Race origins

N'raqi
The n'raqi, commonly known as the faceless ones, arose from the organic matter that seeped from the Old Gods' blighted forms during the primordial era of Azeroth. They appear under several species like the massive C'Thraxxi, larger and more resilient than their lesser brethren. and the smaller K'thir able to infiltrate and manipulate mortals.

Aqir
Like he n'raqi, the aqir born from the same organic matter that seeped from the Old Gods. The incredibly strong and resilient insectoid were employed as laborers by the faceless ones and were forced to build temple cities and towering citadels around their masters' massive bulks.

After the war between the Empire of Zul and the subterranean empire of Azj'Aqir around 16,000 years ago, the trolls finally succeeded in winning a victory of attrition, and Azj'Aqir was shattered. Three distinct groups of aqir managed to survive the destruction of their empire. The ones in the north congregated around the underground prison of the Old God Yogg-Saron, evolving into the nerubian race and establishing the kingdom of Azjol-Nerub. The ones in the southwest remained inside Ahn'Qiraj, where the energies of the Old God C'Thun warped them into a race known as the qiraji. During the later stages of the war, one group had also fled to the southeast. Drawn towards the lingering energies of the dead Old God Y'Shaarj, these aqir took up the name mantid and founded the colony of Manti'vess.

Brann Bronzebeard once claimed that, according to Titan records, the qiraji and the nerubians split off from the aqir later, that the silithid are in fact descendants of the qiraji, not the other way around, and that the Tribunal of Ages states that insects and spiders are descended from the aqir, from the silithid and the nerubians respectively. However, ancient legends contradict this, stating that the silithid were the first to emerge, and the aforementioned records also stated that the Old Gods made the aqir from something else, something that was later proven false since it has been proven that tribunal is a false system created by Loken and is not an accurate record of historical fact.

Dragons


The proto-dragons were sort of the early version before dragons really evolved into the sapient, beautiful majestic creatures that they are known today. Galakrond, a massive proto-dragon, was the "progenitor of dragonkind". From him, the Titans created the Aspects. Originally, there were many different dragonflights, with many different colors to be seen. The five most influential, however, were the reds, the greens, the bronze, the blacks, and the blues, and eventually most (if not all) of the other flights disappeared. Chosen by the titans, each of the five dragonflights were given domain over a certain aspect of the world, ranging from the earth to time itself. However over the time several new dragonflights were artifically created.

After the titans showed Nozdormu his own death as the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight Murozond, the tormented Nozdormu was tricked by the Old Gods into trying to subvert his mortality. Since Nozdormu had not figured out how to stop himself from becoming the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight and did not wish to become it he will at some point in the future shatter the timeways and will create the infinite dragonflight in order to prevent it. The Netherwing Dragonflight is an unusual brood of translucent dragons whose bodies are composed of energies from the Twisting Nether. The Netherwing dragonflight were spawned from the eggs of Deathwing's Black dragonflight, and were infused with raw nether-energies when Draenor was torn apart. The chromatic dragonflight was created by Nefarian's magical experiments, using the blood of dragons from the other dragonflights. These experiments were largely considered failures; many whelps died before hatching, and those that survived were unstable, short-lived, volatile, and/or deformed. The successful specimens, however, were very powerful and wielded the abilities of all five flights. The Twilight dragonflight is a dragonflight created by the results of magical experiments carried out by Sintharia upon dragon eggs. Using ancient dragon artifacts and the powers of the nether dragons, Sintharia has created a new breed of dragons that feed vampirically on all forms of mystical energy.

Dragonspawn and Drakonids are mortal races turned into half dragons by the flights. The process is not always voluntary, dragons seem also to abduct unwilling people and forcibly transform them. This is why there are so many black dragonspawn.

