Azshara

**Azshara** is located in northeastern Kalimdor, east of Ashenvale, south of Winterspring, and north of Durotar. It is a beautiful coastal area cloaked in eternal autumn. The trees and other flora are tinged in brilliant oranges and reds, and nearer the coast, great cliffs and sandy beaches line the ocean. The region's inhabitants can make life hard for the nature lover, however. Enraged ghosts, vicious satyr, stalking naga and ferocious wildlife can quickly put an end to those who venture too far from the road.

A shattered stretch of coastline on Kalimdor’s northeast, Azshara was once the greatest night elf metropolis. The city fell millennia ago in the War of the Ancients, but a few ragged buildings perch on the cliffs overlooking similar ruins among the coral.[1] Much of the city of Azshara fell into the ocean.[2] The Horde has established a small outpost, Grim Ulang, in the area, but naga are a constant danger.[1]

## History

Before the Great Sundering, this shattered stretch of coast along Kalimdor's northern border was once a part of the night elven capital of Zin-Azshari; then came the demons' expulsion from the world. The land was rent asunder and the sea thundered in, making the region into a watery grave and leaving nought but ruins of the once great city. The night elves who survived named this region — once glorious, now nothing but a shattered relic — Azshara, after their queen who was driven mad by demonic influence. Since that time, this place of rocky islands, jagged cliffs, and coral-choked seas has given birth to many tales.

Some night elves suggest that not all of the demons were banished, lurking even now beneath the glittering waters of the Coral Sea and awaiting the time to strike back. Others claim that Queen Azshara was not drowned, but transformed into a hideous aquatic thing who will someday lead her accursed followers to retake the surface world. A few whisper that the Dark Portal that first brought the demons to Azeroth yet remains and rests under the sea waiting for someone to reopen it. Still others assert that the ancient Sundering awakened something that dwelled in the deepest part of the ocean, something that will eventually burst forth in a tidal wave of destruction. Whatever the truth, night elves agree that the region is cursed.

## Geography

A river separates the primordial wood from what land there is. The terrain beyond the river is little more than a strip of green above fragmented cliffs that rise high over a stretch of ivory beach. The waves of the shallow Coral Sea sweep against this beach, and islands — little more than spires of jagged rock — jut from the water. A twisted expanse of reef creates a labyrinth of coral beneath the ocean surface, making sea travel here virtually impossible.

The night elves consider the place cursed, and most other races find the constant storms unpleasant. There is but a single known habitation in Azshara, the orc trading village of Grim Ulang, its residents telling of creatures flitting about the ruins of Zin-Azshari further along the cliffs and murlocs and naga swimming in the Coral Sea. Bands of undead have appeared along the beach and at the fringes of the Ashenvale Forest. As well, the dark chants of demon cultists have echoed along the cliffs in counterpoint to the thunder of storms. Steady rumors and sightings have led to frequent night elf patrols and an increased martial presence in Grim Ulang.