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Ashrothe · 1337 WGE Warrior Joined: 29 Oct 2004 Posts: 591

http://www.blizzplanet.com/content/wow-lore/the-two-empires.php

The truth about the origins of the Night Elves, and the consequences of thier actions.

Instance info, seems well thought out and informative. ( and prevents explorers from getting in trouble )
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-general&t=2038995&p=1&tmp=1#post2038995

i'll C&P most of that wow forum thread, due to the fact it goes down so much.

There is a long list of instances not open yet. If you know of any other not in the list below, share it.

Uldum The second base of the Titans located south of Tanaris. This instance should reveal a lot of new lore, same as Uldaman did. Uldaman-- in Badlands -- revealed the origin of the Dwarves and Troggs as degenerated versions of the Earthen-- created by the Titans. When you grab the discs of Uldaman and bring them to Uldum, the hologram tells you that you need the Uldur coins set along with Uldaman's as if it was a keychain. It also said the Titans scheduled revisitation of Azeroth. There is a third base named Uldur. It is a mystery as to where it is located. Uldur logically might be in Northrend, since it seems as though there is a base in each major continent, but another logical place is Maelstrom ... because the Well of Eternity was created there. Another logical place is Mount Hyjal-- considered a sacred place before the sundering.

Caverns of Time This is the lair of Nozdormu as mentioned in Warcraft: Day of the Dragon novel. It is southeast of Gadgetzan in Tanaris. Nozdormu is one of the 5 dragon aspects. A titan blessed him with the aspect of Time. He can be in the past, present and future. The bronze dragonflight monitors different alternate realities as revealed by Chromie in Andorhal(Western Plaguelands). Nozdormu is known to be obssesed with collecting artifacts from different time eras. The item drops here will rock. I remember someone getting banned for entering this zone. It is a place of twisted paths, with a Space background and colorful aura borealis.

Tower of Medivh This tower is located in Deadwind Pass. I have heard that this tower is mentioned in Warcraft: The Last Guardian novel. When Sargeras was inside Medivh's body, it is said he would perform dark and demonic rituals in the underground side of the tower. The tower is very high, but underground is an exact copy of the tower-- or so I heard. Since instances -- like BRS and BRD, have a Lower and Upper side, this would be the case as well.

Silithus The instance seems to be a 40-players raid, and most likely be a massive outdoor instance. This is where the Silithid have lived for thousands of years. For some reason the guardians were removed. In open beta, the gate was guarded by massive Obsidian Statues from Warcraft 3. The dog-faced humanoid statues. Rumor is that Arthas wants to awaken the Aquir to add them to the Scourge, same as done to the Nerubian.

Here are some images of the Obsidian Statues that used to guard the Silithus instance:
http://www.wowguru.com/gallery/albums/wow-screenies/kalimdor/silithus/WoWScrnShot_111404_094504.jpg

A book in Booty bay talks about the story of the Aquiri and the wars with the Troll Empire.
Here is the excerpt. Seems the Night Elves were formerly from a faction of the Amani Trolls. The Well of Eternity evolved them.
http://www.blizzplanet.com/content/wow-lore/the-two-empires.php

The Aqiri of Silithus are related to the Nerubian Spiders of Northrend. That alone might mean that Arthas is seeking to assimilate them into the scourge. Since the Lich King Arthas is weakened, it would be easier to manipulate Aquiri and the Silithid. As you remember, Razorfen Down had a Scourge emissary and a Lich, which proves the presence of the Scourge in southern Kalimdor. We have yet to know how is the Aquiri relate to the Silithid or how the Silithid came to exist --thanks Xtor.

Mount Hyjal This is the biggest Outdoor 40-players raid instance. The entrance is in the Frostwhisper Gorge-- south of Winterspring. The instance gate is closed. You can see the zone-in is green, meaning 40-players raid. It takes 30-minutes to reach the top of Mount Hyjal--walking. The world tree is grown back and at the bottom is Archimonde's skeleton. The Frostwhisper Gorge is guarded by Felguards and Felhunters, so it is obvious Mount Hyjal has a strong Burning Legion presence. Felguards kill you in 2 strikes if you are cloth/leather class.

