Shared Topic: Build Your Own Legendary

This week, Blog Azeroth’s shared topic was contributed by Effy from Effraeti’s RP:

When the newest Rogue legendary daggers were announced, Blizzard mentioned wanting to eventually create a legendary specifically for each class. This made me start thinking about what legendary I would want for my Shaman.

Basically, for your post, you can be as detailed as you want. You can create pictures, compose the questline, design the stats and uses/procs. But most importantly, you want to build a legendary for your main character!

I adore this question and I love the idea of a druid-specific legendary[1], particularly because druid weapon skills would make it relatively simple to make one weapon that could be useable by all four specs – a staff. The legendary quest designed here will assume that the corresponding raid tier will take Azeroth’s heroes deep into the Emerald Dream to extinguish the corruption remaining the the Rift of Aln once and for all. As such, the following post will contain spoilers for the Stormrage novel. Consider yourself warned!

The Emerald Dream

Part 1: Entering the Dream

Though the corruption inside the Emerald Dream was largely eradicated and its “Nightmare Lord” Xavius defeated prior to the Cataclysm, Malfurion Stormrage was never successfully able to completely purify the dream. Instead, he managed to fight the corruption back to its aparent source, the Rift of Aln, and contain it there. Now, Cenarius and the elder druids have decided, is the time to fully cleanse the dream and defeat whatever entity resides as the depths of the Rift.

Raiders will travel to the Great Tree at Seradane in the Hinterlands and pass through the dream portal to enter the Emerald Dream. Of the four portals in the Great Trees in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, this is the only one the druids have been able to secure thus far. Upon entering the Emerald Dream raid instance, players will see Cenarion Circle druids preparing for battle. Malfurion, you will learn, has taken a group forward towards the source of the Nightmare. Leading the druids, and your own raid as you enter the Dream, is Archdruid Hamuul Runetotem – and, if you’re a druid, you will see that he has a quest for you.

The Archdruid tells you that there are “Nightmare Artifacts” which linger throughout the dream world. Though the artifacts are presently dormant, Hamuul fears that they may provide opportunities for the Nightmare to establish a stronghold if its forces are able to push forward. The artifacts are small objects – acorns, fungi – which would remain undetected to an untrained eye. Thus, Hamuul needs a trained druid who will be able to sniff out the corruption amidst the Dream.

As your raid progresses through the instance, you will occasionally find an acorn or mushroom which has a purple, shadowy aura around it – though only druids on the questline will be able to see this aura or have an option to interact with the objects. These are the Nightmare Artifacts, and once you collect 3 of them you will return to Hamuul.

Impressed by your skill in finding the Nightmare Artifacts, Hamuul suggests that you may be gifted with “dreamsight.” He hands you a letter of introduction and sends you the Emerald Dragonshrine in the Dragonblight to speak to Merithra,[2] daughter of Ysera and lieutenant of the green dragonflight.

When you reach the Dragonshrine, Merithra graciously thanks you for your help in cleansing her mother’s domain. She reads Hamuul’s letter and carefully looks you over, enveloping you in a green fog as she does. “I’m sorry young druid,” she says once her spell is complete, “but I do not see evidence of the dreamsight within you. Do not despair, child – it is a gift rarely given to mortals. The Emerald Dragonflight is indebted to you for your services, but you now must return to your Archdruid at the front. For your dedication, I bestow this gift upon you.”

Merithra blesses you with a buff called “Flight of the Endless Dream,” which increases your flight speed by 50% for one hour. In addition, she hands you a dragon bone which is nearly as tall as you. “This,” she says “is the finger of Eranikus, the noble dragon finally redeemed by your Tyrande Whisperwind after spending many years lost in the Nightmare. Take this to your forces in the Dream, and tell them it is a symbol of hope – proof that the corruption can be cleansed forever, and my brood’s home restored.”

A nice speech and everything seems all well and good until you see the dragon bone when Merithra hands it over to you. The “finger of Eranikus” is glowing a shadowy purple, exactly like all those artifacts Hamuul had you remove from the Dream.

Uh oh …

Part 2: An Unlikely Ally

You fly away from the Emerald Dragonshrine, not entirely sure what to do next. Then, suddenly, you halt in mid-air as a voice fills your mind.

“She lies.”

You try to shake it off and continue back toward the Hinterlands. Hearing voices inside your head is usually not a good thing. But then …

“You hear me. You will seek me out. She lies, and The Dreamers must be avenged!”

You feel an overwhelming desire to travel to Feralas (or a quest box pops up on your screen telling you to do so – whatever you like). So, reluctantly, you change course and head for Kalimdor.

Deep in the wilds of Feralas, you find a night elf woman waiting for you. She wears the armor of a druid, but her eyes are covered with a green blindfold. When she speaks, you realize that the form you see before you is merely a disguise.

“Druid,” she says as you approach her. “Merithra seeks to deceive you. You have the dreamsight, child, or you would not be able to see me for what I am. And that bone – it did not belong to Eranikus. He was purified, his body allowed to rest among the honored of our flight. The rest of us were not so fortunate.”

“Who are you?” you ask.

The elf bows her head, her mouth an irritated frown. “I am the last of Ysera’s lieutenants. I am a disgrace to my flight and to myself. I have aided in the corruption of the Dream and of this world. My name is Ysondre.”

Ysondre

“My brothers and my sister – Lethon, Taerar, and Emeriss – we were the chosen of our lady, and we guarded her sacred places within the Emerald Dream. But when the Dream twisted in upon itself, we became tangled and confused. A voice from beneath and all around us – it told us we must join with it and force the rest of Azeroth to embrace the Nightmare. We saw terrible visions. I believed that the Dreamers, the ones I was sworn to watch over, were severed from their physical bodies on Azeroth. Their strands of life were ripped away, and I knew I must avenge them. The voice told me to step through the dream portals to Azeroth and destroy the ones responsible. We became the Dragons of Nightmare.”

“Now, my mind is clear once more, and I work to rid this land of all the corruption my siblings and I caused. I will never return to my flight – the damage I have done is irreparable. I wouldn’t disrespect Ysera by asking for her forgiveness. But you, young druid, you are dangerously close to allowing that corruption to return to the Dream. Tell me, what is your intent?”

You choose one of the following to answer Ysondre:
“I wish to embrace the wild, to use claw and fang to purify the Dream.” (Feral)
“I wish to embody the grace of Elune, to use her magic to purify the Dream.” (Balance)
“I wish to call upon the Ancients, to use their wisdom to purify the Dream.” (Restoration)

Ysondre nods in approval and asks you to hand her the bone that Merithra gave you. Upon inspection, she informs you:

“This is the finger of my brother, Lethon.” (Feral)
“This is the finger of my sister, Emeriss.” (Balance)
“This is the finger of my brother, Taerar.” (Restoration)

“(S)he is dead, killed by our flight in an act of mercy. I thought they freed him from his Nightmare, but – if the corruption lingers on his physical remains, there must be something of him left. His essence persists …”[3]

“I can cleanse the corruption from this bone, druid, so that I may free Lethon / Emeriss / Taerar from the Nightmare. To do this, I will need materials from within the Dream. I – I cannot go there myself. Though I long to aid my brother, I dare not enter that realm lest the madness take hold of me again. You must go to the Dream, druid, in my stead. Return to me when you have what I need.”

Part 3: Collecting the Dream Essences

At this point, you will return to your raiding group to begin the first collection stage of the questline. Bosses in the Emerald Dream instance will drop one essence per kill, and once you have 25 you will return to Ysondre.

Part 4: Into the Nightmare

When you return to Ysondre, she will perform a ritual using the Dream Essences to attempt to purify the dragon bone. Some of the corruption will visibly fade, but it’s clear the spell hasn’t been enough.

Ysondre sighs. “I am sorry, but we have not been successful. Unfortunately, this only deepens my suspicions that my brother’s spirit is trapped somewhere within the Dream realm – his physical remains must somehow still be tied to his dream shape.”

