Characters / Warcraft Knights Of The Ebon Blade

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A renegade faction of death knights who broke away from the Scourge. Originally created by the Lich King to destroy the Scarlet Crusade, they were eventually betrayed by him when he sent them on a suicide mission against the Argent Dawn with the intent to lure Tyrion Fordring out of hiding. Upon discovering this, they turned against their former master, and their leader Darion Mograine helped Tyrion against the Lich King, forcing him to retreat. The Knights of the Ebon Blade then sworn vengeance on the Scourge, and formed an uneasy partnership with the Argent Crusade, as well as the Alliance and the Horde, to take Arthas down. They serve as the reason death knights become playable in Wrath of the Lich King.

Few years later, they have loosely re-established their ties to the Scourge through the new Lich King, Bolvar Fordragon during the invasion of the Burning Legion, agreeing to serve as a free-willed paramilitary wing of sorts in exchange for Bolvar using his power in defense of Azeroth. This connection later allows them to act as Bolvar's personal army after Sylvanas shatters the Helm of Domination and lets the Scourge rampant on Azeroth, and they serve on the forefront of the conflict between the forces of life and death.

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General Tropes

"We are driven by a single purpose: retribution."

— Darion Mograine, Highlord of the Ebon Blade

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• Anti-Hero: They're all this to varying degrees, some going as far as Token Evil Teammate.
• Arch-Enemy: The Scourge and later the Mawsworn.
• Ascended Extra: Downplayed with the lich, Amal'thazad. Originally the Archeus frost trainer, he is part of the Death Knight legion questline and even becomes a champion for the Class Hall.
  • Applies to the entire faction in Shadowlands, big time. While they were merely one of the prominent forces during the war against the Lich King, in Shadowlands they become the primary force from Azeroth that represents the mortalkind in the conflict against the Jailer, aside from the Maw Walkers and the heroes that were abducted by the Mawsworn.
• The Atoner: They fight the Lich King to make up for what they have done, but are not above morally dubious tactics in doing so. Although some of them are simply on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
• Badass Creed: "We do what the living cannot."
  • There's another that doesn't seem to be as official, but is said by quite a few of the Ebon Blade NPCs. It's much simpler, but still quite telling. "We press on."
• Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: For a given value of 'Bad Guys' anyway; they are fully aware that they are 'monsters' who Came Back Wrong — but with them already scorned by the living because they are no longer capable of empathy and morality, they are capable of performing heinous acts upon their enemies without taking a hit on the reputation meter; because no one expects otherwise of 'monsters'.
  "We do what the living cannot."
• Black Knight: All of them are knights dressed in black, ominous armors, with large swords and who used to work for a force of evil.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Played with; they are technically a faction of undead black knights working on the side of good and fighting the very Scourge that created them, but how actually heroic they are is variable depending on the member.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: The main reason most of them join the Alliance or the Horde following the Lich King's demise; since they no longer have a master to serve nor a revenge to satisfy, and are now too monstrous to genuinely reintegrate normal society, they chose to continue what they do best (fighting) by serving the two factions.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Well, former evil, but nevertheless they retain their deep echoing voices, and the tone almost always sounds bitter or cynical regardless of their races if you click them, especially if you did it repeatedly.
• Faction Motto: "Suffer well."
• Horsemen of the Apocalypse: They assemble their own group of them in Legion. The Horsemen consist of General Nazgrim, Thoras Trollbane, High Inquisitor Whitemane, and Darion Mograine (after the Knights failed to retrieve Tirion Fordring's corpse.)
• Magic Knight: As death knights all of them use their dark magic together with their melee fighting skills.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Their relationship with the Argent Crusade, since they don't think their Paladin allies' tactics are practical. Unlike the Alliance and the Horde, though, they can work together against the Lich King.
  • In Legion, with the Lich King himself. Subverted in Shadowlands, where Bolvar loses control of the Scourge and becomes the Ebon Blade's direct leader.
• Token Heroic Orc: While the death knights themselves can be this, the Ebon Blade has Amal'thazad, the only friendly lich in game. He even becomes a class order hero in Legion.
• The Undead: They were all raised from the dead to become one of the Scourge's death knights.
• The Unfettered: As of Legion, the Ebon Blade have sworn to do anything to protect Azeroth, even the wicked deeds that the living could never bring themselves to. Over the course of Legion, they raise new undead and attack key targets in life and the afterlife that alienate them from all of their previous allies, all to fight against the Burning Legion.

The Highlord

Bolvar Fordragon

Bolvar Fordragon

Highlord, The Lich King

Class: Death Knight (former Paladin)

Voiced by: Carlos Larkin (English), Yuri Derkach (Russian)

"It is a tragedy. I think... I believe that our kind is cursed. We are cursed to lose our greatest warriors; our most noble heroes; our most gifted scholars."

Highlord of Stormwind and friend of King Varian Wrynn. During the time of Varian's absence, Prince Anduin was formally crowned as king while Bolvar ruled as regent for the young prince. Upon Varian's return, Bolvar was named the commander of the Alliance forces sent to take the battle to the Scourge in Northrend: The Valiance Expedition. Under his leadership, the Valiance Expedition, together with the Horde forces, made its way to Angrathar: The Wrathgate.

