Easy question to answer.


KNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

There you go.

Well, we know that raptors in the Barrens are capable of complex tool use (they build huts, among other things) and pretty much all raptors have some form of bodily decoration in the form of feathers, which means they're sophisticated enough to have art. Raptors are not exactly stupid.

However, it comes down to the fact that Rhonin's class is not actually "mage" - it's "Mary Sue", a hero class unlockable by being Richard Knaak. I like to think that his existence is a ploy of the Infinite Dragonflight, and that the Bronze Flight are steadily working to erase him and his deeds from existence.

The raptors of Azeroth are extremely intelligent, in some cases to the point of being able to communicate and organize at the level of more advanced races. There are (or were, at least) a few quests in the Barrens and Dustwallow Marsh where you're sent to track down and kill certain raptors that are often hiding in something that looks more like a Raptor "village" rather than a lair or territory you'd see from a pack of wolves.

The question isnt why a Mage can summon the help of a raptor army, it's why can hunters tame raptors in the first place?

Roll a Goblin or Horde character. Do the Ashara chains where they send you to the burning factory. Talk to the favorite experiment, 9.

Some of the funniest stuff is done by that npc.

You will quickly get a new appreciation for the raptors in Azeroth.

But yea, Knaak...

Its actually the opposite of that.

If you read the book, Knaaks raptor army is not all that far fetched. Raptors, in WoW, are sentient creatures, building huts, wearing jewelry, ect. In the actual book, the dragons are pushing the raptors out of their territory, and the raptors start attacking the dwarves, and are, understandable losing.

Rhonin, being a wizard, simply had access to the knowledge that raptors are not dumb beasts in Azeroth, and took advantage of the situation.

Yes, Number 9 is my favourite loose end. If we have the choice between a raid set in the boring Emerald Dream, or a Caverns of Time instance featuring an invasion by Number 9's offspring in Azeroth's future, you know where my vote is going.

Pretty much the first thing he says to you is that his species were dumb for hunting when they could have had domesticated livestock. His choice of livestock? Humans.