“You must return to the portal where he used to enter Azeroth from the Nightmare. Steel yourself against the whispers and coercions you will hear, and purify the essence of my brother that you will find inside. He will fight against you with all his might and summon as many allies as he can. Be careful.”

Where you go next will depend upon which specialization you claimed.  The Dream Portals are phased and only visible to someone on this stage of the questline, so you must complete this part of the quest alone.

Bough Shadow (Feral)

Bough Shadow, realm of Lethon

Feral druids will journey to the northeastern corner of Ashenvale to face Lethon.  This Nightmare dragon’s corruption has made his scales appear physically darker, a sickly red hue, and has also made it possible for him to pull twisted shades from the bodies of his enemies.

When the feral druid enters Lethon’s portal, she will see several shades of the heroes the dragon fought in the past guarding the way.  When killed, each of these shades will take some of Lethon’s health with them, and the feral druid must kill all of these shades to weaken the dragon enough that she can face him.  If, however, Lethon ever sees the feral kill one of his shades, he will absorb all the remaining shades, healing himself to full and he will the attack the druid.  Thus, the feral must stealth through Lethon’s realm, taking the shades down one at a time from the shadows.  Lethon will patrol the area, so the feral druid must be careful only to kill a shade when Lethon will not see her do so.

“I can sense the SHADOW on your hearts. There can be no rest for the wicked!”

With the shades defeated, the druid can safely engage Lethon.  The dragon hits hard enough that the feral will need to be in bear form for the majority of this fight.  Survival cooldowns will be necessary during Lethon’s Shaowbolt Whirl, which will hit the druid for a burst of shadow damage.  Occasionally, Lethon will fall asleep and begin to channel a spell which summons several more shades from the edges of his realm.  These shades are untargetable, but heal Lethon when they reach him.  The channeled spell is interruptable, but when the shades reach Lethon they also provide an aura of healing to everyone around him.  Essentially, this would be a chance for the feral to shift back to cat and get behind the dragon to get out heavier damage than she does in bear.  She will allow the channeled cast to continue until she is healed up as much as she needs, and will then interrupt so that Lethon does not receive too much healing.  Lethon will be stunned for a few additional seconds after the cast is interrupted, giving the druid more time in cat form before she must shift back to bear.

After the shade of Lethon is dead, the feral druid will find some strange, dark claws on the ground where the Nightmare dragon was defeated. The druid retrieves these and returns to Ysondre.

Twilight Grove (Balance)

Twilight Grove, realm of Emeriss

Ysondre will send Balance druids to the mysterious Twilight Grove in the center of Duskwood to face Emeriss.  Of all Ysera’s lieutenants, Emeriss perhaps suffered the most in the process of her corruption.  Her green scales are now pale with disease, and foul-looking mushrooms sprout from her sides.

The path leading to Emeriss is filled with diseased fungal monstrosities.  The balance druid must fight her way through them, engaging one at a time and then moving away from them quickly after they die.  Emeriss’ fungal monsters will sprout disgusting mushrooms when they die, which will then explode and deal massive damage to the druid if she is not far enough away.

“Hope is a DISEASE of the soul! This land shall wither and die!”

Once the druid makes her way to Emeriss, the dragon will not engage her directly but will use diseases and mushrooms to fight her.  Emeriss will place mushrooms at the druid’s feet, forcing her to stay on the move so she won’t be caught in the explosion.  At 75/50/25% health, Emeriss will begin a cast that will put a disease called “Corruption of the Earth” on enemies within 100 yards of her.  This disease deals 20% of the druid’s health every 2 seconds.  When the druid sees the dragon begin to cast, she must run far enough away that the disease will not reach her – she will likely need to use travel form or sprint to do this.

Once the balance druid has defeated Emeriss, the dragon’s essence will leave the dream realm and become contained within a few crow feathers that litter the ground where she stood. The druid gathers the feathers and returns to Ysondre.

Dream Bough (Restoration)

Dream Bough, realm of Taerar

Restoration druids will be sent to the northern edge of Feralas to face Taerar. Of Ysera’s four original lieutenants, Taerar was the only one who actually lost his corporeal form to the Nightmare. He existed more as a phantom than as a dragon. The druids who face him must be brave and skilled healers.

