New Dominion (Warcraft)

[Zam]

Apropos of nothing, here's a 3D model I did of a Rageclaw Wolvar in relatively simple, but functional garb. (This isn't the only type of outfit, but I wanted to show off fur & ornamentation is hard; regardless, this is the general vibe of a travelling Rageclaw Scholar.)

Spoiler

 

[Zam]

"Standards, stability and safety."

"These are the corner stones of any successful empire."

"For without standards to inform good practice, there will be no stability and safety."

"For without stability, there can be no mechanism, by which one's subjects and nation are kept safe."

"For without safety, there are no subjects, no means by which the system runs or people for it to serve, and thus, there is no empire."

Quote:
Attributed to Frost King Malakk, in his first address to the newly united court of Zul'Drak. To this day, this mantra dictates the duties of an emperor to rule a successful empire.

NOTE:
Just something I did for a little fun while musing on Malakk's motives.

 

[Zam]

I have added this as a note to the first chapter at an SB users recommendation but here is a post:

Why I write trolls the way I do, thanks to @backgroundnoise for suggesting this:

First and foremost, there is the matter of world building:

I tend to take the canon of the games and the world building from Blizzard with a grain of salt, both thanks to how often its retconned and how little thought seem to go into it.

To tender a none troll example, one RPG book said Harpies exclusively reproduce by hunting down other sentient species an raping them, while another said they basically just lay eggs with no external input. The former is, even ignoring the morality issue, a farcical way for a species to reproduce, hunting sentient being, keeping them around long enough for that and avoiding the constant and never ending reprisal such acts would bring about? They'd be dead in less than a generation, its simply not sustainable. Thus I ignore it and adjust it into something I deem realistic. IE, Harpies 'can' reproduce with other species and get a harpy from the end result but its not the norm or standard or necessarily that common.

Similarly, the idea that trolls or the Loa are utterly reliant on cannibalisms or constant blood sacrifices is functional unsustainable on any major level; so logically most sacrifices need to be more attainable stuff like animal hearts or craft works or a troll cutting their hand and bleeding (Which was actually a common blood sacrifice in many cultures associated with the practice)


Next stage there is the general portrayal and unfortunate implications:

On a real world level many of the societies the trolls utilized the aesthetic and trappings of were victims of intense colonialism and while we know there was truth to say, stories of human sacrifice, we also know they were drastically exaggerated, while any and all other 'civilized' or 'advanced' aspects (Many of which eclipsed anything the invaders had seen even in their own country) to the societies were downplayed in order to justify raping, pillaging and enslaving the people.

In the same vein, trolls and other mobs are always hostile for gameplay purposes and their cultures are exaggeration version of already exaggerated ideas of cultures that were created as propaganda, with roots deeply intertwined with racism and colonialism. As a result, I tend to be wary of taking stuff created with such foundations too seriously beyond the barest requirements.


Then there's the 'need' for war, which often comes up but fails to be justified in the text.

As mentioned above and elsewhere, the writers don't often think about the implications of their own writing or reflect on the logical realities of their ideas and creation.

An easy example is the fact Gnolls & Kobolds were described as 'threats humanity had to overcome to claim Lordaeron'; the writers clearly intended us to see the Gnolls and Kobolds as hostile invaders that needed a good killing. Except, the writing doesn't indicate they showed up and tried to claim the same land as the humans, it implies there were already there and humans were driving 'them' out.

This kind of stuff happens a lot with trolls, from the dwarves invasion of the Frostmane's kingdom, to Arathor forming in response to the unity of the troll empires, without any real groundwork laid for 'why' this was necessary. The writers didn't bother indicating that the Frostmane attacked the Dwarves, or that Forest Trolls raided humans, the simple fact they existed was deemed justification enough for the humans and Dwarves to kill them and take their stuff.

Some modern examples of this include stuff like Kobolds moving into a mine the Dwarves have already abandoned but the Dwarves sending you in to murder and mutilate them (He wans their ears) just because. One of the most blatant examples was an old quest in Durotar where-in you have an orc whine about Kul'Tiras humans showing no respect for diplomacy by building a fort on 'orc land' and sending you to fight them. Followed by by whining about how the Quillboar who long predated the Horde had their lands taken by Orcs but haven't yet been entirely driven out and sending you to burn their villages down.

No effort is made to justify the war against them, because they are mobs and thus not people, but that leaves readers with essentially big blank spots that allowed for world building. One can assume that these species are all inherently stupid and evil and unwilling to engage in diplomacy no matter how bad things get... Or one can try to inject some nuance into the situation.


Finally we hit on the Drakkari specifically:

Once again we hit on writers not really thinking through the implications of their work, some examples with the Drakkari include:

1. Describing them as 'stupid' and 'savage', the latter already being a loaded term, but even discounting that the Drakkari have built a literally city sized country made up of four tiers in one of the most hostile places on the planet. Elaborate cities stretching across miles and miles of land and somehow massive farms dwarfing anything we see in the games.
2. Or for example, the arena, where rather than the fighters being slave, the none trolls are explicitly described as being paid for their work and having come their willingly, with multiple species being in the audience.
3. We also see the Drakkari engineer weapons compared in terms of potential threat to the Scourge and have it revealed they were working on a cure to the plague and see the Scourge was only able to get by their defenses thanks to multiple high level figures engaging in treason and even that didn't stop the Drakkari from driving them out.
4. What's more we know that the Rageclaw Wolvar, a pack that specifically talks a great deal about trade, straight up lived in Zul'Drak and seemed to get along with the trolls famously. (This also means they can't be an enthostate)

There's more obviously, but these details alone indicated a society that has a very advanced understanding of construction, farming and magic, as well as stuff like disease management, diplomacy and trade, that if one wants to expand on can create a truly multifaceted society over just a place to kill trolls for gold and magic items.


