Vrykul

The vrykul (pronounced /ˈvɹɑɪkuɫ/ or "VRYE-kool") are a race of fearsome half-giant warriors that live mostly in Northrend and are known for their close affinity with the sea and with the continent's native proto-dragons.Archaeology description They are descended from titan-forged iron vrykul that were afflicted with the Curse of Flesh and are in turn the progenitors of the human race, who were originally vrykul children that were born weak and deformed as a result of the curse.
Before the Great Sundering, the vrykul of Northrend were led by King Ymiron from Utgarde Keep, and in an effort to stave off the curse of flesh, he ordered his people to put themselves into hibernation for the thousands of years that would follow. However, this was not the case for other vrykul around the world, as thousands of years ago, another group of vrykul migrated to the sacred region of Stormheim in search of their true gods.BlizzCon 2015 World and Content Overview Panel (around 29:40) Being a seafaring race, some also took to the seas, with one such group settling on Kul Tiras, inhabiting the region of Drustvar as the Drust.
When the Lich King began the war in the frozen wastes, the vrykul of Northrend awoke and saw him as a God of Death to serve. Led once again by King Ymiron, the vrykul pledged themselves to his cause and many were absorbed into the Scourge armies. Following the victory of the living, the vrykul kept to themselves with no death god to serve, returning to their former way of life.
==History==
===Origins===
The iron vrykul were created as part of the titan-forged during the ordering of Azeroth.
When the other Keepers decided to ask the Pantheon to empower the Dragon Aspects for their heroism against Galakrond, Odyn was vehemently against it, stating that only titan-forged could be trusted to defend Azeroth, as did not trust the proto-dragons. He sought to create his own elite army, one of steadfast and valiant stature, and saw the vrykul to be the most desirable candidate for his army.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 155 The Aspects were empowered despite his objections, and so Odyn with the help of his adopted daughter Helya took a section of Ulduar and raised it into the sky, creating the Halls of Valor, and in doing so relinquished his position of Prime Designate.Ulduar's Oath He later told the vrykul that those who died a worthy death in battle would have their spirits brought to the Halls and given new immortal bodies infused with the power of the storm to fight as his Valarjar, which Odyn thought would be better defenders than the dragons. In order to retrieve the spirits of the deceased, Odyn would need vrykul to volunteer to become Val'kyr - inspired by the Kyrian he had seen when he sacrificed his eye to Mueh'zala - and take those heroic vrykul spirits from the Shadowlands. The vrykul objected, and Helya tried to talk him out of it. Instead, Odyn transformed Helya into the first Val'kyr and ordered her to do the job for him.The Legend of Odyn
After Keeper Loken had fallen under the Old God Yogg-Saron's sway, he established sole dominance of Ulduar and Ulduar's servant titan-forged. He also banished a great number of his servants to the Storm Peaks and sealed the fortress of Ulduar. As Helya nursed resentment against Odyn for thousands of years, Loken convinced her to turn against him. Helya used the same magic that had been used to lock the Elemental Plane to seal Odyn and his Valarjar army inside the Halls of Valor, and then decided to take vrykul souls in her new realm Helheim. Helya would be replaced by Eyir as the leader of the Val'kyr, and Loken would go on to steal Odyn's title of Prime Designate.
For many ages after Loken's betrayal, the titan-forged who were exiled from Ulduar spread across northern Kalimdor, many of the vrykul remained aboveground congregating into small clans. Some of these factions wandered the harsh northern wastes as nomads. Others established dwellings across the forested tundra of the region. A tenuous peace existed between these groups of titan-forged, but in time Loken's own creations the fire giants Volkhan and Ignis saw the Storm Peaks around Ulduar ripe for conquest. They armed the fierce Winterskorn clan of vrykul to attack other titan-forged across the Storm Peaks, thus beginning the Winterskorn War. However, as they began their conquest, anomalies began to appear in the Winterskorn. The vrykul's metallic skin became brittle and weak, and they began showing the first symptoms of the Curse of Flesh. They caught the attention of Tyr when they attacked the earthen. Tyr asked the Dragon Aspects for aid, and the war ended with Ysera and Nozdormu putting the Winterskorn into a timeless sleep beneath northern Kalimdor. And so their campaign to seek and conquer the world was cut short and the world was spared from their barbaric ways.
With the Winterskorn defeated in the war, the titan-forged were still divided. Tyr and his allies, Archaedas and Ironaya, stole the Discs of Norgannon from Loken and gathered great numbers of titan-forged who dwelled around Ulduar and whom they saw as innocent victims of Loken's treachery. A large group of peaceful vrykul afflicted by the curse of flesh, most of the surviving earthen, and many of the mechagnomes agreed to flee with them southward in preparation for their next move. They traveled for weeks until they reached what would one day become known as the Tirisfal Glades. It is here that Tyr sacrificed himself fighting a C'Thrax monstrosity in order to allow the rest of the titan-forged to flee further south. The vrykul were so moved by the keeper's deeds that they decided to settle at the battle site and stand vigil over his grave until the end of their days.
