Thrall

Thrall (birthname Go'el), son of Durotan and Draka, is the former Warchief of the restored shamanistic Horde, founder of the nation of Durotar in Kalimdor and one of the second wave of shaman. His parents killed by Gul'dan's assassins shortly after his birth in the beginning of the First War, he was found and raised by Aedelas Blackmoore who gave Thrall his name. Raised as a slave and gladiator, he later joined Orgrim Doomhammer in freeing the orcs imprisoned after the Second War, being named Warchief after Doomhammer's death. After leading the Horde away from the Alliance-claimed Eastern Kingdoms, he rescued and made allies of the Darkspear trolls and Bloodhoof tauren. Thrall led the new Horde against their former demonic masters in the Battle of Mount Hyjal. He subsequently led diplomatic efforts at peace between the Horde and Alliance after the end of the Third War.

After the fall of the Lich King and the increasing elemental unrest heralding the Cataclysm, Thrall stepped down as leader of the Horde, appointed Garrosh Hellscream as Warchief, and joined with the shamanistic Earthen Ring to combat the rampaging elements, eventually aiding the Aspects in Deathwing's downfall.

With his victory over the corrupted aspect behind him, Thrall had been forced to deal with the chaos his replacement had sown in his wake. The Pandaria Campaign clearly demonstrated Garrosh's unforeseeable madness and pride, leading to dissension within the Horde itself. Thrall stepped back in to defend the Horde and its allies from their increasingly ruthless dictator. Together with Vol'jin and the other disenfranchised leaders of the Horde, Thrall overthrew his ill-fated successor in the Siege of Orgrimmar. After Garrosh's capture, Thrall personally chose Vol'jin to hold the Horde together and pledged his allegiance to him, along with the remaining leaders of the faction. His mate Aggra also gave birth to a son named Durak.

During the war in Draenor, Thrall was a key member of the Horde expedition to an alternate version of the orcish homeworld. In addition to aiding in many key battles, he met and befriended his parents of that timeline and made allies of the Frostwolf Orcs. Knowing that Garrosh was responsible for the events in the alternate Draenor, Thrall pursued him and was ultimately successful in killing Garrosh in their final mak'gora.

Eventually, the weight of all the wars he had fought began to weigh more heavily upon the former warchief and Thrall's own abilities and resolve eventually began to waver. During the Burning Legion's latest invasion of Azeroth, he passed both the Doomhammer and the mantle of leader of the Earthen Ring down to a shaman adventurer, knowing the future was now in safer hands. With this, he retired with his family to Nagrand, where he established a small farm. This did not last, as he was called from retirement by Varok Saurfang, who needed his aid in preventing Sylvanas Windrunner, Vol'jin's successor after his death during the Legion's invasion, from tearing the Horde apart. Leading a rebellion alongside Saurfang, Thrall upheld his promise to Saurfang who perished during a mak'gora with Windrunner, who then abandoned the Horde. Taking on a mantle of leadership for his people once again, Thrall became a member of the Horde Council, which replaced the warchief position, as the orcish representative.

Thrall serves as one of the main protagonists in the Warcraft franchise.

Youth
Go'el is the son of Durotan, former chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, and Draka. He was born in the year 1 in their new home in the Alterac Mountains. Soon after the birth, Draka and the child accompanied Durotan to a secret meeting with Orgrim Doomhammer in Loch Modan. While in Loch Modan, Durotan warned Orgrim about the treachery of the warlock Gul'dan and his Shadow Council who used the orcish race as vassals to their ambition for power. Soon after, Durotan and his family were escorted by Orgrim's personal bodyguards on their way home to the north when in truth, the guards were actually assassins loyal to Gul'dan and brutally murdered Durotan and Draka while leaving the infant Go'el to die helplessly in the wilderness.

Go'el was found amongst the bloody bodies of his murdered parents somewhere in the north of Loch Modan by Aedelas Blackmoore, commander of the internment camps which held orcs after the end of the Second War. Blackmoore gave him the name Thrall, which was another word for "slave" in the human tongue, which would cling to the orc for the remainder of his life. Blackmoore returned to his fortress, Durnholde Keep, with Thrall, and raised him as a gladiator — with all the savagery of an orc, but with the keen strategic intellect of a human. He was trained and taught by many, wet-nursed by a human woman, and grew to befriend her daughter, Taretha Foxton. Thrall proved to be an excellent student and a phenomenal fighter. Thrall became a gladiator in Durnholde's arena and Aedelas' source of money. During one encounter in the arena, Prince Arthas Menethil visited Durnholde Keep in order to watch Thrall in a fight.

Thrall's first encounter with other orcs was while training with Sergeant and several trainees at Durnholde. A cart of captured orcs was moving through Durnholde at the time, to be kept within the camps, and one who saw Thrall believed that (rather than it being a training exercise) he was being ganged up on by humans. The orc broke free of his chains and moved to save Thrall, yelling at him in Orcish to run away, but at the time, Thrall did not understand any language except Common and so had no idea what his would-be savior was shouting. The orc was beaten and killed right before the young Thrall's eyes.

He was clever, quick and enormous even by orc standards. Blackmoore's abusive beatings both in and out of the ring began to take its toll. Taretha began to write him letters and secretly delivered them to him in his cage within books, and he wrote back to her. Eventually, he wrote to Taretha that he wished to escape, following a series of fights where he fought bravely but did not finish the last round, and was consequently physically punished by Aedelas.

Taretha created a diversion inside Durnholde Keep which allowed Thrall to escape from his cell unnoticed. They met up outside the fortress by a cave, and Taretha gave him provisions and supplies. He then left Durnholde, hoping to never return.

Thrall was captured and taken to an internment camp run by one Lorin Remka. It was here that he met an old orc with glowing red eyes named Kelgar, who told him of the corruption of Gul'dan, and how the old ways had been so much better for the Horde. He told him that the only one still thinking of embracing this was the undefeated Grom Hellscream, Chieftain of the Warsong clan. When another orc told Thrall that Blackmoore had arrived at the camp looking for him, Thrall escaped again and sought out Grom Hellscream.

The orcs
After Thrall had found the chieftain and proving himself, Hellscream took Thrall under his wing, teaching him the Orcish tongue, and telling him that—based on the tattered swaddling cloth Thrall showed him — he was a part of the exiled Frostwolf clan. After spending some time with Hellscream, Thrall decided to take his leave of them for a while in order to search out his roots in the Alterac Mountains.

After trekking to exhaustion, Thrall was rescued by the Frostwolves and taken to their camp. There he met Drek'Thar, who told Thrall that he was the son of the chieftain of the Frostwolves. Once Thrall had found his place among the Frostwolves, Drek'Thar taught him the old ways of the Horde, before Gul'dan's corruption, and soon Thrall was accepted as a member of the clan. A frost wolf named Snowsong eventually chose Thrall as her companion. It was some time after that choosing that he was called away by Drek'Thar, and came upon a quiet place where he had never been or seen before. Here he was to be initiated.

In one of the most spiritual experiences of his life, Thrall befriended the spirits of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and the Wilds. He became the first new shaman since Gul'dan's vile corruption of the Horde. He returned to the camp a new orc and became fully immersed in the old ways and ancient rites of the shaman and his clan, learning how to wield the fury of the storms and earth, and embracing his role as son of the chieftain. This was a significant and symbolic event since Thrall was the first shaman to be accepted by the spirits since Drek'Thar's time. Not only did this mean Thrall would be destined to be one of the greatest shaman in orcish history, but it also meant that the spirits finally forgave the orcish race for consorting with demonic powers, and deemed Thrall as the first of a brand new generation of shaman.

The camp was soon visited by a wandering stranger. At first, Thrall spoke pleasantly with him but began to grow angry when the stranger accused the Frostwolves of hiding away in the mountains. His fury — and orcish pride — growing within him, Thrall informed the stranger that he would join with Hellscream and the Warsong and lay siege to the encampments. The stranger dismissed Hellscream as a "demon-ridden dreamer", and said that the humans were not worth fighting. Enraged, Thrall challenged the stranger to single combat. The stranger threw aside his cloak to reveal well-worn black plate armor and a massive warhammer. After a short but brutal contest, Thrall managed to disarm him but was prevented from throttling the stranger by some of his clan. It was then that the stranger revealed himself as Orgrim Doomhammer — the Warchief of the Horde. Doomhammer had been contacted by Drek'Thar about the return of the son of Durotan. The Warchief decided to provoke Thrall into a fight to see if Drek'Thar's praise was deserved — and it was. Not only was Thrall able to challenge Doomhammer's strength, he also was able to best him — a feat only once before accomplished by Thrall's father.

Liberation
Doomhammer named Thrall his second-in-command and explained his strategy for liberating the encampments. Per Doomhammer's plan, Thrall infiltrated the camps masquerading as one of the downtrodden, lethargic prisoners, and then riled the orcs up with shows of his shamanistic powers. With the downtrodden orcs revitalized by their restored heritage, they quickly overran the encampments. On the first three encampments, this proved to be an effective tactic. On the fourth, Thrall was too easily recognized, and thus they had to resort to the numbers of the new Horde — and the shamanistic powers wielded by Thrall — to liberate the encampment. At the fifth, they were even better prepared — knights from Durnholde had been stationed at the remaining encampments, so that whichever camp they attacked, there would be a greater resistance. During the liberation of this encampment — now the Horde outpost of Hammerfall in the Arathi Highlands — Doomhammer was killed, impaled from behind by a knight's lance. With his dying breath, he gave Thrall his black plate and warhammer, and named him Warchief of the Horde. He made sure to restore, but not replace, the back plate pierced by the lance that took Doomhammer's life; and a symbol of the Frostwolf clan was added to the Doomhammer.

Thrall's first action as Warchief was to attack Durnholde in an effort to dismantle the entire internment camp system. He secretly met with Taretha, asking her to leave Durnholde with her family, but she refused, hoping that it would never come to battle and fearful of the consequences if Blackmoore noticed her missing (Blackmoore had taken her as his mistress, an arrangement she had never been happy with). When Thrall arrived at Durnholde with the Horde at his back, he confronted a drunken Blackmoore and asked for a peaceful parlay in order to prevent useless bloodshed. Blackmoore went through a plethora of emotions — from amusement at Thrall's rise to power, anger at what the Warchief was demanding, and grief at how Thrall had supposedly betrayed him. Once again demanding that Blackmoore surrender or be killed; the master of Durnholde gave his response by tossing the severed head of Taretha Foxton into the courtyard, screaming that this was what he would do with traitors.

The sight of the Taretha's decapitated head was so shocking that Thrall cried out tears for the first time in his life. She was the closest thing that he had of a family. The orc then screamed in rage and grief, the elements themselves echoing his fury, and he gave the command to attack. During the siege, Thrall cornered Blackmoore in his hidden tunnel and tossed a sword at the traitorous man's feet. Blackmoore had sobered enough to hold his own against the Warchief — who had been holding back to allow Blackmoore a fighting chance — but when he tried to explain, and asked for Thrall's aid to help him subjugate the Alliance. The Warchief's rage at Taretha's fate broke all barriers and struck him the mortal blow. As he lay dying, the master of Durnholde expressed pride in what Thrall had become — what Blackmoore had made him or so he thought.

Thrall emerged shaken from the castle to find his orcs victorious. Thrall gave a message to Blackmoore's second-in-command, Lord Karramyn Langston, to take to his superiors: to free the remaining orcs, and to cede land for their use. If the Alliance would let them be, they would not trouble the Alliance and would be willing to engage in cooperation and trade. If the Alliance chose to fight them, they would have made an enemy the likes of which had never been seen before — making the old warlock-controlled Horde shrink to insignificance. He then left Durnholde after allowing Sergeant and the surviving humans to walk away unharmed and he had Tari's necklace delivered to her parents. When they were gone he called upon the Spirit of the Earth to destroy the keep before leading his people to freedom.

Thrall later composed a lok'vadnod ("song of a hero") to commemorate Taretha's sacrifice.

Of Blood and Honor
At some point during the liberation of orcs from camps, Thrall learned about the orc named Eitrigg and led an attack on Stratholme where Eitrigg was about to be executed. However, Eitrigg was rescued by a human and brought to a forest outside of Stratholme where he was healed by the human. Thrall and his orcs followed the two and found them. Eitrigg reminded Thrall of Durotan. Eitrigg was allowed to join the new Horde and the human, Tirion, was astonished by Thrall who allowed him to leave because he had saved Eitrigg's life.

Flight to Kalimdor
Thrall and Grom spent much time gathering together the dispersed forces of the Horde. But it was some time later, when Thrall was with a small force in the Arathi Highlands, that he received a strange dream. He saw armies clashing, and fire raining from the sky, and a voice warning him of things to come.

When he awoke, he realized that it was no dream, it was a vision, granted him by the mysterious Prophet, who enigmatically told him that he was not what he seemed, that he had abandoned his humanity long ago, and that he had foreseen the future with the only hope for the orcs' salvation was to leave Lordaeron—sail west to Kalimdor, and there, they would find their destiny.

Thrall obeyed, and gathering the Horde, prepared to make their way across the Great Sea. The clans begun assembling and he constructed a base to give the Horde a place to stay. Grom turned out to have been captured by humans, and Thrall quickly stepped in to save him. Hellscream then got the idea, to steal the human ships so that they could leave the human lands forever. With the Horde assembled, they stole the ships, and left across the Great Sea to the forgotten lands of Kalimdor.

Exodus of the Horde
Halfway along their journey to Kalimdor, Thrall's ships were beset by a fierce storm near the Maelstrom and forced to take shelter on a small island. There the orcs met the troll leader, Sen'jin, who told them of a human outpost that attacked his tribe night and day on the island. Fearing for the Horde and the Darkspear Trolls' safety, Thrall and his warriors assaulted the human base. During his stay, he reactivated a Fountain of Health and discovered that the isle had active volcanos. Aided by the Darkspear trolls, the human leader, an archmage, was killed, but then many murlocs attacked the Horde, the humans, and the Darkspear trolls. While the orcish and human forces were occupied with one another, the piscine monsters sought out sacrifices for their rituals.

Thrall was then imprisoned within the murlocs' fiery dungeon. He learned from a troll head hunter, with whom he shared a cell, that the murlocs planned to sacrifice them both to a sea witch. Fortunately, though the murlocs were strangely advanced, they were unaware of Thrall's shamanistic abilities, and the warchief was able to escape and free his warriors. One grunt reported that Sen'jin was not in the cells — and that he was taken as the first sacrifice. Thrall raced to the altar but was forced to watch in horror as the murloc sorcerer killed Sen'jin. Thrall and his warriors were able to kill the three Murloc Guardians maintaining the magic barrier which prevented their escape and the Murloc Sorcerer, but it was too late for the troll leader. The dying Sen'jin revealed a vision — that Thrall would lead the Darkspear tribe to greatness. Thrall then offered the remaining trolls a place in the Horde for the kindness they had shown the orcs.

Thrall emerged from the cave and was confronted by the Sea Witch. She threatened vengeance for the destruction of her altar and worshipers. She placed a curse upon the warchief; that he and all his forces would be swallowed up by the sea. Upon returning to his base camp, Thrall discovered that his ships, damaged by the storm, were not yet ready to sail. He also learned that the island dormant volcano erupted and that the island had begun to sink. The Sea Witch, meanwhile, launched her murloc forces against the Horde, thirsty for vengeance. Nevertheless, aided by the trolls, the Horde was able to hold off their attackers long enough to repair their ships and managed to escape before the isle sunk. The Sea Witch then told to Thrall that a "Dark Tide" would swallow them all and that there will be nowhere to hide.

''The sea witch's curse may have come true, depending on how close her island was to Kalimdor — because Thrall's force was shipwrecked. It can be assumed that other clans, such as Hellscream's, were not among those caught by the storm and driven to the island.''

Kalimdor
The ships had been scattered and many of those on board barely made it to the shores of Kalimdor alive. The clans were scattered, and Thrall slowly roamed the coast, collecting the orcs and trolls he came across as he did. But Grom could not be found. This new land held many strange new creatures, but the most brutal were the centaurs, particularly in their treatment of the tauren.

When Thrall battled a group of centaurs who were attacking tauren, he was unexpectedly greeted by Cairne Bloodhoof, chieftain of the Bloodhoof tribe. Impressed by their fierce but noble behavior, Cairne offered to help him find the destiny of his people. Thrall told Cairne of the centaur army he had seen advancing to the north, and they quickly departed, as Cairne realized that his village was in danger. Thrall's forces followed Cairne back to their village, where they defended it from the centaurs.

Since the centaurs had driven off all the game in the region, the Bloodhoof tribe would need to abandon their home and travel to Mulgore if they hoped to avoid starving. Cairne agreed to tell the location of the Oracle, who would help the orcs with their quest for destiny, if they would help protect Cairne's caravan to Mulgore. Thrall agreed to these terms, and helped the tauren on their lengthy journey, protecting them and their lumbering kodo beasts from marauding centaurs.

Cairne told Thrall of the mystical Oracle of Stonetalon Peak, who could help them find their destiny in these strange lands. Thrall, glad at having made a new friend in the foreign land, gratefully thanked Cairne, and they parted as allies.

