This article is about the lore of the Emerald Dream. For the heart of the Dream, see Emerald Dream. For the pet battle ability, see [Emerald Dream]. For the book item, see  [The Emerald Dream]. For the unreleased zone, see Emerald Dream.
NeutralEmerald Dream
Capital(s) Neutral Eye of Ysera
Races Green dragonflight Green dragonflight
IconSmall Cenarius.gifIconSmall Aviana.gifIconSmall Gonk.gif Wild God
Dryad Dryad
Keeper of the grove Keeper of the grove
IconSmall FaerieDragon.gif Faerie dragon
Night elfNight elf Night elf
TaurenTauren Tauren
Jungle trollJungle troll Jungle troll
WorgenWorgen Worgen
Ruler(s) Neutral Wild Gods
Former ruler(s) Neutral  Ysera
Affiliation Green dragonflight, Titans, Old Gods, Independent
Former affiliation(s) Burning Legion

The Emerald Dream (also known as the Emerald Dreaming,[1] the Dream of Creation,[2] the land of dreams,[3] or simply the Dream[4] or Dreaming[5]) is a vast, ever-changing spirit world that exists outside the boundaries of the physical world[2] and is the verdant realm of the Dragon Aspect Ysera. The Emerald Dream represents how Azeroth would have been if intelligent beings had not altered its surface,[6] or what the world might some day be again.[7]

The Emerald Dream apparently has some kind of ancient link with the realm of Ardenweald, where souls close to nature, such as Ysera herself, rest in the Shadowlands,[8] essentially being opposite blooms connected to the same tree, with the former personalifying Life in its waxing stages, and the latter embodying Life in its wane.[9] Where the Dream represents the spring and summer of the cycle of life, Ardenweald reflects autumn and winter,[10][11] in essence, being the highest expression of the relationship between endings and beginnings - between Death and Life.[12]

In this world of untamed nature, druids gain insight and oneness with the Great Cycle.[13]

Nature of the Dream

The Emerald Dream is a vast and ever-shifting dimension of spirits and nature magic that defies mortal perceptions of reality. Time and distance hold no meaning in this intangible realm, and a day on the physical world and feel like decades in the Dream.[14]

The Dream's Purpose

The Dream is under the protection of the green Dragon Aspect, Ysera. After the titans had shaped Azeroth, they sent Ysera into an eternal trance and charged her with watching over all of Azeroth from the Dream. As a result, green dragons guard every portal into the Dream, and they always see both the landscape of Azeroth and the corresponding dreamscape. This enchanted vision, known as dreamsight, allows green dragons to perceive their surroundings with perfect clarity despite the dragons' closed eyes.

Unlike Azeroth, the Emerald Dream is a realm that is primarily spiritual instead of physical. All who enter the Dream can affect it to a minor extent, but only temporarily: the underlying structure of the Dream inevitably reasserts itself. Even Ysera cannot change the Dream permanently, nor, indeed, would she wish to do so. She does not control the Dream; on the contrary, it is closer to the truth to say that the Dream controls her. Using the Dream as her unfaltering guide, she regulates the ebb and flow of nature and the evolutionary path of the world itself.

Perception of the self inside the Dream

The creatures of Azeroth can visit the Emerald Dream either physically or via dreams, as the realm's name indicates. When an individual's spirit visits the Dream, leaving the body behind, that individual will manifest his or her dreamform, which normally looks and behaves much as that individual's physical body might. Hence, for most creatures, moving through the Dream is achieved in the normal fashion, despite the realm's chiefly spiritual character. These rules do not apply to druids of sufficient skill or experience, who are trained to see beyond physical reality. These druids might be capable of abnormal movement in the Dream (e.g., a night elf who can sprint at a greatly accelerated rate, walk through solid objects, or fly). It is quite rare to see such unusual capabilities in non-druids, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility.

