The Witherer's Record

Things were starting to get interesting. I found a massive boulder in the wilds of the Emerald Forest. At first, I paid it little attention, but the prank-loving Sprites had gathered around it. These creatures were easily drawn to certain things—things they could waste and ruin. I drove them away and examined the boulder, suspecting that something might be hidden beneath it. But I could not move it with my strength alone, and it was covered in thick moss, suggesting it had lain there for a very long time. I scraped away the growth with my knife and found several carved wave patterns. That piqued my interest.

More than ten minutes later, after examining the entire boulder, I reached a disappointing conclusion: it was incomplete. It seemed to have been cut from something that had once been whole. I chose that word precisely, because the cut surface was incomparably smooth. I also concluded that this was probably not Pandaren architecture, since Pandaren liked to decorate their artistic creations with all manner of colors. Could it have been the work of Murlocs or Hozen? The former were not keen on artistic creation, while the latter lacked that kind of intelligence. I began to realize that perhaps Pandaria had other intelligent races.

Within a mile of that boulder, I found other fragments of stone. I described them as pieces of a puzzle, though even before I assembled them, I already had a rough idea of what sort of "thing" they formed. Even the smallest piece was as large as two footballs. It was a carved head, complete with eyes and brows. Its broad lips stretched across its face, lined with fangs. It projected an imposing presence without even needing anger. I knew it was not alive, but I still had one thought: