In the last expansion, all we did was walk through a portal and find a new world -- the old one was left pretty much unchanged overall. But in this coming expansion, Blizzard has made it pretty clear that almost nothing is off limits -- Northrend is getting added to Azeroth, and we're not traveling across space to get there. And considering that Arthas' story echoes throughout almost all of the old world (and that the whole thing is named after him), things are definitely going to change once Northrend appears on the world map.

So we've put together a gallery of just what will be different about the old world after the Wrath of the Lich King comes upon us. To be fair, some are set in stone (we know for sure that Naxxaramas is exiting stage left for a bigger part later), and some are little more than speculation (Uther played a huge part in Arthas' life, so his tomb seems like a good stage for an event at some point), but odds are that by the time we've all reached level 80, all of these places in Old Azeroth will look very different.

When you decide to roleplay, a whole new world of imagination opens up to you -- soon you realize that all the world's a stage, even if just an electronic one.

We don't know a whole lot about death knights in WoW yet, but what we do know is already enough to show that death knights are the class with the most background story already laid out for them ahead of time: The death knights we will be able to play are former servants of the Lich King who have now turned against him and joined the Alliance or the Horde instead. This background story is built into the class -- something each and every death knight roleplayer will have to take into account when they roleplay their character, and it will have ramifications upon everyone else in the entire global society of Azeroth as well.

Some other classes have a great depth of lore behind them as well, such as druids, paladins and shamans, who look to Malfurion, Uther, and Thrall for inspiration. These classes certainly look up to their heroes and follow in their footsteps, just as, in some ways, death knights follow in the footsteps of Arthas. And yet for other classes that has little effect on each individual's path to becoming a practitioner of his or her particular abilities. The transition from normal shmoe to level one hero is left vague for the player upon character creation, unless, as a roleplayer working on a backstory, he gives it special attention.

Indeed, some classes are pretty straightforward, and don't necessarily suggest a story at all. Instead, they present us with an image, or an idea -- when you play one of the existing nine classes, you can fit right into the role without a story, because the role feels like a basic archetype you already understand.

As we continue down the road to Wrath of the Lich King, we get more and more information about what factions we'll be coming across. The Taunka, the Tuskarr, the Scarlet Onslaught, things like that. The one that seems to have gotten the most people excited is our beloved Silver Hand. The inclusion of the Silver Hand has even sparked a great amount of debate on the official Wrath forums, yammering for or against the Horde being welcome in the Order. Because of all of this, I've decided we'll take a little look at the Silver Hand this week!

Contrary to what most people believe/know, the Order of the Silver Hand was not founded exclusively by Uther the Lightbringer. At the time, Uther was actually still an apprentice. His teacher, Archbishop Alonsus Faol, was the true founder of the Order, though Uther was at his side, naturally.

I have never been able to get a paladin past level 50 in game.

Oh, I've tried to do it. My first character was a paladin, back in the days after release: my wife had been playing since Beta and wanted me to try the game out, and I often played paladins in other games. I got him to his mid 30's or so before I realized that, unlike in other games I was used to, paladins in WoW are actually very capable healers and are often expected to heal in runs. Since at that time I had no desire to do so, I rerolled warrior and the rest is history.

But as I became somewhat of a lore nerd, there were certain characters that I found out about who inspired me to go and try new classes. I played a druid because Malfurion is pretty damn awesome. I tried a warlock because of how unrepentantly evil Teron Gorefiend is. And I keep going back to paladins, thinking this time will be the time I get to the level cap, because of one man.

Uther. The Lightbringer. The first paladin of Azeroth, who lived his whole life in the shadow of orcish armies and demonic invasions, who fought for what little peace he knew in his lifetime, who died at the hands of his own student, a man who should have been as great as he was but whose flaws drove him down a road even Uther couldn't follow to save him. He lived and he died as the Light in him demanded, a hero who would not kill the innocent, would not take the path of expediency over honor and justice, would not put down his hammer even when it was death to hold it up.

Who has frustrated me time and time again by luring me back to playing a paladin even though I'm just no good at it, now that I think about it. But that's just how cool Uther was. You watch him in the WCIII cinematics and next thing you know you've rolled a paladin. You can't stop yourself. So who was this man who has caused me to swear bloody murder at my screen and yet keep going back for more?

It seems more clear than ever that we're headed to Northrend in the next expansion. And so, via our good friends at Joystiq, here's a little refresher from the last time we were there.

That's our buddy Arthas, wielding Frostmourne and meeting up with (and becoming, most likely) the Lich King during the very last cutscene of Warcraft III. That building he's hanging out in is Icecrown Citadel, which will very likely be a raid dungeon at some point in WoW. The voice saying, "Forget this business" is Muradin Bronzebeard, and the voice questioning Arthas' sanity is Uther the Lightbringer himself, whom Arthas murdered (and whose tomb is found right now in the Western Plaguelands). And of course as far as we know, Arthas is still sitting on that throne, ready to appear.. in a brand new cinematic on Friday at BlizzCon?

Excited yet?

Update: My fault, I thought both voices were Uther. Should have realized no Human would ever have an accent like that.

Well, maybe you can't meet Uther himself, but you can visit his tomb, located in the Western Plaguelands, near Chillwind Camp (the alliance flight path is there, but it's a little off the beaten path for a horde player). At any rate, reader Mike sends in this great shot highlighting the statue of Uther inside the tomb always surrounded by that perfect glow.

So do you have a unique shot of Azeroth 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.