Kosh'harg


 * "I always looked forward to the Kosh'harg festivals in Nagrand, for it was a time of rare friendship."
 * — Chieftain Durotan

The Kosh'harg, sometimes known as the Kosh'harg celebration or Kosh'harg festival, was a biannual event held by the diverse and numerous orcish clans of Draenor. It took place during the spring and the autumn, in honor of the time when day and night are the same length. Because of the vast differences in culture, dress, religious dogma and dialects between all the orc clans, they were generally insular and independent cells. However, the elders of all clans recognized the importance of meeting to discuss various matters, and thus the Kosh'harg was created and honored.

The festival was originally a biannual gathering of shaman created by the Shadowmoon clan shortly after the orcs first learned the arts of shamanism, but it soon grew to include all orcs. The Kosh'harg was mostly held in the shadow of Oshu'gun, the "Mountain of Spirits" in Nagrand. Any violence or vendettas pursued during the event was strictly forbidden and held grave consequences, since Nagrand was considered holy ground. The length of the festival depended on how many pressing concerns needed to be addressed, but such matters were a rarity, and the gathering shifted much more to the mood of a festival rather than a commune. Many Kosh'hargs were simply meet-and-greets to catch up and see old faces once more, becoming a rare time when the clans could put aside their rivalries, share news, foster ties, and feast in friendship.

Notable Kosh'hargs

 * 402 BDP: Held the year after the orcish temple at the Throne of the Elements was destroyed by ogres, an event which threw the elements out of balance all across Draenor and caused great storms. There was no celebration or revelry at this festival, only mourning for what had happened at the Throne. The Shadowmoon elder shaman Nelgarm pleaded for action, lest all of the clans suffer disastrous famines as a result of the elements' imbalance. The clans agreed to join together, and Nelgarm called upon the elements to bless them with their protection. The orcs marched to war against the ogres as a single people.
 * 99 BDP: One of this year's Kosh'harg festivals was quite tense, marked by arguments on how the orcs would respond to the draenei, who had recently repelled an ogre attack on their city of Shattrath. Some clans wanted to avoid them, others saw them as enemies and some chieftains speculated that the draenei hated fighting and would shrink away from a worthy opponent; the fact that the draenei had taken care to minimize ogre casualties was seen as a weakness. The Kosh'harg ended without a consensus and most clans were content to simply keep their distance, with the exception of the Bladewind clan.
 * Unknown, before 13 BDP: Durotan and Orgrim Doomhammer met at a Kosh'harg, challenging each other in feats of strength and willpower and becoming fast friends for many years.
 * Unknown, before 11 BDP: At an autumn Kosh'harg, Garad called his oldest son Fenris a coward for secretly hunting gronn with the Thunderlord clan, causing Fenris to challenge his father to a mak'gora duel. Garad easily defeated his son but refused to kill him. Feeling insulted and humiliated, Fenris permanently left the Frostwolves to join the Thunderlord clan.
 * ~10 BDP: Many of the attendants of one of this year's Kosh'harg contracted the virulent plague known as the red pox, including Garad. Ner'zhul urged them to remain in Nagrand and build a village to quarantine the afflicted. Garad took charge over his fellow plague bearers and sent his son Durotan home to lead the Frostwolves in his stead. Garad died of the pox a few weeks later, and the village was named Garadar in his honor.