"Codex: Recent Troll Wars
Trolls, also collectively referred to as Trollkind, are a diverse sapient race that can be found in every part of Azeroth. They are one of the world's oldest known native races. Trolls are divided into many subgroups adapted to different environments, namely Blood Trolls, Dark Trolls, Forest Trolls, Ice Trolls, Jungle Trolls, Sand Trolls, and Zandalari Trolls.
Trolls were one of the most primal inhabitants of Azeroth; their species created many glorious Empires during the height of their race, namely the Empire of Zul, the Amani Empire, or the Gurubashi Empire, but all of them fell into obscurity and were swept by the passage of time.
The modern decline of the Trolls began with the Troll Wars, a series of conflicts between the forest trolls of the Amani Empire and an alliance of humans from Arathor and high elves from Quel'Thalas, which ended approximately 2,800 years before the present day.
The conflict began when the Amani, hungry for revenge after having been driven from their lands by the High Elves millennia prior, launched an all-out assault on Quel'Thalas. Facing certain defeat, the High Elves turned to Arathor and agreed to teach a select number of humans Arcane Magic in exchange for their aid. Together, the two nations thoroughly defeated the Amani Army at the foot of the Alterac Mountains and shattered their empire.
The decline of the Trolls continued, as they were being suppressed by the Human Nations, Quel'Thalas, and the Dwarves, but the Trolls, as the resilient folk, managed to withstand the suppression and maintain some sort of status quo.
This all changed with the eruption of the Gurubashi Civil War between the Jungle Troll Tribal Coalition on one side and the Kingdom of Stormwind and Fire Nation on the other side, while the Dwarves of Ironforge were supporting the Stormwind and Fire Nation with military assistance and provided supplies.
The Gurubashi Troll War started the definitive fall of the Trollkind, when the Gurubashi Trolls were brutally crushed by Aenarion Septim and Anduin Lothar, with Fire Nation occupying large swaths of territory once belonging to the Trolls.
Several years later, another conflict erupted, this time it was a beheading operation led by the High Elves of Quel'Thalas, namely by the Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner and Onmitsukidō of the Fire Nation that aimed to exterminate the leadership of the Amani Trolls, which acted as a prelude for the wider invasion of the Northern Amani Lands and Zul'Aman by the Quel'Thalas and Fire Nation.
Meanwhile, the Wildhammer Clan, Lordaeron, and Stromgarde attacked the Southern Amani Lands at the same time, essentially destroying the trolls in one swoop. With the fall of most of the Amani Territory, the last great bastion of the Trolls in the Eastern Kingdoms fell, and the Trollkind were reduced to the wanderers and scavengers who didn't even have any fixed territory.
After the opening of the Dark Portal and the appearance of the Horde in Azeroth, the remnants of the Trollkind all over Azeroth joined the march of the Horde as the barbaric greenskins swept over most of Azeroth until they were shattered in the Second Great War.
The fate of the trolls that joined the Horde was much worse than that of the Orcs themselves, in fact, because many considered the Trolls traitors to Azeroth itself. So, while most of the Orcish prisoners that were captured during the First and Second Wars were just put in the Internment Camps, trolls were executed primarily.
The Forest Trolls and Jungle Trolls were exterminated to the last one by the hatred of the High Elves and Stromwind as the 'betrayal' of the Trolls, causing large losses to the Quel'Thalas and Stormwind, and considerable damage to the Fire Nation's colonies.
In today's Azeroth, the Trollkind is almost on the verge of extinction. In the Eastern Kingdoms, only scattered remains of the Forest Trolls and Jungle Trolls remain, which are being constantly hunted down by the High Elves and Fire Nationers for sport.
The only ones who remained mostly untouched by this outcome were the Ice Trolls in the continent of Northrend and the Zandalari Trolls of the Island of Zandalar. Tough after the death of several of the Loa, the power of the Zandalar would never reach their former glory and it was generally accepted that the Trollkind were on severe."
- Trolls of Azeroth, Their Rise and Fall, written by Imperial Princess Irulan Septim of the Sacred Jia Nan Academy of the Sacred Phoenix Empire
***
"The trolls are a menace on this continent."
