Troll
- This page is about trolls in general. For the playable races, see troll (playable), and Zandalari troll (playable).
| Trolls | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Faction/Affiliation | Various |
| Character classes |
 Barbarian, Potion doc, Primal, Wilderness Stalker |
| Racial capital |
Historical capitals: Zuldazar (Zandalari) Zul'Aman (forest) Zul'Gurub (jungle) Zul'Farrak (sand) Zul'Drak (ice) Zul'Nazman (blood) |
| Racial leader(s) | See below |
| Racial mount |
 Bat Bear Direhorn Dragonhawk Raptor Rhino Skyscreamer Brutosaur  Turtle (Giant Sea Turtle) |
| Homeworld | Azeroth |
| Environment | Any |
| Area(s) | Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, Northrend, South Seas |
| Language(s) | Zandali, Orcish |
| Organization(s) | Tribes, empires |
“Oh my - as I suspected. Your ancestry dates back to the dawn of the world. Great were the ancient empires of the trolls. I see a spark in your eyes, a powerful will - you wish to be great again, yes?”
Trolls (collectively referred to as trollkind)[2][3] are a diverse sapient race that can be found in every part of Azeroth. They are one of the world's oldest known native races,[4] and are divided into many subgroups adapted to different environments, namely blood trolls, dark trolls, forest trolls, ice trolls, jungle trolls, sand trolls, and Zandalari trolls. Many trolls have no loyalty except amongst their own tribes, but some tribes have joined the Horde in recent years.
In World of Warcraft, only trolls of the Darkspear tribe and Zandalari Empire are playable.
History
Ancient times
At the heart of ancient Kalimdor lay the Well of Eternity, an enormous lake filled with powerful energies. The Well accelerated the cycles of growth and rebirth on the primordial continent, and soon sentient life forms arose from the wilds. The trolls were among the first and most prolific. A race of savage hunter-gatherers who flourished in Azeroth's jungles and forests. The trolls possessed incredible agility and strength. Their unique physiology also allowed them to recover from physical injuries at an astonishing rate, and they could even regenerate lost limbs over time. The early trolls developed a wide array of superstitious customs. Some practiced cannibalism and devoted themselves to warfare. A rare few sought knowledge through mystic practices and meditation. Still others honed their ties to a dark and powerful form of magic known as voodoo.
Yet no matter their individual customs, what all trolls shared was a common religion that revolved around Kalimdor's elusive Wild Gods. The trolls called these powerful beings "loa", and they worshipped them as deities. Due to their reverence for the Wild Gods, the trolls gathered near a series of peaks and plateaus in southern Kalimdor. This was home to many of their honored loa. The trolls gave the holy mountain range the name Zandalar, and soon they built small encampments upon its slopes. The most powerful group of trolls was called the Zandalar tribe. Its members claimed nearly all of Zandalar's tallest plateaus, believing them to be sacred ground. Atop the highest peaks, they constructed a small cluster of crude shrines. In time, these grew into a bustling temple city known as Zuldazar.
Before the days of their empires, the shadow hunters were the leaders of small groups of trolls that over time formed small tribes.[5] Over 20,000 years ago, trolls made villages constructed out of straw huts. Though mainly centered in the southern parts of Kalimdor, they ventured as far north as the Dragon Isles.[6] The first center of troll civilization was in Nazmir.[7] Over time, as trolls gathered in great cities, the influence of the shadow hunters was lessened.[5]
Empire of Zul
Over the next several centuries, other tribes arose to challenge the Zandalari for territory and power. The most notable of these were the fearsome Gurubashi, Amani, and Drakkari. The Gurubashi and Amani in particular laid claim to enormous swaths of land in Kalimdor's lush jungles and woods. On occasion, tribes clashed, often over hunting grounds. Yet major conflicts were few and rarely lengthy. Trolls were such skilled and fierce fighters that any real conflict would cost both sides dearly. Untouched land was plentiful in all directions, and the various tribes quickly learned it was wiser to resettle than risk war. Only one place was forbidden by the tribes' witch doctors and priests: a small mound of blackened stone at the base of the Zandalar Mountains. The lesser tribes built small encampments on Zandalar's slopes, but the most powerful tribe, the Zandalari, claimed the highest peaks and plateaus. There, they built a cluster of shrines that would later come to grow into the temple city of Zuldazar.[4] The tribes would later unite under the first tamer of raptors King Dazar[8] and form the Zandalari empire.[9]
For many years, none of the trolls dared disobey. But curiosity eventually won out. A group of rebellious trolls led by Zan'do, following the whispers of Xal'atath, plumbed the forbidden mound. There, they discovered what they believed to be an undiscovered loa. The trolls performed vile rituals and living sacrifices to awaken the slumbering monstrosity. Roused by the blood offerings, the C'Thraxxi general, Kith'ix, emerged from its long slumber and slaughtered those who had revived it. The awoken C'Thrax looked upon troll civilization with contempt and knew it would delight the Old Gods to see this pitiful civilization reduced to ashes. The C'Thrax reached out with its mind and found a race of creatures it could control—the aqir. In the ages after the fall of the Black Empire, these insectoids had remained hidden in small warrens and tunnels beneath the ground. Kith'ix rallied the aqiri swarms, driving them to make war and establish their dominance over Azeroth once again.[10]
Circa 16,000 BDP, the Aqir and Troll War began. The trolls' experience as hunters made them formidable foes, but the aqiri threat was unlike any they had ever faced. Numerous smaller tribes fell before the unrelenting insectoids' legions. As the aqir encroached perilously close to the Zandalar Mountains, the Zandalari united the disparate troll tribes into a single mighty force, the Empire of Zul. Under the Zandalari's guidance, the other trolls used ambush tactics in the surrounding jungles to whittle down the enemy's numbers. Elsewhere, revered priests summoned the loa to assail their enemies. These ferocious Wild Gods joined the troll warriors in battle, ripping through the aqiri ranks and even wounding Kith'ix. The aqir were forced to retreat before they could mount a proper siege on the sacred mountains.
.jpg)
Though they had driven the aqir away, the Zandalari knew that their enemy still posed a grave threat. At the Zandalari's behest, the other tribes moved out to hunt down the aqir. To permanently end the threat, no corner of the continent could be left unguarded. Thus, the Zandalari convinced the most power-hungry troll factions to establish new strongholds across Azeroth. Chief among these groups were the Amani, Gurubashi, and Drakkari. After defeating the aqir, they could claim the fertile new lands for themselves, without any competition. The ambitious tribes readily agreed. The Drakkari pushed into the frigid north against a colony of aqir, where they also faced corrupted tol'vir, known as "obsidian destroyers." The Gurubashi encountered corrupted titan-forged as well. These trolls had ventured southwest, where the aqir had overrun the prison complex housing the Old God C'Thun. The insectoids had enslaved the anubisath giants who guarded the prison. The insectoids and their mighty anubisaths slaughtered several large Gurubashi encampments. Thereafter, the Zandalari instructed Gurubashi priests to separate their tribe into smaller, more mobile raiding groups instead of large armies. This new tactic allowed them to constantly harass the aqir, bleeding the insectoid armies dry over a period of many years. Meanwhile, the Amani had set out to destroy Kith'ix. In a final savage battle, the entire tribe flung itself in a suicidal attack against Kith'ix and its remaining insectoid minions. Only a tiny fraction of the troll army survived. Atop the site where they had killed Kith'ix, the trolls established a new settlement. It would one day grow into a sprawling temple city known as Zul'Aman.
With the C'Thrax gone, the aqir no longer fought with as much ferocity or purpose. Extermination of the aqir became the trolls' new imperative. After many centuries of brutal fighting, the trolls shattered the aqir empire, containing the insectoids in the far northern and far southern reaches of the continent. Central Kalimdor was permanently scoured of their presence. In time, the trolls proclaimed themselves victorious. Without war to bind them together, the troll factions grew ever more distant and insular. The far-flung strongholds of the different tribes blossomed into vibrant homes, temple cities, and eventually empires in their own right. The Zandalari withdrew to their mountain plateaus to pursue spiritual knowledge, but they would always maintain an immense influence over the disparate troll societies.[11]
Mogu-Zandalari alliance
During the reign of the first mogu emperor, Lei Shen the Thunder King, between 15,000 and 12,200 BDP, the mogu empire quickly drew notice from other civilizations on Azeroth. The Zandalari trolls, in particular, were amazed at the otherworldly powers wielded by the Thunder King. One of the Zandalari's leaders, a revered high priest named Zulathra, saw in the mogu a golden opportunity. The two empires would make each other great and teach each other their secrets. Once they were allied, nothing on Azeroth would dare oppose them. The offer intrigued Lei Shen. They could explore the world from a position of ignorance, or they could ally with the trolls and learn its mysteries quickly. In truth, both leaders plotted betrayal. Zulathra believed the Zandalari could steal Lei Shen's godlike powers once they learned the mogu's secrets, and the Thunder King schemed to enslave the Zandalari the moment they ceased being useful. Yet they kept their plans concealed, even from their own people, and publicly brokered an agreement. In exchange for the Zandalari's knowledge, the mogu would train them in the ways of arcane magic. They also promised the Zandalari a swath of fertile land near the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Lei Shen even made a secret agreement with Zulathra. The Thunder King had devised a method to fully revive his spirit if he was ever killed, but he did not trust his own servants with such knowledge. Without him, the trolls knew they would never fully learn the secrets of the arcane—nor would they be able to claim his awesome power.[12]
Around 12,200 BDP, Lei Shen sought to claim the Forge of Origination in Uldum. So confident was the Thunder King that he invited Zulathra to witness what he claimed would be the mogu empire's greatest victory yet. The elderly Zandalari leader agreed—Lei Shen had artificially extended the troll's life. Almost all of the highest-ranking Zandalari leaders accompanied Zulathra as an honor guard. Lei Shen led his mogu host and the trolls to the west. The guardians of Uldum, the tol'vir, knew that defeating the Thunder King's forces in battle was impossible. As Lei Shen marched toward Uldum, the titan-forged configured the Forge of Origination to scour the nearby land. The tol'vir defenders and nearly every other creature on the surface of Uldum that day died instantly. The deaths of Lei Shen and the upper caste of the Zandalari left massive power vacuums in both empires. Before the tol'vir shrouded Uldum in their grand illusion, a handful of Thunder King loyalists recovered Lei Shen's corpse from the region. They brought it back to the empire and enshrined it within the Tomb of Conquerors. Yet with most of the Zandalari leadership dead, there was no one to revive the Thunder King. The Zandalari spent generations attempting to recover from the losses at Uldum.[13]
Pandaren-Zandalari war
When at long last the mogu empire crumbled following the Pandaren Revolution, the Zandalari saw an opportunity to take what they believed was rightfully theirs. Mengazi, a descendant of the great high priest Zulathra, knew that the pandaren would be unlikely to honor the Zandalari's agreement with the mogu. Circa 11,900 BDP, the trolls marched south, intent on seizing a fertile region north of Kun-Lai Summit. The Zandalari stormed the main settlement in the area. Imbued with mystic powers and riding atop colossal saurian war mounts, the trolls slaughtered almost every single resident of the settlement. The Zandalari ranks then pushed into the Jade Forest, a dense jungle that had become the heart of the newly established pandaren empire. When word of the invasion reached other pandaren settlements, panic seized them. No standing army existed to thwart the trolls. The only real fighting force was an order of monks, charged by the pandaren emperor to patrol the Serpent's Spine and stand against the periodic mantid swarm.
