A Darkspear Legend

I remember my father telling me this tale many times when I was very small. It was one of my favourites. I recall that he did all of the voices and really made it come alive . . .

Perhaps some of you have heard it too . .

oOo

Long ago, in the days when the Darkspears were beset by enemies on every side and the old chief was dead, the tribal elders gathered to choose a new leader.

From every settlement throughout the Darkspear isles, trolls came to make a claim to be chieftain. To each one the eldest and wisest High Priest asked the same question: "Are you the champion we need to lead the Tribe to freedom?"

Each troll made a claim to prove their worth. This one claimed to be the bravest, the next claimed to be the most cunning, another claimed he was the wisest. None of these gained the approval of the tribal elders.

After the sun had set into the sea, and the campfire was lit, still they had found no troll worthy to lead the Tribe. For the final time the High Priest called out "Is there any other who claims to be the champion to lead the Tribe to freedom?"

From the darkness, beyond the reach of the firelight, came a deep calm voice. "I am Demba the Blue. I am the protector, wise in counsel, in tune with the ways of the spirits. I will lead the Tribe."

Then, from the shadows close by, another voice was heard, this one light and eager. "I am Zeh'na the Green. I am the free spirit, fierce and wilful as nature itself. I will lead the Tribe."

Straight away, from the same pool of darkness, came a third voice, sharp and quick. "I am Kharzuun the Gold. I am the trickster, cunning and intelligent, an inventive and formidable enemy. I shall be the leader of the Tribe."

Then, from just behind the other voices, came another, measured and confident. "I am Zulkan the Red. I am the fighter, ruthless in battle, relentless in pursuit of a goal. I will be the new chief of the Tribe."

Finally, a fifth voice spoke from the shadows, cool and clear. "I am Kem'zil the Purple. I am the problem-solver, agile in mind, the one who finds an escape route when enemies are all around. I shall be chief of the Tribe."

The Tribal Elders were amazed at hearing these legendary names and could not agree amongst themselves which of these great ones should lead the Tribe. The High Priest called them to silence and then he turned to the trolls still hidden in the darkness. "Step forward into the firelight so that all may see the heroes who come to claim the chieftainship." he said.

From the darkness a young witch doctor stepped forward. He met the expectant gazes of the elders and said: "I am Demba the Wise and Zeh'na the Free-willed and Kharzuun the Trickster and Zulkan the Ruthless and Kem'zil the Agile. I am all of these, for they are my ancestors and their spirits speak to me. I will be the Tribe's champion. I will lead the Tribe to freedom."

The tribal elders knew by this that they had found their new chief. "What is your name?" asked the High Priest.

"My name is Sen'jin." he replied.

And that is how Sen'jin became the Chief of the Darkspears.

And his example teaches us that if we are in tune with the spirits of our ancestors, we can summon their powers to aid us in time of need. All of us can use wisdom, cunning, strength, ingenuity and spirit, for we are trolls and our ancestors watch over us from the spirit-world.

oOo

Now, I don't know if this tale is true. I asked Master Gadrin and Master Vornal, two of the oldest trolls I know, but they weren't elders when Sen'jin became Chief, so they don't know if it happened like that. And Zilzibin Drumlore, who collects tales of troll history like Ryleen collects pets, only smiled when I asked him. Maybe a similar tale has been told about many chieftains of our tribe, over the countless generations. Or maybe this really is how Sen'jin became the leader.

______
Please let me know if any of this conflicts with lore.

Great story! One objection though. He would've introduced himself as Sen. The 'jin would be added once he was leader

Unless he was -that- confident they would make him their leader...

I agree with you, Ryleen. But, if you can only add the suffix 'jin' when you become leader, that puts Gen'jin and Gnal'jin and several other guild members in a tricky situation . . .

Yes, it does. And that's because people don't do research before naming their chars. If you look at troll npcs, you'll find an overwhelming lack of zul' and 'jin among those who doesn't actually carry it as a title. But for some reason, people naming their chars rarely seem to look beyond the most famous handful of trolls.

A mistake being common and done often doesn't make it right.

True. But there is such a small amount of reliable information on Zandali words that it's difficult to be absolutely certain.

WoWWiki says that the suffix 'jin' refers to a tribal chief or elder. So it could be that Sen'jin, even though he was young, may have been a respected elder in his village even before he became the tribal chief.

Just as Sen'jin Village is named after the tribe's former leader, I think you're probably right that the hunting camp Malaka'jin is named after some high-ranking Darkspear troll of times gone by. Hoodoo Master Fu'jin, a Master Hexxer in Wintergrasp, could be an elder of the tribe. But I'm confused about Tai'jin, the priest trainer in Razor Hill. She doesn't seem to hold a high rank in the tribe and she is a female too.

And what about the meaning of 'jin' when it forms the first part of a name? There is Jin'sora, the bow merchant in the Valley of Honour; Jin'Zil, the witch doctor in Malaka'jin; Jin'Zallah the Sandbringer, a Sandfury troll; Jin'do the Hexxer in Zul'Gurub; and Jin'rokh the Breaker, the Zandalari dire troll on Yojamba Isle. I'm not sure that we can make a guess at what the 'jin' part could mean in these names.

More examples of sloppy lore invention by Blizzard, I suspect. So let's not worry about it too much.

About the etimology of "jin": probably the meaning of the word is "old" when used as a prefix, and "elder" or "chief" if used as a suffix.
Note that in some cultures some people can bear the title "old" or "elder" at a very young age. Among Mormons, "Elder" is a religious rank, and can be held by people in their early 20-s (I met a couple of Mormon "elders" who barely passed 20). Also, there's Old Shatterhand from Karl May's books - a young white men who got this name from the Native Americans as a sign of respect despite his age.

He, when I found Out, that Jin was a rank, I did found myself in a tricky situation, but then I read that it also means, Leader. So My Ic reason for having the name Gen'jin, is because he proved himself in battle, as a comander of a horde unit.
Story goes, that when Gen'jins unit, In Warson Gulch, lost it's comaning officer, Gen'jin imdediatly established himself as the groups leader, and lead them Safely back to the base ((WITH the flag )).

He was about 18 y/o at that time, since I joined the heritage when I in RL was 18, and Gen'jin follows my age^^