Gurubashi Loa

Shadra – The Spider

Shadra, Elortha no Shadra, The Venom Queen, Silk Dancer and Mistress of Spies. The Spider Loa is one of the most wide-spread Loa, the reach of Her power through Her children stretching from the jungles of Stranglethorn to the desert of Tanaris. Wherever there are shadows Her children will weave their webs and through their silk Shadra will see, Shadra will hear.

She lives to search for the hidden knowledge, hoarding Her secrets and waiting for the right time to send them out into the world, causing distrust and weaving intricate webs of lies and deceit. For a lie told or a secret revealed at the right time and in the right place can be just as deadly as the most lethal of venoms.

Followers of Shadra would rather depend on the sharpness of their tongue than the sharpness of their blade. They’re strategists and schemers, often valuing their own wellbeing over that of others. They weave their words into a web of deceit, capturing anyone not careful enough to avoid the deceptive traps the Shadralings weave.

Trolls might pray to Shadra for signs to aid them in their campaigns, their strategies, their political manoeuvres and their search for what is missing. They may seek out Her children for their venoms, seeking to distil and utilize them to create the most devilish, lethal poisons.

Hir’eek – The Bat

Hir’eek is the Gurubashi Bat. He is also known as the Loa of Night and the Lord of the Midnight Sky. The Bat is known as a symbol of knowledge and prosperity, for He knows and values the importance of listening, as He lacks mortal sight. As such, Hir’eek is revered as a problem-solver. He is called upon for clarity of mind, or to grant wisdom when faced with difficult choices.

Followers of Hir’eek often occupy themselves with the gathering and analysing of information. Many of Hir’eeks followers have grown to become renown Seers by offering their own sight in honour of Hir’eek the Blind.

Hir’eek is also known for His kindness. He has been described as a guardian of the weak, the protector of night. It is said that whenever you are lost, afraid and alone – call upon Hir’eek and His voice will guide you home. Although Hir’eek is kind, it is important to remember that the great Bat is still a primal Loa, and His lust for blood is no secret. Many followers may turn to offer their own blood in honour of a Bat’s savage nature – it is not uncommon for followers of Hir’eek to become Blood Drinkers – while others may take on a more peaceful lifestyle, like the fruitbats.

Come Battle for Azeroth, it is revealed that Hir’eek was corrupted by the blood god G’huun. This lead to a group of Zandalari and Horde killing the physical manifestation of the Bat Loa. While Hir’eek’s spirit is weakened, it is believed by many that through worship He will rise again.

Bethekk – The Panther

Bethekk is the Gurubashi Panther, also know as the Stalker, the Cloak of Stranglethorn, and the Mistress of the Hunt. She relies on Her abilities to stealth and move silently, as well as Her cunning. Bethekk prowls and stalks Her prey for several hours, watching their every move, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. With fur dark as the night She cloaks Herself in shadows, ensuring She never gets seen before Her claws, sharper than blades, strike. A proper Panther only needs one shot to get the job done.

These virtues are not only associated with the arts of the hunt but in the daily life of a follower of Bethekk. They can be seen as perfectionists – planning their projects into every little detail to ensure that the risk of failure is minimal. While the more bold Shirvallah is called the Sun, Bethekk is often associated with the Moon. She gazes down upon Her followers from the dark, unending night – the rays of moonlight acting as a guiding light for hunters as they hunt in Her name.

Many hunters, scouts and assassins turn to Bethekk for Her gifts to cloak them in shadows to keep them safe as well as bless their hunts to be successful, however Bethekk is not only a Loa for hunters. The ways of Her shadows have also been embraced by trolls experienced in the arts of voodoo. They are known for seeking to control Her shadows to their will, using them to either cover themselves or blind their targets.

Shirvallah – The Tiger

Shirvallah, Ruler of the Jungle and The Proud is the Gurubashi Loa of Tigers.
Large and muscular there is little that threatens the Tiger within the Jungle, so She graces the lands with confidence and majesty. During hunts She rushes in and overwhelms Her prey with Her sheer brawn and fortitude.