Esdeath and Azula, among other things, were among the staunchest supporters of the swift and brutal actions against the Trolls. Both Queens of the Fire Nation disdained the race to the extreme for one reason or another.
Esdeath mainly because in her opinion, the Trolls were weak, depending on the borrowed power of their patron and higher entities, while Azula viewed their races as barbaric pests that needed to be exterminated and not worth letting them live.
Perhaps it was the influence of the close relationship that the Fire Nation enjoyed with the High Elves of the Quel'Thalas, but the hatred for Trolls of any kind was being extended to the Fire Nation, and the first roots of the deep-seated distaste and disdain toward the Trollikind were already planted.
Aenarion knew that this would essentially result in the situation where the Fire Nation would be basically keen on exterminating the entire race, just based on their personal feeling of hatred toward their kind.
But at the same time, he couldn't really bring himself to care about the trolls. In the great scheme of things, he himself had no favorable impression of the Trolls because they were a barbaric race without much civilization and culture.
What was worse, they widely practiced cannibalism.
Cannibalism is a relatively common practice among trolls. Several specific troll tribes have been confirmed as cannibalistic, including the Mossflayer and Vilebranch tribes. All of the currently known tribes of the Trolls practised it.
Sand Trolls, Forest Trolls, and Jungle Trolls were also frequently cannibalistic. Notable exceptions include the Zandalar and Revantusk tribes. At the same time, they also practised Voodoo, but it is as widespread as cannibalism. Little is known about the emergence of Voodoo among the trolls, for most tribes that possess such knowledge are unwilling to share it with outsiders.
Though it was confirmed that the Trolls were worshipping Evil Entities, Evil Gods and practised some of the vilest and most forbidden Magic.
Aenarion viewed the Trolls as the unprecedented threat to the Fire Nation, not to mention, he was looking at the Fire Nation in more...
The conquistador way.
Especially at the Gurubashi Trolls that were on the Azeroth Continent because, according to the publicly known information, the Gurubashi Trolls controlled some very large veins of ores and very precious minerals and metals.
Unfortunately for the Jungle Trolls and fortunately for the rest of the continent, the Trolls were pretty primitive, and they didn't really mine or process the resources. Specifically, some of the tougher ores and metals require rather advanced knowledge and expertise in proper mining and processing.
So most, if not all, of the veins and mines were untouched, and they were waiting for someone to come and make use of them, which gave Aenarion a new appeal to the territory that belonged to the Trolls.
"While I share your sentiment, my dear Ice General, it is not the right time right now. Soon enough, I feel that there will be a war between the humans and trolls here, and we could step in and reap some benefits."
Aenarion said this attracted the attention of his warmongering wife almost instantly.
He almost shuddered at the thought of her antics because if one wanted to attract Esdeath's attention, then using words like "war", "fight" or "battle" was guaranteed to be how to do it, and now that he had her undivided attention, they could proceed with their discussion.
"So, what do you have in plan?"
Esdeath asked as she already had a suspicion of what he wanted to do. She was aware that, based on the reports of the Onmitsukidō, it was clear that the Gurubashi Trolls were plotting something against Stormwind.
It was evident that there was some kind of conflict brewing on the horizon.
"Right now, with all of the reforms going on in the Fire Nation and the focus on the national development, it would be pretty hard to start the war on our own without much reason. Even though I despise Ozai, there was something to his style of ruling... but what do you think will happen if the Fire Lord and Queen are attacked by the Jungle Trolls?"
Esdeath could see the logic behind it.
Now, with all of the reforms that Aenarion introduced and, most importantly, with the fact that the people of the Fire Nation were starved after almost a century of war, they carved out some time for people.
She knew that despite everything, her husband wanted to have some reason to start the war against the Trolls so he could come and take their territories.
"That could actually work. Are you sure that we would be attacked by the Jungle Trolls? Not like I am against us as the bait, but if they don't attack, it would be a shame."
As expected, contrary to what normal people would do, Esdeath was immediately on board with the plan as she found the entire thing with using themselves as the bait rather appealing and logical.
Indeed, this would provide them with a very strong reason to declare war on the Jungle Trolls and send their armies there.
