Zul'Drak

Zul'Drak, pronounced [ZOOL-drahk], is a large temple city that is home to the ice trolls of the Drakkari Empire. It is located in eastern Northrend.

The Drakkari have recently gone mad after they sacrificed their Loa animal gods in an attempt to fight off the Scourge. The Argent Crusade has returned to play a role in Zul'Drak as have members of the Zandalar tribe, who have come to try and save some of the Drakkari history before it is wiped out. The region itself is a giant ziggurat of the now broken civilization.

As noted below, players visiting the zone will find that it is in the process of being overrun by the Scourge, particularly in the vicinity of the Argent Stand. The conflict between various NPC/mob factions can be intense, and it's easy to get caught in the crossfire.

The region's primary inhabitants are undead, crazed Drakkari who randomly attack anyone in their path, and a scattering of water elementals which a faction of Drakkari summoned to help them defeat the Scourge. The Argent Crusade have a tangible presence in the area as well. A number of the Loa of the Drakkari still exist in weakened forms, and can be found in the northeastern part of the region, towards Gundrak. A Scourge-controlled blighted portion of the region also exists south of Ebon Watch, near Drak'Tharon Keep, at the east end of the zone. The Hath'ar nerubians also have a small presence.

The five main entrances to Zul'Drak are: an unnamed stair in the border with Crystalsong Forest to the west, Jintha'kalar Passage from the Dragonblight to the southwest, and Drak'Tharon Keep, Drak'atal Passage, and an unnamed stair in eastern Grizzly Hills to the south.

Wrath of the Lich King


Zul'Drak is in the middle of a massive upheaval. Scourge forces under the newly-empowered Drakuru are preparing an undead army of troll chieftains empowered by blight crystals. To counter the Scourge threat, the Drakkari trolls have begun sacrificing their own Loa animal gods in desperation. Meanwhile, the Argent Crusade is caught between two armies as they clash with both the Scourge and the native Drakkari at Argent Stand. On the other hand, the Zandalar tribe has arrived to both intervene on behalf of the gods and chronicle the end of the Drakkari Empire.

Cataclysm
During the meeting of the troll tribes held after the Cataclysm, Prophet Zul stated that Zul'Drak had fallen to the Scourge.

Travel hubs

 * Flight paths from Argent Stand
 * Westfall Brigade Encampment, Grizzly Hills
 * Camp Oneqwah, Grizzly Hills
 * Ebon Watch, Zul'Drak
 * K3, Storm Peaks
 * Light's Breach, Zul'Drak
 * Zim'Torga, Zul'Drak


 * Flight paths from Ebon Watch
 * Frosthold, Storm Peaks
 * Windrunner's Overlook, Crystalsong Forest
 * Wintergarde Keep, Dragonblight
 * Grom'arsh Crash-Site, Storm Peaks
 * Sunreaver's Command, Crystalsong Forest
 * Venomspite, Dragonblight
 * Argent Stand, Zul'Drak
 * Dalaran, Crystalsong Forest
 * K3, Storm Peaks
 * Light's Breach, Zul'Drak


 * Flight paths from Light's Breach
 * Amberpine Lodge, Grizzly Hills
 * Wintergarde Keep, Dragonblight
 * Camp Oneqwah, Grizzly Hills
 * Conquest Hold, Grizzly Hills
 * Venomspite, Dragonblight
 * Argent Stand, Zul'Drak
 * Ebon Watch, Zul'Drak
 * K3, Storm Peaks


 * Flight paths from Zim'Torga
 * Brann's Base-Camp, Storm Peaks
 * Westfall Brigade Encampment, Grizzly Hills
 * Camp Oneqwah, Grizzly Hills
 * Camp Tunka'lo, Storm Peaks
 * Argent Stand, Zul'Drak
 * K3, Storm Peaks
 * Gundrak, Zul'Drak


 * Flight paths from Gundrak
 * Zim'Torga, Zul'Drak

Notable characters
Zul'Drak is home to several characters of note. Battling the Scourge are the Argent Crusade, led by Commander Falstaav and Commander Kunz at the Argent Stand and Crusader Lord Lantinga at Light's Breach, as well as the death knights of the Ebon Blade, led by Stefan Vadu at Ebon Watch. Having recently traveled to Northrend from the South Seas are a group of Zandalari trolls, led by Witch Doctor Khufu at Zim'Torga. From there, they seek to stop the Drakkari from betraying their Loa gods, although they might be too late. The local Scourge forces are led by the treacherous Overlord Drakuru at the necropolis Voltarus, and before heading into Gundrak, players must face off against the evil Prophet of Akali. Lastly, the Amphitheater of Anguish sees the return of famous blood sport promoter Gurgthock, his assistant Wodin the Troll-Servant, and the powerful Korrak the Bloodrager from Alterac Valley.

Resources

 * Cloth
 * Frostweave Cloth
 * Iceweb Spider Silk
 * Herbalism
 * Icethorn
 * Lichbloom
 * Talandra's Rose
 * Deadnettle
 * Frozen Herb
 * Skinning
 * Borean Leather
 * Nerubian Chitin
 * Arctic Fur
 * Mining
 * Cobalt Ore
 * Saronite Ore
 * Titanium Ore

Flora
The trees of Zul'Drak are known as thornwood trees. Their dead roots are capable of resisting moisture; as such they are great for firewood.