When Thrall arrived at the base of Stonetalon Peak, he was shocked to find Grom Hellscream and the Warsong clan battling humans under the command of Jaina Proudmoore. Her forces had cordoned off much of the pass going up the mountain, and Thrall believed that hiring some goblins to ferry them up the mountain in zeppelins would allow them to bypass any defenses. As Thrall tried to make his way stealthily up to the goblins, the impatient Hellscream unexpectedly attacked the humans, who retaliated by attacking to him and to Thrall's forces. Thrall was forced to stay their wrath by attacking their bases. Finally, he managed to acquire some zeppelins. Thrall confronted Grom, but Hellscream argued that "a true warrior" would have fought the humans without question instead of trying to sneak past them and avoid a battle.

Thrall, worried that Grom's impetuous bloodlust would lead to nothing but trouble, ordered his friend and his clan to head to Ashenvale and collect wood for their future settlement while he made his way up the mountain to meet the Oracle. Grom reluctantly complied with Thrall's request.

Thrall made his way up the mountain and was surprised to find his path crossing that of Cairne once again. However, the summit was heavily guarded by a nearby encampment, and they would need air support in order to destroy the human defenses. Cairne suggested that they ally with the wyverns of Stonetalon Mountains. The wyverns were imprisoned by a group of vile harpies, and after a short battle, they were defeated, and the wyverns, grateful, lent their services to Thrall and the Horde. With their help, Thrall was able to destroy the human encampment and entered the caverns.

Thrall and Cairne separated and searched the caverns themselves. After much time, they found the Oracle's chamber, but they also found Jaina Proudmoore and were about to battle when the Oracle appeared, revealing himself to be the Prophet that Thrall and Jaina had met in Lordaeron. He told Thrall of Grom's corruption, and that the orcs and humans must join forces or be destroyed. Reluctantly, Thrall agreed, desperate to save Grom.

Lifting of the Blood Curse
They returned to the Barrens to find Grom in command of the corrupted Warsong clan, and he moved against them as the demonic invasion of Kalimdor began. An epic battle took place between the Warchief and Hellscream's forces as the fire of falling infernals lit up the night sky. Thrall, with the help of Cairne and Jaina, fought his way through the ranks of blood-maddened chaos orcs, determined to reach Hellscream at all costs. Finally, after defeating Hellscream's army of orcs, doomguards, felhounds, and warlocks, Thrall faced his old friend. Hellscream taunted the Warchief, revealing to him that the demons didn't forcefully corrupt the orcs, but that the orc chieftains themselves willingly chose to drink the demon's blood, in full knowledge that it would forever enslave them to the Legions dark rule. Enraged at this revelation and betrayal, Thrall charged at his old friend and the armies of Thrall and Grom along with a swarm of doomguard battled. After a long and desperate struggle, Thrall regained control of himself and managed to capture Grom's essence in a soul gem and returned it to a Ritual Circle, where with the combination of orcish shamanism and elven magic, the demonic energy was purged from Grom's system. Grom, realizing what he had done, was instantly apologetic, and he and Thrall immediately set out to face Mannoroth in a canyon carved by the falling infernals.

Thrall put an initial assault against Mannoroth, but was subdued quickly, and would have been killed, had Grom not gathered his strength and made a devastating blow against Mannoroth, shattering his plate and driving his axe deep into his belly. This was enough to kill the pit lord, but as Mannoroth died explosive energies burst forth from his body and hit Grom at point-blank range. The chieftain of the Warsong clan was mortally wounded. As the demonic, red haze lifted from the eyes of Grom Hellscream and his clan mates, Grom was told that he had freed himself. Thrall approached Grom telling to him that he had freed not just him, but all the orcs from demonic corruption.

Battle of Mount Hyjal
Thrall and Jaina went into Ashenvale but found a new threat behind them as well as in front. The night elves, cursing them for the killing of Cenarius, attacked them as they attempted to make a new settlement.

The demons and undead, orcs and humans, and night elves were all battling one another for survival, until finally, Thrall received a vision to bring Jaina to a grove at the base of Mount Hyjal. There, he met the leaders of the night elves, Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion Stormrage. They were surprised at finding each other there, until the Prophet appeared once more, and revealed himself to be Medivh, the Last Guardian of the Tirisfal. He convinced them that they must all ally against the Burning Legion or they would surely and quickly be defeated.

Though uneasy, Tyrande and Malfurion agreed, and they all allied against Archimonde and his plethora of demonic and undead followers.

All the allied races collectively defended Nordrassil and Mount Hyjal with three fortified settlements going up the mountain, Thrall's base having orcs, jungle trolls, tauren, and goblins, everyone doing their best to slow Archimonde's ascend until the night elves' trap was prepared.

As Archimonde made his way up the mountain towards Thrall's base, he taunted Thrall by saying that his race wasn't worth bothering with and that the orcs were weak. Thrall replied that their spirit is strong and if they are to be defeated at least they are free, and struck out, attacking Archimonde and hurting him a little with a Chain Lightning, before Jaina teleported him away. After a great battle, Archimonde was finally destroyed and the Burning Legion was defeated.

Founding of Orgrimmar
Following the victory at Mount Hyjal and the defeat of the Burning Legion, Thrall gathered his people and resolved to find a place for them in the rugged, beautiful lands of the Barrens. Thrall led his orcs into the battle against the Razormane quilboar and claimed much of the land, founding Durotar, named after his heroic father. Its capital city was Orgrimmar, named for Orgrim Doomhammer. After many months, things began to pull together. The orcs were fleshing out Durotar, the tauren had gone into Mulgore, and the trolls had settled on the Echo Isles off the coast.

Thrall was soon met by Rexxar, a son of the Mok'Nathal, who had tried to save his scout Mogrin from a group of quilboars, and delivered a message. Thrall read it carefully, saddened by Mogrin's death, and welcomed Rexxar to the newly crowned land. Rexxar considered staying but said that he would need to earn his keep. Thrall agreed and sent Rexxar to speak to various citizens of Orgrimmar and see what he could do to assist them in their tasks. He also asked Rokhan the shadow hunter to assist Rexxar. The two were later joined by a wandering pandaren brewmaster named Chen Stormstout, who had been searching the area for ingredients to use in his new concoction. After Rexxar helped him find those ingredients, Chen tagged along with the troll and the Mok'Nathal, eager for adventure. Thrall waited in Orgrimmar, helping build the city.

Rexxar performed his deeds successfully, and Thrall began to respect the beastmaster. But soon he brought ill news that humans were amassing on the shores of Durotar. Thrall was troubled. The treaty he had made with Jaina had hoped to keep such incursions from happening. After several more encounters with human hostiles, there was a summit arranged between Thrall and Jaina. Rexxar encouraged Thrall to send him in his place, sensing a trap. Thrall reluctantly agreed. Sure enough, the "emissaries" were uninterested in talk and unsuccessfully tried to kill Rexxar and his friends, after expressing disappointment that Thrall himself had not come to be slaughtered.

Rexxar returned and told Thrall that there had been a deception. Unable to believe that Jaina would order such a thing, Thrall prepared a note for Rexxar to secret into Theramore to arrange a parlay with Jaina herself. Only by meeting face to face could they ensure any sort of peace between the two races.

After hearing Rexxar's report of Admiral Proudmoore's arrival and intent against the orcs, Thrall realized that the only way to prevent yet another war was to assault Admiral Proudmoore's base and kill him. With Rexxar's help, Thrall enlisted the aid of his old friend Cairne and the tauren, as well as the Stonemaul ogres. While preparations were being made to storm Theramore, Thrall was informed that the island was surrounded by a blockade of ships that the assembled force had no way of breaching. Thrall was frustrated by this news. Then Jaina teleported onto the scene. She assured everybody that she came in peace. She had known nothing of her father's plans and didn't know what to do, she said. Thrall was sympathetic but told her that her father's actions could destroy Durotar and that the only way to ensure the security of the new nation and his people was to kill Daelin.

Jaina understood and was willing to help, even if it meant the death of her father. She told Thrall the location of a nearby goblin shipyard which could supply him with ships to break through the admiral's blockade. She begged Thrall to spare as many of her men as possible in the coming battle; even though most of them were following her father, they were the only family she had left after the fall of Lordaeron. Thrall gave her his word that he would try to keep bloodshed on the human side to a minimum and advised Jaina to get to safety since the battle was about to start.

Using the ships acquired from the goblins, Thrall's forces were able to fight their way onto the isle, where they proceeded to engage Daelin Proudmoore's troops. Rexxar, Rokhan, Chen, and Cairne fought their way directly to Admiral Proudmoore himself and engaged him in combat. Before the battle was over Thrall tried to tell the admiral that this Horde was different from the one he had faced years ago, that they had no interest in conquest or murder. Proudmoore raged that Thrall's race was guilty of genocide, that they would never be able to atone for their rampage through Stormwind and Lordaeron that had left countless innocent people dead. He grimly vowed that he would never stop fighting the orcs, and thus fought to his death as Thrall had predicted.

As soon as Daelin Proudmoore fell, Rexxar shouted that the battle was over and ordered the human forces to stand down. They complied. Jaina fell to her knees near her father's body, asking him why he couldn't have listened. Rexxar tried to ease the sorceress' pain by telling her that her father was a proud warrior above all else, and that he should be remembered as such. Thrall proclaimed that the Horde had no quarrel with the surviving humans and that they would leave Theramore in peace. He then took his forces back to Durotar and left Jaina to her mourning.

Grateful to Rexxar for all he had done, Thrall extended an invitation to the Mok'Nathal to stay and make a home for himself in Durotar. Rexxar politely declined, telling Thrall that he was a wanderer and his place was in the wilds. But he promised Thrall that he was part of the Horde, and that if his help was ever needed again he would be there. So Thrall said goodbye to Rexxar and resumed building Durotar. For the moment, all was well.

Lordship
Thrall was warned by a shaman Kalthar about a strange anomaly in Kalimdor's mountains. Thrall sent Broxigar and Gaskal to investigate this. The anomaly pulled Brox, Gaskal, Krasus and Rhonin into the past - 10 000 years ago. Though Gaskal died during transporting and Broxigar died in the conclusion of the War of the Ancients, his famous axe made by Cenarius was retrieved and delivered to Thrall by Korialstrasz to honor brave Broxigar.

Three years passed, and Orgrimmar swelled. A series of minor incidents between the Durotar orcs and Theramore humans threatened the stability of the entire area. Thrall and Jaina desperately attempted to keep the peace, but the Horde grew out of his control when his chief warrior Burx took an army of orcs and trolls to Northwatch Hold, the same keep Proudmoore used for his operations, and demanded they dismantle it. After the battle began, Jaina contacted Thrall with information that his Burx was working for the orcish end of the Burning Blade cult. Infuriated at the idea that an orc would once again serve the Legion (the demon Zmodlor was pulling the strings of the cult), Thrall immediately stopped the battle (with some impressive aid from the Spirits) and denounced Burx. When the warrior protested that he was acting within the Horde's interests, Thrall smashed his skull with the Doomhammer.

The events prompted Jaina and Thrall to pursue a more official Horde/Alliance treaty. Despite the rise of tensions in the last year or so, their actions have halted, though not completely broken, the cycle of hatred.

World of Warcraft
Thrall, proud Warchief of the Horde remained in his palace, located in the Valley of Wisdom in Orgrimmar. He was considered the mightiest orc alive. He stood as warchief over the entire Horde, holding dominion over the Darkspear trolls and tauren tribes alike. His honor, cunning, and compassion have won him many allies over the years, even amongst the humans and night elves. Thrall lives to defend his people's freedom and ensure the safety of the extended Horde.

The members of the Shattered Hand that remained in Azeroth became an integral part of Thrall's New Horde. With the foundation of Durotar, and the Horde capital of Orgrimmar, the Shattered Hand has become the Horde's clan of assassins, training new rogues in the service of their Warchief. However, as with all rogues, the extent of their loyalty is unknown; one member, Zando'zan, states that he has foreseen the death of Thrall, but whether this is just a premonition he had of the Warchief's demise or that he or the Shattered Hand in Orgrimmar plans to kill Thrall remains a mystery. However, Wrenix the Wretched, Zando'zan's contact, does point out that he's not quite sane and that his words perhaps should not be taken seriously.

Despite the defeat of the Burning Legion and the elder Proudmoore, the Warchief's life is still far from dull. Threats to Durotar from outside and within force him to remain ever vigilant. At some point, Thrall received Sylvanas' Forsaken ambassadors who demanded to join the Horde. Thrall was unsure about them, but with the support of Hamuul Runetotem, Thrall was convinced to accept them. Thus, the Horde gained access to Lordaeron.

The Revantusk tribe learned about the new Horde and sent runners to Thrall. Thrall was wary of the trolls at first, but he came to see that the Revantusk trolls were unique among forest trolls in a fundamental way. The Revantusk tribe had never had much in the way of the fighters or resources, and so it had instead decided to specialize in the trickier art of negotiation. By the time they spoke with Thrall, the Revantusks had acquired a reputation for trustworthiness that was well deserved. The trolls were impressed by Thrall and his dream. Even so, they remembered the recklessness and corruption of the first Horde. Thus, the Revantusks declined to rejoin the Horde, but they did agree to a pact of friendship and mutual assistance.

At this time of his tenure Nazgrel and Eitrigg were his advisors. Thrall tasked the latter to oversee new Horde recruits. He watched a growing danger within the caves of Orgrimmar and worked with the young horde members who he sent to spy on Neeru Fireblade. Thrall learned that he was the leader of the Burning Blade and worked with Searing Blade under Orgrimmar. Eventually, Thrall sent the adventurers beneath Orgrimmar to deal with the Searing Blade leaders. He also sent the orc Gol'dir and his three companions to Hillsbrad to deal with the Syndicate problem. During the process, they were kidnapped but later rescued and eventually killed the Syndicate leader - Aliden Perenolde. Taretha's Necklace was also acquired from Aliden's mistress Elysa and was eventually delivered to Thrall.

At some point, Thrall sent the Kargath Expeditionary Force to the Badlands in order to explore a new land and Commander Gor'shak was sent to Blackrock Depths. While there, he allowed himself to be captured by the Dark Iron dwarves in order to gather intelligence. Gor'shak learned that Princess Moira Bronzebeard had been captured. Though Thrall sought a strike team to liberate her in order to strengthen relations in the Eastern Kingdoms, it was ultimately Alliance forces who entered the Blackrock Depths and killed Dagran Thaurissan, the Emperor of the Dark Irons.

Despite the political quarreling between the Horde and Alliance, Thrall does wish to establish true peace between the two factions. However, the Alliance still remembers the Old Horde's association with the Burning Legion. To differentiate his New Horde from its predecessor's dark legacy, Thrall sanctioned Keldran's campaign against the Burning Blade  and the demon infestation in Desolace. With such a grand display of hostility against the Burning Legion's agents, Keldran and Thrall hoped the Alliance would see the new Horde's sincerity and prevent a war caused by misunderstandings.

He also sent the warlock Fel'zerul to investigate strange happenings at the Temple of Atal'Hakkar. At some point in the past, Thrall tried to make contact with the Timbermaw tribe of furbolg on behalf of the Horde.

Thrall ordered the Horde to prepare for the Ahn'Qiraj War.

At some point, Thrall learned from Drek'Thar about the history of the orcish race back in Draenor and started writing a book about this. For the first time, when Durotar and Orgrimmar were founded and built, Thrall and his orcs could participate in old orcish ceremonials, such as Om'riggor. Later, a human spy brought a message, that draenei led by Prophet Velen crashed on Azeroth and joined the Alliance. Thrall was worried that with this joining, there could be no peace.

The Burning Crusade
During the Year 25, Thrall entered negotiations with Quel'Thalas about joining the Horde. He openly opposed the blood elves' methods, but recognized the Blood Knights' strategic value. Eventually, Thrall greeted the blood elven adventurers that proved their people's value and were sent by Sylvanas Windrunner to Thrall in order to formalize Quel'Thalas joining the Horde.

A faction of orcs exists in Outland, who remained untouched by demonic corruption. These orcs call themselves The Mag'har, and are comprised of various orcish clans who chose not to join Magtheridon's legion of fel orcs and appear to have been completely unaffected by the corruption wrought by Kil'jaeden. Thrall sent the Horde expedition to invade Outland in order to find and reconnect with the Mag'har. Upon hearing the news that the expedition found them, Thrall immediately made plans to journey to Outland and make contact with the Mag'har. Eitrigg urged Thrall to make the proper preparations, instead of leaving Orgrimmar and the rest of the orcs on Azeroth open to attack.

Later on, Thrall alongside Drek'Thar made a brief appearance in Outland and met his grandmother Geyah and showed Garrosh Hellscream his father Grom died a hero's death, and ended the Blood Curse. During this meeting, Greatmother Geyah reveals Thrall's birth name: Go'el, son of Durotan — rightful chieftain of the Frostwolves.

