Tal'doren

Tal'doren in the Blackwald.

Gathering of Gilnean worgen for the Ritual of Balance.

Tal'doren, meaning "the wild home" in Darnassian, is located in the eastern section of the Blackwald in southern Gilneas. According to Belysra Starbreeze, long ago the tree was home to Druids of the Pack, who advocated the use of the Pack Form during the War of the Satyr and became the original worgen. After the war, Ralaar Fangfire and his worgen were imprisoned by Malfurion Stormrage within the Emerald Dream, sleeping under a tree identical to this one, but not before their curse spread to others. The Emerald Dream counterpart of this area is called Daral'nir.

According to Darius Crowley' words, while within Tal'doren, the mindless state of mindless worgen is temporarily soothed if they have not reached the final stages to the point that they cannot be saved.  [Moonleaf] only grows near Tal'doren.

History

Curse of the Worgen (1st part)

This section concerns content related to the Warcraft manga or comics.

Halford Ramsey in worgen form beneath Tal'doren, as seen in Curse of the Worgen.

One day before the Wolf Cult's attack in Gilneas City, Halford Ramsey was naturally drawn to Tal'doren after his first transformation into a worgen, and inexplicably felt a sense of calm and peace around it. He observed from a distance two night elves investigating under the tree, but immediately left in the direction of Stormglen Village after smelling blood in the air. Later that night, while reading the Purity of Essence to understand the codes of the Wolf Cult, Halford returned to Tal'doren to regain the sense of calm and clarity he had felt before. There, he came to understand that Alpha Prime and his cultists were assassins who didn't follow their own rules, and that their next target would be to infect the people of Gilneas City with the worgen curse.

The day after the attack on Gilneas City, Halford awoke bound by vines beneath the roots of Tal'doren, as Belysra Starbreeze was extracting from his body the bullet shot by Lord Vincent Godfrey. When the operation was completed, the Blackwald once again experienced the tremors of the Cataclysm. Many night elves were now present beneath the tree. Years ago, they had sensed Archmage Arugal's spell pulling the wolf-beasts from the Emerald Dream, and felt it was their responsibility to help the human nation deal with the worgen curse, since it originated long ago among them during the War of the Satyr. They were soon joined by Talran of the Wild and Valorn Stillbough in possession of the Scythe of Elune, liberated from Duskwood a few days ago.

Following the beginning of the invasion of Gilneas, worgen refugees began to perform the Ritual of Balance to help control their curse by achieving balance between man and wolf. Meanwhile, Halford and Belsyra both discussed strategy against Alpha Prime, including whether or not to keep the Scythe of Elune at Tal'doren, and a possible future attack by the Forsaken allied with the Wolf Cult. The discussion was cut short following the arrival of Darius Crowley, who was attacked by Halford due to the hatred between "Royals" and "Rebels", until they were interrupted by Belysra who ordered them to cooperate for the survival of Gilneas. At the same time that Duskhaven was destroyed by the earthquakes, Halford in turn undertook the ritual.

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

Following the arrival of the Gilnean refugees at Stormglen Village, the worgen adventurer met Belysra Starbreeze at the Bradshaw Mill. However, before she could take them to Tal'doren, she tasked them with eliminating one of Sylvanas Windrunner's dark rangers who had been stalking them for some time. Once safe, Belysra sent them under the tree with the feral worgen captured by Darius Crowley, so they could receive help from the night elves to regain their sanity and free will through the Ritual of Balance. In order to protect the Scythe of Elune, Darius tasked the adventurer to eliminate the banshees near their position, since the latter were looking for the artifact on the orders of the Banshee Queen. Since the artifact is capable of uncontrollably spreading the worgen curse to all humanity, it had been moved to many locations, but was eventually found by dark rangers at Woods' End Cabin. With the help of Tobias Mistmantle and his worgen, the adventurer returned the scythe safely to Tal'doren.

Once in possession of the moonleafs that grows only in Tal'doren's vicinity, the worgen adventurer accomplished the ritual under the surveillance of Talran of the Wild, Vassandra Stormclaw, and Lyros Swiftwind. Just after they succeeded, Lorna Crowley came to meet her father, followed by Lord Vincent Godfrey who ordered all of the night elves and Gilnean worgen present to support the king's army against the Forsaken invaders. King Genn Greymane was the last to arrive, and faced with the distrust of his old friend, revealed that he too had been infected by the worgen curse. This discovery dismayed Godfrey, but also brought peace to Gilneas's divided population, as rebels and royals were now united in the curse against the undead invader.

Curse of the Worgen (2nd part)

This section concerns content related to the Warcraft manga or comics.

