Hinterlands

The Hinterlands, located in the eastern part of Lordaeron, is probably most notable for the Wildhammer dwarves who make their residence at Aerie Peak in the west. The Wildhammers have always been staunch allies of the Alliance. It is from the Hinterlands that these dwarves find and tame their world-renowned gryphons. The Razorbeak gryphons roam wild in this region.

Also in the Hinterlands is one of the last remaining settlements of the high elves in Lordaeron at the Quel'Danil Lodge.

The Hinterlands are also home to a large population of forest trolls, which are divided into three separate tribes. The Revantusk tribe is the only one that has declared sides in the Horde-Alliance conflict and support the Warchief of the Horde. The Vilebranch tribe holds residence in the massive troll city of Jintha'Alor as well as the Altar of Zul while the Witherbark tribe holds the smallest influence, hailing from the temples of Shadra'Alor.

In the northern part of the region is the ancient, massive tree, Seradane where the agents of the Green dragonflight have been corrupted. A massive portal on the side of the tree connects the servants of the Aspect Ysera to her own realm, the Emerald Dream.

Early history
The earliest inhabitants of the Hinterlands were the forest trolls of the Amani Empire. This ancient empire stretched across much of eastern Lordaeron with the Hinterlands at its heart. Many great troll cities were built in this region, and their colossal ruins still testify to the once-great empire. The great empire felt the beginnings of its doom when the exiled high elves arrived at Lordaeron. The trolls, though cunning and great in number, were no match for the arcane fires of the elven mages. The elven armies pushed the trolls out of the northern reaches of their empire and built their own cities in their newly acquired region: Quel'Thalas.

The trolls were forced to retreat to their bastions in the Hinterlands to the south, where they would remain, wary of the elves and their magic, for several generations.

When the humans of Arathor began organizing themselves into a true political entity, the trolls decided to prevent them from gaining a foothold in the political geography of the region. The Amani trolls massed their power in one last bid against their adversaries, but it was for naught. The high elves, seeing a way to be rid of the troll menace once and for all, taught the humans the secrets of the arcane arts. The trolls were no match for the combined armies and mages of the humans and high elves and they were utterly defeated. This defeat marked the last time the Amani forest trolls would join together as a single nation. Scattered and defeated, the remnants of the Amani returned to their homes in the Hinterlands. Because of their terrible loss, their well-established civilization was virtually gone, and their great monuments and temples began to crumble with no one to keep them up.

Wildhammer arrival


The next time the Hinterlands would play a significant role in history was the coming of the Wildhammer clan of dwarves. After the War of the Three Hammers, the Wildhammer dwarves forsook their subterranean homes of Grim Batol and traveled north to the Hinterlands where they built dwellings above the ground at the city of Aerie Peak. They adopted a society that focused less on metalworking and mining, and more on a closeness with nature. They were and remain unique among dwarves (and indeed, all races traditionally of the Alliance) in their cultivation of shamanistic practices. The dwarves also soon realized they had a strong affinity for the wild gryphons of the Hinterlands. Soon they trained gryphon riders who would fly into battle wielding the powers of the storm. So strong was the bond between the dwarves and the gryphons that the dwarves constructed an enormous monument in the likeness of a gryphon at Aerie Peak. Eventually, these gryphon riders would become perhaps their most valuable gift to the Alliance. Upon their arrival, the dwarves found themselves immediately at odds with the trolls of the Hinterlands. The trolls view the Wildhammers as squatters on their ancestral lands and spare no opportunity to accost the dwarves by attacking the gryphon aeries.

By the time of the Wildhammer clan's arrival in the Hinterlands, the trolls had recovered some of their numbers after the devastating war. These remnants split themselves into three separate tribes. The Vilebranch tribe was the strongest and held the ancient Amani bastions of Jintha'Alor and the Altar of Zul. The Witherbark tribe was weaker than the Vilebranch, residing amongst the old temples of Shadra'Alor and the ruins of Hiri'Watha. The weakest of the three tribes was the Revantusk tribe. The Revantusk trolls were nomadic and called no place their home. For many hundreds of years, this was the state of affairs for the trolls.

