Welcome to Know Your Lore, where each week Alex Ziebart brings you a tasty little morsel of lore to wrap your mind around. Sweet, sweet lore. Mmmm. Have suggestions for future KYL topics? E-mail us! Or, if you have a question for our sister column Ask a Lore Nerd, e-mail us those, too!
Nozdormu is the fifth and final dragon aspect, since the filthy Netherwing aspect doesn't count! Silly mutant spawn of Deathwing, thinking they're special or something. Anyhow, Nozdormu the Timeless is the aspect of the Bronze Dragonflight, and was given his power by the titan lord Aman'Thul. Nozdormu has power over time and can, technically, alter it to his whims. Though he's capable of doing such, he is meant to watch over the timeline and prevent it from being altered by outside forces.
Nozdormu, more or less, oversees the Caverns of Time. Or rather, he has in the past. Currently Nozdormu is preoccupied with some uberpowerful anomaly in the timeline, and has left his prime consort Soridormi in charge. You would think the Timeless One would have all the time in the world to get things done, but his history in Warcraft thus far says otherwise.
As you've likely already heard, patch 2.4.3 will finally be going live today, and we have the full set of notes. While the realms aren't up yet, the new patch excitement and QQs are already building.
How is this patch going to affect you? Do you have an army of level 30 alts lined up and waiting to purchase their phat new rides?
Here's a heads-up to all our North American night owls early risers and Oceanic readers: It's Tuesday morning, and that means maintenance. Luckily, it's a short one today. Bornakk has said that they expect most servers to only be down a half hour, starting at 5AM PDT and ending a 5:30AM PDT. There are some extra servers that will be down slightly longer, until 6:30AM PDT. Those servers will be listed after the break. Aussies can rejoice as well, as any Oceanic servers not on this list won't be taken down until 5AM AEST (Which is noon over here on the American west coast).
For the list of servers that will have a longer downtime, read on:
Drysc reports that a number of realms are under investigation for performance issues and will be undergoing a scheduled maintenance at 5:00 AM PDT on Wednesday, March 12 with a foreseeable downtime of 1 hour (update: Zorayn notes that downtime will be extended to 2 hours as opposed to one). As Drysc edits the thread, realms are added (or removed) regularly. From a quick perusal of the realms, it seems as though it is the Nightfall Battlegroup that is affected. Blizzard currently lists the affected realms as follows:
Aerie Peak Altar of Storms Alterac Mountains Anvilmar Arygos Blackwing Lair Deathwing Demon Soul Doomhammer Gnomeregan Icecrown Jaedenar Kel'Thuzad Lethon Onyxia Sentinels Tanaris The Venture Co Uldaman Undermine
Drysc further notes that other Battlegroups are under close observation and will be taken down for maintenance should any issues arise that might require it.
Reader Lantanian from Quel'dorei offers up this screenshot straight from the Tanaris desert. Though you can clearly see Gadgetzan not-too-far in the distance, it was apparently too far for one poor traveler, who succumbed to the wilderness just outside of town.
Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see your idea of the best looking instance on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!
Reader Jason sends us this screenshot of the gates of Uldum on the edge of Tanaris. It's an easy area to miss, as this facade is only set-dressing to a larger area which, perhaps, Blizzard plans to add later. (There is one quest that points you this way, for those persistent enough to have completed all of the Uldaman quests -- though it dead-ends in the scene we see above.) It is speculated that the Earthen, creators of the Dwarves, dwell inside, though we'll learn more when Blizzard implements the zone.
Do you have an image that shows off a mystery location in Azeroth? Just finished a long quest-chain that's been left to dead-end in the middle of nowhere? We want to know all about it here on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!
Reader Arsenie sends along this shot of the full moon along-side a pirate ship off the coast of Tanaris. What's unusual about the image, besides a nice composition (hey, are you sure we're not playing Pirates of the Burning Sea?) is the fact that these ships are way, way, way out at sea. Arsenie tells us that on the map they look like islands and that it took two corpse runs (fatigue is a killer) to get this shot!
Have you managed to visit a unique spot that no one else has seen? Gone through trials and tribulations to find that perfect screenshot? We'd like to see it on Around Azeroth! All you have to do is e-mail aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your screenshot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could find your pictures and story featured next!
Hot on the heels of tomorrow's expected 2.2 release, Neth has posted the short-but-sweet 2.2.2 patch notes, which include Brewfest and Hallow's End, featuring lots of new seasonal rewards and quests. As we've said before, the fact that both of these holidays are coming up quick means we can't be more than one or two weeks away from this patch's release.
And the other interesting feature of this patch is the addition of quite a few new graveyards all over Old Azeroth. Southern Barrens, Western Plaguelands, Alterac Mountains, Searing Gorge and the Badlands are all getting extra graveyards (there's no indication whether they're Horde or Alliance specific or otherwise), and Tanaris, Winterspring, Stonetalon and Un'Goro are all getting two.