"I am. Not to mention, the Army needs this opportunity to test the new airship, navy ships, and various objects, such as the new weapons and prototypes for the Orb-Tanks. We need some real combat data, and I am sure that the dwarves and High Elves would also appreciate having real combat data on some of the things that we have created."
Fire Nation, Gnomeregan, Ironforge, and Quel'Thalas were developing the Orbal Technology together, even though it was mainly being used by the Ironfoge and Fire Nation while the Quel'Thalas were using the research on the Orbal Technology to advance their own disciplines.
"I heard that the dwarves have already put a lot of the contraptions and weapons to good use lately."
Khaz Modan, a mountainous continent in the Eastern Kingdoms, between Stormwind and Lordaeron, was the home to the Dwarves, primarily, but not limited to them. It was also home to the Ice Trolls, Troggs, Kobolds, and a few other species, but at the same time, the others were in much lower numbers than the Dwarves.
"Yes... King Magni Bronzebeard has adopted the usage of the Armored Brigade and using the Orbal Technology with their already existing technology of Steam Tanks, they created the Orbal Tanks that were working and using them to steamroll through the fortified villages of the Ice Trolls."
The Ice Trolls were a long-lasting problem for the dwarves of Ironforge because they were constantly raiding the caravans of the dwarves or attacking their encampments and outposts for resources, weapons, and food.
At the same time, the Ironforge didn't have the manpower or heavy firepower to destroy the Ice Trolls in one go, but that has changed with the advent of the Orbal Technology as they suddenly had the methods to power up their contraptions and various of their inventions.
So the Ironforge and Gnomeregan immediately started manufacturing some armored vehicles and weapons and using them against the Ice Trolls en masse, and it worked out splendidly.
"Well... that is certainly a piece of good news. Didn't the gnomes create their combat walkers or something like that based on the advancements of the Orbal Tech?"
Hearing his wife's question, Aenarion nodded as he received a report about the Gnomes developing their own Combat Walkers or Mechs, as he liked to call them.
"Yes... They previously had the idea of the Steam Armors and Pounder Robots, but their combat prowess was limited, and there were a lot of malfunctions when it came to the prolonged use of the Steam Armors, and sometimes the Pounder Robots tend to fall apart in combat. Same thing with the Goblin Shredders."
Gnomes and Goblins were born with very weak bodies compared to the other species on Azeroth as they were severely lagging behind them in pure physical capabilities. So, instead, they used their superior minds to remedy that and build Combat Walkers for themselves of various kinds to make up for their physical weakness.
"My Lord, we are seeing the City of Stormwind in the distance."
Suddenly, they were disturbed from their discussion as they were already nearing Stormwind City, the Royal Capital City of the Kingdom of Stormwind. The city itself was located north of Elwynn Forest on Azeroth region's northwest coast, is the capital city of the kingdom of Stormwind and the largest human city on Azeroth.
The capital of Stormwind was enormous by all means, as the Cathedral of Light could be seen even from a distance. For the first time, Aenarion felt that he was in a true fantasy world, because here...
Everything seemed like a fantasy.
Despite everything, Earth, on which the Fire Nation was located, seemed pretty mundane.
If one took away the Bending Abilities, then even with some of the exotic flora and fauna, it really seemed like just an average place set in the ancient version of something that was a mix between ancient Japan, Korea, and China.
But the Stormwind?
It was everything that he had expected from the fantasy medieval world.
Everything was enormous, like really enormous, because one thing through the city wouldn't be reaching the proportions of the metropolises of his first life. The Stormwind was far bigger than most of the cities on Earth in its first life, while at the same time, it was extremely spacious.
The main reason for its huge size was that there were no skyscrapers or tall buildings, but the maximum height of the buildings was three stories tall, and people preferred to live alone in their building, so...
Most people within Stormwind owned their individual houses, which led to the continuous expansion of the city.
Though what made Aenarion admire Stormwind City was the fact that despite this, they didn't forget the security, and even from a distance, he could see around six or so sets of walls and many watchtowers and other defensive checkpoints of the city.
