| |
|
A Timeline Of Troll History
Below is a timeline of the major events in Troll history, all 100%
accurate Warcraft lore, but involving some conjecture. This forgotton
lore demonstrates that the Trolls were the original masters of Azeroth,
and that they are perhaps the most important race in Azeroth's long history.
All of this timeline is based upon the Warcraft games, including books
from within World Of Warcraft, such as 'Arathor and the The Troll Wars',
which was acquired from the great Dwarven library of Ironforge by Boomshaka's
spy network. Note that due to the vastness of time, some dates are approximate
or conjecture. All dates are given as WC1, (years prior-to/after the events
of Wacraft 1).
Beginning of Time
The universe is formed by some unknown event.
The Depths Of Time
At least three sentient groups emerge within the universe, one, the metal-skinned
Titans, set about shaping the various worlds scattered throughout the
darkness of the vast cosmos into worlds of life. Another, the demon races,
who reside within alternate planes of existence, attempted to hinder their
efforts, and eventually corrupted a great Titan lord, who had been fighting
the campaign against them, to be their leader. His name was Sargeras.
When the Titans came upon one world, the early Azeroth, and began shaping
it, they encountered a powerful race of elemental gods, worshipped by
the elemental inhabitants of the primordial and chaotic planet, but defeated
them in a conflict, and chained them under the surface of the planet.
Without these old gods to tie their energy to the material plane, the
elementals vanished from Azeroth into one of the infinate alternate planes
of existence, and Azeroth settled down. Creating various races such as
the Dwarves and Sea Giants to shape their planet, the Titans succeeded
in creating a world teaming with life. Upon leaving their latest creation,
out of untold countless others, they placed a large pool of energy in
the middle of the single massive continent which then existed, to act
as a fountain of arcane energy, unaware of the future danger it would
bring. This made Azeroth special, as it had a unique link to the alternate
plane of arcane magic, but also to the curruption of the demons. It is
assumed that Trolls were one of the original races created by the Titans
during this time, and were perhaps the first to awaken, although if they
had a clear purpose to fulfill on Azeroth, like the Dwarves, this role
has long been lost to the sands of time. During this age, the Titans remained
unaware as the Burning Legion of demons, under the command of Sargeras,
destroyed countless worlds, just as the Titans had created them. Nobody
knows the extent of the demonic damage, the only thing certain is that
at least two planets, Azeroth and Draenor, whose relative locations in
the universe are unknown, remained unseen by the Burning Legion's crusade
of chaos.
Late Pre-History
At an unknown time in history, amongst all the life of Azeroth, a race
known as the Trolls, who were extreamly intelligent and possessed great
strength and capacity to regererate wounds, rose to prominance amongst
a world where most other intelligent species were still primatives without
language or science, or were yet to 'awaken'. Over time, this race, and
its huge populations, spread to all corners of the globe like no other
species, and split into five sub-races, distinguisehed from each other
by their environment and society, but equal in biology - the Jungle Trolls,
Forest Trolls, Ice Trolls, Desert Trolls and Dark Trolls. At least two
of these existed and thrived in this age where pre-historic creatures
still roamed Azeroth, and over time established the first civilisations
on Azeroth, marking the start of recorded history and culture, and the
transformation of Azeroth from a wilderness into a planet where civilisation
could exist.
-16,000 Years WC1
About 16,000 years ago, (long before the Night Elves foolishly called
down the wrath of the Burning Legion), Trolls lorded over much of Kalimdor,
(which was at the time, the name of the single continent on Azeroth).
There were twin Troll Empires - the Gurubashi Empire of the Southeastern
jungles - and the Amani Empire of the Middle Forestlands - both of which
which dominated most of the globe. They ruled their vast empires from
the cities of Zul'Gurub, (in what is today Stranglethorn Vale), and Zul'Aman,
(in what is today Quel'Thalas), respectively. These two races of Trolls
would be later known as the Jungle Trolls and Forest Trolls respectively.
There were smaller tribes that lived far to the north, (in the region
now known as Northrend), and these tribes founded a small nation known
as Gundrak, but never achieved the size or prosperity of the Southern
empires. These Trolls were perhaps later to become the Ice Trolls of Northrend
and Khaz Modan, and their city, Gundrak, would later become a citadel
in the Nerubian Empire, presumably after being conquered. Additionally,
at some point, possibly more towards modern times, the race of Desert
Trolls in the western regions also broke away and formed a similar small
Empire to that of the northern Trolls, with their capital in Zul'Farrak.
