User:Zillen/Night of the Dream

World of Warcraft: Night of the Dream

Introduction
It has been many months since the wise and powerful druid Malfurion Stormrage broke free from his seemingly endless slumber, returning just in time to protect the world from the wrath of Deathwing. His efforts in defeating the corrupted Aspect have earnt him even more respect than his past acts of heroism, and even the Horde grudgingly praises his valor and determination. But no amount of celebration, or even the joy of being reunited with his love Tyrande Whisperwind has been able to distract him from the turmoil within. While he managed to break free of the grasp of the mysterious Emerald Nightmare, a part of him is still ensnared within the corrupted depths of the Dream. he has valiantly fought to regain control, but there is seemingly no way to restore his shattered soul. The Nightmare has reached out to bring him back into the darkened realm of nature and life, and its corruption is spreading throughout all the Druids of Azeroth. Sickness, fatigue, and even insanity has spread quickly throughout their ranks, and every day more and more are sucumbing to the Nightmare, sinking into endless sleep to become another soldier in the Army of the Nightmare. Some have gone to extreme measures to try and rid themselves of their curse, but all attempts have failed, some only fueling the sorcerous plague. Tensions have risen between the Alliance and the Horde as they argue over their last resort; killing the link to the Nightmare, killing Malfurion Stormrage.

But the people of Azeroth refuse to see their hero die. And their hesitation will shatter the fabric of nature itself.

For the Nightmare has finally triumphed. Malfurion Stormrage has been dragged screaming back into its clutches, and with his power at its disposal, the Nightmare has conquered the Emerald Dragonflight at last. His once-again slumbering body shakes with the taint, and the temple it lies in has been overrun by sinister forces from within. The Wyrmrest Accord has lost all contact with Ysera and her kin, and now the shattered Bronze, Blue, Black and Red Flights are alone with only Alexstrasza to guide them. Malygos and Deathwing are dead, Ysera is lost, and Nozdormu has disappeared into the far reaches of time. The Dragon race is now truly broken, and their last hope to save their kind lies in the mortal champions of Azeroth.

But they are running out of time. The killing of the tainted Emerald guardians Emeriss, Lethon, Ysondre and Taerar has only further opened the Portals into the Dream, and the corruption is spreading forth to taint the world around them. The Guardians themselves have been resurrected through forgotten magics condemned by Dragonkind, and free of their devotion to their sacred duties they have set out across Azeroth to attack at the heart of civillisation. There is only one way to stop the disaster before the Nightmare, its Armies and Malfurion himself emerge to destroy the world. The mortal races must travel forth, into the lair of the enemy.

They must travel forth into the Emerald Dream.

Features

 * New Hero Class: Dreamlord
 * New "continent"-The Emerald Dream-for levels 85 to 90.
 * Darnassus changed permanently
 * All zones featuring an Emerald Portal (such as Ashenvale and the Hinterlands) changed, new enemies and quests
 * Rare attacks on Orgrimmar and Stormwind from the four Emerald Guardians
 * New Dream Mounts-usable in the Emerald Dream, even when dead.

The Emerald Dream
With the invasion of Azeroth by the evil Emerald Nightmare just over the horizon, the Alliance and the Horde have been forced to retaliate, and strike at the heart of the enemy. The champions of their many races must travel into the terrifyingly corrupted realm of life, fight against the Nightmare, sabotage its armies attacks against their homeworld, and free the Emerald Dragonflight and the tainted Druids from the clutches of the Nightmare's Master.

It is made up of several zones, as listed below.

1. The Glade of Life (Levels 85-86)

The "starting region" of the Emerald Dream. Heroes will enter through the Emerald Gate, a portal constructed by Alexstrasza herself at Wyrmrest Temple. Once inside the Dream, the soldiers of Azeroth will find their help is much needed as the last rebellious renegades of the Emerald Dragonflight protect the Emerald Gate. They must first help to break through the Nightmare's siege on the portal, before staging a counterattack at the enemy's strongholds throughout the Glade. Once the Glade of Life is secured by the armies of the Horde and Alliance, the war on the Nightmare can fully begin. Creatures of the Nightmare encountered here generally take on powerful and corrupted appearances of normal animals in Azeroth, to disguise their real potential.

