We've got a summary (spoiler warning) and the full announcement after the jump.
The Council of Three Hammers -- Fire and Iron
Already embroiled by its own internal strife, the fledgling Council of Three Hammers is put to its greatest test yet when mounting tensions between the rival Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron dwarf clans threaten to ignite violence in Ironforge.
The city of Kurdran's ancestors was a simmering cauldron of old prejudice. It churned endlessly, its toxic fumes dissolving whatever logic and reason remained within the Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron dwarves living together in Ironforge for the first time in over two centuries. And Kurdran was standing at the edge of it all, gazing into its fiery heart with confusion as it grew closer and closer to erupting.
In an unsettling way he felt as if he were still at war with the blood-cursed Horde and trapped on Outland. Yet there were no clear enemies in Ironforge. No crazed demons. No rampaging orcs bent on decimating all life on his world. There were only words.
Blizzard Entertainment is proud to present the latest entry in the "Leaders of Azeroth" short story series: Fire and Iron!
The city of Kurdran's ancestors was a simmering cauldron of old prejudice. It churned endlessly, its toxic fumes dissolving whatever logic and reason remained within the Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron dwarves living together in Ironforge for the first time in over two centuries. And Kurdran was standing at the edge of it all, gazing into its fiery heart with confusion as it grew closer and closer to erupting.
In an unsettling way he felt as if he were still at war with the blood-cursed Horde and trapped on Outland. Yet there were no clear enemies in Ironforge. No crazed demons. No rampaging orcs bent on decimating all life on his world. There were only words.
Blizzard Entertainment is proud to present the latest entry in the "Leaders of Azeroth" short story series: Fire and Iron!
What I like most about Fire and Iron is the political discourse going on in dwarven society. I've always been a fan of the dwarves in WoW but never had a great connection to them, because I mainly play Horde and Magni was a tough figure to get behind when he didn't exactly do much. The Council of Three Hammers and Cataclysm drove the dwarves into the lore spotlight as a driving force of Alliance infighting.
Here's a summary for those of you looking for a quick fix at work before you can read the whole story:
The story opens with a dream. Kurdran Wildhammer, having finally returned home to Aerie Peak after his 20 long years in Outland, stood in his homeland holding an iron scepter with some significance to the Wildhammer clan. Sky'ree, Kurdran's aging gryphon companion, was struck with pain and fell from the sky. As he attempted to save Sky'ree, the scepter began to encase Kurdran in stone, a similar fate to Magni Bronzebeard, former king of Ironforge. Kurdran awoke to the clangs and pounding of Ironforge.
After arriving in Ironforge to be a part of the Council of Three Hammers, Kudran's hero treatment quickly fell to the rumormongering and suspicion of the Wildhammers by the Dark Irons, who were all living together under the same roof for the first time since the War of the Three Hammers. Sky'ree had traveled with Kurdran to Ironforge, laid her clutch of eggs, and subsequently grown weak from age.
The story then revolves around the political intrigue between Falstad's 20-year rule in Kudran's absence, Moira and the Dark Irons' subversion of dwarven society, the solidifying of the clans by reforging the hammer of Modimus from the relics of each clan, and the ultimate, depressing fate of Sky'ree. The story ends with Kurdran giving up his seat on the Council of Three Hammers to Falstad and forging his own destiny.
Check out the story ASAP. It's a great read.
WoW Patch 4.1 is on the PTR, and WoW Insider has all the latest news for you -- from previews of the revamped Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub to new valor point mechanics and new archaeology items.
