Stormheim

Stormheim is the easternmost region of the Broken Isles archipelago, situated in the shadow of Highmountain to the west and the ancient region of Suramar to the southwest. Stormheim is notably home to a large population of vrykul who left Northrend many ages ago in search of their holy land. The region's rugged, uneven landscape has since become something of a cradle for vrykul society, which is centered around its long fjords and steep ravines.

Religion and culture in Stormheim generally revolves around the titan keeper Odyn, who is viewed as a god among the vrykul, though his nemesis Helya is also venerated in some areas. In recent times, vrykul belonging to the Tideskorn clan have also pledged themselves to the demonic Burning Legion in exchange for power. The Halls of Valor and Helheim, the realms to which the vrykul journey when they die, are located in this zone.

Having once served as the stage for fierce battles during the War of the Ancients, Stormheim would once again see turmoil during the third invasion of the Burning Legion. Both the Horde led by Sylvanas Windrunner, and the Alliance under Genn Greymane would arrive and clash in the region as both groups searched for the legendary Aegis of Aggramar. Set against the backdrop of a major demon incursion, this conflict would decisively shape the early stages of the war on the Broken Isles.

History
An ancestral homeland of the vrykul, Stormheim was once considered a city. At one point, it was occupied by Highborne elves. Vrykul forces led by the heroic king Magnar Icebreaker launched a massive attack on Stormheim, surprising the Highborne with their ferocity. For weeks the elves and vrykul skirmished, with the latter scoring immediate victories and gaining enough momentum to push the Highborne out of the city. The elves' last chance to reclaim Stormheim happened at the Battle of Suramar Pass, but in the end the vrykul stood victorious. The Highborne were forced to flee and never made a claim upon Stormheim again. Moments after the vrykul victory, traitors loyal to Helya and her Helarjar arose within Magnar's ranks and managed to kill both the king and his son Hruthnir, but Magnar's people were able to rally and prevent the Helarjar from claiming Stormheim.

Stormheim was host to many brutal battles during the War of the Ancients, and demonic artifacts still litter the area millennia later. After the Great Sundering, Stormheim became the easternmost region of the newly-formed Broken Isles.

The Halls of Valor, serving as a makeshift prison for Odyn and his Valarjar, would come to occupy the clouds high above Stormheim, and this would grant the region a special significance for the vrykul people. This race worshiped Odyn as a deity and yearned to join the ranks of his formidable Valarjar. Though native to Northrend, many vrykul would make the voyage to the Broken Isles over the years and gravitated towards Stormheim. The gateway to the Halls of Valor, known as the Gates of Valor, dominated the eastern half of this region, while the vrykul population grew and flourished throughout wider Stormheim.

Although the vrykul of Stormheim are generally loyal to Odyn and the Valarjar, another powerful being holds great sway in the region: the Sea-Witch Helya. With her Helarjar kvaldir, she traditionally seeks to corrupt the souls of fallen warriors and add them to her ranks, largely to spite Odyn.

Sometime before the invasion of the Burning Legion, the Helarjar attacked and occupied Tideskorn Harbor in northern Stormheim, converting most of its denizens. It has since become a focal point of Helya's influence in the area.

Search for the Aegis
After thousands of years, Stormheim had become a highly distinct region of the Broken Isles. Along with the Howling Fjord in Northrend, it housed the largest population of vrykul on Azeroth, and the vrykul of Stormheim had developed their own clans and other factions, such as the Tideskorn clan or the Valkyra. This era of relative isolation would be brought to an abrupt end when the Burning Legion launched its third invasion of the world.

The demons' arrival had immediate repercussions for Stormheim. Skovald, a prince of the Tideskorn vrykul clan, was attracted by the Legion's offer of power in exchange for service. He secretly forged a pact with the invaders and made moves to seize power within his clan. Alongside his brothers he killed his father, before turning on them as well. Skovald emerged from the civil war victorious as Jarl, leaving only his mother Queen Bretta to oppose his ascension as God-King. By this time, Skovald had also fully embraced the Burning Legion; he and his followers were imbued and corrupted by potent fel energies, becoming the Felskorn. In a final confrontation at Kingsfall Pass, Skovald slew his mother and routed her forces.

Along with the Tideskorn clan, Skovald also attracted the support of the Drekirjar of Hrydshal. Since ancient times, these vrykul maintained a pact with the Thorignir storm drakes. Upon becoming Felskorn, however, they betrayed their draconic allies, instead enslaving them. As God-King, and with an army at his back, Skovald quickly turned his attention to retrieving the Aegis of Aggramar, the demons' main objective in the region. Odyn and most other vrykul opposed the demonic invasion, though there was little they could do to stop the Felskorn's plans.

