancients, dragons, wild gods and other assorted races. The War of the Ancients was fierce, and many were felled, but eventually the Azerothian forces would prove victorious, closing the portal but at the cost of causing the implosion of the Well of Eternity and shattering the once-whole continent apart. Malfurion would become the leader of the druids of the night elven race, but would be forced to imprison his brother Illidan due to his addiction to magic and the creation of a new well of eternity. Malfurion would gain the respect of the dragon aspects Alexstrasza, Ysera and Nozdormu, who blessed the new Well and created the World Tree, Nordrassil, making the night elves immortal and also bound to the Emerald Dream. At this point Malfurion would be known as Archdruid. Malfurion and the other druids would go into slumber, sleeping within the Emerald Dream and only awoken in times of crisis. One of these times of crisis would be the War of the Satyr, where Malfurion would be particularly involved in banning the druids from ever using the lupine Pack Form.
Malfurion would be awakened ten thousand years later during the events of Warcraft III, a.k.a. the Third War. Tyrande Whisperwind would awaken the druids earlier than they should thanks to the arrival of the Burning Legion once more, and he would fight alongside his love against the demons. Malfurion realized that the leader of the Burning Legion, Archimonde, wished to drain the powers of the World Tree Nordrassil, and would lead forces to awaken the other druids -- the druids of the talon and the claw. They would also ally themselves with the humans and orcs, although not after some conflict between the three forces. Tyrande would also release Illidan at this point, hoping that the demon hunter would prove useful in the war against demons. Malfurion was furious, but he allowed Illidan to act... only to be horrified when he found out that Illidan, while slaying the demon lord Tichondrius, has transformed himself into a half-demon, and ended up banishing his brother once more. Malfurion would later be summoned by a powerful but benign force that revealed himself to be Medivh, the Last Guardian, who caused the leaders of the three warring forces -- the Alliance, the Horde and the night elven Sentinels -- to ally themselves against the Burning Legion. Malfurion and Tyrande agreed, and while Tyrande, Thrall and Jaina would lead the defense against the armies of the Burning Legion, Malfurion would create a ritual and summon all the ancestral wisps that lived in Mt. Hyjal. With the Horn of Cenarius, Malfurion would summon the army of wisps around Archimonde and detonated in an explosion so large it ripped both Archimonde and the World Tree apart, claiming a victory for the races of Azeroth yet costing the night elves their mortality.In Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Malfurion and Tyrande would be summoned by the warden Maiev Shadowsong to assist in recapturing the forces of Illidan Stormrage, who had allied himself with the vile naga to apparently slaughter the wardens. Malfurion would bring an army of mountain giants with him to rescue Maiev's forces from being besieged by the naga, but Tyrande and Maiev butted heads over the fact that Tyrande freed Illidan and killed many watchers in the attempt. While Tyrande and Maiev hunted down Illidan, Malfurion communed with the forest and was shown a vision of the destruction of the land caused by Illidan's reckless attempts to shatter Northrend with a magical artifact. Malfurion would later be told by Maiev that Tyrande was killed in battle, driving Malfurion into such a rage that he personally led the battle against Illidan's forces... only to be told that Tyrande hasn't actually died, but is actually in mortal peril from the undead Scourge. The Stormrage brothers worked together to save the woman they both love, and Malfurion would give Illidan his freedom -- something he did by going to the realm of Outland, with Maiev's wardens in hot pursuit. Malfurion and Tyrande then simply walked away from the conflict, deciding to help rebuild their people.Prior to World of Warcraft, Malfurion would join the night elves with the Alliance, and also befriend the tauren Hamuul Runetotem, teaching the druidic art to the tauren people. However, shortly after Malfurion would fall into a deep coma, causing Fandral Staghelm to take his place as archdruid of the kaldorei. Malfurion was trapped within the Emerald Dream, somehow out of reach of the green dragons that control it. It would later be revealed that Fandral Staghelm, corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare, was keeping Malfurion within the Emerald Dream, where the Nightmare Lord Xavius imprisoned Malfurion within a tree in the Nightmare. Malfurion was able to send his influence out, allowing other heroes including Tyrande and the green dragon aspect Ysera to eventually rescue him. After a series of battles, Malfurion would defeat the crazed Fandral, and discover the corruption within the World Tree. Malfurion would help all the other druids in blessing the World Tree, freeing those trapped and limiting the influence of the Nightmare to one spot, the Rift of Aln. Malfurion would then wed Tyrande.
Malfurion would also be instrumental in attending many Alliance meetings, in particular he would be instrumental in creating a summit to get the Worgen to join the Alliance, and convince King Varian Wrynn to get past his own prejudices against the nation of Gilneas. Malfurion would properly appear in World of Warcraft with the Cataclysm expansion, appearing in Darnassus next to Tyrande as co-leader of the night elves. Malfurion would also appear in the region of Darkshore, creating a gigantic swirling vortex of air to hold the region together, while sending his night elven allies to gather the furbolgs, ancients and other allies to calm down the rampaging elementals, as well as stopping the Twilight's Hammer cult and naga in the area. Malfurion would then return to Mount Hyjal, realizing that the activity in Darkshore was merely a diversion, and would join the Guardians of Hyjal in repelling Ragnaros and his fire elemental army from razing Hyjal to the ground. After witnessing Thrall get assaulted by the druids of the flame, Malfurion would then venture alongside adventurers into the Firelands and slay Ragnaros.Malfurion would continue working as a leader of the Alliance, although his next huge contribution would be in Legion, where he would attend the funeral of Varian Wrynn, and be involved in the druid questline, gathering powerful druids like Hamuul Runetotem, Zen'tabra, Naralex, Remulos and druid adventurers to enter the Dreamgrove in Val'sharah, naming a druid player the new archdruid of the Cenarion Circle. Val'sharah is the location of one of the Pillars of Creation required to close the Tomb of Sargeras and the portal of demons pouring through, the Tears of Elune. Malfurion would enter the Emerald Dream and discover that the spirit of his teacher, Cenarius, is corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare. Malfurion calls for Ysera for aid, but the Tears of Elune is stolen by Xavius's forces, causing Cenarius to succumb fully into corruption. Xavius then proceeds to corrupt Ysera, and escapes with Malfurion as his prisoner. Xavius gives Tyrande an ultimatum -- spend Malfurion's last moments by his side, or protect the Temple of Elune from the invading forces of the Nightmare Lord. Tyrande chooses duty over love, and ends up slaying the corrupted Ysera with the aid of adventurers. At the Darkheart Thicket, Malfurion is freed by forces sent by Tyrande. Malfurion would then aid the adventurers in fighting against the corrupted form of Cenarius, his shan'do, and manages to free Cenarius from the Nightmare Lord's corruption. Malfurion would not dare venture into the Rift of Aln due to his bond with the Emerald Dream causing him to be vulnerable with the rift. Thusly, he entrusts adventurers to go into the Nightmare and slay Xavius.
