Teldrassil

Teldrassil
Level: 1 - 10 Battle Pet Level: 1 - 2
A view of Teldrassil
Capital(s)	Darnassus
Races	Night elf  Highborne  Furbolg  Dryad  Human  Harpy  Satyr  Worgen
Government	Elected council, Theocracy
Ruler(s)	High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind  Arch-Druid Malfurion Stormrage
Major settlements	Dolanaar Aldrassil
Minor settlements	Rut'theran Village
Languages	Darnassian, Common, Ursine
Faiths	Ancients, druidism, Elune
Resources	Gold, hunting, leather, timber
Affiliation	Darnassus, Alliance
Former affiliation(s)	Emerald Nightmare
Location	Veiled Sea, Northern Kalimdor
PvP status	Alliance territory

Teldrassil (pronounced TELL-druh-sill) is an island extended from the second World Tree situated off Kalimdor's northwestern 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. The behemoth of a tree now dwarfs even Nordrassil, and is 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 holds the entire night elf homeland and its capital, Darnassus, in its boughs. This land shares the tree's name and is covered in twilit forest. The new tree was not blessed by the Aspects at its birth, unlike its predecessor, which left it vulnerable to corruption. However, just before the Cataclysm, it did receive the blessings of Alexstrasza and Ysera.

In World of Warcraft, Teldrassil serves as the starting zone for night elves. Unlike most starting zones, Teldrassil sees little PvP action because, barring flying mounts, Horde players have to cross through Rut'theran Village and Darnassus. Prior to Cataclysm, the only way for Horde players to get to Teldrassil was via ship from Auberdine.

History

Teldrassil concept art for the Warcraft movie.

Birth

After the cataclysmic events of the second invasion of the Burning Legion, Malfurion Stormrage became trapped in the Emerald Dream. In Malfurion's absence, Archdruid Fandral Staghelm took over leadership of the night elven druids, and convinced the Circle of the Ancients in Darkshore that it was time for the night elves to create a new World Tree and regain their immortality.

The Circle of the Ancients and the wise druids led by Fandral 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 of Darnassus 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 tree did not restore the night elves' immortality; Nozdormu, whose blessing on Nordrassil had been the source of their immortality, saw the night elves' wish as arrogant and refused to bless Teldrassil.

World of Warcraft

This section concerns content related to the original World of Warcraft.

Over time, the land atop Teldrassil fell into the shadow of a sinister presence. Local creatures such as furbolgs and grell went mad, and satyrs appeared, intent on further corrupting the land. Giant turtles and threshers known to inhabit the waters surrounding Teldrassil began fleeing the tree to beach themselves and die on Darkshore. The source of this corruption remained a mystery for some time, until the conflict of the Emerald Nightmare spilled into the waking world.

Stormrage

This section concerns content related to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

After Malfurion was freed from the Emerald Nightmare, he flew to Darnassus, and discovered that a remnant of a great evil had been grafted into Teldrassil by Fandral. By grafting Xavius' fel-tainted branch into Teldrassil, Fandral had given Xavius, as well as the evil behind his transformation into the Nightmare Lord, a tie to both Azeroth and the Emerald Dream.

Malfurion managed to remove the corrupt branch and eventually restore the tree to a state closer to what it originally should have been. Alexstrasza, impressed that the tree could prosper alone without her influence or her kin's, blessed it belatedly. She and Ysera later gave a second blessing during the wedding of Malfurion and Tyrande Whisperwind--a blessing which protects Teldrassil to this day. The tree flourished even more under the gifts from the Life-Binder and the Dreamer, though it still cannot return the night elves' immortality without a blessing from Nozdormu.

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

Around the time of the Cataclysm, the worgen arrived to the cleansed Teldrassil. When Malfurion Stormrage checked the heart of the World Tree, there was no apparent corruption. The archdruid however, remained vigilant as he knew that pockets of the taint remained in the Emerald Dream, so Teldrassil was still vulnerable.

Some time later, Teldrassil's recovery slowed, and signs of the Nightmare's corruption resurfaced. Though already burdened by political tension and the vast destruction unleashed by the Cataclysm, the night elves worked to find the cause of their World Tree's ailment. They discovered that this was no new corruption, but lingering remnants of the original corruption, being pushed out by Teldrassil itself. With the corruption having been buried deep within Teldrassil, it would have been impossible to strike at the source without killing the world tree itself, but the Aspects' blessing allowed Teldrassil to force the taint to the surface in a form that the night elves could destroy. The Bough of Corruption was the one last remnant of Xavius on Teldrassil, and was the source of the  [Fel Moss] that tainted the gnarlpine, the timberlings, and other creatures.

