Underdev/Patch 3.3.5: The Ruby Sanctum

This article is a copy of "Patch 3.3.5: The Ruby Sanctum", an official article by Blizzard Entertainment. It's about the The Ruby Sanctum Patch implemented in the game.

The original article, formerly located at https://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/underdev/3p3/rubysanctum.xml, did not survive the overhaul of the World of Warcraft Official Website.

Article

The sacred Chamber of the Aspects beneath Wyrmrest Temple has seen kingdoms and armies rise and fall throughout history. For over ten millennia, the dragonflights' five sanctums have remained hallowed ground for dragonkind, undamaged by the chaos of the Demon Soul's creation and protected from the ravages of the Scourge thanks to a rare instance of cooperation between members of all five dragonflights. The red dragonflight, dedicated to the preservation of all life on Azeroth, has been at the heart of a tentative partnership between dragonflights, known as the Wyrmrest Accord, which the red dragons have guided from their sacred Ruby Sanctum. Draconic unity, at least in the face of grave danger, seems a real possibility.

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And yet, suspicion has gnawed at all of the dragons of the Wyrmrest Accord from the moment of its creation. Immediately following the events that sparked the Nexus War, the leader of the red dragons, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, instructed her children to scour the accord for any further evidence of danger from within. The red dragonflight swiftly uncovered the location of a clutch of twilight dragon eggs, the twisted creations of Deathwing the Destroyer, hidden away in the black dragonflight's Obsidian Sanctum.

The red dragons were already taxed, battling against the Scourge and the blue dragonflight, and dared not move openly against the Obsidian Sanctum for fear that they'd lose even more allies. Instead, Alexstrasza's consort Korialstrasz whispered of the twilight eggs to his allies among Dalaran's Council of Six. It was a short time - mere moments in the lifespan of dragonkind - before mortal heroes raided the Obsidian Sanctum, defeated Sartharion, destroyed the eggs, and dealt a substantial blow to the twilight brood. The strike went without acknowledgement, mention, or retribution.

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Now, an eerie quiet has settled over Wyrmrest Temple. Draconic guards stationed outside of the Life-Binder's Ruby Sanctum have vanished. The stones of the portal leading into the sanctum's chambers are cracked. The tang of dying fires hangs in the air around the antechamber, and the red dragons dedicated to watching over the sanctuary of the Life-Binder have not responded to the mystic messages of their brothers and sisters.

The absence of guardians and the weakening of the structure are enough cause for immense concern among the members of the accord, but far worse is the implication that the Ruby Sanctum, which contains a clutch of red dragon eggs and the future of the red dragonflight, might have been breached. The battle against Northrend's Scourge rages on, claiming more casualties every day, and the forces of life stand to lose one of their most important footholds if the red dragonflight is crippled and its sanctum destroyed.

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These developments demand an immediate response, but the dragons of the Wyrmrest Accord are wracked with questions. Next to nothing is known about who might be responsible for the assault on the Ruby Sanctum: the black dragonflight is not known for forgiveness or patience, but its numbers in Northrend are surely limited. What force would be powerful or daring enough to assail the stronghold of these ancient wyrms? How could such an enemy sneak by the temple's guardians undetected? Surely an approaching air or ground force would have been caught by Wyrmrest Temple's defenders.

For the moment, the members of the accord and their allies must assume the worst scenario that they can conceive of: that all life within the Ruby Sanctum rests on the precipice of extinction, and only immediate intervention will prevent the red dragonflight from being decimated. They'll find that the truth is far worse.

References

• The original page's XML coding no longer functions so we cannot view the site as it once was, but you can still read the XML file itself here