Hello everyone! With Shadowlands having us deal with a whole
bunch of undeath, afterlife and the Lich King ones mind wanders back to the days of Wrath
of the Lich King where Tirion Fordring played a prominent rol in the salvation of the world. This mighty paladin was one of the first to
join the Order of the Silver Hand, way back during the horde’s first invasion of Azeroth. Stormwind had fallen, its survivors fleeing
to the lands of Lordaeron where Anduin Lothar together with others rallied the nations to
band together and form the alliance of lordaeron to stand against this alien threat, fight
for the fate of the world. Having lordaeron unite was great and all,
but some of them were rivals of eachother. Some of them were not instantly bonding and
fighting together, Lothar needed champions for every human to rally behind, no matter
where they came from. At first he thought of the clerics, a most
obvious choice to fill the role, but they hadn’t done so well during the war so far. Brave to be certain, they lacked the martial
training, better suited to use the Holy Light to mend the wounds off the battlefield. He needed something else, something he could
take with him in the midst of battle and the answer came from Archbishop Alonsus Faol and
the church of the Holy Light. Faol proposed to form this new order, one
that would represent the best qualities of humanity. It would comprise of soldiers who were skilled
not only in wielding the Light, but also in leadership and the arts of traditional warfair. His students became the first of the Paladins,
the ones to step up first and embrace these new teachings were Turalyon, Saidan dathrohan,
Uther, Gavinrad the Ride and Tirion Fordring, a knight renowned for his zeal and resilience. The city of stratholme would later serve as
the paladins’ base of operations. Yet for the time being, lothar kept them close,
ordering them to travel alongside the main alliance army. Day and night, the holy warriors were trained
vigorously. Faol taught them how to use the light to comfort
their allies and smite their enemies, and also how to lead by example. They would be more than just weapons. No matter how dire times became, the paladins
would serve as lights in the darkness, as beacons of hope to guide the alliance. They were also instructed to live simple lives,
seek no fortune or glory in war. Until the end of their days, they would put
the needs of others above their own. As training progressed, faol presented a set
of enchanted librams to the paladins. These holy tomes were some of the church’s
most ancient relics. Each libram represented what faol saw as a
core trait of the silver hand: Retribution, Holiness, Protection, Justice and Compassion. Each of them was given one of these tomes,
Tirion holding the retribution one, challenging them to become living embodiments of what
their holy tomes represented. “Justice demands rebrution” The ceremony of officialy becoming a member
was guided by Foul who said as tirion kneeled before him; In the light, we gather to empower
our brother. In its grace, he will be made anew. In its power, he shall educate the masses. In its strength, he shall combat the shadow. And, in its wisdom, he shall lead his brethren
to the eternal rewards of paradise. Clerics of northshire, if you deem this man
worthy, place your blessings upon him. One of the white robed men walked forward,
carrying an embroidered dark blue stole in his hands. The cleric reached the dais and reverently
placed the blessed stole around tirions neck. He dipped his thumb in a small vial of sacred
oil and anointed tirions sweating brow with it. By the grace of the light, may your brethren
be healed, the cleric said in a whisper. He bowed and backed away to stand once more
amongst his fellow. The archbishop turned to the men on the right
and spoke again; knights of the silver hand, if you deem this man worthy, place your blessings
upon him. Two of the armored men moved forward with
obvious pride on their faces and stood solemnly in front of the dais. One of the men held a great, two handed warhammer. The hammers silvery head was etched with holy
runes and its hat was meticulously wrapped in blue leather. Tirion could only marvel at the weapons exceptional
craftsmanship and beauty. The knight laid the hammer on the dais before
tirions feet. He then bowed his head and backed away. The second knight, carrying dual ceremonial
shoulder plates, stepped foreward and looked tirion in the eye. He was saidan dathrohan, one of tirions closest
friends. The knights face was alight with pride and
excitement. Tirion smiled knowingly. Visibly composing himself, saidan placed the
silver shoulder plates upon tirions shoulders and spoke in a stern voice. By the strength of the light, may your enemies
be undone. After he finished speaking, saidan adjusted
the silver plates so that the blue stole streamed out from beneath them. He then backed away and returned to the group
