After Hours

Technologia: A travel log of Ghostland in the World of Warcraft

By // March 23, 2007, 4:47 AM PST // markwkaelin

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  • The World of Warcraft expansion pack, The Burning Crusade, added two new player races and several new areas for players to explore. One of those new races, the Blood Elves, has a new area just for the teen levels called Ghostland.

    It is a gloomy enchanted forest inhabited by creatures both natural and supernatural. A demonic presence clouds the forest in a foreboding haze of uncertainty and imminent death.

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    Mark W. Kaelin

  • Ghostland is a dark and foreboding place.

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  • But the area was once the home to night elves. One can imagine it was once a beautiful place.

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  • Scattered throughout Ghostlands adventurers will find various monuments to both the sun and the moon. The Elves derive their magical powers from these sources.

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  • However, players will also encountered what the Blood Elves have termed corrupted creatures. A green ooze is seeping up through the ground turning once peaceful creatures into aggressive and deadly adversaries.

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  • It is in Ghostland that you get a firsthand look at the feud between Blood Elves and Night Elves. The Night Elf laying here expired during one of the many fire fights.

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  • One of the more difficult quests in the area involve the twin towers that guard the road to Deathholme. These towers are inturn guarded by demon gargolyes know as Stonewings.

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  • My Blood Elf hunter, Kenirk, engages a Stonewing Tracker outside one of the towers.

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  • With some help from his pet lion, Kenirk has little trouble dispatching the demon.

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  • Once inside the tower, you can see where the corrupting green ooze is coming from.

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  • In this chest is one of the totems the demonic forces of Deatholme are using to corrupt the creatures of Ghostland.

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  • It is a hazard of being an adventurous hunter in the World of Warcraft -- the shrink spell. Here you can see Kenirk has been shrunk by an evil mage in the second tower during our assault. That is fellow Technologia guild member Ardozia looking on. It is a good thing that Kenirk's pet lion loves him so or it could have been snack time.

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  • As you progress in levels, the quests inevitably lead to Deatholme, home of the evil Scourge darklord Dar'Khan Drathir. Deatholme is intimiadating even at this distance.

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  • Approaching the gate to Deatholme -- getting in will be no picnic, but it is the getting out that is most troubling.

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  • As a change of pace I decide to take my young priest Luminousflux into Deatholme. Priests are especially valuable to groups because they are the healers in the World of Warcraft.

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  • The haze created by burning embers in this demonic place is very disorienting. Fighting the numerous bad guys in this area while shrouded in a caustic haze is disconcerting and raises the tension considerably. I don't like the way that creepy crypt crawling spider is looking at me.

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  • Luminousflux prepares for battle with Jurion the Deceiver in a crypt deep inside Deathholme. While Jurion is merely a spectre to the eye, he is quite formidable as a spell caster.

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  • Besides the tombs of Deatholme, Ghostland is also where you will find Zul'Aman, a troll area with very ominous features.

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  • I took Kenirk to Zul'Aman for some sightseeing. This will be the entrance to an instance dungeon someday.

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  • I can almost swear I hear Faye Ray screaming on the other side of that wall.

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  • One other major landmark in Ghostland is the gate to the Eastern Plaguelands. That area is also scorched by the Scourge, but the monsters there are 35 levels higher than either Kenirk or Luminousflux. They'll have to grow some before heading there.

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  • During my questing in Ghostlad I found a necklace. It turns out the necklace belongs to Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, who just happens to be the queen of the undead race. The necklace was a gift from here sister Alleria.

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  • Lady Sylvanas is so touched by the sight of the necklace that she calls upon a chorus of Banshee to sing here a song of lament for her lost sister.

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  • The song they sing is called "Lament of the Highborne." It is hauntingly beautiful and is a fine example of Blizzard's attention to detail in the World of Warcraft. While the quest did little for my characters in the way of loot hearing the song and seeing the stoic queen cry is one of my favorite quest rewards.

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    Mark W. Kaelin

The World of Warcraft expansion pack, The Burning Crusade, added two new player races and several new areas for players to explore. One of those new races, the Blood Elves, has a new area just for the teen levels called Ghostland.

It is a gloomy enchanted forest inhabited by creatures both natural and supernatural. A demonic presence clouds the forest in a foreboding haze of uncertainty and imminent death.

© CNET Networks / TechRepublic

Mark W. Kaelin

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By Mark Kaelin

Mark W. Kaelin has been writing and editing stories about the IT industry, gadgets, finance, accounting, and tech-life for more than 25 years. Most recently, he has been a regular contributor to BreakingModern.com, aNewDomain.net, and TechRepublic.