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Other factions: The Old Horde/Iron Horde | The Scourge (Arthas Menethil) | Sylvanas and her followers (Sylvanas Windrunner) | Knights of the Ebon Blade | Illidan and his followers | Garrosh's Horde | Pandaria | Other mortals | The Void (The Old Gods) | The Light | Eternals | Shadowlands (Death) | The Titans (Arcane) | The Burning Legion (Fel) | The Dragonflights | Wild Gods |
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A character subpage for the WarCraft universe, including World of Warcraft. For the main character page, see here.
As much as there was the Void in the early universe, so too there was the Light. Many factions over the years have used it, (mostly) for good.
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The Naaru
Naaru as a whole
The Naaru are a race of Light-based energy beings who travel the cosmos rallying an Army of the Light for the final battle with the Burning Legion. Their greatest champion is Velen, Prophet of the Draenei, whom they saved from Sargeras's corruption when the Eredar became demons.
On rare occasions when a Naaru is near death, they enter a Void state (the Void being the Light's opposite according to the magazine) and begin sucking up all manner of spirits and magical energies like a miniature black hole. Although incredibly rare, this is still a natural part of their life cycle. Should they actually die in Void state (through being physically wounded or having the Void energies literally drained right out of them) their remains become Void Gods. Removing fragments of a Naaru in Void state even when in the middle of being purified results in the fragments becoming Void Gods just as a darkened Naaru's corpse.
- A God I Am Not: Despite what the orcs mockingly call them, the draenei (who know the naaru best) insist that they are not deities of any sort. Void Gods and fully darkened Naaru(which K'ure apparently wasn't during Rise of the Horde as Velen himself had noted). On the other hand, they are called gods by Velen in Warlords of Draenor.
- Angelic Abomination: While benevolent, they look rather bizarre for angels.
- Always Chaotic Evil: When they become Void Gods.
- Always Lawful Good: Naaru are this by definition, at least in the "Light" cycle of their lives. In the "Void" cycle it's more
Chaotic Neutral, as they don't really have a choice about the "sucking spirits up" part. - Light Is Good: The Naaru are beings and agents of the Holy Light and are inherently benevolent creatures who want to help and protect life from the Void and the Burning Legion, even if some can be Well-Intentioned Extremists.
- No Biological Sex: Though they do have masculine and feminine personalities.
- Our Angels Are Different: Considering Blizzard and Velen's comments on Elune, and the reveal that Elune made the Naaru certain Full Gods might be Energy Beings as well due to being Naaru.
- Starfish Aliens: They appear as floating masses of light crystals orbiting around each other.
- Telepathy: Mindspeech; their attempts to speak end up being a soft humming and chiming sound, with the words they're actually saying being put directly into your brain.
A'dal
"The Light does not abandon its champions."
The leader and most powerful of the Sha'tar naaru, A'dal uses its power to protect Shattrath City from various threats. Like all naaru, A'dal is sworn to defeat the Burning Legion. It was ultimately responsible for persuading the Blood Knights (the blood elf order of paladins) to renounce Kael'thas's rule. Not much else is known about it.In Wrath of the Lich King, it aids adventurers in helping a paladin infected with the Scourge plague by sending him to a better place via the powers of the light.
- Batman Gambit: Velen makes a prophecy about people cursed by blood being redeemed. Then, M'uru gets captured by the blood elves. A'dal makes no move, assuming what the prophecy is implying is that M'uru would play a role in the blood elves' redemption.
- Big Good: Of The Burning Crusade. It leads the offensive against the Illidari that threaten the Sha'tar (the main heroic faction in the expansion) in Outland, as well as averting any new Burning Legion attacks.
- Easily Forgiven: A'dal has no trouble forgiving blood elves after they do a Heel–Face Turn (either the Scryers or the Blood Knights). The Aldor draenei have a different view of this.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Retcon aside, presumably the only reason he had Illidan declared public enemy #1 even when Xe'ra had bigger plans for him.
- Lord British Postulate: Blizzard eventually had to patch A'dal after players were able to kite giant demonic robots in to kill it. And after patching, this happened:A'dal hits Fel Reaver for 114952.
Fel Reaver dies.
M'uru/Entropius
However, draining M'uru of his light eventually sent him into the Void stage of the naaru life cycle. Kael'thas and his minions capture the darkened M'uru and brought him to Sunwell Plateau, where players put him down. Halfway through the fight, M'uru becomes a Void God called Entropius and begins summoning Voidlords and all manner of dark creatures. After Kil'jaeden's defeat, Velen used M'uru's spark to reignite the Sunwell with holy energy.
- Batman Gambit: M'uru willingly went with the blood elves despite the apparent capture, knowing it would eventually lead to the redemption of their race.
- Casting a Shadow: As a fallen Naaru.
- Dark Is Not Evil: While in the Void stage, M'uru is certainly chaotic, but not malicious. Entropius, on the other hand, absolutely is.
- Heroic Sacrifice: See Batman Gambit. His part in the blood elves' redemption and the Sunwell's purification ended in his death.
- Unrealistic Black Hole: By nature as a Void-state naaru.
K'ara
When the Shadowmoon joined the Iron Horde and attack the draenei, Ner'zhul broke the ancient orc laws and tapped into K'ara's forbidden powers, granting him and his clan command over the dark arts. At the climax of the Shadowmoon Valley storyline, Velen sacrifices himself to purify the Dark Star and return K'ara to the light. A shard of her body splinters off during the purification and becomes the Void God Karnoth.
- Casting a Shadow: Her shadow form can overwhelm even Velen's holy powers.
- Dark Is Not Evil: It's hardly her fault that the orcs were using her power to fight the draenei.
- Holy Hand Grenade: Purified, she is capable of unleashing waves of light powerful enough to decimate an entire Iron Horde invasion fleet.
- Necromancer: Ner'zhul and the Shadowmoon clan use K'ara's Void powers to raise skeletons and ghosts.
K'ure/Decimatus
K'ure was the pilot of the Genedar, the ship that brought the draenei to Draenor and would later come to be known as Oshu'gun to the orcs. Like D'ore and K'ara, K'ure fell ill during the ship's descent onto Draenor and crashed in the region of Nagrand. Stuck within the ruined craft, K'ure slowly but surely began entering the void state and called on the ghosts of orc ancestors for their energies to nurse him back to health.
In Warlords of Draenor, Gul'dan sends Cho'gall to Oshu'gun to subjugate K'ure. Cho'gall in his own thirst for power fatally drains K'ure's Void energies that he had sustained himself on and transforms K'ure into a full-blown void god named Decimatus, much like how M'uru became Entropius. Using Decimatus's power, Cho'gall turns on Gul'dan.
- Casting a Shadow: As a darkened Naaru the Warlords of Draenor version of K'ure is this especially after becoming a Void God.
- Dark Is Evil: Decimatus.
- Killed Off for Real: The Warlords of Draenor version of K'ure.
- Unrealistic Black Hole:
- His consuming of souls apparently healed him and was restoring him from a darkened Naaru.
- Unfortunately the Warlords of Draenor version of K'ure wasn't so lucky. He became a Void God.
Xe'ra
The Naaru Prime. Her core, known as Light's Heart, was sent to Azeroth by Turalyon as a last-ditch effort to get help. After being awakened by the Tears of Elune, she directs the player through major turning points in Illidan's life, and serves as a vessel for his soul prior to his resurrection.
- Because Destiny Says So: Forcefully tries Lightforge Illidan in order to lead him down the path she had planned for him. Illidan had other ideas.
- Big Good: She has been rallying heroes into the Army of the Light against the Legion ever since the fall of Argus.
- The Chooser of the One: She proclaims Illidan is the "Child of Light and Shadow", destined to defeat the Burning Legion. Illidan disagreed.
- The Extremist Was Right: Played with. Illidan ended up playing a vital role in the defeat of the Burning Legion. He also helped the Titans imprison Sargeras,
if that was how the scene in the Antorus cinematic played out. So Illidan in using fel power — a by-product of "Light and Shadow", helping spearhead taking the fight to the Legion and playing a vital role in helping helping the Titans imprison Sargeras, thus rendering demons permanently killable helped "end the age of demons" just like Xe'ra said (though not the way she thought it would happen). - Fantastic Racism: She loathes the Void and anyone who uses its power, including Alleria. However, her hatred of the Void is justified, as the Void is Always Chaotic Evil (even if some who draw on its powers aren't) and the Void Lords endgame is an everlasting cosmic Fate Worse than Death.
- Less justified is her Lack of Empathy towards individual mortals; she loves entire races as if they are her own children, but if one person tries to talk to her and they aren't The Chosen One, the only thing she'll say to them, even if they are among her most devoted paladins, are blase statements.
- The Farmer and the Viper: The Farmer in this scenario. Saving Illidan from Kil'jaeden just before the Illidari raid on Mardum, and from being Sargeras' host during the Nighthold raid didn't stop Illidan from killing her when she tried to (admittedly by force) imbue him with the Light.
- Frontline General: Xe'ra led the army of the Light from its flagship, the Xenedar, which (showed up to liberate Netherlight Temple) and was on Argus for the final fight. She also sent her core to Azeroth to request reinforcements.
- The Fundamentalist: Subverted. She is completely incapable of seeing any power besides the Light as good (According to Locus-Walker, it's a fundamental limitation of Light creatures that they see their way as the "only" way). According to Velen, she is also aware of the existence of Dark Naaru, but withholds it from the Army of the Light. Subverted because she allowed Lightforged Draenei to be mages (who use Arcane power more than the Light), such as Archmage Y'mera, and was talked out of killing Alleria for using the Void by Turalyon and Lothraxion.
- Good Is Not Nice: As the Prime Naaru, she leads the Army of the Light against the Burning Legion and wants to protect life in the cosmos. Alleria implies that she is rather manipulative and ruthless when it comes to her goals, and she is a bit of a control freak when it comes to Illidan's "destiny". She also withheld that Naaru can fall to the Void from at least one of her trusted commanders, Turalyon. Blizzard themselves stated that they intended Xe'ra story arc to explore the idea that the Naaru may not necessarily be good from the player's perspective.
