Ata'mal crystal

The Ata'mal crystal was an artifact of naaru origin bestowed to the eredar of ArgusRise of the Horde, pg. 11 long before Velen's time.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 51 It was shattered into seven shards during the flight of the draenei, which have become lost over the last decades. The fragments are seen as both symbols of holy Light by the draenei and as potential weapons of immense power, notably by the Burning Legion and the Illidari.
The shards are in the colors of light as seen when refracted through a prism - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. They are named Heart of Fury (red), Brilliant Star (yellow), :Leafshadow (green), Spirit's Song (violet), Eye of the Storm (blue), Fortune's Smile, and Shield of the Naaru.
==Background==
===Origin===
The Ata'mal crystal was the most sacred artifact of the eredar, accessible only by their three leaders - Archimonde, Kil'jaeden and Velen. When the Dark Titan, Sargeras, came to Argus and offered the eredar to join his cause in exchange for unlimited knowledge and power, Archimonde and Kil'jaeden readily agreed, but Velen - who possessed the gift of future-seeing that the others lacked - saw the truth behind Sargeras' offer, and how he intended to lay waste to the known universe.Rise of the Horde, prologue
Praying for guidance, Velen's pleas were answered by the naaru known as K'ure. K'ure instructed Velen to take the Ata'mal crystal and rally anyone willing to listen to him, and travel to Argus' tallest mountain on the longest day of the year. There, Velen's prayers would be answered. As Velen and his followers awaited a sign from the naaru, Archimonde and Kil'jaeden had caught wind of Velen's plan and unleashed the man'ari upon them. Raising the crystal into the air in desperation, Velen watched as the crystal was struck by a beam of light and suddenly shattered. The crystal created a barrier of light that prevented the man'ari from reaching them. At that moment, the gigantic dimensional ship known as the Genedar appeared, providing Velen and his followers their escape from Argus.Rise of the Horde, ??Eredath, Jewel of Argus
===The shards===
*Brilliant Star is the yellow shard. Rise of the Horde, pg. 182 It calms the carrier's emotions, purifying them, allowing them clarity in their decisions. Rise of the Horde, pg. 185 This especially affects casters, allowing a manipulation of the arcane and elemental magics rarely paralleled elsewhere. It was taken from Velen by the Frostwolf chieftain, Durotan, shortly after Velen's capture and just before his release. The crystal was later secured by Kil'jaeden and kept as a trophy. After his death, the crystal passed through a number of demonic warlords before being secured by Arzaal and returned to Velen as proof of his people's desire for atonement.Proof and PromiseSeeing Red
*Leafshadow is the green shard. It possesses the power to cloak an area around it from vision. It was held by Restalaan, long-time friend of Velen and captain of the guard in the city of Telmor in Terokkar Forest. It was used to cloak the entire city, protecting it from the ogres and their gronn masters. Durotan and Orgrim learned of its existence during a childhood trip to the city. But one day, Durotan - who remembered the necessary words to lower the shielding illusion - revealed Telmor to his forces, and the orcs proceeded to sack the city. Once in the Horde's possession, it was used against the draenei to hide the orcs' assault on Shattrath City until the last possible second. Its current location is unknown.Rise of the Horde, ??
**An alternate universe version of the crystal was seen in , where it was used by to cloak the amassing Sunsworn and forces from the Shadow Council.
*Heart of Fury is the red shard. When possessed by an individual, it accentuates the individual's aggressiveness and strength. It was taken from Velen by the Frostwolf chieftain, Durotan, shortly after Velen's capture and just before his release. It was passed amongst the orc clans at each new moon, even coming to Durotan's hands for the orcs' attack on Telmor.Rise of the Horde, ?? It eventually ended up with the Shadowmoon fel orcs at the Ata'mal Terrace in Shadowmoon Valley, its presence clouded with dark magic to keep it from the Sha'tar. Akama, leader of the Ashtongue Deathsworn who served Illidan, sent adventurers on a quest to retrieve it. Akama then placed it into the Medallion of Karabor, and instructed the adventurer to take it to the naaru A'dal in Shattrath City for safety.Akama's Promise When the Sha'tar forces finally assaulted the Black Temple, the naaru Xi'ri returned the Medallion to the adventurer, allowing them to enter the Black Temple.A Distraction for Akama 
*Spirit's Song was the violet shard. It opened the mind and spirit, Velen likened it to having direct contact with the naaru whenever he used it.Rise of the Horde, chapter 10 It was last held by Velen, but was left behind as he departed to claim the Exodar. It would later be found in the hands of a dreadlord named Culuthas in Netherstorm, who believed himself above the Burning Legion with the crystal in his possession. Nexus-Prince Haramad, leader of the Consortium, sent a party to triangulate its location, and reclaim it for Kael'thas and the Sunfury, but inspired by the selflessness displayed by the adventurers in bringing it to him, Haramad attuned his personal teleporter to Shattrath City, where it was delivered to the naaru A'dal instead.Full TriangleSpecial Delivery to Shattrath City
*Eye of the Storm is the blue shard. It was last reported in the possession of Velen while he was in Shattrath City. The crystal was supposed to appear in-game as a quest item, retrieved by the the warlocks Kanrethad and Jubeka in the Black Temple and then delivered to Wrathion in Pandaria by the adventurer, but this storyline was cut.The Eye of the Naaru Its powers are unknown.
*Shield of the Naaru was last reported in the possession of Velen while he was in Shattrath City.Rise of the Horde, chapter 20 Its powers are unknown; it is either the indigo or orange crystal.
*Fortune's Smile was last reported in the possession of Velen while he was in Shattrath City. Its powers are unknown; it is either the indigo or orange crystal.
Assuming that the Eye of the Storm, Shield of the Naaru, and Fortune's Smile remain in Velen's possession, the only crystal that remains unaccounted for is Leafshadow, which has not been seen since it was used by the Horde to sack Shattrath.
==Notes==
*The names Heart of Fury, Brilliant Star and :Leafshadow were given by the orcs,Rise of the Horde, chapter 11 with Leafshadow being dubbed by Gul'dan himself.Rise of the Horde, chapter 16 Spirit's Song, Eye of the Storm, Fortune's Smile, and Shield of the Naaru were apparently named by the draenei.
*Some draenei use "By the Seven Crystals of Ata'mal" as an exclamation.Diabolical Plans (Alliance)
*Illidan's demons and their Broken slaves were trying to dig up an Ata'mal crystal shard in the Ruins of Sha'naar in Hellfire Peninsula,Arzeth the Merciless#Quotes but it was in all likelihood not even there according to Naladu.Naladu#Quotes
*One of the alternate portraits for Velen in Hearthstones game mode shows him wielding all seven Ata'mal crystals during the battle in the Tomb of Sargeras. In canon, none of the crystals are known to have been used in the battle.
==Gallery==
Ata'mal.jpg|Velen with the original crystal, as seen in :Eredath, Jewel of Argus.
Heart of Fury.jpg|The Heart of Fury.
Leafshadow.jpg|:Leafshadow.
Prophet Velen Mercenaries 3.jpg|Non-canonical artwork of Velen with the crystal shards in .
==References==
Category:Artifacts
Category:Crystals
Category:Lore
Category:Rise of the Horde