As funny as this question sounds (as some here may state that it is "obvious" that they indeed do) we have but to look back at the Night Elf Tech Tree back in WarCraft III, where the wisps harvest gold from a Gold Mine, which in turn a Tree of Life has entangled.

Typically, we have the Human Town Hall or the Orcish Great Hall for their respective workers to return the bags of gold to, which implies that inside those Halls are smelters that refine the gold ore and cast into gold coins. The Night Elves are different because they have neither "Hall" nor "smelter" that we know of, yet by this approach they manage to harvest gold without a problem.

The undead too have something similar where the Acolytes harvest gold from a Haunted Gold Mine. This is done purely with magic, but the Night Elves' method is different because it involves their Wisps and the root system to "root" out the gold. Are they using a similar magic the Acolytes are using, even though it is Druid-based?

What are your thoughts?

I'm not fully immersed in WoW lore, but I like to play with a background for my characters and I have a Blood Elf Demon Hunter named Lonnar and I wanted some backstory ideas about his life, I thought about recycling part of my old DK's story, I always thought of him as a distant relative of Kael'thas Sunstrider who died during the invasion of Quel'Thalas and was reanimated as a death knight, and I thought about recycling at least the part of him being a distant relative, but I don't know how to fit it into the Demon Hunter.

I know they used to directly drain a Naaru to be Blood Knights but I'm unsure how they fit in after that.

Are they like the Green Lanterns in which they charge up at the Sunwell like a battery or do they believe in the Light again? Do they worship Belore the Sun like the Tauren Sunwalkers worship An'she or the Night Elves Elune?

What drives their faith to pass the Light's vibe check now? Even the Goblins have a more easily to find answer of where their faith comes from.

At what point will the green orc fade into obscurity? Death of Mannoroth along with a windfall of pureblooded orcs from Outland and Draenor would be enough to snuff this “trait” out in as little as 1-2 generations, would it not? Iirc Thralls kids are brown.

I'm very new to WoW lore and I may be making several mistakes, but from what I understand, are the Dractyr just subordinates and servants of the Dragon Aspects or do they have some kind of nobility and independence? It seems like they are very much tied to being just warriors for a cause.

Hello, over the years, as someone who likes to write short stories I was pondering about the potential of World of Warcraft. I was mulling over the whole thing for a long while, making small notes here and there. I ended up with something closer to a reboot rather than smoothening of the edges so the story could flow from Classic to current expansion.

I am aware that the ideas I may present may not be up everyone's alley but I still want to share them as a "what if" conversation piece. There is the most important rule in this: If I don't mention something, some character and so on it most likely means I do not intend for it to change from the original.

The following only covers Classic to Wrath story:

Starting with base, classic WoW:

• The basis of the "plot" being just set up around world building and catching up to how the world settled after the events of RTS is completely fine and doesnt need many more changes
• The one big change I would make (with modern capabilities that is, thats why I call it a hindsight rewrite) would be giving some story beats main characters that would be more prominent for example:
• Bolvar and the Gladiator guy from Orgrimmar for Onyxia/Varian story - making Bolvar a lil bit more recognizable for what comes later.
• Sylvanas plays a bigger role as the Forsaken, a bit reluctantly, cooperate with the Argent Dawn to get rid of the scourge, Sylv has the leading role in fight against Naxxramas/KT. She is stil la strategist and having an advantage of having allies in the region i still worth it. With Jaina nad Kirin Tor showing up a bit earlier/more to assist as the Argents as well?
• Other's roles stay unchanged, or I did not have too much of a thought about them. I think guys like Saurufang and Thrall had enough spotlight before and during classic.

Burning Crusade

• The biggest change would be us catching glimpses or spying on Illidan throughout the expansion, he is more hands on with the ongoing stuff in the Outland instead of being a paranoid recluse. Its clear he is gearing up to fight the legion but the impression is that his plan is too reckless and he messes with stuff that may backfire (either the arrakkoa void relics or otherwise).
• Kael still is a Silvermoon first guy so when the Blood Elves come in with the Horde he doesn't just surrender as he thinks the manaforges have a great potential as a solution still, but once confronted in TK and beaten, he doesn't die, he surrenders and he is taken back to Silvermoon or Shattrath as a prisoner. That also implies he allowed Scryers to defect.
• Also I would establish a character (maybe Astromancer Solarian?) as someone who Kael married during the time skip, essentially she would be the one taking his places in Magister's Terrence and leading the felborne Blood elves, taking KJ's deal. Kael refuses and stays in prison, she takes the deal and gets broken out by legion agents.
• Lady Vashj in this scenario would have to be a lot more sneakier with her background deals. Idk if i want her to die or survive, if she lived she could show up in few more places in like Cata or BfA, I think one thing would be useful is a section of SSC where Vashj hid Arrakoa and experimented on void relics for Azshara - justifying Lortheas the Blind being there as a captive who got experimented on because they caught her getting too close to the truth.
• Illidan gets beaten more or less the same way, although players would actually get the establishment of his imprisonment by the wardens as a epilogue quest.
• Maraad should also show up with the Alliance expedition.
• There could now be a campaign quest where you go with lil-arathor to learn about his parents and it would explain how they left with the army of the light
• Another piece of epilogue could be Kael's trial in either Shattrath or Silvermoon, with Velen present and Kael accepting his punishment of imprisonment.

