There are a few quests I've done so far that have really made me squirm. I play Horde, and you just know that most things the Forsaken are wrapped up in are going to be kind of dodgy. A lot of our early questing in Northrend concerns the Apothecary Society's attempts to find a Scourge-specific plague (...right), and that doesn't end particularly well. I can sort of accept that, because the quest series skates a thin moral line between plausible deniability on the character's part as to the apothecaries' true intentions, and what actually ends up happening. But there's one quest in particular that has nothing to do with the apothecaries that really gave me pause. It's actually one that has an Alliance equivalent as well, although it ends somewhat differently there.

If you're not that far into Dragonblight quests and don't want to be spoiled, I'm putting it behind the cut.

You knew we'd get to him sooner or later. Brace yourselves for a two parter: this one's going to be huge. There's so much to say about Thrall.

Thrall, son of Durotan. Rightful Chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan. Warchief of the Horde. Single most badass orc out there. He's a shaman, but he can wear plate. He's that awesome. Since last time I wrote about the most evil orc ever, I figured this time out we should talk about the savior of the orcish people, the guy who brought pure shamanism back to the Horde, the guy who threw a freaking hammer at a pit lord (okay, so he got owned, but we all know he was just giving Grom his big hero moment) and who was the only one to just listen to Medivh instead of doing something stupid like going to Northrend.

Even when I played Alliance... heck, even when my main was an Alliance Paladin, way back in the dim misty recesses of the past.... there was no question but that you had to respect Thrall. So how did this paragon of Orcishness (no, it's not a word) come into being? How did he rise from being a heck of a pain to escort in Durnholde Keep to eventually being a heck of a pain to keep away from the fighting at Mount Hyjal?

Like most people, Thrall started life as a baby, in his case a baby orc. His father Durotan and mother Draka were among the few orcs that didn't buy into Gul'dan's new Horde and refused to drink the Blood of Mannoroth. Not drinking the blood was smart. Letting Gul'dan know they didn't like him wasn't as smart. (Durotan's childhood friend, Orgrim Doomhammer, also didn't drink the blood, but he managed to make it look like he was deferring out of reverence for his warchief, Blackhand the Destroyer, whereas Durotan outright refused to do it.) Since the Frostwolves had been warned by Gul'dan's former mentor, Ner'zhul, they ended up exiled for their refusal and found themselves forced to eke a difficult life out of the frozen Alterac Valley.

However, as we learned last time, Gul'dan was not exactly the forgiving sort. So he decided that exile to Alterac Valley wasn't enough punishment for Durotan and his people. Being Gul'dan, he decided that having the defiant chieftain of the Frostwolves treacherously murdered was a better idea.

At the Lore panel at BlizzCon Chris Metzen mentioned that some old faces will appear in new ways in future content. We can expect Sylvanas to make an appearance, Bronzebeard will lead us to unlock the mysteries of the world's creation, Hellscream will lead the Horde into Northrend. Keeping this in mind, what heroes would you like to spend more time with? Is there anyone you would especially love to see again?

Illidan, Medivh, Deathwing -- Know Your Lore has been kind of focused on villians so far, with a good reason. Villains are cool. I'd rather have the Burning Legion backing me up than the Cenarion Circle, and drinking with Illidan sounds more fun than with Malfurion. But sometimes there are heroes who are not only good, but also extremely cool. That is the case with this week's Know Your Lore subject, Grom Hellscream.

Who: Grommash Hellscream.

What: Chieftain of the Warsong orcs.

Finally, I'm sure some of you are saying.  Initially announced on March 24th and delayed three times since, it appears that transfers to the new Norgannon and Thrall realms are finally going to happen. Begining Monday, April 17th, at 3:00 AM PDT, players from Shadowsong and Azjol-Nerub will be able to transfer to Norgannon while players from Alleria and Hellscream will be able to transfer to Thrall.  Transfers will close on Thursday, April 20th, at 3:00 PM PDT, so get on it while there's a chance.

Because I do not play on any of the affected servers, the fact that Blizzard has opened up PvE to PvP realm transfers was not immediately obvious to me.  Hyjal, Lightbringer, Shadowsong, Zul'jin, Alleria , Hellscream, and Whisperwind are all PvE servers, and have recently been given the opportunity to transfer to new PvP servers Black Dragonflight and Dalvengyr.  This is interesting, primarily because Blizzard has, in the past, always kept realm transfers within their realm type.  So these new transfers will allow seasoned players from old PvE servers a taste of the excitement of PvP without the difficulty that faces most players who wish to make such a switch - rerolling and releveling. 

Starting on Monday, April 10th, at 3:00 AM PST, players on Hyjal, Lightbringer, Shadowsong, Zul'jin, Alleria, Khaz'goroth, Hellscream, and Whisperwind will have the option to transfer to new PvP servers Black Dragonflight (Hyjal, Lightbringer, Shadowsong, and Zul'jin) and Dalvengyr (Alleria, Khaz'goroth, Hellscream, and Whisperwind).  Transfers will close on Thursday, April 13th, so if you're interested in making the jump, do it as soon as possible.

While Norgannon and Thrall are supposed to be two new servers accepting transfer accounts (from Shadowsong & Azjol-Nerub and Alleria & Hellscream, respectively), transfers keep getting pushed further and further back.  At the end of last week, they were scheduled to come online Monday.  On Monday, technical issues prevented transfers from occurring.  On Tuesday, as I'm sure you recall, all servers were offline.  On Wednesday, we were told they were opening on Thursday.  And today we're told that transfers are postponed until further notice.  It's nearly getting to where you can't trust these people...

Transfers to new servers Norgannon (from Shadowsong and Azjol-Nerub) and Thrall (from Alleria and Hellscream) were set to close this Thursday, but due to yesterday's extended maintenance (and perhaps the fact that transfers were offline on Monday), the transfer period has been rescheduled to start Thursday, March 30th, and to run until Tuesday, April 4th.  Remember, transfers are only available between 3:00 AM and 3:00 PM PST.  If you're interested in transferring, hit up the character transfer page. 

While two new transfer servers were supposed to go live today, it sounds like there are some technical problems.  Players hoping to transfer from Shadowsong or Azjol-Nerub to Norgannon or Alleria or Hellscream  to Thrall will have another chance tomorrow, when transfers should re-open at 3AM PST.

I imagine the server folks at Blizzard have had a hard week - because they've announced another two realms, transfer only, opening Monday.  Players on the servers Shadowsong and Azjol-Nerub can transfer to Norgannon while players on the servers Alleria and Hellscream can transfer to Thrall.  As usual, transfers are open from Monday to Friday, 3AM to 3PM PST, and the transfer period closes on Thursday, after which point normal character creation will be available.