It is speculated that the last of the five Troll races, the Dark Trolls,
are either remenants of early Trolls whom never participated in the forming
of great civilisation, or chose to create their society in the caves of
the world, never forming a civilisation of their own.
The Gurubashi and Amani Empires had little love for one another, but
rarely warred against each other. At the time, their greatest common enemy
was a third empire - the civilization of Azi'Aqir. The Aqir were intelligent
insectoids who ruled the lands of the far west. These clever insectoids
were greatly expansionistic and icredibly evil. The Aqir were obsessed
with eradicating all non-insect life from the fields of Kalimdor. The
Trolls fought them for many thousands of years, but never succeeded in
winning a true victory over the Aqir. Eventually, due to the Troll's persistence,
the Aqiri Kingdom split in half as its citizens fled to separate colonies
in the far northern and southern regions of the continent. Two Aqiri city-states
emerged - Azjol-Nerub in the northern wastes, and Ahn'Qiraj in the southern
desert. Though the Trolls suspected that there were other Aqiri colonies
beneath Kalimdor, their existence was never verified. With the insectoids
driven into exile, their Empire demolished by the might of Troll civilisation
and milennia of military campaign, the twin Troll Empires returned to
business as usual. Despire their great victory, neither civilization expanded
much farther than their original boundaries. However, ancient texts speak
of a small faction of Trolls that broke off from the Amani Empire and
founded their own colony in the heart of the dark continent. There, these
brave pioneers discovered the cosmic Well of Eternity which transformed
them into beings of immense power. Some legends suggest that these adventurous
Trolls were the first Night Elves, which would explain the resembelence
of the two races and their cultures, though this theory has never been
proven.
-10,000 Years WC1
Aside from their shadowy origins, it is clear that the Night Elves came
to power soon after their discovery of the Well of Eternity. Despite the
Trolls' attempts to keep them from expanding their territories, the Night
Elves built up a mighty empire that expanded rapidly across primordial
Kalimdor. Wielding fierce arcane magics never before imagined by the Trolls,
whom only used the natural magics of the spirit world, the Night Elves
had little trouble doing what the evil Aqir could never do: topple the
two greatest empires in the world. The Night Elves, from their relatively
small Empire, systematically dismantled the Troll's defenses and supply
chains using their recklessly powerfull magics and guerilla tactics. The
Trolls, unable to counter the Elves' destructive magics, and unable to
convert their huge armies into effective anti-guerilla forces fast enough,
buckled under the onslaught of these early powerfull Elves, whom had the
massive power of the arcane magics still fresh from the Well Of Eternity.
The Night Elves proved to every bit as cunning and bloodthirsty as the
savage Trolls - incurring the latter race's eternal hatred and disdain.
The Gurubashi and Amani Empires fragmented within only a few short years,
their Empires reduced to individual cities, cenetered around the twin
capitals. It is unclear what role, if any, the Desert, Ice and Dark Trolls
played in this conflict.
Eventually, the Night Elves were burned by the arcane fires they had
sought to control. Their reckless use of magic had lured the demonic Burning
Legion to the world. The demons crushed much of the Night Elves' own civilization.
Though there are no records to indicate that the Legion attacked either
Troll civilization, it is likely that battles took place across the breadth
of the continent. At the end of this terrible conflict - known as the
War of the Ancients - the Well of Eternity imploded. The resulting shockwave
shattered the great landmass of Kalimdor. The center of the continent
was blasted beneath the sea, leaving only a small group of broken, single
continents - the land which is today known as Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms,
Northrend, et al. Although much of the ancient civilisations now lie in
the depths of the ocean, great chunks of both the Amani and Gurubashi
Empires still exist in the present day lands of Quel'Thalas, Lorderon
and Stranglethorn. The ancient enemies of the Trolls - the Azj'Aqir kingdoms
of Azjol-Nerub and Ahn'Qiraj - have also survived in present day Northrend,
Sithilis and Tanaris, as the Empires of the Sithilids and Nerubians. Both
Troll civilizations recoiled from the vast destruction of the primordial
world they had known. The dauntless Trolls rebuilt their ravaged cities
and set about to reclaim some of their former power. The Night Elves,
their Empire now destroyed, and their power gone, vowed to never use magic
again, for fear that the Legion would return - they set up a new small
and reclusive Empire far from the Trolls, across the ocean int he North
of Kalimdor.
