Thunderhide Tribe

**Affiliations**
 **Status**

The Thunderhide tribe is a fanon tauren tribe created by Nhuala Baenhoof's player.

Information found here is largely fanon of my own creation, and is welcome to be used by other tauren roleplayers.

Page is incredibly WIP and will likely stay WIP. I have MANY HEADCANONS.

# Characteristics

Tauren of the Thunderhide are typically slightly taller and more willowy in build than their brethren in the north or south, with dark shades of fur ranging from golden brown to ebon black. Dappled patterns are not uncommon, but they are not stark contrasts- usually with brown and black or varying shades of the same shade.

Lighter coats, such as grey or even white, are rare, with pure white coats being *exceptionally* rare and regarded as an omen to be interpreted by the tribe's elders.
Thunderhide fur is typically shorter, and coarse to the touch.

## Location & Diet

The tribe, nomadic like much of the rest of the confederation of tribes, ranged much of the southern barrens, rarely venturing north into the pine barrens or south into the Thousand Needles gorge.

Their primary diet consisted of zhevra, gazelle, some types of grasses, berries, fish, fruit, and often used the roots of a particular type of barrens tree to make flour for flatbreads.

Due to their nomadic nature, the Thunderhide often set up collapsible smokeboxes to preserve meat for easy consumption while hunting and traveling.
Very rarely did the Thunderhide eat kodo or thunderlizard, considering them sacred spirits rather than animals.

Thunderhide hunters were largely opportunistic, preferring to lay in wait under cover or in tall grasses before striking with ranged weapons such as longbows, shortspears, bolas, and weighted nets.

Thunderhide tauren also regularily took advantage of the shifting seasonal monsoons to wade through the numberous shallow, temporary ponds and streams that crop up in the Barrens, with nets for easy fishing. Scooping the waters with baskets and spearfishing was also common practice.

Fishing in the wide Southfury River, bordering Durotar, was uncommon where it met on level ground with the Barrens, as crocolisks and other larger predators were considered too dangerous to be worth what fishing there was to be done. Thus, fish and crab were only enjoyed during the flood seasons, where the water channels were too narrow and shallow for crocolisks to reasonably move through.

Much of the meat gained from hunting was cooked on spits or smaller roasting sticks, and eating the meat directly off the stick, kebab style, was a Thunderhide favourite.

# Culture & Religion

## Spirit Pantheon

The Thunderhide have a small number of personal totem spirits. These are animal spirits that are unique to the tribe's mythos and history, and represent different values within the tribe. It is extremely common for shu'halo within the tribe to choose (or be chosen, as sometimes is the case) a spirit to represent or champion the ideals of, and each spirit is part of one or more legends that have been passed down orally through the tribe for generations.

### Drum'kani, the Eternal Storm

Drum'kani is a massive thunder lizard, with a thick, dark blue hide that crackles with electricity. He is so massive his footsteps are said to shake the earth and sky, creating storms and earthquakes. Within the Thunderhide, storms are a good omen, as it means Drum'kani is near and dancing, and may also mean rainfall. Drum'kani symbolizes life and longevity. He is the most powerful of the pantheon and patron spirit of the Thunderhide tribe.

### Jhokkra the Lion

Jhokkra is a large white lioness, said to be the mother of such fabled beasts as Whitemist (or Echayakee, in the tauren tongue). She symbolizes family and fertility, and is largely prayed to by mothers and aspiring parents.

### Tenga the Eagle

Tenga is a huge golden eagle, with wings so wide they are said to be able to touch the horizon at both sides. Tenga's spirit guides the sun, eye of An'she, across the sky each day, and passes messages between her and the moon. He symbolizes wisdom and is often sought out by those with a message to the ancestors or to the Earthmother.

### Echa the Turtle

A sandy-coloured turtle of uncomprehensible size, Echa is said to be the favourite pet and companion of the Earthmother. When Echa wakes from her slumber every hundred or so years, the earth shakes, and the many mountains that dot the Barrens are said to be the formed from the spines on the back of her shell.

One Thunderhide legend tells how the oases dotting the Barrens were a special gift from the Earthmother to Echa, so her children would have somewhere lush to swim and grow.

Echa symbolizes friendship and loyalty.

# History

Like anything else shu'halo, the Thunderhide's beginnings are surrounded in the hazy fog of myth, legend, and creation itself.

There are some that claim the Thunderhide a branch, or perhaps split, from the Ragetotem, and others still that insist it's roots lay within the Bloodhoof Tribe. Whatever the case may be, the tribe has existed just as long as it's brothers and sisters, though war and the wrath of the spirits themselves, it is alleged, saw the tribe wiped out.