Alterac Valley

When Gul'dan exiled Durotan's Frostwolf clan for defying him, the orcs found refuge in this cold valley and made it their home. Long afterward, young Thrall found his father's people here and learned the ways of the shaman from the elder Drek'Thar. Thrall now leads the Horde in Kalimdor, but many Frostwolves stayed in the valley under Drek'Thar's guidance, and they guard it as fiercely as any homeland.

The Stormpike Guard is an expedition of Ironforge dwarves led by Vanndar Stormpike from the northern fortress of Dun Baldar. They came to the valley for its mines and for relics they believe tie them to their ancestors, and they have dug in with bunkers, towers and stubborn pride. To the Frostwolves they are invaders; to the dwarves, the valley's secrets are theirs by right of discovery.

The battle for Alterac Valley is the largest of these wars, an army against an army. Fighters storm towers and bunkers, seize graveyards, and claim the valley's mines for their side. The fight ends when one side breaks through to the enemy's general and brings them down: Vanndar Stormpike in Dun Baldar for the Horde, or Drek'Thar in Frostwolf Keep for the Alliance.