Lady Jaina Proudmoore - Part I

The first Alliance character we'll be looking at is Lady Jaina Proudmoore. Jaina, like Thrall, is an incredibly popular character, and is probably the most well-liked character of the Alliance faction. She is also closely linked to Thrall, so it helps expand the understanding of character relationships, even those of different factions.

Lady Jaina Proudmoore, Ruler of Theramore

Lady Jaina Proudmoore, founder and ruler of Theramore

Related Characters:

Admiral Daelin Proudmoore - Father

Antonidas - Mentor

Jaina Proudmoore was born before the First War between the orcs and humans. She is the yougnest child of Admiral Daelin proudmoore, the lord of Kul Tiras and ally of Lordaeron. As a young girl, Jaina was fascinated by the tales of Guardian Aegwynn, the famous guardian of Lordaeron. She discovered her magical talent at a young age, and was sent to Dalaran, the city of the Kirin Tor magi, to develop her magical talent. She convinced Antonidas to take her under his wing as his apprentice, and became one of the only female mages in direct service to Dalaran.

Prince Arthas Menethil

Due to her royal heritage, Jaina inevitably met Prince Arthas Menethil, heir to the throne of Lordaeron. Arthas and Jaina became very close friends over the years, and eventually became romantically involved. They were very much in love with each other, and eventually became engaged to be married. Arthas however, eventually questioned whether the two should be together. Arthas abruptly ended their relationship, allowing Jaina to focus on her magical studies, and for him to focus on his commitments to Lordaeron. Shortly after, they decided to rekindle the romance, which would be doomed by the oncoming Scourge invasion.

The Third War (Warcraft III)

Years later, Jaina's mentor, Antonidas, became curious about the Scourge plague sweeping Azeroth. He was approached by the Prophet, who pleaded him to take his people to the western continent of Kalimdor. Antonidas dismissed the Prophet as a mad man, but Jaina - who had been eavesdropping - sensed a great power within him. Jaina asked Antonidas to reconsider, but Antonidas was adamant that the Prophet was wrong. Jaina instead met with Arthas, to investigate the plague at the northern village of Brill.

At Brill, Jaina witnessed shocking things, such as necromancers and zombie constructs. She and Arthas fought multitudes of undead. They came across a mill containing plague-infested grain. The crates of grain bore the mark of Andorhal, a large grain distributor throughout Lordaeron. 

Jaina and Arthas chased the necromancer, who was revealed to be Kel'Thuzad, former mage of the Kirin Tor, to Andorhal. Arthas and Jaina encountered masses of undead, but managed to fight throuhg them to reach Kel'Thuzad. Arthas killed Kel'Thuzad before he and Jaina left. On their way back to central Lordareon, Jaina and Arthas stopped at a small village named Hearthglen. However, the grain had already reached Hearthglen, and it's villagers had begun transforming into the undead. 

Mal'Ganis

Jaina left Hearthglen in order to find Uther for reinforcements. She returned with the Silver Hand to find Arthas fighting a losing battle. With the Silver Hand at their side, Arthas, Uther  and Jaina managed to push back the undead threat. Arthas decided to travel to the city of Stratholme, hoping to fight Mal'Ganis. 

Jaina and Uther accompanied Arthas to Stratholme, but they were too late to prevent the tainted grain being eaten by the townsfolk. Arthas recommended slaying the people of Stratholme before they transformed into mindless undead. Uther however, could not condone the murder of the innocent people. When Uther refused to assist Arthas, Arthas renounced him and accused him of treason. He demanded that any loyal subject of his father, King Terenas, stay with him and help him purge the city. To his surprise, Jaina followed Uther.

Jaina and Uther later returned to Stratholme, to find it in an appalling state. Jaina was then visited by the Prophet, who had failed in his reasoning with both King Terenas and her mentor, Antonidas. He sensed that Jaina was a great leader, and urged her to flee Lordaeron and travel west, taking as many people with her as possible. She, unlike King Terenas and Antonidas, listened to the prophet and began making plans to sail to Kalimdor.

Jaina left for Kalimdor just as the invasion of Lordaeron began, saving thousands of lives.