Geography

File:Teldrassil Traveler.jpg

Teldrassil in World of Warcraft: Traveler.

File:Idrassil.jpeg

Teldrassil (Artwork originally labeled as Idrassil).

The majority of Teldrassil's upper reaches resembles a mid-sized forested island. Darnassus occupies 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, lakes, and a few hills that might be considered mountains. The waterways were created and continue to be fed by the dew collected by the massive World Tree, and the night elves manipulated the waterways around Darnassus to maintain 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 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 dwarfs many other islands. It has been described in the RPG as a both an "island continent" and simply an island.

Maps and subregions

Teldrassil map

Teldrassil from the comic.

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

Travel hubs

Teldrassil from the comic.

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.

This is also the only way for Horde players below level 60 to get to the island by themselves. One can attempt swimming from Darkshore using Swim Speed Potions and health potions, but this 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
• Valaar's Berth, Azuremyst Isle

Adjacent regions

Zone Name	Faction	Level Range	Direction	Access
Azuremyst Isle		1-10	Southwest	By boat from Rut'theran Village.
Darkshore		10-20	Southeast	By swimming (Not Recommended), free flightpath (Alliance only), or by flying mount.
Stormwind City		1-85	East	By boat from Rut'theran Village.

Notable characters

Main article: Teldrassil NPCs

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

Quests

Main article: Teldrassil storyline

Chapter 1: Shadowglen

This chapter continues the story of the night elves and Teldrassil from Stormrage.

The night elf hero began their quest in Shadowglen. The instructor Ilthalaine introduced himself and impressed upon the hero the importance of balance in nature. The spring rains led to an overpopulation of nightsabers in the surrounding area and Ilthalaine politely asked the hero to cull them a bit. Upon returning, the hero overheard Ilthalaine telling Huntress Sandrya Moonfall and Dentaria Silverglade that there were no new recruits ready yet. Without giving more details, Sandrya warned him that they were running out of time—a battle was fast approaching the roots of Teldrassil. Dentaria left Ilthalaine to his work and turned to the hero, telling them that their help in battle would be needed soon. Ilthalaine then sent the hero to collect fel moss from grellkin nearby, concerned that there is still lingering corruption within Teldrassil. The hero's return with the fel moss confirmed Ilthalaine's fears—there was still corruption within Teldrassil. Ilthalaine concluded that the hero was now ready to join the fight and sent them to their class trainer for further instruction.

After learning a few new abilities, the hero's trainer directed them to assist Dentaria Silverglade to the north of Aldrassil. Dentaria was pleased to see the new hero had progressed so quickly through their training and was ready to get to work. Dentaria asked the hero to gather rare flowers to help her cure their friend Iverron from the venom of the webwood spiders. While Iverron recuperated, Dentaria asked the hero to make contact with the dryad Tarindrella north of Aldrassil to investigate the spider threat. Tarindrella confirmed that the spiders still suffered from corruption—and further, were more susceptible to it than other wildlife on Teldrassil. She and the hero slew a great many of them and in doing this they discovered that the corruption was not the result of mind control or some other effect—it was due to the corruption of their broodmother Githyiss the Vile. Upon killing Githyiss, they discovered a furbolg totem—the Gnarlpine had installed a totem to corrupt the broodmother and her offspring that they would attack the nearby night elf settlements. Tarindrella brought the hero back to Dentaria to complete their training and departed to further investigate the source of the Gnarlpine corruption.

Dentaria sent the hero on a final mission to complete their training—learning some of the recent events in night elves' history. A ritual at the nearby moonwell helped the hero recall the recent events confronting their people—the Battle of Mount Hyjal in which the Burning Legion was defeated but night elves lost their immortality, the release of Illidan Stormrage from his prison and the disappearance of Malfurion Stormrage to the Emerald Dream. The ritual complete, Dentaria sent the hero to Tenaron Stormgrip with a vial of the waters of the moonwell—evidence that their training was completed. Tenaron agreed it was time for the hero to move on from basic training and begin addressing the issues of their people. Tenaron sent the hero on to Corithras Moonrage in Dolanaar.

