User:Joshmaul/Borealis

Borealis is my proposed idea for the "Between Plaguelands" (Northern Lordaeron) region between the Ghostlands and the Western and Eastern Plaguelands. The idea is to have it similar to Lake Wintergrasp in that it's a PvP zone, and with a town-controlling aspect like Halaa in Nagrand, and a tower-controlling aspect like Eastern Plaguelands, the Auchindoun spirit towers, so on.

History


The Borealis Province, also known as Northeron (Northern Lordaeron) was a holding of Lordaeron that bordered Quel'Thalas to the northeast. The Region had only three primary settlements - Fort Menethil (which became Fort Terenas after the fall of Lordaeron), the Thalassian Sanctum of the Sea (the only arcane sanctum in Lordaeron's borders) and Borealis City itself, the regional capital. From the city's central keep, the regional magistrate controlled the resources of this heavily forested region of northern Lordaeron. The region was primarily inhabited by a group of dark-skinned nomads from southern Azeroth, a culture that produced such figures as Sekhesmet of Stratholme, the High Priest of Lordaeron, and General Settra, the former regional magistrate - both now powerful Forsaken.

Borealis' primary resource was, of course, the abundance of trees that grew in the region, portions of which were specifically set aside for lumber production - one of the major buildings of Fort Menethil/Fort Terenas was its lumber mill, from which the lumber harvested from Borealis would be shipped all across the Kingdom. Under the rule of Magistrate Settra prior to the Third War, an agreement was made between Borealis and the nearby town of Andorhal, in which Borealis would trade quality lumber in exchange for Andorhal's best grain. Both cities prospered from this agreement, and Settra was lauded for his skill in bartering for the best deal for his city and his people. He also made a similar arrangement with the City of Lordaeron itself, in which the capital would provide training for the Borealis Militia, and also use some of its members to serve in Lordaeron's army. Borealis also exported lumber to Kul Tiras, where they provided the toughest wood for use in Admiral Daelin Proudmoore's legendary navy.

The Coming of the Damned
Several months before the eventual fall of Lordaeron, Borealis City was overrun by a disease of unknown origin, which suspiciously coincided with the spotting of the wizard Kel'Thuzad in the city's outskirts. Kel'Thuzad had taken a vial of fluid - a monstrous disease concocted by the Lich King, his new master - and poured it into Borealis' main water supply, poisoning the entire population.

Settra had been away at Fort Menethil, overseeing militia training and lumber operations, when word reached him of the mysterious disease in Borealis - and that the plague was spreading. Escorted by two of the finest members of the Borealis Militia, Settra left the region and travelled southwest, to Tirisfal Glades and the City of Lordaeron, presenting the news to King Terenas, High Priest Sekhesmet, and Tirisfal Magistrate Artimus Devaneaux, one of Sekhesmet's supporters. Believing it to be a plague of necromantic origin - as reports of rising corpses had reached him from Fort Menethil - Settra believed that it was the precursor to some kind of incursion. Settra was given a commission in the Alliance army as a general, and tasked with raising a force specifically intended to combat the undead. In addition, Sekhesmet sent his best student, Saavedro of Stratholme - himself a powerful High Priest of his adopted home city - to investigate the Borealis region. Saavedro returned confirming Settra's dire warnings, less than a week before he prepared to depart from Stratholme on his way back to Stormwind, where he had been living on-and-off for the last decade.

Borealis, however, was the first stepping stone for a much larger plan. The plague that had taken Borealis eventually spread. Its trade partner, Andorhal, fell to Kel'Thuzad's influence four months later - spreading infected grain to all of the northern towns, including the city of Stratholme. Eventually, Lordaeron City itself fell with the death of King Terenas, murdered by his own son, Prince Arthas.

Today
In the years following Arthas' betrayal and the fall of both Quel'Thalas and Lordaeron, Borealis has been relatively quiet - the legions of Scourge still wander the land, but no incursions have been made against the rest of the world, the legions used in the Scourge invasion following the return of Kel'Thuzad having been taken from the Western and Eastern Plaguelands, as well as from the halls of Naxxramas itself. The city of Borealis, now the Scourge center in the region, remains relatively intact - its defenses bolstered by six ziggurats built around the city walls. Anyone who could control the ziggurats could control Borealis, using it as a base of operations against the Scourge in Lordaeron.