During this period, Archaedas and Ironaya grew distant from their servants. They became ever more obsessed with trying to cure the curse of flesh. Archaedas and Ironaya often retreated into the lowest chambers of Uldaman, spending years in quiet contemplation. Eventually the two colossal titan-forged would disappear from sight and settle into a long period of hibernation. Centuries passed without word from either of them, and the mechagnomes and earthen were left to manage Uldaman on their own.
When the Sundering tore through Azeroth, many of the active earthen reeled from the catastrophe. They felt the pain of the broken world as their own. They tunneled deep within Uldaman and locked themselves away within the hibernation chambers alongside their sleeping brethren.
Only the mechagnomes remained to watch over the facility. Yet they, too, eventually succumbed to the curse of flesh. The affliction caused many of them to degenerate into fleshy beings later known simply as gnomes. Physically and mentally debilitated, these creatures lost all sense of purpose and abandoned the halls of Uldaman. They fled into the surrounding mountain peaks and caverns. Only a handful of mechagnomes stayed in the facility, still driven by their titan-forged imperative.
The first generation of gnomes carved out an existence in the snowy mountains to the west of Uldaman. Lacking natural strength and defenses, the frail gnomes struggled to survive amid the harsh elements, barbaric ice trolls, and other threats that roamed the land. They did, however, retain their natural intellect and ingenuity. As generations passed, the gnomes dedicated themselves to technological advancement and discovery; these would be their only means of sustaining themselves in the savage new world. To this end, the gnomes eschewed record keeping and oral storytelling, considering them immaterial to survival.
In only a few generations, the gnomes lost all knowledge of their titan-forged heritage. What they gained, however, was a new society. Their ingenious engineering and sciences had helped them overcome hardship after hardship. The gnomes carved out a series of highly fortified dwellings deep within the cold mountains of what would become known as Dun Morogh.
Over thousands of years, humanity flourished in the Eastern Kingdoms. This young race had originated from a group of vrykul who had settled in Tirisfal Glades. Although humans were diminished in size and strength from their progenitors, they possessed incredibly strong willpower and survival instincts.
Groups of hunter-gatherer humans proliferated throughout the forests and hillocks of the continent. As their society evolved and advanced, humans gathered in an array of different tribes. Each one practiced animistic beliefs—mainly crude forms of druidism and elemental shamanism. Despite the existence of Amani trolls, high elves, and other potential threats, humanity’s greatest adversary proved to be itself. The early tribes constantly warred with one another for land and, by extension, power.
One tribe, the Arathi, came to realize the error of its ways. Over the span of a few decades, troll incursions into human territories had become more pronounced and ruthless. Something was changing among the brutish Amani to the north. The Arathi knew that if humankind remained divided, it would stand little chance against a true war with its moss-skinned foes. Led by Warlord Thoradin, the tribe embarked on a campaign to bring its rivals under a single banner, whether by force or diplomacy.
The Arathi lived on the northeastern borders of human lands and had a long history of skirmishes with the trolls. This experience had honed Thoradin into a master tactician and strategist. In the span of just six years, the warlord brought the other tribes to heel. He won a few of his adversaries to his side through political marriages. In other cases, Thoradin pitted his rivals against each other. On rare occasions, the canny warlord was forced to outright conquer some of the more belligerent tribes.
Much to the surprise of those he had defeated, Thoradin did not reign as a tyrant. He offered his former enemies peace and equality in what he claimed would be a glorious new human nation—a united kingdom of limitless potential. The tribal leaders would not fade into obscurity. They would serve as honored generals. With these acts, Thoradin won the loyalty of his adversaries and was crowned king.
King Thoradin named his new kingdom Arathor. He tasked his most gifted builders with constructing a mighty capital called Strom southeast of Tirisfal Glades. The semiarid terrain around the city acted as the ideal buffer zone between humanity and the Amani, prohibiting the trolls from launching their much feared forest ambushes. Thoradin also ordered his people to build a great wall near the capital to further shield them from Amani incursions. Word of Strom’s might quickly spread among other disparate human tribes throughout the continent. Many flocked to the fortress for safety.
Just as Thoradin had expected, Amani trolls soon began encroaching on outlying lands controlled by the humans. The king dispatched two of his most prominent generals to gather intelligence on their enemies and waylay any of the brutes who strayed too deep into Arathor’s borders.
One of these generals was named Ignaeus. He and his people originally dwelled among the rugged slopes around the Alterac Mountains. Though considered uncouth and savage by many of the humans from other regions, Ignaeus and his northlanders were unmatched in their bravery and strength. They stalked well beyond Arathor’s borders, slaughtering any trolls whom they found skulking in the woodlands. Ignaeus would garner the name “Trollbane” for the amount of Amani blood he spilled.
LEGEND OF THE SILVER HAND
No one knows what became of Tyr’s fabled silver hand, left behind in ages past at the heart of Tirisfal Glades. The silver hand was a common symbol for the human tribes that inhabited the region. It appeared on clothing and pendants, worn to ward away evil spirits, protect warriors in battle, and cure disease. Many centuries later, it would come to represent a great order of paladins: Light-wielding warriors who placed self-sacrifice above all else.