Cultural dissonance:

For example, in my eyes I don't really distinguish between executing a thief or enemy soldiers with sacrificing them, because the result is the same, only the cultural trappings and the, haha, means of execution might differ. But if one places beheads a criminal for theft and another place sacrifices someone via beheading for theft, to me they're functionally the same thing.

We see this a lot when comparing say, Alexander the Great, with the founders of say, the Aztecs or a Mongol leader, all oversaw tons of executions of captured soldiers on horrific scales, but only some are remembered for just that over their various conquests framed in heroic lights and the like. (Note and as an example, there was an island that resisted Alexander for like a year, once he got in he basically had everyone executed or enslaved out of spite)

This applies to the various cultures in WOW as well, for example there's a lot of quests that involve us using sentient creatures as ingredients, or for a more grounded example we see city's have gallows or see executions happen in stories. and of course we can and do skin stuff like dragons and Furbolgs.

A good story example would be how in the Tides of Darkness novel we're meant to hate Zul'jin for collecting elf ears, but there's literally a quest where we collect Kobold ears just cos they took over a mine the Dwarves had already left. Neither is a good thing obviously, but only one of them is framed as villainous. This might be straying into more of a case of 'what measure is none human' though.


Some notes on stuff I couldn't address specifically:

Hunters:
While I cast no shade on the hunter gatherer societal model, I feel its integral to keep in mind when discussing trolls, their histories are specifically rooted in having built massive, continent spanning empires. Those don't function without advanced bureaucracies, farming and infrastructure.

Slavery:
Interestingly, the world building in Chronicles said that the trolls looked down on the Mogu for using slavery, but also had the Zandalari later engage in the practice. I have taken that to mean that a common troll cultural custom treats slavery as a vile crime and that engaging in it is usuaully a sign of societal decline. NOTE: Though in contrast, stuff like torture or murder aren't viewed so negatively due to regeneration and the ability to commune with ancestors meaning death isn't seen as being 'as' big of a deal provided one handles it honorably.

Sympathy:
This is more trivia, but the first bit of world building we got about trolls was in Warcraft 2 and while long since retconned, it was extremely sympathetic. WIth Zul'jin having united his scattered people and aligned with the Horde solely because he feared the Alliance would enact a genocide against them when done with the Orcs, and the manual straight up says they have "suffered ages of attrition at the hands of the Humans, Dwarves, and Elves." So even in the most black and white version of the game, the trolls were initially framed as sympathetic.

The Loa:
The idea that the Loa are blood hungry gods is one that bounces around constantly. In the RPG they are often described as such, but they also didn't protest the Darkspear starting to offer them animals and plants in place of people. What's more, they actively loath Hakkar who go for sacrifices constantly, and on a practical level large scale sacrifice or cannibalism of people is not sustainable, especially not when many of the societies are incredibly weakened. As it is, in the games themselves their portrayals still vary but tend to be more benign and the Drakkari I confess I never saw as particularly devout given their response to the Loa failing to solve the Scourge invasion was to kill them and steal their power.


Conclusion:
As a result of the unfortunate implications informing a lot of world building around the trolls (And other mobs to lesser degrees).

The inconsistent world building that bounces around in terms of how negatively it frames them, as well as the impracticalities of the implied societal structures.

Combined with the vast voids left in the world building, left there because the creators didn't think violence against mobs didn't need justifying, or being rooted in the gameplay mechanics over anything realistic.

And finally, the established details of the civilization as we saw it even in a state of collapse and the implications there-of.

Leads me to write trolls the way I do.

 

[Zam]

So I recently posted some very cool maps tot he WOW fic thread:

Northrend, Eastern Kings, Kalimdor, Samples:

Spoiler

Hinterlands:

Silverpine:

Click to shrink...

and cos I liked them so much I decided to use one to mark out Shadowglen territory for funsies, I would have done the invasion but they never did a Trisfal map sadly, but I am pretty pleased with this one:

Spoiler

The green is Shadowglen the rest is human, though I forgot to mark that little pier on the coast to Fenris Keep.

I also found this image again which while not wholly accurate as the Drakkari would need something even bigger being more than twice the size of the average human, this is a pretty neat scale reference for ships:

Spoiler

 

[Zam]

The imperious Furbolg guardian's tone was rough and weighty, the age of history, heavy on her broad shoulders.

"You, your traders and guests may pass, but let them speak no word of the Drakkari in our lands or suffer the consequences."

Only some hours later, well away from the towering totem poles as camp was made in the deep woods, did it seem wise to ask.

"Given only Wolvar are allowed to travel and trade in the Grizzly Hills, I assume there is some tension between the Furbolg and your Trollish fellows?"

A sharp keening laugh, akin to a deeper Gnolls echoes, though it is not unfriendly.

"Yes, yes much 'tension' between Troll and the Jalgar, which is what the bear-folk call themselves."

"Would you be able to provide me some context for this rivalry?"

"This one can, told by Lore Speakers, conferred with Drakkari codex. There is more, always more, but this one knows much, so listen well."