Theramore peace summit
After he returned from the ruins of Draenor, Thrall brought with him Garrosh Hellscream, son of Grommash Hellscream, to be his adviser. Later on the retired gladiator master Rehgar Earthfury also became one of Thrall's advisers. Rehgar and Garrosh had a great discussion: while Garrosh wanted to destroy the Alliance, who he considers the Horde's enemies, and take Azeroth for their own; Rehgar wanted to remain open to diplomacy with the Alliance and conserve their treaty of non-aggression with Theramore. Then suddenly Thrall received a call from Jaina to meet at Razor Hill. At their meeting, Jaina told him that Varian had returned and narrated to Thrall the history of Varian's abduction. With Varian's return and willing attendance, Jaina wanted to schedule another peace summit at Theramore Isle in the hopes of easing tensions between the Horde and Alliance. Though Thrall felt uneasy about leaving Orgrimmar during a period when the orcs were feeling restless with Thrall's passive tolerance with the Alliance, Thrall nonetheless agreed to attend the summit.

When Thrall decided to go to a new meeting with the human King Varian, he brought with him his two advisers: Rehgar and Garrosh and some Kor'kron. Rehgar recommended Thrall not to bring Garrosh with them but the Warchief thought it would be a good idea as it would help Garrosh to re-think his attitude toward the humans.

Thrall traveled in a zeppelin to Theramore, where he had a peaceful discussion with an eye toward mutual gain. They first talked of their pasts and then discussed resource problems; like the Horde's war against the night elves for lumber. Varian offered to provide Thrall's people with lumber and in exchange the Warchief offered copper and exotic hides in return. Varian had to end the summit early as Goldshire and Southshore were reported to be under simultaneous distress by the Scourge. Thrall and Varian were about to depart amicably but upon exiting Theramore, the Twilight's Hammer cult invaded the city. The Alliance races of the Twilight cultists attacked the Horde representatives while the Horde races of the Twilight cultists attacked the Alliance representatives. After catching a glimpse of Garona, Varian thought that Thrall had sent her to assassinate him as the Shadow Council had done in the past with his father. After a time battling, the Twilight's Hammer's casualties began to rise. Med'an then entered to protect his mother, and in seeing this, the cultists appointed their attention to the kidnapping of Med'an, while leaving Garona to die. Garrosh accused the Alliance of orchestrating the attack while Varian accused the Horde; specifically Garrosh. Thrall tried to calm down the heated parties and remind them to not jump to conclusions. Thrall tried to convince King Varian that Garona's unexpected assassination attempt was not of his people's making yet Varian remained skeptical of the honor of orcs. Rehgar and Valeera both were sure that neither Thrall nor Varian would stoop to an assassination tactic on neutral ground and tried to rationalize the surprising turn of events. Jaina and Thrall bid each other farewell, both sorry that any chance of a human-orc alliance was ruined. This attack shook the delicate human-orc tolerances, leaving both factions in distrust of one another. Shortly after, Thrall departed back to his home of Orgrimmar.

Thrall was later asked to join the New Council of Tirisfal but refused and in his stead, Rehgar Earthfury joined the Council.

Echoes of Doom
Thrall arrived to Orgrimmar but the Lich King executed his plan and made a Zombie Infestation. Grand Apothecary Putress was able to find a cure from the Scourge's plague. Seeing this threat, Thrall met with Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, Garrosh Hellscream, Varok Saurfang, Grand Apothecary Putress and Rehgar Earthfury in Orgrimmar to discuss what to do about the Scourge.

After consulting Saurfang and the spirits, Thrall favored a more cautious approach to dealing with the Scourge: an advance scouting party to the frozen continent before committing troops, as well as meeting with Jaina Proudmoore to find out what the Alliance were planning to do about the Lich King. Garrosh felt that dealing with the Alliance would put the Horde in danger and wanted to take the Horde's armies and conquer the humans and then march to Northrend and crush the Scourge; advocating that the Horde should rule all of Azeroth. Thrall, irritated by Garrosh's recklessness and bold challenges to his authority, answered that the humans were not a threat and that he would not underestimate the Lich King by walking blindly into a Scourge trap. In order to make an example of Garrosh's impudence, Thrall then provoked Garrosh to challenge him to a duel by saying that he would not make the same mistakes as his father, Grom Hellscream. Frustrated with his leader's apparent lack of action and the insults to his father, Garrosh challenged Thrall to a duel in the Ring of Valor to settle the matter. The two orcs fought for some time until it seemed Garrosh had gained the upper hand. He began to taunt Thrall, but the battle was interrupted by a Herald of the Lich King threatening Orgrimmar with destruction. Hearing this, Thrall used Chain Lightning on Garrosh and both left the ring, with Thrall telling the younger Hellscream that they would settle their dispute later. The city was attacked by countless abominations and frost wyrms and a few death knights.

Thrall and Garrosh led the forces of the Horde in repelling the Scourge attack, with the help of Saurfang, Sylvanas, Rehgar, the city defenders, and some adventurers. After the Scourge assault force had been dealt with, Garrosh asked to be sent to Northrend again. This time, Thrall agreed and ordered Saurfang to begin preparations for war.

Death knights adventurers freed of the Lich King's will visited Thrall in Orgrimmar in order to be accepted to the Horde and gave him a letter in which Tirion asked to have Eitrigg in Northrend. Thrall agreed.

Legends: Fear
Fleeing towards Northrend, Trag Highmountain avoided his kin and tried to slip past the orcs. The corruption caused Trag to suffer from fits of violent thought, and he felt he would eventually succumb to the power of the Lich King.

Trag encountered Thrall, who became aware of his presence through his shamanic magic. Thrall offered to help, but Trag lost control of himself and the two battled. Even after calming down, Trag warned him to run before Trag lost control of himself again. Thrall outright refused to fight him, nor abandon him to fight against the voice of the Lich King alone. Thrall then told of how he had once feared becoming the animal Aedelas Blackmoore thought him to be, of falling into bloodlust to escape that fear; but the truth is, bloodlust would have only hidden his fear, leaving it to eat away at him forever. By bringing peace into his soul (possibly by facing his fear and accepting that his past is part of who he is), Thrall conquered his fear, survived, and found his redemption. If Thrall could do it, if Grom Hellscream could do it, so too could Trag if he would allow Thrall to help him. Trag denied that Thrall could do anything for him and warned him away once more. Thrall again refused, and when told that he would be struck down in accepting such a fate, he asked that Trag look him in the eyes "as you do so I know my executioner".

Trag prepared to kill Thrall, only to see in his eyes that he truly does understand Trag's fear, a calm understanding that allowed Thrall to beat his own fear, and from which Trag now draws enough strength to deny the Lich King's demands to kill him. Thrall offered him shelter and safety with the orcs, which Trag turned down; he knew even better than Arthas that his fear would have turned him into a monster, but can't fully trust himself around others just yet. He decided to continue to Northrend and ensure for himself that he will never become one of the Scourge, even if that means self-destruction. Thrall told him that a Horde fleet of ships on the nearby shores of Durotar would be sailing north soon, and offered a small Frostwolf clan mark should he need to contact orcs. Trag turned down the mark but thanked Thrall for the offer; he was kind to someone who might have killed him. Thrall admitted with a smile that he wouldn't have just stood there if Trag had tried, but had judged the tauren correctly. Thrall said he would ask the spirits to watch over Trag and to his surprise bid him farewell by name, even though Trag had not mentioned it.

Trag stowed away on one of the ships and reached Northrend. Even though he was almost sure that he would fail, more so that he would die, Trag was determined to meet his fate...without fear.

Broken peace
As the combined Horde and Alliance forces began their assault upon Angrathar the Wrathgate, an uprising broke out within the Forsaken capital Undercity. Varimathras and hordes of his demonic brethren overran the city, slaying all those who would not submit to their dark rule. Sylvanas herself was nearly killed in the coup, but managed to escape with a number of loyalists and fled to Orgrimmar. Determined not to allow the Dreadlords a foothold in Horde territory, Thrall and Sylvanas planned an immediate counter-attack. In the midst of their planning, Jaina Proudmoore arrived bearing terrible news: in the wake of Bolvar Fordragon's death, King Varian was preparing for a possible war with the Horde. Jaina had been sent to elicit an explanation for the betrayal at the Wrathgate. Though Thrall and Sylvanas explained that the Horde was not responsible for Putress, Jaina had warned them that King Varian would most likely pursue retribution.

Thrall along with Sylvanas and Vol'jin led the assault into Undercity itself to reclaim it for the Horde. After fighting the Forsaken rebels and the demons within, the combined might of the Horde slew the traitorous demon Varimathras. The joy of victory was short-lived as Varian, having killed Putress and hearing the orcish cries of victory, arrived on the scene. He confronted Thrall and declared that peace could never be achieved after discovering the horrors the Forsaken had created in Undercity. Just as the two forces charged at one another, Jaina stopped them from killing each other by teleporting Varian, herself and the Alliance army back to Stormwind City. As Thrall lamented on the broken peace between the Alliance and the Horde, Varok Saurfang arrived and reminded Thrall of his duty to lead their people. In order to ensure that no more Legion-aligned abominations crawled out of the Apothecarium, Thrall sent a legion of the Kor'kron led by Bragor Bloodfist to guard the Undercity from threats outside of it and any that may remain within following The Battle For The Undercity (Horde).''

Secrets of Ulduar
When Brann Bronzebeard learned that the Old God Yogg-Saron had escaped his ancient prison in Ulduar he hastily informed Rhonin, who asked Jaina to summon Thrall and Varian to the Violet Citadel for an emergency council. Correctly guessing the gravity of the situation, Thrall made haste to Dalaran with Garrosh. Upon arriving at the Violet Citadel, he was intercepted by Jaina, who was desperate to avoid a confrontation with Varian, who was already within. When Jaina told them what had happened, Thrall listened to Garrosh's doubt with irritation, then proceeded to Rhonin's chambers, where, predictably, Varian and Garrosh exchanged harsh words that eventually led to a fight.

Thrall was unable to stop the fight, but a frustrated Rhonin succeeded in doing so. Rhonin pleaded to all in the room to put aside their differences and work together against their common threat. Varian flatly refused, citing the events of the Wrathgate as a reason to never work with the Horde again and departed, while Garrosh offered the opinion that a true warchief would never partner with cowards. Thrall expressed disappointment at Garrosh's actions.

Heart of War
After the events at Dalaran, Thrall and Garrosh travel to Warsong Hold. On the way, Garrosh contemplates the past events where Thrall first brought Garrosh to Orgrimmar. After defending Warsong Hold from an attack from the Scourge, Thrall witnesses a report given from Icecrown about the Horde forces flanking the Alliance during their assault at the Broken Front. Thrall watches as Garrosh deals with the situation, telling the commander from Icecrown, Sky-Reaver Korm Blackscar, that the Horde would fight with honor or not fight at all. Thrall, watching Garrosh, feels proud of him for his decision.

Crusaders' Coliseum


Thrall, accompanied by Garrosh Hellscream, attended the Crusaders' Coliseum in Icecrown. Upon arrival Tirion greeted them personally. After a heated exchange of words the two were escorted into the coliseum by their host.

Later, he and Garrosh observe the Trials, surrounded by a congregation of the Horde's representatives.

War Against the Nightmare
Thrall, upon counseling with his most trusted shaman, gave Brox's Axe of Cenarius to Thura.

The whole of Azeroth was caught by the Emerald Nightmare and so was the Warchief. His wolf companion Snowsong felt mists of the Nightmare but it was too late. Orgrimmar with its inhabitants had already fallen to the mists. After the threat of Emerald Nightmare was over, Malfurion returned Thura to her Warchief and told him of her significance in the events. Thrall then sent a letter of well wishes to Tyrande and the archdruid. The bearer of the message was Thura.

Thrall also acted as a nightmare in Thura's dreams where he executed her for her failure.

In Thrall's nightmare, he was forced to continuously relive the moment of his dear Taretha Foxton's death. Though he tried alternate ways to save her life, Tarethra always ended up dying. Finally, Thrall attacked Durnholde with stealth and used Blackmoore's own tactics, he reached the bedroom and found Taretha alive. Blackmoore threw wine into Thrall's face and while blinded, Thrall killed Taretha. The nightmare ended with Thrall crying in his sleep.

Shaman (manga)
Muln Earthfury traveled to Orgrimmar to seek Warchief Thrall's council on the matter of the rising division between the Earthen Ring's traditionalists and Shotoa's advocates of his modern and effective methods in dealing with elements. Thrall was unsure on the matter and told Muln that change is a natural part of life but it's only good if it's right for their people. He advised Muln to follow the guidance of the spirits. Muln later relayed his fears with Drek'Thar about Thrall's indecisive stance. Drek'Thar told him that it's his fault as his advice to Thrall has been useless lately. Drek'Thar told Muln that lately he's been seeing two futures and his visions have been less reliable for Thrall. Drek'Thar told Muln that a time will come when the Earthen Ring will become Azeroth's salvation or lead it to ruin. The Farseer suddenly became frantic and warned Muln about the “fire that consumes all”.

The Shattering
Thrall's life would change in the events leading up to the Shattering.

When Garrosh Hellscream and his soldiers finally returned home from Northrend, Thrall held a banquet in the young orc's honor and presented him with Gorehowl, also authorizing bonfires to be lit in Orgrimmar. Thrall held a speech of problems about the turbulence of nature and also of financial ones. It was decided that Hamuul would go to a meeting with the Cenarion Circle in order to get help for the Horde. Now, it was impossible to trade with the Alliance's night elves due to estrangement. Unfortunately Durotar had been suffering a very severe drought causing one of the bonfires to become a conflagration that destroyed several buildings. Thrall himself tried to calm the flames using his shamanic powers but found that the fire was hell-bent on destruction, resolving to snuff out the flames forcibly, an act he regretted. He realized that something was very wrong with the elements and that they were out of control, and pondered the situation.

There were other troubles, such as an orc attack on a group of Sentinels in Ashenvale which was in direct violation of the Horde-Alliance treaty. The Sentinels had been skinned and then chopped up into pieces, left for carrion feeders. Whether or not they had been alive when they were skinned was debatable. The skins of the murdered night elves were hung on trees that had painted Horde symbols depicted on them; written with elven blood. Since the night elves have ceased to allow Horde members into Ashenvale in protest of the incident at the Wrathgate, many orcs celebrated this attack. With the Horde's supplies almost depleted on account of the war with the Lich King and the unusual droughts affecting Orgrimmar, many orcs viewed the night elves' exclusion of the Horde from their trade routes unfairly brutal. He received a letter from King Varian Wrynn demanding to denounce the attacks and turn over any attackers he could find to the Alliance for justice. Thrall refused to turn over violators of the treaty (he had suspected but didn't have proof and it would also hurt orc morale) and also refused to apologize for the thievery of the night elves' goods, the murders, or the brutal methods in which they were performed. Though he did express anger that the treaty had been violated, his unwillingness to publicly reprimand those who use brutal methods to assault Alliance members greatly weakened his popularity with Alliance leaders.

After a meeting with Jaina Proudmoore and Eitrigg, Thrall decided that he was going to have to travel to Nagrand in Outland to converse with the elements there and try to discover why the elements in Azeroth were so out of control. Before setting out on his quest, Thrall appointed Garrosh Hellscream acting warchief of the Horde and met with Cairne who was against this decision, though Thrall was certain that he did the right thing.

Upon his arrival, he met with his grandmother, who advised him to turn to the Mag'har female Aggra for shamanic instruction. Aggra wasn't particularly fond of Thrall and often made comments about and toward him bordering on the snide, sometimes referring to him as "Slave". Yet, she dutifully took him on a vision quest in Garadar in order for him to become truly connected to the spirits, and a true shaman. While in Nagrand, Thrall used the talbuk Shuk'sar for travels.

Thrall eventually met with the elements of Draenor, the Furies, all of whom except the Fury of Earth were unable to help Thrall understand what was happening in Azeroth. The Fury of Earth was able to help him after ingesting a small rock Thrall had brought with him from Azeroth, and the Fury told him that the elements were afraid of a shattering, a cataclysm akin to the one that had broken Draenor.

As Thrall prepared to return to Azeroth to attempt to prevent the cataclysm, Aggra revealed that she had secretly been growing more and more attracted to him and wanted to go with him to Azeroth, but only if he refused to be weak. Thrall welcomed her company, as he too had begun to slowly grow closer to her. That was when Perith Stormhoof arrived in Garadar to tell Thrall all that had transpired on Azeroth - about Cairne, Garrosh and the Grimtotem attacks. Thrall returned to Azeroth immediately, bringing Aggra with him.

He attended his old friend's funeral and bid his final farewell to his companion. His heart was heavy knowing how his last encounter with his most cherished friend consisted of harsh words. The former warchief took with him the smallest piece of his old friend's runespear to forever remember him. The fragment was etched with a single rune, whose meaning did not escape Thrall - "healing". It was there where he put off the armor of Orgrim Doomhammer. Baine agreed to have it delivered to Orgrimmar.

Not long after all this, a massive earthquake hit, which caused a tsunami to hit Stormwind Harbor, a sinkhole to appear off the coast of Westfall, and the very ground to split beneath Thrall's feet. Thrall decided to make his way to the Maelstrom, which he sensed was the center area where the cataclysmic event was coming from, to attempt to calm the elements. Aggra agreed to go with him, and they set out together, sailing from Ratchet to the Maelstrom on a ship named "Draka's Fury".