More outsiders would soon arrive on Stormheim's shores, this time in the form of the Alliance and Horde. Though both factions were ostensibly working to defeat the Legion, their efforts soon became directed at one another. The Alliance dispatched their Skyfire gunship under Genn Greymane to spearhead the strike force, while Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner led a large Forsaken naval fleet to carry out her own invasion; the two sides would ultimately clash on Stormheim's northern coast. Both factions suffered heavily in this engagement, though their hostilities were not blunted, and conflict would continue to break out in the campaign ahead.

In the aftermath of their initial battle, the Skyfire would crash near the Weeping Bluffs, creating the Skyfire Triage Camp, while most of the Windrunner Fleet remained wrecked in the Cove of Nashal. The Horde, Alliance, and demons continued their search for the Aegis, while at the same time Warchief Sylvanas herself pursued another goal. With Horde champions at her side (and the Alliance tracking her movements) she would infiltrate the Vault of Eyir in central Stormheim. There, she hoped to use the titanic watcher Eyir to create more Val'kyr for her own ends. Her plans failed, however,, allowing Eyir to escape.

Meanwhile, Odyn renewed his efforts to stop the Burning Legion's invasion of the region. Along with mortal heroes from the newly-arrived Alliance and Horde, he directed a campaign against the Felskorn and their demon allies in the guise of the vrykul Havi. In addition to this, Odyn dealt with the forces of Helya based from Tideskorn Harbor, who had been creating more kvaldir from the souls of deceased Valarjar. In both conflicts Odyn's agents met with success, even securing the aid of the Thorignir storm drakes, but God-King Skovald continued to gain ground.

Determined to retrieve the Aegis of Aggramar for himself, Skovald would lead a massive assault on the Gates of Valor. Countless Felskorn and demons crashed against Odyn's defenses, and they came close to overwhelming the Halls of Valor. Champions of Odyn would eventually meet Skovald in combat and drive him from the field, thus stemming his reinforcements and crippling his assault on Stormheim.

Though his armies were bested, the God-King himself refused to give up. He charged forth into the Halls of Valor in search of the Aegis, closely pursued by Odyn's champions. After completing the many trials that stood in their way, these champions eventually confronted Skovald at the Seat of Ascension. Before Odyn himself, God-King Skovald and the mortal heroes battled for control of the Aegis. Though determined, Skovald was bested and slain, allowing his foes to claim the Pillar of Creation and move it to Dalaran for safekeeping. Odyn celebrated the victory, which heralded the end of the Legion threat in Stormheim for the time being.

Trial of Valor
Some time after the defeat of God-King Skovald, the forces of Helya continued to plague the shores of the Broken Isles. Though she had suffered an earlier defeat at the hands of Odyn's champions in the Maw of Souls, her work did not cease. The souls of Valarjar continued to be twisted into Helarjar at an alarming rate, a fact that deeply infuriated Odyn.

In response, the titan keeper rallied his champions once more in preparation for a an assault on Helheim that would deal with Helya permanently. After being personally tested by Odyn within the Halls of Valor, the party of heroes traveled to Haustvald in the west of Stormheim. Cutting through Helya's minions, they were able to venture into Helheim itself and confront the Sea-Witch. After a great battle, Helya was slain; her death would forever free Stormheim and the world beyond from the age-old threat posed by the Helarjar.

Invasion
As the war against the Legion progressed, the demons would launch further assaults on the regions in proximity to the Broken Shore. Stormheim was one of those targeted, and a large invasion force under Lord Commander Alexius descended on the region in strength. Odyn chose to lead the defense of Stormheim, directing its varied inhabitants in foiling the Legion's efforts. He was aided in this task by the same mortal champions that had defeated God-King Skovald.

Among other acts perpetrated by the Legion during the assault, the demons forged an alliance with the murlocs of Morheim, ritually drained ancient vrykul spirits in Felscale Cavern, established a spying base at Amberfall Mesa, and sacrificed prisoners to harvest their souls at Storm's Reach. They would also deploy at least one fel reaver to the region, though the landscape proved impassable and it was soon ruined. The Valkyra and Thorignir were also heavily involved in the defense of Stormheim at this time.

After many of these threats had been dealt with, Stormheim's defenders would discover that they had mainly been diversions. The primary demon attack, based from the island of Shield's Rest, was well underway by the time Odyn's champions arrived to repel it. With the help of the Thorignir, they were successful in crippling the invasion force. The battle for Stormheim would culminate in a final conflict at the Gates of Valor, where Odyn personally destroyed the command ship of Lord Commander Alexius leading the assault.