Though the monks raced from the Serpent's Spine to defend their lands against the trolls, they found themselves hopelessly outnumbered and outmaneuvered. The trolls were employing a form of warfare none had ever seen, descending into battle on the backs of reptilian pterrorwings and giant bats. Ultimately, salvation came from a pandaren named Jiang, who had bonded with a cloud serpent hatchling when she was but a child. As the monks fought a losing battle atop the cliffs of the Jade Forest, Jiang and her serpentine companion, Lo, swooped down from the clouds. Lo's fury and fire broke the Zandalari ranks, forcing them to retreat. News of the victory spread throughout the empire, and others followed in Jiang's footsteps. As the tide of the war turned, the trolls knew there was little they could do to win by conventional means, so Mengazi turned to a final tactic: resurrecting the Thunder King. The trolls knew the Thunder King would have the power to purge the troublesome serpent riders and destroy any army on the ground. A pitched battle erupted near the Tomb of Conquerors. Jiang sacrificed herself in a final, desperate attack, killing Mengazi. The other Zandalari soon broke ranks and fled back to their homeland.[14]
Rise of the night elves
Before their war with the aqir, dark trolls lived in a network of deep caverns that stretched beneath Mount Hyjal. They abhorred daylight, only emerging from their underground burrows at night. The dark trolls' nocturnal habits changed them over time, turning their blue-hued skin into shades of gray. The dark trolls cherished their independence from greater troll society, and they largely ignored the activities of other tribes. Unlike their Gurubashi and Amani cousins, they longed for a peaceful connection to the natural world. Dark troll mystics often sought ways to commune with the land and live in harmony with it. In time, as many of these trolls gradually migrated toward the center of Kalimdor, they also discovered the Well of Eternity. Mesmerized by their discovery, they settled along the Well of Eternity's shores. Over generations, the energies radiating from the lake transformed the trolls into highly intelligent and virtually immortal beings, which would later be known as the night elves. They gradually abandoned their ancient heritage and traditions and began worshipping the moon goddess, Elune, who they believed was bound to the Well of Eternity itself.[15]
As time passed, the night elves formed their own empire. During the reign of Queen Azshara, the openly hostile troll nations drew the full attention of the elves. Small, sporadic battles ignited between the two sides. On every occasion, the trolls buckled before the devastating magic wielded by the night elves. Azshara, however, was not interested in conquest. In her eyes, the trolls were a minor nuisance, their battle lust a symptom of primitive and unenlightened minds. Ultimately, the queen struck an accord with the Zandalar tribe, which still held immense influence over all other trolls. In exchange for ending troll incursions into night elf territory, the Zandalari would be allowed to keep the sacred Zandalar Mountains south of the Well of Eternity. The trolls begrudgingly agreed, fully aware that they stood no chance against their enemies' arcane powers. This shameful acquiescence fostered the trolls' deep resentment toward night elves, a bitter hatred that would carry on for generations to come.[16]
Eventually, the night elves were burned by the arcane fires they had sought to control: the elves' reckless use of magic lured the Burning Legion to the world of Azeroth. The demons crushed much of the night elves' civilization. There are few records of the Legion's attacks on troll civilizations. At the end of this terrible conflict, known today as the War of the Ancients, the Well of Eternity imploded. The resulting shockwave shattered ancient Kalimdor into several landmasses and drove the center of the continent far beneath the sea. Large tracts of land that once belonged to the Amani, Gurubashi, and Drakkari empires still exist in the present-day lands of Quel'Thalas, Stranglethorn, and Northrend, respectively.[17] Even the Zandalari suffered from that catastrophic event. Their once-glorious mountain home of Zandalar was swallowed by the sea, leaving nothing more than a small island behind.
Troll Wars
- Main article: Troll Wars
Following the exile of the Highborne by 6,800 BDP, the followers of Dath'Remar Sunstrider had made their way to the Amani-controlled woodlands in the northern part of the landmass that would eventually be called the Eastern Kingdoms. The arrival of the Highborne infuriated the trolls, who sent out raiding parties immediately. Yet the elves pressed forward, using their magical prowess to decimate any Amani who dared cross their path. Despite the trolls' ferocity, the elves finally reached the nexus of ley lines they had been seeking. Dath'Remar proclaimed that this was where they would begin their civilization anew. They called their new land Quel'Thalas. The high elves built their new kingdom atop ancient Amani ruins—ruins still considered hallowed ground by the trolls. Outnumbering the elves by more than ten to one, the Amani struggled ferociously to drive the invaders from their sacred land. The high elves drew on the full might of their newfound nexus of power, barely holding off the trolls' assaults. Bit by bit, the elves carved out the borders of their kingdom from Amani land. The trolls eventually retreated back to their temple city of Zul'Aman, where they plotted revenge.[18]
Millennia later, circa 2,800 BDP, the infighting had spread throughout the Amani tribe, threatening to destroy it from within. The Amani's fortunes soon changed when they received aid from the Zandalari tribe, who saw themselves as the protectors and spiritual leaders of all trolls. They were eager to strengthen troll societies across Azeroth, many of which had languished since the time of the Great Sundering. The Zandalari had honed and perfected their voodoo arts over recent millennia and promised to help the Amani plan for their impending conflict with the high elves. The Zandalari would also ensure that the mighty loa demigods would aid the trolls in battle. To settle matters of leadership, the Zandalari also made one of the Amani's most fearless warriors, Jintha, the ruler of his people. After a series of successful skirmishes, the Amani decided that the time for all-out war had finally come. Without warning, tens of thousands of troll fighters exploded from the shadowy forests. With astonishing speed and ferocity, the Amani laid waste to the outer reaches of Quel'Thalas. The trolls' ultimate victory was only a matter of time.[19]
The high elf king, Anasterian Sunstrider, knew this as well, and so he sent ambassadors to King Thoradin of Arathor. The high elves argued that without assistance from Arathor, the trolls would soon destroy Quel'Thalas. After that, the Amani would launch the full might of their blood-crazed warbands against Strom itself. Soon, the Amani found themselves fighting a war on two fronts, yet Jintha remained confident they would emerge victorious. Intent on destroying Arathor's armies, he turned his warbands south to crush the humans. Weeks of brutal and bloody fighting followed as the overconfident Amani chased Arathor's armies to the mountains. At the same time, the high elves harried the northern flank of the Amani. When the humans and elves were confident they had worn down the Amani ranks, they unleashed their secret weapon: one hundred human magi that had been taught in the ways of the arcane by the elves. The magi pooled their power and wove a single terrible spell. Torrents of fire lashed down from the sky, which engulfed the Amani ranks in a searing conflagration. Among the first of the Amani to be consumed in the enchanted flames was Jintha. Without their leader, the surviving trolls broke ranks and retreated back north to Zul'Aman. The disastrous battle floored the Zandalari emissaries, who skulked back to their island home.[20]
Gurubashi civil war
- Main article: Gurubashi civil war
In the southern reaches of the Eastern Kingdoms, around 1,500 BDP, the Gurubashi jungle trolls languished in poverty and hardship. They had never fully recovered from the destruction wrought by the Sundering. Many hunting and farming grounds were forever lost, and famine was a constant companion for the empire. Desperate to reclaim their former glory, the Gurubashi of Stranglethorn Vale eventually turned to the powerful loa spirits whom the trolls worshipped. One such creature answered their call: Hakkar the Soulflayer, the Loa of Blood. The malevolent spirit promised to help the Gurubashi extend their empire across the lower half of the Eastern Kingdoms. In return, he demanded large numbers of living sacrifices. The Gurubashi who pledged their loyalties to Hakkar became known as the Hakkari. They soundly defeated nearby packs of gnolls and tribes of murlocs, as well as other trolls who opposed Hakkar. Those taken prisoner soon wished they had died in battle; Hakkar's disembodied spirit gorged on the blood of the captives for years. Under the Hakkari's control, the Gurubashi had achieved all they had hoped, conquering vast swaths of land and even many of the islands that dotted the coasts of the South Seas.
The Zandalari, observing these events from afar, were pleased at first with the Gurubashi's return to conquest and traditional worship. Yet once it became clear that Hakkar's bloodlust would never be sated, they knew that the fiendish god would drive not only the troll race to destruction, but the entire world. The Zandalari rallied their forces and set sail for the Eastern Kingdoms. There, they met with Gurubashi trolls who had kept their dissent hidden from the Hakkari. The Zandalari and their new allies learned that a faction of Hakkar's most zealous priests, the Atal'ai, were attempting to summon the loa's spirit into a living form. This, in turn, would awaken terrible new dimensions of his power and spell certain doom for the troll race. Horrified by the Atal'ai's plans, the Zandalari host stormed the Gurubashi capital of Zul'Gurub. Battles raged among the vine-covered ziggurats of the temple city day and night. Finally, atop Hakkar's bloodstained shrine, the Zandalari defeated Hakkar and most of his crazed followers.
Despite this victory, the Zandalari and their allies agreed to remain vigilant for any sign of Hakkar's reappearance. The loa was not truly dead—his spirit had merely been banished from the physical world. A number of his fanatical Atal'ai priests had also escaped into the jungles surrounding Zul'Gurub. These trolls finally settled in the Swamp of Sorrows, north of the Gurubashi capital. In the heart of the wild marshland, they secretly constructed a great temple to their bloodthirsty loa: the Temple of Atal'Hakkar. Deep within the temple, the Atal'ai continued their worship of Hakkar. They practiced grisly rituals and ceremonies, hoping to once again summon the loa into the physical world. Dark magic twisted the flora and fauna surrounding the temple. This, in turn, drew the attention of the green Dragon Aspect, Ysera. Upon learning of the Atal'ai's plans to summon Hakkar, Ysera unleashed her powers on the temple and its inhabitants. The Dragon Aspect's attack buckled the temple's walls and blasted its foundations apart. The immense ziggurat began sinking beneath the land. As the swampy mire engulfed the temple, the terrified Atal'ai abandoned their rituals and scattered into the marshlands. Though Ysera had thwarted Hakkar's return, she knew that the Atal'ai might someday attempt to summon the loa again. Thus, she commanded a number of her loyal green dragons to watch over the ruined temple and ensure it would never again be used to bring such evil into the world.[21]
Liberation of Kezan
- Main article: Liberation of Kezan
After the Sundering, the Zandalari set out to explore the numerous islands that dotted the newly formed sea between Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. It was during these voyages that the trolls discovered Kezan, an isle inhabited by goblins. At first, the two races kept their distance from each other. The Zandalari had come to Kezan in search of a strange mineral called kaja'mite. The consumption of vaporized kaja'mite caused a range of effects, such as heightened senses, hallucinations, and increased intelligence. The trolls greatly valued the mineral and saw it as a sacred component in their rituals and ceremonies. For centuries, they mined from the numerous kaja'mite veins running close to the surface of the island. Occasionally, they employed goblins to work for them, paying with shiny but cheap trinkets that the small creatures prized. The arrangement changed once the trolls discovered an unimaginable deposit of kaja'mite buried deep underground—more than the Zandalari would ever need. Rather than dig for it themselves, they enslaved the goblins and forced them to mine under abysmal conditions.
