Battle for Thunder Bluff

Battle for Thunder Bluff
Location	Thunder Bluff
Result	Magatha loyal Grimtotem defeat Baine retakes Thunder Bluff Magatha exiled Grimtotems divided
Belligerents   Tauren of Mulgore Bloodhoof tribe Jevan loyal Grimtotem Steamwheedle Cartel (Ratchet) Nation of Theramore   Magatha loyal Grimtotem tribe
Commanders and leaders   Tauren of Mulgore Baine Bloodhoof Hamuul Runetotem Jorn Skyseer Jevan Grimtotem   Magatha loyal Grimtotem tribe Magatha Grimtotem Cor Grimtotem Gorm Grimtotem Rahauro Tarakor
Casualties and losses   Tauren of Mulgore ~ Heavy   Magatha loyal Grimtotem tribe ~ Heavy; many joined Baine
Concurrent	Elemental war

This article contains lore taken from Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

The battle for Thunder Bluff was a civil war between the tauren. The events take place in the novel The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm prior to the release of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. During Bronze Celebration, Lorewalker Cho narrates the events.

Prologue

Cairne's death.

After Magatha Grimtotem spent years trying to find an opportunity to get rid of Cairne Bloodhoof, one such opportunity presented itself in the young orc Garrosh Hellscream. After returning from Northrend, Magatha approached Garrosh as he was standing next to Mannoroth's skull and told him that his father was exactly what the Horde needed, when it needed it. Garrosh found it funny that she was talking about what the Horde needed when they didn't officially join it; as an excuse, she replied that maybe there was no sufficient reason to join the Horde. After praising his accomplishments, she left him to wonder, putting her plans in motion to seize an opportunity to be rid of Cairne.

Cairne, already unhappy with Thrall choosing Garrosh as his temporary replacement, was angered even further by Hellscream's aggressive actions in Ashenvale, where Hellscream ordered the expansion of the Horde's presence into the territory, leading to conflict with the Night Elves. This encroachment involved the destruction of forests and the killing of Night Elf civilians, Hamuul Runetotem was one of the Tauren who witnessed the events in Ashenvale. As a prominent druid and the Archdruid of the Tauren, Hammul was deeply concerned about the implications of Hellscream's actions on the natural world. Hamuul also revealed that orcs wearing the Horde tabard were the aggressors, although, unbeknownst to Hamuul, these orcs were agents of the Twilight's Hammer, who had made efforts to incite violence by sabotaging peace efforts between the factions, using guerrilla tactics to provoke skirmishes and create distrust.

Upon confronting Garrosh, Cairne highlighted the moral implications of Hellscream's militaristic approach and the destructive actions taken against the Night Elves. However, Garrosh was dismissive of Cairne’s concerns, believing that strength and dominance were the primary paths to power. Frustrated by Garrosh's attitude and the disregard for the principles that the Tauren stood for, Cairne ultimately issued a challenge to Garrosh for a Mak'gora, seeking to settle their differences through combat.

When the duel was set to begin, Garrosh chose Magatha as his shaman due to their previous interactions, and instead of blessing Gorehowl as asked, she applied a poison known as "Deathknight's Kiss" to the weapon. While Cairne maintained the upper hand for a time due to his size, strength, and experience, and potentially would have won, Magatha's poison did its work to weaken Cairne and render him unable to fight at his full strength. Upon realization of what had happened to him, the Chieftain's dying thought was: And so, I, who have lived my whole life with honor, die betrayed.

Start of the conflict and denial from the Warchief

With Cairne dead, Magatha knew that the only one standing in her way to controlling Thunder Bluff was Cairne's son Baine Bloodhoof. Knowing that the tauren would conduct a ritual funeral for Cairne that would include carrying his body from Orgrimmar to Thunder Bluff so that all could pay their respects before the body's cremation, Magatha seized her opportunity by sending Cor Grimtotem and Gorm Grimtotem to Thunder Bluff to begin their attack. The violent takeover saw the sabotage of Thunder Bluff's defenses, intimidation of anyone attempting to rally a defense, and sowing discord amongst the Tauren by leaning on old grievances between tribes to weaken the resolve of those still loyal to the Bloodhoof name.

