Netherstorm

Netherstorm is a zone in northeastern Outland consisting of several large land fragments and countless smaller shards of rock all floating in the Twisting Nether. The region is locked in a constant magical storm. The Netherstorm is in a constant state of deterioration -- the magical storm that is the zone's namesake is slowly tearing apart the fabric of reality bridging the gap between the physical world and the Twisting Nether. Magical lightning arcs across the skies within a thick haze of violet cloud and bands of pure magical energy wrap their way across the sky.

Some of its wild creatures include nether rays, mana wyrms, and colossi. Several areas of the region have been influenced by goblins who perform research and experiments in the unique environment. Signs of their influence can be seen on the architecture of bridges and sign posts. They have erected a major base in the form of Area 52 on the southwestern island, and another smaller base in the east called Cosmowrench.

Five tremendous manaforges have been strategically built across the Netherstorm, siphoning mana from the Twisting Nether itself to be used to some insidious purpose by the blood elves led by Kael'thas.

The Netherstorm is home to two bands of ethereals named the Consortium and the Protectorate. Their main outposts are at the Stormspire and the Protectorate Watch Post respectively. Great magical domes constructed by the ethereals dominate the view from nearly any point in the region. Within these domes, the ethereals work to preserve an environment that is to the liking of their flesh-based clients.

The Burning Legion has also taken a stake in the zone. They have established two principal bases, Forge Base: Oblivion and Forge Base: Gehenna, and have overrun the Arklon and Farahlon Ruins. Their representatives can also be found nearly anywhere that Kael'thas' blood elves exist, namely the Mana Forges spread across the region.

The Eye of the Storm is a battleground that is theoretically situated within the zone.

History
The region of Netherstorm was a verdant open range called the Fields of Farahlon until Draenor was ripped apart by Ner'zhul's dimensional portals. . It used to be where the Laughing Skull Clan had their holdings, but when Ner'zhul opened his portals, the land was torn apart, and is now a series of suspended islands floating loosely in the Twisting Nether. The problem has been further exacerbated by the Mana Forges. The more pure energy the Forges produce, the more unstable the region becomes. If the Forges are not dealt with soon, the entirety of Outland may be completely destroyed.

Worldofwarcraft.com says the following about the Netherstorm:

''The region of Netherstorm was a verdant open range called the Fields of Farahlon until Draenor was ripped apart. Normally imperceptible to mortals, the Twisting Nether bled into the physical realm and unleashed a tumultuous arcane storm that warped the surrounding territory. The blood elves are now using the technology of a captured naaru vessel to harness the storm's magic, further compromising the already unstable land.''

Geography
The region known as the Netherstorm is comprised of the lands situated on seven relatively large floating islands and thousands of smaller rock fragments interspersed amongst them, which are the remnants of the once-lush Fields of Farahlon. The original color of the rock is unknown, but since the deterioration of the land began, the bedrock and soil have assumed a sickly purple color that supports absolutely no plant life (barring netherbloom). As the original land mass was ripped apart and warped into its current state, great fissures opened and jagged, lopsided spires and platforms of rock were thrust upward. Like many other regions of Outland, great floating islands hover unnaturally above the landscape, some found spinning listlessly hundreds of feet above the surface.

By land, the Netherstorm can only be entered by crossing the goblin-built Gyro-Plank Bridge which spans the gap between the eastern border of the Blade's Edge Mountains and the Netherstorm's westernmost island. A short hike down the road from the bridge leads to the goblin outpost of Area 52 where the goblins under Rocket-Chief Fuselage work to perfect their nether rocket technology.

Several draenei ruins also populate the region. The Ruins of Enkaat lie to the northwest of Area 52 and are inhabited by the restless spirits of fallen draenei who once lived there. The Arklon Ruins further to the east are inhabited by demons of the Burning Legion hunting for draenei artifacts of power. In the far north of the Netherstorm lie the Ruins of Farahlon, also infested with powerful demons.