Trolls and elves
The trolls' history reaches back at least 16,000 years before the events of the First War. The Zandalari were one of the first troll tribes who also named the mountain Zandalar. Other tribes included the jungle trolls of the Gurubashi tribe who lived in the lush jungles of the southeast, the forest trolls of the Amani tribe who lived in the verdant middle forestlands, and the ice trolls of the Drakkari tribe who lived in the frozen plateaus of the north. During the Aqir and Troll War, the disparate Zandalari, Gurubashi, Amani, and Drakkari tribes united into the Empire of Zul to combat the Aqir threat. Following the trolls' victory over the Azj'Aqir, each tribe expanded their territories to cover every corner of Ancient Kalimdor and built empires out of their tribes, making sure that the now-dispersed Aqir would never regain the momentum to threaten the world again. Later, after the events of the Great Sundering, the Gurubashi trolls who lived in the then-jungles of Tanaris would find their territory turn into a desert, separated from the rest of their Empire, forcing them to adapt to their harsh environment by evolving into the sand trolls.

Dark trolls living in the vast subterranean networks of Mount Hyjal kept their affairs separate from the rest of the troll tribes. They hated the daylight and only emerged from their caverns at night. In time, these nocturnal habits turned their blue skin into hues of gray, becoming dark trolls. Eventually, a group made their way to the shores of the mesmerizing Well of Eternity and, as they stared into its waters, sensed a great power. Over time, the Well's cosmic power transformed the trolls, making them strong, wise, and immortal. Their skin turned various shades of violet, and they grew taller in stature. The tribe adopted the name kal'dorei, which meant "children of the stars" in their native tongue, and became what would later be known as the night elves. Their studies of the Well led them to discover arcane magic, which quickly allowed them to establish a strong empire, led by their Highborne nobility. As the night elves claimed further territory, they came into conflict with the trolls in the area, who had long dominated much of ancient Kalimdor. Unable to master arcane magic quickly enough to counter the night elves' sudden and fierce attacks, the trolls were forced to retreat.

The night elven civilization reached its height with the reign of Queen Azshara, but was suddenly and catastrophically shattered by the War of the Ancients and the Great Sundering. The satyr are the Highborne and their descendents who allied directly with the Burning Legion during the first invasion. These former elves were taken by the demons and twisted into shapes that more accurately reflected their nature. When the Well of Eternity imploded and sundered the world, many Highborne were trapped in the blast, however as their bodies were so infused with magic they did not die but were twisted by the powers they had released, influenced through the limited though still quite powerful will of the Old Gods. Azshara and her followers were dragged down beneath the raging sea, where, cursed and transformed, they took on new shapes to become the hateful serpentine naga.

After the War of the Ancients, the remaining night elves turned away from the arcane magic that had brought about their downfall, instead focusing on a smaller, druid-based society. Many of the Highborne were shunned and exiled from night elf society, whereupon — disagreeing with their race's new direction — they left to form their own civilization across the Great Sea. This group would eventually form that nation of Quel'Thalas and evolve into the high elves. The remaining night elves tended to the lands of northern Kalimdor for ten thousand years, defending them against any who would seek to despoil the land. With the second coming of the Burning Legion during the Third War, the night elves came into contact with the other civilized races for the first time in several millennia, and with the loss of their immortality at the war's conclusion they have slowly spread out into the rest of the world.

When Quel'Thalas and the vast majority of the high elven race was destroyed by the Scourge, the survivors split into two factions. Many named themselves as sin'dorei or blood elves in remembrance of their fallen brethren, and would soon become close allies to the Naga, and later still ally themselves with the Horde. Others remained as high elves, disgusted by blood elven values. These stayed true to their old allies, the Alliance, and are scattered among various cities where they are a clear minority. The Felblood elves are an offshoot of the blood elf race that — like fel orcs before them — have been corrupted by the Burning Legion. Furthermore the Wretched are elves (usually blood elves) that failed to control their magical addiction.

The birth of the blood elves was not without tribulation however, and they faced many threats from within and without that came close to destroying their race. A group of blood elves led by Magister Umbric delved into the magic arts of the Void in the hope of gaining its power to defend their people. However, they were banished by their blood elf brethren for their dangerous studies, and became exiles. Undaunted, these blood elves continued their research, and eventually met with Alleria Windrunner, the only person known to have survived an encounter with the Void. Together, they managed to defeat the Nether-Prince Durzaan and unlocked the powers of the Void. These exiles were transformed by the powers they had consumed and were no longer blood elves as such, but had become a new race of void elves, or ren'dorei. Shedding their allegiance to the Horde after their past treatment at the hands of the blood elves, they pledged themselves to the Alliance instead.

