Tauren Race

Tauren

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.

Although split into different tribes, the tauren were united by a common enemy:
the marauding centaur. These primitive horse-men terrorized central Kalimdor, leaving
only death and suffering in their wake. Although the tauren tribes struggled valiantly
for survival against their foes, the relentless centaur attacks continued. Over time, the
centaur wiped out the area’s wild game, threatening starvation for the beleaguered
tauren. During the Third War, the mighty chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof had a chance
encounter with the orcish Horde that would alter the destiny of the tauren forever.
After befriending Warchief Thrall, Cairne and his Bloodhoof tribe were able to fend
off the centaur as they journeyed to the fertile lands of Mulgore. Owing a blood-debt
to the orcs for their assistance, the tauren joined Thrall on Mount Hyjal to defend Kalimdor
from an invasion by the demonic Burning Legion.

Following the Legion’s defeat, the tauren who helped defend Hyjal returned to their new
home in Mulgore. Ruling from the majestic capital of Thunder Bluff, Cairne welcomed
tauren of every tribe to this secure refuge. Many tauren who traveled to the capital were
content with Cairne’s vision of a peaceful and harmonious future, but at least one tribe
felt otherwise. The stern Grimtotem tribe looked upon Kalimdor’s other races as inferior
and believed that its matriarch, Magatha, was the only one fit to rule the tauren. Although
Magatha constantly disagreed with Cairne over the direction of their nation, the elder crone
nonetheless coexisted alongside him in Thunder Bluff without major incident. The Grimtotem
tribe did not, however, join the Horde along with Cairne and the tauren under his rule.

For years the tauren flourished throughout Mulgore, but tragedy befell the noble race 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 upstart to a
duel. The tauren high chieftain fought with a ferocity that belied his age, but an act of betrayal
had sealed his fate before the battle had even begun. Unbeknownst to either of the duel’s
combatants, Magatha had poisoned Garrosh’s blade. After Cairne was wounded by the tainted
weapon during combat, he was immobilized by the poison, and Garrosh was able to slay him.

Following the high chieftain’s death, Magatha’s Grimtotem agents stormed Thunder Bluff and
seized the tauren capital as their own. They had also hoped to murder Cairne’s son, Baine,
but the young tauren managed to elude his would-be assassins. After formulating a strategy
to exact retribution upon Magatha, Baine launched a counterattack and wrested Thunder Bluff
from the hands of the treacherous matriarch. Ultimately, rather than spill further blood, Baine
banished Magatha and all other Grimtotem who still supported her from tauren lands.

Despite the deadly encounter between Cairne and Garrosh, the tauren have not abandoned
their place in the Horde. While many chaotic events have transpired in recent months, Baine
has bravely taken up the mantle of tauren leadership and is now focused on ruling just as his
wise and benevolent father would have.

Home City:Thunder Bluff

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.

Leader:High Chieftain Baine Bloodhoof

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.