Wrath of the Lich King

• Most of the stuff with Garrosh happens the same way as before. What I would do is give Garrosh a quest line where he fucks up by focusing too much on the alliance and his forces get almost wiped out by the scourge. Shit humbles him a lil.
• During the prep and war council before the Northrend expedition, Kael demands to be let out or conscripted to fight, but Velen (through a messenger) tells everyone that's its not his time yet. Kael stays in prison.
• Sylvanas and Jaina are more leading figures throughout the expansions for their factions respectively. They butt heads kind of like Varian and Garrosh but more in like "my way is better" manner.
• Tyrion is not the main character, not sure if I want Ashbringer to be a thing DKs get freed by light's hope similar way to the way they did before. Not entirely sure how to play that. I just think Tyrion was a character that took spotlight from better characters and has been under utilized after in hindsight.
• Most of the dragon story line is unchanged bar some mentions of Dragon Isles and stuff is welcome. How the shrine's have a connection to their homeland and its respective domains etc.
• Sylvanas has a round two against Naxxramas/KT, this time making personally sure that he is done (as a part of an epilogue)
• Jaina leads the push into Ulduar, learns some more about arcane magic and maybe first hints of the """order""".
• Argent Tournament remains unchanged
• Jaina and Sylvanas are both present at the rush at Icecrown, during the lich king fight isntead of Bolvar getting iceblocked like an useless character he is its the Lich King using a spell to turk Sylvanas into a Banshee again but Jaina interrupts it with a coutnerspell but she holds it throughout the fight. The dramatic stun at the end of the fight is Lich King stopping fucking around and interrupting Jaina's counter spell. The raid gets stunned by Sylvanas Banshee charm but combined with one last desperate push from Jaina and Sylvanas strong will the counterspell works and backfires at Arthas, fucking up frostmourne, the final lap of the fight happens basically the same way as it did before.
• Bolvar's fate remains unchanged
• I think I would swap Saurufangs at wrathgate, make the old Saurufang bite it and be the DK while the young one gets a character arc after that. Kind of blaming working with the alliance on his father's death. This is a plot thread to be further explored in Cataclysm
• Side note: Obsidian sanctum has more signs of Deathwing potentially stirring.
• Sylvanas does not kill herself, in epilogue questline she goes to visit Kael in prison and they actually talk about the events of both Frozen throne and Wrath of the Lich king and with how with Lich King beign dead they both get some relief. Kael helps Sylvanas think up some new purpose to work towards. The Forsaken start working closer with Blood Elves than before.
• For Alliance epilogue, Jaina with few others visits the Lorderon throneroom (the Forsaken allow it for her help saving Sylv) they leave tributes to King Terenas, they want to make a small grave for Arthas - not the lich king but Arthas before Stratholme, even marking it on his grave that he basically died during purge of Stratholme. That the Forsaken do not allow and that small stone is set up in Stormwind.
• Plot B would follow Vol'Jin and Tyrande starting from the Fjord and into Zul'Drak and Grizzly Hills respectively. Tyrande is curious about Fulrbogs, the Worgen and the tree as it ties back to her people and she ends up in Zul'Drak because of stuff from Zul'Drak spilling into the zone. While Vol'Jin goes to try and save what remains of Drakkari and their Loa to join the Horde (Ice troll customisation unlock?)

The funny thing is, with the trajectory i set for the story, I don't exactly know how to catalyze the events of stuff like Shadowlands anymore, lol. I know its possible but ughhh.

The Goblin Venture Trading Company is notorious for plundering for resources, poaching animal species, and arms dealing, even hiring members of other races to do their dirty jobs.

How come they've persisted? Is it because they've made a huge profit via illegal operations? Is it because they've hired so many mercenaries to use as expendable muscle? How much of their operation still remains especially all these 20 years of WoW?

What are your thoughts?

I decided to order the first batch of books/comics for a more serious approach to the lore. Did I make a good decision? Without much searching, I ordered the following:

https://imgur.com/a/CCGWbMQ

After several months of release date changes and delays in shipping, I finally got my hands on a copy of the new Exploring Azeroth book. I hadn't seen any posts about it anywhere, so I wanted to put out a recap of any details I found interesting regarding the state of the world and any background lore.

The POV characters for this book are Thalyssra and Lor'themar Theron, who are trying to find a place worth visiting for their honeymoon that happened 1-2 years before it's set. Timeline wise, it's set after the end of the Amirdrassil raid and the Alleria short story, but before the starting events of The War Within since they visit Dalaran. The book is quite large! It's covering three expansion's worth of zones and has a lot of cool illustrations in it. I liked it more than the Eastern Kingdoms one which mostly reverted the world to the Cata-era state of things, and they seem committed to actually giving us some updates on the stories of the zones, even if they are very often just "they rebuilt this place after it was devastated."

I was a bit disappointed the Island Expedition zones or other islands on Azeroth like Zul'dare did not come up, but there is a hint at the end of the book towards Tel'abim maybe being explored in the future. Lor'themar sends Thalyssra a flyer for the resort there.

The book wraps up with Thalyssra and Lor'themar each experiencing the call of the Worldsoul, described as an inescapable scream that seared their minds. This cuts their trip short, and seemingly leads right into the War Within.

Here's a list of interesting lore tidbits and revelations from the text, broken up based on region:

Suramar

Every Nightborne has now had the chance to taste the fruit of the Arcan'dor, and nobody hungers for mana any longer. Thalyssra notes that it's taken a lot of work and diplomacy to get to this point.

