Teldrassil

Teldrassil is an island and great tree off Kalimdor's northern coast. It is the new home of the reclusive night elves and a stunning testament to the power of their magic and connection with nature.

In recent times, the night elves have moved their capital to an island off northwest Kalimdor. It was here that the Circle of the Ancients and the wise druids pooled their power to create another World Tree, but on a smaller scale. They called this tree Teldrassil (“crown of the earth”) and built their city of Darnassus in its branches. The island takes the name of the "tree" as well, and a twilit forest now covers it.

Teldrassil is truly massive, a huge trunk rising out of the sea and holding the entire night elf homeland, and the capital of Darnassus, in its boughs. The new tree was not blessed by the Aspects at it's birth, unlike its predecessor. However, at Malfurion's and Tyrande's wedding, Alexstrasza and Ysera finally gave Teldrassil their blessing. The behemoth of a tree dwarfs Nordrassil, large enough that a decent amount of land has emerged atop its gargantuan limbs. Trees, flora, and fauna are now verdantly spreading across the magical tree.

Teldrassil sees very little PvP action because Horde players have to cross through Rut'Theran Village and Darnassus. Prior to Cataclysm, the only way for Horde players to get to Teldrassil itself was via ship from Auberdine (also Night-Elf controlled) on mainland Kalimdor. Most other starting areas are directly accessible by the opposing faction without such obstacles. (Since the release of Cataclysm, Horde players can reach Teldrassil via flying mount from northern Darkshore.)

History
After the cataclysmic events that followed the invasion of the Burning Legion, went missing. Archdruid took over the leadership of the night elven druids, convincing the Circle of the Ancients in Darkshore that it was time for the night elven people to rebuild the World Tree and regain their cherished immortality. However, his plan failed because, the source of the night elves immortality, did not bless the tree.

The Circle of the Ancients and powerful druids combined their powers to grow an immense tree in the Veiled Sea. They called the tree Teldrassil, meaning "crown of the earth" in Darnassian. The night elves made their new home in the boughs of Teldrassil, creating a forest of mighty trees and flowing rivers, bathed in the endless night that fell over the lands of the elves from the dawn of time.

However, the calm of the enchanted forest has slowly fallen into the shadow of a sinister presence. Crazed furbolgs, satyrs and fouler beasts have appeared in Teldrassil, occupying all the attention of the vigilant Sentinels and the wise druids to ensure the safety of their new home. The source of this corruption remained a mystery for some time, until the conflict of the Emerald Nightmare spilled into the waking world.

Malfurion, upon arriving at Darnassus, discovered that a remnant of a great evil he had sealed away had attached itself to Teldrassil. This corrupted the tree and drove it mad, spreading its evil to everything around it. The archdruid managed to remove this parasite, and eventually restored the tree to what it once was. , impressed that the tree could prosper alone without her influence or her kin's, blessed it belatedly. She and later gave a second blessing during the wedding of Malfurion and. The tree flourishes even more under the gifts from the Life-Binder and She of the Dreaming, even if still being unable to return the night elves' immortality due to the continued absence of any blessing from.

Of late, Teldrassil’s recovery has slowed, and signs of the Nightmare’s corruption have resurfaced. Already burdened by political tension and the vast destruction unleashed by the Cataclysm, the night elves must now ascertain the cause of their beloved World Tree’s ailment and refocus their efforts on the dire situation facing Azeroth.

Geography
The majority of Teldrassil's upper reaches is open forest and it resembles a mid-sized forested island. Darnassus takes up a large chunk on the western side of this island, while the smaller cities of Aldrassil and Dolanaar dot the remaining forest. All forms of terrain exist here, including streams, full-sized lakes, and a few hills that might be considered mountains. The waterways were created and continues to be fed only by the dew collected by the massive World Tree, and the night elves manipulated the waterways around Darnassus to maintain them and the splendor of the Temple Gardens.

The entire zone of Teldrassil is in fact one huge tree, grown on an island off the coast of Kalimdor. As such, there are no ore deposits to speak of here and the night elves are not known as crafty blacksmiths or miners. However, because the tree is so full of life, herbs are numerous.

Teldrassil contains no dungeons, raid dungeons, micro dungeons, or battlegrounds. It is the starting area for the night elves and contains a very sheltered 1-5 leveling area, Shadowglen. The night elf capital city of Darnassus can also be found in this zone, though the travel hub is actually located at Rut'theran Village (accessible by portal from Darnassus).

