Season 9 - Dragonforged EU

Season 9 introduced Dragonforged Armors on the european server on the 1st of February, 2017

Background story
"Fighting the Dark Prince and being the greatest knight is good and all, but at the end of the day, their bellys rumble as loud as mine when they are hungry!" The old farmer laughed a roaring laugh and put his mead down on the table as the other guests stared at him. The tavern had been filled with a noisy argument over which guild was the most powerful and who the biggest fighters of the kindgom were - until the farmer had suddenly spoken up to silence everyone.

One knight confronted him: "What do you know, old man? Show some respect to the knights that defend your farmlands." But Eli was a clever farmer, not afraid to speak his mind, and surely not intimidated by a drunk young knight with a big mouth. "Listen, I am as thankful for the knights that fight as I can. It isn't them who I laugh about, it is you." The knights in the tavern gasped.

"While you sit hear, wasting your spit in pointless arguments on whose sword is the moist pointiest, I come to drink and gather my strength for a new day of work. The farm life is as harsh a battle to fight as any." The young knight who had spoken up grew impatient with the old man Eli. "You know nothing of fighting, old man. You just sit here and ridicule our honor." The other knights agreed with a loud cheer.

Eli got up from his chair. "Why don't I teach you a lesson in fighting then, young lady?" He took his hat of the counter, passed the knight that had attacked him, and left the tavern. "Come with me, and show me how you fight for this land."

The drunk knights followed Eli along the long path to his farm. When they arrived, the sun had nearly completely set. So Eli lit a torch and led them to patch on his land where nothing grew. The fertile soil was thin on a big rock that sat in the middle of the field. "See this rock? You fought to defend this land - but nothing will grow on it. Are you fighting for this?" He turned to the confused knights. "No, you fight because you want to be strong. You want to show your power to your guild members. You want to be bigger and better. My fight is against this rock though. I wrestle with it to get what little soil it left me to grow food and help everyone. And I will not rest until I have completely conquered it."

The loud knight from the tavern took up her axe and swung it against the rock. It nearly shattered her axe. "It's very hard!" she exclaimed. The old man laughed. "It is a Dragon Stone. They can not be split. But they make the soil around them fertile. Their power is a curse and a blessing."

The knights murmured. "They can not be split? They have power?" Eli took out a small piece of Dragon Stone from his pocket suddenly. "You can not split them by force - but you can grow enough plants that their roots will break it into small piece by piece over time. This is a long fight. You do not win it by being the strongest, but by working the hardest and for the longest time."

The angry knight from the tavern, Lyndis, took the Dragon Stone from Eli's hands. "I appreciate your lesson, old man. Let me keep this as a reminder."

And this is how Lyndis brought a special keepsake with her to the great Strike on Lessius Hills. A Dragon Stone that to remind her that strength is not about a single blow to the enemy, but perserverance and continuity. When a spear hit her chest, the Dragon Stone talisman diverted the deadly blade to her shoulder instead of her heart - her life safed, she was able to swing her axe at the enemy to avoid any further strikes.

Ever since then, Dragon Stones are used to enforce armour and weapons, and to teach all knights the importance of patience, piety and persistence.