Hamuul shook his head as if to clear it. "We existed in a time before the coming of the orcs, if you'll remember. Your father may have owed a debt to Thrall for all he did for our people, but this is a new Horde. Blizzard Entertainment is proud to present the latest entry in the Leaders of Azeroth short story series: "As Our Fathers Before Us"!

Welcome to the Explorers' League Journal, our weekly recap of news and events from around Azeroth. Each week we'll cover a variety of topics including patch notes, hotfixes, contests, helpful guides, and recent blue posts to keep you up-to-date on the latest game and community developments. Find out what happened last week below. If you missed our previous entry, you can check it out here.

Led by the wise Sen'jin, the Darkspear tribe of jungle trolls has endured much. Driven from their ancestral home when the Gurubashi empire's tribal hatreds erupted into open warfare, the Darkspears eventually claimed an uninhabited island for themselves and renamed it the Darkspear Island. But although the Darkspears hoped that this new home would be permanent, the fate of the tribe would prove to be far from certain.

Already embroiled by its own internal strife, the fledgling Council of Three Hammers is put to its greatest test yet when mounting tensions between the rival Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron dwarf clans threaten to ignite violence in Ironforge.

As the world's races struggled for survival in the wake of the Cataclysm, details came to light concerning what—or who—had caused the disaster. Prior to the upheaval, the Fury of Earth had cryptically told Thrall that Azeroth's instability had been caused by something good that had turned unnatural. Something that wished to inflict pain and suffering on the entire world.

The Lich King's reign of terror was over. As if to affirm that a bright future would soon dawn on Azeroth, other joyful events occurred across the world. Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage was at last freed from his imprisonment by the shadowy Emerald Nightmare through the efforts of his love, High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind, and her allies. Elsewhere, after years in exile, the highly intelligent gnomes and the fearless Darkspear trolls made gains toward reclaiming their respective homes in Gnomeregan and on the Echo Isles.