Jaina's Arrival at Kalimdor (Warcraft III)

The Continent of Kalimdor

Upon her arrival at Kalimdor, Jaina discovered that there was a large orc population living there. Jaina believed that the orcs had followed them from Lordaeron, and immediately engaged in battle with them. Grom Hellscream retaliated. causing a disastrous battle. Following the battle, Jaina bega to search for a place to settle where she could keep the orcs at bay. She decided that Stonetalon Peaks was a suitable place for this, as she sensed a great power within. Jaina led a small party into the mountains in search of the pwoer she sensed.

Thrall and Cairne

When she reached the core of the mountain, Jaina ran into the orc, Thrall and tauren, Cairne Bloodhoof. They were about to engage in battle with each other, but where suddenly confronted by the Prophet. He warned them that if they did not ally with each other, they would be crushed by the increasing might of the Burning Legion.

Jaina reluctantly agreed to the alliance, and gave Thrall a soul gem. With it he captured Grom Hellscream's essence as the invasion of Kalimdor began. She helped Thrall purge the demonic curse from Grom.

Jaina and Thrall remainded allys, to the dismay of their troops, even after the death of Grom Hellscream. They were contantly under attack by both the undead and night elves. Their alliance kept them alive, but just barely.

Malfurion and Tyrande 

Thrall recieved a vision, and Jaina agreed to follow him to where he needed to go. They travelled together, and eventually came across the leaders of the night elves, Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind. The prophet appeared, revealing himself to be Medivh, attoning for his past mistakes. He told them that unless the humans, orcs and night elves united against the legion, they would all fall. They all agreed to defend the mountain of Hyjal as allies.

Jaina scouted the areas surrounding the mountain, finding that Archimonde, one of Sargeras' generals, and his dooomguards were making their way up the mountain. The humans, orcs and night elves set up three bases on the mountain in an effort to stop the demons' ascension. Jaina's base was directly in Archimonde's path, and was therefore the first to fall to his power. Jaina however, managed to teleport away before Archimonde could kill her. Thrall's base was the second to fall, but Jaina managed to use her magics to teleport him away, saving his life as well as her own.

The Birth of Theramore (Warcraft III)

Following the reent and unlikely triumph at Hyjal, Jaina took her followers to a small island off the east coast of Kalimdor. She named it the Isle of Theramore.

Jaina soon realised that her father, Daelin, had arrived on Kalimdor. Daelin and his army attacked the orc Rexxar and his troops, despite Jaina's pleading. Thrall retaliated by launching an assault on Daelin. Jaina was torn trying to decide whether to support her father or the orc. Eventually she realised that her loyalty must be to Thrall, and she ordered her troops to stand down when the orc army entered Theramore to kill Admiral Proudmoore. 

The Isle of Theramore

Cycle of Hatred (Novel)

The humans of Theramore and the orcs of Durotar remained at peace for three years following Daelin's execution. Jaina and Thrall were still wary of each other, however. Thrall requested Jaina's aid in the location of a group of thunder lizards that had been displaced by a mysterious logging operation at Thunder Ridge. Jaina set out to relocate the lizards in Mulgore, only to find the area magically protecting the presumed dead, Aegwynn, former guardian of Lordaeron, and mother of Medivh.

Aegwynn revealed that a minor demon, Zmodlor, had revived an ancient clan known as the Burning Blade. Zmodlor was using the orc and human members of the Burning Blade to play the two powers - Jaina and Thrall - against each other. 

Jaina and Aegwynn managed to locate the demon and his followers, and fought him. Jaina almost died during the battle, but was saved by Aegwynn's protection using her own life-force. Jaina and Aegwynn managed to banish the demon back to the Twisting Nether. 

Jaina and Thrall later agreed to sign a non-aggression pact, ensuring that disagreements between their followers and allies could not escalate to a war between the orcs of Durotar and the humans of Theramore. Aegwynn assumed the duties of Jaina's chamberlain.

The Horde - Part I

Lets take a brief look at the Horde shall we?

