 Nelgarm | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Orc |
| Class | Shaman |
| Affiliation(s) | Shadowmoon clan |
| Occupation | Shadowmoon elder shaman |
| Status | Deceased |
Nelgarm was an elder shaman of the Shadowmoon clan around 400 years before the opening of the Dark Portal.[1]
Biography[]
403 years before the First War, the ogres of the Gorian Empire began tampering with the Throne of the Elements. The ogres eagerly and carelessly dissected the Throne with their arcane spellwork, until the dissonance between their magic and the lingering residual energies of the Throne caused an explosion that blew apart the orcish temple at the site and threw the elements out of balance all across Draenor. Huge storms lashed across the world, and Draenor's native spirits descended into turmoil. However, the Gorian sorcerer king, Imperator Molok, was not deterred in the slightest and simply sent more sorcerers to replace the ones that had been killed, for he now had proof of the elements' true power and was determined to claim it for himself.[1]
The next year's orcish Kosh'harg festival was marked by mourning for the incident at the Throne. The Shadowmoon elder shaman, Nelgarm, pleaded for action, lest all of the clans suffer disastrous famines as a result of the elements' imbalance. The clans agreed to join together, and Nelgarm called upon the elements to bless them with their protection. The united orc army first fell upon the Throne of the Elements. Surprised by the attack, the Gorian sorcerers retreated with little bloodshed, but Imperator Molok was quick to retaliate. The Gorian armies moved en masse, and total war engulfed Draenor, and now every orcish male, female and child had to be prepared to fight. The ogres imagined that this merciless tactic would strike terror into the hearts of the orcs, but the clans rose to the challenge and small, mobile groups of raiders slowly dismantled the Gorian Empire's network of fortresses and outposts, pushing the ogre armies back to their capital: Goria.[1]
Several months into the siege of the ogre city, an affliction called the red pox began to spread among the orcs, culling vast amounts of the orcish combatants. After consulting the elements, Nelgarm and his fellow shaman realized that the pox was an unseen attack from the ogres. The clan chieftains realized that the siege was now doomed to fail; too many orcs would die before Goria succumbed, and a frontal assault against the city was no longer possible. Nelgarm and the other shaman decided to take a very dangerous step to secure victory: they beseeched the elements to destroy Goria. Never before had shaman made such a violent request, but the orcs and the elemental spirits both understood that the ogres and their leader, Imperator Molok, would resume meddling with the Throne of the Elements if the orcs failed. Thus, the elements agreed to unleash their fury upon Goria.
The shaman gathered outside the ogre city's mighty walls and witnessed the fury of the spirits. Over hours, lightning, fire and earthquakes ravaged the ogre capital until nothing but ash and rubble remained, before the earth itself wrenched open like a giant maw to swallow Molok and the remains of his great city whole. Untold thousands of ogres died that day; none were left alive by the elementals.[1]
The orcs were victorious, but they had suffered massive losses and witnessed a destructive power they never wanted to see again. Nelgarm and the other shaman were particularly frightened by the elementals' wrath and said that the need for a unified orc army had passed. There was little argument, and the orc clans returned to their lands.[1]