Kalimclysm Part One(Teldrassil was just the prepatch):
Azuremyst Isle: It’s Goat Time
Azuremyst Isle has been settled with stability by the Draenei for several years now and would be completely reworked and restructured from the ground up to reflect this. Quests here wouldn’t be so overtly disaster-oriented as before… After all, the Alliance has held this area without particularly many setbacks for quite some time, completely uninterrupted. This would more be the beginning of a hero’s journey rather than the rise of a survivor among survivors.
Crash site wreckage would be, for the most part, cleared out and replaced with architecturally sound Draenei structures not unlike those we witnessed in Shadowmoon Valley. In many ways, Azuremyst would become a reflection of that realm. Something the Kaldorei on the nearby shores of Kalimdor did has caused the moon to wax low, black and powerful, which suits the aesthetic tastes of the Draenei just fine! Proper roads have been laid between the Exodar and all of the outlying villages and settlements, with proper street lighting, entertainment, trade and infrastructure.
The Ammen Vale wreck is still the starting point for Draenei, but it’s one of the last pieces of Exodar wreckage left. Rather than being a structure, it’s been reconstructed into a sort of monument, upon which is inscribed the name of every Draenei that perished in the wreck. The starting point for Draenei adventurers looking to cut their teeth, it’s a customary tradition for new initiates to honor the fallen here.
A sort of village has sprung up around Ammen Vale, with the Blood Elf encampment nearby abandoned as its occupants were obliterated long ago. It is now occupied by Night Elf refugees, who have torn down the ramshackle tents and are in the process of constructing a grove of their own through traditional druidic arts. Unfortunately, the strange state of the moon above appears to have negatively impacted the local wildlife.
Your main tasks are to slay the moon-maddened beasts and collect their blood, consecrate numerous shrines to the fallen and the Light, and assist the research between the Draenei and Kaldorei to figure out a way to calm the creatures down…
With class-specific quests taking you to the Moonkin colony nearby, as well as the Sacred Groves to the northwest. They namely center about confronting old elements of the Draenei past, like memories of the Burning Legion, Sin’dorei or perhaps the Orcs.
You move on past a guard post and over a bridge constructed at Ammen Ford, where a full fishery of over twenty Draenei has sprung up. You can stop and fish if you want. Upon reaching Azure Watch, things open up and you can go to any of the areas you want. There’s no big disaster you need to deal with; You’re just an adventurer training to get stronger before you set off for the really dangerous areas, like Kalimdor or the Eastern Kingdoms.
Chill vibes.
Azure Watch is vastly expanded. With formal buildings like those seen in Shadowmoon, music can be heard playing from an inn and a tavern at opposite ends of the expanded settlement. Workshops for the professions have their own structures with the providers having apprentices of their own and a fountain burbles at the center of the town. The village is an excellent example of the idyllic Draenic lifestyle, with well-manicured streets, benches and gardens lining well-organized, luxurious homes.
An observatory has been built on a platform coming off the hill, where researchers study and chart the strange, new moon. Stillpine envoys discuss the matter with them, taking it as an ill omen, and together they work to decipher its meaning. Kaldorei refugees can be seen moving through the now bustling town on their way to enclaves in Ammen Vale and elsewhere.
To the southwest of Azure Watch are a large conglomeration of fields with proper irrigation systems in place, farmsteads dotting them here and there. The Elekks are at pasture here and roam freely. To the north, a mine has been set up along the bottom of the plateau at the Moongraze Woods, where a large mining concern provides the ore needed for continued expansion and construction for the Draenei civilization.
On the plateau itself is a Lightforged command post with fortifications and a recruitment station at which a number of Brightlances can be seen training Draenei recruits. Overhead, the Vindicaar can be seen, but occasionally it will dip away on some task for a few hours. A beacon can nonetheless teleport you to and from it, but the Lightforged will only allow their own to make use of it.
Further up the road, the Stillpine Furbolgs live as they’ve always lived, but now freed from trouble. Moon-crazed wildlife are a problem for them and they’re more than eager to work in conjunction with their Draenei neighbors to keep them harried and at bay. Further, the Draenei have several envoys and engineers present with the Stillpine, as well as a preacher of the Light to politely offer them a different path. These engineers and envoys are there, as would be evidenced through overheard conversation, to ensure that the Furbolgs approve of their newest construction plans.
