What is Worth Fighting For – World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Achievement

Even by mogu standards, Emperor Lao-Fe was a monster among beasts. His favored punishment among pandaren slaves was to separate families. Slaves who displeased him would have their children sent to the Serpent’s Spine, to suffer and die as fodder for the mantid swarms.

This was the fate that befell a young pandaren monk named Kang. Kang was so grief-stricken over the loss of his cub that he chose to wear all black. In a moment of clarity, he saw the mogu overlords for what they were: weak. They possessed dark magics and horrific weapons, but their empore was completely reliant on slave labor.

The servant races were not permitted to carry weapons during the reign of the mogu, so Kang determined that the pandaren themselves would become the weapons. So it came to pass that pandaren monks began their training in the martial arts, and Kang became known as the Fist of First Dawn.

History does not report if Kang and his son ever met again, but it was this father’s love that sparked the rebellion that would change the face of Pandaria forever.

The strength of the mogu empire was not in numbers, but in fear. Using Fear they controlled vast cities of slaves and maintained a chokehold over the old empire.

While it was the pandaren who first rebelled against the mogu, they were not the only ones to do so. The hozen soon lent their ferocity, the jinyu their wisdom, and the grummles acted as messengers for the rebels while simultaneously stopping delivery of food and news to their mogu slavemasters.

Imperial armies starved, messages of vital importance were no longer delivered, and the entire foundation of the empire cracked. The mogu knew nothing of growing their own food or distributing resources to their troops. Entire armies sat in their barracks oblivious to the rebellion taking oplace until it was too late.

In essence, the very strength of the empire was turned against itself. The races of Pandaria were united in a single purpose, and discovered that they were strong.

During the dark days of the mogu dynasties, pandaren slaves were not permitted weapons of any kind. When training in secret, pandaren monks would often use farm tools or simple bamboo staves for practice. Emphasis was also placed on unarmed strikes.

In contrast, the favored weapons of the mogu were based on fear rather than practicality. They were large, cumbersome, and difficult to wield. Pandaren monks took advantage, developing fast strikes and the skill to quickly move around the battlefield. The larger, slower mogu were often completely disoriented by the speed of the pandaren monks in open combat.

Over the years, fighting styles have changed dramatically, incorporating any number of other abilities, weapons, styles, etc. But the core foundation of pandaren fighting techniques remains the same: Defeat an opponent of any size with your bare paws if you have to.

In the days of the mogu dynasties, slaves were the lifeblood of the empire. Pandaren, hozen, and jinyu worked fields, dug mines, and built the mighty fortress of their masters.

To help combat fatigue, maintain morale, and return the wounded to work, the mogu permitted a pandaren caste of slaves that specialized in the brewing of remedies. Simple teas and poultices were their specialty at first. Over the years these specialists became healers, community leaders, and brewmasters.

A noble tradition was born, and these early “monks” became symbols of hope and pride amongst the pandaren.

It was these heroes who first learned how to fight without weapons. In secret, monks taught the other slaves the secrets of martial arts. When the revolution came, the monks were the first into battle, inspiring the humble farmers, smiths, and masons to follow …

Having failed to create an obedient army with the saurok, the mogu devised other ways to create the “perfect” fighting force. Using dark magics of unknown origin, they captured living souls and imprisoned them within constructs of stone.

Over the course of several dynasties, a vast army of these living statues was constructed and housed within an enormous vault carved into the mountains of Kun-Lai.

Knowing that this secret weapon would be their downfall, pandaren monks attempted to seize control of the vaults immediately after the revolution began. They struck quickly, ambushing the mogu by rappelling down the mountain from the Peak of Serenity. The battle for the vaults lasted four days before a snowstorm forced the mogu from the mountain.

By depriving the mogu of their secret weapon, the rebellious slaves forced the mogu to fight on more balanced terms.