Shirvallah is the one who charges head-first into the fray, always ready for the test of strength against a worthy foe. She is unimpressed by subtlety and deceit, and Her majesty does not find anything commendable in fighting those weaker than yourself. Her strength is one coveted by many, and trolls offer to Her to both allow them the opportunity to test their strength in Her honour as well as to aid them as they seek to hunt the strong and worthy prey.

Her domain is that of the day, stretching Her strength during the dawn to chase away the shadow of Bethekk’s night, prowling the jungle as the light from the sun breaks through the leaves of the trees and displaying Her proud majesty in the evening, Her red mane covering the sky before yielding ground to Bethekk’s shadow once more.

There are other Trolls however which look more to the sky than the temple in their worship of Shirvallah. Instead of turning to the burning flame they look to the ever warming Sun in the sky, looking to it as the Eye of Shirvallah. To them there are no greater honour than those achieved under the watching gaze of Her Eye.

Hethiss – The Snake

Hethiss, The Scaled One or The Slitherer, is the Gurubashi Loa of Snakes. Hethiss never had the patience for slow and careful planning, and He never had the utility of the more flexible Loa. But what He lacked in those areas He made up for in sheer potency and skill, fierce determination and an almost brutish pursuit of His goals. While Hethiss carries Himself with elegance He is not above stooping to the most underhanded tactics in order to get what He wants.

It is said that His forked tongue will always speak out two half-truths aiming to fool the listener but it does not take much to see through them. However, all the Snake needs is a brief moment of confusion in order to strike.

Much like their Loa, His followers are known for working hard and refusing to let anyone stand between them and the pursuit of their goals. Trolls may ask Him for the strength of will to complete their goals, reaching for more than they had before.

Hethiss is almost always associated with vipers and other serpents carrying venom in their fangs, rather than constrictors. It is not surprising many of His followers are hunters coating their blades in venom. Honor and courage are traits often deemed useless by those who serve the Slitherer, and they would rather strike from the shadows to let the Snake’s venom do its job. Those who die by the hands of a troll serving the Scaled One will rarely meet a quick or painless end.

Venomancers follow Him almost exclusively in order to gain access to the fruits of His children. Their deadly venoms are carefully distilled to enhance their abilities in combat while others are used by Seers for their abilities to bring forth visions and dreams.

Hakkar – The Soulflayer

These days the mere mention of the Soulflayer’s name still has the power to send many running, Trolls and non-Trolls alike. Even after His defeat at the hand of Trolls and the Horde His taint still remains, His former sanctums and temples still reeking of His foul presence.

Yet that was not His beginning. He was the Faceless One, Loa in control of the Shadowlands, where ghosts and spirits would roam and be guided towards Bwonsamdi’s realm. His path towards corruption was slow at first. He would gaze longingly towards the other side, hungering for the following the other Loa commanded, as the only Trolls commanded by the Faceless were the spirits and ghosts unable to move on. A failed attempt at breaking through to the other side was made when foolish trolls in Zandalar attempted to summon Him, but even an unsuccessful ritual showed a glimpse of Hakkar’s immense and terrifying power: a plague of corrupted blood which struck down thousands of Trolls.

It was not until the Gurubashi Empire started to stagnate that they started calling to any and all who would listen among the Loa. Hakkar was the one who did. He seized upon the Gurubashi’s insecurity to carve out a new realm of control for Himself, demanding blood sacrifice in order to sustain and enhance His power on the living side, granting blessings of great power and strength upon the Gurubashi warriors, which made them blood crazed and utterly vicious. The Trolls would bring ever more sacrifices to the Loa, His thirst for blood driving the Gurubashi ever more furious and insane until the Empire started to crumble. With Hakkar not only proving a threat to the Gurubashi and their Loa but to Azeroth as a whole, Hakkar’s following and priests were eventually slaughtered or banished, shattering His tie to this world.

Unique amongst all Loa is that as a whole, His worship is reviled. His followers often hunted down and killed, exiled if lucky. Yet the Soulflayer always remains, residing on the other side and waiting for the next chance to rip His serpentine fangs into our existence, for His hunger can never be sated.