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Alterac Valley is a battleground in the continuing conflict between the Horde and the Alliance. The two opposing sides are the Frostwolf Clan (led by General Drek'Thar) of the Horde, and the Stormpike Guard (also known as the Stormpike Expedition, led by General Vanndar Stormpike) of the Alliance. Both sides lay claim to this secluded territory.
Long before the start of the First War, the warlock Gul'dan exiled a clan of orcs called the Frostwolf Clan (led by Durotan, father of Thrall) to a hidden valley deep within the heart of the Alterac Mountains for refusing to drink the blood of Mannoroth. It is here in the valley's southern reaches that the Frostwolves etched out a living until the rise of Thrall's new Horde.
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Sir Anduin Lothar, also known as the Lion of Azeroth, was the last true descendant of the ancient Arathi bloodline, a knight champion of the Kingdom of Azeroth (later known as the Kingdom of Stormwind) during the First War, and the Supreme Commander of the armies of the Alliance of Lordaeron during the Second War. He perished in battle at the base of Blackrock Mountain against the orc Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer just before the end of the Second War and the destruction of the Dark Portal. He is considered to be one of the greatest human warriors of all time.
Lothar grew up in the court of Azeroth as a childhood friend of both the Prince Llane Wrynn and the wizard Medivh. The trio shared many adventures in the Azerothian wilderness in their youth. Upon his coming of age, Lothar joined Azeroth's military, where he was later knighted and arose quickly to the position of Armsman of the Brotherhood of the Horse, eventually leading Azeroth's armies against the orcs during the First War.
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Arthas Menethil, Crown Prince of Lordaeron and Knight of the Silver Hand, was the son of King Terenas Menethil II and heir to the throne. He was trained as a paladin by Uther the Lightbringer, and had a romantic relationship with the kind sorceress Jaina Proudmoore.
Despite his promising beginnings, Arthas became one of the most powerful and wicked beings Azeroth would ever know. Taking up the cursed runeblade of Frostmourne, he became a death knight, led the Scourge in destroying his homeland of Lordaeron, and later became the Lich King himself.
Ruling as the dominant personality of the Lich King for years afterwards, Arthas was defeated in combat by adventurers of the Alliance and the Horde. Cradled by the spirit of his father, King Terenas, Arthas Menethil died, leaving the mantle of the Lich King to be taken up by a noble soul who would contain the power of the Scourge.
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The blue dragonflight, ruled by Malygos, the lord of magic, was all but devastated by the evil Deathwing and his black dragonflight. Though there are few great blue dragons left in the world, their magical powers are awesome to behold. Native to Northrend, the few blues stay relatively close to the great Dragonblight, where they commune with the ancient dragon spirits who died in ages past. Their freezing breath and gargantuan claws have been the death of many hapless travelers in Northrend.
The blue dragonflight encompasses both the literal descendants of Malygos — the blue dragons — and their loyal servants and companions, the blue dragonspawn. For the thousands of years between the Great Sundering and the destruction of the Demon Soul, blue dragons were all but unheard of, but they have begun to emerge in the world once again.
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The Caverns of Time are located in the eastern part of Tanaris and contain various portals to different key historical periods and pivotal events in Warcraft history. The caverns serve as a crossroads for the various timelines, and through them one can travel back and forth along the ebb and flow of time.
The Caverns of Time are home to Nozdormu and the bronze dragonflight. It is their sacred mission, one which was charged to them by the titans, to guard the caverns against the intrusion of mortals, whose interference would assuredly disrupt the flow of time. Recently, a mysterious force known as the infinite dragonflight has begun to meddle with the space-time continuum. The bronze dragonflight has called upon adventurers to make sure that the events that occurred in ages past remain as they were recorded in history.
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Hallow's End is a Halloween-themed event that takes place at the middle to end of October.
The day was once marked as a festival to celebrate the end of the harvest for the humans of Lordaeron; the Forsaken later adopted this practice in their own ways, and now use the event for their mysterious "Wickerman" rituals.
Hallow's End marks the day the group of undead, who would later be known as the Forsaken, broke free from the Lich King's dominance and regained their free will. They celebrate this occasion by setting fire to a Wickerman effigy and smearing the ashes across their faces. Sylvanas Windrunner, the leader of the Forsaken, also gives a short speech in commemoration of this ritual.
