Darkshore

Darkshore is a long strip of coast on the northwestern part ofKalimdor. It is known for its characteristically shadowed woods and rocky beaches, littered with ancient ruins and mountainside caves. The night elves of Teldrassil claim the shore as part of their new kingdom, and sentinels patrol the road from the port of Auberdine towards Ashenvale to the south.

This rocky area stretches along Kalimdor's north coast. Rains, winds and rocky beaches make the place inhospitable. Old night elf ruins stand crumbling on the cliffs, and murlocs and naga lurk within. The night elf village of Auberdine serves as a friendly trading post.[1]

The region is not without dangers, however. Aggressive wildlife roams the grassy hills and stalks among the dark trees. The ruined cities of the night elves are infested with nagas,satyrs, grells and haunting ghosts, and cultists of the Dark Strand and Twilight's Hammer ambush unwary travelers from their hideouts beyond the road. Even the seas are unsafe, as bloodthirsty frenzies, gigantic threshadons, and hostilemurlocs lurk beneath the waves.

History
Darkshore was once one of the most prosperous regions of the Kaldorei empire, and great cities such as Ameth'Aran and Bashal'Aran were the pinnacle of civilization at that time. Much of the coastline was destroyed in the Sundering, and it was many years before the night elves began to rebuild in the area.[2]

After the Sundering, some night elves settled in the continent's northern reaches, on and near Mount Hyjal, including the port at the mountain's northern foot. The night elves left Darkshore in the course of the Third War, moving to the safety of Mount Hyjal and the Moonglade. A small number of night elves have returned to the cold and desolate beach to revive the port. They dwell in the village ofAuberdine and currently use it as a ferry outpost. The remainder of the seaside is left in ruins.

The road within Darkshore.

Darkshore covers northwestern Kalimdor, and the tainted land of Felwood rises to Hyjal to the southeast. The rocky cliffs, sandy soil, and ever-present sea mist ensure that little worth noting grows in Darkshore. Kelp, seaweed, and rocks litter the beaches, and a few sparse trees dot the landscape away from the beach. Once a thriving night elf settlement, it is little more than a desolate beach dotted with ruined buildings. The weather is cold and stormy much of the time, with a wicked wind stirring up the waves. Rain and fog are prevalent for a good part of the year, allowing only the most talented sailors to navigate the dangerous waters. Shipwrecks of the less talented litter the shallower waters and beach. The night elves currently living in Darkshore have focused their attention on rebuilding Auberdine. Most of the town is made up of new buildings, as the night elves cleared away the ruins they could not restore. Many ruins remain outside Auberdine, and harsh winds and salt water continue to corrode the once sturdy buildings. These worn pillars and crumbling structures are not totally abandoned - stories abound that murlocs and naga are slowly taking the ruins for their own.

The night elves have a limited presence in Darkshore. They spend much of their time keeping the area directly around the port town of Auberdine safe. The night elves subsist mainly on what they can catch in the ocean and what they can get through trade. When not fighting one another, naga and murlocs that lurk elsewhere in the ruins of Darkshore attack any travelers who look like easy pickings. Furbolgs inhabit a series of caves beneath the port. Uncultured but friendly to night elves in the past, their time in the ruins has turned many of them feral.[3]

Geography
Darkshore consists of a long strip of coastline in northwestern Kalimdor. It is sheltered to the east by mountains, which protect the wildlife in Darkshore from most the taint of the Felwood. Unfortunately the taint has spread into Darkshore via the various rivers flowing through the zone from their sources in Felwood; bringing the taint with them which is turning the land grey and dead, and poisoning the wildlife and furbolgs with an insatiable rage. Between the mountains and the beach lies a forest consisting mainly of evergreens. To the south, the forest thickens and the mountains recede, leading into the deep wilderness of Ashenvale.