Terror in Stormwind

'''TERROR IN STORMWIND!!! By the Black Gryphon Courier'''

Horror struck Stormwind this last week as an unknown force of evil fell upon the Cathedral and Park districts.

At the Cathedral of Light, the holy grounds were defiled as three priests were brutally murdered within its walls. Two had their throats torn apart by horrid magic energies while the third was crushed into the very wall itself. Part of the wall was sickly twisted, the stones warped beyond imagination and used to crush the last priest to death.

The horror then continued into the park, where a masked sorcerer of unknown power attacked the moonwell. The moonwell now lies warped, its waters blackened and drained of their powers, the stones around it turned to warped, spiked rocks and the grass near it made red and rash-inducing. Druids are still baffled at how this could have happened, and work around the clock to restore the well to its natural state.

Fortunately, this was not to be unopposed. Brave citizens and Guardsmen met the fiend at the well, but failed to stop him from draining the waters or escaping, although many believe they forced him from the city. One casuality was reported, a warrior by the name of Sethmont Ravencrest. City officials have vowed to hunt down this creature.

The mystery remains, however. Who is this man? Thankfully, reports were not all empty. The Scarlet Crusade's chapter in Stormwind, the "Scarlet Battalion," gave a report on the man, from the lips of Kyrii Matthews. She identified the man as one Alkan von Streunan, previously wanted by the Battalion's former Inquisitor for various crimes of heresy. Should this prove to be true this man would be a foul opponent indeed, and should be treated with the utmost caution. However, something must be done to bring this foul creature down. The Light only knows what he is doing with the stolen energies of the moonwell.

It remains to be seen what will be done with this creature, or if he plans to strike again. Reports have streamed in from the Swamp of Sorrows, where dragonkin attacks have steadily been on the rise the past few days. Reports indicate a mysterious human, masked and drapped in dark violet robes, travels with them...could this be the same man who attacked our beloved city?

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Moonglade Defense Report (Dated November 10th, 620)

Most Exalted and Deified Remulos

We have begun further investigation into the disruptions at the Stormrage Barrow Dens and in isolated spots across the Moonglade that occured yesterday. Needless to say, many of the high druids have become deeply concerned with the security of Moonglade in the wake of these attacks - after all, no warning was given, and it is disturbingly curious as to how this force attacked without being seen at all.

Three green drakes entered the Moonglade around midnight. Although such an appearance of the green dragonflight might have once prompted joyous celebration, we were disheartened when these dragons instead turned on us, their eyes filled with the darkness of corruption. One attacked Nighthaven, disrupting the forces there, while another struck at patrols on the road south of Lake Elune'ara. The third attacked a gathering of humans just south of the Stormrage Barrow Dens moonwell. All three were dispatched, with few casualties occuring.

Even as the guardians recovered from this attack, a fourth intruder stormed the Barrow Dens proper. From later reports it is assumed that this one was humanoid, and invaded the Dens by means of magical spells and sorceries. An ancient gem from an old staff belonging to the Archdruid Mualis has been reported missing, supposedly taken when his barrow was defiled. A section of the Dens was collapsed in an attempted to destroy this man, but it seems to have proven futile - his body was not found.

The taint of the dragons and the residue of the humanoid's aura in the Barrow Dens reeks of druidic corruption - I have in my mind without a doubt that this corruption is of the Nightmare. More disturbing, however, is a second energy that seems mixed in, a deeper corruption that we have yet to identify. I am almost afraid to delve into it - the Nightmare is frightening enough for our kind.

Still, I fear that whatever struck here has taken what he sought and returned from whence he came. I can only imagine what is going on. My mind turns to the gem that he stole, that of Shan'do Mualis. Mualis died during the Third War, and his barrow sat empty and untouched for a long time. However, he has been asleep since the old days of Azshara...only Cenarius knows what artifacts could have been hidden in his chambers.

We shall keep you abreast of these circumstances, along with anything else of import. I have a feeling that this is not the last we shall see of this sort of activity, if the Nightmare is involved. Even though the Tyrant of the Emerald Dream has been vanquished, this has only proved that we must remain vigilant against others who fall under the sway of the Enemy.

Your Humble Servant, Artirionu Highfeather