During the Battle of Angrathar, the Alliance, Horde and Scourge forces were all ambushed by the rebel Forsaken under the command of Grand Apothecary Putress, raining the Forsaken's new plague down upon all combatants. Bolvar, caught in the plague, was presumed killed. However, it turns out that Bolvar survived, but was severely scarred by the dragons' flames and subsequently tortured endlessly by the Lich King, so as to be converted into his champion. Bolvar resisted until the end, and after the death of the Lich King, he convinced Tirion Fordring to pick up the Helm of Domination and crown him as the new Lich King, keeping the Scourge in check without anyone else knowing.

A few years later, following the destruction of the Helm of Domination by Sylvanas Windrunner, he steps up as the new Highlord of the Ebon Blade, and due to his ability to peer into the Shadowlands during his tenure as the Lich King, he manages to use the shards of the Helm of Domination to open a gateway for the Knights of the Ebon Blade's strike force to venture into the dreaded Maw. After a long period of fighting through the death realm, he and his knights manage to reach Oribos and warn the First Ones about the Jailer's efforts.

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• And I Must Scream: Willingly chooses to don the Helm of Domination to hold back the Scourge and encases himself in a block of ice following his "crowning" as the new Lich King.
• Badass Cape: Wears a blue and gold cape for the war in Northrend.
• Barrier Maiden: As the new Lich King, Bolvar used his powers to control and subdue the Scourge, protecting Azeroth from a Zombie Apocalypse as the "Jailor of the Damned".
• Batman Gambit: What he spent the entirety of Battle for Azeroth doing. After drawing more power from the Helm and seeing what was at play in the Shadowlands, he thought Sylvanas was planning to make a play to become the new Lich Queen.
  • So he had the Ebon Blade travel the world, collecting bodies and he raised them into death knights before sending them out to the world to grow and get stronger. He does this to deprive the evil in the Shadowlands powerful servants.
  • Then he started gathering the Scourge to Icecrown. This was likely done to keep prepare them to battle Sylvanas when she comes knocking, as well as make sure they aren't loose to attack Azeroth the instant things go south for him.
  • Finally he made his actions painfully obvious to the Ebon Blade so they would kill him, because when Sylvanas does make her move he'd have to fully give into the Helm's power, which would eventually turn him into a monster like Arthas. By having the Ebon Blade move against him, they will be ready to kill him should he succumb to the Helm's power, or Sylvanas if she manages to take it from him.
  • However, Sylvanas took the Third Option, and broke the helm and shattered the veil which Bolvar did not see coming.
• BFS: Wields a huge, jeweled sword in Northrend.
• Big Damn Heroes: Shows up to save the player and a bunch of NPCs during the confrontation with Thel'zan the Duskbringer under Wintergarde.
• Big Good: Of Shadowlands story arc. Freed from his self-imposed duty of controlling the Scourge, he gathers the support of the mortal races of Azeroth and then ventures to Oribos to plan countermeasures against Sylvanas and the Jailer.
• Bling of War: He upgrades from a decently shining suit of plate to the fully golden Classic PVP armor decorated with eagles during the war in Northrend.
• Body Horror: Survives being burned to death by the Dragonflight's fire because of its life-preserving capacity, yet got horrific burns. Then he got tortured in an unspecified way by the Lich King...
• The Corruptible: While he wore the Helm of Domination, Bolvar was connected to the Shadowlands. The entire time, the Jailer attempted to influence and control Bolvar and he only barely resisted. Even with the Helm destroyed, Bolvar is still vulnerable to the Jailer's power. It's why he cannot enter the Maw himself and can only briefly peer into the realm psychically. If the Jailer was able to find him, Bolvar would not be able to escape his direct control while he is inside the Shadowlands.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Yes, he's the new Lich King. He uses his command over the Scourge to contain their threat for all of eternity. And despite his failure, he's willing to make sure it stays that way and later takes a central role in the Shadowlands arc, leading his knights personally into the Shadowlands against the Mawsworn.
• Determinator: After surviving both the Forsaken blight and the flames of the Red Dragonflight, he's captured by the Lich King, who tries to torture and convert him into his new champion. He never gives in and defies him all the way through.
• Didn't See That Coming: He always knew that Sylvanas would come for him, he expected her to become a new Lich Queen, not break the Helm of Domination and open up a rift to the Shadowlands.
• Four-Star Badass: Stormwind's foremost general and leader of the Alliance forces in Northrend, he saves the players from the lich Thel'zan and leads the charge against the Scourge at the Wrathgate.
  • Does this again once he steps up as the Highlord of the Ebon Blade, leading his knights personally to the realm of death in order to fight against the Jailer.
• Frontline General: Leads the charge personally at the Wrathgate and is the first to reach enemy lines.
• The Greatest Story Never Told: As per his instructions to Tirion after donning the Helm of Domination: "Tell them only that the Lich King is dead... and that Bolvar Fordragon died with him." It later gets Deconstructed in the leadup to the Shadowlands since with only the leaders of the world aware that the Lich King was still in play, Sylvanas caught everyone with their metaphorical pants down when she shattered the Helm of Domination, causing widespread confusion for weeks.
• Healing Hands: He is able to call upon the Light to heal himself and others, most notably using the Lay on Hands spell to heal himself to full if he ever gets low.
• He's Back!: After losing the fight with Sylvanas, who tears open a rift between material plane and the afterlife by destroying the Helm of Domination, Bolvar decides to take matters into his own hands and leads the Knights of the Ebon Blade into the Shadowlands to make things right.
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Exaggerated as he was always seen wearing full plate, but never put on a helmet — until he became the Lich King that is, and the Lich King's crown, the 'Helm of Domination' is as evil as they come and it's a major turning point for his morality. Once the Crown is destroyed, he goes right back to being heroic.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Chooses to bear the mantle of the Lich King, keeping the Scourge forces from overwhelming Azeroth. He even decides that none are to know of his sacrifice, though certain characters are privy to it.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Valiant and selfless to a fault, even damning himself to a living hell to contain the Scourge.
• Knightly Sword and Shield: Bolvar is a heroic paladin of Stormwind wielding a mighty greatsword in one hand and a lion-faced shield in the other.