of attendant knights. Tirions heart pounded in his chest. He was so overcome with joy that he felt almost
light headed. The archbishop strode forward once again and
placed his hand upon tirions head. Arise and be recognized he said. Tirion got to his feet and marveled at the
sheer magnitude of the honor being bestowed upon him. The archbishop leveled his gaze at tirion,
then read aloud from the book. Do you tirion frodring, vow to uphold the
honor and codes of the order of the silver hand? I do tirion replied earnestly. Do you vow to walk in the grace of the light
and spread its wisdom to your fellow man? I do. Do you vow to vanquish evil wherever it be
found, and protect the weak and innocent with your very life? Tirion swallowed hard and nodded while saying,
by my blood and honor, i do. He exhaled softly, overcome with emotion. The archbishop closed the book and walked
back toward the center of the altar. Turning to face the entire assembly, the archbishop
said; brothers – you who have gathered here to bear witness – raise your hands and let
the light illuminate this man. Each of the clerics and knights raised their
right hands and pointed toward tirion. To tirions amazement, their hands began to
glow with a soft, golden radiance. He supposed that, in the excitement of the
moment, his eyes were playing tricks on him. Yet, as he watched in wonder, the sunlight
that poured in from above began to move slowly across the floor. As if in response to the assemblys command,
the light came to rest upon tirion himself. Partially blinded by the intesne radiance,
tirion felt his body warmed and energized by its holy power. Every fiber of his being was ignited by divine
fire. He could sense life giving energies flowing
through his limbs, energies enough to heal any wound or cure any disease. He mused that these energies were enough to
burn even the souls of the accursed denizens of the shadow. Despite himself, he shuddered involuntarily. Ablazed with hope and joy, tirion knelt down
and took hold of the mighty hammer – the symbol of his holy appointment and station. With joyous tears streaming down his face,
he raised his head and looked toward the archbishop, who smiled warmly back at him. Arise, tirion fordring – paladin defender
of lordaeron. Welcome to the order of the silver hand. The paladins finished their training succesfully
and a good things too as the horde had also added a new kind of champion amongst their
ranks, the death knights created by Gul’dan. Their dark energies stunned the human army,
inflicting pain and terror on their enemies. the mere sight of the death knight horrified
the humans, and the alliance lines began the crumble. This dark force might have been too mcuh to
handle was it not for those shiny and holy paladins. With the Light on their sides they struck
down the reanimated human corpses, mended the wounds and eased their fearful hearts. With the paladins at their side and betrayel
within the Horde, the alliance of lordaeron was eventually able to defeat the Horde, push
them back through the dark portal or make them hide away on Azeroth. The orcs that surrendered were placed within
interment camps and while the horde did come back for a second invasion, the alliance once
again held its ground and the allien orcish horde did not conquer their world. The betrayel within the Horde might give you
an indication that not all were down with what was going on amongst their ranks. Demon blood, fel magic, corruption by the
burning legion, the orcs were not always the blood thirsty monsters that came storming
through the dark portal. Some of them decided that they had enough
of the fighting and just wanted to live out their days in peace, orcs like Eitrigg. But that doesn’t mean the alliance suddenly
saw the orcs differently. To them all orcs were vile and corrupt, any
found were to be imprisoned or executed on the spot. By this time, Tirion is around 50 years old
and the governor of the prosperous alliance territory of Hearthglen, a large forested
region nestled at the crossroads between the towering alterac mountains and the mist – shrouded
shores of Darrowmere lake. He was respected for his deeds amongst the
alliance, but also as a just governor and his name and deeds were honored throughout
the kingdom of lordaeron. His great keep, Mardenholde, was the center
of commerce and trade for the bustling region. The citizens of hearthglen took great pride
in the fact that the keeps mighty walls had never fallen to invaders, even during the
darkest days of the orcish invasion of lordaeron. But reports are spreading about the Horde
reforming. This is around the time where Thrall has escaped
from his interment camp and is indeed busy reforming the Horde. Not to conquer the world as the Horde of old,
but to free his people from their imprisonment and carve out a piece of the land to call
it home. Reports of his actions were spreading like
wildfire so the alliance was a bit on edge as it was, fearing another war and wouldn’t
