Mmm, yeah. Tell me what you guys think of this. There isn't much lore on Blademasters anyway, and I've already squidged around with lore and canon regardless so this (the game itself) can work at all.
The Traditional Blademaster
Though the shamans are the ones who one commonly thinks of when they imagine one who communicates with the Elements and the Spirits, it must be remembered that all orcs call upon those beings in everyday life. A common swear is by the ancestors, while plenty of other times small mutterings and minute rituals give thanks and beseech the spirits for their assistance. Perhaps a farmer will request the aid of the Earth in his or her tilling efforts. Mayhap a blacksmith will whisper thanks to the spirits of Fire for their help in the creation of a new tool or weapon. Just as how in the society of the trolls both the Witch Doctors and the Shadow Hunters call upon the Loa and Voodoo, so too do Shamans and Blademasters call upon the Blessings of the Ancestors and the Blessings of the Elements/Spirits (there is some extreme overlap and exchangeability between the terms of Elements and Spirits depending on the speaker).
But where the Shaman asks for and receives the assistance of the spirits through vigorous effects which can strike out from their hands in the manner of lightning or some such, or they call a great earthquake to shake the ground beneath their foes, the Blademaster does not. In contrast, the Blademaster beseeches the Wind and Air to speed themselves forward, to lengthen their stride or to move them so swiftly and silently as for them to appear invisible. Or perhaps the spirits of Fire will engulf the Blademasters body with new strength and energy in wild bursts, such that they can land blows that should have been utterly impossible yet grievously injure their opponent.
These things are not asked for mid-battlefield by the way of the Shamans who must stride onto the battlefield and be confident that the spirits shall see fit to reward and gift them with lightning and claw and power. Instead, it is the Blademaster who must undergo trials and tests by the spirits themselves to receive their Blessings. The Blessings of the Elements strengthen and empower the Blademaster beyond simple mortal abilities, and yet...many Blademasters do not acquire these Blessings, for only the truly worthy can be chosen to have the power of the spirits to be so permanently engraved into their bodies and souls. Even then, these things can be torn away should the Elements decide that the one they have so blessed has become unworthy of their gift, though supposedly by no other power.
Nevertheless, the skill and ability of any Blademaster cannot be denied. The strength of an orc is incredible, and in the throes of battle sometimes seems to increase several fold. The flashing of their specially constructed blades can slice apart steel if wielded correctly and powerfully enough. The myriad abilities of the Blademaster are pure skill, speed, and strength, and so they must become the pinnacle of a warrior beyond any others. This was proven more than enough for the whole of the history of the orcish race.
Fel-empowered Blademaster
Beasts, monsters, and bloodthirsty maniacs. These are what fill the ranks of the demonically empowered Blademasters. The Burning Blade, that honorable clan, was not the first to accept the demons blood as the Warsong did. Indeed, it was Grommash Hellscream and Blackhand the Destroyer as well as their clans who did this. Nevertheless, worse than the Warsong, the Blackrock, even the Bonechewers, did the Burning Blade fall into the throes of demonic corruption. Their prowess had been involved deeply in the slaughter of the draenei, and the once noble blademasters found themselves gripped by a terrible bloodlust eclipsing that of practically any other orcs. The spirits turned away from them, and just as the Shamans accepted the powers of the warlocks out of desperation because of that abandonment, so too did the Burning Blade drink deep of the fel powers that Gul'dan and the demons offered.
Their bodies swelled, their minds warped, and they were left horrifyingly more powerful than they had ever been before. Then they went completely insane. The once noble Burning Blade became a whirling dervish of constant and terrifying destruction, their bloodlust overwhelming practically all other senses. In the end, they were forced into containment by a cadre of ogre enforcers, the brutes strength the only thing capable of holding back the demonically empowered creatures that had once been orcs.
The true horror, of course, is that they remained just as if not more skilled than ever before. Their skills were only enhanced, and what once they had required the blessings of the spirits to accomplish their new demonically gifted powers could handle just as well. The heady and intoxicating fel power of the demons pushed the Blademasters to ever greater heights of carnage and destruction, their speed and strength rending apart any who came near.
So terrible was the bloodlust of the Burning Blade, that in the end, it was not the Alliance, or even the Horde, who put them down. The only force powerful enough to destroy the Burning Blade...was the Burning Blade itself, and so it was that the clan largely consumed itself after the battle of Blackrock Spire when they were finally unleashed on the Alliance after Anduin Lothar's death. It is said by some that this was, by far, the most bloody battle of the Second War and perhaps even eclipsing the blood spilled in the First WAr.
(It may be noted at this point that Kaz, daughter of Kaz, participated in that battle)
Blademasters Now:
When the Horde failed, in the eyes of the Burning Legion, the orcs were determined to be useless and to be left to rot. The power of the demons left the bodies of the Blademasters, and they fell into a wasted listlessness, depression, and constant exhaustion. A bare twenty five of these Blademasters remained alive in the Alliance internment camps, though they would later pledge themselves to their savior Thrall who once more filled them with the strength of the spirits, a welcome replacement for the demons which had quite literally consumed them from within.
There are, of course exceptions. The sheer willpower of Grom Hellscream allowed the Blademaster who was not of the Burning Blade and had thus not completely fallen into their own self-destruction. Another would be Kaz the Shrieker, who did admittedly make use of the demonic methods though this was simply because that is all that she learned. Given the chance, the orc woman would throw herself down in front of the Furies and beg them for their forgiveness for her folly in accepting the powers of demons (at the forcing hand of Mogor years past).
Though she learned the more power-based and aggressive styles and fighting techniques of the Fel-empowered Blademaster, Kaz is an amazingly talented warrior, and it is likely that she could learn the skill-based and more balanced fighting techniques and styles of the traditional Blademaster.
Of course, whether or not any of the knowledge of Traditional Blademasters remains after Hallvalor remained the home of the insane demon-driven Burning Blade for many years is up for debate.
What those same Burning Blade might do to soothe the gaping maw of emptiness in their once mighty bodies, minds, and souls, is also up for debate. Debate which only intensified in the halls of Garadar when Hallvalor was found empty, less than a handful of years after the twisted Chieftain Kargath Bladefist traveled throughout Nagrand in search of warriors for his campaign against the Alliance.
