Twisting Nether The Twisting Nether ( also known as the Nether Realm , Nether World , or the Nether ) is the line between the ebb of Light and the flow of Void . A place of chaos and fragments . Background . Before the physical universe existed , there was Light and there was Void . In the formed of a boundless prismatic sea , the Light swelled across all existence unfettered by the confines of time and space . Great torrents of living energy flitted through its mirrored depths , their movements conjuring a symphony of joy and hope . However , the ocean of Light was ever shifting and dynamic . As it expanded , some of its energies dimmed and faded , leaving behind pockets of cold nothingness . A new power coalesced and came to be from the absence of Light in these spaces . A dark and vampiric force driven to devour all energy , to twist creation inward to feed upon itself , this power was the Void . Moving against the Light ' s flowing waves , the Void quickly grew and spread its influence . Eventually a series of catastrophic explosions was ignited by the mounting tension between these two opposing yet inseparable energies , rupturing the fabric of creation and birthing a new realm into existence . In that moment , the physical universe was born . The most unstable energies coalesced into an astral dimension known as the Twisting Nether . Light and Void collided and bled together at the edges of this realm , throwing it into turmoil . Although tangentially linked to the Great Dark Beyond , the Twisting Nether existed outside the borders of the physical universe . Even so , the volatile energies of the Twisting Nether would occasionally tear through the veil of the Great Dark , flooding into reality and warping creation . Demons . Demons are aberrations who had been formed as a result of the Light and Void energies that had bled together at the Twisting Nether ' s borders . Demonologists . Warlocks summon and command indomitable demons from the Twisting Nether to do their bidding . Demons , by their very nature , are leeches on the living universe — but the demonologist has mastered harnessing the power of these malefic beings on the field of battle . Warlocks harvest the souls of their defeated enemies ; those specialized in the ways of demonology use this life essence to tap into the Void , pulling all manner of abomination from the chaos of the Twisting Nether . While such a practice is often considered by outsiders to be wicked and reckless , the demonologist maintains absolute control over the summoned creatures . These malignant entities are fully beholden to — and empowered by — the will of the warlock , until banished to the realm from whence they came . Please note : Demonic power ( or warlock magics ) would exist in — and be drawn from — the Twisting Nether because demons ( and the demonic powers they contain ) are from the Twisting Nether . However , when asked if perhaps warlocks were harnessing their power from the Twisting Nether , Sean Copeland — Blizzard ' s Lead Historian — replied , " No , that ’ d be magi , IIRC . Highly destructive fel magic — the ways of the warlock — is what Disorder is manifested as . This brutal and extremely addicting energy is stated to be fueled by drawing life from living beings . Conversely , Order is manifested as arcane magic , which mana is a measure of . This type of energy is innately volatile , and wielding it requires intense precision and concentration . Magi . Students gifted with a keen intellect and unwavering discipline may walk the path of the mage . The arcane magic available to magi is both great and dangerous , and thus is revealed only to the most devoted practitioners . Mages of the arcane are diviners of secrets , balancing the ebb and flow of incredible mystic energies . Unparalleled skill is required to manipulate the volatile forces of the universe . These practitioners push their magical knowledge to its very limits — often to the brink of their own exhaustion , and at great risk to the world around them . Those who master this craft are capable of releasing a barrage of unrelenting power upon their enemies , drawing upon replenishing energies to maintain their assault for as long as the battle demands . A common perception was shared that the magi ' s magic was unholy and possibly even demonic . In the face of demonic power , most heroes see death . Warlocks see only opportunity . Dominance is their aim , and they have found a path to it in the dark arts . To fight beside them , these voracious spellcasters summon demonic minions . At first , they command only the service of imps , but as a warlock ’ s knowledge grows , seductive succubi , loyal voidwalkers , and horrific felhunters join the dark sorcerer ’ s ranks to wreak havoc on anyone who stands in their master ’ s way . Ethereals . Treading the chaotic spaces between worlds , the ethereals are astral travelers who dwell