I returned to Teldrassil a few days ago, help with the Gilneas refugees that have arrived at the gates. The isolation of Gilneas seems to have been hard on the population. They seem to have become Worgen, at least from time to time. But compared to other Worgen I have studied, they seem to have mastered their transformation process. A nice thing.
Rut’theran Village has changed. There are now three piers located in the village with ships to Stormwind City, Darkshore and Exodar.
A new tree has grown in the city behind the Cenarion Enclave and Craftmen’s Terrace. The tree is quite nice and hosts druid trainers, mage trainers and warlock trainers as well as refugees from Gilneas.
A picture of Gilneas refugees standing in front of Druid trainers in the new tree in Darnassus.
A picture of the worgen from the front. They do not dress in the way that I’ve come to expect humans to dress. But then again, they have been isolated from the rest of humankind for a long time. Who knows, their style might become high fashion in cities like Stormwind.
Mage trainers standing outside the Temple of the Moon in Darnassus.
In addition, there is now a Hippogryph master inside the city in Darnassus, as well as both Darnassus and Gilneas Quartermasters.
I’ve been on an exploration trip around the new Stormwind City. A lot has changed, new places come and old places gone. Here I will try to summarize the biggest changes. But the city is full of places to explore and there is no way to write about them all… So please bear with me : )
The first signs of the change can be seen already at the city gates. It is now confirmed that it was Deathwing who landed on the two towers during his flight of destruction. The marks will probably be seen for a long time. One of the statues has collapsed as well and there are building teams working all around the place.
At the main street of the Trade District we can see that the color of the pavement has changed and the whole place seems larger and more alive. Could the Shattering have widened the street?
The Auction House in the Trade District has a new entrance on the bank side now, good or bad? You are the judge. I will have to ask my banker for her verdict as I myself do not spend much time at the Auction House these days.
The Stormwind Bank has also undergone a little change, a new vault has been added as well as the clerks have been moved to the side.
The area between the Trade District and the Mage Quarters is the place to be for every fisherman and chef out there as this is where we will get our daily assignments from now on.
The Mage Quarters have not received any drastic changes but a number of minor ones. There are new passages between the streets and shops that were not there just a week ago.
The biggest change for any old area was for The Park. It’s not there anymore, instead there is a view down to the harbor. It seems that the whole area crashed into the sea. I hope that my old druid teachers got away safe.
A whole new area behind the Cathedral Square with a lake for the fishers and a new cemetery for the city. In memory of all the lost heroes, Rest in Peace. You will be remembered now.
The biggest change in the Dwarven District is the addition of a new Auction House and a new Bank as well as an entrance to the ‘backyard’ of the city.
The entrance to the Stormwind Castle has change dramatically. The castle is now surrounded by water, a new statue of King Varian Wrynn directly inside the outer gates.
From inside the castle we are now able to see the above mentioned ‘backyard’ of the city. The area is huge and contains among other things a human (!) Druid Trainer, a portal to some battleground that I was not deemed worthy to enter (at least not yet) and a whole farmstead.
I ran into Harrison Jones in the Castle Library. He presented himself as a Archaeology Trainer and I tried to talk him into teaching me his trade but he insisted that he was not ready with his papers yet. But I was promised a lesson in the near future. A new trade to learn perhaps?
The Old Town is mostly the same, the only huge change is that the area where SI:7 among others were located is now occupied with a park with training dummies and two houses.
Lastly, between the Old Town and the Trade District there is a fantastic shop, new at least to me. A florist in Stormwind! A must to visit if you haven’t already!
As I wrote in my last post, I decided to take a trip down the alcohol lane in Ironforge as a last resort when the doom was over us. Evidently I got evacuated during the night as I woke up outside the city today. I decided that the cool breeze of a Gryphon ride to Stormwind would do me good. And alas, a lot has changed. The city is in ruins and I noted during my flight that the world is not like it used to be. People are talking about the Shattering that occurred last night and whispers about Deathwing seem to gain ground.
As the world is Shattered, I feel that my Unforgotten Places project is over… Too bad I did not have time to do every land there is but maybe I will continue with a Revisted Places or the like some time in the future… As for now.. I will fish in the new area of Stormwind… Until next time..
… when the world seems to go under…is best spent with old friends and a few too many drinks.. Cheers…
The Elemental Invasion continues. They are pushing the attack into Stormwind and Ironforge and the waves keep coming.
Even though we try to build sandbag walls to keep them out, they keep coming. During the attacks all activity stops in the cities as all civilians are evacuated. Lucky them… On the good side, as all civilians are evacuated and all commerce stops, my banker has noticed that something is going on. She is now on a journey to collect artifacts that may raise in value when this unrest is over.
After a wave of elementals has been pushed back and their rifts are closed. Some portals remain open in the cities and both King Varian Wrynn and King Magni Bronzebeard lead battle groups through those portals to attack Grand Ambassador Flamelash in Blackrock Depths,
Prince Sarsarun, Herald of Al'Akir in Ahn'Quiraj
Crown Princess Theradras in Maraudon
and Kai'ju Gahz'rilla in Zul'Farrak. It seems that these four have become Cho’galls lieutenants. They seem to be stirring up unrest in their followers, urging them to join the attacks on both Alliance and the Horde. I’ve received reports that both Orgrimmar and Thunder Bluff are in battle with Cho’galls forces.
First of all, I have to apologize for not writing that much these days. I've been all too busy with work but hopefully that will change to the better in the near future.
The second big happening is that I have left my home guild Ladies of the Alliance, and thus I am guild less for now. The reason behind this leave was that the guild has been growing more and more inactive lately and the last time I talked to another member was some months ago. But, really, being guild less in times like these might not be the best choice.
A lot is happening these days, some weeks ago we started getting reports on earthquakes and it didn't take that long until everyone had experienced them, on every continent. We have wondered what has caused these abnormal quakes but as always the answer was "Time will tell". And it didn't take long until we started to notice the Elemental Rifts appearing in all places, even in Outland. Something is afoot but really the only ones having qualified guesses are the Doomsayers that yell out their prophecies from the street corners of Stormwind’s Old Town and other places.
A week ago I was sent out to investigate a cultist camp in the Elwynn Forest, and imagine my surprise when the image of Cho'gall appeared and talked with the cultists. I have only seen that two headed creature in some old books that I've had the opportunity to study but seeing him, even though only an illusionary image, talking to his minions. Mind blowing.
So, if he is one of the leaders in this cult, Twilight’s Hammer, then I think that something really big is afoot. We have to continue to investigate this further.
Last night while I was talking to a Earthen Ring representative in Ironforge about one of the strange devices that I had found in Northrend I was told about a gathering at the Elemental Plateau in Outland. I hearthstoned to Dalaran and took the portal to Shatthrath City in Outland. From there I flew over the mountains to Nagrand and the Elemental Plateau. And yes, there was a gathering there. Evidently they had summoned the most powerful shamans that they knew to investigate the situation. Among them the Warchief of the Horde, Thrall. Imagine my surprise... Who is now holding a leash on the Horde? This is not good news, even though I know that Thrall is one of the most powerful shamans that have walked the earth in Azeroth and thus will be good value for the investigations of the elemental plane we, the Alliance, cannot trust in the Horde not trying anything while he is gone..
We must be prepared for anything the Horde may decide to throw at us during this unrest!
I will try to keep you posted on the events as they unfold but sadly I cannot make any promises on when I may have time to write next time.
// Eowind