Characteristics of the Dream

The Dream can be affected by all dreamers to a minor and temporary extent. However, no living creature except the titans has ever been able to permanently change the Dream. Ysera herself cannot control or shape the Dream, which has its own ecology and a variety of inhabitants, both sentient and non-sentient. Time is meaningless inside the Dream. As a result, the green dragonflight, which spends the majority of its time in the Dream, is extremely long-lived. Ysera's consorts in particular almost never emerge from the Dream and are effectively immortal, as are all other permanent denizens in the Dream. Because the titans invested a great deal of work in perfecting their design of Azeroth, the Emerald Dream is not one a single perfect vision of what Azeroth would become. The finished design of the planet was the product of many previous flawed or unfinished models. The Dream, therefore, has multiple layers, one for each of these earlier incarnations. These older layers of the Dream are often incomplete and therefore limited in scope, relative to the finalized Dream.[6]

The Emerald Dream was originally described as "a vast, ever-changing spirit world, existed outside the boundaries of the physical world. From the Dream, Ysera regulated the ebb and flow of nature and the evolutionary path of the world itself."[15] This implies less stagnation than the Emerald Dream described in other sources.

The spirits of departed animals on Azeroth travel to the Emerald Dream as their afterlife, with the mighty G'Hanir in particular serving as the home to the spirits of winged creatures.[16] The Wild Gods, having been linked to the Dream by Freya, also come here after dying, as do members of the green dragonflight such as Ysera and the former Dragons of Nightmare. Some druids, such as Elerethe Renferal and Thaon Moonclaw, do as well, though it is unclear if all druids do.



Freya, a creation of the benevolent titans, created the Emerald Dream[14] to serve as the underlying blueprint for the planet Azeroth. After the titans had shaped Azeroth, they sent Ysera into an eternal trance and charged her with watching over all of Azeroth from the Dream. As a result, green dragons guard every portal into the Dream, and they always see both the landscape of Azeroth and the corresponding dreamscape. This enchanted vision, known as dreamsight, allows green dragons to perceive their surroundings with perfect clarity despite the dragons' closed eyes.[6]

Some believe that Freya wove the Emerald Dream into being from nothing. Others claim that this strange place had always existed in some form, a dream born from Azeroth’s slumbering world-soul. It is said that Freya tapped into this realm and molded what would become known as the Emerald Dream as a way to commune with the nascent titan.[14]

Freya began creating the Emerald Dream with G'Hanir, a single massive tree set atop a high peak. From it bloomed many fruits and flowers, and new life flowed outwards in waves, sweeping across the land. Freya sculpted many pools of life in other locations within the Dream, but G'Hanir was the first, the tallest, and the most radiant. For millennia, it served as a source of healing and balance that extended beyond the Dream and into the physical world,[16] acting as a guide for Azeroth's natural life.[17]


During the War of the Ancients, the druid Malfurion Stormrage made use of the Emerald Dream to enter into the palace of Queen Azshara and thwart the plans of Lord Xavius.[18] After the War of the Ancients, three of the Dragon Aspects grew a World Tree, Nordrassil, atop the new Well of Eternity, and Ysera linked Nordrassil to the Emerald Dream. Her action was primarily meant to prevent abuse of the Well and to keep the Well's powers from growing. The tempering energies of the Dream act as a calming influence on the Well's chaotic energies. Secondarily, Nordrassil's connection to the Emerald Dream allowed the druids of Azeroth to travel easily to the Dream.

Since that time, all druids have periodically hibernated while their spirits wandered the dreamways. This hibernation is not some sort of physical requirement for druids, though; rather, the hibernation was a communion with the Emerald Dream. The druids were learning more about the natural world through the Dream. There was always something new for the druids to learn, even in the smallest blade of grass.