An Abridged History of the Drakkari Empire & the Grizzlemaw Nation ​

What must first be known is that there was not always strife.

In days most ancient, when evil gods ruled and the world was but churning chaos, all thinking being stood as one against them, trolls and Jalgar no exception.

Then the evils were defeated, slain, sealed, slinking away into shadows and forgotten as peace reigned for the first time in the world.

The era that followed was, to the Jalgar, a golden age of prosperity.

They gathered in the North to revere their divine sires and roam the lands, many troll were among their number.

Wars with the Vyrkul posed challenges it is true, and legends speak of great evils rising again that needed to be be felled, but it was good.

Drakkari tell it much differently, it was an age of transition and strife.

Ancient codex's and almanacs say they were sent North to do war on wicked things, and fought well, but were consigned to mountains, hunting and herding.

A hard life but not miserable, still, much less than their cousins it was felt, backwards and weak, not an empire but a loose federation of tribes.

The Jalgar's golden age of peace and honey ended when the Kal'Dorei grew arrogant and proud, taking much land of both people's who fought as one against them.

When the demons came, they fought still, the fall of the Jalgar's divine patrons not stilling their claws or their fury, but instead blessing the lands to ward against demonic corruption.

Drakkari records of the war are more precise, though many were apocalyptical in nature, tinged with dread and terror.

Speaking of how the elves spread death and subjugation, and the demons spread flames that neither Loa nor Spirit could quell, yet still they fought, intent to battle to the bitter end.

Then, the world broke.

The Sundering, Kal'Dorei called it.

Thus, began an era of strife & terror, the world in turmoil.

Enshrined in holy land the Jalgar were protected from the worst of it, but their legend tell of many Shamans broken by the horror and refugees from lands now hateful and hostile straining them.

Troll records grow more precise, they tell of the spirits being twisted into wrathful elementals; talk of desperate bids to escape South being sabotaged, be it by neighbors, elements or chaos.

This is when the strife began to flourish, with the Jalgar unable or unwilling to welcome so many refugees and forced to defend against many-a foe, jealous of their safety from natures wrath. But eventually, they brought peace and secured the lands for the clans and those who followed them.

Drakkari meanwhile found the South closed to them & so traveled deeper into the mountains, warring against the Elements & building Gundrak to secure themselves. So pleased they say the Loa were that they blessed them with beasts & birds for food, hoping for more temples.

This one must add, that not all trolls took to the mountains, some founded the coastal city of Tethys and grew strong in the early days of Northrend, but would be wiped out by a terrible flood 8000 years ago.

The survivors dispersed among the Jalgar ruled tribes who were already dwindling, sought to travel to Gundrak or went Westward, where some still live. Most have now faded, their blood too thin to survive the cold, while the Jalgar clans grew in prominence born of peace with the spirits.

As this was happening, Zul'Drak grew with the discovery of Saronite and the birthing if spirits, growing from Gundrak, to the top most tier and travelling West. A great stairwell, Drak'atal Passage was built, first to commune with their Southern cousins, and then to trade with the Jalgar Clans. Though in truth, this often devolved into poaching Southern lands for beast and timber.

The Jalgar disliked this, but did not yet rally as one, there was no need, as neither people's could marshal armies into the others lands and saw little need too. Sometimes they would aid one another against the Nerubians, but just as often the clans would join paw with pincer and fight the trolls. If ever they had chosen a side between Nerubian and Drakkari, they may well have tipped the scales, fortunately for both empires they regarded each side with equal disdain.

However, to much of the Southern stretches, the true power was the Magnataur.

Mighty beasts who ruled over humans and Snobolds as masters, while extracting tribute from the settled people's by spreading woe and terror.

They did this for a thousand years, growing ever bolder, until a union of their foes stood against them, even the insulated Drakkari & Nerubians offered aid. With that, their slaves rose up and the Magnataur power was broken,.

The survivors were sent fleeing West with their few loyal retainers.

From this, many human dispersed into the South and East, joining with the few villages that already survived in this lands and latching onto greater powers than they for protection against the hostile elements of the land and sea.

This was six thousand years or so ago.

Things continued like this for a long time.

Drakkari empires formed and broke while clans grew and dispersed. Trading, raiding, occasional flare ups of war, usually caused by Drakkari or Nerubians. All while Taunka nation of Oneqwah and their human subjects grew in the Southern Mountains.

Before asking, no, Wolvar never made a nation, none known. Even our gods & ancestors not remembered.

This is when war truly comes between Drakkari and Jalgar.

This is the birth of Drak'Tharon; the era of Bloody Paw.

Drakkari records remember this inception very well.

Some 4,515 years ago, poachers saw a great tree rising in the South, the Loa spoke of death and war, the reality to the Priest Kings of ZulDrak was obvious. The Kal'dorei of the West, spoken on by Shadowglen and Farraki again seek to make the world their own and they begin in Grizzly Hills.

To prepare for the coming war, they ordered a mighty keep built in the low mountains, where the herds are many and travel is easier, ensuring great legions could be marched South swiftly. Drak'Tharon it was called, carved first as a single giant tunnel, with caverns for supplies and ambushes if forced to fall back, it was not grand, but it was something.

Snow Flurry, long residences of the Western Woods that border the DragonGraveyards, with totems to match were the first respond. Their Lore Speakers claim they heard the mountains weep and scream, and so made war on the Drakkari. Mighty hunters and skilled Shaman marshalling a host of spirit beasts and battle bears to raid their foe.