- Given that Alleria is dabbling in the Void, the Always Chaotic Evil arch-enemy of the Light who's M.O. is manipulation and corruption, this does undermine of Alleria's criticism, especially given Xal'atath's comments about Alleria coming close to being the Void's pawn.
- Heroic Sacrifice: While "sacrifice" is not the right word as she could be reassembled, she still takes her core away from the rest of her body to get reinforcements from Azeroth.
- Hero of Another Story: She has been travelling the universe, rallying the survivors of worlds the Burning Legion has destroyed into an army to defeat them once and for all, at least according to the background lore.
- Killed Off for Real: Illidan Eye Beams her when he rejects her attempt to forcibly remove his demonic powers.
- Knight Templar Parent: Played with. While they weren't born or raised by her, Xe'ra's adoration for her Army of the Light has been compared to a mother's adoration for her children, tying into her title as the 'Light Mother'. Even her negative actions (including her forcefulness with Illidan) could be seen as akin to an overbearing mother; believing that she's protecting her children by making decisions for them and that she knows best. Not to mention how she has reacted to any outsiders who threaten or attack the Army of the Light. Implied among Naaru, as Xe'ra may have made at least two other Naaru (Velen stated that the Naaru O'ros was the last of Xe'ra's line).
- Not Quite Dead: The adventurers find her core inert, and even upon recognition Velen treats her as little more than a MacGuffin, but the Tears of Elune allow her to communicate with the player character.
- Pet the Dog: She did allow Turalyon to communicate with his son Arator via her core, or she passed along a personal message to him.
- Soul Jar: Acts as one for Illidan when his body is taken back from Gul'dan.
- Time Abyss: She is nearly as old as the physical universe, and one of the first Naaru, if not the first. At the very least, she predated the Titans and many other Naaru.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: While she is a Naaru and trying to save creation from the Burning Legion and the Void, she has a pretty dim view on anyone using evil powers whether or not they are evil themselves, judging by her treatment of Alleria and Illidan, though she does give some leeway where the arcane is concerned, judging by Archmage Y'mera.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- She chastises the player character for killing Illidan in the Black Templenote , or for not preventing Illidan from being killednote . Demon Hunters are not criticized, however.
- When Xe'ra tried to forcefully purify Illidan, Velen is shocked to find out she would do such a thing. Subverted because Velen was just as dismayed by Illidan killing Xe'ra, and she was dead thus he didn't call her out directly.
L'ura
When the Draenei fled from Argus via the Genedar, L'ura stayed behind to hold back the Burning Legion. She was, however, captured by an enraged Kil'jaeden in the Seat of the Triumvirate. In the 25,000 years since the Draenei's exile, she has fallen into darkness, acting as a beacon for the Void.
L'ura is the final boss in the Seat of the Triumvirate 5-man dungeon in Mac'Aree.
- Admiring the Abomination: Locus-Walker is intrigued about the fact all the naaru he knows fell into darkened states only fell into that because of mortal intervention. He sets his curiosity aside, though, as killing L'ura is more important.
- Casting a Shadow: She only uses Void powers when fought in the Seat of the Triumvirate.
- Dark Is Not Evil: The threat that looms from the Seat of the Triumvirate is not L'ura herself, but the Void energy she radiates, which lures the real threats to Eredath.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: She was kept wounded as prisoner in the Seat of the Triumvirate from shortly after the Draenei left Argus. 25,000 years later, her voice, full of hope, is now full of despair.
- Hold the Line: L'ura tried to do this against the Burning Legion to aid the fleeing draenei. This only made her victim of Kil'jaeden's anger.
- Killed Off for Real: Her essence is absorbed by Alleria Windrunner.
- The Unfought: Notably inverted among the naaru — while not the first hostile naaru, she is the first naaru to be fought by players (not counting those that fall into the Void God status). Appropriately, L'ura is also the first one to have attack and death animations — other naaru that could be engaged into a fight, such A'dal, merely stood in place in both.
Other Immortals associated with the Light
Elune, the Moon Goddess
Picture from the now non-canon RPG book.
Elune (or Mu'sha, as called by the tauren) is the major deity worshipped by the night elves. She is associated with the larger of Azeroth's two moons, the White Lady, and is widely considered to be the mother of Cenarius, the forest lord and patron god of all druids. Elune is one of the few true deities of Azeroth. She nurtured and sheltered the earliest living beings of the world as they awaited the first dawn, giving them the chance to thrive and to grow into the present myriad of life, along with all the possibilities and promises that it entails. Legion and the Chronicles has added tantalizing hints as to her true nature...
- Addictive Magic: Elune is also associated with the arcane magic (the Chronicles revealed that the Night Elves first contacted with Elune through the arcane-infused Well of Eternity).
- Big Good: Legion implies that Elune is potentially a goddess of Light who seeks to save the Dark Beyond (the game's universe) from the Void. However, much like her opposition in the Void Gods, Elune and the other Light Gods (if they exist) cannot directly interact with the Beyond, forcing her to proxy her presence through the universe in her own counterpart to the Old Gods: the Naaru.
- Divine Intervention: At the end of the Val'sharah storyline, Elune herself manifests to purify the dying Ysera of the nightmare corruption so she dies pure and ascends her spirit to the sky where her soul becomes a constellation, and later allows her spirit to strike back against Xavius. She also cleanses the Tear of Elune of nightmare corruption as well, something that was likely to be impossible otherwise due to how deep it ran.
- Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Shadow priests can be goaded by Xal'Atath to attempt to steal some of Elune's power from her temple on the Broken Isles. If the player tries, Elune herself very visibly shows the player her displeasure with the attempt, making one of the few times we see her decisively act with the mortal world.
- God of the Moon: She takes the form of the White Lady, the larger of Azeroth's two moons. She is one of the few true deities to exist in Warcraft, as a divine force that has never been seen but has had actual effect on the world.
- Good Is Not Soft: Firmly benevolent and on the side of good, but perfectly willing to let her followers use violence, and accept blood sacrifices of her enemies. And then we get to the blessing of the Night Warrior, which can turn one of her followers into an avatar of Elune in permanent berserk mode... if they survive the ritual.
- Inexplicably Awesome: In a setting full of Physical Gods that over time have been explained and defined, Elune stands out by having no clearly established nature or origin, and even after World of Warcraft: Chronicle we still don't know what she is or where she came from. Theories abound in and out of universe, speculating that she may be a powerful naaru, a hypothetical Light-counterpart to the Void Lords, a Wild God empowered by the Well of Eternity, or even the spirit of Azeroth's unborn Titan.
- Some light is shed on this in the Legion expansion as lore from a quest the player encounters the first Naaru made. Khadgar believes that Elune created said Naaru, implying that Elune is not a Naaru and also connecting her to the Light as well.
- Shadowlands reveals that her worshippers span many worlds, not just Azeroth, which puts a dent in the theory of her being a Wild God. She's also a counterpart to the Winter Queen, one of the pillars of the entire reality-spanning afterlife, giving her a much grander standing in the cosmology than players were initially led to believe.
- Light 'em Up: A rare nocturnal case; she is associated with the light of the Moon.
- Light Is Good: Elune is associated with light, and definitely benevolent. She also happens to be one of the top dogs on the Light's side.
- Lunacy: Well, she is a moon goddess. One of her blessings is the Night Elves ability to hide in the shadows at night and she can cause beams of moonlight to strengthen her followers and sear enemies.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In Battle for Azeroth, Tyrande blames Elune for letting Teldrassil burn at Sylvanas' hands, and uses this event to bid for the power of the Night Warrior. Shadowlands reveals that she's completely right: Elune did let her chosen children perish, but only to send a mass of souls to Ardenweald to fight off the Drust invaders and provide anima to sustain it during its drought. Unfortunately, Elune was unaware that the drought was caused by the broken Wheel of Death and that every soul on Teldrassil was instead sent to the Maw. Tyrande's obsession with vengeance also caused her to be nearly overwhelmed by the Night Warrior, who would have burned Ardenweald for enough power to kill Sylvanas.
- The Power of Blood: She's shown in Desolace questing to accept blood sacrifices (albeit only is that blood is taken from corrupt creatures who are explicitly her enemies), and give blessings in return.
- The Sacred Darkness: Being a moon goddess, Elune is associated with the night sky, and her worshipers, the night elves, are a nocturnal race. When Elune directly intervenes in the events of Val'sharah, the sun is briefly covered by an eclipse, plunging the Temple of Elune into night.
An'she, the Sun God
An'she is the god of the sun and Elune/Mu'sha's brother in tauren mythology, although his Elven name (if he even has one) is unknown. Once the right eye of the Earth Mother, An'she was torn out and sent spinning across the heavens, chased eternally by Azeroth's most visible moon. Every morning An'she bleeds, sacrificing part of his light to let the tauren know that dawn is coming. But he doesn't do this alone; the yeena'e ("those who herald the dawn" in Taur-ahe) help him.
The tauren had in recent years neglected to give An'she the proper respect because of their association with the night elves. In response, an order — the Sunwalkers — was founded to give An'she the reverence that he is due, and to spread his light where it is needed. The tauren also brought their knowledge of An'she with them to the Cenarion Circle, and soon all druids would harness the power of the sun just as they did the moon.
The tauren had in recent years neglected to give An'she the proper respect because of their association with the night elves. In response, an order — the Sunwalkers — was founded to give An'she the reverence that he is due, and to spread his light where it is needed. The tauren also brought their knowledge of An'she with them to the Cenarion Circle, and soon all druids would harness the power of the sun just as they did the moon.
- God of Light: He's Azeroth's solar god, and the moon goddess' brother.
- Inexplicably Awesome: As the natures of the Elune, the Earth Mother, and all the other deities in Azeroth's lore becomes more clear, An'she stands out as the one we know the least about. Though given his connection to Elune and the powers he bestows, it is seems likely that he is also a God of Light (the counterparts to the Void Lords).
