EDIT/PREFACE: Apparently this has already been answered in Chronicle Book 1. I’ll be completely honest and say that I don’t particularly like the way the goblins’ origin was written there, nor do I care for a lot of the other retcons and inconsistencies. The low-effort story of goblins - as it’s told there - feels like a cigarette in the eye of goblin fans. Frankly, it feels like it was written by someone who either doesn’t like, or doesn’t care about, goblins as a race. There are multiple gaping inconsistencies and “it’s like that because it’s like that” explanations. I genuinely hope that this bit of lore is retconned. Goblins are a core player race, and a low player count isn’t justification for sloppy writing and inconsistency with what’s readily evident in-game.
Kaja’mite: the mineral that gives Goblins their intelligence. It’s the core of Goblin society; magical green rocks that seem to leak some sort of fluid. If you’ve played the Goblin starting zone, then you already know that this mineral is processed into Kaja’Cola, a soft drink which goblins consume to gain their famous intellect.
But what IS Kaja’Mite?
- It’s green. Fel influence?
- To be buried under the earth, it’d have to be old. Very old.
- From what we know, Kaja’Mite is only found under Mt. Khajaro, the volcano featuring prominently in the center of Kezan.
- Kezan is, of course, right next to the Maelstrom. As are the Lost Isles.
- As we all know, today’s Maelstrom was yesterday’s Well of Eternity - which just so happens to be the same shade of green as Kaja’mite deposits:
https://imgur.com/a/7orRSFm - The significance here is, the Well of Eternity drew power directly from Azeroth’s lifeblood.
- We have another term for the crystallized form of Azeroth’s lifeblood: Azerite.
At this point, I would say Kaja’mite is recrystallized, fel-tainted Azerite, directly from the Well of Eternity. It is the mineral form of arcane and fel energy mixed together.
How does this relate to Goblins?
- Arcane magic - it’s no accident that arcane users (re: Mages) have to stack intellect to cast more powerful spells. Arcane is order itself given form. It is nothing short of pure logic, shaped into energy.
- Fel magic - Fel is the Yin to Arcane’s Yang. It is chaos and volatility given form as magic. It is an energy-form of the fundamental order of the universe being thrown into chaos. It is a “sour vibration.” It is a perversion of everything which is good and orderly.
Of course, both of these energies are present in Goblins:
- Goblins are extremely intelligent, given their proclivity for engineering, alchemy, business, and economics.
- Goblins are absolutely chaotic, volatile, and corrupt. They abuse their employees, they pillage Azeroth’s resources, and they are obsessed with explosions. The pollute and destroy with reckless abandon - much like the Burning Legion.
Here is my speculative timeline thus far:
- Goblins descend from a race which lived in the region of Kalimdor surrounding the Well of Eternity. They most likely share an ancestor race with Grells. For the sake of discussion, I’m going to call this race “Proto-Goblins.”
- Some time after the shattering, residual fel-azerite (Kaja’mite) crystallized into ore deposits.
- After the Sundering, as we all know, the Proto-Goblins were enslaved by the Zandalari empire and forced into servitude. This is what lead to their discovery of Kaja’mite.
- Over time, the proto-goblins evolved to incorporate kaja’mite into their biology naturally. Thanks to the order-giving essence of Azerite, the corrupting effect of the fel energy was diminished. Meanwhile, the chaotic energy of the fel was what gave spark to the goblins. This is also why goblins are green.
- Meanwhile, the gilgoblins of vashj’ir were flung far enough from the well that they did not receive any kaja’mite whatsoever. Instead, they adapted to undersea life. This is why they show only primitive signs of intelligence.
- Thirdwhile, the Kelfin of Nazjatar were able to develop intelligence in a different way as they adapted to undersea life. Possibly through Azerite, though the question of how they developed without fel influence is still unanswered.
Who knows? Maybe we’ll find out that, somehow, they’re the elves’ third cousin, twice-removed…