In an Armor Aside segment, Thalyssra says that the Nightborne have severed all ties to those who use fel magic. This may suggest that Nightborne warlocks primarily live underground or hide from society at large.

Valewalker Farodin continues to tend the Arcan'dor, which flourishes in Shal'aran.

Lothrius Mooncaller has gathered a small group of younger Shal'dorei and Kaldorei druids as the first recruits for the Moon Guard, which is working on rebuilding. Shal'aran is their new stronghold.

Azuna

In Azuna, some Nightborne scholars have taken up the task of breaking the curse Azshara laid over the elves of Azuna. No progress seems to have yet been made, but Thalyssra notes that the ghosts at least seem happier than before the events of Legion.

Azurewing Repose was abandoned by the elder blue dragons when they returned home in Dragonflight, but a few young drakes and whelplings still come there to vacation. The wardens of the Flight still remain there.

Nar'thalas Academy is being rebuilt, and new students are coming to learn magic there. The ghosts still outnumber the living, and they do still require robes and a wizard hat.

The Eye of Azshara has had the naga driven off, and now seems mostly empty save for murlocs and snapping turtles.

The Vault of the Wardens has been reclaimed and the prisoners contained once again.

The Garden of Elune and Temple of a Thousand Lights still retain their ghosts, but the shadowfiends that once lurked there are gone.

The Broken Shore

Thal'Dranath has undergone a significant transformation, as druids and shamans work together to cleanse the land of the fel taint. Its waters are clear of fel magic, and even flowers grow there now.

Deliverance Point has been given to the Kirin Tor for research, and the former command center there now hosts visitors and guards.

Thalyssra stopped by the Tomb of Sargeras and spoke with the echo of Aegwynn who still lingers there. She learned some magical techniques from her that are kept in a locked tome.

The seals on the tomb had seemed unstable, and Thalyssra notes that it should take time for instability to manifest. We learn later that the Pillars of Creation are no longer in the Tomb keeping the Legion portals sealed. She believes that the Kirin Tor must have found a way to ward the tomb without needing the pillars on site, but it's not clear if this belief is correct or not.

Val'Sharah

Shaladrassil remains a dead and blackened husk looming over the forests. The land beneath it has been rejuvenated.

The Dreamgrove remains a home for some druids, and contains a repository of druidic knowledge.

Bradensbrook is at peace since the Healer scenario occurred in Legion to cleanse the ghosts from the tower. There was a palm-reader in Bradensbrook, and it seems those oracular practices exist.

The Garden of the Moon and Malorne's Refuge have been restored after the attacks by demons and satyr.

Highmountain

Skyhorn is no longer attacked by the harpies and the landscape has been healed of corruption.

Riverbend has been rebuilt after its destruction by Dargrul.

Trade occurs between the Stonedark drogbar and the tauren, and better relations with it.

Strange whispers still come from Neltharion's lair.

Mayla and Baine have been seeing each other recently.

Trueshot Lodge remains a gathering point for hunters and rangers.

Stormheim

Sigryn has been crowned queen of the Tideskorn and reigns through the current day.

The Kvaldir mists have been driven away from Tideskorn Harbor.

Haustvald no longer has necromantic rites practiced in it.

After the confrontation between Vyranoth and Odyn, the Storm Drakes have largely traveled to the Dragon Isles. What few drakes remain in Stormheim are treated with respect by the vrykul of Hrydshal.

Dalaran

Lor'themar took a detour to update Khadgar on Alleria's whereabouts, relaying her visit to Silvermoon to him.

The Pillars of Creation have been taken out of the Tomb of Sargeras and were all kept within Aegwynn's Gallery under guard. Thalyssra notes this must have been recent for them to have been removed from the Tomb.

The timing of this book suggests that the Pillars of Creation were likely inside Dalaran when it was destroyed, leaving their fate up in the air.

Zuldazar

While in Little Tortolla, Chaka the Ancient and Thalyssra conversed. He told her of rumor of shadows stirring in the deep, but did not give any further details.

Trade at the Port of Zandalar seems to be thriving thanks to the peace.

A tortollan leader, Lashk, has been appointed to a seat on the Zanchuli Council.

The Chamber of Rezan still bears his name, but only Pa'ku is worshipped there now. Rezan's iconography remains, and the story of his betrayal has been immortalized in stone.

Talanji's dedication to the equal reverence of all loa is shown in the Garden of the Loa, where none are given any primacy- even Bwonsamdi.

Atal'Dazar is being restored after Yazma's corruption. There is a memorial to Rezan where he was slain in the dungeon.

Atal'Dazar was long ago favored as a central palace, but this honor passed to Dazar'alor. Many animals are living there now.

The Temple of the Prophet remains, but no longer honors Zul. It has been replaced with a plant nursery. It also features a small Pandaren garden, a gift from Zouchin Village.

Much of the stone from the temple was taken to Pandaria as contrition for Zul's alliance with the Thunder King.

The Alliance encampment near Mugamba has been ceded back to the Zandalari.

Tal'gurub has been given back to the Gurubashi trolls after the death of Vol'jamba and his followers.

The Gravelord's Direplate armor from Dazar'alor was made to commemorate the Battle of Dazar'alor.

Vol'dun

The Tortaka tribe of Tortollan have built a small village at the feet of Kimbul's temple, and now revere the loa. Thalyssra spent time in the temple, and had a contest of riddles with the loa there.

The Terrace of the Fang has been partly reclaimed by the jungle since BFA.

The Temple of Sethraliss has been claimed by the Faithful and have rebuilt it.