With the Winterskorn clan asleep in their deep vaults, and many of the earthen being sealed within Uldaman, the remaining iron vrykul clans continued to dominate the north of Kalimdor. Over the eons, their disparate cultures flourished in unique ways across the unforgiving north. One of the mightiest clans, the Dragonflayer clan much like the Winterskorn found their iron hides were gradually turning to flesh over time. They tried to balance their diminishing strength by enslaving proto-dragons much like the Winterskorn did in previous centuries. Unlike the Winterskorn clan, they didn't see them as mere beasts of war. They used the dragons as hunting companions and rode them during the battle. Oktel Dragonblood was among one of the first to ride these dragons. The proto-dragons proved instrumental against the Dragonflayer's mortal enemy the jalgar, and under King Ymiron the vrykul defeated their foes driving them south.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1Class Hall Mission: Dragonblood
One clan, in particular, struggled against the curse of flesh. After exhausting all natural attempts, the tribe sought the aid of its priestesses. These women plumbed the world of spirits for answers, but they found the malevolent Helya, lying in wait. Their ritual went horribly wrong, as Helya further corrupted those that sought freedom from their curse. These eternally vengeful beings would swell the ranks of Helya's Kvaldir.Ask CDev - Round 4 Answers
===The birth of humanity===
Under King Ymiron's reign, 15,000 years ago,Anguish of Nifflevar on the heels of the Dragonflayer's victory over the jalgar, the curse of flesh took another turn vrykul's children started to be born smaller, which was considered "weak and ugly" by vrykul standards. These infants were dubbed "aberrations" and "runts", and vrykul society was deeply divided on how to deal with them. Some vrykul were disgusted by these "aberrations" and beseeched their ruler, Ymiron, to have them all killed, citing a need to keep the vrykul race pure; others pleaded with him to show them mercy, protesting that despite their weakness, these infants were still their children. Ymiron meditated on the issue for some time before reaching a dangerous conclusion: that because the titans had not come to aid them in their hour of need, and because the vrykul knew of no other beings with power on the same level as their gods, the curse must have been created by the titans. Although this was not the case, the vrykul believed it, and at Ymiron's bidding they forsook their gods and titan worship was outlawed. Ymiron then took the side of those calling for the death of their malformed infants, and decreed that all parents with so-afflicted children must kill their young or be taken to Gjalerbron for execution.The Echo of YmironExploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 20
However, not all vrykul could bear to kill their own flesh and blood. Despite their king's harsh decree, they sheltered their children and took them away to a land far away from Northrend, the modern Tirisfal Glades. They had heard stories of the vrykul clan that had followed Tyr and had settled in that area and decided it was a safe haven for their children. There they nursed and raised their children in secret, and taught them the stories and values of ancient vrykul society as well as the ways of foraging, masonry, smithing, and warfare.Saga of the Valarjar: Strom'kar, the Warbreaker Finally, with heavy hearts, they left them in the care of the vrykul that inhabited Tirisfal, before returning to Northrend. These outcast vrykul "runts" would later form their own cultures and kingdoms, and became known as humans.
It is unclear what happened to all of those parents who did not kill their children, but many if not most of them would come to no good end; a vicious vrykul warrior, Skadi, relentlessly hunted them down and killed any of them he came across. For this he was judged to have committed a true act of depravity, and was thereafter known as Skadi the Ruthless.Skadi the Ruthless#Dungeon Journal
Most of the vrykul that had settled in Tirisfal Glades eventually died off or succumbed to the curse of flesh. One group lasted longer than the others and formed a secretive order known as Tyr's Guard to protect Tyr's tomb. These vrykul knew that they would not live forever and decided to induct some of the new humans into their ranks to ensure the future of the group. They taught these new members the history of Tyr and the truth about the tomb.Libram of Ancient Kings: The Silver Hand By the time that Thoradin united the humans into the Arathorian Empire, the last vrykul of the human lands had long since gone extinct. However, tales persisted of a race of giants who had once walked among the humans and watched over them, like parents watching over their children. Weapons left behind by the vrykul were treated by the early humans as sacred heirlooms and tribal symbols.
Eventually, in an effort to stave off the curse of flesh, the Dragonflayers put themselves into hibernation in facilities such as Gjalerbron. The Tribunal of Ages, a record of false history created by Loken, erroneously claims that he ordered this hibernation. The vrykul left their homes, villages, and keeps vacant as they slept. There they would remain undisturbed for thousands of years, even by the Great Sundering of the world.
