Inferno Touched Fall

Inferno Touched Fall is a raid, and the final instance within the towering mountain of An'uldyrAn'uldyr. It serves as the end to the An'uldyr storyline, featuring five bosses and ending with Lord Xanthus. It was released with the launch of Patch X-31.
== Attunement ==
There is no specific requirements for entering the Inferno Touched Fall.
== History ==
An'uldyr, once the shining jewel of Ibeon, now rests in ruin, it's now decrepit walls and towers reside behind a barrier, raised by Phafaendan himself to seal away to darkness within. The story of An'uldyr is long, but stands as an important point in Ibeonian history.
=== When the World Was Young ===
The mountain that the most holy city resides on has dominated the landscape of Ibeon since the world was young. Ancient peoples, it is said, revered the mountain as the final resting place of spirits, in tandem with the mountain which now contains The Shell, said to be the beginning of life, and creator of spirits.
As the peoples of Ibeon grew, moving beyond the primal and tribal societies they have developed, An'uldyr became an important destination for those who wished to revere the gods. As such, people began building homes and temple along the base of the great mountain, slowly growing into one of the greatest cities on Ibeon, rivaling the great city to the north which would become the ancient capital and the great desert city that would become Azar'Khin.
As the city grew, the great deity Phafaendan took great interest in the city, descending to the city to bolster the setllement in his name, taking the city as his earthly place of residence.
=== The Rise of Xanthus ===
As An'uldyr grew, it caught the attention of Phafaendan's enemies, and of his great brother, an malevolent being whose name has long been forgotten. His brother, wishing the power and might that comes with the reverence of the people of An'uldyr, sent one of his most powerful generals to infiltrate the high council of An'uldyr. This general, Byron Jael, who would be known as Lord Xanthus, garnered many followers, both knowingly and unknowingly, into his cult, increasing the power of his dark master. His master, pleased with his progress, granted Xanthus immense power, turning him into Ibeon's first vampire. Xanthus slowly grew the cults power, allowing time for his master to unfold his great plan.
=== The Fall of An'uldyr ===
It was time for Xanthus and his dark master to unleash their master plan. Using his followers, Xanthus unleashed a great plague unto the people of An'uldyr's lower city. It didn't take long for Phafaendan and his followers to catch on the plague and of the presence of the cult. Sending many of An'uldyr's forces into the lower city, many skirmishes broke out in an attempt to purge Xanthus and the cult from the most holy city. Phafaendan's forces, empowered by the light of the sun, quickly cut through the forces of his brother.
the darkmaster, however, knew that his brother would win, as his plan was not to win the skirmishes in the lower city, but to distract Phafaendan so he could strike himself. Using his immense power, the darkmaster blocked out the sun over An'uldyr, granting him the name of the Black Sun. Under the shadow of their master, the forces of the Black Sun could strike relentlessly at the forces of An'uldyr, pushing them back to the middle city. Realizing that his forces were lost, Phafaendan pulled his forces beyond the gates, and sealed the lower city away; a few bastions of light remained in the lower city, to protect any survivors. 
The immense threat of the forces of the lower city, lead Phafaendan to call upon the mightiest warriors of Ibeon, the Inferno Touched, to watch over his forces in the middle city and higher. Phafeandan, however, felt his power wane after the events in the lower city, his actions causing many to lose faith in him. Seeking to regain his power, Phafaendan left the material plane, but not before building four titanic watchers to watch over the city in his stead. 
By now the lower city had fallen to the forces of the Black Sun, constant attacks by the undead and vampiric thralls never giving the forces in the middle city any rest. The Black Sun, toying with the people of the city, began pulling his forces away from the gates, and removing the shadow over the sun, only to return them every seven days, assaulting the gates with renewed vigor. The soldiers of the middle city stood vigilant over the walls for many weeks, holding a tentative peace for the people of the city. 
With the help of the Inferno Touched, the people and councils of the middle city and higher created plans for a mass evacuation of the city should the need arise. The cult, by this point, has infiltrated the society of the middle city, and became aware of this plan, making plans of his own to thwart the evacuation when the day came. Knowing that the troops he held in the lower city were not powerful enough to break the wards to the middle city, the Black Sun infused Xanthus, and his closest followers with great power, creating the Dreadcouncil of the Black Sun. With this power, the Dreadcouncil turned the peoples of the lower city into horrible creations; giant disfigured humanoid creatures, twisted beings akin to werewolves, and horrible oozing abominations, imbued with the desire to destroy An'uldyr.