"We should go and change to more fitting attire as we will be landing down soon enough, it seems."
Aenarion said that both he and Esdeath were wearing more casual clothes, if anything.
***
Stormwind Keep, also called Stormwind Castle, was the seat of power of the human Kingdom of Stormwind. It was the residence of the Stormwindian kings, the entire Royal Household, and their servants. The royal court and some of the kingdom's nobles were also here.
The Keep offered a view of the whole city so that the King could watch over the masses and provide a powerful reminder of what deserves to be defended. Contrary to the castles of Lordaeron and the other human nations, the Stormwind Keep was built with one thing in mind.
Defense.
It was built by the collaboration between humans and dwarves as an impenetrable fortress that served not only as the heart of the Kingdom but also as the last bastion if the city was ever breached.
With the addition of the Orbal Tech, the Stormwindians, who enjoyed a very close and friendly relationship with the dwarves of the Ironforge, were able to buy many cannons and batteries that served as further defenses and offensive power for the Stormwind Keep.
The entire city was divided into several roughly rectangular districts separated by canals, which further enhanced the beauty of the city but also increased its defensive capabilities because it was much harder to take the city by force.
The Valley of Heroes is a valley that lies before Stormwind Gate. A bridge of stone crossed the narrow moat, which was the first sight of all who entered. This gloriously lush valley lay south of the city, and many visitors passed through it, as it was one of three entrances to Stormwind City; the others were the Deeprun Tram and the Stormwind Harbor.
The Trade District lay in the center of Stormwind City and was always bustling with activity. It is the place in the city where people can get the most goods. Half of the city's banks, auction houses, and inns, as well as the other facilities, were all located within the Trade District.
To the east of the Trade District is the Old Town, the oldest section of the capital. In the district, the Command Center is the base of operations for Stormwind's army officers. It included the Champion's Hall, the Army's barracks, open training grounds, stables, and the headquarters of the SI:7, a secretive military force of Stormwind's sovereign monarch.
To the west of the Trade District was the Mage Quarter. The Wizard's Sanctum stands proudly in the center of the district; it is here that mages train to increase their powers, as it also serves as the headquarters for the Army's Mage Corps.
To the north of the Trade District is Cathedral Square, the religious center for all followers of the Holy Light. Though Stormwind Keep was the biggest structure in Stormwind City, many believe the most awe-inspiring is the Cathedral of Light.
To the east of Cathedral Square was the Dwarven District, where the dwarves and gnomes of Ironforge carve a slice of Stormwind life out for themselves. The air was thick with smoke and sparks, and the ground trembled with the pounding of anvils, but to many, it felt just like a home should. A trove of weapon and armor shops lined the streets, and blacksmiths created masterpieces out of common metals in the many open-air plazas.
The harbor is located in the northernmost area, bordering the Great Sea, with the access point set between the Park and Cathedral Square. Stormwind City towers over the harbor, with cannons stationed all along the walls.
King Barathen Wrynn was the current King of Stormwind, the ruling monarch, and also one of the greatest generals Stormwind has produced in past centuries. He was also a Hero-Level Warrior and Hero of the Gnoll War who led Stormwind to victory in the Gnoll Wars.
Right now, he was preparing to welcome the delegation from the Fire Nation because it would be a historic moment for the people of Stormwind.
Unlike the other Eastern Kingdoms, Stormwind was rather isolated from the other nations, and its relationship with the others, due to the vast distance, wasn't really close or anything.
Only the Ironforge were the allies of the Stormwind, and to a certain degree, the Stormwind enjoyed some relationship with the Admiralty of the Kul Tiras. As the King of Stormwind who wanted his Kingdom to prosper, King Barathen Wrynn knew that what his Kingdom needed were allies.
Based on what he knew about the Fire Nation, their culture, and their advancements, they were very suitable allies. At the same time, the mindsets of the Fire Nation and Stormwind were pretty similar.
Especially when it came to their approach to the military.
Barathen Wrynn was a gruff-looking, middle-aged man with a brown beard and brown hair with piercing brown eyes that radiated power and authority. Though it seemed that he was already around fifty years old, he was still in perfect condition.