Maintaining peace and good relations between the two peoples is paramount, and their cooperation together is marked with enthusiasm and consideration from both sides. Every construction the Draenei build is cleared with the spirits and elements and Furbolg before it is seen through, and even then can be vetoed if it turns out to be problematic. No more inserting crystals into the ground.
On the periphery nearby, the outskirts of Stillpine territory, is the shore of the former Menagerie Wreckage. While it was cleaned up, cleared of radiation and demolished to allow the land space to heal, the Horde unfortunately attempted to make a landing during Battle for Azeroth’s events. With their victory at Darkshore, a large warhost of Warsong Orcs, Darkspear Warriors and Tauren Braves was sent by their Forsaken masters aboard transport ships to build a foothold on Azuremyst and promptly remove the Draenei from the playing field.
The former Menagerie Wreckage is where they tried to make landfall. The assault was a disaster… The Vindicaar came out of the clouds and no weapon the vessels possessed could pierce its shielding. The Horde were helpless as the great cannon of the starship cleaved through entire transports in single shots, vaporizing hundreds of Horde warriors and sending many more to flounder into the cold waters below. Most drowned. Bad way to go.
However, at least a hundred Horde troops had made it to shore in the chaos. They immediately regrouped and set up makeshift fortifications and have been raiding the Stillpine and Draenei ever since, surviving on ruthless hunting of the local wildlife and pillaging of supplies from caravans and the edges of settlements they assault. While they’ve taken heavy losses since then, they’ve proven surprisingly resilient to Stillpine counter-assaults and are, thanks to the efforts of dedicated healers, still kicking. Lead by one Sania Earthmane, the Horde’s troops have proven utterly impossible to negotiate with and refuse to surrender.
The Draenei have sent diplomatic missives to the Horde to deal with them repeatedly, but citing a refusal to enter the largely Kaldorei-controlled waters near Darkshore and Teldrassil over some ongoing diplomatic dispute along the Ashenvale border that definitely won’t be visible in the other Kalimclysm zones, they have stated they cannot presently intervene. The Horde troops frankly do not believe the Draenei that the war is over and stubbornly fight on, awaiting orders to stand down that will never come.
This isn’t your problem. As a Draenei adventurer, you work with the Stillpine and Lightforged to finally crush the Horde holdouts and finish them off, once and for all. You can take their leaders alive, but that may be the less merciful option as the Stillpine will have nothing to do with them out of disgust and the Lightforged have… Plans… For them.
To the south, Odesyus’ Landing has been converted into a full-scale Alliance naval base and is the only Human naval presence in the Kaldorei-controlled seas north of Kalimdor. They have received an ice cold reception bordering on violence at Darkshore and so make harborage with the Draenei. To the east, the forest is largely the same as it was, save for a bit of controlled logging… And Greezle’s Camp. The Venture Company have taken over the abandoned space of Greezle’s Camp and squat illegally on the southern shores of Azuremyst, where a bit of crude oil has been discovered.
Citing Venture Co’s previous history, the Alliance commandant at Odesyus Harbor politely asks you to kick them out before they can pollute the entire area with a haphazard oil spillage.
And also to secure the area so the Alliance can responsibly take possession of it. After all, with that, more ships could be moored at Odesyus Harbor and they could expand their naval operations in the region.
Down the shore to the west you’ve got Wrathscale Point and Bristlelimb Village. You might recall during your last run of the place that the Bristlelimb Furbolgs were hostile and the Wrathscale Naga were too. This has changed… On both counts, shockingly.
The Naga living on the shoreline now are exiles from Azshara’s undersea empire, finally escaping from underneath the authoritarian thumb of the Light Beneath The Tides. With Azshara captured by N’zoth, her empire was momentarily in chaos(until she came back), allowing those that had disagreed against her an opportunity to rise up. Upon her return, survival was a tenuous prospect beneath the tides, so naturally, they went to what amounts to a far-flung outpost among their people long-abandoned.
Lead by Nar’jira, the Naga Battlemaiden, the Exiles of Nazjatar are setting up a full-scale Naga settlement close by and it’s probably startling when you show up with a full Draenei assault force only to find that they have no interest in fighting you at all and have taken no slaves with them. Indeed, they mostly just want to be left alone, and their fortifications are facing seaward. They expect company not from you, but from their old friends, and are training new troops not to fight you, but to eventually take the fight back below the tides.