When the resto druid steps through the portal of the Dream Bough, she will see an orb in front of her that emanates the same shadowy energy she has seen from all the corrupted artifacts. Upon activating the orb, the resto druid will find that it creates a damaging aura throughout the Nightmare realm, inflicting damage not only to her, but also to all the creatures there. To make her way toward Taerar, the druid must carry the orb with her, activating and deactivating it as necessary. Swarms of nightmare lashers and corrupted treants will try to prevent her from reaching the Nightmare dragon. While the orb is active, she will need to heal herself through heavy damage, but her enemies will die faster. When the orb is not active, her healing load won’t be as intense, but her enemies are more likely to be able to get close to her.

“Peace is but a fleeting dream! Let the NIGHTMARE reign!”

Upon reaching Taerar, the druid will find him surrounded by a cloud of purple fog. Throughout her battle with the dragon, this fog will move around the room and, if it touches her, will put her to sleep for several seconds. Though Taerar will not melee the druid (in his phantasmal state he is unable to do so), he will also periodically fear the druid causing her to drop the orb and run away from it for a few seconds. The orb will stay in whatever state it was – active or deactive – until the druid picks it back up again. Taerar also has an Arcane Blast which will knock the druid back and cause her to drop the orb.

When Taerar is defeated, the resto druid will see his essence is now contained in a pile of withered leaves. She retrieves these and returns to Ysondre.

Part 5: Ysondre’s Promise

Ysondre is moved by your courage and dedication when you return to her. She takes the remains of her sibling’s essence from you and confirms that the corruption has been purged – both from the dream portal you visited and from the dragon bone.

“I cannot thank you enough for what you have done, druid. The only reward I can give you is what remains of my brother’s essence. In life, he was a powerful lieutenant of the green dragonflight. Now, in death, he will continue to serve Ysera through you.”

Ysondre will now fashion the first version of your weapon using the (now purified) dragon bone given to you by Merithra and the leaves / feathers / claws that hold the cleansed essence of the Nightmare dragon you freed.

Part 6: Rescue Mission

“You have redeemed my brother, druid, so that now his spirit may rest peacefully. For that alone I am forever indebted to you. Yet – I must make one more request.”

“When I was a lieutenant of the green dragonflight, I was charged with preserving the safety of the Dreamers as they slept. Using our dreamsight, we watched over both their mortal bodies on Azeroth and their spirits as they walked within the Dream. When I fell to the Nightmare, I forgot my duty to the Dreamers and many of them were lost because of my betrayal.”

“Now, their lost spirits roam through the Dream. They wander aimlessly, even attacking some who do not wish to harm them. They are confused, and wish only to return home. Please, druid, help me to right what I did. Gather the corrupted spirits of the Dreamers who died under my charge so that we may redeem them and send them home.”

You now return to the Emerald Dream raid to collect 300 “Corrupted Wisps” which drop, a few at a time, from each of the bosses in the instance. As you collect more wisps, you will notice that they are with you, all the time, orbiting the staff Ysondre crafted for you. They look similar to the wisps near night elf settlements, except that they glow purple rather than blue. The wisps also will occasionally come to your aid in battle, leaving your side momentarily to rush at the enemy you’ve targeted, and then returning to you after doing a small amount of damage. (For restoration druids, this proc will be based upon healing spells and the wisps will heal rather than cause damage.) The more wisps you have, the more often this will happen, and the more damage (or healing) they will do.

Once you have collected 300 wisps you return to Ysondre.

Part 7: The Vengeance of the Dreamers

Ysondre is overwhelmed with grief when she sees how many wisps have returned with you.

“Oh no,” she cries. “There are so many – even more than I feared. We must find a way to redeem them, but I cannot possibly do it myself. This is too much, there are too many. The only one who might be able to save such a large number of spirits is Ysera herself.”

