Hostilities Between the Centaur and the Tauren
Baine Bloodhoof grew up as a nomad while his father Cairne lead the Bloodhoof Tauren. The reason why they traveled the land and didn’t settle was due to the ever-hostile Centaur.
Legends say that out of the black lands of the west came a horde of murderous creatures – the Centaur. Cannibals and ravagers, the Centaur fell upon the Shu’halo like a plague. Though the braves and hunters fought with the Earthmother’s blessing in their hearts, the Centaur could not be defeated.
The Shu’halo were forced to leave their ancestral holdings behind, and roam the endless plains as nomads forever after. It was held that one day hope would return – and the scattered tribes of the Shu’halo would find a new home under the loving arms of the Earthmother. That wouldn’t happen for a very long time. The hostilities between the Tauren and the Centaur would be so ingrained into their culture that they would even develop nursery rhymes about it:
If dust shall rise,
Above the skies,
Run, my children, run…
By beat of drum,
The centaur come,
For mercy, they have none…
When hoofbeats sound,
Upon the ground,
flee, my children, flee…
To find the land,
Where tauren stand,
Do not come back for me…
It wouldn’t be until Cairne met with Thrall and the Horde during Warcraft 3 that the Tauren would gain the might to put up a real fight and eventually settle in the lands of Mulgore. That didn’t mean they were immediately safe though, far from it…
Kidnapping of Baine Bloodhoof
Tagar Bloodtotem
The barbarous Centaur attacked our village recently. Our chieftain’s only son – Baine, was taken captive. The Centaur are cannibals and do not keep prisoners for long. We searched everywhere for a sign that Baine was still alive, but we found no trace of him. Poor Cairne has been lethargic for some time. Without his wisdom and leadership, I fear that the Centaur will decimate our tribe. Perhaps if you could find some clue as to his son’s fate, it might rouse the chieftain from his stupor? Find Bovan WIndtotem out on the plains. He and his brethren will aid you on your search.
Rexxar and crew met up with Bovan, and the Windtotem Tauren have some differences from the other Tauren tribes. They remained nomads, for example, and never settled in Mulgore. They also have a connection Ohn’arah, seeing visions they believe come from the Wild God.
Bovan Windtotem not only locates Baine, he personally helps with slaying any that dares to stand in Rexxar’s way, returning the child of Cairne home. After which Bovan kinda disappeared from the story, and his fate was unknown.
Baine Bloodhoof, High Chieftain of the Tauren
Not our Baine though. He would take over leadership after his father’s death and, as most can remember, during the Shadowlands he didn’t do a whole lot besides sitting within Oribos.
We’ve had a time jump between Shadowlands and Dragonflight – a few years of honest peace on Azeroth. A time in which Baine has grown closer to Mayla Highmountain. She’s the one that asks us to go ahead and find Baine as he’s traveled all the way to the Dragon Isles in search of his childhood hero.
Old Hatreds
Bovan has seen visions from Ohn’ara again, this time guiding him and others to the Dragon Isles. Very similar to how the Centaur of the Dragon Isles ended up here. They’re not the same as the Centaur back home – the Centaur that hunted the Tauren for millennia. These on the Isles were actually first, and the wisdom of Ohn’arah guided them here before they would go extinct like the rest of their kind. With the Isles hidden away, so too were the Centaur of the Ohn’ahran Plains.
Then we saw the union of Princess Theredras with Zaetar, son of Cenarius. Their “love” shall we call it was responsible for bringing in a new generation of Centaur. These were the hostile kind that raged war with the Tauren — even though one of them actually managed to join the Horde, but that’s a whole different story.
Point being, Baine doesn’t know that history. All he sees are Centaur – but we can help out. Our connection to both sides lets us ask for the aid of the Khanam Matra – but they’ve got their hands full already: despite taking care of Balakar, the Nokhud are still in league with the Primalists and causing trouble all over the planes. Eventually, we’re sent to Tomul who’s been given the command to help. Baine is not exactly friendly towards her, but no matter. Orders are orders and who knows, maybe he’ll warm up to her warm personality.
Finding Bovan
First step is finding a Windtotem survivor who lets us know that, shortly after they entered the plains, they saw their first Centaur. The Centaur feigned friendship so they could assess the Tauren strength and numbers, then signaled their comrades to attack. They’ve been in trouble ever since.
