War stories, articles & game guides
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2026
Expeditions,
War Stories &
Culture
War stories, articles & game guides
Gamer
Tribute
2026
Expeditions,
War Stories &
Culture
“I‘ve been praying to The Lady of the Sword for one to come and strike down my enemy. Thane Illskar must pay for what he did to me! I was the champion of Thane Ufrang the Mighty. During my fight for ascendance in Valhalas, Illskar sabotaged me with dark magic, causing me to lose and be reduced to this.
The thane and his champions can be found below in The Circle of Suffering. Challenge him on my behalf. Defeat him. Make him know the suffering that I know!”
-Bethod Feigr
Bethod Feigr in The Underhalls wants you to throw down his sword to challenge Thane Illskar and then kill him in The Circle of Suffering.
Provided item:
You will be able to choose one of these rewards:
You will also receive:
Upon completion of this quest you will gain:
Quest Giver: Bethod Feigr — Inside The Underhalls, Jotunheim, Icecrown
Objective: Use Bethod’s Sword to challenge Thane Illskar in The Circle of Suffering. Defeat his two champions, then defeat him.
Quick Facts
Walkthrough
Find Bethod Feigr
Get to the Circle of Suffering
Start the Event
Each opponent spawns one at a time after the previous one is defeated. There is no break between rounds.
| Round | Opponent | Role | Key Abilities | Combat Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volgur | Vrykul warrior | Charge (gap-closer, opening hit), Chop (150% weapon damage, reduces healing effectiveness by 10% for 5 sec), Whirlwind (AoE melee damage to nearby enemies), Demoralize (reduces your melee attack power for 30 sec) | Charges you immediately on spawn. Stay close and burn him down. Melee classes should be aware of Whirlwind. His Chop healing debuff is minor but can be annoying for self-healing classes. |
| 2 | Brita | Vrykul hunter | Shoot (ranged Physical damage), Wing Clip (60% movement slow for 10 sec, deals significant damage), Improved Wing Clip (6 sec root), Freezing Trap (1 min incapacitate, broken by damage), Disengage (leaps backward) | The trickiest of the three. She kites at range using Shoot, drops Freezing Trap if you close the gap, and uses Wing Clip/root to peel you off. If she Disengages, she resets to range. Close the distance fast and stay on top of her. Casters have an easier time since she cannot out-range them. |
| 3 | Thane Illskar | Vrykul mage | Fireball (Fire damage, castable), Frostfire Bolt (Frost-Fire damage + 40% movement slow + Fire DoT over 9 sec), Blast Wave (AoE Fire damage to nearby enemies + movement slow for 6 sec) | A caster fight. Interrupt Fireball and Frostfire Bolt whenever possible. Melee classes should stay in his face to force Blast Wave usage, which is less dangerous in a 1v1. Ranged classes should watch for Frostfire Bolt’s slow, which can stack with his Blast Wave slow to severely restrict movement. |
Class Tips
After Defeat
Efficiency Tips
Lore & Secrets
Bethod’s Story
Bethod Feigr was once the champion of Thane Ufrang the Mighty, the vrykul lord who rules Jotunheim. During Bethod’s trial for ascendance at Valhalas, Thane Illskar cheated by sabotaging him with dark magic. Bethod lost the fight and was judged unworthy by the val’kyr, transforming him into a vargul. He now lurks in the Underhalls, unable to die with honor, consumed by rage and shame.
Bethod’s completion dialogue is chilling. He thanks you, then immediately warns you to leave before he “loses control” and attacks. Even in gratitude, the vargul rage nearly overwhelms him.
If you complete Shadow Vault Decree (a separate quest involving Ufrang), eavesdropping on Ufrang’s conversation reveals him discussing how his champion recently lost in Valhalas and that he needs a replacement.
That champion was Bethod.
The Val’kyr Judgment System
This quest provides a concrete demonstration of how the vrykul ascendance system works: warriors prove themselves in Valhalas, and the val’kyr judge the outcome. Winners ascend to become Ymirjar (elite warriors serving the Lich King). Losers are condemned as vargul, mindless undead who serve as slave labor.
It is a corruption of the Norse concept of Valhalla, where fallen warriors feast in glory.
Explore Icecrown’s hidden easter eggs, lore mysteries, and connections across Warcraft history in Vikstone’s Icecrown Chronicles, along with the complete quest storyline.
Vikstone's War JournalBethod Feigr held a sword out to me hilt-first and did not lower it the whole time he talked. What was left of him hung off the bone in strips.
“I’ve been praying to The Lady of the Sword for one to come and strike down my enemy. Thane Illskar must pay for what he did to me! I was the champion of Thane Ufrang the Mighty. During my fight for ascendance in Valhalas, Illskar sabotaged me with dark magic, causing me to lose and be reduced to this. The thane and his champions can be found below in The Circle of Suffering. Challenge him on my behalf. Defeat him. Make him know the suffering that I know!”
He had been praying. A dead thing in a corridor under Jotunheim, asking night after night for someone to come down the stairs and do this for him.
I did not move straight away, and he marked it.
“Does something stay your hand?”
Nothing did. That is the difficulty.
You issue a challenge in the Circle of Suffering by throwing a sword into the middle of it. I threw Bethod’s.
“Bethod’s Sword?!! Very well, elf, I accept your challenge. But first, you must best my champions. Volgur! Squash this insect!”
Volgur had been told to squash something and fought accordingly, all of it in the first swing and nothing kept back for what came after. The floor of that ring is stone and gives nothing. I let him have the swing and took his knee on the recovery.
“Brita, create a pincushion of this puny warrior!”
Brita never closed at all. She put three shafts in me before I got inside her reach. Reaching her took longer than finishing her.
“You may have defeated my champions, warrior. I am something else entirely. Pray to your gods for a quick death.”
He came down into the ring with something dark running along the edge of a greataxe, which told me what he had used on Bethod. He was a thane who had won one duel by cheating and had been drawing on it ever since, and he swung that axe like a man who had never been made to miss twice in a row.
When he went down the chamber filled with gold. A Val’kyr Arbiter came into the ring. “Thane Illskar, you were challenged to honorable combat and failed. You have been found wanting and are judged accordingly. Now rise, Thane Illskar the Damned!”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Found wanting. The same words and the same verdict that put Bethod in that corridor. Illskar was not damned for cheating. He was damned for losing. Whatever Bethod thinks he arranged down there, it was carried out by the machine that ate him, working exactly as it always has.
“Thank you, warrior… thank you! You’ve given me the satisfaction of knowing that the coward who made me into this will rot for all eternity as surely as I will. Now leave before I lose control of myself and cut you down.”
Dr. Terrible’s notebook had been burning a hole in Vikstone’s pack since the apprentice dropped it, and reading it is how he learns that The Sum is Greater than the Parts.