Malfurion has had multiple alternate 'skins' in Hearthstone:
- Malfurion the Pestilent depicts an alternate timeline where Malfurion became a death knight, unique to Knights of the Frozen Throne.
- Shan'do Malfurion is basically regular ol' WoW Malfurion. Shan'do is a night elf term meaning 'teacher'.
- Cenarion Malfurion depicts Malfurion in the Cenarion Raiment armour set, the Tier 1 set for Druids in classic WoW.
- Storm's Rage Malfurion depicts Malfurion in the Stormrage Raiment armour set, the Tier 2 Druid set in classic WoW. Yes, the armour set is named after Malfurion himself.
- Emerald Malfurion depicts Malfurion during the events between Warcraft III and Cataclysm, where Malfurion entered the Emerald Dream to do battle against the Emerald Nightmare.
- Druid of the Flame Malfurion depicts an alternate timeline where Malfurion is convinced by Fandral Staghelm to serve Ragnaros as a Druid of the Flame.
Valeera Sanguinar, the Rogue
Valeera Sanguinar's story is mostly chronicled not in the games, but in World of Warcraft: The Comic. She was orphaned at a young age when Quel'thalas fell to the undead Scourge, and her life was mostly surviving in the streets, eventually being captured and sold to the orc Rehgar Earthfury and forced to fight as a gladiator. Like the rest of her race (see blood elf section), Valeera suffered from magic withdrawals. In the gladiator, Valeera fought and later befriended the older night elf Broll Bearmantle (though there was some friction due to the inherent rivalry between the night and high/blood elves) and the mysterious amnesiac human Lo'Gosh. The three were some of Rehgar's best gladiators, but they eventually escaped, although Valeera was separated from her compatriots. With the aid of Jaina and the former Guardian Aegwynn, they would discover that Lo'Gosh is actually an amnesiac Varian Wrynn, King of Stormwind. Valeera would continue to be a loyal ally to Varian and Broll as they returned to Stormwind to return Varian to his rightful position and help Varian in defeating the black dragon Onyxia. After that crisis, Valeera was offered a place as the Wrynn family's bodyguard, and became one of the few blood elves to be loyal to the Alliance. However, during a fight against a blood elven assassin, Valeera was cursed with the mark of Kathra'natir, a demonic curse. Valeera's addiction was thus exacerbated, and when Valeera's addiction relapses, she would lose control of herself and the demon Kathra'natir would take over her. During a conflict against the Twilight's Hammer Cult to rescue the son of Medivh, Med'an, Valeera was assisted by the mage Meryl Winterstorm, who ripped Kathra'natir out of Valeera's body and sealed the demon within his own body, freeing Valeera from the curse.
Valeera would finally appear in World of Warcraft in Wrath of the Lich King, where she would be found in Stormwind Harbor, contemplating with Varian, Broll and Bolvar Fordragon about the upcoming conflict. Valeera would also participate alongside Broll during the Battle of Undercity. Valeera would be missing in action for a majority of the game afterwards (which is why her inclusion as one of the nine main heroes in Hearthstone was so surprising over more well-known rogues like Maiev Shadowsong, Edwin VanCleef or Mathias Shaw) although she would finally make a triumphant return in Legion. Valeera was one of the Uncrowned, a massive rogue organization and the rogue class order. Valeera and several other well-known rogues would become the class champions for the Uncrowned, and Valeera would accompany rogues with the subtlety specialization to do battle against the mighty female eredar Akaari Shadowgore, slay her and retrieve the artifact weapon Fangs of the Devourer. Valeera would also be instrumental in deciphering an encrypted letter that seems to hint at something sinister within the Alliance secret police, the SI:7, and with the aid of an artifact retrieved by other rogues (a.k.a. player characters), Valeera would the SI:7 leader Mathias Shaw has been abducted and impersonated by the dreadlord Detheroc, who was sowing discord using the organization. The Uncrowned would then subsequently defeat Detheroc and free Shaw.
Valeera has had multiple alternate 'skins' in Hearthstone:
- Valeera the Hollow depicts an alternate timeline where Valeera became a shadowy death knight, unique to Knights of the Frozen Throne.
- Cap'n Valeera is a 'what if' costume depicting Valeera as a pirate. WoW Valeera, of course, never actually became a pirate (that we know of).
- Diao Chan Valeera is Valeera dressed up as the the historical Diao Chan of the Three Kingdoms period in China, released for Chinese New Year.
- Nightslayer Valeera depicts Valeera wearing the Tier 1 Nightslayer Armor set from original World of Warcraft.
- Deathmantle Valeera depicts Valeera wearing the Tier 5 Deathmantle Armor set from World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade.
- Gladiator Valeera depicts Valeera when she was a gladiator slave prior to the events of the WoW comic.
King Anduin Wrynn, the Priest
Anduin Wrynn was the boy-king of Stormwind, son of King Varian Wrynn and Queen Tiffin Ellerian. Tiffin was killed while Anduin was very young, and when Anduin was ten, Varian was kidnapped and missing, forcing the young prince to become king, assisted by Regent-Lord Bolvar Fordragon and Lady Katrana Prestor. The Boy-King Anduin would become king for much of early World of Warcraft, wrestled between the duplicitous Lady Prestor (secretly a black dragon, Onyxia, and the one behind Varian's disappearance) and the noble Bolvar Fordragon. Anduin would be highly involved in getting the two split personas of Varian -- King Varian and Lo'Gosh (it's a long story and we'll cover it when we get to TGT) -- to work together, in particular succeeding in getting King Varian to focus on the fact that he is a king and not Prestor's thrall. Anduin would work together with the dwarven king Magni Bronzebeard and Bolvar Fordragon in helping to get Varian back, and while he was kidnapped by Onyxia, he would be rescued. (We'll cover Varian's story in his own article in TGT)
Anduin would grow alongside his father and the two would often butt heads over multiple different factors. For one, Varian's trigger-happy temper and aggressiveness, as well as the fact that despite all his efforts, Anduin just doesn't have the potential to become a proper warrior. Anduin would sometimes be the only thing that can calm down King Varian when he's on the warpath. Anduin would also be close to Jaina Proudmoore, calling her his aunt. Up until Wrath of the Lich King, Anduin continued to serve as the prince of Stormwind and is found in the throne room of Stormwind Keep. Prior to the Cataclysm, the death of Bolvar Fordragon hit Anduin hard, and he began to spend time in Theramore with Jaina and Ironforge with King Magni. The earthquakes that preceded the Cataclysm happened, claiming the life of Anduin's dwarven friend Aerin, as well as King Magni when he attempted to commune with the earth shortly afterwards. Anduin would be gifted the sacred mace Fearbreaker by Magni prior to his death, and would become a political hostage by an attempted coup caused by Magni's estranged daughter, Moira Bronzebeard. Despite this, Anduin saw goodness within Moira and sympathized with her, both being royal children who didn't quite live up to their fathers' expectations. Anduin would escape with a hearthstone to Theramore, coincidentally meeting the tauren leader Baine Bloodhoof. Baine and Anduin struck an unlikely friendship, and Anduin would gift Baine the mace Fearbreaker. Anduin would later return to Ironforge, stopping his father and an army of SI:7 agents from straight-up executing Moira, whereas living her alive and giving her a second chance might actually cause the three dwarven clan to unite.
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| Anduin (MoP) |
In Mists of Pandaria, Anduin's flagship, the Vanguard, was shot down by Horde forces and forced to crash-land in Pandaria itself, particularly in the Jade Forest. Alliance forces and SI:7 agents scrambled to retrieve Anduin, who would be attacked by the feral hozen, but would be rescued by the pandaren. Anduin stayed at the Vale of Eternal Blossoms until he was able to contact Alliance forces, but he would refuse to leave, learning the healing powers of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Anduin is very involved with the Alliance campaign in Pandaria, dodging being captured by Horde forces, and learning about the local culture, particularly learning with the pandaren at the Temple of the Red Crane. Anduin would also ask Alliance soldiers in defeating the Sha of Despair. Anduin would later be among the champions of Alliance and Horde that would prove themselves worthy to Xuen, and would participate in battling the mogu.After the Lion's Landing was constructed, Anduin was reunited with his father, who, while still vowing to fight the Horde, makes Anduin proud with the resolution that he's fighting not out of conquest or hatred, but to do what's right. Anduin would be the chief voice in telling the other Alliance leaders not to underestimate or weaponize the Sha. Anduin would also be instrumental during the crisis revolving the sacred artifact, the Divine Bell. Anduin manages to free the legendary warrior the Monkey King with the aid of Alliance warriors, and obtain the Harmonic Mallet -- a tool to counter the mogu's Divine Bell. When news of Garrosh's attempt to use the Divine Bell reached Anduin, he charged on a one-man mission to stop Garrosh, and managed to disable the bell before Garrosh can turn his kor'kron into Sha. An enraged Garrosh shattered the bell, and the pieces slammed onto Anduin, seemingly killing the young prince, but actually merely crippling him. Alliance warriors would recover Anduin, and Alliance-allied pandaren would nurse him back to health. He would remain in the Veiled Stair, and would befriend the enigmatic black dragon Wrathion at this point. Anduin would later be present during the Siege of Orgrimmar, and later during the trial of Garrosh in Pandaria -- with Anduin himself struggling on whether someone as vile as Garrosh Hellscream can change... and is one of the few who actually saw the potential in Garrosh, even warning the despicable former warchief of a plot to poison him.
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In Legion, Anduin is left behind in Stormwind during the ill-fated assault on the Broken Shore, which costed the Alliance the life of King Varian. Anduin would receive a letter written by Varian prior to the battle from Genn Greymane and an Alliance champion, and this would galvanize Anduin to still continue working towards peace as he has always been -- telling them that the Burning Legion, not the Horde, was their priority. Anduin would also broker an alliance with a faction of Illidari. Anduin would be crowned King at this point, and despite his own misgivings about himself and how the people doesn't have faith in him, Anduin continues to have faith in the Light and the Alliance, and after a day of self-introspection assisted with Velen and Genn, Anduin would walk throughout all of Stormwind, before finally travelling to the Broken Shore, seeing with his own eyes the threat they face, recovering one of Varian's blades, and resolves to fight for peace, just like his father did.
Anduin has had multiple alternate 'skins' in Hearthstone:
- Shadowreaper Anduin depicts an alternate timeline where Anduin became a death knight infused with Shadow magic, unique to Knights of the Frozen Throne.
- King Anduin depicts him as High King of the Alliance, the appearance he wields in the Battle for Azeroth expansion onwards. The specific art seems to depict the opening cinematic specifically.
- Anduin of Prophecy depicts Anduin wearing the Vestments of Prophecy armor set.
- Zhuge Liang Anduin is Anduin dressed up as the the historical Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms period in China, released for Chinese New Year.
- SI:7 Anduin depicts Anduin in SI:7 garb, which he briefly wore during the events of the Shattering novel to infiltrate Ironforge.
- Transcendence Anduin depicts Anduin in the tier 2 Vestments of Transcendence armor set from vanilla World of Warcraft.
Uther Lightbringer, the Paladin
Lord Uther Lightbringer (sometimes Uther the Lightbringer) is one of the finest and mightiest heroes known by the Alliance. He first appeared in Warcraft II, as one of the handful of named heroes that was playable, with Uther representing the Paladin unit. A young Uther was part of the first incarnation of the paladin order of the Silver Hand, an order of holy warriors formed in response to the First War after the large massacre of the unprepared clerics of Northshire. The Silver Hand was a mighty force that gave large boosts of morale to the forces of the Alliance, and participated in many bloody battles during the Second War, being one of the warriors that repelled the Horde's siege on Lordaeon's capital city, as well as discovering the treachery of the kingdom of Alterac. Uther participated in the final battle of Blackrock Spire, shattering the Horde's grip on Azeroth, personally leading the final assault against the Burning Blade Clan.
Between the Second and Third war, Uther served as one of the most stalwart members of the Knights of the Silver Hand, and one of the mightiest protectors of the people, being both warrior and peacemaker. Uther personally tutored the crown prince of Loradeon, Arthas Menethil, in the ways of the Light, being responsible for the boy's training into a noble warrior. Yet the conflict known as the Third War (Warcraft III) soon brewed. While Uther and his pupil Arthas did battle against orcs and the new threat of the undead, Uther saw Arthas to be haunted by the atrocities that the undead committed, and Arthas grew increasingly dark in how far he went to stop the undead Scourge. Uther and Arthas finally came to head at the town of Stratholme, where Arthas wanted to purge the entire town before they were turned into undead. A horrified Uther refused to obey Arthas's orders and walked away, not willing to participate in the acts that Arthas asked him to commit. Arthas would go on to lead a campaign to Northrend to end the Scourge, but his obsession consumed him, quite literally, and Arthas returned not as destroyer of Scourge but its greatest champion, killing his father, King Terenas.