2. The Palace of Dreams (Mainly Level 90)

While the endgame quests and instances in the zone are not available until level 90, the Palace of Dreams zone acts as a major hub for adventurers, and leads into all other zones throughout the Emerald Dream. The Alliance and Horde have several large settlements throughout the huge, zone-wide ruins with quests directing adventurers to zones appropriate to their level, and in the centre of the zone is the main Palace of Dreams. It contains the entrances to the xpansion's final and hardest dungeons and raids, and is a very dark, sinister and lonely-feeling environment. There are very little quests that contribute to the storyline here, it mostly serves as an endgame hub and a crossroads between the other zones.

3. The Cavern of Growth (Levels 86-87

The Cavern of Growth is set in a huge, open, earthy cavern that contains the roots of Azeroth's greatest trees. The spirits of nature inhabit this area, and as many of them have been corrupted by the Nightmare, they will be one of the unique enemies that adventurers face as well as the familiar Nightmare armies. This zone, being as large and open as it is, will have certain dedicated PvP areas where players of different factions can engage each other in combat. Aside from PvP, the main goal of this zone is to help purge the many huge, ancient and mystical roots of Azeroth's wildernesses of the corruption. This task will eventually lead them to the massive roots of the famous World Tree Nordrassil, which are so huge they contain their own labyrinth of corridors and rooms formed from bark and branches.

If they are to heal these great roots of the corruption before it spreads up through them into Hyjal, then the heroes must venture into the twisting chambers within and cut away the foul presence at its core.

4. The Pool of Beginnings (Levels 87-88)

The Pool of Beginnings is composed of a single, huge lake which shelters the spirits of Azeroth's aquatic creatures before they are born and after they die. It is littered with small islands, underwater towers and fortresses and many varying species of ghostly, exotic water-dwelling animals. It is a very colourful zone, with underwater plantlife and coral to be seen everywhere. The Pool is shrouded in an eternal sunset to resemble the beginning of a new day. A small questline will prepare a player for this zone, with them even getting to dive down into lake and choose one of the creatures in the Pool (as long as they are within reach of the player-bringing breathing into consideration) to be their Guide. A Guide acts as an aquatic 'Spirit Mount", and enables the player to breath underwater. this enable them to explore the entire zone. The main questline will then focus on them trying to repair "The Breaches", huge whirlpool-style cracks in the Pool left over from the Cataclysm that the Nightmare are exploiting. Once the adventurers have made sealed the Breaches and prevented the corruption from spreading to Azeroth's oceans, they must defend the new defenses from being destroyed by the horrifically mutated sea creatures possessed by the Nightmare.

5. The Forest of Mystery (Levels 88-89)

The Forest of Mystery is the place from which the Emerald Guardians have watched over the portals to Azeroth since the Dream's creation. Due to the fact that the four infamous Guardians are under the sway of the Nightmare, the Portals are unguarded, with the corruption pouring through the portals into the various zones they link to. Proceeding through the zone to the Clearing, the players will find the Keeper. he is the overseer of the Guardians, but has been imprisoned in the Clearing with his life being drained out of him to fuel the tainted Portals. He will give players the majority of the zone's quests, and by following his instructions, adventurers will travel forth to each of the portal's, piece together the Lives of each of the Guardians, and summon each of them through the Portal to defeat them one last time. By restoring their body with their souls, the Guardians shall finally pass on and the Portals will close, allowing the Keeper to go and help free the rest of his Flight.

6. The Vale of Death (Levels 89-90)

The Vale of Death is the huge, misty grassland which the souls of evil creatures travel to to redeem themselves. Unfortunately, the Nightmare's corruption has also spread into the Vale, enslaving the souls and rendering them unable to repay their debts to nature and pass on. Adventurers must go forth, free several notable Emerald Dragons from their prisons, and work with them to free the souls of Azeroth's innocent animals before they are drafted into the Nightmare's growing legions. The Vale has a mysterious, disturbing feel, highlighted with shades of black and purple throughout the plantlife and sky. Players will be able to talk with various spirits to hear their stories, and small subquests will sometimes be available, allowing the player to help some noteworthy spirits repent their sins against nature.

