Auchindoun



Auchindoun is a mausoleum, a "city of the dead", a former draenei holy site where the dead were laid to rest, placed in the ground. It is located in the middle of the Bone Wastes in the Terokkar Forest within Outland.


 * As of late, Auchindoun has been overrun by multiple factions:
 * Ethereals under Nexus-Prince Shaffar within the Mana-Tombs, seeking to gain more powers to use against the creatures of the Twisting Nether;
 * Servitors of the Burning Legion in the Auchenai Crypts, raising the resting spirits of fallen draenei;
 * A renegade clan of arakkoa within the Sethekk Halls, practicing their dark magics;
 * Elements of the Shadow Council in the secure Shadow Labyrinth, who have raised a creature so powerful it defies imagination.

History


It was from the Crypt of Remembrance, the first tomb, that the vast mausoleum of Auchindoun was born.

When the naaru D'ore fell its remains were gathered by Exarch Othaar and his Sha'tari and brought to Auchindoun, where they hoped to study them in order to hopefully learn enough to communicate with the other naaru and draenei beyond Draenor.

After the fall of Shattrath City, many vindicators, priests, and Rangari fled to Auchindoun in hopes of defending it from the Horde. Exarch Maladaar organized the military defenses, and they fiercely defended Auchindoun from Teron'gor and the Shadow Council. They also received aid from Auchindoun's departed spirits, and slaughtered many of the Shadow Council's agents. As Maladaar and his forces closed in, Teron'gor sought out the warlocks who pooled their powers together and reached beyond the veil of reality. They sought to bring a powerful demon into the world, but in their wild desperation found something else instead: Murmur. This otherworldly elemental creature was pulled to Draenor from a distant corner of the universe, and the shockwave on its arrival ripped the earth asunder. Many draenei were killed and Auchindoun was blasted apart. Waves of destructive energy rolled out and leveled the surrounding forest. Maladaar and a handful of his draenei used their magics to shield themselves from the blast. But though they survived, they no longer had the numbers to resist the Shadow Council. Teron'gor and his warlocks overwhelmed the draenei and bound them in chains, and contained Murmur deep within Auchindoun as well.

Auchindoun is now in turmoil as different factions vie for power in this magical spot: Ethereals suck the arcane energy from the Mana Tombs, the Burning Legion harvests souls inside the Auchenai Crypts, arakkoa zealots work dark magic in the Sethekk Halls, and the Shadow Council plots its domination of Outland from within the Shadow Labyrinth.

Imprisoned within the depths of the Shadow Labyrinth by the Shadow Council is Murmur, a powerful elemental similar to Ragnaros and Thunderaan, and the being who brought about the devastation of Auchindoun. He is the primordial essence of sound and constantly seeks to break free of his jailors and wreak havoc upon Outland. The Shadow Council has devoted much of their forces to controlling Murmur and harnessing his power for the Burning Legion.

Description
''For thousands of years, the draenei have been interring their dead in Auchindoun, their most sacred temple. However, it was infiltrated by agents of the Shadow Council bent on summoning a horrifying creature of immense evil. Their vile act of magic resulted in a massive explosion that blew the temple apart and reduced the surrounding area into a charred wasteland. The blast also caused a rift in the Nether itself, drawing the otherworldly Ethereals into Outland. The interred draenei now walk the ruins as restless spirits. Meanwhile, the horrific entity summoned by the Shadow Council threatens to overwhelm their efforts to contain it. You must prevent this evil from being unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. Auchindoun is divided into four wings, and is designed for a party of five characters levels 64-70.''

In Warcraft II
Fortress Auchindoun was the main stronghold of the Bleeding Hollow clan on Draenor. A large army was sent from here to attack the Alliance Expedition base in the Hellfire Peninsula, but Alliance forces under the leadership of Turalyon and Danath Trollbane destroyed the fortress, forcing the army to retreat.

This part was apparently retconned.

Summary



 * Levels: 65-70
 * Wings: Four 5-man wings
 * Mana-Tombs (Level 64-66 mobs) (northern entrance)
 * Bosses: Pandemonius - Tavarok - Yor - Nexus-Prince Shaffar
 * Auchenai Crypts (Level 65-67 mobs) (western entrance)
 * Bosses: Shirrak the Dead Watcher - Exarch Maladaar
 * Sethekk Halls (Level 67-69 mobs) (eastern entrance)
 * Bosses: Darkweaver Syth - Anzu - Talon King Ikiss
 * Shadow Labyrinth (Level 70-72 mobs) (southern entrance)
 * Bosses: Ambassador Hellmaw - Blackheart the Inciter - Grandmaster Vorpil - Murmur


 * Crypt-filled interior.
 * If all five Spirit Towers in the Bone Wastes outside the instance are captured by a member of your faction, a zone-wide buff will enable you to collect Spirit Shards from each boss. These shards can be used to purchase rare and epic rewards from a vendor in your faction's town. The buff lasts six hours, even if you lose the towers.
 * It is strongly recommended to start on the quest line of I See Dead Draenei as early as possible. It sends you through Shattrath and Nagrand. Once you are finished with the later quest Vision of the Dead, you then have the ability to see Horvon the Armorer who can repair your equipment next to the entrance to the Crypts (It is not necessary to do so now as the dungeon finder now teleports you inside the instance). It is not necessary to take or complete the next quest in the line which has you to kill Levixus. But if you are doing this quest with a party, you should be able to do so just fine.

Dig sites
Auchindoun is a Draenei archaeology dig site. It is broken up into a West Auchindoun Digsite and an East Auchindoun Digsite.



Trivia

 * Far below the city exist little-used passageways that lead towards Shadowmoon Valley. They were last utilized by Ner'zhul and the remnants of the Horde while escaping from the Sons of Lothar during the Second War.
 * The real Auchindoun Castle is a ruined castle located in Moray region of Scotland. This is one of few clues we get as to its proper pronunciation, which according to Drysc in this post is "Aw-kin-doon" (which matches the pronunciation heard in the WC2x mission briefing) or, if you want to be more authentic  "Och-in-doon", where the "ch" is almost silent, as in "Loch". This information was made obsolete since we can hear NPCs pronounce Auchindoun in the Warlords of Draenor expansion.
 * It was originally announced to "be both a dungeon and a city, and which one you have access to depends on your reputation with various factions in the area", by columnist Jeff Green of Computer Gaming World — this is no longer the case.
 * Auchindoun is the only winged instance area in Outland with no raid instance attached.

Gallery

 * Concept art