Relations with the Vulpera and the Faithful have been fostered, and the Faithful have also made outreach to the Temple of Akunda.

The Vulpera of the Hideaway and the Abandoned Burrows are both thriving.

The Zandalari exiles from Vol'dun have been welcomed back home by Talanji, and abandoned the Scorched Sands Outpost. The Vulpera are considering taking the ruins over as a trading post.

Atul'Aman is an abandoned ruin, but younger vulpera venture into the ruins as a rite of passage.

Zem'lan, a port along the southern coast, has had its skeletal pirates banished, and new construction has arisen there.

Nazmir

Blood Trolls have been cleared from Nazmir, and it is no longer a place for blood magic to be wielded in.

Some restoration work has been done at the Necropolis, but it still remains in ruin.

Torga's remains have been respectfully interred at Torga's Rest, and tortollans make pilgrimages to that place.

Nazwatha still remains an unsettling place of shadows and whispers, sinking into the swamp.

Uldir is surrounded by the rotting remains of Blood Troll villages, now empty and abandoned.

There are many undead still in Nazmir, and Thalyssra had a fight with some.

Shamans seem to have canonically worn the Eternal Curator's Chains from Uldir.

Nazjatar

The Tidestone has been removed, and the waters of the ocean now cover the ancient city again.

Thalyssra visited it with a powerful spell.

Naga remain in the city, split into many factions as they fight in the absence of Queen Azshara.

Thalyssra sought hints of any darkness in the depths, but did not find anything malevolent coming through Nazjatar.

The Frilled Harbringer's Vestments were crafted in a mixed Highborne-Naga style for those priests who fought Azshara.

Boralus

The Ashvane Trading Company was once the largest employer in the city of Boralus before Lady Ashvane's betrayal.

The Ashvane manufactory was given to the locals and is now a woker-owned collective.

Lor'themar didn't get a firm answer regarding what the Ashvane company is called now. This is supposedly being put to a vote soon.

The Ashvanes previously made most of their money from the sales of arms after the Second War. Sales are now flagging several years post-Fourth War, and now sell cookware and fireworks.

Relations between the Horde and Kul Tiras in particular are fraught.

Katherine Proudmoore has spent most of her time overseeing the Proudmoore Academy.

The Kul Tiran navy is actively being rebuilt in the aftermath of the Fourth War.

Unity Square no longer displays the House Ashvane banner.

The Horde partially destroyed a portion of Boralus, Mariner's Row, during the Tiragarde assault.

Stormsong Monastery no longer displays signs of dark magic. Apparently, many Tidesages gave themselves over to the Old Gods during BFA, and the Kul Tirans were forced to purge them.

Tiragarde Sound

Fizzsprings Resort has hired two shamans to soothe the elements.

Anglepoint seems very normal, with no more disease or mindbender attacks going on there.

Lor'themar arrived during the Norwington Equestrian and Hunt Festival, which continues to occur yearly. BFA was it's 15th year, which means that he is likely witnessing the 22nd year of the festival. The festival features a folk art competition.

Glaciers are not common on Azeroth outside of Northrend. The Waning Glacier in Kul Tiras is one of only a few, along with Drustvar's Iceveil Glacier mentioned later in the book.

Daelin's Gate was fully rebuilt after being exploded by the Irontide Raiders.

Drustvar

The western coast of Drustvar is no longer under the thumb of the Irontide Raiders.

Corlain is Drustvar's capital, but it is less of a city than a sprawling series of farmsteads and houses. There is a small walled settlement beneath Waycrest Manor.

Corlain gave Lor'themar the same dark and forbidding feeling as the Dead Scar does. He makes a note about enough Death magic being able to affect the very atmosphere of a place, and Thalyssra offers a note that says he isn't technically wrong.

Waycrest Manor has been largely gutted by the Order of Embers to remove the taint of the Heartsbane Coven. Lucille Waycrest has focused on destroying all remnants and record of the witchcraft.

The Corlain Aviary seems to be thriving again, with many falcons residing there.

Whitegrove Chapel's two most recent weddings ended in murder - we only know of Lucille Waycrest's ending this way, though it could also be the one that occurs in the world quest in the zone.

Lor'themar took the Highroad Pass over the mountains and spoke with the people in Arom's Stand, who still have harrowing accounts of life under the Heartsbane Coven's thumb.

Fallhaven appears to be bustling with trade and has a newly-opened kiln for ceramics, but the people are scarred from the Drust Incursion.

The Crimson Forest is not often visited by the locals, and fear seems to linger in them of those woods.

The Drust ruins in the forest, as well as the great tree of Gol Inath, have been destroyed. The latter was burnt to ash. There is no indication that the doorway to the Blighted Lands has persisted, destroyed sometime between Shadowlands and the time of this book.

Gol Koval's ruins have been all but destroyed, and Lor'themar found a partial scroll in them for Thalyssra to study.

Hexed animals still wander the woods in Autumnvale and the Glenbrook grounds, as do other constructs of the Heartsbane. Lor'themar and his guide were attacked by a deer with a skull in place of its head and fire in its eyes.

Stormsong Valley

Stormsong continues to grow the bulk of Kul Tiras' food.

Brennadam is the regional capital, but most of its population is spread around the town proper similarly to Corlain.

The Horde's near-destruction of Brennadam is still remembered by its people, and Lor'themar received a cold welcome.

A drunk at Mildenhall Meadery warned Lor'themar of a darkness on the move within Stormsong.