- Light 'em Up: The Sunwalkers are at a command of an abstract light magic that shares similarities with the capital-L Light common in the Alliance.
- Light Is Good: Unambiguously good, as opposed to the more traditional Light, which is a lot more judgmental and harsh.
- The Paladin: He shares a lot of themes with the Holy Light, if only to make Tauren Sunwalkers more similar to traditional Paladins.
- The Power of the Sun: Druids who call upon his power use a more overtly solar-looking force; their regular projectile spell even looks like a miniature sun.
- Out of Focus: Nobody knows much about him or his followers' beliefs and powers despite them being playable since their introduction.
Users of the Light
Throughout history, various races and factions have utilized the Light to some extent. These are their tropes.Bolvar Fordragon, Darion Mograine, and Sally Whitemane are listed in the Knights Of the Ebon Blade roster.
All other significant Light users note are under their respective race's page. Except Archbishop Benedictus who is in the The Old Gods Faction Page.
Order of the Silver Hand
Alonsus Faol
Bishop of Secrets
Class: Priest
Voiced by: Gideon Emery (English), Vladimir Levashev (Russian)
"At times I have been a leader of a church, a mindless minion of the Scourge, and a commander in a secret war. But I have always been a priest first."
Head of the Church of the Holy Light prior to Benedictus and co-founder of the Order of the Silver Hand. Having recognised how unsuitable priests were for warfare after the destruction of Stormwind, he founded the Order of the Silver Hand with his apprentice Uther, whom he anointed as the first paladin. He died sometime between the Second and Third Wars, the cause unknown. His grave can be found at Faol's Rest, outside of the Scarlet Monastery.He is revealed in Legion to have been raised as an undead by the Scourge during the Third War, but managed to break free of their control. He has remained hidden since then, but reemerges to form a united front of priests of all faiths against the Burning Legion.
- Ambiguous Situation: In the "Return to Lordaeron" quest chain at the end of Shadowlands, he joins the rest of the Forsaken within the Ruins of Lordaeron. However it's unclear if he's merely helping them rebuild or if he has officially joined the Forsaken, and thus the Horde.
- Big Good: Of the Priest Class Order storyline in Legion.
- Came Back Wrong: It's revealed that he was revived by the Scourge at some point but was able free himself. He's spent his time afterwards "fighting in a secret war."
- Cool Old Guy: Commands a great deal of respect in his old age.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Despite having become undead, he is still quite a nice person.
- Gallows Humor: Alonsus learned to make light of his undead existence. When he reunited with Greymane and Turalyon, he admits they might not have recognized him... because he no longer had his beard, despite the more obvious answer.
- Good Shepherd: He's a kind-hearted priest who is devoted to helping people, which has made him a very beloved figure.
- High Priest: The head of the Church in the first few games, succeeded by Archbishop Benedictus.
- Light 'em Up: As the head of the Church, he's a very adept Light-user.
- Retcon: Lore initially had him tied to the Clerics of Northshire, having personally witnessed how unsuitable they were for battle. Current lore has him as a native of Lordaeron, who never went to Stormwind during the First War and whose only ties to Northshire is through being head of the Church.
- So Proud of You: Towards Turalyon in Before the Storm.
- Staff of Authority: Mentioned to carry a ceremonial staff to signify his authority as Archbishop.
- Yin-Yang Bomb: Utilizes both Light and Shadow together as a Discipline priest in Legion.
Uther the Lightbringer
Class: Paladin
Voiced by: Michael McConnohie (English), Yuri Luchenko (Russian/Warcraft III), Oleg Kutsenko (Russian/World of Warcraft)
There must always be another snowclone of this line
"Remember, Arthas, we are paladins. Vengeance cannot be a part of what we must do. If we allow our passions to turn to bloodlust, then we will become as vile as the orcs."
First paladin and Grand Master of the Order of the Silver Hand. Prior to the Second War, he was a student of Archbishop Alonsus Faol; together they founded the Order of the Silver Hand when news reached Lordaeron of Stormwind's destruction by the orcish Horde. During the Second War he led his paladins into battle and rose to become one of the newly formed Alliance's greatest heroes. His title "the Lightbringer" was earned at the Battle of Blackrock Spire, given to him after the battle by General Turalyon.Prior to the events of Warcraft III, Uther took Prince Arthas Menethil of Lordaeron as his apprentice, hoping that he would grow into a benevolent and powerful paladin. Alas, Arthas eventually took a long jump down the slippery slope with the Culling of Stratholme, alienating both his mentor, Uther, and his lover, Jaina, before he went off to Northrend. After Arthas returned to Lordaeron and slew his own father, Uther took it upon himself to defend the ashes of his king, kept in a magical urn. Arthas sought out the urn intending to use it to transport Kel'thuzad's remains, and after a heated fight, Arthas slew his former mentor. To this day, he is still remembered as one of the Alliance's greatest heroes.
He returns in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, having joined the Kyrian covenant after his death.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: After his soul is freed from the Frostmourne, he is welcomed into the realm of Bastion for his virtuous deeds in life, where he ascends into an angelic-like Kyrian.
- Badass Cape: Wears a long cape split in two over his pauldrons.
- Badass Preacher: He was actually a knight before he became a priest and Alonsus Faol's protégé, but on the onset of the Second War he went full circle back to knight by becoming a paladin. His time spent as both a knight and priest presumably served well in making him the first paladin.
- Big Damn Heroes: Arrives at the head of a legion of knights during Arthas' desperate defence of Hearthglen, destroying the Scourge forces threatening to overwhelm the city.
- Broken Pedestal: After Lysonia siphons his energies to become a mawsworn paragon, he comes to doubt that the Forsworn cause was ever what he thought it was, and decides to go into exile while he reflects on his actions.
- Co-Dragons: In Shadowlands, to Devos, alongside his fellow Forsworn, Lysonia. Lysonia eventually becomes a case of Dragon Ascendant, and pulls a You Have Outlived Your Usefulness on Uther, who wisely decides to abscond with her cause when he survives,
- Cool Old Guy: Old as he may be, he's still capable of kicking ass and remains a decent and honorable man.
- Dead Person Conversation: In Wrath of the Lich King, the player character, along with Jaina or Sylvanas, has one of these with the spirit of Uther in the Halls of Reflection. It's Uther who first gives the warning that there must always be a Lich King, lest the Scourge will run rampant and out of control.
- Despair Event Horizon: Crosses this after Arthas's betrayal.Sage Truthbearer: Your betrayal has broken Uther's heart, boy. He would have given his life for yours in a second, and this is how you repay his loyalty?
- Defiant to the End: Said after being terribly wounded in his fight with Arthas, Uther's last words are among the more well-known lines from Warcraft III:Uther: I dearly hope there's a special place in Hell waiting for you, Arthas.
Arthas: We may never know, Uther. I intend to live forever. - Dying Curse: He wishes a special place in Hell for Arthas, and as a Forsworn Kyrian, he ensured it, personally dropping Arthas into the Maw.
- Escort Mission: A mission in Warcraft II involves him escorting past Alterac's blockades and their orc allies to expose their treason. Though the matter in which the treason was discovered has since been retconned.
- Everyone Has Standards: He's willing to exile Tirion for disobeying orders for an orc's sake, but he gets angry when Barthilas disrespects Tirion, who is Uther's old friend and Barthilas' superior.
- Face–Heel Turn: In Shadowlands, he ultimately falls from grace as Kyrian and becomes Forsworn that plays a large role during the storyline of Bastion, after he was unable to let go of his need to see retribution for the wrongs dealt to him by Arthas, and even then he begins to question the leading shadowy figure's intentions. Given that she's revealed to work with the Mawsworn, he's actually right to distrust her.
- In Afterlives Bastion, it is revealed he was ascended prematurely by Devos to fight the Maw and punish Arthas after seeing the damage to his soul from Frostmourne, intentionally turning him into a weapon of vengeance.
- Fantastic Racism: Having only witnessed the orcs in their rampage across Azeroth, he regards them all as barbaric monsters. He warns Arthas that turning to vengeance would make them as vile as the orcs and in Of Blood and Honor, he rejects Tirion's argument that Eitrigg is any different from the rest of the orcs.
- A Father to His Men: Many characters and fellow paladins imply that Uther really cared for his men.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Towards Jaina during Dead Person Conversation when she lamented that she can't "kill [her] beloved prince".
- Healing Hands: As a paladin he heals his allies on the battlefield with the Light's power.
- Heel–Face Turn: After the Forsworn's ties to the Maw are made clear and Uther himself is betrayed, Uther abandons them and rejoins the Kyrian, though he's currently still in a darkened state.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: He doesn't wear a helmet in Warcraft III, though during the Second War he is mentioned wearing one in Tides of Darkness.
- Hero Antagonist: In the Undead Campaign of Reign of Chaos, you fight him as Arthas after his turn to villainy.
- Holy Hand Grenade: Torches the undead with the Light's power.
- Honor Before Reason: Adheres to the principle of honor coming first, which is one of the reasons Lothar chose the seemingly less experienced Turalyon rather than him as his lieutenant during the Second War. A decision Uther himself took very well as he preferred not to lead and was only comfortable leading the Silver Hand because it was composed of fellow paladins.
- Humongous-Headed Hammer: Wields a large two-handed hammer as his weapon, which later becomes the paladins' iconic weapon.
- I'm Having Soul Pains: In Afterlives it is revealed that Frostmourne left a wound on Uther's soul when he was killed which caused him constant pain in Bastion.
- Ironic Echo: He echoes Arthas' last words when Lysonia summons him to join her in the Maw during the Kyrian campaign where she betrays him.I see only darkness...
- Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Deconstructed; Afterlives shows that Kyrian Uther threw Arthas into the Maw after his death in Wrath, though he had to be goaded into it by Devos, as he hesitated before doing so. Given however that this is implied to have been one of the things that threw the Shadowlands out of balance, it only succeeds in painting Uther in a darker image as its shown he becomes one of the Forsworn.
