Gurubashi tribe Established long before the Great Sundering , the Gurubashi Empire took its name from the strongest tribe of jungle troll s at the time . The jungle trolls ruled the southern jungles of ancient Kalimdor until the Burning Legion ' s first invasion , which wrought havoc and devastation throughout the continent and culminated in the Great Sundering . Background . The long centuries following the Sundering were difficult ones for the troll race . The jungle trolls , 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 priests , 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 . 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 . 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 . Word of his reappearance reached the Gurubashi tribe , which had lost much of its power and prestige since Hakkar ' s avatar on Azeroth was destroyed . The Gurubashi eagerly returned to the capital to prove themselves to Hakkar and perhaps recapture their former glory . According to several reports , Hakkar has enthralled five high priests of the trolls ' primal gods . Unable to oppose his will , the priests are channeling the power of their gods into Hakkar . Only their deaths can sever the connections that are vastly increasing Hakkar ' s might while draining the other gods of power . Word of Hakkar ' s presence reached the Zandalar tribe in the South Seas , and they were horrified to discover the enslavement of their kindred , the Zandalari high priests . King Rastakhan has therefore sent emissaries from the island of Zandalar to the Eastern Kingdoms , where the trolls recruit champions from Azeroth ' s many races in the hope that Hakkar will once again be defeated . The Gurubashi tribe is convinced that the Soulflayer will restore the Gurubashi empire in return for the tribe ' s loyal service . These misguided trolls therefore guard Hakkar and his minions with reckless fervor .