Cataclysm
''Thrall, the Horde's warchief, is a living symbol of nobility, strength, and unwavering courage. He led the orcs from the internment camps of Lordaeron into a new era of freedom and prosperity, and under his leadership the Horde has established itself as a major force on Azeroth. As a shaman, Thrall has a deep connection with the elements, and their wisdom has proven to be a great boon to the warchief. But although the Horde's faith in its warchief remains strong, some orcs who relish the tales of orcish ferocity and martial prowess are frustrated with Thrall's decisions. It remains to be seen whether his recent differences with Garrosh Hellscream are a one-time event or a hint at the shape of things to come.''

He first appears on the Lost Isles, part of the goblin starting zone, where he helps bring the goblins into the Horde. As the storyline plays out, it is revealed that Thrall was captured by agents of 7 while sailing towards the Maelstrom, and the goblins, having recently fled Kezan, play a part in rescuing him. In gratitude Thrall aids the goblins in their battles across the Isles, where after beating Trade Prince Gallywix, he proclaims that the Cartel will join the Horde and have a home in Azshara, and allows Gallywix to remain as the Cartel's leader; sending goblin agents to speak with Thrall's successor Garrosh Hellscream.

As tensions within the Horde begin to rise in Thrall's absence, notably between Warchief Garrosh and Chieftain Vol'jin, Thrall steps back into the picture to reassure the Darkspear chieftain that Garrosh was the right choice to keep their Horde united.

As one of (if not the) pre-eminent shamans of Azeroth, Thrall steps away from his duties as Warchief to join with the Earthen Ring. He journeys to the Maelstrom at the center of the Great Sea, where Deathwing made his return to Azeroth from the depths of Deepholm. The corrupted Aspect's entry has shattered the barriers between Azeroth and the Elemental Plane, and Thrall lends his powers to stabilize the rift.

Thrall is also seen during a nightmare caused by Iso'rath. There, he desperately watches as his friends, Nobundo, Aggra and Muln are killed by the Aspect.

Twilight of the Aspects
Following Thrall's failure to delve deep into himself during a relatively routine ritual alongside the other mighty shaman of the Earthen Ring, Thrall and Aggra begin to feel the strain of life at the Maelstrom. Despite the encouraging words of his good friends Nobundo and Rehgar, Thrall finds himself at a loss as to how best to aid his comrades. Aggra outs this doubt to pertain to his longing for the Horde, which Thrall angrily denies. After some argumentation, Thrall leaves their sanctuary to clear his head and gain some clarity.

Elsewhere, events are being put into motion beyond Thrall's control. After the Wyrmrest Temple was attacked and taken over by the Twilight's Hammer cult, Alexstrasza's consort Korialstrasz had seemingly betrayed the Accord; destroying the sanctums underneath the temple and all of the unhatched eggs in the process. Distraught, the embittered Life-Binder officially disbanded the Accord and fled the scene. Ysera, who was present to witness this, appears before Thrall in her kaldorei guise.

Ysera asks Thrall to undertake a journey - of seemingly minor proportions - to relieve a small druid camp in Feralas of a rampant fire elemental. Though Thrall is dubious as to why a shaman needed at the Maelstrom itself would be tasked with such a thing, he quickly accepts upon learning of his new companion's true identity. With Ysera's urging, Thrall and Snowsong set out to the find the camp and relieve its inhabitants. Thrall is surprised to see that the camp is inhabited mainly by night elf sentinels, though after some mutual hostility, Thrall converses with the fire elemental (its attitude reminiscent of those who had attacked Orgrimmar prior to the cataclysm) and convinces it to leave. Thrall's reputation with the gathered kaldorei increases immensely, and the former warchief spends the evening feasting and drinking with them as friends.

Having succeeded in his small task, an elf named Desharin approached Thrall and urges him to come into the local woodland. After speaking with the relieved ancients, Desharin reveals himself as a green dragon; informing Thrall that Ysera has a far more important task for him and him alone.

Desharin takes Thrall to the Caverns of Time, where they are admitted entry by the bronze dragons on Ysera's behalf. While there, the two are attacked by a mysterious human in eerily familiar armor. Desharin is beheaded by the assailant, and he and Thrall do battle. The figure is able to match Thrall's abilities with a strange mastery over time; cloaking his presence to deliver devastating blows upon the former warchief. The bronze dragons relieve the battle, and Thrall is instructed to flee through a time portal. As he makes his leave, Thrall cannot help but sense a strong aura of familiarity from the attacker.

On the other end of the time portal, Thrall finds himself at a late point in the Second War of an alternate timeline. Though overwhelmed by the possibilities - such as meeting with Doomhammer - he remains mindful that the timeline must be preserved. He is mistaken as a warlock by an orcish patrol party, and taken to a neighboring base camp. To Thrall's astonishment, he catches a glimpse of none other than Doomhammer himself inside, along with his parents - both Durotan and Draka. After struggling to avert his gaze from them, he is approached by Draka (with an infant Thrall in tow), and after an awkward conversation with his mother, leaves to escort his parents to safety with the patrol who picked him up to begin with. This patrol party was none other than the one responsible for betraying his parents on the orders of Gul'dan - and Thrall is forced to watch his parents be killed by them, firsthand. Thrall throws himself into the fray as the violence ends, and exercises all of the restraint within him to let their sole surviving killer live, for the sake of the timeline.

Shattered, Thrall approaches the body of his father. He swears to a dying Durotan that his child will live, that their people would be redeemed, and that the orcs will have a land of their own. Durotan dies secure in this knowledge. Desharin's murderer makes a reappearance in this timeway - and attacks Thrall once more. He informs Thrall that his death is all that's on his agenda, and that killing him as a child will be far easier than his adult self. As Blackmoore approaches the infant, such as proper in the true timeline, Thrall grabs his attacker and hurls him into a neighboring river. The two struggle for a time, though after noticing a curious glittering of bronze scales, Thrall is taken to another point in time and his attacker disappears once more.

Thrall comes face to face with a slightly older Taretha; embittered by what appears to have been a far harsher life. After convincing her that he is who he says he is (and showing her an identical necklace to prove it), Taretha informs him of some damning news - in this timeline, Thrall had died as a child. Blackmoore, robbed of his prized future-gladiator, did the unexpected: rather than fall further into drink and depression, he sobered up; conscripted mercenaries into his new army, and trained them all himself. Gaining huge support, Blackmoore led his army against Orgrim Doomhammer, and slew the Horde warchief in one-on-one combat. Rather than have the stunned orcs killed, Blackmoore engaged in a secret pact with them - to join him, and overthrow the Alliance. Blackmoore's personal army usurped the kingdom of Lordaeron and deposed House Menethil, during which King Terenas Menethil, Uther the Lightbringer and Anduin Lothar were killed.

Thrall can barely believe it, especially the thought of the pathetic, drunk Blackmoore taking down the mighty Orgrim in a fair battle. He and Taretha travel to Dalaran, where they are admitted to Krasus' presence. Thrall grants him the ancient's acorn, and Krasus warily assists Thrall and Taretha in finding a way to break this false timeway. The three come to realize that not only is their "timeline" false; but rather, "time" itself was the illusion here. The understanding allows him to leave the timeway, and Thrall finally finds the Aspect of Time, Nozdormu, awaiting him.

Nozdormu begins to piece together the various events occurring in both the alternate the true timeline. To Thrall's - and the onlooking bronze dragons' - immense shock, Nozdormu informs him that the great Aspect's retreat from the world was in order to discover the cause of a dire event destined to happen in the future and to avert it. This event would be Nozdormu founding and presiding over the Infinite Dragonflight. Nozdormu also admits that, as such, he was also responsible for sending the assassin after Thrall. At this point, Thrall comes to realize his mysterious assailant's identity - the missing Blackmoore from the false timeline. Regardless of this pressing matter, Nozdormu thanks Thrall for giving him clarity; setting him another task: to find and (hopefully) lift Alexstrasza from her grief over Krasus' demise, and to convince the blue dragonflight to set aside its differences with the others and join forces against the impending darkness.

Thrall and Tick set out to confront the bereaved Life-Binder, and the two find her in the barren wasteland of Desolace. Though Alexstrasza rebukes his comfort and banishes him from her sight, Thrall does not give up hope for the Life-Binder just yet. Thrall then makes the journey to the Nexus, and after an extremely cold reception, is admitted audience with Arygos and Kalecgos. Though Kalecgos goes out of his way to make his orcish visitor comfortable; conjuring scenery of Horde-designed indulgences to make him seem more at home; Arygos is on edge with the visitor and even goes so far as to suggest his death. Thrall learns that the blue dragonflight is in the process of electing its next Aspect, and that the two most likely candidates are Malygos' ferocious son, Arygos himself, and none other than Kalecgos. An event known as the "Embrace" is set to occur shortly; a time where the two moons of Azeroth meet in what cosmetically appears to be the form of a mother embracing her child, hence the name. This sacred event heralds a celestial time for the blue dragons, and their best chance of truly empowering a new Aspect for their flight. To Thrall's great relief, and to Kalecgos' great bemusement, Kalecgos is chosen as the new Aspect. The flight as a whole are pleased with this decision, and watch eagerly as their new leader is empowered by the titans' might. Arygos, enraged, curses the flight for fools; abandoning Coldarra.

As the flight begins to celebrate its new leader's ascension, twilight dragons interrupt the ceremony. Thrall leaps atop Kalec's back, and the two prove a formidable fighting force. After disposing of several of the creatures, the blues give chase to the fleeing remainder. They arrive at the Wyrmrest Temple, and catch sight of the semi-functional Chromatus. Regardless, the blues press on; fighting back the twilight dragonflight with efficiency. Chromatus - now awakened with the blood of the murdered Arygos - engages in the battle, and cuts a swathe of destruction through the blues. Thrall is hurled off Kalec in the ensuing chaos and finds his footing in the snow. As he calls upon the aid of the elements, he is granted a peculiar vision of Krasus' final moments, and resolves to inform the Life-Binder of the truth behind his demise.

Thrall is brutally attacked by a newly-arrived Blackmoore. Wielding the Doomhammer in tandem with his powerful elemental skill, Thrall catches his mortal enemy off-guard. Blackmoore is lambasted by Thrall's summoned wind-vortex and collapses on the floor before his former slave. As Thrall moves in to deal the final blow, Blackmoore begs for his life. Though Thrall takes no pleasure in the act, he refuses to relent; bringing the Doomhammer down upon Blackmoore and conquering the shadow he cast over Thrall's life for good.

Elsewhere, the blue dragons were beaten back by the powerful Chromatus. Kalec has Thrall rescued by one of his drakes, though the strain of leadership in the wake of their defeat begins to gnaw at the new Aspect of Magic. Thrall encourages Kalec to remain strong, and he leaves once more for Desolace.

Thrall finds Alexstrasza in an even more shattered state. He shares with her the vision he was granted, and in solemn silence, the two witness Krasus' heroic sacrifice to protect the Wyrmrests' unhatched children from being born as chromatic beasts. Reinvigorated and regaining her confidence, the Life-Binder travels to the Nexus to join forces with the new Aspect of Magic.

Before long, the red, blue, and green dragonflights are reunited with their respective Aspects. With their might combined, they leave to do battle with the murderous Chromatus and his ilk. After a vicious battle, Chromatus reaches his full potential - and overpowers all three of the mighty Aspects. The downhill fight is relieved by the arrival of Nozdormu and his bronze flight, and the Aspect of Time puts forward the notion that they will need to work together, in the most fundamental sense of the word, to defeat this creature that embodies all of their traits and powers. Chromatus has a head for each dragonflight, and there are no black dragons present to assist in this task - though Thrall, as a shaman, offers to take on that role. In their humanoid forms, the aspects open themselves along with Thrall to truly gain a sense of unity; and while he struggles to hold the ceremony together, Thrall succeeds in his role in Neltharion‘s stead. Knowing that he could never become as Aspect, he remains content with the notion that he could assist his allies in their hour of need.

The four Aspects launch a volley of powerful abilities at the stunned Chromatus, who cannot bring himself to counter the volatile new powers at their disposal. The chromatic dragon is blasted downwards; the Twilight Father in tow.

Chromatus' lifeless body is stored in a specifically-made arcane prison by the blue dragonflight, as it seems impossible to completely eradicate him.

Later, the Aspects and Thrall meet on the top of Wyrmrest temple, where Nozdormu informs the group of a plot by the Old Gods To destroy the dragonflights. The hour of Twilight was fast approaching and the Dragonflights, thanks to Thrall's help, will now be ready to face it. Thrall is given both the thanks and a scale each of the dragon aspects; in return for assistance asking only for a way to travel back to the Maelstrom.

Tick takes him back to Aggra's side, where the two orcs overcome their past differences. Thrall acknowledges that he has been a slave to outside influences his entire life, though resolves to see that end.

Knowing that greater trials still approach on the horizon, Thrall casts off his name; proclaiming himself as "Go'el."

Rage of the Firelands
At the Maelstrom, Thrall strains himself attempting to commune with the elements. Able to feel how broken the world is, and with the elements remaining silent for him, Thrall tells Aggra that he will have to work without limits to fulfill this task. As he ponders the meaning of this, his elemental calls are finally answered - by none other than Ragnaros the Firelord. Ragnaros gives Thrall a vision of the Firelands, ensuring him that its flames will engulf both the world tree and the world beyond it, showing Thrall's reinforced home of Orgrimmar washed over in a tide of fire as the final Hour of Twilight approaches. Stunned, Thrall falls to the ground, and the cackling Firelord dissipates. Thrall then begins his journey to Mount Hyjal with Aggra.

After the druids and their allies thwarted the invasion of Hyjal by the Twilight's Hammer and Ragnaros, an air of peace settled on the sacred mountain. As new growth bloomed across the region, members of the Earthen Ring and Cenarion Circle, along with the noble Dragon Aspects, convened at the ancient World Tree of Nordrassil. Among the gathered heroes were the legendary archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, the former Horde warchief and accomplished shaman Thrall, and his strong-willed companion, Aggra. Together, this illustrious assemblage was to unite its wondrous powers and restore the World Tree for the good of Azeroth.

Yet this auspicious event ended in tragedy. The details are still unclear, but word has spread that an incredibly powerful Twilight's Hammer agent, shrouded to hide his identity, interrupted the ceremony and struck down Thrall with dark magics... casting his spirit into the four domains of the Elemental Plane. If these terrible rumors hold true, the Earthen Ring—indeed, all of Azeroth—has potentially lost one of its greatest champions. While the Aspects concede that Thrall may be lost to the elements forever, Aggra believes that her mate can be saved and calls on the aid of adventurers of both the Horde and the Alliance to venture into the Skywall, the Abyssal Maw, Deepholm, and Firelands to rescue her beloved from an eternity of torment. Before adventurers can return Thrall's spirit to the natural world they must help him overcome his doubts, his willfulness, his desires and his rage before he is bound to his elemental cage.

The identity of Thrall's assailant is revealed to be none other than the former Archdruid of Darnassus, Fandral Staghelm - now allied with Ragnaros and Deathwing. Noting that an individual known as the "Twilight Prophet" had deemed Thrall the cult's final obstacle, Fandral goes about removing him from the picture - not with death, but turning Thrall's great bond with the elements against him; his raw essence scattered to their elemental domains. Aggra is unwilling to give up on Thrall - and resolves to restore her mate's essence in its entirety.

His self-doubt manifests itself in the plane of wind, where Thrall expresses regret over his decision to pronounce Garrosh Warchief, noting that he will lead the Horde to ruin. He mentions that he has failed both the Horde and the Earthen Ring, and that he is unworthy of Aggra. He laments that he believes his own weakness has delivered Azeroth into the face of ruin. The plane of water displays Thrall's desire, where he is seen laying down his weapon in front of Varian and making peace with his enemies. It was also shown that he desired to be free of the burdens of leadership and start a family with Aggra. Thrall's patience is viewed in the plane of earth, where he is frozen in stone to symbolize his patience and resolve.

Thrall's raw, unhinged emotion is seen in the various elemental planes - fire, where Thrall's hatred towards Gul'dan, for the murder of his parents is witnessed; Varian, for declaring war upon the Horde; Blackmoore, for the act of forcibly enslaving another; and even Thrall's rage towards Garrosh for his role in Cairne's demise is seen.

Ultimately, Thrall's essence is restored. He stands before Aggra, as Go'el, son of Durotan. They returned to the world tree, where Thrall declared his love for Aggra, and the two became life mates. With his resolve renewed, Thrall overcomes his predicament, with the chains that had once bound him shattered—all that he once was, and more.

