Vilebranch Warrior

This article is about lore and history of the Firelands. For the raid instance, see Firelands (instance).

Firelands
Level: 80-85
Firelands concept artwork
Type	Elemental plane of fire
Capital(s)	Sulfuron Keep
Races	Fire elemental Flamewaker  Night elf (Druids of the Flame)
Government	Elemental Lord
Ruler(s)	Ragnaros
Major settlements	Sulfuron Keep
Affiliation	Ragnaros (ally of Deathwing), Old Gods' forces
Location	Elemental Plane (access locations at flamegates across Mount Hyjal)

Firelands is one of the four domains of the Elemental Plane, occupied by the fire elementals.

Background

Deep beneath the earth and seas of the Elemental Plane lurks the Firelands, a place of heat and ash. Although it is a harsh land, visitors can survive, for in one of those cruel paradoxes that define the universe, fire needs air to live and fuel to feed upon. Within the Firelands, these things exist in a constant cyclical state, with the very ash itself gradually transforming into fuel for future burnings.

In the center of a vast lake of fire stands Sulfuron Keep, the home of Ragnaros the Firelord. Until comparatively recently, he ruled his underground land with an iron fist. Three hundred years ago, he was summoned to fight in the dwarven civil war known as the War of the Three Hammers. This reckless act sundered the Redridge Mountains and created Blackrock Spire. Now, in a greatly weakened state, he lies at the bottom of that volcano on Azeroth, striving to find a way home. Meanwhile, in Sulfuron Keep and elsewhere across the Firelands, his elemental princes battle constantly for dominance.

The Firelands occupy the theoretical bottom of the "sphere" of the Elemental Plane. Just as the Skywall sits atop the plane, in a sort of bowl shape, the Firelands sit in the bottom of a similar curve. The "ground" underneath the surface is a sticky, bubbling mess of tar, ooze and rock fallen from Deepholm, which of course serves as the "sky." In some places, lakes of flammable oil and combustibles form, burning constantly and filling the air with superheated smoke. Organic and semi-organic material from Deepholm, and even the waters of the Abyssal Maw higher above, constantly filters down to provide new fuel for the endless flames. In places where the Fire Princes do battle with Therazane, huge volcanoes rise, spewing lava into the Firelands and upwards as well, sometimes reaching the floor of the Abyssal Maw or even the upper surface of Deepholm, where they blow noxious fumes into Al'Akir's realm.

However, it wasn't until recently, when Deathwing blasted from the Elemental Plane into the world, causing the Shattering, that the elementals were able to roam freely across Azeroth once again. Allied with Deathwing, their fire elementals assaulted Mount Hyjal.

For ages, the Elemental Plane served its purpose as a secure realm to imprison Azeroth's primordial spirits... until the Cataclysm ruptured its boundaries. Without warning, Ragnaros's armies surged toward Mount Hyjal, intent on burning the World Tree of Nordrassil to the ground. In the ensuing conflict, many brave heroes gave their lives to protect Hyjal from destruction. By their noble sacrifices, the impossible was achieved: the Guardians of Hyjal pushed Ragnaros's minions back into the Firelands.

Now, the battle to protect Hyjal rages in Ragnaros's smoldering realm. As territory is gained and Azeroth's champions edge closer to the Firelands' inner sanctums, a monumental task lies ahead. Entrenched around Ragnaros's lair -- Sulfuron Keep -- are his most trusted guardians, including the turncoat Druids of the Flame and their mysterious leader. Yet Hyjal's defenders cannot afford to shy away from any of these dangers. Should Ragnaros prevail against the incursion and succeed in destroying Nordrassil, Azeroth will suffer a blow from which it might never recover.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

The Firelands will be a new raid instance in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, slated to be part of patch 4.2.0.

The raid will consist of 7 bosses, as well as outdoor and indoor environments.

The Crucible of Flame, Firelands Forgeworks, Firelands Hatchery and Inner Spire are areas within the Firelands. They are accessible through Flamegates located within Mount Hyjal. However, they are merely part of quests rather than part of the raid instance itself. It has not been confirmed that they will be part of the upcoming raid.

The Condensation of Electra-Atrocity presumably written by Leyden Copperkleist explains how the Twilight's Hammer clan maintains a portal to the elemental planes.

Instances

Name	Level range	Group size	Location
Firelands	85	10/25-man	Mount Hyjal

Gallery

• 

  Map of the Firelands as of BlizzCon 2010

• 

  Overview of the Firelands made from previous map

• 

  Firelands environment

• 

  Firelands environment

• 

  Artwork of a wall, used to show color-scheme

• 

  Sulfuron Spire on Mount Hyjal

Denizens

Fire elemental Unbound fire elemental Bound fire elemental Fire noble Fire revenant Fire hawk Flamewaker Hell hound Core hound Phoenixes Molten giant

Lava worm Firekin Cinderweb Spider Cinderweb Aranae Fire Dancer Salamanders (elemental) Efreeti Flame Sprite Fire Mephit Azer Magmin

Notes

• Flight in the Firelands does not work like it does in the outside world. Something to do with the dense, superheated air.