Goblins
In ancient times, Mimiron experimented kaja'mite on various races to determine its properties. One of these subjects was a primitive race that roamed around the forests Near Ulduar. By consuming kaja'mite, they were transformed into a new, highly intelligent race known as the goblins. The pygmies share a common ancestor with them. When the Great Sundering happened, the goblins were cut from the kaja'mite supply. In just a few generations, their intelligence vanished. The goblins then took refuge on Kezan and they had forgotten the influence of kaja'mite.

After the Sundering, the Zandalari trolls started exploring numerous islands that dotted the new sea. During one trips, they discovered Kezan and the goblin race, who were very primitive but still possessed some intellect. Initially, the Zandalari did not know very much about kaja'mite, but they were aware of its potency and saw it as a sacred component in their rituals and ceremonies. For many centuries the trolls mined and occasionally even paid goblins in order to work for them. But at some point, the Zandalari discovered an unimaginable deposit of kaja'mite underground. So rather than digging themselves, they enslaved the goblins and force them to drill. For thousands of years the goblins, too weak to resist, suffered under the rule of the trolls.

Over time, the goblin workers breathed in the dust of the ore that clouded the mines and eventually started to awake the goblins' intelligence. Secretly they plotted to start a rebellion, gathering any materials they can find and hide in order to create weapons and explosives. One century before the Dark Portal, the goblins masses stormed out from the mines and shattered completely troll's hold. The goblins, in order to celebrate their liberation, turned on each other and forming countless allegiances. Soon enough, they were split into various powerful groups were known as cartels. As the battles were getting completely out of hand, the cartels brokered a truce. But the conflict would never really cease as the goblins would now turn to trade, battling in the economic arena. For the years to come the cartels were rivals, constantly outshining and outsmarting each other as they continued in their quest for wealth and power.

Goblin alchemical experimentation later produced the hobgoblins. The gilgoblin are a species of aquatic goblin created by Hobart Grapplehammer.

Giants
The giants are a species created by the titans. They were created in five types: Fire, Frost, Sea, Storm, and Stone. Most of them have been affected by the Curse of Flesh, but it does not appear to have significantly diminished their power.

There are several more types of giant, many of which are of some form of stone or rock, and it is speculated that they are all the same type of giant.

Troggs, earthen, and dwarves
When the Titans were shaping Azeroth, they also created the Earthen. These beings of magical rock were meant to continue to shape Azeroth after the Titans left. The troggs, like the dwarves, are a mutation from the original earthen design, referenced by the disks of Norgannon. Although the troggs keep the physical toughness of their earthen heritage, they lose nearly all thought capacity and become dumb, short tempered and violent. The titans sealed these mutations away after realizing their uselessness to their cause. The kobolds are actually an evolved form of trogg, and the Mogu flesh-shaped troggs to create the Grummles. After the Well of Eternity erupted the Earthen sealed themselves off in their cities. Centuries later, some of the Earthen of Uldaman awoke to find that they had changed through the Old Gods Curse of Flesh. Their skin was soft and pink. They decided to leave to the surface, eventually finding the mountain of Khaz Modan which they claimed as their new home. Within Ironforge they made a great altar to their creator Titan Khaz'goroth. It has been revealed that after discovering the Curse of Flesh, the Titans returned to amend it by creating a second version of the earthen, which would be immune to its effects. This explains why there are still earthen in Azeroth today.

