Sign inArchmage Antonidas
Antonidas was the Grand Magus of the Kirin Tor and the de facto ruler of Dalaran, the city of mages, for much of the Warcraft saga. He pledged Dalaran to the Alliance of Lordaeron in the Second War, exiled Kel'Thuzad for practicing necromancy, and trained Jaina Proudmoore. He died defending Dalaran from the Scourge in the Third War, killed by Arthas Menethil. He does not appear in the original World of Warcraft, but the ruined city he died defending, and the people he shaped, are central to it.
Biography
The young prodigy
Antonidas was apprenticed to the Kirin Tor as a boy and quickly outgrew his teachers. At twelve he wrote a thesis on time-travel phenomena that won him the order's highest academic honor, the youngest ever to receive it, and an early invitation into its research circles. His skill at defensive magic and his steady judgment earned him a seat on the Council of Six, Dalaran's ruling council, and in time he became its leading voice.
Before the First War, he was one of the mages who chose the young Khadgar to serve as apprentice to Medivh.
The Second War and after
When the orcish Horde invaded Lordaeron, Antonidas represented Dalaran at the meeting that formed the Alliance of Lordaeron. After the war he promoted Khadgar to archmage and placed him in charge of Nethergarde Keep, which still stands in the Blasted Lands in Classic.
He also studied the defeated orcs. While others argued about whether to execute or enslave them, Antonidas concluded that their bloodlust came from generations of demonic magic, and that the lethargy in the internment camps was withdrawal from it. He found no magical cure and suggested the only cure would be a spiritual one.
Kel'Thuzad and the plague
When Antonidas learned that Kel'Thuzad, a fellow member of the Council of Six, was studying necromancy, he had the archmage's property searched and his dark artifacts destroyed, and gave him an ultimatum. Kel'Thuzad left Dalaran and went over to the Lich King.
Years later, a mysterious prophet warned Antonidas that he must lead his people west. Antonidas dismissed him as a madman and focused on the plague spreading across Lordaeron, sending Jaina to investigate with Prince Arthas. He was one of four judges at the trial of Tirion Fordring in Stratholme, which ended with Tirion stripped of his title and exiled.
The fall of Dalaran
The Scourge came for the Book of Medivh, which Kel'Thuzad needed to summon the demon lord Archimonde. Antonidas sent Jaina away to Kalimdor and stayed to defend the city. He warned Arthas that the archmagi had raised auras that would destroy any undead that crossed them; Arthas, Kel'Thuzad and the dreadlord Tichondrius fought through them anyway. Antonidas made his last stand and was killed by Arthas. Kel'Thuzad took the book, still marked with Antonidas's blood, and summoned Archimonde, who flattened the city.
In World of Warcraft
The ruins of Dalaran
In Classic, the ruins of Dalaran sit on the shore of Lordamere Lake in the Alterac Mountains (Alterac Mountains), sealed under a huge violet dome that the surviving Kirin Tor raised while they rebuild. The ruined outskirts are patrolled by Dalaran mages and their bound elementals. Horde players from Tarren Mill in Hillsbrad Foothills raid them in quests such as Dalaran Patrols and Stone Tokens, and the Dalaran wizards in Silverpine Forest are the subject of a quest line that includes Dalaran's Intentions.
His student and his enemy
The two people Antonidas shaped most both appear in the game. His apprentice, Lady Jaina Proudmoore, rules Theramore Isle in Dustwallow Marsh, having led her people west as the prophet urged. His exiled colleague [[forever:npc:15990]] waits at the top of Naxxramas as the final boss of Classic's last raid.
Later history
In Wrath of the Lich King, the Kirin Tor raised Dalaran into the air and moved it to Northrend. Jaina had a memorial statue of Antonidas placed in the floating city. In Legion, mage players complete an unfinished project of his, the Archmage's Prismatic Disc, a flying mount whose pieces he had left with trusted colleagues.
In World of Warcraft: Forever, Blizzard has announced Dalaran in the Alterac Mountains as one of the game's features, with its own flight connections.
Trivia
- Antonidas was 71 years old when he died.
- He is voiced by William Bassett in Warcraft III.
- His own published works include "The Causality of War: A Comprehensive Study on Orc Lassitude".
- He is a legendary card in Hearthstone's original set, whose effect adds a Fireball to the player's hand for every spell they cast.
Sources
Categories: Characters
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