The Burning Legion has several holding in the region in addition to the draenei ruins. Forge Bases: Gehenna and Oblivion, dedicated to the construction of monstrous Fel Reavers see scores of demons working furiously to construct the reavers. Invasion Point: Overlord and Invasion Point: Destroyer are sites dedicated to the summoning of powerful demonic reinforcements. The Legion's commander in the region, Socrethar, has taken over the entirety of the smallest of the major islands in the northwest. The island has gained the name Socrethar's Seat as a result.

On the northeastern side of the northeast island lies the Celestial Ridge, a great forest of arcane crystals and nesting grounds for a large number of nether dragons of the Netherwing faction. On the eastern side of the southernmost island is the human settlement Kirin'Var Village. Built as a base for many of the Kirin Tor mages that came through the Dark Portal at the conclusion of the Second War, it is now inhabited only by ghosts and strange magical apparitions.

One of the most notable features of the land are the five Manaforges scattered across the floating archipelago. Constructed by the forces of Kael'thas using naaru technology discovered in Tempest Keep, these abominable devices provide a potent source of arcane power to fuel Kael's insidious plans. Of the five, four of the Manaforges (Ara, Coruu, B'naar, and Duro) are operational and garrisoned by the Sunfury blood elves and a scattering of the Legion's demons. The fifth; Manaforge Ultris, has been destroyed and infested by shadowy void creatures. Two rival ethereal bands: the Ethereum and the Protectorate, vie for the rights to the potential profits that might be reaped from such a disaster. Great tube-like conduits that span the region channel the energies amassed by the Manaforges to Kael's seat of Tempest Keep in the east.

Finally, in the central and northern regions of the Netherstorm are the holdings of the ethereals of the Consortium. There they have constructed massive arcane domes inside of which they have engineered conditions favorable to plants and animals that could never survive in the Netherstorm otherwise. Known as Eco-Domes, they serve as lush oases in the arcane desert surrounding them. The southernmost, Midrealm, is home to creatures such as lynx, moths, and crocolisks. To the immediate north is the largest in the region, consisting of three conjoined eco-domes. Eco-domes Sutheron and Skyperch flank the Stormspire to the north and south. Adopting a series of draenei ruins atop a tall cliff, the ethereals have made the Stormspire the center of all Consortium activity in the Netherstorm and indeed in all of Outland. North of the Stormspire is the smallest of the domes, Eco-Dome Farfield. It is uninhabited by ethereals, but is home to several varieties of exotic dinosaurs.

Maps and subregions




Elite areas

 * Arklonis Ridge
 * Netherstone

Travel hubs

 * Area 52


 * The Stormspire


 * Cosmowrench

Resources
Cloth
 * Netherweave Cloth

Leather (Skinning):
 * Knothide Leather Scraps
 * Knothide Leather
 * Crystal Infused Leather
 * Fel Scales

Metals (Mining):
 * Inv ore feliron.png Fel Iron Deposit
 * Inv ore adamantium.png Adamantite Deposit
 * Inv ore adamantium.png Rich Adamantite Deposit
 * Inv ore khorium.png Khorium Vein

Other:
 * Arcane Vortex &rarr; Mote of Mana - Requires a Zapthrottle Mote Extractor (Engineering) to gather.

Netherstorms inhabitants

 * Air elementals
 * Arcane Guardians
 * Basilisks
 * Beholders
 * Blood elves
 * Colossi
 * Crocolisks
 * Devilsaurs
 * Doomguard
 * Dreadlords
 * Earth elementals
 * Eredar
 * Ethereals


 * Felbeasts
 * Fleshbeasts
 * Gan'arg
 * Ghosts
 * Hydras
 * Lashers
 * Lich
 * Lynxes
 * Magic elementals
 * Mana wyrms
 * Mo'arg
 * Moths
 * Nether dragons


 * Nether drakes
 * Nether rays
 * Oozes
 * Raptors
 * Rock flayers
 * Shivarra
 * Skeletal Horses
 * Talbuks
 * Void terrors
 * Voidwalkers
 * Warp stalkers
 * Wind serpents
 * Wrathguards

Notes, tips and additional info

 * Netherstorm features a unique way to die, as the ground is broken up into several pieces of land, each with a large crack leading down into the Twisting Nether. Watch where you step! Fortunately, should you run off into the great abyss you can resurrect on the ground about 20 yards in from the edge.