At the tree's base there are some pieces of wooded land between its roots, one of which has an abandoned furbolg house on it, as well as Rut'theran Village.

Although Teldrassil is only the size of a mid-sized island in width, its sheer height rivals any other island. It has been described as an "island continent". Another reference in the book and other sources simply call it an island.

Maps and subregions



 * A detailed area map (lists all creatures).
 * A topographic map of Teldrassil.

Travel hubs
Rut'theran Village is connected to Darnassus by a portal. Players can also reach Rut'theran Village by boat from Stormwind or Valaar's Berth, which is the only way for Horde players to get onto the island, Except for swimming across using Swim speed potions and Health potions, But is not recommended.

Flight paths from Dolanaar

 * Darnassus, Teldrassil

Flight paths from Darnassus

 * Dolanaar, Teldrassil
 * Rut'theran Village, Teldrassil

Flight paths from Rut'theran Village

 * Darnassus, Teldrassil
 * Lor'danel, Darkshore
 * The Exodar, Azuremyst Isle

Boat destinations from Rut'theran Village

 * Stormwind, Elwynn Forest
 * Lor'danel, Darkshore
 * Valaar's Berth, Azuremyst Isle

Notable characters
Teldrassil is home to several night elves of status. From the top of the tree Aldrassil, sends promising young elves out into the outside world. In Dolanaar, leads the effort to fight back the corrupted furbolgs and satyr of the Great Tree, while in his small tent near Lake Al'Ameth,  seeks to understand the nature of the strange affliction, seeping into Teldrassil.

Quests
The first quests are simple, like in every other starting zone.

One of the most important quests for new night elf adventurers in Teldrassil is the quest chain. In this chain, night elves are sent to gather water from moonwells scattered all over the island. Each time they return with the moonwell water, they learn a little more of the night elf history. Other important quests include the quest chain, in which adventurers must help investigate a corruption of the timberlings of Teldrassil, and the  chain, which deals with the corruption of the local furbolg population.

Cataclysm


Teldrassil has been moved closer to Darkshore, and Rut'theran Village has been destroyed. A new village has been built on an island separate from the main tree.

With the Flight Master's License implemented, it is now trivial for any level 60 Horde and up to bypass both Rut'theran Village and Darnassus by flying up the side of Teldrassil. With Teldrassil's shifting of location, it is also possible to use a flying mount with Expert Riding to fly across the deep water separating Rut'theran Village and the mainland of Darkshore.

Areas affected :


 * Dolanaar – flight path added
 * Gnarlpine Hold – filled with corrupted mobs that swarm down the hill towards the Pools to fight the ancients
 * Lake Al'Ameth – Strange Fruited Plant from Gnarlpine Hold has been moved here
 * Rut'theran Village – half destroyed; boat to Stormwind City sails from here
 * Shadowglen – target dummies and mailbox added
 * Other – both Denalan and Rellian Greenspyre appear to exist in two places at once – where the Skinning/LW trainers are there is a place where both of them are together - this is likely due to Blizzard's desire to cut down on some quests' travel time

Videos
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Resources



 * Cloth:
 * Linen Cloth
 * Herbs:
 * Peacebloom
 * Silverleaf
 * Earthroot
 * Mageroyal
 * Swiftthistle
 * Leather:
 * Ruined Leather Scraps
 * Light Leather

Wild creatures



 * Beasts:
 * Boars
 * Nightsabers
 * Owls
 * Spiders
 * Humanoids:
 * Timberlings
 * Satyrs
 * Worgen
 * Furbolgs
 * Grells
 * Harpies

Trivia

 * While Teldrassil looks like a baobab with a thick trunk in World of Warcraft (its branches can't be seen), it looks more like a regular tree in art, and will resemble such in Warcraft. The possible reason it looks like this in-game is because the engine is based completely off height-mapping, which heavily limits terrain possibilities. The map for Darnassus in Cataclysm seems to imply that Teldrassil is a stump.


 * Blizzard originally said the name of the island where Teldrassil was grown was named Kalidar on a preview website. It was also seen as Kalidar in the World of Warcraft DVD.


 * Teldrassil's name, like that of Nordrassil, is probably taken from "Yggdrasil", the World Ash tree of Norse mythology