Spooncraft

Hey everybody, first off this isn’t an official preview like Blizzard is so pent on doing before expansions. On the contrary what you’re going to see and read is more lore and unfinished yet really compelling footage of the underground zone that is Azjol’Nerub.

I really hope it keeps as an underground zone entirely where you’re in this massive long cavern where mounts (flying and otherwise) can careen around in the typical madcap melee that is a contested zone. Most of this information has been gathered from around the web (wowwiki, wotlkwiki, series of tubes) and I’m sure what Blizzard will prepare for us on the official Wrath site is going to spank my little presentation all over the net.

Azjol-Nerub Preview from Toxic fork on Vimeo.

Lore, quoted announcements, and more after the break.

General Information

Azjol-Nerub, also known as the Spider Kingdom (pronounced “ah-ZHOL nuh-ROOB”), is the vast underground empire of the arachnid Nerubians, located on the icy continent of Northrend. The entrance to Azjol-Nerub can be found in the northern reaches of the Dragonblight.

However, it seems as though a large portion of the underground Azjol-Nerub caverns was pushed upwards by a cataclysm, ascending the underground ruins toward the surface as the ice broke. Nerubians no longer inhabit these Riplash Ruins; therefore, the naga took residence within the abandoned ruins. Before its destruction by the Scourge, Azjol-Nerub contained huge libraries of literature, philosophy, and arcane lore.

In Lands of Mystery Azjol-Nerub is described as being its very own zone, located underground. The kingdom consists of two main sections, the Old Kingdom, and the Upper Kingdom. Part of the Upper Kingdom is controlled by dwarves, who control a small town known as Doorward, while some areas are controlled by the Scourge. Deeper underground is the Old Kingdom, which is controlled by potentially “neutral” Nerubians. Brann Bronzebeard claims it may be possible for an alliance with their faction if one is willing to help them clear out the Scourge from their Empire. Still, some areas are controlled by the Faceless Ones.

Azjol-Nerub is entirely underground. It’s a fascinating place and stretches for miles, it may lie beneath most or all of Northrend. The rock here is predominately granite, mixed with some igneous stone where volcanoes once rose and where magma from deep beneath bubbled up long ago. The nerubians were thorough artisans and left nary a corner untouched, every edge is smooth and faceted, every corridor planed and polished. They preserved the odd angles created by nature but straightened and widened tunnels into corridors and vaulted ceilings. Little lives in Azjol-Nerub. Various lichen and fungi grow in corners and along the walls, the nerubians evidently nurtured certain phosphorescent and luminescent varieties to provide light, and these have since grown unchecked. Bats perch on doorframes and columns, as do spiders of varying size. Underground lakes teem with blind, silvery-white fish, and insects and worms crawl through the soft dirt alongside. Monsters prowl the deeper caves, and the less said about these the better. Adventurers should not approach them unless heavily armed and surrounded by friends.

Azjol-Nerub can be divided into two sections: the Old Kingdom and the Upper Kingdom. Azjol-Nerub has no separate settlements. Once it was a single unified kingdom. Now it is a shadow of its former self, controlled by the Scourge except where pockets of nerubian resistance lurk or where the dwarves hunker down or where even darker creatures roam unopposed. Azjol-Nerub is not a safe place, for several reasons. First, of course, the Scourge controls it. Second, creatures live below, including the strange faceless ones: ancient monsters long imprisoned beneath the ice and recently loosed again. Yet even uninhabited, this kingdom would be dangerous. The nerubians set all manner of traps here, including circular doors that must be moved just so to avoid them crashing down on the person opening them, statues that release streams of frost at intruders and pits hidden beneath seemingly normal floor tiles. Many adventurers have ventured into this place, hoping for gold and other treasures, only to find death instead.

Even though it is World of WarCraft’s first subterranean zone, it still counts as an outdoor area because “It’s going to be exterior terrain, but underground. It’ll feel like you’re in a cave, but it’ll be gigantic. Buildings, temples, a look and feel very similar to Naxxramas, since the Nerubians are where the Scourge stole that architecture from.” says Stockton of Blizzard (src)

Lore

The ancient kingdom of Azjol-Nerub was a result of the Aqir split. The Gurubashi and Amani trolls managed to split the kingdom of Azj’Aqir into two, Azjol-Nerub and Ahn’Qiraj.