===Other vrykul in ancient times===
Among the djaradin, there is a legend that long ago a warband of vrykul landed on the shores of the Dragon Isles. Led by their king, they carved their way through the land and destroyed several tribes, until they eventually fell against the elemental half-giants. Only their king survived and stood alone on the battlefield, where he fought without rest for eight days and nights. In the end, he earned his place among the Qalashi djaradin as a dragonhunter, and fought alongside them for years, slaying countless dragons as he proved his worth a hundredfold. One day, he finally fell in battle with a powerful dragon a hundred times his size.Tarjin the Blind#Quotes
An ancestral homeland of the vrykul, Stormheim was at one point occupied by Highborne elves. Vrykul forces led by the heroic king Magnar Icebreaker launched a massive attack on Stormheim, surprising the Highborne with their ferocity. For weeks the elves and vrykul skirmished, with the latter scoring immediate victories and gaining enough momentum to push the Highborne out of the city. The elves' last chance to reclaim Stormheim happened at the Battle of Suramar Pass, but in the end the vrykul stood victorious. The Highborne were forced to flee and never made a claim upon Stormheim again. Moments after the vrykul victory, traitors loyal to Helya and her Helarjar arose within Magnar's ranks and managed to kill both the king and his son Hruthnir, but Magnar's people were able to rally and prevented the Helarjar from claiming Stormheim.Saga of the Valarjar: Scale of the Earth-Warder
The Halls of Valor, serving as a makeshift prison for Odyn and his Valarjar, would come to occupy the clouds high above Stormheim, and this would grant the region a special significance for the vrykul people. They worshiped Odyn as a deity and yearned to join the ranks of his formidable Valarjar. Though native to Northrend, many vrykul would make the voyage to the Broken Isles over the years and gravitated towards Stormheim.The Art of World of Warcraft: Legion, pg. 84
After the Sundering, many vrykul groups took the seas. Some of them settled on Kul Tiras and became known as the Drust.
===Arrival of the Lich King===
As the Lich King initially tested his power in Northrend, lost vrykul tribes were slain by the Lich King's servants in their unending sleep that they were put under millennia ago by the Dragon Aspects, and they were raised into undeath as powerful new warriors.
===Wrath of the Lich King===
Shortly before the beginning of the War against the Lich King, the Lich King stirred from his Frozen Throne and sent his Scourge minions to swarm across the land, destroying all in their path. The slumbering vrykul awakened soon after, beginning with those of Jotunheim,Vandalizing Jotunheim the largest vrykul village in Northrend.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 132 Many of them would come to believe that the Lich King was a god of death, and pledged themselves to him and the Scourge. The Winterskorn clan was made subservient to the Dragonflayer. Angerboda is the wife of Ymiron, king of the Dragonflayer
While Arthas woke the vrykul, it was the simple greed of the Northsea Freebooters' pirates that brought the kvaldir to Northrend's shores, as they stole artifacts from a vrykul burial ground in Howling Fjord called Shield Hill, and disturbed the spirits of the dead; later, the tuskarr tried to lay the spirits to rest by returning the stolen items, but it was too late. These cursed souls were called in from the sea to raid the coasts and take souls to their mistress Helya.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 94
When they arrived in Northrend, the Alliance and the Horde built two ports on the shores of the Howling Fjord, Valgarde and Vengeance Landing. A month later, the vrykul of the Dragonflayer clan were awake, setting their worgs on his soldiers and blasting the half-built walls with fire from their proto-drakes. They turned against Valgarde,If Valgarde Falls... launching an ongoing series of attacks which were coordinated by Ingvar the Plunderer from the fortress of Utgarde Keep. In turn, the Winterskorn clan turned against Vengeance Landing.A Lesson in Fear and Baleheim Bodycount
The dwarven Explorer's League set to work excavating Dragonflayer ruins near Valgarde, speculating that the vrykul were related to humans and that they were connected by evolution, via a "missing link" of some kind. It was then that a draenei shaman, Thoralius the Wise, sent an Alliance adventurer into the spirit world to uncover the vrykul's past, where they found two visions of the past that revealed the events described above, thus revealing that there was no "missing link"; rather, the vrykul themselves were the missing link – they were the progenitors of humanity.The Echo of Ymiron and Anguish of Nifflevar
Other vrykul were seen around Northrend, often aiding the Scourge in their endeavors. They held competitions where many elite warriors competed for the chance to become powerful undead servants of the Lich King. In Icecrown, vrykul fought each other in the pit of Valhalas; the winners of these combats became one of their Ymirjar,Blood of the Chosen (Horde) the elite warrior caste created by King Ymiron in service of the Lich King, and the loser became a vargul, an undead creature.The Duke The responsibility for raising the dead in this fashion fell to a new type of Val'kyr, winged spirits of vrykul women with vast necromantic powers under the control of the Lich King. The inhabitants of Valkyrion aspired towards this state, and many obtained it.Off With Their Black Wings However, even the vrykul loyal to the Scourge were fighting each other.Thane Ufrang the Mighty#Quotes Had King Ymiron blown the horns and called for all of the leaders of the ymirjar and mjordin to unite, the vrykul would've become a force more powerful than any other within the Scourge. This action would've organized the vrykul nation, but Ymiron fell before he could return triumphantly to Icecrown.Proof of Demise: King Ymiron
Other vrykul refused the call of the Lich King, such as the Hyldnir, the main vrykul tribe in Storm Peaks, whose stronghold is situated at Brunnhildar Village, and who reasserted their loyalty to the titans, or at least to the Keeper Thorim. They have a strict matriarchal society with the males, both Hyldnir and other races, as they think men are good for naught but slave labor. Because of that disdain, most weren't interested in allying with the Scourge, with the exception of Yulda the Stormspeaker in Valkyrion, who delivered her village to the Lich King in exchange for him making her Val'kyr.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 148 One of their number, Sif, had been Thorim's wife a long time ago, and they held a contest, the Hyldsmeet, to see which among them would prove worthy to rule alongside Thor in her place.The Hyldsmeet
Finally, within the halls of Ulduar, a number of vrykul could be found as members of the Twilight's Hammer.Twilight Slayer The mad keeper Loken also used the Forge of Wills inside the complex to create new titan-forged vrykul, iron vrykul uncorrupted by the curse of flesh, to serve in his Iron army.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 163
====Fall of the Lich King====
By the time the Ashen Verdict lay siege to Icecrown Citadel, most of the vrykul loyal to the Scourge had been either killed or wiped out entirely in Icecrown.Icecrown Citadel (instance) With the Lich King's defeat atop the Frozen Throne, some of the last remaining Val'kyr pledged themselves to Sylvanas Windrunner afterward, becoming part of the Forsaken.Edge of Night
===Cataclysm===
At the time of the Cataclysm, a group of vrykul became elite twilight drake riders who served as Deathwing's personal guard, under the command of the tauren Warmaster Blackhorn. They fought against the Alliance and Horde forces during the aerial battle in the Dragon Soul.Dungeon Journal entry for Warmaster Blackhorn
===Mists of Pandaria===
In Pandaria, Lorewalker Cho showed an undead adventurer their ancestors, and two vrykul appeared as the character's furthest ancestors, confirming humanity's evolutionary lineage.Family Tree
Ruben Holen in the Shrine of Two Moons mentioned the pandaren having books about the vrykul, but he didn't know how they could possibly have encountered them.