The Vale of Death is the penultimate zone in the expansion. Once the Nightmare has been cleansed from the area, and the flow of souls returned to normal, players will be directed by a lieutenant of the Emerald Dragonflight back to the Palace of Dreams, where they will engage in the final epic questline to free Ysera from the Nightmare.

New Hero Class: Dreamlord
The Dreamlord is the new Hero Class in WoW: Night of the Dream. Any race that is already compatible with the Druid class can become one, but similiar to the the Death Knight class they must already have a level 65 character on any realm to make one. The starting questline for Dreamlords will see them being freed from the corruption of the Nightmare and on their way to serve the Alliance and the Horde again, and by the end of the quests they will have reached level 68 and have appropriately powerful armour and weapons, making them perfectly eligible to get started on Northrend. Below is a small introduction to a Dreamlord's story.

''The druids fought long and hard against the corruption of the Emerald Nightmare. The majority managed to remain pure from its taint, despite its link to the geat Malfurion Stormrage. Some druids, however, did not escape the dark power spreading into nature through the Archdruid, and the power of the Nightmare has poisoned them beyond recovery. Their powers, once tools of nature and growth used to protect the wilds of Azeroth, have become twisted beyond measure, utilising the same forsaken magics as the Nightmare to fulfill their disturbing new ends. These druids have been dragged now into the eternal rest of the Dream, and while their untainted brothers work to try and cleanse them of their curse, their spirits are locked within the Emerald Dream, yet more soldiers in the Nightmare's vast army...

But there is hope for these warped beings. In a desperate attempt to free these so called 'Dreamlords' from the quagmire of the Dream, some of the remaining Druids have taken the greatest risk, and delved into the realm of nature themselves. If they succeed, if they manage to break through the haze clouding the visions of the aspiring Dreamlords, then perhaps these lost Druids can be reclaimed from the Nightmare, free to use their new and strange powers to aid Azeroth in its defense.''

Darnassus changed
For ages, the elven city of Darnassus has been as quiet as the grave. No where else is the Night Elves' suspicion and reclusiveness better portrayed than its lonely streets and tranquil temples. The heroes of the Alliance have long preferred the more impressive, stalwart cities of Stormwind and Ironforge as their base of operations...but now this long-abandoned realm has come under attack from a force literally out of their darkest Nightmare. And some changes have been made to accomodate this...

For a start, the home city of the Kaldorei has come under attack, not from outside, but from within. With the Nightmare's corruption having finally conquered the tormented Malfurion Stormrage, his body has become little more than a link to the darkened Emerald Dream. The taint has manifested itself in the creation of a new, unnatural gateway to the realm of nature, and more terrifying creatures of the Nightmare's army pour out every day to assault the city's defenses. With the place where Stormrage lies, the Temple of Stars, overrun by the malicious prescence, those who would try to aid him have been forced to flee, with the halls of the Temple barricaded from outside.

Indeed, the whole of Darnassus has been drastically changed, and with more breaches in the barricades every day, the residents of the city have been forced to call in some outside military help. The humans of Stormwind have come to Teldrassil, and their renovations are clearly visible. Stone walls where there were trees, fortifications where there were ancient roots, and a constant patrol of soldiers guarding the Temple at all times has transformed the atmosphere of this once peaceful city. And to add to the chaos, many other citizens of the Alliance have also come here, seeking to exploit the situation for their own unknown means...with promises of outstanding rewards for any who might help them on their way.

There's a lot new to be done in the city of the Elves, and it will be up to the heroes of the Alliance to sort it all out.

