Desolace, better known as Mashan’she, or ‘the Loom of the Earth Mother,’ by the tauren, was once a verdant grassland. Although the nomadic tauren began calling the region their home as many as thousands of years ago, Desolace used to be squarely in the heart of elven territory before the Sundering [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume I, pg. 144-145]. A plethora of ancient kaldorei ruins, signs of the elven empire’s former might and glory, can still be found in Desolace today.
The Ruins:
Lake Dumont
Ethel Rethor & Ranazjar Isle
Nijel’s Point
Mannoroc Coven
Sargeron
Tethris Aran
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Lake Dumont
Hardly any historical information on this elven ruin submerged in Lake Dumont has survived. Even its original name appears to have been lost, as the surrounding area is named after the lake.
Ethel Rethor & Ranazjar Isle
According to the non-canon RPG, the massive, sealed tower at Ethel Rethor was probably created by the Highborne [RPG: Lands of Mystery, pg. 32].
The tower is the only structure of Ethel Rethor that remains completely intact today. Most other edifices in the area are submerged underwater or in varied states of disrepair on the distant Ranazjar Isle, a likely sign that the city was wiped out in the Sundering.
Nijel’s Point
While Nijel’s Point is now an Alliance encampment, it used to be an ancient elven city [RPG: Lands of Mystery, pg. 32].
Mannoroc Coven
Little historical information remains on this ruin. At some point in the recent past, it was renamed in honor of the pit lord Mannoroth by its demonic inhabitants [Page: Mannoroc Coven].
Sargeron
Sargeron was undoubtedly one of the kaldorei’s most sacred and oldest holy sites, for it was home to many primitive religious artifacts and structures associated with the elven moon goddess. Among them were Elune’s Cathedral, Elune’s Temple, Elune’s Sanctuary, and Elune’s Palace, each of which contained a powerful holy relic within them directly connected to the lunar deity [Quest: Furien’s Footsteps, Quest: All Becoming Clearer].
Most of the relics housed in Sargeron were involved in some form of ritual sacrifice. For example, Elune granted a blessing to any who threw her enemies’ weapons into the basin at the foot of the statue known as Elune’s Handmaiden [Quest: To the Hilt!]. Additionally, the goddess also bestowed a blessing on those who placed the flesh of her enemies on the burning coals of her eponymously named brazier [Quest: Ten Pounds of Flesh].
The priests who tended the temple believed that the gems created by another relic, the ancient vortex runestone, were gifts from the goddess and, moreover, that they possessed the power to deliver the elves from any enemy [Quest: All Becoming Clearer]. The gemstones could, in fact, summon a fearsome firestorm which drew its power from sustained Elune worship or the spiritual energies of the deceased [Quest: Firestarter].
While the last relic, the Cup of Elune, does not require an action anywhere near as extreme as the others, it was believed that washing one’s face in the cup allowed them to see the spirits of the dead [Quest: Nothing a Couple of Melons Won’t Fix].
Like many of the other elven ruins in Desolace, Sargeron’s original name has been lost.
Tethris Aran
There is hardly any historical information on this ancient ruin. That said, it shares a naming convention with many other pre-Sundering Highborne cities, namely Ameth’Aran, Bashal’Aran, Ordil’Aran, Morlos’Aran, Loreth’Aran, and Biel’Aran Ridge in Vashj’ir. Unfortunately, it is not clear what ‘aran’ translates to or what it indicates about old Highborne cities.