Chapter 2: Council of the Forest

On the way to Dolanaar, the hero met the satyr Zenn Foulhoof who promised them "things you never dreamed of having" in return to a variety of "reagents" culled from the corpses of forest dwellers. When the hero returned with the items, Zenn revealed that they had been tricked and thanked the hero for being so gullible.

Upon arriving in Dolanaar, the hero was admonished by Sentinel Kyra Starsong, Syral Bladeleaf and Sentinel Shayla Nightbreeze who told them that their actions aiding Foulhoof had offended the Council of the Forest and demanded that the hero acquire some corrupted seeds to play a trick on Foulhoof to be redeemed. The hero collected the seeds and Zenn gobbled them up without hesitation. The ruse worked, and within moments Zenn was turned into a frog.

The success of the trick redeemed the hero in the eyes of the Council, which then asked the hero to attack Fel Rock which had been taken over by a small army of corrupted grellkin. Syral Bladeleaf asked the hero to purge the army while Tallonkai Swiftroot had a more specific target in mind—the satyr Lord Melenas who had marshalled them together. When the hero returned with Melenas' head the Council's agents thanked them and returned to their normal duties.

Sidestory: Reminders of Home

While in Dolanaar, a cooking supplies vendor Nyoma asked the hero to bring a recipe book to her friend Sister Aquinne, who is studying to become a Priestess of the Moon in Darnassus. Nyoma told the hero the easiest route to the capital would be to fly by hippogryph which they could arrange via the local flight master Fidelio. Fidelio told the hero that everyone in Dolanaar is so proud of Aquinne's devotion to Elune and gives the hero a suggestion of where they might find her in the city before sending the hero on their way. When the hero delivered the book Aquinne was ecstatic and promised to use it that very evening. Aquinne wrote a thank-you note and asked the hero to deliver it back to Nyoma. Leora, the flight master in Darnassus, explained to the hero the importance of meeting the flight master whenever they reach a new place so that they might arrange easy travel back there in the future. The hero then delivered the letter to Nyoma, who thanked the hero and lamented she hasn't had the opportunity yet to visit Aquinne in person yet.

Chapter 3: Starbreeze Village

Athridas Bearmantle in Dolanaar informed the hero of a troubling development. The warden of the nearby Ban'ethil Barrow Den--Gaerolas Talvethren—has not reported to him recently. Athridas asked the hero to investigate. Before the hero departed, Tallonkai asked the hero for another favor. He explained that he used to live in Starbreeze and when he left because of the increasing Gnarlpine activity he he left behind a good-luck charm, an emerald dreamcatcher which he had received from Gaerolas. The hero agreed to retrieve the amulet.

The hero arrived in Starbreeze to find the village ransacked by the Gnarlpine. Gaerolas was found mortally wounded by the furbolgs and pleaded with the hero to notify Athridas before the furbolgs could reach the barrow den as he would be unable to make it back. He identified their leader: Ursal the Mauler. The hero returned to Dolanaar after retrieving the Tallonkai's amulet and delivered the disturbing news to Athridas.

When the hero presented the amulet to him, Tallonkai noticed immediately it was missing its emerald. He surmises that the Gnarlpine mystic Ferocitas the Dream Eater must have it, and asks the hero to slay the furbolg to retrieve the gem on their next trip to Starbreeze. The hero agreed and returned with the gem.

Athridas warned the hero that the druids sleeping in the Ban'ethil Barrow Den would be forever trapped in the Emerald Dream if their physical bodies were to be killed while they are asleep. The hero set out to retrieve the tools necessary to peacefully break wake them so that they could flee safely. While collecting the items from the Barrow Den, the hero was attacked by the body of Oben Rageclaw, which the Gnarlpine had found a way to animate and use to attack intruders. The hero assisted Oben's spirit in determining how the Gnarlpine had done this and ultimately at Oben's request the hero slew his physical body.

When the hero returned to Athridas with the items, Athridas sent them to kill Ursal, the last remaining obstacle to saving the druids. With Ursal dead, Athridas was able to complete the ritual and the druids escaped safely.

Chapter 4: Lake Al'Ameth

Syral Bladeleaf notified the hero that package had arrived for Denalan, an herbalist with a camp near Lake Al'Ameth to the south and asked them to deliver it. Denalan thanked the hero for the package and asked for the hero's help investigating why the timberlings were becoming so violent when the healing of the world tree should have pacified them. The champion set out to collect timberling seeds and sprouts for Denalan's experiment to find the cause.