A broken-hearted Uther stood guard over the cremated remains of Terenas, and was transporting the urn to Andorhal, but Arthas (who needed the magical urn that Terenas's ashes are contained within) arrived to raze the town to the ground, killing Uther's fellow paladins. Uther finally engaged his former pupil in a one-on-one battle, but Arthas was ultimately victorious. With his final breath, he cursed his former pupil, noting that he hoped "there is a special in hell waiting for you". Uhter was slain, and his soul trapped within the cursed blade of Frostmourne. During Wrath of the Lich King, the ghostly spirit of Uther Lightbringer would manifest to Jaina and Sylvanas when they assaulted Icecrown Citadel, presenting them with the crucial information that Arthas (now the Lich King) can only be destroyed in the Frozen Throne. Uther's soul would be released from Frostmourne after the Lich King's defeat, and the noble paladin who met a tragic end would finally be allowed to rest. Uther's body is buried in Western Plaguelands, and several quests in World of Warcraft relate to artifacts that relate to him.
Uther has had multiple alternate 'skins' in Hearthstone:
- Uther of the Ebon Blade depicts an alternate timeline where Uther became a death knight and the leader of the Four Horsemen, unique to Knights of the Frozen Throne.
- Lightforged Uther depicts a 'what if' scenario if Uther had survived long enough to become a 'Lightforged' like members of the Army of the Light in Legion, with his appearance seemingly drawn from fellow paladin Turalyon.
- Horseman Uther depicts a fusion between Uther and the Headless Horseman.
- Uther Lawbringer depicts him wearing the Tier 1 Lawbringer Armor set from classic WoW.
- Second War Uther depicts Uther in his youth, during the Second War.
- Guan Yu Uther is Uther dressed up as the the historical Guan Yu of the Three Kingdoms period in China, released for Chinese New Year.
- Judgement Uther depicts Uther wearing the tier 2 Judgement Armor set from classic WoW.
- Righetous Inferno Uther depicts Uther as a paladin of Ragnaros (?).
Thrall, the Shaman (a.k.a. Go'el)
The story of Thrall, born Go'el (but I will refer to as Thrall for the entirety of this article) is long and complex. He was son to Durotan and Draka, the former being the chieftain of the noble Frostwolf tribe of orcs. Thrall was born in the Alterac mountains shortly after the Frostwolf clan crossed through the Dark Portal from Draenor into Azeroth, and was born with green skin -- a sign of the corruption that have plagued the orcs due to their pact with demons. Durotan would bring his child to show his friend, Orgrim Doomhammer, as proof that the warlocks were corrupting their entire race with their demonic fel magic. However, agents of the Shadow Council, whose allegiance were to the demons, would kill Draka and Durotan, leaving the infant Go'el behind. He would be adopted by Aedelas Blackmoore, a human noble, who would name the baby 'Thrall', and cage him as a slave, forced to fight in gladiatorial matches for his entertainment. Thrall had the savagery of the orcs, but being raised by humans allowed him more intellect than was normal for orcs of the time. He would befriend the human girl Taretha Foxton, who he treated as a surrogate sister. His abuse and internment took his toll on him, and with Taretha's help, managed to escape from Durnholde Keep. Thrall would eventually find his way to an orcish internment camp (which was where the orcs were kept after the Old Horde's loss during the Second War) where he would learn about the culture of the orcs -- how they were once a noble, shamanistic race before the corruption of fel magic. Thrall would seek out Grom Hellscream, warchief of the Warsong Clan, as well as Drek'Thar, former shaman of the Frostwolf Clan, who would teach Thrall in the ways of the orcish people. From Grom he would learn about the history and culture of the orcs, and from Drek'Thar he would learn the ways of his clan and the ways of the shaman. Thrall would be talented both in the art of war and shamanism, being the first orc to be accepted by elemental spirits after the spirits' silence during the corruption of the orcs.
Thrall would meet yet another veteran of the first two wars -- Orgrim Doomhammer, the second warchief of the Old Horde and old friend to his own father, who was impressed enough with Thrall's battle capabilities and his desire to help his people. Together with his allies, Thrall would embark on a quest to free the orcs in the internment camp, sneaking in as a prisoner and then riling up the orcs with a display of his shamanistic powers. However, this campaign would have tragic consequences, as Doomhammer would be killed in battle against the guards, giving Thrall his black plate armour and his weapon, the Doomhammer. In a confrontation with his former master Blackmoore, the human would kill Thrall's friend and confidant Taretha, driving Thrall into a huge frenzy until he killed his former master.In Warcraft III, Thrall would become the leader of this new Horde that were unshackled by their demonic past, intent on forging a new path to their old roots of honour and shamanism, and wanted as little as possible to do with humans. Thrall would be plagued by dreams of battlefields on plains, of how the human-orc war was meaningless compared to what is coming. He would meet a mysterious raven-turned-human who identified himself as the Prophet (actually Medivh, the last Guardian of Tirisfal), who instructed Thrall to leave Lordaeron and sail west to Kalimdor to find their destiny. Thrall would free the rest of the interned orcs, and would sail east. Along the way, they would meet and make allies with Vol'jin and the darkspear trolls (after helping them fight back murlocs and their sea witch mistress) as well as Carine Bloodhoof and the tauren (after helping them claim Mulgore for their own land from the centaurs). Thrall's head for diplomacy and the similar beliefs that the three races had would become the backbone of the modern-day Horde. For more of the trolls and the tauren's insertion into the Horde, I've covered them in Vol'jin and Cairne's entries.
Thrall and Cairne would journey to the Stonetalon Peaks in search of a powerful 'oracle', only for the oracle to be the Prophet himself, who had brought to them the human leader Jaina Proudmoore. Jaina and Thrall's forces have clashed several times while on Kalimdor (in no small part due to Grom's brashness and bloodlust), and while they were prepared to do battle, the Prophet would manage to stop them and make them see that they must be allied against the Burning Legion. Grom, at this point, has fallen back into demonic corruption, and Thrall would enlist the help of Jaina to help purify Grom from the blood curse. Thus freed, Thrall and Grom would then head out to face the pit lord Mannoroth, the being that had corrupted the entire orc race. Thrall's attempts to fight the pit lord was brave, but he was overpowered and would have been killed had it not been for Grom's charge, slaying Mannoroth and killing the pit lord, freeing the orcs of their blood curse... at the cost of his own life.
