Durotan Durotan , son of Garad , was the chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan , mate of Draka and father of the future Warchief Thrall . He was also a contemporary of Orgrim Doomhammer . Biography . Early life . Durotan was the heir apparent to Garad , chieftain of the Frostwolf clan , in the years prior to the First War . He cared deeply about the world and those living in it . This sensitivity could have been the signs of being a Shaman , but for Durotan it was just the way he was . During a Kosh ' harg festival in Nagrand , he met a Blackrock orc named Orgrim , son of Telkar Doomhammer , and the two became fast friends despite belonging to different clans . Durotan was also brought to the " sacred mountain " of Oshu ' gun by request of the ancestors , seeking to test whether he could become a shaman as well as chieftain of his clan ; alas , he did not see the ancestors , though he knew they were there somehow . While racing each other through Terokkar Forest , Durotan and Orgrim were attacked by a rampaging ogre , and would have been killed if not for the timely arrival of a draenei hunting party from Telmor , led by Restalaan . Sending word to their clans , Restalaan took the two orcs to Telmor , and informed them that the draenei leader , Prophet Velen , was in the town and invited the two to dinner . They discussed their people ' s histories , Durotan even commenting that he and Orgrim had learned more about the draenei in that period than their entire race had in over a century . Upon returning to his clan , Durotan met a young Frostwolf orc named Draka . Durotan was smitten at first sight , not believing that she could be a member of his clan . Though rebuffed ( at first ) when asking her to join him on a courtship hunt , the two eventually mated . Chieftain of the Frostwolves . Some time later , Durotan ' s father Garad was killed in battle against a group of ogres and a gronn , and Durotan became the chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan by hereditary right . It was not long after this that Ner ' zhul , the spiritual leader of the orcs and chieftain of the Shadowmoon Clan , called the clan chieftains and shaman to Oshu ' gun . Ner ' zhul told them what he believed the ancestors revealed to him - that the draenei were enemies of the orcish people . This was part of an elaborate scheme concocted by the eredar lord Kil ' jaeden , one of the lieutenants of the Dark Titan Sargeras . Kil ' jaeden had led the Burning Legion in a hunt for the draenei — renegade eredar who fled when Sargeras came - over the eons , but in the past had found only remnants of where they had been . Durotan was dispatched by Ner ' zhul to meet with a party led by Velen himself near Oshu ' gun , where the Prophet revealed that what guided the spirits of the ancestors there was in fact a dying naaru named K ' ure , who had aided the draenei escape from Argus 25 , 000 years earlier . This was met by suspicion and outright hostility by the orcs — particularly Drek ' Thar , the Frostwolf clan shaman , who called Velen a blasphemer . Despite orders to bring the Prophet and his party to Ner ' zhul , Durotan decided to release them , reasoning that there was no honor in taking a willing prisoner . During a battle in which they were defeated by Restalaan ' s forces , the Frostwolf shaman realized they had been cut off from the spirits . Durotan and Draka took this as a sign that something was seriously wrong , even though Ner ' zhul had told them the ancestors had told them that this was a just war . It was at this time that the orcs - under the guidance of the ambitious Gul ' dan , Ner ' zhul ' s apprentice - began to take the path of warlock magic . Durotan , not seeking to bring attention to himself by opposing the official stance , allowed Drek ' Thar and his shaman to receive the warlock training . The Warchief and the Siege of Telmor . Through Gul ' dan ' s manipulation - empowered by Kil ' jaeden - the clans were united into the First Horde , and several clan chieftains , including Durotan , ran for the position of Warchief . However , the clear favorite ( and thus the one who received that title ) was the battle - hungry Blackhand , chieftain of the Blackrock Clan . No one knew , of course , that Blackhand was in fact Gul ' dan ' s puppet . With information given to him by Orgrim ( now known as Doomhammer , his father dying around the same time as Durotan ' s ) , Blackhand ordered Durotan to assault the city of Telmor , which was close to the Frostwolf clan grounds . While in Restalaan ' s care as a boy , Durotan had seen the guard captain pull a green crystal from a hidden place in the forest floor - Leafshadow , one of the shards of the ata ' mal crystal , which projected an illusion that hid the city from ogres , gronn and other external threats . Orgrim had told Blackhand that Durotan possessed a keen ability of recall ( which he did ) , and could remember the incantation to dispel the illusion . Durotan reluctantly did so , and thus the Horde sacked Telmor and killed everyone they could find , including Restalaan , who was defeated by Durotan himself . The Demonic Bargain . Shortly before the attack on the draenei capital of Shattrath , Gul ' dan called the clans to a mountain he named the Throne of Kil ' jaeden in what is now Hellfire Peninsula , to partake of Kil ' jaeden ' s " gift " - the blood of Mannoroth . Durotan — having been warned by the now - subservient Ner ' zhul - refused to partake , as did his friend Orgrim . . . causing both to fall under the suspicion of Gul ' dan . Gul ' dan sought to eliminate Durotan , and freed one of Blackhand ' s draenei slaves , blaming it on Durotan . Blackhand was enraged and he dueled Durotan , who had actually sheltered the draenei after finding her in the wilderness . The plan did not work however , and Durotan was not defeated and killed , for the draenei , Tanara , had left in the midst of the battle , and the two orcs had stopped fighting after they discovered this . After the fall of Shattrath and the disappearance of Kil ' jaeden , the Horde turned on itself , with no enemies left to fight . It was at this time that Gul ' dan was visited in his dreams by the human sorcerer Medivh , who was possessed by the Dark Titan . Medivh commanded Gul ' dan to construct a gateway , and that together they would open a great Portal between Draenor and the world of Medivh . Durotan continued to voice opposition against the Horde leadership . When the Horde crossed over into Azeroth , Gul ' dan exiled Durotan and his entire clan . Exile and Death . Apparently accepting their fate , Durotan and the Frostwolf Clan settled deep in a hidden valley in the Alterac Mountains , far to the north of the Kingdom of Azeroth . There they lived throughout the First War . While there , Drek ' Thar had forsaken the path of the warlock and was able to regain the favor of the spirits , and return to shamanism . His aid would be invaluable in surviving in the harsh lands which the Frostwolves now called home ; in addition to ensuring that the encampment was not flooded in the spring thaw , they also befriended the white wolves that made the valley their home . It was at the end of the First War that Draka , Durotan ' s mate and most stalwart supporter , gave birth to Durotan ' s son and heir , the orc who would become known as Thrall . Realizing that there was far more at stake now that his legacy would live on , Durotan decided to take action against the evil Gul ' dan , and travelled to the encampment of the only other orc who had stood by him : Orgrim Doomhammer . Doomhammer had , by this time , assassinated Blackhand and become the Warchief of the Horde , and welcomed Durotan and Draka into his encampment . Durotan explained what he knew - about Gul ' dan , the Shadow Council , the demonic bargain . Doomhammer vowed that he would stand at Durotan ' s side as they confronted Gul ' dan with his crimes , but - for the good of his warriors and Durotan as well - he had to send them away to what he thought was a safe place . It was found out later that several of Doomhammer ' s warriors had been Gul ' dan ' s spies . . . and one of them had accompanied Durotan and Draka to their " safe haven " . The treacherous guard had summoned assassins to kill the Frostwolf chieftain and his mate . Though he managed to kill at least one of them , Durotan was too severely wounded to continue . His arms sliced off to prevent him from holding his child again , Durotan died slowly as the lifeblood drained out of him , the last thought in his mind being a sense of relief that he would not see his son torn apart by the creatures of the forest . In World of Warcraft . In Warlords of Draenor . Durotan makes an appearance in Warlords of Draenor , ruling over Frostfire Ridge as the Chieftain of the Frostwolf clan . He is an ally of the Horde in their fight against the Iron Horde . Death discrepancy . Rend and Maim , the sons of Blackhand , were intended to be Durotan and Draka ' s assassins , as played out in the game Warcraft Adventures . However , the game was cancelled , the story being told instead by the novel " Lord of the Clans " by Christie Golden , depicting unnamed spies of Gul ' dan as the assassins . In Burning Crusade flash site , it is told that Thrall ' s parents were assassinated by human s , which contradicts all sources . The events depicted in " Lord of the Clans " are generally accepted as what actually happened , the other sources being described as either mistakes or outright retcons . In the movie . In the Warcraft movie , Durotan is defeated and killed by Gul ' dan in Mak ' Gora , albeit by dishonorable tactics , such as draining his life force while in combat until he could no longer fight . Legacy . Durotan is buried in Alterac Valley , under a monument known as the Rock of Durotan . The inscription on the memorial plaque reads : Thrall survived after Durotan ' s death , found by the human officer Aedelas Blackmoore and raised as a slave and gladiator . He would eventually escape , be trained as a shaman by Drek ' Thar , and lead in the liberation of his people , thus freeing them from the taint of demonic corruption that had plagued them for so long , vowing at the same time that no orc would be cast into slavery - by humans or demons alike - ever again . Thrall would go on to become Warchief of the Horde after Doomhammer fell in battle . Then , after leading the exodus to Kalimdor and fighting in the Battle of Mount Hyjal , Thrall and his people settled in the eastern Barrens , at last taking a land of their own for the first time since the corruption of Draenor . He named the new kingdom Durotar , in honor of his slain father .