Wards last act as a noble man was to preserve his memory before being consumed by the darkness. The Thorn grimoire even states that as a fact for whomever transformed into Yor. He wasn't evil until he transformed and was far enough away that it wouldn't make a difference. He had created a bond with Shin so his ghost would find him to take up his mantle. Shin states the first time he picked up TLW "unfortunately it wasn't the last time" this could be remorseful regarding Wards death or because he ultimately had to kill him. Also he used the line "your's not mine" as he killed Yor; this could be a revenge statement for Ward or a nod to let Yor know his secret identity. Yor was hunted down by Shin for killing Pahanin, not Ward, as the lore tells us he reigned over the crucible until he killed him. I'm always drawn back to the connection being the "associations" in Thorn fragment 2. Why are Ward, Jaren; Yor, Dredgen; Malphur, Shin; Last Word, and Thorn and not Pahanin, any of the other members of their 9 comrades on the expedition? I believe it is due to the connection of Ward/Yor to Thorn, and Malphur/Ward to TLW with palamon being referenced as it is their common thread of meeting. As you said; agree to disagree.