The secession of Stromgarde from the Alliance of Lordaeron; A story of Azeroth politics

It’s pretty well known that, after the second war, some members of the Alliance of Lordaeron withdrew their support. For some of these nations, the reasoning was obvious. Genn Greymane of Gilneas was isolationist and confident in his own kingdom’s ability to defend itself. Quel’thalas largely blamed poor, uncoordinated human leadership for the burning of their forests. However, there was another kingdom that pulled away from the Alliance; Stromgarde. But wait, why? Stromgarde was led by Thoras Trollbane, a close friend of Terenas Menethil, and was one of the first nations to throw their support behind the idea of the Alliance. What fueled Thoras’ decision to step away from the unity of the other human kingdoms? I’ve been interested by this, and after doing some digging through the books, Chronicles, and filling in the “gaps” with some (admittedly “head canon-ish”) conclusions based on the events following the second war and into the third. I believe that, due to economic pressure, a pattern of disrespect, and no compensation for their hefty contributions, Stromgarde was effectively forced to leave the Alliance of Lordaeron in a desperate attempt to save themselves. While some of this is speculative, I promise, everything is strongly based in canon lore.

Let’s start with some background, and a quick recap of Stromgarde’s role in the second war; After being called to discuss an Alliance with the other human kingdoms, Thoras Trollbane of Stromgarde was among the first to volunteer his support. The reasoning was pretty obvious. Stromgarde was the southernmost remaining kingdom after the fall of Stormwind and Khaz Modan; if the Horde approached on foot, Stromgarde would be the first to be attacked. . Trollbane was also close friends with Terenas Menethil, king of Lordaeron. Thoras trusted his friend, and in that time of peril, trust was important; what’s more, Trollbane did NOT trust Aiden Perenolde, king of Alterac, and Stromgarde’s neighbor. Alterac and Stromgarde had a contentious history. Given the ambiguity of their mountainous borders, battles and wars between the two nations were not uncommon. This, combined with their long history of war with the forest trolls, made Stromgarde a highly regarded addition to the Alliance. While not as large as Stormwind or Lordaeron, Stromgarde was perhaps considered the most “Battle ready” of the kingdoms. With that in mind, Stromgarde deployed half of their standing army to the southern border, and the other half was to be used at the disposal of the Alliance under the command of Anduin Lothar.

During the war, a few moments of glory did come to the kingdom. It was Thoras Trollbane who deduced Aiden Perenholde’s treachery, and, to his immense anger, that his old enemy was allowing the Horde to travel through mountain passes to attack Lordaeron. (Seriously check out Tides of Darkness, he throws an a mug of ale so hard it shatters, and straight up destroys a table in front of all his nobles, screaming about how he’s going to kill Perenolde, it’s amazing lol) Thoras gathered what soldiers he could, secured the mountain passes, killed the orcs traveling through, and established marshal law in Alterac. Then, after the Horde’s siege of Lordaeron failed, Thoras’ nephew, Danath Trollbane, led the Alliance in its liberation of Khaz Modan.

Fast forward to the end of the war; Stromgarde endured much at the hands of the Horde. Not only had their nation been the land-based sentinel to Horde attacks, but the Horde had landed via boats in the neighboring Hillsbrad foothills. After enduring so much pain, Thoras believed the orcs were too dangerous to be kept alive; he, along with Genn Greymane, pushed not the outright execution of all surviving orcs. Instead, however, the Alliance decided to build internment camps, as a show that they were above such savagery, and hopeful that one day the orcs may overcome their bloodlust. This likely sat ill with Thoras Trollbane, but, perhaps as a strategy to placate the nation, Danath Trollbane was placed in charge of the camps, and a large internment camp (later known as Hammerfall) was built in the Arathi Highlands… Unfortunately, Danath Trollbane disappeared into the Dark Portal with the rest of the Sons of Lothar to save Azeroth, and was presumed dead. A statue was erected in his honor in the newly rebuilt Stormwind’s Valley of Heroes, which stands to this day (Well, it was knocked down for a bit but that’s another story). So, who replaced Danath Trollbane as commander of the orcish internment camps? Aedelas Blackmoore. An alcoholic, Lordaeron-native, son of a traitor. With that, Stromgarde’s control over any part of the Orc’s fate was gone.

Around the same time, discussions were held as to what was to be done about the now semi-defunct kingdom of Alterac and who would lead it. Thoras naturally had little sympathy or forgiveness in his heart for the Perenoldes, and found the fact that Aiden’s punishment was mere house arrest- he demanded prison, if not outright execution. The Alliance’s decision proved disastrous, as when the Horde returned, Aiden betrayed them again, delivering the Book of Medivh to the Horde- in exchange for their help in killing the Stromic and Lordaeron soldiers stationed in Alterac. Once more the Alliance had acted against Thoras’ desires, and once more it had ended in frustration and tragedy for Stromgarde.

Still, the fate of Alterac had to be decided. Thoras demanded, in recognition for his kingdom’s sacrifices and contributions to the Alliance throughout the war, especially in relation to Alterac, that the eastern portion of Alterac be annexed to Stromgarde. Instead, Terenas Menethil wished to give the kingdom to Aiden’s son, Aliden, and Genn Greymane was pushing for some random Perenholde cousin, Isiden. Eventually, Daval Prestor(Deathwing in disguise) got involved, only suddenly to disappear, and the now-leaderless survivors of Alterac and its nobles became the Syndicate, hell-bent on taking revenge on Stromgarde. What happened to Alterac’s towns? Well,by the Third War, Strahnbrad, a town that was once controlled by Alterac, To the east of their capital city , was controlled by… Lordaeron. Stromgarde safeguarded the Alliance from Alterac’s treachery, and all it received in return was dead soldiers and a criminal organization plotting their fall.

In Before the Storm, Genn Greymane mentioned that the last time he had visited Stromgarde, the kingdom’s “Star was waning”. It’s easy to see why. Stromgarde had suffered heavily during the second war. They seemed to hold no sway over how policy was made or enforced in the Alliance, had received no compensation, and was now being attacked by Witherbark Trolls while being subverted by the Syndicate. So, with a heavy heart, quite possibly in a desperate attempt to save his nation and focus solely on domestic issues, Thoras Trollbane withdrew his nation from the Alliance. Shockingly, he shared the same fate as his old friend Terenas, betrayed and murdered by his own son.

Of course this was not the end of Stromgarde’s troubles, but it was also not the end of Stromgarde itself, as, long story short, the return of Danath Trollbane has renewed hope for the old kingdom, and it once more stands, thanks in part to the support of the Alliance, though it is currently contested, the most recent lore we’ve recieved is the Alliance is winning on all fronts- this likely includes Stromgarde. What the future holds for the nation is uncertain, but for now, it seems Arathi may once more stand as a human kingdom, as a member of the Grand Alliance.

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