The Addington Shipyards have recently been expanded to accommodate the needs of rebuilding the navy. These shipyards also host some of the largest dry docks in all of Kul Tiras.

Sagehold's denizens seem to have a general paranoia of the Old God corruption. Many evil Tidesages had to be purged during the Fourth War, and the population seems to have a lot of trauma from their reign.

Warfang Hold was abandoned by the Horde as a part of the peace process. It remains there, empty.

The Drowned Lands surrounding Deadwash still have a few shipwrecks remaining in them. Locals seem to carve the names of themselves or their lovers into the remaining wood.

The Shrine of the Storm is still an unsettling place, but Lor'themar did not sense any Old God darkness in his visit there.

Braxton Lodge has been rebuilt after it was destroyed by the Azerite explosions nearby.

Mechagon

The Mechagon gnomes have created mechanical ships that have their own wind generators to sail faster.

Rustbolt has been built up into a proper town and trading port, though a very cluttered one.

Mechagon City has had numerous urban renewal projects, clearing out toxic waters and restoring the city. The portal to Stormwind seems to be canon.

Waking Shores

The volcanoes continue to erupt, spilling lava into the sea without end.

Adventurers seem to canonically learn to ride drakes at the Skytop Observatory.

The Ruby Lifeshrine thrives even after the primalist attack, with many eggs guarded there.

The Obsidian Citadel has been repaired from the damage taken from the djaradin siege, and many whelplings now populate it.

Scalecracker Keep is still heavily damaged from the djaradin assault.

Ohn'ahran Plains

The Maruuk Centaur seem to have adapted well to visitors after so long spent in isolation.

The Centaur have created a memorial marker near the Horn of Drusahl for Solethus, who died as a result of Koroleth's manipulations.

The home of the Shikaar clan has been rebuilt.

At Teerakai, the Eternal Kurgans have had the spirits laid back to rest, though faint wisps of memory and whispers of song linger on the breeze.

The Ancient Bough survived multiple attacks by the Primalists and Druids of the Flame, and have since regrown.

Nokhud Hold bears the signs of the civil war, and most of the Centaur there are either the very old or the very young. A few also seem to have defected from their own clan rather than attack the Khanam Matra.

Amirdrassil was seen from afar, but not visited by Thalyssra and Lor'themar.

The Azure Span

The closer that one gets to the seat of power of the Blue Dragonflight, the deeper the snow gets.

The Decay magic has been cleansed from Brackenhide hollow, but its effects still linger on the forest.

The Azure Vault is very active with what blue dragons can make their homes there.

Vakthros sits upon a massive confluence of power. The tunnel through the glacier there still remains, and will take centuries to fill up again. A few Kirin Tor scholars study here.

Winterpelt Hollow was repaired and repopulated after the devastation of the primalists.

The bridge between the Azure Span and Thaldraszus was once a bustling place, but it remains broken for the time being.

The Cobalt Assembly possesses some arcane knowledge there. It's been repaired after the Sundered Flame were driven out.

Camp Antonidas has been abandoned, the remaining Kirin Tor magi are dispersed between the Azure Vault, the Cobalt Assembly, and Vakthros.

The Forbidden Reach

The Forbidden Reach is identified as the home of the Dracthyr.

Morqut Village has had several new buildings added since it was reclaimed.

The Caldera of the Menders still has a poison-filled creche, but it's unclear whether this is intended by Neltharion or a development over the time the Dracthyr were imprisoned.

The Froststone Vault still has remnants of books and arcane equipment in it. It does not seem intended to have been Raszageth's prison, but was chosen to house her because it possesses powerful arcane energies needed for that task.

Stormsunder Crater has unique air currents in it.

The Old Weyrn Grounds play host to ruins and thunder lizards. The Dracthyr have chosen to cede the grounds to the lizards.

Dragonskull Island has been sealed away due to the dark memories of torture associated with it.

Zaralek Cavern

Deephollow Lake is filled with strange artifacts, and Kalecgos spends a lot of time there.

Nal ks'kol is the Titan facility used for Neltharion's experiments, and where he found Oathbinder. There are now researchers studying the place, which even houses a fragment of Galakrond's claw.

The facility also houses the broken remains of Oathbinder with a plaque.

Loamm is said to have had many casualties from Fyrakk's attack. The Niffen who survived have rebuilt the town.

The Viridian Throne's crystals sometimes coalesce into a powerful elemental, the Viridian King. It seems to have been defeated multiple times and reforms later on.

The Shadowflame is believed to have been extinguished by Ebyssian.

Aberrus

The djaradin still search the halls of Aberrus for their missing elders, who were drained of their essence by Neltharion.

The whispers of the Void still remain in Aberrus' depths, and Wrathion comes there sometimes to test himself.

The Edge of Oblivion holds the same feeling for Thalyssra as the other places she'd heard whispers.

Thalyssra reflects upon the Edge of Oblivion being the name of both a place in Aberrus and at the heart of Bwonsamdi's temple in Nazmir. She believes them both to be windows into some greater darkness, windows that can be looked through from the other side.

The Strands of the Autumn Blaze armor was worn by druids in Aberrus, and the darkness of the laboratory reflects in the armor crafted for it. It was also worn during the battle for Amirdrassil.

Thaldraszus

The pair had a meeting with the Aspects and conveyed the sense of a growing darkness to them. Kalecgos promised to convey it to Khadgar for them.

Valdrakken's market is home to many skilled artisans, unlike anything Thalyssra had ever seen. It's a destination for those seeking to further their craft.