within the Twisting Nether . K ' aresh was an arid planet , home to a thriving ecosystem and several sentient species before the arrival of Dimensius the All - Devouring . How the void lord found K ' aresh is still hotly debated among the surviving ethereals , but the effects of his coming were unmistakable : he opened countless gateways into the void and the Twisting Nether around the planet , bathing K ' aresh in arcane and dark energies . Using every scrap of its advanced technology , one of the mortal races hastily attempted to construct magical barriers around its cities , but it was only partially successful ; although the dark energies were blocked , the unimpeded flood of arcane energy tore away the mortals ' corporeal shells and infused their souls with enough energy so that they could subsist without a body … barely . Members of this race , now called ethereals , took to binding themselves with enchanted strips of cloth to provide their souls with enough structure to survive . This altered state proved to be a blessing in disguise , as their enhanced minds and magical abilities allowed the ethereals to fight Dimensius and his limited forces to a standstill . Over the years , however , Dimensius eventually grew powerful enough to summon armies of fellow void creatures , forcing the ethereals to flee into the Twisting Nether . Netherdrakes . Netherdrakes ( or nether drakes ) are notorious for their tenuous grasp on death . Near the end of the Second War , the black dragon Deathwing traveled through the Dark Portal to Draenor . Believing the world to be a relatively safe haven for his offspring , he secreted away a cache of black dragon eggs . Following the war , Ner ’ zhul recklessly opened multiple portals on Draenor , and the magical stress tore the planet apart . The energies released in this catastrophe altered Deathwing ’ s eggs , resulting in the nether drakes : partially corporeal and partially ethereal dragons who possess the ability to shift between the astral and physical planes . Without Deathwing ’ s guidance , these otherworldly nether drakes are just now finding their own way among the blasted ruins of Outland . Rift of Aln . A vast deep fissure , known to the druids as the Rift of Aln , is believed to be where the magical realm known as the Emerald Dream first originated . Those of Malfurion ' s calling believed the Rift of Aln bled into the Twisting Nether and the Great Dark Beyond . In World of Warcraft . Flying too far beyond the edges of Outland brings characters into a region called the " Twisting Nether " . As of now , the Nether has no particular special purpose and despite the general lore descriptions , it has no special imagery as it appears as the sun rising and setting over a horizon with no visible ground beneath the player were they to fly there . Another way of getting your zone to " Twisting Nether " is to drink " Pure Energy " given to you in a quest in Toshleys Station . The Twisting Nether does not seem to be part of any region of Outland , similar to how the Veiled Sea is not part of any region of Kalimdor but instead is adjacent to it . The Twisting Nether has its own general and local defense channels . Note even though the Twisting Nether does not seem to be part of Outland , you can explore it with a flying mount and remount if you choose to explore the floating masses on foot . There does not appear to be a fatigue warning as one gets exploring the Veiled Sea . If you fly to far out or too high , you simply get an audible sound indicating that you can ' t go any farther . For a Druid in flight form the bird makes a screeching noise . Sometimes , taking the boat from Auberdine to Valaar ' s Berth will make you join Twisting Nether chat channels for a split second just after the loading screen . This happens because Azuremyst Isle , like the nearby Bloodmyst Isle , is actually located on the Outland map despite appearing geographically in the Veiled Sea . Also if you would jump off the boat on that second you would fall into the twisting nether and can resurect on a graveyard in Hellfire Peninsula in the RPG . Appearance . The Twisting Nether does not co - exist with the worlds in any physical sense . It is a completely different state of being , one that is fundamentally incompatible with the universe as most creatures know it . Someone cannot look from the Nether into a world and vice versa ; it is much easier to move between the Nether and a world . A shadow walk spell will take one through the Nether as he moves from place to place , and one can reach the Twisting Nether and its inhabitants with just about any planar travel or communications spell . Entering the Twisting Nether brings one to a realm of pure , lunatic thought . Most of the Twisting Nether is protean , never appearing the same for more than a few seconds . Colors change , it grows dark and light from moment to moment , sparkles and