For generation after generation, life bloomed across the ordered world of Azeroth. Nowhere was this more evident than in the dense woodlands around the Well of Eternity. The fount of Azeroth’s arcane lifeblood accelerated the cycles of growth and rebirth. Before long, sentient beings evolved from the land’s primitive life-forms.
Among the first and most prolific were the trolls, a race of savage hunter-gatherers who flourished in Azeroth’s jungles and forests. Though the trolls were of only average intelligence, they 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.
THE ZANDALARI TROLL CAPITAL, ZULDAZAR
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 loa warned the tribes’ mystics of severe consequences should they disturb the black stones. For many years, none of the trolls dared disobey.
But curiosity eventually won out.
A group of rebellious trolls plumbed the forbidden mound. They discovered that the black stones were not mere rocks—they were the jagged hide of a monstrous creature. None of the trolls had ever seen anything like it. They believed it to be an undiscovered loa, and a powerful one at that, considering that the other spirits were frightened of it. The trolls performed vile rituals and living sacrifices to awaken the slumbering monstrosity.
Roused by the blood offerings, a gigantic C’Thraxxi general emerged from its long slumber and ruthlessly slaughtered all those who had revived it. The trolls were unaware that this was Kith’ix, the being who had survived the encounter with Keeper Tyr. Gravely wounded, the C’Thrax had fled southwest to what would be known as the Zandalar Mountains before collapsing into a deep hibernation. Reeling from its presence, the ancient loa inhabiting the area had buried Kith’ix beneath the earth so that no other creature would disturb it.
The awoken C’Thrax looked upon troll civilization with contempt, for it was but a pale shadow of the Black Empire of eons past. Kith’ix knew it would delight the Old Gods to see this pitiful civilization rent 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. As the C’Thrax expanded its power and recovered, the insectoids began building a vast subterranean empire known as Azj’Aqir. Kith’ix patiently watched and waited as the aqiri ranks swelled in number. When the time was right, the C’Thrax led the insectoids from their underground empire, and they swept across the land.
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 moved to act. They united the disparate troll tribes into a single mighty force, which they called the Empire of Zul. The members of this newly forged society would put aside their differences and work together to destroy the aqir.
The Zandalari took on the role of commanding the troll armies. With their temple city looming high in the mountains, they could detect enemy movements and direct attacks at weak points. 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. Kith’ix, gravely wounded by the loa, fled to the northeast with a contingent of its closest aqiri followers. There, it planned to regain its strength while the insectoids continued their war against the trolls.
Though they had driven the aqir away, the Zandalari knew that their enemy still posed a grave threat. The insectoids, if left unchecked, would attack outlying troll territories.
At the Zandalari’s behest, the other tribes moved out to hunt down the aqir. The trolls quickly learned it was not enough to simply kill the insectoids. If any aqir escaped underground, they would establish a new colony and rise up again later. 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, but the trolls faced a weapon they had never expected: corrupted tol’vir. A small group of the titan-forged who dwelled outside Ulduar had been captured and enthralled by the aqir. These ferocious stone tol’vir, known as “obsidian destroyers,” almost overpowered the Drakkari. But years of battle had shaped the tribe into cunning fighters, and they devised brilliant ways to topple and shatter their foes.
The Gurubashi also encountered corrupted titan-forged. These trolls had ventured southwest, where the aqir had overrun Ahn’Qiraj, the prison complex housing the Old God C’Thun. Upon infiltrating the stronghold, the insectoids had enslaved the anubisath giants who guarded the prison.
Early engagements between the Gurubashi and the aqir proved disastrous for the trolls. 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. Though they were never able to completely wipe out the aqir, the Gurubashi eventually won uncontested control of the surrounding territory.
Meanwhile, the Amani had set out to destroy Kith’ix. They tracked the C’Thrax’s trail far to the northeastern woodlands, cutting through an unending mass of aqiri guardians. 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. Even so, the C’Thrax succumbed to its tireless hunters.
