Hello everyone!
The Burning Legion has invaded azeroth once again and paladins are able to pick up 3 different
artifacts to empower them in this war.
For protection paladins, it’s the mighty shield Truthguard and before we begin our
own search for it, let’s first dive into its history.
Earthen poems and vrykul epic sagas speak of Truthguard emerging in a time of war, when
armies forged of iron marched across the north and made even mountains tremble.
The main aggressors of this war were the fearsome Winterskorn vrykul.
Their goal was to dominate the lands surrounding Ulduar and put all who opposed them to the
blade.
The Winterskorn were a people who relished violence, and few relished it more than Yrgrim.
He stood at the clan's bloody vanguard, leading brutal raids against the good-natured earthen
who dwelled in the region.
Strange that someone so obsessed with wanton killing would one day wield Truthguard, a
symbol of justice and honor.
But the paths that fate weaves are often strange.
The clang of sword against shield rumbled like thunder through the cavern.
The Winterskorn's enchanted blades cleaved through the earthen's stone skin with ease,
lopping off limbs and sending heads rolling.
When the Winterskorn cornered the few surviving earthen at the back of the cavern, the lead
vrykul charged forward with his sword poised to strike.
His body came apart before he ever reached his prey.
Another Winterskorn had cut him down.
He moved quick as lightning then, sword arcing through the rest of his warrior kin.
'Follow me and live,' the vrykul said after his killing was done.
'Stay and this place will be your tomb.'
Later, the earthen asked this Yrgrim why he had saved them.
The battle lust has lifted from my eyes, and I have seen truth,' Yrgrim replied.
'Killing for the sake of killing...
conquering for the sake of conquest...
there is no honor in such things.
There is only shame and regret.
Yrgrim led the earthen survivors to Keeper Tyr, the one being he believed could save
them from the Winterskorn.
The vrykul warrior did not expect a reward for doing so.
Quite the opposite.
Yrgrim had murdered scores of innocent earthen, and he thought Tyr would execute him for his
transgressions.
According to one vrykul legend, these are the words Tyr spoke to Yrgrim:
""I cannot wash the blood from your hands.
No one can.
All I can offer you is a way forward.
Stand by my side.
Hunt the wicked with the same ferocity you once used to hunt the earthen.
Do this and you will find the path to redemption."
On that day, Yrgrim swore an oath to the twin moons that he would serve Tyr and embody his
noble ideals.
In return, the keeper gifted the vrykul with a shield unlike any ever made.
Its name was Truthguard.
Three strikes it took Keeper Archaedas to shape Truthguard.
With the first hammer fall, rivers of magma spilled from the icy mountains.
With the second, the sky howled and lightning set the heavens aflame.
With the third, a single ray of sunlight pierced the storm clouds and whispered over Truthguard's
surface.
From afar, Keeper Tyr and the giantess Ironaya watched the work unfold.
They had each given of themselves to make Truthguard.
Tyr had chiseled off a piece of his silver hand to imbue the shield with righteous power
while Ironaya had hewn a stone disc from her hide and etched it with runes of protection.
Truthguard saw its first battle in the waning days of the Winterskorn War.
While searching the frozen wastes for earthen whom he could lead to safety, Yrgrim stumbled
across a small raiding party of Winterskorn.
The vrykul knew of this ""deserter."" They cursed Yrgrim's name and howled for his blood.
Yrgrim calmly offered a challenge: if any of the vrykul could knock the shield from
his grip, he would surrender.
But if the Winterskorn failed, they would lay down their arms and listen to Yrgrim's
words.
One after another, the vrykul charged Yrgrim, and their enchanted blades glanced off of
Truthguard without making so much as a dent.
""You fail because you fight for cruelty and injustice,"" Yrgrim said to the bewildered
vrykul.
""So long as such wicked thoughts guide your hand, you will never become the champions
you hope to be."" Then he told them of all he had learned from Tyr, of the noble tenets
of justice that now governed his life.
And one after another, the vrykul joined Yrgrim's cause and cast their enchanted blades aside.
The Winterskorn War was only a symptom of a much greater problem: Keeper Loken.
He had fallen to darkness and imprisoned many of his fellow keepers within the hallowed
halls of Ulduar.
But why had he done such terrible things?
What could have driven a noble being like Loken to abuse his power?
Truthguard found some of the answers.
At Tyr's behest, Yrgrim stalked the outskirts of Ulduar with his shield and confronted a
small number of Loken's servants.
