Root Causes

Quest Giver: Ember Clutch Ancient — Ember Clutch, Howling Fjord (wandering)

Objective: Slay 5 Dragonflayer Handlers and Skeld Drakeson, then return to an Ember Clutch Ancient.

Quick Facts

• Level: 71
• Faction: Neutral (both Alliance and Horde)
• Location: Ember Clutch [42, 49], southern side
• Pairs With: The Clutches of Evil (Alliance) or Green Eggs and Whelps (Horde)

Walkthrough

Find the Quest Giver

• The Ember Clutch Ancient is a wandering treant (Ancient of War) that patrols through the Ember Clutch area around [42, 49]. It’s large and easy to spot, but since it moves, check the central and northern parts of the clutch if you don’t see it immediately.

Kill the Dragonflayer Handlers

• Handlers are scattered throughout the Ember Clutch, particularly among the proto-drake pens and egg clusters. You’ll encounter plenty while doing any other Ember Clutch quests, so don’t go out of your way for them early.

Kill Skeld Drakeson

• Skeld is inside a building on the south side of the Ember Clutch at [41, 53]. He’s a standard quest mob with no special mechanics. Clear the Handlers outside the building first, then engage Skeld inside.

Turn In

• Return to any Ember Clutch Ancient to complete the quest. Since it wanders, you may turn in at a different spot than where you picked it up.

Efficiency Tips

• Alliance: Grab The Clutches of Evil from Captain Adams at Westguard Keep before heading to Ember Clutch. It requires killing 15 Proto-Drake Eggs and 15 Proto-Whelps in the same area, so you’ll finish both quests in one sweep. Kill eggs and whelps on the way to Skeld, then mop up Handlers on the way back.
• Horde: Pick up Green Eggs and Whelps from Plaguebringer Tillinghast at New Agamand before coming here. You’ll need to use the Plague Canister on Proto-Drake Eggs and collect specimens from the hatched whelps, which overlaps nicely with the Handler kills.
• Route: Work from the north end of Ember Clutch south toward Skeld’s building at [41, 53], clearing Handlers and eggs/whelps as you go. This puts you on a straight line to the boss and minimizes backtracking.

Lore Context

• The Ember Clutch Ancient explains that the vrykul, not the proto-drakes, are the real problem. The Dragonflayer clan has been capturing and breaking proto-drakes as war mounts, expanding the burning woods in the process. Skeld Drakeson is the vrykul master overseeing these dragon-handler operations.
• This is your first hands-on encounter with the proto-drake domestication program that the Dragonflayer vrykul run throughout Howling Fjord. You’ll see the end result inside Utgarde Keep, where proto-drakes serve as air support for vrykul raids on Valgarde.

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