User:Minionman/Human general

Humans are one of the most prolific races on Azeroth. Even with recent wars and invasions, humans are still the most common race on azeroth, outnumbering all other alliance races and outnumbering the entire horde as well. Most humans dwell in the eastern Kingdoms, and have proven quite resilient in recent years, surviving two invasions, the orc invasions from Drarnor, and the Scourge invasion from Northrend. Humans were once at the center of a large alliance and trading network, but recent invasions and political instability have reduced their prominence in this role.

Human Society
Though the ancestors of humans were nomadic hunter gatherers, many began settling on farms several thousand years ago, and for most of recorded history, humans have largely been a settled people. Moreso than other modern races, humans today tend ot live in cities, towns, or other settled areas, and get much of their food from fixed farmlands, rather than from herding or gathering. As a result, the human nations can produce far more food than most other races, and can support far higher populations. These high populations, however, lead to more political competition, and humans nations of often fragmented throughout the ages, with occasional large wars breaking out between opposing nations. 6 nations survive today, and a 7th, Gilneas, may have survived as well, though has not communicated with the outside world for some time.

Humans society in the Eastern Kingdoms has generally kept good trade and diplomatic relations with organized nations of other races. Even during human vs. human wars, all sides tend to keep good relations, and seek assistance from, neighboring dwarf and High Elf nations. In recent years, relations with the high elves have decayed, as many have joined the Blood elf movement, and others have become sickly and pale, inviting scorn and suspicion from their magical addiction and potential association with blood elves.

In addition to trade relations, intermingling between the three races has also resulted in political exchanges. High Elves developed monarchial rule, and ideas of nobility vs. commoners from their night elf ancestry, while Dwarves offered a competing viewpoint of family based organization, but it was the high population of settled humans who developed many of the bureaucratic and political organizations, such as assemblies, that help govern modern nations to this day. Even today, humans tend to rely on legal governing rules and strict organization more than other races.

Because humans tend to remain more settled than other races, they have developed a strong building tradition, learning to quickly construct strong and durable stone buildings. Even wood buildings tend to be quite strong. Metalworking techniques have been learned from Ironforge Dwarves and Gnomes, and human metalworkers tend ot be quite skilled, though not as much as the previously mentioned groups. Humans have also proved skilled magic users, at first learning many techniques from high elves, but soon developing their own styles and powers.

Human Health and Body Type
Compared to most other races, humans are usually in a medium to small range of sizes and strengths. Militarily, this has been compensated for by using horses, long weapons, and large numbers of fighters. Humans in the past also used body armor as an advantage over other opponents, but in races years larger races have developed metalworking and armor making techniques to compete. The small size is less of a concern for craftsmanship related tasks, or magic, and even in building construction or other physical labor, the high population of available workers still ensures effective work is done.

Humans can eat most kinds of food, though usually need a good supply of plants to stay healthy.

Human Nations
6 humans nations have survived to this day, while a seventh, Gilneas, may have survived as well but has broken contact with the outside world. All humans nations are part of the alliance, and currently maintain good diplomatic relations with each other. Some splinter groups are not organized as nations, but still exert influence in the world.

Stormwind
Sotrmwind in recent years has been a disappointment to ma ny members of the alliance. Once destropyed by the Orc invasion through the dark portal, Stormwind has rebuilt itself, and although it does not have the population or resources it once did, the nation is still potentially the most powerful human nation in azeroth, and the highest in population. Stormwind controls a large fraction of the land in the southern lobe of the eastern kingdoms, it is located south of Ironforge, and claims the land reaching to the sea to the south and east. However, much of this land is uncontrolled, or home to horde or goblin outposts.

The nation today faces three majhor threats. In the south west, the defias brotherhood controls much of the farmland of westfall, and is also believed ot be involved with corruption in the city of Stormwind itself, in addition to outlying areas. In the Northeast, the town of Lakeshire and surrounding countryside routinely faces raids from Blackrock orcs. These orcs have not joined Thrall's horde, and instead maintain the beliefs and practices of the horde that invaded azeroth several generations ago. They base themselves near blackrock Mountain to the north. In the Southeast, the forest of Duskwood has been attacked by mysterious undead, and other dark, invaders. No one is entirely sure where these invaders come from, but the best guess at the monent is that something evil has taken over the tower of Kahrazan, and infects the surrounding land with a mysterious darkness.

