Unseen Killers

“Perhaps the most frightening disease is the one that doesn't make its presence known until it's far too late to defeat it. It lies dormant, unseen for days, months, even years, hiding under the skin, undetected or ignored by the body’s natural defenses. Unlike many infections or viruses, which attack quickly and very noticeably, the symptoms of a dormant disease are so subtle, so quiet they hardly seem out of place. And that’s the danger - often a dormant disease will grow so slowly that we become accustomed to its effects without knowing we are doing so. It sits there, waiting for the proper moment when the right set of factors awakens it to fulfill its destructive purpose. Then, when we see this unseen killer for what it is, we can do nothing but watch it consume us, eat away at us, wishing too late we would have seen it for what it is in time to stop it while we could.”

- Doctor Gustaf VanHowzen, Alliance physician, “Social Ills: A Study of Diseases on Large Populations”

Finding Your Way Around

The story isn't dead. I promise. I mull it over in my head several times a day. It's still there, and it's still coming.

In the meantime, the world of Azeroth is a rich one. There's no denying that. Exploring the different areas and lands was part of the fun in playing World of Warcraft. The one time I got onto a public test realm (where the developers tested things before putting them in the game), I focused far less on trying out high-level abilities I hadn't gotten yet, and far more on exploring places I wouldn't get to see on my real character for a while.

What does it say that one of the first places I went to see was full of giant mushrooms and the walking dead?

Now, long removed from the game, I still enjoy looking at the maps and see where I've been and where I never got to go. The in-game maps are beautifully illustrated, made to look like an old piece of parchment, and have the given area's most important locations labeled.

Elwynn Forest....kinda makes you feel all Bilbo Baggins-ish, dunnit?

As great as the in-game maps are, WoW fans have taken Azeroth cartography a step further, making mroe interactive and detailed maps for players to use. The game's mini-map shows the layout of Azeroth in small but detailed-in-better-relief pieces, like so:

Some enterprising WoW cartographers took the technology behind Google Earth and put it to use. The result, essentially pieced together from the same graphics used in the mini-map, is a "satellite" view of Azeroth as it would look from the crow's eye:

Elwynn Forest as seen from the International Space Station

The following are, in my view, the best ways the Google Azeroth technology has been utilized:

Okay, this is the original in-game map for The Badlands.

- WoW Game Pressure offers "Google Azeroth" maps by region, handily organized to help you find the region you're looking for quickly. Each map labels key areas the in-game maps may not have, and has lists of the quests and NPCs that appear in the area as well.

This is WoW Game Pressure's Badlands Map with extra labels. Note NPC/quest lists below the map.

- MapWoW give the full "Google Azeroth" experience, allowing you to navigate and zoom in/out wherever you want. It also gives the option of labeling locations, resource nodes or travel paths.

MapWoW's satellite-esque view of the Badlands, pre-Cataclysm. Note the node display options to the right.

Wyrimaps has the most updated "Google Azeroth" maps, with the changes from the Cataclysm marked and mapped. The downside is that labels aren't an option for the time being.

Wyrimaps' satellite of the Badlands showing the effects of the Cataclysm.

Why do I mention this here? As I develop my stories, I use and throw out a lot of place names to give myself and the reader an idea of where in Azeroth the theater of action is taking place. I try to keep consistent with those already established in the game and Warcraft lore. But sometimes I feel the need to create my own location, be it a town, a port or a natural landmark. If I do that, I'll try to give an idea of where it is in relation to already-established landmarks. Using the above resources will help you know where the heck it is I'm talking about.