Warcraft locations

This is a list of the major and minor locations ordered by region (after the events of the Third Great War) in the Warcraft universe – a fictional universe in which a series of video games and books are set.

The locations listed here have been featured prominently at one time or another in the Warcraft universe.

Azeroth
The majority of media set in the Warcraft universe takes place on the fictional planet of Azeroth. This planet consists of three large continents called Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms and Northrend. Kalimdor is the home of the Night Elves and Tauren as well as the capital of the Horde. The Eastern Kingdoms continent is divided into Quel'Thalas, Lordaeron, Khaz Modan and the kingdom of Azeroth. Northrend is a frozen continent that is ruled by the Scourge.

Prior to the time frame of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the three continents were one large continent. During the first conflict with the Burning Legion, as outlined in the War of the Ancients Trilogy, the Well of Eternity, a primary source for magical energy was destroyed to prevent the demon lord Sargeras from entering Azeroth. The destruction of the Well caused the sundering of the continent and the creation of the Great Sea between them, in the center of which lies the Maelstrom, what remains of the Well.

Outland/Draenor
In the Blizzard universe, Draenor is the homeland of the Orcs and other related races that invaded Azeroth through the Dark Portal. The world originally consisted of vast plains and luscious swampland, but the demonic corruption of the Orcs by the Burning Legion caused serious damage to the planet, and now the edges of the landmass are literally crumbling into the Twisting Nether. The dominant race of the world were the Draenei. After the destruction of Draenor, a few Draenei, known as "the broken", remained. The rest of the Draenei fled on the Exodar while many other inhabitants fled to Azeroth. It has since been called Outland.

Until the events of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Magtheridon held Outland using the Fel Orcs. Magtheridon was defeated by Illidan, who now rules from the ancient Draenei religious building, the Black Temple. Like Azeroth, Outland is divided into zones with its own cities and climates.

Miscellaneous
Locations in the Warcraft universe that do not exist on either Azeroth or Outland.

Argus
Argus was the original homeworld of the Eredar (and hence the Draenei, who are physically identical to the original eredar). It was apparently a utopian world whose inhabitants were both vastly intelligent and highly gifted in magic. Argus was ruled by a triumvirate of the greatest and most powerful eredar mages: Kil'jaeden, Archimonde, and Velen. It is possible that they ruled from Mac'Aree, the most sacred of the cities on Argus, according to Jessera of Mac'Aree. Eventually, Argus attracted the attention of Sargeras. The Destroyer offered the Eredar a deal: in exchange for their loyalty, he would give them power undreamed of by all races. Kil'jaeden and Archimonde were quick to accept the offer, but Velen had a vision of the future: the eredar would be transformed into demons, under the rule of Sargeras. His advice to Kil'jaeden and Archimonde went unheeded, and he desperately sought a solution to this dilemma. Eventually, Velen was contacted by the Naaru, and he fled with his followers, renaming his people the Draenei, or Exiled Ones.

Kil'jaeden, Archimonde, and the rest of their race became the feared, insidious sorcerers and tacticians of the Legion.

It is unclear whether the world of Argus was destroyed by the Eredar's sudden demonic powers (as implied by previous lore), or if it survived their transformation. If Argus still exists, it is certainly a stronghold of the Burning Legion, possibly their headquarters. Rise of the Horde leans towards this interpretation, though nothing is explicitly stated.

The Dark Below
The Dark Below (which may be another name for the Twisting Nether) is a hellish underworld in the legends of Azeroth. Certain species of demons, devils, and other infernal creatures that take an active interest the workings of Azeroth are said to have originated from there.

The Elemental Plane
The Titans of the Pantheon shattered the Old Gods' citadels and chained the five evil gods far beneath the surface of the world. Before the Titans defeated the them, they banished the elemental lieutenants to an abyssal plane, where they would contend with one another for all eternity. This plane is called the Elemental Plane.

