Durotan, son of Garad (Garad was the chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan many years before the First War.), was the chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan (The Frostwolf Clan (originally written as Frost Wolf) was one of the original orc clans from the planet of Draenor.), mate of Draka (The courageous warrior mate of Durotan, Draka is a firm believer in the Frostwolf Clan's convictions of the old ways of honour and shamanism.) and father of the future Warchief Thrall (Thrall, son of Durotan, is the Warchief of the restored shamanistic Horde, and ruler of the red land of Durotar in Kalimdor.). He was also a contemporary of Orgrim Doomhammer (Orgrim Doomhammer, also known as the Backstabber, was the Warchief of the Horde during the end of the First War and the entirety of the Second War.).
Early HistoryDurotan was the heir apparent to Garad, chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, in the years prior to the First War (The First War between orcs and humans was fought following the arrival on Azeroth of the orcish clans of Draenor.). During a Kosh'harg (The Kosh'harg celebration (also known as the Kosh'harg festival) was a biannual event held by the diverse and numerous orcish clans of Draenor.) festival in Nagrand ( Mag'har Blood Elf Broken Ethereal
Nagrand is a Burning Crusade Zone located in Outland.), he met a Blackrock orc (The Blackrock clan led the charge during both the first and second wars, and during that time period, was one of the largest and most feared of the orc clans.) named Orgrim, son of Telkar Doomhammer (Telkar Doomhammer was the father of Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer, and one of the best warriors in the Blackrock Clan.), and the two became fast friends despite belonging to different clans. Durotan was also brought to the "sacred mountain" of Oshu'gun (Oshu'gun, possibly the largest diamond in the known universe, is located in southwestern Nagrand.) by request of the ancestors, seeking to test whether he could become a shaman as well as chieftain of his clan; alas, he did not see the ancestors, though he knew they were there somehow.
While racing each other through Terokkar Forest ( High elf Orc Blood elf Draenei Fel orcArakkoa EtherealSand Gnome
Terokkar Forest is a zone in Outland located east of Nagrand, west of Shadowmoon Valley, southeast of Zangarmarsh, and southwest of Hellfire Peninsula.), Durotan and Orgrim were attacked by a rampaging ogre (Ogres are large, brutish humanoids originally from Draenor.), and would have been killed if not for the timely arrival of a draenei (The draenei (pronounced as DRAN-eye) are a faction of uncorrupted eredar who fled their home world of Argus.) hunting party from Telmor (Telmor was a hidden draenei-populated city in Terokkar Forest.), led by Restalaan (Restalaan was a long-time friend and second-in-command of the Prophet Velen who escaped with him and other eredar refugees - known henceforth as the draenei - from Sargeras' corruption of Argus.). Sending word to their clans, Restalaan took the two orcs to Telmor, and informed them that the draenei leader, Prophet Velen (Prophet Velen is a level ?? quest giver located in the Vault of Lights in the draenei capital at the Exodar.), was in the town and invited the two to dinner. They discussed their people's histories, Durotan even commenting that he and Orgrim had learned more about the draenei in that period than their entire race had in over a century.
Upon returning to his clan, Durotan met a young Frostwolf orc named Draka. Durotan was smitten at first sight, not believing that she could be a member of his clan. Though rebuffed (at first) when asking her to join him on a courtship hunt, the two eventually mated.
Chieftain of the FrostwolvesDurotan was dispatched by Ner'zhul to meet with a party led by Velen himself near Oshu'gun, where the Prophet revealed that what guided the spirits of the ancestors there was in fact a dying naaru (The naaru are a dimension-traveling race of sentient energy beings with a deep affinity for the Holy Light of Creation that empowers the paladins of Azeroth.) named K'ure (K'ure is a naaru currently being held by the Burning Legion deep inside Oshu'gun.), who had aided the draenei escape from Argus (Eventually, Argus attracted the attention of Sargeras.) 25,000 years earlier. This was met by suspicion and outright hostility by the orcs - particularly Drek'Thar (Drek'Thar <Frostwolf General> is a level ?? (Boss) elite located at Frostwolf Keep in Alterac Valley.), the Frostwolf clan shaman, who called Velen a blasphemer. Despite orders to bring the Prophet and his party to Ner'zhul, Durotan decided to release them, reasoning that there was no honor in taking a willing prisoner.
During a battle in which they were defeated by Restalaan's forces, the Frostwolf shaman realized they had been cut off from the spirits. Durotan and Draka took this as a sign that something was seriously wrong, even though Ner'zhul had told them the ancestors had told them that this was a just war. It was at this time that the orcs - under the guidance of the ambitious Gul'dan (Gul'dan the Warlock, Master of the Inner Circle of the Shadow Council and Destroyer of Dreams, was the de facto leader of the Horde in its early years, and believed to be the most powerful mortal warlock ever to exist.), Ner'zhul's apprentice - began to take the path of warlock magic. Durotan - not seeking to bring attention to himself by opposing the official stance - allowed Drek'Thar and his shaman to receive the warlock training.
The Warchief and the Siege of TelmorThrough Gul'dan's manipulation - empowered by Kil'jaeden - the clans were united into the First Horde (The history of the Horde spans several decades of an organizationHPG 4 that has taken many forms.), and several clan chieftains, including Durotan, ran for the position of Warchief. However, the clear favorite (and thus the one who received that title) was the battle-hungry Blackhand (Warchief Blackhand the Destroyer was the Warchief of the Horde during the First War between the Alliance and Horde.), chieftain of the Blackrock Clan. No one knew, of course, that Blackhand was in fact Gul'dan's puppet.
With information given to him by Orgrim (now known as Doomhammer, his father dying around the same time as Durotan's), Blackhand ordered Durotan to assault the city of Telmor, which was close to the Frostwolf clan grounds. While in Restalaan's care as a boy, Durotan had seen the guard captain pull a green crystal from a hidden place in the forest floor - Leafshadow, one of the shards of the ata'mal crystal (The Ata'mal crystal was an artifact of naaru origin bestowed to the eredar of Argus.), which projected an illusion that hid the city from ogres, gronn and other external threats. Orgrim had told Blackhand that Durotan possessed a keen ability of recall (which he did), and could remember the incantation to dispel. |
