Project Lore

Proverb is a rare yet delicious column discussing the lore of Warcraft. It is spoiler heavy for all Warcraft games, novels, and other media. Comment on this post or send a tweet to @Heartbourne and let us know what you would like to see in future columns! You may want to read part 1 and 2 before continuing. Blizzard has provided a preview of the Quel'Delar lore and questline. Additionally, a lot more data has been datamined to give us some insight into the ancient sword. Blizzard's preview is as follows:

In ages past the great Dragon Aspects worked alongside the night elves to forge powerful prismatic blades that could be used to thwart any evil that came into the world. They would become known as the blades of Quel’Serrar. One of these blades, which had become lost in time, was recently unearthed again by brave heroes of Azeroth. Now rediscovered, Quel’Serrar is revered once more as a mighty tool of raw power. Its sister blade, however, has not been seen for many years... Quel'Delar The sword known as Quel’Delar was held by the group of kaldorei who would eventully become the high elves, and it was handed down from generation to generation. Most recently Quel’Delar was wielded by the valiant high elven warrior Thalorien Dawnseeker. Thalorien fought tirelessly in the Troll Wars to defend his beloved home of Silvermoon, the Sunwell, and all of Quel’Thalas. When the Scourge swept through the lands during the Third War, Thalorien was among the last lines of defense for the Sunwell. Despite the sword’s power, he was ultimately slain by the overwhelming might of Arthas and his legendary runeblade, Frostmourne. Quel’Delar was thought to be lost forever. Following the destruction of their homeland, the determined blood elves began to regroup and rebuild. It was during this time that the battle-hardened warrior Lana’thel stumbled upon Quel’Delar, and soon afterward the greatest opportunity to use the blade presented itself: Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider raised an army and combined forces with Illidan Stormrage, who led them north to Icecrown on a mission to destroy the Lich King. Lana’thel readily followed her prince with one thought in mind -- revenge against the Scourge -- but only tragedy awaited her. Queen of the San’layn In the icy hills of Northrend, Arthas ultimately defeated Illidan and Kael’thas, and the expedition’s few survivors were scattered across the frozen wastes. One by one the Lich King sought out those who had challenged him, and Lana’thel found herself cornered. Using Quel’Delar, she struck at him with all her might... but Frostmourne’s evil powers overwhelmed her. Through his blade, the Lich King chose Lana’thel to serve him in undeath as queen of the San’layn, a group responsible for overseeing the Scourge’s operations across Azeroth. Queen Lana’thel eagerly carried out her new duties, but every time she looked at her blade, maddening anger would swell within her as she remembered her former life. She could not afford such distractions, and with a scream that echoed throughout Icecrown, she shattered Quel’Delar and flung the fractured pieces as far as she could. Now... The champions of the Alliance and the Horde who confront the Lich King’s armies have but a slim chance of finding the pieces of this fabled blade. If they succeed, the heroes can embark on an epic adventure to re-forge Quel’Delar. They will require the strongest materials and a source of great power to make this shattered blade into the fearsome weapon it once was. Several classes can use Quel’Delar, and the sword can fit several different play styles. For any class that is unable to wield it, however, the Sunreaver blood elves and the Silver Covenant high elves will gladly take this relic of their history in exchange for a usable weapon. The search begins soon...

Juicy. Its history of dueling with Frostmourne is tantalizing. The last couple of sentences offer some of the most compelling gameplay news involving the blade that we've seen yet. The blade seems to be obtainable and usable by sword-wielding classes, but by completing the quest to restore Quel'Delar and returning it to the High Elves or Blood Elves will reward you with another usable weapon, like a staff. I imagine this must be a rather strong weapon, as it is a long, rather involved questline that requires clearing the Icecrown 5 mans, and perhaps Sunwell. It also seems like the item that starts the questline, the Battered Hilt, will be a very rare random drop from some sort of Scourge, likely the 5 man dungeons. The item is of epic quality, and it seems to able to be traded or sold. As for the lore, this fleshes out a lot of suspicions that players have had for the past few weeks about the blade based on datamining. More interesting, however, is the new information we have about the San'layn. There were all sorts of wild theories flying around about who they really were. We now know that they are indeed undead High and Blood Elves raised by Arthas to carry out the missions of the Scourge, and Lana'thel is their queen. Some recent datamining has some interesting revelations as well. Once players obtain the hilt, they get sent by either the Sunreavers or Silver Covenant to Krasus at the Wyrmrest Temple to identify the blade. Krasus then has the following dialogue with our favorite blue dragon, Kalecgos:

Krasus says: You're too late, <name>. Another visitor from Dalaran came asking after information about the same prismatic dragon blades. Krasus says: From your description, I'm certain that the book I loaned our visitor could allow you to easily identify the weapon. Krasus says: I'm afraid you'll have to ask -- Kalecgos? Krasus says: What brings you to Wyrmrest, Kalecgos? Kalcegos says: Are you certain you should be helping these mortals in their quest for the sword? Kalcegos says: These blades, Krasus… They were made long ago, when things were… different. Krasus says: You believe our allies will not be able to control the power of the swords? Kalcegos says: Our enemies once turned our strongest weapon against us. What makes you think the prismatic blades will be any different? Alexstrasza the Life-Binder says: Mortal champions have long used these weapons to combat evil. I see no reason to keep the swords from them in this battle. Kalcegos says: As you wish, my queen. I will not stand in their way, but I will keep a close watch. Krasus says: As will we all. Krasus says: Please mortal, speak with Arcanist Tybalin in Dalaran. He may be able to negotiate with the (Sunreavers/Silver Covenant) for access to the book.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who was wondering what blue dragons like Kalecgos are doing now that Malygos is dead. Maybe Kalecgos or Tyrigosa will step up as leader of a reformed blue dragonflight against Deathwing. I can't imagine that the blue dragonflight, which suffered immensely at the hands of Deathwing, will stay quiet during Cataclysm, even with their kind eradicated and their Aspect the first to die. After doing some spywork in Dalaran and infiltrating the opposing faction's district in Dalaran (with the help of cleaning a tabard freshly laundered by a mage and his water elemental), players obtain the book and take it to Myralion Sunblaze or Caladis Brightspear to identify it. The following dialogue occurs:

Blood Queen Lana'thel

Myralion Sunblaze says: The style of this blade and its marking hinted that it might be a dragonforged sword. At last, we will have our answer. Caladis Brightspear says: I knew this was a dragonforged blade when I first laid eyes on it. Myralion Sunblaze: says: After all these years, can it really be -- Caladis Brightspear says: But can it be? Is this really -- Silver Covenant Sentinel says: You are not welcome here, minion of the Lich king! Lana'thel says: Quel'Delar. Lana'thel says: Quiet, fools. If I had wished to kill you, you'd already be dead. Lana'thel says: As Quel'Serrar was forged by the dragons and given to the kaldorei, its twin, Quel'Delar, was given to my people. Lana'thel says: The king bestowed the blade upon my friend, Thalorien Dawnseeker. Lana'thel says: But even Thalorien's skill and Quel'Delar's magic could not save Silvermoon from the might of the Scourge. Lana'thel says: Thalorien fell before the gates of the Sunwell, buying time for others to escape. Lana'thel says: After the battle, I recovered the sword from the field. I bore it to Northrend in service of my prince, seeking to avenge our people's defeat. Lana'thel says: Arthas shattered our forces and took the most powerful of us into his service as the San'layn. Lana'thel says: My memories of Thalorien went cold and so did his blade. Lana'thel says: It was I who brought Quel'Delar here, to return it to its makers. In breaking the weapon, so did I break its power. Lana'thel says: Quel'Delar will never server another! Caladis Brightspear says: I vow that the Silver Covenant will see Quel'Delar restored! or Myralion Sunblaze says: It falls to us to see Quel'Delar restored for the Sunreavers.

It is from here that players go about restoring it by re-tempering it with Saronite and various other methods in the Icecrown 5 mans and the Sunwell. This part is still not completely clear, but it will soon become clear with the release of patch 3.3 on the horizon.