Human (Warcraft)
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
- This page is about a race from Warcraft. For human beings, see Human. For other uses, see Human (disambiguation).
Humans are one of the races in the Warcraft Universe — a fictional universe devised by Blizzard Entertainment, where a set of games and books are set. As a species, they are in every respect the same as human beings in the real world. However, their technology is closer to medieval technology, and they also employ magic.
Humans are, and have always been, one of the key members in the Alliance of elves, dwarves, gnomes, and more recently, night elves.
The term "human", in the Warcraft strategy games, refers to not only the human beings, but also several other races in the Alliance. In Warcraft III, this is formally known as the Human Alliance.
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Overview
Humans have appeared as a playable race in all of the Warcraft computer games released by Blizzard:
- Warcraft: Orcs & Humans
- Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (And expansion, Beyond the Dark Portal)
- Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (And expansion, The Frozen Throne)
- World of Warcraft
Humans have typically been the "good guys" in the Warcraft saga, being constantly thrown into battle with the savage orcs in the first two games. However, in Warcraft III, with the orcs as a good race, and two new races (night elves and undead), their distinction as the "noble humans" has been blurred.
Humans in each game
- In Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the humans were one of two playable races. The human side was comprised of only human beings, and represented the good side in the game.
- Similarly, in Warcraft II, the humans were the good side. However, the "human" side of the game was comprised of humans, elves, dwarves and gnomes.
- In Warcraft III, the side is formally known as the Human Alliance, and consists of humans, elves, blood elves and dwarves.
- In World of Warcraft, "human" represents just the race of human beings, on the side of the Alliance.
Story of the Humans
The humans once lived peacefully throughout the Eastern Kingdoms of the world of Azeroth, with major settlements in the nations of Azeroth and Lordaeron. This all changed the day the Orcish Horde discovered a way into the world, through the Dark Portal in the Swamps of Sorrow. From that day, the humans have been locked in a bloody conflict with the orcs.
The First War (Warcraft: Orcs & Humans) ended tragically for mankind, with the assassination of King Llane and the razing of Stormwind Keep. At the end of the war, the humans of Azeroth were forced to retreat to the Great Sea and sail to the northern land of Lordaeron.
There, they formed the Alliance, which involved the seven human nations and the elves, dwarves and gnomes. However, they were pursued by the bloodthirsty Horde, and thus began the Second War (Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness).
This war raged across the Eastern Kingdoms, from Lordaeron, through Khaz Modan, and finally back to Azeroth, where, despite betrayal by the human nation of Alterac, the humans, under the command of the mage Khadgar, were able to close the Dark Portal and kill or capture most of the remaining orcs.
In Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, a small band of humans, lead by Khadgar, travelled through the portal (which was reopened by the orcs) and shut it down forever from the inside.
In the next fifteen years (between the second and third wars), with the orcs in captivity and no common enemies, the Alliance splintered into disarray, with several of the nations and races breaking off completely. Thus, by the time of the Reign of Chaos (Warcraft III), the humans had descended into a bickering race who were not prepared for the coming conflict.
By this time, the young prince of Lordaeron, Arthas Menethil, had grown into a strong, defiant man. Problems began to arise in the kingdom, not from the humans' mortal enemies, the orcs, but from a scourge of undead which soon swept across Lordaeron. Swearing revenge against the undead Dreadlord Mal'ganis, Arthas travelled to the far-northern continent of Northrend, where he was corrupted into an agent of the scourge. Thus, he returned to Lordaeron, slew his father, King Terenas, and proceeded to destroy Lordaeron and the home of the High elves, Quel'thalas.
At the same time, while mankind was slowly being destroyed, Arthas' ex-girlfriend Jaina Proudmoore took a band of humans and elves across the sea to Kalimdor, at the request of a mysterious prophet. There, she lead the survivors of Lordaeron into an historic alliance with the Orcish Horde and Night Elf Sentinels, and to victory against the Undead Scourge and Burning Legion.
In World of Warcraft, mankind ceases to exist in the kingdom of Lordaeron. All that remains of humanity is Jaina's settlement on Theramore Isle, and the kingdom of Azeroth, which remained largely untouched during the Third War.
Human Nations
In Warcraft II, seven nations were clearly defined in the manual, and in the game, as names for the human teams of different colours. In Warcraft III, the nations are more loosely defined, but are mostly the same.
- Azeroth (blue) - One of the key members of the Alliance, and the original combatants of the First War. Past rulers: King Wrynn, King Llane, Lord Anduin Lothar, King Varien Wrynn, King Anduin Wrynn.
- Lordaeron (white in WC2, blue in WC3) - The head of the Alliance during the Second War, and the largest nation. Home of Arthas and Jaina. Lordaeron was completely wiped out during the Third War (Warcraft III). The land known as Lordaeron is now property of The Forsaken (undead). Past rulers: King Terenas, King Arthas Menethil, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner.
- Stromgarde (red) - A small but strong military nation, once the heart of the ancient Human Empire of Arathor, most of its citizens left with Jaina Proundmoore. Now members of the Syndicate and Ogres have seized parts of the capital city, situated in the Arathi Highlands foothills. Past rulers: Thoras Trollbane.
- Kul Tiras (green/teal) - A seafaring nation that contributed to the naval forces of the Alliance during the Second War. During the aftermath of the Third War (in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne), Kul Tiras led an unsuccessful attack against the new Horde in Durotar, which saw the death of Admiral Proudmoore. Kul Tiras still maintain a presence in World of Warcraft. Past rulers: Admiral Proudmoore, Tandred Proudmoore.
- Gilneas (gray) - A distant nation which has never fully supported the Alliance. Past rulers: Genn Greymane.
- Dalaran (purple) - A city-state of mages, led from the Violet Citadel in the centre of the city. Dalaran was the first nation to be attacked and completely destroyed when the Burning Legion arrived during the Third War, due to the mageocracy being the only group that could initially pose a threat to the Burning Legion. Past rulers: The Kirin Tor.
- Alterac (orange) - The weakest of the human nations, Alterac made a pact with the orcs during the Second War, and betrayed the Alliance. As a result of this, they were wiped out by Lordaeron forces. Past rulers: Lord Perenolde.
