Teldrassil

Teldrassil is a gigantic tree growing out of the sea off Kalimdor's northern coast, and the starting zone for night elf characters, covering levels 1 to 11. The night elves planted it after the Third War as a new World Tree, and their capital, Darnassus, is built among its upper branches. The whole zone sits on top of the tree, a forest of purple-leaved trees, moonwells and old barrow dens.

Geography

Teldrassil's crown is wide enough to hold a whole zone. Its forests are dim and quiet, lit by moonwells and lanterns, and its wildlife includes nightsabers, thistle boars, strigid owls, webwood spiders and the corrupted Gnarlpine furbolgs.

• Shadowglen, in the northeast, is the night elf starting area, centered on Aldrassil, a smaller tree whose ramps hold the class trainers.
• Dolanaar, in the middle of the zone, is the main town, with an inn and most of the quest givers.
• Ban'ethil Barrow Den, south of Dolanaar, is an underground druid barrow taken over by the Gnarlpine.
• Lake Al'Ameth, the Oracle Glade, the Pools of Arlithrien and Wellspring Lake are the main wild areas, along with Fel Rock, a cave of corrupted creatures, and Gnarlpine Hold.
• Darnassus fills the western end of the crown.
• Rut'theran Village sits at the base of the tree on the shore, with a dock and a hippogryph master. A pink portal in the village lifts travelers straight up into Darnassus.

History

The first World Tree, Nordrassil on Mount Hyjal, gave the night elves immortality. When they spent its power to defeat Archimonde at the end of the Third War, they became mortal. Fandral Staghelm, the new leader of the druids, persuaded them to grow a new World Tree, and the druids planted Teldrassil off the coast of Darkshore.

Unlike Nordrassil, Teldrassil was never blessed by the Aspects, and the night elves soon noticed signs that something was wrong with it. Many quests in the zone deal with this sickness: the Gnarlpine furbolgs, once friendly, have turned savage, and strange growths and tainted creatures appear in the forest. Players investigate the cause with the druid Denalan at Lake Al'Ameth.

Quests and notable NPCs

Shadowglen (levels 1-5)

New night elves start beside Conservator Ilthalaine, who sends them to cull the young animals in The Balance of Nature. Other starting quests come from Gilshalan Windwalker (Webwood Venom against the webwood spiders in Shadowthread Cave) and from Tenaron Stormgrip and Melithar Staghelm. In A Good Friend and A Friend in Need, players find the poisoned Iverron outside the spider cave and help Dirania Silvershine brew him a cure.

Dolanaar (levels 5-11)

• Corithras Moonrage sends players to fill phials at the moonwells around Teldrassil in the long Crown of the Earth chain, with later steps such as Crown of the Earth and Crown of the Earth.
• Athridas Bearmantle investigates the Gnarlpine: Gnarlpine Corruption, The Relics of Wakening in Ban'ethil Barrow Den, and Ursal the Mauler against the bear Ursal the Mauler.
• Tallonkai Swiftroot wants the [Gnarlpine Necklace] back from Gnarlpine mystics in Ferocitas the Dream Eater, named for the furbolg Ferocitas the Dream Eater.
• The satyr Zenn Foulhoof, lurking outside Dolanaar, asks for strange reagents in Zenn's Bidding and fel cones in Seek Redemption!. He is plainly up to no good, and the quests are a small warning about trusting strangers.

Lake Al'Ameth and beyond (levels 8-12)

Denalan's chain begins with Denalan's Earth and grows into a study of the tree's tumors and timberlings: Timberling Seeds and Oakenscowl, which sends you after the corrupted treant Oakenscowl. In Darnassus, Rellian Greenspyre studies the same growths and asks for mossy tumors in Tumors. Looting a [Moss-twined Heart] from a timberling starts The Moss-twined Heart, which ends with planting the [Tainted Heart].

The escort quest Mist has players lead the lost nightsaber Mist back to Sentinel Arynia Cloudsbreak. In the cave of Fel Rock, the satyr Lord Melenas is the target of Twisted Hatred.

Darnassus and Rut'theran

Players visit Darnassus for quests such as Tears of the Moon and Sathrah's Sacrifice for Priestess A'moora. In Rut'theran Village, Nessa Shadowsong sends young night elves to Auberdine with Nessa Shadowsong, and the hippogryph master Vesprystus offers the first flight to Darkshore.

Dungeons

Teldrassil has no dungeon. Night elves usually travel to Darkshore at level 10 or 11 and run Blackfathom Deeps in Ashenvale or The Deadmines in Westfall as their first dungeon.

Getting there

• By boat: a ship runs between Rut'theran Village and Auberdine in Darkshore. From Auberdine, other ships reach Menethil Harbor in the Wetlands.
• By hippogryph: Rut'theran Village has a flight master.
• By portal: the glowing portal in Rut'theran Village carries players up to Darnassus. There is no other way between the city and the shore except falling.

Teldrassil is Alliance territory with no Horde quest hubs, and a Horde player who swims across from Darkshore will find guards and nothing to do.

Later history

In Battle for Azeroth (2018), Sylvanas Windrunner ordered Teldrassil burned in the War of the Thorns, destroying Darnassus and much of the night elf population. Classic-era servers show the tree as it was before the fire.

Sources

• Teldrassil, Warcraft Wiki
• Shadowglen, Warcraft Wiki
• Dolanaar, Warcraft Wiki