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The New Horde
The chief warden of the internment camps, Aedelas
Blackmoore, watched over the captive Orcs from his
prison-stronghold, Durnholde. One Orc in particular
had always held his interest: the orphaned infant he
had found nearly eighteen years before. Blackmoore
had raised the young male as a favored slave and
named him Thrall. Blackmoore taught the Orc about
tactics, philosophy, and combat. Thrall was even
trained as a gladiator. All the while, the corrupt
warden sought to mold the Orc into a weapon.
Despite his harsh upbringing, young Thrall grew into
a strong, quick-witted Orc, and he knew in his heart
that a slave's life was not for him. As he grew to
maturity, he learned about his people, the Orcs,
whom he had never met: after their defeat, most of
them had been placed in internment camps. Rumor had
it that Doomhammer, the Orc leader, had escaped from
Lordaeron and gone into hiding. Only one rogue clan
still operated in secret, trying to evade the
watchful eyes of the Alliance.
The resourceful yet inexperienced Thrall decided to
escape from Blackmoore's fortress and set off to
find others of his kind. During his journeys Thrall
visited the internment camps and found his
once-mighty race to be strangely cowed and
lethargic. Having not found the proud warriors he
hoped to discover, Thrall set out to find the last
undefeated Orc chieftain, Grom Hellscream.
Constantly hunted by the humans, Hellscream
nevertheless held onto the Horde's unquenchable will
to fight. Aided only by his own devoted Warsong
clan, Hellscream continued to wage an underground
war against the oppression of his beleaguered
people. Unfortunately, Hellscream could never find a
way to rouse the captured Orcs from their stupor.
The impressionable Thrall, inspired by Hellscream's
idealism, developed a strong empathy for the Horde
and its warrior traditions.
Seeking the truth of his own origins, Thrall
traveled north to find the legendary Frostwolf clan.
Thrall learned that Gul'dan had exiled the
Frostwolves during the early days of the First War.
He also discovered that he was the son and heir of
the Orc hero Durotan, the true chieftain of the
Frostwolves who had been murdered in the wilds
nearly twenty years before.
Under the tutelage of the venerable shaman
Drek'Thar, Thrall studied his people's ancient
shamanistic culture, which had been forgotten under
Gul'dan's' evil rule. Over time, Thrall became a
powerful shaman and took his rightful place as
chieftain of the exiled Frostwolves. Empowered by
the elements themselves and driven to find his
destiny, Thrall set off to free the captive clans
and heal his race of demonic corruption. .
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