Ysondre shakes her head. “This will complicate everything, druid. I have sensed Ysera’s movements within the Dream. She is dedicating all her powers to helping those who fight the corruption at the Rift, and she does so at the very seat of her power – the Eye of Ysera. Beautiful and lush, it is the holiest place for the green dragonflight, a place where I would no longer be welcome. Mortals do not enter, but perhaps they might make an exception for you, and for a noble cause. I trust you, druid, and I will teach you the secret of where to find the Eye of Ysera. The magical barrier that guards Ysera’s sacred yalley responds only to a specific word spoken in the Draconic tongue. That word is “Arshaas” … home.”

When you and your raid group next travel into the Emerald Dream, you will be able to see the formerly-hidden valley which contains the Eye of Ysera. Once you speak the Draconic word, you and your raid will be allowed entrance. You navigate down the hill to the collection of golden-domed buildings in the center of the valley, and when you enter the largest building you find Merithra waiting for you.

“Greetings, mortal.”

Ysera’s daughter confronts you in her dragon form. “You have proven to be more resourceful than I expected. Perhaps there is some hint of the dreamsight within you. No matter – you have done what I asked and more. Now, return the finger of Eranikus to me so that it may reside in the Dream forever.”

As the green dragon speaks, you can see a strange purple glow radiating from her scales (a glow that will be invisible to anyone else in your raid). That seems terribly familiar …

“No, Merithra,” you tell the child of the aspect. “The bone that you gave me was all that remained of the corrupted dragon Lethon / Emeriss / Taerar. I have purified it, and the portal where the Nightmare dragons entered Azeroth. Now, I have returned to ask your mother to redeem the spirits of the Dreamers who were lost due to the Nightmare dragon’s betrayal.”

“You FOOL,” the dragon rages. “Have you any idea what you’ve done, mortal? Can you comprehend the work that you’ve destroyed?” Merithra’s purple scales are now visible to everyone in your group. “But, no matter,” she says, teeth bared. “I will dispatch of you before my mother can ever see what has happened here. The Master’s plans will be preserved. All souls can be devoured[4] … N’Zoth[5] calls for your blood!”

Merithra attacks your raid with a variety of abilities, many of which are similar to those of the Dragons of Nightmare. At each 25% incriment of health, Merithra will take on an ability from one of the Ysera’s fallen lieutenants.  She begins with Taerar’s Dream Fog, and at 75% health can summon shades of players near her like Lethon. Beginning at 50% health, when any players or enemy mobs die corrupted mushrooms – similar to Emeriss’ – will sprout from their body and explode, dealing massive damage to anyone within range. At 25% health, like Taerar she will occasionally fear the raid, and players must be sure to stand well away from the Dream Fog so that they are not feared into it.

At 10% health, Merithra fills the entire room with Dream Fog, forcing everyone in the raid into the sleep of the Nightmare.

“You pitiful little weaklings,” she roars. “Did you really think your machinations could make a difference here, HERE in my realm? In the realm of my Master? You resist … you cling to your life as if it actually matters … you will learn …”

Merithra’s fog suffocates everyone in the room, but you and your raid are still sleeping and unable to act. She leeches life from you, reducing everyone to 1 health point, and healing herself to full. “Now can you see,” she asks. “Now can you understand his power? You are nothing beneath the will of the sleeping god!”

Suddenly, the wisp spirits orbiting your staff fly towards the raging dragon and surround her.

“The tortured spirits of your ancestors cling to you, screaming in silence, druid. Apparently they are quite numerous,” Merithra says with a laugh. “And what are these gnats against the power the Master has given me?”

“THEY DEFEATED ARCHIMONDE!” a voice bellows from behind you. “AND SO TOO WILL THEY DEFEAT YOU, MY DAUGHTER!”

Ysera the Dreamer

Ysera, along with dozens of green dragons bursts into the hall[6].

“Mother!” Merithra screams. “Your reign over the Emerald Dream is at an end. My master has promised me that I alone shall rule the Emerald Nightmare!”

“And you are a fool to believe him,” Ysera replies. “Quickly,” she says to her army, “aide the druid and her companions.” Ysera’s flight instantly heals everyone in the party to full while the wisps hold Merithra stunned in front of you.

