Blizzard has released new information on the 10 Mercenary characters that we're going to get to see a lot of during the Year of the Gryphon. Read on to learn more about each of these characters.

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Cariel Roame

A soldier torn between family and faith…

Cariel grew up in Stormwind, the younger of two sisters living under a strict father – guard captain Cornelius Roame. In her youth, Cariel’s friends included pickpockets and sellswords. She earned coin in an Old Town brawling ring.

Her older sister Tamsin studied abroad in Scholomance and was presumed killed during the Scourging of Lordaeron. This tragedy threw the family into chaos. Cariel realized that with her sister gone, she would have to straighten up her life and make her father proud. She joined the Silver Hand, at last finding a sense of belonging and guidance through her faith.

As a new paladin, Cariel has been stationed at Northwatch Hold in the Barrens – a chance to prove herself and put her Holy skills to the test. There she hears a rumor: a Forsaken warlock matching her sister’s description has been spotted in Ratchet…

   

Scabbs Cutterbutter

A short order cook turned super-spy assassin!

No one wants to eat from a chef named Scabbs, but SI:7 Agent Cutterbutter was once the most sought-after cook in the Eastern Kingdoms. His unmatched talent with a knife drew the attention of Matthias Shaw and the other spies of Stormwind Intelligence.

Scabbs joined SI:7 during a difficult time for Stormwind. King Varian has gone missing. Calls for help from Redridge and Darkshire go unanswered. A glowing object explodes in the sky, raining shards of light across the land. A concerned member of the royal court has hired several mercenaries to search for these shards of light.

SI:7 wants to know more. Agent Cutterbutter is dispatched to the Barrens to investigate… 

   

Tavish Stormpike

A rebellious Stormpike living the life of a greedy mercenary…

The Stormpikes are a storied dwarven clan. A wealthy clan. But that wealth is not evenly distributed. At the narrow end of the battle axe is Tavish, the aggressive, bombastic mercenary who has set out to find the things that make life worth living: Glory! Loot! High adventure! More loot! He swears he’s never going back to the Stormpikes.

When a glowing object expodes in the sky, raining shards of light across Azeroth, Tavish feels the call of adventure (and loot). Luckily for him, a powerful client with deep pockets is looking for a few good mercenaries to collect the shards.

Tavish makes the long journey to Kalimdor, where many of the shards are said to be found…

    

Kurtrus Ashfallen

An angry outcast seeking vengeance…

For many years, Kurtrus lived modestly, tending a moonwell and caring for his young family. Then, during the Third War, the dreadlord Tichondrius used the Skull of Gul’dan to corrupt Kurtrus’s serene forest into the Felwood. The brother of Tichondrius, Anetheron, led demon armies to clear out the night elves who had resisted the corruption. Only Kurtrus survived the slaughter.

Illidan took in outcasts like Kurtrus, forging them into his elite demon hunters – the Illidari. Kurtrus sacrificed everything to join them. But Kurtrus had a vision. He saw Anetheron. The dreadlord was still alive, biding his time in the Twisting Nether, waiting to return. Kurtrus saw a warlock in Kalimdor determined to summon Anetheron to Azeroth.

Now, Kurtrus has abandoned Illidan. Stripped of his armor and warglaives, he travels to the Barrens on a personal quest for vengeance, to stop the warlock, before it is too late…

   

Xyrella

A mother desperate to heal her child…

Xyrella grew up on Draenor, later Outland. A healer blessed by the naaru and the Holy Light, she became a disciple of Prophet Velen and was part of the raid on Tempest Keep to capture the Exodar, a city-sized satellite with transdimensional capabilities. But the Exodar malfunctioned and crashed on Azeroth. Xyrella’s husband did not survive the disaster, and their only daughter, Runi, fell into a coma that no healing magic could break.

As Xyrella prayed over her daughter, a glowing object exploded in the sky. Shards of fractured light rained across Azeroth. The draenei called this incident The Night of Falling Stars. Xyrella watched the lights fall like glowing embers. She had a vision. The falling stars were pieces of a fractured naaru – an enigmatic energy being deeply connected to the Light. The naaru spoke to her. “I am Mi’da, Pure Light. Gather my pieces. Reform me. Only I have the power to save your daughter’s life.”

Compelled by the naaru, Xyrella has made the difficult choice to leave her child and people behind and seek the shards. She hears the naaru’s call and follows it to the Barrens.

Dev Note: The Hearthstone timeline diverges from the Warcraft canon at many points. (Hijacked Dalaran, anyone?) Notable to Year of the Gryphon, the Exodar crashes, and the Sin’dorei join the Horde, during the events of King Varian’s kidnapping, approximately one year before the Invasion of Outland. (See Book of Heroes: Valeera for more info.)

