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Warcraft

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The Warcraft Universe is the fictional universe in which the Warcraft series of computer games, novels and announced movie are set. Known worlds of this fantasy universe include Azeroth (homeworld of the Humans) and Draenor (homeworld of the Orcs). As the name implies the Warcraft Universe largely revolves around conflict with the two major factions, the Alliance and the Horde. The background, plot, and setting, like most Blizzard games, was mostly lifted from the Warhammer line of tabletop games by Games Workshop, and, to some extent, the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse. The fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien also served as a foundation; many of the races are patterned after Tolkien's, and placenames are often made to sound like Sindarin, the predominant Elvish language used in Lord of the Rings.

File:World of Warcraft with Cities.jpg
Map of the planet Azeroth as it appears in the game World of Warcraft (Note: The map does not include the continent of Northrend at the north pole as it is not a reachable area within World of Warcraft)
File:Warcraft-universe-warcraftII.jpg
Map of Azeroth as it appears in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.

Media set in the Warcraft Universe

Computer games

Strategy Games

Other

Other media

Movie (announced)

Tabletop games

Books

Geography

File:Azeroth-world-map-warcraft1.jpg
The Kingdom of Azeroth as seen in Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.

The Warcraft Universe includes many worlds, connected by a chaotic vortex called the Twisting Nether. Travel between these worlds is a rare event, but it can be achieved by so-called portals.

The World of Azeroth

Azeroth is an Earth-like planet, inhabited by a diverse array of species. Most of the action of the Warcraft games takes place on this planet. The world is divided into three large land masses, Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms and Northrend.

Capital cities

Nation-States of Humans

  • Alterac (destroyed, under Ogre control)
  • Gilneas (situation unknown)
  • Stromgarde (mostly destroyed, under mixed Syndicate/Renegade Ogre/Stromgarde Cavalry control)
  • Dalaran (mostly destroyed, under restoration by few survivors)
  • Kul Tiras (Administrated by Tandred Proudmoore, situation unknown)
  • Lordaeron (destroyed, now under mixed Forsaken/Scourge control)
  • Azeroth (destroyed by orcish horde, now rebuilt and more commonly refered to as "The Kingdom of Stormwind")
  • Theramore Isle (newest human nation, led by Jaina Proudmoore)

Major cities

  • Dalaran (Effectively destroyed in WC3, few survivors erected a magical barrier to prepare for restoration/rebuilding)
  • Stratholme (Currently under mixed Scourge/Scarlet Crusade control)
  • Andorhal (Destroyed in WC3, currently under Scourge Control)

Minor Cities

  • Darrowshire (inhabited by spirits)
  • Everlook (Controlled by the Goblins of the Steamwheedle Cartel)
  • Ratchet (Controlled by the Goblins of the Steamwheedle Cartel)
  • Gadgetzan (Controlled by the Goblins of the Steamwheedle Cartel)
  • Booty Bay (Controlled by the Goblins of the Steamwheedle Cartel)

Major races

The World of Draenor

File:Warcraft-map-of-draenor-wariiexp.jpg
Map of Draenor as seen from Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal.

Draenor (referred to as Outland after its partial destruction) is a harsh world that glares in a reddish hue. The waters seem foul, but this is misleading: the planet is capable of supporting life. It is the homeland of the Orcs and other related races (Ogres, Draenor Giants, and Draenei) that invaded Azeroth through the rift called the Dark Portal. It is also the place where some of the greatest heroes in the history of Azeroth journeyed to and disappeared, now presumed dead. The energies of this and subsequent portals opened by the Orcs were so intense that the world was ripped apart, and nowadays, only floating islands and debris remain. The world was originally a dense green swampland, but the demonic corruption of the Orcs by the Burning Legion scarred the land so thoroughly that it was left as little more than a dusty wasteland. The dominant life forms of the world were once the Draenei. Gul'dan the Warlock describes these beings as a "a weak people -- hardly worth the effort of our raiding sweep." After the destruction of Draenor, a few Draenei remained alive on Outland, but their numbers were further crippled by the Fel Orcs led by the Pit Lord Magtheridon, who completely conquered the remains of the planet. It wasn't until Illidan Stormrage and his band of Blood Elves and Naga arrived that the world was freed from Magtheridon's iron grip.

