Bloodhoof Runespear



The Bloodhoof Runespear was an ancestral spear last wielded by Cairne Bloodhoof, High Chieftain of Thunder Bluff.

Background
The legendary Bloodhoof Runespear was the pride of the Bloodhoof tribe, and had been passed down by the tribe's chieftains to their heirs for twenty generations. Every Bloodhoof chieftain during that time had wielded it in battle, the runespear always striking straight and true and had tasted the blood of many noble enemies. As tradition, every chieftain carved their story, in runes, into the shaft. Cairne being older, he had the opportunity to carve most of his own story into the shaft. He had planned to finish his story, but he would not get the chance to do so. The runespear would have become part of the inheritance of Cairne's son and heir, Baine Bloodhoof.

Destruction
Upon challenging acting Warchief Garrosh Hellscream to a mak'gora - a duel to the death - Cairne wielded the Bloodhoof Runespear, facing Garrosh's Gorehowl. During the combat, Garrosh shattered the Runespear and proceeded to inflict a mortal wound (though it did not seem so to any observer); as a result Cairne was killed shortly thereafter. Jevan "Stormsong" Grimtotem managed to secretly secure a fragment of the shaft as proof of his words of the High Chieftain's death to Baine, to whom he handed over the fragment. The other remnants of Cairne's Runespear were gathered and later placed on his funeral pyre afterwards, except for a fragment that was claimed by Thrall as a memory of his old friend; the rune carved into the fragment was the rune for "healing", a meaning that did not escape Thrall. Whether Baine kept the fragment given to him by Stormsong is currently unknown.

Appearance
The majority of the haft of the runespear was covered in runes. When not in use, the runespear was usually strapped to the owner's back.

Powers
All of Cairne's weapons were blessed by a shaman, including the Bloodhoof Runespear. This allowed the runespear to strike and harm incorporeal spirits as if they were any solid opponent. Such a blessing might be usual of a tribal chieftain's or the High Chieftain's weapons.

In the RPG
This spear has been handed down through many generations of the Bloodhoof line and is in the possession of Cairne Bloodhoof. Each owner carves his own major history into the shaft before passing it on to the next generation. Every inch of this massive spear is carved with tauren tribal runes. The runespear can return to its wielder when thrown. It allows its wielder to move more stealthily, particularly in plains of tall grass, and it hides his presence from animals.

Notes and trivia

 * When Kador Cloudsong and Baine Bloodhoof summoned Cairne, he appeared with the runespear, whole again.
 * The last of the ancient tauren druids lived nearly twenty generations ago. It is likely that they were still around when the runespear was constructed.
 * The Bloodhoof Runespear, named as HS the Runespear, appears as a legendary weapon for the shaman class in the Kobolds & Catacombs expansion for Hearthstone. Its flavor text reads: "When asked what the runes do, the tauren smith smiled: "A little of this, a little of that...""
 * The Warcraft III: Reforged pre-purchase site in the Featured Heroes section shows a Tauren Chieftain with what looks like the Bloodhoof Runespear.