The Elemental Plane is a three-tiered realm, with layers much like an onion, surrounding the sun in the core of the planet. It would look like an ordinary spherical planet to an outsider, with the realm of air (Skywall) floating above the oceans (Abyssal Maw), and a single continent (Deephome), with Firelands as the deepest and outer ring. From the inside out, the top layer is the domain of Air, the middle layer the domains of Water and Earth, and the lowest layer is the domain of Fire.

The domain of Air is called The Skywall, the domain of Earth is called Deephome, the domain of Fire is called The Firelands, and the domain of Water is called The Abyssal Maw.

Knowledge about the Elemental Plane is entirely from Warcraft lore and books, and it does not appear and there is very little reference to it in World of Warcraft.

The Emerald Dream
When the Titans came to the planet Azeroth and freed it from the grasp of the Old Gods, they decided to reshape it to make it more habitable for the mortal races that would soon develop upon it. But before they did this they created the Emerald Dream which served as the blueprint for what they were going to accomplish. But since the Titans invested a lot of time working on perfecting the design of Azeroth, the Dream itself is made up of layer upon layer of these earlier unfinished, or flawed incarnations.

The Dream itself is covered with deep forests, free from any sentient races interference. The Green Dragon Aspect, Ysera, was placed in charge of watching over the Dream and Azeroth after the Titans finished with their shaping. Five portals into this plane exist in Azeroth. They are located in Duskwood (Twilight Grove), Feralas (Dream Bough), The Hinterlands (Seradane), Ashenvale (Bough Shadow) and in Northrend (Crystalsong Forest). The Green dragonflight guards these portals jealously in order to prevent any mortal from entering the Dream. However, The Dream has become somewhat tainted and is now referred to by several NPCs as the "Emerald Nightmare." It is rumored that players will be able to enter the dream in a future expansion of World of Warcraft in a similar manner to the ability to enter Draenor.

The Great Dark
The Great Dark, or Great Dark Beyond, is the empty void between worlds (in other words, it is the Warcraft equivalent of outer space). It is described as the first of everything when there was nothing, and is part of the primary material dimension, as opposed to the Twisting Nether, which is considered part of the Great Dark.

To date, five planets have been specified in the Warcraft universe: Argus, Azeroth, K'aresh, Outland (formerly called Draenor) and Xoroth. However, countless other planets exist in the Great Dark Beyond.

The Titans probably travel through the Great Dark, as opposed to the Twisting Nether (which might explain their shock at the emergence of the Demons).

K'aresh
The original homeworld of the ethereals before they evacuated to wander the Twisting Nether. This planet was conquered by the void lord Dimensius and his void armies. The current state of K'aresh is unknown. According to a curse spoken by a Protectorate Demolitionist, K'aresh's solar system has at least two suns.

Twisting Nether
The Twisting Nether is a chaotic realm in the Warcraft Universe. Its exact nature and its relationship to the worlds of Azeroth and Draenor are not fully understood, however the Burning Legion and the demonic race of the Nathrezim dwell here.

One of the common theories of The Twisting Nether is that it acts the way Immaterium does in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It acts as a parallel dimension to our own space. By travelling through it, people can traverse the distance between stars in a short time. This realm however is the home to malevolent spirits such as demons who seek to destroy our reality. The Twisting Nether is thought to be the link between all of the dimensions in the multiverse. It is utilized by the Titans to create the many worlds under their watch, and later as well by Sargeras in the creation of the Burning Legion. It is also considered a type of 'hell' by members of the Scarlet Crusade where those who are tainted by the Scourge go when they die.

Xoroth
Xoroth is one of the fiery, chaotic worlds belonging to the Burning Legion, or more specifically, the Nathrezim (Dreadlords) (and, presumably, the Tothrezim). This is home to the infernal Dreadsteeds, mounts to the Dreadlords. They are owned by Lord Hel'nurath, the "stable keeper". Players will have to summon a Dreadsteed in a quest for a warlock's epic mount by opening a portal to this world in Dire Maul. Dreadsteeds roam the fiery Plains of Xoroth.