Shattrath City Shattrath City ( aka Shrattrath ) , or the City of Light , is a major hub in Outland situated in the northwestern portion of Terokkar Forest . It is a capital - sized sanctuary city populated by ancient heroes and naaru . It is the first capital available to both sides . Shattrath was once the largest Draenei city in Draenor , until a savage siege at the hands of the recently corrupted Orcs utterly destroyed it . Maraad is still traumatized by the atrocities that happened there . Shattrath ' s ruins are maintained by the naaru known as the Sha ' tar , who are centered at the Terrace of Light . Their ruler is A ' dal . The lower city is flooded with refugees of all sorts from the various conflicts of Outland ; naaru , draenei , blood elves , humans , orcs , high elves , dwarves , sporeling s , ogres , arakkoa , goblins , ethereals , Mag ' har orcs , Forsaken , trolls , gnomes , night elves , mo ' arg , Broken draenei , and draenei Lost Ones can all be found in varying quantities within Shattrath . Shattrath used to have portals to all Azerothian capitals like Darnassus and Thunder Bluff , but they have disappeared in the wake of the Shattering ( with the exception of the portals to Orgrimmar and Stormwind ) . A player character can ally with either the Aldor or the Scryers . The Aldor are an ancient draenei priesthood working with the Sha ' tar to battle the Burning Legion . The Scryers are a group of blood elves that broke away from Prince Kael ' thas , and offered to assist the naaru of Shattrath . While both factions strive for a common goal , they find themselves at odds with each other for control of the city , and the naaru ' s favor . History . Shattrath was the draenei capital on Draenor . Its name in the Draenei language means " dwelling of light " . Khadgar ' s Servant , in a quest given by Khadgar , details the history of Shattrath : " When the Burning Legion turned the orcs against the draenei , the fiercest battle was fought [ in Shattrath ] . The draenei fought tooth and nail , but in the end the city fell . The city was left in ruins and darkness . . . until the Sha ' tar arrived . The Sha ' tar , or " born from light " are the naaru that came to Outland to fight the demons of the Burning Legion . They were drawn to the ruins of Shattrath City where a small remnant of the draenei priesthood conducted its rites inside a ruined temple . [ . . . ] " " The priesthood , known as the Aldor , quickly regained its strength as word spread that the naaru had returned and reconstruction soon began . The ruined temple is now used as an infirmary for injured refugees . It wouldn ' t be long , however , before the city came under attack once again . This time , the attack came from Illidan ' s armies . A large regiment of blood elves had been sent by Illidan ' s ally , Kael ' thas Sunstrider , to lay waste to the city . As the regiment of blood elves crossed [ the ] bridge , the Aldor ' s exarchs and vindicators lined up to defend the Terrace of Light . " " But then the unexpected happened . The blood elves laid down their weapons in front of the city ' s defenders ; their leader Voren ' thal stormed into the Terrace of Light and demanded to speak to A ' dal . As the naaru approached him , Voren ' thal kneeled before him and uttered the following words : " I ' ve seen you in a vision , naaru . My race ' s only hope for survival lies with you . My followers and I are here to serve you . " The defection of Voren ' thal and his followers was the largest loss ever incurred by Kael ' s forces . And these weren ' t just any blood elves . Many of the best and brightest among Kael ' s scholars and magisters had been swayed by Voren ' thal ' s influence . The naaru accepted the defectors , who would be known as the Scryers . " " The Aldor are followers of the light and forgiveness and redemption are values they understand . However , they found [ it ] hard to forget the deeds of the blood elves while under Kael ' s command . Many of the priesthood had been slain by the same magisters who now vowed to serve the naaru . They were not happy to share the city with former enemies . [ . . ] The attacks against Shattrath continued , but the city did not fall , as you can see . " " On the contrary , the naaru known as Xi ' ri led a successful incursion into Shadowmoon Valley - Illidan ' s doorstep . There he continues to wage war on Illidan with the assistance of the Aldor and the Scryers . The two factions have not given up on their old feuds , though . Such is the animosity that they vie for the honor of being sent to assist the naaru there . Each day , that decision is made here by A ' dal . The armies gather here to receive A ' dal ' s blessing before heading to Shadowmoon . " The city now serves as the headquarters of the naaru and has areas set aside for the Scryers and Aldor factions . Portals to Azeroth . Before the opening of Dalaran in " " , Shattrath was the central hub of player activity because of its easy access to the other capitals of Azeroth , courtesy of Khadgar . It was not uncommon to see low - level characters wandering through this city , teleported or summoned there by a mage or warlock . Nowadays , however , Shattrath is relatively quiet . The portals were located in the Terrace of Light , in each of the four alcoves in the center structure : In Warlords of Draenor . An alternate timeline has given access to Draenor of the past where players can explore Shattrath City in its former , if besieged glory . In Cataclysm . The portals from Shattrath were removed in " " and replaced by class trainers , but restored the portals to Orgrimmar and Stormwind around Patch 4 . 1 . Blizzard also added auctioneers to Aldor and Scryer banks in Patch 4 . 0 . 3a . Areas . The city is divided into four major sections on different levels , separated by lifts or stairs . Factions . Both Horde and Alliance players start as Neutral ( 0 / 3000 ) with the Sha ' tar , the faction of naaru which rule the city , the Aldor , and the Scryers . The Aldor and the Scryers are at odds with each other . Doing quests for one faction will simultaneously raise your reputation with the questgiver ' s faction and lower your reputation with the opposing faction . Khadgar gives you a quest ( Allegiance to the X ) that will give you a free 3500 rep with the faction of your choice ( and - 3850 faction with the opposing group ) sending you to friendly with the faction you chose and hostile with the other . The Aldor have many Shadow Resistance patterns on sale for crafters while the Scryers have many Arcane Resistance patterns . Blood elves and draenei who complete this quest find themselves merely at Neutral status if they choose the opposite racial faction ( blood elves choosing Aldor , for example ) . Furthermore , the opposite racial faction will be hostile by default ( even if it is not listed on the reputation pane yet ) , so draenei players should not attempt to enter the Scryer ' s Tier unless they have already picked allegiance to that faction ( and vice versa ) . Quests that give reputation with Aldor or Scryer also often give gain with the Sha ' tar . This gain does not show in the chat log , but can be confirmed in the reputation panel . Aldor . Reputation gains with Aldor correspond with a 10 % greater loss of reputation with Scryers . Scryer . Reputation gains with Scryer correspond with a 10 % greater loss of reputation with Aldor .