The tauren have often been viewed as the "good" guys of the Horde. While the orcs, blood elves, forsaken and trolls have all had various unsavory qualities, the tauren race stands out as a genuinely peaceful, altruistic race of spiritual people that want nothing but what's best for the earth and the spirits it contains. Despite their seemingly good intentions, this does not leave the tauren without conflicts of their own, and when a closer look is taken at their current activities, some questions still beg to be answered. The history of the tauren is arguably just as lengthy as that of the orcs or the blood elves, the major difference being that the history of the tauren race isn't really documented anywhere to be seen save for a small set of scrolls on Elder Rise in Thunder Bluff. Given that the Horde in general seems to lean more towards using violence to solve their conflicts, where do the tauren fit in, and why did they choose to sign up with the Horde in the first place?

The answer stretches all the way back to Warcraft III, when Warchief Thrall traveled to Kalimdor on the advice of the Prophet, a mysterious figure who would later be revealed as Medivh. After landing in Kalimdor, Thrall and his people found themselves in a much harsher land than the one they'd left, with new enemies like the centaur, a tribal race of primitive, bloodthirsty creatures, half-humanoid and half-horse in appearance. But Durotar was not without allies, as Thrall discovered when he happened across the tauren.

The tauren were originally nomads with no real "home" to speak of -- they simply traveled from place to place, living off the land in large groups or tribes. It is unknown as to how many of these different tribes actually exist, because of this nomadic nature. As they never really settled in any one particular place, the tauren were literally scattered all over the world, though the majority of them were concentrated in Kalimdor. Thrall came across a tauren who was under attack by the centaur and saved him, a tauren from the Bloodhoof tribe led by Chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof. Chieftain Cairne was both grateful for the rescue of his tribesman and intrigued by the nobility and savagery of the orcish race. He explained to the warchief why the Bloodhoof were traveling; while his people had been nomads for centuries, Chieftain Cairne wished to return to the verdant lands of Mulgore, the ancestral homeland of his people. Thrall spoke of the orcs and their flight to Kalimdor to find their destiny, and Cairne told him of an oracle to the north, offering to give him the location of the oracle in exchange for protection from the savage centaur on their journey to Mulgore. Thrall agreed, doubtless feeling no small connection to the chieftain and his wish to find a stable place in which his people could settle and thrive.

Once the group reached Mulgore, Chieftain Bloodhoof thanked Thrall and told him that the oracle was in Stonetalon Peak. Warchief Thrall left but was surprised to meet up with Cairne again at Stonetalon -- Bloodhoof decided to repay the debt his people owed Thrall and the Horde by personally helping Thrall reach the oracle inside. At the oracle, the two met up with Jaina Proudmoore, and it was revealed that the oracle was the Prophet Medivh, and Medivh wanted Thrall to ally with Jaina Proudmoore to defeat the Burning Legion at Hyjal Summit. While Jaina, Thrall and Cairne were skeptical to say the least, they agreed to the tentative alliance. But there were other factors to be considered -- Grom Hellscream, loyal friend to Thrall, had fallen under demonic influence. Together with Thrall and Jaina, Cairne helped reclaim Hellscream and purge the demonic influence within him, and then worked with the night elves, humans and Horde to defeat the Burning Legion once more. Afterwards, Cairne helped the orcs establish their new nation, Durotar, before taking his leave and taking his people back to Mulgore.

While this was all well and good, the pledge he'd sworn to Thrall had been fully repaid and the tauren were no longer indebted to the Horde. This changed when centaurs captured Cairne's son Baine. Cairne fell into a deep depression; his son was everything to him, and without him he saw little hope for his people (sort of like King Varian Wrynn and the all-encompassing depression he fell into when his wife Tiffin was killed). Cairne's second-in-command, a tauren named Tagar, tried his best along with the other tauren of the tribe to keep the tribe running smoothly, but without Cairne's leadership, it looked as though the tauren would soon die out.

