After a loading screen featuring a rather evil-looking guy - whose name escapes me at the moment ... but really, I think I've seen him before and he seems sort of important (Witch King? Stitch King? Fish King? Something like that) - the Zeppelin arrived and entered the massive and imposing fortress of Warsong Hold in the Borean Tundra. Now, I'm not entirely sure when exactly the Warsong Clan found the time to build something like this in between such bloodthirsty acts as capturing a flag, but I'm not feeling the need to argue with people who have such a phenomenal construction department.
It was here, my first flight into Warsong Hold gaping open-mouthed the entire time, that I learned the first real thing about Wrath of the Lich King: Northrend is really, really, pretty. But hold that thought; I'll get back to it in a bit.
As I disembarked off the zeppelin, I noticed that there were two things wrong with the picture. The first was simply my own error: since I have Big Important Plans for this time around, I'd meant to start off Horde-side with my Mage in the Howling Fjord. The Borean Tundra I'd planned on leaving (initially) to my Druid - yes, Alliance, I have a level 70 of your kind now, so I'll be getting the chance to explore Northrend from the Ally point of view this time around. So by being in the Tundra on my Mage, my plans were already in jeopardy! But really, that was an easy problem, and one I could fix quickly with a simple port to the Undercity. A port ... that wasn't casting.
That was the second thing - Warsong Hold was empty. As I ran around the mammoth structure with my hands still glowing with teleport-y power (and proceeded to become rather lost), I didn't see a single NPC. There was nothing there at all.
One server crash later, I logged back into the Borean Tundra and found that the NPCs had all returned in my absence. Hooray!
I further explored the Hold, and upon finding a way out watched as flying undead ... things ... descended upon assembled ranks of Horde warriors. As a hot-blooded Darkspear Troll who loves Home, Country, and Momma's Fresh Apple-And-Scorpid Pie, there are naturally few things in this world or any other that I loathe more than flying undead ... things.
So I set some of them on fire. I felt much better about myself afterwards.
Returning back inside Warsong Hold, a little more exploring brought me face to face with the commanders of the Hold: Garrosh Hellscream and High Overlord Saurfang. I briefly wondered if Saurfang were still standing in Orgrimmar waiting to skewer some more black dragon heads onto pikes, or if Garrosh were still standing in Nagrand being all emo (or badass, depending on if you've done the quest or not) ... but on second thought, I decided not to question their ability to be in two places - or indeed two different mindsets - at once. I rather like my head attached to my shoulders, you see ... and I didn't know where the nearest graveyard was yet.
The two discuss the logistics of operating a forward base like Warsong Hold in the midst of a hostile land, surrounded by enemies like the Undead and stealthed Gnome Rogues who spam /spit at our hapless questgivers. Saurfang stresses the need for supply lines, while Garrosh believes in kicking reason to the curb and doing the impossible based on a true man's warrior spirit! Fighting spirit won't keep troops fed, though.
You know, this begs the question - what use are supply lines when Mages can literally conjur food and drink from thin air? I mean really - if the two of them would deign to help me summon, I could have a magical table to feed hundreds of soldiers (or twenty-five really greedy ones) ready within seconds! Hell, give me five minutes and I could make another one! Not like they log out, either.