“My poor daughter,” Ysera says as she regards the corrupted dragon in front of her. “I am sorry we didn’t free you from the Old God faster – before his lies twisted you into what you now are. We will free you now, my love, and purify your spirit so that you may slumber with us in our hallowed places forever.”

“Strike, druid!” Ysera commands you. “Release her from the clutches of the Old God!”

Your raid focuses all its attacks on Merithra, who folds quickly in her weakened state. As she collapses to the ground, the shadowy glow is already beginning to fade from her scales. The wisps, too, have returned to their natural, blue hue. They swarm around Ysera as she bends over her dying daughter.

“Sleep in peace now, my child,” Ysera whispers as she waves a hand over Merithra’s eyes. She turns to the crowd of wisps surrounding her. “My poor Dreamers, her work held you captive here long past your physical deaths. Go now, you are free. Return to the resting places of your ancestors so you may watch over your people.”

The wisps fly out the doors and windows of the hall, save for a few who return to orbit around your staff. Ysera smiles, “Those that remain will be loyal to you until the end of time, druid. They recognize your courage and your faith, and they will defend you to their last.”

“Thank you, my lady,” you say as you bow before Ysera, “but their loyalty is not due to me. Everything I have done was at the request of your lieutenant, Ysondre. She asked me to free the Dreamers trapped here because of what was done by her and her siblings.”

“Ysondre?” Ysera asks, amazed. “You must bring her here, to me, druid.”

Part 8: Family Reuinion

Ysondre, unsurprisingly, is unwilling to go back.  Though she is thrilled to hear that the Dreamers have been redeemed, she is still terrified at the thought of returning to the Emerald Dream and risking the corruption of the Nightmare once more.

“I wish more than anything to return to Ysera and the rest of my flight, druid.  But before I can ever return to that place, I must know that the evil that threatens the Dream has been defeated.  Return to me when you have proof that the Nightmare has been banished from our realm.”

This is the obligatory “go kill the end boss” bit of the legendary quest line.  So you’ll head back to the raid instance once more and defeat the final boss of the Emerald Dream – N’zoth.  Players on this final stage of the quest (and the rest of their raid group) will see a special cut scene after the Old God retreats to the bowels of Azeroth.

Ysera and her flight arrive to thank you and your group for everything you have done to save the Emerald Dream and release the Dreamers who were held prisoner by the Nightmare.  Eventually, Ysera questions you about Ysondre’s location, and wonders why her former lieutenant has not returned to the realm of the green dragonflight.  You explain Ysondre’s fears, both of the corruption of the Nightmare, and her belief that she can never return to her flight.  Hearing this, Ysera decides to go to Ysondre herself.

Part 9: Nightmare’s Redemption

Ysera opens a portal between the Dream and the hill in Feralas where you met Ysondre, and your raid group as well as the green dragons all step through.  Ysondre, shocked by your appearance, bows before the leader of her flight.

“Ysondre,” Ysera says as she assumes her night elf form, “bravest and most loyal of my lieutenants.  For your unending resolve to serve our flight and to protect our Dreamers, I charge you to return with me to our home within the Dream.  You shall sit at my side as the greatest of my lieutenants, and my heir.  Show us your true form, sister.  You will find you have the strength once more.”

Ysondre transforms into her dragon form and bows, first to Ysera and then to you.  “I will return with you, my Ysera, but first I must fulfill my promise.”  She turns back to face you.

“This druid has saved my brothers and sisters from an eternity within the Nightmare.  She has redeemed the spirits of the Dreamers we abandoned.  Now, she has reunited me with my family.  From henceforth she must always been known as a hero and honored ally of the green dragonflight.”

Ysondre’s magic surrounds you, transforming your staff into its final version.  The staff will retain the appearance of a dragon bone, adorned with the claws / feathers / leaves you retrieved during the solo quest.  It will radiate a green light and the wisps who chose to remain with you will continue to orbit your staff (or your feral forms).

[Sagnian, Lethon’s Redepmtion]
Sagnian, from the Draconic word for “light”
Agility staff with mastery, haste, and attack power
Proc:  Your critical strikes have a chance to grant Embrace of the Wild, which increases your Agility for 15 seconds, and reduces the remaining cooldown on Berserk by 10 seconds.