Drakkari claim their motives as a lie, for they offer blood and tears to the earth which remained steadfast while other spirits grew wicked and cruel.

The truth, harder to say, the Priest Kings were not know to respect spirits well, but such traditions are not new in Zul'Drak. But in the end, truth mattered little. Skirmishing took place in the Grizzly Hills, many Drakkari seeking to build forts and secure territory.

Even when the tree fell and the elves left, they remained. The Priest Kings of the Four Tiers, loath to let things waste and continued to build, continued to fight with the Snow Flurry for a generation, victories mounting as Drak'Tharon grew and with it, the keeps legions.

Memories diverge here.

You see, Jalgar love their lore, but cared not for details.

Drakkari love their details but cared not for lore.

Both of them seek a pleasing narrative.

The Lore Speakers say that living in Grizzlemaw, their people were able to organize like the Drakkari and drive them off, sealing them within their mountains.

Drakkari say the Snowflurry asked, Frostpaw & Redfang, who had claimed the fallen tree as a home and grown mighty in their city while this war was happening.

Whatever happened, the Clans rose up as one and with sprits at their back, stormed Drak'Tharon, now nearly finished and forced the Legions out.

Scholars say only the promise of all Zul'Drak's Legions stopped the Jalgar from crushing the temple, and instead a treaty was struck, Drakkari could keep their fortress, but never leave it for the South.

This treaty held... For a time...

But generations pass and treaties fade.

Grizzlemaw grew in power, more tribes and families flock to it and like the Snow Flurry before them the Snowspring and Winterpaw bowed their heads.

In these early days the true foe of the Jalgar was Oneqwah nation, who made war upon them and were felled over generation long battles. These Taunka splintered and reduced to mere camps while the humans swore fealty to the Grizzlemaw, paying for the lands with farms and furs or serving at trade posts.

Time passed, the twin clans of Grizzlemaw built their city out, which came to be dubbed the Luminous City for the glowing bees and their shining hives that filled the holy heart of the great tree.

Frostpaw & Redfang secured the heartland, while the three out clans, controlled territories, or states as Drakkari call it, for themselves. Each one marked out with the clans distinct totems, when people pass they must announce themselves at these check points.

Zul'Drak remained as it was, the Priest Kings losing interest in the South and taking focus North and West, for a time, before splintering and rising again and again.

Drak'Tharon remained a point of contention, poachers and sometimes raiders sneaking out to skulk in the woods to claim beasts, lumber or even raid trade caravans, be it of their own people or the Jalgar.

The Snowflurry remained as ever their most heated rival, having recovered much and grown strong as generations passed and no armies made war on their lands.

Only when the Last Dominion rose did true war again come.

Centuries ago now, it was a terrible thing.

A mighty emperor broke the spirits of his people and marched them to war for generations, intent on remaking all Northrend to be like Zul'Drak, one endless city.

Jalgar call this the war of Broken Earth, for the Drakkari sought to bend the world to their whims as they did the people.

Cities and even a royal tomb were made to secure their hold on the South, if the people wished to keep their homes, they would pay their tax or be forced out.

In this war, Drak'Tharon became a place of evil, where prisoners were taken and punished, where raiders took loot and armies reveled in conquest.

Some wonder why the Nerubians seemed to care so little.

Maybe they knew what was coming, maybe they made it happen, we do not know.

For one day, the emperor died, three heirs and no succession made ready; naturally, the Empire tore itself apart.

The people of Zul'Drak rising up against cruel monarchs and the people of the South rising up against the wicked Drakkari.

Blood coated forest floors, streets of stone burned in wrath, the only survival of the royals fled to Jintha'kalar, ruling there until the time of the Frost King.

But nowhere was vengence greater than in Drak'Tharon. For great evils were done in that temple city by the Drakkari and these crimes were answered a hundred fold by the rebels.

Citizen and soldiers chased up the stairs, the chaos stalling any resistance. Taunka Shamans had spent weeks scaling great mountains to unleashed enraged Storm Spirits on the Zul'Drak side of the gates, trapping the trolls for slaughter.

How did Drak'Tharon survive?

Through the cunning of Quetz'lun, Psychopomp of the Drakkari Pantheon.

The souls within, bound by horror, or by fear of their possible punishment lingered in secret within the walls. And though the mighty Loa could have removed them and sent them on their way, as is their compact, she did not.

Instead she offered them redemption through rebirth, as the divine protectors of Drak'Tharon.

Well pleased by the offer, most of the ghosts agreed, but found their memories cooked down, their essence woven together and a new soul born from many, or more, the egg of one.

For Drak'Tharon would be the womb, the souls the egg and to it, Quetz'lun would gift her divine seed.

When at last the occupiers could not hold the Keep any longer, they struck low the last prisoners and catalyzed the birth of a new Loa.

Tharon'ja, born of a deathly divine and souls of the slain.

A great skeleton of spiritual spite rose , each wing beat unleashing the graves chill, its roars echoing across the lands. Only the newborns confusion spared the occupiers who fled, deeming the city cursed.

No mortals know why Quetz'lun did these things, maybe she sought power through a child loyal to her, maybe she wanted to protect the empire, or was lonely and sought something like herself to love?

But the Pantheons keep to their own council, and we ours.

