Spirit walker Spiritwalkers ( aka spirit walkers ) have a powerful connection with tauren ancestral heritage . Capable of channeling ancient tauren heroes , these champions of the spirit are valued in tauren society for the wisdom and history they carry within them . Tauren also fear the spiritwalker as a potent sign of the coming age ; while many of this powerful race look upon the spiritwalker with some apprehension , the spiritwalkers still receive respect from their brethren . Tauren ancestors dwell deep within the Emerald Dream . The energies of that plane change the spiritwalkers pelt to pure white over time ( though some are born with white pelts , destined to walk the path of spirit ) . A spirit walker ' s ancient eyes shine with the light of a thousand souls . His body is a vessel , a conduit from the land of the dead to the land of the living . Through him rushes the power and the knowledge of his tribal ancestors , a rush that both intoxicates and disorients . The spirit walker wields the power of countless minds if he proves strong enough to bear the weight of so many souls . Role in Society . Tauren and orc s revere spirit walkers , but also fear them . The spirit walker lives only partially in the mortal world . His mind roams freely and countless personalities invade his memories and his thoughts . When speaking to a spirit walker , one can never be entirely certain that only the spirit walker replies . He speaks with the voices of the ancients . Elderly spirit walkers sometimes lose all memories of their original selves , slipping from one spirit to the next without warning or control . But in his prime , a spirit walker displays strength and knowledge greater than the most experienced shaman . Most spirit walkers learn of their unique natures during puberty . The young spirit walker experiences intense dreams over the course of a month . In each dream he seems to live someone else ' s life — an ancestor he recognizes , or a stranger from long ago . The young spirit walker is confused and disoriented upon awakening , unable to decide if he is now awake or if the other life was his real one , and this life but a dream . A shaman can guide the spirit walker through this transition , but spirit walkers apart from their communities do not understand what is happening to them . This leads to fear , even panic , and sometimes a deep distaste for the calling imposed on him . Such spirit walkers may never resign themselves fully to their path after having been so traumatized by their awakening . Not all spirit walkers realize their purpose in youth . Some live normal lives until one night the dreams begin . Even elderly tauren have been known to develop spirit walker powers , sometimes only days before death . The stress of handling so many spirits turns a spirit walker ' s pelt or hair snow white over the years . Some tribes consider a tauren born with a white pelt to be destined to become a spirit walker . Such children sometimes refuse their destiny , but almost all give in eventually . Fevered lucid dreams fill their nights , and their days seem still to be half - dreams as they remember places they ' ve never been or recognize people they ' ve never seen . Only shaman training affords control over these visitations ; spirit walkers who resist training often descend into madness . Recently , spirit walkers have appeared in ever - growing numbers . Many see this trend as an ill omen of a coming age . A spirit walker feels an almost zealous loyalty toward his community . The spirits of countless loyal ancestors fill his mind , impressing the need to serve the tribe on their host . Despite this devotion , a spirit walker can feel set apart from his tribemates . He sees a friend not only as his friend , but as the child of a slain warrior spirit , as the grandchild of an elderly spirit , as the sibling of a mournful child spirit . This makes personal relationships complicated and difficult . A spirit walker is a loner who sits apart from the others but defends them fanatically in times of trouble . The rest of the tribe senses the conflict within a spirit walker . Members of the tribe treat their spirit walker with respect and deference , but resist forming close relationships with him to avoid further complicating his life . Spirit walkers rarely establish families . They live apart from the tribe they devote themselves to forever . Sometimes a spirit walker needs time apart from his tribe . He embarks on a solitary journey to find a measure of inner strength . These adventures refresh the spirit walker . Sometimes the spirit walker joins with other adventurers , out of desire for companionship separate from the tangle of bloodlines in his mind . Sometimes a spirit walker has a particular purpose ; his calling means he has access to information about hidden treasures , lost items , and ancient tombs to explore . Researching these memories often leads him to valuable items and information that helps the tribe . Shamanistic training is required for a spirit walker to unlock his power . Shaman / warrior s and shaman / hunter s are not uncommon , as many spirit walkers live ordinary lives before they receive their calling . Tauren spirit walkers favor the tauren totem weapons of their tribe , while orcs favor claws of attack . The defense of the tauren people is one of the spiritwalker ' s tasks . The spiritwalker channels the collective warrior soul of the tauren people . He can call upon this spirit for martial guidance . By performing the chant of ages , the spiritwalker can call upon the knowledge of all the tauren who have passed on to the Emerald Dream . Ties to the Emerald Dream . The spiritwalker ' s soul shares a deep bond with the Emerald Dream . He can summon forth an animal spirit companion from the Emerald Dream . Killing the spirit companion on the mortal plane sends it back to the Emerald Dream . The spiritwalker can step partially into the Emerald Dream , becoming immaterial for a short time . The spiritwalker still occupies his place on the Material Plane , but has shifted to his " Ethereal Form " , and can only affect the physical world with spellcasting while so shifted . Only the highly skilled spiritwalker can ethereally shift others . Warcraft III . From Spirit Walker at Battle . net Races . Only tauren became spirit walkers in the past . With the Horde ' s revitalized interest in shamanism , however , orcs have taken an interest in studying the path of the spirit walker . The orcs lost much of their history when they left Draenor and now struggle to retrieve the knowledge . Some see spirit walking as the best way to uncover the lost rituals of the past . Roleplaying a Spiritwalker . In roleplaying , any shaman character is able to become a spiritwalker . Troll , orc and tauren spiritwalkers are more common than goblin or draenei spiritwalkers . Spiritwalkers are able to leave their body to speak to spirits , and spirits can show the spiritwalker dreams / visions . When a spirit grants a vision of the future , it should generally be ambiguous with only a few key specifics .