Beauty and Beast of Azeroth: Thrall/Jaina (Warcraft)

Oct 03, 2006 17:32

Title: Beauty and Beast of Azeroth
Author: Mipe eyesofsue
Fandom: Warcraft
Pairing: Thrall/Jaina
Spoilers: Reign of Chaos, Frozen Throne, Lord of the Clans and Cycle of Hatred



Warcraft is originally a popular series of real-time strategy computer games. There have been books written about the universe, and the MMORPG World of Warcraft is notorious for its ability of making nolifes out of even normal people.

The games are set in a world where two opposing factions are constantly at each other’s throats. These factions are called the Alliance and the Horde. The former is led by humans and allied with races that are traditionally good in most fantasy settings, such as elves and dwarfs. The latter, meanwhile, is led by orcs and allied with many other traditionally “evil” creatures, such as trolls and ogres. Though the allies of both factions vary from game to game, orcs and humans remain on opposing sides.

To date, there have been three major wars (Warcraft I-III) and the races of Azeroth have yet to come to an agreement. This essay will concentrate mostly on Warcraft III, as that game introduced Both Thrall and Jaina.

Lady Jaina Proudmoore




“All I ever wanted was to study”
- Jaina Proudmoore, Warcraft III

Jaina Proudmoore is the daughter of Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, a hero of the Second War. She leads a relatively small but significant (in the third war) group of humans that she brought to Kalimdor when Lordaeron fell. Currently, her base is located on Theramore Isle just off the coast of Kalimdor and relatively close to Durotar, the nation of the orcs.

Jaina may be pretty, blonde and female, but she is far from a damsel in distress. When she joins the action in Warcraft III, she defends herself against two ogres without much of an effort. She is, in fact, one of the most powerful sorceresses alive, and though she prefers studying to fighting, she is a capable leader and will not run from her duties. Apparently, however, punctuality is not one of her virtues, as her introduction has her late for a meeting by hours, prompting prince Arthas to remark that “Jaina usually runs a little late”, as if hours of delay is nothing unusual when dealing with her.

Jaina is much less hostile towards the Horde than most of the Alliance, and only fights them to ensure the survival of her own people. She is open-minded and views all races as equals.

Warchief Thrall




“Blackmoore gave me the name so I would never forget that I was something he owned, that I belonged to him. I never will. I will keep the name and, one day, when I see him again, he will be the one who remembers what he did to me, and regret it with all his heart.”
- Thrall, Lord of the Clans

Thrall is a natural born leader, large in frame, strong and well-educated. He is a Far Seer, a powerful shaman close with the spirits of the wild. He is honourable, if somewhat naïve for his lack of years. Above all else, he is the warchief of the orcish Horde, and a liked one, at that.

Thrall was orphaned as an infant; his parents, the chieftain couple of the Frostwolf clan, were killed by their own kind. Thrall was found by humans and raised as a slave (hence the name) and later a gladiator. Ultimately, he was to become the leader of an army of orcs working for Aedelas Blackmoore, his “owner”. As such, he was trained in all kinds of armed combat and taught many things about strategy and even arts and literature (subjects which Blackmoore deemed useless but Thrall himself enjoyed). During his eighteen years of captivity in Durnholde Keep, Thrall came to see the entire spectre of human nature. From his power-hungry and abusive master to his kind-hearted big sister figure Taretha Foxton. Taretha eventually helped Thrall in his escape from Durnholde and later paid for it with her life.

Thrall made his way to his own people and found out about his parents. He gained the respect of many high-ranking orcs, including Grommash Hellscream, a hero of the second war and leader of the Warsong clan, and Orgrim Doomhammer himself. Together, they liberated many orcs from the internment camps, though one such battle claimed Doomhammer‘s life and the dying warchief handed his title over to Thrall.

Unlike the stereotypical orc, Thrall is fluent in Common and Human, and tends to be a touch more eloquent than your average grunt. He is also exceptionally polite and rarely incapable of thinking rationally.

Thrall and Jaina

“I can’t imagine that Jaina Proudmoore would ever set me up, Rexxar.” -Thrall, Warcraft III Expansion set: The Frozen Throne

While Thrall and Jaina are both important characters in Warcraft III, we are shown very little interaction between the two. However, it becomes clear fairly quickly that the two can understand each other very well and that they have much more in common than one would think.

