User:CCRyder95/The Waking Dream

World of Warcraft - The Waking Dream

That is the dichotomy of the Emerald Dream. The realm is infinite and impossible, ethereal and shifting, formless and fecund, but nothing upsets the status quo. It it timeless but has no history. Always changing but the whole stays the same. A perpetual existence.
Now there is finally a difference. Across the Dream, eyes are being opened, new thoughts being born in their minds. Sparks of not just intelligence but ingenuity, curiosity, desire... dissatisfaction. Their spirits are slowly plied from the Dream as they start to fall out of step with those around them. They are awakening, looking to the sky and marveling at something they have never had before; choice. There is a world off the path that they have never known. A vibrant world, nearly infinite. And it is there's to take.

Introduction

The people of Azeroth have fought countless battles against the myriad forces that seek their destruction. They have blunted the assaults by the Burning Legion time and time again, beaten back the cold hand of undeath, rallied against the very end of the world itself, and fought against themselves in a seemingly never-ending war. Yet, amidst the trials, the defeats and the successes, there has always been a shadow of doubt lurking within their minds. Whispers seem to stir their nightmares and conjure forth fears from nothing. It saps their will to fight in their sleep, goading them to cease their hopeless crusade. Azeroth is doomed, one way or another.

These whispers are not natural. These nightmares are not born from their thoughts. From the Emerald Dream, the guiding force of life and creation, a dark hand has wrapped its fingers on the thoughts of mortals, pulling them like puppet strings. The Emerald Nightmare has resurfaced within the Dream, and even now, armies are arising from below and growing like cancerous tumors, ready to spill outwards in a tide of ruin. They seek the corruption of the Dream in its entirety, and through that, the corruption of the world-soul of Azeroth itself.

Two Old Gods have risen and fell in recent history, bringing woe and destruction. Another’s influence, even in death, nearly destroyed an entire continent. Now, only one remains, and yet its subversion runs deeper than any believe. The numberless hands of N’Zoth, the Corruptor, the Dreamwaker, the Eternal Nightmare, are clawing deep into the Dream. The forces of Azeroth must unite once more to silence the corruptive influence of N’Zoth, before all are within in its grasp. The Old God of Whispers is massing its forces, ready to take hold of all mortal minds within its hands and hang their moldering spirits in the boughs of the Thousand-Branched Tree.

Features

• The Emerald Dream - Explore the primordial wilderness of the Emerald Dream, guiding force of creation and looking glass into Azeroth's worldsoul. Bear witness to the arid plateaus and tablelands of Mashan'she, the lush caverns of Urs'var Barrow, the astral sands of the Sleepless Edge and so much more.
• New Allied Races - As the echoes of the Nightmare sound throughout the Dream, new races have pledged themselves to the Alliance and the Horde. The Timbermaw furbolg have been roused from the Barrow Deeps of Hyjal by their ancestors in the Dream, joining the Alliance. Meanwhile, the Briarbound Satyr seek redemption for the curse placed on themselves by their forebears, joining the Horde. As events play out in the Dream and pacts are forged, new races will become playable later on the expansion; the moth-like Anthera for the Alliance and the noble hunters of the Heruli for the Horde.
• Faction Dynamics - New methods of character progression are available within the Dream. Reputation is completely reworked, and your character will gain valuable improvements as they forge new alliances between the disparate factions of the Emerald Dream. At max-level, Faction Dynamics will unlock along with World Quests, allowing players to leverage their services between all factions at once, picking and choosing assignments to better cement their pacts.
• Vestiges - The new form of Artifact Weapons within the Emerald Dream, Vestiges are remnants of ancient power unique to each class and specialization, giving potent bonuses to differing abilities. Each has its own unique storyline that is advanced through questing and forging bonds between factions, similar to the older system of Legendaries. As patches are released, new storylines are unlocked to further increase their power, and new Vestiges may even be released as time goes on.
• Ongoing Storylines - In older expansions, max-level usually signaled the end of ongoing storylines. In The Waking Dream, each major faction will continue to have questlines at max-level that span the breadth of the Dream, in addition to World Quests. In fact, 3 entire zones are only available at max-level.
• Lost Groves - All across the Dream, random archways have the potential to spawn, allowing all who enter them to experience a variety of scenarios, ranging from familiar locations such as the Dragonblight or the Jade Forest to completely foreign locales such as abandoned barrow dens, savage heruli hunting grounds or enigmatic Titan ruins.
• New Dungeons - The Dream is more than pristine wilderness, and dark things have festered in the Nightmare's wake. From the feyfire-lit lodges of the Heruli to the sunken machinery of the Blightmoor Cairne to the glacial galas of the Winter Sidhe, there is plenty of variety in the foes one will face.
• New Raids - At the pinnacle of group content are new raids to take down. These include toppling the burgeoning Heruli empire in the Wakefall Bastion, exploring the telemetrical stations of Azeroth's psyche in Diamondward and putting the death-blow to the Nightmare's invasion at the edge of the Rift of Aln.