Something that highlights Mount Hyjal is a Cave that looks an exact copy (in the outside) of Onyxia's lair. It seems there will be an instance inside the instance, same as Molten Core is inside BRD. --- NOTE: Do not attempt to enter Hyjal in retail, a GM will suspend you. This info is from Beta. Many have been suspended in other areas of the world.

Maelstrom You will think I am crazy, but Maelstrom will be added to World of Warcraft. Few months ago, a Developer said that they were working on content for the Maelstrom.

This will very well be Tier 2 or 3. It will be the home of the Naga. I wonder if we will need some sort of enchanted items to breath underwater and resist Fatigue.

If you check out the Art of World of Warcraft book that came with the Collector's Edition, there are two Goblin Submarine turtles. One seems to be a war-sub, the other one looks like a transport.

This is speculation based on the art from the book. Hopefully, Goblin submarines may take us to Zin-azshara(Nazjatar), the underwater home of the Naga in the Maelstrom is under development.

Emerald Dream Few months before Retail, Tigole[Jeff Kaplan] answered one of my forum-threads. Here is the two threads where he talked about it:
http://wow.ethrex.com/searchresults.php?f=9&post=78074
http://wow.ethrex.com/searchresults.php?f=9&post=118209

Possible Add-ons/Expansion:

Quel'thalas In Eastern Plaguelands, there is a path blocked by fallen trees leading to Quel'Thalas. There is an elf there named adon ---coughs Add-on.

In warcraft 3, for those who never played the game, Arthas the Deathknight entered Silvermoon which is a big High Elf land. Silvermoon was protected by many magical gates as the first wave of defense to protect access to Quel'Thalas.

It is in Silvermoon where Lady Sylvannas(now in Undercity) was transformed by Arthas into a Banshee Undead.

Quel'Thalas is the ancient city of the High Elf empire.

They kept a magical dome around the city to avoid detection with runes marking the border. The dome was their way to be unnoticed by the Burning Legion.

Dalaran The Kirin-Tor was formed in Dalaran. That pink dome west of Alterac Mountains, and near Tarren Mill. The Kirin-Tor created the Guardian order thousands of years ago, with the purpose to destroy any demonic presence in the world. Medivh was the last Guardian of such order.

Another thing to note, is that Krasus -- consort of the Red Dragonflight Queen Alexstrasza, lived as a member of the Kirin-Tor. He was disguised/shapeshifted as a high elf and became one of the 6 Senior Leaders of the Kirin-Tor-- Warcraft: Day of the Dragon novel.

Krasus already gave Alliance players a mission in World of Warcraft ... "Tremors of the Earth". The elf Garek --who gave you the quest-- is an agent of Krasus. Most likely, Krasus and his agents will give more quests in the future. Hopefully, he is still in Dalaran giving us hardcore quests for instances yet to come.

Tremors of Earth:
http://www.thottbot.com/?q=1965

Guilneas Not sure if this will be added in the current build or in an expansion. Guilneas is a big city and as far as I know its not part of the Alliance. They are a Human nation faction.

You can find the gates to Guilneas, known as the Greymane Wall-- south of Silverpine Forest. We know that the Scarlet Crusade was manipulated and corrupted by a Dreadlord. It is a mystery whether Guilneas will be friendly or foe, since they keep themselves isolated to quarantine from the plague.

Kul'Tiras Southeast of Durotar is a stronghold of Kul'Tiras sailors and some sunken fleet. But Kul'Tiras is a huge human nation located in an island that isnt in-game, which might be part of an Expansion it seems. The island should be somewhere southwest of Guilneas and northwest of Wetlands. It was known in Warcraft 2 to be the biggest Naval fleet of the Alliance. Since Admiral Proudmoore behad in a strange way attacking the Horde in Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne, it is clear that something was manipulating him into doing so.

Could it have been a Dreadlord? We will find out.

UPDATE:
Grim Batol Thanks Gronx for reminding me. Grim Batol is far east of Wetlands, you can actually get there. It has some 6 gates custodied by Red Dragonkin, and noticed Blizzard added a Red Drake for the Onyxia key quest series.