-8,000 Years WC1
The long centuries following the Great Sundering of the world were difficult
ones for the Troll races. Famine and terror were commonplace within the
broken kingdoms. The Gurubashi Trolls, driven to deperate ends, sought
aid from ancient, mystical forces. Though both of the Troll kingdoms shared
a central belief in a great pantheon of primitive gods, the Gurubashi
fell under the sway of the darkest one. Hakkar the Soulflayer, a vile,
bloodthirsty spirit, heard the Trolls' call and decided to aid them. Hakkar
gave his secrets of blood to the Gurubashi and helped them extend their
civilization across most of Stranglethron Vale and certain islands of
the South Seas. Though he brought them great power, Hakkar wanted more
and more for his efforts. The bloodthirsty god demanded souls be sacrificed
to him daily. He dreamed of gaining access to the physical world so he
could devour the blood of all mortal creatures. In time the Gurubashi
realized what kind of creature they had courted with - and turned against
him. The strongest tribes rose up against Hakkar and his loyal priests
- the Atal'ai. The terrible war that ensued between Hakkar's followers
and the rest of the Gurubashi tribes is spoken of only in whispers. The
budding empire was shattered by the magic unleashed between the angry
god and his rebel children. Just as the battle seemed most hopeless, the
Trolls succeeded in destroying Hakkar's avatar and banishing him from
the world. Even his Atal'ai priests were eventually driven from the capital
of Zul'Gurub and forced to survive in the uncharted swamplands of the
north, today known as the Swamp Of Sorrows. Within those shadowy fens
they built a great temple to their fallen god - the Temple of Atal'Hakkar
- where they could continue to do their master's work. The rest of the
Gurubashi tribes went their separate ways after the great civil war had
left their lands in ruins. The Skullsplitter, Bloodscalp and Darkspear
tribes set off to claim their own lands within the vast jungles of Stranglethorn
and the islands of the seas. Though a fragile peace had settled over the
broken Jungle Troll empire, some spoke of a prophecy that Hakkar would
one day be reborn into the world - and on that day - he would comsume
it whole.
-6,000 Years WC1
After millenia of the Burning Legion passing into history, some Night
Elves began to again experiment with the dangerous arcane energies which
had devestrated their short-lived control of Azeroth. Unwilling to give
up their precious magics, a small band of the now reclusive Night Elves
was exiled from Kalimdor. Deep within the northern forests of the continent,
they founded the kingdom of Quel'Thalas and vowed to create a mighty empire
which would dwarf that of their Kaldorei cousins. Unfortunately they soon
learned that Quel'Thalas was founded upon an ancient Troll city that the
Forest Trolls still held to be sacred - the ancient capital of Zul'Aman
itself. Almost immediately, the Amani began to attack the elven settlements
en masse, with huge forces which had been healing for millennia, ever
since their Empire had been confined to Lorderon by the militarism of
the then-powerfull Night Elves. Because the Forest Trolls had not suffered
a similar catastrophy as their Gurubashi breatheren in the south had,
through the worship of Hakkar, they were still a unified empire, with
many cities throughout the vastness of Lorderon still under their control.
The stubborn elves, unwilling to give up their new land, utilized the
magics which they had gleaned from the Well of Eternity and kept the savage
Trolls at bay. Under Dath'Remar's leadership, they were able to defeat
the Amani warbands that outnumbered them ten to one. Some Elves, wary
of the Kaldorei's ancient warnings, felt that their use of magic might
possibly draw the attention of the banished Burning Legion. Therefore,
they decided to mask their lands within a protective barrier which would
still allow them to work their enchantments. They constructed a series
of monolithic Runestones at various points around Quel'Thalas which marked
the boundaries of the magic barrier. The Runestones not only masked the
Elves' magic from extra-dimensional threats, but the Elves believed that
it helped to frighten away the superstitious Troll warbands as well.
