Highmountain tauren

The Highmountain tauren are an offshoot of tauren found in the region of Highmountain on the Broken Isles. Divided into four tribes (Highmountain, Rivermane, Skyhorn and Bloodtotem), they are the direct descendants of the tauren led by Huln Highmountain who assisted the Kaldorei Resistance during the War of the Ancients.Blizzcon 2015: World and Content Overview Panel (around 41:30) During the war, Huln received a blessing from Cenarius, so that his people would forever have the demigod's favor, granting them the Horns of Eche'ro: moose-like antlers.Huln's War - Stormrage Additionally, the Highmountain tauren appear larger in stature in comparison to their cousins in Kalimdor.
During the third invasion of the Burning Legion, the drogbar, who had previously lived in peace with the Highmountain, rose up and stole the sacred Hammer of Khaz'goroth, shattering the unity of the four tribes. The tauren found aid from adventurers from outside Highmountain, who defeated the drogbar and recovered the Hammer. Not long afterward, the Highmountain tauren joined their kin from Kalimdor as members of the Horde.
==History==
===War of the Ancients===
The peaks and valleys of Highmountain have been home to four ancient tauren tribes for millennia: Rivermane, Skyhorn, Bloodtotem, and Highmountain. For generations, the tribes fought each other upon the mountain. Countless lives and even entire tribes were lost in the bloodshed, until one day, Huln of the Highmountain tribe found his people slaughtered by an unfamiliar foe. Though battling with grief, he managed to convince the warring tribes to unite under his own banner to face this new threat: the Burning Legion.The Story of Huln
Joining with the Kaldorei Resistance alongside the furbolgs and earthen, Huln and his tauren played a crucial role in several battles during the War of the Ancients. For his bravery and his rescue of the moose Eche'ro, Huln and his people received a blessing from the Wild God Cenarius, so that they would always have the demigod's favor: the Horns of Eche'ro. After the war, Huln returned home. With the aid of a powerful artifact known as the Hammer of Khaz'goroth, he banished the black dragon Deathwing from the region and liberated the dragon's drogbar slaves. In Huln's honor, the four tribes renamed their homeland "Highmountain".Titanic Showdown
===Legion===
For centuries, the Highmountain tauren tribes protected the Hammer of Khaz'goroth and lived in peace alongside the drogbar. However, soon after the Burning Legion's arrival on the isles, a drogbar leader by the name of Dargrul rose up and shattered their unity by stealing the hammer and killing High Chieftain Ulan, intending to use the artifact's immense power to take control of the region. In response, Mayla Highmountain, daughter of Ulan and his heir, enlisted the aid of adventurers in order to stop Dargrul and reunite the scattered tribes. Despite their efforts, the Bloodtotem tribe betrayed their brethren by joining the Burning Legion. In their place, the drogbar Navarrogg and his Stonedark tribe joined the Highmountain's cause instead.Unexpected Allies
===Joining the Horde===
After corresponding with Chieftain Baine Bloodhoof in the aftermath of the Argus Campaign, Mayla Highmountain accepted an invitation to attend a feast in Thunder Bluff. This was the first time that the Highmountain tauren had visited Kalimdor. Yet when Baine and the Horde champion greeted their Highmountain tauren guests, Spiritwalker Ebonhorn was tormented by the Old Gods' forces of Uul'gyneth attempting to corrupt him,A Feast for Our Kin and he and Mayla were forced to retreat back to Thunder Totem while Baine and the Horde champion defended Thunder Bluff from Uul'gyneth's invasion force.Shadow Over Thunder BluffDark Forces Apparently, the wards Ebonhorn had been maintaining in Highmountain weakened just enough to let the Darkness seep through.Curse of the Necrodark 
Later on, Baine and the Horde champion traveled to Thunder Totem to offer their aid to mend Ebonhorn,Return to Highmountain who has been fighting unconsciously to keep a darkness from consuming him. Mayla sent the Horde champion to Spiritwalker Graysky,Dark Tales who has the Horde champion undergo Spiritwalker rituals to walk in the memories of Igrul the Scalebane,Walking in Their Footsteps Oenia Skyhorn,Minions of the Darkness and Huln Highmountain in order to restore the wards that kept the dark corrupting forces at bay.Huln's Mountain After restoring the wards, Ebonhorn regained consciousnessHow Fares Ebonhorn? and revealed Uul'gyneth sought to return and conquer Highmountain. Baine, Mayla, the Horde champion, and Ebonhorn left to join Lasan Skyhorn, Aviash, and Jale Rivermane at Highmountain Summit to thwart the Necrodark's ritual to incarnate Uul'gyneth and restore the final ward. They failed however, and Uul'gyneth was summoned into the physical realm,The Final Ward leaving the Horde champion little choice but to vanquish Uul'gyneth the Darkness. After the battle, Mayla expressed her gratitude for rescuing her people from the Old Gods.The Darkness (quest) Impressed by the strength and courage of the Horde, Mayla and Baine traveled to Orgrimmar to pledge the Highmountain tauren to the Horde.Together We Are the Horde!
