Atal ' ai tribe The Atal ' ai tribe ( aka Atal ' ai ) , an extremist faction of the Hakkari , are worshipers of the Blood God Hakkar and are based within Temple of Atal ' Hakkar . They are green or white skinned with green , purple , or white hair . The term " atal ' ai " means " Devoted Ones " in Zandali , the language of the troll s . The Atal ' ai trolls are a tribe of dark casters , known for practicing forbidden magic . The Atal ' ai was a once great troll civilization that was destroyed , its buried artifacts can be found beneath the Pool of Tears . History . The long centuries following the Great Sundering were difficult ones for the troll race . The jungle troll s , driven to desperate ends , enlisted the aid of the god Hakkar , also known as the Soulflayer . Hakkar brought the trolls great power , but in return the bloodthirsty god required that souls be sacrificed to him . His demands quickly escalated , and he grew impatient with his loyal priest s , the Hakkari . He told them to find a way to summon him physically into the world , so that he might directly drain the blood of his victims . Most of the Hakkari were horrified at the idea , but the Atal ' ai , a small extremist faction of the Hakkari , decided to do as Hakkar wished . Before the Atal ' ai could complete the summoning , the other jungle trolls , including the Hakkari , rose up in open revolt against the cruel god . Even the Zandalar tribe was drawn into the conflict , which finally ended with the destruction of Hakkar ’ s avatar . Driven from the jungles , the Atal ' ai were hunted nearly to extinction . Yet a small group of Atal ' ai escaped into the Swamp of Sorrows , where they secretly built a great temple to their god : the Temple of Atal ' Hakkar . They were joined by the Hakkari not much later . The Hakkari , too , were killed or exiled for the evil deeds they had done in Hakkar ' s name , despite the fact that they had fought the Atal ' ai . In great bitterness and despair , the surviving Hakkari tracked the Atal ' ai to the Swamp of Sorrows and pledged to help the Atal ' ai summon Hakkar into Azeroth . Pleased by the Hakkari ' s obvious suffering , the Atal ' ai welcomed their former brethren into the temple . Even so , Hakkar had not forgotten that the Hakkari had betrayed him in opposing his first entry into Azeroth , and so the hungry god would always regard the faithful Atal ' ai with greater favor . Both groups bent all their efforts toward bringing about Hakkar ' s entry into the physical world . The green Dragon Aspect , Ysera the Dreamer , soon learned of the evil priests ' plans and smashed the temple beneath the marshes . To this day , the temple ' s ruins are guarded by mighty green dragons . What much of Azeroth does not know , however , is that the dragons are actually guarding the wrong location . In recent years the exiled Atal ' ai have discovered that Hakkar ' s physical form can only be summoned within the ancient capital of the Gurubashi Empire , Zul ' Gurub . Jammal ' an the Prophet , leader of the Atal ' ai , told his people that if they succeeded in bringing Hakkar physically into Azeroth , then Hakkar would grant the Atal ' ai immortality . The Atal ' ai and Hakkari lost no time in dispatching a number of their most skilled priests to Zul ' Gurub , where their efforts met with success at last . Numerous spies have confirmed the presence of the dreaded Soulflayer in the heart of the ruins . . .