During the Third War, the druids empowered Nordrassil with the night elves' immortality and the energies of countless night elf spirits. Nordrassil then gave off a blast of energy that killed the demon lord Archimonde, ending the war and sealing the Burning Legion's defeat on Azeroth. Although Nordrassil was not killed in the process, the night elves' noble sacrifice left them mortal and cost the druids their easily accessible link to the Emerald Dream. Thus, reaching the Dream has become a significantly more difficult prospect, and fewer druids are able to walk the Dream today.[6]


Certain that the night elves' immortality could be restored, Archdruid Fandral Staghelm proposed growing a replacement World Tree, though the dragons showed no sign of offering their assistance in the process. Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage flatly refused; he argued that without the blessing of the dragonflights, the tree would be an abomination. When Malfurion fell into a mysterious coma, Fandral became the new leader of the druids. His first act was to persuade the rest of the Cenarion Circle to grow the World Tree, which they named Teldrassil. Teldrassil is not linked to the Dream or to the Well of Eternity. Contrary to Fandral's hopes, the new World Tree has not restored the night elves' immortality.[6]



The Emerald Dream also has multiple layers, described by Cenarius as different testing versions of Azeroth.[19] These layers were created because the titans invested a great deal of work in perfecting their design of Azeroth, and so, the finished design of the planet was the product of many previous flawed or unfinished models.[6] Each layer represents an abandoned segment or idea that the titans tried and ultimately discarded. Malfurion observed that it looks like neither the mortal plane nor the Emerald Dream. He saw that one mountain peak lacked its northern face, while another peak looked as if someone had started molding it like clay but had lost interest. These older layers were normally uninhabited, invisible[19] and incomplete, therefore limited in scope, relative to the finalized Dream.[6] But they could be accessed by any who knew how to navigate them.[19]


Daral'nir in the Emerald Dream, a counterpart of Tal'doren.

Azeroth reflections of the Dream

Lore locations

In World of Warcraft

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Most references to the Emerald Dream in the original version of the game occur in Moonglade, which is the haven for the druids on Azeroth. The references occur in quests that involve Keeper Remulos, a Keeper of the grove and the ruler of Moonglade. Likewise, much of the Nightmare's influence upon the Emerald Dream involves the green dragonflight, the protectors of the Emerald Dream under the jurisdiction of Ysera.

One of the earliest mentions of the green dragonflight's corruption - and thus the Nightmare's influence - was the dragon Eranikus within the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, a lvl 45-50 dungeon. The dragon, along with an army of lesser green dragons, had been dispatched by Ysera to take care of the trolls within the temple in the Swamp of Sorrows. There, the trolls attempted to summon Hakkar the Soulflayer, a powerful Old God-like being. The temple was smashed to bits by the dragons, but they ultimately fell to Hakkar's corruption themselves. The Shade of Eranikus is now the final boss within the dungeon.

A similar result of the Nightmare's corruption can be found in the Wailing Caverns where several druids have gone into madness. One of them, Naralex, was planning to use the cave to return Barrens to its once lush state, by connecting to the Dream. He was however captured by the Nightmare, and its presence corrupted the creatures within the cave.

A portal leading to the Emerald Dream.

In patch 1.8.0, the Dragons of Nightmare were also added to the game. These dragons were once the lieutenants of Ysera, protecting the Emerald Dream from evil and whatnot. They have, however, also been corrupted by the Nightmare, twisting their powers and turning the dragons into what they once fought. There were four of them, each having emerged from one of the four portals connecting Azeroth to the Emerald Dream. They were found in Duskwood (Twilight Grove), the Hinterlands (Seradane), Feralas (Dream Bough), and Ashenvale (Bough Shadow). Although the portals are inactive, the dragons could be fought and killed, all of them being outdoor raid-bosses. The Dragons of Nightmare were later removed in Cataclysm (see below).

Each of the Dragons of Nightmare also dropped a  [Nightmare Engulfed Object], which came from the Emerald Dream. This item gave a quest which requested the player to hand it in to Keeper Remulos. Purifying the object revealed that it was actually the ring of Malfurion Stormrage, who was fighting the Nightmare inside the dream. The brief dialogue with Malfurion, who was communicating with Keeper Remulos, implied that the Nightmare did not only corrupt the Emerald Dream but also sought to invade Azeroth.

The story behind the Nightmare's corruption of the Emerald Dream was further fueled by the Scepter of the Shifting Sands quest chain, added in patch 1.9.0. Requesting the player to craft  [The Scepter of the Shifting Sands] in order to open the raid-dungeons Ahn'Qiraj, the player would seek out the red, blue and green dragonflights to acquire the shards the scepter was made of. The  [Green Scepter Shard] focuses on the green dragonflight, combining the fate of Eranikus in the Sunken Temple with the one of the Dragons of Nightmare.

It was revealed that Eranikus held the Green Scepter Shard, but would not give it up while under control of the Nightmare. Malfurion Stormrage, again communicating from the dream, sent the player to Keeper Remulos which told that Eranikus had to be summoned and defeated in Moonglade in order to be freed from the Nightmare. To summon him, Keeper Remulos required fragments of the Nightmare's corruption. Three of these fragments dropped from random lesser green dragons which were also found at the Dragons of Nightmare's locations. The fourth one dropped from a satyr which preached the Nightmare's power. When Eranikus, having become Tyrant of the Dream, was summoned, he declared that he would destroy both Moonglade and Malfurion. Holding Eranikus back, Tyrande Whisperwind eventually arrived and cleansed the dragon with the power of Elune. Redeemed and freed from the Nightmare's grasp, Eranikus handed over the shard and returned to the Emerald Dream to fight the Nightmare.

The Burning Crusade

Bc icon.gif This section concerns content related to The Burning Crusade.

The Swift Flight Form quest chain describes how the Emerald Dream is under assault from outside forces as well, led by an ancient arakkoa spirit called Anzu. One of the missions in the quest chain is waking up and protecting Clintar Dreamwalker which is sleeping in the Stormrage Barrow Dens in Moonglade. Several bizarre plants which likely originate from the Dream can be found here. Phantasmal Lashers which are suppressed by Cenarion Dreamwardens are also seeping out from the Dream.

One of the Emerald Dream's in-game appearances so far.

Wrath of the Lich King


So far, the Emerald Dream can only be visited twice:

World of Warcraft: Stormrage


During the events of the War Against the Nightmare, the Emerald Nightmare was almost able to take hold of the whole Emerald Dream and Azeroth at the same time. However, the Nightmare Lord was eventually defeated with the help of a coalition of races, stopping the crisis.

Despite Xavius' defeat at the hands of Malfurion Stormrage and his allies, the Nightmare was not entirely destroyed following its master's defeat. One small part stubbornly stayed in the Rift of Aln, and Malfurion could only seal off the vicinity around the rift until a time that another war would be in their favor.[23]


Cataclysm This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

The story around the Emerald Dream was continued in Cataclysm, at a greater degree than in the two past expansions. Much of it is connected to the novel Stormrage, in which the plot happens after Wrath of the Lich King. The novel reveals that the corruption in the Emerald Dream is caused by the former highborne and later satyr Xavius, who takes the form of a twisted tree. Upon his defeat, Malfurion senses that the true force between the corruption, and Xavius' master, is nothing less but another Old God. This being reaches into the Dream through the Rift of Aln, from somewhere in Azeroth's deep ocean. The Emerald Dream-events in Cataclysm are a continuation of this story, where it is revealed that the Old God N'Zoth is responsible for the Emerald Nightmare.