In the Warcraft book Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, it is revealed that Hallow's End was celebrated by the Alliance long before the Scourge devastated Lordaeron.
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The Howling Fjord is located in southeastern Northrend. Ripped into the southern coastline lies Daggercap Bay, where the forces of Arthas Menethil originally landed on the continent. Stranded by the young prince after his betrayal, the 5,000-strong expedition established the outpost of Valgarde. This small settlement has since become the center of Alliance activity on Northrend.
Howling Fjord contains bases of both the Alliance and the Horde and does not have a faction-specific emphasis. From the tuskarr settlement of Kamagua on the Isle of Spears, located off the southwestern coast, there is a giant turtle vessel able to transport players to Moa'ki Harbor in the Dragonblight and from there on to Unu'pe in the Borean Tundra.
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Illidan Stormrage was the self-proclaimed Lord of Outland, ruling from the Black Temple. Although born a night elf, his story eventually led him to become "neither demon nor night elf, but something more", according to Maiev Shadowsong. He was the twin brother of Malfurion Stormrage and was in love with Tyrande Whisperwind. Once an unusually gifted sorcerer, the extent of his powers became difficult to classify as a demon hunter after he absorbed the powers of the Skull of Gul'dan.
His pursuit of power and arcane mastery led him to commit a number of horrific acts against his own people and the races of Azeroth, including defecting to Sargeras during the War of the Ancients and creating the second Well of Eternity. For his actions, he was imprisoned for ten thousand years, until he was later released during the Third War.
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The Isle of Quel'Danas (also known as the Sunwell Isle or simply Quel'Danas) is located on the northern tip of the Eastern Kingdoms continent and one of three areas that make up Quel'Thalas. Added in Patch 2.4, it was the first outdoor zone added to World of Warcraft via a patch, and includes many daily quests as well as the final raid and dungeon content released prior to the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.
The zone's highlights include the Sunwell Plateau, where Kil'jaeden is being summoned; the Magisters' Terrace, the final seat of Kael'thas Sunstrider; and Sun's Reach, a town that has been reclaimed by the combined forces of the Aldor and the Scryers known as the Shattered Sun Offensive.
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The Lich King is the master and lord of the Scourge, which he rules telepathically from the Frozen Throne, his seat of power atop the Icecrown Glacier.
Kil'jaeden the Deceiver created the Lich King from the spirit of the orc shaman Ner'zhul to raise an undead army to conquer the world of Azeroth for the Burning Legion. Initially trapped within the Frozen Throne with Frostmourne, the Lich King eventually betrayed Kil'jaeden and merged with the human Arthas Menethil, although Arthas became the dominant personality of this fusion. With the destruction of Frostmourne and the death of Arthas, Bolvar Fordragon took the mantle of the Lich King upon himself, imprisoning the master of the Scourge within the Frozen Throne once more.
The Lich King is the primary antagonist in World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.
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Medivh was the last Guardian of Tirisfal, an ancient line of protectors bestowed with great powers to do battle with the agents of the Burning Legion. He was corrupted even before birth, and possessed by the spirit of the demonlord Sargeras who used Medivh in his schemes to conquer Azeroth. Medivh contacted the orc warlock Gul'dan, and together they created the Dark Portal, which allowed the Old Horde to begin its invasion of Azeroth. He was slain during the First War by a party led by one of his friends, Anduin Lothar.
Shortly before the beginning of the Third War, Medivh returned as a mysterious prophet, manipulating events in order to arrange the formation of a last-ditch alliance between the mortal races on Kalimdor, guiding them to victory at the Battle of Mount Hyjal. The prophet's name means "keeper of secrets" in Thalassian. He also once possessed the legendary Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian.
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The naga are former Highborne elves who mutated into vengeful humanoid sea serpents. While many remain on Azeroth to attempt to reclaim the surface world from other races, a large group followed the power-mad betrayer, Illidan Stormrage, into Outland and proceeded to claim the watery areas of the shattered land. In addition to their natural longevity, a number of naga have developed mutations that increase their life spans even further. Some are even rumored to be immortal.