Thrall and Jaina meet for the first time in the caverns of Stonetalon Peak, where they almost attack each other. They are stopped by the Oracle of Stonetalon Peak, who is actually Medivh the prophet, the one responsible for both of them leaving Lordaeron in the first place. Medivh explains to them that they have a common enemy; the undead armies of the Burning Legion, and that in order to survive, living beings should work together and defeat the threat. Jaina protests, asking Medivh if he is out of his mind. Thrall doesn’t share his thoughts on the matter, but seems perhaps a little more willing, possibly because the Warsong clan has already fallen prey to the demons’ influence and he is willing to welcome any help he can get.

The Kirin Tor and the Horde were forced to cooperate for the sake of Greater Good, but Thrall and Jaina soon become willing allies, although the same cannot be said about their troops, who maintain a hostile attitude towards each other, especially after the defeat of Archimonde.

Some time (weeks, possibly months) after the Burning Legion’s defeat, during the founding of Durotar, Thrall hears discomforting news: there have been human attacks on their borders. After a while of wondering exactly what is going on, he receives an invitation to parlay with their leader, whom he assumes to be Jaina, as the Kirin Tor are the only humans to have settled on Kalimdor so far. Rexxar, a Mok’Nathal who has allied himself with the Horde - or, as the case may be, with Thrall specifically - suspects a trap, and though Thrall refuses to believe that Jaina would ever do such a thing - and says as much - he agrees to send Rexxar in his stead. It turns out that the humans never had any intention of having a peaceful chat with the orcs, and were going to ambush the warchief upon his arrival. When Rexxar returns to Thrall with this knowledge, Thrall sends him to Theramore to speak with Jaina directly. After a short journey, Rexxar meets Jaina and wastes no time in accusing her of the attempted assassination of the warchief. Jaina is shocked:

“I assure you, I do not seek Thrall’s death, nor did I issue such orders.”

When Rexxar insists that someone has sent human troops to Durotar, Jaina asks to see them for herself. They discover that the culprit is in fact Jaina’s father, admiral Daelin Proudmoore, who has recently arrived to Kalimdor. Jaina tries to convince him that the Horde is no longer an enemy, but to no avail. She tells Rexxar to return to Thrall immediately and tell him everything.

Thrall is predictably less than thrilled about these turns of the events. He understands the threat posed by admiral Proudmoore, but at the same time, he worries about Jaina and how all this will affect her. Still, a warchief’s got to do what a warchief’s got to do, and so he leads the Horde to battle and the humans are driven away from Durotar. Proudmoore retreats to Theramore, but remains a threat.

With a heavy heart, Thrall prepares to invade Theramore Isle. As the Horde is about to begin the attack, Thrall voices his concern for Jaina’s wellbeing and hopes she is safe, as she has had nothing to do with the whole thing.

Jaina chooses that exact moment to teleport to the shore on which the Horde has gathered. She says she knows her father has to die, and tells Thrall to do what he must. She only asks that Thrall spare her men if possible. Thrall agrees to this and the battle begins. Admiral Proudmoore is killed and the Horde leaves Theramore, with Thrall telling Jaina that he hopes they will never have to come there again.

In the World of Warcraft novel Cycle of Hatred, set a year before WoW, we find out that despite the death of Jaina’s father, she and Thrall have remained friends, allies even. However, they are both under pressure to cut all ties with the other and go to war. And if Burx’s reaction is anything to go by, other orcs pick up on (and object to) Thrall’s tendency to call Jaina by her given name, as opposed to “Miss/Lady Proudmoore”.

Cycle of Hatred also reveals that while alone with each other, Thrall and Jaina are capable of dropping their defences and admitting their own shortcomings without fear of the other taking advantage of it.

The Pairing

As a pairing, the relationship between Thrall and Jaina is a beauty and the beast kind of love story, albeit one that is unlikely to have a traditional happy ending. And though there is certainly a lot of chemistry between the characters, there is also the fact that their duties as leaders will not allow them to have a fairytale romance and that they’re both unlikely to give up their respective positions and run off together. As such, there are a handful of things a writer of the pairing will have to work their way around.