Becoming a new zone in Cataclysm, Hyjal features several events related to the Dream. With most of the threat in the Dream defeated in the novel, Ysera has entered Azeroth to continue her fight there. She can be found in the game at Nordrassil where she has taken humanoid form. She asks the player to aid several ancients who are returning to Azeroth from the Dream. These ancients returning are Aessina, Aviana, Cenarius, Goldrinn, Tortolla and eventually Malorne. It is also revealed that Fandral Staghelm, who in the novel became insane due to the Nightmare's corruption, was afterward moved to the Barrow Dens in Hyjal. As the Twilight's Hammer seeks to capture him, the green dragon Alysra asks the player to smuggle him out to her in the quest N [30-35] Through the Dream. To avoid the cultists, the player and Fandral escapes the Dens through the Emerald Dream, encountering creatures called Nightmare Terrors. Fandral did still join forces with the Twilight's Hammer, though as an ally instead of a prisoner. Seemingly having regained his sanity (and replaced it with a desire for vengeance), he is now the leader of the Druids of the Flame.

The Nightmare Dragons were also affected by the Cataclysm. While Emeriss and Lethon were killed in the novel, it did not mention anything about Ysondre nor Taerar. In the game it turns out Ysondre has escaped the corruption and asks the player in the quest N [15-30] Taerar's Fall to aid her slay Taerar, who is still corrupted. The fight takes place in Feralas, but on the border to Thousand Needles. The dragonspawn in the Dream Bough have had their levels reduced, and are no longer elite. The dragonspawn in Shadow Bough have also had their levels lowered, and are also no longer elite, possibly due to the nearby Azshara becoming a low-level area for goblins. The Twilight Grove has become a night elf archaeology dig site, and Seradane has been abandoned.

Naralex, finally having regained from the Nightmare while sleeping in the Wailing Caverns, have used his powers to bring life back to the dusty plains outside the caverns. The area is however suffering from the Emerald Nightmare which is seeping out from the dream.

Dawn of the Aspects


During a meeting of the Wyrmrest Accord, Merithra notes that the Nightmare is stirring within the Rift of Aln and seems to be seeking a new Nightmare Lord to replace Xavius. However, Ysera says it is now the duty of the Druids to watch over the Emerald Dream as she has become mortal following the Hour of Twilight.[24]


Updated portal.

Legion This section concerns content related to Legion.

The Emerald Dream is entered by the adventurers in order to defeat Xavius, who has been resurrected and re-allied with the Burning Legion. The Emerald Nightmare has returned in full force and corrupted much of the Dream once again.

Druids of the Cenarion Circle gain access to the Emerald Dreamway, through which they can traverse Azeroth via portals.

The class order leaders entered the Nightmare and killed Xavius and his corrupted allies. Upon the Nightmare Lord's death, the Dream was restored, along with several druid ghosts. Despite this, a remnant of the corruption remains.

At an unknown point after this, but before the end of the Fourth War,[25] the Nightmare still threatened the Dream.[26]


Emerald Nightmare


Main article: Emerald Dream (unreleased)

In the RPG



Also called Green Dream,[30] it appears to those who travel within it as how Azeroth would have been if intelligent beings had not altered its surface,[31] such as humans or elves,[32] with the cut forests, farmed prairies, diverted rivers or built cities. It is a vision of the world as a verdant natural paradise. Tranquil forests stretch away in every direction, and rolling hills and majestic mountains mimic Azeroth's landscape.[30]

Azeroth and the Emerald Dream are quasi-duplicates of each other — the Emerald Dream is Azeroth as seen through a magic lens, untouched by the hands of mortals. The mountains are in the same places in both worlds, but where a human metropolis stands in Azeroth, a lush field, vacant of artifice, grows in the Emerald Dream.[30]

Tauren ancestors dwell deep within the Dream.[33]


The Emerald Dream can be visited in dreams or in the flesh.[32] Although the druids enter the plane through their connection with nature, accessing the Emerald Dream via more conventional magic is possible, but the plane's natives do not look kindly upon intruders.[30]

Some creatures cannot help but dream of the plane and find themselves there without any preparation or conscious intent;[32] these dreaming creatures arrive in the Emerald Dream and often have prophetic and helpful visions.[30] Other creatures intentionally use dreams to reach the Emerald Dream, such as the druids.[32]


The entire plane is the dominion of Ysera, the mighty green dragon Aspect, and she and her brood ensure that none despoil this paradise.[30]

Nature is in a perfect balance in the Emerald Dream. Animals of all types inhabit the world, including some that are extinct on Azeroth and subspecies that never got the chance to evolve. Many fey creatures, such as sprites, dryads and keepers of the grove, also roam the Dream. However, it is not only the native inhabitant creatures that roam the Dream. Creatures from Azeroth constantly visit, though they may or may not know it.[30]

List of races:[34]

Creatures of the Emerald Dream.