===Legion===
The vrykul of Stormheim on the Broken Isles were ruled by a king until recently, when the day his son, Jarl Skovald, murdered him with the assistance of his brothers Voldgar, Agnol and Uldgar. The brothers then turned on each other, with Skovald's blade proving to be the fastest.Brothers of Skovald He then fought his mother at Kingsfall Pass, Queen Bretta, and proclaimed himself king.Rise of Skovald
During the third invasion of the Burning Legion, approached God-King Skovald with a simple proposition, join the Burning Legion and receive ultimate power, or be destroyed. Dreaming of conquest and glory, Skovald and his Tideskorn vrykul allied themselves with the Burning Legion and sought to claim one of the Pillars of Creation for their demonic masters.'God-King Skovald (tactics) In his quest to gain access to the Halls of Valor, Skovald perverted the ancient trials that open the Gates of Valor. During the Trial of Might, he shattered Yotnar instead of besting him and attempted to destroy Aggramar's Vault so that no one else could know the criteria for the other trials from the titan databases.Ahead of the GameThe Shattered Watcher In the Trial of Will, he opted to enslave the Thorignir.A Trial of Will During the Trial of Valor, he used the Bonespeakers to attempt to enslave the souls of the ancient rulers of Stormheim, forcing them to give their blessing.Regal Remains
Meanwhile, Odyn, under the guise of Havi, guided an order champion in their quest to beat the trials and retrieve the Aegis before Skovald. While the Felskorn assaulted the Gates of Valor, both challengers met, but Skovald left the fight before there could be a victor. The order champions proceeded to beat Odyn's own challenges within the Halls of Valor and earned the right to wield the Aegis of Aggramar. Skovald suddenly appeared, however, demanding that Odyn acknowledge his claim to the Aegis, a protest that Odyn said came too late. Skovald thus attempted to claim the Aegis by force but was killed, declaring in his final breath that all his plans had been brought to ruin.
Other vrykul did not follow Skovald in his alliance with the Legion, instead, they remained loyal to Odyn. These Valarjar vrykul mainly stood in Valdisdall. An adventurer who fought valiantly a pit lord by Odyn alongside other vrykul who took up arms against the demons was uplifted by Odyn and made Battlelord of the Valarjar armies.Return to the Broken Shore
The forgotten Tomb of the Old Kings contained the remains of several great vrykul Kings. Odyn sent his Battlelord, with the help of Hruthnir, son of Magnar, to the tomb to reclaim the armament of the Black Wyrm from the hand of the King Magnar Icebreaker. However, the tomb was deconsecrated by the unholy magic from the Burning Legion, and the guardian didn't recognize Odyn's envoys. The Battlelord and Hruthnir fought the tortured spirits of Magnar and his soldiers. Vanquished, Magnar recognized his son and gave the Scale of the Earth-Warder to the Battlelord to avenge his death in fighting Helya. Finally, the spirits of Magnar and his soldiers were sent to the Halls of Valor.Legacy of the Icebreaker
In the Shield Hill, the spirit of Gorvold Ironbrow was called by the Tahu Sagewind and Orik Trueheart in order to find the place of a powerful artifact of the Light against the demons.The End of the Saga The Gorvold's Story led the paladins group to the Tomb of the Old Kings. Inna the Cryptstalker tried to stop the despoilers to enter the tomb but she was killed by the paladins. In the Shrine of the Truthguard, Yrgrim the Truthseeker, champion of Tyr, and Runeshaper Griselda challenged the paladin's group and lost the battle. He accepted his defeat and gave Truthguard in order for the future Highlord of the Silver Hand to become the new champion of Tyr.Shrine of the Truthguard (quest)
Later, Prustaga helped the Unseen Path to penetrate the Tomb of the Old Kings in order to find a powerful artifact against the Legion. When they entered the tomb of Warlord Volund, his spirit was awakened. Taking the intruders for thieves, he decided to defend his tomb.A Beastly Expedition When his spirit had been vanished, Prustaga betrayed the Unseen Path and took the Titanstrike.Stolen Thunder Her next and last move was to lead her vrykul followers to the Temple of Storms in order to absorb the powers of the storm and the makers. Finally, she has been killed with several of her followers by an alliance between Thorim and the Unseen Path.Hunter to Hunter (beast mastery)
Next, several vrykul from Valarjar led by Thorim, Hymdall and the Battlelord helped to the free Hodir, who was trapped in Felblaze Ingress by Lady Ran'zara and her demons.The Fate of Hodir