Ordinarily, a nation with Stormwind's resources would easily be able to defeat these threats, but in recent years, Stormdind's administration and government have become ineffective and corrupt. the horde invasion killed many of Stormwind's most skilled leaders, and more recently, the Scourge invasion drew other skilled leaders northward, where they were either killed, or have become embroiled in fighting. As a result, less skilled nobility has gained a strong grip on the stormwind government, and administration had broken down since than. The nobles have proven unwilling to send the strong stormwind army to assist in outlying regions, and equipment and training have suffered somewhat as well. Trade has also slowed, as roads and ports have not been well maintained, with some falling into disrepair. the Deeprun Tram, which should have been a major trade booster for the nations of Stormwind and Ironforge, has mostly been paid for and built with Ironforge resources, and has been little more than a passenger service after being built.

Despite these problems, the nation is still diplomatically powerful, and does supply a lot of food to Ironforge. Stormwind army trainers and commanders have traveled to other regions, such as Hillsbrad and Menethil harbor, to offer advice or supply additional manpower. Stormwind does still fulfill its old obligation to help support menethil harbor, though other nations have taken over many operations of the town.

Many in the Alliance and Horde expect that Stormwind will one day recover from its troubles, and again become a powerful force in the world. The alliance simply waits and offers assistance whenever possible, the horde maintains outposts around the nation, should its recovery lead ot full scale war between the two groups.

Kul Tiras
A seafaring nation, Kul Tiras was once known for having the strongest navy out of all humans nations. Though much of this navy was destroyed during the horde invasion, Kul Tiras still maintained a strong sea presence. In Peacetime, Kul tiras was knwon for trade, fishing, and protecting other nations from Piracy. In modern times, however, Kul Tiras has lost much of its power. Kul Tiras supported some human nations in the battles against the scourge, but its main blunder was attacking the nascent orc nation of Durotar. The small human nation was not prepared to fight the full force of kalimdor horde, many of who's fighters were veterans of the burning legion invasion. A large fraction of Kul tiras's soldiers were killed, and many ships were destroyed as well. Kul'tiras's experienced leader, Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, was killed, and the leaders who replaced him focused more on vengeance than rebuilding the nation's power. Kul'Tiras has made 2 other large invasions of durotsar, but these were even less successful than the first one. Kul'tiras today is a shadow of its former self, and today is mainly a fishing center.

Hillsbrad
Less a true nation than a confederation of towns and nearby farmers, the "nation" of Hillsbrad is all that remains of the nation of Lordaeran. during the scourge invasion, the northern section of Lordaeran were overrun, and became the current day plaguelands and tirisfal Glades. Silverpine forest was also effectively cleared of humans, with only a few small villages surviving. the towns of Killsbrad, Southshore, and Tarren Mill were the only large outposts to survive unscathed. The scourge would likely have attacked these towns as well, but when Archimonde was summoned, the Burning legion focused its forces on Kalimdor, and scourge remaining in Lordaeran did not have the forces to attack these towns. Tarren Mill was later overrun by forsaken, but the towns of Hillsbrad and Southshore survived, and keep surrounding farmland clear of forsaken attackers.

The two large towns in the Hillsbrad region handle much of their local issues through city councils, led by mayors. Military decisions, and decisions effecting both towns, are decided upon by a large council, with both towns and their surrounding regions represented equally. Unlike most nations, the Hillsbrad region does not have, and has no plans for introducing, a king or other such lfelong leader. Many decisions in the towns are made directly by the citizens, with council votes representing a formality at most. the region had once hoped to be joined to the nation of Stormwind, but over the years has developed a sense of independence, and now acts as its own nation on equal terms with others.

Southshore today maintains a port, and does some trade in food, fish, and other goods, but mainly seerves as a destination for Argent Dawn and Scarlet crusade recruits, as well as spies from other nations traveling to forsaken or Blood Elf lands. Refugees from the plaguelands also sail to other places from this port. Through farming and fishing, Hillsbrad supplies much of its own food, but other resources generally much be brought from other lands. The two towns are mainly known for their highly skilled militias and community stables. Hillsbrad light horsemen and foot militia are widely respected throughout the world. they have become quite skilled from years of more intense than usual training, and fighting forsaken and syndicate attackers and assasins.