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| Warchief Thrall |
In Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Thrall would lead his people to the harsh land known as the Barrens. Naming it Durotar, Thrall would oversee the construction of the capital city of Orgrimmar. Here he would be greatly assisted by the champion Rexxar, although trouble quickly came when orc outposts were wiped out by humans. While he did not suspect that Jaina would betray him, he would send out Rexxar to seek the parties responsible. Jaina's father Daelin Proudmoore was, and he would be put down by Thrall's champions.
In World of Warcraft, Thrall would accept the Forsaken and later the Blood Elves into Horde ranks, and would continue to serve as the Horde's warchief. Despite his good relations with Jaina Proudmoore, Thrall faced a Horde that increasingly grew more aggressive against the Alliance. Thrall would be a quest giver located in Orgrimmar for a good chunk of the earlier expansions, and would send Horde adventurers to deal with certain rogue elements within the Horde. In Burning Crusade, Thrall would journey to Outland -- the land that was once the orcish homeland of Draenor -- and bring the mag'har, a group of uncorrupted orcs, into Horde fold. Among them would be Garrosh Hellscream, son of Thrall's old mentor Grom. Thrall would also meet his grandmother, Greatmother Geyah, and would learn a significant deal of orcish shamanistic culture. While he did not participate in the Northrend campaign, Thrall would send Garrosh, Varok Saurfang and an army of Horde warriors to Northrend to battle the Lich King. Thrall would participate in assisting Sylvanas to retake Undercity from the treacherous Varimathras, and would participate in an ill-fated peace summit on Dalaran while discussing Ulduar.
Prior to the Cataclysm, Thrall would sense the elements of Azeroth crying out in pain, and realized that he can no longer split his attention between being a shaman and being a warchief. To this end, he appoints the popular and well-received Garrosh Hellscream as a temporary (and later permanent) warchief as he goes off to Outland to commune with the elementals of Draenor and attempt to understand just why the elements of Azeroth was haywire. Greatmother Geyah assigned a hot-headed shaman, Aggra, to train Thrall, and while the two butted heads, they would eventually fall in love. Thrall, through his meditations and his journey of self-discovery, would discover the cataclysm that was about to strike Azeroth... but was too late to prevent it as Deathwing would break the world as he tore through the elemental planes to enter the physical one. As he returned to Azeroth, he would find the world a different place. Thrall would shed the armour of Doomhammer, and don simple shaman robes, marking his new role as Azeroth's protector.In Cataclysm, it was as a shaman that Thrall served Azeroth as. While no longer allied with the Horde officially, he still helped out Horde members on many occasion, such as helping goblin adventurers take down the corrupt Gallywix and inducting them into the Horde, and reassuring Vol'jin that he needs to have a united front with Garrosh. Thrall would commune with the elemental planes at the Maelstrom, using his efforts to attempt to close the elemental rift, working with other powerful shamans of the neutral faction the Earthen Ring. Thrall would go through a journey of self-discovery as he assists the four dragon aspects -- Alexstrasza, Kalecgos, Nozdormu and Ysera -- in various events, eventually finding his center once more and reuniting the formerly-broken Wyrmrest Accord once more. Thrall's next attempt to commune with the Maelstrom causes him to have visions of the mighty Firelord, Ragnaros. Ragnaros gives Thrall a vision of the Firelands, and promises to burn down all of Azeroth in flames. Thrall heads to Mt. Hyjal to warn everyone of the Twilight's Hammer and Ragnaros's arrival, but while they were able to repel the fire elementals, Thrall was struck down and his spirit ripped apart and cast into the four elemental realms by a treacherous druid, Fandral Staghelm. Heroes of the Alliance and Horde would scramble to return Thrall's spirit to Aggra, while also needing to have Thrall come to grips with his own doubts and fears. Thrall would then commune with the dragon aspects, and attempted to commune with the earth. Deathwing would mock Thrall as attempting to replace him as Earth-Warder, while all Thrall took was a mere fraction of the weight he felt while he was the Earth-Warder. During the final battle, after heroes recovered a purified Dragon Soul to combat Deathwing, Thrall would do battle against many of Deathwing's minions, among them the Twilight Father, Archbishop Benedictus. Thrall would be responsible for unleashing the Dragon Soul onto Deathwing twice, ripping Deathwing's armour apart and causing him to crashland into the Maelstrom. Thrall would assist in defeating this one last central form of Deathwing with adventurers and dragon aspects, finally slaying Deathwing and ending the elemental crisis. Thrall would also discard the name Thrall and call himself Go'el (which I'm not going to do) and marry Aggra, fathering a son called Durak.
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| Cataclysm Thrall |
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| Warlords Thrall |
In Legion, Thrall would join the assault on the Broken Shore on the side of the Horde, but they were routed. Thrall would later journey to the Maelstrom with an army of shaman, to discuss how to defeat the Burning Legion. The Earthen Ring would face the mighty fel lord Geth'xun, and in the process, the Doomhammer was lost to the elemental plane of Deepholm. Shaman adventurers would seek to recover it, and Thrall found that the elements were silent to his call after he used the elements during the mak'gora to kill Garrosh -- thusly, he imparted the Doomhammer to a shaman adventurer as he goes off to re-commune with the elements.
Thrall has had multiple alternate 'skins' in Hearthstone:
- Thrall, Deathseer depicts an alternate timeline where Thrall became a death knight, unique to Knights of the Frozen Throne.
- Warchief Thrall and Wolfrider Thrall depict Thrall with the Doomhammer armour, the appearance Thrall has in Warcraft III, as well as all World of Warcraft expansions prior to him donning the shaman robes in Cataclysm. Wolfrider Thrall in particular depicts his wolf-riding appearance in Warcraft III.
- Thrall, Son of Durotan depicts Thrall early in his training, presumably either when he was still a slave or shortly after breaking out.
- Alterac Thrall depicts Thrall, also seemingly prior to being a Warchief, in his birthplace of the Alterac Mountains.
- Earthfury Thrall depicts Thrall with the tier 1 Earthfury armor set from vanilla WoW.
- Ten Storm Thrall depicts Thrall with the tier 2 Ten Storms armor set from vanilla WoW.
- Frostwolf Thrall depicts Thrall during the period of his life when he rejoined the Frostwolf Clan and learned the ways of the Shaman.
