20DoW - Day 17 - My Favourite Spots In-Game

   I have a few favourite spots in-game. I'm partial to Serenity Falls in the Jade Forest, the Heartlands in the Valley of the Four Winds, the floating islands in Nagrand, and most of Feralas. I certainly can't pick just two or three, so prepare for a picture, wordy post!

   Stratholme is not the nicest place to be, but, like many spots on this list, it has historical value, which appeals hugely to me. It burns even to this day, though the Scourge have maintained their hold over it. It's about the very last zone on Azeroth's map that has still not been filled in, and despite it being a city that was a part of Lordaeron, it has its own zone while Alterac, rather unfairly, does not. Even if Perenolde was a bit of a t-word. I'd love to see the area filled in, for the fires to stop burning, and for it to be inhabitable again, even if only by Alliance.

   Eldre'Thalas, or Dire Maul, was the home to Azshara's Highborne sorcerers, where they protected their most valuable of arcane secrets. It was ruined during earthquakes of the Sundering and the first invasion of the Burning Legion, but it's probably one of the most, if not the most, in-tact Highborne city in existance. The Sundering is one of my favourite areas in WoW history.

   The Throne Room of Lordaeron had to be on this list. I've always loved it, but now I've found out about its secrets, I love it ten fold. It's absolutely amazing. And, like Stratholme, it is one of history's bedrocks. My first character was an Undead, and I like to think she once saw Terenas as her King, so the place means a lot to me. Even if I do refuse to play Humans.

   Call me innocent, ignorant or just generally airheaded, but despite playing a Warlock for five years, it wasn't until I started reading the books 3 years ago that I realised just how evil and dark they are. I was a little ashamed of my Warlock after that, but continued to play her because she was my main. I've warmed back up to her now, however, and I've found if she spends most of her time around other Undead or old Human ruins, I don't feel quite as bad about it.
   There's no doubt about the twisted nature of Gul'dan, but, as other historical points, though this is a negative event, it's still important in the history of the world, and had the Infinite Dragonflight attempt to change it, the Bronze would still have stopped them. Because these things had to happen. When I first saw this area, I had no idea who Gul'dan was. I was simply told he was the first Warlock, and that was cool enough for me. Now I know better, but the Hand of Gul'dan spot is still important, interesting, and therefore one of my favourites.

   I had assumed at first it was just a mountain, but, as above, after reading some books, I've been corrected. Though it doesn't appear as such, it was the ship that the Draenei used to flee Argus, powered but K'ure, a Naaru. The book Rise of the Horde, though written before the expansion, disagrees with some parts of in-game lore. Within the game, K'ure is in the ship, but in the book, he is in a pool of water. Orcish spirits were drawn to Oshu'gun because of K'ure's energies, even if they were waning, and Orcs began to see the place as something holy. In the book, the Shaman would take water to the pool, which was actually allowing K'ure to keep himself alive and slow down the process of his death, but in the game, the Shaman only commune with the spirits of their ancestors in the crystal, while the ancestors went there to commune with the Naaru.
   Though I'm not all that interested in the Draenei at all, I do find their history interesting and somewhat tragic. The Rise of the Horde is the only place I've gotten any information from about the Draenei.

   I know more or less nothing about the Furbolgs, except that they are a truly ancient race. As for Grizzlemaw, I know little about that, either. I just think this place is adorable. The most I do know is that Grizzlemaw was once Vordrassil, an early attempt at a World Tree, but due to corruption by an Old God, it had to be taken down. In the centre of the stump, there's a sapling there, which is the Furbolgs' attempt at regrowing the tree. They wanted to use the magic from the tree to resurrect Ursoc, and while it worked, he was corrupted, just as the tree was.

   Again, River's Heart is nothing but a pretty place and my favourite Northrend fishing spot, just like many others. The waterfalls are appealing, though ultimately overshadowed by the ones in Pandaria, and the secluded lake surrounded by lush greenery looks very comfortable indeed.

   Despite being pro-Horde, I can admit when the Alliance have it better. I love Thundermar. It's just a fact. It's gorgeous, it's cute, the story line, while fluffy, was just fluffy enough. I loved it. I hated Bloodgulch.

   Underlight Canyon. I've always been partial to the Abyss. I am terrified of deep water, I really am, but in spite of that fact, I really am a huge fan of underwater wildlife documentaries, and the deeper they go, the better. Unless there are whales. I'm terrified of whales, for the simple fact that a) they are enormous, and b) if there is a whale in the water, the water is too deep. If I can't keep my feet on the ground and my head above water, I am not happy. I love bioluminescence, angler fish and all the freaky things down there with them, and Murlocs are really quite cute - combine the two, and there is something terrifyingly adorable right there. I want one. They were my favourite art in the Cataclysm art book.

   Despite what I said above, I'm partial to clear water. Who isn't? So I love small streams and brooks, lakes and rivers and so on, so it's understandable that these two screenshots made it on here too, as two of my favourite locations. I love green - it's one of my favourite colours, along with brown, so forests and jungles are really gorgeous to me. It's part of the reason I love the Jade Forest so much. So give me clear, turquoise water, some waterfalls, a cute boat, wysteria loads of greenery and I am a happy bunny. So Lake Kittitata is very appealing for a break.

   And though this pond is nowhere to be seen, which makes me very sad, it was definitely my favourite pool in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. The lilypads, turquoise water, red trees, golden grass, corner location and minor architectural features made it one of my overall favourite spots in Pandaria. I'd wanted to screenshot this so many times, but never knew how. There weren't really any locations to sit my character, there wasn't any room to set out a picnic basket or anything, so I just never did anything with it, until 2 days before the EU launch of 5.4, when I was taking some shots of the zone before its upheaval. I happened to look down eventhough I was flying around and looking for high, secluded places, and noticed this. I flew down a bit, adjusted my position, increased the graphics (I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that it takes 5 minutes for my PC to adjust to Ultra in Pandaria) and print screen. I am so glad I got this shot.