- Killed Off for Real: Slain by Arthas in the third game, though his spirit sticks on for a while until Wrath of the Lich King and in Shadowlands, he plays an active part due to the expansion explicitly dealing with the afterlife.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Despite his age, Uther's a shining knight through and through, to the point of valuing honor above reason.
- Light 'em Up: As the Grand Master of the Silver Hand, it stands to reason he'd also be one of the most powerful Light-wielders on Azeroth.
- Magic Knight: His martial training as a knight and the spiritual training he received as a priest under Alonsus Faol served well in making him both the first and the most powerful paladin on Azeroth.
- The Magnificent: One does not lightly earn the title of "The Lightbringer".
- Manly Tears: Arthas: Rise of The Lich King has Uther shedding them while he stated his regrets at dismissing Arthas' flaws throughout the years before they start a duel. His crying even shocks Arthas a bit.
- Mighty Glacier: Noted in lore to be big and strong like a bear, but somewhat lacking in speed.
- Mounted Combat: Rode a horse into battle against the orcs in the Second War.
- My God, What Have I Done?: after his soul fragment is restored, Uther realizes that not only had he become not that different from Arthas as a pawn of the Jailer, but in cursing Arthas with his dying breath and later throwing him into the maw, he had failed to follow the third tenet of the Silver Hand - compassion even for his enemies.
- Noble Bigot: Is one against the orcs, as he favors exiling Tirion for trying to help Eitrigg. Justified in that he has not witnessed the orcs acting in any other way than their Warcraft I and II selves — they pretty much did seem like nothing but bloodthirsty marauders and conquerors throughout those wars.
- Old Master: Old, Arthas' mentor, and a very capable warrior.
- Old Soldier: Served from the Second War onwards, living until old age in the Third War.
- Perma-Stubble: Artwork of him in Warcraft II depicted him with a stubbled face.
- The Paladin: Uther is the first of the human paladins and a mighty champion of the Light
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Not only the Grand Master of the Silver Hand, but also the most powerful.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Treats Arthas, his subordinate as a paladin, with respect and allows him to make most of his own choices so that he may learn from them. In hindsight, maybe that wasn't the best idea...
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Barthilas, angered by his disrespecting Tirion.Uther: You will learn to control your tongue, junior Paladin. I have known this man for years. We saved each other's lives more than once, and stood victorious over the enemy more times than I can clearly remember. Whatever he may have done, he certainly deserves more than to be harangued by an unseasoned boy like yourself.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: During the human campaign of Warcraft III, Arthas orders Uther to purge the city of Stratholme on the pretense that everyone in the city only might be infected with the plague of undeath. When Uther refuses, Arthas pulls rank and orders Uther to purge the city as the future king. Uther again refuses, noting that Arthas isn't king yet, adding that even if Arthas was the king, Uther still wouldn't do it. Too bad for Uther that Arthas pulls rank again, stripping Uther and his paladins of their position and sending them away for their refusal to follow his orders.Arthas: This entire city must be purged.
Uther: What?! How can you even consider that?! There's got to be some other way!
Arthas: Dammit, Uther! As your future king, I order you to purge this city!
Uther: You are not my king yet, boy. Nor would I obey that command even if you were! - See You in Hell: His last words to Arthas was a variant, saying that he hoped there was "a special place in Hell" for Arthas.
- Soul Fragment: Shadowland Afterlives reveals that only part of his soul was taken by Frostmourne, the other part made it to Bastion. It left him with soul pains from the wound to his soul, allowing Devos to realize that Arthas had the power of the Maw, alarming her. The fragment stolen by Frostmourne was drawn into the Maw and was later retrieved. Uther notes that the fragment did not contain his good or evil; rather it was as though his mind became trapped at the moment of death, unable to move on or escape the trauma. Upon its restoration, he is ashamed and horrified for what he did to Arthas, failing to show any compassion for an enemy as he should have.
- Spell My Name with a "The": In Warcraft II his name was given as Uther Lightbringer, without 'the'.
- Sympathy for the Devil: In Shadowlands, Uther realizes his failure to hold this trope for Arthas becomes a great source of shame for him. He plays it straight for Sylvannas however when her own soul fragment is restored, encouraging her past self that she has to atone for the Banshee Queen's actions, and find the new path forward to atone for her actions as a Jailer's Pawn, as he was.
- Voice of the Legion: Like other paladins in Warcraft II speaks with an echoing voice.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Calls out Arthas for his willingness to cull the people of Stratholme. He later calls him out again for murdering his own father during their confrontation, after Arthas had turned to the Scourge.
Turalyon
- See his sheet on the Stormwind page.
Alexandros Mograine
The Ashbringer
Class: Death Knight (former Paladin)
Voiced by: Marc Graue (English/Wrath of the Lich King), Richard Epcar (English/Shadowlands), Oleg Forostenko (Russian)
The Ashbringer...
Eligor Dawnbringer: "Let me let you in on a little secret, Commander. The power of the Ashbringer came from the man who would wield it... I was there, Commander. I watched him burn legions of undead in righteous fire before he would even unsheathe the blade. Alas, your grasp on history is... lacking."
High-ranking member of the Silver Hand, at the battle of Blackrock Spire during the Second War, he encountered an orc warlock wielding a powerful dark orb, which mangled his hand when he tried to pick it up after the warlock's death. Many years later, as the Third War approached, he and a group of allies met and discussed the use of the orb against the potential undead threat. While Issilien attempted to destroy it, the orb absorbed the Light and was purified, healing Alexandros' hand when he tried to touch it. He then took the crystal to Ironforge, where Magni Bronzebeard forged the sword Ashbringer.Once he returned, however, the Scourge had already taken over Lordaeron, and so he led the remnants of the Silver Hand against the Scourge. Wielding the Ashbringer, Alexandros became legendary for the number of undead he slew, his burning blade reducing the undead to cinders, leaving only ashes behind him. Tragedy struck however, as his oldest son, Renault Mograine, thinking he's the unfavorite of the family, was manipulated by Balnazzar (in the guise of Dathrohan) into leading his father into a trap, before killing him with his own sword. Kel'thuzad eventually raised him as the mightiest death knight the Scourge had ever seen, though he was slain again, this time by his other son, Darion Mograine, when he came to Naxxramas in search of his father.
- Badass Boast: During his Last Stand against his undead ambushers.Alexandros: Tell your master that a thousand of his minions will not suffice! I will deliver you all... And when I am done I will stand... AGAINST A THOUSAND MORE!
- He also delivers this bit about his predicament in the afterlife.
Alexandros: This corruption... I had come to expect as much from the vile force of Death. I felt only horror when I awoke here. Horror and rage. But in time, Margrave Krexus showed me that the Maldraxxi were not the Scourge: honor presided over the Chosen. But he has been slain by his own subordinate. The other margraves advance upon us. The hunger for dominance has starved what little honor remained. I will purge this wretched place. - Badass Cape: Wore a long blue cape into battle.
- Berserk Button: Do not even try to betray him, lest you want to end up like Renault or Vyraz.
- BFS: The Ashbringer in the game is a big sword with a quite broad blade. It turns even bigger after its corruption.
- Came Back Wrong: Raised from the dead by Kel'thuzad as one of the Four Horsemen and the Scourge's most powerful death knight, but he's eventually slain by his son Darion.
- Later returns as a posthumous character and once again a death knight, as a Baron in service of a Maldraxxian margrave, Krexus. However, he also retains all his positive qualities he had in life, with his service being fully voluntary as a result of his duty as Shadowlands' protector.
- Cool Sword: The Ashbringer is one of the most iconic Cool Swords in the franchise, though not as much as Frostmourne. In the afterlife, he forges another blade modeled after the (corrupted) Ashbringer and names it in a similar vein to its predecessor: Fatebringer.
- Cosmic Plaything: Hoo boy, where to start? Imagine being one of the most badass paladins that are dedicated to fighting the undead, only for your own son to betray and murder you and then be raised as an undead warlord against your own will in service of the very thing you have sworn to destroy. Then you end up fighting your other son, who sacrifices his own life in exchange for yours to no avail, while also damning himself to undeath as well. You'd imagine that when your soul is finally released from the Lich King's grasp after he's defeated on his home turf, and you finally think you're going get some semblance of peace and quiet and finally get to chill in some pleasant place after all you've been through... Right? Well, tough shit. You find out that you've been thrown into yet another undead-infested hellhole and on top of that, that it is actually the afterlife you've earned your place to spend eternity in. Alexandros was certainly not happy about that turn of events... at least at first, until he meets Margrave Krexus, who helps him realize that the Maldraxxi aren't entirely evil like the Scourge was, and ultimately Mograine had sworn to help things stay that way. Then he's betrayed again by a fellow House member and sent off to an even worse place in order to not interfere with the others' plan to take over the realm he's supposed to protect and he only manages to get out thanks to the help of his son Darion and the Maw Walker... only to find the person who convinced him to fight for the good cause murdered by the very same former comrade that sent him to certain doom. Alexandros becomes a very, very jaded person as a result, vowing to purge the entire evil in Maldraxxus once and for all. All of them.
- Dark Is Not Evil: The Warrior tier 3 set from classic World of Warcraft was initially stated to be a set of armor forged for him when he led the Scarlet Crusade, though this was later retconned into him never wearing it while alive. To elaborate, the set has a very Death Knight-ish appearance.
- Once again, he becomes a death knight while serving the realm of Maldraxxus, but retains all his positive qualities he had in life, becoming an undying protector of the Eternal Army of the Shadowlands, albeit more jaded due to the circumstances surrounding his tenure.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Reacted with a great deal of sorrow and disappointment as he was stabbed in the back by his son Renault, stating that was wrong and that they were nothing alike.
- Fantastic Racism: REALLY doesn't like the Undead, which is initially a problem when he ends up in Maldraxxus, though spending time with Margrave Krexus in the House of the Chosen proves to him that they aren't the mindless scourge he loathes and actually serve with honor.
