Simples.
Humans have long conquered what we know as the Eastern Kingdoms, enslaving most races across the lands. Except for Elves and Humans, most other free people are lonely lucky bastards, rebels or escapees.
Meanwhile, trouble is building up, people are talking about some kind of Mountain that many slaves are fleeing to, even tho most guards and soldiers simply ignore these rumors and sometimes even throw people talking about it out of their homes.
To the north, many governers have missed the imperial meetings and havn't turned in Reports for weeks and in the great old mountainous lands, a great knight-lord named Jonathan has defied the Empire and started what is easily seen as a rebellion.
Most gnomes and many dwarves fled into the depths of Gnomeregan when the battle against the empire became hopeless. Now the empire has a medium-sized garrison outside and the dwarves and the few gnomes outside Gnomeregan rather die then give up secrets of engineering and smith-ing. (Humans don't have guns, yet atleast.)
Meanwhile, even tho there are problems within their own borders, the arrogant humans of the imperial heartlands (Stormwind, Elwynn forest) have made ships and are going west and north, in search for new kinds of slaves, foods, riches and combat.
This will be fleshed out in the future.
