A Pawn on the Eternal Board

This quest is part of the introduction to The Scepter of the Shifting Sands quest chain to open the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj.

Learn all that you can of the past, then speak with at the Caverns of Time in Tanaris.

• The War of the Shifting Sands

As you regain your composure and focus your gaze, you notice that something stirs within the crystal. Upon closer inspection, you realize that you are looking into the past... a memory... long forgotten.

Upon completion of this quest you will gain:

• 9550 XP (or at level 70)
• 250 reputation with Brood of Nozdormu

After Staghelm's betrayal, I gathered the shattered pieces of the The Scepter of the Shifting Sands and returned here. I had every intention of protecting the scepter from those that would seek to use it to cause harm to our world - thus was born the charge of the Dragonflights.

A scepter divided amongst the four mighty Aspects would prove to be nearly impossible to restore for those willfully seeking chaos... or so I thought. What a fool I was. Even now I am hunted by that cursed flight.

Accepting the quest will trigger a cutscene with (until The Burning Crusade) unique background music: say say say emote say emote say yell say yell say yell say say say say say say emote say say say emote say say emote say say emote emote say

• The four dragons, Staghelm, and a large group of qiraji and night elves appear out of the sands of time.
• Merithra runs to the fight.
• She drops her night elf guise, casts a nature breath attack on the qiraji and flies over the gate.
• Arygos follows in Merithra's steps, dropping his gnomish guise and casting a chaos magic breath attack on the melee.
• Caelestrasz repeats the process with flame attack.
• Anachronos and Fandral run through the melee to the gate to seal off the gate. Time for the elves and the qiraji comes to a standstill.
• Staghelm calls roots to seal the gate, ending the attack.