Sigryn, the heir of God-King Skovald, was prophesized by Eyir long ago to unite the Tideskorn against the Burning Legion.Fate of the Tideskorn Seeking to make right the damage done by her father, Sigryn decided to fulfill her destiny.The Reluctant Queen She defeated the leaders of the Bonespeakers and Drekirjar in single combat and forced them to acknowledge her claim.To Silence the BonespeakersTo Tame the Drekirjar But when her brother Torvald, whom she believed was long dead, revealed that the assassination of their family was orchestrated by Odyn himself, which Eyir confirmed, Sigryn was consumed by anger.The Forgotten Heir She let the fel power in her blood consume her and headed to the Halls of Valor in an attempt to confront Odyn.Unanswered Questions Fortunately, an order champion was able to dissuade her before she faced Odyn, who would not have been kind to her. She apologized to Eyir for her rampage and sought her judgment. Despite her misgivings, Sigryn showed that she possessed the strength and willpower to overcome the fel, something no vrykul had done before.The God-Queen's Fury Eyir thus decided that, instead of being punished, she was to assume the burden of the crown and rule the Tideskorn as their God-Queen.Eyir's Forgiveness
===Battle for Azeroth===
At the time of the Fourth War, after Zandalar opened its port to non-trolls for the first time in centuries,Shakedown a group of vrykul traders arrived to sell their wares. Enges, a vrykul :Fjarnskaggl trader could also be found in Boralus Harbor, though because of the herb's popularity among the nobles her stocks have run out.
The Bloodwake clan vrykul from Jorundall island with their fleet in the Great Sea were after :azerite found on islands. They were led by the greatest raider to ever live Jorun, the Bloodwake, who long ago left Stormheim to seek a life at sea living only to raid, but never in one place for long.Bloodwake Drinking Horn (quest)Jorundall Salvage
===Exploring Azeroth===
Following the war against the Jailer, the brothers Bronzebeard visited Northrend after many years and notably reported the activities of the vrykul on the frozen continent.
In Howling Fjord, the vrykul clans are keeping to themselves,Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 15 the Winterskorn vrykul mostly rebuilt Skorn,Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 17 while those of the Dragonflayer clan continue to regularly attack the walls of Valgarde due to its proximity to Wyrmskull Village.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 18 They also reported that the fortress Gjalerhorn is still half-filled with slumbering vrykul, slowly being coaxed back to waking life by the vrykul necrolords.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 16
In Grizzly Hills, the vrykul of Voldrune have been fair quiet in recent days, Muradin Bronzebeard assumed it is due to the Horde troops in Conquest Hold.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 28
In Sholazar Basin, they are still coming to the Savage Thicket, in order to capture wild Proto-dragons to ride or when they need fresh blood amongst the ones they keep in their villages.
In Icecrown, the vrykul of Jotunheim are still challenging each other in the pit of Valhalas, but they have no death god to serve, at least.
==Culture==
The vrykul use proto-dragons as mounts. It is said that they were the first to recognize their potential. Or maybe the second, depending on how you look at it.Mount Journal entry for Reins of the Red Proto-Drake and Reins of the Green Proto-Drake In Northrend, the vrykul come to the Savage Thicket of the Sholazar Basin, in order to capture wild proto-drakes to ride or when they need fresh blood amongst the ones they keep in their villages.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 122
Contrary to popular belief, vrykul drinking horns were not common drinking vessels. While most drank mead or ale from bowls or cups, only those of great prestige quaffed wine from elaborate horns. Indeed, even the passing of such a vessel to the vrykul in question was a matter of ceremony, usually performed by the highest-ranking female present along with formal declarations of rank and deed.Vrykul Drinking Horn
In vrykul culture, it is the woman of the household who keeps all the keys, often displaying them prominently to show her status.Intricate Treasure Chest Key
In the Howling Fjord, the height of Utgarde Keep is like the social ladder for the vrykul: the higher on the food chain they are, the higher up in the keep they live.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 20
The frost vrykul believe that wearing a necklace of polar bear claws will grant them otherworldly strength.Mount Journal entry for Reins of the White Polar Bear
The vrykul assign nicknames based on accomplishments. Cleansing a Drakkari bloodline or decapitating taunka might garner the appellation of "dutiful" but it takes a true act of depravity to be called "ruthless".Adventure Guide entry for Skadi the Ruthless
It's a vrykul tradition to make unlikely partners work together. Some say it's to allow divergent abilities to complement each other; others say it's for the amusement of King Ymiron.Adventure Guide entry for Skarvald and Dalronn
There's an old vrykul saying that goes, "Let sleeping worgs lie, unless you don't want your face anymore."Fjord Worg Pup
The Jotunheim vrykul were the first to be reawakened, and as such Jotunheim is of significant importance to the vrykul race, second only to Ymirheim.