• Legacy Character: As the Lich King. As he states, someone needs to don the Helm of Domination and take up the role of Lich King to keep the Scourge in check.
• Light 'em Up: As a paladin he calls upon the Light's power to aid him in battle, most notably using it to heal himself or to stun enemies around him.
• Knightly Sword and Shield: Has a BFS and uses his shield to great effect to protect himself. The shield's the one item left behind at the Wrathgate after his presumed demise. The player brings it back to Varian.
• Magic Knight: Being a paladin, Bolvar complements his physical skills with holy magic. Gameplay-wise he literally mixes warrior abilities (Cleave and Shield Wall) with paladin spells (Lay on Hands, Retribution Aura and his unique Highlord's Justice, a multi-target stun).
• Mind-Control Device: It's retconned out with the comic, but in Classic, Lady Prestor partially controls his mind through the Dragon's Eye amulet that he wears. It shatters during the Great Masquerade quest when Prestor is exposed as Onyxia, and is used to create the Drakefire Amulet, the key to opening her lair.
• Neutral No Longer: Ever since he assumed the mantle of the Lich King, he kept the Scourge at bay and preferred to stay away from the mortal affairs, and even during the Legion invasion he preferred to act through proxies in the form of the Knights of the Ebon Blade. Come Shadowlands and Sylvanas' incursion upon the Frozen Throne, he is essentially forced out of non-intervention and goes into the realms of death to help resolve the crisis.
• Noble Demon: In Legion, any Mage seeking Felo'melorn must deal with him. Upon perceiving their intended heroic purpose, he agrees to let them pursue the weapon in his possession. He's not going to just let them have it though, placing both lethal traps and his own undead soldiers in their path, and cautions the PC that failure will result in their eternal condemnation as one of the mindless Scourge.
• Not Quite Dead: Thought to have died at the Wrathgate incident, but turns out to have survived (possibly due to the red dragons' flames, though heavily scarred as a result) and then claimed to be tortured and converted by the Lich King.
• Number Two: Varian's most trusted friend and commander, leading Stormwind's forces in the world where the king himself cannot.
• One-Handed Zweihänder: Wields a huge sword with one hand in Northrend. However, the same sword can also be acquired as a one-handed weapon by Alliance players.
• The Paladin: Stormwind's foremost Paladin until his fall.
• The Paralyzer: When he was still Stormwind's faction leader, Bolvar had the unique ability Highlord's Justice, a multi-target version of the Paladin's Hammer of Justice, which stuns all enemies around him for 6 seconds.
• Parental Substitute: To Anduin, in absence of his father.
• Playing with Fire: Gets fire-based abilities, courtesy of the dragons' flame. As the Lich King, he could also amplify his powers into Frostfire.
• Power Echoes: After donning the Helm of Domination.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Bolvar was considered one of the greatest fighters of the Alliance during his time as regent and faction leader for Stormwind (though Anduin was formally king), as well as during his time as leader of the Valiance Expedition.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: When he wasn't being manipulated by Katrana. He also seemed to get along fairly well with Saurfang Jr.
• Rule of Three: Invoked and Exploited. During his battle with Sylvanas, he summons up a snowstorm, and attacks her while she can't see him. First attack, she dodges. Second attack, she dodges again. Third attack, she's wise to his game and tries to block him... Except it wasn't him, but a giant block of ice.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: The reason for Bolvar becoming the Lich King is to become the can, controlling the Scourge to prevent them from overrunning all of Azeroth. He fails come Shadowlands, because Sylvanas shows up and wrecks the Helm of Domination.
• Shield Bash: Bashes aside attacking undead with his shield at the Wrathgate.
• Shoulders of Doom: During the war in Northrend he switches from plain plate pauldrons to the huge PVP shoulders from Classic. Later gets another set that is more befitting the 'doom' part as the Lich King.
• Skeleton Motif: By the time of Shadowlands, he's adopted the Lich King's theme of skulls on his armour and weapon.
• Spanner in the Works: Promoting an adventurer to acting deputy of Stormwind and sending them after the Blackrock orcs and the Black dragonflight in the Burning Steppes leads to the prison break of Marshal Reginald Windsor, causing Onyxia's cover as Lady Katrana Prestor to be blown and her entire conspiracy to weaken Stormwind from within to collapse, and eventually leads that same adventurer into Onyxia's Lair to finish her off.
• Supporting Leader: For the Alliance during the war against the Lich King in Northrend until the Wrathgate incident.
• That Man Is Dead: "Tell them only that the Lich King is dead... and that Bolvar Fordragon died with him."
• Volcanic Veins: After his bath in dragonfire, his skin is burned black and veins of flame burn across it.
• What You Are in the Dark: Bolvar could well have had his name exalted as a martyr for the rest of mankind's days, but he chose to keep his Heroic Sacrifice a secret so no one would continue to live in fear of the Scourge.
• The Worf Effect: You'd expect Bolvar to put up a decent fight after being hyped for two expansions as the new Lich King. When Sylvanas comes knocking at his doorstep, he unceremoniously gets wrecked, who had been shown that she had problems fighting Death Knight Arthas before, mind you. Granted, it may have something to do with her covenant with the mysterious Jailer, who's apparently allowing her to siphon power from the souls trapped within the Shadowlands' Maw.
• Xanatos Gambit: Bolvar's raising of the fourth generation death knights were just part of his contingencies in his plan to ensure Sylvanas died. To wit, the full plan goes like this: He knows Sylvanas is coming for the Helm of Domination, following her ousting from the Horde.
  1. If he defeats her in combat, no worries. He continues sitting atop the throne. Sylvanas dies.
  2. If the battle isn't going well, he will need to give into the Helm of Domination's power. This means he will be a Fallen Hero even if he wins, so it no longer matters who wins or loses; in the end, the victor will be either spent or unexperienced, and unable to command his Four Horsemen even with the Helm. Therefore, the Horsemen have explicit orders to kill whomever survives the encounter. Whether it's him or her, Sylvanas dies.
  3. If Sylvanas proves powerful enough to defeat him and his Four Horsemen, his death knights have been purposefully scattered around the world and Sylvanas won't be able to claim them. After that, he knows It's only a matter of time before Sylvanas dies at the hands of them and their companions. Sylvanas dies.
  • Overall, solid plan with plenty of contingencies given what he thought he knew, but Sylvanas didn't come to claim the helm, but to destroy it. By the time the Four Horsemen showed up, Sylvanas had already shattered the veil and escaped into the Shadowlands.

