Kalimdor: The Barrens

The Barrens were a seemingly endless expanse of rolling hills, deadly predators, scarce water and little shade.

 The Mor'shan Rampart guarded the northern boarder with Ashenvale.

 Despite its fortifications, the Rampart could not keep the Alliance out.

Behind their walls peons and warriors alike labored at the Mor'shan Base Camp.

At the heart of the encampment lay the heavily guarded - but long unused - portal to Warsong Gulch.

A few small homesteads took in the shade at the edge of the forest.

These few families would rather face Alliance incursion than the harsh lands that made up most of The Barrens.

 Water was a precious commodity under the blazing sun.

One that the Grol'dom farm, and many more like it, did not have.

Nature was not the only enemy within in The Barrens. Burning Blade Cultists attacked any foolish enough to set foot in their territory.

The Cultists enshrouded Dreadmist Peak in an otherworldly haze ...

... and inflected unspeakable horrors on their captives.

 Down in The Dry Hills further danger awaited the unwary.

Viscous harpies nested among the few remaining trees.

Extremely aggressive Kolkar Centaur patrolled the area. 

 The lone blacksmith Vrang Wildgore refused to surrender to the attacks.

All sides vied for The Forgotten Pools cool water.

The fallen from the many conflicts were returned to the earth.

The Honor's Stand outpost guarded the road to the west ...

... and did not always succeed in the past, or present.

Other Horde outposts came under heavy attack from the Centaur.

Further north, the Boulder Lode Mine fell into the hands of the The Venture Co.

Next to fall prey to the Venture Co was The Sludge Fen.

Overseers and Engineers watched from a tower far back from the works.

 The oil platform spewed filth into the air and water, and the blow out mechanisms was long disabled.

The smoke stacks could be seen from great distance away, marring the blue sky.

The Northern Ridge looked down over calmer lands.

The Southfury River ran between The Barrens and Durotar.

 The cool riverside was a coveted placed to set up home.

The Far Watch Outpost guarded the Barrens side of the river.

The Southern Ridge stood over the river delta.

Thorn Hill dominated a large swath of the northern plains.

The Horde attempted to mine the mountain ...

... but the Quillboar that made the tangle their home lashed out at the invaders.

A stretch of the Gold Road - once the longest and most traveled highway on all of Kalimdor - ran through the heart of The Barrens.

The Crossroads straddled The Gold Road, turning it into a wealthy trading outpost.

The Horde protected and maintained control over The Crossroads.

The neutral goblin-run port of Ratchet lay just down the road.

South along the Great Sea, The Merchant Coast was greener and more forgiving than most of The Barrens.

It was, alas, also infested with Southsea Pirates.

The massive Northwarch Hold was manned by soldiers of Theramore, holding there ground to guard the Duskwallow Marsh.

Further inland several groups vied for control for The Stagnant Oasis.

Kolkar Centaur raided the waters and drove away their foes.

The Lushwater Oasis was one of the purest springs in The Barrens.

The entrance to the mysterious Wailing Caverns stood on the Oasis's shores.

 Those who never returned from the Caverns were left to the earth.

Further along The Gold Road the land twisted and rose, the wind howled across the plains, and the danger grew ever more near.

The Bramblescar tore across the mountain range.

The Agama'gor encampment stretched as far as the ridges themselves.

The Bristleback Quillboar poured forth from their holdings and out into the flat lands.

 The wildlife around The Raptor Dens lashed out at both the Quillboar and passing adventurers.

 Mankrik's wife was only one of many to fall to the Quillboar.

The Horde attempted to maintain control of the area.

The Tauren's largest settlement in The Barrens was Camp Taurajo.

It served as a home away from home for adventurers far from the big cities, and as a small scrap of calm amid the fighting.

Further along the Southern Gold Road takes over from its northern counterpart, winding through the savanna.

Mysterous hives of Silithid insects - unusually smart and adaptive for a creatures of their size - erupted from The Field of Giants.

A turn of the road lead to Duskwallow Marsh.

The Shaman Brine watched over Blackthorn Ridge.

While the dwarves plied the earth for secrets to their past at Bael Modan.

The imposing Bael'dun Keep watched over the excavations ...

... and housed a surprising amount of troops, tanks, and flying machines. 

An unnatural maze clung to the entrance of Razerfen Downs ...

... while a nearly endless swarm of Quillboar poured forth from Razerfen Kraul.

As The Great Lift carried adventurers out and past The Barrens, it seemed as if the rugged and dangerous land might just stretch on forever.