Serene Dreams Spa is back in order after the attack by Primalists.

The Vault of the Incarnates lies empty, and Wrathion mentioned that when Iridikron is found, he will be destroyed rather than imprisoned there again.

Algeth'ar Academy has now become a center for the study of the Arcane, with students coming there from across Azeroth.

Tyrhold is one of the most intact titan facilities remaining on Azeroth, even moreso than Ulduar.

Wrathion makes sure to memorialize all those who Netharion slew at the Veiled Ossuary.

The Temporal Conflux's sand never leaves it, constantly remaking different ridges and patterns.

The Murloc timeline seems to be canon.

The Gardens of Unity has a new portion, honoring the Black Dragonflight. It's a rock garden, carefully designed with the internal harmony of the rocks in mind.

The Wrappings of the Waking Fist are an achievement by artisans, incorporating earth and stone with the primal magics for monks to wear while fighting at the Vault of the Incarnates, while somehow keeping it lithe enough for them to wear.

The armor of the Silver Cataphracts was crafted for paladins fighting Raszageth at the Vault of the Incarnates, incorporating primal magic and stone.

Imagine now that you hear from blizzard that Delves in the older worlds ( Vanilla til Dragonflight ) was happening. And you are asked to give them an idea. What would you come up with?

With the help of Argent Crusades/Silver Hand, two scenarios come in mi d:

A delve focusing on destroying once again scholomance as we know Gabdling is still around.

Part of Stratholme to gain and fix it. Maybe also find any of the old Horsemen there.

Okay, so I'm really confused. What is the Arathi Empire? I thought it was a really old empire/kingdom that eventually disintegrated into the 7 human kingdoms (Stormwind, Lordaeron etc.) and i thought that happened like a long long time ago. And now the Arathi Expedition in Hallowfall says they started their journey 15yrs ago, and they talk about an Arathi Empire on the other side of Azeroth, beyond the sea... Could someone please enlighten me what does our (Eastern Kingdoms) old Arathi have to do with the Expedition and the Empire beyond the sea?

The tree Thas'alah in Quel'thalas appears to have flourished with moderate exposure to the sunwells energy, as did the rest of the forest, even though the tree itself remained a source of life magic and natural energy, so it wasn't corrupted by arcane but rather genuinely benefited from it.

So like sunlight, isn't arcane energy good for you in small doses, so long as you avoid big enough doses to get addicted to it?

So I had a random itch and fascination over this topic but..

Can someone tell me Forsaken's military structure? And what their equivalent of Armies/Companies are(ex from other races; Orc Clans, troll tribes, etc.)

Reach Arthas through the emotional manipulation of Mal'Ganis at Stratholme and convinced him to try waiting it out, how would it have played out?

You have Jaina, Uther, Arthas, and not just their forces but also the think tank to try and survive the coming Scourge tsunami.

As the title says, is there a school for magic in Stormwind or does everyone who wants to learn magic just travel to Dalaran?

Stormwind seems like such a large city, and they even have a Magic District of sorts, but I've never really seen or heard of any school of magic there.

If not, is there perhaps a large library of magic spells in Stormwind, or any place the people of Stormwind could go to learn something about magic without the need to travel to Dalaran?

So we read in "Enemy Infiltration - Preface" about how the Dreadlords have supposedly infiltrated the capital L "Light".

so if they believe they have converted one of us to their precious Light, they will trust that agent implicitly.

But hear me out. What if this phony convert isn't Lothraxion like we would all assume. That would be really obvious and lame IMO. What if their infiltrator is someone else?

This is obviously jumping to a lot of conclusions about the Arathi, but a lot of us keep assuming this Thoradin IX fellow is some nefarious dictator. And I don't know if it's just the Warhammer 40k connection in my brain but for some reason I keep assuming that he's some sort of demigod figure to them. And if he does have some kind of extended lifespan or special powers, and if he is a malevolent sneakyfuck, then what if HE'S the Dreadlord infiltrator that's up to no good?

It would at least make me feel better about Lothraxion. It would just be so much funnier and more interesting if, no, he actually IS interested in the Light and he's not on Denathrius' side. Let me know in the comments how stupid I am and how my brain don't work

Everyone seems to immediately assume the Arathi Empire will be our enemies in the future because they're "xenophobic". You know who else didn't like outsiders when we first met them? NEARLY EVERYONE ON AZEROTH!

Why is this suddenly a dealbreaker? Going by the overall culture of the Arathi we meet in Hallowfall I think it'd be weird for the main empire to pick a fight with us. People point out that the Hallowfall Arathi are desperate for help which might be making them less picky, but we also know they already set up trade with the earthen in the past without issue. Also the type of welcome we've received has not been that of people who are letting us in reluctantly. The worst that happened was a few people weren't sure about us at first and wanted to test our intentions which is honestly logical given the precarious position they're in.

Simply put, the ones we meet are generally good natured people and angry, evil, hate-filled, zealous, empires don't produce a cultural mentality like this.

I'm pretty sure when we reach the Arathi mainland it will be more a matter of earning their trust rather than open hostilities. Especially since we'll probably be able to buy a lot of goodwill with the Hallowfall Arathi vouching for us.

Some people will point at how nationalistic views of Prioress Murrpray but it was clear she had gone completely insane and is the opposite of a reliable representation of the empire, especially since like I already said the strong majority of them are very good natured.

