The Meaning of Rage

# Rage

In the real world, there are two major chemicals that play a role in how anger and rage works, and both are equally responsible to some degree. Epinephrine, also commonly known as adrenaline, as well as norepinephrine (or noradrenaline), which is the chemical we associate with an 'adrenaline rush' and the actual emotion of anger. Norepinephrine is the proverbial fuel behind how angry someone can get. Keep this in mind, as I explain what both of these chemicals do in a little more detail.

We'll start off with epinephrine,  which is a hormone involved with a large amount of functions around the body. If you have a severe to lethal allergy, you're quite familiar with this chemical in its medical form, since when you go into anaphylactic shock, epinephrine can be used to regulate your breathing and muscle control. This is exactly what the chemical does naturally in your body as well, and during times of stress, fear, or anger, your body will increase the production of this hormone. This causes you to breath deeply and heavily, sweat more even at rest, and all of the other physical affects we humans contribute to fear and anger.

Noradrenaline is the chemical your body uses as a sort of 'call-to-action' for your flight-or-flight system. Unlike epinephrine, which is constantly produced by the body at a consistent rate until needed, noradrenaline quantities in the human body vary wildly throughout the day. It's a reactionary hormone and neurotransmitter that the brain uses to increase alertness, short term memory gain, focus, and can even help someone ignore everything else around them. If you've ever had an experience where you have "Blacked Out" or "Only Seen Red" in anger, it is because of this guy right here. Noradrenaline also increases the heart rate and blood pressure, and your body works to balance epinephrine and noradrenaline constantly during stressful periods. Strokes and heart attacks commonly attributed with rage or fear, are normally the result of the body releasing to much noradrenaline, without the body producing enough epinephrine (adrenaline) to help with the muscle control.

Now, the reason this is important to know, is because there is a true, real limit, to how angry someone can get. The energy used by the body during times of extreme stress or rage is incredibly taxing, and the body cannot constantly produce the two hormones it needs for longer than an hour. That being said, many athletes in boxing or real professional wrestling practice breathing and psychological techniques that allow them to basically do this whenever they want.

The limit however comes from the fact that your body has a limited amount of noradrenaline. While your adrenal glands and medulla can produce epinephrine (adrenaline) at a relatively constant pace, for as long as you have calories to burn. Noradrenaline however is produced exclusively by nuclei in the brain, and stored for use by the body in the spinal cord or abdomen (Could not locate source for this). However one can "Use up" their stores of noradrenaline, at which point, they would no longer feel angry, and would instead probably collapse or enter a state of shock, depending on what it was that put them in that state. If you've ever had an adrenaline rush, and then collapsed on your feet and shivered for a few minutes, this is what happened to you. It is not uncommon for people to experience strokes as a result of being in a state of stress or rage for to long, and then entering an adrenaline shock.

TL;DR, you stop being angry once your body runs out of noradrenaline, which can in turn, lead to a variety of very bad things for you. Most humans can get 30 minutes to 1 hour out of them, though trained boxers, athletes, and martial artists have all claimed and been recorded to reach as high as two to three hours. The angrier your are, the faster you burn yourself out, so to speak.

Most of the information here was pulled from the following articles and study:

Diverse Roles in Autonomic, Endocrine, Cognitive, and Behavioral Functions by the American Journal of Physiology

Neuroendorcine Control of Body Fluid Metabolism by Jose Antunes-Rodrigues, Margaret de Castro, Lucila Elias, Marcelo Valenca, and Samuel McCann

The Hormones of the Adrenal Medulla and Their Release by the British Journal of Pharmacology and Chemotherapy

I recommend anyone wanting to look into this stuff, to read these three articles before reading the wikipedia article on the chemicals. It makes a lot more sense that way.

*Please note the writer of this section is not a licensed doctor or medical student, it is very likely they missed some information in their research, or oversimplified it too much. Do not take anything stated above as fact in cases related to your personal health.*

### How Rage works in World of Warcraft

Most humanoid sentient races in WoW share the same biological needs and functions[\*], and so as they train and practice, they see the same musculature growth and increase in mental acuity that we in the real world see. Skill and body mass/figure increase as one spends time training. However some choose to harness more than pure skill, but the rage and anger within them. Even in real life, humans have historically used berserkers both with and without the use of herbs and drugs. Humanoids who follow this practice however, are limited in their growth. It is the chemical and natural barriers of these races, that separates the Stormwind Footmen from the Warriors.

Once a humanoid has achieved the pinnacle of their race in terms of physical prowess, they can choose one of a few routes to continue growing in power. When defining what the pinnacle of a races physical prowess is, consider how realistically powerful someone of that race might be. Your average tauren for example, could likely lift upwards of a thousand pounds on their own. Where as for us humans in the real world, that is a feat that only the worlds strongest man, Hafthor "The Mountain" Bjornsson has accomplished. So the natural limits of a tauren would far exceed that of a humans, in this comparison.