Rexxar, the Hunter
Rexxar the Beastmaster is a mok'nathal (half orc, half-ogre) that arrived alongside the rest of the Old Horde during the first war. Disgusted by the dishonour and brutality of the old Horde, as well as the constant betrayals within the leadership, Rexxar left them and wandered Azeroth, jaded with the orcs and deciding to trust only beasts from now own. Rexxar would roam the Barrens region alongside his faithful companion, the bear Misha, until the events of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Rexxar and Misha came across Mogrin, an orc warrior who came under attack by quilboars. Rexxar was too late to save the orc, but in his dying breath, the orc asked Rexxar to deliver the message he was supposed to give to the warchief Thrall. Rexxar journeyed to the orcish city of Orgrimmar and found that this new Horde was to his liking, filled with honourable orcs and trolls. Rexxar, deciding to earn his keep, assisted the residents of Orgrimmar such as Drek'thar, Nazgrel and the goblin contractor Gazlowe, helping to take out threats from the nearby harpies and kobolds alongside a troll shadow hunter called Rokhan. Rexxar would later encounter a jovial pandaren brewmaster called Chen Stormstout, and the group would wander Durotar and assist the Horde in strengthening their foothold against the harsh land. However, things went south when increased human activity was spotted, Despite the non-aggression pact between Thrall's orcs and Jaina's humans, Rexxar witnessed one of their outposts razed to the ground by humans. This treachery causes Rexxar and his allies to investigate other possible attacks, and assisted the Darkspear trolls of Echo Isles in defending themselves. With the aid of the troll leader Vol'jin, Rexxar would successfully assist in the evacuation of the trolls.
After a supposed peace summit proved to be a trap, Rexxar was tasked by Thrall to meet Jaina personally. With the aid of an orc blademaster called Samuro, Rexxar was able to go through a human blockade to finally meet Jaina, who had no idea of what is going on. Travelling with Rexxar's group, they find the aggressive humans to be slaughtered by naga, and after dealing with said naga, Rexxar and Jaina would find out that the humans are working for Admiral Daelin Proudmoore of Kul Tiras, Jaina's father, who refused to listen to reason. Daelin captured Rexxar and his allies, but they managed to escape. They would then go around Durotar to gather allies. Vol'jin directed Rexxar to the trolls' other allies, assisting the distraught tauren chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof in retrieving his kidnapped son Baine, and beating down the chief of the Stonemaul ogres, earning their aid in the upcoming battle. Rexxar also travelled around Durotar and slew several powerful entities, even going through a portal to Outland to slay several powerful demons. With this army, the Horde was able to stand against Daelin's navy and chase them to theramore island. While the bulk of the Horde held off the Kul Tiras soldiers, Rexxar and his companions snuck into Theramore with Jaina's assistance (who wanted peace) and did battle with Daelin and his most powerful retainers. Daelin was ultimately slain, and the Horde withdrew from Theramore. While Thrall offered Rexxar a home in Orgrimmar, he noted how his home will always be in the wilds, and departed, although he noted that if the Horde needed his aid, he would come.In Warcraft III, Rexxar was a Beastmaster, and thus could summon the aid of powerful animals for aid. First and foremost is his faithful bear Misha, but he could also summon a quillboar and a hawk (retroactively given the names Huffer and Spirit, respectively) and summon a large amount of thunder beasts to Stampede. In World of Warcraft, Rexxar and Misha would be found wandering Desolacce and Feralas, giving Horde adventurers quests to take down the black wyrm Onyxia. In Burning Crusade, Rexxar would travel to Outland to reconnect with his Mok'nathal heritage, giving out quests to defend Horde territory from savage beasts. He also wishes to make peace with his father Leoroxx, who stayed behind on Draenor/Outland and was estranged from Rexxar due to his past decision to join the Old Horde. He would also ask adventurers to assist him in rescuing his wyvern Leokk from where it was captured by Bladespire ogres. In Cataclysm, Rexxar would return to Azeroth and defend Orgrimmar from the rampaging elementals.
In Legion, Rexxar was part of the hunter class order campaign. The hunter order, the Unseen Path, wants to recruit Rexxar, who, while considering the group honourable, was not interested in joining them. Rexxar was approached by the Unseen Path's Huntmaster (a.k.a. a hunter player), and Rexxar gave the Huntmaster a challenge -- survive in the wild for a night, to prove that the Unseen Path was not merely all talk. The Huntmaster would survive the night and Rexxar would be impressed enough to join, and would later show up in Undercity in several Horde meetings.
Rexxar has had multiple alternate 'skins' in Hearthstone:
- Deathstalker Rexxar depicts an alternate timeline where Rexxar became a death knight, unique to Knights of the Frozen Throne.
- Wanderer Rexxar is... it's just regular Rexxar in a different pose.
- Warsong Rexxar depicts Rexxar in Warsong Armor (which I think is a 'what if' scenario? He did serve with the First Horde for a short time), as well as the twin battleaxes that his Warcraft counterpart prefers in sharp contrast to bows.
- Giantstalker Rexxar depicts Rexxar wearing the Tier 1 Giantstalker Armor set from classic WoW.
- Dragonstalker Rexxar depicts Rexxar wearing the Tier 2 Dragonstalker Armor set from classic WoW.
- Firefang Rexxar and Flamewalker Rexxar seem to be original to Hearthstone, depicting Rexxar as a servitor of the fire elemental lord Ragnaros.
Garrosh Hellscream, the Warrior
How can we describe Garrosh Hellscream, son of Grommash Hellscream, in a single word? It'd be "dick". Because Garrosh is a warrior, a warchief, an ambitious schemer, a cruel warmonger, but more than anything... he's a dick. He was introduced in Burning Crusade, one of the few characters in Hearthstone's nine heroes to not originate from the RTS games, and Garrosh would grow from a minor supporting character to the warchief of the Horde to one of the most vile and hateable villains in all of World of Warcraft's history.
So Garrosh was the mag'har son of Grom Hellscream of the Warsong Clan, uncorrupted by the taint of demon blood, and was left behind on Draenor during the first three wars. He would have no contact with the outside world until the time of Burning Crusade, where the mag'har colony would be discovered by adventurers. Garrosh, knowing of his father's role in the corruption of the orc race, was ashamed of his father. Thrall would later arrive and inform Garrosh of the heroics that Grom has done -- perhaps embellishing too much on Grom's heroics and not enough on his mistakes -- and transform Grom into an idealized hero within Garrosh's mind. No longer is he the son of the orc who corrupted his race with demonic bloodlust, but he was now the son of the orc who freed them from said curse. Garrosh would arrive on Orgrimmar with the rest of the Horde, and he would grow disillusioned with the perceived self-punishing weakness of taking a harsh land like Durotar instead of seizing whatever resources they need, even if they should come from Alliance lands. Garrosh would have no patience for diplomacy, nearly coming to physical blows multiple times whenever the Alliance is concerned, despite advice to the contrary.
