One Journey Ends

So we have come to the end our journey, having walked once more the well-beaten paths and strayed far from them in turn. Though some may fear what lies ahead, and all the change that is sure to surround us, we know now that Azeroth is place not only of beauty, but of enormous power. It is not the magic or the mayhem that belies such a force, but the very people who bring life to this World of Warcraft. I shall see you on the other side. ~Kallah Dreamsong

Kalimdor: Silithus

The remote desert of Silithus was a land in conflict for as long as any could remember.

Twilight Cultists worshiped the elemental Overlords.

Some went so far as to try and summon them back into the mortal plane.

But not all of the elements were pleased. Massive sand storms lashed at the Cultists' camps.

Rampaging Earth Elementals drove the Cultists from The Crystal Vale ...

Leaving tormented spirits among the Ravaged Twilight Camp as a warning to any that might return.

Twisted rituals were carried on unchecked in the depths of Twilight's Run.

For other pursuits caught the eye adventurers. Both factions paid handsome rewards for the return of Silithyst Geysers.

Gnomes aided the Alliance is the extraction of the dust ...

... while goblins controlled the Horde's venture into the substance.

As ages passed the Cenarion Circle, under the command of Arch Druid Staghelm, watched over the wastes from Valor's Hold.

For it was under the Arch Druid's command that countless Elves and mortals lost their lives in the War of the Shifting Sands.

 The Bronze Dragonflight stood beside the Elves, and the Bones of Grakkarond reminded both peoples of the sacrifices that were made.

His own son, Valstann Staghelm, fell in the battle after defying his father's orders.

Despite the younger Staghelm's valiant efforts, the entirety of Southwind Village was taken by the advancing enemy.

The Night Elves were slaughtered in their homes. Their spirits lingered ever after, roaming the streets that knew in life.

Even the Elven dead were not granted peace. For the enemy took over the Village, using the elves' own fortifications against them.

 Their foes hardly needed to shelter in their vanquished town. Great swarms erupted throughout the desert. Hive'Ashi was the smallest.

Hive'Zora and its denizens marred the land, remaking it in their image.

 The Swarming Pillar stood against the desert sky like an ill omen.

For it was not the Silithid of Hive'Regal that the Druids - and all the Peoples of Kalimdor - feared, but their masters.

Atop their new mountain side city of Cenarion Hold the Druids could watch the entirety of the desert, and the movements of their enemies.

With the might of both Faith and Arms they readied themselves for the coming war, one which very well might have been as unforgiving as the first.

For One had Risen among the sea of adventurers, one so brave and reckless as to unwind the magics that held their foe at bay all those centuries:

The Scarab Wall.

In a last act of desperation, the outnumbered Elves, along with the Dragonflights, sealed the Gates so as to contain the Silithid's masters within their own city. 

 

  Only when the The Scarab Gong, set upon its Dias, let loose its peal could the Gates be opened once more.

With the ancient prison burst open it was up to those brave - no, foolish - adventurers to slay that which even the Elves were unable to.

For beneath the Ruins of the city of Ahn'Qiraj ...

... far below the twisting tunnels and paths that were once the magnificent Temple of Ahn'Qiraj ...

... lay the Chambers of the Old Gods. There the maddening whispers of a power so ancient and evil that the Titans themselves imprisoned it, corrupted the Qiraj nation, using them as pawns in a bid to overtake Kaimdor - and perhaps the world.

Kalimdor: Un'Goro Crater

Surrounded on all sides by desert sands, the Un'goro Crater seemed to defy both time and nature's wrath.

 Meaning 'God Lands' in the Quraji language, Un'Goro was home to plants and animals unlike those found anywhere else on Kalimdor.

Seemingly repelled by the land itself, the Silithid were able to establish only the smallest of colonies within the Crater.

Some speculated that it was the Northern Pylon - and its sisters - that repelled the invading creatures.

 Others contemplated just who created the Eastern Pylon and it's kin.

Few dared to whisper that the Pylons were the tools of the Titans, set to protect their chosen experiments on Kalimdor.

 After many years, adventures discovered The Shaper's Terrace. 

Within the Halls of Repose lay an ancient tool of the Titans. Cultists and Adventures vied to control this monumental weapon.

Far below in the Crater proper it was clear to see that all things were touched by The Makers. Even the plain stone at Fungal Rock seemed to emanate power.

The bubbling ooze of the Lakkari Tar Pits leapt into life as Tar Beasts.

High in the mountains the mist lifted from Ironstone Plateau.

Calm waters flowed throughout The Marshlands.

All manner of giant, deadly creatures wandered the Terror Run ...

... among them the Devilsaur, feared not for its size but for its legendary stealth. 

Steaming water leap from the Golakka Hot Springs.

Fire Plume Ridge loomed ominously over all of the Crater.

The heat seemed to wrap around the few brave enough to trek to the peak ...

... where lava seeped up from the stone and carved its way down the mountainside. 

A small group of explorers banded together at Marshal's Refuge ...

... and within the crystal studded caverns that lay behind the camp.

No matter the fate of the Crystals, the Pylons, and perhaps the Makers themselves Un'Goro Crater quietly continued to defy the world around it.