Some were massive fire giants.
A few others were iron-skinned vrykul whose only purpose was dealing death.
Yrgrim bested them, one and all.
When his opponents were on their knees, he forced them to look at their own reflections
in Truthguard's surface.
The shield's righteous power caused the lies and half-truths that clouded their minds to
melt away.
They saw, for the first time, that Loken had used them as his pawns.
Yrgrim's adversaries revealed many details about the fallen keeper, but one was more
troubling than the rest...
Loken had succumbed to Yogg-Saron, the malevolent Old God shackled within Ulduar.
""Tyr vowed to defeat Keeper Loken, but he needed time to plan.
He also needed to find a refuge for the innocent earthen, mechagnomes, and vrykul who dwelled
around Ulduar.
As Tyr led these creatures south in search of a safe haven, he ordered his loyal servant
Yrgrim to stay behind.
The noble vrykul would hold off any of Loken's minions who tried to prevent the refugees
from fleeing.
""Yrgrim, fabled Truthguard in hand, obeyed his master.
It was the last time he would see Tyr alive.
""Three fire giants soon emerged to hunt down the refugees, but Yrgrim barred their way.
They swarmed the lone vrykul and battered Truthguard.
Not even the fists of giants could dent the shield.
""Yrgrim waited until his foes wore themselves ragged against Truthguard, and then he went
on the offensive.
He slammed the shield against the giants until their molten bodies crumbled and their blood
ran like rivers of fire over the land.""
While Yrgrim battled the fire giants, Keeper Loken unleashed ancient horrors who had been
locked within Ulduar.
These were the C'Thraxxi, monstrous servants of the Old Gods.
They crawled from their underground chambers and slipped past Yrgrim, eager to exterminate
Tyr and his motley followers.
Yrgrim sensed the C'Thraxxi's foul presence as they passed by, and he raced south in pursuit
of the creatures.
By the time he finally caught up to them, it was too late...
Tyr had stood against the C'Thraxxi alone, and he had paid the ultimate price to defeat
them.
His followers would name the site of his valiant sacrifice Tyr's Fall, which in the vrykul
tongue translated to ""Tirisfal.""
Yrgrim laid the first stone of the tomb that would serve as Tyr's final resting place.
He and his allies labored over the construction in silence, hearts filled with bittersweet
reverence.
When the work was done, the refugees set off south in search of a safe haven, but Yrgrim
did not follow.
He jammed Truthguard into the earth and swore to stand vigil over his master's tomb.
It was the least he could do to honor Tyr's sacrifice.
Moved by Yrgrim's decision, the other vrykul joined him.
For many years, Yrgrim remained in Tirisfal with Truthguard at his side.
He urged his allies to dedicate themselves to the pursuit of justice and nobility, just
as he had.
In this way, Tyr's ideals would live on in more than stories.
They would live on through the actions of Yrgrim and the other vrykul.
Once Yrgrim had taught the Tirisfal vrykul all he could, he departed from the region.
His battles had whittled away at his iron hide, and he longed to find a noble champion
who could take up Truthguard.
Yrgrim's quest eventually led him and his great shield to the land known as Stormheim.
Stormheim was home to many mighty vrykul, and Yrgrim was sure he would find someone
capable of bearing Truthguard.
He constructed an arena to test the mettle of the local fighters.
Challenger after challenger faced off against Yrgrim, but none could meet his high standards.
In time, no one remained to face Yrgrim's trials.
He abandoned his arena, but not his search.
He held onto hope that he would find a successor someday.
Yrgrim built a vast tomb and locked himself within.
There, he waited for a hero.
Someone strong of will and pure of heart.
Someone worthy of bearing Truthguard, as Tyr would have wanted.
The final resting place of the shield that is lost to time, but rumors point to one who
might know the final chapters of its story.
It’s Orik Trueheart, a paladin that once joined none other the nprince Arthas Menethil
to Northrend but since the death of the Lich King, spent his time in Ulduar.
“Since the defeat of the Lich King, I’ve spent my time around Ulduar learning about
Tyr.
He was the only titan keeper who fought Loken during his betrayal.
I found a vrykul saga describing a powerful shield Tyr crafted for his vrykul champion
to carry into battle.”
“I have some ability to speak with the long departed.
We may be able to question the hero in this saga directly.”
“Aye, that’s my hope.
With your help, we have a chance of finding this artifact.”