you know it, Tirion runs into Eitrigg who’s been hanging out on his lands, just minding
his business and staying out of sight. Naturally the human and orc fight, Tirion
slicing eitrics thigh, forcing him to the ground. Instead of pushing the attack and take his
life, Tirion back off and slowly motioned for the creature to rise. The orc blinked in astonishment. Tirion Was a paladin, a knight of the silver
hand, and to him, butchering a fallen foe in the midst of single combat was unquestionably
dishonorable. The holy code of his order demanded that he
gives the orc a reprieve. They stood for a moment, facing each other
with eyes locked. The orc straightened slightly and raised his
clenched fist to his heart. A salute, tirion realized. Now it was tirion’s s turn to blink in disbelief. Certainly no savage orc had ever saluted him
before. He conceded that perhaps there was more to
the fierce creature than he would have guessed. Nevertheless, it was still his enemy. He nodded to the orc in understanding and
raised his sword again. Their clash of steel became so intense that
the building around them collapsed. Next thing Tirion knew was waking up 4 days
later, back in his own bed after being found unconcious, tied up to his own horse. His wife Karandra told him that he’d been
talking in his sleep, mumbling about an orc and Tirion realised that it hadn’t been
a dream or a nightmare. He truly had faced this orc but someway, somehow,
the orc had not taken his life. Our paladin goes back to where they had fought
and finds Eitrigg again. To his surprise, the orc speaks his language
and the two veterans sit and talk. Talk about the history of the Horde, how Eitrigg
had come to his lands, after a lifetime of fruitless war, peace is the only comfort Eitrigg
has left. This puts Tirion in quite a bit of a spot. On the one hand, here’s an orc, an enemy
of the alliance, a monster he had fought against and defeated. On the other hand, Eitrig had saved his life,
opened his eyes that there was more to the orcs then he had assumed and perhaps most
importantly, Eitrig had shown him honor... something that means everything to Tirion. As a warrior of honor, i accept your words,
eitrigg. And in return for having saved my life, I
will allow you your solitude. So long as you remain hidden and leave my
people unmolested, you may stay here for as long as you wish. Eitrigg smirked, not believing that tirion’s
brethren wouldnt hunt him down anyways, but Tirion is their lord and they shall do as
he says. I give you my solemn oath as a light-sworn
paladin that your secret will be safe. None shall hunt you while i have power to
prevent it, Tirion vowed. Eitrigg grunted in satisfaction. On your honor, then... A vow that Tirion would soon regret as back
at the keep, news of orcs in their lands had quickly spread and none other then his long
time friend Saiden Dathrohan, lord commander of the order, had showed up to investigate. Normally he wouldn’t step in and let Tirion
handle it himself, but the rise of Thrall makes him look closely to any and all possible
orcish incursions. He orders Tirion to lead them to where he
encountered the orc. Fordring is now placed with an impossible
choice between honor and duty, his vowes as a paladin, his promises to the alliance, his
own core beliefs. He can not ignore a direct order given so
he leads them to the spot, Eitrigg is actually there and captured. He tries to convice them to just let the orc
go, he’s not hurting anyone, but to the rest of them...he’s seemingly losing his
mind. Why is he standing up for a beast such as this, but when the guards start wipping Eitrigg
in the cage, Tirion loses it, pushing the guard aside, taking the whip from him, letting
him taste the lash himself. For the sake of his honor he tries to free
Eitrigg and that’s a step too far, even for Dathrohan. Labeled as a traitor to the alliance, they
imprison Tirion as well and place him on trial at Stratholme. His judge is Uther the Light Bringer with
4 members of the jury namely, Lord Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, Arc-mage Antonidas, Archbishop
Alonsus Faol and Prince Arthas Menethil. Not much of a court case really, Tirion takes
full responsibility for his actions. Tries to explain to them why he did what he
did, how Eitrig had saved his life and that he’s as honorable an opponent as he had
ever faced. You must understand me when i tell you – in
order to follow my orders, i would have had to betray my honor as a paladin. That i could not do. That said, I will accept whatever punishment
you deem fit. For his long duty to the alliance they still
offer him a full pardon. Simply disavow his oath to the creature and
reaffirm his commitment to the alliance and all would be forgotten, he could return home
to his beloved wife and son Taelan... I will remain commited to the alliance until
my dying day. Of that, have no doubt. Tirion said confidently. But i cannot disavow the oath i took. To do so would be to betray everything i am