Grim Batol, is the location mentioned in Warcraft: Day of the Dragon novel. Rhonin, Vereesa, and their dwarf companion traveled to Grim Batol to destroy the Demon Soul. The origin of the Demon soul was 10,000 years ago. Deathwing had convinced the other 4 dragon aspects: Ysera, Alexstrasza, Nozdormu and Malygos, into giving part of their powers to a magical artifact. Deathwing convinced them that if one day the Burning Legion returned to the world and the dragons no longer existed, the Elves could use the Dragon Soul to protect the World. The dragons foolishly believed Deathwing and half their power was infused into the Dragon Soul artifact. Deathwing didn't infuse his powers. It was a trick. The dragons, though, noticing the treachery of Deathwing, cursed the Dragon soul. Deathwing can not wield the power of the artifact. It was for this matter that Deathwing manipulated the Orcs and led them to find the now named Demon Soul. With it, the Orcs were able to mind-control Alexstrasza the Queen Dragon. This happened during Warcraft 2 events. Over 15 years before Warcraft 3 events.

The orcs destroyed the Alliance cities with the help of dragons in hit-and-run strategic blows. Krasus, the consort of Alexstraza, was a dragon shapeshifted and disguised as an Elf Archmage of the Kirin-Tor. Krasus had the obssesion of caring for the Humans and Elves, and he would spy on their affairs becoming part of them. He sent Rhonin --a human mage to destroy the Demon Soul in Grim Batol and to rescue Alexstrasza.

This area was mentioned by Tigole in July 2004:
http://wow.ethrex.com/searchresults.php?f=27&post=2794

NOTE: The Dwarves had created Grim Batol as a copy of Iron Forge. So expect the instance to be pretty big and complex. After the orcs took Grim Batol most Dwarves with no place to call home, decided to live in Hinterlands and decided to be independent from the Alliance. They live now at Aerie Peak. King Magni ordered the construction of the Thandol Span bridge that connects Lordaeron with Azeroth to keep trading open with their cousins. But a large group of some 600 Dwarvers decided to stay in Wetlands underground and in caves hoping to someday retake their home. The dwarves took back Grim Batol killing many orcs in their path. Rumor is Alexstrasza lives now in Grim Batol. The leader of the Grim Batol dwarves was secretly an agent of Krasus.

There is an interesting twist to the Demon Soul events. World of Warcraft might or not be set in the same timeline as the events we know. Read War of the Ancients: Well of Eternity and War of the Ancients: Demon Soul novels to see what I mean. The events of the past were somewhat altered when Rhonin and Krasus timetraveled back in time-- swallowed by a time-anomaly fissure created 10,000 years ago when the High Elves of Azshara attempted to open a gateway for the Burning Legion and Sargeras ... ripples of energy from the Well of Eternity expanded outwards thru time/space opening accidentally a fissure in the future that swallowed Krasus and Rhonin into the past. In another post somewhere in this thread I talk more about timetraveling.

There is an Alliance quest in Wetlands where you have to Kill Nekrosh, the son of Nekros? Could it be that Lord Victor Nefarious(Blackwing) is sending his Orc puppets to take control of Grim Batol? That could make sense. Awbee the whelp, revealed that the orcs and the black dragonflight were stealing whelps to create the Chromatic dragonflight. maybe we will find orcs settled in a zone of Grim Batol stealing red whelps.

Spoilers: Day of the Dragon summary.
http://www.blizzplanet.com/modules.php?act=Content&pa=showpage&pid=86

Outlands This is the original world of the Draeni and the Orcs. If you havent played Frozen Throne, Illidan, the blood Elves and a Naga faction teleported to Outland as their new home. Rumors say the Dark Portal in Blasted Lands will allow us to enter Outlands.