For thousands of years, the goblins suffered under the yoke of troll oppression, too weak to resist. In the end, it was the kaja'mite itself that led to the goblins' salvation. A cloud of kaja'mite dust always blanketed the mines. Over time, breathing it in awakened the goblins' intelligence and craftiness. Secretly, they plotted the overthrow of their slave masters, using what materials they could find to fashion traps, explosives, and other ingenious weaponry. The troll overseers were caught off guard when the goblin masses stormed from the mines, armed with technology beyond even what the Zandalari possessed. The goblin revolution around 100 BDP shattered the trolls' hold over Kezan, laying waste to their mining operation and leaving behind untold destruction. The surviving Zandalari fled, and the goblins celebrated their new liberation by turning on each other in a mad scramble to fill the void of power.[22]
Gurubashi-Stormwind war
- Main article: Gurubashi War
By 21 BDP, the human kingdom of Stormwind had been pushing south, claiming more and more territory near the jungles of Stranglethorn Vale. That had brought them into conflict with the Gurubashi tribes. The king of Stormwind at the time, Barathen Wrynn, dispatched his forces in a defensive manner, commanding his soldiers to intercept raiding parties but forbidding retaliatory strikes into Gurubashi land. He had no interest in a full-scale war with the trolls. King Barathen's strategy against the trolls was effective for a time, but it could not stop every attack. In 19 BDP, a troll raiding party slipped through Stormwind's patrol lines and cut a path of destruction through Westfall, the kingdom's breadbasket. The king declared that the armies of Stormwind would be bolstered but used only to strengthen their patrol routes. There would be no offensive against the Gurubashi. Prince Llane Wrynn was furious at what he saw as his father's cowardice. Alongside his friends Anduin Lothar and Medivh, the Guardian of Tirisfal, they concocted a plan to take revenge on the trolls. They infiltrated Gurubashi territory and targeted a warlord named Jok'non, who dwelled in a ziggurat in central Stranglethorn. Their plan was to kill him quickly and retreat, leaving the trolls without a leader. However, Jok'non and his followers had been experimenting with forbidden blood magic derived from Hakkar the Soulflayer. The three humans soon found themselves in a brutal fight for their lives. Jok'non's dark power nearly overwhelmed them until Medivh was forced to unleash his full might, which killed every single troll inside the ziggurat.
In 18BDP, the Gurubashi came together under the banner of the slain warlord's son, Zan'non, and marched to war against Stormwind. It had been centuries since the Gurubashi tribes had fought as one, and the humans were utterly unprepared for their fury. Within days, Stormwind's southern defensive lines crumbled before the Gurubashi onslaught. King Barathen recalled all forces to the gates of Stormwind City. Zan'non had learned some of his father's forbidden tricks and had used them to transform a few Gurubashi into hulking berserkers possessed of otherworldly strength. These mutated giants climbed Stormwind's walls and proceeded to rip its soldiers to pieces. As the death toll on both sides mounted quickly, King Barathen mounted a desperate counterattack with his personal guards. He stormed directly into the front lines, seeking Zan'non's head. King Barathen died on the field of battle. As Stormwind's forces fell into disarray, Llane pleaded with Medivh to unleash his power as he had done before, believing it was the only way to spare the city. Medivh stood upon Stormwind City's ramparts and rained fire and ice upon the Gurubashi. When Medivh called off his arcane barrage, Stormwind City still stood. The Gurubashi and their leader were dead. Only a handful of trolls escaped the maelstrom of magic.[23]
First War
When the Orcish Horde invaded Azeroth, starting the First War, Chieftain Kilrogg Deadeye and his Bleeding Hollow forged into the western jungles of Stranglethorn Vale, aiming to claim it for themselves. Just as when the humans had violated their land years earlier, the Gurubashi trolls united to fight back this new threat. In the thick jungle, the fighting was unspeakably vicious. The trolls knew ways to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies, but so did the Bleeding Hollow. Even so, the Bleeding Hollow were at a severe disadvantage. They seemed to outnumber the Gurubashi in every skirmish, but the trolls knew the land too well. Had the Gurubashi not been so weakened by their attack on Stormwind—and by Medivh's defense of the city—they might have matched the Horde in strength. Yet the trolls could not muster the numbers to do anything but wage a guerrilla campaign in the jungles. But that was enough. When the leader of the Horde, Warchief Blackhand, found out how many orcs were dying in Stranglethorn Vale—for no apparent gain—he ordered the Bleeding Hollow to retreat and join the fight against the humans. The Gurubashi did not pursue the orcs out of the jungle. The trolls remained inside their own territory, ever on alert for another invasion.[24]
Second War
During the Second War, in 5 ADP, the Amani trolls rejoiced upon learning of Stormwind's destruction by the Horde. Some of them indicated that they would join the Horde in exchange for Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer's aid. The Amani ruler, Warlord Zul'jin, had been captured by humans and shackled in a prison near a town in the Hillsbrad Foothills.[25] Orc scouts discovered Zul'jin's whereabouts in Durnholde Keep. As battles continued across Hillsbrad in 6 ADP against the human Alliance that was formed following the fall of Stormwind, Doomhammer led a raiding party to rescue Zul'jin. After freeing Zul'jin, Doomhammer invited him and the rest of his people to join the Horde. At first, Zul'jin balked at the proposal. Doomhammer was quick to allay Zul'jin's fears about leadership. He and Doomhammer would stand as equals against their enemies. Doomhammer finally won Zul'jin's support with an offer: if the Amani committed their forces to the Horde, the orcs would help them annihilate their rivals, the high elves of Quel'Thalas.
Attacking Quel'Thalas meant moving farther north from Lordaeron's capital, which was the ultimate goal. But to win the war, Doomhammer would need the Amani's support. Doomhammer ordered the Horde to turn east and funnel through a narrow mountain pass into the Hinterlands. The trolls led the orcs on a path that would take them over the northern mountains and into Quel'Thalas. En route, Zul'jin rallied the local Amani trolls to his side.[26] Once they had finally reached Quel'Thalas, Zul'jin also visited Zul'Aman to gather more troops. Thousands of trolls, adorned in enchanted talismans and ritual tattoos, streamed out of Zul'Aman and took their place alongside Orgrim's Horde. The marauding army decimated the kingdom's outer holdings in short order. As the army advanced north, they found that many death knights and Amani witch doctors were unable to wield their magic. This was caused by Ban'dinoriel, the magic Runestone shield erected by the elves when they founded their kingdom. However, the orc warlock Gul'dan managed to find a way to disrupt the barrier by dismantling one of the Runestones.[27]
With the Runestone desecrated, the orc and troll spellcasters regained their powers. The Horde stormed toward Quel'Thalas's capital, Silvermoon City. They terrorized the countryside, pillaging settlements and cutting down every elf they found. When they reached Silvermoon, the elves erected a magic shield powered by the Sunwell, the mystical fount of power at the heart of the kingdom. The Horde smashed against the shield again and again, but the barrier did not give way. Orgrim's patience was wearing thin. Zul'jin and the Amani rejected the warchief's call to go west. Zul'jin vowed that he would attack Lordaeron's capital only after all of Quel'Thalas was in flames and he held King Anasterian's severed head in his hands. Losing the trolls now, at this critical moment, could spell doom for the Horde. Gul'dan convinced Orgrim and Zul'jin that the Stormreaver clan had found a new way to destroy the barrier around Silvermoon City. Once the Stormreavers had succeeded, the elven city would fall; the trolls could sate their appetite for vengeance, and then they could rejoin the Horde.[28]
Gul'dan had no real interest in helping the Amani or Doomhammer, however. A few days after the Warchief marched to Lordaeron's capital, Gul'dan gathered his allies and revealed his plans to seek out the Tomb of Sargeras instead. The Amani trolls didn't answer Gul'dan's call. They continued their siege on the elven capital.[29] Because of Gul'dan's deception, the war eventually turned in favor of the Alliance, and they pushed the Horde back, culminating in a final battle at Blackrock Mountain. While the Alliance was besieging Blackrock Spire, King Anasterian led the effort to drive the Amani trolls from Quel'Thalas. The battles were costly, but the elves managed to defeat the Amani.[30]
Third War
In 20 ADP, during the Third War, Warchief Thrall of the New Horde and his people took refuge on a chain of islands while on their journey to Kalimdor after a monstrous storm battered their ships. The storm had also blown part of Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore's fleet to the islands; the commander of the Alliance Navy, who had been tracking the orcs. Moreover, the caverns beneath the isles were home to a naga sorceress known as Zar'jira. The serpentine creature commanded an army of primitive fishlike beings called murlocs. But Thrall did not face these dangers alone. He forged an unexpected alliance with another race that called the islands home: the Darkspear trolls. The Darkspears had been part of the fragmented Gurubashi empire in Stranglethorn Vale. For centuries, near-constant famine and warfare had plagued the trolls. The Darkspears were not savage and ruthless like the other tribes, and that made them easy targets. They had suffered immense cruelty at the hands of their fellow Gurubashi before finally abandoning Stranglethorn. The Darkspears sailed west and settled on a remote string of islands. Thrall felt an immediate kinship with the Darkspears and their wise and elderly chieftain, Sen'jin. The Horde and the Darkspears fought shoulder to shoulder on two fronts: one against the humans, the other against Zar'jira and her scaly followers. Thrall and his allies prevailed, but not without great cost. Among the fallen was Sen'jin. In honor of the late chieftain, Thrall invited the Darkspears into the Horde. The trolls accepted, seeing little future on their war-torn island home. After repairing their vessels, the orcs continued across the Great Sea. Many Darkspear trolls joined them, but others remained behind for the time being. Leadership of the tribe fell to Sen'jin's son, a young shadow hunter named Vol'jin. He rallied what was left of his people and gathered as many supplies as he could. Then he struck out west after the Horde, hoping against hope that he and his tribe would find peace in the distant lands of Kalimdor.[31]
As part of the Horde, the Darkspear would go on to fight in the Third War, culminating in a bitter battle against the Burning Legion on Mount Hyjal in 21 ADP.[32] After the war, the orcs founded a new nation in a desolate desert region Thrall named Durotar, while the Darkspear carved out a home to the south, on the Echo Isles. The Darkspears were not to know peace for long. After the Third War, Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore led a large fleet of battleships against Thrall's forces on Durotar. Under heavy attack, the trolls were forced to evacuate to the mainland of Durotar, but the Horde managed to defeat the misguided admiral.