Wow. That should significantly speed things up in Un'Goro, Tanaris, and the Southern Barrens especially, since I have less-than-fond memories of super-long corpse runs there. Badlands, too, was pretty maddening, and while the long corpse run wasn't the only reason most players aren't big fans of Uldaman, it was definitely a reason for that. This is no doubt part of Blizzard's aim to speed up levels 1-60 for players. This alone, of course, doesn't exactly make me want to go back and run another alt through (only new content would do that), but at least when we do run another alt through, it'll be a little easier.
Yoma of Defias Brotherhood (EU) sends in this cute little shot of guildmate Lywon trekking across the Tanaris desert with his pet. I always thought the footprints (or in this case, hoof and pawprints) were a nice visual touch, and this screenshot shows why.
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.
Reader Sanari of Khaz Modan sends in this nicely composed shot that really catches the speed of the Druid's travel form. Here we see a Druid speeding across the Tanaris desert towards the moonrise. (I want to say towards Un'goro, but with the landmarks in this shot, it could just as easily be running the other way.)
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.
Seen from above, Zul'Farrak looks peaceful and scenic. A pleasant tourist spot, perhaps? Of course, it only looks this way when viewed from afar, as in this shot sent in by reader Raileh of Turalyon. If you get much closer, you start to see a very unpleasant tribe of Trolls who aren't at all fond of strangers.
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.
Reader Whiskerwing sent in an entire gallery of screenshots, but out of all of them, I chose this one to post. Why? I just love the way the Dwarf braids fly up when casting spells. It's a minor detail, to be sure, but it's a detail I haven't noticed in any other race.
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.
If you've never done Tooga's Quest in the past, you may find yourself confused as to why there's a large tortoise in the middle of the Tanaris desert. It's an escort quest (my least favorite kind) that takes you from one end of the desert to the other -- all the while being trailed by Tooga, who's just as slow as you would expect him to be. However, the quest is worthwhile if only for Tooga's sparkling personality, which comes through quite clearly in this screenshot from reader Celwynn.
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part.
I found out about this when I spotted a player trying to sell the Ring of Bitter Shadows in chat. I asked them where they got it, since I remembered that it was jewelcrafted, and they sent me to a vendor named Jase Farlan up at Light's Hope Chapel, who sells it for a pretty decent price, in my opinion. It looks like a few other jewelcrafting items are currently available from vendors. This includes some of the figurines -- at least Figurine - Black Pearl Panther and Figurine - Truesilver Crab.
The question in my mind is whether these items will remain available post-expansion. My bet would be that they'll vanish, and this will just have been a fun little jewelcrafting preview. As far as I know, no significant crafted items are currently available from vendors, but maybe that's set to change.
Additionally, new and more powerful water, food, arrows, and bullets can be bought from an orc vendor named Galgrom deep in the Caverns of Time in Tanaris. The arrows and bullets are also available from general goods vendors throughout Azeroth, and seem to be a much better deal than the water, which as far as I can tell is exclusive to Galgrom. At over 10s for one drink, I probably won't be buying the water for general use, at least not until after I get my epic mount; the ammo costs 10s for a whole stack.
Have you all spotted any other BC items that have snuck in with the patch? And those of you who have tried the Filtered Draenic Water, how would you rate it? Does it make financial sense for someone with a mana pool around 6k?
I'm classifying this quest as lesser-known, as I have just finally come across it after 2 1/2 years and 5 level 60's. Yes, you may call me ignorant and tell me I'm not paying attention in the comments.
Tooga is a giant tortoise who's lost and roaming somewhere in southern Tanaris. I found him just south of the Thistleshrub Valley, wandering aimlessly in search of dinner for his wife.
As far as escort quests go, Tooga's Quest is remarkably simple and rewarding. Instead of chasing across the desert like some other quest I know, Tooga is actually quite happy to follow you, giving you a 30-minute timer to take him to the coast just south of Steamwheedle Port.
Given that Tooga will actually help you in combat, it's a bit like you get a level 50 turtle pet for 30 minutes who then hands over the experience and loot.
I won't give away the entire dialog here, but let's just say that even though you get 5900xp and your choice of great shaman bracers or a druid ring, you almost feel bad for Tooga as his wife Torta treats the poor fella like a baby treats a diaper.
If you're out and about in Tanaris, take some time to lead Tooga to the shore, killing mobs along the way. You could run straight to the shore in 10 minutes, but take the time with this pet - he makes for a good tank.
If you've done this quest, let us know of your experience with it, and if you used Tooga as a combat pet or just ran him straight home.
As you've likely already heard, 
Hot on the heels of tomorrow's 
I found out about this when I spotted a player trying to sell the 
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