Races of the Horde

The orcs of Durotar, led by Warchief Garrosh Hellscream

The trolls of the Darkspear tribe, led by Shadowhunter Vol'jin

The tauren of Mulgore, led by High Chieftain Baine Bloodhoof

The undead of Lordaeron, led by Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, the Banshee Queen

The blood elves of Quel'Thalas, led by Lor'themar Theron (as of the Burning Crusade)

The goblins of the Bilgewater Cartel, led by Trade Prince Gallywix (as of Cataclysm)

The Huojin pandaren, led by Ji Firepaw (as of Mists of Pandaria)

The Birth of the Horde

The history of the horde begins on Draenor. Draenor is the original home of the orcs and draenei. Ner'zhul, an orc shaman, was approached by an extraplanar being named Kil'jaeden. Kil'jaeden tricked Ner'zhul into thinking he was a spirit. Kil'jaeden managed to convince Ner'zhul to abandon his shaman teachings, and become a warlock, a being utilising the powers of the demons. Consequentially, Ner'zhul became famous among the orcs, and many others followed in his footsteps, abandoning their shamanistic teachings in favour of the demonic arts of the warlock.

Gul'dan

Years later, Ner'zhul realised the error of his ways. By this point though, he had turned so many of his fellow orcs to the dark arts that he could not reverse what had been done. The demon-influenced orcs waged war on the humble draenei. At first, Ner'zhul assisted in attempts to unify the orcish Horde into one unit, but after realising what had become of his race - and what it was still turning into - he denied Kil'Jaeden. In his fury, Kil'jaeden found a new instrument in the form of Ner'zhul's apprentice, Gul'dan. Gul'dan was greedy and ambitious, allowing him to become much more powerful and cruel than Ner'zhul was. He led the Horde to a new level of brutality, a level which would not have been conceived by the orcs of old. He convinced his fellow orcs to drink the blood of Mannoroth the Destructor, the demonic pit lord, which tainted them.

The new, demon-tainted, aggresive orcs easily overpowered the draenei. Their slaughter of the draenei united the orcs for the first time in history, marking the birth of the Horde. Gul'dan continued to lead and influence the Horde, but in his desire for even more power, he and Kil'jaeden founded the Shadow Council. The council consisted of the most powerful warlocks of the Horde, who could easily bend the will of the other orcs. The Shadow Council existed in secret, and was unknown to the majority of the Horde. Kil'jaeden was satisfied with the orcs, and turned his back on them. Without others to fight, the orcs turned on each other, leading Gul'dan to realise that without a sufficient enemy to fight, the Horde would consume itself.

Medivh, the human mage

Gul'dan was soon contacted by a possessed human mage named Medivh, who offered the Horde the planet of Azeroth. Medivh created a dark portal to connect the two worlds, and the mass armies of the Horde crossed the portal into Azeroth. It is known that an orc named Blackhand was the Warchief of the Horde at this time, but the true power of the Horde still lied with Gul'dan and his Shadow Council.






At this time, Azeroth was a very different planet. The forsaken did not exist, and half-ogres were so rare they could be considered a myth. Prior to the orc invasion, the tauren and the night elves roamed the world, preserving and respecting nature. They were aware of each others existences, but kept their distances, avoiding war and trade with each other. The trolls however, were very hostile towards the night elves. The forest trolls that resided in the north, spent their time at war with the high elves of Quel'thas (soon to be known as the blood elves). The Darkspear tribe however, was a fairly isolated group of trolls, who had little enemies and spent their time studying voodoo magics and corrupted shamanism.

The First War

By the time of the First War, most of the orc population had been tainted by the demon's blood, and was completely under the control of Kil'jaeden. The orcs began by attacking human farms and villages. Believing that all human settlements would be armed, the orcs fell into a false sense of superiority. Predicting an easy victory, Gul'dan led his orc army to the human city of Stormwind, believing that if he was victorious, Medivh would lead him to the tomb of Sargeras, the master of the demons and of Kil'jaeden. 

Stormwind overwhelmed the Horde, and was a huge shock to the orcs. The orcs struggled to get through the gates, as the guards put up the first real fight the orcs had encountered on Azeroth. They soon realised that a trap was awaiting them within the city. The orcs were ambushed by armored, mounted knights, and were soon overwhelmed. The orcs retreated in shame. Gul'dan cast a spell, summoning a wall of fog, which allowed the Horde to escape from the horsemen. 

The furiousn warchiefs of the Horde blamed each other for their failure, which threatened to rip the Horde apart. Gul'dan knew he needed to act in order to quell the chaos overtaking the Horde. He named Blackhand the Destroyer as Warchief of the Horde, giving him all of the responsibilities concerning leading the orcs. Garona Halforcen, a lowly servant of Gul'dan, was charged to record the events of the war in writing, which was not very highly valued by fellow orcs. 

