Project Lore

The High Inquisitor is a new regular column at Project Lore that seeks answers to the greatest mysteries of Azeroth. Each week, the inquisitor will attack a previously unanswered question and attempt to explain the unknown. But she won't rest until all plausible explanations are explored. The best, most probable comment(s) will be highlighted with the next edition's inquisition.

They're the drunken, boorish, muscular, axe-wielding, long-bearded, mining, vertically-challenged characters of Azeroth. And did I mention that their accent suggests they're Scottish? Yup, I'm clearly talking about dwarves. And my question is simple - why? Just when did dwarves become such a type-casted caricature? Not just in World of Warcraft, but dwarves in a multitude of modern pop culture references seem to share a few key elements: beer, rocks and a hardy, bearded musculature. If you want to blame someone, let's go directly to the source - Norse mythology. The dvergar, as they were called, were significant nature spirits associated with rocks and the earth. Although they weren't described as short beings until much later, the dwarves even in this rendition are master crafters, especially in the sculpting of metals. Somewhat ironically, when exposed to sunlight, the Norse dwarves would turn to stone and die. The pop-culture version of the dwarf took a drastic turn thanks to JRR Tolkien and his iconic The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy. The stocky, touchy, easy to anger incarnation this time also explained dwarves as merrymen miners who loved a good drink and would willingly take on someone much larger than them in a fight. We see this version of the character commonly referenced in the modern fantasy genre, including in WoW (especially recently in Brewfest). And this certainly wouldn't be the last time that LOTR may have been used as inspiration for WoW. In the Warcraft lore, dwarves originated from the Earthen, who are guardians of living stone. After the implosion of the Well of Eternity, the shocked earthen went into a state of hibernation within the titan cities of Uldum, Uldaman and Ulduar. Nearly 8,000 years later, they awoke with softened skin and diminished powers over stone. Some migrated to Dun Morogh and built Ironforge. So, that's that. But there's still the remaining question of the Scottish accent. In the Lord of the Rings books, the dwarves were described as having a language that would more closely resemble African tongues. On the other hand, the LOTR movies adopted the Scottish convention, solidifying it into all of our minds as the proper language for dwarves. Perhaps one explanation for the accent could come from English folklore surrounding Duergar. These short, trouser- and hat-wearing tricksters would appear bearing torches at night to lead travelers astray into bogs. This story originated in Northern England, along the border with - ding ding - Scotland. Or, perhaps, someone just decided to portray a dwarf with a Scottish accent, and it stuck. So, perhaps it's the accent that's the biggest mystery of all. But WoW dwarves just wouldn't be the same if they didn't proclaim, while rolling those RRRs and charming the listener, "I don't have a drinking problem. I drink. I get drunk. I fall down. No problem!" So here's where you guys come in. What do you think of the accepted portrait of dwarves - does it work for you? Or would you rather see more originality instead of stereotyped characters? Oh, and don't forget to find me a good reason why dwarves are Scottish. The best answer(s) will be featured in the next edition. 3...2...1... GO!

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In the past few weeks here at Project Lore, we've had the pleasure of watching the crew battle their way through Naxxramas, until finally reaching the powerful "Kel' Thud." And while they've been busy up in the necropolis in the sky, I've also been busy leveling down below in Dragonblight. This zone has got to be one of my favorites in the game. The fantasy elements of WoW are a big draw for me, so a zone dedicated to the lore around dragons sucked me in. The valley wasteland known as the Great Dragonblight is a somewhat mysterious land littered with the corpses of all different kinds of dragons who have come for their final rest. But the Lich King and his Scourge legions have found use in the remaining skeletons, many which have been reanimated into undead frost wyrms such as the tragic Sindragosa and the very Sapphiron who now resides within Naxx. As for quests, the Dragonblight's offerings range from level 72 to 75 in the long grind to level 80, with a good few group quests, some giant elites to battle in the north and also several dailies. Both factions can pick up some sizable XP rewards (especially if you take advantage of rested XP when killing mobs) through questlines messing with the Scarlet Onslaught. Yes, the same baddies formerly in the Scarlet Crusade now have moved into Dragonblight in hopes of destroying the Lich King - and anyone else who stands in their way. I'm still trying to find a PUG to finish up Do Unto Others and the end of the Horde line. Another good line with some fun dragon lore lies in the Ruby Dragonshrine. And again both factions can partake, which is a plus in my book. But for me, the real fun came with visiting the holy Wyrmrest Temple, riding a dragon to the top and taking on missions from Alexstrasza, the queen of the dragons and guardian of all life on Azeroth. Plus, her character model looks really damn cool. She and Lord Afrasastrasz are involved with Horde, Alliance and neutral quests alike. And if you just can't get enough of her majesty, there's always the Defending Wyrmrest Temple daily that opens up after completing the Rifle the Bodies questline. You'll get to shoot down dragons while earning a little money, some xp and a bit of rep with the Wyrmrest Accord all at once. And as an added bonus, if you can manage to complete the quest in under two minutes, you'll earn the Rapid Defense achievement. That's my kind of quest. There's actually a ton more about Dragonblight that has really made me love this zone. I just have a couple more group quests to finish up before dinging 74 and moving on, probably to the dreaded Zul'Drak zone. I'm going to miss it. Has anyone else felt a kind of attachment to Dragonblight? How about any other zones? I'll admit it, I also still get nostalgic thinking about the many, many hours I've spent leveling in the Barrens.

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