Taretha Foxton, otherwise known as Tari, was a close personal friend of the future Warchief Thrall during his early life as a slave of Aedelas Blackmoore, and was the closest thing to a family Thrall had. She was instrumental in aiding Thrall break free from his captivity to find his destiny beyond the walls of Durnholde.
Had Taretha been born in a major city, her life would have been different. As it was, Tari was the daughter of Blackmoore's personal secretary, Tammis Foxton, and despite her intelligence was not allowed to become the woman she might have been.
Despite her minor role, a mere footnote in the annals of history, Taretha Foxton's actions forever changed the world.
Biography[]
Taretha, a child of five years, ensured Thrall's survival as an infant by being the only person in Durnholde to realize he was a baby — he simply couldn't eat the meat the guards gave him because he didn't have teeth. When she innocently posed this information, Thrall's diet was hastily changed to milk and he thrived in the Foxton household, nursed by Taretha's own mother. When Thrall was eventually weaned, he was taken away and Tari wept bitter tears for the green-skinned child she regarded as her little brother.
Years later, Tari, still in her preteens, was given the task to bring books on military strategy to Thrall, at the suggestion of Blackmoore's military advisor, Sergeant, to train the young orc in tactics and war. Tari used the books, by slipping notes inside the pages, to keep up a correspondence with Thrall, still managing to hide her unusually sharp intelligence.
Taretha assisting Thrall as depicted in Warcraft Legends 2
At some point, about ten years ago (from when?), Blackmoore made Taretha his mistress, a position she secretly despised (there are references to strange bruises on her wrists). After Thrall was savagely beaten for losing in the arena, Tari helped him in his desire to escape Durnholde. Tari set fire to the encampment after setting all the animals free as a distraction, then helped her friend escape by leaving him a large cloak with which to sneak out the front gate while the guards were busy. When Thrall spotted her injuries due to her unwilling relationship with Blackmoore, he begged her to go with him, but Tari refused for the sake of her family. Tari gave Thrall a necklace with the emblem of a crescent moon as a means of contacting her should he ever need help.
Eventually, Thrall did need help. Tari was asked by her friend, now the Warchief of a new Horde, to help them negotiate with Blackmoore. Tari insisted that it was pointless and when the Orc asked her to come with them, to protect her from his army attacking, she again declined to leave. Unfortunately, Blackmoore had her followed, and when she returned, he questioned and imprisoned her, her tragic fate coming to fruition with the Lieutenant General becoming drunk enough to order her execution.
The following day, Thrall arrived with his army and demanded Blackmoore to stand down, and free his people. After a slurred conversation, a very drunk Blackmoore hurled Taretha's severed head at Thrall from the battlements. The sight of the dead woman was so shocking that Thrall cried emotional tears for the first time in his life. But the loss of the woman who for years had been his only friend and family enraged the shaman Warchief. Gone was any hope or desire for negotiation with the despicable human. He immediately ordered his army to attack, and eventually fought his way to Blackmoore himself. Despite his pathetic attempt at any sort of defense, Blackmoore was slain by the furious Thrall. After evacuating the keep of humans and sending Blackmoore's second in command Langston to the Alliance with a warning, he asked the Spirit of the Earth to destroy Durnholde Keep, leaving it in ruins.
World of Warcraft[]
Tari's Necklace[]
Years later, after Thrall became the new Warchief, he sent a number of orc volunteers to Durnholde Keep on a mission to investigate the Syndicate activity in the area, as well as recover Taretha's necklace (the same one she once gave to him) now worn by Elysa, a mistress of Lord Aliden Perenolde, the leader of the Syndicate who believed in slavery and sought to subjugate orcs once again. The mission was initially a failure with the leader Gol'Dir and his companions Drull and Tog'Thar being captured by the Syndicate. Krusk escaped, however, and enlists the aid of Horde players to help rescue his comrades and recover the necklace, slaying Lord Aliden in the process.
Caverns of Time[]
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Taretha was instrumental in allowing Thrall to escape from Durnholde. However, when players enter Old Hillsbrad, they find out that the infinite dragonflight has captured Taretha and is holding her prisoner in Tarren Mill, west of Durnholde. Without Taretha's intervention, Thrall would not be able to escape Durnholde. Players must travel through the Caverns of Time, aid Thrall in his escape from Durnholde, and then travel to Tarren Mill to free Taretha from the massive infinite dragon known as Epoch Hunter. Taretha's model in-game is nearly identical to Jaina's, corroborating the various sources that note their similarities, however with Jaina's updated model with patch 3.3, the similarities are not as apparent.
Her impact[]
By helping Thrall escape, Taretha ensured the future of the Horde by giving them a new Warchief. Taretha was willing to trust other orcs she met in Thrall's company, showing Frostwolf and Warsong orcs that peace (or at least cooperation) between the two races was possible.
Jaina Proudmoore somehow reminded Thrall of Taretha,[1] (CoH 34) and this may have helped Thrall overcome his distaste for humans and trust the Alliance. In any case, it was Tari who first showed Thrall that friendship between humans and orcs was possible, and this lesson enabled the Alliance and the Horde to ally with each other, defeating Mannoroth and later joining the Sentinels at Mount Hyjal to vanquish Archimonde.
Taretha Foxton was indirectly responsible for freeing the orcs from their curse and saving Azeroth from the Defiler. To date, Taretha Foxton is the only human who has had a lok'vadnod ("Song of a Hero") composed in her honor.
Media[]
Video[]
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Taretha helps Thrall escape from Durnholde