Firelands ( lore ) Deep beneath the earth and seas of the Elemental Plane lurks the Firelands , a place of heat and ash . Although it is a harsh land , visitors can survive , for in one of those cruel paradoxes that define the universe , fire needs air to live and fuel to feed upon . Within the Firelands , these things exist in a constant cyclical state , with the very ash itself gradually transforming into fuel for future burnings . In the center of a vast lake of fire stands Sulfuron Keep , the home of Ragnaros the Firelord . Until comparatively recently , he ruled his underground land with an iron fist . Three hundred years ago , he was summoned to fight in the dwarven civil war known as the War of the Three Hammers . This reckless act sundered the Redridge Mountains and created Blackrock mountain . Now , in a greatly weakened state , he lay at the bottom of that volcano on Azeroth , striving to find a way home . Meanwhile , in Sulfuron Keep and elsewhere across the Firelands , his elemental princes battle constantly for dominance . Ironically , when a group of adventurers strove to destroy Ragnaros , they merely banished him back to his home in the Firelands , thus freeing him from the molten core of the mountain . Ragnaros ' defeat was not without cost however , since upon his return to the Firelands he needed to re - establish his dominance . To this end , Ragnaros found a strange new ally in the fallen and now clearly insane archdruid , Fandral Staghelm . As always , the Old Gods are behind the scenes and have shown Ragnaros the way to take advantage of the re - emergence of Deathwing and the subsequent weakening of the borders between Azeroth and all of the Elemental Plane . Portions of the Firelands and its minions have burst forth into Mount Hyjal . In the Elemental Plane . The Firelands occupy the theoretical bottom of the " sphere " of the Elemental Plane . Just as the Skywall sits atop the plane , in a sort of bowl shape , the Firelands sit in the bottom of a similar curve . The " ground " underneath the surface is a sticky , bubbling mess of tar , ooze and rock fallen from Deepholm , which of course serves as the " sky . " In some places , lakes of flammable oil and combustibles form , burning constantly and filling the air with superheated smoke . Organic and semi - organic material from Deepholm , and even the waters of the Abyssal Maw higher above , constantly filters down to provide new fuel for the endless flames . In places where the Fire Princes do battle with Therazane , huge volcanoes rise , spewing lava into the Firelands and upwards as well , sometimes reaching the floor of the Abyssal Maw or even the upper surface of Deepholm , where they blow noxious fumes into Al ' Akir ' s realm . In World of Warcraft : Cataclysm . After the Shattering caused by Deathwing , the Firelands have encroached on the ancient region of Mount Hyjal and the World Tree , Nordrassil . Malfurion Stormrage , after emerging from the Emerald Dream , and many of the leading druids have sought the aid of adventurers to begin the Regrowth of the region and pushing back of the menacing servants of Ragnaros . They have largely succeed in forcing most of the Firelords forces back to the parts of the Firelands that first emerged into Azeroth , but as part of this effort the have pushed ever closer to the inner sanctum of the Firelord himself . Driven by their successes , Malfurion sees the possibility of defeating Ragnaros in his own realm . Unfortunately , a splinter faction of druids , the Druids of the Flame and their mysterious leader , have turned from potentially valuable allies into traitors in league with the fire . Still , Malfurion has a plan to maintain a guardian foothold in the Firelands by the planting of a magical Sentinel Tree whose roots will draw power from Azeroth to protect friendly forces and the Guardians of Hyjal .