    

Rokara

An aspiring hero in service to the Horde

Rokara came of age in Alterac Valley, a proud orc of the Frostwolf clan. She grew up on heroic tales of Thrall and Grommash Hellscream. Inspired by Grommash’s prowess, Rokara followed the warrior’s path as well, leaving her family to seek honor and glory as part of the Horde.

When she arrives in Durotar, the bustle of Orgrimmar fills Rokara with a sense of pride. She is promptly tested and assigned a teacher – the Darkspear shaman Bru’kan. The shaman’s methods are eccentric, but he is a wise and capable guide to Rokara’s first proving ground – the Barrens.

On her adventures, Rokara encounters Guff, a tauren druid, Tamsin, a Forsaken warlock, and Dawngrasp, a blood elf mage. They meet another troll in service to the Horde, a potion maker and collector of artifacts named Kazakus, who is singularly focused on gathering certain items of great value in the Barrens…

    

Tamsin Roame

A one-time over-achiever who wants to watch the world burn…

Like her younger sister Cariel, Tamsin grew up in Stormwind under the tutelage of their father. Whereas her sister was a troublemaker, Tamsin was a superstar mage, the family’s shining star. With a letter of recommendation from Archmage Antonidas, she was accepted to study at Scholomance Academy in Lordaeron, – only to be cut down during the Scourge invasion.

When the Lich King’s power ebbed and Tamsin’s free will returned, she felt a resentment grow within her. She had lost so much seeking her father’s approval. Her own people had abandoned her in her time of need. In her wrath, she met a kind and supportive benefactor who encouraged her to study the dark arts. She turned to demon summoning.

At her benefactor’s urging, Tamsin has journeyed to the Barrens to seek items of power – power she can use to get her revenge at last…

    

Varden Dawngrasp

A curious intellectual seeking redemption in the eyes of their people…

Dawngrasp spent most of their life in Silvermoon, a curious young elf and student of all things magical. They showed a preternatural gift for the arcane, quickly mastering various schools of magical thought. They were trained by Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider himself, who was part of the High Council of the Kirin Tor. It looked like Dawngrasp would rise through the ranks of the mages of Quel’thalas and attain the title of Magister.

Alas, Arthas and the Scourge had other plans. In the aftermath of the destruction of the Sunwell, Kael’thas went to Outland, but Dawngrasp would not go. After the prince’s subsequent betrayal, many of the magisters, Grand Magister Rommath included, suspected that Dawngrasp might be in league with the traitorous prince. Alienated, Dawngrasp turned to their studies for comfort.

After the Night of Falling Stars, a troll appeared in Silvermoon. His name was Kazakus, and he sought aid in gathering the glowing shards that had rained across the Barrens. Suspicious of the troll’s intentions, Dawngrasp went to Kalimdor of their own accord, seeking knowledge about the power contained inside the shards…

Dev Note: The Hearthstone timeline diverges from the Warcraft canon at many points. (Hijacked Dalaran, anyone?) Notable to Year of the Gryphon, the Exodar crashes, and the Sin’dorei join the Horde, during the events of King Varian’s kidnapping, approximately one year before the Invasion of Outland. (See Book of Heroes: Valeera for more info.)

   

Guff Runetotem

A gentle giant more at home with trees and animals than politics…

Guff is the great-nephew of Archdruid Hamuul Runetotem. Like others of his tribe, he embraced the beauty and power of nature; his awe for its majesty is as boundless as the natural realm. Guff once issued funeral rites to a grass clipping, and many assume he is weak and harmless, but his animal instinct will go wild if someone harms nature or his friends.

Guff’s family has never known quite what to do with him. Even among other druids he is perceived as soft and tender. In the hope of toughening him up, Uncle Hamuul sets him loose on the Barrens. Neither Guff nor the Barrens was ready for it…

    

Bru’kan

A troll in his twilight teaches one last troop of troublemakers…

Bru’kan, an elderly Darkspear medicine man, has had encounters with lightning, lava, and other elemental dangers, resulting in him being a few totems short of a whole shaman. He has a good heart and cares deeply for his tribe, but in his younger years witnessed many tragedies.

Outside his hut one evening, Bru'kan looked to the heavens and witnessed the Night of Falling Stars. Glowing fragments of Light fell across the Barrens. His ear hairs stood on end: This was a sign. He reached out with his mind and cast Far Sight, hoping to divine the future: He saw two dragons twisted together; he saw light and darkness merged, and ringed around it all he saw the arched symbol of the Horde triumphant. For the first time in many years, hope blazed within him.

Bru'kan found the face of that new promise in the young orc warrior Rokara. He sees great potential in her and in this new Horde she represents. But both her and the Horde they're building need guidance! He resolves to return to the fight, and to train Rokara with all his wisdom – thus guiding the Horde in the proper direction…