Under the power of the Black Sun, the Dreadcouncil and their newly created army of aberrations swarmed the gates to the middle city, quickly cleaving through any defenders present. Focusing their power. the Dreadcouncil concentrated a beam of energy onto a single point in the barrier, punching a hole in the holy shield. A single creature of immense size broke through the battle that raged around them, charging the gates and landing a blow to the revealed part of the walls. This single breach was enough to cause the holy shields to fall, and the Dreadcouncil the chance to destroy the gates and breach the middle city.
The people of the middle city, prepared for such an occasion, began to evacuate across the great bridges leading out of the holy city, under the protection of the Inferno Touched. Knowing this plan, the Black Sun had planned to blow the bridges as the people crossed, and push forwards swarms of minions to slaughter those that made it across. Many people fled back into the city, some stood alongside the Inferno Touched to hold back the endless waves of minions, and other jumped from the bridges, believing that death from falling is better than what the cult had planned for them.
The next few days were a endless stalemate of a battle; both sides evenly matched, with the Dreadcouncil countering every move of the Inferno Touched. As a final hope, the Inferno Touched launched a direct assault into the lower city, the five of them bolstering any soldier that came with them, hoping to land a direct strike on the Dreadcouncil. The endless hordes of undead and horrible beasts were endless, but the holy power of the Inferno Touched cleaved through the lesser beings, bolstered with new found resolve. Pushing to the cathedral at the centre of the lower city, the Inferno Touched broke down the gates, and were immediately greeted by the Dreadcouncil. The battle that ensued shook the very foundations of the cathedral, both sides striking with the power of their gods. Combining their power, the Inferno Touched managed to strike down one of the Dreadcounil, now with the advantage, the Inferno Touched slew the rest of the Dradcouncil.
When all that remained of the council was Xanthus himself, he dropped him arms and surrendered. As he was being escorted out of the church, Xanthus revealed a hand-scythe from his cloak, and slashed at the throat of one of the Inferno Touched, Suunala, felling her immediately. In a rage, Inferno Touched Yoshan struck at Xanthus, severing his left arm completely, knocking him unconscious, as they escorted him to the Walled City at the pinnacle of the mountain. Yoshan, as they marched past the remnants of their forces, ordered them to retrieve Suunala's corpse, and requested a proper burial.
Chaining Xanthus up beneath the city, within a sealed vault under the walled city, the Inferno Touched hoped to end the assault once and for all. Knowing that Xanthus still possessed Immense power, the Inferno Touched chained him up with two of Phafaendan's titanic watchers, and removed a single eye, so he could not keep a gaze on both watchers at the same time. 
Despite Xanthus being imprisoned, the Inferno Touched knew that the Black Sun would still push for the fall of An'uldyr, and as such began to train their soldiers in advanced techniques. The assault of the Black Sun would not come for many months, but when his assault came, he unveiled his newest creation; the first of his behemoths. Unprepared for this development, the forces of An'uldyr were swiftly destroyed by the behemoths, leaving the Inferno Touched and their elite forces to retreat to the high city, leaving the middle city to fall to the Black Sun.
The Inferno Touched were on their back foot, constantly fighting the Black Sun's forces as they retreated through the High City. Seeing the situation as hopeless, as a final effort to destroy the behemoth, Inferno Touched Gylin sacrificed himself, launching himself at the behemoth, Swallowing him whole, Gylin called upon the last of his power to rupture the behemoth from the inside, killing it instantly. Although the behemoth had fallen, the forces of the Black Sun still overwhelmed the Inferno Touched, forcing them back to the fortress leading up to the Walled City . 
The Inferno Touched, and what soldiers that still remained with them, fought a retreating battle to the bridge of Sendrar's Fortress, the only entrance to the Walled City. It was on this bridge that Inferno Touched Hiran made their last stand, summoning all their might to break the bridge leading to the fortress gates behind his allies, holding back the encroaching army themselves. The rest of the defenders made their way through the arcing bridges of Sendrar's Fortress, activating the fortress's traps as they progressed. The last remaining knights stayed behind as the Inferno Touched made their way out of the fortress, hoping to buy the Inferno Touched any time they could. 
