Darkshore

Darkshore is a long strip of coast on the northwestern part of Kalimdor. It is known for its characteristically shadowed woods and rocky beaches, littered with ancient ruins and mountainside caves. The night elves of Teldrassil claim the shore as part of their new kingdom, and sentinels patrol the road from the port of Lor'danel towards Ashenvale to the south. It was the only Alliance zone on the mainland of Kalimdor before it became contested during the War of the Thorns.

Old night elf ruins stand crumbling on the cliffs, infested with naga, satyrs, grell and haunting ghosts. Cultists of the Dark Strand and Twilight's Hammer ambush unwary travelers from their hideouts beyond the road. Even the seas are unsafe, as bloodthirsty frenzies, gigantic threshadons, and hostile murlocs lurk beneath the waves. The night elf village of Lor'danel served as a friendly trading post before its destruction in the War of the Thorns.

During the Fourth War, the Horde managed to conquer most of Darkshore after the Burning of Teldrassil, despite some parts of the regions initially being contested. However, Tyrande Whisperwind, Malfurion Stormrage and most of the surviving night elves returned to reclaim their lands from the Forsaken and the goblins occupying them. Under Maiev Shadowsong's leadership and with the assistance of the Gilneans, the kaldorei were able to destroy most of the Horde forces in the area, decisively winning the Battle for Darkshore and making Bashal'Aran their new stronghold.

History
The Darkshore region is named after the odd mist that tends to blanket anything. It is mostly shunned by the night elven race. Many attempts have been made to settle the land, but all had fallen to failure, in fact, Auberdine was the only stronghold in the region. Several wildkin and moonkin have also lived for centuries in the area.

Darkshore was once home to the twin cities Ameth'Aran and Bashal'Aran, ruled over by Athrikus Narassin. The cities were ruined by the War of the Ancients, and as the Great Sundering approached, Athrikus promised to save his people. In truth, he trapped their souls within soul gems, allowing them to "live forever", but he used them as a power source for himself.

Following the Third War, Fandral Staghelm took control of the Cenarion Circle and led a group of druids into Darkshore. From here they planted a new World Tree named Teldrassil.

During the Ahn'Qiraj War, the area was invaded by the armies of C'Thun.

Cataclysm


Darkshore took a heavy toll from the Cataclysm &mdash; its landscape was wrecked, perhaps more thoroughly than any other part of Azeroth. For a time, the area was unapproachable due to gale winds, with several Cenarion druids sent there went missing. Auberdine was completely destroyed, the ground was cracked and flooded with streams and whirlpools, and there are fires, storms and other hazards of nature ravaging the zone. The night elves are in survival mode, helping refugees and, wherever they can, fending off the advances of the Twilight's Hammer cult, the naga, and the Shatterspear trolls.

Meanwhile, Malfurion Stormrage, recently returned from the Emerald Dream, has traveled to the epicenter of the destruction, the Eye of the Vortex, and called upon the ancient powers of Cenarius to contain the devastation, preventing Darkshore from being shattered and swept away into the ocean.

The Grove of the Ancients was shielded from most of the devastation caused by the Cataclysm, due in large part to the power of the ancient guardians residing therein. Protecting the grove required an enormous amount of energy, though, and as a result, most of the guardians have gone into a sort of slumber. Adventurers will have to figure out a way to wake them and bring them into the fight to ensure the survival of Darkshore.

The night elves built the town of Lor'danel further north from Aubderdine, in order to maintain some foothold on Darkshore. The village is made up of new buildings, as the night elves cleared away the ruins they could not restore. Most of the night elves currently living in Darkshore have focused their attention on reclaiming Auberdine and helping out any survivors that can be found.

After the Cataclysm, the Shatterspear trolls started establishing footholds on northern Darkshore, and the night elves have responded by scouting and preparing to defend the area from the seemingly hostile trolls.

Just south of Lor'danel is a whirlpool that leads to a secret cavern. Adventurers wanting to go there must make a great dive.

Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War
Following the Destruction of Theramore, the Horde set up a blockade around Kalimdor trapping the night elven fleet at Darkshore and Feralas. The Alliance "sent" false intelligence about attacking the blockade there. Instead, the Alliance attacked Durotar.

War of the Thorns
Darkshore became a battleground between the Alliance and Horde as the Horde pushed north to attack Teldrassil, particularly at the Wildbend River and Lor'danel. Azerite appeared on the island of Nazj'vel.

The Horde entrenched themselves in northern Darkshore under Chief Blastgineer Bombgutz, who was drilling near the Shatterspear War Camp, and although Shatterspear Vale was apparently for a while held by hippogryph riders, they were attacked by Horde forces in an attempt to secure their faction's aerial superiority over Darkshore once again. They also maintained bestiaries near the southeastern Grove of the Ancients, which were set aflame by Alliance forces. Goblin salvager efforts by Captain Goggath to use Azerite-powered shredders to dismantle the Ruins of Auberdine, were discovered by Huntress Duskrunner, and Alliance forces attempted to steal or sabotage their technology. In Lor'danel, Dentaria Silverglade oversaw the evacuation of surviving night elf civilians to Azuremyst Isle, but was targeted for assassination by Horde forces, with Blood Guard Aldo Rockrain leading a Horde army against her, which was in turn confronted by Alliance defenders.

