Legends of Warcraft #13: the betrayal of Loken

July 6, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Legends of Warcraft" series — Legends #13. The prehistory of Warcraft in order, from the creation of the universe to the last Guardian of Tirisfal. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.

The betrayal of Loken is the story of how a Keeper of the titans became the servant of an Old God. Shaken by the silence of the Pantheon, Loken was corrupted by Yogg-Saron, killed the woman he loved, blamed someone else for her death and took control of Ulduar. He imprisoned or corrupted the other Keepers and, millennia later, still ruled the city of the titans when the heroes of WotLK arrived.

Who Loken was

Loken was one of the Keepers the Pantheon left behind to watch over Azeroth. He was created by Norgannon, had arcane gifts like the inventor Mimiron and fought in the wars against the Elemental Lords and the Old Gods.

He was the brother of the Keeper Thorim, lord of storms. Thorim was married to Sif, and Loken grew close to her until the two began an affair.

The silence of the Pantheon and the whispers

After Sargeras killed the Pantheon, the titans' souls reached the Keepers, and the Pantheon never answered their calls again. Loken was the one who suffered most from that silence.

Beneath Ulduar lay Yogg-Saron, the Old God of death and madness. He took advantage of Loken's despair. Through dreams and whispers, he turned Loken's love for Sif into obsession.

The death of Sif

When Sif decided to end the affair, Loken killed her. He hid the body in the mountains of the Storm Peaks and made Thorim believe the culprit was Arngrim, the king of the frost giants.

Thorim, blinded by grief, declared war on the frost giants. Thorim's storm giants and Arngrim's frost giants clashed, and the Storm Peaks became a battlefield.

Loken then convinced Thorim that Sif would be ashamed of what he was doing. Thorim sank into sorrow and exiled himself in the Temple of Storms, far from Ulduar.

Loken takes Ulduar

With Thorim out of the way, Loken used the Forge of Wills to create an army of earthen and end the giants' war. That was when he saw the Curse of Flesh spreading through his own creations and understood that Yogg-Saron had deceived him from the start.

Instead of backing down, Loken went all the way:

He imprisoned Odyn in the Halls of Valor, with the help of Helya.
He staged the apparent death of Mimiron, who survived in a mechanical body.
He defeated Freya and Hodir and left them corrupted and complacent.
He took the title of Prime Designate and sealed Ulduar.
He cut off contact with Algalon, so that only Loken's death would summon the titans' envoy.

The only one who escaped

Not every Keeper fell. Tyr saw the betrayal and fled with allies, carrying proof of what Loken had done. His escape and the price he paid are the subject of the next episode.

The fall of Loken in WotLK

Millennia later, Yogg-Saron was almost free, and Loken acted again. On the Old God's orders, he forged iron dwarves and iron vrykul, an army that attacked the earthen and the other peoples of the north.

Disguised as Lok'lira the Crone, a vrykul, Loken fooled the heroes. Then, with Yogg-Saron's power, he overpowered Thorim. The heroes shut down the Forge of Wills in the Halls of Stone, with Brann Bronzebeard, and then stormed the Halls of Lightning, where they killed Loken.

His last words warned that his death would herald the end of the world. Loken's death triggered Algalon's protocol, and he came to judge whether Azeroth should be wiped out. The heroes beat Algalon in Ulduar and convinced him to spare the planet.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who it is | |------|--------| | Loken | The Keeper who betrayed the others under the influence of Yogg-Saron. | | Thorim | The Keeper of storms, Loken's brother and Sif's husband. | | Sif | Thorim's wife, killed by Loken. | | Arngrim | The king of the frost giants, falsely accused of Sif's death. | | Forge of Wills | The machine Loken used to create armies, shut down in the Halls of Stone. | | Algalon | The titans' envoy who only appears when Loken dies. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Halls of Lightning, in the Storm Peaks: the dungeon where Loken is the final boss.
Halls of Stone: the Forge of Wills and the story of the earthen, with Brann Bronzebeard.
Storm Peaks: the Sons of Hodir quests, the giants' war and the meeting with Thorim.
Ulduar: the raid where Thorim, Freya, Hodir and Mimiron are freed, and Algalon appears.