Sha'dos

Sha'dos, meaning "Light's Triumph" in Draenei, is a longsword of divine appearance. Although it's potential is currently unknown, any who wield the weapon or draw near to it are often able to recollect a holy presence, that of which is commonly familiar to priests and paladins.

Found at the most recent iteration of the Tournament of Ages, Sha'dos, upon its discovery, was without a name, its origin a mystery. For a week, not a soul could not remove the sword from a dragon skull in which it was lodged, until a draenei, by the name of Danarshi, had successfully seized the weapon via means that remain unknown, its name having originated from him.

To this day, the story of Sha'dos' creation and purpose remains a mystery.

Description
Sha'dos is of an elegant design, its pommel, hilt and guard each crafted of an otherworldly, gold-hued metal. A shining, crystalline, sky blue orb is present within the centre of the guard, that of which branches up and into the lower area of the sword's blade, filling it with crystal and light alike. The blade itself is comprised of a sturdy, surreal steel.

Whilst it may be of sheer coincidence, Danarshi has noted a striking similarity between the sword and the armaments that his kin and himself had once wielded upon Argus, in terms of the strength, durability and appearance of the materials in which it is made. With the recent appearance of the Burning Legion homeworld, and the inevitable arrival of Azeroth's forces upon its surface, one may only wonder if the mysteries of Sha'dos are to be uncovered there.

The Arrival
Recalled by members of the Argent Crusade, Silver Covenant and Sunreavers roughly a singular week before the fourth opening of the grand Tournament of Ages, the skies surrounding the harrowing lands of Icecrown were bathed within that of a spectacle that is unlike any seen before within the frozen tundra: a display of Holy Light, dancing across the edges of the ether, shining throughout the clouds below, showering terra firma in rays of incandescence, banishing the glacial chill of the air and allowing the land’s living dwellers a welcome respite.

Moments passed, the astonished spectators having refused to remove their eyes from the shining skies for even a moment; within such a darkened place, it was a scene in which filled the bystanders with endless feelings of positivity – happiness, gaiety, bravery and comfort, among countless other emotions. Soon, a clearing of several dozen metres was carved into the cloud cover above Sindragosa’s Fall, allowing passage to an object of blinding light, that of which seemed to fall from the heavens themselves; it was small, yet shone with the brightness of a thousand stars.

Miraculously, seconds following the appearance of the object, the spirit of a dragon was noted to have materialised alongside of it, gliding about its form, almost as though it was guiding it, protecting it. The soul, vast in size, was, too, infused with holy energy as it approached the Light-ridden article, ultimately having added to the grandeur of the scene.

As the mysterious entity plummeted ever nearer towards the icy wastes below, accompanied by the dragon spectre, many a man and woman were struck with a peculiar feeling of familiarity – the luminous object was strikingly reminiscent of Light’s Heart, the core of the prime naaru Xe’ra, which had descended from the Great Dark Beyond, crashing into the oceans merely south of Suramar, only months prior of the incident within Icecrown. Whether or not this was a mere coincidence was, at this time, unknown.

Bewilderment
A minute passed when, at last, the seraphic entity impaled into the surface of Sindragosa’s Fall, south of the Argent Tournament Grounds. Eerily, as it struck against the ice ridden floor, all light in which had originated from it had almost instantaneously vanished, as though it had never existed. Silver Convenant and Sunreaver scouts were the first to appear at the area of impact,  eager to discover what “gift” had been bestowed upon them from the heavens above – that is when they saw it: a sword, caught within not only the ice, though that of a dragon’s skull, as well.

The sword was of a refined appearance, its pommel, hilt and guard each crafted of an otherworldly, golden material of metallic nature, the latter having been complimented by a gleaming, sky blue, crystalline orb, whilst the blade itself was forged of a powerful, unrecognised steel, that of which had successfully endured the fall from the skies above, not a scratch nor dent noticeable upon its surface. It was obvious to few that the sword bared a grand, magical aura, though the nature of such magic was, to all, a mystery, shrouded by forces that were further unknown. Above all, its supposed link to dragons was pondered upon, though merely posed more questions than answers.

The mysteriousness of the sword had only continued to grow at the seams, as not a single man nor woman, regardless of strength, could hope to remove the weapon from its place within the dragon skull; it would simply not budge. Many a magician of varying cultures had attempted to unveil the secrets of the sword, effortlessly searching for a means of removing it from its place, though to no avail; not even the finest of elven magics could move the weapon.