==Appearance and culture==
The Highmountain tauren appear largely similar to their Kalimdor cousins, with the main difference being their prominent antler-like Horns of Eche'ro, rather than the more bovine-looking horns seen on yaungol, tauren and taunka. Both males and females have these antlers, though the ones seen on females are much smaller. The Highmountain tauren inscribe and decorate their antlers to show their particular tribe affiliation or even their rank within that tribe. 
Much like the Kalimdor tauren, the Highmountain tauren worship the Earth MotherEarthmother's BountyJale Rivermane#QuotesRethu's Sacrifice and her two eyes, An'she (the sun)Fields of An'sheThe Spear in the Shadow and Mu'sha (the White Lady).Mu'sha's Tears It is, however, unclear if they acknowledge the Sky Father.
Not all Highmountain tauren are hunters, but those that are typically commemorate their first kill with a ceremonial drum, stretched with the hide of their quarry. Most trailhead drums are made with rabbithide or foxhide. Hunters typically carry them for the rest of their lives.Trailhead Drum Highmountain War-Drums are used in Thunder Totem.
It is customary for a widow, child, or grandchild to keep a pyrestone from the funeral pyre of an especially loved one. These stones are carried in a pocket and rubbed for courage, comfort, or in remembrance of a lost companionship.Hand-Smoothed Pyrestone The Highmountain tauren warn their children to never follow a drogbar into a cave.Dargrul and the Hammer
For centuries, the Highmountain tauren have fought the basilisks in the Highmountain mesas. The basilisks have adapted to the tauren as thoroughly as the tauren have adapted to the beasts.Evolution of the Past
===Mounts and companions===
The Highmountain tauren frequently use the large and powerful moose of Highmountain as mounts or cook their meat as food.Smoked Elderhorn Highmountain elderhorns are the favored mount of Highmountain hunters, able to leap across the rushing rivers of Pinerock Basin even when saddled with a full-sized tauren.Highmountain Elderhorn The tauren train the sure-footed Highmountain thunderhoof moose to safely traverse the paths and peaks of Highmountain.Highmountain Thunderhoof At one point, moosebone was the most common material for fishhooks: solid enough to carve a barb into, but pliable enough not to break off in the mouth of a large salmon. Many tauren fishermen carved elaborate designs into their "lucky hooks".Moosebone Fish-Hook The Highmountain tribes cherish the hide of a rare and elusive creature, the Majestic Elderhorn, for their most important ceremonies.Hide as White as Snow
The enormous Great Eagles of Highmountain are revered by the Skyhorn tribe,Eagle Egg Recovery who use them as mounts in much the same way as the Frostborn dwarves of the Storm Peaks.