Vrykul see manual labor as beneath them, and as such they use mindless undead to dig a tunnel from Utgarde Keep to Gjalerbron.Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Features/Utgarde Keep They also use slaves in the Saronite Mines, but forging seems to be seen as a worthy pursuit, as there are many vrykul blacksmiths in Utgarde. Vargul possess enough of their minds to be used for labor, but are not pleased to do it.Matchmaker
===Death===
Much of Stormheim vrykul society is shaped by their devotion to Odyn, and their relationship to death is no different. Vrykuls are raised not to fear death and to live the life of a warrior so as to join the ranks of his formidable Valarjar at the Halls of Valor in the afterlife. The bodies of the honored dead are then taken care of by the Bonespeakers, a group of vrykul mystics. They are responsible for burying kings, thanesWhat the Bonespeakers Buried and many others so they can be judged, although it is unknown if they kept their functions following their heretical actions during the third invasion of the Burning Legion.
Vrykul who want to be judged by their ancestors can organize a ritual of wakening to conjure up their spirit. To complete this ritual it is required to bring an aromatic to burnThe Dreaming Fungus and an offering to present. As it is believed that the afterlife leaves the dead hungry for the delicacies of their former lives, a feast such as a Bjornharta makes for a suitable offering.Bjornharta (quest)
Northrend vrykul use burial mounds.A Return to Resting
===Technology and armaments===
The vrykul craft their homes and armaments from wood, stone, metal and whatever else they can gather from their surroundings.The Art of World of Warcraft: Legion, pg. 85 Animal motifs are known to be used on vrykul tools, weapons and armor, such as a flint striker with a rod carved like a dragon's head, with the flat blade of metal fashioned to look like a stylized fish.Flint Striker They also use proto-dragon fangs for tools, such as cloak pins.Fanged Cloak Pin Vrykul technology, however, is slightly behind that of the Horde or Alliance. They use harpoon guns.
Many of the axes forged by the vrykul display an unusual style: the bottom edge of the axe blade extends down below the width of the butt. This style increases cutting area while minimizing weight; it can be used on both weapon and tools. Some dwarven axes show a similar construction.Nifflevar Bearded Axe
:Scramseax are large, straight knives with a single edge and a simple hilt worn by many vrykul warriors as a sidearm. One common fighting style among warriors involves an axe in the main hand and the scramseax in the offhand.Scramseax
Vrykul appear to use shoveltusk bones for weapons and armor, as can be seen in the Shaman Tier 10 armor set (Frost Witch's Garb) and Twin's Pact. This can also be seen in concept art for a female vrykul warrior.
===Magic===
While Northrend's vrykul naturally know little magic, some have been trained in necromancy by the Lich King.The Old Wizard's Almanac A few of Ingvar's raiders also learned to master the arcane arts. Most vrykul magic seems to draw from mysterious runes that even the most experienced magi find unfamiliar. These rune-casters are among the deadliest of all the vrykul, possessing the power to freeze their foes in solid ice and shatter them into a thousand jagged shards. The mystic vrykul of Stormheim are masters of this rune magic.Mystic Kilt of the Rune MasterBlizzCon 2015 World and Content Overview Panel (around 30:30) Many are known to infuse their tattoos with ancient magic and, culturally, hold their inkbinders in very high regard.Inked
==Appearance==
Vrykul appear as very large and muscular humans. Their infants, unlike human infants, apparently are able to stand on their own not long after birth. The males are usually, but not always, bearded; indeed, some vrykul skeletons retain their facial hair long after their flesh has rotted away, as evidenced by the Risen Vrykul Ancestors at the ancient burial ground known as Shield Hill. Many males also have intricate tattoos on their arms and torso.
Cairne Bloodhoof (who had never seen one in person) described them in the following way: "They looked like humans—if humans were larger than tauren and sometimes had skin that was covered in ice, or made of metal or stone."The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, pg. 17
Note that this is the only known official mention of "stone vrykul" that some players assume to have existed at some point. Interestingly, Cairne implies that they have already been seen. He may mean that iron vrykul have some stone parts, though it is possible that this was meant to be confirmation that there were stone vrykul. reveals that the original vrykul were iron, not stone like the other titan races.
Both men and women have deep voices.
