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Achievement

The Boy Who Would be King

Recover the following tol'vir artifacts that tell of the rise and fall of Emperor Ninjter.

Archaeology

10
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Top Comments

The highest voted Wowhead comments for this page. They are community notes, not TheWoWDB comments.

2
621653+34via Wowhead (opens the original comment in a new tab)

The name is a reference to an obscure Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh of the 2nd dynasty - Ninetjer, about whom very little is known (although, he may have reigned for as much as 40 years). Time period about 2890-2686bc.
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ninetjer.htm
Secondly, 'The Man Who Would Be King' is a story written by Rudyard Kipling (Jungle Book, Kim, etc.) in the 1800's, it was filmed in 1975 with Michael Caine and Sean Connery in the lead roles and is highly reccomended!

3
scottiegazelle+32via Wowhead (opens the original comment in a new tab)

Putting together the links and the information for the complete story. This is my guess at the chronological order:


  • Soapstone Scarab Necklace
    'Presented to Emperor Ninjter on the day he assumed the throne. We expect only greatness in his reign.'


    Starts the story. There is no mention of his age, but of course the achieve is "The BOY Who Would Be King", a classical reference to the Kipling story "The MAN Who Would Be King". It would be nice to have had an arch reference to his age. Either way, obviously great things were expected of him.


  • Cat Statue with Emerald Eyes
    This small clay cat displays a lifelike pose and expression. On the underside is engraved, 'In memory of Chalyx, beloved pet of Emperor Ninjter.'


    My first thought was, well, maybe this is a sign of his age, but then about .0000001 second later, I remembered how much Egyptians revered cats. This gives us a look at him as a person, per se, but nothing historical. /sigh


  • Sketch of a Desert Palace
    These are architectural plans, though the architect apparently dreamed on a very big scale. You are unaware of any structure resembling this palace in modern Uldum, so it is likely the palace was never built. 'Commissioned for Emperor Ninjter.'


    With such an excellent outlook, it seems the young Emperor, or his advisors, set to work plotting a palace that would outshine all others. It was never built. Perhaps this was simply because his reign was so brief, but I kind of thing the next find is a clue....


  • Tiny Oasis Mosaic
    This small piece of artwork has been pieced together from shattered clay tiles colored in brilliant turquoise, green and sand. 'Our hopes and prayers are to Emperor Ninjter, that he may end the famine and restore glory to the Ramkahen!'


    Famine struck. It's possible that the previous architectural creation was still at work (kind of a "let them eat cake," "Nero fiddled while Rome burned" kind of thing), but either way, the people were obviously concerned.

    Rulers can only do so much with famine, especially if they lack sufficient stores, so I think young Ninjter may have attempted another method of finding food...war.


  • Engraved Scimitar Hilt
    This scimitar appears more ornamental than functional. Its blade ends after only a few inches, but it does not appear to have seen much use in combat. Carved in loops of script around the pommel and down the hilt can be read the words 'May Emperor Ninjter lead us to victory! Kadesh! Osadi! Satekh!'


    In an attempt to either distract the masses or to find food when his kingdom was lacking, it seems Emperor Ninjter may have taken to war. Whether he was expected to lead the troops into battle personally or remain a figurehead is something we lack information on, but if he did, in fact, attempt to lead troops while still young and untried, the result may well have been....


  • Canopic Jar
    This jar contains the petrified organs of Emperor Ninjter. He apparently died only a few years into what was hoped would be a glorious reign.


    A short reign.


Of course, this is just supposition. The war could be unlinked to the famine; he could have died for his "let them eat cake", build my grand palace on the backs of the starving poor. But, I like the idea of a connection (especially since this isn't random life but a predetermined Blizzard plan).

Inspired by ArgentSun's archeological explanation of Tragedy in Three Acts

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Details

Points
10
Faction
Both factions
Requirements
6 criteria lines

Criteria

What this achievement requires, from the current game data.

  1. Cat Statue with Emerald Eyes
  2. Soapstone Scarab Necklace
  3. Tiny Oasis Mosaic
  4. Engraved Scimitar Hilt
  5. Sketch of a Desert Palace
  6. Canopic Jar
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Community notes from Wowhead · 11 comments

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The comments below were written by Wowhead users. They are community notes, not TheWoWDB comments. See them in context on Wowhead.

The top 3 are shown in Top Comments above. Read all 11 on Wowhead.