Personally, I'd be disappointed if it turns out the Arathi Emperor turns out to be a villain. I've murdered enough sovereign rulers in WoW for one lifetime thank you. We also know he's been receiving visions from the Light which is not usually a gift given to people with ill-intent. Plus with our current conflict with the Void trying to consume our world and everything I feel like the more paladins we can get, the better.

Hi all.

I am here today to ask for some help on my NElf Rogue alt's backstory.

My heqd cannon for her is that she is the rebelious daughter a prominent mage from Suramar (my Nightbourne alt). This rebelliousness brought her out of the the city before the barrier went up.

Since I also want her to use the glave transmog, I've decided to use either the outlaw or subtlety spec. Now, I know a non-dagger off-hand is not ideal for subtlety, but that's a different discussion.

Anyway, it is for an Outlaw spec rogue that I am getting a block. Do we have any lore, or better yet, in game referrences to Night Elf pirates. I know we had that Night Squal fellow from Dragonflight, but are there anybody else?

Or is it perhaps better to have her fall into tge dark path of general outlaw-ism, rather than specifically the piratical type.

Any opinions or info would be most appriciated.

So I started playing unholy forsaken DK and I am enjoy it very much since the aesthetics are perfect for death knight.. however...

How can Forsaken become Death Knight? I thought the person has to die and then be raised by Bolvar/Arthas. If I am not mistaken, Forsaken are basically once dead and already raised. Is it then possible to make them somehow death knight from their normal state (after being raised by Sylvanas) ?

Hey guys. I just jumped back into wow since midway through shadowlands. I'm currently playing classic fresh and having a blast. Deff worth my sub.

So I'm normally a hunter dwarf. It was my first toon, and the only one I've ever maxed out. I've completed most expacs quests with him. I love the hunter class, but this time around, I wanted try not only something different but somthing that resonates with me.

I've settled on a dwarf priest. Now a little bit about myself, I have to have a backstory to my toon. I'm not an RPer but the magics, weapons and even appearance of my character have to make sense lore wise.

Having said that, I have some questions regarding dwarves and their potential use of shadow magic via being a priest of the light. -Would a priest of any race be able to use both shadow AND light magics? -Would he be able to "turn off" one to use the other lorewise (obviously I know the game doesn't limit this). -Would a priest of the light flip a switch and be able to use shadow magic on the spectrum of simple mind control to full on shadow form and still be able to be a priest of the light and healing, ministering, rezzing, scholarly pursuits. -Would a priest be able to keep the fact he uses shadow magic hidden from the greater population unlike the new void elves? -Would he still have a place in the cathedral being a shadow user? -Would he be able to keep a sane mind?

I'm lvl 25 and have JUST gotten my mind flay. I'm super stoked on it and having a blast, and I really enjoy being able to see other players in fresh classic struggling and start throwing heals. But I'm having a hard time find the role of my character in society. Shadowmagic always is portrayed as dark or evil or tempting. I see most of the abilities are themed towards some kind of mind control, and using this type of control is not inherently evil in my eyes as long as the ends are justified. I've been trying to research more of how a shadow practitioner interacts with azeroth, but I'm seeing a ton of "either you are shadow or you are light". I WANT TO BRING BALANCE TO THE FORCE.

Playing Classic, this Thrall comes across like a much more Warcraft 3 style leader of the Horde.

In retail the Horde seem to have no real leaders anymore, and Anduin is almost like the leader for all the players? I know factions dont really matter as much in the story there but, when did this happen?

Are there any places the Horde/Alliance are still in open conflict? Was there a moment Thrall just quit or something? I have played the whole time but as Alliance, and I know the Sylvanas story, but think I missed the bit where Thrall stopped caring about the Horde's supremacy.

Warning: unhinged theory about cosmic lore that has astronomically low chances of being proven correct ahead. >!^(but hey parts of it may be close enough and it's fun to speculate.)!<

A little introduction/catch-up to our good old TBC Era creature with some really cool cosmic lore.

Murmur, the essence of sound, is described as an otherworldly, extra-planar elemental being from a distant corner of the universe. It is unfathomably old, phrases like "So far away...", "In the beginning..." cannot begin to truly describe its origins, as per the adventure guide. The dimension it is from is unfathomable to mortal minds, the chaotic manifestation of sound is supposedly mindless* and its bare whisper can destroy entire worlds.

It is supposedly beyond mortals and their attempted worship of him, not noticing attempts to control it, as we might not notice an amoeba. But one mad and incredibly powerful mortal on a now destroyed planet, somehow survived "contact" with it and conspired to use soul devices to summon Murmur into the world. Entire civilizations were brought to extinction in order for these devices to have enough fuel to summon it. They succeeded in summoning at least a part of Murmur, and, fueled by a near endless stream of souls, used many powerful containing and silencing spells, to attempt to control it. Ultimately failing, they tried to contain it, but it gained a slither of freedom, which was enough for Murmur to destroy their entire world, and all that remained of that world was a book of forbidden, impossible knowledge**.

The book somehow got into the hands of the Shadow Council, presumably thanks to The Twisting Nether. When the warlocks used the book in desperation to summon a demon for aid, they accidentally summoned the barest echo of Murmur (the naming may relate to it being a mere murmur of it's true power, but best not too stack too much tinfoil), which lead to the majority of Talador transforming into a lifeless, post-apocalyptic wasteland. Said echo had to be endlessly contained by warlocks of the Cabal until adventurers did what they do best.

