Tauren
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The Tauren are a fictional race of bovine bipeds, one of the major races of the Warcraft universe. They are religious, but are better known for their strength and courage as warriors. A nomadic race as old as the Night Elves, the Tauren are attuned to the earth its spirits, and have a largely shamanistic culture that stresses ancestor worship and the honored path of the hunter. Their capital of Thunder Bluff sits in the central Kalimdor territory of Mulgore, and they are aligned with the Horde in the present conflict (as depicted in World of Warcraft). Notably, the Tauren are the only race besides Night elf that can become Druids.
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[edit] Appearance
The Tauren are huge bipeds generally bovine in appearance. They weigh, on average, seven hundred and fifty to nine hundred pounds and can grow up to eight feet tall. Sexual dimorphism is present in the species, with the males being eight feet tall with an enormous, muscular build. Females are shorter and more delicately built, with smaller horns, but are still massive and muscular when compared to other races. Tauren shamans are often seen carrying their ancestral totems, which are essentially large carved out logs. These logs are often used as weapons, along with the polearm weapon that the chieftains use. Other Shamans carry staves or maces, and although they have the ability to learn how to use daggers, their ecologically focused beliefs do not allow them to wield large swords.
It should be noted that while the graphics in Warcraft III may suggest truly immense tauren, and portray them as giant, bare-breasted bull-men, the proportions in this game are intentionally skewed. In World of Warcraft--a much more realistic game in terms of scale--male tauren are almost uniformly eight feet tall (though Cairne Bloodhoof is slightly larger, as is the Disciple of Naralex within the Wailing Caverns instance). Tauren of this size probably weigh less than the nine hundred pounds suggested above, though as they likely are about the same density of large modern mammals, they probably do weigh considerably more than humans.
Tauren fingers and toes have fluctuated since their genesis. Original concept art shows them with three fingers and a thumb, and the models in Warcraft III and The Frozen Throne seem to reflect this. However, in World of Warcraft, tauren were given thick forearms with two fingers and a thumb. Presumeably this is the correct and final number. In Warcraft III, the icon for Warstomp, a tauren ability, shows a single-toed hoof, far more akin to a horse's foot than a cow's. However, the models in the game do show cloven hooves, more like Earth cow's. In World of Warcraft, the foot structure changed again, making the tauren flat footed (unlike real cows) and rounding the tips of their hooves considerably.
[edit] History
[edit] Before the Horde
As noted, the Tauren are one of the more ancient races of the Azeroth. Prior to meeting the Orcs, the Tauren were a proud, nomadic race, though it seems that they played little role in the grand dynamic of Azeroth for millennia. In fact, when encountered by the Orcs and their Warchief, Thrall, they were under significant pressure from the Centaurs and their tribes were separated. The Tauren do have a rich history which they have kept over the centuries, handed down over the ages through oral tradition; one such passage is as follows:
"Before the Age of Memory, the gentle Earthmother breathed upon the golden mists of dawn. Where the amber clouds came to rest, there were endless fields of flowing wheat and barley. This was the basin of her works - the great basket of life and hope. The Earthmother's eyes shone down upon the lands she had breathed into creation. Her right eye, An'she (the sun), gave warmth and light to the land. Her left eye, Mu'sha (the moon), gave peace and sleep to the stirring creatures of the dawning. Such was the power of her gaze that the Earthmother closed one dreaming eye for every turning of the sky. Thus, her loving gaze turned day into night for the first dawning of the world. While the right eye shone down upon the golden dawn, the Earthmother's gentle hands spread out across the golden plains. Wherever the shadow of her arms passed, a noble people arose from the rich soil. The Shu'halo (the Tauren) arose to give thanks and prayer to their loving mother. There in the endless fields of dawn, the children of the earth swore themselves to her grace and vowed to bless her name until the final darkening of the world."
[edit] Allegiance with the Horde
The Orcs, led by Warchief Thrall, had come to Kalimdor seeking a land of their own, and in the course of establishing an early presence there, came upon the leader of the Bloodhoof tribe, Cairne Bloodhoof. In Thrall, Cairne sensed a great ally and leader, and sought his alliance in fighting off their ancestral enemy, the centaurs. In return, Cairne pledged his Tauren to alliance with the Orc Warchief. For their part, the Orcs and the Jungle Trolls that composed the Horde found much in common with the Tauren. Each of these races wanted to achieve a more shamanistic culture, and the Tauren, long versed in the lore of spirit and nature, were well-prepared to provide counsel and support to the budding Horde. The Tauren from then on became an inseparable part of the Horde, fighting with the Horde alongside the Alliance and Night Elves at the Battle of Mt. Hyjal, and later helped combat the forces of Lordaeron, led by Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, when he attempted to invade Durotar.
[edit] Present
After the invasion of the Orc homeland of Durotar was repelled (as depicted in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne), Cairne, with the help of the Horde, united the tribes of Tauren and settled his weary people in a new homeland, the lush plains of Mulgore. The capital city there is Thunder Bluff, built on a series of mesas. At present, the Tauren are still ruled by Cairne Bloodhoof. However, even Cairne admits that he is unusually old for a Tauren (ninety-nine years old when he first joined the Horde), and the leadership of the Tauren may thus change very soon. Common wisdom hold that his successor will likely be Cairne's own son, Baine Bloodhoof, but, at this time, such talk is simply speculation, particularly with the emergence of Elder Crone Magatha and her tribe, the Grimtotems, a tribe usually a distinctive midnight black in coloring, as a member of the Council of Thunder Bluff. The Tauren continue to supply fierce warriors and wise shamans to the Horde, and are currently involved in the renewed conflict on Azeroth.
[edit] External links
- Tauren, World of Warcraft Game Guide
- Tauren, Warcraft III Official Guide
- Tauren at WoWWiki, a World of Warcraft wiki
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