Overview[]
The Spellbinder Expedition was an expedition group named after its main founder and funder, Perill Spellbinder. The expedition, led by their overseer, ventured to ruins and other such locations to further Archmage Spellbinder's power and goals, which were unknown to all but Spellbinder himself.
Archmage Perill Spellbinder[]
Archmage Spellbinder walking down the steps of the Violet Hold, a place where many of his enemies find themselves.
Spellbinder is a well-known name in Dalaran. Seen as a dynasty amongst some Kirin Tor members, the Spellbinders are said to have ancestors who were active during the founding of the Kirin Tor. Other rumors suggest that the Spellbinders are a dynasty descended from the original Highborne, though none of the Spellbinders have commented. Most of the "dynasty" was slaughtered during Arthas Menethil's raid on Dalaran. Perill Spellbinder was a high-ranking archmage of the Kirin Tor. Few make claim to have seen him without his mask, though his build would suggest that he was a human in life. Like his ancestors, Perill was known as a wealthy, powerful, and stringent mage. The fall of Dalaran during the Third War offered opportunities for Perill; he was known to have vast wealth, arcane power, and influence over the Kirin Tor. He is well known for his extensive writings on the elven Sunwell. Perill was even given permission to collect a small vial of its arcane waters not long after the Fall of the Lich King; though he refused to discuss the subject, it was nevertheless an amazing feat for anyone to achieve, never mind a human.
Perill Spellbinder was formerly an Alliance patriot before the Fall of the Lich King, and a strong supporter of the Silver Covenant. The old archmage announced he was officially in retirement after collecting the vial of Sunwell water, though not long after he was seen in Dalaran, and seems to have waned in his support for the Silver Covenant, if he still supports them at all. If pressured, Spellbinder will usually insist he is neutral, and wishes for Dalaran to remain so. It does not take a person who knows Spellbinder well to know that he has, to say the least, changed since returning to Dalaran after "retirement." Spellbinder was always stringent, though many would go far enough to call him ruthless, now; he had gone through great lengths to expose what he believed to be corruption in the Kirin Tor, resulting in a few members being imprisoned in the Violet Hold.
While Perill Spellbinder always had an interest in artifacts of magical power, as most archmages would, he had curiously re-devoted much of his efforts and wealth into an expedition. Named in his honor, the Spellbinder Expedition's original goal was to travel across Azeroth to search for items in regions Perill deemed "of interest".
Eventually, in an event that the Kirin Tor deemed classified, Perill Spellbinder perished. His death was dismissed as old age, though evidently there is more to it.
The Expedition[]
Expedition's Goals[]
Not long before the Cataclysm, Perill Spellbinder distanced himself from his colleagues. Few met him in person, and none could truly judge the motives of the Spellbinder Expedition. While Perill loosely claimed that he wanted to reclaim the lost knowledge of Azeroth for safekeeping, most assume he would recover anything of power to increase the Kirin Tor's strength, while others suggest that he is more ambitious, only wanting to further his own influence. The Expedition's official goal is to uncover both power and knowledge, though the latter is to be placed first. Any member of the Expedition would likely be able to see past this; Perill has deployed his expedition into the Storm Peaks in search of ancient, Titan power.
Leadership[]
Deylen Armall, the previous overseer, standing in Runeweaver Square.
Perill Spellbinder was the official leader of his expedition, but left most of the day-to-day management, and on-field command to an overseer. After Spellbinder's death, the overseer rank remained. The last overseer was a Gilnean-born mage, Deylen Armall. Deylen was a relatively new member of the Kirin Tor, having been inducted into the order by Spellbinder himself. One would assume Deylen's appointment was to further Spellbinder's goals, given the fact that the Spellbinder Expedition was formed not a week after Deylen's induction, and he was appointed overseer immediately thereafter. The overseer had power to accept anyone he or she deemed appropriate into the Spellbinder Expedition, although their name, place of training, and skills are all to be documented. Overseer Armall is not very open on his job, coming off as an introvert to most. However, past gossip indicates that the overseer had read thousands of pages of protocol Spellbinder wrote regarding artifacts, contact with the Alliance, Horde, and other races. Most assumed that Spellbinder's original protocols had remained in place after his death. Spellbinder, before his death, rarely visited the camp, and usually only did so to collect samples or bark out orders, for the most part leaving Deylen to lead the camp.
Funding[]
The Spellbinder Expedition was formerly funded by Perill Spellbinder; after his death, the Kirin Tor has begun to fund the expedition; mainly using Perill's fortune, which the Kirin Tor inherited a majority of due to the fact that Perill produced no heirs.
Excursions[]
The Spellbinder Expedition's first camp was in Storm Peaks. While not many details are known, it was a relatively long excursion lasting a few months. Recently, they have been deployed to Feralas, mainly to examine the ruins of Eldre'thalas, known to many as Dire Maul.
The Storm Peaks[]
Findings[]
It is by no means a secret that the Spellbinder Expedition recovered a powerful orb of Titan origins; though, little is known about this artifact, other than the fact that Perill Spellbinder himself now has possession of it, at least until he died. The orb's location is unknown; the Kirin Tor denies possessing the artifact. Some speculate that the Kirin Tor is lying, or that Spellbinder faked his death and ran off with the artifact. Some say that a Lich stole an orb, while others accuse the Overseer of selling the orb.
The Expedition's Storm Peaks camp, by no means an impressive sight.
Withdrawal[]
Eventually, the Spellbinder Expedition pulled out of Storm Peaks, leaving a small study team at the camp, though stripping the camp of most of its resources. The exit was somewhat sudden, and is said to be the result of attacks by the Twilight's Hammer Cult.
Feralas[]
Findings[]
The Kirin Tor members that now control the Spellbinder Expedition have been far more open about their findings. Before venturing into Eldre'Thalas, the expedition recovered a vial containing an unknown, supposedly powerful fluid that was sent to Dalaran for further study. Afterward, no information was released on the vial or what it contained.