Gurubashi civil war

The Gurubashi empire civil war, shortly called Gurubashi civil war, was a conflict between the followers of Hakkar the Soulflayer and the rest of the Gurubashi empire, this ones supported by the Zandalar tribe that led to the fragmentation of the jungle troll empire.

Prelude
The long centuries following the Great Sundering were difficult ones for the troll race. The dauntless trolls rebuilt their ravaged cities and set about reclaiming some of their former power. Even so, famine and terror became commonplace within the broken kingdoms. The jungle trolls, driven to desperate ends, sought aid from ancient mystical forces. Both troll empires shared a central belief in a great pantheon of primitive gods, but the Gurubashi empire alone would fall under the sway of the darkest one.

A Savage God
Hakkar the Soulflayer answered the jungle trolls’ plea. Hakkar gave the trolls his secrets of blood and helped them extend their civilization across most of Stranglethorn Vale and certain islands in the South Seas. He brought the jungle trolls great power, but in return the bloodthirsty god required that souls be sacrificed to him.

The dramatic increase in power and territory of the Gurubashi empire, as well the attribution to those victories to the influence of the god Hakkar, would be learned by the Zandalari whom, at first, were glad for their jungle brethren.

When the Gurubashi empire's territory kept expanding, the Zandalari's pleased surprise turned to disquiet. They consulted myths and delved into ancient historical accounts. What the Zandalar tribe would learn would be at least displeasing... and they stayed horrified with the discovery.

Hakkar was also known as the Soulflayer, a name he had richly earned. He filled his adherents with murderous rage and reveled in their dark emotions. The carnage that invariably followed Hakkar suited him perfectly, for having consumed blood, he had developed a taste for it. Worse, he became more powerful as he consumed the blood shed in his name, and his tie to the world that was feeding him grew stronger.

The War Erupts
The Zandalar tribe saw that Hakkar presented a deadly threat to the entire world, and every Zandalari who could fight immediately set out for Stranglethorn Vale and brought the terrible tidings to the jungle trolls.

Hakkar's demands quickly escalated, and he grew impatient with his loyal priests, the Hakkari. He told them to find a way to summon him physically into the world, so that he might directly drain the blood of his victims. So vast was his hunger that he dreamed of devouring the lives of all mortal creatures. Most of the Hakkari had already begun to guess at his insatiable appetite, and they were horrified at the prospect of the damage he might wreak and the power he might gain if given the ability to feed unchecked. When the Zandalari arrived, the Gurubashi empire was already in this state of civil unrest due to the numerous sacrifices that Hakkar was demanding. Nonetheless, the Atal'ai, a small extremist faction of the Hakkari, decided to do as Hakkar wished.

Before the Atal'ai could complete the summoning, the other jungle trolls, including the Hakkari, banded together with the Zandalari and rose up in open revolt against the cruel and bloodthirsty Hakkar and his minions. The magics that were unleashed laid waste to Zul'Gurub, but just as the battle seemed most hopeless, the trolls succeeded in destroying Hakkar’s avatar.

Aftermath
Driven from the jungles, the Atal'ai were hunted nearly to extinction; only a small group of Atal'ai escaped into the Swamp of Sorrows, where they secretly built a great temple to their god: the Temple of Atal'Hakkar.

Having helped fight the fanatical Atal'ai, the Hakkari hoped their role in carrying out sacrifices for Hakkar would go unpunished. They soon discovered otherwise. Once the more immediate threat of the Atal'ai had been eliminated, the jungle trolls turned on the Hakkari as well. Many former priests were tortured and executed in grisly public spectacles. Others were torn apart in mob violence. The luckiest Hakkari were simply stripped of all their possessions and forcibly ejected from Zul'Gurub. They were warned not to return on pain of death.

Bitter and desperate, the surviving Hakkari reached a terrible decision. They tracked down their former enemies, the Atal'ai, and offered to help them summon Hakkar into the world. Pleased by the suffering that the Hakkari had clearly undergone, the Atal'ai were convinced of the Hakkari's change of heart, and accordingly welcomed them into the temple. The Atal'ai and Hakkari continued to do their god's work there, preparing for his arrival into the physical world. The green Dragon Aspect, Ysera the Dreamer, soon learned of the evil priests' plans and smashed the temple beneath the marshes. To this day, the temple's ruins are guarded by mighty green dragons.

Legacy
The remnants of the Gurubashi empire, split into groups like the Bloodscalp, Skullsplitter and Gurubashi, went their separate ways, claiming territories in the vast jungles of Stranglethorn Vale. These scattered tribes began fighting one another, and at length the Darkspear tribe, which was smaller than most of the other tribes, was driven off the continent altogether and took to the ocean. Hoping to avoid further conflict, they settled on remotes desert islands.

A fragile peace settled over the broken empire. Nevertheless, trolls spoke of a prophecy that Hakkar would one day be reborn into the world, and on that day, he would consume it whole.