Thoradin’s other favored general was Lordain, who hailed from the heart of Tirisfal Glades. He and his regimented warriors were considered more refined than Ignaeus and the other mountain folk. Knightly in appearance and mindset, Lordain’s forces thoroughly patrolled the edges of Arathor’s northern borders. On the rare occasion that Amani raiding parties approached the kingdom, Lordain put them to the blade.
Both Lordain and Ignaeus often returned to Strom with tales of a horrific conflict brewing between the Amani and the high elves far to the north. There were also whispers of something else stirring in the darkened forests—tales of strange voodoo rituals and supernatural beings prowling the wilds in the dead of night.
Though the reports unsettled them, Thoradin and his generals agreed that they would not risk their own kind or send any aid to the reclusive high elves. For the time being, they kept the bulk of their forces behind Strom’s massive ramparts, confident they could withstand any foe.
MAP OF AMANI TROLL, HUMAN, AND HIGH ELF TERRITORIES IN THE EASTERN KINGDOMS
Millennia after being defeated by the high elves, the Amani trolls plotted revenge within their temple city of Zul’Aman. Yet though they were fierce warriors, the trolls lacked a strong leader who could bring them victory. Infighting had also spread throughout the tribe, threatening to destroy it from within. The Amani’s fortunes soon changed when they received aid from the revered Zandalar tribe.
The Zandalari 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. Even the Zandalari had suffered from that catastrophic event. Their once-glorious mountain home of Zandalar had been swallowed by the sea, leaving nothing more than a small island behind.
In the Amani, the Zandalari saw an opportunity to revitalize one of their race’s most powerful tribes and reassert troll dominance in the Eastern Kingdoms. Overwhelming the high elves would be no easy task, but the Zandalari were confident of victory. Quel’Thalas was not as powerful as the ancient night elf empire that had decimated the trolls so long ago. In additi
on, the Zandalari had honed and perfected their own voodoo arts over recent millennia.
A handful of wise Zandalari emissaries made the journey from their island home to Zul’Aman. There, they promised to help the Amani plan for their impending conflict. More importantly, the Zandalari would 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.
Small Amani warbands began emerging from the forests and attacking Quel’Thalas’s borders, testing the high elves’ strength. Always, the cunning trolls hid their true numbers and capabilities. 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. Monstrous loa demigods marched alongside the Amani, infusing their troll adherents with supernatural might. The high elves struggled desperately to hold back their foes, but they were forced to give ground. With astonishing speed and ferocity, the Amani laid waste to the outer reaches of Quel’Thalas.
From Zul’Aman, the Zandalari emissaries observed the unfolding war with pleasure. Even the elves and their potent arcane powers could not withstand the might of the Amani—the might of the troll race.
The trolls’ ultimate victory was only a matter of time.
King Thoradin kept a careful watch over the intensifying war between the high elves and the trolls. Scouts returned to Strom with tales of smoke rising along Quel’Thalas’s borders, of brutalized elven corpses littering the once-tranquil grottos of the northlands. Clearly, the trolls were winning, but Thoradin clung to his stubborn belief that intervening in the conflict would put his people at unnecessary risk.
However, Thoradin’s opinion changed when a group of high elven ambassadors sent by King Anasterian Sunstrider suddenly arrived at Strom. With growing horror, Thoradin listened as the messengers related firsthand accounts of the Amani’s stark brutality and the otherworldly demigods who fought by their side.
The Amani threat was far greater than Thoradin or his advisors could have ever imagined. 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.
Following the meeting, Thoradin consulted with his advisors. They agreed that allying with the elves was prudent, but they also knew that Arathor did not have the forces required to fight an open conflict with the trolls. Thoradin and his advisors debated well into the night before coming to a conclusion. If humans were taught magic, it might give them the edge they needed to truly make an impact in the war.
Elven magic was legendary among humans, but they had never learned its secrets. Although Thoradin harbored a deep suspicion of sorcery in all its forms, he knew that his forces would require it in order to vanquish the Amani. The next day, Thoradin returned to the ambassadors with an offer: in exchange for military aid, the high elves would teach humans magic.
The high elves dispatched messengers to consult with King Anasterian. Like all of his kind, he knew well the dangers of unchecked magic. Teaching the arcane arts to humans could easily lead to disaster. Yet as much as this possibility troubled Anasterian, his own people were facing extinction. Knowing he had little choice, he agreed that the high elves would tutor one hundred humans in the rudimentary ways of magic.
Before long, elven magi journeyed to Strom and hastily began their mentorship of humans. Over the course of many months, the tutors observed something remarkable in their students. Although the humans lacked grace and subtlety in their castings, they possessed a startling natural affinity to magic.
