Human

This page is about the lore of the humans, for the characteristics of the playable humans, see Human (playable) ''"The noble humans of Stormwind are a proud, tenacious race. Though the recent invasion of the demonic Burning Legion decimated their sister kingdom of Lordaeron, the defenders of Stormwind stand vigilant against any who would threaten the sanctity of their lands. Nestled in the foothills of Elwynn Forest, Stormwind City is one of the last bastions of human power in the world. Ruled by the child king, Anduin Wrynn, the people of Stormwind remain steadfast in their commitment to the Grand Alliance. Backed by their stalwart allies, the armies of Stormwind have been called away to fight the savage Horde on distant battlefields." -Humans opening scene''

Humans (collectively referred to as mankind or humanity) are a resilient species native to the world of Azeroth. Recent discoveries have shown that humans are descended from the barbaric half-giant vrykul of Northrend. Born "weak" and "deformed" as a result of the Curse of Flesh, they had to be exterminated to keep the vrykul race pure, but not all vrykul could bear to kill their children, and they took them away to a land far away from Northrend, in the northern Eastern Kingdoms.

Early humans were primarily a scattered and tribal people for several millennia, until the rising strength of the troll empire forced their strategic unification. Thus the nation of Arathor was formed, along with its capital, the city-state of Strom. After several centuries of peace, however, the increasingly prosperous and independent city-states of Arathor split into separate kingdoms: Gilneas to the west, Alterac, Dalaran, and Lordaeron to the northwest, Kul Tiras to the southwest, and Stormwind to the far south. Strom itself was renamed Stromgarde and remained significantly powerful.

But disaster struck when the orcish Horde appeared on Azeroth, reducing Stormwind to ruins during the First War. The city's survivors, including the young prince, Varian Wrynn, fled to Lordaeron, where the leaders of the seven kingdoms resolved to unify once again in the Alliance of Lordaeron. Joined together, they succeeded in defeating the Horde during the Second War. Tensions grew among the kingdoms, however, as the costs for maintaining the Alliance rose much higher than originally anticipated. Unwilling to pay the taxes, the leaders of Gilneas and Stromgarde chose to withdraw their kingdoms following the liberation of the orcs from internment camps.

Further disaster came when the kingdom of Lordaeron was decimated by a mysterious plague that killed thousands of humans and converted them into undead servants of the Lich King. Even Lordaeron's prince, Arthas Menethil, was manipulated by the Lich King, leading Arthas to kill his own father and journey to Northrend, where he merged with his master. For the next five years, the Lich King remained in Northrend, plotting and building up his armies. But unleashing the plague of undeath was merely preparation for an invasion by the demonic Burning Legion, which had long sought to destroy all life on Azeroth. When the Legion struck, humans banded together with other races and secured a costly victory during the Third War.

Since the fall of Lordaeron, the kingdom of Stormwind has become the strongest bastion of humanity and the most powerful force in the now multiracial Alliance.

Though humans are among the younger races on Azeroth, they have faced many challenges with fortitude and resilience. Their continued ability to adapt and rebuild has made them a vital force in an ever-changing world.

The rise and fall of the Arathor Empire
Humans joined the forefront of Azerothian history during the Troll Wars 2,800 years ago. Concerned that the forest trolls were becoming too great a threat, the Arathi tribe of humans embarked on a campaign to conquer its rivals through combat and politics. By offering equality and peace to the people they conquered, the Arathi were able to form a powerful nation, Arathor. The capital of Strom was built, and the humans in the area that would later become Lordaeron, traveled to its protection.

The high elves of Quel'Thalas, meanwhile, were in open war with the trolls. On the verge of defeat, they sent ambassadors to Strom to plead for assistance from the human king, Thoradin. In exchange for support, the elves agreed to instruct One Hundred humans in the use of magic. With the help of the high elves, humans learned magic and waged a bitter war against the trolls that once spanned the entire length of the Eastern Kingdoms. Eventually, humanity won against the trolls and they lived in peace for several centuries. However, the increasingly prosperous and independent city-states of Arathor later declared their independence; splitting into separate kingdoms: Gilneas to the west, Alterac, Dalaran, and Lordaeron to the northwest, Kul Tiras to the southwest, and Stormwind to the far south. Strom itself was renamed Stromgarde and remained a significantly powerful kingdom.

