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Story 06 · Horde

Troll

An ancient people bound to the spirits of the loa. Their empires fell and their tribes scattered; the Darkspear reached from exile to the Horde.

Into the story
TrollRacials, Race Notes & StatsClassesPlayable Classes & Skills
Homeland
Sen’jin Village · Durotar
Capital
Orgrimmar
Leader
Vol’jin
Faith
The loa · voodoo
Mount
Raptor
Tribe
Darkspear

Chapter I · Origin

People of the loa (Zandalar)

The trolls’ story is one of Azeroth’s oldest. The trolls are not one people but many tribes, scattered across the world and often at war with each other. The oldest and wisest of these tribes is said to be the Zandalari of the isle of Zandalar.

The trolls’ faith rests on the loa: spirits and god-spirits. Trolls call a loa with offerings and rituals and ask it for power. Every tribe has its own loa; some give wisdom and protection, and some demand blood.

When Kalimdor was a single continent the trolls had built great empires. They united against an insect people, the aqir, and drove them back; the aqir’s descendants would return centuries later as the qiraji of Ahn’Qiraj.

The tribe of dark trolls that settled on the shore of the Well of Eternity was changed by the Well’s power into the night elves. After the Great Sundering the trolls built two great empires in the Eastern Kingdoms: the Amani in the northern forests and the Gurubashi in the southern jungles.

  1. Zandalar

    The oldest tribe

  2. Loa

    God-spirits

  3. Aqir

    A common enemy

  4. Amani · Gurubashi

    Two empires

Chapter II · Amani

Empire of the forest

The Amani were the forest trolls’ empire in the northern woods of the Eastern Kingdoms; their capital was Zul’Aman. Their neighbours were the high elves of Quel’Thalas, and the two peoples were enemies for thousands of years.

About 2,800 years before the Dark Portal the Amani besieged Quel’Thalas. The elves called for help, and the humans of Arathor, united by Thoradin, joined them. The two peoples fought side by side for the first time, and the elven magi taught the humans magic.

The war ended in the foothills of the Alterac Mountains, where human magi who had learned magic from the elves scattered the trolls with fire. The Amani were beaten and their empire broke up; Quel’Thalas, saved, swore an oath to Arathor.

Thousands of years later, in the Second War, Zul’jin’s Amani joined the Horde. They wanted revenge on the elves and burned the forests of Quel’Thalas. When the Horde lost, the Amani scattered again.

Today the Amani’s descendants live in the woods of the Hinterlands: the Vilebranch at Jintha’Alor and the Witherbark in the Arathi Highlands are enemies of the Alliance. Only the trolls of Revantusk Village are friends of the Horde.

Troll Wars1Zul’Aman2Quel’Thalas3Strom4Jintha’Alor
The Amani’s two wars, drawn as you scroll. Positions are approximate.AmaniArathor and the elvesHorde
  1. 1Zul’AmanCapital of the Amani
  2. 2Quel’ThalasKingdom of the high elves
  3. 3StromCapital of Arathor
  4. 4Jintha’AlorFortress of the Vilebranch

Zul’jin

The warlord who brought the Amani into the Horde in the Second War. Hungry for revenge on the elves, he burned the forests of Quel’Thalas.

Warlord

Troll Wars

The war that began when the Amani besieged Quel’Thalas. Humans and elves fought together for the first time and beat the trolls in the foothills of the Alterac Mountains.

Defeat

Vilebranch

The forest trolls of Jintha’Alor in the Hinterlands; one of the Amani’s shrunken remnants and the most dangerous tribe in the region.

Hostile

Revantusk

The trolls of Revantusk Village in the Hinterlands, an Amani tribe allied with the Horde.

Ally

Chapter III · Gurubashi

The blood god

The Gurubashi were the jungle trolls’ empire in the jungles of Stranglethorn; their capital was Zul’Gurub. Their story is known for a bad choice made when their power began to fade.

When the Gurubashi weakened, the Atal’ai priests summoned the blood god Hakkar the Soulflayer. Hakkar demanded sacrifice every day; the tribes rose up, destroyed his body and sent the Atal’ai into exile.

In exile the Atal’ai built the temple of Atal’Hakkar in the Swamp of Sorrows and tried to summon Hakkar again. Ysera’s green dragons sank the temple beneath the swamp; today it is known as the Sunken Temple.

The Gurubashi empire finally split into warring tribes, among them the Skullsplitter and the Bloodscalp. The weak were driven out of the jungle: the Darkspear tribe left Stranglethorn and took to the sea. In the north-west of Stranglethorn, at the Balia’mah Ruins and around the Gurubashi Arena, the marks of that fall still stand.

Hakkar was not finished. In Classic his priests summoned him again in Zul’Gurub. The Zandalar Tribe settled on Yojamba Isle and asks adventurers for help in stopping the danger.