Notes and trivia


  • According to Chris Metzen, the Emerald Dream was partially inspired by the Dreaming from The Sandman and the Green from comics involving the Swamp Thing, both published by DC Comics.[37]
  • The Dream may also have been influenced by H. P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands. The Dreamlands is a vast, alternate dimension that can be entered through dreams, similar to astral projection or lucid dreaming. Experienced dreamers are among the most powerful inhabitants of the Dreamlands and may become its permanent residents after their physical deaths.
  • Another similarity to the Emerald Dream is Tel'aran'rhiod, a parallel world in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, that is normally accessed through dreams. There are specially gifted people called "Dreamwalkers" that are able to access this reality at will.



  1. ^  [Legacy of the Aspects]
  2. ^ a b Charge of the Dragonflights
  3. ^ H [16] Nara Wildmane
  4. ^ N [60R] The Nightmare Manifests
  5. ^ Kal: "We are the preservers of the balance, now and forever, as Malfurion lies in the Dreaming. Never forget this."
  6. ^ a b c d e f g The Warcraft Encyclopedia
  7. ^ The Beast Within!, pg. 16: "It is said that the Emerald Dream is a paradise... the world of Azeroth as it might have been or some day may be again."
  8. ^  [Enemy Infiltration - Preface]
  9. ^ The Art of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, pg. 115
  10. ^ Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment 2019-11-01. BlizzCon 2019 - World of Warcraft: What's Next. Retrieved on 2019-11-02.
  11. ^ Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment 2019-11-01. World of Warcraft: What’s Next Panel Recap. Retrieved on 2019-11-02.
  12. ^ Garth Holden 2020-08-20. A deep dive into Ardenweald, the Shadowlands realm of hibernation. SA Gamer. Retrieved on 2020-08-27.
  13. ^ World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdor, pg. 95
  14. ^ a b c World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1
  15. ^ Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual
  16. ^ a b c Tome of the Ancients
  17. ^ The Chronicle of Ages#Fu Zan, the Wanderer's Companion
  18. ^ The Well of Eternity
  19. ^ a b c The Sundering, pg. 67
  20. ^ Emerald Nightmare (instance) - Malfurion Stormrage yells: Moonglade is the most sacred place in all the Dream. To think that my shan'do could play any part in its corruption...
  21. ^ Curse of the Worgen Issue 4
  22. ^ A IconSmall Worgen Male.gifIconSmall Worgen Female.gif [1-20] Neither Human Nor Beast
  23. ^ World of Warcraft: Stormrage, pg. 389
  24. ^ Dawn of the Aspects Part 1, chapter 1
  25. ^ Wrathion's appearance in Deaths of Chromie his younger model instead of his older one
  26. ^ Deaths of Chromie
  27. ^  [Reins of the Grove Warden]
  28. ^  [Defiled Reins]
  29. ^  [Wild Dreamrunner]
  30. ^ a b c d e f g World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game, pg. 23
  31. ^ Shadows & Light, pg. 144
  32. ^ a b c d Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game, pg. 217
  33. ^ Magic & Mayhem, pg. 48
  34. ^ Shadows & Light, pg. 145 - 149
  35. ^ N Druid [10-45] Join the Dreamer
  36. ^ A [1-30] The Emerald Dreamcatcher
  37. ^ The Comic Volume 1, pg. 3 - 4 — Chasing Thunder: A foreword by Chris Metzen