Battle for Darkshore
During the Fourth War, following the Burning of Teldrassil, Darkshore became a warfront, with Elune's power covering the entire region in perpetual darkness under a lunar eclipse, and further empowering Tyrande Whisperwind and her people.

Although the rest of the Alliance was unable to directly assist them, the night elves and their worgen allies launched a naval and land attack upon the Forsaken as they fought over the region. The old Highborne settlement of Bashal'Aran is established as their de-facto regional base of operations and capital, the Blight is used as a weapon by the Forsaken to cover much of the occupied lands towards the shoreline, and outposts such as the Ruins of Auberdine are apparently destroyed and rebuilt throughout the course of the conflict.

The battle ultimately ended in the Alliance's favor, with the forces of the Army of the Black Moon decimating the Forsaken and goblin troops, leaving Bashal'Aran and Darkshore itself in Alliance hands once again.

Geography
Darkshore consists of a long strip of coastline in northwestern Kalimdor. It is sheltered to the east by mountains, which protect the wildlife in Darkshore from most the taint of the Felwood. Unfortunately, the taint has spread into Darkshore via the various rivers flowing through the zone from their sources in Felwood; bringing the taint with them which is turning the land grey and dead, and poisoning the wildlife and furbolgs with an insatiable rage. Between the mountains and the beach lies a forest consisting mainly of evergreens. To the south, the forest thickens and the mountains recede, leading into the deep wilderness of Ashenvale. The most prominent feature of the land after the Cataclysm is a massive, swirling vortex of energies, roughly in Darkshore's center.

Darkshore contains no dungeons of any type and no battlegrounds, but a warfront takes place here. It contains two Alliance travel hubs: the night elf village Lor'danel at the north and the Grove of the Ancients at the south.

Travel hubs
In addition to the below flight paths, there are Nightsaber Riders southeast of Lor'danel who can transport players to Bashal'Aran or the Ruins of Mathystra, and from the Ruins of Mathystra all the way to Shatterspear Village.

Flight paths from Lor'danel

 * Rut'theran Village, Teldrassil
 * Grove of the Ancients, Darkshore
 * Astranaar, Ashenvale
 * Thal'darah Overlook, Stonetalon Mountains
 * Nijel's Point, Desolace
 * Theramore Isle, Dustwallow Marsh
 * Feathermoon Stronghold, Feralas
 * Talonbranch Glade, Felwood
 * Moonglade

Flight paths from the Grove of the Ancients

 * Lor'danel, Darkshore
 * Blackfathom Camp, Ashenvale
 * Astranaar, Ashenvale
 * Thal'darah Overlook, Stonetalon Mountains
 * Emerald Sanctuary, Felwood
 * Wildheart Point, Felwood
 * Talonbranch Glade, Felwood

Getting there

 * Alliance:Take the flight path from Rut'theran Village.
 * Horde:From Zoram'gar Outpost in Ashenvale, head north-east to the main road. Follow the road north into Darkshore.

Notable characters
In Darkshore, Malfurion Stormrage has called a massive swirling vortex of air to hold the land together as he and the night elves attempt to stop the rampaging elementals. Queen Azshara is responsible for the troubles of the zone, in order to keep Malfurion's attention away from the work being done in Mount Hyjal.

Quests
Quests in Darkshore range from level 10-20. Players arrive in Lor'danel from Rut'theran Village and push southwards into the zone, until the Ashenvale border. Quest chains of note include fighting the wildlife corruption, rescuing the survivors of Auberdine, fighting against the invading Shatterspear trolls, striking back against the Twilight's Hammer, containing the natural disasters that have wrecked the zone, and fighting the newly unearthed servant of the Old Gods.

Toys and loot
Added in patch 8.1.0 and available for level 50 players in the Warfront phase, a large number of rare creatures drop mounts, pets, and toys. Rares can only be looted once per Alliance/Horde capture cycle.

Organizations

 * Darkscale naga
 * Moontouched wildkin
 * Deth'ryll satyr
 * Gravelflint troggs
 * Greymist murlocs
 * Stormscale naga

Resources

 * Cloth
 * Linen Cloth
 * Wool Cloth
 * Silk Cloth
 * Herbs
 * Peacebloom
 * Silverleaf
 * Earthroot
 * Mageroyal
 * Swiftthistle
 * Briarthorn
 * Stranglekelp
 * Bruiseweed
 * Leather, which can be attained through skinning beasts of course.
 * Ruined Leather Scraps
 * Light Leather
 * Medium Leather
 * Ore
 * Copper Vein
 * Tin Vein
 * Silver Vein

Dig sites
Darkshore has only one dig site:
 * 1) Nazj'vel; contains Night Elf Archaeology Fragments.

History
Darkshore was once one of the most prosperous regions of the Kaldorei empire, and great cities such as Ameth'Aran and Bashal'Aran were the pinnacle of civilization at that time. Much of the coastline was destroyed in the Sundering, and it was many years before the night elves began to rebuild in the area.

After the Sundering, some night elves settled in the continent's northern reaches, on and near Mount Hyjal, including the port at the mountain's northern foot. However, the few night elves in Darkshore left the area in the course of the Third War, moving to the safety of Mount Hyjal and the Moonglade. A small number of night elves returned after the war to the cold and desolate beach to revive the port. They dwelt in the village of Auberdine, which was used as a ferry outpost. The remainder of the seaside is left in ruins.

Darkshore is one of the last refuges of the night elves, distant enough from Mount Hyjal to have been spared the worst damage from demonic attacks. After the night elves returned here after the Third War, they found to their dismay that small parts of the land are tainted by the corruption from Felwood in the east.

Auberdine keeps the majority of Darkshore under control, but the eastern border is gradually getting more and more corrupted. There are pockets where some nasty beasts have made their homes, and the extremely suspicious “Master's Glaive” which may or may not be a deceased Old God, but generally things are pretty happy here. The fishing and boating industries are exceptionally strong.

People and culture
The night elves have a limited presence in Darkshore. They subsist mainly on what they can catch in the ocean and what they can get through trade. When not fighting one another, naga and murlocs that lurk elsewhere in the ruins of Darkshore attack any travelers who look like easy pickings. Furbolgs inhabit a series of caves beneath the port. Uncultured but friendly to night elves in the past, their time in the ruins has turned many of them feral. The night elves of Darkshore are friendly and organized and used to travelers.

Geography
Terrain type: Temperature aquatic (nonflowing water), medium forest, and forbidding mountains. Darkshore covers northwestern Kalimdor, and the tainted land of Felwood rises toward Hyjal to the south. The rocky cliffs, sandy soil, and ever-present sea mist ensure that little worth noting grows in Darkshore. Kelp, seaweed, and rocks litter the beaches, and a few sparse trees dot the landscape away from the beach. Once a thriving night elf settlement, it is little more than a desolate beach dotted with ruined buildings. The weather is cold and stormy much of the time, with a wicked wind stirring up the waves. Rain and fog are prevalent for a good part of the year, allowing only the most talented sailors to navigate the dangerous waters. Shipwrecks of the less talented litter the shallower waters and beach.

The night elves currently living in Darkshore have focused their attention on rebuilding Auberdine. Most of the town is made of new buildings, as the night elves cleared away the ruins they could not restore. Many ruins remain through the coast, and harsh winds and salt water continue to corrode the once sturdy buildings. These worn pillars and crumbling structures are not totally abandoned - stories about that murlocs and naga are slowly taking the ruins for their own.

Rains, winds, rocky beaches, and sheer cliffs that have split the ground make the place inhospitable. Besides natural dangers typical of the area, aggressive wildlife roams the grassy hills and stalks among the dark trees.

As a coastal area, Darkshore is cooled by a sea breeze and is perpetually humid. Rain is frequent but mild. The majority of the forest is peaceful and tranquil, but a few spots have been corrupted by the presence of warlocks or tainted furbolgs. Darkshore is dotted with several bodies of water, including at least one fairly large waterfall on the eastern side; I thought I saw movement behind the falls as I passed, but I can't be sure. The eastern edge of Darkshore is marked by a large mountain range, which separates Darkshore from Felwood (directly east) and Moonglade (northeast).

Brann's visit
Brann Bronzebeard arrived in Darkshore by boat from Menethil Harbor, to work his way from the top of Kalimdor down, and thus Auberdine was a better option than Theramore. Darkshore was the first he had seen of Kalimdor and was impressed. It was just at the beginning of spring when he arrived, and the temperature was surprisingly cold in Darkshore, but beyond that the environment was quite hospitable. The massive numbers of trees reminded him of Quel'Thalas, before the Scourge razed the city. Fortunately, the elves here seemed to be in minimal danger. There are small bands of murlocs and corrupted furbolgs in Darkshore that might cause a wandering adventurer trouble, but they pose no threat to the town itself.

He was, however, not the first member of the Explorer's League to reach Darkshore. Brann was greeted immediately on the arrival by a stout dwarf named Hollee, one of the excavation leaders. A good number of other dwarves are about the area, inspecting the numerous ruins; and one in particular named Remtravel may have found some objects linked to the titans.

He was fortunate that there was room in the inn when he arrived, which was apparently something of a rarity. The town was extremely busy, which I understand was in part due to an upcoming festival, the Rain Dance.

While the villagers are almost exclusively night elves, the few humans and dwarves living in the area have made a good impression on them, and they were quite willing to answer Brann's questions about the area. The dwarves here are few, but they are experienced adventurers, and most of them are members of the Explorer's Guild. Kalimdor is a land of many mysteries, and the dwarves here spend their time investigating these secrets, focusing specifically on Titan ruins and the creations of their enemies, the Old Gods.

The only truly native creatures in the area are furbolgs, and sadly those here are corrupted. The night elves do their best to find a cure for the once noble creatures, but sadly, the power of the Burning Legion allows no antidote.