Tahu Sagewind, a former druid partially responsible for the taurens wielding the light has agreed
to join us on this quest since his ability to speak with the departed allows us to communicate
with Gorvold Ironbrow, a great warrior who tried to complete Yrgrims challenge and failed.
Maddened by his failure, Gorvold threw himself into battle with near berserk rage.
His cunning was replaced with reckless abandon, and ultimately fell in battle, taking his
secrets with him to the grave.
Time to find out what this spirit knows.
“We have found you nad you have found the grave.”
“What’s the next step?”
“I will begin the ritual.
Focus your will upon the spirit while our friend keeps us safe.”
“Let’s get to it!”
Perform ritual
Gorvold the Looter: “I died to ease the pain of my failure.
Why do you disturb me?”
“I’ve read your saga.
Where did you find the shield?”
“It seems you compel me to answer...My journey took me to Stormheim, to a tomb of warrior
kings.
There I found the shrine to Tyr’s champion, but was denied entry.
I tried many times, until I could bear the pain no longer.
I Returned in disgrace and sought to wash away my failure in the blood of others.”
“We will finish what you started.”
“Return to your rest, and be disgraced no more.”
“Thanks for your help, Tahu.
I won’t forget this!”
“It was my honor to serve.
I must go to Netherlight Temple and inform the Conclave of our success.
Good luck.”
“As for us, we should get back to Dalaran.
I’ll meet you there!”
As we travel back to Dalaran, Orik does a bit of work and word around the tavern is
that a great warrior has broken into a vrykul king’s tomb on an island in Stormheim.
That’s got be the one we’re looking for which means that this artifact quest takes
place after protection warriors go in to claim their scale of the earth warder.
Orik’s friend said that the warrior who came here before us never entered the shrine
itself, since they were after one of the tombs.
If a vrykul hero couldn’t enter the shrine, he bets it’s still protected by Tyr’s
power.
His pal Cato will join us as we’ll probably need the talents of a good healer to overcome
Tyr’s protection.
“Cato!
I’m glad you could make it.
The shield is close...I can feel it!”
“I’m here, aren’t I?
Let’s find this shield.
Some of us have a war to get back to!”
“Cato’s the best healer around.
We’re lucky we didn’t have to wait in a queue for his services!
Tomb’s up ahead.
Let’s get in there and find that shrine!
We’ll follow your lead.”
Inna the Cryptstalker: “Despoilers!
Halt!
YOu polute this hallowed ground with your greed.
Begone!”
Inna the Crypstalker is not too happy with our presence, but she is kind enough to toss
out quicksteel arrows which we can use against her Stormdragon and upon her defeat we enter
the tomb only to find more obstacles.
The guardians are not too happy about all these challengers, but despite their best
efforts we make it through until we face the greatest obstacle of all.
“A glowing door....Wee bit obvious don’t you think?
What have we here?
This tablet says you need to withstand the door’s “gaze”.
I’m betting that’s not going to be pleasant.
Care to give it a try?”
This is the challenge that brought Gorvold low but we have a healer at our side as well
as our own protective spells and after enduring the light’s judgement, that which tests
our spirit and body, tests if we have the strength to bear its gaze, the door finally
opens.
Cinematic: Yrgrim the Truthseeker – “I big you greetings, Opener of Doors.
You are the first.
I am Yrgrim, Champion of Tyr!
Let us see if you are worthy to bear his shield.”
“Long have I waited for one who proves worthy.
Face me in battle that we might test your heart!”
“Let us begin!”
The final challenge is to battle Yrgrim, but he’s not our only opponent as Runeshaper
Griselda also joins the fight, outraged that we dare challenge the truthseeker!
She uses her control over ice to shield Yrgrim and freeze us to the core, while the vrykul
who was able to resist the curse of flesh for all this time uses pentra strikes and
bladestorm.
Together they are a formiddable challenge, but nothing that our party can’t handle.
“I am beaten.
You are indeed worthy.
Were Tyr alive, he would make you his champion.
I hereby bestow Truthguard upon you.
Use it to defend Azeroth from its enemies.”
“You are shorter then I expected.”
Pick up weapon, I have the powerrrrrrrrrrr
“I am weary.
With a worthy successor, my long vigil is at an end.
Fight for truth and justice, champion.
In Tyr’s name...”
As Yrgrim finally finds his successor, he turns into stone leaving it to protection
paladins to uphold Tyr’s virtues and wield Truthguard together with Oathseeker in the
war against the Legion.
This is where the story ends for today so as always thank you very much for watching
everyone!
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