
Artwork © Blizzard EntertainmentClassic baseline · Forever beta stories
Timeline
Before the Third WarThe Hammer and the Burden
Orgrim Doomhammer tested Thrall before revealing who he was. The young orc’s refusal to accept a life of hiding convinced the former warchief that he had found an ally. Together with the Frostwolves and Warsong, they began freeing the camps.
Thrall entered among the prisoners and rekindled their confidence, showing them that the old spiritual traditions had not vanished. The campaign gave the orcs a reason to act together again. It also cost them Orgrim, mortally wounded during the fighting.
The dying leader entrusted Thrall with his armor, the Doomhammer and command. Thrall had sought his own freedom; now the safety of others rested on his choices. He carried the inheritance toward the fortress where his captivity had begun.
Sources (1)
After the Third WarA Home Worth Defending
After Hyjal, Thrall settled his people in Durotar, naming the land for his father and Orgrimmar for Orgrim. Establishing a homeland demanded labor and resources as well as victory. The harsh country did not make its inhabitants safe from the wars they had left behind.
Rexxar became involved in defending the settlement and discovered human attacks that threatened the new nation. Daelin Proudmoore had arrived at Theramore and would not accept Jaina’s belief that this Horde was different. To him, its past made another war inevitable.
Jaina stepped aside rather than support his offensive, asking the Horde to spare her people. Rexxar led the campaign that defeated Daelin. Thrall withdrew afterward, leaving Jaina to mourn her father. Peace survived as an agreement between wounded allies, not as proof that the old losses had been forgotten.
Sources (2)