Thrall, Son of Durotan
Related Characters
Durotan - Father
Draka - Mother
Aggra - Mate
Garad - Paternal Grandfather
Geyah - Paternal Grandmother
Kelkar - Maternal Grandfather
Zuura - Maternal Grandmother
Rakish - Maternal Great-Grandfather
Taretha - Surrogate Sister
Orgrim Doomhammer - Mentor, Friend, Former Warchief
Drek'thar - Shaman Mentor
Grommash "Grom" Hellscream - "Brother"
Aedelas Blackmoore - Former Slavemaster
Medivh - Ally in the Third War
The Young Life of Thrall
Thrall, originally named Go'el, is the son of Durotan, former chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, and Draka. Go'el's parents were murdered during the Second War, between the Orcs and Humans. Go'el was found as a baby among his parents bodies by the human, Aedelas Blackmoore. Blackmoore was the commander of an internment camp that treated orcs as slaves. Blackmoore gave him the name "Thrall", meaning "slave" in the human tongue. Thrall was taken to Durnholde Keep, Blackmoore's fortress, and trained as a gladiator, designed to combine the savagery of an orc and strategy of a human. Thrall was wet-nursed by a human woman, and soon became friends with her young daughter, Taretha Foxton. Thrall became a promising student and fighter at Blackmoore's disposal.
Thrall proved himself as an exceptional fighter, even by orc standards. Blackmoore's treatment of Thrall, however, made him want to escape this life. Taretha began to write to Thrall in his prison cell, and he wrote back informing her of his intentions.
Taretha agreed to help Thrall escape his imprisonment. She created a distraction within Durnholde, allowing him to escape. Taretha met Thrall outside of the keep, providing him with supplies. Thrall then left, hoping never to return.
Shortly after his escape from Durnholde Keep, Thrall was captured by Lorin Remka, and taken to another internment camp. Here, Thrall met an old, red eyed orc named Kelgar. Kelgar told Thrall of the corruption of the orcs at the hand of Gul'dan and how the old orcish ways, on their home planet of Draenor, were much better. Kelgar also told Thrall of Grom Hellscream, leader of the Warsong Clan. Thrall then learned from another Orc that Blackmoore had arrived at the camp searching for him. This prompted Thrall to escape once again.
Thrall's Initiation into Orc Society
Following Thrall's escape from the internment camp, he was determined to find Grom Hellscream. He soon found him, and after proving himself, was welcomed by Hellscream. Hellscream taught Thrall the orcish tongue, and infromed Thrall of his Frostwolf heritage. Thrall spent a long time with Hellscream, before deciding to leave and search the Alterac Mountains for evidence of his exiled clan.
After walking until he reached exhaustion, Thrall was rescued by members of the Frostwolf clan, and taken to their camp. He soon found his place among the orcs, and was taught the old ways of the horde by Drek'thar. Drek'thar infromed Thrall that he was the son of the Frostwolf Chieftain, Durotan. Thrall, after becoming a member of the clan, was chosen by the frost wolf, Snowsong, as her companion. Thrall was taken by Drek'thar for his initiation.
During his initiation, Thrall learned to befriend and manipulate the elements of Air, Earth, Fire and Water. He became the most powerful shaman since before Gul'dan's corruption of the Horde. Thrall returned to the clan, and embraced his legacy as the son of Durotan. This proved as a symbolic event, as Thrall was the only shaman to be initiated and accepted since Drek'thar's time. It marked the elementals' forgiveness of the orcs for delving into demonic magics.
The camp was soon visited by a stranger, who accused the Frostwolves of hiding away in the mountains. This deeply angered Thrall. Thrall, in his fury, informed the stranger that he would join Grom Hellscream and the Warsong clan in their fight against the humans. The stranger dismissed Hellscream as a "demon-ridden dreamer" and claimed that the humans were not worth fighting. Enraged further by this, Thrall challenged the stranger to combat. The stranger threw away his cloak, revealing his black plate armor and mighty warhammer. The battle ensued, and after a short duel, Thrall managed to disarm the stranger. However, he was restrained from killing his foe by other members of his tribe. The stranger revealed himself to be Orgrim Doomhammer, Warchief of the Horde. Drek'thar had contacted Doomhammer, alerting him of the return of Durotan's son. Doomhammer had lured Thrall into challenging him to see if Drek'thar's praise was deserved. Thrall had managed to defeat Doomhammer, a feat that was only previously achieved by Thrall's father, Durotan. Thrall hereby proved himself to the Warchief.