==Notable==
Name	Role 	Affiliation 	Status	Location
 	Champion of the Valarjar, former King of the Northrend vrykul and ruler of the Dragonflayer clan.	Valarjar (formerly Scourge and Dragonflayer clan)	 	Various
 	Queen of the Vrykul and wife of Ymiron, killed by the adventurers. 	Scourge, Dragonflayer clan 	 	Winter's Terrace, Howling Fjord
 	Former King of the vrykul on the Broken Isles and ally of the Burning Legion. 	Tideskorn clan, Burning Legion 	 	Various
 	Daughter of Skovald and Queen of the vrykul on the Broken Isles. 	Tideskorn clan 	 	Various
 	Death knight and arena master of Valhalas. 	Jotunheim vrykul 	 	Valhalas, Icecrown
 	Famed bard who lived in the town of Nifflevar and wrote three sagas. 	Unknown 	 	Unknown
 	Queen of the Valkyra, she is long dead but still leads them to this day. 	Valkyra 	 	Stormheim
 	Commander of the attacks on Valgarde; raised as a vargul by Annhylde the Caller. 	Dragonflayer clan, Scourge 	 	Tyr's Terrace, Utgarde Keep
 	Mjordin hero, rumored to have been the finest vrykul warrior to ever live. 	Mjordin 	 	Halls of the Ancestors, Icecrown
 	Leader of the Bonespeakers in Stormheim. 	Bonespeakers 	 	Various
 	Leader of the Drekirjar in Stormheim. 	Drekirjar 	 	Various
 	"Companion" of the necromancer Dalronn the Controller in Utgarde Keep. 	Dragonflayer clan 	 	Utgarde Keep
 	Lieutenant of Ingvar the Plunderer; transformed into a Val'kyr by the Lich King for her service. 	Dragonflayer clan, Scourge 	 	Observance Hall, Utgarde Pinnacle
 	Thane of the Mjordin, commander of the forces at Savage Ledge. 	Mjordin, Jotunheim vrykul 	 	Ufrang's Hall, Icecrown
==Types==
* Iron vrykul
:Have stone or metal-like skin with engraved runes. Sjonnir The Ironshaper appears to be this type of vrykul. The current generation of iron vrykul serves the titan watcher Loken, as well as his master, Yogg-Saron. They are the original form of vrykul made of iron and are to the vrykul as the earthen are to the dwarves.
* Frost vrykulThe Duke
:Vrykul found mainly in Icecrown Citadel and the Storm Peaks. They have blue and pale skin. They have been found in multiple groups, such as the Ymirjar and the all-female Hyldnir. Vrykul brought to undeath that were found worthy by the Lich King.Light Won't Grant Me Vengeance The Ymirjar are the winners of the challenge to "ascend" at Jotunheim.
* Val'kyr
:Incorporeal undead raised from vrykul females. Two similar versions exist: those created by Odyn (through Helya, and later through Eyir), and those created by the Lich King. The Valkyra aspire to be transformed into the first type; the inhabitants of Valkyrion aspire to be transformed into the second type.
* Vargul
:Vrykul brought to undeath that weren't found worthy by the Lich King.Light Won't Grant Me Vengeance They are the losers of the challenge to "ascend" at Jotunheim. The winners are the Ymirjar.The Duke
* Kvaldir
:Undead spirits, covered in green scales and barnacles. They were created by Helya in order to serve her in Helheim, and to kill and capture new spirits for her. They attack the beaches of southern Northrend and sections of Stormheim. Additionally in a chain of flashbacks,Visions of the Past: The Invasion of Vashj'ir Varkul the Unrelenting leads a huge army and claims the then abandoned Ruins of Vashj'ir. Both he and his kvaldir were defeated by an army of naga led by Lady Naz'jar and Fathom-Lord Zin'jatar.
* Drust
:A population of seafaring vrykul who settled on Kul Tiras and especially Drustvar. They had a strong affinity for nature, as seen with the Thornspeakers led by Ulfar. They are depicted in visions with similar builds to humans, though taller and paler (Both peoples descend from vrykul stock). When human settlers from Gilneas landed on Kul Tiras, the Drust waged war to drive them out. However, after the eventual defeat of their king, Gorak Tul, they were all but wiped out by the early Kul Tirans. Few remain alive today, but their dead's influence still lingers as they continue their fight from beyond the veil. Having made an unknown ritual with the realm known as Thros, the Drust do not pass on to the Shadowlands when they die, instead going to Thros to await rebirth via the realm's dark powers. Here they are able to poke through the veil to the living to corrupt unwitting humans to act as their servants. This led to the creation of the Heartsbane Coven, witches who were nearly successful in tearing open the veil between the realms. The Drust spirits are also seen possessing constructs as well as raising their fallen warriors to fight again.
==Notes and trivia==
*Vrykul in Stormheim use runestones to summon elementals.The Rocks Below
*Vrykul were originally described as "vampiric".Chris Metzen at BlizzCon 2007's Lore panel - "The first time we started talking about these guys, there were probably six different things that defined them, right? They're giant... dark... vampiric... barbarian... vikings... from hell, right? The list just kept going." Though this aspect didn't make it into the game, the Blood-Thane Lucard questline in StormheimWhat the Bonespeakers Buried was likely a nod to it, and the San'layn eventually ended up as the vampiric Scourge race.
*Females are voiced by Barbara Goodson,Voice Work & Comedy: World of Warcraft Jessica Straus, and Rena Durham.
*Males are voiced by Richard Epcar and Christopher Corey Smith.