The Four Horsemen

In General

When the Burning Legion attacked in its third invasion attempt, the Lich King (Bolvar Fordragon) decided that more powerful warriors capable of doing what living men could not where needed. At his command, the Deathlord and the Knights of the Ebon Blade set out to raise four specific warriors of Azeroth to turn them into the Four Horsemen.

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• Assist Character: In Torghast, Death Knights can gain a power that causes their "Death Gate" spell to summon one of the Four Horsemen to fight alongside them for a set period of time.
• Hellish Horse: The Horsemen are eternally linked to their mounts, crafted by Salanar the Horseman to be the most fierce and powerful Deathchargers. They are heavily armored skeletal nightmares created from the negative emotions of influential souls in the Shadowlands.
• Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Although they don't use the full title or share affinity for the four aspects they normally represent (they protect Azeroth, after all), the Four Horsemen are the strongest Death Knights under the Lich King and ride out to bring devastation to their enemies. As a nod to the original trope, the Four Horsemen's mounts wear cloth colored after the four horses (red, black, white, and green).
• Mounted Combat: While the Horsemen can easily fight on foot, they're at their strongest when battling atop their Deathchargers.
• Redeeming Replacement: The original Four Horsemen were the elite personal guard of Kel'Thuzad and agents of the Scourge who massacred countless people in Lordaeron (though mostly because their minds were controlled by the Lich King) and were housed in the dreaded citadel of Naxxramas, where countless horrors happened in the name of the Scourge during and shortly after the Third War. The Horsemen of the Ebon Blade have free minds, they are devoted defenders of Azeroth and their headquarters, Acherus, is entirely dedicated to that noble goal since the Scourge was ousted from it. Even more relevant regarding Darion Mograine — his father Alexandros was one of Kel'Thuzad's original Horsemen before the crusade against the Lich King (i.e. before Wrath of the Lich King).
• Super-Soldier: Even among Death Knights, the Four Horsemen are empowered by the Lich King to be the mightiest of his warriors.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Most Death Knights wield shadow and death magic, but Whitemane is still able to channel the Holy Light in death, adding the Light's blessings to the Horsemen in combat.

Darion Mograine

Highlord Darion Mograine

Class: Death Knight (former Paladin)

Voiced by: Taliesin Jaffe (English), Denis Bespaly (Russian)

"Harness your hate. Make it useful."

Leader of the Knights of the Ebon Blade. Highlord Darion is the son of Alexandros Mograine, who was murdered by his other son and resurrected by the Scourge as the leader of all death knights. He led an assault on Naxxramas with the intent of freeing his father's soul, but succeeded only by sacrificing his own in turn and taking Alexandros' place. During the battle at Light's Hope Chapel, however, Tirion Fordring was able to free him (and the rest of the Ebon Blade) from the Lich King!Arthas' control, using the Ashbringer. In Northrend, the two of them led the charge into Icecrown, eventually laying siege to the seat of the Lich King himself.

