Chapter 4.2: The Troll Kings and the Shadow Over the Horde Wars

Before the Horde, Before the Kingdoms… There Were the Trolls

Before elves cast their first spells, before dwarves raised their mighty halls, and before humans ever walked the lands of Eldoria, the trolls ruled. They were not shaped by the Titans of Light nor given life by divine hands. Instead, they were creatures of chaos and darkness, born from the corruption that seeped into the world after the first great war between the Titans of Light and Darkness.

They were the Gor'Vash, the first trolls, monstrous beings formed from the blackened blood of Vash'Goroth, a Titan of Darkness who fell in battle against the Light. His death twisted the land into the Withered Wilds, a cursed jungle where no sun ever shone, and from his lifeblood, the first trolls emerged—immortal, monstrous, and bound to shadow.

Yet, as ages passed, the Gor'Vash faded. Their power waned as the Titan's blood lost potency, and in their place arose lesser breeds—still powerful, still feared, but no longer the unchallenged rulers of Eldoria.

The other races grew stronger. The elves wove enchantments to keep troll magic at bay. The dwarves forged weapons that burned their flesh and halted their unnatural regeneration. The humans, though young and reckless, discovered faith and divine power that disrupted the trolls' dark sorcery. And the orcs, the rising storm of the land, saw the trolls not as gods, but as rivals for dominance.

The Fall of the Troll Kings

For centuries, the trolls waged war against the world. Their Blood Magic, Shadow Sorcery, and Spirit Bindings made them a terror unlike any other. Troll Kings ruled vast dominions, their sorcerers performing rituals of sacrifice, feeding on pain and suffering to fuel their power.

But power demands sacrifice, and as their wars dragged on, the trolls' own numbers dwindled.

When the Orcish Horde arose under Grommash the Unbroken, the world burned. The orcs crushed human cities, razed elven forests, and even laid siege to dwarven citadels. But there was one force they never openly challenged—the Troll Clans of the Withered Wilds. Even Grommash, with his unbreakable will, knew that to fight the trolls on their own ground was to court annihilation.

Yet, as the Horde Wars raged, something stirred in the jungles of Eldoria.

The Shadowed Pact – The Troll Kings Strike Back

With the orcs divided by war and betrayal, and the great Warlord Grommash dead, the Troll Kings saw an opportunity to reclaim their lost power.

Xul'Zir the Hollow, one of the last ancient Gor'Vash warlocks, sought to restore troll dominance over Eldoria. He saw in the weakened orc warbands not enemies, but tools—blades to wield in the name of the Dark Titan's will.

From his throne of bone and decay in the depths of Zul'Azrak, he called upon the greatest of the troll clans:

The Bloodfang Tribe – Hemomancers who drain the life from their enemies to strengthen themselves.The Nightscar Clan – Masters of shadow magic, summoning wraiths and vanishing into darkness.The Rotmaw Horde – Bearers of plague and pestilence, whose warlocks spread sickness with every breath.The Bonecrush Clan – Spirit-callers who bind the souls of the dead, wielding ghosts as weapons.

Under Xul'Zir's command, the trolls did what no orc warlord had done before—they infiltrated the broken Horde itself.

The Bloodbound Orcs – Corrupting the Horde from Within

Not all orcs resisted the trolls' magic. Many, desperate for power after Grommash's death, turned to the Bloodfang Tribe for strength. They drank from the Cauldron of Souls, took part in the Flesh Rites, and became something else—no longer just orcs, but Bloodbound, their veins pulsing with troll magic.

Among them were:

Gorath the Hollow, once an orc chieftain, now a warlock bound to the will of Xul'Zir.Vorrak the Crimson Fang, an outcast warrior whose strength grows with every enemy he slaughters.The Black Maw Reavers, a warband of fallen orcs, their bodies warped by blood magic, unkillable in battle.

The Bloodbound Horde became the new terror of Eldoria, a fusion of orcish strength and trollish sorcery.

The War of Shadows – Orcs vs. Orcs

Not all orcs welcomed this corruption.

The Bloodriven Horde, still loyal to Grommash's vision of strength through war, declared war on the Bloodbound, seeing them as abominations.

The Iron Maul, ever the pragmatic warriors, hesitated, torn between honor and survival.

The Bonehowl Tribe, attuned to the spirits of their ancestors, saw Xul'Zir's dark sorcery as a threat to all orcish kind.

And in the distant Burning Wastes of Kraagmar, whispers spoke of a new warlord rising, one who would purge the taint of blood magic from orc lands forever.

The Future of Eldoria – A War on Two Fronts

The world of Eldoria stands on the brink once more.

The Bloodbound Orcs, driven by troll magic, seek to reshape the Horde in their own twisted image.The Orcish Traditionalists, followers of Grommash's ideals, fight to reclaim their honor and free their kin from corruption.The Troll Kings, patient and ancient, pull the strings in the shadows, waiting for the moment when the last barrier between them and domination shatters.The Humans, Elves, and Dwarves, weary from war, now fear the return of an even darker enemy—one that predates them all.

But the trolls have not forgotten their origins. In the deepest corners of the Withered Wilds, the roots of Vash'Goroth the Black Titan stir once more.

And in the whispers of the dying, in the nightmares of warlocks and kings alike, the prophecy of the Shadowed Return echoes once again:

"The Black Root has not withered. The Titan of Darkness is not dead. His children will rise, and when the Veil is torn, the world shall bleed."