To the Sunken Temple ↗To the South Seas ↙1Zul’Gurub2Gurubashi Arena3Yojamba Isle4Balia’mah Ruins
Stranglethorn Vale. Positions are approximate.The Atal’ai’s exileThe Darkspear’s flight
  1. 1Zul’GurubThe city where Hakkar was summoned again
  2. 2Gurubashi ArenaThe fighting arena of Stranglethorn
  3. 3Yojamba IsleBase of the Zandalar Tribe
  4. 4Balia’mah RuinsThe ruins of the Bloodscalp trolls

Hakkar

The blood-god loa of Zul’Gurub. The Gurubashi’s uprising destroyed his body; his spirit is trying to return.

Blood god

Atal’ai

The priests who worship Hakkar. Driven out of the Gurubashi, they built their temple in the Swamp of Sorrows; today they are inside the Sunken Temple.

Exiled priests

Zandalar Tribe

The Zandalari’s base on Yojamba Isle. It asks adventurers for help in stopping Hakkar’s return.

Ally

Darkspear

The tribe driven out of Stranglethorn after the Gurubashi fell. It took refuge on a small island in the South Seas.

Exile

Chapter IV · Darkspear

From exile to the Horde

While the trolls scattered across the world, the Darkspear’s story begins with exile. As you scroll, the map follows the tribe from the jungle to Durotar, step by step.

  1. Stranglethorn

    Exile

    When the Gurubashi fall, the strong tribes drive the weak out of the jungle. The Darkspear are pushed to the shore and put out to sea in small boats.

    Exile

  2. South Seas

    Tribe of the isles

    The Darkspear settle on an island in the South Seas and live on fishing and hunting. Their wise chief Sen’jin sees in a vision that a new warrior people will come ashore and find his tribe a home.

    Vision

  3. Thrall

    Out of the storm

    Thrall’s fleet is caught in a storm and thrown onto the island. Murlocs capture Sen’jin and sacrifice him; dying, he tells his vision to his son Vol’jin. Vol’jin and the Darkspear join Thrall’s Horde.

    A new road

  4. Echo Isles

    A new home

    After the Third War the Darkspear settle on the Echo Isles off Thrall’s Durotar. Fighting under the same banner as the orcs, the trolls are now part of the Horde.

    Home

  5. Sen’jin Village

    Zalazane

    The witch doctor Zalazane, lost to dark magic, takes the Echo Isles and enslaves the Darkspear. The survivors withdraw to Sen’jin Village on the opposite shore, while Vol’jin stands at Thrall’s side in Orgrimmar.

    Divided
StranglethornExile
ExileSen’jin’s visionDarkspearSen’jin †DarkspearEcho IslesZalazaneEcho IslesSen’jin VillageOrgrimmarStranglethorn Vale

Chapter V · Today

Scattered tribes

Today the Horde’s troll tribe is the Darkspear. Troll characters begin in the Valley of Trials with the orcs and come to Sen’jin Village on Durotar’s south coast; the Echo Isles offshore are still in Zalazane’s hands.

Vol’jin leads the tribe and is one of Thrall’s closest allies.

Most other troll tribes in the world are hostile: some to the Alliance, some to the Horde, some to anyone who crosses them.

Leaders

The Darkspear’s leaders today.

Chief of the Darkspear

Vol’jin

Sen’jin’s son and a shadow hunter. After his father’s death he brought the tribe into the Horde; he stands at Thrall’s side in Orgrimmar.

Sage of Sen’jin Village

Master Gadrin

The old sage of the village on the shore. He asks adventurers for help in freeing the Echo Isles from Zalazane.

Enemy

Zalazane

The witch doctor who took the Echo Isles. With dark magic he gathers slaves from the Darkspear.

Tribes

The trolls and their tribes

The trolls are not one people but many tribes. Below are the main ones you meet in Classic; a green dot means friend, a red dot means enemy.

  • DarkspearjungleDurotar
  • RevantuskforestHinterlands
  • Zandalar TribeZandalariYojamba Isle
  • Atal’aijungleZul’Gurub
  • VilebranchforestJintha’Alor
  • WitherbarkforestArathi Highlands
  • SandfurysandZul’Farrak · Tanaris
  • FrostmaneiceDun Morogh
  • BloodscalpjungleStranglethorn Vale
  • SkullsplitterjungleStranglethorn Vale
  • ShatterspearforestDarkshore
  • SmolderthornjungleBlackrock Spire
1Sen’jin Village2Zul’Farrak3Zul’Gurub4Yojamba Isle5Jintha’Alor6Frostmane
Troll homelands. Positions are approximate.
  1. 1Sen’jin VillageThe Darkspear’s village on the shore
  2. 2Zul’FarrakThe Sandfury fortress in Tanaris
  3. 3Zul’GurubThe city of Hakkar
  4. 4Yojamba IsleBase of the Zandalar Tribe
  5. 5Jintha’AlorThe Vilebranch fortress in the Hinterlands
  6. 6FrostmaneThe ice trolls of Dun Morogh

Epilogue

The loa are watching

Their tribes scattered and their empires fell, but the trolls still see themselves as a people bound to their spirits. For the Darkspear that bond now reaches a new home on Durotar’s shore.

See this story’s events on the timeline

Note

The drawings are schematic illustrations made for this page; the markers on the game maps are placed approximately.

Images

The Durotar, Zul’Aman, Sen’jin Village and Vol’jin images belong to Blizzard Entertainment. Maps from WoW Forever.