Drak'Tharon stood, and would eventually come again to be host of an army and a prophet who worshipped the great cities patron. They honored it by warring, more raids really, with the South to find offerings and through holy rituals. Where much the rest of Zul'Drak grew insular and fraught, Drak'Tharon, like Jintha'Kalar remained somewhat engaged, though in the former case, only to continue their rapscallion ways.

These acts were most unwelcome but well within the nation of Grizzlemaw's power to handle, the North-Most Clans growing wise in the ways of Drakkari invaders. All the while, Grizzelemaw's influence over the roads and trade routes expanded ever wider until none would dare challenge them in their own lands.

I must also be said, that the raids ebbed and flowed.

Warlord Zim'bo, even before Malakk rose to power, was seen as unusually passive for a ruler of the city; even letting Rageclaw traders pass through to visit the lands of the South. Generations of good will from good trade, forgoing the Wolvar blame for the crimes of their troll hosts.

With the rise of Frost King Malakk, he again enshrined the ancient treaty of times past into law, forbidding invasion or war with the South, seeking instead peace. Even transferring many of Drak'Tharon elsewhere in the empire to weaken resistance against the idea and to ensure they shared their skills as trained forest fighters and explorers.

Thus, we are at peace, though no Drakkari Troll may yet walk this land without special permission and they would be little welcome even then. For the people of Grizzlemaw have long memories and the power to stand on their own, a mighty nation to this day.
_____________________________________________________
NOTES:
OK, and that is that, I hope it proved engaging!

I tried to find the picture source for that first linked image but no matter my efforts I had no luck, ><

I'd hinted at the client state situation of humans to the Grizzlemaw before now, indicating at their power, but I ended up wanting to expand on it and the general history of the place and people.

I speak truly when I say that I did not care for Grizzlemaw's portrayal in the games, a collection of bee hives in the fallen trunk and otherwise just a slightly bigger village seemed ill suited for such a place.

I much rathered the RPG, which established stuff like the other clans exerting influence over large territories via totems and had Grizzlemaw as a large and respected city.

In terms of aesthetic, I'd say its still heavily wooden and tree centric, with a somewhat 'rustic' feel, but that belies the power of the place and their people. I'd say its basically a fusion of this concept art, as well as taking some cues from these aesthetics too and having a layout and general look somewhat akin to this place.

Also I am happy to report the Grizzlemaw won't fall in this timeline!

I was reflecting on how much I didn't want that to happen and then looked up the source of their corruption and it was apparently born of trying to ressurect their Wild God. The thing is, the reason wasn't exactly clear, so I can only assume it was to fight the Scourge, and as the Scourge is gone, Grizzlemaw won't have cause to risk such an act. Thus, they will avoid corruption by trying to utilize the fallen World Tree in their ritual and inadvertently re-igniting Yogg'Saron's influence over the land, wooh!

 

[Zam]

World Building: Lordaeron's Territories
This post is a brief discussion of Lordaeron's territories post Second War.


​

It is a polite fiction that Lordaeron has always been one united and contiguous kingdom. At times it was even called the Holy Empire of Lordaeron before more moderate & peace minded monarchs rolled back imperials ambitions.

As of the end of the Second War, the easiest way to describe territories often associated with Lordaeron would be as such:

There is Old Lordaeron, which has remained fairly consistent and united in culture and faith for over five centuries; it was here the Exergies of the Light was first codified and would go on to become the dominant understanding of the faith, even as regional interpretations would vary. Formed through interconnected marriages, diplomacy and conquest, it was a mighty and martial state that suffused holy ideals into all they did, be it war, farming or politics.

Then we have Eastweld, a land where the summers are long and the sun burning bright; who's people often bare tan skin and pale hair. The great mountains that nearly cleave the land intwain made it difficult for one sole nation to form, as did the influence of the waning Amani Empire and then the High Elves, let alone internal factionalism. It was ultimately this state of affairs that allowed the then Holy Lordaeron Empire to conquer the territory little less than a hundred years ago; after having negotiated neutrality from the Elves and striking during a famine. The war was brutal, and the resistance fierce.
So much so that even when conquered, Eastweld retained influence enough that Lordaeron's Kings would nearly always choose a bride from the East, of whom Queen Lianne is the most recent example. The sheer savagery of the empires legions, most of all at the Siege of Old Stratholme, and its stark contrast to the preaching of the Light is what eventually led to the dissolution of the idea of an empire and a scaling back of imperial ambitions. The people of Eastweld would embrace the Church of the Holy Light and many would rise to great esteem in its ranks; despite this near century long unity however, there are still some lingering nativist sentiments among the people.

Finally there is Hillsbrad, ironically, this land was rarely under the direct control of Lordaeron save the North-East settlements like Tarren Mill. The Northlands beneath Alterac were always occupied by Dalanan who saw little use for the foothills and coastline. This made it prime breeding ground for conflict between Stromgarde, Alterac, Gilneas and Kul'Tiras. Suffice to say the residents got used to changing their flags and noble lines vary between new bloods and old families who can claim heritage in five kingdoms!
Only in the last decade could the land be said to have fallen under Lordaeron's sway in its near entirety, thanks to Stomgarde's waning strengths even before the Second War, Gilneas retreating into isolationism and Alterac's gutting. Kul'Tiras can make a claim to the coast, but having often pillaged those shores during wars, their flag is not always a welcome sight. In many ways, it would be more accurate to claim this land is of the Grand Alliance, than of Lordaeron proper, but such vagaries tend to make people nervous, and thus, Hillsbrad is Lordaeron Sovereignty... Technically.