*The Wrath of the Lich King game manual originally stated that vrykul were descendants of giants. This was retconned with which established that they did not actually descend from the giants, but were created by the Keepers via the Forge of Wills, along with the Earthen and other second generation titan-forged.
*Early concept art shows that they were originally called vry'kul. They were also much taller and bigger, as seen in the Gallery.
*There was concept art for a mastiff-like breed of hounds employed by the vrykul called "jag hund".:File:Jag hund.jpg Though they didn't make it into the game, Cataclysm updated all vrykul hound models from hyena models to mastiff ones.
*In Heroes of the Storm, Leoric, a character from Diablo, has a skin called "Vrykul Leoric".
==Inspirations==
*The vrykul seem to be largely inspired by and , , as well as cultural media regarding . A couple of examples below:
**"vri" and "kul" are both words that together would mean "Free Hawk" in some older Germanic languages.
**The original lore of descent from giants gestures to the descent of some Germanic royal lineages from and other mythological beings.
**The names of groups such as the Valarjar or Ymirjar are inspired by the of Norse mythology, the warriors who died glorious deaths in battle and were brought to Valhalla by the valkyries, being a composite of various mythological figures like and the word .
**The Halls of Valor is based upon and , whereas Helheim is based upon .
**Many of the Titan Keepers and their current and former servants (both people like Helya i.e. and also animals like Fenryr i.e. ) are based upon Norse deities and mythological creatures.
**The Valkyr, and their selection from among vrykul women, is based upon the , with some of the Valkyr being named after specific ones from mythology, like Eyir () and Hyrja ().
**They use runes.
**The usually positive relationship between the Highmountain tauren and the Stormheim vrykul gesture to the short-lived relationship between North American indigenous peoples and the Vikings during the .
*Although the vrykul seem to be based on Norse mythology and Viking culture throughout history, the horns on their helmets are actually derived from a common Hollywood trope that is historically inaccurate.
*The "vrykul" name itself may come from the Greek equivalent of the vampire, the , gesturing to their original presentation as "vampiric".
*"Vrykul" were the name of vampiric, revenants in the Sovereign Stone series.
==Gallery==
File:Skyseer Ghrent.jpg|Updated male model in Legion.
File:Enges.jpg|Updated female model in Legion.
File:Legion Vrykul.jpg|Vrykul in World of Warcraft: Legion
File:Felskorn Zealot.jpg|Felskorn Zealot, a fel corrupted vrykul.
File:Vladof the Butcher.jpg|A vrykul riding a mammoth.
File:Vrykul Tree.jpeg|Vydhar, a vrykul turned into a tree.
File:WWI Utgarde Keep Mobs.jpg|A vrykul fighting a dwarf in the Wrath of the Lich King alpha.
File:Vrykul old model.jpg|Early model shown with the Wrath of the Lich King reveal.
;Art
File:Race-icon-vrykul.png|Vrykul icon (as seen in archaeology)
File:Ss5-hires.jpg|Male vrykul concept art.
File:Femalevrykul.jpg|Female vrykul concept art.
File:Vrykul1.jpg|Concept art
File:Vrykul2.jpg|Concept art
File:Vrykul3.jpg|Concept art
File:Vrykul Woman concept art.jpg|Concept art
File:Vrykul Woman concept art 2.jpg|Concept art
File:Vry'kul Bonemancer.jpg|Concept art of a vrykul caster.
File:Vrykul Berserker concept art.jpg|Concept art of a vrykul berserker.
File:Vrykul Bonecaster concept art.jpg|Concept art of a vrykul bonecaster.
File:Vrykul Dragon Witch concept art.jpg|Concept art of a vrykul dragon witch.
File:Undead vrykul concept art.jpg|Concept art of an undead vrykul.
File:Vrykul Mystic concept art.jpg|Concept art of a vrykul mystic.
File:Vrykul concept book 1.jpg|Concept art of a vrykul falconer and vrykul hornbearer.
File:Vrykul concept book 2.jpg|Concept art of a vrykul dragonrider.
File:Vrykul Tower by Jimmy Lo.jpg|Vrykul building concept art by Jimmy Lo.
File:Vrykul building art.jpg|Vrykul building concept art.
File:Vrykul important building.jpg|An important vrykul building, likely the "town hall".
;Card games
File:King Ymiron TCG.jpg|King Ymiron in the Trading Card Game. 
File:Kjaran the Callous TCG.jpg|Kjaran the Callous in the Trading Card Game.
File:Queen Angerboda TCG.jpg|Queen Angerboda in the Trading Card Game.
File:Thane Ufrang the Mighty TCG.jpg|Thane Ufrang the Mighty in the Trading Card Game.
File:Hematurge HS.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:Utgarde Grapplesniper HS.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:Careless Mechanist HS.jpg| in Hearthstone.
;Fan art
Trail of Odin.jpg|"Trial of Odin" by Qichao Wang
==See also==
*Spiritual Journey
*Recurrent Ritual
*Ovyd's Winter Wrap
*Anger of the Half-Giants
*Denial of the Half-Giants
*Drinking Horn Cover
*Vrykul archaeology
==References==
 
Category:Titan-forged
Category:Titan constructs
es:Vrykul
fr:Vrykul