The Drakkari cultivate water-poppies within the Drak'Sotra Fields that can be used for very efficient pain-reducing salves.

Within Drak'Agal grows a fungi known as muddlecap fungus. It can be used to spike concoctions, resulting in the imbiber being weakened.

Wild creatures
Rare Elite NPCs associated with the achievement.
 * Griegen
 * Terror Spinner
 * Zul'drak Sentinel

In the RPG
Zul'Drak is the Drakkari homeland, and they swarm the place looking for intruders and prey. Climate-wise this valley is the least pleasant of the eastern regions in Northrend. It is colder than the Grizzly Hills or the Howling Fjord, less majestic than the Storm Peaks, and more crowded than any of them, especially with Drakkari.

There are not many reasons to go there, though it does have Drakkari ruins, which are interesting. Most other races avoid this region, and for good reason. You don't even need it for passage north or south — you can stick to the Grizzly Hills, which surround Zul'Drak on both sides and reach all the way up to Crystalsong Forest and the Storm Peaks. The only reason for wandering through Zul'Drak is if you want to meet the Drakkari — and you would better have a large group of armed warriors with you when you do.

Zul'Drak belongs to the trolls, who roam in hunting parties searching for prey. Old troll ruins are strewn across the countryside and the Scourge hovers just beyond the western border, waiting for a chance to strike.

History
The Drakkari ice trolls are an old race, one of the first in Northrend and perhaps one of the first in all Azeroth. They were building homes in Zul'Drak before the Great Sundering and never departed, though it is speculated some of them may have migrated south and become the jungle trolls and the other troll races, but it is still not clear which was the first troll race. The furbolgs of Grizzlemaw have fought the Drakkari for many years, and they can tell you some interesting things of the ice troll culture.

Drakkari are tribal, and early in their history each tribe established its own territory and fought off any trespassers. Then one tribe conquered another and enslaved its warriors. These slaves were forced to build the victors a new and larger home, and their children became part of the dominant tribe, which continued to conquer its neighbors, each time absorbing them, until finally it was powerful enough to claim all of Zul'Drak as its kingdom. Any tribe that resisted was destroyed and those that accepted the powerful tribe's dominance were allowed to keep their own territories, provided they accepted any orders from the ruling tribe. Thus the Drakkari nation truly began. The central tribe's home became Gundrak, the capital city.

To this day, the tribes still war among themselves, and Frost King Malakk allows it because it keeps his people strong and aggressive. He coordinates border patrols and establishes protocols for calling all the tribes together should an army attack them in force. Many tribe chieftains thought these efforts foolish until they encountered the walking dead. Then the Frost King organized the other Drakkari and drove the dead from their lands.

Since then, thus far the Scourge has not penetrated into Zul'Drak to any degree, though it claims Drak'Tharon Keep, an old Drakkari stronghold in the Grizzly Hills just beyond Zul'Drak's southwest edge.

An explorer who hid in an old troll ziggurat in Zul'Drak sketched some of the markings he saw there. These markings though, were not Zandali, the troll language, and they looked too complex for the barbaric Drakkari to have fashioned them, at least in their present state. People speculated if the ziggurat could be from some other race, or if the trolls were more intelligent and more sophisticated long ago.

People and culture
This is the Drakkari homeland and judging by the ruins, their culture was here long before the Great Sundering. They live here by the thousands, which at least means they are not anywhere else. It is amazing this one land can support so many trolls, especially since fresh meat is their principle food. Fortunately for them, wild beasts roam the area as well and provide plenty of prey. Fortunately, Drakkari are tribal.

They live in small tribes throughout Zul'Drak and wage war among themselves. Someone saw once bands of Drakkari slaughtering each other simply because they met along the border between their two tribes. Such conflict helps keep the troll population down. No one else is foolish enough to share the region with them.

Geography


Zul'Drak is a single large valley between the arms of the Grizzly Hills, Crystalsong Forest, and the Storm Peaks. The trees here are smaller than the southern forests but numerous and upright, and provide excellent cover when sniping trolls. Some grass and other plants poke up through the snow, and frozen ponds and streams dot the land. Obelisks and ziggurats are everywhere, often at the center of active troll camps. Ruins show where troll tribes must have lived long ago, though most of these look like they were destroyed during battle rather than simply abandoned.

The valley teems with life. In addition to the Drakkari, giant wolves, wendigo and other animals live among the trees and grass. Furbolgs wander up from the Grizzly Hills to hunt and clash with the Drakkari. The trolls maintain patrols along their border, both to drive out intruders and to kill anyone they find.

Troll villages are everywhere in Zul'Drak. Most of these are small, crude places, a handful of wood or stone buildings around a single larger hall. Some are built on the ruins of older structures or surround an ancient ziggurat or obelisk, carved from stone and more impressive than the more recent structures. The only large settlement is Gundrak, the capital city.

In Hearthstone
In Hearthstone, the Zul'Drak card back was rewarded for achieving Rank 20 in Ranked Season 27, which took place during June 2016. The flavor text reads: "Home of the Drakkari ice trolls, Zul'Drak consistently produces the best figure skaters of all the troll tribes."