Hillsbrad maintains strong trade and military relations with Ironforge and Stromgarde, and also supports the town of Menethil harbor as muc has it can. Though they often cannot support each other directly, Hillsbrad and Stromgarde do send information to each other. Ironforge supplies many of the metals and weapons used in Hillsbrad, in return for fish and food.Diplomatic relations with other parts of the alliance are less important, but still maintained, abd Hillsbrad acts as the main base fr alliance attempts to fight the scourge.

Perhaps the most controversial in modern Hillsbrad is the scarlet crusade. The two towns serve as important recruting centers, and many recruits and supplies for the organization pass through the town each day. citizens of the region have mixed opinions on the scarlet crusade, some see it as an important organization to support, most see it as a dangerous group, but are divided over whether it can or should be controlled. The Argent Dawn also recruits and supplies itself heavily through Hillsbrad, and scarlet crusade supporters often pass as argent dawn supporters to escape suspicion. many refugees in the towns describe the horrors inflicted by the scarlet crusade, but some others see this as a necessary price to pay to damage the scourge. opinions are also divided over whether scarlet crusade support hurts or helps war with the forsaken, some think the forsaken will see Hillsbrad as a less important target without recruiting, and that the resat of the horde will restrain forsaken attacks if recruiting slows, others see the Scarlet crusade as an important distraction for the forsaken, who would attack the region more aggressively with the scarlet crusade destroyed.

Stromgarde
Stromgarde was once a nation knwo nfor its well trained military, more powerful man for man than other human militaries. Over the past few years, howeve,r internal problems and invasions have weakened this nation, which now shares the Arathi highlands with several horde outposts, and faces threats from Orgres, Troll groups, and the Syndicate. Stromgarde withstood the scourge invasion relatively well, but syndicate assasins reduced the effectivenss of its administration, and the once powerulf stromgarde military was reduced in power as poor decisions and wars with surrounding groups wore it down. Stromgarde today is besieged from several sides, and though it can still supply its own food, and has stabilized its defenses against invasion,the nation still faces a slow decline unless putside assistance can be supplied.

Stromgarde today has little of value to trade, but does manage to sell a small amount of fish, food, and metals mined from the rich Arathi highlands, though many of the best deposits have been taken over by invaders or the horde. The stromgarde military is still highly trained, and is widely considered to have the best heavy cavaly in azeroth, but has been badly managed in recent years. Fortunately for the citizens of this nation, Stromgarde's invaders have largely begun fighting each other, allowing its small military to win victories over distracted enemy fighters.

Stromgarde today maintains strong relations with Ironforge and Hillsbrad, with Ironforge supplying some weapons and armor, and Hillsbrad mainly sharing information on nearby threats.

Out of all nations, Stromgarde stands to benefit the most from outside assistance. The Arathi highlands are resource rich lands, with good farmland, metal deposits, and rich forests, and should stromgarde once again control them, it will be in a position to once again build a highly skilled and strong army. This strong army, especially Stromgarde's heavy cavalry, would be of great assistance to other alliance nations.

Dalaran
Little has been heard directly from Dalaran in recent years. Dalaran suffered heavily in the recent scourge and burning legion invasions, with much of its leaders killed, and much of the city destroyed. The city took further damage from fighting between rebels and scourge, until the rebel leader Garithos and the remains of the Kirin tor forced the scourge out. The scourge distracted by civil war in the Plaguelands, Illidan's invasion, and further fighting with the forsaken, Scarlet Crusade, and blood elves, and Dalaran was not attacked again.

Though the scourge had been beaten back for the time being, enemies still surrounded the city of Dalaran, and the Kirin Tor wanted time to prepare the city should a future invasion occur. The Kirin tor prepared a forcefield around the city, blocking all except specific groups to enter and leave. Dalaran grows most its food through magical means, and also relies more on mages than physical fighters for combat, so needs little trade. Dalaran citizens mainly keep to themselves inside the forcefield, but sometimes opens it to allow news to enter, and occasional Dalaran military forces to leave.

