Tirion Fordring

Tirion Fordring is a human paladin, one of the five original knights of the Knights of the Silver Hand, who was stripped of his title and exiled for defending an orc. In Classic he lives as a hermit in the Eastern Plaguelands, where players find him without knowing who he is, and his quest chain about his estranged son Taelan is one of the best-remembered stories of the level 50-60 game. He later wields the Ashbringer and becomes the leader of the Argent Crusade.

Biography

Tirion was one of the first paladins chosen by Archbishop Alonsus Faol during the Second War, alongside Uther the Lightbringer, Turalyon, Saidan Dathrohan and Gavinrad. After the war he became Lord of Mardenholde Keep in Hearthglen, in the north of what is now the Western Plaguelands.

His fall came from a single act of decency. Scouting near Hearthglen, Tirion fought an old orc hermit named Eitrigg in a ruined tower. A wall collapsed on Tirion and the orc carried him to safety instead of killing him. Tirion promised to keep Eitrigg's existence secret. When his ambitious second, Barthilas, brought soldiers to capture the orc, Tirion took up arms against them to protect Eitrigg.

That was treason. At his trial in Stratholme, Tirion refused to take back his oath, even when his wife Karandra and his friends begged him to. He was expelled from the Silver Hand, stripped of his lands and exiled. Uther performed the ceremony that was supposed to cut him off from the Light. Tirion then rescued Eitrigg from execution and, to his surprise, found he could still heal through the Light. The rescue brought him face to face with Thrall, who welcomed Eitrigg back to the Horde and remembered the human who saved him. This story is told in Chris Metzen's 2001 short novel Of Blood and Honor.

Karandra refused to follow Tirion into exile and told their young son Taelan that his father was dead. Taelan grew up to inherit Mardenholde Keep, and after the Third War he joined the Scarlet Crusade and rose to become its Highlord in Hearthglen.

In World of Warcraft

In Classic, Tirion Fordring lives in a small cottage on the Thondroril River on the western edge of the Eastern Plaguelands, with his horse Mirador. He introduces himself only as an old man trying to get through the winter, and he asks anyone who passes, Alliance or Horde, for help with three chores:

• Demon Dogs: kill Plaguehound Runts, Plaguehounds and Frenzied Plaguehounds.
• Blood Tinged Skies: kill 30 Plaguebats.
• Carrion Grubbage: collect 15 [Slab of Carrion Worm Meat] from the region's carrion worms.

Once you have helped him, he offers Redemption, in which he finally tells you who he is and asks for help reaching his son. The rest of the chain sends you across the Plaguelands to gather memories of Taelan's childhood:

The escort is the payoff. Taelan reads the gift, breaks with the Crusade and fights his way out of Mardenholde Keep. Outside the town, Grand Inquisitor Isillien and his guards catch up with him and Taelan is killed in front of his father, who arrives on horseback moments too late. Tirion kills the Inquisitor, mourns over his son, and declares that the Order of the Silver Hand is reborn with himself as its Highlord. His farewell gift is a choice of items "that served him well over the years": [Mark of Fordring], [Ornate Adamantium Breastplate], [Shimmering Platinum Warhammer], [Shroud of the Exile] or [Fordring's Seal].

The chain is open to both factions, which fits the character: Tirion's whole story is about judging people by their actions rather than their race.

Tirion and the Ashbringer

Tirion does not carry the Ashbringer in Classic. The blade belonged to Alexandros Mograine, the Highlord of the Silver Hand who was murdered by his son and raised as a death knight. In patch 1.11, Alexandros appears in Naxxramas as [[forever:npc:16062]], one of the Four Horsemen, and the [[forever:item:22691]] can be looted from the Horsemen's chest.

The Ashbringer comic (2008) connects the two stories. Darion Mograine brings the corrupted blade to the exiled Tirion, hoping to free his father's soul. Tirion sees that almost nothing is left of Alexandros in the sword, but his advice eventually leads Darion to sacrifice himself with it at Light's Hope Chapel, which frees Alexandros's spirit.

Later history

In Wrath of the Lich King, Tirion leads the Silver Hand to the defense of Light's Hope Chapel against the death knights of Acherus (the death knight starting quests, patch 3.0). The newly turned Darion Mograine carries the corrupted sword into the battle. Tirion takes it, purifies it, and drives off the Lich King himself. He then merges the Silver Hand and the Argent Dawn into the Argent Crusade, runs the Argent Tournament in Icecrown, and leads the final assault on Icecrown Citadel in patch 3.3, where he shatters Frostmourne with the Ashbringer. He crowns Bolvar Fordragon as the new Lich King.

In Legion, Tirion leads the Argent Crusade at the Battle for the Broken Shore. He is captured by Gul'dan and later rescued by paladin players, but dies of his wounds after passing the Ashbringer to them. He is buried beneath Light's Hope Chapel.

Trivia

• In Classic, Tirion is a level 61 elite with about 25,000 health, far tougher than the old hermit he pretends to be.
• Young Tirion and a later Lord Tirion Fordring also exist in the game data as separate scripted versions of him.
• Eitrigg, the orc he saved, stands in Thrall's chamber in Orgrimmar and appears in Horde quests such as Eitrigg's Wisdom.

Sources

• Tirion Fordring - Warcraft Wiki
• In Dreams - Warcraft Wiki
• Of Blood and Honor - Warcraft Wiki
• Corrupted Ashbringer - Warcraft Wiki