In Wrath of the Lich King, Garrosh would be instrumental, being part of the Horde leadership that led the Northrend campaign, although not before challenging Thrall to a trial by combat due to some disagreements about dealing with the Alliance. Garrosh would be named Overlord of the Warsong Offensive, the spearhead of the Horde expedition to Northrend. Despite advice from the older and more experienced Varok Saurfang, Garrosh was hot-blooded, eager to spill the enemy's blood and gain glory for the Horde. Still, at this point, while he championed aggression against the Alliance, he would only do so if it's still honourable and not-treacherous in nature... something that we won't be seeing for too long. Garrosh would also interrupt a summit of Alliance and Horde leaders when trying to deal with the opening of the prison of Yogg-Saron, more concerned with battling against Varian. Garrosh would participate in the final assault against Icecrown Citadel, and his deeds as overlord during the Northrend campaign would make Garrosh famous among the Horde as a capable warrior.
In Cataclysm, Garrosh's popularity caused Thrall to temporarily appoint Garrosh as acting warchief, putting Cairne and Varok in the position of advisors. Thrall would also hand Garrosh Gorehowl, the mighty axe wielded by his father. Garrosh was openly dismissive of any kind of peace talks with the Alliance, and a particularly brutal ambush that seemed to be done by Garrosh's orders on night elf and tauren druids causes the leader of the tauren, Cairne Bloodhoof, to challenge Garrosh to a mak'gora. Garrosh demanded the trial to be to the death, because he's a dick. He would be tricked by the tauren usurper Magatha Grimtotem, who poisoned Gorehowl, allowing Garrosh an easy win as he slew Cairne. Nevermind the fact that he actually killed one of the mightiest founding members of the Horde, Garrosh was far more pissed off that his "rightful kill" was stolen by treachery, although he did eventually support Baine's succession, and would work relatively well with Baine for a time. Because he's a dick. He would also tattoo his lower jaw entirely black in emulation of his father, as well as rip off the monument of Mannoroth, the pit lord slain by his father, to use as shoulder ornaments.
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| Garrosh (cutscene) |
In Mists of Pandaria, Garrosh would engineer one of the worst crimes throughout Azeroth's history, using the majority of the Horde to attack Theramore in a feint to gather a large amount of Alliance leaders, before dropping a magical-artifact empowered Mana Bomb (itself created with stolen artifacts and a double agent) upon it -- the very definition of the 'dishonourable combat' that Garrosh once despised. This devastated and erased Theramore Isle from the face of Azeroth, killing hundreds. Despite misgivings from other Horde leaders, Garrosh would also tighten his stranglehold over Kalimdor. Other Horde leaders would begin speaking in secret, and a displeased Garrosh would order Malkorok to assassinate the otherwise-loyal Horde captains, the forsaken Frandis Farley and the blood elf Kelantir Bloodblade, blowing them up in a tavern. Because he's a dick.
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| Garrosh (WoW) |
This would cause the start of the Siege of Orgrimmar, where both Alliance and Horde members all attacked Orgrimmar to flush and slay Garrosh's so-called True Horde. Garrosh's minions -- Malkorok, Zaela, Nazgrim, and other allies of the Old Gods such as the Sha of Pride and the Paragons of the Klaxxi -- did battle against the combined forces of the Alliance and Horde, but eventually were felled until only Garrosh himself remained. Garrosh would beat Thrall, having weakened the shaman by ordering his own dark shaman to enrage the nearby elements, before engaging the army of adventurers before him. Even with the power of Y'Shaarj coursing through him, Garrosh would eventually be worn down and defeated, and be held captive by the neutral faction of the pandaren.Easily one of the greatest villains in Azeroth's history, Alliance and Horde members are divided as to what is to properly be done with Garrosh, and they ended up setting a trial before the August Celestials of Pandaria to decide Garrosh's fate. Despite this, Garrosh found most of the proceedings to be a joke, while his agents, led by Zaela, worked to free him. Garrosh would be assisted by the bronze dragon Kairozdormu, who would allow Garrosh to escape -- to 35 years in the past, specifically to Nagrand, the lands of the Warsong Clan.
Garrosh has had multiple alternate 'skins' in Hearthstone:
- Scourgelord Garrosh depicts an alternate timeline where Garrosh became a death knight, unique to Knights of the Frozen Throne.
- Corrupt Garrosh depicts Garrosh during his boss fight at the Siege of Orgrimmar in Mists of Pandaria, after he consumed the Heart of Y'Shaarj.
- Garrosh of Might is Garrosh wearing the tier 1 Battlegear of Might armor set from vanilla WoW.
- Lü Bu Garrosh is Garrosh dressed up as the the historical Lü Bu of the Three Kingdoms period in China, released for Chinese New Year.
- Nagrand Garrosh depicts Garrosh before he joined the Horde, when he was just a peaceful mag'har in Nagrand.
- Garrosh of Wrath is Garroth wearing the tier 2 Battlegear of Wrath armor set from vanilla WoW.
Gul'dan, the Warlock
This article has gone on long enough, so for Gul'dan we'll only be covering the original Gul'dan. In Warlords of Draenor an alternate-universe Gul'dan is plucked by the Burning Legion and became one of the main antagonists for Warlords of Draenor and Legion. Gul'dan grew of the village of Gorgrond but was abused and eventually cast out of the village due to his weak deformity. Letting his hate and resentment drive him, Gul'dan was told to go to the Throne of Elements to find his destiny. However, Gul'dan was rejected by the four elements and he screamed his fury. Rejected by everything around him, Gul'dan heard other voices, voices of the Burning Legion and the demonic powers. Thus Gul'dan became a willing servant of the Legion, becoming the first orc warlock and accepting their power and returning to his village, burning it down and erasing it from orc history. Gul'dan was instrumental in the plotline of Warcraft I and II. Prior to the First War, Gul'dan was absorbed into the Shadowmoon clan, claiming that his clan was wiped out by ogres, but once within the clan he would quickly rise among the ranks and become an apprentice to the shaman Ner'zhul, who was a highly respected leader among the orc people, and began manipulating him. Through Gul'dan's machinations, he would establish a secret council loyal to the Legion called the Shadow Council, and eventually depose Ner'zhul when the elder shaman realized that they can no longer call upon their ancestors and the elements. Gul'dan would remain the driving force behind the creation of the first Horde, placing the bloodthirsty Blackhand in charge, opening schools of necromancy and warlock arts to spread his influence, and would eventually offer the clan chieftains the blood of the pit lord Mannoroth, bleaching the orcs' skin green and turning them into a bloodthirsty war machine bound to the demons, and Gul'dan would set the orcs to exterminate a large amount of the draenei living on Draenor.