Much relieved, the Darkspear trolls began returning to the Echo Isles, only to be betrayed by one of their own. A witch doctor named Zalazane used dark magic to rob several other trolls of their free will, forcing them to obey him. Fearing that all of his people would fall to Zalazane's sorcery, Vol'jin ordered the tribe to abandon the Echo Isles. Thus, the free Darkspear trolls left the islands and created the fishing village of Sen'jin on the Durotar coast, just northwest of the Echo Isles. The Darkspears and their allies would frequently strike at Zalazane's holdings on the Echo Isles, determined to win back the trolls' first home on Kalimdor. Meanwhile, Zalazane would not give up in his efforts to enslave his entire tribe, and so he continued to send his trolls to the mainland in order to drag further Darkspears under his sway.[33]
World of Warcraft
Despite the loss of their home, the Darkspear tribe expanded with Horde settlements following the Third War. In 25 ADP, Alliance and Horde adventurers would face various troll tribes across the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. At the same time, an old threat started stirring once again. More than a thousand years ago, Ysera and her green dragonflight had intervened when the Atal'ai had tried to summon Hakkar the Soulflayer to Azeroth. But the green dragons, whose duty it was to guard the Sunken Temple, were subtly being affected by the Emerald Nightmare. The descendants of the Atal'ai trolls returned to the temple and found 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 Azeroth again. A green dragon named Itharius called for help from the Cenarion Circle, and the druids sent an Alliance force to cleanse the temple. These champions slaughtered many Atal'ai adherents and put an end to their rituals.[34]
The Zandalari trolls were shocked to learn about the attempt to summon Hakkar. They believed the Loa of Blood's return would herald a dark time for their people. The Zandalari were pleased to hear that the Atal'ai had been defeated in the Sunken Temple, but their relief soon turned to horror. Some of Hakkar's adherents had survived, and they were continuing their quest. They had quietly infiltrated Zul'Gurub and enslaved the minds of many of their most powerful priests. Together, the Atal'ai and their unwilling servants were performing grisly rituals to draw Hakkar into the world. Not all trolls in the region fell under the Atal'ai's sway. Some launched an offensive to retake Zul'Gurub, but it ended in failure. The mighty trolls who fearlessly stormed the capital never returned. Instead, the Atal'ai captured and enslaved them, too. The Atal'ai and their leader, Jin'do the Hexxer, were growing more powerful by the day. The Zandalari knew that they did not have the resources to scour them from Zul'Gurub. They sent word through the Darkspear trolls that the Horde needed to act immediately. If the Atal'ai completed their summoning of Hakkar, it would throw the world into chaos. Thrall ordered a large strike force to respond to the threat. The battle for Zul'Gurub was costly and brutal. The Horde charged into the temple city, hacking through masses of Atal'ai and their enslaved followers. Though they slew Jin'do the Hexxer, his death came too late to stop Hakkar from entering the world. The Loa of Blood manifested as a force of death and insanity, but the champions prevailed, using Hakkar's own magic to defeat it.[35]
The Burning Crusade
During the invasion of Outland in 26 ADP, as the Horde and the Alliance were waging war on Illidan Stormrage's forces, Warlord Zul'jin and his Amani trolls prepared to march on Quel'Thalas. Zul'jin had been captured by the elves following the Amani defeat in the Second War; though he managed to escape, he lost an eye and an arm in the ordeal.[36] Since then, he and the Amani had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to launch a new full-out assault. With most of Quel'Thalas's soldiers occupied on Outland, that opportunity was now. Zul'jin was a cunning leader, and his attack was motivated by hatred of Quel'Thalas as well as strategic reasons. The blood elves, as the high elves had come to call themselves following their decimation by the Scourge during the Third War, had recently joined the Horde, which had granted them more power and resources. Zul'jin believed Quel'Thalas would inevitably convince its new allies to strike at the Amani empire. Within the Amani capital, Zul'Aman, troll priests performed rituals to harness the power of their loa. These mighty creatures roamed the city in the form of giant beasts. Their energies suffused the troll soldiers, transforming them into living embodiments of the loa. The Horde was desperate not to fight a war on two fronts—Outland and Quel'Thalas. The faction's mightiest champions volunteered to storm Zul'Aman. They did not have the strength to face the trolls' army directly, but they had no need to. The Horde's strike force cut off the serpent's head, killing Zul'jin and his priests before their rampage in Quel'Thalas could even begin.[37]
Wrath of the Lich King
During the war against the Lich King in 27 ADP, the Scourge invaded Zul'Drak after Drak'Tharon Keep fell due to Drakuru's betrayal.[38] The Scourge used it as a base to strike Zul'Drak and Grizzly Hills.[39] Desperate, the Drakkari turned on their own loa for power.[40] Gods like Sseratus, Rhunok, Mam'toth, and Quetz'lun were sacrificed, their deaths leaving devastation.[41] Only Har'koa survived, aided by Witch Doctor Khufu.[42] The Drakkari resisted fiercely, even destroying Kolramas,[43] while Drakuru was granted control of Voltarus, where he was ultimately betrayed and killed.[44]
The Zandalari came only to observe the empire's fall. At Zim'Torga, Har'koa sent adventurers to slay Warlord Zol'Maz and retrieve the key to free the last loa.[45] In Gundrak, the last loa, Akali, was slain by his prophet. The Drakkari stronghold fell soon after.[46]
Cataclysm
Cultures across Azeroth reeled from the Cataclysm caused by the Black Aspect Deathwing in 28 ADP, but some suffered more than others. Earthquakes and tidal upheaval rocked the Zandalari trolls, causing widespread devastation on Zandalar. Following these natural disasters, a strange force began assaulting the trolls—an enemy from the past. These events were only the latest in a string of hardships that had weakened the trolls. For millennia, the trolls had known little more than war and famine. A mysterious prophet known as Zul arose to help his people. He had seen troubling visions of his island home sinking beneath the waves, and he urged the trolls to abandon Zandalar and embark on a new destiny. The Cataclysm had caused political upheaval across the world, and Zul saw that as an opportunity. The Zandalari could take advantage of the chaos to unite the scattered troll tribes into a mighty empire and establish themselves as Azeroth's preeminent power, like in ancient times.
The Zandalari's ruler, King Rastakhan, did not heed Zul's advice to abandon their home, but he did give him permission to take the tribe's fleet and bring along anyone else who wanted to join him. Other troll tribes throughout the world embraced Zul's call, including the Gurubashi and Amani. With the Zandalari's guidance, they rebuilt their shattered nations and readied themselves for war. Zul reached out to Vol'jin and his Darkspear trolls as well, hoping to win their support. This proved to be a grave mistake. Not only did Vol'jin reject the offer, but he also moved to end the Zandalari's warmongering. Vol'jin was not as hostile to the Alliance as the new Warchief of the Horde, Garrosh Hellscream. Seeing the wisdom in cooperation, he recruited heroes from the Alliance and the Horde to crush the ascendant troll empire. They succeeded, but that did not deter Zul. He would continue to search for ways to assert troll dominion over the world.[47]
Mists of Pandaria
As the Alliance and Horde were exploring the continent of Pandaria in 30 ADP, word of its rediscovery reached the Zandalari trolls as well. By the hundreds, these Zandalari boarded ships and set sail to conquer the long-lost continent. They planned to retake their ancient holdings in Pandaria—land the mogu once promised to them—by any means necessary. Though Zul did not initially lead the Zandalari expedition, he would take over as their forces dwindled, all the while keeping the full extent of his plans from King Rastakhan. He knew that Rastakhan would not sanction his vision of global conquest, but he also knew that the Zandalari's chances of defeating both the Alliance and the Horde in a fair fight were slim. After all, the mogu had tried and failed once already to revive their ancient empire. But the mogu's leaders had been weak. Zul was strong, and he knew where to find an ally who would surpass anything the mogu could offer. The fearsome Thunder King, Lei Shen, had been buried beneath the Kun-Lai Summit. His body, fully intact, lay within the ancient Tomb of Conquerors. Zul planned to steal the body from its resting place and use his mystic powers to resurrect the Thunder King. With Lei Shen at their side, the ambitious prophet was confident the Zandalari could defeat any foe. Wandering champions from the Horde and Alliance nearly caught wind of this treachery when they accompanied Lorewalker Cho to the Mogu'shan Vaults in Kun-Lai. They destroyed much of the mogu's cache of ancient weaponry but failed to uncover the extent of Zul's scheme. By the time anyone pieced together the Zandalari plot, it was already too late: Zul and his allies had absconded with the Thunder King's body. They took it back to their base in the far north, on the Isle of Reckoning, and wove a dark spell to resurrect the fallen king.[48]
With Lei Shen once again walking the face of Azeroth, mogu and Zandalari alike gathered at an old mogu fortress on the Isle of Thunder. From his ancient throne, Lei Shen convened his war council. The combined forces of the Alliance and Horde set out for the Throne of Thunder, determined to end the mogu and Zandalari threats once and for all. The heroes faced heavy odds, fighting Lei Shen in his ancient seat of power, fortified by his armies, ancient weaponry, and magic. His Zandalari allies were fearsome fighters, outfitted with formidable mounts and their finest tools of war.[49]
Darkspear rebellion
Around the same time that the Zandalari became active in Pandaria, the Horde army, under the direct supervision of Warchief Hellscream, built the massive fortress of Domination Point on a small island off the coast of the Krasarang Wilds. A place that would act as a base for the Horde's future conquests. Vol'jin, who had also come to Krasarang Wilds to keep the warchief in check, expressed concerns that Garrosh's aggression and idle threats would only further alienate the pandaren from the Horde and its cause. His words were lost on the single-minded warchief.[50] During the Cataclysm, Hellscream took advantage of the chaos created to seize massive swaths of land across the world for the Horde. Vol'jin was disgusted by Garrosh's aggression. He ordered the Darkspear trolls to depart from the Horde capital in Orgrimmar and return to their home of the Echo Isles.[51] Not one to tolerate voices of dissent, Hellscream sent Vol'jin on a "mission” alongside his Kor'kron to obtain a powerful weapon in their fight against the Alliance, which turned out to be mogu flesh-shaping magic that had been used to create the saurok. When Vol'jin refused to be party to its use, Garrosh's minions attempted to assassinate him before a champion of the Horde came to the rescue. Vol'jin urged the champion to tell the warchief that the Darkspear chieftain was dead and seek others sympathetic to rebellion. Vol'jin eventually found refuge in the Shado-Pan Monastery. Knowing that without drastic action, the Darkspear trolls would discover what had happened and seek to avenge their fallen leader, Garrosh ordered Horde troops to surround the Echo Isles, locking the trolls within their own home.[50]
Once Vol'jin completed his recovery among the Shado-Pan, it was time to return to the Echo Isles and face Garrosh. Unfortunately, before he could leave, the monastery fell under siege. The Zandalari trolls were moving south through Kun-Lai amid their conquest. The leader of one contingent—a prophet named Khal'ak—had stumbled upon the monastery while leading her troops across the Kun-Lai slopes. She immediately began working to claim the Shado-Pan's resources for her people. After capturing several prisoners, Khal'ak used them to invite Vol'jin to talk. She knew that Vol'jin held no love for Garrosh and that the Darkspear tribe could handsomely bolster the Zandalari forces. To sway the Darkspear leader to her cause, Khal'ak offered him a vision of a united troll empire to rival the glory of ancient times, one that would see the Darkspear liberated and elevated above all others. For a time, doubts clouded Vol'jin's mind as he traveled with the Zandalari and mogu, considering Khal'ak's request. In the end, he rejected the prophet's offer. These Zandalari invaders were mired in the past, in pursuit of a flawless ideal from a bygone age. Vol'jin rejoined the Shado-Pan and fought to repel the Zandalari invaders. The battle was hard-fought, but in the end the pandaren emerged victorious, and Vol'jin bested Khal'ak in battle.[52]
