Thrall, the World Shaman
The beginning of wisdom is the statement: ‘I do not know that.’ The person who cannot say this will never be able to learn. And I take pride in my ability to learn.
Initially named Go’el by his parents, Thrall was taken in by humans at the beginning of his life and trained as a personal gladiator for a lesser lord. This lord saw Thrall only as a wild “beast” that he could tame and train – a common procedure of the humans who imprisoned Orcs in internment camps after they had been defeated in war.
But one day, Thrall managed to escape and united the last Orc tribes that were still on Azeroth, leading them across the sea to Kalimdor and becoming Warchief of a new Horde that not only helped in the fight against the Undead Scourge but was also able to free itself from the influence of the demonic bloodlust – thanks to his friend Grommash Hellscream.
But Thrall has done much more. He became the World Shaman during the expansion “Cataclysm” and was even able to temporarily take on the role of the Earth Dragon Aspect to use the World Soul and mortally wound Deathwing.
After that, he traveled with the expedition to the alternate Draenor of “Warlords of Draenor,” met his parents, and ended the advance of the Iron Horde by defeating Garrosh Hellscream in Mak’gora – albeit through underhanded means, as he tapped into the power of the elements.
Thrall’s accomplishments and heroics are too numerous to list, which is why he was somewhat derogatorily referred to by the community in the past as “Green Jesus.”
Only with Legion did Thrall move a bit into the background. He lost his Doomhammer and contact with the elements and retreated to Draenor to live there with his family.
In the recent expansions, Thrall has become important again, though mostly in a less heroic capacity. He is still a powerful shaman – and will certainly continue to play a key role in the upcoming expansions.