[Kozur, Emeriss’ Redemption]
Kozur, from the Draconic word for “grace”
Intellect staff with spirit, haste, and spellpower
Proc:  When you are not in an Eclipse state, damaging spells have a chance to grant the Grace of Elune, which makes all of your spells act as if you are in an Eclipse state for the next 10 seconds.

[Aisling, Taerar’s Redemption]
Aisling, from the Draconic word for “dream”
Intellect staff with spirit, mastery, and spellpower
Proc:  Your healing spells have a chance to grant Wisdom of the Ancients, which sprouts a protective patch of flora under the target, reducing the damage they take by 5% for 15 seconds.  This buff can stack up to 3 times and can proc from your HoTs as well as direct healing spells.

Cosmetic Rewards:
– To strengthen her Dreamsight, whenever the druid has the staff equipped she will appear to have a blindfold over her eyes in caster form.
– The staff has an on use ability that will allow its wielder to speak Draconic for one minute.  If she uses this near dragonkin, they will recognize her as one of their own and respond to her with an appropriate greeting.

---

Other Thoughts and Some Footnotes

I can’t really even begin to explain how much fun I had writing this post. Effy, you are my favorite person in the world right now for suggesting it! I started out knowing that I wanted a druid legendary that would be different for each of the specs, and that I wanted a figure from druid lore to correspond with each of the quest lines. At the time, I was thinking 4 specs, 4 staves with the separation of the feral trees in Mists of Pandaria. Getting that far, and knowing that it would have to somehow involve events in the Emerald Dream and probably the Green Dragonflight, my mind went “ZOMG Nightmare Dragons!”

The only problem, I realized, was that they were … um, dead. But hey – that’s never been a problem that’s stopped any Warcraft writers before, and I’ll be damned if it was going to stop me. Ysondre was the one dragon still alive, and initially I planned for her to be the Nightmare Dragon that resto druids faced. Except, well, she wasn’t so corrupted now. Sure, according to her quest text she can’t ever go back to her flight, but she’s definitely not a baddie anymore.

Wait a second …
A green dragon recently freed from Nightmare, feeling horrendously guilty about everything she did while corrupted.
Do I smell a redemption story?

Post written.

[1] Sadly – and on a somewhat unrelated note, I wonder if Blizzard will take a break from druid lore for a while since they packed a ton of it into Firelands and the Molten Front. I hope that this isn’t the case because I generally found the storyline of the Molten Front to be a bit of a mash-up of throwing different famous druids into the mix in ways that didn’t necessarily make a lot of sense (Staghelm, you deserved better – you had so much potential to be an interesting villain).
[2] It seemed only fitting that Merithra, one of the three children of the aspects who sacrificed herself during the War of the Ancients along with Arygos and Caelestrasz must eventually resurface as the other two already have. Arygos is the primary antagonist of the Tarecgosa questline, and Caelestrasz features prominently in the quests in Twilight Highlands and then again in the battle against heroic Synestra. After saving the night elves from certain defeat during the War of the Shifting Sands, these three dragons were held captive by C’thun within Ahn’Quiraj for the next 1000 years. It was enough to make Arygos ally with the crazed Malygos, and later with Deathwing. Though Caelestrasz seems to have remained relatively unscarred by the experience, I thought he would probably be the exception rather than the rule.
[3] Players who have quested through Feralas since Cataclysm will know that Ysondre is now a questgiver there and she tasks you with helping her kill Taerar, the last of the remaining Dragons of Nightmare. Upon Taerar’s death he yells, “My essence… will… persist…” I couldn’t resist.
[4] One of the many whispers from the Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron.
[5] N’Zoth, the Old God many believe may be the cause of the Emerald Nightmare, and perhaps for the madness of Deathwing as well.
[6] I don’t have the slightest idea how the aspects will work after the events at the end of the Dragon Soul raid. For the purposes of this story, I didn’t particularly care to imagine what the aspects would be like once they were mortal. I needed Ysera to still be powerful within the Dream, so I made her that way.