Thrall (birthname Go'el), son of Durotan and Draka, is the former Warchief of the restored shamanistic Horde, founder of the nation of Durotar in Kalimdor and one of the second wave of shaman.[12] His parents killed by Gul'dan's assassins shortly after his birth in the beginning of the First War, he was found and raised by Aedelas Blackmoore who gave Thrall his name. Raised as a slave and gladiator, he later joined Orgrim Doomhammer in freeing the orcs imprisoned after the Second War, being named Warchief after Doomhammer's death. After leading the Horde away from the Alliance-claimed Eastern Kingdoms, he rescued and made allies of the Darkspear trolls and Bloodhoof tauren. Thrall led the new Horde against their former demonic masters in the Battle of Mount Hyjal. He subsequently led diplomatic efforts at peace between the Horde and Alliance after the end of the Third War.

After the fall of the Lich King and the increasing elemental unrest heralding the Cataclysm, Thrall stepped down as leader of the Horde, appointed Garrosh Hellscream as Warchief, and joined with the shamanistic Earthen Ring to combat the rampaging elements, eventually aiding the Aspects in Deathwing's downfall.

With his victory over the corrupted aspect behind him, Thrall had been forced to deal with the chaos his replacement had sown in his wake. The Pandaria Campaign clearly demonstrated Garrosh's unforeseeable madness and pride, leading to dissension within the Horde itself. Thrall stepped back in to defend the Horde and its allies from their increasingly ruthless dictator. Together with Vol'jin and the other disenfranchised leaders of the Horde, Thrall overthrew his ill-fated successor in the Siege of Orgrimmar. After Garrosh's capture, Thrall personally chose Vol'jin to hold the Horde together and pledged his allegiance to him, along with the remaining leaders of the faction. His mate Aggra also gave birth to a son named Durak.

During the war in Draenor, Thrall was a key member of the Horde expedition to an alternate version of the orcish homeworld Draenor. In addition to aiding in many key battles, he met and befriended his parents of that timeline and made allies of the Frostwolf Orcs. Knowing that Garrosh was responsible for the events in the alternate Draenor, Thrall pursued him and was ultimately successful in killing Garrosh in their final mak'gora.

Eventually, the weight of all the wars he had fought began to weigh more heavily upon the former warchief and Thrall's own abilities and resolve eventually began to waver. During the Burning Legion's latest invasion of Azeroth, he passed both the Doomhammer and the mantle of leader of the Earthen Ring down to a shaman adventurer, knowing the future was now in safer hands. With this, he retired with his family to Nagrand, where he established a small farm. This did not last, as he was called from retirement by Varok Saurfang, who needed his aid in preventing Sylvanas Windrunner, Vol'jin's successor after his death during the Legion's invasion, from tearing the Horde apart. Leading a rebellion alongside Saurfang, Thrall upheld his promise to Saurfang who perished during a mak'gora with Windrunner, who then abandoned the Horde. Taking on a mantle of leadership for his people once again, Thrall became a member of the Horde Council, which replaced the warchief position, as the orcish representative.