Level 40: Saturday, March 19, 2011

A delayed birthday outing with my family in New York City meant that I was unable to exercise. However, I was able to find some diet-friendly items on the restaurant that we went to, so the day wasn't a total loss.

Just east of the Undercity lie the Western Plaguelands, so named because they were the point of origin for the undead plague that swept across the area. The Scourge installed giant cauldrons in the four major farms of the Western Plaguelands, which contaminated the grain that they produced.

The grain made its way through the kingdom, and the plague spread, most notably to Stratholme, where Arthas first begin his path to madness by ordering every citizen of the city killed before the plague could claim them. Prior to Cataclysm, the center city of the Western Plaguelands, Andorhal, was in ruins, as was the rest of the zone.

However far the plague spread, the lone sanctuary in the zone was the tomb of Uther Lightbringer, the noble paladin who trained Arthas, and was ultimately killed by his student.

Cataclysm brought many changes to the Plaguelands, not because of Deathwing's destruction, but due to the success of the heroes in Northrend during the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. After Arthas was killed, the Scourge were weakened significantly, and the Horde and Alliance forces began the long process of cleansing and reclaiming the area. From a player standpoint, the level requirement for the zone was lowered from the early 50's to the early 40's.

Both factions have claimed a portion of Andorhal, and a good portion of the quests in this zone deal with the battle that ensues between Horde and Alliance for possession of the city. Eventually, Sylvanas Windrunner reveals herself, and her use of the val'kyr, undead angels that can reanimate the dead, turn the tide of the battle for the Forsaken.

Elsewhere, the plagued farms have been reclaimed, and are now booming.

The Bulwark, the border between Tirisfal Glades and the Western Plaguelands has been significantly upgraded. This is the road to the Undercity.

As well as the reclamation is going, the zone's center island of Caer Darrow is still in the grip of the Scourge. Its main building, Scholomance, is a school for necromancers.