In time, the kingdoms gradually developed rivalries, as before the coming of the orcs, the human kingdoms of Lordaeron faced challenges and obstacles from each other as the games of politics played out. Decades before the First War, while Azeroth enjoyed a time of relative peace, villages squabbled with villages, and kingdoms spied on kingdoms. In the Eastern Kingdoms, humans engaged in rigorous trade with dwarves, gnomes, and high elves. Some nations, like Lordaeron, acted as regional leaders and trendsetters, mediating disagreements between smaller kingdoms and used their strong militaries to impose order over the land. Still, others focused their resources on defending themselves from old rivals.

Among the history books in Medivh's library, some mentioned references of genocides, assassinations, and massacres between humans of the seven kingdoms, using claims of nobility, heritage, and honor to justify their conflicts. Among these battles, there were military conflicts between the nations of Alterac and Stromgarde, as the proximity of the two and the apparent ambiguity of their mountain borders had led to several wars and skirmishes. On more than one occasion, King Thoras Trollbane led the armies of Stromgarde into battle against the honorable General Hath of Alterac.

The Alliance of Lordaeron
Millennia later, disaster struck when the orcish Horde appeared on Azeroth, reducing Stormwind to ruins during the First War between orcs and humans. The city's survivors, including the young prince, Varian Wrynn, fled to Lordaeron, where the leaders of the seven kingdoms resolved to unify once again in the Alliance of Lordaeron. Joined together, they succeeded in defeating the Horde during the Second War.

Tensions grew among the kingdoms, however, as the costs for maintaining the Alliance rose much higher than originally anticipated. Unwilling to pay the taxes, the leaders of Gilneas and Stromgarde chose to withdraw their kingdoms following the Alliance splintering in consequence of the liberation of the orcs from internment camps. At the time of the Third War, most contemporary human and high elven mages bowed to the sovereignty of Dalaran and the Kirin Tor. Further disaster came when the kingdom of Lordaeron was decimated by a mysterious plague that killed thousands of humans and converted them into undead servants of the Lich King. Even Lordaeron's prince, Arthas Menethil, was manipulated by the Lich King, leading Arthas to kill his own father and direct the Scourge to eradicate humanity in his kingdom. Eventually, Arthas journeyed to Northrend, where he merged with his master. For the next five years, the Lich King remained in Northrend, plotting and building up his armies.

The remnants of the Alliance in Lordaeron banded together to form the Alliance resistance in order to retake their lost lands from the undead. Under the command of Grand Marshal Garithos, the Alliance resistance managed to retake Dalaran. However, Garithos' harsh bigoted leadership forced the blood elves to desert his army and sometime later, the Alliance resistance was mind controlled by the Dreadlord Insurgents. The Alliance resistance was freed from the dreadlords' influence by Sylvanas Windrunner's forces (later known as the Forsaken) and together, they worked to take down the last dreadlord warlord, Balnazzar, and retake the Ruins of Lordaeron. Instead of leaving Lordaeron as Sylvanas promised however, Sylvanas betrayed Garithos and had him and his men killed; thereby taking the Ruins of Lordaeron for herself.

Post Third War
With the recent invasion of the Burning Legion, which left the northern Kingdom of Lordaeron in ruins, Stormwind now stands as the strongest bastion of human civilization. The Alliance since then has been reorganized and gained new allies in the following years, with the humans of Stormwind standing resolute in their charge to maintain the honor and might of humanity. Following the heroic examples of the legendary Sir Lothar and King Llane, the knights and warriors of Stormwind are considered to be among the fiercest and most courageous warriors in the land.