His broad shoulders and muscular physique were a testament to his powers as a top-notch warrior because he was currently the strongest Warrior in the Kingdom of Stormwind.
Barathen's wife, Varia Vrynn, who was a beautiful woman in her early forties, with long, dark black hair and azure blue eyes, was adjusting his outfit for the last time.
"And now it is perfect."
She made the final adjustments to the royal outfit that the King would be wearing as they could go welcome the delegation from the Fire Nation.
The arrival of the delegation from the Fire Nation was a big matter in Stormwind for the past weeks because many within Stormwind viewed it as an opportunity to get their hands on some of the Fire Nation's advancement and obtain allies against the Gurubashi Trolls to the south.
"Everything needs to be set... this is the opportunity for us to obtain allies in the case of the Troll aggression. Isolationism isn't making us stronger, and even though Stormwind has the strongest, or rather second strongest, human army, it's not everything."
Stormwind was pretty isolated from the rest of the Eastern Kingdoms, and any sort of diplomatic relationships and trade were kept to a minimum. This was a great weakness for them, and it was also something that King Barathen wanted to remedy.
Yet it was very hard, because of the huge distance between Stormwind and even the closest of the other human nations, Gilneas or Stromgarde. Just one ship would sail there for more than two months, which was a lot.
This rendered any trade very inefficient, as only some things could be traded, and any trade of food or anything that could go bad or rot was totally out of the question.
Meanwhile, the Fire Nation, due to their Air Fleets, which wasn't actually a new concept to Azeroth, as both Goblins and Gnomes came with this long ago, and Goblins even widely used the Airships, was able to close long distances in much shorter time.
Due to this, the Fire Nation was indeed a very suitable trading partner for Stormwind due to their Airships that could transport even more special types of cargo in a very short time.
And this wasn't talking about the military power of the Fire Nation, as the kingdom was even more militaristically run than Stormwind. From the bits that were released into the territories of the other kingdoms, the Fire Nation was locked in a war that lasted for one hundred years.
So, every single aspect of the society has been developed to accommodate the needs of the military, and practically the entire population at one point served in the military or worked in the military-industrial complex.
At the same time, the entire population of the Fire Nation could fight to a certain degree, which meant that in the case of the invasion, all civilians could be used as soldiers and trained into the proper fighting force.
Which was a rather frightening thought when the King of Stormwind thought over it.
For the kingdoms of Azeroth, the invasion scenario was one of the worst cases for the armies because the first thing that they needed to ensure was the safety of the civilians.
This was a nonexistent problem for the people of the Fire Nation, as the civilians themselves were a combat-ready force that could be deployed on the battlefield if needed.
This resulted in a situation where the Army could move much more freely, and their numbers were not tied to the protection of the civilians from the enemy, but instead could focus on combating the enemy.
***
Near the Stormwind Keep, Several Moments Later, Airfleet of the Fire Nation, Flagship Grimoire Heart
On the deck of the Grimoire Heart, Aenarion changed back to his more appropriate attire for the occasion, but he wasn't wearing armor or anything; instead, he was wearing traditional robes of the Fire Lords with the Phoenix patterns on them.
The robes themselves were of the crimson-red color with golden patterns and were made from top-notch silks and materials that were gathered in the Fire Nation and made by the best clothiers in the nation.
Esdeath wore her military uniform as the General of the Khaos Brigade, as she refused to wear anything else, and if he didn't want to sleep in separate quarters during the entire trip, then he knew better than to antagonize her.
Clad in her uniform, both of them watched as the Grimoire Heart descended down to the area next to the Stormwind Keep. This area was prepared beforehand by the Stormwind due to their arrival, as they informed the Stormwind that they would be coming with the airship.
"Remember... smile, don't create fights with anyone else, and let me do the talking. I believe that you read the report on the conduct of the nobility of this world that Onmitsukidō provided to us."
Aennarion said to his wife, as the Onmitsukidō already did a good job by collecting as much information on the local customs as possible. Even though he wouldn't have many problems, he told Esdeath to study the local customs so that she wouldn't create any problems.
According to the protocols, in most situations, the Queen didn't have much political power, and in official delegations and situations like this, they were just standing behind the king and looked pretty.
He could see that Esdeath was already frowning a lot, hearing this, but in the end, she just gritted her teeth and decided to go with the flow. Behind them, the Commander of the Phoenix Crownsguard, Jiang Wei, stood silently as he observed the exchange between the two royals.
"Your Majesties, we are already descending. Please go to the rest of the delegation so we can exit the airship upon landing."
The Commander of the Phoenix Crownsguard said as both royals went to the lower decks of the airship Grimoire Heart, as they would be already landing down very soon. Aenarion was rather eager for the meeting in Stormwind, as this would be the real entrance into Azeroth's timeline.
Now, the last thing that was missing was the attack of the Gurubashi Trolls on Stormwind and King.
With this, the Fire Nation would have a reason to participate in the attack on the Gurubashi Trolls during the Gurubashi Troll War that was on the horizon.
***
Meanwhile, down on the ground, a group of heavily armored knights was standing in an area, clad in silver plate armor with gold accents and a flowing blue tunic, declaring their affiliation to the Kingdom of Stormwind, as these were the Knights of the Stormwind.
They wore a closed-face helmet with a narrow visor. A blue plume concealed most of their faces, leaving only their piercing eyes visible. Large, curved pauldrons protected their shoulders, while their arms and legs were covered in segmented silver armor with chainmail underneath for flexibility.
All of the knights were wielding a sharp longsword in that was strapped to their left side, so they could draw their swords with their hand had, while also carrying a large kite-shaped shield in the left, adorned with a golden lion emblem on a blue background.
This was the royal emblem of Stormwind. The knights were standing in several rows, securing the entire area where the flagship of the Fire Nation's Airfleet was landing, while also protecting the King, Queen, and several nobles in the entourage.
These were the strongest Knights of the Kingdom, members of the Royal Guard of Stormwind.
The Stormwind Royal Guard acted as the last line of defense for the monarch of Stormwind.
While they were regularly seen to guard their sovereignty within Stormwind City, they also frequently traveled to distant lands and war zones, should the monarch's duties also bring them there. The Royal Guard also formed the permanent garrison of Stormwind Keep, with the majority of their number based from there.
In addition to safeguarding the sovereign, Royal Guards have been sent to carry out other important tasks for the monarchy, such as delivering sensitive messages. The Knights of the Royal Guard were some of the strongest Knights of Stormwind, while also being the most skilled in the arts of combat.
The Royal Guard, while being part of Stormwind's Military, was directly under the House Wrynn and served solely the ruling house of Stormwind. Due to the number of soldiers in the Royal Guard, it gave them the power to suppress all the other Noble Houses in Stormwind with relative ease.
"Prepare for the landing."
All humans of Stormwind were watching in wonder as the huge airship bearing the phoenix sigils of the Fire Nation started descending into the area. From all the airships, only the main one was descending, as the remaining ones were in a protective formation as if they were protecting the flagship with their bodies.
The process was slow, but in something around ten minutes, the flagship landed down as several heavily armored people started exiting the arishup and securing it through the hooks that were stabbed into the ground.
Then they opened the gate that was on the lower deck of the airship and lowered the small bridge that interconnected the airship with the ground as more of the heavily armored guards started flooding the area and creating a row for their Lord to come down.
For the Fire Nation, security was everything, though at the same time, this time, they were also showcasing their strength with this theater. Everything was about showing strength and power, something that King Barathen Wrynn understood very well, along with everything that the Fire Nation was doing.
He knew that sending so many airships on the diplomatic mission was somehow redundant and some may even see it as an act of aggression or hostility, but King Wrynn new that the Fire Nationers were showcasing their might in the open daylight.
It was their strategy that showed them that they were powerful.
It wasn't like Stormwind wasn't doing the same thing on many occasions.
Including that of right now.
Soon enough, the dignitaries of Stormwind could see the Fire Lord exiting the airship together with a very beautiful woman with blue hair who was wearing a rather formal outfit and seemed more like some kind of military officer than anything else.
Though King Wrynn knew that it was one of the wives of the Fire Lord.
With this being done, the meeting between the two kingdoms could officially start.