___________________________________
NOTES:
This is mostly me doing some world building and also trying to make sense of the maps and mixed up lore.

For example, in Tide of Darkness, Hillsbrad is of Lordaeron, but we know not only Dalaran resides there but that Alterac and Stromgarde often feud over territory as though they are neighbors.

Adding to that, during WOW, Southshore is shown to be led by a man from Stormwind and to fly their flag despite not having been hit by the Scourge. Thus I rolled with the idea that Hillsbrad is basically the place people conquer and thus its not really closely tied to any one nation.

The details surrounding Eastweld I have brought up before though be it in less detail, they are partially inspire by the Travelogue, but with my own spin such as the wars being more recent, larger scale and the influence of elves on the region, and the skin tone matter. I have covered it before but as previously noted, several notable figures from Eastweld, or at least heavily tied to it all have pale hair and dark skin, and in WC2 so did Turalyon, so I decided to make it a thing.

I did everything in colors like this and with labels to try and make it easy to understand, I hope it helped and proved interesting!

 

[Zam]

World Building: Treaty Territories​

This post will include a map and some of the details about what it means and how the treaty works that aren't super relevant for the cast to discuss right now, but are hopefully interesting/informative, with that in mind:

Spoiler

The Grizzlemaw did manage to re-snag their former client states the Oneqwa Nations as full on allies in their federation and are also expanding out across Dragonblight's coast. This secured them new allies, some mines and also denies the Drakkari an excellent series of ports and water ways they really wanted, Malakk will be most vexed when he finds out but can't do anything about it.

The Amani mostly getting the Eastern Sea-Board, though the fact this area was always 'kind' of theirs anyway makes it a minor victory at best, especially as Tyr's Bay can still utilize the waters for fishing and security purposes. Still, this makes it easy for Zul'jin to manage his newly acquired states and observation points/colonies and he's secured the mountain paths into Zul'Aman from Lordaeron as well. Now he needs to fortify and continue investing in his navy if he wants trade to function.

I decided to separate the Wildhammer & Quel'Dorei from the Alliance color wise, because while they are working together right now they are still very much doing their own thing over being active members again, while still being aligned among themselves. Also if you're wondering why the Wildhammer haven't spread over all of the Highlands, I don't know either but my best guess is that despite being pretty to look at, the land is spiritually sick, and thus colonizing it is the work of generations to steadily purify, unless you want the animals to die and the crops to poison your body & mind.

In Hillsbrad, the Alliance got the better deal. They have taken Gilnean waters and completely landlocked Stomgarde and can now extract Tarif payments from any and all Goblin ships sailing North. The land being split in half like it is, was done with the next round of warfighting in mind. IE, Hillsbrad is really easy to invade from the coast, but the areas around it are super easy to fortify, what with the high mountains and giant lakes. This makes Hillsbrad easy to conquer but hard to defend; thus letting Malakk stretch his forces outside the defensible areas ensures that when the next war begins he will either have to retreat instantly or fight a losing battle to hold onto these territories.

Not much to write home about regarding the Drakkari, for all the lives lost their territorial gains have barely changed save absorbing maybe a third and a bit of Stromgarde which had more to do with the Witherbark & the states ailing position pre invasion than anything they did. The lines within are basically signifying the Satrapies/states. IE Tirisfal is overseen by De'Jana/Lianne and Callia, (Plus the Church), Silverpine by Krag'Jin and the Covens, Alterac and Hillsbrad by Beve, Western-Eld is the Barovs, and Stromgarge by Galen. Naturally they all have people beneath them managing territories within their territories as well. Fun fact, Zul'Drak is divided the same way, with about 30 or so states within it. As for the Orcs, Howling Fjord is slightly bigger than Durotar and their population's smaller than Thrall's Horde anyway, so they'll be quite comfortable.

Beyond that, not much to say, the Gurubashi states (IE, Zul'Gurub is hegemon but not master) are watching all of the happenings in the North with interest, as are the Trad Cartels, Dark Horde and Dark Iron Empires. All of them are feeling things out and making preparations, but they aren't alone in this. Thrall and Taretha and company are all hanging out in that triangle between Amani, Drakkari & Wildhammer territory, still not sure what to do with them or my refugees given how the stories evolved. Any other un-marked territory is either not managed by any unified force, or didn't matter for the sake of the map; Gilneas still exists but they aren't in talks with the Alliance. Yet.

Anyway, that's all for now, as it is I think I'll change up the epilogue I had planed. Instead of one big epilogue that covers each 'zone' I'm going to do a sort of Alliance and company epilogue, or maybe just an EK based epilogue to finally pay off all my ominous hinting, and then a Drakkari centric epilogue, thoughts?

 

[Zam]

So, I have been musing on my subtle little background story between Krag'jin and Seraphine a bit, as it wasn't in the initial drafts but has steadily expanded with every revision an rewrite and as a result I had some world building to share. Mostly about Harvest Witches and their history, so let's begin.

Harvest Witches & Forest Lords​

The Harvest Witches are, for lack of better words, natural born druids in the same vein that a sorcerer can instinctively use the arcane they can tap into the primal powers of the natural world, they do not perceive Spirits but they can be influenced by them and the natural world surrounding them. In the most ancient days, they were fledging human kingdoms primary spell casters, oh there might have been a handful of Rune crafters or even the odd troll trained Priest, but the Harvest Witches were the only one's with any sense of collective identity and shared lore.

