The tauren [ˈtɔɹən] (shu'halo in their native language of Taur-ahe and sometimes pluralized as taurens) are a race of large, bovine humanoids who dwell on the great plains of Central Kalimdor. For countless generations, they were constantly harassed by the violent centaur, who forced the tauren into a nomadic lifestyle in the harsh Barrens. However, during the Third War and the Horde's invasion of Kalimdor, the tauren and the invading Horde became allies, and the Horde aided the tauren in driving off the centaur from the sacred lands of Mulgore. High Chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof established the capital city of Thunder Bluff, and to this day the tauren remain one of the most stalwart allies of the Horde, even after Cairne's death and the ascension of his son, Baine Bloodhoof.
(During the War of the Ancients, the tauren of Highmountain were convinced to join an alliance with the night elves and other races against the Burning Legion by the dragon-mage Korialstrasz, and the tauren tribes were led by Huln Highmountain, wielder of the eagle spear. The xenophobic night elf commander, Desdel Stareye, refused to use the tauren to their abilities, namely heavy melee fighters, on the grounds that they were apparently as likely to kill night elves and earthen as demons. After the "tragic" loss of the commander, the tauren were re-deployed to extreme effectiveness by his replacement, Jarod Shadowsong. The tauren who survived the war maintained fairly good, or at least cordial, relations with the Sentinels.
Due to a blessing bestowed upon Huln by Cenarius, the tauren under Huln — the Rivermane, Bloodtotem, Skyhorn, and Highmountain tribes — were given the Horns of Eche'ro: moose-like antlers. After the war, these tribes would rename their home region Highmountain in honor of Huln's heroism during the war.)
Despite their enormous size, the tauren are a peaceful and honorable people who nonetheless are fierce fighters when roused. Hunting and shamanism are held in high regard in their culture, as is their worship of the Earth Mother and respect for the land and nature.
“Where there is darkness, you are my light. When the shadows rise, you stem the tide. Be neither troubled nor tired, nor ever afraid, for in each other you shall always find me. You are stronger together, but you are never alone.” — The Earth Mother's promise to An'she(Sun) and Mu'sha(Moon).
1,100 years before the opening of the Dark Portal, the tauren wandered Kalimdor's forests and plains, living in harmony with nature. One region in particular was especially sacred: the verdant grassland of Mashan'she, or "Loom of the Earth Mother". Drawn by faint elemental whisperings, the tauren became convinced that somewhere beneath the meadows, the Earth Mother herself dwelled. After decades of attempting to rouse her from her slumber, the tauren shaman eventually succeeded, but to their horror they realized that what they had awakened was not the benevolent Earth Mother, but the enormous earth elemental Princess Theradras, daughter of Therazane the Stonemother. The newly awakened Theradras reached out to the verdant surroundings for sustenance and consumed their energies in order to regenerate her weakened form. The tauren would later name this now barren land "Desolace".
The sudden monumental loss of life sent ripples throughout all of Azeroth and even the Emerald Dream. Zaetar, son of the forestlord Cenarius, traveled to Desolace to investigate, but though he had decided to imprison Theradras, he instead fell in love with her. Theradras requited Zaetar's affection, and the two became mates. From this forbidden and unnatural union, the centaur were born. After having brutally murdered their father, the half-horse creatures quickly proliferated and spread out across Kalimdor, driving the tauren of Desolace from their homes and igniting a long and dark period of war that would come to last for many centuries.
For countless generations, the tauren roamed the plains of the Barrens hunting the mighty kodo, and sought the wisdom of their eternal goddess, the Earth Mother. Their tent settlements were scattered across the landscape and changed with the seasons and the weather. The wandering tribes were united only by a common hatred for their sworn enemy, the marauding centaur. The centaur hunted the tauren for sport and launched intermittent attacks on their foes, taking a heavy toll on both sides. The tauren did not shy away from combat and made the centaur pay for every unprovoked attack, but they had no love for war and always opted to find a new home rather than throw their lives away whenever the horse men appeared. As such, the tauren lived in a constant state of upheaval, and a year of peace was always followed by a year of war. The shu'halo accepted this cycle of conflict as inescapable as it was the only life they knew, but that would eventually change.
At the brink of extinction, the chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof, desperate for help, turned to the strange green-skinned warriors from over the sea. Cairne quickly befriended Warchief Thrall and the other orcs, and recognized that they shared a love for honor and battle. For their part, the orcs and the Darkspear trolls that composed the Horde found much in common with the tauren. Each of these races wanted to achieve a more shamanistic culture, and the tauren, long versed in the lore of spirit and nature, were well-prepared to provide counsel and support to the budding shamanism within the Horde.
With the orcs' help, Cairne and his Bloodhoof tribe were able to drive back the centaur and claim the grasslands of Mulgore for themselves. For the first time in millennia, the tauren had a land to call their own. For this alone they were forever indebted to their orcish allies. Upon the windswept mesa of Thunder Bluff, Cairne built a refuge for his people, where tauren of every tribe were welcome.
Owing a blood-debt to the orcs for their assistance, the tauren joined Thrall on Mount Hyjal to defend Kalimdor from an invasion by the demonic Burning Legion. Following the Legion's defeat, the tauren who helped defend Hyjal returned to their new home in Mulgore.
Over time the scattered tauren tribes united under Cairne's rule. There were but a few tribes who disagreed about the direction their new nation should take, but all agreed that Cairne was the wisest and best suited to lead them toward the future. Helping the mighty Cairne in the duties of ruling his race were the Archdruid Hamuul Runetotem and the elder crone Magatha Grimtotem.
Although the tauren had reclaimed their lands and battled alongside the Horde, not all was peaceful. The Grimtotem tribe tried to usurp the rule of Cairne, plotting to overthrow his leadership. In Mulgore, they had problems with the Bristleback quilboar. At the same time, the Emerald Dream, realm of the green dragonflight, was tainted with a strange evil. Malfurion Stormrage was trapped inside, and the green dragons acted strangely as they attacked all who passed near. Both elven and tauren druids were researching these events since the Emerald Dream, home of Ysera the Dreamer (the Green Aspect), had to be kept safe.
“Peace between the earth and all her people should be our goal. She has a grand plan for nature, and we all have a role to play in that plan.”
— Bashana Runetotem
According to the tauren myth Sorrow of the Earthmother, when the Earth Mother saw her children falling to the corrupting whispers from below the earth, she tore out her eyes and set them spinning endlessly across the sky. Her left eye became Mu'sha, the moon, and her right eye became An'she, the sun. Neither of both is better than the other, and together they see with balanced vision - they are the tauren's own "Light".
The earliest history of the tauren is recorded in a series of myths. These chronicle the period of time from the creation of the world to the appearance of the centaur, speaking of the creation of the tauren by the Earthmother, their meeting with Cenarius, and the coming of the centaur.
Due to night elven influence, tauren druids long revered only Mu'sha, as Mu'sha is considered to be the tauren equivalent of the kaldorei moon goddess, Elune. During the War against the Lich King, the warrior Aponi Brightmane engaged in a theological discussion about this matter with Tahu Sagewind. Aponi pointed out that in all else, the tauren strived for balance, and she wondered if they had neglected a key aspect of balance in all things. As a result of these discussions, following the Cataclysm, the Sunwalkers, an order of tauren paladins, arose, wielding the power of the Light through An'she.