Meanwhile, Thoradin ordered his generals to establish a stronghold at the base of the Alterac Mountains. This would act as a staging point for their future offensive against the trolls. Thoradin’s generals also erected other crude forts in the Eastweald, a large stretch of fertile foothills east of Tirisfal Glades. However, Alterac Fortress would remain the humans’ most important northern holding.
Once the elves had finished tutoring the human magi, Arathor began its offensive. Over twenty thousand human soldiers gathered at Alterac Fortress. From there, Thoradin himself led his forces toward Quel’Thalas. He did not, however, bring the human magi with him. They would remain behind the walls of Alterac. If things progressed as Thoradin hoped, the magi would play a part later in the war …
Generals Ignaeus and Lordain acted as the vanguard of Arathor’s armies. Riding days ahead of the advancing Arathi host, they cleared the way north and slaughtered any troll scouts and raiding parties they could find. After weeks of hard marching, the full might of Arathor’s armies finally reached the outskirts of Quel’Thalas and smashed into the southern flank of the Amani. In coordination with the Arathi, the high elves launched a counterattack from the north and laid waste to the trolls’ front lines.
The Amani now found themselves fighting a war on two fronts. Yet Jintha remained confident the trolls would emerge victorious. The elves’ decision to ally with the primitive humans reeked of desperation. The Arathi had a reputation as fierce warriors, but they lacked the magic powers and battle discipline of the elves. The crude humans were a minor nuisance—one that Jintha would quickly eradicate. Intent on destroying Arathor’s armies, he turned his warbands south to crush the humans. Once he had slaughtered them, Jintha would refocus his forces on Quel’Thalas and exterminate the elves for good.
On Thoradin’s orders, the humans began a slow retreat back toward Alterac. Weeks of brutal and bloody fighting followed as the overconfident Amani chased Arathor’s armies to the mountains. As the humans moved south, the high elves emerged from Quel’Thalas and marched for Alterac as well. They constantly harried the northern flank of the Amani, slowly whittling down the trolls’ rear guard.
Upon finally reaching Alterac Fortress, Thoradin was pleased to find that the Amani were still in pursuit. He readied his forces for the attack that he knew was soon to come. One morning, as a thick fog enveloped the Alterac foothills, the Amani fell upon the human army. Although outnumbered, the Arathi fought back with unexpected tenacity. The battle raged on for days with neither side giving ground. Before long, the high elves arrived from the north and assailed the Amani on a second front.
When the humans and elves were confident they had worn down the Amani ranks, they unleashed their secret weapon: the one hundred human magi. Throughout the recent days of fighting, Thoradin had kept them hidden within Alterac Fortress. Now, it was time to test their mettle in battle.
Alongside the elven sorcerers, the human magi called upon their vast newfound powers. Instead of attacking individually, the magi did something unprecedented: they pooled their power and wove a single terrible spell. The Alterac Mountains heaved and trembled as torrents of fire lashed down from the blood-red sky. The energies engulfed the Amani ranks in a searing conflagration. These sorcerous flames burned loa and troll alike from the inside out.
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 north. The elves and humans hunted them down like game, slaughtering every Amani combatant they could find.
The disastrous battle floored the Zandalari emissaries. Once so confident of victory, they skulked back to their island home in disbelief and shame. For them, the defeat marked a dark turning point in troll history, one from which their beleaguered race might never recover.
Yet for Quel’Thalas and Arathor, the war was the beginning of a glorious new era. For months after the cessation of the conflict, celebrations graced the streets of Strom and Silvermoon City. The grateful elves pledged their undying loyalty to Arathor and to Thoradin’s descendants.
HUMAN MAGI UNLEASH THEIR POWERS ON THE AMANI TROLLS
THE SACRIFICE OF LORDAIN
During the retreat to Alterac, the Amani began gaining on the hu
mans too fast, threatening to flank and overwhelm Arathor’s armies. To avert disaster, General Lordain volunteered to waylay the trolls, knowing full well he would not survive. He and five hundred of his bravest warriors held off the Amani host in a narrow valley while the rest of the Arathi army continued retreating south. Lordain and his warriors paid the ultimate price, but their valiant stand helped secure victory for humans and elves alike. Lordain’s legacy of pure selflessness and sacrifice would live on among his people in the coming millennia.
After King Thoradin’s reign had ended, new generations of humans expanded the nation of Arathor in size and power. Many of the first human magi tutored pupils in the ways of the arcane. Within a few decades, the number of spellcasters within Arathor had increased dramatically.
Protected from natural threats by these powerful magi, enterprising humans founded new Arathi settlements in the frontier lands. Some claimed the verdant pastures of the Eastweald, territories once lorded over by the trolls. Others migrated to Alterac Fortress as well as to the smaller forts that had been built during the Troll Wars. These fortified holdings soon flourished into bustling trading outposts.
The most coveted and fertile lands were located in Tirisfal Glades. There, the Arathi established a stronghold to protect their farmsteads from gnolls, kobolds, and other dangerous wildlife. Many former soldiers settled in this region, which they renamed Lordaeron in honor of the late general Lordain.
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