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The peaceful tauren known in their own tongue as the "shu'halo" have long dwelled in Kalimdor, striving to preserve the balance of nature at the behest of their goddess, the Earth Mother. Until recently, the tauren lived as nomads scattered throughout the Barrens, hunting the great kodo beasts native to the arid region.
During the Third War, the mighty tauren chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof had a chance encounter with the orcish Horde that explored Kalimdor. After befriending Warchief Thrall, Cairne and his tribe were able to fend off their enemies while they made a new home in Mulgore; the city of Thunder Bluff. Owing a debt to the orcs for their assistance, the tauren joined Thrall on Mount Hyjal to defend Kalimdor from the demons of the Burning Legion.
For years the tauren flourished throughout Mulgore, but tragedy befell them following the campaign against the Lich King in Northrend. Believing that the reckless new warchief, Garrosh Hellscream, would lead the Horde to ruin, Cairne challenged the young orc to a duel. The tauren chieftain clearly had the upper hand...
However, unbeknownst to either of the duel's combatants, Magatha Grimtotem, a tauren matriarch who harbored great contempt for Cairne, had poisoned Garrosh's blade. The poison paralyzed Cairne, and Garrosh was able to slay him.
Magatha's followers then stormed Thunder Bluff in an attempt to seize it. However, Baine, Cairne's son, managed to launch a counterattack and retake the tauren capital, banishing Magatha and her followers from tauren lands. Despite the deadly encounter between Cairne and Garrosh, the tauren have not abandoned the Horde. Baine bravely took up the mantle of tauren leadership, and the Highmountain tauren have established a foothold on the growing Legion corruption near the Broken Isles.
After settling in the grasslands of Mulgore, the mighty tauren established the stunning capital of Thunder Bluff. For years afterward the tauren lived amid central Kalimdor's serene plains, tending to the well-being of their beloved new home. Yet the recent Cataclysm has had disastrous effects on Mulgore. Driven from their dens south of Thunder Bluff, the barbaric quilboar have swarmed across Red Cloud Mesa, encroaching on Camp Narache. Apart from taking numerous tauren captive, the quilboar have caused giant thorned roots to burst from the ground, choking all life from the once-verdant plains. In light of this, the tauren have vowed to drive away the savage creatures and heal the wounds inflicted upon the land before the damage becomes irreparable.
Established by the wise chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof and his stalwart tribe, Thunder Bluff overlooks the verdant land of Mulgore from atop a series of windswept mesas. Prior to the construction of the capital, the tauren had lived as nomads for countless generations, often under attack by marauding bands of centaur. With Thunder Bluff's founding, however, the proud and good-spirited race was finally granted a permanent home.
Following Cairne's death in a duel with Warchief Garrosh Hellscream, Thunder Bluff was briefly seized in a coup by Magatha Grimtotem and elements of her tribe. In retaliation, Cairne's son, Baine, launched a brilliant counterattack using a fleet of zeppelins. After he strategically divided Magatha's forces, Baine recaptured Thunder Bluff and assumed his role as the high chieftain of the tauren. Having recovered from the recent unrest, the capital is once again a bastion of peace and security for Kalimdor's tauren.
Since the War of the Ancients, High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind and her mate, Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, have led the once-immortal night elves. Time and again, Tyrande's and Malfurion's wise guidance has helped the night elves prevail against the demonic Burning Legion and other perilous enemies. For many of the past ten thousand years, however, Tyrande has borne the mantle of leadership alone while Malfurion has spent long stretches of time preoccupied with his duties in the Emerald Dream.
High Chieftain Baine Bloodhoof is the son of the late tauren leader, Cairne Bloodhoof. In addition to embodying his father's kindness and valor, Baine has developed into a warrior without equal. Following Cairne's death in a duel with Warchief Garrosh Hellscream, Baine fled his home in Bloodhoof Village when the tauren matriarch Magatha Grimtotem's agents attacked the village and seized Thunder Bluff. Although still pained by the loss of his father, Baine staged a counterattack on Magatha and her forces, ultimately retaking the tauren capital.
In the end, Cairne's honorable son spared Magatha's life, banishing the matriarch and her traitorous allies to the harsh Stonetalon Mountains. Since then Baine has assumed the role of high chieftain of Mulgore's courageous tauren. While bitterness might still linger over Cairne's demise, Baine has pledged his loyalty to the Horde and its warchief for the good of the tauren race.