After receiving Vol'jin's message, Thrall ventured to the Echo Isles with the Horde champion who had delivered it. Thrall and the champion dispatched Garrosh's Kor'kron guards, rallying the Darkspear as they made their way across the isles. Vol'jin returned home to find his people liberated, but their fight was not over, not while Garrosh held control of the Horde. In open rebellion, Vol'jin and Thrall took the Darkspear and any rebels who dared accompany them to the mainland and Durotar. They would burn their way from Sen'jin Village to Orgrimmar if that was what it took. Along the way, they mustered support from the other factions of the Horde, as well as High King Varian Wrynn, who was happy to lend the Alliance's strength to a Horde rebellion.[53] Following Garrosh's deposition after the Siege of Orgrimmar, Vol'jin asked Thrall to return and lead their people. Thrall nominated Vol'jin instead—it was he who had sparked the rebellion and who had held the Horde together when Garrosh threatened to tear them apart. The other Horde leaders gave their assent, and Vol'jin was elevated to the position of warchief.[54]
Battle for Azeroth
As the Fourth War raged on Azeroth in 33 ADP, Talanji, princess of the Zandalari Empire, and the royal prophet, Zul, had been sailing to Orgrimmar to discuss an alliance with the Horde. The island's Zanchuli Council was failing in its duty to protect the kingdom from the encroachment of blood trolls, and her father, King Rastakhan, was beset by enemies at court seeking to undermine him. Her ship was captured by the Alliance, however, and Talanji and Zul were held in the Stormwind Stockade under suspicion of having Horde sympathies. Following the siege of Lordaeron, Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner sought to secure new allies—and, specifically, a new fleet—for the Horde. She assembled a covert team of operatives to Stormwind City to retrieve Talanji and her retinue. The Horde strike team managed to infiltrate the city and rescue Talanji and Zul, though not without alerting the Alliance. After escaping the city and destroying the pursuing Alliance ships, the group reached the shores of Zuldazar.[55]
Rastakhan was grateful to the Horde for saving his daughter's life and was willing to entertain the idea of cooperation in the wider war effort. But his advisors in the Zanchuli Council plotted against both the Horde and Rastakhan himself. The Horde's actions in Zandalar would need to speak louder than their words or intentions for the Golden Fleet. Chief among Talanji's concerns were the blood trolls of Nazmir, who threatened Zuldazar's northern border; the plotting of Jakra'zet in the deserts of Vol'dun; and the Zanchuli council itself, led by the prophet Zul. Zul had already dedicated—and lost—significant Zandalari forces amid his failed invasion of Pandaria. Though Zul had hidden the full extent of his expedition from Rastakhan, his ambitions were apparent. Rastakhan appointed the Horde champion who had accompanied his daughter as Speaker of the Horde, and directed them to assist in shoring up Zandalar.[56]
The ancient practice of blood magic had been quietly spreading through the swamps of Nazmir. The blood trolls worshipped the loa G'huun, unknowing that G'huun was not a loa at all, but a creature of the Void. Millennia ago, the titans had created G'huun while researching how to destroy the Old Gods. In their experiments, however, the titans inadvertently created the very thing they had vowed to destroy: an experiment probing the Old God's hunger for corruption had yielded the very embodiment of that voracious appetite. Realizing the gravity of their miscalculation, the titans sealed away G'huun in Uldir, but over the countless centuries, G'huun had broken two of its three wards, fouling the minds of those trolls living above its prison. They perceived it as a loa, worshipped it as the Blood God, and called themselves blood trolls. Many horrors were perpetrated by those who followed G'huun, and they dedicated their lives to pleasing and freeing it. Deathwing's Cataclysm had ravaged Zandalar with earthquakes and monstrous tides, and these disasters only weakened G'huun's bonds and further emboldened the blood trolls. They began to assault the Blood Gate, a fortification separating Nazmir from the Zandalari capital of Zuldazar. To remedy the situation, Talanji volunteered to lead an expedition to the swamps of Nazmir, taking the Speaker of the Horde and Rokhan of the Darkspear with her. In Nazmir, they witnessed the true threat that the blood trolls posed, and with the help of the local loa and other allies they defeated Grand Ma'da Ateena, the leader of the blood trolls.[57]
With Nazmir temporarily settled, the Horde turned its attention to General Jakra'zet. Jakra'zet was a Sandfury troll, the only one of his race to serve on the Zanchuli Council. He had accompanied the Prophet Zul to Pandaria, where he earned renown as a master of martial strategy. Talanji had held suspicions about his loyalty for some time, particularly as he exiled any of his detractors to die in the deserts of Vol'dun. Long ago, Vol'dun had been a lush jungle inhabited by trolls as well as a serpentine race known as the sethrak. They worshipped the loa Sethraliss. Amid the Empire of Zul and the Awakening of the Aqir roughly sixteen thousand years ago, Sethraliss had nobly died fighting one of the Old Gods' generals, Mythrax the Unraveler. Mythrax had broken the second seal that imprisoned G'huun, and the sethrak feared Mythrax might one day return to finish this task and release the Old God. As millennia passed, some sethrak, calling themselves the Faithless, abandoned the worship of Sethraliss. They sought to rule Zandalar and determined the quickest path to this goal was to free the very enemy he had once sealed away. In this, they and General Jakra'zet became allies, inching closer to the moment when they would release Mythrax and herald the coming of G'huun. Talanji dispatched the Speaker of the Horde to gather evidence of Jakra'zet's treachery. In Vol'dun, though they managed to defeat Jakra'zet and his sethreak allies, they were too late to stop the reawakening of Mythrax.[58]
The speaker returned to Zuldazar with these grave tidings, but this only further fractured the Zanchuli Council. While the council squabbled, the capital was coming undone. King Rastakhan dispatched the speaker to set various matters to rest about the city. Their first order of business regarded one of Zul's renegade pupils, Vol'jamba, who was holed up with his followers, spouting dire prophecies and amassing resources. The speaker then turned their attention to Yazma, spymistress to the crown, whose spies had told her of blood magic being practiced in the sacred temple of Zanchul. Zul next directed the speaker to the Port of Zandalar. Talanji had recently opened the port to all races to peddle their wares, but these merchants weren't being protected by the harbor's guards. Finally, an urgent dispatch came from Warport Rastari, now under siege by mogu led by Warlord Kao, one of the top generals of the Thunder King. Clearing the docks of the mogu, however, they learned that this attack was merely a distraction amid a larger scheme.
The speaker returned amid a coup attempt: As Rastakhan was handed the coded message of Zul, Yazma, and Jakra'zet's treachery, Spymistress Yazma struck down the messenger. When Rastakhan ordered his guards to seize the traitor, Zul stabbed his king from behind. Rastakhan fell, gravely wounded. The prophet spoke of a vision of the Zandalari Empire rising again, but this time, it would be fueled by blood: All would bow to G'huun. Zul's treachery cut deep; his coup had been years in planning. Steps ahead of the crown, he had leaked the locations of Zandalari troops to Grand Ma'da Ateena's blood trolls, and he had connected the Faithless with General Jakra'zet. Now, all knew that he had pledged his fealty to both G'huun and the Old Gods. As he spoke, Zul became infused with Void energy, readying to strike the killing blow against his king. But at the last moment, the loa Pa'ku appeared, spiriting Rastakhan away to safety.
With help from his loyalists and the Horde, Rastakhan's menders were able to heal his body, but his soul had already gone to Bwonsamdi. His patron, Rezan, the Loa of Kings, confronted the Loa of Death, and with some bargaining, Bwonsamdi agreed to release Rastakhan's soul. Rastakhan's forces rode for the Temple of the Prophet, Zul's stronghold. There, the whole of his plan was laid bare: he would journey to Kings' Rest, where all the kings of Zandalar were entombed, and awaken the first ruler of their empire: Dazar. When the group encountered Zul and Yazma in the golden city, the prophet ensnared Rezan, the Loa of Kings, in a blood magic ritual which destroyed the loa and then raised him as an undead terror. The group was forced to defeat what he had become. After slaying the dark loa, the heroes exacted their revenge on Yazma, the fallen spymistress and high priestess who had consumed her own patron loa, Shadra.
Rastakhan bade the speaker continue onward into the depths of Kings' Rest, while he tended to urgent matters. With Rezan's death, he needed to choose a new patron, one with the power to defeat his many enemies. The answer came to him: Bwonsamdi, the loa from whom no troll could escape, even Zul. Desperate for his aid, Rastakhan bonded his entire bloodline to Bwonsamdi to serve the loa in life and death. The speaker and Talanji knew none of this. They had ventured ahead, where Zul's corrupt magic had risen the great King Dazar. Downing the temple's many defenses, the speaker encountered the newly risen king and ultimately put his spirit to rest. The heroes did not find Zul among the bones in Kings' Rest, however.
Back in Zuldazar, Zul renewed his ambitions. His allies in the capital may have been depleted, but his resources in Nazmir and Vol'dun had barely come to fruition. At the Blood Gate, the voice of G'huun called on all its allies to shatter the final seal on its prison—located in the palace at Dazar'alor—the heart of the capital. Though the Zandalari and their allies mounted a valiant defense, the fate of the city seemed to be decided: Zul further empowered Mythrax, who rose to monstrous proportions, towering over the city. Rastakhan cried out for Bwonsamdi, demanding the loa grant him his full power. Infused with the might of the death loa, Rastakhan was able to slay Zul. It was too late however—Mythrax shattered the final seal on G'huun's prison.[59]
Early in the war, Brann Bronzebeard and a group of powerful Alliance champions had traveled to Nazmir in hopes of recruiting the blood trolls. Once Brann learned that G'huun had been released from its prison, he accompanied heroes of the Alliance into Uldir to confront the Blood God. Princess Talanji was similarly leading the Horde champions into the ancient titan facility. Following the Zandalari's successful defense of Dazar'alor, Mythrax had returned to Uldir, deep beneath the swamps of Nazmir, to herald its new master's coming. The Blood God had turned its former cage into a fortress, freeing other imprisoned titan experiments and corrupting the facility's constructs. G'huun and Mythrax also resurrected the dark prophet Zul, who wove further spells to turn the titan creations of Uldir to G'huun's purposes. However, in the end, all of them, even G'huun, fell before the heroes' might. With the problems in Zandalar put to rest, Rastakhan and Talanji pledged their Golden Fleet to the Horde.[60]
Tides of Vengeance
After dealing with the Void threat at the heart of Uldir, the Horde and Alliance turned their focus back to the war. Chief among the Alliance's concerns was the Horde's new partners in Zandalar, including the Golden Fleet that rivaled that of Kul Tiras. Landing in the Far Reach, the Alliance forces took Zalamar from the remaining blood trolls. With the area secure, they used the Abyssal Scepter to create a dense fog that blanketed the sea. Under this cover, they spread their decoy forces thin to surprise the Zandalari stationed in Nazmir. While the bulk of the army returned to the Kul Tiran fleet, the decoy Alliance force pushed all the way to the Blood Gate, forcing the Zandalari to react. Rastakhan agreed to lend his forces to the Horde to repel the incursion. Princess Talanji bade the champions mobilize the Golden Fleet and repel the invaders from Nazmir.
