Project Lore

Welcome to The High Inquisitor, where Project Lore pokes fun at all those crazy, unexplained WoW impossibilities. While the answers to these great mysteries of Azeroth often are a matter of game mechanics, here we’re less interested in that aspect, and more interested in exploring our own unique brand of lore that could happily provide explanations. The inquisitor will make her own suggestions, and the best comment(s) with more possibilities will be highlighted with the next edition’s inquisition.

It's the dead of January, and my usually decently warm spot in the world on the eastern coast of the U.S. is downright frigid. Even my friends in Florida have been seeing wintry temperatures below freezing. It's days like today that I'm happy to escape to Azeroth. ...But wait!

The different zones of Azeroth remain basically the same year-round. Northrend is a chilly place no matter what time of year, seemingly stuck in a perpetual winter. And Durotar... well, have you ever seen snow there, or anywhere else that it doesn't fall regularly? What is going on with the seasons of Azeroth!?

Perhaps those two lands I chose are poor choices. Even with seasons, it would be reasonable to conceive that Northrend, being close to what we would consider the North Pole, would remain snowy year-round. Likewise, Durotar is closer to the middle of the planet, which could be like Earth's equator -- perpetually tropical. Like Earth, Azeroth presumably has one sun. Assuming an Earth-like orbit, ice caps would be plausible, as would a tropical region. And the areas between tropical and polar would presumably find temperatures somewhere in-between.

But then there are zones like Dun Morogh, also near the center of the planet, that also are eternally snow-swept despite their location. Also in the Eastern Kingdoms, I immediately think of Booty Bay in the far south, which under earlier presumptions would be a very cold place, yet it's filled with palm trees and surrounded by warm, swimmable waters year-round. Let's see if we can find a good explanation for all this weather mayhem. No matter where the zone is in Azeroth, it seems that it keeps its same season year-round.

My first thought is that the world could have a very long orbit around its sun, resulting in seasons that last years and years each, instead of just months like on Earth. Or perhaps each zone in Azeroth is temporarily locked in time, (and therefore season) magically, to combat the Lich King (or other current enemy) from devastating the future of the planet. With the huge influence of magic on the world, however, my favorite explanation is that the weather has been enchanted so that seasons change through location, instead of through time. Taking Eastern Kingdoms as an example again, you could move from spring (Wetlands) to summer (Searing Gourge) to fall (Loch Modan) to winter (Dun Morogh) easily. And if you prefer one season over another, it's easy to avoid those areas that aren't quite right for you. As for me, I think I'd choose a spring or summertime zone as my permanent residence. What are your own thoughts on the seasons of Azeroth?

What else do you think may influence the static nature of the seasons in WoW?

 Last time, we spoke of the longevity of food and what keeps them safe to eat. Thanks to everyone who commented and suggested everything from pickling to dehydrating processes. And kudos to Thrall'sleave, who suggested this nifty answer: "Blizz marked all our Imbued Frostweave Bags with the Glad Fresh seal mark and technology."