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• Anime Hair: His hair defied gravity back when he was alive during the Ashbringer comic. Just look at him◊.
• Anti-Hero: After his inevitable Heel–Face Turn near the end of death knight starting quest chain, he becomes a Type IV, being fairly ruthless in his quest against the Lich King and his followers, in contrast to Tirion and his paladins.
• The Atoner: Dedicates both himself and his order to making up for their crimes under the Scourge by joining the fight against the Lich King.
• Badass Normal: Before his Heroic Sacrifice, unlike his father.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Formerly, like most death knights.
• Cain and Abel: In the Ashbringer comic, his brother Renault went crazy with guilt over the murder of their father. When an oblivious Darion showed up after years of estrangement to ask for help with the whole "Dad's a Death Knight" thing, Renault started kicking him to death while he was too shocked to even try to defend himself.
• Cool Helmet: Wears one all the time. He also gets a new one in Icecrown Citadel.
• Death by Childbirth: His mother died when giving birth to him.
• Didn't Think This Through: The Ebon Blade needs a leader for their own Four Horseman. Darion's candidate? Tirion Fordring, his body entombed at Light's Hope Chapel. There's just one problem with this idea he should have thought of. Just as the Knights of the Ebon Blade have broken through the paladins and are about to raise Tirion the Light forces them back. The very same light that rendered even the Lich King himself almost completely powerless in its wake at the Battle of Light's Hope Chapel back in Wrath of the Lich King. Liadrin calls him out on how stupid an idea it was to try it to begin with.
  • To be fair to Darion, it wasn't his idea. It came from the new Lich King himself, and Darion was exactly as horrified by the idea as could be expected, considering Tirion was both one of Azeroth's greatest heroes and a close friend. Still, one must wonder why he was even reluctantly willing to try, considering he was at the Battle of Light's Hope Chapel and the Scourge's hold on the Plaguelands had only lessened since then. What did he think was going to happen?
• Dual Wielding: He wields a pair of runeblades after throwing the Ashbringer to Tirion.
• Equivalent Exchange: "My soul for yours. I love you, Dad."

• Everyone Has Standards: He's genuinely disgusted at the proposal to raise Tirion as a death knight, but reluctantly goes along with the idea.
• Fallen Hero: When serving the Lich King; he used to be a member of the Argent Dawn.
• Foil: To Arthas. While Arthas started as a noble paladin who let himself be manipulated into taking up an evil sword, then killed his father and after that a powerful paladin who was his father figure, then proceeded to cause mayhem and finally ascended as king of the damned, Darion does some similar acts but with the opposite purpose. He kills himself with his father's cursed blade to save him from damnation. Then he becomes a death knight but later regains his free will and gives him the blade to purify it. Darion then takes up leadership of the free death knights specifically to help save the world from Arthas and protect it from other threats as well. While Arthas dies without redemption but still comforted by the ghost of his father, Darion finds the soul of his father after Arthas is killed and reunites with him in a display of love. Overall, Darion's actions are driven by and directly oppose those of Arthas.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He did not really die because of it, but instead becomes Kel'thuzad's mindless minion afterward.
  • Happened again at the conclusion of the Legion Death Knight storyline, where he holds open a death gate so the Deathlord and the first three of the new Horsemen can escape holy wrath at Light's Hope Chapel. Like his first one, this didn't quite take, as his body is recovered and he is raised as the commander of the new Four Horsemen.
• In the Hood: As the Ebon Watcher.
• It's Personal: On Orbaz Bloodbane, we don't know exactly what other than him leaving in Light's Hope chapel. His subordinates were surprised that Darion personally showed up and take part during the assassination scheme to ensure he hit the dust.
• Love Redeems: His (first) Heroic Sacrifice.
• Necessarily Evil: Darion believes the Death Knights to be this for the good of Azeroth. When a paladin calls him a monster, his reply to her is very solemn.
  Darion: Without monsters, there can be no heroes.
• Perpetual-Motion Monster: Self-proclaimed Monster, as for the perpetual motion part?
  Darion: We are eternal. We are unyielding.
• The Power of Love: Tirion had advised Darion that only an act of love would free his father from the corrupted Ashbringer. Darion's act of love (His Heroic Sacrifice) was powerful enough to not only save his father's soul but also destroy the entire Scourge army assaulting Light's Hope Chapel.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: "You betrayed me. You betrayed us all, monster. Taste the might of Mograine!" Not that he got far; it didn't even last long enough to be a Curb-Stomp Battle. After the battle, he leads the Knights of the Ebon Blade towards revenge against the Lich King.
• Serrated Blade of Pain: Following his bequeathment of the Ashbringer to Tirion, Darion wields two runeblades with massive serrated edges.
• Trauma Conga Line: In the comic. See Cain and Abel above, among other things.
• Time to Step Up, Commander: In Legion he gives up the leadership of the order to the Player Character and by proxy, to the Lich King to an extent once he/she get the Artifact Weapon. If the Artifact are the Blades of the Fallen Prince, he outright says that he's "through with having magical weapons dictate my fate".
  • Happens to him as well, after relinquishing control of the Ebon Blade to the Player Character, he is killed and resurrected as leader of the new Fourth Horsemen. Like his father before him.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Goes from a heroic aspiring paladin to a death knight Anti-Hero.

Sally Whitemane

High Inquisitor Sally Whitemane

Class: Death Knight (former Priest)

Voiced by: Grey DeLisle (English), Olga Shorokhova (Russian)

"You shall pay for this treachery!"

High Inquisitor of the Scarlet Crusade, she is considered the head of the Scarlet Monastery. Eventually she was slain as part of a plan set forth by Lilian Voss. In Legion, her unwavering connection to the Light makes her an ideal candidate to become one of the new Four Horsemen to protect Azeroth from the Burning Legion.