Stormwind Thanks, Nummerzwei. There seems to be a placeholder entrance blocked by a gate but with 2 guards. You can see the gate is in the Canals. Rumors since beta has been that there is an instance planned. Total mystery.
UPDATE: somewhere thru the many posts in this thread, I read the instance in the center of the canal is the Vault. Stockades is for normal prisoners. The Vault is for powerful renegade Mages, Archmages, Warlocks and super-powered beings-- it seems, which require maximum security. Speculation but Interesting.

Old Ironforge In closed beta, there was a ramp to an underground hallway accessed from King Magni's chamber in Iron Forge. The hallway would lead to a underground chamber and at the end there was a closed gate. The access to that chamber was blocked by the door at the throne room, but some people that comes in Ghost form is able to enter old ironforge. I heard a player once said that a developer had said it was there just for looks and there is nothing planned, but ... hey, Pandarian race was a April's fool and made it into the Lore in Frozen Throne, you never know. Maybe someday they decide to make content for Old iron forge. Curiously, that inaccessible airport near Iron Forge, has a gate that seems to go deep into Iron forge. maybe it is linked to the underground complex of Old Ironforge.

Others There are two zones not revealed in the map. One is west of Burning steppes, the other one is east of Burning Steppes. They are as big as Deadwind Pass or bigger. Hopefully future content.

Northrend is the continent far north. A glacier. Theres where Arthas the lich king lives, at the Frozen Throne. Malygos lives in Northrend. There is also the underground empire of the Nerubians.

UPDATE: On page 3 [post# 45], by petition of a fan, I explain what alternate realities/timelines are, and how they happen. Also how World of Warcraft can be consequence of an alternate timeline when Rhonin and Krasus went back in time. Official Lore in War of the Ancients: Well of Eternity book 1 of three.

You can BUY Warcraft: Day of the Dragon here:
http://shop.blizzard.com/section1/#DayofDragon

War of the Ancients: Well of Eternity here:
http://shop.blizzard.com/section1/#waroftheancients

Warcraft: The Last Guardian-- Medivh's life:
http://www.blizzard.com/books/DayofDragon-excerpt.shtml

Ashrothe · 1337 WGE Warrior Joined: 29 Oct 2004 Posts: 591

Q:I have a few lore questions. Maybe this was explained in wc3 but its been so long I cant remember. Lorderon and Stormwind are two separate human kingdoms? Or was Stormwind built by the refugees from Lorderon?

A:Lordaeron and Stormwind were separate Kingdoms. They are also separate continents. The only thing uniting them is the Thandol Span bridge.

Lordaeron is currently composed of Tirisfal Glades, Arathi Highlands, Silverpine Forest, Alterac Mountains, Western Plaguelands, Eastern Plaguelands, Silvermoon, Quel'Thalas, Dalaran, The Hinterlands, Hillsbrad Foothills, and Guilneas. Those are locations to let you know what Lordaeron is formed of.

Now about Kingdoms, same as in Lord of the Rings, the Alliance --before the Undead Scorge and the Burning Legion razed most of it -- was formerly composed of 7 Kingdoms during the Second War, each with its own King:

Ironforge - King Magni
Lordaeron - King Terenas
Guilneas - King Genn Greymane
Kul'Tiras - Admiral Aedelas Proudmoore
Alterac - King Perenolde
Stromgarde - Thoras Trollbane
Stormwind - King Llane

Dalaran was led by 6 Senior Archmages of the Kirin-Tor, one of them was secretly a dragon named Krasus-- consort of Alexstrasza watching on the affairs of mortals from within. The Kirin-Tor didnt know his true identity.

Q:Also is Lorderon accessible? I have seen it on the map but never checked it out thoroughly. I would assume its completely overrun with undead.

A:If you have never been to Lordaeron you will have to enter through northern Wetlands. Go past the bridge and head north following the road. Keep looking at your minimap when an arrow leads you to Refuge Point and get the flight path. There are other alliance flight paths, but not many. One is in Light's Hope in Eastern Plaguelands. You can also take the Zeppelin in Tirisfal Glades, just jump to safety so the guards after traveling to Kalimdor wont kill you.

Q:Where did the Undercity come from? I thought the Forsaken took up residence in Lorderon?

