Tol'vir

The Tol'vir are an immortal race of cat-like humanoids. Originally stone-constructs created by the Titans to serve as Guardians of their facilities, the Curse of Flesh altered their bodies, turning them into creatures of flesh like many other Titan constructs.

Despite their age and purpose on Azeroth, living Tol'vir were not encountered by mortals until the events of the Cataclysm, when the cloaking field shielding the land of Uldum from the rest of the world failed. Prior to the Cataclysm, the only Tol'vir that had been encountered were seen during the events of the Third War, when the Scourge employed them as Obsidian Destroyers.

From Origin to Cataclysm
The Tol'vir have a history that is not fully known to the mortal races. It is known that they were created by the Titans and placed within several of their facilities to act as Guardians and Caretakers around the same time as many other Titan races, such as the Vrykul, Earthen, Mechagnomes and Mogu. When the Old Gods cast the Curse of Flesh upon the creations of the Titans, many of the construct races were transformed into creatures of flesh, the Tol'vir being no exception, although unlike other construct races, they maintained the immortality that had been granted to them from their titanic masters.

16,000 years before the events of the First War, a great war of attrition (known as the Thousand Year War) ended on the massive continent of Kalimdor. While the Tol'vir were not involved in this war, they would be directly affected by the repercussions of it. A race of insectoid-like beings, known as the Aqir were defeated by the Gurubashi and Amani Troll Empires. Forced to split in two, the survivors of the Thousand Year War traveled to the far north and south, discovering and invading several Titan facilities that were under the care of the Tol'vir. The Tol'vir guarding each of the facilities were slain or corrupted, becoming servants of the insect races that had defeated them. The northern facility was turned into the underground empire of Azjol-Nerub, while the southern facility was transformed into the Silithid hive city of Ahn'Qiraj.

Following the loss of the Titan facilities, the Tol'vir vanished from known history for thousands of years, only reappearing three times in the long period between the fall of the titan facilities and the events of the Cataclysm. The first reappearance of the Tol'vir occurred during the War of the Shifting Sands, when Emperor Vek'lor under the command of his master, created the Obsidian Destroyer, reanimating the remains of fallen Tol'vir and turning them into insidious creatures that could drain magical energy from any living thing around them. These new constructs were a significant threat to the various Dragonflights and the Night Elves that fought in the war, as neither race were prepared to face a creature that could consume magical energy from a distance. Following the defeat of the Qiraji in that War, more Obsidian Destroyers were created within the Qiraji city of Ahn'qiraj, although they would not be seen in battle again for many years.

The second appearance of the Tol'vir occurred shortly after the events of the Third War. The Scourge, a faction of soulless undead under the command of the Lich King, was living up to its namesake, attempting, and in many ways succeeding in scourging the world of all life. Originally hailing from Northrend, the Lich Kings' forces had already conquered the Nerubian Empire of Azjol-Nerub, and in doing so had recovered what Tol'vir had survived the Nerubian invasion that had occurred thousands of years ago. Able to reanimate the constructs, these Obsidian Statues were employed by the Scourge against its enemies. Used on the frontline of many battles, a large number of the statues were destroyed by forces opposing the Scourge.

The third appearance of the Tol'vir occurred during a new conflict with the Qiraji armies of Ahn'Qiraj. Both the Horde and the Alliance united into one fighting force, known as the Might of Kalimdor, and with a great war effort and the marshaling of powerful heroes, they succeeded in opening the Scarab Wall, a fortification that had been sealed at the end of the War of the Shifting Sands. Invading the city, they put the Qiraji forces to the sword, killing thousands of the insectiod creatures, along with the bulk of their leadership, including the twin Emperors Vek'lor and Vek'linash. During the battles, many Obsidian Destroyers, which had been built during the long period of time between the War of the Shifting Sands and this new conflict were destroyed.

Following the destruction of Ahn'qiraj and the deaths of the Twin Emperors and the Old God C'thun, the Tol'vir once again faded into obscurity. They would not be seen again, even during the Northrend Campaign which waged war against the Scourge, until the events of the Cataclysm.

The Cataclysm
The next and most current appearance of the Tol'vir would occur in the year 621 K.C when Deathwing broke free from the elemental plane of earth and sundered the world in an event which would become known as the Cataclysm. The entire world was irreversibly changed, and while there were many disasters that rocked the world of Azeroth, none were more important to the Tol'vir than the earthquakes which rocked their small desert land of Uldum. Located south of the desert region of Tanaris, it was hidden from all by a titan cloaking device, which had been damaged as a result of the Cataclysm. Suddenly the Tol'vir's existence was revealed to the entire world of Azeroth, and the links between the Obsidian Statues used by both Scourge and Qiraji were made clear. Bandits, mercenaries and profiteers poured into the newly revealed region, where three Tol'vir tribes had been living for countless years.

Despite the region being only recently exposed, it was not without its own share of conflicts. Deathwing had arrived in Uldum long before the profiteers and mercenaries and had offered the Tol'vir a bargain. Join him, and have the Curse of Flesh reverted, or be destroyed. Out of the three tribes that lived in the region, the Ramkahen, Orsis and Neferset, only the Neferset chose to join with Deathwing. In response to the other two tribes defiance, Deathwing had the Wind Lord Al'Akir bury the city of Orsis beneath the sand, killing the majority of the Orsis Tribe, while the Neferset, now allies with Deathwing, engaged the Ramkahen. Despite the acts of aggression, the leader of the Ramkahen, King Phaoris, did not believe that war with the Neferset was a necessary act, however with the death of his brother Prince Nadun, he finally rallied the armies of the Ramkahen and laid siege to the Neferset capital. Stalled by constructs that defended the city from invaders, the King employed mercenaries to sneak into the city and engage the Neferset leader, Dark Pharaoh Tekahn. With his death, the sorcery that animated the great constructs stalling the Ramkahen army was broken and the colossal giants collapsed into the desert sands, allowing the Ramkahen forces to invade Neferset City which soon fell to the Ramkahen, leaving the Neferset scattered and leaderless.

Biology
The Tol'vir resemble great cats in the sense that they have the lower body of the great beasts, and share many facial features with the animals, but have the upper torso of a humanoid. They have two arms and four legs. Tol'vir that were cursed by the Old Gods to become flesh have thick fur covering the bulk of their bodies, with many different colors and patterns emerging on their bodies. Tol'vir that were not cursed, or were transformed back into their stone forms as a result of making the pact with Deathwing, have stone bodies, often created from Obsidian, although other stone forms are also present. Among both stone and cursed Tol'vir are those who have great sets of wings on their back. This is somewhat of a rarity among the tribes of the Tol'vir in the Uldum region, but present none the less. It is unclear if Tol'vir with wings are capable of flight.

Cursed Tol'vir are capable of reproduction with other Tol'vir. The children of these Tol'vir are called cubs.

Culture
The Tol'vir were created primarily to guard and maintain the structures that the Titans had created on Azeroth. Despite the many years that have passed since their original creation which have greatly changed the race as a whole, they still remain true to the orders that were given to them upon their creation. For some Tol'vir their orders are instinctual, for others it is tradition passed down through the generations. They defend and maintain the Titan structures, often seeing them as holy sites that are sacred to their race.

Even though they have orders to follow, whether instinctual or traditional, within the region of Uldum, the Tol'vir have created their own culture and cities. Structures within the region are built with square bricks, crafted from stone or a mixture of mud, water and straw. While basic in design, they achieve their purpose, shielding the Tol'vir from the harsh desert sun, and blocking the stinging winds.

The Tol'vir have a form of monarchy as their ruling government. Each tribe of the Tol'vir is ruled by a royal line, maintaining the title of King or Pharaoh. Should the King or Pharaoh of a tribe perish, the eldest living heir will become the next leader of the tribe. High ranking members of each tribe, such as High Priests, Generals and Viziers are greatly respected by other Tol'vir and often wear elaborate headdresses which resemble rams or birds. While not confirmed, the headdresses are rumored to represent the aspects of the Titans, which the bulk of the Tol'vir are still loyal to.

(The following information is fanon)

Another aspect of Tol'vir culture, at least among the Neferset Tribe, is the use of lesser races as slaves. Many years ago, the Neferset encountered a primitive group of humans that had somehow managed to find themselves within the deserts of Uldum. Seeing an opportunity, the Neferset captured this primitive tribe and forced them to labor for them, building their cities and monuments without care for their own well-being. This allowed the Neferset Tribe to build the largest city in the Uldum region, quickly outclassing the smaller cities of Orsis and Ramkahen, the two Tol'vir tribes in the region which refused to take slaves of their own, and activity helped slaves who managed to escape from the Neferset.

When the Neferset Tribe was scattered and their capital seized by the Ramkahen, the slaves of the Neferset, in a revolt of their own, were given their freedom by the Ramkahen. Slavery was then outlawed by the Ramkahen within the region of Uldum.

(Fanon ends here)

Language
The Tol'vir speak three main languages. Their own language, which has no clear name, the language of the Titans, and a more common tongue which allows them to speak with other races that live on Azeroth, such as the Humans and the Orcs.

Religion
The Tol'vir revere the power of the Sun, with their priest caste being known as Sun Priests. Many of the more sacred locations throughout the desert of Uldum have references to the sun, such as the Seal of the Sun King and the Obelisk of the Sun with one temple within Uldum even being powered by the suns rays. In addition there are many statues of Rahj, the Watcher of the Sun, scattered throughout the Uldum region.

Their great reverence of the sun also allows for a select few Tol'vir to call upon the power of the Light, both to protect themselves and harm their enemies.

Immortality
The Tol'vir are considered to be one of the few immortal titan races. While other races created by the titans and cursed by the Old Gods wither and die with age, the Tol'vir, even when cursed, retained their immortality, which has allowed skilled Tol'vir to survive for countless millenia.