The dwarves of Ironforge were originally of a single large clan, Ironforge clan, which was made of three clans: The Wildhammer Clan, the Bronzebeard Clan and the Dark Iron Clan, with the Ruling High King Modimus Anvilmar as the supreme leader. However, before the High King's eldest son could be crowned after his death, the dwarves were plunged into a civil war - the War of the Three Hammers. Eventually, the Bronzebeard Clan won and banished the other two clans from Ironforge. The Wildhammers accepted their fate and built the city of Grim Batol in the South Wetlands, eventually re-establishing their friendship with the Bronzebeards. The Dark Iron Clan, however, were less forgiving and retreated to Blackrock Spire to plan their revenge. The Skardyn are the descendants of Dark Iron dwarves who had survived the Dark Iron siege of Grim Batol, near the end of the War of the Three Hammers. The descendants of these Dark Irons were transformed into skardyn by the evil inside Grim Batol, ironically caused by the curse of their ancestors' sorceress queen Modgud.

Gnomes
The first mechagnomes were created by the Titanic watcher Mimiron (some of whom called him "The Grand Architect" ) within Ulduar, apparently as servants and caretakers much like the earthen. Some mechagnomes eventually became gnomes due to the Curse of Flesh, just as happened to the Earthen. Leper gnomes are a diseased, twisted, and mutated race of gnomes who wander through the irradiated halls of Gnomeregan.

Vrykul and humans
The titans created the iron vrykul in order to assist the tol'vir in safeguarding the Titan facilities on Azeroth. In time, this creation also succumbed to the Curse of Flesh, becoming the vrykul. The Frost vrykul and the Kvaldir are a variant of those vrykul. Around 15,000 years ago, the gods "abandoned" the vrykul (from their point of view), and a certain time after that, their children were born "weak and ugly", the direct result of being affected by the Curse of Flesh. King Ymiron ordered all those children to be killed, but not all parents obeyed this order and instead hid their children to grow up far away from Northrend. In time, these small adult vrykul would form the early human tribes, which would later become known as humans as a whole.

Another group of vrykul settled in Kul Tiras and eventually became the Drust.

Tol'vir
Having been created as guardians and well-keepers of the titan research facilities, the tol'vir, stone beings, alike the earthen and mechagnomes, wrought for the purpose of preserving the cities of Uldum and Ulduar were nonetheless affected by the curse of flesh as much as their kin. Some of them though retaining their earthly structure, were captured by the nerubians and transformed into the obsidian destroyers, claimed afterward by the Scourge and used in the front lines. Used by the silithid in the War of the Shifting Sands, they proved great menaces even to the dragons. Only few free-willed tol'vir remain and only in Uldum. Those subsiding to the curse of flesh may have lost much of their power, but did not lose their purpose, and did not leave Uldum and its secrets. Two groups of fleshy tol'vir now name themselves the Ramkahen and the Neferset – the latter of which has their stone flesh restored by Deathwing.

Mogu
The mogu are a creation of the titans. They were a legion of stone, heartless and obedient and by their masters command, the mogu fought the terrible servants of the Old Gods, shaped the mountains and carved the rivers of the land. The mogu even created a magical cradle of life in a hidden valley now known as the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.

For many ages the mogu guarded the work of the titans. With stony determination, they stood in ageless vigil - even as their master fell silent. With the Curse of Flesh the mogu became terrified as they began to breath, to bleed and to die. But with the flesh came the other curses of mortality: pride and greed, fear and anger. No longer united in purpose, the mogu fought amongst themselves. Powerful mogu warlords gathered up followers and made war on one another. Their battles scorched the land, terrifying the other mortal races.

Cenarius
As the son of Elune, goddess of the moon, and the demigod Malorne, Cenarius inherited a deep connection to the world of Azeroth and its creatures. Ysera's love was so great for Malorne that she took Cenarius as her own. Cenarius grew to love the lush forests of Ysera's verdant realm. Cenarius fathered many children. His daughters are known as the fey dryads and his sons as the wise Keepers of the Grove, or simply "keepers", including Keeper Remulos, Ordanus, and Zaetar.

According to Brann Bronzebeard, the magnataur have also a connection to Cenarius. Cenarius claims kinship with the night elves as well, but has never said in what way. Zaetar was the eldest son of Cenarius. He made the mistake of mating with Princess Theradras, a powerful earth elemental aligned with the Old Gods. Their children, the centaur Khans, turned on him upon birth and slew him mercilessly.