The followers of the First Ones (Saezurah, Firim, etc) and those that research them associate them with Creation, Balance and Harmony. Of course, they also frequently mention the Song of Creation and Harmonious Hymns (which may also be related to Azeroth's song, as mentioned in my earlier schizo rant).

And Murmur just so happens to be an unfathomably old and unfathomably powerful creature, a living embodiment of chaotic sound, Entropy and Discord: it seems to be the very antithesis of everything The First Ones represent. The loud and discordant sounds its echo makes to me sound like something shattering.

I speculate that Murmur may be a representation of that cosmic force/threat, the one that is in total opposition to everything that is. The mythical 'what is to come', 'the seventh', 'the enemy of all'.

I also find it curious (and somewhat funny) that Murmur does a better job at portraying Chaos than anything in the Legion, Cosmic Horror better than the Void Lords, and Entropy better than The Void.

*>!For some inexplicable reason the WoD Murmur speaks and has some of the most generic dialogue conceivable. But it is in WoD.!<

**>!The book, The Codex of Blood, is generally very chaotic and supposedly incredibly powerful, has a chance to be sentient, is filled with forbidden and mindshattering knowledge, its pages keep flipping to specific pages and chapters on it's own, and, the detail I most intriguing, is that there is information of other unfathomable beings like Murmur on the book's pages. (I really like this lore, if you couldn't tell.) And yes seemingly we just left the book in the Shadow Labyrinth and it was never mentioned again.!<

Notes:>! Personally, I don't believe Blizz intends to return to the random TBC dungeon and make its boss be relevant in any way. It does have some amazing cosmic lore, but at that time it was seemingly just written as an entropy-like being when the cosmos was not set in stone, and the First Ones as they are today likely didn't exist even as electrons in the brains of TBC writers, most of whom don't even work at Blizzard anymore. But if a writer reads this (hello, you) and this theory is proven at least partially correct, I think it would be hilarious if they claim they set this whole story up since 2006.!<

Looked a bit through warcraft.gg but it mostly talks about what the 7th Legion achieved but nothing much about its origins or why they are called 7th Legion. Does anyone know if at any place in game or other source materials we get any info on why they are called 7th Legion? or is just a riff on SEAL Team Six?

i know by now that the aging process for elves has been retconned to hell and back, but, what would be the equivalent age to a young adult (early-mid 20’s) to night elves? i know they technically reach physical adulthood roughly around the age of 20 and the aging process starts to slow down extremely but i imagine that the majority of night elves would still see that elf as a child. to add onto this, i know that tyrande and co. were roughly around 200 years old during the WotA trilogy but i’m not sure if that was retconned or not

Title. If the Tinker class was added to the game, what races would have access to Tinkers? Imo:

A must: Gnomes, Mechagnomes, Goblins;

Yes, probably: Dwarves, Humans, Draenei, Lightforged Draenei, Dark Iron Dwarves, Kul Tiran Humans, Earthen, Orcs, Blood Elves, Forsaken, Nightborne, Mag'har Orcs, Zandalari Trolls;

Probably no: Worgen, Void Elves, Pandaren, Dracthyr, Vulpera;

Definitely no: Night Elves, Trolls, Tauren, Highmountain Tauren;

We have the chieftains from other orc clans as recognized characters. Every original chieftain in the Old Horde is dead, leaving those clans without their own recognized characters. Even Drak'thul the Hermit being one of the last Stormreaver representatives, is barely given any attention.

If envisioned correctly, we could easily have more of such characters from other clans taking on new roles and be tested, just like Blizzard had done with our favorites. It could be for the New Horde's Honor for certain noble albeit warlike clans, but it could also extend to darker clans such as the Bonechewer if it involves horror.

Your opinions are much appreciated.

The Thraegar are apparently Earthen influenced by Azeroth to obey her commands instead of the Titans. The Titans saw the Thraegar as a “malfunction” and went as far as wiping Earthen minds so they would never fall to this malfunction again. Magni is suspected have underwent the same process and his diamond form is supposedly a Thraegar form.

However Magni got his diamond form from a ritual he found on Tablets from Ulduar, a Titan facility. Why would a ritual for this “malfunction” be found in a Titan facility? Since Earthen minds are wiped that means they would even forget these tablets replicate a malfunction, leading to potential future Thraegar. Not only this but Magni spoke with, and came face to face, the Titans and the Titans showed no animosity or hostility towards him. If these Thraegar were truly against the Titans then they wouldn’t even have communicated with Magni.

There is also the matter of Zovaal attacking the core of Azeroth during his fight. If this Worldcore still exists than Azeroth should have been shielded from Zovaal’s attack.

When arthas goes to northrend. Does he just sit back and hide while sylvanas is fighting the alliance remnants and dreadlords?

Like, where they come from? There are no angels in WoW, the kyrian have no connection to the light and the most powerful light creatures we know are the naaru, that don't have wings. Have Blizzard ever addressed this in a book or even in the old RPGs sourcebooks?

So I love the archives quests and the lore bombs they give us, but I missed one week a month or two ago and now it seems I'm permanently behind by one entry. This week I've only unlocked entry 4 while everyone is discussing entry 5. I would prefer not to spoil it for myself by just reading the dialogue, so is there any sort of catch-up mechanic? So far it seems that the Archive quest shows up every 2-3 weeks, and we get 1 entry per quest, regardless of how many entries you've unlocked thus far.

I guess I could just watch a stream of the new entry every archive week after I finish getting my 100 fragments and it would amount to the same thing, but that's a bit more immersion breaking than I would like.