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• The Archmage: Her unwavering faith has made her one of the greatest wielders of the Light in Azeroth's history, if not the most noble. That connection and faith still hold fast in death, allowing her to use the Light as a Death Knight. It's the very reason the Lich King had her made a Horseman.
• The Atoner: She did not rest easily as a ghost after realizing what the Scarlet Crusade had become and what she'd unwittingly devoted her life to. Which is why the Ebon Blade recruited her, and she vows to redeem herself in undeath.
• Back from the Dead: Whitemane is brought back as Initiate Whitemane to become a Horseman of the Ebon Blade, although much saner than before.
• Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: Unlike all other Death Knights, Whitemane's armor leaves her stomach exposed.
• Came Back Wrong: Somehow an Inverted Trope. As Darion Mograine says, death can have a way of quieting the madness that haunts people. When she's risen as a Death Knight, she's far more lucid and agreeable than when she was alive.
• Hat of Authority: Her famous "chapeau" serves as a symbol of her status.
• Healing Hands: She's so good at this that she could keep herself from dying.
• Irony: In life she was basically a religious terrorist who thought all undead were evil, She eventually became undead herself, and became a lot nicer than she was as a living person.
• Killed Off for Real: She was permanently killed after being stabbed by the Blades of the Anointed. Until she was resurrected in Legion, of course.
• Ms. Fanservice: When she was part of the Scarlet Crusade, Whitemane was considered one of the most fanservicey characters in the game, wearing a red leotard that showed off her ass and thighs while also being quite well-endowed. This carries over into Heroes of the Storm, as she appears in her form prior to becoming undead.
• Resurrective Immortality: Because of her immense powers of resurrection, she could keep herself from dying.
• Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: Does this with herself while also achieving Light Is Not Good and Dark Is Not Evil. As a member of the fanatically violent Scarlet Crusade, she wears a leotard and no pants. As a member of the more heroic Knights of the Ebon Blade, she wears a more modest outfit.
• Ship Tease: A posthumous one, as her last act was to utter the name of the long-dead Renault Mograine, rather than her current champion, Durand.
• Staff of Authority: She carried an ornate red staff to signify her position.
• Tom the Dark Lord: Initially known only by her title and last name, an appearance by her younger self in the Caverns of Time revealed that her first name is "Sally". It's an awfully cute name for such a ruthless person.
• White Hair, Black Heart: She was blonde as a child, but her hair had turned white as an adult as High Inquisitor of the Scarlet Crusade, which saw her supporting the fanatical religious sect and its corruption and extremism. Her final death and subsequent raising as a Death Knight sobered her significantly.

Nazgrim

General Nazgrim

Class: Death Knight (former Warrior)

Voiced by: David Lodge (English), Oleg Kutsenko (Russian)

"Our orders stand, no matter the cost."

Introduced as a minor Horde questgiver in Grizzly Hills, Northrend, Sergeant Nazgrim enlisted the aid of the Player Character in proving himself valuable to the master of Conquest Hold (who considered everyone, including the player, equally expendable and incompetent). While most of the Horde's forces were occupying themselves with a zone-wide resource battle against the Alliance, Nazgrim and the player routed the local vrykul forces on their own.

He made an unexpected reappearance on the Horde side of the Vashj'ir storyline, having received a promotion to Legionnaire, officially leading the Horde forces and the player even as the mission goes down the drain. However, even with the odds stacked against he and his soldiers, his resourcefulness and keen planning kept most of them alive long enough for extraction and dealt significant blows to the naga.

His efforts in Vashj'ir were evidently reason enough for another promotion, this time to General. Warchief Garrosh assigned him and a collection of the best veteran soldiers of the Horde to secure the newly-discovered Pandaria in preparation for a more formal occupation. The Alliance was there to meet him in the Jade Forest, though, and the ensuing battles left all but a handful of his forces dead, leaving him to gain what allies he could and await the rest of the Horde's arrival. Once that happened, Garrosh took personal command of the operations on the continent and Nazgrim was shifted out of the spotlight somewhat.

Nazgrim has aligned himself with Garrosh's Horde in light of the emerging rebellion, being unwilling to forsake his duty and Blood Oath. He is fought and slain in the Siege of Orgrimmar raid. Due to his honorable nature, and prowess in battle and command, the Knights of the Ebon Blade later resurrect him into undeath as a Death Knight.

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• Anti-Villain:
  • He generally isn't an unpleasant Orc. Unlike the other Orcs of Garrosh's forces, he doesn't discriminate or view the other Horde's races as lesser, and is even saddened to hear of the death of Zin'jun, a Troll Hunter who had been sent to Pandaria with him. Despite this, however, he is fiercely loyal to Garrosh because of his personal sense of honor and duty.
  • Alliance players would still view him as a straight villain, however.
    Word of God: Unlike many of our Raid bosses, he is not necessarily wicked, but he is a soldier whose loyalty to Orgrimmar leaves him no choice but to defend its walls.
• Ascended Extra: From minor quest giver to major story character to raid boss.
• Back from the Dead: The Lich King names Nazgrim as the first of the new Horsemen to be raised in Legion. Darion has reservations about recreating the Four Horsemen, but agrees that Nazgrim would make a worthy ally.
• Badass Boast: Two, depending on the faction fighting him.
  • (For Alliance): "No Alliance hand has ever struck me down! Do you think you are seasoned enough?"
  • (For Horde): "So. It has come to this. Together, we have learned and grown over the years. And now... We find ourselves face to face on the battlefield. Do not think I will go easy on you, nor do I expect any quarter. What we do now, we do for the Horde! Both of us."
• Badass Normal: In a raid filled with monsters, massive war machines, and twisted magics, Nazgrim stands out as a boss who's dangerous just from being really good with an axe.
• Blood Knight: Like many orcs, Nazgrim is always eager to test himself in a fight. When he and Thassarian show up as The Cavalry in the Exodar, Thassarian admits they would have arrived sooner had Nazgrim not chosen to kill every demon they ran across on the way to the Deathlord.
• Catchphrase: "THRALL'S BALLS!"
• Death Seeker: Implied by his raid dialogue, when he says he stood by the Warchief only because it was his duty, and he is glad the Horde player was the one to strike him down.
• The Dragon: While Malkorok is Garrosh's canon Dragon, Nazgrim fits the trope better. He is very much a foil to Garrosh, being truly honorable while Garrosh is only honorable in his head. He also appears to lead the Kor'kron, even though, again, Malkorok is the technical leader. He's also a Worthy Opponent to the players.
• Dying as Yourself: He was never corrupted, but it's worth noting that he's one of the only bosses in the Siege that hasn't been corrupted, experimented, or twisted by Garrosh's dark magics.
• Flunky Boss: He's accompanied by Kor'kron minions in his boss battle, and can even give them a buff that causes their attacks to give him rage.
• Four-Star Badass: Every zone you see him in, he has risen from rank to rank, beginning as a Grunt, to a Sergeant, to a Legionnaire, and finally a General in Mists of Pandaria.