Meanwhile, an attack on Bloodhoof Village was left to Jevan Grimtotem, who did not agree with his elder's actions during the Mak'gora, feeling she had lost her way as a shaman. Prior to the attack, Jevan separated himself from his allies under false pretenses in order to sneak into Baine's tent, who was the primary target of the attack on the village. Jevan told Baine of Magatha's treachery and presented him with physical proof in the form of a fragment of the Bloodhoof Runespear that he had quietly taken following the end of the Mak'gora. The ancestral spear, having been wielded by Cairne and twenty generations of his tribe before that, was broken against Gorehowl in the duel. With the assistance of Jevan, Baine escaped Bloodhoof Village to Camp Taurajo, leaving Thunder Bluff, Bloodhoof Village, Sun Rock Retreat, and Camp Mojache in Grimtotem hands.

Upon arriving, Baine and Jevan were met by Jorn Skyseer, four braves from Thunder Bluff, and Hamuul Runetotem. Considering their options, Baine determined that their enemies were now more trustworthy than their friends and decided to travel to Theramore to speak with Jaina Proudmoore, who welcomed Baine. As Baine informed Jaina on what had happened, Anduin Wrynn used Jaina's hearthstone to escape from Ironforge, where he had been held hostage for a time by Moira Thaurissan and appeared in Jaina's tower, where he found her and the tauren conversing. At Theramore, he and Baine discussed their problems and their similar situations of being sons of leaders. Through their discussion, both discovered new insights on the difference between right and wrong and what it means to be a leader. Near the end of their discussions, Anduin gave Baine the great mace Fearbreaker. Anduin's reasons behind it being: it had chosen Baine, as it had chosen me.

Elsewhere, Magatha proclaimed herself Chieftain of Thunder Bluff. Knowing that Baine would come to take it back, she sent a message to Orgrimmar, hoping that Garrosh would send troops to repay her loyalty to him. A message later returned from Garrosh refusing aide, his refusal stemmed from his desire to maintain a strong and unified Horde rather than support a faction that had acted treacherously. In a rage, Magatha killed the courier.

Battle for Thunder Bluff

Prior to the battle, Jevan traveled to the goblin port of Ratchet, where he sought out Gazlowe to hire mercenaries, zeppelins, and explosives. Baine learned that Camp Mojache hadn't fallen, but the fighting was ongoing. Magatha recalled her warriors from Bloodhoof Village and Camp Majache to defend Thunder Bluff. Jevan covered the approach of three Zeppelins by summoning a false storm near Thunder Bluff. When the ropes were lowered from the zeppelins, orcs, trolls and tauren rushed into the city. Magatha fought back with her own power of the elements, shooting down one zeppelin with lightning, causing it to crash into Thunder Bluff's flight tower, while High Rise was bombarded heavily with another of the zeppelins. Now on the defensive, Magatha ordered the detonation of the lifts and tried to flee to the Pools of Vision, but the bridge leading to Spirit Rise was cut off. She looked back to see that one of the lifts was destroyed, but the second one was not, and this lift carried Baine into the city, allowing him to confront his father's murderer. Striking her down with Fearbreaker, Baine demanded that she yield, and understanding her defeat was at hand, she did so.

After the battle, Baine ordered that the surviving Grimtotems were to be rounded up and treated for their wounds. Baine spoke of how his father was generous enough to let them stay in Thunder Bluff, and they repaid him with his blood. He spoke to Magatha about how she wanted power and what it takes to be a leader, taking her totem pouch and destroying it to deprive her of her power, at least for a time, knowing that she would have to atone to the elements for the loss of her totems. Baine mused this would be a good lesson in humility, he then exiled her to the Stonetalon Mountains, and presented the rest of her tribe a choice: become permanent members of the Horde with him as their chieftain or follow Magatha in exile. Many of the Grimtotem rose up and took Baine's offer, now recognizing him as their chieftain. Those who remained loyal to Magatha were escorted to Stonetalon by two dozen Bluffwatchers. Baine swore to her, in the event they met again: even the spirit of Cairne Bloodhoof urging me to calmness will not stop me from cutting off your head.

Following the battle, Baine traveled to Thousand Needles to meet with Garrosh. Baine expressed his concerns about Garrosh's leadership style and the aggressive direction in which he was taking the Horde. The tension was palpable, as Baine was wary of Garrosh's ambitions and the potential for further conflict. Baine emphasized the importance of honor and the need for the Horde to uphold values that align with the tauren's beliefs. Seeking to remind Garrosh of the necessity for unity and respect among the different factions of the Horde. Garrosh, in typical fashion, was dismissive of Baine’s concerns and focused on strength and power rather than diplomatic solutions. Despite this, Baine reaffirmed the loyalty of Thunder Bluff to the Horde.

Aftermath

The fallen chieftain.

Adventurers can witness the burial of Cairne during Children's Week.