- Fiery Redhead: Matching his hair color, he's fierce and short-tempered.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: He has a very short fuse and is prone to exploding in anger, especially when Darion is harmed. It might be have been one of the reasons why his soul was assigned into Maldraxxus over Bastion in the first place.
- Healing Hands: As a paladin, he's supposedly capable of using the Light to heal himself and others, but it's subverted on the one occasion where he's seen trying: After picking up the orb that would eventually form the Ashbringer's core, he's unable to heal his mangled hand.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Never seen wearing a helmet into battle, although he used to own one, named Justice Gaze.
- Holy Hand Grenade: A number of characters remember him bringing down the wrath of the Light on the undead before ever drawing his sword.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Stabbed In the Back by his own son Renault with the Ashbringer.
- Killed Off for Real: He's killed twice by his own sons, but his spirit remains around for a while before finally being freed as the Lich King's death. He's later revealed to become an eternal protector of the afterlives as an undead servant of the Maldraxxi.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Despite his fiery nature, he was also kind and honorable. Even Tirion himself praised him for the purity of his soul.
- Light 'em Up: Even without the Ashbringer in his hands, Alexandros himself was quite capable of using the Light to slay his foes.
- Magic Knight: As a paladin, he's quite capable of blending Light with martial prowess.
- Named Weapons: The Ashbringer was named so because of how it left only the ashes of the undead it killed in its wake.
- Offing the Offspring: In the Ashbringer quest and comic, he kills Renault from beyond the grave.
- One-Man Army: Has a reputation as one, due to the Ashbringer.
- The Paladin: Became a paladin during the Second War and certainly proves to be one of the Silver Hand's most legendary members.
- Papa Wolf: Very protective of his sons, especially Darion. His love for Darion and his wife and his memories of them are his source of strength, which is why he was sent to Maldraxxus instead of Bastion.
- Parental Favoritism: While he loved both of his sons, to the outside it seemed like he clearly showed favoritism to his younger son Darion compared to his older son Renault.
- Parents as People: Sure, he loves both of his sons, but he shows clear Parental Favoritism towards Darion, causing Renault to develop into a "Well Done, Son" Guy in an attempt to gain his respect. Balnazzar in Dathrohan's body uses this to manipulate Renault into killing him.
- Playing with Fire: Noted for his burning of undead legions in holy fire, both by his own power and through the Ashbringer. As a death knight, he also bathed his foes in flames.
- The Power of Family: Mograine in life drew his strength from fighting for his family. It's telling that being betrayed by one of his sons were something he never truly recovered from. it's also why he's sent to Maldraxxus, as Bastion has its aspirants relinquish their memories of their former lives -- which in turn would render Mograine without his source of strength.
- Red Baron: Was named the Ashbringer after the sword he wielded.
- Rerouted from Heaven: Initially believes he was subject to this upon meeting the Kyrian, believing Bastion to be more appropriate in his eyes for the life he lived serving the light. However, the Paragon of Courage reveals to him that he derives his strength from his memories of his mortal life, something honored in Maldraxxus but purged in Bastion, which is why he's exactly where he's supposed to be. Additionally, she dismisses his notion that his devotion to the Light has any relevance, as the Light as a force holds little sway over the hierarchy of the Shadowlands.
- Retcon: Several, either concerning him or his sword. He personally started out as the betrayed Highlord of the Scarlet Crusade, which was once a pure organisation. This was later retconned into the Scarlet Crusade only existing after his death in the Ashbringer comic, as it led to the split of the Order of the Silver Hand into the Argent Dawn and the Scarlet Crusade, the latter of which was never pure.
- Tragic Hero: Alexandros' greatest flaw, his Parental Favoritism, turns out to be his ultimate downfall as his son Renault turns against him.
Arator Windrunner
The Redeemer
Class: Paladin
Voiced by: Yuri Lowenthal (English)
The Other Child of Light and Shadow
Arator "the Redeemer" Windrunner is the half-elven son of Turalyon and Alleria Windrunner. Arator became a paladin like his father, and later a Knight of the Silver Hand, searching for his parents. Arator is a Champion for the Paladin Order Hall.- A Day in the Limelight: After sitting in Honor Hold for years, Arator comes to the forefront for the Paladin Order Hall questline and journeys to Argus with his aunt Vereesa, to reunite with his parents.
- Bad Future: A brutal one in Visions of N'zoth where a void-maddened Alleria consumes Arator into the void, his fate unknown.
- Half-Human Hybrid: One of the few half-elves in game, and the only one to use a high elf model.
- Inconsistent Coloring: His eye color suffers from this, going from green like mother to blue when his model was switched to a high elf, and gold in Legion. Three Sisters muddies it by changing them back to green.
- Nephewism: Arator was raised by his aunt Vereesa and uncle Rhonin, both of whom he is close to, and served as a big brother for his younger cousins. This also makes his reunion with his parents difficult, as despite loving them, they are practically strangers to him.
- Nice Guy: Noted to be like Anduin, and his is much more even-tempered than his mother, acting more like his father.
- Nom de Mom: Takes the surname Windrunner, as Turalyon's surname is unknown despite being minor nobility of Lordaeron.
- The Paladin: A straight example, intentionally following in his father's footsteps.
- Parental Abandonment: A victim of this as Turalyon and Alleria journeyed into the Dark Portal with Khadgar, and then spent generations with the the Army of the Light.
- Remember the New Guy?: His first appearance is in The Burning Crusade with the novel Beyond the Dark Portal not mentioning him at all, despite the book exploring his parents' relationship, though his retconned existence does work as an explanation for Alleria's coldness towards his father in the book.
- Tell Me About My Father: Or parents, with Arator attempting this in Burning Crusade, giving his allegiance to the Sons of Lothar to learn more from Danath.
- You Remind Me of X: In Legion and the novel Before the Storm, Turalyon notes how similar Arator and Anduin are and that he'd like to introduce them to each other someday, thinking that they could become good friends.
The Argent Dawn/Crusade
The Argent Dawn/Crusade as a whole
The Argent Dawn (left)Note and Argent Crusade emblem (Right)
The Argent Dawn, as it was initially called, was born following the Third War as a result of the remnants of the Silver Hand being split in two: The before-mentioned Argent Dawn and the Scarlet Crusade. Led by Lord Maxwell Tyrosus, the Argent Dawn acted as a neutral force of Light against the Scourge and other threats, recruiting members of both the Alliance and the Horde.
In Wrath of the Lich King, the Argent Dawn was forged together with the reformed Order of the Silver Hand under Tirion Fordring, making the Argent Crusade. The Argent Crusade then proceeded to lead the charge in Northrend to the very doorstep of the Lich King. Following the war against the Lich King, the Argent Crusade has settled in the Plaguelands, cleansing the land of both corruption and any Scourge remnants to be found.
- Arch-Enemy: To the Scourge. They have been explicitly created to fight it.
- Defector from Decadence: The original Argent Dawn was this to the remnants of the Silver Hand, many of whom joined the Scarlet Crusade. Inside the Argent Crusade itself, some of their undead members are mentioned to have left the Forsaken because they were unhappy with their brethren's progressively more questionable actions.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: Inverted; despite being an unambiguously good faction, they are notably open-minded about who they recruit, and accept both Alliance and Horde species in their ranks. It's interesting to note that one of their high officers (Leonid Bartholomew the Revered) is undead.
- Good Counterpart: To the Scarlet Crusade as they are heroic and noble unlike the Knight Templar Scarlets. On a character basis is Argent Confessor Paletress, a nice variant of Inquisitor Whitemane, even wearing a similar stripperific outfit, though she is genuinely kind and caring.
- Jousting Lance: While lances were in Warcraft III, the Argent Tournament brings them into World of Warcraft, being used in jousts and by their knights against the Scourge.
- Light Is Good: They are followers of the Church of the Light, and unlike their Scarlet Crusade counterpart, they are genuinely noble and heroic.
- Meaningful Name: The Argent Dawn were founded by remnants of the Silver Hand and Argent means silver in French that's also based after Argenti in Latin. Meaning that they're the Silver Hand reborn.
- The Order: The Argent Dawn and later Argent Crusade is a holy order dedicated to fighting evil across the world, with a particular focus on the Undead Scourge.
- Order Reborn: Founded by ex-members of the Silver Hand from the time of the Third War, and in Wrath of the Lich King Tirion Fordring proposed that the Argent Dawn unite with the current Silver Hand to form the Argent Crusade (though not all members of the Silver Hand joined, and they still exist as a separate group).
- In Legion they are the first group on the scene to fight the eponymous demonic horde when they make their latest incursion onto Azeroth (just as they were the last time in the leadup to Burning Crusade) but this time they are overwhelmed and their numbers devastated. After the battle of the Broken Shore, the paladin campaign reveals that they have joined forces with the rest of the paladins of Azeroth in a new incarnation of the Order of the Silver Hand. Whether the Argent Crusade will continue to exist as a separate group is currently unclear.
- Their status becomes even less clear in Battle For Azeroth, as the Knights of the Silver Hand and Army of the Light are under Turalyon's leadership while the Blood Knights and Sunwalkers are under Lady Liadrin's command. However Sean Wilkers of the Argent Crusade is still active in Stratholme, so they operate in some capacity.
- In Shadowlands they return, operating from the Argent Tournament Grounds to fight the released Scourge, once again sending agents to Stormwind and Orgrimmar.
- Team Switzerland: The Argent Crusade has never taken sides in the Alliance-Horde conflict. During the Northrend campaign, they went to great lengths to keep the two factions' war efforts pointed at the Lich King instead of each other, and were only partially successful in that.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Their relationship with the Knights of the Ebon Blade is strained, since they don't think highly of the more morally questionable actions their Death Knight allies do. Unlike the Alliance and the Horde, though, they can work together against the Lich King.
- The Tourney: They organise the Argent Tournament during the war in Northrend, consisting of jousting competitions and battles against monsters and other competitors to select the champions who will besiege Icecrown Citadel.