Denalan asked the hero to bring one of the specimens to his colleague Rellian Greenspyre to help the druid with his own efforts to purge the timberlings' corruption. Rellian thanked the hero for the seed but lamented that it was likely beyond his skill. The timberlings near Wellspring Lake to the north were the most corrupted in particular, and Rellian sent the hero to slay them and collect their mossy tumors so that they may be burned. Denalan suddenly arrived with important news: he had discovered that the corruption stemmed from Oakenscowl, a large timberling who had the largest tumor of all. The hero slew Oakenscowl and returned the gargantuan tumor to Denalan and Rellian for study.

Chapter 5: The Vengeance of Elune

Corithas Moonrage, after observing the hero's growing power and understanding, instructed the hero to visit the moonwell under the Oracle Tree for another vision. At the moonwell, the hero learned of Archdruid Fandral Staghelm, the leader of the Cenarion Circle and the most powerful druid in Azeroth after Malfurion and the reverence he is due in spite of his conflicts with Tyrande Whisperwind. After viewing this, Corithas sent the hero to a final moonwell to rendevous with Tarindrella for another attack against the corruption of Teldrassil. On approaching the moonwell, the hero saw a final vision about the most recent events—Archdruid Staghelm and his closest followers have left the Night Elf society without a word, but Malfurion has awoken from the Emerald Dream and reunited woth Tyrande. Alexstrasza and Ysera have finally provided their blessings to Teldrassil, allowing the tree to begin to grow properly. Hope for a better future dawns anew for the Kaldorei.

After the vision, Tarindrella informed the hero that she has located the source of the corruption near the tree's edge. She provided the hero with a blessing using the collected power of the moonwells that allowed the hero to destroy the Bough of Corruption. With the source of the corruption destroyed, Tarindrella sent the hero to return it to Corithas, who in turn directed the hero to bring it to Tyrande. Tyrande explained that the disappearance of Staghelm is worrisome but Malfurion's return has given her hope in spite of the dark days ahead.

The story of Night Elves continues with Lor'danel in Darkshore.

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

File:WorldMap-Teldrassil-cata.jpg

Map of Teldrassil in Cataclysm

Teldrassil has been moved closer to Darkshore, and Rut'theran Village has been ripped from the side of the tree and is now an island.

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

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  Darnassus bank from the air

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  Rut'theran Village

Navigation

Template:Geographic location

Videos

• Teldrassil Storyline n' Lore in 4K
• Cataclysm - Teldrassil Overview

Resources

A Teldrassil glade.

• Cloth:
  •  [Linen Cloth]
• Herbs:
  •  [Peacebloom]
  •  [Silverleaf]
  •  [Earthroot]
  •  [Mageroyal]
  •  [Swiftthistle]
• Leather:
  •  [Ruined Leather Scraps]
  •  [Light Leather]

Wild creatures

Gnarlpine Hold

• Beasts:
  • Boars
  • Nightsabers
  • Owls
  • Tarantulas
• Humanoids:
  • Timberlings
  • Satyrs
  • Worgen
  • Furbolgs
  • Grells
  • Harpies

Trivia

• While Teldrassil looks like a stump in World of Warcraft, it looks more like a regular tree in art. This may be because the game engine is based completely off height-mapping, which heavily limits terrain possibilities. However, the map for Darnassus in Cataclysm seems to confirm that Teldrassil is a stump, detailing the broken sections at the edges as such.
• Blizzard originally said that 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. Similarly, it seems the original name for Teldrassil was Idrassil. Further, most of the objects seen on Teldrassil (trees, bridges, etc) are all labeled as "kalidar" in the game files.
• According to World of Warcraft: Game Manual, the corruption in Teldrassil was of Burning Legion origin (see Fel Cones). During subsequent lore development it was changed to the corruption of the Emerald Nightmare.
• As is the case with all of the other World Trees, the suffix "-drassil" is a reference to Yggdrasil, the world tree of Norse mythology.
•  [Pine Nut Bread] is often formed into the shape of a leaf to honor Teldrassil.

Patch changes

• Patch 0.6 (2004-04-13): Shadowthread Cave in Teldrassil is expanded and the number of Webwood Spider spawns has been increased.
  

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB