The Highmountain Tauren split from their Kalimdor cousins over 10,000 years ago during the War of the Ancients. Huln Highmountain, a brave warrior, received a divine blessing from the Wild God Malorne, which permanently transformed his people's traditional bovine horns into magnificent, sweeping elk antlers.

For millennia, they lived in relative peace on the rugged peaks of the Broken Isles, divided into four distinct tribes: the Highmountain, the Rivermane, the Skyhorn, and the Bloodtotem. They honor the spirits of the earth, the rivers, and the skies. However, when the Burning Legion invaded, the Bloodtotem tribe betrayed their kin to join the demons, and the Underking of the subterranean Dargrul stole their most sacred relic—the Hammer of Khaz'goroth. Facing absolute destruction, the remaining tribes united with the Horde to defeat the threat, officially joining the faction out of shared cultural bonds with the Tauren of Thunder Bluff.

Descended from Huln, a brave hero of the War of the Ancients, the Highmountain tauren honor the spirits of earth, river, and sky. Though the Legion invaded their lands and sowed seeds of distrust between them, the tribes of Highmountain stand unified once more. At long last they are ready to venture beyond their sacred mountain to stand beside their kin from Kalimdor and lend their might to the noble Horde.

Carved directly into the colossal, hollowed-out interior of a massive wooden peak, Thunder Totem stands as the majestic cultural heart of the Highmountain tribes. It is a sprawling sanctuary of towering carved totems, roaring bonfires, and suspended rope bridges that span across rushing subterranean waterfalls, offering a peaceful haven high above the dangerous crags of the mountain.