Other Wild Gods
Ursoc the Mighty fathered the furbolg, and both he and his brother Ursol the Wise are still hailed as gods by the furbolg tribes. The quilboar are the mortal offspring of the the colossal boar Ancient Agamaggan and still occupy the region of his death and hold them sacred. Harpies are descended from the winged demigoddess Aviana. Brann Bronzebeard believes that the Grell may come from Aessina, though when he asked she simply said, "maybe." Brann Bronzebeard also speculates that the Gorloc, Murloc, Mur'gul and the Deep sea murlocs are descendens of a Frog Ancient; A Bull Ancient is the progenitor of the tauren and Taunka; a Lobster Ancient of the Makrura; a Badger Ancient of the Wolvar; a Hyena Ancient of the Gnoll and a Walrus Ancient of the Tuskarr.

Eredar
Eredar physiology has been shaped by demonic influences over the course of the many aeons since Sargeras first encountered their race. When the Dark Titan approached the Eredar, the majority chose to develop their already-substantial magical gifts by joining the Burning Crusade. The demonic eredar, called the man'ari (eredun for "wrong" or "twisted"), have since developed into powerful warlocks and wrathguards.

Only those who followed the Prophet Velen and the naaru refused to join the Burning Legion, escaping from their homeworld Argus in an interdimensional transport made of a single huge diamond (now Osha'gun, in Nagrand). The transport crashed into a planet inhabited by primitive orcs, ogres, and arakkoa. These eredar named themselves the draenei ("exiles") and their new home, Draenor.

After generations of peace, Kil'jaeden and Burning Legion rediscovered the draenei. The Burning Legion used corrupted orcs to all but wipe out the draenei race. While those who survived the attacks on Karabor and Shattrath were in hiding, it was discovered that some of the draenei had been corrupted by their contact with the demonic energies of the fel orcs, causing them to mutate physically and mentally. Unable to feel the touch of the Light, the krokul ("broken") draenei were initially shunned by the unaffected draenei. Some of the Broken continued to devolve — these pitiful beings are known as the Lost Ones, and are now barely sentient.

Draenei player characters are unaffected draenei, who escaped from Draenor with Velen after taking back one wing of Tempest Keep, the Exodar, from Prince Kael'thas and his blood elves.

Ogres and orcs
The earth giants of Draenor are the ancestors of the Magnaron, who in turn are the ancestors of Gronn, the giant masters of Draenor's brutish ogres. The Ogre race started as an offspring of the seven Gronn. The early Ogres looked like Ogre Lords, giant, cyclopean creatures with bony, calcified protrusions; as well as being smart and powerful. From these came regular Ogres: more humanoid in shape, two-eyed, smaller, not as intelligent, and generally inferior to Ogre Lords. As the Ogres lived on the same world as the Orcs, a new race would appear that was the result of a union between the two races, the Mok'Nathal. The Mok'Nathal were powerful warriors who are revered amongst the Orcs, but shunned by the Ogres. The Gronn are angered by any Ogre half-breed, finding them an impurity in their bloodline. Another branch of the Ogres are the two-headed variety. These were natural but rare, and artificial ones were created by the orc warlock Gul'dan later on. Two-headed ogres were held in high regard by their single-headed brethren, and often held positions of great importance, such as the tribe's Shaman. Also, due to the added intelligence of having two heads, the two-headed ogres have an easier time grasping and controlling magic.

According to Brann Bronzebeard, there is enough fossil evidence to theorize that the ettins evolved from ogres, but he suspects there might be a "missing link". Any fossil evidence was likely lost when Draenor was torn apart. This can not be entirely true, however, for the ettins of the Broken Isles have apparently been living there for several ages before the Dark Portal ever opened.

Shadowlands races
Kyrian and venthyr are souls of the dead who were transformed into races made for eternal service in the Shadowlands. The ash ghouls are venthyr who have been exposed to the Light for too long, turning them into crawling wretches

Bigguns are created from reshaping multiple dredgers.

Other lines
Mo'arg &mdash; Felguard,  Gan'arg

Nathrezim &mdash; (RPG-only: Tothrezim)