Loa

Biodata

Name	Loa (洛阿神)
Alias(es)	Loa gods; animal Loa; divine beings; wilderness spirits
Species/Race	Divine entities, commonly powerful beasts or world spirits empowered by divinity and faith
Affiliation	Troll tribes and nations, especially the Zandalari Empire
Occupation/Role	Patron deities who protect followers, grant blessings and power, and compete for worshippers
Status	Extant; individual Loa may die, but divine beings are difficult to destroy permanently and can be resurrected or revive over time
First Appearance	2

Nature and Origin

Loa are divine beings closely tied to troll faith. Powerful beasts can become Loa after receiving sufficient worship and offerings from trolls, gaining divinity and access to rule-based powers. A Loa's defining distinction from an ordinary animal demigod is its ability to draw Power of Faith from mortal followers. 150 254 683

• Loa are generally animal demigods, though their original forms vary widely, including bats, devilsaur, pterrordaxes, raptors, sharks, spiders, thunder lizards, and turtles. 150 605
• Their divinity is innate rule-related knowledge that can be used without conventional study. 256
• A Loa without followers declines into an ordinary and relatively weak wild demigod; in return for faith, a Loa is expected to safeguard its believers. 376
• Like other divine beings, Loa are extremely difficult to kill permanently. Some can return naturally after death, while others can be restored through exceptional means. 215 619

Faith and Worship

Troll worship of Loa is pragmatic as well as devotional. Tribes seek protection, guidance, and tangible blessings; many larger tribes worship more than one Loa, while smaller tribes risk offending their existing patron by converting. 253 254

Aspect	Details
Source of power	Followers' prayers, reverence, fear, offerings, and worship generate Power of Faith for beings with divinity. 394
Believer management	Most native Loa focus on exceptional, fanatical followers rather than responding to every ordinary prayer. 395
Priestly blessings	Loa can grant their essence, known as mojo, to powerful priests and servants. 702
Religious competition	Loa compete intensely for believers and exclusive preaching territories, though direct conflict between them is restricted in Zandalar. 246
Divine emblems	Zandalari believers carry small emblems representing their chosen Loa to pray and connect with them. 383

Divine Abilities

Divinity

A Loa's divinity embodies a rule or domain of the world. It determines the nature of its supernatural powers and is connected to the Loa's form, role, and followers. 256

• Rezan possesses divinity associated with the Holy Light and combat. 150
• Akunda possesses lightning-related divinity. 150
• Hir'eek wields Sound Divinity, using destructive ultrasonic attacks. 256
• Loa divinity can be fragmented, seized, or exchanged; Tonatiuh takes one-eighth of Hir'eek's Sound Divinity after defeating his avatar. 256

Blessings and Empowerment

Loa grant powers suited to their domains and followers' needs.

• Priests and favored servants may receive mojo, a materialized form of soul energy originating from a Loa or other living being. 702
• Rezan can bestow Holy Light-like abilities and powerful combat techniques. 150
• Hir'eek's gifts center on guidance, detection, scouting, and navigating darkness rather than direct combat. 254
• Gral's divine magic can manifest as an enormous shark phantom during naval combat. 273

Avatars and Manifestation

Loa can act through divine avatars when their true bodies are absent, though an avatar is weaker and more vulnerable than the Loa itself. 256 401

• Hir'eek attacks Tonatiuh and Duwal through a divine avatar rather than his true body. 256
• During Zandalar's crisis, several Loa send avatars to oppose the N'raqi generals, but their intervention proves insufficient without their true bodies. 401
• The collective manifestation of true Loa bodies is an extraordinary political and religious event among the Zandalari. 605

Notable Loa

Loa	Form / Domain	Notes
Rezan	Devilsaur; Holy Light and combat	Zandalar's supreme Loa, whose faith extends throughout the empire; feared by Bwonsamdi because their powers clash. 150 246
Bwonsamdi	Troll god; death and annihilation	God of death, graves, and the final destination of all things. 150 605
Pa'ku	Pterrordax; wind and skies	A wind deity and protector associated with the Zandalari navy. 605
Gonk / Gani	Raptor; hunting and shapeshifting	Master of the Hunt and Lord of the Herd; also an exceptionally capable spy and scout. 509 605 683
Hir'eek	Bat; sound, midnight, guidance	Known as the Midnight Lord and Guide of the Lost; valued for scouting and echolocation-like sensory abilities. 254 256
Akunda	Thunder lizard; lightning	A Zandalari Loa whose divinity controls lightning. 150
Shadra	Spider; venom, espionage	Spider queen associated with spies, agents, stealth, and assassination. 150 605
Gral	Shark; ocean and sailors	God of the ocean, protector of sailors, and patron of calm seas. 605
Torcali	Devilsaur	Known as the Walking Mountain, Wandering Fortress, and Giver. 605
Gibul	Elaka sabertusk tiger	Tiger god and king of beasts. 605

History

Loa worship has existed since the earliest eras of the Troll Empire. Hir'eek, for example, is described as an ancient Zandalar Loa who existed from the empire's earliest days. 254

By the time of Tonatiuh's rise, Zandalar's Loa operated in a hierarchy dominated by Rezan. The strongest Loa held broad faith bases and major religious influence, while lesser gods—including Hir'eek and the frog Loa—competed for followers and holy districts. 246

Hir'eek's inability to intervene against G'huun's corruption severely damages his standing among Zandalari trolls. After attacking Tonatiuh and Duwal with a divine avatar, he is driven off; Tonatiuh takes a fragment of his Sound Divinity, further humiliating the Bat Loa. 246 256 257

Tonatiuh later resurrects the Turtle Loa, Akunda, and Hir'eek at the cost of more than 700,000 units of Faith. The restored Loa become exceptionally obedient to him, prompting the Zandalari Loa as a whole to submit to his authority. 619

Subordinate Deity System

After obtaining part of the Subordinate Deity Program, Tonatiuh establishes a formal hierarchy of chief deity and subordinate deities. Rezan is the first Loa to enter this system. 742

Contract Term	Effect
Faith allocation	Half of a subordinate Loa's harvested faith is automatically transferred to Tonatiuh. 742
Obedience	The Loa and its believers must obey the God-King's commands unconditionally. 742
Purified faith	The system purifies and distributes faith power among its contracted deities. 742
Resurrection	Bound Loa can be revived repeatedly through the system as long as it remains functional. 742
Participation	Most troll Loa who encounter the system join it; only isolated Loa in Northrend and Zul'Aman remain outside due to ignorance of its existence. 742

Relationships

• Troll tribes — Loa receive worship and offerings in exchange for protection, guidance, and divine blessings. 254 376
• Loa priests — Priests act as mortal representatives, receive mojo or divine magic, and spread their patron's faith. 253 702
• Tonatiuh — Becomes the Loa Lord through his power to resurrect Loa and his Subordinate Deity Program; most troll Loa eventually submit or contract under him. 619 742
• Azeroth's world-soul — Loa are described as animal demigods and powerful world spirits with deep connections to the Emerald Dream and an awareness of the world-soul's will. 683 742

Trivia

• Trolls may elevate even a sufficiently powerful beast into a Loa through long-term worship. 254 394
• Faith-powered Loa often display golden or silver pupils, identified as colors associated with faith power. 386
• Hir'eek's traditional hymn emphasizes sheltering the weak, clearing the mind, sharpening the senses, and guiding the lost home. 254