All that remained were Yoshan and Azalia, the last of the Inferno Touched. They wandered the raised walkways of the the Walled City, the city's silence betrayed the chaos below. The two ventured to the cathedral at the top of the Walled City, the entrance to the prison of Lord Xanthus. Inside, instead of the great watchers of Phafaendan, they were met with a massive, twisted figure, warped into a horrific demonic visage, a great scythe of stone, formed from shards of the titanic watchers held aloft; the great Lord Xanthus stood before them. Lord Xanthus and the two Inferno Touched engaged in a mighty battle, the forces of fire and lightning obeying the call of the Inferno Touched while the shadow of Xanthus swept through the skies. In a lucky shot, Xanthus slashed his scythe at Azalia, catching her side, and flinging her out the windows of the cathedral, plummeting her to her death. 
In a rage, Yoshan smashed the floor of the cathedral, sending the two of them plummeting into the depths of Xanthus' old prison, the lightning and shadow crashing the mountain top as the two fell. It is unknown what befell Yoshan and his mighty opponent, for Phafaendan sealed the city away in time, never to be open again. 
== Storyline ==
The veil surrounding An'uldyr has fallen as the great heroes fight back the darkness. Xanthus, after millennia of waiting, has risen again, with renewed vigor to serve his dark masters. The gates to Sendrar's Fortress have opened, the ghosts of those lost beckon the champion's to avenge them, and the shades of the Inferno Touched wait to be released.
Can the shadow over the most holy city be broken, and the shining beacon of Ibeon restored?
"This is the power of the Black Sun; cower before the bane of gods!"
== Layout ==
There are four sections to the Inferno Touched Fall:
# The Gates of Sendrar: The bridge leading to the great fortress, the ghosts of those lost and the demons of Xanthus await players.
# Sendrar's Fortress: An ancient fortress full of traps, the last defenders of An'uldyr hold on to their ancient vows to protect the city.
# The Walled City: Sweeping towers and high walkways gleam white against the sun, the great cathedral of Phafaendan towers ahead.
# The Inferno Touched Fall: Also known as Thunderlord's Shame, the prison of Xanthus holds onto ancient evils, and more ancient shadows.
== Bosses ==
There are 8 bosses in Inferno Touched Fall:
* Ghosts of the Fallen
** The spirits of the soldiers and citizens slaughtered during the failed evacuation. They call out for vengeance, taking their rage out on any who approach the city.
* Sendrar <The Palisade Knight>
** A mighty knight, and high commander of An'uldyr's forces, Sendrar was a master tactician and master tinkerer, his traps serving their ancient purpose. 
* The Vigilant <Last Defenders of An'uldyr>
** The last knights to accompany the Inferno Touched to the Walled City, these specters hold on to their ancient vows, and will hold back anyone seeking the cathedral.
* Axalton <The Cathedral Keeper>
** A horrific, gargoyle like demon watched over the entrance to the great cathedral, forever guarding the doors and his dark master within.
* Azalia, Shadow of Fire
** One of the last Inferno Touched, Azalia was slain in a battle against Lord Xanthus. Enraged that she couldn't help Yosahn in the battle, Azalia's spirit now embodies hatred, allowing none to approach Yoshan.
* The Shattered Watchers <Phafaendan's Fallen>
** The great titanic watchers empowered by Phafaendan. Failing in their duties to protect the city, have fallen under sway of Lord Xanthus, what little remains of their bodies demolishing everything in their way.
* Shade of Yoshan <The Thunderlord>
** The last of the Inferno Touched, Yoshan embodied might and valor. Wielding the power of storms, Yoshan battled with Xanthus for years before succumbing to the shadows of the Black Sun. Now under the sway of the shadows, Yoshan will protect his dark master until the bitter end.
* Lord Xanthus <The Dark Heart of An'uldyr>
** Once part of the council of An'uldyr, Xanthus was in the service of the Black Sun. Hid master's shadows, while granting him immense strength, twisted his form into a horrific, demonic visage. Wielding a scythe created from the shards of his jailers, Xanthus will destroy any who stand in the way of him, or the Black Sun.
== Resources and Loot ==
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== Notes ==
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