Gul'dan's closest servitors was the mighty ogre Cho'gall, an anomaly among the normally-brutish ogres due to his above-average cunning. Gul'dan taught Cho'gall of fel magic and power, and would eventually place Cho'gall at the head of the Twilight's Hammer clan. Gul'dan would also take the half-orc, half-draenei outcast Garona Halforcen under his wing, training her to be an assassin, although he was often cruel to the half-orc. Prior to the First War, Gul'dan was contacted by another pawn of the Burning Legion -- the mighty human sorcerer Medivh, possessed by the demon Sargeras. Together, they would construct the Dark Portal that would lead the Horde into Azeroth, sparking the bloody First War. Any who disagreed -- like the Frostwolf orcs Durotan and Draka, parents of Thrall -- were killed on his orders. However, when Medivh's tower of Karazhan was besieged by Alliance forces, Gul'dan, desperate to find the location of the enigmatic Tomb of Sargeras (where the Burning Legion promised him immortality), ransacked Medivh's mind through a mental link and when Medivh was killed by Alliance champions, Gul'dan, still connected, was put into a coma.
Without Gul'dan's influence, the brutish Blackhand was slain by Orgrim Doomhammer, who quickly found out the machinations of the Shadow Council and murdered them all. Gul'dan would wake up in Warcraft II during the Second War and be confronted by Doomhammer. With few allies remaining, he would prostrate himself and beg forgiveness, betraying what was left of Blackhand's forces to Doomhammer, and using his powers to use the body of fallen human knights and the souls of slain orc warlocks to create the powerful necromantic warriors known as death knights (not to be confused with death knights of the Scourge, a different type of death knight). Gul'dan would also found his own clan, the Stormreavers, and proceed to empower many ogres -- including his apprentice Cho'gall -- by transforming them into two-headed ogre magi with the capability to use magic. In Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, Gul'dan was represented as a Death Knight hero despite not being a death knight himself.
However, Gul'dan's main plan was still the Tomb of Sargeras and the power held within. During the eve of the Horde's attack on Lordaeron's capital, Gul'dan and the clans loyal to him -- his Stormreavers and Cho'gall's Twilight's Hammer -- absconded through the sea to locate the tomb. This would prove to be the Horde's downfall as Doomhammer lost a large portion of his forces, and he was forced to retreat, and subsequently send out his troops to hunt down the treacherous warlock, allowing the Alliance to eventually gain the upper hand. Gul'dan would locate the Tomb, and raise it from the ocean floor and creating the Broken Isles. However, once inside the Tomb, instead of immortality he was met with a swarm of feral demons, who soon ripped Gul'dan apart and killed the warlock, while the rest of the Stormreavers were wiped out by the Horde.
While Gul'dan died, his legacy remained. During the second portion of the Second War, the Skull of Gul'dan became a powerful artifact that was used by his former master Ner'zhul to open multiple portals to other worlds, and was also used by the human mage Khadgar to close the Dark Portal. In the Third War, the night elf Illidan Stormrage to empower himself and transform into a demon. Illidan would comb through the residual memories in the skull and find the Tomb of Sargeras himself, obtaining the powerful artifact Eye of Sargeras. (Gul'dan's corpse could be found in the tomb in both Warcraft III and World of Warcraft: Legion). In Warlords of Draenor and Legion, the alternate-timeline counterpart of Gul'dan would succeed where his counterpart could not, arriving in the Tomb of Sargeras and succeeding where the original Gul'dan failed -- open a portal to summon the Burning Legion to Azeroth. This alternate Gul'dan would be a major thorn and one of the longest-running villains that the Alliance and Horde would have to face, ultimately killed by Illidan Stormrage after nearly causing the devastation of Azeroth in Legion.
However, Gul'dan's main plan was still the Tomb of Sargeras and the power held within. During the eve of the Horde's attack on Lordaeron's capital, Gul'dan and the clans loyal to him -- his Stormreavers and Cho'gall's Twilight's Hammer -- absconded through the sea to locate the tomb. This would prove to be the Horde's downfall as Doomhammer lost a large portion of his forces, and he was forced to retreat, and subsequently send out his troops to hunt down the treacherous warlock, allowing the Alliance to eventually gain the upper hand. Gul'dan would locate the Tomb, and raise it from the ocean floor and creating the Broken Isles. However, once inside the Tomb, instead of immortality he was met with a swarm of feral demons, who soon ripped Gul'dan apart and killed the warlock, while the rest of the Stormreavers were wiped out by the Horde.While Gul'dan died, his legacy remained. During the second portion of the Second War, the Skull of Gul'dan became a powerful artifact that was used by his former master Ner'zhul to open multiple portals to other worlds, and was also used by the human mage Khadgar to close the Dark Portal. In the Third War, the night elf Illidan Stormrage to empower himself and transform into a demon. Illidan would comb through the residual memories in the skull and find the Tomb of Sargeras himself, obtaining the powerful artifact Eye of Sargeras. (Gul'dan's corpse could be found in the tomb in both Warcraft III and World of Warcraft: Legion). In Warlords of Draenor and Legion, the alternate-timeline counterpart of Gul'dan would succeed where his counterpart could not, arriving in the Tomb of Sargeras and succeeding where the original Gul'dan failed -- open a portal to summon the Burning Legion to Azeroth. This alternate Gul'dan would be a major thorn and one of the longest-running villains that the Alliance and Horde would have to face, ultimately killed by Illidan Stormrage after nearly causing the devastation of Azeroth in Legion.
Gul'dan has had multiple alternate 'skins' in Hearthstone:
- Bloodreaver Gul'dan depicts an alternate timeline where Gul'dan became a death knight, unique to Knights of the Frozen Throne.
- Shadow Gul'dan depicts the younger Gul'dan from the Warlords of Draenor timeline.
- Felheart Gul'dan depicts Gul'dan wearing the tier 1 Felheart Raiment armor set from vanilla.
- Nemesis Gul'dan depicts Gul'dan wearing the tier 2 Nemesis Raiment armor set from vanilla.
- Shadowmoon Gul'dan depicts Gul'dan while he was the leader of the Shadowmoon Clan in Draenor.
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