Peoples of Draenor

Races native to the world of Draenor:

Note: The Draenor giants are rarely mentioned or referenced to. The only reference to them was concerning the temples of the damned which were used by the Orcs in the Second War. The temples are made from the bones of the petrified corpses of a race of giants that were native to Draenor. Nothing else is known about them. The only mention of Draenor Humans (or a human-like race) are in the novel The Last Guardian as the basis for the parentage of Garona the Half-Orc, who was born before the Dark Portal was first opened. Blizzard later said she was not a half-human/half-Orc, but half-Orc and half-Draenei instead (see Inconsistencies in Warcraft lore).

Further Note: It has been discovered (see Inconsistencies in Warcraft lore) that the Draenei may not actually be natives to Draenor. Instead, they are a group of the original Ancient Eredar race that exiled themselves from the planet Argus. They fled and eventually settled on Draenor after thousands of years of running from the Burning Crusade and their corrupted brethen (the demon Eredar).

The World of Argus

Nearly twenty-five thousand years ago, the Eredar race arose on the world of Argus. They were extremely intelligent and had a natural affinity for magic in all its myriad forms. Using their gifts, they developed a vast and wondrous society.

Unfortunately the eredar's accomplishments caught the attention of Sargeras, the Destroyer of Worlds. He enticed Kil'jaeden and Archimonde, two of the Eredar's leaders and transformed many of the eredar into demons.

Only Velen and a few other eredar who had thus far refused to join Sargeras fled the planet with the help of the Naaru. Naming themselves the draenei, or "exiled ones" in the Eredun language, the renegades barely escaped from Argus, with the Burning Legion only moments behind. No draenei has seen their original homeworld since.

Peoples of Argus

Races native to the world of Argus:

  • Eredar (native race of Argus, they have been corrupted into demons by Sargeras)
  • Draenei (referred as "Draenor Humans" in 'The Last Guardian'; Draenei were originally thought to have evolved on the Orc's homeworld, later it was realized that the eredar and the draenei were once one race. As the Eredar have been corrupted into demons, the Ancient Eredar must look more like the draenei)

Source

The Twisting Nether and the Beyond

A chaotic swirling mass, the Twisting Nether is the fabric of the universe. One can think of the Twisting Nether as the universe itself, although this is rather simplistic. It can be more accurately described as a higher plane of existence, where powerful beings exist that shape the events we see. It is not to be confused with space as we think of it for it is clear that space is a well understood concept by the races of Azeroth. The Dwarves, for instance, were originally created and bestowed with knowledge by a species of gods known as the Titans, have large mechanical astrolabes which demonstrate the movements of planets, stars, and extra-solar bodies through space. The Elves, furthermore, have been shown to possess telescopes for observing objects in the night sky. This space between the stars and planets is frequently called "The Great Dark Beyond," or simply "The Beyond," and it is described by Gul'dan as a place where the spirits of the newly dead go. On the other hand, the Nether, known varyingly as the Void, is shown to be a hell-like place above (or below) space and time as mortals observe them, and is the realm of Demons, what Gul'dan describes as "the long dead." It is arguable as to whether all dead beings invariably go to the "Great Dark" and the Nether, as humans, who worship what they call "the Holy Light," have been known to perform resurrections in which a winged being of light can be seen bringing back the dead with rays of sunlight. Furthermore, Orcs routinely commune with the natural spirits of their dead ancestors through the wind and the earth. It is perhaps possible, that in Gul'dan's lifetime, before the Orcs broke free of the demonic possession, that Orcs simply were not "good enough" to go anywhere but the "Beyond."

Demons of the Burning Legion

Known demon races from the Twisting Nether:


See also

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