Sign inKnights of the Silver Hand
The Knights of the Silver Hand were the first order of paladins in the human kingdoms, holy warriors who combined plate armor and heavy weapons with the healing power of the Light. Founded after the First War and led by Uther the Lightbringer, the order fought through the Second War and was shattered in the Third War. By the time World of Warcraft begins, the order exists mostly as a memory, but its veterans, its relics and its feuding successors shape most of the paladin story in the Plaguelands.
History
Founding
After the orcish Horde destroyed Stormwind in the First War, refugees and survivors fled north to Lordaeron. Archbishop Alonsus Faol, the head of the Church of the Holy Light, decided that the clergy needed warriors who could fight on the front line and heal the wounded at the same time. He recruited knights, most of them from noble families of Lordaeron, and trained them in the Light. Uther, one of the knights of Lordaeron, became the first paladin and the order's commander.
Among the first knights were Turalyon, Saidan Dathrohan, Gavinrad and Tirion Fordring. Others, such as Alexandros Mograine, joined later and became famous in their own right.
Second War
The Silver Hand fought for the Alliance of Lordaeron through the Second War. Paladins were known for keeping soldiers alive in battles where ordinary troops would have broken, and Uther led them at the head of the army. After the war, Turalyon commanded the Alliance expedition that marched through the Dark Portal into Draenor and never returned.
During the uneasy peace that followed, Tirion Fordring was stripped of his title and exiled for defending an orc, Eitrigg, who had saved his life. His trial is one of the reasons later paladins remember the Silver Hand as an order that cared more about honor than about doctrine.
Fall of the order
The plague of undeath brought the order to its end. Arthas Menethil, Uther's former student and the crown prince of Lordaeron, ordered the purge of plague-stricken Stratholme during the Third War. Uther refused to take part and Arthas relieved him of command. Arthas later returned from Northrend as a death knight, murdered his father, and struck down Uther at Andorhal while Uther guarded the urn holding King Terenas's ashes.
With Lordaeron overrun by The Scourge, the surviving knights scattered. Alexandros Mograine carried the holy sword Ashbringer against the undead until he was betrayed by his own son and killed. Many of the remaining paladins, led by Saidan Dathrohan, turned to fanaticism and formed the Scarlet Crusade. Others, disgusted by the Crusade, helped found the Argent Dawn.
In World of Warcraft
In Classic the Silver Hand has no headquarters and no reputation bar, but its legacy appears all over the game.
The paladin class
Every paladin character inherits the order's traditions. Alliance paladins train under figures like Lord Grayson Shadowbreaker in the Cathedral of Light in Stormwind City and Brother Wilhelm in Elwynn Forest. Early class quests such as The Tome of Divinity send new paladins out to learn humility and service, and the level 40 and level 60 class mounts, Summon Warhorse and Summon Charger, continue the image of the mounted knight.
Uther's Tomb
The order's founder rests at Uther's Tomb on Sorrow Hill in Western Plaguelands. A small Alliance shrine stands there, and High Priest Thel'danis keeps watch. Paladins return to the tomb in late class quests such as Dispelling Evil, which has them collect Scourgestones from the undead so the priest can cleanse them.
Tirion Fordring's story
The best-known Silver Hand story in Classic belongs to Tirion Fordring, who lives in exile in a small hut beside a lake in Eastern Plaguelands. His long chain starts with Redemption and continues through Of Forgotten Memories, Of Lost Honor and Of Love and Family. The player visits the grave of Alexandros Mograine, recovers memories of Tirion's family, and finally carries a message to his son, Highlord Taelan Fordring, who now leads the Scarlet Crusade at Hearthglen.
In the last quest, In Dreams, Taelan rides out of Hearthglen with the player to meet his father. Grand Inquisitor Isillien ambushes them and kills Taelan, and Tirion arrives too late to save him. Rewards include [Mark of Fordring] and [Fordring's Seal].
Ashbringer and Naxxramas
The order's most famous relic shows up twice in the game's data. The [Ashbringer] exists as a legendary item that players could never obtain in Classic, and it fueled years of rumors. When Naxxramas opened in patch 1.11, players met Alexandros Mograine himself, raised by Kel'Thuzad as [[forever:npc:16062]], one of the Four Horsemen. Another Horseman, [[forever:npc:16063]], was also once a paladin of the Silver Hand. The Four Horsemen can drop the [[forever:item:22691]], the fallen version of Mograine's sword.
Scarlet Monastery and Stratholme
Many former knights fight against players in Classic. Scarlet Commander Mograine in Scarlet Monastery is Renault Mograine, the son who betrayed Alexandros. In Stratholme, Grand Crusader Dathrohan commands the Scarlet forces, and players learn that he is the dreadlord Balnazzar in disguise.
Later history
In Wrath of the Lich King, Tirion Fordring, the new wielder of a cleansed Ashbringer, joined the Argent Dawn with the remaining paladins of the Silver Hand to form the Argent Crusade, which led the campaign against the Lich King. In Legion the order was reborn as the Silver Hand, the paladin class order based in the Sanctum of Light beneath Light's Hope Chapel.
Sources
Categories: Lore
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