The Wolf Cult facing the Gilnean worgen and their night elves allies in front of Tal'doren.

Following the departure of the worgen adventurer to Stormglen Village, in order to evacuate the population towards Tempest's Reach, Halford Ramsey managed to perform the Ritual of Balance and regained his human form. He received a summary of everything that happened from Darius Crowley, and the latter decided to try the ritual again after his daughter accepted him as he was. However, they were interrupted by the arrival of Alpha Prime and his Wolf Cult. The night elves led by Belysra Starbreeze, alongside the Gilnean worgen, joined them shortly after, and the two armies faced each other before Tal'doren. After confronting Alpha Prime about the horrors the Druids of the Scythe had committed at the time of the War of the Satyr, Belysra attempted to seal the Wolf Cult once again beneath Daral'nir in the Emerald Dream, but before she could do so, a Forsaken dark ranger shot her in the arm. After she dropped the scythe, Alpha Prime signaled for the army of Forsaken to surround them.

As the battle raged across the Blackwald, Alpha Prime took possession of the scythe, but just as he was about to finish Belysra off with it, the spirit wolf of Belysra's old lover — Arvell — killed Alpha Prime. With the death of their leader, the Wolf Cult scattered; leaving the Forsaken without their lupine allies and open to attack from the night elves and Gilneans. After defeating the Forsaken, the Gilnean worgen left Tal'doren and the Blackwald, and traveled to Livery Outpost where they attended the speech of King Genn Greymane in anticipation of the battle for Gilneas City.

Following the exodus of the Gilnean population to Darnassus, and the end of the conflicts between the Alliance and the Horde across the realm, Tal'doren was left abandoned like the rest of the kingdom.

Battle for Azeroth

This section concerns content related to Battle for Azeroth.

During the Fourth War, Princess Tess Greymane was sent by Goldrinn on a spiritual journey into the Emerald Dream's version of Gilneas City, in order to learn more about the worgen curse. As she and the Gilnean champion relived the battle for Gilneas City, Daral'nir could be seen, towering over all other trees in this version of the Blackwald, precisely where Tal'doren should have been present.

Dragonflight

This section concerns content related to Dragonflight.

Following the Reclamation of Gilneas, Celestine of the Harvest and Talran of the Wild returned to Tal'doren in the Blackwald. Celestine mentioned that it had been a long time since she had been in these woods, that Tal'doren had survived as best as it could, and that she intended to keep it thriving.

NPCs

After the Reclamation of Gilneas

•   Celestine of the Harvest
•   Talran of the Wild

During the worgen starting area

•   Lord Darius Crowley
•   Talran of the Wild
•   Vassandra Stormclaw
•   Lyros Swiftwind
•   Feral Watchers
•   Feral Worgen

Objects

The Well of Tranquility.

• Well of Balance
• Well of Fury
• Well of Tranquility

Discrepancies

Belysra Starbreeze appears to claim the Druids of the Pack called Tal'doren home in ancient Gilneas. This is incompatible with the rest of current lore:

• The Pack Form was not used until after the Sundering, which divided the continents. Tal'doren is on the Eastern Kingdoms, while the Druids of the Pack were on Kalimdor.
• The Pack Form was banned 9,300 years ago during the War of the Satyr, and there have been no known Druids of the Pack since.
• The Druids of the Pack were banished against their will to Daral'nir in the Emerald Dream, not Tal'doren. The banishment itself took place in Ashenvale, on the other side of the world.
• By the time Ralaar's and his followers were imprisoned, they were no longer using pack form and had become Worgen instead.

Speculation

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

• Belysra may have been knowingly lying. She was present in Ashenvale when the Druids of the Pack became the Druids of the Scythe, and when they were banished to Daral'nir, so could not have been misinformed. She may be an unreliable narrator, as already shown when comparing the true story in Curse of the Worgen to what she tells the player. By claiming knowledge of Gilneas surpassing even the Gilneans, she asserts dominance and trustworthiness. She also omits the true risks of the Ritual of Balance to those taking it.
• Belysra may have misspoken. She may be referring to Daral'nir as Tal'doren as it is the physical counterpart on Azeroth to Daral'nir, and using 'home' instead of 'prison'. This would actually mean "Tal'doren's spiritual counterpart, Daral'nir, was once a prison to an order of druids who once took the form of wolves." which would be true.

Gallery

• 

  The tree observed from a distance in Curse of the Worgen.

• 

  Belysra Starbreeze healing Halford Ramsey under the tree.

• 

  The Forsaken troops assaulting Tal'doren.

Patch changes

• Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Added.
  

See also

• Great Tree

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB