 Skull of Yoruk (A) / (B) Skull of Yoruk, 948 (A) / (B) grue shrine (Skull of Yoruk) (hi-res) grue shrine, before wreckage grue shrine, wrecked by Brog |
When Yoruk finally died in 425 GUE, his knowledge of Deep Magic was imprinted and retained with his skull. Its bearer wields the knowledge and power of Deep Magic. Thus the crystal Skull of Yoruk it has become one of the most coveted and sought after relics in all the Empire.
The powerful Skull has fueled wars, raised empires, toppled cities, and through it all, remained quite shiny. While some historians believe that the skull has been in the possession of many celebrated figures throughout history, others claim from the empty casket where he was buried, that his body returned with him to Hades and through either some common Hades “body part routing error”, or just gradual decay as is common with old corpses, the only thing that time permitted to remain was the skull. In 594, one of the molar's was removed from the skull -- this Tooth of Yoruk has been a well-sought out artifact ever since separated from its host.
There is unanimous agreement amongst scholars that the Skull of Yoruk (minus the molar) eventually ended up in the clutches of the second Dungeon Master in 948 GUE who had found it in the Land of the Living Dead beyond the Gates of Hades and placed it in a trophy case in the living room of the White House. When Lord Ellron returned to the house later that same year, he listed the Skull for sale in the New Zork Times along with the other nineteen treasures he had found in the trophy case. Before it could be sold, the Skull was stolen by a pack of grues and enshrined in a grue breeding ground located beneath the White House. These grues retained the artifact until a brogmoid from the future stole it (circa 966~1000 GUE).
An elaborate network of time tunnels had been constructed before the end of the reign of Lord Dimwit Flathead, for the sole purpose to restore magic to Zork in the instance that a tyrannical anti-magic despot should have eliminated it, which was the case in 966. For magic to return, it was required for three magic artifacts to be brought together: a specific Cube of Foundation, the Coconut of Quendor, and the Skull of Yoruk. Each of these magic objects carries with it a part of a lost Rune of Abjuration, a sort of master magic spell woven in Old Speech between the three artifacts. When the three powerful magic objects were recovered at last, the Rune would summon Y’Gael back down from the Ethereal Plane of Atrii, and their essences would be freed, and magic would return to the Empire. In 1067, Brog successfully passed through the time tunnel to the White House, recovered the Skull, and returned to his proper era.
The three artifacts were brought together at the Flathead Mesa, where it was required that they be placed in proper order along the radio tower. The Skull of Yoruk, being the receptacle of deep magic, went in the glass dome at the bottom. The Cube of Foundation, being the container for middle magic, went in the nook halfway up the tower. The Coconut of Quendor, being the symbol for high magic, went in one of the balls of the wind gauge thingy at the top of the tower. When AFGNCAAP cast MAXOV upon the tower to bind the energies, a blast of powerful magic hit the top of the antenna. As the three magic treasures were combined according to the prophesy and the wisdom of Y'Gael, she was summoned down from Atrii. The resultant blast threw AFGNCAAP, his totemized companions, and the Grand Inquisitor from the tower while sending a shockwave of magic across the land. Thus the Skull of Yoruk placed an essential role in the restoration of magic and the dawning of the Second Age of Magic.