I’ve Been Re-Exploring World of Warcraft, and It’s All Thanks to Some Books

I love a big world to explore when it comes to my games. Things to find, people to meet, quests to do – the whole schbang. That important story quest can wait, I have to explore these woods for 2 hours and find an acorn of truth, for something to that effect. That’s likely what has always drawn me to World of Warcraft, which I have spoken about at length on BA. 

Recently, thanks to some very pretty new books I’ve been chewing through, I’ve come to rediscover just how great Azeroth and its inhabitants are. Despite my long history with the game, I’ve been seeing a world I’ve inhabited for nearly 20 years with renewed awe and wonder, and it reminded me why I loved it to begin with.

Exploring Azeroth In Written Form

The books that began this journey of rediscovery are the Exploring Azeroth series, a collection written from the perspective of some of WoW‘s main characters, as they explore their respective kingdoms and lands, each with different missions or intentions. These aren’t necessarily stories, but rather journals, with the writers detailing the landmarks locations, and important people of the world, along with many notes and the history of conflict and companionship.

So, I sat down to begin reading through these five lovely novels, all with beautiful illustrations in the collector’s edition, because why not, they look pretty. The first entry explored the Eastern Kingdoms, home to many of the Alliance races, as well as the undead, and a history filled with war, plague, betrayal, and everything in between. It was within the first few pages of this book I began to find my mind drifting back to my younger years, and as I read about Stormwind, the major capital of the Alliance, I remembered my first time entering the city, gazing upon the statues that littered the entrance, and now I’m looking at those statues, beautifully drawn, and learning about the history and reason they are there.

That same sense of nostalgia and childish discovery continued through the book, and all the others that followed.

I learned about dungeons, which before were simply a piece of content to complete, but now, I knew why they were there, what their history was, and what made them important. I learned about the enemies and creatures, what they had endured, and learned the context of why I did those things when I was playing all those years ago. And to top it off, I learned, and relearned, a little more about the characters and the things they have seen. I’m almost glad I never read the quest text as a kid because I get to discover it now and appreciate it more thanks to my history with the world. And maybe a little because I’m older and have an attention span, sort of.

So, they are good books, well illustrated, detailed, and steeped in nostalgia, and they have been a nice extra bit of WoW I have enjoyed outside of the game itself. However, it wasn’t evident just how impactful they were on me until a chance encounter with one of the very cities I had been reading about. 

A Whole *New* World

Before jumping into my weekly grind or participating in some event, I’ve found myself reading a chapter or two beforehand, partly for the enjoyment of reading, and also because once I get going playing, I don’t tend to stop. Best to get the rest of my day done first before I sink into WoW and lose the rest of it. It’s a nice little ritual my autistic brain has come to enjoy.

At this point, I had read two of the five books, the first on the Eastern Kingdom, and the second on Kalimdor, the lands the Horde and Night Elves have been calling home for many years. It was while reading this second book on Kalimdor I read about Teldrassil, the giant World Tree the Night Elves once called home, which was destroyed leading into the game’s Battle for Azeroth expansion.

It’s a sad tale and one that got quite a nice write-up about its impact on the people of Azeroth. So, I finished up my chapter and began working on the Lunar Festival quests, a seasonal event in WoW. By chance, I had to explore Kalindor for some items and ended up flying through Darkshore.

Then, as I flew through the area, I took a slight turn, and I saw it.

It was Teldrassil, or at least, the husk left behind.

At this point, I had never seen it since its destruction, and it quite literally stopped me in my tracks. I took a minute to look at what remained of this once major landmark, and the surrounding warzone left behind following the battle that took place here. Only I knew about it now, properly. I had within the hour just read about its history, and now I was looking at its corpse.

It was a coincidence, sure, but one that made me really think about what that tree represented, the story it had, the times I had explored it myself, and all the people who also played and saw that city. It made that sight have weight, and the world became a bit more interesting because of it.

A similar experience happened the following night, when I happened across the Great Gate, a huge fortification the Tauren built in the wake of the Cataclysm. I had once again played in that starting area many times, in Classic and Retail, and never seen that gate, but now I know why it was there, why the humans outside patrol and what befell the Tauren before the gate was built. And it’s because of that book.

Since these two, there have been a few more of these moments, or newfound urges to explore areas, such as Northrends Grizzly Hills or Dragonblight, given I now know more about the secrets and stories of these lands. The same is said for characters and items, as I remember playing in my younger years, getting loot from dungeons, and being glad for the increased numbers. But I now know a little more about the weapon I’m holding, and how it fits into that dungeon’s history.

I’ve no doubt there will be many more moments like this, partly because I have now made a point to visit these locations, but if nothing else, it’s made me see the world with fresh eyes again, and that is not easy for a game that is 20 years old.

The Marriage of the Mediums

So I’ve been on and on about this newfound fondness for exploring WoW’s world and the rediscovering of it all, which has been a joy clearly, but in truth, this is more an avenue to highlight the importance, or rather the effect, the marriage of mediums can have on enriching a franchise.

It’s not uncommon for a franchise or series to have some extra outings into other forms of entertainment. Take Warhammer, a tabletop miniatures game, that has plenty of books and video games, and at some point, a whole Amazon Prime series. Pokemon, Sonic, Halo, which has had many books and comics set in that expansive world, and the… less than stellar TV series. I’m not saying they are all good.

But those other outings do a lot of things for both creators and the people consuming them. For one, you have more ways for different kinds of creative people, writers, filmmakers and what have you, to expand on something filled with potential, fill in gaps in its history, tell new stories of beloved characters, or create something entirely new. They give fans more to enjoy about their favorite games or hobbies, enriching their experience, or inspiring them to do something similar. Hell, why do you think fanfiction exists?

Of course, to put my business hat on for a moment, it allows you to expand your reach, and bring new people into the fold who maybe aren’t into gaming, but love a good book, or someone loves to binge a series or any combination that applies. More people, more money, good business, usually.

So bringing it back around to my main point for this rambling is that while in my life I have enjoyed multiple mediums for the things I love, this recent crossover of books and games with WoW has highlighted their importance and a newfound respect for them.

Like I’ve said, reading these books has made me, as a player, enjoy and explore a world I’ve seen and played in, in some capacity, for 20 years. That is quite a feat, and with the whole Worldsoul Saga to come, and I imagine many more moments and places I’ll revisit or explore, it will be nice to do that with a little more wisdom about the epic world that has become a second home.

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Matthew Fuller

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