Charge of the Aspects
As Thrall and the other Aspects, including the newly-elevated Kalecgos, debated on how to defeat Deathwing, the shaman's spirit communed with the earth and took an earthen form. It was there that he encountered Deathwing, using the power of the Old Gods to imprison his spirit within. The corrupted Aspect mocked Thrall, believing that the Aspects sought to replace him as Earth-Warder with the mortal shaman, and claiming that the "gift" he had been granted by the Titans - his charge to defend Azeroth - was, in fact, a curse, imprisoning him to his duty. To demonstrate, he allowed Thrall to experience what it was like to have the weight of the earth on his shoulders, claiming that this was what the Aspects wanted - "to damn you to a life of eternal torment", as Deathwing stated it. He then unleashed a series of scathing attacks against Thrall's earthen form; because the shaman had embraced Azeroth, and Azeroth embraced him, his "wounds" materialized in the physical world in the form of earthquakes. Finally, the Aspects called on the Earthen Ring and the Cenarion Circle to break Deathwing's hold, bringing Thrall back to himself.

The Aspects decided that in order to defeat Deathwing, they would have to acquire the Dragon Soul in its "purest form" - a period not long after its creation, during the War of the Ancients ten millennia earlier. As the Soul was imbued with a powerful enchantment to prevent dragonkind from ever using it, the Aspects called on Thrall to be the wielder of the Dragon Soul in the battle against Deathwing.

Hour of Twilight
With Mount Hyjal secure and the firelord defeated, Thrall is tasked by the dragon aspects with taking the place of the maddened Earth-Warder once more. To this end, the defenders of Azeroth acquire the much-coveted Dragon Soul from a pivotal point in the past. Ultimately, heroes of Azeroth are successful in both claiming the Dragon Soul and averting a cataclysmic alternate future, woven by the corrupted aspect of time, Murozond. The Dragon Soul is delivered to Thrall, who makes his way to Wyrmrest Temple in order to defeat Neltharion for good.

Fighting his way through the snow-covered vestiges of an old god-corrupted Dragonblight, Thrall does battle with a formidable ice ascendant named Arcurion and a treacherous blood elven contract killer known as Asira Dawnslayer. After claiming victory, Thrall heals the drake she had slain and makes his way to the inner sanctum of the temple astride it. As heroes arrive to rejoin forces with Go'el, the Twilight Prophet (former Archbishop Benedictus) makes an appearance - and attacks Thrall in an attempt to take back the Dragon Soul. Like Asira before him, Benedictus falls before Thrall, and the son of Durotan leaves to make preparations for the final battle.

With the Dragon Soul in hand, Thrall and the dragon aspects Alexstrasza, Ysera, Nozdormu, and Kalecgos prepare to defeat Deathwing, while the united dragonflights and a group of mortal heroes fend off attacks from the forces of Twilight. Atop Wyrmrest, moments after the defeat of the twilight dragon Ultraxion, Thrall unleashes the artifact's power directly at Deathwing, damaging his armor and causing the Aspect of Death to attempt an escape. Chasing Deathwing in an Alliance gunship, the adventurers leap onto the corrupted Aspect and remove his elementium plating, giving Thrall a big enough opening to blast Deathwing again. The Destroyer falls from the sky and crashes into the Maelstrom.

Thrall and the Aspects briefly rejoice at the end of the Destroyer, only for him to suddenly rise from the Maelstrom, his form melting into a molten mass of unfathomable power. The adventurers work alongside the Aspects, preventing Deathwing from bringing about the final Cataclysm, and giving Thrall the chance to fire the third and final blast from the Dragon Soul, completely obliterating Deathwing. Thrall feels the elements "awakening", relieved that the Cataclysm is over. Alexstrasza explains that the Aspects have expended their ancient power and fulfilled their duties. She then reveals that Aggra is pregnant, much to Thrall's delight.

Tides of War
After Deathwing's death Muln Earthfury decided to make Thrall, who has seemingly decided to be called by his birth name; Go'el, the leader of the Earthen Ring. Sometime afterwards, Thrall and Jaina meet in secret where they were discussing Garrosh. Jaina urged Thrall to return to the Horde and reign in Garrosh's warmongering. Thrall maintained that he has found a new path and his work with the Earthen Ring was too important to abandon. After changing the conversation to his new life mate Aggra, Thrall tells Jaina that he hopes that she will find someone like he has. In response, Jaina, who bitterly thought of both Kael'thas Sunstrider and Arthas Menethil, told him that she made better friends than love interests.

After the fall of Northwatch Hold and the Theramore, Eitrigg sent a courier with a message for Thrall at the Maelstrom. Deciding that his fellow shaman deserved to hear the message, Thrall told the courier to read the message out loud in public rather than in private. The gathered members of the Earthen Ring were horrified to hear that molten giants were enslaved during the fall of Northwatch. They were even further distraught and horrified with the knowledge that Theramore was destroyed by a mana bomb. As all had assumed that no one survived the blast, Thrall believed that Jaina was dead. This unpleasant news caused Farseer Nobundo to inform Thrall that the Earthen Ring would understand if he were to go back to the Horde and that they could continue to heal the land without him. Thrall knew that nothing was greater than healing the damage done by the Cataclysm and so remained while remarking to himself that even if Jaina's ghost were to come to him and demand vengeance he would still reply no.

Later on Thrall and several others noticed that their efforts in healing the damage at the Maelstrom seemed to have less of an effect. As Thrall and Aggra went to converse with Muln about the subject, Thrall was shown a vision of Orgrimmar being drowned and destroyed by water elementals. While experiencing the vision, water elementals informed Thrall that they did not want to carry out such an act and become enslaved for all eternity. When he asked where the person who was going to enslave them was, he was shown a vision of Fray Island. When the vision ended, he informed his fellow Earthen Ring members about what he experienced. While Muln expressed the desire for all of them to help, Nobundo pointed out that Thrall was the only who received the vision and as such only Thrall should go. After Aggra told him that she understood the task was his alone, Thrall departed to Fray Island.

Upon arriving, Thrall discovered to his joy that Jaina Proudmoore was alive. That joy soon turned to horror upon realizing that it was Jaina trying to enslave water elementals and destroy his people. While trying to reason and plead with her to spare those in Orgrimmar from her retaliation for Garrosh's actions, Thrall was stunned to hear that Jaina blamed Theramore's destruction on him as Thrall had put Garrosh in charge of the Horde and did not return when she tried to convince him to. While shocked at her words, Thrall admitted that he blamed himself and asked that Jaina need not seek vengeance for Theramore by killing his people. In response, Jaina retorted that her father was right in believing that orcs were monsters and sent out a giant tsunami at Orgrimmar.

Calling upon the Spirit of Air for aid, Thrall was able to keep the tsunami at bay and soon learned that Jaina had gotten hold of the Focusing Iris. Trying to reason with his old friend, Thrall told her that while her pain was justified, innocent lives should not be killed for Garrosh's actions. In response, Jaina attacked Thrall, not with the intent to distract him but with the intent to kill. While reeling from this revelation, Thrall found that he could not bring himself to try and kill Jaina. Unwilling to kill Jaina, Thrall continued to plead for her to see reason by claiming that she should fight Garrosh, not innocent children who deserved to have a future. Jaina bitterly retorted that those who died in agony at Theramore have no future and Jaina pushed with all her might to unleash the wave under her command.

While Thrall found himself keeping the tsunami in check, he completely found himself at Jaina's mercy. Unwillingly to obey Jaina's order to release the tsunami, Thrall declared that she would have to kill him. Consumed by her quest of vengeance, Jaina began to gather energy in her hand but suddenly, the blue dragon Kalecgos arrived. When both, the dragon and the orc, told Jaina in their own ways to stop or she would turn back on everything that was right, Jaina retorted that she was only doing what she knew to be right. To Jaina's complete shock, Kalecgos told her that Arthas believed that same during the Culling of Stratholme. The dragon further told her that Arthas did not react with hatred in his heart and then asked her if she wanted to be remembered as another Garrosh, another Arthas. Reeling from such knowledge, Jaina's hatred left her and she poised herself. Jaina declared that she had hundreds of elementals enslaved to her and that she would use them to protect the Alliance. She further declared that Garrosh and the Horde, for as long as Garrosh was its leader, were her enemies from now on.

As Jaina's tsunami fractured into water elementals, Thrall was freely able to move. Informing Jaina that her heart would be glad for her choice, he was told that he did not know her heart anymore. Realizing that the friendship held between them was another casualty of the destruction of Theramore, Thrall mentioned that the coming war would change Azeroth as much as the cataclysm. Thrall informed Jaina and Kalecgos that he has pledged to heal the world and mentioned that he wished he and "Lady Jaina" had departed in another way. Being told that Jaina felt the same but that wishes meant nothing, Thrall nodded and then departed back towards the Maelstrom.

Landfall
Thrall, having finished his job at the Maelstrom, he wanted to resign from the politics and train young shaman in Durotar and live in peace with his beloved Aggra and their newborn son Durak. He was soon roped into Garrosh's conflict after the Warchief attempts (and fails) to murder Vol'jin. Narrowly surviving the attempt on his life with the help of Chen Stormstout and Horde heroes, Vol'jin has them contact Thrall and save the Echo Isles from Garrosh's tyranny. Thrall leaves to do so, reiterating what his vision of the Horde—when it was simply an idea in the desert of Durotar—had first entailed.

Thrall finds the isles under martial law, the Darkspear rounded up by Thrall's very own Kor'kron. After relieving the isles of their control, Thrall ponders how best to deal with Garrosh, concluding that simply challenging him for the right to the Horde would be ill-advised at this point. Instead, he takes up leadership of the isles in the Darkspear heroes' absence and plans to confer with Vol'jin before making any rash moves.

Escalation
Following Vol'jin's return to Durotar, Thrall journeys to Sen'jin Village to reunite with his old friend and Chen Stormstout‎. It is there where Vol'jin openly begins the Darkspear Rebellion and the forces of Sen'jin are aided by Horde heroes when the village comes under Kor'kron attack. During the attack, Thrall and Chen worked side by side against the Kor'kron, as the heroes help push back the invaders. With Sen'jin Village secure, Vol'jin proposes an attack on Razor Hill that is briefly halted when the shadow hunter objects to Thrall's plan to journey to Orgrimmar. While understanding Vol'jin worries that Hellscream's forces would kill him if he entered, Thrall is adamant about finding dissidents against his successor in Orgrimmar. After asking Vol'jin to look after his mate and son should anything happen to him, Thrall journeys to Orgrimmar.

Siege of Orgrimmar
Thrall alongside Varok reached the gate to Orgrimmar only to be stopped by the Kor'kron guard and Nazgrim. Nazgrim sent the Kor'kron away and allowed Thrall and Varok to enter but he had no guarantees for their safety. They entered the Underhold (probably learning about it from Eitrigg) where they faced the mantid. Varok was badly hurt and urged on Thrall to continue. Thrall entered a throne room in the Underhold and confronted Garrosh, who explained that his dark shaman had corrupted the land, making it impossible for Thrall to call upon the spirits. Thrall engaged Garrosh in melee combat but was soundly defeated. Garrosh himself was subsequently defeated by adventurers.

Thrall attempted to execute Garrosh with the Doomhammer, but he was stopped by Varian Wrynn, who argued that Garrosh's punishment was not for Thrall alone to decide. Taran Zhu said Garrosh should stand trial in Pandaria. Varian and Thrall agreed and stood down. After Garrosh was led away in chains, Vol'jin told Thrall that the Horde needed its true Warchief back. After pointing out that it was Vol'jin who held the Horde together and preserved its honor, Thrall knelt before Vol'jin and pledged to follow his leadership.

War Crimes
During the meeting to decide who would be Garrosh's defender, Thrall stated that he had admired the tauren ever since meeting Cairne Bloodhoof. When Baine Bloodhoof thought this cannot be happening since Garrosh slew his father (due to Magatha Grimtotem poisoning Gorehowl, causing Garrosh to inadvertently kill him), Thrall suggested Baine should be Garrosh's defender. Baine did, after some coaxing from Vol'jin, accept the responsibility of defending Garrosh and promised he would do his job to the utmost whatever his misgivings. On the fourth day of the trial Go'el was called as a witness by Tyrande Whisperwind, Garrosh's accuser. Tyrande questioned Go'el about his past up until the events of the Siege of Orgrimmar and his appointing of Garrosh as warchief of the Horde and, with the help of Chronormu and the Vision of Time, showed a vision of when Thrall appointed Garrosh warchief. Go'el realized after Tyrande's examination that, as grueling as Tyrande's had been, Baine's examination would be far worse.

Baine started his examination with questioning Go'el on whether he believed Garrosh threatened his vision of the Horde and then proceeded to, with the help of Kairozdormu and the Vision of Time, show a vision of when Go'el slew Aedelas Blackmoore, but not before giving him a sword with which to fight so that he could die with honor. Baine then proceeded to ask Go'el why he would not treat Garrosh the same as he had Blackmoore and was ready to kill Garrosh in Orgrimmar after he had been defeated. Baine's question led to some disturbance in the courtroom and objections from Tyrande. When asked by Taran Zhu to make his point Baine had Kairoz show another vision, this one of when Go'el was captured by the Druids of the flame and his essence was scattered to each elemental plane. The vision showed Go'el telling of his regrets such as the death of Cairne Bloodhoof. Another vision took place straight after, this one of Cairne meeting with Go'el just before he left to go to Nagrand just before the Shattering. In the vision, Cairne attempted to convince Go'el that it was a mistake to make Garrosh the warchief but the conversation ended in argument as Go'el left for the Dark Portal. After the vision Baine claimed that Garrosh had also made mistakes and asked Go'el, if he could go back to the moment, would he still try to kill Garrosh in Orgrimmar. Go'el, surprised by his answer, said that he wouldn't. After Baine was finished with his questioning Tyrande stated that she had one more vision to show, claiming that it was a possible end had Go'el made a different choice. The vision was of the hour of twilight where everything was dead, the only living things being Twilight dragons, and Deathwing was impaled upon Wyrmrest Temple.

When Garrosh was to be sentenced on the ninth day, he and Kairoz escaped through a time portal using the vision of time. Alternate copies of many of the people present then emerged from the portal, including one of Go'el. Pirates and Dragonmaw, led by Warlord Zaela to cover Garrosh's escape also burst into the courtroom and joined in the fight. The alternate Go'el was wearing human armor and wore the tabard of Aedelas Blackmoore and was a version of himself where Blackmoore's plans had come to fruition and Thrall had never escaped Durnholde. The two orcs fought but the Go'el of the true timeline had the advantage as he had trained with the elements where the other had not. He and the others were able to defeat their alternate selves when Xuen told them that they had to accept these alternate versions of themselves, which they did. Go'el realized that this alternate version of himself was a Thrall, in every sense of the word, and that name allowed him to realize what he had left behind and that he was now Go'el. After the battle Go'el went to find Aggra and embraced her. Go'el saw that the others had won their battles as well but was interrupted when Varian burst in carrying a mortally wounded Jaina. Jaina had been shot in the chest by Shokia who had arrived with Zaela, and both Go'el and Aggra attempted to heal her. Anduin Wrynn, Tyrande and Velen arrived as well but they were too exhausted and Jaina's wound was too serious. Go'el realized that Jaina would die his enemy and he could think of nothing worse than that. Aggra comforted him with an embrace and all had given up save Anduin who refused to stop trying to heal Jaina. Chi-Ji, who was now hovering above them, responded saying "And so, the student remembers the lessons of my temple" as a wave of calmness, contentment and healing washed over them. Go'el looked down to see Jaina's wounds had healed and Jaina opened her eyes. She reached out a hand and Go'el took it. Jaina squeezed Go'el's hand and let go.

Go'el, confused, asked why the August Celestials were not more distressed at Garrosh's escape, as it was their duty to pronounce sentence. When asked by Taran Zhu what verdict they would have rendered they stated that Garrosh would live so he could continue to learn. They also said that Garrosh was not the only one on trial and Go'el realized that everyone there had been, and he accepted it completely. The Celestials also stated that they had all been judged and sentenced and that they now had to go back out into the world and do what they must. Eventually, all heads turned to Go'el, even though he was not in a position of leadership among them anymore. Humbly, Go'el spoke for all of them, stating that they would find Garrosh.

The Iron Tide
When the Dark Portal turns red, Thrall helps to stop the Ironmarch invasion in Blasted Lands and is located in the Shattered Landing along with the remnants of the now-occupied Okril'lon Hold and the Horde soldiers. He sent adventurers to eliminate the Iron Horde numbers and machinery and then joined with Okrilla and began pushing the Iron Horde and their new allies - the Dreadmaul ogres. He ultimately assists the adventurers in killing one of the leaders of this attack, Gar'mak Bladetwist. He sent a report to the Warchief while he stayed there and continue the war effort.

Warlords of Draenor
Thrall later participated in the Assault on the Dark Portal and was one of the first to enter the alternate of thirty-five years ago. He assisted in the battle with the Iron Horde in Tanaan Jungle. Once the was disabled, he accompanied Khadgar and his group through the western camps, freeing the prisoner during the process,  included. Once they escaped from the Umbral Halls, Thrall blessed and equipped the rescued Frostwolves and draenei, and went to fight against the Blackrock orcs and the rest of the Iron Horde under the Worldbreaker. When the Portal was destroyed, he and the other attackers hijacked Iron Horde boats to flee.

