A Hero's Tomb and the Enemy Beneath the Earth

Inside, a Vrykul in his prime sat in the seat of honor. When he saw the guards bring outsiders before him, he stood.

Jarod studied the Vrykul chieftain as well. He was a little taller and stronger than the Vrykul outside.

"Greetings, outsiders. I am the chieftain of the Tyr Clan. You may call me Apophis," the Vrykul chieftain introduced himself.

"Greetings, Chieftain Apophis. My name is Jarod Shadowsong. I come from the Kingdom of Aikatel, on another continent called Hailidos," Jarod promptly introduced himself in turn.

"Why have you come here?"

"Our king entrusted us with a mission. We came to investigate the source of the evil energy here and destroy it."

"Evil? No, there can be no evil here. The great Keeper Tyr once fought two minions of the Old Gods here, and they perished together. All that stands here is a tomb the other Keepers built to remember Tyr's sacrifice. We are the tomb keepers who stayed behind to guard it."

So said Apophis, the Vrykul chieftain.

"Could you tell me more about the history of Keeper Tyr?"

Jarod asked.

"Of course, stranger. I hope that once you've heard it, you'll give up the thought of going there. After all, a Keeper's tomb needs no disturbance."

Apophis was still quite approachable in the first half of his reply, but the second half carried a hint of threat.

"Now, let me start at the beginning. This is the history passed down by word of mouth among our people."

"After the Titans left, the Keepers began using the Forge of Wills to create an army to guard the prisons holding the Old Gods."

"But a traitor arose among the Keepers. Loken was corrupted by Yogg-Saron, who also spread a curse into the Forge of Wills, causing the Titan-forged created within it to be cursed."

"Loken first provoked a conflict between Thorim and the ice giants, driving Thorim away."

"Then he summoned Helya and trapped Odyn and his followers inside a barrier."

"He also killed Mimiron, who was searching for a way to cure the curse."

"Loken used his army to attack Freya's and Hodir's temples and imprisoned them in Ulduar."

"And so Loken tore the entire company of Keepers apart, leaving only Keeper Tyr and Archaedas."

"Keeper Tyr had long sensed that something was wrong with Loken, but their strength was far too weak compared to his."

"So he, Keeper Archaedas, and Archaedas's companion Ironaya hid outside the Storm Peaks to escape Loken's pursuing army."

"It seems the Keepers' power wasn't invincible either," Jarod remarked, moved by what he had heard.

"Keepers need companions too! Just like us. Without our people, we couldn't survive in the wild."

"What happened next? What did Keeper Tyr do?"

"Let me tell it in my own time."

"That fellow Loken actually appointed himself Azeroth's prime designate. He deactivated the Forge of Wills and drove the servants out of the Storm Peaks."

"The Titan-forged began settling across Azeroth, and conflicts broke out among them."

"The fire giants Volkhan and Ignis, whom Loken had created, used force to take control of the Vrykul Bitterfrost Tribe in order to seize the Storm Peaks. They also made golems and iron constructs to strengthen their army-the Bitterfrost Army."

"The army attacked the earthen living there. Only a small force escaped and sought Keeper Tyr's help."

"After Keeper Tyr drove back the Bitterfrost Army, they refused to give up and enslaved Proto-Dragons. The Keeper had no choice but to seek the Dragonflights' help."

"The dragons and the Keeper crushed the Bitterfrost Army, and the Aspect of the Green and the Bronze Dragon Aspect used their own power to keep them asleep."

"After the war, the Keepers prepared to steal the Disc of Norgannon, which held a record of Loken's crimes."

"The Keepers' plan succeeded, and they stole the Keepers' disc. But Loken, still unwilling to give up, sent Zakajz and Kith'ix after them. The two minions of the Old Gods began hunting the Keepers."

"The Keepers planned to head south. They gathered many Vrykul, earthen, and Mechagnomes and set out together."

"When they reached a jungle in their flight, the minions of the Old Gods caught up with them. A great battle was inevitable."

"To cover the main group's advance, Keeper Tyr intercepted the two minions of the Old Gods alone. They fought for six days and six nights."

"At last, Tyr made a decision. He chose to release the remnants of Aggramar's power within his body and expend all his life to trigger an explosion of Arcane energy."

"The explosion killed both Tyr and Zakajz. Kith'ix probably fled with grievous injuries."

"The other Keepers named this place Tyr's Fall in memory of Tyr."

"To repay Tyr, our ancestors chose to stay and settle here, guarding his tomb."

"That is our history," Apophis said.

"What a magnificent epic," Jarod said. The history had left him deeply shaken.

"By the way, Apophis, why are some of your people so tall and strong, while others are comparatively short and small?"

"At first, these smaller members of our people were entrusted to me by those who followed the Keepers south. Later, small, frail babies like them were born among us too, but we never discriminated against them."

Connecting Apophis's words with their history, Jarod had more or less begun to understand how these smaller Vrykul had come to be.

"Apophis, could it be that Yogg-Saron's curse is steadily turning you into flesh and blood?"

"Why do you say that?"

"The Titans' creations were originally all made of iron or elements, but now you've become creatures of flesh and blood."

"The reason the Bitterfrost Army built magical and iron constructs was that the transformation into flesh and blood had already begun by then."

Apophis was stunned by Jarod's words. Careful thought would reveal that Jarod was right.

Jarod took out the map Snyder had given him and gave the still-bewildered Apophis a pat to bring him around.

"Apophis, look. The darkness I'm looking for is right here."

The map carried the blessing of the elements and could reveal every kind of energy.

Jarod pointed to the shadow energy gathering at Tyr's Fall on the map, but a mass of golden energy was opposing it.

"What power is that?" Apophis asked.

"It should be the energy of Zakajz, the minion of the Old Gods, and Tyr's protective power fighting against each other."

"But the protective power probably won't hold out much longer."

Jarod looked at the increasingly dim golden energy as he spoke.