A new God-Queen
As the Assault on Broken Shore raged to the south, an ancient prophecy began to play out in Stormheim guided by agents of the Kirin Tor. In line with the prophecy, they sought out the last heir to the late God-King Skovald in the town of Jandvik in Suramar. By helping her ascension to the throne, the Scrolls of the Faldrottin stated that she—Sigryn—would unite the Tideskorn clan once again, and turn it against the Burning Legion. With her newfound allies, Sigryn traveled to the home of the Valkyra in Skold-Ashil and there convened with Eyir herself. The Val'kyr explained the importance of the task to Sigryn, who became determined to see it through.

Sigryn embarked on a quest to gain the support of the most important vrykul factions in Stormheim, and crush any opposition to her claim to the throne. As part of this, she bested both Runeseer Faljar of the Bonespeakers and Jarl Velbrand of the Drekirjar. Doing this gained her the support of both groups, and she soon learned of a greater threat in the form of her still-living brother Torvald. Sigryn confronted Torvald, who had a stronger claim, in the eastern village of Vrekt, but was forced to slay him upon discovering his embracing of fel energies.

Torvald's dying words led Sigryn to question Eyir, who revealed that Odyn himself had been responsible for the death of Sigryn's mother. Infuriated, Sigryn embraced fel energy herself, and departed for the Halls of Valor to confront Odyn. Eventually, the Kirin Tor were able to find a way to follow her there, and a battle erupted between their agents and the would-be God-Queen. Defeated, Sigryn realized the magnitude of her actions, and forcibly ejected the fel power from her person. She subsequently returned to Eyir for forgiveness and punishment, but the titan watcher would instead charge her with taking up the crown. Her triumph over the corruption within her proved Sigryn's worthiness to rule, and Eyir named her God-Queen of the Tideskorn as was prophesied. Humbled, the new God-Queen vowed to unite the vrykul of Stormheim against the Legion and its allies.

Getting there
Stormheim's uneven and mountainous terrain makes it more isolated than many other regions of the Broken Isles. The shared border with Highmountain also reduces its general accessibility. Only two land routes allow access to Stormheim from Highmountain and Suramar.

The road from Highmountain descends craggy slopes from Stonehoof Watch to enter Stormheim from the far west. This path eventually passes through the Stony Highlands and on to Valdisdall. The second route into Stormheim enters through the southwest, leading from Suramar's Crimson Thicket and passing Hrydshal on its way to Valdisdall as well.

Geography
Stormheim is an ancient land. A great number of vrykul monuments here create stunning vistas, their towns and cities scattered over countless rocky formations. Thousands of years of the ocean's brutality has carved the labyrinth-like formations that define the region today. The western portion, viridescent and dotted with pines, sits on the base of Highmountain Peak; the mountain's waters creating out the Weeping Bluffs and flowing into Stonescar Gorge. The elevation descends drastically as one progresses eastward and trees become denser and fade into an amber shade. The Runewood blankets Stormheim's eastern landmass.

Maps and subregions




Travel hubs

 * Flight Paths from Skyfire Triage Camp
 * Flight Paths from Lorna's Watch
 * Flight Paths from Greywatch
 * Flight Paths from Forsaken Foothold
 * Flight Paths from Cullen's Post
 * Flight Paths from Dreadwake's Landing
 * Flight Paths from Hafr Fjall
 * Flight Paths from Valdisdall
 * Flight Paths from Stormtorn Foothills
 * Flight Paths from Shield's Rest

Vignettes

 * Main article: Stormheim vignettes

Resources

 * Cloth
 * Shal'dorei Silk
 * Herbalism
 * Fjarnskaggl
 * Yseralline Seed
 * Felwort
 * Skinning
 * Stonehide Leather
 * Stormscale
 * Unbroken Tooth
 * Unbroken Claw
 * Felhide
 * Mining
 * Leystone Ore
 * Felslate
 * Infernal Brimstone
 * Fishing
 * Silver Mackerel
 * Black Barracuda
 * Stormray

Wild pets

 * Black-Footed Fox Kit
 * Golden Eaglet
 * Long-Eared Owl
 * Mist Fox Kit
 * Rose Taipan
 * Slithering Brownscale
 * Stormstruck Beaver
 * Tiny Apparition

Notes and trivia

 * Exile's Reach is an uncharted island off the coast of Stormheim.
 * Stormheim is similar to the region of Howling Fjord in Northrend in that they possess large craggy fjords and are inhabited by the vrykul.
 * The geographic assets for Stormheim are in a folder called "araknashal", and concept art files for what is now called "Stormheim" also refers to "nashal", hinting that the zone was renamed from The Frozen Throne location Arauk-Nashal. A statue called Nashal the Watcher also exists, and lends its name to a few subzones in its surrounding areas.
 * PTR strings of patch 8.3.0 suggested that Stormheim would be attacked by N'Zoth's forces.
 * In Old Norse, "heim" means world or home. The name "Stormheim" would thus mean "home of storm". However, "Valarjar" also translates to "warriors of the storm".