The Frostwolf warrior Ga'nar was able to take the ship the Horde boarded to Frostfire Ridge, although his poor navigating skills resulted in the ship crashing. Thankfully, it crashed on the shore of the intended destination. Thrall came in contact with, who gave the Horde a piece of land in Frostwall, and the rest of the Frostwolf clan there. Thrall had Gazlowe summoned in order to build a garrison for the Horde. While building, Thrall confronted the gronn Skog in a nearby cave. Once the structures were built he and Drek'Thar went to Wor'gol to find Durotan. While in the main village of the clan, Thrall noticed a Shamanstone and felt that Draenor's elementals speak to him by a language he doesn't understand. Durotan decided to put an end to the ogre's threat thus Thrall assisted the clan in the taking of Bladespire Citadel. Before the main building, he summoned a tornado to the attacking ogres only to have him weakened. When he caught his breath he rejoined the attack inside of the citadel. While the commander went to confront the ogre lord Gorr'thog, Thrall stayed and healed the injured Frostwolves. Once the lord was killed, the citadel was completely taken by the orcs and he stayed in the throne room for a time alongside Durotan. Some time later, he returned to the Garrison and asked him about his mate. He answered that she stayed home with their newly born children. Draka was surprised by this and maintained that family needs to be together in times of war. The ogres weren't the only problem in Frostfire - the declared war to the Frostwolves. Thrall accompanied his clan to Grom'gar, ancient home of the Thunderlords and from there he continued to the Thunder Pass, where he assisted in the battle against the approaching Iron Horde. During the battle he destroyed a cannon and Drek'Thar noticed that he had to had a great teacher. Ultimately, he watched the sacrifice of Ga'nar. He later journeys to Talador for the Battle of Shattrath but was only seen when Khadgar, Yrel, Maraad and Durotan planned their counter-attack for the harbor. He was next seen in in Wor'var, this time accompanied by Aggra. Drek'Thar also traveled to Nagrand in order to commune with the troubled furies and Thrall sent adventurers to assist the shaman. Once the open threats of the in Hallvalor, the ogres of Mar'gok's Overwatch, and the  in Telaar were dealt with, he asked the commander to secure Durotan's help in the upcoming and final battle against Garrosh. Once the adventurer defeated the Warsong clan in Lok-rath, Durotan promised to help the Horde in Grommashar. Thus the Horde attacked the home of the Warsongs. When the adventurer and Durotan attacked Garrosh himself, Thrall entered the fray and challenged Garrosh to mak'gora. Garrosh agreed and they met near the Stones of Prophecy, the location of Garadar in the main timeline, and started to fight. During the duel, Garrosh taunted and mocked him and even destroyed his beads. The tide of the battle turned when Thrall summoned his elemental forces that caught Garrosh in a stone fist and a lightning bolt ended Garrosh's life. After the battle, he was seen near the battlefield with Khadgar, Yrel and the others planning what to do next.

Back in Frostwall, he asked the commander to assist Draka and Drek'Thar in Farseer's Rock with their elemental problem. The trio entered Magnarok and freed the fury Exurotus. Thrall got there and witnessed the merging of the fury with Drek'Thar which he commented as the start of Draenor's greatest shaman. Right after that, he sent the commander to Warmaster Zog to send Horde forces into the area.

Thrall was ultimately seen in the Throne of the Elements as he watched the elemental blessing passed on the Horde commander and their ring.

Legion
Thrall and Vol'jin led the assault on the Broken Shore and cleared the shoreline. They made their way to Sylvanas and Baine, who were holding off the demons. Along with the Alliance, they chased Gul'dan and took care of Krosus. While the Horde covered an overlooking ridge, the Alliance reached the Tomb of Sargeras and confronted Gul'dan.

After the failed battle, Thrall reunited with Aggra and his son Durak in Dalaran. Thrall asked shaman adventurers to meet at the Maelstrom in an attempt to gather the remaining Earthen Ring members who survived the battle. Thrall and Farseer Nobundo believed that they needed powerful artifacts in order to overcome the Legion threat. Unfortunately, the Legion led by the Fel Lord Geth'xun found them before they could form plans. The Earthen Ring were able to repel the demons' assault, but Thrall lost the Doomhammer during the fight, which fell into Deepholm with Geth'xun. Thrall, Stormcaller Mylra and the shaman adventurer immediately went after it.

At the Temple of Earth, Thrall interrogated the other shamans of the Earthen Ring present, while Mylra went to Stonehearth to see if the earthen had seen anything. The adventurer went to Therazane's Throne to seek out the Stonemother. Thrall warned the adventurer not to anger her as she was easily tempered with, then told Mylra to meet with the adventurer and him at the Throne when they found answers. Their endeavor was not successful, but the Stonemother did know where the hammer had fallen: the Crumbling Depths.

There, they found Geth'xun, who had survived the fall as well. Though Thrall was severely injured, Mylra managed to distract Geth'xun while the adventurer picked up the Doomhammer, and then used it to defeat the demon. Thrall did not take the Doomhammer back, however. Since his battle with Garrosh, he felt as if it was a dead weight in his hands, he believed that the elements were silent to him. In reality, it was his guilt and internal struggle that were the reason for this. He gave the Doomhammer to the adventurer and told them that they now wielded powers even he never tapped into. Thrall then asked the adventurer to bring the Earthen Ring together against the Legion, before going his own way.

When a Horde player reaches Prestige Rank 2, Thrall can be found in the Undercity alongside other notable leaders of the Horde. During A Royal Audience (Horde), he is present at the ceremony hosted by Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner that congratulates the character for their battles against the Alliance, following their receiving of the High Warlord's Medal of Valor from the Warchief, as well as an artifact appearance.

Battle for Azeroth
Thrall and his family retired to a quiet farm near Oshu'gun in Nagrand. While there, he crafted a new weapon—an axe named Dra'gora—and hid it in a secret compartment under the ground, because part of him knew that there would come a day when he would have to return to the fight. Although a world away and cut off from his connection to the powers of a shaman, Thrall felt the moment when Sylvanas Windrunner burned Teldrassil: he heard a quiet, distant, collective cry and briefly tasted smoke on the air.

Meeting with Saurfang
In the midst of the Fourth War, Varok Saurfang sought out the former warchief and told him that the Horde had begun to fall apart under Sylvanas' leadership while Thrall had been "hiding". Thrall responded that he had left that life behind; he was no one's savior, and he would not lead the Horde again. Varok replied that he had hoped Thrall would at least fight for it.

Thrall turned around and headed toward his anvil, but in that moment the two orcs were attacked by a pair of Forsaken assassins. After a brief fight, they managed to defeat their ambushers. Thrall was initially outraged, believing that Varok had been followed and endangered his family, but Saurfang revealed that he had been following the assassins, meaning they had been sent for Thrall. Varok told Thrall "You and I... we don't get to hide". With that, Thrall returned to his anvil and pushed it aside, revealing the secret compartment where he had hidden Dra'gora. He then pulled out and slung the axe over his shoulders, ready to fight for the Horde once more.

Rise of Azshara
Seeking to rescue Baine Bloodhoof, Saurfang and Thrall made their way to the Cleft of Shadow where they received aid from Rokhan and Lor'themar Theron who sent the Speaker of the Horde to aid them. As Saurfang, Thrall, and the Speaker ventured into the Underhold where they sought to minimize the spilling of Horde blood as they moved throughout the city. Amidst their quest, the group ran into Jaina Proudmoore and Mathias Shaw, who had also come to rescue Baine at Anduin Wrynn's request and after a brief moment, agreed to work together to save Baine. When things started getting heated between Saurfang and Shaw, Jaina and Thrall were quick to get them focused on the task at hand. Upon nearly reaching Baine, the group was attacked by Rowa Bloodstrike, who expressed disappointment but not surprise by Saurfang's and Thrall's decision to rescue Baine. Unwilling to stand down the group was forced to kill Rowa and moved forward to Baine, who was surprised at their presence. While Shaw moved to liberate Baine from his chains, Saurfang remarked that it felt too easy and the group was then attacked by Magister Hathorel, who sought to kill them and Jaina in particular in vengeance for the purge of Dalaran. Ultimately, the group was successful in liberating Baine from his chains, and Jaina teleported the group safely out of Orgrimmar.

As the group looked over Thunder Bluff, Thrall thanked Jaina for saving Baine. He then remarked to her that he wished he could change it all (Cairne, Garrosh, and Theramore Isle) and that sometimes he feels as if he did everything wrong. Following Jaina's comment about everyone having blood on their hands, Thrall revealed his belief that Sylvanas would now come for Thunder Bluff to burn it like she did Teldrassil. In response, Jaina reminiscent about how the Horde and Alliance united for the Battle of Mount Hyjal. However, Thrall was unmoved due to remembering all the times that the Horde and Alliance had come together and how they let it fall apart and asked Jaina what was different this time. In response, Jaina told him that they were different and then departed to let Anduin know of the mission's success.

In order to protect Azeroth and depose of Sylvanas, the Horde revolutionaries and Alliance planned to strike at Orgrimmar and to that end set up camp in Razor Hill. While Thrall didn't know what the future would bring, he declared that he wouldn't hide from it and vowed to fight for the Horde. As part of Saurfang's plan to assault Orgrimmar, Thrall joined the forces in attacking Orgrimmar from the front gate. However, before the battle could commence, Saurfang, recognizing Sylvanas's loyalists as their brothers and sisters in the Horde and unwilling to spill more Horde blood, challenged Sylvanas to Mak'gora, in spite of Thrall voicing his suspicions that he would die. Thrall was subsequently among the countless witnesses to the duel between Saurfang and Sylvanas, whereupon Saurfang gaining the upper hand caused Sylvanas to declare that the Horde was nothing, kill Saurfang, and abandon the Horde all together. In the wake of Saurfang's death, Thrall, Zekhan, and Anduin Wrynn carried his body into the now opened gates of Orgrimmar as the majority of Sylvanas's forces had declared for the revolution following Sylvanas's betrayal.

In front of Grommash Hold, Thrall and Anduin served as the speakers for Saurfang's memorial service and Thrall declared that Saurfang would be buried in Nagrand, as he would have wanted. Though admitting that he didn't know how to best serve the Horde, he vowed to fight for it to the bitter end. After Saurfang's funeral, Thrall appeared on the bridge between the Drag and the Valley of Strength, looking over Orgrimmar. He acknowledged that much had changed for the Horde while he was away but promised to do his part to ensure its survival.

After everything was over, Thrall would sometimes encounter Geya'rah, the daughter of the alternate universe's Durotan and Draka, while she was on her patrol route. They exchanged brief hellos with Geya'rah referring to him as Go'el.

Visions of N'Zoth


Thrall continued his role with the rest of the leadership of the Horde as N'Zoth returned from the depths of Azeroth to attempt at merging it with the realm of Ny'alotha. Within N'Zoth's visions, specifically the Vision of Orgrimmar, the orcish leader became maddened by what he perceived as the whispers of the elements; in truth the dark voice of N'Zoth. Convinced that the Old Gods were the only method of avoiding a world-destroying catastrophe, Thrall aggressively took control of the Horde, forcing its members to drink the blood of N'Zoth; corrupting them to his will.

Outside of this potential future, following the death of N'Zoth, Thrall and the other Horde leaders received the terms for an armistice from the Grand Alliance, putting the Fourth War on hold indefinitely, if not permanently. With that matter settled, Lor'themar Theron addressed the absence of a Warchief. Despite support for Thrall to take the mantle on again, he refused, citing that he had promised Varok Saurfang he would not take on the role once more. Instead, he brought up the idea of the Warchief being necessary, instead bringing in the belief that a change was needed for the Horde's leadership. With this, the Horde Council was created, with Thrall resuming his former role as leader of the orcs, as well as their representative on the council. Upon discovering that Trade Prince Gallywix had fled Orgrimmar with the rest of Sylvanas's inner circle, Thrall asked Gazlowe to take over as leader of the Bilgewater Cartel. Gazlowe agreed and—in the face of Thrall's concerns that Gallywix could still be funding members of the cartel—promised to simply pay them more than the cheapskate.

Though acknowledging that a new era stood before the Horde, Thrall believed that it was important for them to move forward together without forgetting the past, as they cannot learn from what is forgotten.

Shadows Rising
As the Horde Council convened for a meeting, Thrall felt it ironic that as they were discussing Sylvanas Windrunner, the Forsaken council seat was empty. He subsequently relived when Lilian Voss returned and noted how Calia Menethil was watching Voss's every move, as if she might be tested on it later. In light of Queen Talanji's call for the Horde to respond to the Zandalari wounds during a Horde Council meeting, First Arcanist Thalyssra pointed that acting rashly could threaten the armistice, something to which Thrall privately agreed with. As the council fractured into bickering Thrall called for the meeting to be adjourned and was approached by his old friend trusted friend, Yukha who revealed that the Earthen Ring shaman and the Cenarion Circle druids had sensed a terrible disturbance in the spirit world.

After the failed assassination attempt on Talanji, the Zandalari queen and a key ally, Thrall and the rest of the Horde leaders were forced into action. They empowered the young troll shaman Zekhan, still grieving the loss of Varok Saurfang, with a critical mission to aid Talanji and help uncover the rising threat against her. While Zekhan traveled to Dazar'alor to carry out his mission, Yukha agreed to serve as Thrall's messenger to the night elves, who had relocated to Nordrassil. Though Tyrande's rage had not lessened, she did agree on the meeting with the condition that Yukha inform Thrall that he "must bring what is owed." A declaration that confused both orcs.

When Thrall mentioned his intention to bring Baine Bloodhoof and Calia Menethil with him to the meeting, Yukha grew concerned, believing that their presence would remind Tyrande of Sylvanas Windrunner, albeit in different ways. Thrall then cited that Baine despised Sylvanas, and how Calia wished to bridge the divide between the Forsaken and the kaldorei that were raised into undeath as reasons in order to ease his worries. In response, Yukha told Thrall that he felt that it was best if Thrall came alone but acquiesced to Thrall's wishes.

Upon meeting with Malfurion Stormrage, Tyrande Whisperwind, Shandris Feathermoon, and Maiev Shadowsong, Thrall noticed their frosty, rigid silence. Thrall subsequently formally apologized to the night elves, pointed out how Baine sought to overthrow Sylvanas and remove her as warchief, and cited Calia as an example how the Horde to change by revealing that Voss now spoke for the Forsaken and how both women sought to reforge themselves anew, free of Sylvanas, free of her poisonous influence. When the meeting started to dissolve into an argument about responsibility for Teldrassil, Thrall acknowledged the harm Varok Saurfang had done in the war, while reminding them that he did not intend for Teldrassil to burn and was killed by Sylvanas. When Tyrande stated she saw their words as empty pledges of justice, Yukha attempted to corral the Horde leaders out of the area, but Thrall shrugged him and promised to give Tyrande what she was owed; the head of Sylvanas Windrunner causing her smile and declare, "Do it, then, or never seek to speak with me again."

After returning to Orgrimmar, Thrall was informed by Ji Firepaw that the Alliance was aware of the unrest in Zandalar, their belief that Talanji was working with Sylvanas, that they had requested to speak with the council, and that the pandaren wished to accompany him to said meeting. In return, Thrall pointed out how the negotiation will require a delicate touch in contrast to Ji's wisdom in generally acting as swiftly as possible, and the council may not vote in favor of it. Though acknowledging that Thrall had a point, Ji was insistence and remarked how popular or not a previous rogue warchief had almost cost his people the soul of their homeland and that the pandaren will forever wear the scars of Hellscream's cruelty. Thus, when the council meeting occurred, it was Ji who brought up a meeting with the Alliance, and in the end they voted unanimously in favor of Thrall and Ji to meet with Jaina Proudmoore and Anduin Wrynn in hopes that it would aid in the hunt and capture of Sylvanas Windrunner.

The Horde and Alliance subsequently met on a boat at seas off the coast Zandalar. In a show of open trust Thrall revealed that he had met with Tyrande, stunning both Jaina and Anduin. While Thrall was quick to smooth over Anduin's worries over the idea of the Horde of betraying the Alliance by allowing Sylvanas to have a refuge on Zandalar, the information they received allowed the orc and pandaren to realize that the Banshee loyalists were aiding the Widow's Bite. When Anduin mentioned how Mathias Shaw was taken prisoner by the Zandalari Empire, Ji reassured the young king that the Horde Council did not execute prisoners without trial. However, Anduin retorted that he wished to have Shaw returned soon, which made Thrall told them to give him two days. When the waves threatened to upend the boat, Jaina ported everyone to safety with Ji and Thrall being sent to the shores of Dazar'alor.

Safely emerging from the portal, the pair headed off to inform Talanji of what they learned only to be attacked members of the Widow's Bite within the city itself. They, with the help of the Rastari and Rokhan, were able to deal with the attackers and revealed to Talanji the connection between their enemies. With their task complete, the pair returned to Orgrimmar, with Thrall rallying the armies of the Horde for war against their enemies. While heading towards Bwonsamdi at the Necropolis to aid the loa in battle, the Horde forces were approached Tayo, the former lieutenant of the Widow's Bite who had grown increasingly disgusted with Apari's tactics, especially those against children. She then defected to the Horde, with Thrall later noting that her aid proved instrumental in saving them from Blightcaller's traps.

Thrall then personally fought in the conflict that followed, where he captured Sira Moonwarden. Though vexed by the escape of Nathanos Blightcaller, Thrall was able to release Shaw and sent the spymaster with a gift to the night elves, what he considered a start to what was owed: the prisoner Sira Moonwarden. He then joined the rest of the Horde forces in celebrating their victory, where he proudly welcomed Talanji to the Horde Council and warmly accepted Tayo as her ambassador to the Horde. After declaring that the Horde was united with their purpose clear, he invited Talanji to join the hunt for Sylvanas Windrunner when she was ready. He then departed to Orgrimmar.

Death Rising
When the Scourge began to rampage across Azeroth with the Lich King gone, Thrall was taken by surprise by the Mawsworn and despite fighting fiercely it was not enough, and Thrall was captured and taken to the Maw.

Shadowlands


Thrall later worked with Jaina Proudmoore in an attempt to hide from the Mawsworn and escape the Maw, where he became injured. They were later joined by Darion Mograine, the Knights of the Ebon Blade, and champions from Azeroth. After catching their breath, the group made their way towards Forlorn Respite in order to use the cave as a refuge. However en route they were confronted by Tariesh, who sought to stop them. Upon Tariesh's death, Thrall and his allies successfully made their way into the cave.

Thrall, Jaina, and the champion soon after ventured forth to rescue Anduin Wrynn, which involved killing Phael the Afflictor for his key, and rescue other souls from the Mawsworn. Following Anduin's liberation, the group returned to Forlorn Respite, where they discovered that a Eroded Waystone, which could be the way out, and Baine Bloodhoof could be found at Zovaal's Cauldron. Thrall was deeply troubled at the thought of leaving the missing Tyrande Whisperwind behind, with Jaina reassuring him that if there was a way out, then there was a way back in that could be entered to rescue her. While heading towards Zovaal's Cauldron, Thrall and his allies were attacked by Helya, who knocked them off the bridge in response to Thrall throwing his axe at her. He subsequently witnessed the Jailer throw Baine off a platform.

After securing Baine, Thrall and the champion subsequently headed off to acquire the means to help mend his spirit and retrieve a new weapon for Thrall. With Baine restored, the group headed off towards the waystone, discovering the sheer size of the Jailer's army along the way. Thrall himself found himself in disbelief as despite all Sylvanas had done, he never thought she would be apart of something like this. Upon arriving at the waystone, they were confronted by the Jailer's forces, and though the champion was able to escape, Thrall and the others were captured.

After being captured Thrall was sent to Torghast, Tower of the Damned, where at some point he was dragged through in chains to a higher level. After being liberated, Thrall marveled at Oribos, calling it as a hope to contrast the darkest reaches of the Shadowlands. He expressed hope that the spirits of his ancestors were safe in realms of comfort and peace, and Calia Menethil promised to send word to Aggra and Lor'themar Theron of his recovery. After discovering that Sylvanas and the Jailer intend to turn Anduin into a weapon, Thrall called upon the Maw Walker to continue their efforts to undermine the Jailer, and vowed that when the time came, they would rescue Anduin.

Following the defeat of Sire Denathrius, an ally of the Jailer, Bolvar felt a darkness calling to him within Torghast. Thrall learned from Bolvar that a new mourneblade was being forged within the tower and that the Jailer decided that the time had come for Anduin to become his agent, regardless of his choice. Thrall was quick to prepare himself for battle when the Jailer attempted to gain control of Bolvar through the Helm of Domination. After Jaina and the Maw Walker were able to sever the connection, Baine called for them to immediately attack Torghast and rescue Anduin. However, Thrall and Jaina countered that they had to hold back and rally the covenants. Bolvar agreed with their assessment and thus implored the Maw Walker to continue their efforts and declared that when the time came, they would claim victory.

Chains of Domination
As the covenants rallied together to defend Ardenweald from Sylvanas and the Mawsworn, Thrall was amongst those who remained behind in Oribos to defend the city.

Locations
🇨🇴
 * Areas

🇨🇴
 * Instances

Quests

 * Taretha's Diversion
 * Escape from Durnholde (quest)


 * Lost Isles
 * Precious Cargo
 * Meet Me Up Top
 * Warchief's Revenge
 * Farewell, For Now
 * Old Friends
 * Repel the Paratroopers
 * The Warchief Wants You
 * Borrow Bastia
 * Victory!
 * Warchief's Emissary


 * The Maelstrom
 * The Maelstrom (quest)
 * Deepholm, Realm of Earth


 * Twilight Highlands
 * Devoured
 * The Worldbreaker (quest)


 * Elemental Bonds
 * The Call of the World-Shaman
 * The Nordrassil Summit
 * Elemental Bonds: The Vow


 * Find Thrall!
 * The Horde Is Family
 * De-Subjugation


 * During pre-event
 * Iron Horde Invasion! (Horde)
 * Attack of the Iron Horde (Horde)
 * Under Siege (Horde)
 * Subversive Scouts (Horde)
 * Investigating the Invasion (Horde)
 * Lunatic Lieutenants (Horde)
 * Attack on Nethergarde
 * Toothsmash the Annihilator (Horde)
 * Death to the Dreadmaul (Horde)
 * Gar'mak Bladetwist (Horde)
 * Warning the Warchief


 * Tanaan Jungle
 * Vengeance for the Fallen (Horde)
 * The Shadowmoon Clan (Horde)
 * Prepare for Battle (Horde)


 * Frostfire Ridge
 * Of Wolves and Warriors
 * For the Horde! (quest)
 * Great Balls of Fire!
 * The Butcher of Bladespire
 * To the Slaughter
 * Armed and Dangerous
 * The Iron Wolf (quest)
 * To Thunder Pass


 * Nagrand
 * The Might of the Warsong (Horde)
 * More Lazy Peons
 * Blood of the Burning Blade (Horde) / The Friend of My Enemy
 * A Choice to Make (Horde)
 * The Farseer Awaits
 * Shields Down! (Horde)
 * Removing the Reinforcements (Horde)
 * Reglakk's Research (Horde)
 * Along the Riverside (Horde)
 * Lok-rath is Secured (Horde)
 * And Justice for Thrall (Horde)


 * Garrison Campaign
 * Garrison Campaign: Farseer's Rock
 * Ours is the Fury


 * Artifact Acquisition
 * A Ring Unbroken
 * The Elements Call...
 * Where the Hammer Falls
 * What the Stonemother Knows
 * The Hammer in the Deep


 * A Gift for the Warchief
 * Hidden Enemies (quest)
 * Hidden Enemies (2)
 * Hidden Enemies (3)
 * Hidden Enemies (4)
 * Meeting the Orcs (blood elf) / Meeting the Orcs
 * Allegiance to the Horde
 * What Is Going On? (2)
 * The Eastern Kingdoms
 * The Royal Rescue
 * The Princess Saved?
 * The Brokering of Peace (Horde)
 * Eitrigg's Wisdom
 * The Lord of Blackrock (Horde)
 * The Lord of Blackrock (Horde) (2)
 * For The Horde! (quest)
 * What the Wind Carries
 * The Champion of the Horde
 * Victory for the Horde
 * For All To See
 * Messenger to Thrall
 * Envoy to the Mag'har
 * Warchief's Blessing
 * Thrall, Son of Durotan
 * Hero of the Mag'har
 * Herald of War
 * A Life Without Regret
 * The Battle For The Undercity (Horde)
 * Fate, Up Against Your Will
 * A Royal Coup


 * Wowhead

Tactics
The most critical part of the strategy is to give the Horde as little warning as possible. Mainly since Horde players tend to feel more obligated and passionate about defending Thrall than any other WoW leader. The slightest mention of an attack on Thrall is enough to send a fair number of players to his side. Diverting attention can be done either by using a warlock to summon, or if you are careful, gathering across the bridge west of Orgrimmar, then riding to Thrall's room at full speed. Approaching from Ratchet may not be the best option because of the number of Horde leveling in the area, so the best option is riding by the river from Azshara, making good use of a death knight's Path of Frost. Once on Thrall's room, use AoE spells to take care of the guards, then a simple tank and spank strategy on Thrall. Vol'jin may be offtanked at the same time, or Thrall can be taken down first by approaching from the left side of the room as you enter and Vol'jin may be optionally taken care of afterward. Two raids (80 people) are recommended.

He can be done easily with a 40 man raid if done right. With a well geared 40 man raid group you can drop him easily if summoned in and done without alerting many Horde.

The arena inside Orgrimmar is a great spot for summoning if you manage to successfully place a warlock and his summoning support in there. A decoy may be used as well, most likely a couple of rogues attacking the bank or some other crowded area as this will take the Horde's attention from the attack, having them to think it's just an isolated act from bored players.

With the advent of the Wintergrasp battleground, a new technique is to wait until Wintergrasp has initiated and then storm Orgrimmar. Note that success is limited due to it being predictable, after being used once, it will be expected later.

His death was originally the requirement for Death to the Warchief!.

Personality
Go'el, despite the usual brutish nature of the orcs is wise beyond his years and a very honorable shaman. Go'el is seen as a kind and friendly person to his allies and will accept any visitors willing to help the Horde into his city. To any who try to harm his people, such as demons and the undead, he will end their lives without remorse. If someone under his leadership causes dishonorable and unnecessary bloodshed, or worse, consorts with demons, Go'el's policy is clear: a death sentence carried out by the Doomhammer.

Names and titles
Known as Thrall to most, it was revealed that his true name was in fact Go'el. Over the years Thrall was given many titles, including, but not limited to:


 * Warchief of the Horde
 * Liberator of the Orcs
 * Lord of the clans
 * Chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan
 * Seer
 * Leader of the Earthen Ring
 * Orc-father
 * Guardian of the Elements
 * World Shaman

Abilities

 * Escape from the Maw
 * Avatar
 * Shockwave
 * Taunt
 * Whirlwind

Lord of the Clans

 * "Blackmoore gave me the name so I would never forget that I was something he owned, that I belonged to him. I never will. I will keep the name, and one day, when I see him again, he will be the one who remembers what he did to me, and regret it with all his heart."
 * "Blackmoore! Tonight you sleep in hell!"

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

 * The demons... are returning.
 * Warrior, has there been any word from Grom Hellscream? He and the Warsong clan were supposed to have been here by now.
 * You'll have no more sacrifices today, witch! Go back to the depths where you belong!
 * I don't know exactly what the witch was talking about, but I do know that our destiny lies elsewhere. For now, we set sail for Kalimdor. That is where our future will unfold.
 * Those pig creatures are unlike anything I've ever seen before.
 * This land is rugged and beautiful, much like the place from which my people originally come.
 * That's the young sorceress Grom told me about. It appears that she seeks the Oracle as well.
 * That voice. You're no oracle! You're the prophet!
 * I know, Cairne. It's just that I never thought I'd live to see the day... when I had to fight my own people.
 * This is not natural storm! Blessed ancestors... Everyone brace yourselves!
 * You did this... to our people... knowingly? Arrrgghhh!
 * Then, let's go. I don't want to keep the bastard waiting.
 * No, old friend. You've freed us all.
 * Our spirit is stronger than you know demon! If we are to fall, then so be it! At least now... we are free!

Warcraft III: Frozen Throne

 * Mok'Nathal. I've heard tales of your people. They had both orc and ogre blood in their veins. It is an honor. We've built this kingdom--Durotar—for all our kind. Durotar is as much your home as it is mine, Rexxar. Stay awhile. Accept what hospitality we can offer. It is the least we could do.
 * This is not the Horde you remember, old man. We have no interest in conquest or murder. We have paid for our sins of our forebears in blood.
 * Durotar is now safe. We have no further quarrel with these humans. We will leave your isle in peace, Jaina. I pray we never have to come here again. Farewell, sorceress.

Rise of the Horde

 * "How easily the mind can be turned to hate from a place of fear - an instinctive, natural, protective response. Instead of focusing on the things that unite us, we focus on what divides us."
 * "To pretend it [the demonic corruption] did not exist is to forget how dreadful the impact was. To make ourselves into victims, rather than claiming our participation in our own destruction. We chose this path, we orcs. We chose it right up until it was too late to turn back. And having made that choice, we can, with the knowledge that we have of the end of that dark and shameful road, choose not to take it."
 * "I can only pray to the ancestors that I am never placed in the same position as my father—torn between what I know in my heart is right and the defense of my people. It is why I continue to strive to uphold the tenuous peace between us and the Alliance. Because few offenses and insults in this or any other world are sufficient to warrant the slaughter of children."
 * "I offer no judgment on anyone save a handful of individuals who knew full well what they were doing, knew that they were trading the lives and destiny of their people for gratification in the moment, and did so gleefully. For the others...I can only shake my head and be grateful that I was not forced to make the choices they did."
 * "When I reached adulthood, I became Orgrim's friend, as had my father before; and it is I who have fulfilled the prophecy of the Doomhammer. In their honor, this land is named Durotar, its greatest city, Orgrimmar."

World of Warcraft

 * Aggro
 * Lok'narosh! (Removed in Patch 4.0.3a)
 * For Doomhammer! (Removed in Patch 4.0.3a)
 * Your time has come! (Removed in Patch 4.0.3a)


 * Greeting
 * Lok'tar, friend. What is it you wish?
 * Welcome to Orgrimmar. Have you come to serve the Horde? (Removed in Patch 4.0.3a)

Gossip
All members of the Horde are equal in my eyes,. We have all suffered many burdens, and if it were not for wisdom and honor, then we would be no better than the Scourge or my people while our blood was tainted by the demon Mannoroth.
 * In Grommash Hold

It is your duty to aid the Horde and to defend our way of life. But it is also your duty to know when quarter and compassion should be given to friend and foe alike.

Understand this well. This is the new Horde, not some demon-spawned army who lack freewill.

It would be wise to explain to you the depths at which our enemies will go to to hide themselves under our noses.
 * After completing Hidden Enemies (quest)

Know this first and foremost: our enemy is the Shadow Council. No matter what task I give you, or who I ask you to act against, know that one simple fact.

Many cults exist within the Council, but only to hide its actions against the foolish.

Groups like the Burning Blade, the Argus Wake, and the Searing Blade are all tools of the Council. Consider them one and the same.

The Fall of the Dark Horde

 * yell
 * yell

Escape from Durnholde Keep

 * Greeting
 * There is so much I have not seen.
 * Taretha is the only one I... really trust.
 * From this day on, I will rise to any challenge.


 * Freed
 * say


 * Aggro
 * say
 * say
 * say
 * say


 * Killed a mob
 * say
 * say
 * say


 * Leaving combat
 * say
 * say
 * say


 * Low health
 * say
 * say


 * Death
 * say
 * say


 * Depart to Tarren Mill
 * say
 * say


 * Leaving Tarren Mill
 * say


 * Dialogue

Battle for Mount Hyjal

 * Incoming
 * yell


 * Attacked
 * yell
 * yell


 * Rally
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell


 * Out of time
 * yell


 * Departure
 * yell

Lady Proudmoore's forces have bled to delay Archimonde and his Burning Legion, and now this grim task falls to us. Are you ready to stand with me against the onslaught?
 * Initial gossip


 * Then let the Legion do their worst!

The Burning Legion presses us hard, but our defenses hold. Every moment we keep Archimonde away from the World Tree brings us closer to victory.
 * Gossip during waves

Outstanding! Kaz'rogal's death cry should strike fear into the core of the Burning Legion. They now know the power your forces possess, so expect the worst the Legion can offer.
 * Gossip after first boss


 * May the spirits be with you.

Outstanding! Killing a Pit Lord such as Azgalor is no small feat, my friend. If we had more time, I would love to hear the story of you and your companions. Archimonde will not give us that pleasure, however. My scouts have already reported that the Legion is amassing an immense force outside our camp, and Archimonde is very close to the World Tree. We are evacuating with the help of Lady Proudmoore. You should head to the World Tree at once. The fate of our world is still undecided.
 * Gossip after second boss

Scourge Invasion
It was only a matter of time before we would have to deal with the Lich King. He represents a threat to all of Azeroth, not just the humans.

But, the decision to go to war is one that must not be made lightly. We would be fools to rush into Northrend. The Lich King has surely anticipated such an action.

Our options must be weighed carefully. Our armies are mightier than ever, but a tactically unsound decision could ruin us.

If only Garrosh understood....

Mists of Pandaria

 * Dialogue

It is a good thing to spend time in a place like this. We must always remember what it is we struggle so hard to protect.
 * Durotar gossip

Do me this courtesy,, and do not share with Garrosh what has transpired here today. I could confront him directly, but I see now not all orcs share my view of the Horde.
 * Darkspear Hold gossip

Who am I to command their allegiance if I must become another dictator to do so?

What I can do is to aid the Darkspear in fortifying their home while their heroes are abroad for the war. When Vol'jin returns, we will plan our next move.

Warlords of Draenor

 * Greeting
 * This is a savage land.
 * Lok'tar Ogar, champion.
 * The Horde has important work here.
 * This land is nothing like Azeroth.
 * Lok'tar, commander.


