Elemental Plane
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The Elemental Plane is the plane where the titans imprisoned the elementals millions of years ago.
The Pantheon shattered the Old Gods' citadels and chained the five evil gods far beneath the surface of the world. Without the Old Gods' power to keep their raging spirits bound to the physical world, the elementals were banished to an abyssal plane, where they would contend with one another for all eternity. This plane is called the Elemental Plane.
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Location
The Elemental Plane is described as "a prison plane in the Twisting Nether".[1]
History
When the titans defeated the Old Gods and brought order to the world, one of their first acts was to banish the Elemental Lords and their servants to a prison within the Twisting Nether. These agents of chaos could not be allowed to roam freely, or they would disrupt the new order the titans sought to create. Thus, the titans fashioned a separate plane to hold their old foes. Over the course of a short period, they cast all the elementals they could find into this hastily crafted "jail".
The elemental forces do not tolerate each other, and each has its own dominion. In the air is the Skywall, home of Al'Akir the Windlord and his air elemental servants. Neptulon the Tidehunter controls the oceans and calls his realm the Abyssal Maw. The soil and stone of the plane's single continent, and the ground beneath the sea, is Deepholm, riddled with tunnels and under the rule of Therazane the Stonemother. Beneath Deepholm and the Abyssal Maw are the Firelands, a realm of flame and lava. Ragnaros the Firelord once commanded this domain, but 300 years ago Dark Iron dwarves in the Redridge Mountains summoned him to battle their enemies. The catastrophic summoning blasted the land and immolated the Dark Irons, and Ragnaros sunk into the depths of Blackrock Spire to await his return.[1]
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
After Deathwing breaks through the ceiling of Deepholm, the entire elemental plane is brought up (or down, in the case of Skywall), and can be reached through various means by the mortal races of Azeroth. The Firelands and Skywall will both become raids, Abyssal Maw will become two dungeons, and Deepholm will become the central hub zone of the expansion and will also contain a dungeon.
Inhabitants
The elementals have grown attached to their adopted home in the millennia that passed since. They can be called back to Azeroth for short periods of time, but most are eager to return to their world when the spell that summoned them ends.
Communicating with elementals is difficult, and they have provided little information about the nature of their realm. Scholars believe that Elemental Plane takes the form of a single world suspended in nothingness, and that each kind of elemental has claimed a portion of the world. Apparently, the surface or the realm is divided almost equally between deep ocean and a gigantic continent dotted with active volcanoes. If the lava flows, earthquakes, windstorms, and tsunami are as common as the scholars predict, then the Elemental Plane is a very dangerous place to visit.
The phoenix is a natural predator of the Elemental Plane.
Elemental Salamanders also originate from this Plane.
Various types of Mephits also hail from this Plane.
Various Revenants also live here.
Besides the basic elemental types, there are examples of Elemental Conglomerates as well.
A wide variety of natural beasts and creatures, from birds to mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects can be found scattered throughout the realms.
With the elementals' departure, nature calmed, and the world settled into a peaceful harmony.
Now the elementals have learned to open portals to start Elemental Invasions. At the beginning of an elemental invasion, portals will open to the elemental planes and invaders will begin to pass through. Thus, during an invasion you will find two to three times as many elementals in the area, usually slightly higher in level than the standard ones found there.
Geography of the Elemental Plane
The Elemental Plane is a three-tiered realm. It would look like any other world to an outsider — at least, when looked upon from above or on the ground. The domain of Air (Skywall) sits atop the middle layer, which supports both the Water (Abyssal Maw) and Earth (Deepholm) domains. Beneath this lies a third layer of Fire (Firelands) and molten rock that constantly struggles to break free of its bonds. A casual visitor, arriving on the surface, might even believe he is on an ordinary — if somewhat violent — planet.[2]
The plane the titans created is spherical and comparatively small — about the size of a single world. A glowing yellow orb, casting forth light and heat, hovers near the top point of the globe, acting as the "sun" for the entire plane. Normal levels of gravity pull physical objects toward the bottom of the sphere, where the realm of fire lies. A thick layer of permanent, tunnel-ridden stone supports the earth and water on the surface. Above, a layer of air hangs over the ground, never reaching the fiery turbulence beneath.[2]
The sphere itself is curved in a curious way that tends to baffle creatures of Azeroth’s reality. As befits the plane’s prison function, escaping through ordinary movement is impossible. A creature attempting to move out of the sphere simply curves inexorably around, moving toward the other side. Thus, if one were to sail across the ocean in a boat, he would eventually arrive on the exact opposite side of the plane's sole continent. The land itself is slightly larger than Kalimdor, while the seas are about the same width in all directions.[2]
There are also rumors that a forge similar to the Black Forge in Blackrock Mountain exists in the heart of the Elemental Plane, where dark iron is much more common. A journey to this site would not be for the faint of heart.[3]
Regions & sub-regions
- The domain of Air is called The Skywall.
- The domain of Earth is called Deepholm.
- The domain of Fire is called The Firelands.
- The domain of Water is called The Abyssal Maw.
References
- ^ 1.0 1.1 World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game, 22
- ^ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Shadows & Light, 136
- ^ More Magic and Mayhem, 154
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