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Unlike the other races of the Horde, orcs are not native to Azeroth. Initially, they lived as shamanic clans on the lush world of Draenor. They abandoned their peaceful culture when Kil'jaeden, a demon lord of the Burning Legion, corrupted the orcs and used them in his vengeful plot against the draenei, who were exiles from Kil'jaeden's homeworld.
Kil'jaeden's plan worked. The orcs drank the blood of Mannoroth a prominent Burning Legion general infusing them with power and enslaving them to the Legion. Exposure to fel energies turned their naturally brown skin into a sickly green. Under the demon's influence, the orcs killed off most of the draenei population, but Kil'jaeden would not stop there.
With the orcs at their disposal, the Burning Legion planned to invade Azeroth once again. To this end, the corrupted human archmage Medivh conspired with the orc warlock Gul'dan to build the Dark Portal, a massive structure that would allow the orcs passage to Azeroth.
Arriving in Azeroth, the seemingly unstoppable orc armies, known as the Horde, crushed the human kingdom of Stormwind. Eventually, however, the humans made a last stand and were able to defeat the Horde and enslave most of the survivors. But a young slave named Thrall, together with Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer, fought to free the captive orcs. Orgrim died in battle, and the title of warchief, as well as Orgrim's weapon, the Doomhammer, was passed onto Thrall. Thrall led his people to Kalimdor, where his friend and mentor, Grommash Hellscream, gave his life to defeat Mannoroth and forever free the orcs from the Legion's control.
Years later, Thrall returned to Draenor, now known as Outland, to once again stop the Legion. There, he convinced Garrosh, son of Grommash Hellscream, to join the Horde. Thrall believed that Garrosh would be a clear choice for his successor, but the impulsive young Hellscream's uncontrolled aggression led him to commit heinous acts against the Horde itself. Thrall saw no choice but to overthrow Garrosh and name Vol'jin troll chieftain of the Darkspear tribe the new warchief of the Horde. With the memory of Garrosh's betrayal clear in the minds of the other Horde races, Thrall and the orcs must once again prove they have overcome their old destructive tendencies.
The dry, harsh land of Durotar is home to some of the toughest creatures on Azeroth. Unwary travelers may fall prey to venomous scorpids, ferocious crocolisks, or angry quilboar. Thrall chose to settle this inhospitable area after the Third War as penance for the orcs' past transgressions. He named the land after his father, Durotan, former chieftain of the Frostwolf clan. Following the Cataclysm, many of the orcish settlements were flooded or destroyed, and the Northwatch soldiers at Tiragarde Keep have become more aggressive than ever. As relations worsen between the Alliance and the Horde, it is essential that the orcs contain these threats swiftly to ensure the survival of their people.
Named for the former Horde warchief Orgrim Doomhammer, this capital was rapidly constructed when the orcs first settled in Durotar. Garrosh Hellscream has recently rebuilt most of the city's architecture, and now Orgrimmar's fortresses rank among the most imposing on Azeroth. Spiked metal towers line the city's streets, and the red-and-black banners of the Horde wave from every post. Most of the various races have separated into their own districts, from the tauren in the Valley of Wisdom to the trolls in the Valley of Spirits. Grommash Hold towers over all else, allowing Garrosh Hellscream to keep a close watch on his people.
Thrall's shamanism guided his actions as he re-formed the Horde, becoming its warchief and leading his people to settle in an arid land that he called Durotar, in honor of his father, Durotan. Thrall led the Horde through a seemingly unceasing series of trials: the lifting of the demonic blood-curse that had tainted the orcs, a Burning Legion attack on Mount Hyjal, and the fall of the dreaded Lich King. When Deathwing returned and shattered the world, Thrall stepped down from his role as the Horde's warchief, instead joining the Earthen Ring, a powerful shamanic group, in an attempt to put the elements to rest and stop the Destroyer.
