Feralas, the land untouched

Out of all the hidden places in Azeroth, Feralas is truly the most wild. When you walk between the mountains of the twin colossi, you can catch a glimpse of the sun peeking over the wildflowers crowning their tops like halos - before looking ahead into the deep green of the forest.
The paths are old, but…somehow remain untouched. Grass seems to bend respectfully from it, vines find ways to loop over it without becoming distracting - thee forest seems to be doing it’s best to keep travelers on their way and out.

It has seen it’s fair share of action. Cities and civilizations that rose and fell, nations that vied for control of nature’s very forces - but once the lands were sundered, the wood was quick to secure its home. Roots ate through carven stone, and soaring canopies obscured their enemies’ sun.
And quietly, slowly, as all things do, they faded beneath the leaves.

Stray from the path friend, and you will find beauty unlike anything you have seen. The carefully cultivated orchards of Ashenvale, the arcana laced forests of Quel’Thalas - they are the visions of elves.

Here, the grass is soft and long. Here, the branches creak in the wind, letting it carry their words to their brethren. Here, the water is clear, and food is plentiful.
But be wary traveler. Take only what is given, for if you seek more, you shall be swallowed like everything else.

Only one place attempts to resist the advancing army of trunks and vines - Eldre’thalas. It sits defiant atop a forested mountain, standing like a stone against a tide of green. The ogres have long left, and all of the Shen’Dralar have left…or passed. It is a quiet place - but not a peaceful one. Walking through, the air seems…heavy. Tense. You don’t belong here - nothing does. The light that filters in through the grand square, unlike the warm glittering light in the forest, is cold. It seeks to strip you of everything, to lay you bare before the works of the old elves.

But even old magic fades. Roots and branches creep over the edge of the great walls - fingers ready to close a chapter on an old book.

Stay on the road, traveler, and if thee stray, take all that the forest giveth, and nothing more.

@Saithis,

For you, my friend. :relaxed:

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Would be a great new capital for the Night Elves.

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Keep writing these up, I’m really enjoying them!

Such a nice change of pace vs all the complaint threads lol.

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I love the world in world of warcraft but there’s no reason to go anywhere :slightly_frowning_face:

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What I love about Feralas is the ambient music.

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You forgot how the minimap of that zone looks like someone put a screen door filter over it!

:clap: oh my gosh, i wasn’t expecting this so fast! thanks for taking the time to write this!

I’m actually listening to the feralas music and sitting at Dreamer’s Rest right now!

this zone is so well done, with so much rich culture and story! I also agree that the Night Elves could easily relocate here!

My favorite part of Feralas is that - like many of the mysterious things you pointed out, it has a very Zelda flavor to it…reminds me a lot of a forest you would see on Hyrule or something!

Thanks again - You’re my favorite Panda in the whooooooooooooooooooooooooole world :heart_eyes:

Thank you!! You’re quickly becoming my favorite night elf! :3 You take care out there okie?

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If lots of people had a reason to go to Feralas, would it still be Feralas at all?

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It would be Feraless

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Feralas is a Jungle mixed with Night Elven Architecture!

Each Night Elven Zone has a unique theme:

  1. Teldrassil is an Elven Forest with Purple-Green Trees,
  2. Darkshore is a Pine Forest on the Shore,
  3. Ashenvale is a Night-time Elven Forest,
  4. Stonetalon Mountains is a desolate Pine Forest,
  5. Desolace is a Bleak Desert,
  6. Feralas is a Jungle,
  7. Felwood is a Dark Forest,
  8. Moonglade is a Towering Elven Forest,
  9. Winterspring is a Snowed-Over Elven Forest,
  10. Silithus is an Egyptian Desert,
  11. Kelp’thar Forest is a Kelp-Filled Ruin,
  12. Shimmering Expanse is a Brain Coral & Shelf Coral Reef-filled Ruin,
  13. Abyssal Depths is the Bottom of the Ocean,
  14. Mount Hyjal is an Magical Pine Forest,
  15. Azsuna is a Rundown Grand Vineyard at the Beach,
  16. Val’sharah is a traditional Elven Forest(sure we had a Night-Time Elven Forest and an Elven Forest with Purple-Green Trees but not a traditional Green-leaved Elven Forest),
  17. Suramar is a Grand Kingdom tied to ancient history
  18. and Nazjatar’s Night Elven side is a Coral Forest filled with Ruins of a great kingdom!
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Thank you for the beautiful writing about a beautiful zone!

I loved leveling in the remote regions of Kalimdor - the place was so huge and remote, full of wildness. It just felt so far away from everything.

I used to love Ashenvale and Ashzara before Cataclysm for all their nooks and crannies of forgotten lore.

Feralas always felt like a place where civilization tried to dominate nature, but failed - the land utterly rejected attempts to tame it. Now all that remain are ruins, a few Tauren camps, and Feathermoon Stronghold on the coast. All who live there accept the dominance of nature.

Thank you for the moment to savor the memories.

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:wilted_flower:I’ll try to safeguard these lands as best I can! :purple_heart:

these are some great observations you guys made! You know, i always thought some of these areas (especially Feralas) were unpopular zones to quest in, because many of my friends/guildmates at the time chose more populated areas, and these were kind of out of the way…

it makes me happy that you guys all love very much too!

Nice read. You painted a vivid picture for me there

<sarc>
Don’t worry. I am sure that the Blizzard development team is working to destroy Feralas in a coming expansion. Probably the Horde will raze the giant trees and destroy the last Night Elf strong hold on Kalimdor.

Bobby K will be proud! It’s a lot cheaper to spread a lot of black and green crud everywhere in an existing zone. Rather than design and implement a beautiful new zone.

</sarc>

Edit - Added the sarcasm tags. To the point. I agree Feralas is one of my favorite zones. I always wind up in that zone to level herbalism. I have fond memories of fishing there too during WoTLK. I love the Twin Colossals and the entry to the zone from the North. I’m going to be really sad if Blizzard touches that zone.

The Hinterlands was always nice too. Jintha’alor might just be my favorite place in WoW. My favorite zone would have to go to Arathi Highlands. A harsh land ruled by the elements with warn down settlements and old ruins. Troll, ogre, and kobold infested caves. Something about the lush grassy fields and large rocks jutting out being a stark contrast. And, of course, Stromgarde keep(vanilla, although the updated graphics are fantastic). Surviving repeated excursions was always such a relief. Being inside those walls was always so tense. Crossing under Thoradins wall into its wide open spaces always brought me joy

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Feralas was always my favorite. Fishing nightfin in camp mojache where the alliance have to try real hard to get at you in peace.

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A lot of Kalimdor pre-AQ patch felt underdeveloped; and I recall reading (somewhere) that Kalimdor was developed after Eastern Kingdoms, consequently being a bit rushed. Feralas seemed semi-finished-ish. I still recall killing things on those islands off the coast for some reason… Chimaerok Chops maybe?

I’ve still got screenshots on an old CD from pre-BC, and I think there are a lot of pre-AQ shots of Silithus in there. Some real unfinished weirdness. Need to download IRFanview again to see them, they’re in an odd format, as I recall.

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They’re in targa format in ye olde wow. And yeah, from un’goro there were a few places where you could just jump straight up a cliff to get above the surrounding zones with ease before the AQ patch.

Also Willow I like your approach to the female pandaren shoulder armor bug. :U

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Feralas is one of my top zones to just enjoy. It has beautiful environment, scenery, and cool creatures.

Leveling as Horde in Vanilla, it was a welcome change from Durotar, Desolace, 1000 Needles, and the Barrens.