Enter Rexxar, a half-ogre, half-orc of the Mok'Nathal clan. Rexxar, along with a troll shadow hunter named Rokhan, had been sent to ask for the aid of the tauren against the Alliance -- not the Alliance we know today, but the Kul Tiras, led by Admiral Proudmoore. Jaina's father did not share her ideals for peace and a treaty between Alliance and Horde. He merely wished the lot of them eradicated as quickly as possible and started by attacking the outlying orc settlements in Durotar. Upon arriving in Mulgore, Rexxar and Rokhan asked the aged tauren chieftain for aid. Chieftain Bloodhoof, overcome by grief over the loss of his son, told the two to go back to Thrall and tell him that Cairne Bloodhoof was dead. Rather than taking this tactic, the two chose instead to go retrieve Baine from the centaur and bring him back to his ailing father in one piece. Grateful beyond words, Cairne once more pledged his people's assistance to the Horde. After wiping out the Kul Tiras forces, Cairne and his people again returned to Mulgore and built Thunder Bluff as a refuge for their people where tauren of every tribe were welcome. Over time, the scattered tauren tribes gradually united under Cairne's rule, and this is how the tauren that we see in World of Warcraft were established.

Chieftain Cairne, while beloved by his people and the logical choice to lead the united tribes of the tauren, is at heart a gentle, peaceful soul who longs for the tranquility of the open plains. In the World of Warcraft game manual, it states that rumors suggest that if he could lay the responsibilities of chieftain on another, Cairne would leave Thunder Bluff in an instant and retire to the wilds. Many believe that he is training his son Baine to take his place, after which Cairne will quietly take his leave. Baine currently leads the tauren of Bloodhoof Village and is apparently being groomed for the position of Chieftain after Cairne retires. In the novel Stormrage, Baine ends up taking over that leadership role temporarily while Cairne is trapped in slumber, and presumably heads back to Bloodhoof Village after the events in the novel are over. While Baine's presence, and indeed the presence of the tauren themselves, has been fairly low key thus far in World of Warcraft, the inner conflict between the differing tauren tribes has been a constant highlight.

Despite his age, Cairne is still believed to be the wisest and best suited to lead, regardless of his personal feelings on the matter. Along with Cairne, the Archdruid Hamuul Runetotem and the elder crone Magatha Grimtotem help lead the people, though in more of an advisory aspect than an active one. While the archdruid was a natural choice, it was the choice of Magatha that caused a few players to wonder, as they were leveling their characters through the original game, why the elder crone was allowed in Thunder Bluff at all, much less to help lead the united tribes. It made little sense, and as story lines and quests progressed, it became ever clearer that Magatha and her people weren't the same kind of tauren players were used to seeing.

The Grimtotem tribe is one of the mightiest of the tauren race, but also one of the most aggressive. While most tauren tribes seek nothing more than peaceful coexistence with the world and the spirits, the Grimtotem fight to eliminate enemies of the tauren. Unfortunately, to the Grimtotem, all races are enemies of the tauren people, "lesser races" that should be eradicated. Sounds a little familiar, doesn't it? Magatha and her tribe felt that the alliance with the Horde was a bad idea, that Kalimdor belonged to the tauren and no other race should hold claim to it, any of it. While the two main settlements of the Grimtotem are located in Stonetalon Peaks and Thousand Needles, other Grimtotem settlements can be found in Feralas to the south and Dustwallow Marsh to the east. Magatha, however, lives on Elder Rise in Thunder Bluff and helps Cairne lead the combined tribes of the tauren race. Magatha's ideals are ... different, to say the very least. She became the matriarch of the Grimtotem clan through an arranged marriage, and after her husband's death in an unfortunate "climbing accident," now leads the Grimtotem clan on her own.

Magatha was the loudest person to argue for the forsaken's inclusion in the Horde, and while the common story states that this is due to Magatha's beliefs that the tauren could help the forsaken find their way back to humanity, it is suspected that these dealings with the forsaken are largely due to the common belief both hold: that they are a somehow superior race and all "inferior" races should simply cease to be. The Grimtotem as a whole only allow tauren to join their tribe, but the forsaken are the one race that would be considered as an exception. Magatha and the Grimtotem believe that the spirits of the world are angry and sick and that the world needs purging as a whole. The forsaken appear to be pretty keen on the whole purging the world concept, making them absolutely logical allies. There is a part of me that theorizes part of the reason Magatha connects so well with the forsaken is perhaps her mistaken assumption that the forsaken are a physical representation of the sick spirits of the world. As undead, they were never allowed to take their place among the spirits at death and instead roam the world, angry about the fate they did not choose for themselves. This would be an affirmation to the Grimtotem that their beliefs about angry spirits are absolutely correct.

Despite the shady dealings between the Grimtotem and the forsaken, and despite the outright hostility that the Grimtotem hold towards all other creatures, Chieftain Cairne still allows Magatha into Thunder Bluff to help him. Why would Chieftain Bloodhoof, a strong proponent for peace and understanding, allow a tribe seemingly driven by hatred into Thunder Bluff? Why would he take her advice? Why would he keep her nearby, and most importantly, why is she not being held accountable for the actions of her people? The only answer that can be divined from everything known about the tauren and Cairne is this: Cairne is indeed a strong proponent for peace and believes that all tauren, no matter what tribe they belong to, should be united. Perhaps he also believes that the Grimtotem are simply misguided, and giving them an example to follow will eventually lead them down a more peaceful path. Perhaps he simply wants to keep Magatha close at hand, to keep an eye on her and make sure that whatever her people are doing, it is not without careful observation -- to let Magatha and the Grimtotem know that they are being watched. But what is the point of letting a tribe know they are being watched, if nothing is being done when they cross a line that should not be crossed?

In World of Warcraft, both Alliance and Horde players in Dustwallow Marsh soon find themselves involved in the story of the Shady Rest Inn, an Alliance inn bordering the Barrens that was burned beyond recognition, the people who lived there slaughtered by some unknown enemy. Over the course of the story, it is revealed that the Grimtotem clan have moved into the marsh and are responsible for the attack on the human settlement. Despite this outright attack on Alliance forces, the tauren have done nothing to hold the Grimtotem responsible for their actions. On top of all of this, also present at the Grimtotem camp is a forsaken apothecary who carries a letter suggesting she was sent by the forsaken as an emissary to help the Grimtotem with their plans. While the spymaster you return the letter to says that "it will take time to investigate" the obvious evidence you've given him, to date, nothing has been formally done to either the Grimtotem or the forsaken.

Chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof and the tauren who follow him are arguably some of the most neutral and forgiving creatures in World of Warcraft. While their allegiance has been sworn to the Horde allied under Warchief Thrall, Cairne and his people have little need of conflict with other races -- Alliance included. During the fight against the Burning Legion at Hyjal summit, Hamuul Runetotem befriended Malfurion Stormrage, who then taught him the ways of the druid. Since that time, Hamuul has mastered his learning, being recognized as the first tauren druid in nearly 20 generations and becoming the first and only tauren to achieve the status of archdruid -- and this in merely four years worth of study, according to the Warcraft timeline. He now teaches other tauren the druidic ways from Elder Rise. While tauren myths state that tauren druids existed for centuries before Malfurion instructed Hamuul, either this knowledge was lost to their race or they simply fell out of practice. Regardless, night elves were apparently first, according to a post by Nethaera on the official Warcraft forums:

The tauren believe that Cenarius' earliest known association with the mortal races was with the tauren, not the night elves, but this belief is apparently false. Unfortunately the history of the tauren race is so sketchy and empty of detail that there isn't really enough information to prove this one way or another, save for the blue post mentioned above. While the druids of the tauren are currently following the beliefs taught by Malfurion and the night elves, the teachings have raised questions in one tauren's mind. Tahu Sagewind, a tauren druid located in Elder Rise, has the following conversation with Aponi Brightmane regarding the teachings of Malfurion:

