Lessons in Lore - Dragons of Nightmare

Our guild holds weekly meetings in a secluded place in Duskwood. As the meeting was over, we heard reports of Horde camping some of the quest givers, and so about 25 of us formed a raid, mounted, and raced to Raven Hill to take down the griefers. Long story, short, they ran before we ever got to them and everyone soon disbanded to their various tasks.

Upon leaving, I took a quick detour into the Twilight Grove, the large central area of Duskwood. I had been here before, ages ago, just to look around, and it's really amazing. It's like crossing a line, one moment you're in human lands, and the next you're in the middle of an Ashenvale glade. The area is completely Night Elven in it's appearance. There's even a moonwell in there, along with a Great Tree and a portal to... nowhere.

Well, actually, the portal is an entrance to the Emerald Dream, but it has yet to be implemented in the game in any form. There are actually four of these portals situated around the world, with a fifth appearing in Northrend with the expansion. Each of these portals is guarded by a Dragon of Nightmare. Taerar was hanging out by the Duskwood portal last night.


So why are these Dragons guarding these portals anyway? And if they're part of the Green Dragonflight under Ysera, then why are they so big and nasty and mean?

Well, apparently, even though we can't get there, trouble is rampant in the Emerald Dream in the form of The Nightmare. The nightmare is sort of a large area of bad stuff that is moving around and swallowing up the Emerald Dream. I like to think of it as The Nothing from The Never Ending Story movie. Originally, the Emerald Dream was the world of Azeroth as it would have been without the intervention of mortal races. It's a natural paradise, and the Druids had a special connection to it being able to traverse it in a dream state and occasionally even affect the real world through it. This Nightmare is adversely affecting the Emerald Dream, corrupting it's once perfect nature. Ysera, who is the dragon aspect in charge of the Emerald Dream is now constantly fighting against this nightmare, along with the druids who are now trapped in the dream because of it, including Malfurion Stormrange.

The Dragons of Nightmare were once lieutenants of the Green Dragonflight, aiding Ysera. But somewhere along the way, the Nightmare got hold of them and turned them against their own kind. They were then sent out of the dream and into the real world to spread their evil and terror to the mortal kingdoms. Which they do by staying right next to the portals and killing anyone who approaches, naturally.

Taerar, who I saw in Duskwood, has lost his corporeal form and looks sort of like a ghost dragon. Ysondre used to be a great healer but has given way to darker magics. Lethon (which looks a lot like Lethan, Elio's owl) has become a darker shade of his former self, and wields a the dark power of shadow against his foes. Emeriss now looks like a rotting, diseased corpse of his former self.

The portals which they guard are located in Duskwood, Ashenvale, The Hinterlands, and Ferelas. I've personally seen three of these up close, while avoiding the dragons. The portal in the Hinterlands I've seen from above while flying over it. It's located in the Northern portion of the map. The Ashenvale portal is in the far East of Ashenvale, north of the road that leads to Azshara. The Ferelas portal is Northeast of the Twin Colossals, and the Duskwood portal is right in the middle of Duskwood, up a windy path in to the Twilight Grove.

The Dragons were introduced in Patch 1.8 and were able to be taken down by a Raid. They dropped some of the best loot in the game at the time. The four dragons randomly spawn at the different portals, so it's possible to see the same dragon at different places, though not necessarily at the same time.

Having two level 70 night elves, one of them a Druid, I'm really hoping that Blizzard introduces an Emerald Dream... something. It would be great if it was it's own expansion, but it's been suggested that it could be a raid instance, or another zone added in a patch or something of the sort. Honestly, I'd just like to see them continue the story of The Nightmare, and finally allow these portals to be more than just eye candy guarded by a really scary Dragon.

It looks like they are introducing a fifth portal in Northrend with the Wrath expanion, and there will be members of the Green Dragonflight assisting in the assault on Malygos and the Blue Dragonflight, so we might see some developoments with the Emerald Dream through that. One can hope anyway.

Thanks for reading, and have a good morning!