The Draenei are bewildered, but happy to have a solution that isn’t bloodshed. Nar’jira points you to their most immediate threat; The Bristlelimb Furbolgs, who have already reacted to their presence with open hostility and combat. As a Draenei, the Bristlelimb sort of remember that time your people went storming through their village to interrupt their war with the Stillpine and messed up half their people, so they promptly reiterate the conclusion they came to some time ago; They have no interest in fighting the blue guys.
Your job is to do tasks for both sides and, ultimately, broker a peace between bear-man and fish-girl. It is as it should be.
Now, to the south of that is Silvermyst Isle. The Kaldorei fisherman there and his daughter are once again menaced, this time by moon-crazed Moonkin. A large Kaldorei enclave has formed at this location, but rather than focusing around druidism as the Ammen Vale refugees have done, they are under the personal guard of a number of Sentinel veterans. They don’t have patience for the maddened beasts and work with you to effectively cull them to a manageable population. Before you can finish the job, the Ammen Vale druids storm in and scold you for taking the violent, easy path with the innocent, confused creatures and begin to apply their research to cure them of their confusion and rage.
The Sentinels are ice cold. After all, if the Druids had cared about the state of the world from the start, Teldrassil would never have burnt. The Sentinel Army wouldn’t have been fighting the Horde by itself, without the full strength of the Night Elves behind it. The moon would never have turned dark with the aspect of the Night Warrior. This is a mistake the Druids made years ago, and now we have to clean it up.
Being a Draenei, you probably interrupt their argument to offer everyone a snowcone, because you’re just a sweet and likeable person.
Now for the Exodar!
Valaar’s Berth has been expanded into a proper harbor. Many trading vessels and some military ones come and go here with men and women of every race(save the Horde ones, with some notable exceptions) making their way into the city or out towards Azure Watch. It’s expanded into a small port town itself, with quests about inspecting incoming goods and ensuring the local sailors are remaining well-behaved.
The Exodar itself is still reeling from Rakeesh’s attack, but is recovering quickly. Large-scale repairs have been made to the structure of the vessel and, while it can’t truly fly or do anything crazy like dimension jump anymore, its power systems have been redirected to provide energy for the communities of Azuremyst and defenses for the city. Great crystal bulwarks, an energy shield dome and laser turrets can be seen protecting the city’s exterior, which is surrounded by large mustering fields and training areas. This is where many of the more martial class trainers would be found like Paladin, Warrior and Death Knight. Siegeworks and even a school practicing the ancient Eredar arts of the arcane are visible along the exterior, preparing the few forces the Draenei have to deploy for whatever conflicts may loom.
If the Night Elves have their way, there’s a doozie coming. The ship within has been restructured, with an elevator leading up to the surface at the mustering fields and the tunnels below being extensively repaired. A bustling marketplace with representatives from the Exiles of Nazjatar, Stillpine Hold and Bristlelimb Village can be seen within the Trader’s Tier, as well as the Army of the Light and even the Alliance at large.
The city has undergone fortification since Rakeesh’s attack, with a heavy military presence throughout the streets. A checkpoint stands at the entrances to every quarter. Many quarters are still undergoing repair, but they’re bolstered by the Broken that were willing to leave Argus and travel to Azeroth, where they’re undergoing formal medical treatment for their fel exposure. State-of-the-art medical facilities and research institutes are undertaken at the Crystal Hall, along with workshops for the various professions.
The Vault of Lights is the military command center for the Draenei, with commanders coordinating with units on Argus and stationed throughout Azeroth, formulating plans of defense for their territory, making estimations of the Horde’s next moves and the possibility of eventually reclaiming Argus… Or, at least, parts of it. Mac’Aree is the most likely candidate for eventual resettlement, once Azeroth is more stable.
Velen rules from the Seat of the Naaru, where a sort of throne room has been constructed for him at the bottom of the ship. Here he hears out the diplomatic envoys of the Alliance and Horde when they arrive and makes decrees for the Draenei, although… The old man’s slowed down significantly since the Legion’s defeat. Who can blame him?
Last but not least, the Silt Shore Thingamabob to the north of the city is still teeming with Murlocs, because no matter how many you kill, they shall return. A chain quest leads from the Exiles of Nazjatar once peace is brokered inland to their envoy in the Exodar, and then you’re provided a means to communicate with the Murlocs. Your job is to convince them that the local Naga are here to fight the other, bad Naga.
That is not easy, but it’s worth doing, for when you are completed the fish-folk will stand together against the worse fish-folk.
(DEEP BREATH)
So, that’s about it for a single zone.
I have a long way to go, too. Let me know what you think.