At first, their efforts seemed successful, but just as Princess Talanji and her forces found the source of the dense fog she realized they had all been tricked. Their absence had provided a window for the Kul Tiran ships to sail straight into the capital. The Alliance's assault went almost uncontested, and they successfully fought their way to the steps of the royal palace. With yet more enemies closing in, Rastakhan called upon Bwonsamdi's aid to tip the battle in his favor. The loa obliged, creating a blood moon and raising the dead to rejoin the fight. Even so, the Alliance breached the palace and confronted the king, demanding his surrender. Rastakhan refused and once again called upon the loa Bwonsamdi to grant him power. Champions of the Alliance had no choice but to slay Rastakhan; thus, the long-lived king fell to the Alliance, who fled the city just as the Horde began to muster its defenses. In the aftermath of the battle, the surviving citizens of Dazar'alor held a funeral to commemorate their fallen king.[61]
Across the Great Sea, following Rastakhan's funeral, Horde heroes and faction leaders witnessed the ascension of Talanji as Zandalar's new queen. The coronation would not proceed as smoothly as the funeral had. Those who opposed Talanji had been inciting the populace from the shadows, and now many openly and vocally protested her coronation. Riots broke out in the Zocalo, and the would-be queen herself was attacked. Fortunately, the Horde stepped in to quell the violence and restore peace to the proceedings. Before she could be crowned, Talanji had to pass the scrutiny of four powerful loa, Bwonsamdi among them. True to his nature, Bwonsamdi offered Talanji a deal: he would release her from the bond of servitude that her father had placed upon their entire bloodline. All he wanted in exchange was Warchief Sylvanas's head. Talanji immediately rejected his proposal. The Horde had aided her as it had promised. Betraying its warchief would be an honorless act. Talanji's first act as queen was to demand an appearance in the royal court from the Horde warchief herself. She agreed to lend aid, provided she and Sylvanas stood together as equals; Sylvanas acquiesced.[62]
Shadows Rising
In the wake of the Fourth War, during one of the Horde Council's first meetings, an assassin attempted to take the life of Queen Talanji. It was only narrowly prevented by Zekhan, the young Darkspear troll who had been mentored by Varok Saurfang. The Zandalari queen had been considering leaving the council altogether; she was not supportive of the armistice, which denied her vengeance for her father's death. The young queen returned to Zandalar, where she considered severing all ties to the Horde. The Horde Council launched an investigation into the assassination, appointed Zekhan their ambassador, and dispatched him to Zandalar.
The assassination attempt had been instigated by a group calling themselves the Widow's Bite. These trolls disapproved of their queen's association with the Loa of Death and tried to kill Talanji a second time. Bwonsamdi wished for Zandalar to stay with the Horde, and so he reached out to Zekhan. Zekhan agreed to do his best to ensure that outcome. The Horde eventually learned that dark rangers—including Sylvanas's champion, Nathanos Blightcaller—were bolstering the Widow's Bite rebels under Sylvanas's direct orders to slay Bwonsamdi. Bwonsamdi ruled The Other Side, a unique pocket dimension specific to trolls in the Shadowlands. With the Fourth War, many trolls had died, and Bwonsamdi had done his best to keep his newly dead followers from slipping into the Maw, where they could be used to empower the Jailer and his Mawsworn armies. Sylvanas had been tasked with eliminating him. The rebels worked blood magic to weaken shrines to the Loa of Death, preventing him from aiding his queen and weakening her in turn.
Talanji vowed to rid the island of her enemies, beseeching the Horde for help. Darkspear Chieftain Rokhan answered the call, as he had throughout the Fourth War. Amid final preparations, Bwonsamdi surprised the queen by agreeing to release her from the deal her father, Rastakhan, had made, knowing that if the loa weakened further, her life would be imperiled. The troll queen and her army faced the rebels at the necropolis of Bwonsamdi. The battle was hard-fought, but the queen's forces—in partnership with the Horde—forced the Widow's Bite to yield. In the aftermath of the battle, Talanji met with Bwonsamdi to reinstate their agreement with some revisions: He would remain her loa, but Bwonsamdi would relinquish his say in some matters so that the other loa could shape Zandalar's future. In a gesture of goodwill, Bwonsamdi summoned the spirit of Rastakhan, granting the late king a chance to speak with his daughter. Knowing her father was at peace and seeing the value of her partnership with the Horde, Talanji and her island kingdom pledged themselves anew to the Horde Council.[63]
Shadowlands
During the war against the Jailer, champions of Azeroth who had chosen the night fae covenant crossed paths with Bwonsamdi amid their travels. The Loa of Death was searching for several loa who had been sleeping in Ardenweald awaiting their rebirth but had since gone missing. The trail led to Mueh'zala, the original Loa of Death, to whom Bwonsamdi himself—as a living troll—had once been a priest. Mueh'zala had agreed to make Bwonsamdi his successor as the death loa when many of Mueh'zala's own followers had abandoned him due to his cruel and greedy ways. He had since allied with the Jailer, draining wildseeds to awaken two particularly powerful spirits before their time: Dambala and Hakkar the Soulflayer.
When the night fae covenant raised this threat to the Winter Queen, she realized the danger and offered the Wild Hunt to drive Mueh'zala from her realm. In doing so, the champions and the hunt defeated Dambala and drove Mueh'zala to the Other Side. There, the champions confronted and defeated both Hakkar and Mueh'zala; the latter had been seeking Rastakhan and the other trolls who had died amid the Fourth War to empower himself and the Jailer. Rather than kill the old loa, Bwonsamdi bound the soul of the former Loa of Death, making him Mueh'zala's master.
Bwonsamdi soon learned that Mueh'zala had stolen still more from the Winter Queen. The soul of Vol'jin stepped forward to aid the champions, a chance for payback against the old death loa. It had been Mueh'zala who had tricked Vol'jin on his deathbed, masquerading as a spirit to convince the warchief to name Sylvanas as Warchief of the Horde after the Battle for Broken Shore. The champions entered the Maw and, with help from Vol'jin, tracked the wildseed that had been stolen: It was the Wild God, Ashamane. Ashamane had died during the War of the Ancients and, more recently, had denied Mueh'zala's entreaties to join him. They also located Hir'eek, Loa of Bats, and Shadra, the spider loa. After securing Ashamane, Hir'eek, and Shadra, they soon encountered Rezan, who had been tortured so far as to be beyond help. The Loa of Kings offered to transfer his essence into Vol'jin so that a part of Rezan might be reborn with him. Seeing no other alternative, the former warchief agreed to his proposal. Upon returning to the Winter Queen, she extended an invitation to Vol'jin; though she could not say what fate awaited him as a mortal whose soul was entwined with a loa, she still gave him the chance to be born anew.[64]
Biology
Trolls average seven to eight feet in height and two hundred pounds in weight, save for ice and zandalari trolls, who tend to be somewhat larger than their kindred. As with other races, there are also scattered trolls who far exceed the normal size range.[65] Trolls have three fingers and three toes with one protruding from the heel. Male trolls frequently squat in place, while the females do not.[66] Both males and females have a variety of tusk styles ranging from small to large, they also feature a wide range of wild hairstyles.[66]
Subspecies
Dark trolls: These trolls have gray to black skin and are mostly subterranean.[67] Prior to the Great Sundering, the dark trolls inhabited areas such as Mount Hyjal as well as areas that would later become Ashenvale, Felwood and Darkshore.[68] After the cataclysmic event, some of them remained on Mount Hyjal,[69] mainly living in vast caverns. Long ago, one of their tribes settled on the edge of the Well of Eternity and over time became night elves as the magical energies warped their bodies over generations.[67]
Forest trolls: These trolls come in multiple shades of green due to a thin layer of moss (and sometimes other flora) growing on their skin. They formed the Amani Empire that once ruled all of Lordaeron as well as Quel'Thalas.[70]
Ice trolls: These trolls have skin-colored white to several shades of blue. They typically have thick manes of hair, more so than other troll groups, with some showing signs of fur growing on their bodies.[71] Ice trolls are descended from trolls who settled in the cold areas of northern ancient Kalimdor prior to the Sundering (now Northrend) in the aftermath of the Aqir and Troll War. There, their tribe grew to become the Drakkari Empire.[72] The Frostmane and Winterax tribes were once under Drakkari control,[73] though at some point moved south and begun attacking areas in the Eastern Kingdoms.[74][75]
Jungle trolls: These trolls range from purple to blue, to gray due to short, soft fur. Some jungle trolls have been born with skin-colored a shade of green.[76] These trolls formed the Gurubashi Empire that ruled the south-eastern and south-western jungles of ancient Kalimdor prior to the Great Sundering.[77]
Sand trolls: These trolls have coarse and cracked skin that tends to be brown or gold. They have thinner manes of hair than their brethren. They were jungle trolls isolated from the Gurubashi Empire by the Great Sundering in an area that swiftly became the desert of Tanaris. They have never formed an empire.[78][79]
Zandalari trolls: These trolls stand tall and upright, with skin color ranging between white, gray, black, blue, and green, accompanied by glowing eyes of varying colors. Zandalari bodies are also covered in what may be osteoderms similar to dinosaurs, these patches appear across several areas of their bodies. However, there are also smooth-skinned Zandalari.[80] It is claimed that the earliest known trolls belonged to the Zandalar tribe, from which all other trolls are descended.[81] The Zandalari make their home on Zandalar, an island in the South Seas formed from the Zandalar Mountains after the great Sundering.
Blood trolls: These trolls come in a wide range of colors, from pale white to green, blue, and nearly black. They are former Zandalari that clung to blood magic thousands of years ago,[82] after a foolish troll had summoned Hakkar the Soulflayer to Zandalar,[83] whom unleashed a blood plague onto the Zandalari Empire. In the aftermath of the Cataclysm, the former jungle region of Nazmir had been transformed into a swamp where they thrive and worshiped the blood god G'huun until he was slain by adventurers.
Dire troll - A small number of trolls are strikingly larger and more heavily muscled than the rest of their brethren. There is no racial distinction between them and the rest of the troll race. A variety of reasons might be behind this unusual size and musculature. For example, dire trolls might have been altered alchemically or magically. They might also simply have been born larger than average. Regardless of the day-to-day prejudices that these trolls must contend with from other races, dire trolls are not regarded as monstrous by other trolls.[65]- Steppe trolls - Briefly mentioned in the Manual of Monsters: Appendix Three as inhabiting the steppes and grasslands of Azeroth and being allied with the Horde.
