The Highmountain Tauren actually have a lot of positive interactions with the Night Elves:
- Holt Thunderhorn says: When the elves who founded the Unseen Path left Mount Hyjal to return to the Broken Isles the Highmountain tauren recognized the nobility of their cause and offered them friendship. It was the descendants of Huln Highmountain who led the Unseen Path to this peak.
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Talonclaw, Spear of the Wild Gods, Part Two
Moren’s granddaughter Eruna was expected to become her tribe’s leader. But before she could believe herself worthy of this responsibility, she took the Eagle Spear with her on a pilgrimage, a rite of passage to prove herself. In the northern lands, she rushed to defend a family of night elves from a cabal of tentacled beings issuing forth from a vast cave, wielding sinister magic–servants of the Old Gods who slumbered in dark places but were now awakening. She was joined in the struggle by a mighty bear, who revealed himself as an Ancient named Ursoc. Together, Eruna and Ursoc drove the strange creatures away.
In the aftermath of Eruna Highmountain’s battle alongside Ursoc, the colossal bear took Eruna’s measure and judged her worthy. Ursoc told her that a great darkness was coming and that the world would need strong warriors and leaders like her to face it. To aid her, he blessed her spear, adding his might to its enchanted power. In gratitude, Eruna carved Ursoc’s name into the weapon, continuing the living story of the Eagle Spear, and returned to her people, ready to lead them.
Talonclaw, Spear of the Wild Gods, Part Three
Long after Eruna’s passing, the spear was handed down to Huln Highmountain. Facing a devastating invasion from the Burning Legion, Huln unified other tauren tribes under his banner to join the night elves in fighting the demons.
During one heated battle, Huln tried to protect the two-headed wolf Ancient, Omen, from the forces of the Legion, but the great beast was gravely wounded and poisoned with fel energy. Before he succumbed to demonic corruption, Omen gave his last breath of purity to the spear, adding to the powers that other Wild Gods had left therein. Huln placed the Ancient’s name on his spear so that his courage would always be remembered.
Talonclaw, Spear of the Wild Gods, Part Four
During the War of the Ancients, Huln fought alongside many warriors who would go on to become legends in their own right. Among them was the night elf Jarod Shadowsong, who saved Huln’s life from a demon attack in one of the last battles of the war. Huln carved their names into the Eagle Spear as well. He even crossed paths with the greatest of all druids, Malfurion Stormrage.
From legends related by the elders of the Highmountain tribe: “Huln handed the spear to the druid, who examined the weapon closely, remarking on the sharp, curved end fashioned to resemble the eagle’s beak, and on all the names carved into the shaft by the tauren and his ancestors. Malfurion communed with the spirits within, and approved.”
Talonclaw, Spear of the Wild Gods, Part Eight
From the journal of Arien Highmountain, describing her tribe’s encounter with an order of night elves called the Unseen Path:
“Gardrel and I led the night elves up the slopes of a nearby mountain. As we approached the summit, Talonclaw began to glow, emanating power. Instinctively, I held it up to the sky, and all were amazed–none more so than I–to see a cascade of golden energy pour from the spearhead and take the shape of a great eagle! But Gardrel and I remembered the lore of our tribe and realized that Ohn’ahra herself had blessed this site. At that very moment, we knew this sacred place should be renamed Talon Peak.”
It was only with the help of the Highmountain tribe that the hunters of the Unseen Path–who had come to the Broken Isles specifically to guard against the Legion–were able to build their new home, Trueshot Lodge. From the trio of towers known as the Three Talons, they watched over the land and vowed to be ready should the Burning Legion return. The elves and the tauren learned much from each other, and Arien eventually joined the Unseen Path, becoming one of its greatest members.