Dalaran military forces mostly stay near the city, mainly fighting syndicate forces, though sometimes fighting the forsaken and scourge. Dalaran forces also defend Pyrewood village in Silverpine, and some other areas of the forest. Other than these locations, Dalaran mostly stays out of alliance affairs. No one is sure when Dalaran will emerge from its isolation, but other alliance members are hopeful than Dalaran will soon contribute its magical good and skills to alliance efforts once again.

In the meantime, other centers of magical learning and power have sprung up within the Alliance. The largest of these is in Stormwind, in the appropriately named "magic quarter". Tinkertown also has a strong magical community of mages, and with the Draenei's recent rrival, the Exodar has become a second magical center in the alliance.

Theramore
Theramore is the newest human nation, formed from refugees from the eastern Kingdoms during the scourge invasion, organized by the mage jaina Proudmoore. When these refugees reached kalimdor, they became embroiled again in fighting against orcs, night elves, and the Burning Legion. After the burning legion invasion, the alliance refugees made an agreement with the horde to settle an Island to the South of Duroatr, called Theramore after a town in Lordarean. The island's population has since slowly grown, mainly from a small stream of plaguelands refugees. Though a battle was fought on the island between Admiral Proudmoore's Kul tiras forces and horde forces, Theramore itself was mainly a passive participant, and little overall damage was done.

Theramore today is perhaps the best administrated human nation, with little crime, well built and maintained infrastructure, and a well organized military. Unlike most other human nations, it relies more on full time soldiers than on militia. Jaina Proudmoore, more than other alliance leaders, works to keep good relations with most alliance groups, and even many goblin and horde groups, with Theramore being the only nation to accept ambassadors regularly from horde nations. Theramore is also the main nation to start, and currently maintain, trade routes between alliance ports on the two continents.

Theramore's government uses a combination of governing council, elected or otherwise chosen by citizens of the nation, and jain proudmoore, acting in a similar role to a king in other nations. Proudmoore handles most diplomacy, while the city council handles most day ot day operations of the city. Both groups work together to run administration and make long term plans for the nation.

Theramore's economy relies heavily on fishing and trading. The lands of Dustwallow marsh make poor farmland, but the waters surrounding the island contain some of the richest fishing grounds in Azeroth. Theramore was the first to built and maintain intercontinental trade routes, but in recent times, horde zeppelin routes and goblin trade has become more competetive. Still, for ambassadors and goods from Hillsbrad, Stromgarde, or Dwarven lands, the Theramore trade routes are the most effective way to move goods. Proudmoore had once hoped that horde trade would also flow through theramore, but decays in relations have prevented this trade from happening. Proudmoore had alos hoped to attract mages to Kalimdor after Dalaran's isolation. however, she was outcompeted by the more established communities in Stormwind and gnome lands.

Despite Theramore's strong economy and administration, political problems have been brewing for the past several years. A small, but well motivated faction, hates the peace treaties with horde races, and wishes to once again and capture and enslave or kill the orcs. Though most theramore citizens do not wish for such a fight, whether out of respect for the horde's assistance against the burning legion, the ferocious fighting in that war, or the knowledge that theramore's army was far outnumbered and would make a relatively easy target, this small group continues to have influence, and attempts to create incidents that dirupt the peace between Theramore and the horde.

The small dwarf and high elf population of Theramore have also become disgruntled over the years. Theramore's governing council is mainly represented by humans, in proportion to their population. Though remaining high elves are treated better in Theramore than many other alliance nations, fights still often break out in the city between high elves and night elves, and many High elves are still mistrusted as spies or otherwise looked on as simple addicts. As high Elves travel to Theramore from the eastern Kingdoms, conflicts often occur between high elves and others, and the competetion causes political trouble in the governing council.

Though Dwarves are by and large treated well in alliance nations, many dwarves still feel underrepresented in Theramore government. Dwarven riflemen played a vital role in defending Mt. Hyjal, and are often involved in Theramore construction projects. Conflicts over payments for such projects, as well as other divisions of resources, have created some problems amongst the dwarven community.

Despite these conflicts, Theramore continues to play an important role within the alliance, through diplomacy, trade, fishing, and military power. Theramore soldiers support night elf soldiers throughout Kalimdor. they also send occasional soldiers to the Eastern Kingdoms, but do not have enough of a military to have a major presence there.