Lords of War

Lords of War is a series of animated shorts telling the backstories of the prominent orc characters from Warlords of Draenor. The stories are told by Vindicator Maraad, who faced all of these orcs before in the main timeline. It is a part of the Savage World literature.
==Descriptions==
Conflict defined the realm of Draenor before the creation of the Dark Portal; fearsome orc clans clashed bloodily with domineering ogres, reverent draenei, and one another. Come face-to-face with a savage world’s most dangerous luminaries… and witness the fateful moments when they made themselves into legends.
;Lords of War - Part 1
Before Kargath was a warlord, he was a slave. Before he ruled the Shattered Hand, he was a gladiator. Before he found deliverance, he sought vengeance.
;Lords of War - Part 2
Grommash Hellscream's legend was not born from mere brutality or conquest. His indomitable will helped him survive the impossible... but only after his recklessness nearly cost him everything.
;Lords of War - Part 3
The unforgiving land of the Frostwolf clan does not reward sentiment. When young Durotan's mother fell deathly ill, he had a choice: Allow her life to come to a natural end, or pay a heavy price to save her.
;Lords of War - Part 4
The Bleeding Hollow clan once stood on the verge of extinction. To escape death, Kilrogg Deadeye first needed to embrace it.
;Lords of War - Part 5
Vindicator Maraad battled the demonic orcs of the first Horde. He witnessed the slaughter of his people in Shattrath. It was the draenei's darkest day, and Maraad's greatest test... and the memory of his actions have haunted him ever since.
==Clarified lore issues==
===Canonicity===
Despite some fans arguing that the stories depicted in the lore mini-series only apply to the alternate Draenor, Micky Neilson confirmed that they apply to both universes; otherwise, Maraad couldn't have known about alternate backstories he hadn't experienced.Micky Neilson on Twitter (2014-08-14): "Correct."Micky Neilson on Twitter: "Lords of War is MU canon. Not sure about the others."
===Kilrogg's death-vision contradiction===
In Beyond the Dark Portal, it was hinted that Kilrogg had seen himself dying in Auchindoun.Beyond the Dark Portal, pg. 274 When Kilrogg took the final blow (a slice through throat), he grinned.Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 21 However, the 4th episode of Lords of War showed a death-vision involving the Horde and the Alliance killing the Bleeding Hollow's chieftain in an open area and shown with arrows and spears in his body. By the time of his death he should also had green skin instead of brown as depicted in the video.
The apparent conflict between sources was cleared by Micky Neilson. He explained that the vision depicted in the mini-series was merely a nod to the players, as Maraad didn't know what Kilrogg saw.Micky Neilson on Twitter (2014-09-25): "Maraad doesn't know what Kilrogg saw. We showed viewers the Horde/Alliance vision as a nod to players."
===Stormfang's fur===
Maraad commented that Durotan wore Stormfang's fur until the end of his days. Rise of the Horde, Lord of the Clans, Twilight of the Aspects, nor even Durotan's depiction in the art of the manga Fear described the chieftain with the fur. It is not even possible for Maraad to know if Durotan died with the fur, thus it's possible that it's not meant to be literal.
===Durotan's eyes===
The eyes color of young Durotan was brown (and red when consumed with bloodlust), but when depicted older, his eyes color was blue.
*Main-universe Durotan was described with brown eyes in Rise of the Horde.
*Alternate-universe Durotan has blue eyes.
==Mistakes==
*Shattrath's rises are not depicted / seen.
*Varian's right shoulder armor was depicted incorrectly in the first episode. It was fixed in the subsequent episodes.
==Characters==
Major	Supporting	Minor	Mentioned
* Kargath Bladefist / Alternate Kargath Bladefist
* Grommash Hellscream / Alternate Grommash Hellscream
* Durotan / Alternate Durotan
* Kilrogg Deadeye / Alternate Kilrogg Deadeye
* Varian Wrynn
* Vindicator Maraad	
* an ogre slaver (Kargath)
* an ogre warlord
* Golka
* Greatmother Geyah / Alternate Geyah
* Ga'nar / Alternate Ga'nar
* Stormfang
* Kilrogg's father	
* Ogre slavers, spectators, and warriors
* Arena gladiators and champions
* Warsong raiders
* Grommash's wolf
* a garn pack
* Bleeding Hollow orcs
* Orc invaders
* Draenei refugees
* a draenei vindicator
* Exarch LarohirMicky Neilson on Twitter (2014-09-26): "Larohir."	
* Llane Wrynn
* Garad / Alternate Garad
*A drift lurker
==Locations==
Eastern Kingdoms of Azeroth
*Stormwind City
**War Room of the Stormwind Keep
Draenor
*Nagrand
**Highmaul
**Ogre lands
**Warsong village
*Frostfire Ridge
*Tanaan Jungle
**Bleeding Hollow village
*Talador
**Shattrath City
==Cast and crew==
*Chris Metzen - Varian
*Crispin Freeman - Maraad
*Charles Lee - coloringLaurel Austin blog
*Doug Alexander - directorLords of War Behind the Scenes - Story
*James Waugh - director, writer
*Laurel Austin - senior illustratorLords of War Behind the Scenes - Art
*Micky Neilson - writer
==Notes==
*Durotan's Lords of War story is the only orc Warlords of Draenor tie-in literature story not to be referenced in , with Grommash, Kargath, Kilrogg, as well as Fenris, and Blackhand having a mention of these stories.
==Speculation==
===Durotan's eyes===
This may probably imply that the orcish eyes color change with age.
===Varian's knowledge and placement in the timeline===
*How Varian knew about the naming of his enemies - the Iron Horde and their leaders (and main leader), the Warlords (a title which hasn't been used to refer to the orc leaders during the First and Second Wars), and that they came from Draenor, is not explained.
*The exact order of the Blasted Lands battle and the sequence with Maraad and Varian is not directly confirmed.
It is possible that this meeting with Maraad and Varian happened after repelling the Ironmarch invasion in the Blasted Lands. It may be supported by the facts that Varian already knew all about the enemy, a thing that he would learn from the report. More importantly, the Alliance king said - marching forces into Draenor - which may imply that Blasted Lands was already retaken. It would mean that the Alliance and Horde forces were stationed in front of the Dark Portal canyon, as evidenced by the chess pieces.
Despite this, the first introductory quest to the Ironmarch counterattack already introduced you the name of the enemies.
==Gallery==
File:WARRRRRRR.png|Kargath
File:You are a wolf with no teeth.png|Grommash
File:Adult Durotan - Lords of War.png|Durotan
File:War Cry.jpg|Kilrogg
File:Maraad's search.png|Maraad
;Concept art
Killrog Lords of War stylistic exploration.JPG|Stylistic exploration of Kilrogg by Steve Hui.
==References==
==External links==
;Blizzard
;Other
Category:Animated shorts
Category:Savage World
pl:Lords of War