I think that's how I view the "we were druids first" thing, not that they were druids in the way that the Night Elves are, but that they were taught nature magic (which is what, Wrath and Insect Plague, maybe with some entangles...) and perhaps had a shapeshift mechanism of some sort.

I figure they had less nomadic of a lifestyle, and the nature arts helped keep up the greenery. When the centaur wars heated up, they lost those arts, since they just weren't as useful as the more violent sorts. They certainly took to them quickly and adopted the teachings into their own faith easily, showing that some form was already in there.

People keep thinking of Shaman magic as nature magic. It's *not*. Fire, earth, air and water are considered a part of nature on Earth, but not in the World of Warcraft. Nature magic is drawn from the bodies of nature - the sun, moon, plants (and perhaps Azeroth itself). Elemental magic is drawn from the elemental planes. Druids seek to live in harmony with nature, whereas most Shaman seek to use the elements as they need them. See the text from Toshe near the bottom of this page: http://www.wowpedia.org/Quest:Vortex