Cycle of Hatred

Cycle of Hatred is a novel by Keith R.A. DeCandido taking place in the Warcraft universe, one year before the beginning of World of Warcraft.

The Burning Legion has been defeated, and eastern regions of Kalimdor are now shared by two nations: the orcs of Durotar, led by their noble Warchief, Thrall; and the humans of Theramore, led by one of the most powerful mages alive -- Lady Jaina Proudmoore.

But the tentative peace between orcs and humans is suddenly crumbling. Random attacks against Durotar's holdings suggest that the humans have renewed their aggression toward the orcs. Now Jaina and Thrall must avert disaster before old hatreds are rekindled -- and Kalimdor is plunged into another devastating war.

Jaina's search to uncover the truth behind the attacks leads her to a shocking revelation. Her encounter with a legendary, long-lost wizard will challenge everything that she believes and illuminate the secret history of the world of Warcraft.

"At the end of Warcraft III and Warcraft 3X, humans and orcs were allies on the continent of Kalimdor. But in World of Warcraft, the two sides are enemies again. My task with the novel Cycle of Hatred, was to help explain that change. It takes place during the four-year gap between the two games, and involves the humans on Kalimdor led by Lady Jaina Proudmoore and the orcs on the same continent led by Thrall. Of all the characters in the Warcraft universe, I found Jaina and Thrall to be two of the three most compelling characters. Jaina is a powerful female wizard, who is put in a position of leading a small group of humans in a hostile land in the wake of a brutal war against a demon horde. Thrall is an orc raised by humans as a slave, who leads a rebellion of orcs against human bondage, and inspires the orcs to return to their old ways before they were cursed by demons. Both leaders are trying to forge a new future, moving past the old hatreds. Unfortunately, the old hatreds don't die easily. If you're wondering who the third character is, you'll have to read the book to find out -- the character is also in the book, but who it is is a surprise." *big grin*

Theramore and Durotar remained at relative peace for three years, though the two former archenemies were still wary of each other. Eventually, a series of minor shipping incidents led to extreme tension between the two powers, enough that the goblins, who controlled the region's only neutral port, complained.

Despite the tension, Thrall requested Jaina's aid in relocating a herd of Thunder Lizards displaced by a mysterious logging operation at Thunder Ridge. Jaina intended to relocate the Lizards to a largely unpopulated region on the far side of Durotar, but was astonished to discover that the area was magically warded to protect its single inhabitant: Aegwynn.

The former Guardian brushed off Jaina's admiration, but filled in the gaps of what had been happening amidst the tensions between Theramore and Durotar: a minor demon, Zmodlor had revived the Burning Blade and was playing the two powers against each other.

Jaina and Aegwynn hastily returned to Theramore, where they discovered that Jaina's own chamberlain had been corrupted by the Burning Blade, and one of Thrall's advisors was too. After dealing with the turncoat, Jaina, Lorena and Aegwynn took on Zmodlor himself. Unfortunately, the demon was backed by a small cabal of Warlocks (either Eredar or Satyr, the text is unclear). After they dealt with the traitors in Jaina's ranks, and Thrall's in his, both leaders proposed a more official treaty.

• Durotar
• Bladescar Highlands
• Drygulch Ravine
• Kolkar Crag
• Orgrimmar
• Razor Hill
• Thunder Ridge
• Dustwallow Marsh
• Theramore Isle
• Demonsbane Inn and Tavern
• The Barrens
• Dreadmist Peak
• Northwatch Hold
• Ratchet
• Great Sea
• Tirisfal Glades
• Venomweb Vale (unnamed)

• Orgath'ar
• Passion's Reward
• Raknor

• Fool's gold
• Lok'amon
• Lok'tra
• Lok'vadnod
• Jortas
• Sensitive
• Staff of Antonidas

• Many information regarding Aegwynn presented here were retconned by the Chronicle series. It is also the only novel whose main story is not addressed in it.
• The novel makes repeated mentions of sexism among the Alliance and Horde, with Colonel Lorena often being treated as an anomaly for being a female soldier (even by Thrall or other women such as Duree), and Jaina mentioning she could only become a wizard because Aegwynn had paved the way for the training of female spellcasters. In the current state of things, Blizzard has gradually added many female warriors and mages to the human and orc ranks even in times chronologically happening before Cycle of Hatred.
• Despite releasing after World of Warcraft, the novel seem to voluntarily exclude the presence of some NPCs such as Pained (Jaina's bodyguard), Eitrigg or High Overlord Saurfang (replaced as Thrall's military advisors by Burx) which would have changed the course of the intended story.

Cycle of Hatred