- Trolls also come in a variety of undead forms:
Troll mummy
Scourge troll
Skeletal troll
Troll lich
Troll spectre
Undead dire troll
Regeneration
“My arm be broke, a few ribs snapped, t'ink even me spleen be hurtin' from dat beatin'. Nothin' a troll can't handle though...”
All trolls possess astonishing physical resilience: they can heal grievous physical injuries and regenerate lost limbs.[84][4][85][86] Trolls are capable of regenerating a crushed throat and shattered jaw during the heat of battle, allowing them to continue fighting.[87] They can survive being stabbed through the neck and throat.[88][89] Broken arms and snapped ribs are quickly healed, needing only a moment to "pop back in place."[90] They are able to survive evisceration, as well as being shot in the throat or eye with an arrow.[91] The complete regeneration of a lost hand is a relatively quick process.[92]
Trolls are capable of controlling their regeneration, a troll can make a conscious decision to not heal a scar as to leave a mark of what has happened to them.[85] Though some trolls believe that Lukou the loa of regeneration gifted trolls with the ability to regenerate,[93] they do not need the blessings of a loa to be able to regenerate, but the ability can be amplified or taken away by them.[94] There are tales in troll culture about those blessed by the loa that can regenerate nearly the entirety of their bodies. The tale of Vula'jin the Void speaks of how he regrew almost his entire body after standing in a pool of shadowflame.[94] A loa can strip the regeneration from a troll, rendering them incapable of regenerating limbs and even flesh wounds.[95][94] Troll children are taught about those cursed by the loa, unable to heal even flesh wounds, to instill the proper respect for their patron spirits.[94]
The best way to ensure a troll stays dead is to decapitate them; otherwise, they are likely to regenerate and come back for you.[96] There are also types of poison that can block a troll's regenerative abilities until it is purged from the body.[89][97] Fire is an effective weapon against trolls, temporarily preventing trolls from regenerating their wounds.[98]
The Zandalari merchant Tik'su charged trolls for their arms and legs as a result of trolls being able to regrow their limbs.[86]
Culture
Trolls are divided into tribes.[99] Every six years, envoys from all the troll tribes arrive in Zuldazar in order to share information and discuss matters that may affect the entire troll race.[100] Once a generation, the greatest trolls from all over Azeroth come to the Gurubashi Arena to challenge one another in combat. This is an ancient rite long presided over by the Zandalari king, Rastakhan. They fight for the glory of the loa. To win is one of the greatest honors to which a troll can aspire.[101] Most of Azeroth's savage trolls are infamous for their extreme hatred of other races.[102]
Trolls tend to prefer gold in their jewelry.[103] Rather than wedding rings, some trolls wear wedding nose-rings, such as 
[Sha'ni's Nose-Ring].[104] Zandalari trolls commonly exchange matching tusk rings during their weddings.[105] Some trolls use wax for their tusks.[106] After the Aqir and Troll War, some trolls started wearing armor made out of chitin.[107] They would also engrave vivid imagery of trolls fighting faceless ones.[108] Trolls do not usually use footwear, as they are simply more comfortable barefoot.[109][110] However, when they do, such as in the case of war, the footwear is adorned.[111]
Trollkind have a close relationship with raptors who have acted as steeds, guardians, and friends for them for thousands of years.[112] The bond between a raptor and a troll is more than just a friendship but a bond of blood, as they both depend on the other to survive, and this bond takes years to establish.[113]
Displayed in many troll tribes, the trolls have mummified their deceased in the past. Generaly the undead are hated in troll society,[114] however in times of desperation multiple tribes were seen to ignore their previous resentments and raise multiple creatures into undeath, even other trolls.[115][116][117] On the other hand, sealing souls of trolls inside constructs is seen as honoroble.[118] The Zandalari started to move away from mummification to favor cremation after a blood plague broke out.[119]
Cannibalism
Most trolls seem to practice cannibalism. Several specific troll tribes have been confirmed as cannibalistic, including the Mossflayer and Vilebranch tribes. Furthermore, all of the currently known tribes of ice trolls practice cannibalism. Sand trolls, forest trolls, and jungle trolls are also frequently cannibalistic, though not always. Even the mysterious dark trolls are believed to be cannibals for the most part. Yet there are several notable exceptions. For example, the Zandalar and Revantusk tribes do not consume troll flesh, although individuals like Khal'ak might. The Darkspear tribe, too, was cannibalistic until it joined the Horde, at which point the Darkspears officially gave up cannibalism.[120][121]
When eating humans, trolls prefer to drain the body of blood and stripping the stringy meat from the bone to make into jerky.[122]
It seems that forest trolls practice cannibalism more for the meal than the magic, seeing it as more of a food source than a method to tame spirits.[123]
The Natha'vor tribe of blood trolls is known for its heavy ritualistic practice of cannibalism, the women eating the males of the tribe and anything they capture believing that the practice grants them greater power.[124][125] Their three most powerful witch doctors are called "corpse mongers".[126]
Language
- Main article: Zandali
Trolls, both male and female, often have names with Zandali suffixes and/or prefixes, sometimes consisting entirely of both. They also do not normally have family names, as seen by the majority of trolls lacking one; however, there are exceptions, of which some adopt the name of their tribe as their surname, notably: Drulzegar Skraghook, Lo'meli Ironglare, Zul'Brin Warpbranch, Sandarr Dunereaver,
Magic
Troll shadow hunters, hexxers, and witch doctors practice a collection of dark arts unique to their people:
- Voodoo - A dark and powerful form of magic,[4] referred to as the "ancient power of the trolls".[127]
- Hoodoo - Another form of troll magic similar to voodoo.
- E'ko - Refers to the life force,[128] the spiritual power,[129] that each creature possesses.[130]
- Muisek - The avenging spirit of a creature killed in a violent death.[131] With a specially made vessel the Muisek of a creature can be captured and used for a powerful spirit weapon[132] or whatever else the enchanter wishes.[133]
- Mojo - A substance, usually seen in liquid form, that trolls use in their voodoo rituals.[134]
They also use magics practiced by other races, such as druidism, shamanism, blood magic, and more. However, instead of the usual ways to learn magic, it is the loa they worship who teach and even grant them those powers.[135][136][137][138]
Religion
- Main article: Loa
The troll belief system is complex, full of dark spirits and primal, often animalistic gods known as loa.[139] Countless loa exist, most weak, but some very powerful. Most are shapeless, whereas others have animal or creature forms. Troll families often worship their own family loa, cities usually have their own civic deities, and the greatest loa are worshiped by the nation as a whole. The Zandalar tribe believe that powerful, enlightened Zandalari can become loa upon their death.[140] Snakes of all types are venerated throughout troll culture.[141]
Literature
There are many tales and legends of trolls in Azeroth. Most of the known tales today come from the Gurubashi and Zandalari:
- Moon Over the Vale is a short poem or song describing the life of these trolls on an old stone tablet.
- Gri'lek the Wanderer tells of a troll who lost his arm. Because he turned away from the spirits, he's now doomed to wander.
- Fall of Gurubashi is a legend carved in a stone tablet about how Min'loth fought an ancient Kraken and the Gurubashi Empire was destroyed afterwards.
- The Emperor's Tomb is a very short poem that tells the trolls to leave or die. Like most troll lore, it can be found on a stone tablet
- Tales of the Loa is a collection of poems about the various loa worshipped by the Zandalari tribe.
Groups
Notable
.jpg)
Notes and trivia
- It seems that some consider trolls as the greatest race of hunters.[142]
- Trolls at some point fought "giant, faceless creatures",[143] likely n'raqi, possibly referring to the Aqir and Troll War.
- Trolls during the Aqir and Troll War appear to have had a habit of putting aqir chitin to use in their armor.[144] Sand trolls may have continued with something similar due to their proximity to the qiraji.
- In early Warcraft narrative history, the subgroups of trolls were referred to as "types of troll" in Day of the Dragon (2001) and "species" through the book The Last Guardian (2002), and this represented the only instance of the term "species" applying to one of the core races of the game. The more recent books of World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 (2016), however, does not use the term "species" or "subspecies" for any of the gameplay races, or any of the sentient races, only in passing to flora and fauna. Chronicle does state all trolls are one race with various tribes (or various groups, interchangeably).[99] Throughout BfA as well, the dynamics between the troll tribes in Zandalar are described as tribal relations and tribal conflicts, with the Zandalari referring to the other tribes as "lesser tribes", not "subspecies". The language of species and subspecies in real life exclusively is correctly used to describe animals; no human groups are correctly species or subspecies. For the sake of correct presentation, trolls remain referred to as "species" in the RPG section of this and other pages, due to the language of the unchanged guidebooks.
- It was previously stated that trolls predated the arrival of the titans[94][145] and that troll legends mentioned the titans.[146] This was retconned with World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, although the website's description of Zandalar[147] inadvertently did not reflect the updated lore.
- In World of Warcraft, trolls of both genders have sharp upper and lower canines. The tusks of male jungle and Zandalari trolls originate from where the upper premolars are supposed to be, with canines in front and molars behind, this can be seen when their mouth is fully open. However, forest and ice troll models have their tusks originating from their lower lip. Although their models are considered out of date in comparison. It can be speculated that the location of tusks can vary depending on the individual.
- Additionally many pieces of artwork and troll models in the RTS game often depict male trolls with tusks coming out of their lower lip such as the Berserker. Some models and artwork even depict trolls with tusks coming out of their cheeks rather than their mouths.[148][149][150]
- Female trolls do not have tusks, instead their lower canines have grown into fangs. According to the game models. A few male trolls in the RTS games and artwork also have more fang-like tusks.
- In the case of troll druid morphs, both the bear form and cat form have their tusks located on the lower jaw, seemingly not connected to anything in particular. This might just be model-related, rather than an accurate lore representation of the tusks' roots.
- All Zandalari druid forms have their tusks originating from the upper jaw.
- While trolls are supposed to have three toes, two on the front and one protruding from their heel, some models or artwork incorrectly depict them without one, such as those of Kazra'jin, King Dazar, King Rastakhan, Sul the Sandcrawler, and Zul.
- In the canceled Warcraft Adventures, Deathwing was served by trolls which had mottled; grey skin, a concept that was reprised in The Sundering.[151]
- The presentation of trolls in Warcraft meshes with the series bucking the trends of such Lord of the Rings based (in the eyes of pop culture) creatures, presenting them as intelligent, lean and lanky, and with distinct cultures, far removed from the mindless brutes they're more typically portrayed as.
Inspirations
- For Zandalari specific real-world inspiration, see Zandalari troll#Notes
- The visual design of Warcraft's trolls may have been inspired by Tam Tam from Samurai Shodown, which was popular among Blizzard's developers.[152]
- There are elements of Aztec architecture, Maya architecture, and Inca architecture.
- Trolls as a real-world folklore race are rooted in Scandinavian-rooted and Western European myths of Trolls.
- The troll /dance is based heavily on the Brazilian martial art called capoeira.
- Troll loa worship is referential to various forms of African disporic voodoo worship, with their gods, Lwa, being pronounced (and occasionally spelled) identically to loa.
- The accents of jungle, ice, and sand trolls resemble Anglo-Caribbean accents, including some words from Jamaican Patois.
- The accents of forest trolls resemble Cuban accents, which is a heightened reference through the forest trolls making a call to Scarface in several of their joke-lines across Blizzard games.
- The mummies seen among each major troll group are similar to the Egyptian mummies for the lower classes (just cloth wrapping, no external wooden or metallic covering), whereas the Zandalari funerary practices resemble the upper class, royal mummification process (with elaborate sarcophagi).
- The masks used by trolls, typically referred to as 'voodoo masks', generally resemble those commonly associated with Polynesian culture or Traditional African masks, particularly more in the style of the peoples of Central Africa. These masks are also colloquially referred to as 'voodoo masks' as well.
- The shrunken head motif used by various items and quests of the trolls comes from the shrunken heads created by various Andean and Amazonian indigenous peoples.
Inconsistencies
Troll regeneration has been subject to inconsistencies over the years and has fluctuated in terms of strength and whether it was natural or a blessing from the loa. Though while it has remained fairly consistent in some cases, below is a list of retcons and inconsistencies.
- In Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, troll regeneration was originally stated to be limited to troll berserkers after ingesting potions made by goblin alchemists.[153]
- In Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, "Troll Regeneration" is an upgrade available to the Orc (Warcraft III) race which increases the HP regeneration of all troll units. There is however no lore to accompany the upgrade itself and none of the troll units' information mention regeneration, making its source and application more ambiguous than in Warcraft II.
- The Troll Compendium – published before the release of World of Warcraft – mentions that trolls are capable of regenerating lost limbs and implies it to be entirely natural.
- Certain trolls like Gri'lek and Zul'jin have lost this ability, in both cases due to a curse by the loa.[154][155]
- In the short story The Judgment – published during World of Warcraft: Cataclysm – the following was stated:
- "All trolls were blessed by the loa with some regeneration. They could regrow fingers and toes, even if more complex parts like limbs and organs were beyond their abilities."
- Around the same time, Ask CDev round 2's answers were published and contained a question about why Zul'jin did not regrow his arm back and the following was part of a longer answer:
- "When in balance with the loa of their tribe, they are also able to regrow digits (fingers and toes)."
- In the same expansion, however, the archaeology profession was introduced to the game where players could discover the Haunted War Drum which stated once again that the trolls' incredible regeneration was natural, thus causing conflict with the above two as it reaffirmed the Troll Compendium.
- In the novel Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde – published during World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria – several incredible regenerative feats were mentioned, especially during combat. There was also an instance of regeneration of a lung, further invalidating The Judgement and Ask CDev.
- In World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 – published before the release of World of Warcraft: Legion – it was stated that the trolls' unique physiology allowed them to recover from physical injuries at an astonishing rate, even being able to regenerate lost limbs, completely invalidating The Judgement and Ask CDev.
Gallery
- Main article: Troll/Gallery
- World of Warcraft
Original male troll model.
Original female troll model.
NPC model.
Original jungle dire troll model.
Male jungle troll from 6.0.
Female jungle troll from 6.0.
Jungle dire troll from 8.0.
Jungle troll baby.
The earliest Female troll model in the early alpha of World of Warcraft.
A different Female troll model in an early beta of World of Warcraft.
In-game forest troll model from Patch 2.3.0.
Unique model added in Mists of Pandaria
Zul'jin
The ice troll model from Wrath of the Lich King.
Frost King Malakk from Mists of Pandaria.
Male blood troll
Female blood troll.
Female blood dire troll.
Patch 5.2 zandalari troll male
Jin'rokh the Breaker in patch 5.2
Battle for Azeroth male
Battle for Azeroth female
Battle for Azeroth dire Zandalari troll
Female dire Zandalari troll
Girl
King Rastakhan
Transformed Yazma
Zandalari lich
Male troll skull from Warlords of Draenor
Male troll tusks
Female troll fangs
Troll types (old models).
.jpg)
.jpg)
- Warcraft III
Headhunter portrait in WC3.
Headhunter model in WC3.
Headhunter portrait in Reforged.
Headhunter model in Reforged.
Berserker model in WC3.
Berserker model in Reforged.
Batrider model in WC3.
Batrider model in Reforged.
Witch Doctor portrait in WC3.
Witch Doctor model in WC3.
Witch Doctor portrait in Reforged.
Witch Doctor model in Reforged.
Shadow Hunter portrait in WC3.
Shadow Hunter model in WC3.
Shadow Hunter portrait in WC3.
Shadow Hunter model in WC3.
- Other
Jungle troll riding a raptor in the The Burning Crusade cinematic.
Showcase of one of the Troll models in the Battle for Azeroth cinematic.
Zekhan without his mask in the Old Soldier cinematic.
A troll berserker in a cinematic from Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.
A green-skinned troll headhunter seen on the left of a Alpha Warcraft III screenshot.
Jungle troll ranged minions from the Alterac Pass battleground in Heroes of the Storm.
![A troll skull modeled by Blizzard's Creative Development group.[156]](/wiki/File:Headhunter_Skull.jpg)
References
- ^ [10-35] Family Tree
- ^ [44] Screecher Spirits
- ^ Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde, chapter 10, pg. 141
- ^ a b c d World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 70
- ^ a b Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde, pg. 226, 254, 255, 258
- ^ World of Warcraft: War of the Scaleborn
- ^ Ancient Nazmani Tablet
- ^ King Dazar#Adventure Guide
- ^
[Embellished Tusk Band]
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 133 - 138
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 138-142
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 160-161
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 165-169
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 179-183
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 184 - 185
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 192
- ^ Troll Compendium/Early Troll Civilization
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 235 - 237
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 253 - 254
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 255 - 258
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 273 - 275
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 319 - 320
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 105 - 111
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 125
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 146
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 160
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 162 - 163
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 164 - 165
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 168
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 173
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 53-54
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 80
- ^ Troll Compendium/Jungle Troll Tribes
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 122
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 123
- ^ Blood of the Highborne
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 158
- ^ Drak'Tharon Keep#Adventure Guide
- ^ World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 53
- ^ Gundrak#Adventure Guide
- ^ World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 59
- ^ World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 60
- ^ World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 52
- ^ World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 55
- ^ World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 61
- ^ World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 63
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 209
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 38
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 42
- ^ a b World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 32 - 33
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 12
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 39
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 44
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 45 - 46
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 138 - 139
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 140 - 141
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 141 - 142
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 143 - 144
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 144 - 147
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 147 - 148
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 150 - 153
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 154 - 155
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 174 - 175
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 197
- ^ a b Troll Compendium: Troll Traits
- ^ a b World of Warcraft: Official Beginner's Guide, pg. 47
- ^ a b World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 93
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 77
- ^ Troll Compendium: Dark Trolls
- ^ Troll Compendium/Forest Trolls
- ^ Frost King Malakk
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 73, 74
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 76
- ^ Troll Compendium: Ice Trolls
- ^ Troll Compendium: Ice Troll Tribes
- ^ Troll Compendium/Jungle Trolls
- ^ Troll Compendium: Gurubashi Tribe
- ^ Troll Compendium/Sand Trolls
- ^ Troll Compendium/Sand Troll Tribes
- ^ Dave Kosak on Twitter - "We had never had the art to depict them as we envisioned, but made the time to do it in 5.2."
- ^ Troll Compendium: Zandalar Tribe
- ^
[Sanguinating Totem]
- ^ The Golden Serpent#Adventure Guide
- ^ Troll Compendium/Troll Traits#Health
- ^ a b Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde, pg. 145, 146
- ^ a b [10-60] The Great Hat Robbery
- ^ Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde, pg. 116, 117
- ^ Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde, pg. 8
- ^ a b [15-35] Regeneration Takes Time
- ^ [40] Gearing Up
- ^ Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde, pg. 285, 286
- ^
[10-50] Lending a Hand
- ^
[50-80] Looking for Lukou
- ^ a b c d e Ask CDev Answers - Round 2
- ^ Gri'lek's Adventure Guide
- ^ Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde, pg. 117
- ^ [20-60] Won't Leaf Him to Die
- ^
[Arathor and the Troll Wars]
- ^ a b World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 71 - 72
- ^ Troll Compendium/Other Trolls
- ^ World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: The Eastern Kingdoms, pg. 37
- ^ Underdev/Echo Isles
- ^
[Bracelet of Jade and Coins]
- ^ [53] Krom'Grul
- ^
[Matching Tusk Rings]
- ^
[Tusk Wax]
- ^
[Brittle Chitinous Shoulderpads]
- ^
[Time-Corroded Breastplate]
- ^
[Two-Toed Sandals]
- ^
[Two-Toed Boots]
- ^
[Two-Toed Warboots]
- ^ Swift Blue, Swift Purple, Swift Olive and Swift Orange Raptors
- ^ Binding Raptors
- ^ Witherbark Speaker, Winterax Speaker, Skullsplitter Speaker, Firetree Speaker
- ^ Horridon
- ^ [1-30] Troll Juju
- ^
[Darkest Mojo]
- ^
[32-35 Daily] Centuries in Sentries
- ^
[Urn of Passage]
- ^ Troll Compendium/Troll Traits#Cannibalism
- ^ [48] Cannibalistic Cousins
- ^ World of Warcraft: Traveler
- ^ Tides of Darkness, pg. 63
- ^ [20-60] Killing Cannibals
- ^ Corpse Monger Jal'aka#Quotes
- ^ [20-60] Just Say No to Cannibalism
- ^ [10-50] In Every Dark Corner
- ^ [15-30] Strange Life Forces
- ^ Witch Doctor Mau'ari#Quotes - "Keeping da charm in your inventory allows you to collect e'ko, da spiritual power from beasts you fight."
- ^ Witch Doctor Mau'ari#Quotes - "E'ko is da power dat each creatures possesses. Da charm i made for ya allows ya to capture it in a physical manifestation."
- ^ [15-30] Testing the Vessel
- ^ [15-30] Weapons of Spirit
- ^ [15-30] Mountain Giant Muisek
- ^ Adventure Guide: Drakkari Colossus
- ^ [10-30] Bloodscalp Insight
- ^ [10-30] Sacred to the Bloodscalp
- ^ Raptari Druid#Gossip
- ^
[Wrath of Soulflayer]
- ^
[Zandalari Voodoo Doll]
- ^ Shadows of the Loa
- ^
[Jade Asp with Ruby Eyes]
- ^
[The Greatest Race of Hunters]
- ^ [Time-Corroded Breastplate]
- ^ [Brittle Chitinous Shoulderpads]
- ^ World of Warcraft: The Magazine Volume 2 Issue 1, Ancients and others lineage chart
- ^
[The Third Troll Legend]
- ^ World of Warcraft at BlizzCon 2017
- ^ Chieftain Zul'Marosh
- ^ File:Forest troll.jpg
- ^ File:Ice Troll by Samwise.jpg
- ^ The Sundering, chapter 8, pg. 67
- ^ Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, pg. 17, 27, and 81
- ^ Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness manual, Orc Buildings, Troll Lumber Mill
- ^ [The Second Troll Legend]
- ^ Ask CDev#Ask CDev Answers - Round 2
- ^
Nebu 2018-04-24. Life at Blizzard: Behold the Headhunter Skull!. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2018-04-28.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||