Atal'ai tribe

Atal'ai
Main leader	Jin'do †
Secondary leaders	Jammal'an
Race(s)	Jungle troll; Undead troll; Dire troll
Character classes	High priest, Witch doctor, Warrior, Priest, Hexxer, Warlock
Capital	Temple of Atal'Hakkar
Theater of operations	Swamp of Sorrows, Zul'Gurub
Language(s)	Zandali
Status	Defeated

The Atal'ai tribe^[1] (or the Atal'ai),^[2] an extremist faction of the Hakkari,^[3] are worshipers of the Blood God Hakkar and are based within Temple of Atal'Hakkar. They are green or white skinned with green, purple, or white hair.

The Atal'ai trolls are a tribe of dark casters, known for practicing forbidden magic,^[4] including necromancy which was taught to them by Hakkar for their unwavering loyalty.^[5] The Atal'ai was a once-great troll civilization that was destroyed, its buried artifacts can be found beneath the Pool of Tears.^[6]

The term "atal'ai" means Devoted Ones in Zandali, the language of the trolls.^[7]^[8]

History

The location of the scattered Gurubashi tribes. Not listed are the Darkspears, who left for Kalimdor.

The long centuries following the Great Sundering were difficult ones for the troll race. 1,500 years before the opening of the Dark Portal,^[9] the jungle trolls, driven to desperate ends, enlisted the aid of the god Hakkar, also known as the Soulflayer. Hakkar brought the trolls great power, but in return the bloodthirsty god required that souls be sacrificed to him.

His demands quickly escalated, and he grew impatient with his loyal priests, the Hakkari. He told them to find a way to summon him physically into the world so that he might directly drain the blood of his victims. Most of the Hakkari were horrified at the idea, but the Atal'ai, a small extremist faction of the Hakkari, decided to do as Hakkar wished. Before the Atal'ai could complete the summoning, the other jungle trolls, including the Hakkari, rose up in open revolt against the cruel god. Even the Zandalar tribe was drawn into the conflict, which finally ended with the destruction of Hakkar’s avatar. Driven from the jungles, the Atal'ai were hunted nearly to extinction. Yet a small group of Atal'ai escaped into the Swamp of Sorrows, where they secretly built a great temple to their god: the Temple of Atal'Hakkar.

The Temple of Atal'Hakkar.

They were joined by the Hakkari not much later. The Hakkari, too, were killed or exiled for the evil deeds they had done in Hakkar's name, despite the fact that they had fought the Atal'ai. In great bitterness and despair, the surviving Hakkari tracked the Atal'ai to the Swamp of Sorrows and pledged to help the Atal'ai summon Hakkar into Azeroth. Pleased by the Hakkari's obvious suffering, the Atal'ai welcomed their former brethren into the temple. Even so, Hakkar had not forgotten that the Hakkari had betrayed him in opposing his first entry into Azeroth, and so the hungry god would always regard the faithful Atal'ai with greater favor. Both groups bent all their efforts toward bringing about Hakkar's entry into the physical world.

The green Dragon Aspect, Ysera the Dreamer, soon learned of the evil priests' plans and smashed the temple beneath the marshes. The temple's ruins became guarded by mighty green dragons, including Eranikus.

World of Warcraft

This section concerns content related to the original World of Warcraft.

The green dragons that had been left by Ysera to guard the Temple of Atal'Hakkar had succumbed to another force, the Emerald Nightmare. The descendants of the Atal'ai returned to the Sunken Temple to find that its guardians were disoriented and vulnerable. Both the Nightmare and the trolls dragged the dragons down into the depths of madness and corruption. In firm control of the temple, the Atal'ai began their gruesome rituals to summon Hakkar into the world.^[10] The Atal'ai's spiritual leader, Jammal'an, had what he called a prophecy. He believed the summoning of Hakkar will bring the Atal'ai immortality.^[11] The Atal'ai and Hakkari lost no time in dispatching a number of their most skilled priests to the ancient Gurubashi capital of Zul'Gurub, which was the place were Hakkar was to be physically summoned to.^[12] A green dragon named Itharius called for help from the Cenarion Circle, who in turn sent an Alliance force to cleanse the temple and put an end to the Atal'ai's efforts.^[10]

However, despite the attack on the Sunken Temple, the Atal'ai and their leader Jin'do the Hexxer were successfully able to revive Hakkar in Zul'Gurub. The Zandalari tribe sent word through the Darkspear tribe that the Horde needed to act immediately for Hakkar being successfully summoned would throw the world into chaos. A large Horde strike force was sent to Zul'Gurub in turn. The Horde charged into the temple city, killing the priests, Jin'do, and Hakkar.^[13]

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

After Hakkar was defeated, the Atal'ai were able to recover a significant portion of Hakkar's skeleton^[14] that allowed them to call forth Hakkar's avatar into the world once more. Lord Itharius sends adventurers to put an end to the Atal'ai, the Hakkari, and destroy Hakkar's new avatar.

Shadowlands

This section concerns content related to Shadowlands.

The souls of Atal'ai Devoted are worshiping Hakkar in De Other Side, the troll afterlife.

Members

Named

Name	Role	Status	Location
Jin'do the Hexxer	Leader of the Atal'ai	Deceased	Zul'Gurub, Northern Stranglethorn
Jammal'an the Prophet	Spirtual leader of the Atal'ai	Killable	Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Swamp of Sorrows
Ogom the Wretched	Jammal'an the Prophet's personal guard	Killable	Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Swamp of Sorrows
Priestess Udum'bra	Speaker in the Temple	Killable	Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Swamp of Sorrows
Gomora the Bloodletter	Butcher of the Green Dragonflight	Killable	Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Swamp of Sorrows
Atal'alarion	Guardian of the Idol	Deceased	Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Swamp of Sorrows
Zul'Lor	Ghostly guardian	Deceased	Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Swamp of Sorrows
Gasher	Ghostly guardian	Deceased	Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Swamp of Sorrows
Loro	Ghostly guardian	Deceased	Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Swamp of Sorrows
Zolo	Ghostly guardian	Deceased	Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Swamp of Sorrows
Mijan	Ghostly guardian	Deceased	Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Swamp of Sorrows
Hukku	Ghostly guardian	Deceased	Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Swamp of Sorrows
Atal'ai Exile	Exiled tribesman	Unknown	The Hinterlands (formerly)