The Emerald Dream

"Is... is this all that's left?"

Explore the vast, ever-changing landscape of the Emerald Dream, the primordial paradise that has existed since Azeroth's beginning, guiding its natural evolution. Working in tandem, its energies would keep pace with the waking world as it grew and matured, and in part, the waking world would draw guidance from the Dream. Everything that has ever existed has a place within the Dream, and one could once travel impossible distances with a single step, as time and space had little meaning here. Even the echoes of things that never were, or possibly could have been, exist here in the lower planes that extend into its depths. Half-finished realities and experimental worlds, all bound with emerald light.

Such was the Dream at its pinnacle, but that is no longer the case. The second invasion of the Nightmare has destabilized the entirety of the Dream. The destruction of the Dolmens, islands of permanence crafted by the Titans that gave stability to the Dream, as well as the complete destruction of Nordrassil, has caused huge portions of it to collapse. They have faded into the Ephemeral Sea, a pit of cold mists and dead forests that embodies the realm's weakness, its inability to support itself. Slowly, Azeroth's dreams die, ground away into oblivion.

Only a fraction of the Dream still exists as it did, surrounded on all sides by the Ephemeral Sea. What remains, in turn, surrounds the Rift of Aln, the great, permanent wound in Azeroth's psyche. The forces of the Emerald Vanguard believe it is the goal of the Nightmare to fortify the rift for some malign purpose, and have begun sending their own forces out to prevent this. In addition, they are seeking ways of re-stabilizing the Dream in order to stave off oblivion and restore it to its former glory.

Progression

Players will enter the Emerald Dream through any of the Dream portals that exist across Azeroth, bringing them to the zone of Eran'Amir, a grove on the very edge of the Rift of Aln. Here, they will complete a short scenario of attempting to blunt the Nightmare's assault on the rift. From here, players are able to choose their choice of destination. The zones will scale to their level as they journey through them.

• Tal'Theril Woodlands
• Mashan'she
• Vorlassar Sierra
• Arborheight

At max-level, 3 new zones will open up, but players are still able to do content in the leveling zones. In addition, new max-level content will be available within these zones, as well. The max-level zones are:

• Urs'var Barrow
• The Sleepless Edge
• Ivyspine Coast

Zones

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• Eran'Amir: The Hand of Eranikus, as it is called, is a verdant grove brought to zealous life by Ysera's weakening call. Here, where draconic treants unleash viridian fire and the very stones have been called forth to serve, the second invasion of the Nightmare was blunted. Under the boughs of the mother tree, G'hanir, the Emerald Vanguard has built a haven.
• Tal'Theril Woodlands: The rolling hills of Tal'Theril shelter autumnal groves and glassy lakes before disappearing into forlorn, silver-edged woods. The primal hunts of ancient cultures live strong here, but are being rapidly eclipsed by a spiritual affliction. Forces of the Nightmare reach into the waking world to ensnare mortal minds, twisting their dream forms into soldiers called the Unwaking.
• Mashan'she: While rendered into Desolace in the waking world, the "Loom of the Earth Mother" has remained unblemished for millennia within the Dream, a land of amber plateaus and grasslands under a near-eternal dawn sky. However, the forces of Nightmare stir under the ground, enkindled by the efforts of a mysterious druidic coven. The spirits of the Centaur have mysteriously found passage into this sacred realm, and in the lonesome wind one can hear the restless cries of an unborn Wild God.
• Vorlassar Sierra: Beneath the jagged mountains and caldera of Vorlassar lie primordial pine groves and forests of living ice. Vorlassar was marked long ago by the Nightmare through the corruption of the world tree Andrassil, and the land has become ground zero for the Invasion of the Nightmare. Vordrassil scrapes the sky with darkened boughs, and through its roots, the Nightmare pulls sins against nature from the lower planes to continue the assault.
• Arborheight: Said to be the oldest realm of the Dream, nurtured to life by Ysera herself. The Nightmare's onslaught has left it collapsing into the Ephemeral Sea. Traveling across this living canopy is aided by enormous branches extending from tree to tree. In the underbough, the primordial gods and monsters of an Azeroth long forgotten have returned.
• Urs'var Barrow: Carved into the nearly impenetrable rock of an ancient mountain by the Bear Gods themselves, the barrow of Urs'var serves as the furbolg's ancestral home within the Dream. The furbolg have begun leading a mass exodus into the deeps, fortifying it against the Nightmare. However, this has brought them into conflict with other dwellers in the dark, a race forever hiding from the shame of their genesis.
• Ivyspine Coast: Salt seas and mangrove swamps surround this dense jungle. Hexagonal spires the size of mountains rise and fall in strange geometric patterns across it's breadth. The realm's instability has caused titanic vaults to rise from the murk, exposing the underlying telemetry of the Dream. Invaders from the lower planes crawl from watery depths and tangled groves; lost creatures whose presence fills the heart with the fear of famine and winter's harrowing chill.
• The Sleepless Edge: What was once a bright and blooming desert has become a fractal mad-land of deranged dreams and insane thoughts, split into floating islands hanging over a shimmering abyss. Prismatic sands swirl through the spines of glass-like cacti. A once-great fortress has become an asylum; a non-euclidean prison housing the most dangerous in this realm of madness. A sprawl of ruins pervades the central sands and by staying too long one can witness half-dreamed mirages of both terror and euphoria. In the distance are the ghostly images of an enormous, cyclopean city, breaking off into impossible angles.

Patch X.2

• Eldfen: Eldfen is a forgotten corner of titanic detritus hidden deep within the unfinished lower planes of the Emerald Dream. Long ago, the Drev Host made their way here following the death of their patron Wild Gods, carving out a hidden kingdom within this eldritch swamp. Here is where they complete their dark work, fostering and honing life into terrible new forms to face the oncoming apocalypse.

Patch X.4

• Umbilicus: (Later Patch) The bedrock of the Emerald Dream and gateway to the World-soul. From this ethereal wilderness grows the fundamental aspects of Azeroth's sleeping mind. The city of Ny'alotha stirs above, preparing to vivisect the world.

Lost Groves

While the collapse and other, more mysterious forces have rendered the Dream far more permanent than it once was, there are still pockets of it's timeless and otherworldly nature. While exploring, players may randomly find archways of twisted roots and stone. These are entrances to Lost Groves, and they will bring to player to one of many possible scenarios filled with enemies, puzzles and loot. The Dream is utterly massive, and although much has collapsed into the Ephemeral Sea, these portals can connect to these forgotten places. Sometimes they may be a reflection of a familiar zone in the waking world; the jungles of Stranglethorn Vale, the wastes of the Dragonblight or the bamboo tangles of the Jade Forest. Other times, they are areas completely foreign; haunted barrow dens, heruli hunting grounds, surreal Sidhe dances. Some may even lead into the half-finished lower planes, where the laws of reality may be twisted and bent. What scenario one gets is random, and the archways can appear in any location, but the scenarios themselves are fixed and offer a unique challenge.