The humans proved to be a more formidable foe than the orcs first thought. They were bolstered by the magical powers of the Kirin Tor and the priests of Northshire. The failed siege of Stormwind seemed to have cost the orcs too much, However, Anduin Lothar had disappeared during the battles, leaving the humans with infereior leadership. This forced the humans to retreat to Stormwind. Lothar returned for a brief battle with the orcs, before disappearing again. It was revealed that in his initial disappearance, he had sought the Tome of Lost Divinity in the Deadmines. However, his second disappearance is that of significance. 

Lothar, accompanied by Garona and Khadgar, an apprentice mage, traveled to Karazhan, and slayed Medivh, the traitor mage. Gul'dan attempted to rip the secret of Sargeras' tomb from the mind of the dying Medivh, but suffered froma  huge psychic backlash. 

Orgrim Doomhammer, the New Warchief

Meanwhile, Garona, a skilled assassin as well as bookkeeper for the Horde, managed to infiltrate Stormwind, assassinating King Llane Wrynn before Lothar could return. With their king dead, the humans' morale fell, and their city with it. Lothar arrived in time to gather forces and retreat to the north. The orcs were victorious in the first war against the humans of Azeroth. However, the orcs sacrificed much for their victory. As Gul'dan lay comatose, Orgrim Doomhammer assassinated Blackhand, earning himself the title "Backstabber". Doomhammer took the mantle of the warchief, and uncovered the Shadow Council's manipulation of Blackhand. Doomhammer led an assault on the Shadow Council, slaying almost every warlock. Gul'dan awoke to Doomhammer's blade at his throat, and was forced to pledge his fealty to the new warchief. Gul'dan did however, promise that he would have vengeance. 

Thrall, Son of Durotan - Part I

So I decided that it would be a good idea to make posts detailing each significant character in World of Warcraft, whether they be Alliance, Horde, Neutral or Enemy characters. It's probably a good idea to start off with the popular characters right? Great!

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.

Getting Started with WoW Lore

Hey there, today I'm going to get started with a large segment on my blog. This is where I explain the World of Warcraft lore and characters in a detailed, yet simple manner. 

First, we'll start simply by establishing the two main factions of the game in it's current state, the Alliance and the Horde.

The Alliance

The Alliance is currently comprised of six different races (as of Mists of Pandaria). These races are; The Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes, Night Elves, Draenei, Worgen and the newly added Tushui Pandaren. The Alliance is led by King Varian Wrynn, the king of the human race and their capital city is the human city of Stormwind.

The Horde

The Horde is currently also comprised of six races. The Horde is made up of the Orcs, Trolls, Undead (or Forsaken to be strict), Tauren, Blood Elves, Goblins and the Huojin Pandaren . The Horde is led by the fearless orc warchief, Garrosh Hellscream in the orcish stronghold of Orgrimmar. 

                                                                                                                                     

So, who are the bad guys? Good question! Azeroth has faced many enemies in it's past, present and undoubtedly it's future. Let's take a look at some of the biggest threats to Azeroth;

The Burning Legion

The Demons of the Burning Legion

                                                                                  

Sargeras, father of the Burning Legion

The oldest threat to the planet of Azeroth, the Burning Legion is a massive army of demons from across the universe, originating from different planets. They were brought together by Sargeras, one of the Titans who was corrupted by his own depression and grief. Sargeras launched a massive assault on Azeroth, hoping to grasp the power of the Well of Eternity, a life granting object created on Azeroth by the other Titans.

The Scourge

The mass army of undead, the Scourge.

The Lich King, on the Frozen Throne

The Scourge is a mass legion of undead. The Scourge is mainly based in Northrend, the snowy, glacial northern continent of Azeroth, but they commonly bleed into the rest of the world. The Scourge are controlled and led by the Lich King.

Deathwing the Destroyer

Deathwing the Destroyer

Deathwing was originally named Neltharion the Earth Warder. As one of the original dragon aspects of Azeroth, alongside Alexstrasza, Ysera, Nozdormmu and Malygos, Neltharion was granted a power by the Titans and charged as one of the defenders of Azeroth. However, manipulated and his own madness, Neltharion abandoned his brethren and betrayed them during the War of the Ancients. Renaming himself Deathwing, he and his black dragonflight became and enemy of the planet he was meant to protect and preserve.