Highlord Tirion Fordring
Class: Paladin
Voiced by: Floyd Van Buskirk (English), Alexander Novikov (Russian)
"Too long have I sat idle, gripped in this haze... this malaise, lamenting what could have been... what should have been. Your death will not have been in vain, Taelan. A new Order is born on this day...an Order which will dedicate itself to extinguishing the evil that plagues this world. An evil that cannot hide behind politics and pleasantries. This I promise... This I vow..."
Supreme Commander of the Argent Crusade and the Lich King's main enemy in Wrath of the Lich King. His story started with when Eitrigg, an Orc veteran chose to save his life. Owing him a blood debt, Tirion later sacrifices his own Knighthood and was exiled for saving the Orc's life from being executed by the Alliance. Living as a hermit, he saw as his son Taelan grew up and joined the Scarlet Crusade. Asking adventurers for help, he managed to reconnect with his son and convinced him to defect, though Taelan was soon after killed by Grand Inquisitor Isillien. Avenging his son, Tirion swore to reform the Knights of the Silver Hand and take up the mantle of Highlord of the Silver Hand.He later confronts Darion Mograine, then a Death Knight serving Arthas. After managing to convince him to defect, Arthas comes along to finish them off. At this point Darion throws the corrupted Ashbringer to Tirion, who manages to purify it upon touch. Driving off Arthas, Tirion unites the Argent Dawn and the Silver Hand into the Argent Crusade. They eventually achieve victory atop Icecrown Citadel, Tirion personally shattering Frostmourne, leading to Arthas' death. In Cataclysm he now resides in and leads the Argent Crusade from Hearthglen.
- Achilles in His Tent: Stayed in exile in his house until Darion came and made him realize that he needed to step back out in the world.
- Arch-Enemy: To Arthas. Notably, the Lich King actually returns the sentiment unlike the other people who consider themselves as such.
- Arson Murder And Life Saving: After you kill The Mole inside his camp in a Western Plaguelands quest, he appears to be rebuking you, but then congratulates you for helping him out.
- Ascended Extra: Before Wrath of the Lich King, he was just a quest giver that had little interesting about him. When that expansion came, he had a larger role in the plot.
- Back for the Dead: Doesn't show up at all in the plot of any of the three World of Warcraft expansions that followed Wrath of the Lich King (he is just seen ruling Hearthglen in Cataclysm with little interaction with the players). Then he dies at the start of Legion. In fairness, his storyline had ended in Wrath of the Lich King.
- Badass Cape: Ever since Wrath he has always shown up wearing a cape flowing behind him.
- Being Good Sucks: One lesson he learned, especially after Eitrigg accused him of never having had to make any risks or sacrifices from his comfortable life to do the right thing.
- Big Damn Heroes: At least four times, when he rescued Eitrigg from execution, when he single handedly whacked Isilien and his Elite Mooks, his timely arrival at the Battle of Light's Hope chapel, and finally breaking out of his icy prison and shattering Frostmourne, thus thwarting the Lich King's plans.
- Big Good: Of Wrath of the Lich King, by virtue of being the leader of the coalition against Arthas' Scourge.
- Character Death: Alternate timeline Gul'dan captures him after defeating the Argent Crusade and has him roasted by Krosus, a giant demon, for both the Alliance and the Horde to see during the first landings on the Broken Shore, which is part of the pre-expansion events leading to Legion. He is then taken prisoner by the Legion and brutally tortured; he is rescued by Retribution paladins when they are searching for his sword, the Ashbringer, but dies of his wounds.
- Cool Helmet: Wears a unique recolored Paladin Tier 10 set helmet in Icecrown Citadel and at the Broken Shore.
- Cool Sword: Wields the Ashbringer, one of the most powerful and iconic swords in the franchise. The sword is named such for burning any undead or demon it cuts through to ashes.
- The Exile: Tirion was exiled for saving the orc Eitrigg.
- Foil: To Arthas. Both of them "fell" but in Tirion's case it was for doing the right thing. In addition, Tirion didn't have a personal hatred for Arthas due to having lost everything, and his refusal to abandon his integrity makes him less vulnerable to Arthas's manipulations. As such he ultimately regains his connection and becomes a full fledged champion whereas Arthas falls to damnation.
- Good Counterpart: To Arthas. Whereas Arthas was a young paladin with a bright future who threw it away due to his flaws (notably an inability to control his anger) Tirion was an Old Soldier who lost everything due to doing the right thing who ultimately regains his power and prestige in part because he refuses to sacrifice his principles.
- Healing Hands: As a paladin he is also a capable healer. When he rescued Eitrigg from Stratholme after seemingly losing his powers, the Light returns to him and healed Eitrigg's wounds.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: For the most part he forgoes wearing a helmet, but he surprisingly subverts it in Icecrown Citadel and at the Broken Shore by putting on a Cool Helmet.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Is about to make one at the end of Icecrown Citadel, but Bolvar Fordragon shows up and convinces the former to let him do it.
- He's Back!: The conclusion of his questline in Classic results in him returning from his exile to reform the Order of the Silver Hand. He'd explicitly affiliated himself with the Argent Dawn at this time, as Eligor Dawnbringer mentioned him and his knights when threatening Scarlet Commander Marjhan and her cohorts with expulsion from Light's Hope Chapel for bringing up the Ashbringer during their meeting about Naxxramas' return. By Wrath of the Lich King, this leads to Tirion directly takes leadership of the Argent Crusade when he merges the Silver Hand and the Argent Dawn after the battle of Light's Hope Chapel, leading the charge against the Scourge into Northrend and Icecrown.
- Holy Hand Grenade: Tirion is a very powerful paladin and his entrance to the Battle of Light's Hope has him smiting undead left and right with Light.
- Honor Before Reason: Honor is a very important part of Tirion, but that very same honor is also what ended up ruining most of his life. But at least he saved Eitrigg.
- I Owe You My Life: Towards Eitrigg. He later repays the favor.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Tirion is a heroic and selfless Knight of the Silver Hand, completely devoted to honor.
- Knight in Sour Armor: During his time as an exile. He returns to being a Knight in Shining Armor after Darion convinces him to return to fight the Scourge and witnessing the death of his son.
- Light 'em Up: Tirion is a powerful wielder of the Light.
- Magic Knight: As a paladin, Tirion is both a warrior and a user of divine magic.
- Morality Chain: Appears to have been this for Darion and the Knights of the Ebon Blade by proxy. Once he's dead, they cast any lingering affection for the Argent Crusade aside in their efforts to stop the Legion. Including attempting to bring Tirion back as a Death Knight. Although Mograine expresses minor hesitation, stating Tirion deserves the peace of death.
- Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: The older hero to Arthas' younger villain in Wrath of the Lich King.
- Old Soldier: Tirion's been a knight for a long time and fought during the Second War. He isn't quite young anymore by the time of Wrath of the Lich King, yet he's still powerful enough that his arrival single-handedly turns the tide of a battle where the Death Knights outnumbered them, almost instantly forcing them into surrendering.
- Order Reborn: He reforms the broken Order of the Silver Hand after Taelan's death, though it gets merged with the Argent Dawn when we see it again.
- The Paladin: He is currently the greatest living paladin on Azeroth.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Against Isillien when he witnesses the death of his son at the hands of the former.Tirion: May your soul burn in anguish, Isillien! Light give me strength to battle this fiend. Face me, coward. Face the faith and strength that you once embodied.
- Rousing Speech: Tirion is responsible for several of these in Wrath of the Lich King.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Decides to save Eitrigg despite the Alliance considering him an enemy to be executed.
- Sacrificial Lion: One of the first major characters to die in Legion, along with Warchief Vol'jin and King Varian Wrynn.
- Shadow Archetype: While a champion of the light when he leads the attack, he's pretty much the opposite of Arthas (old and experienced rather than young and reckless, and he had to climb his way to the top after losing it all while Arthas had it all but lost it due to his pride and ego.) Notably, there are two key differences. Firstly, since Tirion had already lost everything BEFORE the Scourge came he doesn't have the personal hatred that Arthas had before his fall. In addition, he refuses to abandon his principles despite the temptation, whereas Arthas ultimately sacrificed his principles.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Turalyon. Similar name, same occupation. At the time of classic World of Warcraft Turalyon was physically unavailable, and then did not make any direct appearances in Burning Crusade, which led to Tirion becoming the focus of Wrath Of The Lich King. Notably, in Legion, Tirion dies, and Turalyon makes his first appearance since Beyond The Dark Portal.
- Supporting Leader: During the later part of Wrath of the Lich King.
- Taking the Kids: His wife did this in Of Blood and Honor, declaring that their son Taelan should not suffer for Tirion's actions.
- Throwing Your Sword Always Works: In the Ashbringer comic he saves Alexandros Mograine from an ogre by tossing a sword at the back of its skull during the Battle of Blackrock Spire.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- In order to repay what Eitrigg has done to him, he tried saving him from execution, which means he had to fight his fellow Alliance soldiers causing this reaction to many, including Uther.
- He delivers one to the factions after the "PvP" encounter in Trial of the Crusader, calling out the Alliance and Horde for bringing their Conflict Ball and it resulting in the death of several powerful heroes, something that only Arthas could benefit from.
- Worthy Opponent: Despite hating him, Arthas also has genuine respect for him and is far less dismissive of him than he is towards his OTHER enemies.
Maxwell Tyrosus
Class: Paladin
The leader of the Argent Dawn before it became the Argent Crusade. Tyrosus was a Knight of the Silver Hand who fought alongside Alexandros Mograine after the fall of Lordaeron. When Mograine fell to the Scourge, Tyrosus left the remnants behind as they slowly were warped into the Scarlet Crusade. He founded the Argent Dawn as a result, leading it from Light's Hope Chapel within the Eastern Plaguelands, organizing efforts to counter the advance of evil all over Azeroth.
He led the defence of Light's Hope Chapel against the Death Knights of Acherus, and despite the odds, emerged victorious with Tirion's aid. When Tirion Fordring proposed the merging of his reformed Silver Hand and the Argent Dawn, Tyrosus stood aside to let him take over leadership. After the Scourge's defeat in Northrend, he continues to organise Argent efforts in the Eastern Plaguelands, and is recruiting new members to help cleanse the land of the Scourge remnants present there.
- BFS: Wields an enormous curved sword in Legion, which is also available
to players in the Sanctum of Light. - Cool Horse: Rides an Argent version of the paladin's charger into battle, with steel barding instead of gold.note
- Cool Sword: He initially carries a simple one-handed sword but his new weapon in Legion is an enormous curved sword with sapphires adorning the blade and pommel.
- Defector from Decadence: He personally defected from the remnants of the Silver Hand after the death of Alexandros Mograine, having deemed its remnants beyond saving.
- Eyepatch of Power: His most notable physical feature is the eyepatch he wears over his right eye.
- Fights Like a Normal: Despite being a former Knight of the Silver Hand, Tyrosus has never actually been seen using his powers of the Light until Legion. Despite this, he's personally credited by the Scourge itself to have dealt such a terrible blow to a powerful lich that he can't take physical form again, and later led the defence of Light's Hope when the Death Knights of Acherus attacked.
- Holy Hand Grenade: Legion shows him to be quite capable at smiting demons with the Light.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Maxwell Tyrosus was a Knight of the Silver Hand prior to forming the Argent Dawn, and is still a heroic individual devoted to keeping the world safe from all evil.
- Light 'em Up: Finally gets to show off his Light-given powers in Legion.
- Minor Major Character: Despite his importance in leading the Argent Dawn, Tyrosus is mostly a minor character in World of Warcraft, with Tirion taking over his role as leader of the Argent Crusade. He takes a far more prominent role in Legion where he organises Azeroth's paladins into a coalition under the player's leadership in the Silver Hand.
- The Paladin: As a former Knight of the Silver Hand, he too is a paladin, though he didn't show any explicit Light usage until the events of Legion.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Unlike the other remnants of the Silver Hand, Tyrosus was able to see the merits of asking for aid from the other races, even those outside the Alliance, and formed the Argent Dawn to that end.
The Scarlet Crusade
The Scarlet Crusade as a whole
An order of paladins and priests created to hunt all undead, including the Forsaken. They were quickly corrupted by the Dread Lords, who convinced them that everyone not in the Crusade was undead and needed to be destroyed.
- Fantastic Racism: They look down upon not only undead but anyone who isn't human, seeing them all as unpure.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Their primary goal is to hunt undead. Some of its dead members are actually resurrected as undead themselves, the very thing they swore to destroy. This is best shown when you play as a Death Knight and slaughter many of them in the starting area. After you finish the starting area quests and return to the area in the "real" mapnote , you can see some undead members wandering the area, still wearing their Scarlet Crusade uniform.
- Knight Templar: They believed anybody living not wearing their tabard to be an agent of the Scourge.
- Light Is Not Good: Despite being devoted worshipers of the Light, they commit several acts of evil.
- Loophole Abuse: The stated reason as to why they can use the Holy Light is that they believe that their actions are just. It doesn't matter that they're evil in practice, the fact that they believe they're good is why they can harness the Holy Light.
- The Remnant: The Crusade was originally formed from the remains of the Order of the Silver Hand and the people of Lordaeron.
- Token Good Teammate: A "Scarlet Quartermaster" appears in the Darkmoon Faire, selling Scarlet-related transmog items (namely, the appearances of the partially removed 'Chain of the Scarlet Crusade' armor set) to plate- and mail-wearing characters - but only if said characters wear the Tabard of the Scarlet Crusade.
Saidan Dathrohan
Class: Paladin
One of the first paladins of the Silver Hand and Grand Crusader of the Scarlet Crusade, Saiden Dathrohan was originally a knight of Lordaeron who found faith and got closer to the Church of the Light, studying under the guidance of Archbishop Alonsus Faol. He was killed by the Dreadlord Balnazzar, who then possessed his corpse and impersonated the paladin, eventually founding the Scarlet Crusade.
- Badass Cape: The Ashbringer comic gives him a long red cape.
- Church Militant: Originally a knight of Lordaeron, he became one of the first Knights of the Silver Hand, and later Grand Crusader of the Crusade.
- Cool Old Guy: While Balnazzar-as-Dathrohan is a despicable manipulator, the man himself is a noble and well-respected paladin, looked up to by his younger brethren.
- Cool Sword: As a boss in Stratholme he wields a two-handed sword with a demonic red pattern engraved on the flat of the blade, which drops off him as Demonshear.
- Dead All Along: Killed by Balnazzar, then used as a disguise.
- Depending on the Artist: Despite Of Blood and Honor describing him as grey-haired, World of Warcraft depicted him as being blond until the Ashbringer comic came around and depicted him as grey-haired once again.
- Grand Theft Me: Dathrohan has been dead for a long time, his corpse possessed by the Dreadlord Balnazzar. He finally sheds Dathrohan's skin in Cataclysm.
- Humongous-Headed Hammer: In the Ashbringer comic he wields a large hammer.
- Large and in Charge: The six-and-a-half foot Dathrohan was the leader of the Scarlet Crusade.
- Old Soldier: He's grey-haired and fought the orcs during the Second War.
- The Paladin: One of the first paladins of the Order of the Silver Hand, along with Uther, Tirion and Turalyon.
Grand Inquisitor Isillien
Class: Priest
Grand Inquisitor of the Scarlet Crusade.
- Badass Preacher: The Grand Inquisitor is no slouch in combat, taking down Taelan Fordring with relative ease.
- Hat of Authority: Wears a priestly hat matching his status.
- Killed Off for Real: Killed by Tirion Fordring in his Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
- Light Is Not Good: Uses the power of the Light, but admits to using Taelen as a pawn.
- Minor Major Character: Isillien was the Grand Inquisitor of the Scarlet Crusade at the time of Classic, as well as a founding member and major leader second only to the Grand Crusader. His in-game appearances are limited to the same quest as his death and a cameo appearance in Old Hillsbrad at the purification of the dark crystal that would eventually become the Ashbringer. His most important role in the narrative is killing Taelan Fordring, causing Tirion to return from his exile and reform a new Order of the Silver Hand and eventually merge it with the Argent Dawn, forming the Argent Crusade.
- Sadist: Heavily implied. Scarlet Crusaders being tortured for information in the Scarlet Enclave starting zone can state that they used to work for Isillien and claim that the Death Knights' idea of pain is "a normal mid-afternoon" for them. He also outright admitted that he was not killing Taelan merely out of duty or obligation, but primarily out of pleasure, believing the Fordring bloodline to be weak.
- The Spymaster: Implied, as he had a number of assassins on the lookout for Tirion Fordring.
- Small Role, Big Impact:
- Isillien's first appearance is the same quest in which he dies, with the rest of his appearances being as a minor character in supplementary materials and flashbacks. But his killing of Taelan would inspire Tirion to reform the Knights of the Silver Hand in order to oppose both the Scarlet Crusade and the Scourge. The Silver Hand would go on to merge with the Argent Dawn to form the Argent Crusade under Tirion's leadership, and the Argent Crusade would in turn lead the charge against the Scourge at Icecrown, with Tirion personally delivering the final blow to the Lich King and avenging Lordaeron.
- In Old Hillsbrad, Isillien is one who is the most hostile towards the dark crystal that Alexandros has shown them, and attempts to destroy it with the Light. In doing so, all parties involved realized that the crystal could absorb the Light and that they could purify it, eventually leading to the forging of the Ashbringer.
- Staff of Authority: Carried an ornate silver-and-gold staff adorned with the symbol of the Church.
High General Brigitte Abbendis
Class: Paladin
High General of the Scarlet Crusade, stationed in Tyr's Hand. Having received visions from what she believed to be the Light, she renamed her forces the Scarlet Onslaught and sailed to Northrend, leaving her besieged people behind. There she met the missing Admiral Barean Westwind (in reality a guise assumed by the assumed dead dreadlord Mal'ganis), who quickly assumed control of her forces.
- Ascended Extra: In Classic, High General Abbendis was originally just a rare mob in Tyr's Hand in the Eastern Plaguelands. Come Wrath she was given a more prominent role in the story as the founder of the Scarlet Onslaught manipulated by Mal'ganis and showed up during the Death Knight starting experience and in Dragonsblight, and she held a prominent role in the Ashbringer comic.
- Killed Off for Real: Killed by players in Northrend.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: She carries a shield emblazoned with the red flame of the Scarlet Crusade.
- Off with Her Head!: Players of both factions cut off her head to present it to their respective questgivers.
- The Paladin: Like her father, she was a prominent member of the Silver Hand.
- Shoulders of Doom: Switched to a pair of huge pauldrons in Wrath of the Lich King.
Highlord Taelan Fordring
Class: Paladin
"I have dreams, stranger. In these dreams my father is with me. He stands proudly at my side as I am inducted into the Order. We battle legion of Scourge, side by side. We bring honor to the Alliance, to Lordaeron. I want not to dream anymore. Take me to him."
Highlord Taelan Fordring was the son of the elder Tirion Fordring. Taelan was a former Knight of the Silver Hand and lord of Mardenholde Keep. After the creation of the Scarlet Crusade he became Highlord and ruled over Hearthglen, under the command of the Grand Crusader.- Cool Sword: He wields a two-handed sword with a demonic red pattern engraved on the flat of the blade, which drops off of Balnazzar in Stratholme as Demonshear.
- Disappeared Dad: Justified, as Tirion was exiled after his trial for saving Etrigg and his mother told him he had died.
- Healing Hands: He is able to heal himself using the Holy Light ability.
- Killed Off for Real: Slain by Isillien and his personal guard.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: When he recognizes that he was used as an Unwitting Pawn and that his father is alive, he turns on the Crusade and fights his way out of Hearthglen to see him.<Taelan falls to one knee, his heartbeat quickens. The fury of ages is about to be loosed upon this town.>
- One-Man Army: Single-handedly rampaging through Hearthglen cemented him as this, especially back in the day when Hearthglen used to be filled to the brim with elite Scarlet Crusaders. Unfortunately, he meets his match when he dies fighting Isillien and his elite guards.
- The Paladin: Follows in his father's footsteps and becomes a paladin.
- Pietà Plagiarism: After his death, Tirion cradles his dead body.
- Redemption Equals Death: He turned on the Scarlet Crusade to be with his father, but was killed before he was able to see him again.
- Tranquil Fury: His lines after he turns on the Crusade are rather calm despite him being in a fury, killing every Scarlet Crusader in his way.
- Unwitting Pawn: To Isillien and the Grand Crusader.
- Your Size May Vary: Taelan's in-game model in Classic is absolutely giant, towering over players and NPCs despite there being no indication he is that big lore-wise.
Commander Renault Mograine
Class: Paladin
First born son of Alexandros Mograine and commander of the Scarlet Monastery.
- Antagonistic Offspring: He always resented his father for what he perceived to be Alexandros caring more about Darion than him. Dathrohan (who is actually the dreadlord, Balnazzar, at this point) eggs this on until it develops into full-blown hatred. Renault later manipulates his father into facing off with an entire army of undead and then kills him with the Ashbringer when Alexandros is too exhausted to even fight back.
- Cain and Abel: The Cain to Darion's Abel.
- Carry a Big Stick: Wields a large two-handed mace, which players are able to get for themselves.
- The Champion: Regarded as Whitemane's.
- Offing the Offspring: He was killed by the ghost of his own father.
- Oh, Crap!: He completely freaks out when Alexandros' ghost returns to exact revenge on Renault for murdering him, and begs his father to forgive him in terror.
- Patricide: He stabbed his own father In the Back.
- Unwitting Pawn: Dathrohan/Balnazzar manipulated him into killing his own father.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Desperate for his father's attention and approval. Unfortunately, he's convinced that he's The Unfavorite, and that his father cares far more for Darion than he does for him. He eventually looks for a new father figure in Dathrohan; too bad the real Dathrohan's actually dead...
Unaffiliated users
Lothraxion
Class: Paladin
"Let the Light save you, as it saved me."
A Lightforged Nathrezim who comes to Azeroth on behalf of the Army of the Light.
- Ascended Demon: A Dreadlord who has been purified with the Light, becoming a holy crusader against his demon brethren.
- Ambiguous Situation: A missive in Castle Nathria states that all Dreadlords are spies ultimately serving Denathrius and the Shadowlands, having ingratiated themselves with the various cosmic forces to report back to the Eternal Ones in general and Denathrius in particular. This raises a significant question as to what Lothraxion is. Did he genuinely Heel–Face Turn entirely? Was he a spy for Denathrius all along? Is his nature buried deep, making him a potential sleeper agent to activate at the right time to cripple the cause of the Light? While his original loyalties are now known, whether it survived his Lightforging is a different question entirely.
- Bling of War: Decked nearly head-to-hoof in golden armor.
- Commanding Coolness: The High Commander of the Army of the Light.
- Eye Beams: He is able to shoot beams of Light out of his eyes.
- Good Wings, Evil Wings: Zig-zagged: he still possesses standard dreadlord bat wings, but they shimmer with the Light.
- Light Is Good: He has been fighting alongside the Army of the Light since before Turalyon and Alleria joined.
- Shout-Out: Lothraxion is a demon who was turned from evil, had his horns sheared off and dedicates his life to being a Hunter of His Own Kind to stop cosmic destruction. Hellboy, anyone?
- Token Heroic Orc: Normally, dreadlords are cunning, evil vampires that hold high rank in the Burning Legion; he's not.
- Touched by Vorlons: Like Lightforged Draenei, he was transformed by Xe'ra. Speculation currently abounds as to whether it was willing or not. Evidence seems to suggest willing; he is able to remember his time serving the Burning Legion with regret, in the Warcraft universe at least some demons are aliens corrupted by dark magic and he's able to persuade Xe'ra not to kill Alleria for her Void use.
Draenor
On the world of Draenor, the Light is touched through the goddess Rukhmar and her followers. Rukhmar the Sun Goddess
One of Draenor's Wild Gods. The high Sun Goddess of the Arakkoa, she aided Anzu the Raven God in battling the demigod Sethe and slaying him. Rukhmar is the creator of the arakkoa, having made them to embody her grace and Anzu's cunning. Rukhmar fears and hates the arakkoa cursed by Sethe, and her followers have engaged war on them in her name... at least that last part is what the Adherents would like everyone to believe. In truth, she was a largely benevolent deity who died long before the cursed arakkoa came to be.
- A Mother to Her Men: Considered the Kaliri and then the Arrakoa to be like her children and was very caring and protective toward them.
- Back from the Dead: Some of the Anhar priests who worshipped her successfully brought her back to life, albeit as a weaker version of herself with the intelligence of an animal. It's this version of her that players encounter in Warlords of Draenor.
- Break the Haughty: Anzu's sacrifice to protect her and prevent the curse of Sethe to spread and her unability to find him humbled her, causing her to sacrifice her own eternal life by giving some of her own life energy to create the Arrakoa.
- Came Back Wrong: Her remains were found and revived by the arakkoa generations after her death, but she returned with only a fraction of her original power and intelligence.
- Cast from Lifespan: Rukhmar uplifted the arakkoa by tapping into her own life essence, drastically cutting into her lifespan. It's unknown how long she would have lived otherwise, but after that act she succumbed to age in a matter of decades or centuries.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Despite being a Sun God, she has dark armor and head, which when coupled with the fire on her dark orange feathers give her an infernal appearance. She's still a benevolent Wild God, though.
- Fantastic Racism: She disliked the land animals that populated Arak's forests, so much so that she refused to land except on mountain peaks above their reach.
- In Their Own Image: When she had created the Arakkoa, she created them to possess her graceful appearance and Anzu's cunning intellect as a tribute to her fallen brethren.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Was arrogant and haughty at first, believing herself to be the epitome of grace and beauty and looked down on the creatures living on the ground. Despite this she cared deeply for the Kaliri that she viewed as her own children and for Anzu, as she searched for him a long time to thank him for warning her about Sethe's scheme and after failing to find him decided to create the Arrakoa civilization to honor his sacrifice.
- Light Is Good: Despite her Dark Is Evil appearance she uses fire and embodies the sun, and is firmly good.
- Noble Bird of Prey: She's a giant firehawk whose feathers are covered in flames, and was the noble demigod of the arakkoa before her death.
- The Phoenix: Technically the species of Phoenixes native to Draenor are called "Firehawks", but the analogy is still the same.
- Playing with Fire: She uses this as a World Raid Boss.
- Power of the Sun: Which her Adherents use to burn the cities of Anzu's followers.
- Roc Birds: Her name comes from "rukh", a different romanization of the Arabic/Persian word that more commonly is rendered into "roc". She certainly has the size for it.
Adherents of Rukhmar
The Adherents of Rukhmar are the brutal and oppressive ruling class of the Spires of Arak, homeland of the arakkoa.
- Applied Phlebotinum: Recovering the technology left behind by the Apexis, the first arakkoa civilization, is currently the Adherent's main goal, and won't tolerate any other race possessing them (for example, the draenei town of Aruuna had found some Apexis artifacts, and when the Adherents got wind of the discovery they burned the village to the ground).
- Back from the Dead: In a meta sense. In the main timeline, the shattering of Draenor destroyed the Spires of Arak and the non-cursed arakkoa were wiped out. The Outcasts survived, since many of them had fled to Talador, later known as Terokkar Forest.
- Bird People: The original arakkoa are tall with an upright posture, with large wings on their arms that allow them to fly.
- Fantastic Racism: The Adherents and their followers have little concern or respect for non-arakkoa, but they seem to bend most of their efforts towards tormenting and killing the Outcasts.
- Heel–Face Turn: As of 6.2, many of them recognize the differences that set the arakkoa apart for years are trivial compared to the threat that Gul'dan poses to all of Draenor, and choose to aid the Alliance and Horde.
- Higher-Tech Species: The Adherents are the most technologically-advanced civilization on Draenor due to them unearthing, rebuilding, and repurposing the technology recovered from the Apexis civilization, with the only ones that can pose a direct technological challenge to them being either the Draenei or the Iron Horde.
- Hypocrite: Many of the Adherents that had survived and fled from Arak due to the Adventurers' actions in helping the Outcasts win were disgusted by how a large number of High Arakkoa would work with the Outcasts and have upturned their rule. and decided to work alongside Shadow-Sage Iskar and the Sethekk, who would work with Gul'dan as part of his Shadow Council in a bid to get revenge against the Order of The Awakened and the Adventurers by-proxy that had humiliated them.
- Light Is Not Good: The Adherents are sun worshippers who abhor shadow magic, and they seek to bring the light to all the lesser races... by frying them with the sun's amplified rays.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: There's a group of uncursed arakkoa called the Order of the Awakened that breaks off from the Adherents (due to the player's actions in the Spires of Arak questline) and now seeks to use Apexis technology to retake the Spires and set up a more peaceable government. They have made overtures of friendship to the Outcasts but the latter don't fully trust them.
- The Power of the Sun: Some of the ancient Apexis technology they have recovered allows them to focus sunlight into concentrated beams strong enough to turn towns into smoking craters.
- The Starscream: The original Adherents of Rukhmar were sages that were advisors to the greatest king of the arakkoa, Terokk, who grew envious of his power and the love the other arakkoa had for him. They attacked him and threw him, his daughter and his most loyal followers into the the cursed pools of the Sethekk Hollow.
- The Theocracy: After they deposed Terokk, the Adherents set themselves up as the mouthpieces of the primary arakkoan deity, the sun goddess Rukhmar, and their word is law. Worship of any other deity is forbidden, and even the smallest offense incurs horrific punishment. For example, the Outcast Kura was a former Wing Guard who left his post for an hour to watch a festival and one of his fellow guards turned him in. He was then blinded, his wings broken, and finally thrown off a cliff.