strange sounds emit and then vanish . One moment someone is suspended in nothingness , the next he is standing at the bottom of a deep canyon of purple rocks . His next shift may be to a tiny rock suspended in a starry night , and he has no way of knowing whether the change will occur in seconds or days . The Nether is an intensely magical environment , and some speculate that it is the true source of all arcane magic . Geography . The worlds of the universe are orderly , bound by physical law , comprehensible . The Twisting Nether is everything the worlds are not . It is a stream of pure chaos that surrounds the worlds and binds them together . Chunks of worlds float among prismatic clouds , and colorful energy ribbons twist through the void . All is spectral and shadowy — blurring together in a muted , multicolored haze that brushes and teases the senses . Physical laws do not exist in this realm of ghosts , save those that a traveler creates for his or herself . Magic and illusion dance across the ever - changing vastness . Gravity and movement in the Twisting Nether . The Twisting Nether has subjective directional gravity . The strength of gravity in the Twisting Nether is the same as on Azeroth , but each individual chooses the direction of gravity ’ s pull . Such a plane has no gravity for unattended objects and nonsentient creatures . The Twisting Nether can be very disorienting to the newcomer , and the plane appears weightless . Movement is controlled by the person ' s will power , and one can travel in any direction simply by deciding to do so . Creatures in the Twisting Nether can move normally along a solid surface by imagining " down " near their feet . If suspended in midair , a person " flies " by merely choosing a " down " direction and " falling " that way in a straight line only . In order to stop , one has to slow one ' s movement by changing the designated " down " direction . Though limited to regular movement speeds , one can sprint as long as he wishes without growing tired . The Twisting Nether does not restrict him from simply appearing wherever he wants to within it ( this normally " impossible " action is known as point - to - point movement ) . Merely existing within the Nether strains the mind of non - native creatures , though , and ignoring traditional physical laws is even more painful . Creatures native to the Twisting Nether , such as demons , can move point - to - point at will without any handicap . The Twisting Nether is of infinite size , there are no known borders of to the Nether . The Twisting Nether is timeless . Age , hunger , thirst , poison , and natural healing do not function in the Twisting Nether , though they resume functioning when the traveler leaves the plane . It is also strongly chaos - aligned . It also enhances magic . Magic is extremely powerful in the Nether . Any spell cast while in the Nether has its duration extended . Illusion spells cost no mana and last for extended periods . Landscape and changes via thought and will power . The Twisting Nether is highly morphic and little shifts occur all the time in the Twisting Nether , and many changes are caused by the landscape adjusting itself to fit the thoughts of those within it . Think about war and violence and the landscape may become a battlefield populated with undead soldiers and orcs . If one is lonely , his lost love may step out of a nearby cottage . The solidity , detail , and potential danger these images possess depend on how well a creature can control its thoughts . If a creature is in control of its thoughts , then images the creature ' s mind triggers are benign or easily ignored . If it doesn ' t control its thoughts , then the images that appear are realistic and frightening . Strong - minded individuals may consciously influence the Twisting Nether . The changes made may be subtle or drastic . One can create an image of a dog wandering around the area sniffing others and licking any hand that is presented or place oneself and those nearby at the top of a windswept mountain . A creature cannot create any knowledge that it does not already have . If someone creates a well - appointed library , for instance , the only information in the books is information he already knows . If more than one creature tries to manipulate the environment , the one with the strongest will controls the environment . This control persists until another stronger willed creature changes it . The forces of the Twisting Nether steadily erodes any attempt at a static environment . If someone creates a cozy chalet with a roaring fire on the hearth , he should not be surprised if a few moments later the fire poker has morphed into a duck . A harmful environment created requires all those within the area to be willful to avoid being harmed by it . Races and creatures . Note : Many of these creatures are drawn from the " Shadows & Light " sourcebook .