==Notable==
Name	Role 	Affiliation 	Status	Location
 	Leader of the tauren tribes during the War of the Ancients and wielder of Talonclaw 	Highmountain Tribe 	 	Unknown
 	Former High Chieftain of Highmountain, killed by Dargrul 	Highmountain Tribe 	 	Unknown
 	Daughter of Ulan and current High Chieftain 	Highmountain Tribe 	 	Various
 	Rivermane chieftain 	Rivermane tribe, Highmountain Tribe	 	Various
 	Skyhorn chieftain 	Skyhorn tribe, Highmountain Tribe 	 	Various
 	Bloodtotem and later Feltotem chieftain 	Bloodtotem tribe, Burning Legion 	 	Various
 	Legendary miner and blacksmith and one of the first settlers in Highmountain 	Unknown 	 	Broken Isles
 	Highmountain warbrave, killed by Dargrul 	Highmountain Tribe 	 	Various
 	Rivermane emissary to the Bloodtotem tribe, killed by Marakhan 	Rivermane tribe, Highmountain Tribe	 	Various
 	Founder and leader of the Prepfoot 	Prepfoot 	 	Prepfoot Compound, Highmountain
 	Former chieftain of the Highmountain Tribe and wielder of Talonclaw, killed by Dakarr 	Highmountain Tribe 	 	Lair of the Beast, Stormheim
 	Descendant of Dorro, accompanies survival hunters in search of Talonclaw but is killed by Dakarr	Highmountain Tribe 	 	Various
==Tribes==
*Highmountain — The namesake, dominant tribe of the Highmountain tauren, to which the others have traditionally sworn allegiance. Currently led by High Chieftain Mayla Highmountain. Based out of Thunder Totem, the capital of all of Highmountain.
*Bloodtotem — The most cruel, violent and reclusive of the tribes. They represent the element of earth, and their totem animal is a fierce creature with an upturned snout and a wide grin. Led by Torok Bloodtotem. Over the course of the Highmountain storyline, the Bloodtotem reveal that they have allied themselves with the Burning Legion and rename themselves the "Feltotem". Initially based out of Torok's Bluff, but later relocate to Feltotem on the western coast.
*Ironhorn — Master craftsmen and blacksmiths, descended from the legendary Rethu Ironhorn. Dwell at the Ironhorn Enclave near the top of Highmountain Peak.
*Rivermane — A peaceful and diplomatic tribe mainly focused on agriculture, fishing and shamanistic water magic. They represent the element of water, and their totem animal is a bear. Commonly looked down upon by the other tauren, but nonetheless provide the fish and crops that feed the entire mountain. Led by Jale Rivermane. Initially based out of Riverbend, but are forced to relocate to Thunder Totem after Riverbend is destroyed by the drogbar.
*Skyhorn — A proud tribe of hunters and pathfinders that have formed a close bond with the giant eagles of Highmountain. They represent the element of air, and their totem animal is an eagle. Led by Lasan Skyhorn and based out of Skyhorn.
Additionally, the Prepfoot are a recently-formed group who believe that Deathwing has not been defeated and will soon return to Highmountain and cause the ocean to swallow the entire region. Their founder and leader is Trand Prepfoot, and they are found exclusively in the Prepfoot Compound.
==Trivia==
*Many elements of the Highmountain are derived from indigenous peoples of North America. See Tauren#Notes and trivia for more details.
==Gallery==
Highmountain tauren Legion Icon.png|Highmountain tauren icon (as seen in archaeology).
Highmountain Tauren Crest.png|Highmountain tauren icon (for the allied race).
Highmountain Tauren Icon BG.jpg
Highmountain totem OG.jpg|The Highmountain tauren totem.
Legion Tauren.jpeg|As shown at gamescom 2015.
Legion zone concept 2.jpg|Concept art of Highmountain tauren architecture.
Tauren vs drogbar.jpg|Tauren fighting drogbar outside Thunder Totem.
HighmountainARC.jpg|A collection of various tauren and drogbar Archaeology artifacts.
Tugar Bloodtotem.jpg|A Fel corrupted Highmountain tauren.
Highmountain Pathfinders Thunder Bluff.jpg|Highmountain Pathfinders in Thunder Bluff.
Welcome Back Weekend.jpg|Promotional artwork for Welcome Back Weekend featuring a Highmountain tauren battling a void elf.
Firmament Stone.jpg|Firmament Stone
Riverbend.jpg
The Skyhorn.jpg|The Skyhorn
Spiritwatch Point.png|Spiritwatch Point
==References==
 
Category:Races
pl:Wysokogórscy taureni
es:Tauren Monte Alto