Second War
Located to the southeast of the Capital City, the Hinterlands are home to the Wildhammer clan, renowned for their use of gryphons. Led at that time by Kurdran Wildhammer, the Wildhammer clan came under attack by what ultimately proved to be a diversionary tactic by Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer. The Warchief deduced that if he sent a force to attack the Hinterlands, the Alliance would respond, allowing him to take the remainder of his forces into Quel'Thalas with the aid of Zul'jin and the Amani tribe. Realizing their plans, Anduin Lothar dispatched Turalyon and Khadgar, along with half the Alliance forces, to travel north to Quel'Thalas and come to the aid of the elves, while he aided Kurdran in clearing out the remaining Horde forces in the Hinterlands. Kurdran pledged his and his kingdom's aid to Anduin Lothar after the human Alliance aided them in forcing the invading orcs and forest trolls out of their homeland.

Following the Second War, Kurdran Wildhammer went to Draenor as part of the Alliance Expedition. Falstad Wildhammer stayed in Aerie Peak to succeed him as the High Thane and rule the Wildhammer clan. Kurdran and his gryphon riders participated in the Invasion of Draenor and was one of the heroes willing to sacrifice their lives to safeguard Azeroth. Kurdran Wildhammer would later have a statue in his likeness built in the Valley of Heroes to honor him for his heroic deeds.

During the war, the Old Horde had a base at Skulk Rock. Elder Torntusk was there among the forest trolls when they were driven out by the Alliance and Wildhammers all the way back to the Alterac Mountains.

After the Third War


It was only after the defeat of the Burning Legion in Kalimdor that the Hinterlands began to grow in importance once again. After the Horde had established a new homeland in Kalimdor, emissaries were sent to the Eastern Kingdoms seeking allies. Some of these emissaries came to the trolls of the Hinterlands seeking to renew the friendships of old. The Vilebranch and the Witherbark refused outright, but the Revantusk trolls, seeking to raise their position, reluctantly agreed. Thereafter, the Horde aided the Revantusk in building their first settlement after centuries of wandering, Revantusk Village. Because of the aid they received, the Revantusk trolls became staunch allies of the Horde.

The Wildhammer dwarves at Aerie peak stood witness to the destruction around them. They watched helplessly as the humans and elves were destroyed by the Scourge and the crumbling of the Alliance of Lordaeron. Though the Scourge did not reach the Hinterlands, the dwarves remained on the edge of this frontier. After the Third War, the Wildhammers of the Hinterlands remained independent of the reformed Alliance but softened their isolationist stance when Alliance adventurers aided them and proved their worth to them. During the invasion of Outland, many Wildhammer veterans from the Alliance Expedition rejoined the Alliance. In fact, their stronghold in Shadowmoon Valley and its other territories were bases for the Alliance.

Quel'Danil Lodge was used as a center of communication for the high elves of the Hinterlands. Their ambassadors were working to establish relationships with other races, with whom they shared their knowledge of the Witherbark trolls that inhabit the area in the southern Hinterlands. After the Third War, they struck an alliance with the Wildhammer dwarves, much to the ire of their common enemy, the Revantusk trolls.

Prior to the start of the Invasion of Outland, the Hinterlands were invaded by a group of Burning Legion demons led by Highlord Kruul.

Cataclysm
In order to prevent political turmoil in Ironforge, Falstad Wildhammer will help govern Ironforge as part of the Council of Three Hammers. With Falstad's inclusion into Alliance affairs, the Hinterland Wildhammer dwarves have pledged themselves to the Alliance.

After the Cataclysm, the mainline Alliance and Horde forces turned their attention to this previously neglected region. The Wildhammer clan expanded eastward, setting up new camps such as Stormfeather Outpost in former Revantusk territory. The Horde presence was augmented with the Forsaken, who took over Hiri'watha, converting it into Hiri'watha Research Station. Both factions also increased their pressure on the native unaligned trolls, driving them out of their former camps and setting up their own camps on the footsteps of Jintha'Alor. The Witherbark tribe was driven from the Hinterlands by the Forsaken.

At some point, a group of young draenei moved into the Hinterlands under the leadership of Ambassador Rualeth. While some of them are seen in Aerie Peak, others moved to the Quel'Danil Lodge. These draenei hope to act as Alliance emissaries and recruit the high elves and Wildhammers of the Hinterlands to the Alliance cause.

As part of the Forsaken offensive in all the continent, the lodge came under attack. With the help of adventurers, the Highvale high elves and the draenei settlers were able to repel the invaders. The Highvale documents were also retrieved from the chaos by Alliance adventurers and safely delivered to Anchorite Traska.

Overall, however, the land suffered little from the Cataclysm, retaining its serene, peaceful green landscape of forests and grasslands. A new tunnel was carved into the southern mountains, connecting the Hinterlands with the Arathi Highlands.

Getting there

 * Horde: From Durnholde Keep in the Hillsbrad Foothills, head northeast. Eventually, you should come to a break in the mountains . Head through the pass into the Hinterlands. The Horde flight path is in the far east of the zone, on the coast. Make your way across the country to the east until you find the road at Hiri'watha. Follow the road east almost all the way to the cliffs, then take the trail branching northeast (away from the troll city Jintha'Alor). The trail should take you to a path leading down the cliffs. Once on the beach, head to the south. You will find the Horde outpost, Revantusk Village.


 * Alliance: From Refuge Pointe, head northwest towards a tunnel connecting Arathi Highlands and the Hinterlands Head through the tunnel into the Hinterlands. The Alliance outpost is very close to the entrance to the zone: just head straight northwest along the road and you will come to Aerie Peak. Going northeast will lead you to another Alliance settlement: the high elven Quel'Danil Lodge.

Geography
While there are no instanced dungeons in the Hinterlands, the zone is notable for its huge outdoor micro dungeon, Jintha'Alor.

The Hinterlands are the location of Seradane, one of the four Great Trees leading to the Emerald Dream and guarded by the four Emerald Dragons. The three others are in Ashenvale, Duskwood, and Feralas.

Maps and subregions


Topographic map of the Hinterlands

Elite areas



 * Seradane

Flight paths from Aerie Peak

 * Ironforge, Dun Morogh
 * Refuge Pointe, Arathi Highlands
 * Stormfeather Outpost, The Hinterlands
 * Chillwind Camp, Western Plaguelands
 * Andorhal, Western Plaguelands
 * Light's Hope Chapel, Eastern Plaguelands

Flight paths from Stormfeather Outpost

 * Refuge Pointe, Arathi Highlands
 * Aerie Peak, The Hinterlands
 * Thondroril River, Eastern Plaguelands
 * Light's Hope Chapel, Eastern Plaguelands

Flight paths from Revantusk Village

 * Undercity, Tirisfal Glades
 * Tarren Mill, Hillsbrad Foothills
 * Hammerfall, Arathi Highlands
 * Hiri'watha Research Station, The Hinterlands
 * Light's Hope Chapel, Eastern Plaguelands

Flight paths from Hiri'watha Research Station

 * Tarren Mill, Hillsbrad Foothills
 * Hammerfall, Arathi Highlands
 * Revantusk Village, The Hinterlands
 * Andorhal, Western Plaguelands
 * Light's Hope Chapel, Eastern Plaguelands

Portal at Seradane

 * Emerald Dreamway, a portal hub within the Emerald Dream.

Notable characters


The Hinterlands are home to several characters of note. At Aerie Peak, Falstad Wildhammer and Gryphon Master Talonaxe seek aid in locating a young gryphon. At Revantusk Village, Primal Torntusk attempts to locate her missing mate, and Huntsman Markhor sends bold adventurers into the deepest part of the wilds in search of dangerous wildlife.

Resources



 * Fishes
 * Raw Rockscale Cod
 * Herbs
 * Blindweed
 * Bruiseweed
 * Fadeleaf
 * Goldthorn
 * Khadgar's Whisker
 * Kingsblood
 * Liferoot
 * Stranglekelp
 * Wildvine (Drops fairly often from Vilebranch and Witherbark trolls)
 * Wild Steelbloom
 * Leather
 * Medium Leather
 * Heavy Leather
 * Ores
 * Silver Ore
 * Iron Ore
 * Gold Ore

Wild creatures



 * Dragonspawn
 * Forest trolls
 * Green dragons
 * Gryphons
 * High elves
 * Moonkin
 * Oozes
 * Sharks
 * Turtles
 * Wolves

Cataclysm
After the Cataclysm expansion, the Hinterlands level range changed from 40-50 to 30-35. Areas affected :
 * Agol'watha – taken by the Vilebranch trolls
 * Hiri'watha – turned into a research station/quest hub by the Forsaken
 * Jintha'Alor – Horde now have a very small encampment at the base of here; pit in second-to-last tier that holds a large, roped troll; top cave now filled with spiders, exterior area filled with sacrificed Vilebranch trolls; area where bird cage used to be there are now three Wildhammer Clan NPCs
 * Quel'Danil Lodge - new Alliance quests
 * Revantusk Village – more direct path now carved down to Village; shoreline flooded nearby
 * Shaol'watha – Revantusk and Wildhammer Clan fighting here; Wildhammer Clan has gained the troll outposts nearby
 * Shindigger's Camp – aesthetic improvements to path; same with path leading to Plaguelands
 * Wildhammer Keep – Innkeeper moved to entrance
 * Zun'watha - appears to have been abandoned by the Witherbark tribe.
 * Other:
 * NW of Shaol'watha is a Wildhammer Clan inn with a flight master
 * The Arathi Highlands is now reachable by a new tunnel to the south, near Shadra'Alor.