Dream Mounts
Ever since civillisation spun into motion, the races of Azeroth have travelled. There are many dangerous lands between each faction's various settlements, and most prefer to traverse these rugged territories as quickly and painlessly as possible. Long ago it was decided that the beasts of the world could make both suitable companions AND trusty steeds throughout their magnificent lives, and (with the exception of the eccentric gnomes) they have been used as mounts ever since. But there are some places that even the most loyal creature cannot accompany its master into, and no where is this fact more obvious than in World of Warcraft: Night of the Dream.

To the beasts of Azeroth, entry into the Emerald Dream is not a matter of choice-it is a natural process in their lives. Eventually all animals must fade away, and their spirits will inevitably pass into the realm of nature and life to live out the rest of eternity. Taking this into account, adventurers wishing to aid the battle against the vicious Emerald Nightmare will have to leave their bestial friends behind, a heartbreaking (and inconvenient) occurrence indeed. But true heroes need not fear disaster-a unique method of transportation awaits those brave enough to find it.

As aforementioned, the spirits of all animals enter the Dream when they die, and while many have been tainted by the corruption of the Nightmare, a certain amount remain pure, and ready for excitement. For adventurers willing to fight for their right to ride again, these "Dream Mounts" present a welcome opportunity...

Any wishing to claim these mounts will first need to convince the noble creature that they are indeed worthy to be called its master. And these wild souls will definitely put up a fight...

Possible Raids and Dungeons
Towers of Fear (Level 85) The Towers of Fear will be the first instances available to adventurers upon arrival in the Glade of Life. There will be four wings in total, with the first three being normal dungeon wings for level 85s. They will be entered in order, similar to the system used for the Frozen Halls (WotLK), and the area is phased to represent one's progress through the wings. The final tower wing will act as a beginner level 90 raid. The wings are listed in correct order below.

1. The Fortifications The first wing of the Towers of Fear. Led by Overlord Saurfang, adventurers must work to compromise the defenses of the retreating Nightmare Army. After escorting the Horde Demolitionists to the Tower's Main Doors, the group will need to defend the brave workers from the desperate attackers led by the horrific monstrosity Lieutenant Skream. Once inside, the party will then need to make their way through the corridors and staircases twisting through the Fortifications and make their way onto the Dark Wall, from the top of which the Nightmare Army is raining down artillery on your faction's soldiers. Once the Gunning Crew and their terrifying metal leader Captain Blaste has been put out of commission, the bravest of heroes shall ascend to the Watchway. It is on this great platform overlooking the epic battle below that they will finally encounter the sinister leader of the defensive force. Appearances can definitely be deceiving, and it will take real teamwork to triumph against the time-twisting powers of the evil Dr. What.

2. The Armory Now that their faction's forces are well and truly inside the Towers, adventurers will have to go undercover once again in their bid to sabotage the enemy's counterattacks. Disguised by dark magics as members of the Nightmare Army, adventurers will infiltrate the Prisons, carefully assassinating each of the guards before freeing the enslaved soldiers of the Horde and Alliance. Once these liberated warriors provideb a distraction, adventurers shall continue on their secret mission, making their way through each section of the Armory performing acts of sabotage and silent death. After clearing the area out, these heroes must finally make their way to the Dream Labs. There they will encounter Overseer Morsondre, a corrupted Emerald Dragon who has been forced to carry out horrific experiments on the natives of Azeroth, the Emerald Dream...even his own kind. Only when he is defeated will his abominative creations cease to pour forth from the labs, rendering the Armory pure at last.

(Note: This is a very unique dungeon concept. This is because for the most part of it, players will not be able to attack any enemy at all without thought. It requires careful timing to assassinate the enemies, and players may need to wait for their prey to move out of sight before they can strike against them. There can be dire consequences if the player's fail to go undetected, and one small incident can draw the attention of many, many attackers...it is a rather short dungeon however, with only one boss, and should be easy to manage for the patient group. Players can split up to speed up their progress, and individual assassinations can drastically decrease the length of the run.)

Final Notes
''Thank you for reading this expansion idea. Concept created by Zillen, a US-Bloodscalp Death Knight. Not intended to infringe on any legal material in any way stated by or related to Blizzard Entertainment or any other game studio or fictional concept. Written solely for fun and from my own ideas.''