Duramyr

Duramyr is an island is located off the coast of the Hinterlands and was once a territory fought over during the Second War. Following the war's end, the Orcs and Trolls that remained upon the island barricaded themselves within their citadel of Tork'a Rise. Likewise, the Wildhammers whom had prevented the Horde here from advancing onto the mainland and using the island as a shipyard, had retained their own citadel of Dun Garrak. They were reinforced by elves of Quel’Thalas, whom established the forest hold of Thas’aranal in the center of the isle to aid their allies.

It was the site of the Defense of Duramyr, a Burning Legion invasion to claim the island as a fortified outpost from which to strike the Eastern Kingdoms.

History
Dun Garrak, which had been established long ago, expanded rapidly and the Wildhammers took over most of the island, essentially keeping the Horde there prisoner on the island, leaving htem to their own corner. As the years went on, the Horde here became passive, though by no means friendly, and the two factions entered into a cold war, hostilities ending as neither side wished to press into each other's territory, lest the conflict rupture the new families that had begun to sprout up on both sides. Ironically, peace was kept out of mutual fear that the other side had hidden caches of war material that would bleed the other side severely, even if they had won. The elves of the isle remained, even after Silvermoon joined the Horde, retaining their place as High Elves.

As a result, when the New Horde began, the Horde here was reinforced, gaining the port they had longed for for many years. Attached to the region, the Horde forces remained, and the cold war continued between the two factions. When the Legion arrived, Thane Molderan Thunderhammer brokered a truce between the horde of the island officially, signing it with the Orc Warlord whose minor clan had led the warriors here to begin with. The two factions united against the Legion, with the Wildhammer-Elf-Orc-Troll alliance successfully defeating the Legion incursion, preventing them from using the Island just as the Horde had intended in the Second War, as a stopping point against the Hinterlands. However, despite this, Thane Thunderhammer let his victory get to his head. Even as the Legion was retreating, the Thane ordered his Gryphon Riders to bombard the Legion Monolith as it attempted to flee, the energy rippling through the ship as it began to plummet.

Lord Vingeroth, outraged by this, unleashed a final barrage of energy from the Monolith. The beam cut deep into the land, creating a fissure near the center of the island, but the unleashing of energy caused the ship to crack apart and split into two. Miraculously for the demons, Lord Vingeroth and an entourage was able to teleport down to the surface in the nick of time, abandoning their kin and their failing vessel as the two pieces crashed along the island. However, Thane Thunderhammer would come to regret his decision. In his hubris, the ship's pieces landed within the main water basin in the mountains, and the rear in the primary lake. The crack of energy and befouled explosion also caused a foul diseased mist to erupt into the air, forcing the dwarves underground to evade it. When they emerged, the Island was a wasteland, and their elven allies scattered.

The once verdant and somewhat snow-tipped hills and mountains were now blackened and charred, ash spilling around them and dead trees where beautiful pine forests once stood. Their rivers and lakes glowed green with fel, the Monolith's core bleeding into their water supply and ultimately tainting it. To the south, the Horde had continued to battle the Legion, sickened and driven mad. Incapable of discerning the Legion from the dwarves, in their eyes, they believed all but their forces had become fel tainted savages. The Legion, under Lord Vingeroth, had also come to wreak terrible vengeance on the dwarves. Establishing a portal at the mouth of one of their rivers, the fel-water powered a new demonic gateway, bringing forth the Legion onto the island. The final painful blow came in the form of Thas’aranal. The area stood as resplendent as it had before the Legion came, as it had been spared by way of Elven magic. While this would be cause for celebration, the Elves, unable to resist the Legion, had fallen in line with them. Their eyes now green, due to the Fel-mist, their once stalwart allies had become yet another enemy. As a result of these shortcomings, Thane Thunderhammer came to be shunned by his people, his lust for glory having turned their mighty victory into a grave defeat.

Duramyr Island stood as a point of contention. The Dwarves still fought, but it was an up-hill battle. Any and all supplies they had were from stockpiles or what they could get from Aerie Peak every month. And while that had lasted them, the Horde's growing aggression and madness to the south as well as the Legion's ramping forces meant that the dwarves only had a matter of time before they were overwhelmed. To further complicate matters, their outposts towards the eastern half of the island had either been destroyed or entire contact lost. With faith in Thane Thunderhammer shaken, the Wildhammers stood without much leadership, dwindling themselves every day until eventually, Lord Vingeroth would attain the victory he desired.

Duramyr is tainted and scarred beyond recognition, the wildlife felpocked and maddened, the people captured and turned into twisted half-gryphon, half-dwarf creatures. And whom were safe behind the walls of the fortress fight now for one thing.

Following the successful defense of Duramyr, the Thunderhammer clan rallied under Torin Thunderhammer following his father's death. Offered land by the Featherbeard clan, a clan the Blades had worked with once during the Siege of Northfold Peaks, Torin intended to take their offer. Meanwhile, the elves of Thas'aranal were offered a place on the island of Quel'Shala by Governor Inas'thas Sunbrook, having no place left for them after the fel exposure turned their eyes green like the Sin'dorei.

Duramyr was ultimately left abandoned, the fel-pocked island left to heal in generations to come.