History
The Hinterlands have remained pristine for centuries. The hill dwarves of the Wildhammer Clan, the only dwarves in Lordaeron, moved their capital to Aerie Peak after losing Grim Batol in the Second War. Wildhammer gryphon riders are legendary and were a great boon to the Alliance in the Second and Third Wars.

When the ravenous Horde crashed through the Dark Portal and sacked Stormwind, the omens of hope began to glimmer for the trolls. When the orcs invaded a second time, they plowed through Khaz Modan and into Lordaeron. The three troll tribes saw the Horde as the means to their redemption. The Hinterlands forest troll tribes joined the Horde seeking to destroy their old enemies, the elves and the humans. They even managed to invade Quel'Thalas, but the Horde was ultimately defeated. Seeking to avoid the orcs' fate of imprisonment and slavery, the trolls abandoned their allies and returned to the Hinterlands, their dreams of former glory shattered. Even though the trolls were defeated in the war, their role in the greater scheme of things was not quite spent.

During the same war, the Wildhammer dwarves sided with the Alliance, horrified at the defeat of their ancestral homeland of Khaz Modan. They sent their powerful gryphon riders into battle against the Horde. Perhaps without them, the Alliance would not have won.

In the events that transpired in Lordaeron during the years to come, the Hinterlands were little affected. The Wildhammer dwarves took in some refugees fleeing the destruction wrought by the Scourge, and many forest trolls moved south as well.

Though largely peaceful, hostile trolls and dangerous creatures roam the wilderness. These daring trolls steal gryphon eggs from Aerie Peak and they have begun training their own gryphon riders. If they complete their training, they would seriously curtail the Wildhammers' dominance, that is why the dwarves ask heroes to rescue the fledgling gryphons and slay the trolls.

People and culture
The savage Wildhammer dwarves, based in Aerie Peak, control most of this territory. For some reason, Wildhammers like high elves. A connection formed between the two peoples, and seemingly it has something to do with nature and wildness. There are several high elves in Aerie Peak, and they have a hunting lodge nearby.

The Hinterlands also play home to two marauding forest troll tribes: the Vilebranch and the Witherbark. Like other forest trolls, these creatures are vile and sadistic. They harass the Wildhammers constantly and prey on lone travelers. They infect this beautiful land with their presence.

Geography
Making their home in Aerie Peak, the dwarves have made efforts to preserve this realm. In utter contrast to the Plaguelands, the Hinterlands are a verdant, green realm of majestic oaks and maples. No roads cross the region and the area is tranquil and calm. The northeastern portion is especially idyllic, with mild, pleasant weather and many natural splendors. To the southwest the land becomes a bit misty and forlorn, taking on tones of the Arathi Highlands and the Alterac Mountains. Vacant human farms and settlements are scattered across this area, but the only tangible forces that threaten the Hinterlands are two brutal forest troll tribes.

The Hinterlands border the Arathi Highlands to the south, the Hillsbrad Foothills to the southwest, the Alterac Mountains to the west and the Eastern Plaguelands to the north. Tyr's Hand in the Plaguelands is very near the border, which may help explain why that city remains relatively safe. It is amazing that the Hinterlands can thrive so near the wasted Plaguelands.

The Hinterlands are composed of lovely deciduous forest, primarily oaks and maples. Many of its trees are very old, and in some places branches block out the sun to create a world of perpetual twilight. Mossy beards hang from branches and streams rush over pebbles. The northeast is especially pristine, while the southwest is somewhat misty and eerie. Forest animals of all kinds live within the woods, and the Wildhammers tell explorers that dire bears, wildkin and similarly dangerous creatures are common.

Notes and trivia

 * Akil'darah is the eagle spirit of the Hinterlands.
 * Aerie Peaks was originally the name given to the Hinterlands during its development for World of Warcraft.