 * Pissed
 * Seriously, are we gonna do this?
 * Is this what the Horde has come to? I have to speak to Vol'jin about this.


 * Farewell
 * Our spirit will triumph.
 * For the Horde!
 * Fight with honor!
 * We will not be broken.
 * Run our enemies into the ground.

Azeroth has been invaded by a vicious enemy that seems bent on world domination.
 * Gossip

We must act quickly if we are to put a stop to the chaos that is unfolding around us.

Wor'gol
I was raised on stories of Frostfire Ridge, the ancestral home of the Frostwolves.

I never believed I would ever see the clan as they were in their prime, with Durotan as their chief.

He is... shorter... than I imagined. The burden of leadership weighs heavy on his shoulders.

Wor'var
Throm-Ka, commander.

I'm glad you're here. I need you to take over our preparations to deal with the.

We will drive them before us, and we'll bring Garrosh to justice once and for all.

Legion
Our defeat at the Broken Shore was a disaster. What's left of the Alliance and Horde are at one another's throats.
 * Dalaran gossip

Shaman, heores like you may be our last great hope. Stay strong, and do not give up.


 * Dialogue


 * Greeting
 * This is our darkest hour!
 * The Legion will stop at nothing!
 * What news?
 * I always knew this day would come!


 * Farewell
 * We must fight together, or perish alone.
 * We must not lose hope!
 * Never give in!
 * Fight on!

Durotar
My mistakes have been many,. And they have led me here once again.



I do not know what the future will bring, but I will not hide from it. I will fight for the Horde.

Post-War Campaign

 * Saurfang's funeral


 * Overlooking the Valley of Strength and Geya'rah


 * Horde Council

Orgrimmar Embassy
It was not long ago that I wished for nothing more than to bury the past, but I know now that it is something I will always carry with me.

Although a new era stands before us as champions of the Horde, we must move forward together without forgetting the past.

We cannot learn from that which we've forgotten.

Shadowlands
I will be glad for the day when this... place is behind us.
 * Maw gossip

Hearthstone cinematic

 * "It is said that wars are only won upon the anvil of honor."

Heroes of the Storm trailer

 * "We came to this world as exiles and outcasts, but together, we can be more. A weapon to break the chains of oppression. A bastion for the hunted and the lost. A family bound by blood and honor. And if our enemies do not give us peace, we will give them WAR! Victory or death! This I pledge as your Warchief: until the end of days I live and die FOR THE HORDE!"

Other

 * "In Deathwing's mad quest to forge new dragons, he ignored amazing breeds never before seen on Azeroth."

Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans
In the canceled Warcraft Adventures, Thrall would have been the main character. Raised by humans in servitude, he escaped his shackles and began his journey to discover his heritage and reunite the scattered clans of the Horde and forging new alliances, for example with Alexstrasza by killing Deathwing. Some notable differences are that he was depicted as having a more wise cracking personality, and learned how to use dark magics in addition to shamanism. The story of the game was eventually adapted into a novel, Lord of the Clans.

He was going to be voiced by Clancy Brown. An interesting bit of trivia is that in early Warcraft III CGI, Thrall was armed with an axe that could have been the Axe of Durotan from this game. In Thrall's Vision he is still armed with the axe.

In the RPG


Following the merge of Arthas Menethil and Ner'zhul into a singular entity, Thrall and Jaina held conferences to discuss the threat of the Lich King on Northrend, as well as Illidan Stormrage and his blood elf and naga army on Outland.

Some people in Theramore speculate that Jaina's relation with Thrall has taken a salacious turn. Some outspoken political opponents are on the verge of accusing Jaina of miscegenation.

Following the death of Daelin, Thrall and Jaina found a human named Rufus Montaine among the dead. He recognized him as his former mentor.

Thrall is a fighter, healer, blademaster, and a shaman.

In Hearthstone

 * Thrall is the HS Thrall (default hero) (player character) for the shaman class in Hearthstone. His flavor text reads: "Thrall quit his former job as Warchief to save the world and spend more time with his family."
 * Winning 1,000 HS Ranked or HS Arena games as a shaman unlocks the alternate HS Warchief Thrall hero, whose flavor text reads: "Hail to the Warchief! Or rain, snow, sleet, or whatever kind of precipitation the mighty shaman prefers."
 * The Thrall HS card back was rewarded for achieving Rank 20 in Ranked Season 21, which took place during December 2015. The flavor text reads: "The World Shaman is probably THE best known celebrity in Azeroth. It's a mystery that his signature necklace never caught on as a fashion trend."
 * In the Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion, the nine heroes of Warcraft have been raised as powerful death knights of the Lich King. Thrall was resurrected as HS Thrall, Deathseer and painted a white skull mask on his own face. Thrall, Deathseer's flavor text reads: "Do not be afraid. Approach. The dead will sleep... for now."

In Heroes of the Storm
Thrall is a in Heroes of the Storm.

One of his skins, "Hellhammer Thrall", depicts an alternate reality in which Go'el was the fel orc Warlord of the "Ashwolf clan". The description reads: "Go'el, the new Warlord of the Ashwolf clan, lifted the shattered Doomhammer from the Blackrock chieftain's corpse. Of his father's betrayers, only Gul'dan remained."

Alternate timelines
A version of Thrall existed in a timeway where history turned out completely different and which was entered by Thrall from the main universe during the Cataclysm era.

Before Thrall entered the Blackmoore world, Thrall and the alternate Aedelas entered yet another timeway at a point during the murder of Durotan and Draka. In contrast with the main universe, Thrall took his infant alternate self and held him for a while. Then the alternate King Aedelas came forward to kill the infant, an attempt interrupted by the main universe Thrall. The infant was then taken by Aedelas from this timeline. Christie Golden's statement confirms that this infant was different from the one who died in the Blackmoore world.

In another timeline, Thrall was raised into obedient servitude of Aedelas, and fought with the main universe Thrall when Garrosh Hellscream escaped his trial in the Temple of the White Tiger. He wore traditional human plate armor and a tabard with a black falcon. The two Thralls clashed. According to Baine, Kairoz selected the most broken and darkest versions. To send them back to their own realities, one was to accept the other self.

In yet another timeline, Thrall was unable to stop Jaina Proudmoore from destroying Orgrimmar which resulted in full war and many casualties.

In Heroes of the Storm, there are four versions of Thrall - Warchief of the Horde, Hellhammer Thrall as a Warlord of the Ashwolf clan, Master Thrall and Earthbreaker. If they are part of the Warcraft universe is yet to be revealed.

The son of Draka and Durotan from a separate timeline appears in the Warcraft film universe.

Notes and trivia

 * Thrall can read and understand Thalassian.
 * The Reign of Chaos game manual states that Thrall was unanimously elected warchief of the Horde for his honor, optimism, and courage, even though Lord of the Clans had previously established that he was named warchief by the previous, dying warchief Orgrim Doomhammer.
 * In Warcraft III, Thrall's wolf was black-furred. In The Burning Crusade, Thrall travels through Nagrand on a white wolf. In Wrath of the Lich King, Thrall also rides a white wolf in The Battle For The Undercity. In Mists of Pandaria during the events of Landfall, he rode a brown wolf. The different fur colors could be explained by Snowsong's fur changing over time, or by Thrall having different wolf companions.
 * While the orcs were officially led by Varok Saurfang up until Battle for Azeroth, their page on the official site doesn't list their racial leader, instead including Thrall as the orcs' "Paragon".
 * Ironically as of the end of Battle for Azeroth, Thrall has become the orcish leader again.
 * Thrall's impaled body can be seen in the Stormwind Harbor of the Realm of Y'Shaarj.
 * Thrall is approximately 31 years old during the Burning Legion's third invasion.
 * The Warcraft 3 manual stated that he was 24 during the Third War, thus born -4 BDP. It was later stated that he was born in Year 0. This has since been retconned to year 1 by.
 * By the time of the beginning of the invasion of Outland, Thrall has never seen the spirits of the ancestors, not even in his dreams. He has, however, found his grandmother Geyah during the war, and later met the alternate counterparts of his parents.
 * At some point, he saw the lost ones of Azeroth. It was likely the ones in Swamp of Sorrows.
 * The Thrallmar outpost in Hellfire Peninsula on Outland is named after him.
 * When Thrall visited the Caverns of Time in Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects, Chronalis informed him that adventurers had helped to preserve his own history in the Escape from Durnholde Keep event, as his own memories had been erased of the interference. Thrall felt humbled and grateful to know that he had been helped in such a way.
 * Thrall held Neltharion's place as the Aspect of Earth (representative of the element of Earth) for several hours during the battle against Deathwing.
 * Thrall seems to use the Doomhammer with both his right and left hand.
 * Li Li Stormstout once retold the story of Thrall and his orcs to Strongbo and the adventurer apparently told a story about Thrall to Fish Fellreed.
 * Thrall thinks that the shaman Sergra Darkthorn is something special.
 * Thrall has declared Horde females to be on equal footing with men.
 * Thrall was interested in other cultures of the Barrens such as of the quilboar and centaur races, and so he sent Tatternack Steelforge there to study all kinds of weapons and armor.
 * On Thrall's orders, the orc Aturk was to teach other members of the Horde blacksmithing, an order he did no like but obeyed.
 * Belgrom Rockmaul would often consult with Thrall who valued his opinions.
 * When the Shady Rest Inn was burned, Thrall sent Krog to assist with the investigation.
 * There is a group named after him, Thrall's Thrashers.
 * "Thrall's balls" is a humorous expression first used by Nazgrim during Blood and Thunder!. As of, orc characters who use the  emote also say "Thrall's balls".
 * By the time of the Cataclysm, Anduin Wrynn had met Thrall once. Though his father did not trust him, the prince thought that the former Warchief seemed wise.
 * The wyverns that he and Cairne rescued from harpies during the Third War were the breeds of Blue Wind Riders, Green Wind Riders and Tawny Wind Riders.
 * After Jaina and Thrall's forces were forced to work together after the meeting with Medivh, the two leaders soon became good friends. Thrall stated that Jaina reminds him strongly of Taretha Foxton, but Jaina has stated no specific reason for her trust in Thrall. Their relationship was nonetheless strong, even having endured the battle of Durotar, which cost Jaina her father and Thrall many of his warriors. They still considered each other allies until the destruction of Theramore, where Jaina more or less blames Thrall for not listening to her about Garrosh, and effectively ended the friendship. Some fans speculated that Thrall and Jaina would be romantically involved at some point, but lore eventually denied this.
 * The novel The Shattering officially puts any speculation of a romance between Thrall and Jaina down, as Thrall meets Aggra. The novel also seemingly makes a reference to this popular speculation, as Eitrigg comments to Thrall that Jaina would make a fine mate for someone one day if she so chose. As a human, she "cannot be [his]." Thrall merely laughs at the notion of having any mate, with so many crises at hand he has to deal with. Chris Metzen jokingly answered a question about the matter at Blizzcon 2010: "Thrall is meeting a nice girl from Nagrand and gonna have little brown babies. Let's put it to bed. Funny choice of words there."
 * The White Punch Card that drops in Gnomeregan for the Data Rescue Alliance quest has many lines of binary code printed on it. When decoded, it reads "Thrall and Jaina sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G", as an in-joke for the fans.
 * At BlizzCon 2011, when asked about the giant snake tail in Gundrak, Chris Metzen sarcastically stated that it was the first sign of several major future events, including Thrall leaving Aggra to start dating Jaina. He then quickly added "Just kidding".
 * "Go'el" was the name chosen by Durotan and Draka for their only son, but they could not give him that name until the Naming Day of that cycle; when Durotan and Draka were killed, his name remained unknown to him until he met his grandmother in Garadar over two decades later.
 * The name Go'el in Hebrew means "redeemer", derived from the verb lig'ol, "to free". A Go'el was a close kinsman, whose duty was to perform any task a man could not perform by himself. Another duty of the Go'el was to free his kinsman from slavery — appropriate, considering Thrall's role in liberating the orcs from generations of enslavement to fel magics, as well as being held in human internment camps. ("Go'el" is one of the traditional titles of the Messiah.)
 * The servers Thrall US and Thrall Europe are named after the former Warchief.
 * Thrall is voiced by Chris Metzen in Warcraft III, World of Warcraft and their expansions.
 * The Vision of Thrall seen after the end of the quest An Ancient Enemy uses a unique model not seen in any of Thrall's other appearances, instead showing him wearing part of the Conqueror's Worldbreaker set as well as wielding the original Doomhammer model.
 * Thrall and Aggra briefly appear in Gods and Monsters (quest), a story told by Lorewalker Cho.
 * Thrall has been nicknamed "Green Jesus" by many fans after World of Warcraft: Cataclysm due to his over centralness to the plot, super powered god-like abilities, being universally liked even by higher beings, and lack of personal flaws.
 * However, Thrall shares more similarities with Moses than with Jesus. Like Moses, Thrall manages to free his people from the bonds of captivity and build for them a new future in a faraway land. The Warcraft movie makes the similarities more obvious by depicting Thrall being sent downriver in a basket as a baby.
 * Chris Metzen dislikes the nickname, stating that "I try to respect peoples' higher powers".
 * Thrall appears in Snow Fight, a children's book written by Chris Metzen and illustrated by Wei Wang.
 * At BlizzCon 2017, it was stated that Thrall would be one of the main characters of Battle for Azeroth alongside Anduin Wrynn, Jaina Proudmoore, and Sylvanas Windrunner, and it was indicated that he would have some role to play in Vol'jin's character arc.  However, he didn't initially appear in the expansion, and his role in Vol'jin's story was seemingly instead filled by Princess Talanji, Master Gadrin, and the Horde player character. Additionally, the same panel depicting the main characters of Battle for Azeroth at BlizzCon 2018 had the exact same characters on display, but with Varok Saurfang in place of Thrall. This could indicate that whatever had been initially planned for Thrall was reworked into Saurfang's storyline instead, given his character's popularity with the release of cinematics such as Old Soldier and Lost Honor. Thrall finally appeared in patch 8.2 in a new role that bore little resemblance to the original Battle for Azeroth announcement.
 * Thrall's new 8.2 model is inspired by 's appearance in the Warcraft film.
 * According to Christie Golden, Thrall "embodies non-". This is likely in reference to him being willing to defend the Horde while also rejecting the more violent aspects of its culture.
 * Thrall was to be involved in the cut Warlords of Draenor scenario Bonetown.
 * With the defection of Sylvanas Windrunner and the deaths of Cairne Bloodhoof and Vol'jin, Thrall is the only Horde racial leader from vanilla to be both alive and still aligned with the Horde.
 * His generic name during the Escape from the Maw is Frostwolf Warrior.

Inspiration

 * Thrall was partly inspired by, a gladiator who led a massive slave rebellion against the Roman Republic.
 * At BlizzCon 2010, Chris Metzen claimed that Thrall and his wielding of the Doomhammer was inspired by . In the foreword to The Comic Volume 1, Metzen jokingly states that he would never cop to the fact that Thrall's lightning-charged Doomhammer was "more than inspired" by Thor's hammer from Walter Simonson's run on .
 * The necklace worn by Thrall from Cataclysm to Legion is an homage to the character Wan-fu from , a game that was extremely popular with many of Blizzard's employees when they were developing their early games such as Warcraft II.
 * His new appearance in Battle for Azeroth looks strikingly similar to Durotan from the movie universe.
 * Thrall might be somewhat inspired by from the Planet of the Apes franchise. Caesar was the son of a pair of talking chimpanzees (who also were murdered like Durotan and Draka) and was also raised as a slave, until he finally rebelled and led the Apes to freedom. Like Thrall, Caesar wishes to live in peace with the humans.
 * Similarities can be drawn between Thrall's origins as a slave that was secretly given books and taught and later led a rebellion to given Nat Turner had loosely a similar story to Thrall in various details.
 * In-game, "Thrall" means slave, based on the Scandinavian, but in-game "Go'el" has been given no meaning while is Hebrew for "redeemer" and usually tied to avenging or restoring the right of another in the context of slavery and bondage. The name "Go'el" may have been inspired by Superman's Kryptonian name Kal-El (in turn also based upon Hebrew due to the Jewish heritage of the original writers). Thrall and Superman's origins are alike in many ways: both are aliens from a doomed planet, and their birth parents were killed when they were still young.
 * Thrall had a dream from a crow who told him to go west, similar to the Hungarian mythological figure had a dream of an eagle that her son will lead her people in a new location.

Speculation

 * On, Thrall said that he was raised on stories of Frostfire Ridge. However, Thrall grew up in captivity in Durnholde Keep and escaped when he was approximately 16 years old. He may have learned about Frostfire Ridge from Drek'Thar and other Frostwolf orcs in Alterac Valley when he got there after the escape.
 * Thrall does not ride Snowsong in Shadows Rising, instead riding a new wolf named Moonpaw. While it is possible that Snowsong has simply retired in Nagrand with Thrall's family, it may be that she has passed away from old age. Thrall's new design in Battle for Azeroth is partly comprised of white fur, which may mean he is wearing Snowsong's pelt in the same way that his father Durotan wore the pelt of his late wolf companion Stormfang.