It is possible that Mankrik is a former member of the Burning Blade Clan and a blademaster, as he shows signs of obsession (asking you to kill dozens of thorntusks) and also displays a Burning Blade banner outside his hut. This seems to be confirmed with his new guise in Cataclysm.
Mankrik and his wife Olgra battled quilboars in a small tauren camp when they were separated by the overwhelming numbers. As he saw his wife being overwhelmed by newcomers, rage came over him as he turned to face his enemies, but they brought him down easily with their vast numbers. He later awoke to a tauren druid tending his wounds — the druid has come across him on the Gold Road as he fell.[1] Filled with uncertainty whether his wife was still alive or not, he stands at the Crossroads every day scouting the horizon for more quilboars to quench his bloodthirst.[2]
He later managed to retrieve the corpse of his wife and bury her, raising a humble monument in her honor. However his thirst for their blood had still not been quenched, killing every quilboar he's seen since they murdered his wife and burned down his homestead.[3] Still not satisfied with the slaughter of the quilboar at Thorn Hill, he later traveled to the Southern Barrens, realizing that there will be no peace without his wife, wanting to see their very homes razed.[4]
Cataclysm
This section concerns content exclusive to Cataclysm.