Still, the pairing is also kind to the writer in some ways; Thrall and Jaina have obviously become close friends. They did so quite fast, especially considering the circumstances in which they met. (Within days of their first meeting, Jaina is bold enough to speak for them both when she tells the night elves that their forces will hold Archimonde back and buy time.) Both are single at the moment, and Jaina’s previous boyfriends seem to be far too preoccupied with their goals to try and win her back,

Speaking of love interests of the past, I see (and enjoy) parallels between Thrall, Arthas and Kael’thas, the latter two being Jaina’s previous suitors. Arthas, the human prince, let his own ill judgement lead him down a path of insanity and has now become the Lich King, the leader of the undead. The elven prince Kael was so devastated at the fall of Quel’thalas that he too abandoned the Light and now serves the Night Elf traitor Illidan. Thrall could also be considered a prince (or a king) of sorts, given that he was born to be the leader his clan and now leads the entire Horde. Like Kael and Arthas, Thrall has a strong sense of duty towards his people, but unlike them, it has led him away from the demons, not towards them, even if he has allied himself with the Forsaken.

Thrall and Jaina respect and care for each other. When Rexxar accuses Jaina of ordering Thrall’s assassination (Not that the Warchief ever believed she could’ve been behind it.), she is obviously offended, but seems perhaps even more concerned about the fact that there was an attempt at Thrall‘s life.

Similarly, when Thrall is about to lead an attack against Jaina’s father, he expresses concern for her well-being, saying that she had nothing to do with it. Soon, Jaina appears and agrees with Thrall that her father is a threat. “Do what you must,” she says, “But spare my men, if you can […] Please do this…for me.”

To me, that sentence alone speaks in volumes. Jaina obviously knows that her feelings matter to Thrall. And whatever else he may be, Thrall is still the Warchief of the Horde and has to think about his own men first. Nevertheless, he agrees to try and avoid harming the Kirin Tor. This scene and the one after Admiral Proudmoore’s death contain all the direct interaction between the two in The Frozen Throne, but there is still plenty for a shipper to work on in there. For instance Thrall has a tone of voice reserved for Jaina alone. Throughout TFT, his voice is noticeably softer when he speaks to her. This is probably due to the circumstances, but it is still there.

Last but not least, while the pairing lacks undisputable canonical evidence, World of Warcraft does throw us fans a little bone in the form of the White Gnomeregan punch card, which has the following message in binary:

01010100 01101000 01110010 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01001010 01100001 01101001 01101110 01100001 00100000 01110011 01101001 01110100 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110100 01110010 01100101 01100101 00101100 00100000 01001011 00101101 01001001 00101101 01010011 00101101 01010011 00101101 01001001 00101101 01001110 00101101 01000111

That translates to ASCII as "Thrall and Jaina sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G". This does not prove anything, as the other punch cards hold messages obviously meant to simply amuse, such as "The gnome king wears night elf underwear". Still, it is an acknowledgement of the fact that it is possible to see romantic subtext in their relationship.

How I Became A Fan

I do not remember how I was introduced to Warcraft, but I believe it is safe to assume it was through one of my three older cousins, who used to show me their PC games all the time. I do remember, however, the hours upon hours I spent playing Warcraft II and its expansion pack on my grandparents’ computer (Though I never did manage to beat it without cheat codes). I always loved playing as the Horde.

When Reign of Chaos came out, the promise of 3D scared me so much that I decided not to buy it, despite my love for its predecessor. Then, three years later I got my hands on the demo, which contains the prologue campaign, Exodus of the Horde. It also introduced Thrall, whom I instantly liked. He and the genuinely Warcraft feel of the demo together convinced me to buy the actual game. I can't recall the exact moment when I decided Thrall/Jaina was a ship I wanted to be on, but it happened fairly fast.

Reading Material

Warcraft, though popular, does not have as much fanfic as the size of the fandom would have you believe. In addition, Thrall/Jaina, though not an unusual find, is not a hugely popular pairing. There are, however, a few authors worth checking out.

Rules Of Engagement and Ceasefire by Guardian1 (spiderflower on LiveJournal)

Also, I recommend the LJ community blizzardfanfics. It has a handful of Thrall/Jaina fics worth reading, most by the__ivorytower, whose writing you really should check out.

Lastly, at the risk of self-promotion, Thrall And Jaina Sitting In… (G), the only Thrall/Jaina -themed fanart I know of.

warcraft, #game

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