World of Warcraft Shot of the Week : Darnassus

Darnassus (aka Darnassus City) is the capital city of the night elves of the Alliance. The high priestess, Tyrande Whisperwind, resides in the Temple of the Moon, surrounded by other sisters of Elune and her mate, the Arch-Druid Malfurion Stormrage.

Darnassus is the greatest city of the night elves, housing the leaders of both the druids and the faithful of Elune. It is carefully guarded by Sentinels, ancient protectors, and ancients of war.

The atmosphere inside the city is quiet and tranquil. It does not have the feeling of confinement that one would feel in Stormwind or Ironforge, where the buildings are grouped close together. Darnassus is open to the sky, and the graceful bridges spanning the lake around which it is built set the buildings wide apart. The elegant bridges, beautiful groves, and leaf-covered pathways that dot the city’s landscape are testaments to the night elves’ reverence for nature. One of Darnassus’s most notable structures is the stunning Temple of the Moon, the center of worship for High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind and her Sisters of Elune. The prime reason why the city’s population is so low is that it is isolated: Teldrassil is a small island away from the main mass of Azeroth, and the only way to gain access from another continent is to fly or sail to Rut’theran Village, a small settlement at the base of Teldrassil, and from there step into the glowing portal to the city proper. Darnassus is home to night elves of all vocations, and the city has recently opened its doors to human refugees from Gilneas as well. Many of these embattled humans have contracted a strange curse that transforms them into feral wolf-beasts known as worgen. Although they’re usually reclusive, the night elves have allowed these outsiders into Darnassus because they know the perils of the Gilneans’ cursed state all too well: it was, in fact, a group of night elf druids that created Azeroth’s first worgen millennia ago. Despite the arrival of these new residents, Darnassus remains a symbol of the night elves’ rich culture and glorious history.

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