From the tireless studies of numerous individuals of varying professions, and from those who had failed to remove the blade, a single truth was revealed: all who had tugged at the sword, magically or otherwise, were actively cursed, inflicting ailments upon them that ranged from comical to worrisome; intriguingly, the curses were found to be lifted by cures of varying degrees, from a glass of milk to a kiss from a certain individual. Ultimately, Argent priests possessed the clairvoyance to realise a single fact - that the sword was awaiting its rightful wielder to come and claim it.

The Tournament of Ages
As the Tournament of Ages commenced, soul after soul had queued in line to try their hand at removing the blade from its place; hundreds tried and none prevailed, each receiving a curse, until, alas, a draenei anchorite by the name of Danarshi, found himself situated before the weapon. Although the man had failed upon his first attempt, in which he pulled at the hilt of the sword without a spoken word, he, on his second effort, spoke the words “Naaru, please, favour this outcome.”, in which, with his hands wrapped about the hilt, miraculously seized the weapon from the dragon’s skull with unanticipated ease.

Danarshi held the length of the freed sword to the heavens above and imbued it with the energies of the Holy Light whilst swearing that, in the name of the naaru, it would act as an instrument of the Burning Legion’s downfall; it was at this moment that, by the will of Danarshi himself, the weapon was formally granted the name of Sha’dos, meaning “Light’s Triumph” in Draenei - a fitting name - in more ways than one.

Although an anchorite by title, Danarshi had, since long, bared the knowledge of a seasoned harbinger, tutored by his father eons ago within his homeland upon Argus. Whilst he served, and still serves, his people and allies as a renowned priest, he has actively maintained his warrior-esque skills throughout the course of the draenei’s exodus across the Great Dark Beyond. Although a mere shadow of who he was upon Argus, Danarshi, carrying thousands of years of experience, remained a formidable opponent to any who dared face him. Sha’dos would, without doubt, prove as being an invaluable asset to him.

All who attended the Tournament of Ages, including Danarshi himself, were equally perplexed over his victory in seizing the sword, unknowing as to what variable could have triggered such a miracle. Led by the watchers of the weapon, Ignacia Honorem and Erilihn Autumnsong, the triumphant draenei strode about the Argent Tournament Grounds, where he was showered in praise by numerous attendees of the Tournament. Following a series of words and gestures of goodwill, the kind Erilihn and Ignacia had soon departed from Danarshi’s company; the future of Sha’dos now rested within his hands.

The Duel
Whilst Danarshi was met with unwavering praise upon the Argent Tournament Grounds themselves, not all were quite so approving of his success – many had devised a plan of their own for the fate of the sword. Fortunately for Danarshi, none harboured the courage to truly face him in an attempt to lay claimant of Sha’dos, except for one: a death knight of unknown identity and affiliation, he who was clad, from head to toe, in plate armour of blazing brilliance, a colossal sword of fire and death grasped within the palm of his hand.

Danarshi, whilst sharpening the blade of his prize upon a grindstone to the south-east of the Argent Tournament Grounds, was approached by the death knight, who demanded that Sha’dos be bestowed upon himself. Danarshi, having arisen from his place, accepted the challenge of the death knight, unwilling to discard the sword with such ease. The two clashed together with steel and magic in a battle of epic proportions, that of which claimed the hand of the death knight though left Danarshi beaten and broken. Fortunately for the old harbinger, his opponent had fled the scene, though not before declaring that his business with the draenei was left unfinished – whether they will truly cross paths again is yet to be seen.

Into the Horizon
To this day, Danarshi bares ownership of Sha’dos, spreading fear of its name throughout the ranks of the Burning Legion's invasion force upon Azeroth. With Argus visible in the skies above, it is inevitable that the blade will, soon, spill demonic blood upon the surface of his ancient homeworld, as well. Perhaps there, by some matter of chance, shall the mysterious history of the sword be unveiled – only time would tell.

Trivia

 * Sha'dos' design is based directly off of El'druin, the personal sword of Archangel Tyrael in the Diablo video game series.
 * Danarshi, who won both an in-character version of the sword, and an out of character replica of it, did so via succeeding on a dice roll of five hundred out of five hundred, meaning that the chance of winning the sword was incredibly low, placing it at around 0.2 out of 100, in terms of percentage.