However in World of Warcraft, both in-game and in the canon lore, we see that size often has very little to do with the outcome of a battle. Gnome warriors fight on the front lines, axe and hammer in hand, taking on orcs and tauren alike. You can see this with examples like Ginnwin Grindspiner, and Bilban Tosselspanner, who is even a warrior trainer! So something else must be at play here.

There are three routes that a warrior can take, once they've reached their natural limits. They aren't exclusive, for example while Blademasters primarily harness their inner spirit, they may also get some help in the form of spirits and ancestors of their race. However as a warrior spends time honing one, his other skills and practices may atrophy, and more time and dedication is required on the part of the warrior to keep his other skills up to par. The three routes are as followed, and are described in further detail below:

* Skill & Practice
	+ Not all solutions require magic, some warriors choose to pursue skill and tactics, over raw power.
		- Sources: Stances, Riposte, Bladestorm, Sweeping Strikes, Spell Reflection[\*], Shield Wall
		- Examples: Arms Warrior, Gladiators
* Outside Help (Religious or otherwise)
	+ Through a loa, wild god, or otherwise, there are many beings out there who can grant one power.
		- Sources: Bear Berserk, Survival Instincts[\*], Thunder Clap, Avatar, Neltharion's Fury, Odyn's Fury
		- Examples: Guardian Druids, Mountain King, Dragonsworn
* Spirit / Inner Rage
	+ Like a monk harnesses their inner spirit for Chi, a warrior can harness their inner spirit for Rage.
		- Sources: Enraged Regeneration, Berserker Rage, Second Wind, Battle Trance,
		- Examples: Bonecrushers, Blademasters

The main focus of the three paths a warrior can take, are to either abandon ones rage, empower ones rage, or focus ones rage. To decrease, empower, or increase the affects of the natural processes behind anger magically, or through practice and training.

### Explaining the Differences

##### Technique - Skill & Practice

Once a warrior has honed their skills, they may choose to abandon their rage all together, or focus it and learn how to direct it constructively. Like all warrior paths, this one is varied and has infinite possibilities. However as it has little to do with rage itself, and has possibly infinite variations, it will not be covered in detail here.

##### Borrowed Power - Religion & Tradition

Druids, dragonsworn, and of course, spirit champions all draw power from outside sources, that seek to grant them boons and supernatural gifts. These blessings and traditions do not always need to be in the form of a direct gift of power, such as when Broxigar (who normally falls under Spirit - Inner Rage) was granted the Axe of Cenarius. While this didn't inherently increase his personal strength, the possession of the axe turned Broxigar from a fierce bonecrusher into an orc of unbridled power and mythic feats.

Religions and traditions aside, druids and some warriors may choose to find power through a loa, wild god, or some other entity. Druids of the Claw for example draw on a primal and ferocious rage from the Emerald Dream, tapping into their deep connections with Ursoc and Ursol. Whereas Zandalari Berserkers draw on the blessings of their loa, allowing them to create magical effects by harnessing their inner rage. Dragonsworn on the other hand do not use any religion (mostly) or traditions, and instead are granted power as a reward from their draconic masters. Worgen warriors are another excellent example of drawing power from the outside, fueled by their attachment to Goldrinn.

All in all, any outside interference that empowers the physical and mental capabilities of the warrior, fall under this category.

##### Spirit - Inner Rage

Not all powers come from the outside, and many scholars are aware of the truth. Within all mortals on Azeroth reside a small amount of spirit. This spirit is normally harnessed by monks or shaman for Chi or spellwork, and with Shadowlands, we can see that ones anima grows in tandem with their spirit, implying that they are maybe even one and the same thing[\*]. While a monk seeks to madidate in peace and find inner harmony, and the shaman seeks to connect their spirit with those of their ancestors, the warrior instead harnesses this as fuel for their rage.

Whether aware of it or not, warriors and berserkers learn to enter a form of battle meditation, or trance. They do not madidate in a temple, or preform rituals, but they seek peace of mind on the battlefield. They seek the purity of combat. Warriors who tap into their spirit and harness it as Inner Rage are said to be capable of preforming wonderous feats, such as minor regeneration, the total ignoring of pain, and even supernatural improvements to their abilities.

This is the 'Rage' we all talk about when thinking of the in-game resource used by the Warrior class.

### So what exactly is 'Rage'?

**Natural rage** itself is the chemicals epinephrine and noradrenaline working in tandem with your fight-or-flight system, or whatever natural variant for your respective race. As your concentrations of both chemicals increase, you feel this as anger and experience a growth in physical, mental, and emotional power and resistances. This along can allow humanoids to preform incredible feats of strength. A warrior can train and master this form of rage through pure practice and training, even becoming capable of ignoring everything else asides from their target.

**Supernatural rage** is ones own inner spirit working alongside their natural rage to empower them beyond what is normally thought possible. A warrior learns to tap into their spirit through endless combat and training, and a certain mindset and grindset is required. Others might instead seek to use an outside force to empower their natural rage, rather than their inner spirit.

Regardless of which of the infinite possibilities you choose, *'Rage' is described as a creatures natural instincts and responses, empowered, altered, or added to by some supernatural power drawn from any of World of Warcrafts existing cosmological forces.*