Darkshore

The port town of Auberdine, controlled by the Alliance has been...you know what? Darkshore sucks. Attempting to fly through this area was just about impossible because of the GIANT TORNADO that Deathwing stirred up. I just about fell off my wind rider twice. TWICE! I'm an expert rider! But it's not just the tornado; it seems to rain quite frequently in this country, and tidal waves still slam into the shore with a biting ferocity. As I was saying earlier, Auberdine was destroyed by these same tidal waves and the storms, and the Alliance has had to move Lor'danel north in an effort to protect their city from the storm. However, this has caused an unexpected break for the Horde, as Hellscream to push farther into the country, setting up encampments in the southern part of the zone. The elementals that are usually quite passive and protect the earth are now running wild and slaughtering everything they can see.

So, what does this mean for me?
Besides the rampaging elementals, the wicked tidal waves, giant tornado, and the ever-present threat of the Alliance? Nothing. The tornado will probably tear up everything in its path, the elementals will most likely destroy a good portion of the eco-system, and who knows what the Alliance left in Auberdine that has since washed out into the Veiled Sea, contaminating gods know what?
I'm sick of this country and it's stupid tornado. I'm off to Desolace.

The Map of Darkshore. Shows the relative position of that damned tornado:

Here is a picture of the tornado, also more lava and fire. Always an excellent item to add to a swirling vortex.

The ruins of Auberdine:

More ruins of... Maker! What on the elder's green earth is that!

Azshara

The Bilgewater Cartel goblins have taken over Azshara, and to show their allegiance to the Horde, have shaped the earth to resemble the Horde insignia! There is also now a huge dig site in the heart of Azshara, and a goblin rocketway twisting and turning around the landscape. A great many naga have been pushed out of the ruins along the beaches, and most of the ruins have been destroyed. Although, due to the excavation and the terraforming, many new sites have been discovered. Also, the trade prince of the Bilgewater Cartel has set up his own "pleasure palace" in the realm.

What do these changes have to do with me?
It's unknown as of this moment how much the goblins have altered the course of Azshara's ecosystem by inputting many generators, terraforming the land, and digging out the middle of the country, but so far, all that seems to be affected are the flora around the generators that seem to catch fire a lot, and end up setting any goblin nearby aflame as well. Simply avoid the flaming goblins, and perhaps talk with the Cartel about changing their power source, as those generators seem to put out a lot of black smoke.

A photo of a generator "accidentally" on fire:

A part of the rocketway (is this even up to safety regulations?):

A view of the dig site:

Off to Darkshore now.

Ashenvale

After years of just harvesting lumber from Ashenvale's lush forest, the new Horde leader Garrosh Hellscream has pushed the Horde's presence in Ashenvale much further. Although the Alliance has taken over much of the Warsong Lumber Camp, Zoram'gor Outpost remains under Horde control, having been changed into a heavily fortified outpost and dock, from the simple troll village it was before Deathwing's forced reforging of the world. Most of the night elf villages in the area have seen the heavy hand of the Horde, many having been attacked, taken over, or razed to the ground. The village of Astranaar is constantly under threat by Horde air raids, but so far, is still under the Alliance's control.
Deathwing's reforging has also cause a volcano to burst from the ground and erupt along the border between Ashenvale and Felwood, where many fire elementals now wander, attacking anything that crosses their path. Many ancient trees around the lava's path are still burning, their leaves having turned greyed and turned to ash with the volcano's eruption. At the peak of the volcano sits a huge fire elemental, occasionally screaming at seemingly nothing, as the magma churns and bubbles beneath it.

<b>What do these changes have to do with me?</b>
Well, young Horde child, Ashenvale is now a much more dangerous place, especially with more Alliance roaming around. They have many encampments now, some of which include:

• Forest Song, near the Warsong Lumber Camp
• Stardust Spire, southwest of Astranaar 
• A small camp by Orindel's Retreat

Another large part of the changes has to do with the volcano in the middle of the country. At the very least, the fire elementals are a great threat to the flora and fauna around the lava's path. Hopefully a brave adventurer can defeat the large elemental atop the volcano, and at the very least, start the process of cooling the volcano. After all, if one looks at a map of the area, Hellscream's Watch is roughly the same distance as the lava flow, but to the west. As far as I know now, anyone in the Watch is on alert for another eruption, and teams of Horde monitor the elementals and the volcano.

Here is the country's map, re-drawn after the changes were logged in Ashenvale:

Here is a larger version of the map: Ashenvale

Here are a couple of images captured of the volcano and the fire elementals:

I shall write more later, as I am off via flight to Azshara.

Overview

I'll be tackling all the changes to Azeroth's landscape in this order:
(Once the posts are finished, I'll link them back to here for easy viewing)

Kalimdor:
- Ashenvale
- Azshara
- Darkshore
- Desolace
- Durotar
- Dustwallow Marsh
- Felwood
- Feralas
- Mulgore
- Northern Barrens
- Southern Barrens
- Stonetalon Mountains
- Tanaris
- Thousand Needles

I'll post the Eastern Kingdoms later.

The Beginning...

Well, hello there world.
...
Huh. I'm not entirely sure what to say after that, to be honest. I guess I could go with, "My name is Aki," but it's not really, it's simply a nickname, an alias, a mask to hide behind as I wave my small, angry fists, beat my tiny war drum and yell the only truths I know; "Things are a-changin', folks."
But what is changing? The world? Society? Me? Well, yes, but currently I'm choosing to focus on
a very small part of our world, the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, and the changes to the ecosystem by the newest expansion, Cataclysm. I may work my way up to how everything is changing, but this is mainly for a final project for Computer Science 100, hence all the gadgets on the sides. I have another blog that I'll probably work on more: Living Green. It doesn't have anything on it at the moment, but wait patiently and see, and it'll be more interesting.
Anywho, I appreciate those who are reading this for listening to my rambles. Off to the actual posts!

Cheers,
Aki