Searching the surrounding area, we tell any survivors we can find to make their way back to Baine. From the fallen, we take some recognizable items to bring back to their families: A bloody axe, a unique headdress, and a Tauren necklace. Items gathered, we meet up at an abandoned village to the south-east – the spot most likely where any of the survivors would have gone to.
The owner of the headdress turns out to be the husband of Koya Windtotem. He is gone now, and so her daughter will grow up without a father because of the Centaur – just as she has. The axe belongs to Ironhoof’s friend Nawa. She would never willingly part with it, and since we didn’t see a body, chances are she may yet live.
The Tauren of the Ohn’ahran Plains Old Hatreds: Important Characters
FInally, the necklace, this one belongs to Bovan himself.
Time to go on the attack and see if we can rescue any of the Tauren from the Nokhud. Their camp is in Tomul’s old village, her home before the Nokhud raids. The corpses of our enemies are decorated with our banners while we also free some captives. The Nokhud have been interrogating them for information: information on the dragons, the Emerald Gardens, the other Centaur. Information that these Tauren do not have – they just got here after all.
Bovan is still their prisoner, and taken elsewhere when they found out that he was the leader. Who knows where he might have ended up now. We’ve got one shot to figure it out. By having one of the Ohn’ir mystics, the once so insecure Boku, use his necklace, Ohn’ara might bless us with a vision – and after gathering the required reagents, she does just that.
Attack on Nokhudon Hold
Bovan is in the hands of Jamoku, a powerful Nokhud and an ally of the Primalists. It means our friend is in Nokhudon Hold, not a place you can just walk in and expect to walk out alive.
Tomul wants to speak with their Khan first, seeing the danger of this mission, but Baine thinks that there’s not a minute to waste. Bovan once followed a vision into the heart of a Centaur camp to rescue Baine, and right now, he will do the same – undetected even with a few potions that will mask our presence.
Using the potions is optional, if you want you can bloody your hands with as many Centaur as you like, but seeing how time is of the essence, it’s probably better to use a bit of stealth until the gathered intel leads us to our friend – to Bovan Windtotem – he would talk or he would die, the intel told us, and we can see the result. We were too late….
Baine Bloodhoof: When I was young… The centaur took me. It was Bovan who found me, and aided in my rescue. Without him, I never would have… It was my turn to rescue him. And they have robbed me of it.
Baine Bloodhoof: <Agonized cry of loss and fury.>
Baine Bloodhoof: They will never hurt anyone again.
Nokhud. Gelkis. Magram. Kolkar. All the Centaur are the same. They plague the land and murder Baine’s people. No more! He will end this Centaur threat here and now, and we stand at his side as Baine finally gets to show what an actual powerhouse he is. Drenched in the blood of the enemy, stacking corpses sky high, stomping on their bodies… they don’t call him Bloodhoof for nothing…
Jamoku is next. We’ll not leave until he pays for what he has done.
Even with the aid of the Primalists, the might of the elements at his fingertips, the Centaur still goes down…
Scout Tomul: Well struck
Baine Bloodhoof: I… did not believe you would come.
Scout Tomul: Honor is of great importance to my people.
Baine Bloodhoof: Yes… as it is to mine.
Scout Tomul: Come. Let us gather our dead.
There were Nokhud reinforcements about to flank us until Tomul and her forces stepped in, losing two of their number in battle. A Centaur fighting to save a Tauren… Baine would never have believed it.
Shared Grief is Friendship
Time to leave this madness behind and head over to Toghusuq Village where the Tauren have made refuge. Time to say farewell to the fallen, a shared funeral of Tauren and Centaur.
Koya admits that she initially objected to this shared event. Doesn’t believe she’ll be ever able to forgive the atrocities committed by the Centaur against her family. But if this helps build a world where Tauren and Centaur can co-exist in peace… then she will support it, for her daughter’s sake. Her husband would have wanted that.
And perhaps so did Bovan, as they’re unsure why he followed these visions, why he guided them to the Dragon Isles just to meet his end like that. Did he know what was going to happen, and could he see that it was time for the Windtotem to end their nomadic lifestyle? Perhaps you could see that they were supposed to settle here within the Ohn’ahran plains among the Centaur. Or perhaps it was to heal wounds inflicted over millennia, make the first small steps into looking beyond the race someone is born into, and judge them on their merit and deeds instead.
Perhaps… All Baine knows for certain is that he must continue to live according to his ideals. In that, he can honor the life and memory of Bovan WIndtotem.
Baine Bloodhoof said: Honor those who came before us. Stand strong. Stay true.