Though the cost was high, the fearsome reputation of the Amani became legend among the other tribes. 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. The war between the trolls and the aqir shifted dramatically. 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. The surviving aqir fortified their underground colonies against further troll aggression. They showed no more interest in fighting. In time, the trolls proclaimed themselves victorious.
THE NERUBIANS, QIRAJI, AND MANTID
Three distinct cultures would arise from the aqir empire. The insectoids in the north gathered near the underground prison of Yogg-Saron. Due to their proximity to the Old God, these aqir would gradually evolve into a race called the nerubians. Their kingdom would become known as Azjol-Nerub.
The aqir in the southwest made their home in Ahn’Qiraj, the conquered prison complex of C’Thun. The captive Old God’s foul presence would slowly warp the aqir’s forms over time, molding them into a race known as the qiraji.
The aqir in the southeast congregated where Y’Shaarj’s essence still polluted the land. These insectoids would eventually transform into a race called the mantid. Even before the aqir empire fell, they would establish the great colony of Manti’vess near the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
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.
In the later stages of the war with the trolls, one enclave of aqir gathered at the southern edge of Kalimdor. Below the roots of the great kypari trees, they established a new empire. These insectoids, known thereafter as the mantid, saw no purpose in continuing a battle they knew they were not strong enough to win.
Such restraint was unusual among the insectoids, but then, so was the mantid’s reasoning. They still fervently worshipped the Old Gods, believing that their ancient masters would one day rise from their prisons and reestablish their dominion over Azeroth. The best way to serve the entities was not to expend the mantid’s strength, but to conserve it, refine it, and sharpen it. The mantid would grow stronger without jeopardizing their survival.
Though a revered empress ruled over the day-to-day activities of the mantid, another group controlled the insectoids’ destiny. The members of this group called themselves the Klaxxi—meaning “priest” in their native tongue. They guided the actions of the empress and the mantid swarms in the hopes of preserving and strengthening their race. Rather than seek retribution on the trolls, the Klaxxi turned their gaze on another enemy.
Nearby dwelled the mogu, mighty titan-forged who had guarded the Vale of Eternal Blossoms for untold ages. The mantid found themselves drawn to the mystical valley. They were not aware of it at the time, but they were attracted to the lingering presence of the slain Old God Y’Shaarj, whose festering heart had been locked away beneath the vale by Highkeeper Ra.
To seek out the dark essence beneath the vale, the mantid launched a surprise attack against the mogu. The titan-forged narrowly withstood the swarm and drove them back to the kypari forests.
The Klaxxi did not consider their defeat a failure. The surviving mantid warriors had matured, grown more powerful and cunning. The Klaxxi patiently waited one hundred years before assaulting the mogu again. They dispatched a new generation of young mantid to besiege the titan-forged. Once again, the survivors returned stronger.
Thus began the mantid cycle. Every century, a new mantid clutch made war upon the mogu. The ferocious battles removed the weak from the swarm, and only the strongest returned to the kypari trees. Within only a few cycles, mantid civilization had become tightly honed and rigid, utterly focused on eradicating weakness and empowering the mightiest of their kind.
The mogu marked the change with concern. They launched a campaign into Manti’vess itself to ensure that the cycle would not come again.
The attack came at an inauspicious time for the mantid. It was decades before the next clutch of warriors would hatch. The mantid were few, and the mogu were many. Initially, the titan-forged devastated the insectoid ranks, even the strongest survivors of past swarms. Only one mantid, Korven, emerged to turn the tide of battle. Armed with blades forged of kypari amber, the warrior eviscerated the mogu ranks, thwarting their attack and sending them into retreat. So great was Korven’s skill that many mantid came to believe that he was capable of cheating death itself.
The high elders of the Klaxxi proclaimed Korven a “paragon” and promised his deeds would become legend among their kind. But the honored warrior was still not satisfied. He knew it was only chance that he arose in his race’s greatest hour of need. He did not want to leave the mantid’s defense to chance alone. The Klaxxi agreed and tasked him with finding a solution.
