Nostalgia: Verigan’s Fist

The Lovely Anna linked a song the other day that has meaning for her paladin, Aely.  It’s a very pretty WoW-inspired song (with machinima to go along with it!) called “Darrowshire.”  Not only did watching and listening get me all sniffly, it made me nostalgic for some of the old quests and the stories that go with them.  Because, for me, WoW is all about the story — official game lore and the original ones that come about through RP.

So, it seems only fitting to take a stroll down Festival Lane and talk about quests and items whose completion/acquisition were not only satisfying for the XP and the loot, but for the tale that went along with getting there.  Darrowshire will come later.  For now, we’re going to go even farther back.

To a little farm on the southern coast of Westfall.

When your Alliance paladin reaches his or her 20s, Duthorian Rall in Stormwind’s Cathedral sends you on a quest to test your valor:

Bravery, regardless of the situation, is as much a part of paladinhood as the Light, your armor, and your weapon. Protecting the weak, and not losing faith are two more lessons you must master while you study in the Cathedral of Light.

The one in need of protection, in this case, is Daphne Stilwell, whose farm is threatened by Defias bandits.  You arrive just in time –the bandits are on their way.  Daphne’s no coward; she goes and fetches her gun.  The two of you have to hold off the waves of Defias that are intent on taking the farm.

Once you do, her husband (the blacksmith Jordan Stilwell, who is detained up north in Ironforge) repays his debt to you the best way he can: by forging you a new mace.  Jordan wanted to be a paladin himself, once upon a time, but life took him in another direction.  He does, however, still hold to the faith.  He sends you around the world and into ever more danger (Shadowfang Keep, Blackfathom Deeps) to collect the pieces he needs.

It’s an easy quest chain, and one that yields a weapon you can use well into the 30s at least:  Verigan’s Fist.  That mace will always hold the first slot in Threnn’s bank, as a reminder of where she’s been.  I don’t recall winding the protection of the Stilwell farm into her RP when I first completed the quest; she was still shaping up as a character at that point in time.  But now, it’s part of her backstory — the apprehension as those first red masks crested the hill, consciously pushing it away to concentrate on the fight, the smell of dust in the air and the breeze from the sea lifting sweat-soaked hair from her neck once the battle was done.

Swords are her weapon of choice,* both on the field and at the forge, but when this was gifted to her, she watched its crafting with fascination and carried the finished product with pride for a long time.

*even though, sadly, in-game loot makes holy-specced paladins carry maces. (Boooo.)

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