“Outland was a natural choice for us, as it is a key setting for several of the plot lines from the Warcraft strategy games,” Dabiri explains. “It’s also the ancient homeland of the Orcs, as well as the adopted homeland of the Draenei, not to mention the base of operations for Illidan, who has a strong connection with the Blood Elves, as explored in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.”

Illidan Stormrage, who was once a Night Elf but was twisted by demonic forces, rules Outland from his Black Temple. In ancient times, he and his twin brother, Malfurion Stormrage, fought alongside the then-immortal Night Elves to protect Azeroth from the first invasion by the demonic Burning Legion, which had been created by the Titan known as Sargeras.

Illidan eventually sought an allegiance with Sargeras, however, an act for which he is known by many as The Betrayer. After the Legion’s defeat, Malfurion imprisoned Illidan in an underground prison for 10,000 years, although the two later reunited when the Legion attacked again. A second defeat led the demon lord Kil’jaeden, one of three leaders of the race once known as the Eredar, to approach Illidan and ask him to destroy the Lich King, who had been recruited to create the demonic forces known as the Scourge but who had grown too powerful.

Illidan failed at that task, defeated by the human-king-turned-Death-Knight Arthas, who merged with the Lich King to become the most powerful being in Azeroth. Illidan took refuge on Outland to escape Kil’jaeden’s wrath, directing his demonic forces to seal off the continent from the Twisting Nether, an astral plane between worlds that the Burning Legion uses to funnel troops for its attacks.

A Burning Desire

Sargeras created the Burning Legion to carry out a mission he called The Burning Crusade, which aims to destroy the universe and rebuild it without the single flaw he believed was holding it back from achieving true order. The Eredar swore fealty to Sargeras early in his struggle, Kil’jaeden and another leader, Archimonde, becoming demon lords in exchange for turning over the people of their planet, Argus.

However, a third Eredar leader, Velen, resisted Sargeras’ overtures and escaped with the help of a mysterious race of beings known as the Naaru, who believe in benevolence and kindness. Velen and his refugee group of Eredar settled on a planet called Draenor, where they became known as Draenei. They shared that world with the Orcs, who were peaceful until Kil’jaeden brought the Burning Legion to Draenor and corrupted them. He directed the Orcs to attack the Draenei and they did so, killing approximately 80% of them and forcing the others to hide or flee the planet.

The Orc leader Ner’zhul made the original pact with Kil’jaeden on behalf of his people, but he backed out of the agreement and left it to his second-in-command, Gul’dan. While Gul’dan carried out the near-extermination of the Draenei, Ner’zhul practiced the dark arts he had learned from Kil’jaeden. He began opening portals to other worlds from Draenor, eventually creating such instability that the planet broke apart, becoming what is now known as Outland. To punish the former Orc leader for his insolence, Kil’jaeden turned Ner’zhul into the Lich King and sent him to Azeroth to build a demonic army that would become known as the Scourge.

One of the Scourge’s targets was Quel’Thalas, which was founded by an exiled group of Night Elves who had been known as the High Elves. They were sent away because of their devotion to arcane magic, which had originally alerted Sargeras to the existence of Azeroth. Led by the Demon Knight Arthas, the Scourge laid waste to Quel’Thalas and defiled the Sunwell, which was the source of the High Elves’ power.

The surviving High Elves became known as the Blood Elves, in honor of those who were killed by the Scourge. Over time, the Blood Elves lost much of their physical and behavioral resemblance to the High Elves, thanks to an addiction to arcane magic that could no longer be fulfilled after the destruction of the Sunwell. The Blood Elves are now looking for a new source of magic and have aligned themselves with the Horde.

Run Away! Run Away! This huge dragon patrols the southern Blasted Lands and stomps anyone foolish enough to take him on solo.

Learning the Ropes. A Draenei helps clear the vale in which their ship crash-landed.

None Shall Pass! A hint: Just avoid these guys and head elsewhere when you arrive in Outland. Seriously.