As time wore on, Quel'Thalas became a shining monument to the High Elves'
efforts and magical prowess. Its beauteous palaces were crafted in the
same architectural style as the ancient halls of Kalimdor, yet they were
interwoven with the natural topography of the land. Quel'Thalas had become
the shining jewel that the elves had longed to create. The Convocation
of Silvermoon was founded as the ruling power over Quel'Thalas, though
the Sunstrider Dynasty maintained a modicum of political power. Comprised
of seven of the greatest High Elf lords, the Convocation worked to secure
the safety of the Elven lands and people. Surrounded by their protective
barrier, the High Elves remained unmoved by the old warnings of the Kaldorei
and continued to use magic flagrantly in almost all aspects of their lives.
For nearly four thousand years the High Elves lived peacefully within
the secluded safety of their kingdom. Nevertheless, the vindictive Trolls
were not so easily defeated, thier Empire ever surrounding the Elven lands.
They plotted and schemed in the depths of the forests and waited for the
numbers of their warbands to grow. Finally, a mighty Troll army charged
out from the shadowy forests and once again laid siege to the shining
spires of Quel'Thalas.
-2,700 Years WC1
As the High Elves fought for their lives against the Trolls' fierce onslaught,
the scattered, nomadic humans of Lordaeron fought to consolidate their
own tribal lands. The tribes of early humanity raided each other's settlements
with little heed for racial unification or honor. Yet one tribe, known
as the Arathi, saw that the Trolls were becoming too great a threat to
ignore. The Arathi wished to bring all of the tribes under its rule so
that they could provide a unified front against the Troll warbands. Over
the course of six years, the cunning Arathi outmaneuvered and outfought
the rival tribes. After every victory, the Arathi offered peace and equality
to the conquered people; thus, they won the loyalty of those they had
beaten. Eventually the Arathi tribe came to include many disparate tribes,
and the ranks of its army grew vast. Confident that they could hold their
own against the Troll warbands or even the reclusive Elves if need be,
the Arathi warlords decided to construct a mighty fortress city in the
southern regions of Lordaeron. The city-state, named Strom, became the
capital of the Arathi nation, Arathor. As Arathor prospered, humans from
all over the vast continent traveled south to the protection and safety
of Strom. United under one banner, the human tribes developed a strong,
optimistic culture. Thoradin, the king of Arathor, knew that the mysterious
Elves in the northlands were under constant siege by the Trolls, but refused
to risk the safety of his people in defense of reclusive strangers. Many
months passed as rumors of the Elves' supposed defeat trickled down from
the north. It was only when weary ambassadors from Quel'Thalas reached
Strom that Thoradin realized how great the Troll threat truly was. The
Elves persuaded Thoradin that the Troll armies were vast and that once
the Trolls had destroyed Quel'Thalas, they would move on to attack the
southlands. The desperate Elves, in dire need of military aid, hastily
agreed to teach certain select humans to wield magic in exchange for their
help against the warbands. Thoradin, distrustful of any magic, agreed
to aid the elves out of necessity. Almost immediately, Elven sorcerers
arrived in Arathor and began to instruct a group of humans in the ways
of magic.
The Elves found that although humans were innately clumsy in their handling
of magic, they possessed a startling natural affinity for it. One hundred
men were taught the very basics of the elves' magical secrets: no more
than was absolutely necessary to combat the Trolls. Convinced that their
human students were ready to aid in the struggle, the Elves left Strom
and traveled north alongside the mighty armies of King Thoradin. The united
Elf and Human armies clashed against the overwhelming Troll warbands at
the foot of the Alterac Mountains. The battle lasted for many days, but
the unflagging armies of Arathor never tired or gave an inch of ground
before the Troll onslaught. The Elven lords deemed that the time had come
to release the powers of their magic upon the enemy. The hundred human
magi and a multitude of Elven sorcerers called down the fury of the heavens
and set the Troll armies ablaze. The elemental fires prevented the Trolls
from regenerating their wounds and burned their tortured forms from the
inside out. As the Troll armies broke and attempted to retreat, Thoradin's
armies ran them down and slaughtered every last one of their soldiers.
The Trolls would never fully recover from their defeat, and history would
never see the Trolls rise as one nation again. Assured that Quel'Thalas
was saved from destruction, the Elves made a pledge of loyalty and friendship
to the nation of Arathor and to the bloodline of its king, Thoradin. Humans
and Elves would nurture peaceful relations for ages to come. In belief
that the Trolls were now absent in the northlands, the Elves of Quel'Thalas
bent their efforts towards rebuilding their glorious homeland, ignorant
of the survival of the Forest Trolls.
-2,500 Years WC1
The Dwarves, finnally awakening from their slumber under the earth of
Khaz Modan, where they had lain since the Titans had departed, founded
a great city under the mountains of the region, but soon overflowed out
onto the surface of the land, leading to their meeting with those who
ruled the surface of Khaz Modan - the Ice Trolls. At some unknown time,
perhaps after the great collapse of the larger Troll Empires, the Ice
Trolls had founded a relatively small yet powerfull Empire in Khaz Modan,
similar to that of Gundrak in Northrend. The Dwarves had stayed clear
of involvement with surface dwellers thus far, but seeking new lands,
they ruthlessly turned their weapons upon the Ice Trolls, destroying thier
empire, claiming their lands, and driving them into the many caves of
the Coldridge Valley, Shimmer Ridge and Frostmane Hold, thus, like the
Elves and humans, forever incurring the wrath of the Trolls, and turning
them into ancestral enemies.
0 Year WC1
Thousands of years passed since the ancient times when the Elves had last
wreaklessly brought doom upon Azeroth in their quest for power against
the Trolls, but years of use of the arcane magics by humans and Elves
finnally attracted the wrath of the Burning Legion once more. After considerable
preperation, the invasion of the Orcs from Draenor began as part of the
first wave of a new Burning Legion invasion. The Orcs, whom were once
a shamanistic and honourable warrior society, had been currupted on their
homeworld of Draenor by the Burning Legion for years in preperation for
their use in the invasion of Azeroth, and now had been turned into a massive
dedicated miliatary machine, which emplyed all the scientific knolwedge
of the fierce greenskins for the purpose of warfare. Successfully testing
their capacity for war on the peacefull Draenei people of their homeworld,
they commenced the invasion of the planet Azeroth on behalf of their newfound
gods, the demons of the Burning Legion, whom wished to send them as a
pre-invasion force. The Orcish Horde proved to be more than a match for
the ill-prepared humans, and almost suceeded in sustaining momentum for
the conquering of all humans.
+6 Years WC1
The Horde, now led by Warchief Doomhammer, brought in Ogres from its homeworld
of Draenor as brutal mercinaries, forged deals with the Goblin trade princes,
and conscripted the remenants of the Amani Forest Trolls into its fold.
The Amani become invaluable members of the Horde, and their leader, Zul'jin,
a revelotionary who wanted to unite all the Troll tribes, led the powerfull
remenants of the ancient Amani Empire into battle alongside the Orcs,
using their combined forces as an oppertunity to finnally claim back the
lands of Zul'Aman. Setting out on a massive campaign to overrun the Dwarf
Kingdom of Khaz Modan and the southern reaches of Lordaeron, the Horde
effortlessly decimated all opposition, their newfound partners playing
no small part. Just as a the new age had dawned with the second invasion
of Azeroth by the forces of darkness, the Trolls were once again at the
very center of things, on the verge of reclaiming the Amani Empire after
10,000 years.
+8 Years WC1
After years of setbacks and defeats from the Horde's onslaught, the Alliance
of the Humans, Elves, Gnomes and Dwarves drove back the Horde in a counter-attack,
and by sealing the Dark Portal, and destroying the planet Draenor, (whos
frangments would later be called the 'Outland'), they forever ensured
that the Horde could not invade again, or gain support. Having their supplies
cut off, thus ensuring the loss of the war by the Horde, the xenophobic
and vicious Forest Trolls abandoned the Orcs to rot in the Alliance internment
camps, ending their alliance of conveinience and retreating back into
the forests to ensure that even if the Orcs wouldnt, they would survive.
Although the majority of Forest Trolls returned to their homelands, some
who were still loyal to the first Horde, (or perhaps currupted by he demons
who controled them), remained with the un-captured rogue Orcs who still
remain dedicated to their demon lords today.