After years of experimenting with kypari sap, Korven discovered that a living creature could be preserved within an amber cocoon, potentially for thousands of years. If the Klaxxi placed their greatest warriors in these cocoons, they could be awakened whenever they were needed to avert disaster. Korven became the first to undergo this preservation. In honor of his deeds, the Klaxxi named him “Korven the Prime”—the first of many paragons to come. As he lay undisturbed in his amber tomb, the great cycle he had almost single-handedly saved continued on, remaining unbroken for countless generations.
MAP OF AZEROTH AFTER THE WAR BETWEEN THE TROLLS AND THE AQIR
Though Highkeeper Ra had not been seen in millennia, his loyal mogu maintained their vigil over the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, bravely fighting off each successive mantid swarm. Their faith that the highkeeper would one day return endured through century after century of hardships.
Yet that faith vanished once the curse of flesh manifested within the mogu ranks.
For the first time, the mogu faced mortality. Fear and uncertainty took root in their hearts. Small disagreements spiraled into conflict, violence, and bloodshed. Packs of mogu banded together. Clans and warlords emerged by the score and engaged in brutal power struggles. Those who triumphed were quickly toppled by rivals. Through it all, their culture and language—even their sense of purpose and identity—began to change. This period of turmoil and conflict became known as the Age of a Hundred Kings, and the mogu edged perilously close to destroying themselves from within.
Only their basest instincts prevented annihilation. At the beginning of each new mantid swarm, the mogu’s petty conflicts would die down. The various clans would reluctantly band together to stand against the mantid. But once the swarm had retreated, internal hostilities would surface once again.
As the mogu battled the mantid, a number of other races arose in the region. Many of these creatures were drawn to the latent powers emanating from the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Among these wondrous new races were the jinyu, fish-like mystics who dwelled in the rivers and lakes. A bold and mischievous race of monkeys, known as the hozen, also came to inhabit the dense jungles that encircled much of the vale. But by far, the most intelligent of these newcomers were the wise pandaren.
The emergence of so much life around the vale piqued the interest of four Wild Gods. Their names were Xuen, the White Tiger; Yu’lon, the Jade Serpent; Chi-Ji, the Red Crane; and Niuzao, the Black Ox.
Xuen and his fellow Wild Gods gathered at the vale to watch over and guide the myriad life-forms that dwelled in the area.
Though the warlike activities of the mogu often troubled them, the Wild Gods delighted in watching the other races flourish. In particular, Xuen and the other demigods developed close ties with the pandaren, in large part due to their penchant for peace.
The pandaren considered the Wild Gods, whom they called the “August Celestials,” to be benevolent deities. They formed a system of worship devoted to the extraordinary beings. In return, the Wild Gods bestowed knowledge on the pandaren, nurturing their ties to philosophy and the natural world. At the behest of the August Celestials, the pandaren formed a culture that sought peace and harmony with the surrounding environment.
Yet soon a new mogu leader would arise to challenge these philosophies. His name was Lei Shen, and his rule would threaten not only the mortal races of the vale, but the August Celestials as well.
MOGU DEFENDING THEIR LANDS FROM THE MANTID
As the pandaren and other races prospered around the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, the mogu continued their endless squabbling. It was during this cycle of violence that a warrior named Lei Shen came to power.
A descendant of a minor warlord, young Lei Shen was thoroughly accustomed to the brutality of clan warfare. Despite his skill and success in battle, he saw the incessant conflicts and political maneuvering as a betrayal of the mogu’s potential. Nevertheless, he remained stalwart as a vassal for his father.
A close advisor eventually betrayed and murdered Lei Shen’s father. Almost all of the fallen warlord’s clansmen sought refuge in the ranks of other clans, abandoning Lei Shen. Only a few loyal armsmen refused to leave his side. Rather than seek retribution and perpetuate the violence, Lei Shen chose to go into exile. He wandered the land, meditating on what he saw as the failures of his kind.
World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 Page 8