While questing, players may pick up Winds of Change. These mysterious artifacts allow one to add modifiers to Lost Groves when they find them, changing their aspects to offer a heightened challenge and greater reward.

Dungeons

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• Dreamer's Den: A forgotten Barrow Den in the forests of Tal'Theril. The Nightmare's butchers of the spiritual world, the Oneirans, are ensnaring sleeping mortal minds to twist into the Unwaking legions.
• Witchrise Coven: The Heruli have perverted their rituals in the pursuit of power, using the strength of the Witchlords and their spectres in the trapping of a proud beast of the Dream. Enter their ritual lodges to end their Wild Hunt before it's too late.
• Maw of Balor: Left comatose after his battle against the Nightmare's most terrifying beasts, the Skinless Ones, this Summit Giant rivals the size of most mountains. Once a proud defender of the Dream, his insides are being slowly corrupted and twisted to serve N'Zoth. Enter his cavernous body to root out the infection.
• Blightmoor Cairne: The Dream is not known for it's ruins; the Titan's mark of it's surface levels is minimal. Sunken into the Blightmoor of Ivyspine Coast, the Cairne's strategic value is unknown. Yet, the Drev, the banished spawn of the decaying Wild Gods of old, have fortified the area and begun peeling it apart, piece by piece. With each passing day, their strength grows.
• Nest of the Nightingales: The Nightingales are the most active of all the Drev, sating their hatred of the Wild God Avianna and her harpies by tearing apart the pristine Arborheight. From their nest on a gigantic, plagued tree, they scour the skies and deliver diseased winds across the Dream. Clip their wings and send them plummeting to the earth.
• Vordrassil: The original entrance for Yogg Saron to pollute the Dream with endless nightmares, N'Zoth has fortified the decrepit World Tree. While dead and fallen in the waking world, Vordrassil still grows within the Dream on the cliffs of Vorlassar. Corrupted Furbolg tribes seek to spread its terrible seeds across the rest of the Dream.
• Te'Vesper: The hidden temple city of the Anthera, nestled in the shadows of the Barrow Deeps. Reclusive at best and xenophobic at worst, the moth-like Anthera's insectoid appearances have many suspect them to be linked to the Aqir, even though they are known (if zealous) worshippers of Elune. The moth folk may require aid from the strangers they fear, however, as forsaken gods seek to claim their people once more in the depths of the City of Dusk.
• Tumulus Aer: Your forays into Vorlassar had you inadvertently cross paths with the Winter Court as they went about preparing for their gala, and due to their inherent laws of hospitality you managed to score an invitation. Yet, with the destination being in the heart of an eternally frozen glacier, you are getting the feeling that you and your hosts have very different definitions of "hospitable".
• Anwen Asylum: This far-flung outpost was meant to be a show of force for the Heruli's burgeoning empire. The madness of the Sleepless Edge warped the minds of all those stationed there, plunging the fortress into delirium. The Sorceress-Queen of the Heruli wove intricate spellwork to imprison the lost legions inside, where it has continued to house any dangerous entities the Heruli capture.
• Cenarion Wellspring: Underneath Mashan'she is a nexus of labyrinthine caverns, waterways and steam tunnels, nourishing the lands above. Many Wild Gods have been born here amidst bountiful life, and Cenarius himself often sequesters himself here to meditate. In his absence, a druidic coven has seized the caverns and used them to grow blighted monstrosities. The cries of an unborn Wild God echo from its center, its dreams slowly turning to nightmares.
• Stream of Consciousness: One of Azeroth's telemetrical stations, a bridge to her very thoughts, having lost connection to its directives centuries ago.
• Verge of Delusion:

Patch X.2:

• Chambers of Extinction:
• Entrails of Nav:

Raids

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• Wakefall Bastion: The spiritual affliction known as the Wake has left it's mark of mortal desires, aspirations and hungers on the Heruli, none more so than one of their most revered, Gwynn. Given clarity of their place in the world and driven to expand, the once-peaceful race of hunters has carved a savage path of ruin through the Dream, aggressively cultivating an empire for their own. Wakeful Bastion is the crowning piece; a fortress of haphazard towers and twisting corridors surrounding the enigmatic Waning Spire. It is here where the Heruli will usher in their Final Hunt, and bring the totality of the Dream under their rule.
• Diamondward: Watcher Freya thought it best to limit the titan's touch on the Dream, forgoing the usage of machinery on it's surface levels. Below that, however, in the lower planes, fortresses of glass, stone and wood stretch across the horizons, keeping careful note of the world-soul's mental processes. Diamondward is the largest of these, hidden from sight. Amidst the turmoil of the Collapse, entrances have been made open, and both the Nightmare and the Drev seek to reap what they can from the fortress of glass.
• The Rift of Aln: The Thousand-Branched Tree hangs over the Rift of Aln. Here, Xavius funnels all the maddening powers of his forces in the Nightverge into the Rift, feeding whatever entity lies deep inside. Should this continue, all of the Dream shall be compromised. Only the strongest heroes can hope to combat the forces of Nightmare that control the Rift.
• Eldfen Summit: (Later Patch)
• Nya'lotha: (Later Patch)

Allied Races

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  • Timbermaw Furbolg: Guided by visions from the Emerald Dream, the bear-men of northern Kalimdor have reforged ancient pacts with the Kal'dorei and joined the Alliance.
  • Antheran Hegemony: With the exorcism of their shadowy hivemind from the soul of their people, the moth-folk of Urs'var Barrow have undergone a cultural renaissance. They have found new kinship with the Kal'dorei through their shared worship of Elune, joining the Alliance. (Unlocked after completion of the Antheran Hegemony faction campaign)
  • Alpha Worgen: The original night elven followers of Ralaar Fangfire, better known as Alpha Prime, and once called the Druids of the Pack. The progenitors of the Worgen curse following their binding to the Scythe of Elune, their bloodlust was instrumental in the War of the Satyr. However, they lost control of themselves and spread their affliction to other night elves, forcing them to be imprisoned within the Emerald Dream at the foot of the tree Daral'nir. In more recent times, their rest has been disturbed by the Emerald Nightmare and following their rescue, those whose bloodlust has been tamed by eons of rest pledge themselves to the Alliance.
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  • Briarbound Satyr: Rebellious satyr who seek freedom from the forces that exploited them, the escaped prisoners from Dolmen Brahl, the Den of Briars, have come to an agreement with the Horde. Accepted with caution, the Briarbound are willing to leverage their unique talents to end the Nightmare War.
  • Osier Heruli: What was once a simple race of hunters has become a rising empire within the Emerald Dream, their hearts and souls marked with the Wake. Following the events of Tal'Theril and Wakefall Bastion, the Heruli were left to fend for themselves in the shell of their newborn kingdom. The Horde was born from fractured cultures, and readily accepted the wayward hunters. (Unlocked after completion of the Troupe of Osier faction campaign)

Vestiges

Vestiges are the new form of artifact weapon in World of Warcraft: The Waking Dream. As players enter the Emerald Dream and begin to form bonds with those around, they will feel a strange resonance within themselves, a pull to some forlorn location. There, they will find a Vestige, a relic of great forgotten power that they will routinely upgrade throughout the expansion through quest lines. Vestiges are unique to a class or a specialization and each will have their own narrative thread throughout the expansion. By progressing along their stories, new abilities and powers can be unlocked for your character. As the player's progress and form bonds between factions, they will unlock the necessary quest lines to further improve their Vestige.

They embody the much larger changes in abilities and play-styles for classes, in comparison to forming Bonds between factions that give smaller scale, but more numerous, improvements. They also allow each class to expand upon their own unique lore and identity in the context of an expansion that does not necessarily mesh with their ideology. For example, a Warlock may not necessary gain much by directly helping the Emerald Dream, but they will be far more interested in obtaining a fragment of Archimonde's power left behind following the destruction of Nordrassil.

