Before Sylvanas Windrunner became Warchief of the Horde and went on the war path, there was Garrosh Hellscream. He made his first appearance in World of Warcraft's first expansion, The Burning Crusade, and quickly rose to prominence. He was thrust into the position of Warchief in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and went on a path of destruction that saw its final conclusion in Warlords of Draenor.
Garrosh Hellscream had a major effect on the future of World of Warcraft and the characters that inhabited it. It has been three expansions since Garrosh lost his life, but the actions he took while alive are still being felt in Azeroth today. He is perhaps one of the most well known villains of World of Warcraft, and his story is an exciting and destructive one.
Garrosh's Early Life
Garrosh Hellscream was born on Draenor to Grommash Hellscream and Golka. He would go to live in Garadar and join the Mag'har orcs, the uncorrupted orcs. When the orcs first invaded Azeroth, many of the Mag'har were ill with red pox, so they did not join the war effort. Kargath Bladefist went to Garadar to recruit some of these orcs, and Garrosh questioned him about the fate of his father. Kargath ignored him and called ever Mag'har weak and an insult to the Horde. Eventually, Garrosh would rise to be a high ranking chief of the Mag'har and would work alongside Jorin Deadeye to help the clan.
The Burning Crusade
The first time the heroes of the Horde met Garrosh was when he was worried about the health of his clan's matriarch, Greatmother Geyah. When she died, Garrosh would be forced to lead the Mag'har, and he was worried that he would repeat his father's mistakes. The last thing he had heard about his father was that he drank Mannoroth's blood and had become corrupted. He did not know about his father's heroic death saving the orcs from corruption until Thrall visited Nagrand and re-enacted it for him.
This new information filled Garrosh with confidence as he no longer believed he would fail his people. Thrall took an interest in Garrosh and believed he would serve the Horde well. He convinced Garrosh to leave Garadar and come join Thrall in Orgrimmar as one of his advisors.
Advisor to Thrall
When Garrosh first entered Orgrimmar, many of the citizens watched him with curiosity as they had never seen a Mag'har orc in the city. He met with many veterans of the First War who all recounted tales of his father, some were proud of Garrosh's lineage while others despised it. He also learned that living in the deserts of Durotar were rough for the orcs and that farming was impossible. Warchief Thrall forbid the Horde from seeking out the resources of the nearby region of Ashenvale, while members of the Alliance still claimed much of the Barrens, and this caused much resentment in the ranks of the orcs.
Garrosh became frustrated at Thrall's lack of action against the Alliance and the Scourge. He became frustrated in the fact that the orc resources were forced to help other races in the Horde, that the Scourge continued to lay down destruction while Thrall refused to unleash the Horde, and by the notion that the children of the FIrst War had to suffer the sins of their parents. As such, he became determined to restore orc glory by any means necessary, even if it went against Thrall.
Wrath of the Lich King
After a meeting with the Horde leaders to discuss the Scourge situation, Garrosh declared that that armies of the Horde should conquer the human lands and then march on Northrend to crush the Scourge. Thrall tried to explain that the Alliance were not the enemy and that Garrosh would only walk into the Lich King's trap. Garrosh did not listen and challenged Thrall to a duel in the Ring of Valor to settle it. Their battle was interrupted by a Herald of the Lich King threatening to destroy Orgrimmar and sending armies of undead against it.
Thrall and Garrosh led the armies of the Horde against the Scourge and were able to beat them back. Thrall ordered Garrosh to take the army to Northrend to build a foothold and fight back against the Lich King. He established Warsong Hold in the Borean Tundra which would serve as his center of command. High Overlord Saurfang became his chief advisor, and they constantly butted heads over the decisions that Garrosh made. Saurfang feared that he was witnessing a resurgence of the bloodlust from the First War, and threatened Garrosh by saying that if he went too far, he would not hesitate to kill him.
Garrosh heeded no attention to Saurfang's warning and conducted the war against the Scourge while heavily focusing on attacking the Alliance forces. The battles between the Horde and Alliance even occurred within the seat of the Lich King's power, Icecrown Citadel. While Garrosh was hellbent on killing the Alliance, he would only allow combat in a way that showed the strength of the Horde. Eventually, the Horde and Alliance would come together to fight Yogg'Saron in Ulduar, but Garrosh believed that a true Warchief would never ally with the enemy.
Warchief of the Horde
When the elementals became enraged, Thrall had to find a replacement so he could find out why. He called Garrosh to Grommash Hold where he appointed him acting Warchief. Garrosh did not want the position as he believed his place was on the battlefield, but Thrall insisted. Garrosh quickly got to work repairing Orgirmmar and changed it from a set of huts to a fortified city.
During this time, Garrosh orchestrated an attack against a peaceful meeting between the Tauren and Night Elves. The agents murdered everyone in attendance and Cairne Bloodhoof, leader of the Tauren, confronted Garrosh over this. Cairne believed that Garrosh was unfit to lead the Horde and needed to be dethroned, and so he challenged him to a Mak'gora. Garrosh was able to beat Cairne and ended his life.
Garrosh believed that the blood of the Alliance was the only way to give the Horde what they needed. He evicted most of the non-orc races from the center of Orgrimmar because he thought orcs were the only ones strong enough to protect the city. Garrosh's relationship with the Darkspear trolls broke down, and their leader Vol'jin threatened to kill him. The trolls left Orgrimmar, and the armies of the Horde became thinner.
The Horde set their sights on Kalimdor and went on a rampage across the continent. The rest of the Horde leaders became weary of Garrosh's actions and began to question his war. He responded by assigning soldiers to watch over each leader to make sure they remained loyal. As the armies of the Horde pushed into the island of Theramore, they prepared to unload a mana bomb. Garrosh released the bomb which destroyed the entire island. The casualties were immense, as many Alliance generals were killed and Jaina Proudmoore narrowly escaped.
Garrosh said his war was no longer for conquest, as he only wanted total genocide. Baine Bloodhoof and Vol'jin retreated to their respective capitals, horrified at what Garrosh was doing. Garrosh would declare that every man, woman, and child had to assist in his war effort if they wanted to be safe from the wrath of his army.
Mists of Pandaria
The war against the Alliance would seep into the newly discovered land of Pandaria. There, more death and destruction followed as the Alliance and Horde forces became locked in deadly battles. Large portions of the Horde became fed up with Garrosh and chose to rise up against him. Garrosh would brand the trolls as traitors and forcibly take over their cities while executing their members. He then rounded up various non-orc members in Orgrimmar, keeping them under a watchful eye.
Thus, the Darkspear Rebellion was born and Vol'jin's forces fought their way to Orgrimmar. Garrosh would seek out various powerful Pandarian artifacts and ship them off to his stronghold in Orgrimmar. One of his expeditions uncovered the dormant heart of the Old God Y'Shaarj. Garrosh brought said heart to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and threw it into the pools. Sha energy was released throughout the zone, and Garrosh became even crazier after retreating to his fortress.
The Horde and Alliance were eventually able to break into Garrosh's fortress and beat him even with all the power he acquired from Y'Shaarj. He was taken into custody where he would escape and kick off the events of Warlords of Draenor before meeting his demise at the hands of Thrall. His path of destruction would come to an end, and Azeroth would be better for it.
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