Azjol-Nerub was the center of nerubian civilization. Its unknown if the nerubians began here, but certainly most if not their entire race dwelled here. They left the rest of the world in peace and pursued their interests beneath the ground. Around 20 years ago, the nerubian civilization was still alive and strong. Azjol-Nerub was their kingdom, and the spider-men controlled all its tunnels. Their culture is almost as old as the dwarves, and every bit as attuned to life underground. The biggest difference, is that the nerubians focus more on the cerebral and less on the physical, their society had more scholars and artists and fewer smiths and miners.LoM 88,91

That was all before the Lich King, of course. He saw immediately that the nerubians posed a major threat. None of the other races on Northrend had their numbers, their organization, or their discipline. True, the nerubians rarely ventured aboveground, but he couldn’t take that chance. Then the Lich King attacked. He chose to swarm the underground kingdom and wiped it clean, during the War of the Spider. It was long and hard, and the nerubians almost won, they may prefer thought and art but they’re fearsome foes when roused. Unfortunately, the Scourge had an endless supply of warriors and every dead nerubian potentially added to its ranks. In the end the Scourge’s numbers prevailed, and the implacable undead swept through Azjol-Nerub and emptied its tunnels of defenders. He defeated them, killing most of the nerubians in the process and converting many of the survivors into crypt fiends and other undead. Those who could fled his touch. The Lich King conquered, and the nerubian civilization all but died. Now most of Azjol-Nerub lies in ruins. It’s still a fascinating place, and many of its murals and frescoes and columns stand intact. The Scourge doesn’t care about riches, material or scholarly, and rich tapestries still hang on the walls while impressive tomes line bookcases. One could spend months roaming the tunnels and still never see all of the great kingdom.

Two years ago, Arthas and the mighty Anub’arak traveled through this area on their way to the Frozen Throne. Azjol-Nerub is a mystery waiting to be explored. It once held a powerful and advanced civilization, and many of its treasures still rest here undamaged. Great riches litter the lower halls, not only gems and magic items but art and literature and scholarly tomes. The Scourge infest this place. Forgotten ones seethe below, eager to return to the world above.LoM 88, 91

However, despite the Lich King’s victory over the Spider Kingdom, numerous pockets of Nerubians remain, evading the wrath of Ner’zhul, while at the same time coordinating hit-and-run strikes against the forces of the Scourge. However, it is currently unknown who leads the remaining Nerubians, or if they even possess a centralized command at all.

Now dwarves are located near the main entrance to the city, keeping the gates shut in hopes that Scourge forces do not reach them. The undead hold many of the floors of the Upper Kingdom. The Nerubian rebels hold floors in the Old Kingdom. Many of deepest areas are held by faceless ones.

There aren’t many people left in Azjol-Nerub. Not many living ones, anyway. The place is overrun with Scourge creatures, of course, and the undead stalk up and down the corridors and through the tunnels, carrying and hammering and digging. It’s best to stay out of their way if possible. Some Scourge creatures walk right by a person, oblivious, completely focused on their current task, but others drop everything in order to convert a person, meaning kill him and reanimate him as one of them. A person can’t tell beforehand which approach a creature will take, so he’s better off ducking when he sees them coming. The nerubians haven’t completely abandoned their kingdom. Most of the nerubians died in the War of the Spider, though, and few remain. The survivors are scattered throughout the tunnels, hiding alone or in small groups, destroying Scourge creatures whenever possible but keeping hidden at all costs. Others form larger bands and plot rebellion, but there’s only so much they can do when they’re outnumbered hundreds to one. It doesn’t help that Azjol-Nerub’s ruler is a former nerubian himself, a crypt lord who was once the nerubian king. Nerubians are a nervous, almost paranoid people given to rage, grief and violence, most likely a response to their plight. They were polished, courtly scholars and artisans once, and rarely raised a voice or a talon in anger. But are now a fallen race. It’s fascinating from a scientific standpoint, examining how the nerubians have changed their outlook, their activities and even their appearance based upon events. It’s also heartbreaking and more than a little terrifying to see these once proud creatures reduced to scrounging for food and digging through ruins for broken tools and anything else they can use.

Baelgun Flamebeard leads the Ironforge dwarves here: the remnants of Muradin’s party. He’s a good fellow, though a bit intense, and the dwarves make visitors welcome when they arrive. Since they’ve staked out an area right by the main entrance to the kingdom, the dwarves are the first people adventurers see upon their descent. Baelgun’s got few dwarves with him, good hardy souls, but they’re no match for the Scourge. Nor could they even stop the nerubians, particularly the larger rebel bands. Fortunately the nerubians are cordial. They hate the Scourge almost as much as everyone else does. As it is, the nerubians leave Baelgun’s crew alone, and sometimes stop by to exchange information or trade found items for food. Baelgun keeps his men hidden from the Scourge, but they watch the doors constantly. Baelgun knows a little of what lies deep beneath the earth here, and vows to stop such evils from escaping to the surface.

The only other residents of Azjol-Nerub are monsters, most mysterious creatures called faceless ones. They are humanoid, and their heads look like insectile octopi. One arm is much larger than the other, grotesque and misshapen. Tales say they lived here long before the Scourge came, dwelling too deep for the nerubians to hunt them. It’s these horrors Baelgun has vowed to stop. (src)