Aponi Brightmane says: Talk to me, Tahu. Something. Anything! I'm going stir-crazy.
Tahu Sagewind laughs softly
Tahu Sagewind says: All right, Aponi. I've enough on my mind to share. Have you ever spoken to the elves of Moonglade?
Aponi Brightmane says: Not much.
Tahu Sagewind says: The elves speak of a moon goddess, did you know? They put great stock in the light given by the moon.
Aponi Brightmane says: Like Mu'sha.
Tahu Sagewind says: Just like her. The parallels I've heard are interesting. And it's no secret all druids, Shu'halo and elf alike, can call upon Mu'sha's light.
Aponi Brightmane says: Where are you going with this?
Tahu Sagewind says: I wonder. Hamuul has guided us well, and I've learned so much from. The legends say that our people were druids when time began ...
Aponi Brightmane says: I hear the "but" in your voice ...
Tahu Sagewind says: ... but what Hamuul teaches is what the elves know. The night elves. They put such stock in their moon goddess, as creatures of the night.
Aponi Brightmane says: Do you think his teachings are wrong?
Tahu Sagewind says: No! No, nothing like that. He is an elder for good reason, sister. Mu'sha is one of the Earthmother's eyes, and she watches over us. That isn't sinister.
Tahu Sagewind says: But we're nothing if not people who strive for balance. Our warriors fight only when there is need. Our hunters take only what the tribes require to live, and use all they can when they do. The shaman stand as guide and mediator to the elemental spirits.
Tahu Sagewind says: And while we, as druids, are guardians of nature, I wonder if we've overlooked a key aspect of balance in all things.
Aponi Brightmane says: So are you going to bring this up to the elder?
Tahu Sagewind says: No, no. No need for him to trouble about a student's idle philosophizing while he entertains a friend.
Aponi Brightmane says: I suppose so. It's not silly, though, what you said.
Tahu Sagewind says: Well, it isn't exactly a new thought, sister.

Tahu is on to something far greater than he'd imagined -- while the night elves worship Elune and the moon, the Thunder Bluff scrolls on the wall behind him clearly reference the sun, or An'she. An'she was the right eye of the Earthmother (Mu'sha, or Elune to the night elves, being the left), and while the tauren have latched on to the ways of the night elf druids and their devotion to Mu'sha, An'she has never really been addressed. With the addition of tauren paladins and priests in Cataclysm, it's clear that this addition is being addressed from a lore perspective and is actually justifiable according to existing lore. But the fact that the tauren follow Mu'sha and Cenarius and yet ally with the Horde is odd given the events of Warcraft III. One of the reasons that people question the tauren's allegiance with the Horde is that Grom Hellscream and his orc forces killed Cenarius in Warcraft III -- the demigod that the tauren had supposedly worshiped for centuries. Despite this, Cairne still sought Grom's redemption and helped rid him of the demonic taint. I like to think that this is simply another aspect of Cairne's peaceful nature: Chieftain Cairne, despite all evidence thrown his way to the contrary, consistently believes the best of people until proven otherwise -- and sometimes, even beyond that.

This is where Chieftain Bloodhoof's fault may indeed lie and where his downfall may rest. While he is forgiving, he is perhaps too forgiving. The alliance with the Horde was undertaken because the two races, orc and tauren, helped each other when both were in a similar situation -- both seeking a place to peacefully settle and establish a home. In addition to this, the tauren and the orcs shared similar shamanistic beliefs regarding the elements and nature, and despite the orcs' otherworldly origins, that spiritual connection created a bond between the two that was almost brotherly in nature. But the tauren seem to share this bond with other races as well. The night elves of the Cenarion Circle are also treated with politeness and respect, despite Arch Druid Fandral Staghelm's strong abhorrence of the idea of anyone but night elves practicing the druidic arts. In addition, the tauren can be found here and there helping other races -- while the forsaken are obviously in cahoots with the Grimtotem tribe, there are other tauren working on some sort of cure for their condition. A blood elf seeking a natural cure for the sin'dorei's addiction has been exiled from her people and is given refuge and space to conduct her research at the tauren settlement of Freewind Post in Thousand Needles. A tauren works diligently in Western Plaguelands to try and heal the damage done to nature, and asks for help from either faction, Alliance or Horde.

The tauren with very few exceptions are a peaceful race, and their attitudes toward the rest of the world's creatures are positive, welcoming and ultimately forgiving of all wrongdoing, no matter how terrible the crimes committed. Chieftain Cairne appears to be trying to establish a utopia of sorts where all races of Azeroth can coexist in peace, at one with the spirits and with nature. To Cairne, it doesn't matter what race a person is, where they came from or what they may have done in the past; it's what's in their heart and spirit that counts, and he is willing to overlook just about anything else. This is why he works so well with Warchief Thrall. Both are idealists who would like to see a world where fighting between factions simply doesn't exist, where Alliance and Horde can coexist in harmony and work with each other to defeat the real dangers of the world: the Burning Legion, the Old Gods and other ancient horrors that threaten not just the orcs or the tauren, but the existence of life on Azeroth itself.

Oh ... wait.

While Cairne's idyllic nature and visions of a perfect world strike a chord with players, and indeed Chieftain Bloodhoof is one of the most respected and beloved faction leaders by Alliance and Horde alike, it is that very nature that puts him in perhaps the most dangerous position of all: the position of a leader that could be viewed through two very different sets of eyes -- the eyes of the peacekeeper, who see him as a visionary and an example to follow ... and the eyes of a ruthless sort of leader who views this willingness to forgive and forget as the actions of an addled old fool who is hardly fit to lead. A leader so blinded by the willingness to see the good in everyone that he is no longer able to recognize his enemies, a leader who is simply incapable of establishing any kind of authority over his people, even those that work against him under his very roof.

And meanwhile, under that same roof, a leader acts according to her primal heart, a leader who seeks to establish dominance through brutal and cunning acts of violence. Someone who has on more than one occasion worked against the Alliance who should be viewed as an enemy, according to some of the more outspoken members of the Horde. A leader who is cunning and ruthless enough to potentially turn on former allies, if those allies prove to be less than worthy in the efforts to establish supremacy. This is all speculation, mind you, but it is very clear that out of all of the Horde races, the tauren are a time bomb, quietly ticking away for five years and waiting to simply explode.

In Wrath of the Lich King, players are introduced to the Taunka, an offshoot of the tauren tribes to the south. Unlike their southern cousins, the Taunka are more bison-like in appearance. These ancient relatives of the tauren race were thought lost entirely until re-discovered by Garrosh Hellscream and the orc forces of Northrend. The difference doesn't stop with their appearance, however; while both races are deeply connected to the spirits and the elements, the Taunka seek to dominate the elements rather than working with them in harmony. Part of this may be due to the harsh environment of Northrend and the overwhelming presence of the scourge, but some of it may also be due to differences in attitude. While the Taunka have joined the Horde for now, they still have no presence in the south. Whether or not this will change in Cataclysm is unknown, but one thing absolutely must be kept in mind: the Taunka swore themselves to the Horde -- the Horde of Northrend, Garrosh Hellscream's forces, not the forces of Thrall. While the tauren to the south are very familiar with Thrall's penchant for peace and understanding between all of the races of Azeroth, regardless of Alliance or Horde, the Taunka are not.

While the orcs are dealing with their own version of civil unrest directly, the tauren for the most part have chosen to simply ignore the efforts to oust Cairne from his leadership position, a dangerous move at best. Rumors surrounding the Cataclysm expansion suggest that the tauren race is headed towards an explosion that has nothing to do with the land surrounding them. Rather, it's the internal conflicts, as of yet never fully addressed, that will come into play. The players of WoW love Chieftain Cairne, yet the story and lore behind World of Warcraft is heavily rooted in conflict, and the question that has yet to be answered is this: What place does a gentle, nature-loving, almost pacifistic leader hold in this world? The answer may invariably be an upsetting, unsettling one, but we won't see it until Cataclysm's launch.