• It Has Been an Honor: To Horde players when defeated in the Siege of Orgrimmar.
• Just Following Orders: His likely reason for remaining loyal to Garrosh.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: Ultimately chooses to remain loyal to Garrosh rather than join the Horde Rebellion.
• Neck Lift: As a Death Knight, Nazgrim is fond of the "Asphyxiate" spell and has more than once held up groups of enemies by their throats.
• Oh, Crap!: When the raid busts down the gate.
• Pet the Dog: In Patch 5.4, Thrall and Saurfang try to enter Orgrimmar through the side entrance to find it guarded by Kor'kron, who prevent them from entering. Nazgrim pops up, and when Thrall tells him they must speak to Garrosh, he thinks for a moment before telling the guards they're needed at the front, and helps Thrall and Saurfang sneak into Orgrimmar.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: "You may have defeated my war machine, but the gate. Still. Stands."
• Shoulders of Doom: Like most orcs (or, really, most people in Warcraft), but notably he sports a unique pair as General that helps him stand out.
• So Proud of You:
  • To the Horde players who kill him.
  Nazgrim: You have learned much, and learned well. An honorable battle, in the end. I stood by the Warchief because it was my duty, and I am glad it was you who struck me down... May your strength.. Lead the Horde.. Into a new era... Of.. Prosperity....
  • Nazgrim's death cry changes specifically if Gamon is alive when you kill him, regardless of faction.
    Nazgrim: Gamon... You have finally learned... I am proud to have died... at your hands... For the Horde...
• Tempting Fate: Twice in Siege of Orgrimmar. He says Vol'jin cannot win the battle after losing his siege weapons, but the raid defeats the Iron Juggernaut. After they do so, he declares that the gate stands, but then a Big Damn Heroes moment happens, causing him to respond with an Oh, Crap!.
• You Shall Not Pass!: His boss fight revolves around defending the gates of Garrosh's compound.

Thoras Trollbane

King Thoras Trollbane

Class: Death Knight (former Warrior)

"General. The orcs are pouring through your southern passes. We blocked them for you."

King of Stromgarde during the Second War until his assassination following the Third War. A large and very strong man of few words, though the tough exterior hid a very sharp mind. Thoras was one of King Terenas' oldest friends and his closest ally in the Alliance, but their friendship soured following the Second War because of the internment camp taxes and the issue of whom would take over Alterac. This led to Thoras Trollbane pulling Stromgarde from the Alliance, though he respected Terenas and the Alliance member states enough to let them keep internment camps on his land.

He was assassinated in-between the events of Warcraft III and World of Warcraft while the armies of Stromgarde were busy fighting off the Scourge. Leaderless and beset on all sides by the Syndicate and the Boulderfist ogres, Stromgarde crumbled. He remains buried in his tomb within Stromgarde Keep, though it has become the target of Horde adventurers seeking to steal the Trollbane family sword Trol'kalar.

