Gnomeregan

Carved into the snowy crags of western Dun Morogh, Gnomeregan was built with the aid of the Ironforge dwarves centuries ago. Inside, massive steam-driven gears, intricate copper piping, and cavernous assembly halls formed the intellectual and industrial beating heart of gnomekind. It was from these subterranean halls that gnomish designs, flying machines, and complex armaments supplied the Alliance throughout the Second War, standing firm even when besieged by Orgrim Doomhammer's Horde.

During the Third War, a subterranean surge of troggs erupted from deep beneath the earth, breaching the city's lowest chambers. Unwilling to divert Alliance armies from the slaughter in Lordaeron, High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque attempted to handle the crisis alone. On the advice of his chief engineer, Mekgineer Thermaplugg, Mekkatorque ordered radioactive gas vented through the lower chambers to wipe out the brutes. The plan backfired horrifyingly: the gas empowered many troggs while killing nearly eighty percent of the gnomish populace. Those exposed who did not perish mutated into twisted leper gnomes, while Thermaplugg seized rule over the poisoned ruins.