"What is this?" Karin frowned after reading through the entire memory.
This was probably a memory from Ymiron, king of the Dragonflayer Clan, when he was still alive... In other words, King Ymiron had put all the Vrykul and Proto-Dragons into a deep sleep to stop the curse of flesh from spreading further among his people.
Karin could more or less guess what would happen next! Decades later, the Lich King Arthas would break into this castle and discover King Ymiron's obsession...
The Scourge under Arthas's rule needed stronger fighters, and these Vrykul, who had slumbered for so very long, became his ideal recruits! The Lich King awakened the long-sleeping flesh Vrykul and promised their king that, as long as they swore allegiance to him, they could escape the curse of flesh and gain immortality and boundless power. Thus, Ymiron led his flesh Vrykul into the Scourge, becoming one of the Lich King's formidable generals.
Finally, when the Alliance Expedition and the Explorer's League joined forces to storm Utgarde Pinnacle, the entire Dragonflayer Clan passed into history.
It would be best to prevent all of this. Any reduction in the Scourge's future fighting strength would help!
But Karin still had one question.
"You said this King Ymiron was a legendary being?" he asked the All-Knowing Eye in his mind.
"Yes!" the All-Knowing Eye answered without hesitation.
"Is he really that strong?" Karin grew even more puzzled! For mages, legendary meant beyond the Ninth Ring. All of Silvermoon City had only two Ninth Ring mages: King Anasterian and the speaker of the Silvermoon Council. Across the entire continent, there were no more than ten! As for legendary mages, the current Guardian, Medivh, might well be the only one! If King Ymiron possessed legendary strength, why would he later be so easily deceived by the Lich King, who was likewise legendary-a demigod-and even swear allegiance to him?
"He is indeed a legendary being, but his combat strength is unimpressive!" the All-Knowing Eye remarked. "Even at his peak, King Ymiron was nowhere near as strong in battle as that Eighth Ring mage atop Sunfury Spire!"
"Weaker than Kane Sunfury? Surely not! Is the gap between the Eighth Ring and legendary rank really that big?"
"Yes. The differences between legendary beings can be like heaven and earth!" the All-Knowing Eye explained. "Especially when comparing highly intelligent beings who advanced through their own study and understanding with less intelligent beings who advanced through divine blessings!"
"So that's how it works?" Karin nodded.
No wonder that during the War of the Ancients ten thousand years ago, Archimonde, the Burning Legion's vanguard commander, had snapped the neck of Malorne, the legendary white stag demigod, with one hand, killing him outright. Yet that same Archimonde had felt fear upon encountering Queen Azshara, a legendary Highborne, and had not even dared to fight her!
In other words, those various animal demigods on Mount Hyjal might seem to possess legendary strength, but in reality, they were nothing but pushovers... A legendary mage like Aegwynn or Medivh at their peak might be able to take on ten of them!
King Ymiron, whose power had been bestowed by a Titan, was much the same... Karin reckoned that if he could break through to the Seventh or Eighth Ring in the coming decades, he could easily seize control of the entire Dragonflayer Clan before the Lich King did.
As he pondered this, Karin took a few steps toward the throne.
"Wait, host!" the All-Knowing Eye hastily said. "Although King Ymiron is not particularly powerful, the gap between him and you is immense. Rashly establishing a mental connection with him could be dangerous!"
"It's fine. I know what I'm doing!" Karin said softly, then picked up the scepter beside the throne!
"An... elf?" A deep, gruff voice rang out in Karin's mind. "You look so weak, yet you dare attempt to awaken me?"
"Yes, King Ymiron!" Karin replied calmly. "I saw the memory fragments you left behind and learned what happened to you and the Dragonflayer Clan. That is why I came to find you!"
"Ha! How laughable... Since you have seen my memory fragments, you should know that 'I swear, we will pledge allegiance to whoever can help us lift the curse of flesh...' But I am certain that someone as weak as you cannot be that person!"
"Of course, I cannot do it now... But perhaps I know the root of this curse of flesh afflicting you?"
"The root of the curse of flesh? Quickly, tell me!" King Ymiron roared.
"Please calm down, King Ymiron!" Karin said softly. "You should know very well that an Old God is imprisoned in the Storm Peaks to the north!"
"Of course I know that!" King Ymiron seemed to calm down a little. "Yogg-Saron of the thousand maws! Our Dragonflayer Clan was there when the Titans subdued him! Loken, the King of Wisdom, is keeping him confined in the prison of Ulduar. What of it?"
"I have some unfortunate news. Tens of thousands of years ago, in Grizzly Hills, a group of elves... my people, that is, planted a World Tree. But its roots reached too deep, all the way into Yogg-Saron's prison, allowing his dark power to begin leaking out!"
"What? I have never heard of this!"
"Of course not. Those elves quickly realized something was wrong and destroyed that World Tree... But that could not stop Yogg-Saron's dark power from spreading! As time passed, Yogg-Saron began to influence everything around him. Even Loken, the King of Wisdom responsible for guarding him, seems to have descended into madness, apparently corrupted by the Old God. Perhaps in another few decades, the entire prison will shatter, and Yogg-Saron will be released!"
"No! We cannot let that happen!" King Ymiron shouted furiously. "Elf, are you organizing a war against Yogg-Saron? Do you wish to awaken us again to join this war?"
"That day will come!" Karin said calmly. "But not now... When that day arrives, we will naturally awaken all the Titan-forged to join the war! This time, however, I merely came to tell you the root of the curse of flesh! Also, in the future, Yogg-Saron's servants may try to tempt or deceive you. They may disguise themselves as all sorts of beings, such as undead creatures. That is why I am warning you in advance not to be fooled!"
"Very well... Thank you for the warning!" King Ymiron said gravely. "If one day you truly can help us eliminate the root of the curse of flesh... the entire Dragonflayer Clan will swear allegiance to you unto death!"
"Let us hope that day comes!"