The Southwestern Expedition

Summary:
In order for the Dominion of Alterac to acquire much-needed resources, Archaeologists to have better access to ancient ruins and for the Alliance (particularly, the Night Elven groups) to have a Friendly Sea Port, an expedition was proposed by Lord Reynalden Weisserose to Land's End Beach, Tanaris.

Reasoning:


As Lord Reynalden had pointed out, any Sea-faring Alliance would have to circumnavigate the continent of Kalimdor in order to land in an established, friendly harbor; even then, such merchants or battalions would have to march from the West Coast to the East Coast.

Vice versa, any traders or legions would need to travel from the East Coast to the West Coast in order to reach an established, friendly harbor. The time and resources dedicated to traveling this long and dangerous route would be costly.

Financially, the Alliance would have to do one of the following in absence of an East Coast Harbor:

--Buy-out the Steamwheedle Cartel's loyalty to the Alliance

--Commission use of Steamwheedle ships to transport goods and men

--Risk storms, pirates and Horde blockades---all the while paying sailors greater wages or financing more ships as a result of the added distance between Ports.

Militarily, the Alliance would have to do one of the following in absence of an East Coast Harbor:

--Pave highways and establish forts along the route from Coast-to-Coast

--Conquer swaths of the continent, vigorously defending every inch of ground taken

--Wait longer for supplies and reinforcements to reach the Inland Garrisons and tenaciously protect the one sea route they had.

Alterac Interests:
On the whole, Alterac is a militarized zone governed by Martial Law and a transitional government. Given the loss of life, exile and migration of citizens and the lack of training and education, Alterac uses raw materials in order to purchase manufactured goods, tools, machinery and military items.

In order for Alterac to purchase what it needs (without going into debt) and still make a profit, the establishment of a Colony to extract more resources seemed the only way. While Alterac is a Neutral Faction, the Alliance was more open in terms of negotiations and trade than the Horde---hence, why the Alliance was asked to assist in this expedition.

Because nothing is without cost, Alterac heavily emphasized the notion of the Port-City being a replacement for Theramore Isle---thus, giving the Alliance a means to dock their ships safely on the East Coast of Kalimdor and have their share of the resources and archaeological finds.

Tanaris:


Upon scouting all possible locations for a Landing Zone and the building site for the Colony, Land's End Beach was decided upon unanimously for a variety of reasons: chiefly, being that the Colony was easily-defensible from Land and Sea, as well as not being in close proximity to the Southsea Freebooters and other Tanaris-dwelling groups.

Along Land's End Beach and the entirety of the Tanaris Coastline, giant sea turtles and crabs roam freely and have few natural predators; this (along with their breeding habits) would ensure a steady supply of meat for the Colonists and whosoever took refuge within it.

Going Northward from Land's End is a naturally-made and narrow choke-point. By using the mountains themselves and the tremendous supply of sandstone on the beach, the Colony would be able to withstand land-bound invasion from Central Tanaris.

Because of the ever-shifting sands, the relatively short mating seasons and the neighboring carnivorous flora, fauna and Humanoids preying upon them, the Silithid would not be a large issue to the Colonists. Only if unprotected and neighboring too close, would a Caravan or Legion be susceptible to Silithid attacks.

The various ruins of Tanaris are within short distance of Land's End---especially the entrances to Uldum and the ability to send smaller vessels Westward, then up the Vir'naal River. Just as well, there are various "tribes" of Humans who innately know the safest and fastest routes through the desert and would be overjoyed to trade with the outside world.

Zul'Farrak:


Marred by strife, the fallen city of Zul'Farrak was once the 'shining jewel of Tanaris' and heart of a grand empire for the Farraki trolls. However, time, war, and climate change took its toll on the city, and by 34LC /623KC the city has been all but abandoned.

In the initial survey expedition into Tanaris by Alterac Dominion's newly formed Archeological Society, one Raleigh Sternbridge ventured into Zul'Farrak alone. Noting its architecture and distinct absence of a population (save for a few wandering bands who scraped by), the most odd thing discovered during this first expedition was the presence of an unnatural tropical jungle in the heart of Zul'Farrak. Surrounding the sacred Pool of Gahz'rilla, the the vines & roots all drank from its apparently unending waters. The presence of a population of direhorns living within the jungle, however, framed the presence of the jungle into a believable secenario.

The rune markings upon the older direhorns indicated that these were Zandalari dinosaurs and that the jungle's creation was likely their doing. The lack of rune markings on the younger ones indicated that the direhorns and the jungle had been abandoned for some time, as Zandalari were known to mark their direhorns from a very young age.

The Seven Tribes:
The Seven Great Tribes of Tanaris and the Wastewander Confederation are both potential trade partners and allies. However, the groups within both distinctions are tangled in an interwoven series of complex webs of allegiances or feuds---together with differing abilities and cultures across the Desert.

Upon study of the Tribes, the Ohmas of the Southern Desert were the closest to the Port-City's location. Assisting against the Hazzali Silithid and paying them to escort trade caravans would foster a close relationship with the Ohmas and their allies: the Tafi and Bashir.

The Tafi of the Northwestern Desert were close to the Steamwheedle Goblins of Gadgetzan---the largest potential trade partner of the Port-City. Given their political and economic sway over the Goblins, they would be sought to broker and better-negotiate trade agreements. With the backing of the Ohmas and the Dominion's forces, the Tafi would be able to more substantially defend against the Centipaar Silithid and the Sandfury Trolls.

Hopefully, the combined testimonies and loyalty of both the Ohmas and Tafi would convince the Bashir---the largest and most powerful of the seven---could broker a close relationship between them and the Dominion's forces. While these tribes could be won-over, the four others would remain a potential issue; especially given the Bashir's allegiance with a fierce enemy of the Ohmas, the Hassan.

Participants:
Southwestern Expedition:

While the campaign itself was begun and led by the Dominion of Alterac, any neutral party or native ally of the Expedition would be included. For example, the Argent Crusade and the Ohmas Tribe would join on side of the Neutral Alteraci.

Alliance Involvement:

Despite the fact that the expedition was launched towards an unclaimed area and combat was against Non-Factional enemies, any Alliance groups interested in joining would swear to never attack any nearby Horde---be they cooperating in the campaign or simply in the area.

Should the Alliance forces be assaulted by the Horde and fight defensively, the groups involved in the skirmish would not be penalized or demanded to leave the campaign---but they could not ask the Expedition for assistance, nor would the Dominion be part of their counter-offensive.

Horde Involvement:

Despite the fact that the expedition was launched towards an unclaimed area and combat was against Non-Factional enemies, any Horde groups interested in joining would swear to never attack any nearby Alliance---be they cooperating in the campaign or simply in the area.

Should the Horde forces be assaulted by the Alliance and fight defensively, the groups involved in the skirmish would not be penalized or demanded to leave the campaign---but could not ask the Expedition for assistance, nor would the Dominion be part of their counter-offensive.