The Light that Shines

During the Order's operations on Argus, Sauldrik Thelenmore discovered a broken sword. With effort, he restored it, and its former owner--bound to the sword by an unfulfilled oath--besought his help.

Sauldrik then began a quest of mercy, to aid the fallen vindicator, and in so doing won a sword for himself, completing two of his Feats of Knighthood.

## Background

*See also Riallia's Tale.*

As the Order of Ashfall aided in operations on Argus, one of those missions was to assault and seize a weapons cache. The cache was housed in a tomb, which some of the draenei considered to be an affront to their fallen kin.

As Sauldrik Thelenmore, who assisted the mission, picked up a particular broken sword, he felt something within reaching out to him--not a spirit of corruption, but a silent plea. He took the sword with him, and with the aid of krokul smiths on the Vindicaar, repaired it.

The plea would go unvoiced for some time. However, during a particularly fierce battle against a lich, in which Sauldrik's life would nearly be ended, the spirit within the sword awoke, and interceded for him. Thereafter, he felt a powerful leading to seek out a tribe of Broken, concealed in the depths of Krokuun. Jeremaias Auromere deemed it a worthy quest, and the Order traveled with him.

## The Lurker in the Darkness (December 10)

The Broken tribe was not easily found, but with the aid of the Argussian Reach in the Vindicaar, the Order soon arrived at the outskirts of their village. Upon that arrival, the chief of the tribe, understandably skeptical of the situation, demanded that others tell him who Sauldrik was.

Auromere, Neapolitan Butterchurn, and Nellea Lennon delivered speeches full of praise and confidence in Sauldrik, the honorable deeds he had done, the works he would do, and the chief was impressed. The chief confided that Riallia--the draenei vindicator whose spirit had called to Sauldrik--had been slain by an ur'zul, which they called the Lurker in Darkness, and part of her spirit absorbed into it. The mission was, therefore, to slay the ur'zul and free her, and the others trapped in its twisted flesh.

The hunter became the hunted, and the heroes soon ended its terrible existence. Riallia's spirit became more whole, and she appeared to Sauldrik, begging him to finish the task that she had begun: to slay the maker of the ur'zul and her murderer, the Soul Binder.

## Belly of the Beast (December 12)

The Soul Binder made his abode in a fortress deep within Krokuun's broken wastes, impenetrable--save for a back way in, that Riallia revealed. The Army of the Light would aid in this battle, but to move directly against the fortress would be needlessly costly. Therefore, volunteers from the Order took the secret path in, to place a telemancy beacon for later use.

There were several close calls, but traps were averted and the heroes made it safely to the agreed placement location. They then withdrew, to prepare for the single, lightning assault that would bring down the Soul Binder.

## Bound by the Darkness (December 14)

The Army of the Light moved now against the Soul Binder's forces, and while those were occupied, the heroes struck swiftly at the Soul Binder's sanctum. The necromancer was a fierce opponent, but with courage and perseverance, the Order struck him down, and in the last moment, Riallia blessed Sauldrik with holy power, granting him a mighty final blow.

At the Soul Binder's death, Riallia's broken soul was reunited, and the completion of her final quest freed her at last to go on to Paradise. Sauldrik swore to uphold her honor and memory by wielding Maladath, the Light that Shines in the Dark, for righteous causes, and she accepted with joy.

## Outcomes

The Soul Binder slain, the Army of the Light's battle for Krokuun was advanced significantly. It may well have contributed to the final fall of the Legion.

Auromere judged that Sauldrik had not merely acquired and mastered Maladath, but had also completed his quest of mercy. He was now ready to be knighted, which took place on January 4 of the next year.

## Heroes of the Quest

* Neapolitan Butterchurn
* Nellea Lennon
* Scarlet Redbloom
* Sauldrik Thelenmore