Dimensional Ships are vessels, created and operated by the naaru, that can travel between worlds without the use of traditional portals. They are capable of traversing the Twisting Nether just as normal ships traverse the seas. Such ships were useful when evacuating important populations from the encroachment of the Burning Legion, such as K'ure's rescue of the draenei. The term applies to the naaru flagship and current headquarters of Kael'thas, Tempest Keep, but usually refers to the draenei capital, Exodar. More powerful versions of dimensional ships are called "dimensional fortresses."
A Naaru Ship Concept Art.
The only factual knowledge available is that Tempest Keep has "automated" defenses such as the ability to fly, and teleport itself and anything in it, with the use of magic in the stead of technology. The automated defenses are most likely more powerful counterparts of the Arcane Towers built by the Kirin Tor, and the necropoli, such as Naxxramas, that the Scourge employ can also fly and move vast distances using similar magics.
Notes
- To be clear, we’re not talking about having the Millennium Falcon cruising around the Twisting Nether. The draenei ‘nether-ship’ you’ve been hearing about is far more than it seems. It’s part of a larger dimension-traveling fortress called Tempest Keep that essentially teleports through alternate realities. It doesn’t bank and roll or shoot proton torpedoes (not yet, anyway). -Chris Metzen
- Though Metzen discourages Sci-Fi connections, Dimensional Ships probably work like "hyperdrive" or "slipstream"; that is, the ship enters sub-spatial dimension (the Nether or alternate dimensions) to traverse space (the Great Dark Beyond) more quickly. Thus, hyper-accelerated space travel occurs from the ships' motion through an alternative dimension. It is then speculated, that when the Exodar crashed it probably materialized in the sky above the Azuremyst Isles and unable to fly in the material dimension, fell to the ground. It is worth noting that Christie Golden, the author of Rise of the Horde is an experienced writer of Star Trek: Voyager novels, and thus should be able to explain the technical aspects of dimensional ships with relative ease, but did not.
Known Dimensional ships
- Tempest Keep - Dimensional fortress
- The Arcatraz - Dangerous being incarceration[1]
- The Mechanar - Engineering factory[2]
- The Botanica - Flora research atrium[3]
- The Exodar - Unknown (Current sections are themed for Trade, Holy light, and Shamanism. Also has large demon museum)
- Oshu'Gun - Planetary evacuationTemplate:Cite