+12 Years WC1
The defeat of the Horde frustrated the Burning Legion
and fueled yet another invasion of Azeroth before the final apoclypse
would begin. The Lich King, in command of a new force of Undead, loyal
to the Burning Legion, were to act as a second pre-invasion force, after
the Orcs defeat, and they begun their incidious inflitration of Azeroth
and its civilisation by setting up base on the desolate frozen continent
of Northrend, and conquering the Nerubian Empire, once great enemies of
the ancient Troll Empires, now reduced to servents of the Lich King. Gradually
the new threat built, as cults sprung up within the peoples of the Alliance,
and necrmoncers developed a plague that would forever transform the face
of Azeroth.
+20 Years WC1
The time for reaconing had come, with a warning delivered to a revolutionary
young Orc leader, Thrall, the Orcs began an exodus from the Alliance lands,
and the Lich King commenced his invasion. Following the beggining of this
new invasion by the Undead Scourge, and the escape of the Orc Horde from
the internment camps of Lorderon, the Darkspear Tribe of Jungle Trolls,
whom had been exiled by their rivals to inhabit the little-known islands
of the ocean, became part of the new Horde led by Thrall, in place of
the Forest Trolls before them. Thrall had discovered them whilst thrown
off course by the Maelstrom. After their leader Sen'jin was killed and
they were driven from the islands surrounding the Malestrom by hostile
forces, Warcheif Thrall saved them by risking his life and allowing them
to join his exodus. The Darkspear Tribe therefore swore an honouable Alliance
with the Orcs, who proved more honouable than any pervious race the Trolls
had encountered. Upon landing on the shores of Kalimdor, Orc and Troll
side-by-side, in what was to be that start of a great partnership in this
new and untamed land, they begin to found a new joint-nation, Durotar,
within the lands of Kalimdor. The Orcs and Trolls also encountered the
Tauren, whom they allied with, forming a powerfull union against the encroaching
Undead and the violent natives of Kalimdor, such as the Centaurs. After
a brief alliance with the humans, the Scourge, whom had succeeded in leveling
much of the masive land of Lorderon, and Burning Legion, who had commenced
their final invasion, were driven back by the short-lived but unified
power of the Horde and Alliance combined, and their plans ended with the
destruction of the Night Elves' great tree.
+21 Years WC1
Following the great wars on the other continents of Azeroth, which led
to the the birth of the Outlanders faction, and the spiltting of the Forsaken
from the mindless Scourge, the Horde was building the nation of Durotar
without hinderance. However, the Darkspear Tribe, partially living now
on the Echo Isles off the coast of Durotar, was invaded by the Humans
of Kul'Tiris, and had to evacuate to the mainland, where their leader
Vol'jin founded a settlement called Sen'jin village in its namesake's
honor. This new aggression by the pinkskins of the Alliance, on the newfound
lands of the Orcs and Trolls, sparked a whole new conflict with the Horde,
leading to the distrust which exists today. Eventually the humans, led
by Admiral Proudmoure, were defeated, but a new era of tension between
Horde and Alliance began as the Orcs and Trolls realised that old rivalrys
would not die easily, and that the Alliance needed reasources desperatly
in the wake of their terrible losses to the Undead. Despite the warnings
of the Trolls, Thrall accepted the newly liberated Forsaken into the Horde,
in an alliance of convenience.
+25 Years WC1
Today, as the Trolls exist everywhere, including in a powerfull alliance
with the Horde, the ancient enemies of theirs are weaker than ever. Night
Elves have lost their power twice to the Burning Legion, the Insectoid
Empires still lie as shadows of their former selves, and the Alliance
is cut in two by the forces of the Undead. Meanwhile, the Darkspear Tribe
of Jungle Trolls find themselves in a position of power and seek to reclaim
the Gurubashi Empire, the Forest Trolls seek to reclaim Zul'Aman in the
wake of the High Elves destruction, the Ice Trolls wait and watch as the
Troggs ravage their Dwarven enemies, the Desert Trolls wage war with the
Goblins and Insectoids in the west, and the shadow of Hakkar still lies
beneath the Swamp Of Sorrows. The Trolls have survived where others have
failed, and now exist in bigger numbers than ever. Perhaps the time for
the rebirth of the Troll Empires is now, but many old enemies and new
challenges await, some finnally returning from the sands of time, others
bringing the constant threat of destruction across all of Azeroth.
|
|
|
Original
Boomshaka site design by Joro, 2004 - Robertsson0@icqmail.com