World of Warcraft is home to many strange places, most of which players have probably never heard of. However, one of them has been in the game since release and remains a mystery for some even to this day. There is a huge secret to discover on the island.
The island of Alcaz is located on the east coast of Kalimdor, north of the peninsula of Theramore in the Dustwallow Marshes – and actually the island no longer serves any real “purpose”.
In the Classic era, you had to visit it if you wanted to open Ahn’Qiraj or upgrade your endgame dungeon set to Tier 0.5. However, the island is full of elite mobs, so only player groups could achieve anything there.
Since Ahn’Qiraj only needed to be opened once per server and very few players actually “needed” Tier 0.5, hardly anyone visited the island back then. Even with the Legion overhaul, there were few reasons to ever go there.
For some, the island of Alcaz is still one of the most beautiful places in WoW, while for others it was completely unknown until then – such as a user on Reddit. They asked what kind of island this actually is and find out what significance it really holds.
One single NPC is responsible for almost everything in Classic
As you might deduce from the name, the island of Alcaz is actually a kind of prison, like the namesake island of Alcatraz. Specifically, one of the most important figures from the WoW lore was imprisoned here: Varian Wrynn, the king of Stormwind, whose NPC can be found on the island.
If you played WoW back in 2004 as a human or alliance player, you should know that Stormwind was without a king during that time. The young Anduin serves as regent, and the actual rule is carried out by Lady Katrana Prestor and Highlord Bolvar Fordragon. Here it gets a bit complicated:
- Lady Prestor is actually the black dragon Onyxia and wants to plunge the world into war.
- To do this, she had the king kidnapped – by the Defias, who are angry because they weren’t paid for their work (by Lady Prestor herself).
- Wrynn was actually on his way to a peace summit with the Horde, but never reached it. The result is what you know today as World of Warcraft and the conflict between Horde and Alliance.
The entire quest line runs through the story of Classic, which you experience repeatedly in various parts of the world – from Elwynn to the lair of Onyxia herself. “The Missing Diplomat” is the highlight and still the one quest that is always being recommended.
The one secret the “noble” Horde likes to forget
On Reddit, the user Beacon2001 gives a bit more insight into the background, as the fact that Wrynn is found there has even more significance than just his captivity. Beacon explains that Wrynn’s story continues in the comics.
Onyxia didn’t just want to kidnap the king, but to make him her puppet. To do this, she split his soul – into a warrior part that she later wanted to kill, and a quasi-unwilling puppet that she can control.
However, the warrior part managed to escape and was promptly enslaved by the orcs, forced to fight as a gladiator in their arenas. Something that Thrall should actually condemn, as his entire story is a fight against slavery.
Varian’s, or among the orcs: Lo’gosh’s, slave master Rehgar later became one of Thrall’s closest advisors and was taken to a meeting with the king of Stormwind after he had become whole again. Nice gesture …
“The Missing Diplomat should end there”
In the comments, some users are still discussing whether Alcaz Island could have been more. After all, it would have made sense for the diplomat questline to reach its climax there. You’re already basically right next to the island at the end of it, anyway.
However, Blizzard decided against it and instead moved the Ahn’Qiraj questline there. Now players are hoping that the rumored Classic+ will continue this and pick up “unfinished” content like Alcaz Island.
For many fans, Varian Wrynn and his entire story, which you can experience (at least as a human or Alliance player) from start to finish, along with epic highlights in dungeons and raids, are among the best experiences in World of Warcraft. Varians story is a tale of hardship, with a tragic ending. It’s exactly such stories that make the world so good: The 5 NPCs with the saddest stories in WoW
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!