A:Sylvanas led the Undead who were freed from the Lich King's mind control when the Lich was weakened by Illidan's assault with the Eye of Sargeras.

She then took over the ruined Lordaeron city. For some reason they built their stuff underground the city. Maybe to protect themselves from attacks. Even in PvP it is tough to raid there wihout getting whoop

Q:Does the Dark Portal work? Or its just for looks?

A:Currently inactive, but there will be a World event involving Warlocks who will perform a ritual to open the Dark Portal. Allegedly it leads into Outlands. There are Outlands files in the Wow folder, so its obviously accessible sometime in the current build, not in an expansion.

The question really is whether or not it can be opened when someone finds the item required to open it as a random uber rare drop or whether it is not yet avaiable. Blizzard doesn't like to give hints. So if its available it will have to be found out as a surprise.

Q:Who/what is Elune (the only other of the two deities I have seen mentioned Ragnoras being the other) titans?

A:Not much is known about her. The night elves thought she lived in the moon by the night and during the day she would rest inside the waters of the well of eternity.

The Tauren history in the scrolls hanging from the walls of the tent in the Elder Rise of Thunderbluff mentions Mu'sha as mother of Cenarius, while the elves say Cenarius is son of Elune, in one of their fables. So if Mu'sha is Elune, according to the Tauren mythology, the Mother Earth took off both her eyes and set it spinning around the planet as the two moons of Azeroth. One of these eyes is named Mu'sha or Elune(by the elves). Mu'sha(Elune) fell in love of the white stag and gave birth to Cenarius.
Read more here if you can't go to Thunderbluff:
http://www.blizzplanet.com/content.php?action=tauren-origin

Q:What's the story with the Pandarians?

A:Hailing from the secretive Pandaren Empire, the mighty brewmasters travel the world in search of exotic ales and the finest brewed spirits. These affable warriors rarely seek out danger or trouble, preferring instead to spend their time concocting new and tasty beverages for any brave enough to imbibe them. However, if attacked, the laughing brewmasters bring all of their pandaren agility and ferocity to bear! They are peerless warriors and world class drinkers all in one!

From the Manual of Monsters:

The Pandaren Empire was founded before the Great Sundering of the world(10,000 years ago). It shared resources and mystic knowledge with the haughty night elves of central Kalimdor . As the night elves's obssession with the forces of magic drove them to the brink of madness, the gentle pandaren severed ties and left the night elves behind forever. The Pandaren clans, or shao'dins, traveled far abross the sea and esta blished crude but beautiful cities of stone and sturdy bambus reed on an island they named Pandaria. They lived in peace for many generations until the Sundering. Some, including pandaren wardancers hen ventured forth from Pandaria, wandering Kalimdor and other lands on journeys of discovery. Wielding thin, delicately balanced blades, The pandaren wardancers quicky established themselves as some of the deadliest swordsmen of the world.

Another RPG book mentions they lived in Stonetalon Peak and Desolace, but the Centaurs drove them back. There arent pandarians in the game yet, but there is a keg near the camps of Quilboars in the Barrens. When you click the keg a quest starts. You take the keg to an orc in Ratchet and he talks about the Pandarian friend of Rexxar, Brewmaster Chen Stormtout from the Frozen Throne campaign. The quest name is Chen's Empty Keg
http://www.thottbot.com/?q=574

Q:Where is Alcaz Island?

A:Go to Dustwallow Marsh and follow the shore off theramore heading north. There are many isles. The biggest one is Alcaz Island. It is the one farthest off the coast. You can get some fatigue, but you can reach it. It is guarded by elite 61 hydras and Naga. The King of Stormwind is captive in the sewer underground. Screenshots here:
http://www.blizzplanet.com/modules.php?act=News&id=55
_________________
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Ashrothe · 1337 WGE Warrior Joined: 29 Oct 2004 Posts: 591

Parsalian · Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 7:12 am Post subject:

nj babz! I found a link I used when brushing up on the storyline when I started play WC3 wayyyyy back. Here is the history of the series:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/story/chapter1.shtml
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"You know I really liked that movie, 'cause of all the flying and the magic." -Jesiah