Bait and Switch

Quest Giver/Turn-in: Keristrasza (summoned via Augmented Arcane Prison)

Objective: Collect 10 Crystallized Mana Shards from around Coldarra.

Quick Facts

• Faction: Both
• Pre-requisites: Keristrasza
• Follow-up: Saragosa’s End
• Chain Position: Fourth of seven quests in the Keristrasza chain

Walkthrough

Gather Crystallized Mana Shards from the pink crystal formations scattered across Coldarra. These are ground objects called Crystallized Mana, not mob drops.

Crystal Locations:

• Abundant along the paths leading down to the Nexus
• Good concentration around [31, 23]
• Also found at [29, 32], [30, 22], and [25, 25] to [23, 24]
• Look for small pink/purple crystal clusters on the ground

Each crystal yields 1-2 shards, so you’ll need to click on 5-10 crystals total. They respawn quickly, so this quest is typically completed in under five minutes.

Turn-in: Use your Augmented Arcane Prison anywhere in Coldarra to summon Keristrasza. You do NOT need to return to the Transitus Shield.

Tips

• Pink Crystals, Not Pink Dragons: A common mistake is looking for something to kill. The shards come from clickable crystal formations on the ground, not from mobs.
• Can Loot Extras: You may occasionally loot more than 10 shards. Extra shards are worthless and can be safely deleted.
• Summoning Keristrasza: Remember, she’s summoned by using an item in your bags (the Augmented Arcane Prison), not by finding her standing somewhere. The item is white-quality, so don’t look for the yellow border of typical quest items.
• Quest Tracker Bug: If the pink crystals aren’t clickable, try relogging. Abandoning and retaking the quest does not fix this bug.
• Lost Your Prison? If you’ve lost the Augmented Arcane Prison, speak to Raelorasz at the Transitus Shield [33, 34] for a replacement. Note: He won’t give you a new one if it’s still in your bags or bank, so check carefully first.

Story Context

Keristrasza (quest text): “During my captivity I was able to learn much about Malygos. Fate now allows us to use this knowledge against him. There is a great blue dragon, Saragosa, who circles high above the Nexus. She serves both as the aspect’s guardian and as his consort. If any serious threats arise, she alerts her master of the danger. I suffered greatly at the hand of Saragosa during my captivity, and now her time to die has come. First, however, we must fashion the perfect bait…”

Completion: “Thank you. I am drained from the effects of my confinement and my strength is returning ever so slowly. I shall use the power from these crystals wisely. They are a byproduct of Malygos’ malevolent schemes. With luck, they will play a part in his undoing.”

Keristrasza’s plan is taking shape. The Crystallized Mana littering Coldarra is a byproduct of Malygos’s ley line manipulation. These crystals contain concentrated arcane power that Keristrasza will use to create an Arcane Power Focus, a lure irresistible to Saragosa. In the next quest, you’ll use this bait to draw out and kill Malygos’s consort.

Lore: Saragosa

Saragosa was Malygos’s prime consort for over ten thousand years. She survived Deathwing’s betrayal during the War of the Ancients when most of the blue dragonflight was destroyed. During the Nexus War, she served as both guardian of the Nexus and supervisor of the blue flight’s war operations, alerting Malygos to any serious threats.

By killing Saragosa, Keristrasza will strike a devastating blow against Malygos, but as we’ll see, this victory comes at a terrible cost. Enraged by the death of his consort, Malygos captures Keristrasza and forces her to take Saragosa’s place.

Explore Borean Tundra’s hidden easter eggs, lore mysteries, and connections across Warcraft history in Vikstone’s Borean Tundra Chronicles, along with the complete quest storyline.