World Of Warcraft: Who Is Jaina?

Quick Links

• The Early Years

• The Scourge Invasion

• Defeating The Legion

• Assassination Attempt On Thrall

• Fall Of The Lich King

• Fall Of Theramore

• Pandaria And The Trial

• Return To Kul Tiras

• Shadowlands And Current Events

Jaina Proudmoore is a prominent figure within World of Warcraft, being seen as a mighty foe for Horde players and one of the greatest leaders for Alliance ones. Yet, for most of her career, she’s been part of the Kirin Tor, a neutral faction of Mages.

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It’s no surprise, however, that players see her as closely tied to the Alliance, and it’s not only because she’s a Human. Many events have pushed her to not only mediate negotiations as an Alliance representative but also to lead battalions against the Horde.

The Early Years

Jaina was the middle daughter of Daelin and Katherine Proudmoore, members of the ruling family of the Kul Tiras kingdom. She was expected to lead a life fitting of a noble lady, but once her magical abilities were discovered, she was sent to study magic on Dalaran instead.

Dalaran was the city of mages and scholars, with everyone who looked for knowledge ending up there. Through years of work, Jaina gained the attention of Archmage Antonidas, the leader of the Kirin Tor, and became his direct apprentice.

She also gained the attention of two noble suitors: Prince Arthas Menethil, a childhood friend of Jaina’s and heir to the Lordaeron throne, and Kael’thas Sunstrider, an elven prince and member of the Council of Six.

The Council of Six is those that, alongside the Archmage, make up the government of Dalaran.

While Jaina was flattered by Kael’thas, her heart clearly belonged to Arthas, and they both started a relationship that would make her a future queen in the eyes of many. Both lovers were happy together, yet Arthas put an end to their relationship so they could finish their studies, something that Jaina was sad about but ultimately agreed on.

The Scourge Invasion

Years later, a mysterious plague began to spread through the kingdom of Lordaeron, so Jaina was sent to investigate alongside Arthas. This was an opportunity for them to show each other how much they'd grown, and their relationship started to blossom once again.

But not everything was happiness. In their research of the plague, they found out it was caused by a Necromancer, who'd been contaminating the grain being distributed through the kingdom. This caused anyone who ate it to turn undead, fueling an army forming elsewhere.

The Necromancer was Kel’Thuzad, a former member of the Kirin Tor.

Arthas ended up purging any village known to have the contaminated grain, something Jaina wasn’t ready to do. They parted ways, Arthas to confront the demon Mal’ganis (who seemed to be behind the undead Scourge) and Jaina to warn Dalaran of what was going on.

Arthas ends up becoming a Death Knight in service to the Lich King, the being controlling the Undead masses. He led the Scourge as they slaughtered nearly everyone in Lordaeron, including the elven home of Kael’thas Sunstrider.

Jaina tried comforting Kael’thas, but he shunned her, judging her for choosing the monster that now rampaged the land over him.

Dalaran was next on the Scourge’s agenda, so Antonidas sent Jaina to Kalimdor, a far away continent, so she might lead the survivors. He would stay and face Arthas, knowing he would likely not survive the encounter.

Defeating The Legion

Jaina grew up with the Second War against the Horde having largely ended, so she knew of the Orcs from accounts of her father, understanding them to be savages that killed her brother Derek. So once she found out there were Orcs in Kalimdor, she prepared her forces to fight them.

These Orcs were led by Thrall, and they were only looking for a peaceful place to call home. It seemed that Thrall and Jaina would inevitably fight, but they were stopped by Medivh, a powerful mage who guided their efforts against their demonic common enemy, the Burning Legion.

Thrall’s Horde, alongside Jaina’s forces and the Night Elves, cornered the Burning Legion at Mount Hyjal and defeated it. After all this, she befriended Thrall and would be key in future peace negotiations between the Alliance and the Horde.

Assassination Attempt On Thrall

Once Daelin Proudmoore, Lord Admiral of Kul Tiras, found out where his daughter was, he led his fleet to Kalimdor. He planned to “rescue” Jaina from the Horde and assassinate Thrall, the leader of the new branch of the Horde.

Jaina tried to convince her father to stop pursuing vengeance, that this Horde wasn’t the one that killed his son. Yet Daelin didn’t listen, and he was inevitably killed in the following confrontation; Jaina did not step in to defend her father.

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The people of Kul Tiras demanded some action be taken by the Alliance, but with the Scourge in Lordearon still a threat and the Horde not taking any military action, their demands were ignored. Because of this, Kul Tiras isolated itself from the world overall.

After this incident, Jaina remained in Theramore, a human settlement in Kalimdor formed by the Dalaran survivors. She led them from her tower as she oversaw events not only within her city, but between the Horde and Alliance as well.

Fall Of The Lich King

During her rule of Theramore, Jaina kept close relations with the royalty of Stormwind, becoming something of an aunt to the young prince Anduin Wrynn. When the time came to strike at the Lich King, Arthas Menethil, Jaina stood by her Alliance allies and led the attack herself.