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• Alliterative Name: Thoras Trollbane.
• Ancestral Weapon: Carried Trol'kalar, the ancestral sword of the Trollbanes. The sword was buried with Thoras after his death, but Horde players have stolen it from his tomb twice.
• Arch-Enemy: Aiden Perenolde, though he has ample respect for the citizens of Alterac.
• Back from the Dead: In Legion, the Knights of the Ebon Blade begin seeking champions to re-create the Four Horsemen, should they be willing. Thoras is chosen as and accepts becoming the second of these champions.
• Badass Normal: No magic, one axe, many dead orcs.
• Came Back Strong: Thoras was a mighty warrior in life, but in Legion he is raised to become an even more powerful Death Knight.
• Cool Helmet: Depicted with a horned helmet in the Warcraft II manual.
• Cool Sword: Supposedly carried his family's ancestral sword Trol'kalar, which is especially deadly against trolls. However, the Warcraft II manual and the novels primarily depict him wielding a large axe as his weapon instead.
• Deadpan Snarker: Due to his quiet nature, what little he does say tends to be short and often as a snarky response to someone else.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Assassinated off-screen in-between Warcraft III and World of Warcraft.
• Final Solution: He, along with Greymane, once proposed to the Alliance that they should execute all the orcs they had captured rather than put them in costly internment camps. His proposal failed to gain traction, which soured his friendship with Terenas.
• Genius Bruiser: Despite his large size and tough exterior, he was quite intelligent. He was quick to figure out how the Horde was able of laying siege to Lordaeron Capital City so quickly after the battle for Quel'Thalas which was to travel through Alterac Mountains and as such that Perenolde had betrayed the Alliance to save his own skin, and took measures that saved the Alliance by going to Alterac and cutting the path to Lordaeron alongside his army and the still loyal Alteraci forces.
• Large and in Charge: Largest of the human kings, and depicted as a head taller than Terenas and Lothar in the Warcraft II manual, though Lothar is quite a bit smaller in the picture than he's mentioned to be in the lore.
• Modest Royalty: He doesn't wear a crown and attends important meetings wearing his traveling furs.
• Named Weapons: The Trollbane family sword is called Trol'kalar, which means 'troll slayer' in their ancient tongue, giving the family their name.
• Old Friend: He and Terenas Menethil were great friends through most of their lives, making their both political and personnal falling out over the solution to the orcs and Alterac problems and Stromgarde's consecutive leaving of the Alliance all the more tragic.
• Paint the Town Red: While assaulting the Scarlet Monastery to raise Whitemane as a Death Knight, Trollbane took it on himself to massacre every Scarlet Crusader he could find, seeing them as a blight on Azeroth that would not be suffered. He leaves an entire corridor in the Monastery stained in blood after his rampage.
• The Quiet One: In comparison to the other leaders, Thoras is a quiet man who primarily only speaks out of necessity.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Considering that Stromgarde was a nation of warriors, it makes sense that its king is a great warrior in his own right.
• Robbing the Dead: Has been victim of it twice in World of Warcraft. Horde players were first sent by the troll Zengu to steal Trol'kalar from his tomb to use against the Gurubashi. While they succeeded, Zengu was killed en route south and the sword was reclaimed. Prince Galen Trollbane, raised and working for the Forsaken, eventually got Horde players to steal it from his father's tomb again.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Thoras personally leads his forces into battle during the Second War, being responsible for sealing the passes of the Alterac Mountains off from the Horde.
• Spanner in the Works: To Aiden Perenolde and Orgrim Doomhammer as he was able to guess in time how the Horde managed to come to Capital City so quickly after retreating from Quel'Thalas, which was by passing through Alterac Mountains passes which was only possible if Aiden Perenolde was helping the Horde, and to take action against Perenolde and to block these passes with his troops and alteraci forces still loyal to the Alliance which deprived the Horde of precious reinforcements at its time of need and saved Capital City.
• The Stoic: Calm and collected most of the time, though he is not without his bursts of anger.

Other Ebon Knights

Koltira Deathweaver

Koltira Deathweaver

Class: Death Knight

"Death alone cannot stop us."

The death knight representative for the Horde.

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• Anti-Magic: Creates an Anti-Magic Zone for the player death knight during his rescue.
• Bash Brothers: With Thassarian.
• BFS: His favored weapon after being freed from the Lich King's control is a huge greatsword.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Formerly, like most death knights. To be done again at Sylvanas' hands, though nothing has been seen of it yet.
• Casting a Shadow: Uses the Unholy tree's Anti-Magic abilities, and sends players into the Realm of Shadow to deal with the shades haunting him.
• Distressed Dude: In the Death Knight starting area, there is a quest to rescue him from the Scarlet Crusade stronghold. And again, when Sylvanas has him kidnapped at Andorhal, to be brainwashed in the depths of the Undercity.
• Friendly Enemy: With Thassarian once they join their respective factions. Deconstructed during the battle of Andorhal, as while they both try to avoid direct confrontation as much as possible, the warmongers under their respective orders eventually force them to fight, and Koltira's effort only end up nearly causing the Forsaken to lose. This in turn causes Sylvanas to have him taken to Undercity to be conditioned into forgetting his friendship with Thassarian.
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: In order where almost everyone wears a face-covering helmet, he and Thassarian are among the few members to go around with bared face.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: He tried this on Thassarian after the latter became a Death Knight. It didn't work; Thassarian killed him and Koltira himself was raised as a Death Knight. Their friendship proved stronger than undeath, however.

Thassarian

Thassarian

Class: Death Knight

"I have a role to play now. I'm part of a chain. And I will not be the weakest link in that chain."

The death knight representative for the Alliance.

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• An Ice Person: Considered the archetypal Frost death knight — Frost's Dual Wielding specialization is even named after him. Exemplified if summoned to defend Hyjal, as he exclusively uses Frost-based magics to fight.
• Anti-Hero
• Bash Brothers: With Koltira.
• Big Brother Instinct: Very protective of his little sister.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Formerly, like most death knights.
• Dual Wielding: Favors a sword in each hand after he breaks away from the Scourge.
• Friendly Enemy: With Koltira after they joined their respective factions.
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Like Koltira.
• Hero of Another Story: The protagonist of the 2009 "Death Knight" manga.
• Morality Pet: His sister.
• Noble Demon: While under the Lich King's control, having had a good sense camaradiere unlike any other death knight. He even sends the player to rescue Koltira when he's captured by the Scarlet Crusade, at considerable risk to his own reputation (as Death Knights are not supposed to show compassion).
• Self-Made Orphan: Tragic example, to prove his loyalty, Kel'Thuzad made him kill his own mother.

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