This made them incredibly useful, they could help crops grow, hasten the return of trees from logging, heal and more; though abuse of their powers or the land could see Harvest Witches losing themselves to the primal impulses, hence the pejorative with being attached to their name. In these ancient days, Harvest Witches also allowed for some safer communication with trollish nations, usually through their Shamans who had respect for the Witches bond with nature and could serve as intermediaries for them when Spirits grew restless beyond a Harvest Witches ability to manage.

This loose relationship was retained even after the fall of the Amani, humans might not have liked trolls on average but they could see the wonders they built and they power they once wielded. (A real world comparison might be Rome's respect for Egypt or the Greeks views on Persian Magi knowing secret lore). It was only later that humans went from merely warring with trolls to trying to exterminate any evidence they had ever held sway in the lands humans now ruled.

This development did not coincide with the discovery of the Light, but concerns with 'Amani heresy' influencing human nations did play into the developing ideology. Which also served to bleed into how Harvest Witches were perceived; no longer needed for healing and with Arcane magic and new technologies proving so fruitful, the practical use of the Witches was far outweighed by the limitations they imposed on their powers and the dangers of misusing them. At first this simply led to a steady decline, but this would eventually develop into persecutions and even outright genocide leading many who could to flee to Kul'Tiras, but others could not or would not cross that divide.

1. Kul'Tiras had a longstanding 'Druidic' tradition, thus their lands remained a beacon of hope for many Harvest Witches; however the arcane and at times brutal nature of their doctrines and the demands to follow their ancient contracts drove many Harvest Witches away. They did not want to merely practice their magic but thir culture after all.
2. One might think Alteracs harsh environment would encourage them to be more tolerant, however their close ties with Dalaran and ridiculous mineral wealth meant the early monarchs feared not the loss of the Harvest Witches magic and having always found it hard to control disdained it, ensuring the land would be hostile to them for years to come.
3. Dalaran, as a city of mages viewed the magic of Harvest Witches in the same vein as Shamanism, a primitive magic for people who did not understand the nature of reality that could be discarded once one discovered true magic. In the cities early days they warred with several covens who had long since made use of the Ley Lines, eventually gaining victory over them and expunging their orders for Hillsbrad.
4. Stromgarde, while having been the home of Harvest Witches' for generations, with their trade ties to Ironforge blooming and ever a baleful enemy of trolls felt that the Harvest Witches ties, even if they were generations apart now, to trollish culture were an offence to their great nation. Thus, they made their existence illegal, an order which persisted to the modern day, with great rewards for turning them in to the lands ruler.
5. Lordaeron, ever an aggressively holy nation would often see holy monarch leading witch hunts, purges and persecutions. The worst of these took place after the conquest of Eastweld, which still had many Harvest Witches and grew worse as the native population embraced the Light leading them to turn on their former kindred. At other times conversion or banishment were options, but the Tirisfal Harvest Witches have mostly been bled dry, with survivors fleeing into Wildhammer, Elven and Gilnean territory over generations.
6. Stormwind, as a young nation had little traditional Harvest Witch culture as far as sights and ritual centers went. However many Harvest Witched did live among the immigrants in secret during the cities early days, hoping to find a new land where they could rebuild. This would fair poorly, the religious nation was very intolerant to the witches, even if it did use the opportunistically during the early days of settlement. This led to man fleeing to join roaming bands of nomads already in the South East, most among them would die to the Horde though some still survive to this day, while their kindred withered away in churches, denied the embrace of the earth to their dying breath.
7. Gilneas has perhaps been the most consistently historically 'tolerant' of Harvest Witches though this would vary as it did in all nations.. However on a practical level, much of the rocky land that Gilneas was built on could be hard to farm, making Harvest Witches perpetually useful in a land so prone to bad harvests. What's more, on a purely political level, Gilneas was founded thanks to a schism in the Church of the Light; an order of priests feeling it was not their place to enter politics or advise kings and that such duties divided them from their holy task. Gilneas's ancient monarchs seeing the benefits to this ideology sponsored it and made her kingdom a safe place for these rebels, thus ousting traditional church authority to centralize control among the nobles and royal line exclusively. Still, it was rare for any to use them as boldly as Genn Greymane had done, but his decision to isolate half his territory from the rest of the world necessitated it.

However, the final reason Gilnean territory was a popular haven for Harvest Witches was the Shadowglen faction, the trolls of Tal'Vass.

I have shared their history before but suffice to say, they were once a province of the Amani Empire that became a small nation after its collapse, that would eventually predict its fall at the hands of the ever expanding human nations. Thus, they creative a multitude of great bunkers and fortified mountain keeps, dams and farms to sustain the core of their people and culture in secret even after humans took control of Silverpine. These trolls dislike humans on average, but having often avoided persistent hunting by them or border skirmishing, they viewed human nations more like one views a natural obstacle than a malevolent threat.

This, along with the Harvest Witches never quite fading from mind ensured a quietly retained connection across generations, that has gone through a multitude of evolutions, especially as the Harvest Witches became more and more persecuted. This quiet partnership led to the creation of a unique blend of cultural practices, religious beliefs and magical teachings that go beyond the mere use of magic and into the realm of ancient contracts and binding others to the land, the forests and the divine. In some select rituals, figures will be chosen to serve as the servant of the woods or great spirits, or perhaps to carry a curse of a blessing with them and many others.

In the case of the Shadowglen and the Harvest Witches there is a common trend of an arranged marriage between notable figures in their ranks, presided over by spiritual and divine forces that ensure however political the weddings nature, so too shall it bind their peoples. In some rare cases, these powers will themselves join the couple, blessing that which springs forth from their union to be something not quite divine, not quite a spirit, but far more than a mortal. Such children were often born in times of great import for their peoples, or on momentous occasions in the celestial calendar and while not well recorded by human nations, they have left their mark on history, as a trees roots do in the earth.

A child of the Forest Lord and the Harvest Queen shall be mighty indeed, filled with glorious mission from conception, imbued with the glory of its parents peoples and a living reflection of the land themselves that is blessed by the divines. But what role shall they play in this new era is anyone's guess.

 

[Zam]

New Dominion: Retrospective​

Introduction:
Before I begin I just want to thank everyone again who has read New Dominion whether you stuck around for the long haul or left, gave likes or offered comments, you made this a magnificent experience and I'd be poorer for your absence as would the story and thread. Adding to that, I want to say I am very proud of this story, its over 250 thousand words, centered on characters and subjects I scarcely if ever see explored in WOW and its both complete and did find an audience. All in all, there's much to be proud of and happy with here. With that in mind, I've definitely learned a lot while writing this, be it from pure experience, feedback or reader reactions and with the benefit of hindsight what are some changes I would make?

The Winter War:

• I enjoy the Winter War Arc, but it definitely dragged on, and it was most certainly where I lost the most readers. I think overall the issue was that I didn't want to rush the story or otherwise not justify what was to come next. But as a result I spent several chapters with characters basically just dithering and bickering while nothing much happened beyond set up. I think if I rewrote it now I'd scale back the number of chapters and focus a fair bit and also give it a bit more action centric stuff to maintain engagement.

Arctikus:

• Despite her incredible importance to the story there's no denying Arctikus and the Frostmane faded to the background somewhat. This was tied to a mixture of finding Malakk fun to write but also wanting a protagonist with a lot of agency and awareness of what was going in which Arctikus wouldn't have in her position. To address this, I think I should have had Arctikus be in the role of Deuteragonist, especially during the Winter War arc; leading from the front while Malakk dealt with politics so she didn't fade into the background so much and kept things feeling more action packed and engaging.

Character Bloat:

• I'd say that I definitely went a bit overboard with the character focus in places. On one hand I think it was important to show what was happening with the Alliance and such so their decisions could be shown to make internal and logical sense over being contrived to serve the story. But I definitely could have spent a bit less time exploring the inner lives of some like the Kel'Thuzad in places. More integrally though, I think the issue was needing everyone in focus at all times, IE, I should have said "This is the main character & this is the supporting cast for this arc" and not had any other perspectives in order to keep things manageable.

Saronite:

• Probably one of the most controversial elements of the story was the Drakkari's use of Saronite and eagle eyed viewers likely saw me reducing its usage the longer the story went on. As it is, if writing New Dominion now, I would scale it back by like 80%. I still dislike the idea of no one except the Scourge being able to use Saronite, but I definitely went too far with it. As of now, I'd have the Word Priests be like 20 people and the majority of Saronite used would be for special tools like Malakk's Zerat of Siege Breaker weaponry and in the Amani's Secret Weapon, but nothing more, and it'd require very careful handling all the while.

Presentation:

• While I am overall quite pleased with how I presented Malakk & the Drakkari I definitely think I softened things up a bit too much in some places. Malakk for example, was meant to be someone who presents honorable, but is still ultimately ruthless pragmatic when he needs to be and is just very good at using his more genial side to his more political sides benefit. Meanwhile I was leery of presenting too many issues with the Drakkari occupation for fear of losing audience engagement/pragmatism, but ultimately there's no such thing as a nice empire, even if on a scale between Achaemenid & Spanish Empire, the Drakkari are closer to the former than the latter.

Stromgarde:

• I think the Drakkari claiming Stromgarde was seen as a bit of a reach and in truth I agree. A lot of it was motivated by a despite to see Galen and Stromgarde continue on cos I'd gotten invested in that side drama and didn't want the Amani just crushing them or the Alliance absorbing them. With hindsight on my side what I should have done was have Malakk want to negotiate them into buffer state/treaty status both to get some good PR after the Dalaran disaster and also as a desperate bid to end the war before it all turns against him. IE tie it into Kul'Tiras blowing up in his face, with Galen going along with it cos he doesn't want the Alliance in his business until he's strong enough to be able to tell them 'No, I am kingdom, deal with it' before eventually backstabbing Malakk. (Maybe he'd link up with the Wildhammer & Quel'Dorei as a sort of "We're at peace with the Alliance but don't want them or anyone else in our business" trio.)

Conclusion:
And that as they say, is that, at least insofar as this goes. I could probably talk a bit about certain traitors or incompetent commanders, but I based all those heavily on canon and any lingering issues tied to them would be address in follow through from the above changes anyway. As I said, overall I am still extremely pleased with this story and happy with the response its received, and ultimately hindsight is always 20/20. So there's not much point in mourning any of these factors, but I did feel it was important to highlight what I've learned from this, and that I have been paying attention to what people tell me.

Thanks for reading, do you agree, disagree, think I missed something? Feel free to say!