She wasn’t able to defeat her former lover, and after being nearly killed, she had to stand down from the final assault on Icecrown Citadel. She was saddened by the death of someone so dear, but in truth, the Arthas she knew died long ago.

Fall Of Theramore

Thrall had to step down as the leader of the Horde, leaving Garrosh Hellscream to take his place.Garrosh was obsessed with defeating the Alliance, leading his people into an era of expansion, Theramore being the first settlement in his sights.

Jaina could see this coming since Theramore was the only Human settlement in Kalimdor, so she asked Dalaran and Stormwind for help. While Storming was unable to aid her in the immediate future, Dalaran sent some of their best mages to try and dissuade Garrosh from attacking Theramore, Kalecgos the Blue Dragon among them.

Yet that was all part of Garrosh's plan since he was prepping a Mana Bomb to annihilate Theramore with everyone in it. Kalecgos and Jaina barely manage to escape, but everyone else in the city, local citizens and mages from Dalaran included, died in the blast.

Jaina's characteristic white hair is caused by the mana energies released by the Bomb in Theramore.

Jaina’s anger was such that, in retaliation, she nearly destroyed Ogrimmar, the capital city of the Horde. Thrall and Kalecgos managed to stop her, telling her that she was behaving just like Garrosh was, and like Arthas did, in the past.

While Jaina spared the Horde, her friendship with Thrall was no more. Another one blossomed out of tragedy, with her and Kalecgos confessing their feelings for each other, and they went back to Dalaran.

Pandaria And The Trial

Jaina became the new leader of the Kirin Tor and led them as full-fledged allies of Stormwind in their efforts to stop Garrosh’s rampage. Through intense battles on the revealed continent of Pandaria, Garrosh is captured and put on trial.

While happy that Garrosh was captured, it wasn’t enough for Jaina, who wanted the Alliance to eradicate the Horde for good. Kalecgos tried to dissuade her from these views, but her mind was set, and her wrath unmatched.

Garrosh manages to escape, leaving a temporal chaos for everyone at the trial to solve, as many of the attendees have to face doppelgangers. Jaina manages to defeat her own but is shot in the chest in the chaos, the wound too deep for anyone to heal.

Garrosh escapes thanks to Wrathion, who sends him to an alternate timeline so he can conquer Azeroth and defend it against the Legion.

Many tried to heal her, from Prince Anduin to her former friend Thrall, but she seemed beyond magical aid. This is when Pandaria’s Celestials, who had been watching over the trial, intervened and healed everyone, Jaina included.

As Jaina returns to the living, she decides that the problem is Garrosh, not the entire Horde. She finally forgives Thrall for his role in naming Garrosh Warchief and is finally able to rekindle her relationship with Kalecgos.

Return To Kul Tiras

Once Garrosh was defeated, an old enemy came back that required the Alliance and the Horde to work together: the Burning Legion. Both factions would need the aid of the Kirin Tor to work together, but Jaina was adamant about not letting the Horde into Dalaran.

The Council of Six stood against her, so she left Dalaran altogether, leaving even Kalecgos behind. She didn’t have anywhere to call home, so she’d fight the Legion on her own terms, and once the Demons were defeated, she traveled back to Kul Tiras.

The Kul Tirans still saw Jaina as a traitor due to not aiding her father all those years ago. So Jaina didn’t make her return official, although it would eventually be needed: the Horde was now led by Sylvanas, whose rule was leading the Horde and Alliance to a new war.

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With the naval might of the Kul Tirans being needed, Jaina travels back to her homeland, this time in an official manner. She’s taken prisoner immediately, but after she aids them by ridding them of corruption, both magical and political, the Kul Tirans name Jaina Lord Admiral.

Jaina led many of the Alliance's efforts against the Horde, and once Thrall came back to aid them, she honored their friendship, and they worked together to take Sylvanas out of the picture. The Alliance and rebelling Horde members were prepared to siege Orgrimmar, but Sylvanas fled to her master in the Shadowlands before the attack could begin.

Shadowlands And Current Events

Sylvanas captured Jaina, alongside many faction leaders, and took them to the realm of the dead, the Shadowlands. Her true goal was to capture Anduin, the now King of Stormwind, and use him as a tool in her master’s plans.

Jaina is quickly rescued by adventurers of both the Alliance and the Horde, and alongside Thrall, she’s one of the main leaders fighting Sylvanas and her master, the Jailer. The campaign into his dark realm is long and hard, but the heroes of Azeroth eventually prevail.

Finally back home, Jaina now leads the Kul Tirans and their relationships with the Alliance and the Horde. While she now maintains good relationships with both factions (Kul Tiras being an official part of the Alliance now), her personal relationships are more of a mystery since it’s unknown if she’s still seeing Kalecgos after returning to Azeroth.

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