Gorehowl

Gorehowl is the epic two-handed axe that once belonged to the orcish warrior and former chieftain of the Warsong Clan, Grommash Hellscream, his father, Golmash, and his son, Garrosh. The location of the original timeline's Gorehowl is unknown. The alternate timeline's Gorehowl is in Grom's hands. In-game it drops from Prince Malchezaar in Karazhan.

History

GorehowlCinematic — Gorehowl in WC3 Cinematic

Golmash Hellscream was his earliest wielder, he cleaved a massive gronn's eye with it before dying. The gronn died first.

Hellscream was the first to partake of the Blood of Mannoroth, eventually coming to regret it. When Thrall met him, it was clear to him that Grom had the means by which to liberate his lethargic brothers and sisters.

During the second coming of the Burning Legion, Hellscream took his axe to the pit lord Mannoroth after Thrall was beat into unconsciousness. With a single blow, Hellscream cleaved his adversary's weapon in two and slew Mannoroth. Hellscream perished shortly afterwards, but he had managed to break the curse over his people, freeing their souls and spirits from the demonic curse forever.

It should also be noted that Gorehowl is the weapon which slew the night elf demigod Cenarius.

Gorehowl somehow wound up in the hands of Prince Malchezaar after Grom's death.

In Orgrimmar, Thrall presented Gorehowl to Garrosh as a gift. It is seen in the picture named "Gift of Gorehowl" by Raneman.

During the Siege of Orgrimmar, Garrosh wielded Xal'atoh, a copy of Gorehowl made by Y'Sharrj's heart. After the siege and escaping to an alternate timeline, the original Gorehowl remained behind on Azeroth. Upon positioning the Grom Hellscream from the alternate timeline as Warchief of the Iron Horde, Garrosh wielded Gorehowl once more - albeit one from another timeline - until his death at Grommashar at the hands of Thrall.

Gul'dan later retrieved Gorehowl from Nagrand, and in another failed attempt to convince Grommash to drink demon blood, threw it to his feet to remind Grom of his failures as Warchief before imprisoning him.

Decades later, an elder Grommash would wield the alternate Gorehowl against the armies of the Lightbound and High Exarch Yrel, in a bid to buy time for the last of the Mag'har to escape to Azeroth. His final fate - and the fate of the alternate Gorehowl - remains unknown.

Description

This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft RPG, and thus unlikely to be canon.

Grom Hellscream’s axe has a heavy blade that is notched and stained, with sharp, wicked curves. Small holes dot the blade near the handle; when the wielder swings the axe, air whistles through these holes. The sound keens over the battlefield, magically strengthened and imbued with otherworldly power. Gorehowl is one of Azeroth's most feared and notorious weapons.^[1]^{(S&L 169)}