Despite the devastating losses of the Third War, humanity still prospered in most of the remaining human kingdoms. Even in Lordaeron, which took the brunt of the devastation, still had pockets of humanity fighting to reclaim their lost lands back. However, some of these humans entered into a conflict with the Forsaken, who humanity found abominable and unsavory. Many humans see undead as offensive to their way of life, while others still suspected them of being agents of the Scourge. It did not help matters that the Forsaken joined forces with the Horde, a long time enemy of the Alliance, and that human zealots in Lordaeron such as the Scarlet Crusade became obsessed with eradicating the undead and retaking their once-beautiful homeland.

The humans' primary threat now other than the Scourge is the Forsaken, who are continuing their attempts to expand south from Tirisfal Glades into Arathi. However, the human presence in the region remained strong with the remnants of Lordaeron and Stromgarde, causing the Hillsbrad area to be one of Azeroth's major battlefields. Despite all of this, humans continue to be vigilant, and have banded closer together and with the Alliance as a whole.

The Knights of the Silver Hand in Lordaeron, under the command of Lord Commander Saidan Dathrohan and Highlord Alexandros Mograine, who wielded the Ashbringer, attempted to retake the Plaguelands from the undead. Though they found some success, after Highlord Mograine fell to the Scourge, the holy order began to change. They rebranded themselves the Scarlet Crusade and became more fanatical in their methods of destroying all undead, as well as despising all non-human races. Other paladins, disgusted with the Scarlet Crusaders' zealotry, formed the Argent Dawn, which took a less extreme approach and accepted members from all of Azeroth's races into their ranks.

One day, King Varian Wrynn went missing while on route to a secret diplomatic meeting. During the absence of King Varian Wrynn, Anduin Wrynn was crowned king, though the actual power remained in Regent Lord Bolvar Fordragon's hands until either Varian was returned or Anduin reached the age of ascension. The Kingdom of Stormwind was kept in a state of chaos and political unrest due to corruption created by Lady Katrana Prestor and the House of Nobles. The towns of Darkshire, Lakeshire, Goldshire, Southshore, and (to a lesser extent) Menethil Harbor- who all fall under the protection and leadership of Stormwind- had to rely more heavily on their own local militia to fend off local threats while Stormwind's leadership was in disarray.

Under the watchful leadership of the young mage Jaina Proudmoore, formerly of Kul Tiras, the Human Expedition that fled the destruction of Lordaeron joined forces with the night elves and the Horde in order to defeat the demon Archimonde and banish the Burning Legion during the Third War. Afterwards, the expedition established a new home in Kalimdor called Theramore Isle, which became a prominent member of the Alliance and kept close ties with Stormwind. Lady Jaina Proudmoore hopes to lead Theramore to a prosperous future and aid in reuniting the distant human kingdoms once more. The merchant nation of Kul Tiras left the Alliance after their demands to avenge Lord Admiral Daelin Proudmoore's death were going unheeded. The people of Kul Tiras furiously isolated themselves from the rest of the Alliance, but were not angry with all of the Alliance leaders. They instead nursed a bitter hatred only towards Jaina Proudmoore for betraying her family and allowing the Horde to cut down her father. The city-state of Dalaran, with its powerful mages, retained some control over Hillsbrad and Silverpine Forest but mostly isolated themselves behind a vast, magical dome around the heart of their city. In addition, there is the human enclave in the Arathi Highlands, the remnants of the Kingdom of Stromgarde. After the assassination of Thoras Trollbane, Stromgarde was invaded by the Syndicate, forest trolls, and ogres. The Horde has also established themselves in the contested land and are fighting for the resources of Arathi Basin. The remnants of Stromgarde rejoined the Alliance in order to rid its kingdom of interlopers and restore the kingdom to its former glory. It was rumored the once-allied kingdom of Gilneas was still flourishing and populated with humans, but no word has been heard of them for years. They too have isolated themselves from the world after they barricaded themselves with the Greymane Wall.