Factions

The Nightmare's invasion has caused not only the collapse of the Dream physically, but socially, as well. The various factions that held dominion over the land were once in a tenable, timeless peace for eons. Now, this balance has been broken. The Dream has almost entirely fallen into the oblivion of the Ephemeral Sea, the Nightmare's corruption festers behind every thought, and the Wake spurns the growth of new empires. If left to their own devices, these factions will engage each other in ceaseless war as the true enemy grips ever tighter to the soul of the planet. In the wreckage of the collapse, the players unite the disparate armies of Azeroth, the Green Dragonflight, and the children of Cenarius into the Emerald Vanguard. This sovereign union will spread across the Dream to not only eradicate the forces of Nightmare and stabilize what remains of the Dream, but reach out to the broken peoples still left alive. Factions and reputation will play a much different role in World of Warcraft: The Waking Dream, being a core component of not only the narrative but character progression. Within the Dream, ideas and thought have tangible qualities, and through the forging of unions and loyalties players will benefit greatly.

Each faction will have their own unique campaign that spans the initial zone they are encountered in and beyond. For example, while you may initially encounter the Spring Court while questing in the Arborheight, at max level you will seek the support of the other courts scattered throughout the Dream. Patches will extend the campaigns for each faction's narrative.

• Emerald Vanguard: The union of the Green Dragonflight, the Children of Cenarius, and those of the Waking World. Based in Eran'Amir.
• Troupe of Osier: Those of the awakened heruli that defy Gwynn's visions of an empire and continue to side with Wodan, Wild God of the Hunt. Based in Tal'Theril Woodlands.
• Amber Circle: After the destruction of Mashan'she's largest druidic lodge, this union of redeemed centaurs and quillboar, led by the Druids of the Fang, has taken their place. Based in Mashan'she.
• Courts of Fey: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. The Courts of Fey were believed to have had a purpose in the distant past, but this knowledge has been lost, replaced first by whimsy and now with hedonism. Based in Arborheight.
• Rawheart Lodge: Descendents of the jalgar, the furbolg bear-men have spread throughout the Dream, but their roots lie within a great subterranean world. With the collapse, they have begun their exodus home. Rawheart Lodge is what remains of the furbolg mystics, keepers of their knowledge. Based in Vorlassar Sierra.
• Antheran Hegemony: The moth-folk are reclusive at best and xenophobic at worst, and their sense of unity as a species is unclear. However, they are fervent worshippers of Elune, and will reciprocate whatever kindness they can find. Based in Urs'var Barrow.
• Sleepless Returners: All Unwaking bear a mark, haunted by visions of realities that never were. And yet, their corruption has given them a connection to the Nightmare deeper than most can tolerate. The more Unwaking that are freed, the more we can understand the vision of an Old God. Based in the Sleepless Edge.
• Fomorians: The touch of the Titans on the Dream was purposefully minimal, but perhaps they were too subtle. At some point in the distant past, all communication ceased. Their mechanized servants have waited patiently for the call to arms, but perhaps a more forceful touch is needed to rouse them. Based in Ivyspine Coast.
• First Progeny: This is the name we call them, as they predate such things. The First Progeny are formed from all manner of beasts born from the wild heart of nature, from mighty wolves and wise owls to cunning foxes and unassuming rodents. Intelligent yet with an entirely different perception of the world, the First Progeny understand that something is upsetting the balance of nature. To bond with them, one must give forgo higher thought and surrender to instinct, for some things in the Dream can only be seen through wilder eyes.

Bestiary

Under construction: The Waking Dream: Bestiary

The Waking Dream: Professions

In World of Warcraft: The Waking Dream, entry into the Emerald Dream will allow players access to all manner of magical and enigmatic ingredients to brew potent alchemy, forge armor and weapons, instill powerful enchantments and more. Faction dynamics play a huge role in The Waking Dream, and each profession, both gathering and crafting, will allow players access to spaces unique to their chosen fields and advance with minor factions, granting bonuses to their chosen craft.