Naga are sinister, ophidian humanoids that dwell beneath the ocean depths. Their culture is widely regarded as both ancient and mysterious.
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Northrend is the northernmost, icy continent on the world of Azeroth and the source of the evil Scourge. It is also the location of Icecrown Citadel, the seat of the malevolent Lich King. The continent was featured in the second World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King.
Often called "the roof of the world" and sometimes referred to as "the crown of Azeroth", Northrend is a frozen wasteland that lies far from most of civilization. As with the other continents, it was once part of the original landmass of Kalimdor that was broken apart during the Great Sundering. The land that became Northrend drifted far from Azeroth's temperate zones, which destroyed large portions of its remaining wildlife. Other creatures soon came to live on the continent as well.
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The red dragonflight, ruled by the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza, is a noble and honorable group of creatures. They consider themselves the protectors of all life, and in many ways they are. More often than not, they are found protecting sacred areas and items, seeking to keep them from lesser beings who might be hurt by their energies. Their breath is a fearsome stream of fire, and they have been known to swallow enemies whole and slowly digest them over the course of a day. Their most hated enemies are the black dragons ruled by the great, dark leviathan, Deathwing.
The red dragons are utterly loyal to their Aspect, Alexstrasza, who along with her consorts such as Tyranastrasz and Korialstrasz, are treated with great respect by the reds and the other flights. The reds are typically the only dragons mortals are likely to encounter, with the exception of the druid allies of the green dragonflight.
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Sylvanas Windrunner was once the Ranger-General of Silvermoon before she was murdered by the death knight Arthas and brought back as a creature of undeath. After regaining her free will she rebelled against the Lich King and the Scourge and became the founder of the Forsaken faction of undead, who are allied with the Horde. She has styled herself as the Dark Lady, Queen of the Forsaken, an expansion of her original title, "the Banshee Queen".
As leader of the Forsaken and the Horde on the Eastern Kingdoms, Sylvanas is a military genius. The middle sister of Alleria and Vereesa Windrunner, she was Ranger General of the high elven kingdom of Quel'Thalas. She fought valiantly against Arthas when the Scourge invaded Quel'Thalas, but during the fall of Silvermoon, Arthas raised her as an undead minion as a form of vengeance.
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Tauren (shu'halo in their native language of Taur-ahe) are huge, nomadic creatures who live on the grassy, open plains of Mulgore in central Kalimdor. Tauren are large, muscular humanoids and bovine in appearance, complete with hooves and horns. They stand anywhere from six and a half to nine feet tall and weigh anywhere from 400 to 700 pounds. Their immense bodies are covered with fine, short fur that ranges in color from black to gray to white to red to brown to tan and any mottled combinations or variations thereof.
After generations of nomadic existence, the tauren have recently made permanent settlements in Mulgore and the Barrens.
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The Ashbringer is a powerful sword known for its legendary uses against the undead. It shares its name with its original wielder, Alexandros Mograine, former Highlord of the Silver Hand, who was known as "The Ashbringer" for his feats. Reports vary as to whether the sword was named after Mograine, or vice-versa.
Alexandros' oldest son, Renault, betrayed and murdered his father using the sword, transforming it into the [Corrupted Ashbringer]. Alexandros was resurrected as a death knight and kept the sword in his possession until his younger son Darion Mograine was forced to kill him. Darion then used the sword to kill himself, attempting to free his father's soul which became trapped in the sword, and consequently became a death knight himself. The sword was purified after Darion betrayed the Lich King. He later relinquished the sword to Tirion Fordring.
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The tuskarr are humanoid walrus creatures who live in Northrend. They make their homes along the southern coast of the continent, having settlements in Borean Tundra, Dragonblight, and Howling Fjord. The tuskarr culture is highly centered around fishing and whaling. Tuskarr females farm what few crops grow in the tundra while also collecting a variety of berries and roots. Animal husbandry also exists in the tuskarr culture, including the breeding of penguins as farm animals.
Tuskarr are humanoids with solid builds, thick torsos, and broad shoulders. They wear warm furs under oilskin jackets. Their heads are blunt and almost hairless, with a pair of great tusks pointing down from their upper jaw. Their brown faces are friendly and expressive.
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