and everything we, as honorable men, hold dear. Rubbing his eyes wearily, uther motioned for
the court to fall silent once more. He was beside himself with anguish over what
he must do, but tirion had stated his position clearly. So be it, uther said ominously. Tirion fordring, from this day forth you are
no longer welcome among the knights of the silver hand. You are no longer fit to bask in the grace
of the light. I hereby excommunicate you from our ranks. The audience gasped at uthers words. Excommunication was a rare, harsh punishment
that stripped a paladin of his light given powers. Though it had only been used a few times,
every paladin lived in mortal fear of it. Tirion could not fathom what was about to
happen. Before he could utter another word, uther
made a sweeping motion with his hand. Immediately, tirion felt a dark shadow pass
over him, choking out the holy power of the light. Panic threatened to overwhelm him as the grace
and strengthening energies of the light fled his body. The blessed energies, wich had been such an
integral part of him for so long, ebbed away just as if they had never been. Though the light of the hall never wavered,
tirion felt as if he had been wrapped in darkness and cast down into oblivion. Unable to withstand the raging despair and
hopelessness that washed over him in waves, tirion lowered his head in abject despair. Uther continued. All trappings of our order will be stripped
from you, he said as 2 paladins came forward and viciously ripped the silver plates from
tirions wracked body. As well as your personal titles and holdings. Tirion struggled against despair. Never in his life had he felt so naked and
powerless. Images of taelan and karandra sifted through
his tortured mind. He had to get a grip on himself. He had to think of his dignity. On wobbly legs, he stood and faced the court
once more. You shall be exiled from these kingdoms and
live the rest of your days among the wild things of the world. May the light have mercy on your soul, uther
finished. The crime was his so his family did not share
his punishment while Karandra told him that, while she had remained at his side through
all these years, this time the price of his honor is simply too much. She and Taelan would stay in Hearthglen and
Tirion felt as if his life no longer had any meaning. Losing the Light was devestating enough, he
didn’t know if he could bear losing them as well. Before his exile began, the paladin spend
his night writing his son a letter, placing it under his pellow for when the day came
that he was old enough to perhaps understand why he did what he did, perhaps somehow he’ll
look back on his fathers deeds and be proud. that still left Eitrigg in the costidy of
the Alliance. Tirion knew that they had tormented him for
information and were ready to move on to execution. Without the Light at his side, he had to find
someway to save the orcs from the gallows and he did, just as Thrall and horde marched
upon stratholme. This gave tirion the oppertunity to drag Eitrig
out of Stratholme, but the injuries he had suffered were so great that his heart had
stopped. Desperatly Tirion calls out to the Light. “By the grace of the light, may your brethren
be healed.” The phrase wafted through his mind repeatedly
as he reached deep for the power that lurked somewhere within his spirit. “In its grace he will be made anew.” The light could not be taken from him, he
insisted. Men could strip him of his armor and titles,
they could take away his home and his wealth- but the Light would always be within him... It had to be. Slowly, tirion felt a searing heat rising
within his body. It filled his center with strength and light
that snaked out toward his limbs. He almost cried out in joy as the familiar
energies raced through his hands and engulfed the orcs ravaged body. The paladin felt as if he were floating on
air. The strength and purity of the light flooded
his being and cascaded out through his body like a halo of holy fire. Awed and humbled by the reawakened power,
tirion opened his eyes and saw that a warm, golden glow had enveloped eitrigg. He watched in amazement as the bruises on
the orcs body healed before his very eyes. Even the infection on the orcs leg sealed
up as if it had never been. The soothing energies subsided and tirion
dropped to the ground in exhaustion. He’d been right, Uther was not able to rip
his connection from the Light. Lorewise as far as I know there’s been one
instance where that actually happened, we’ll talk about that real soon, and here we see
the Light respond to Tirion’s conviction. Eitrig’s life is saved, his honor and vowe
intact. Thrall shows up, the horde was here to actually
pick up eitrigg, add the legendary orc to their ranks. The warchief of the horde makes sure that
his warriors do not harm Tirion and before he leaves Eitrig turns around and tells him
; We are both bound by blood and honor, brother. I will not forget you... Sadly they never really had a whole lot of
story or moments ingame together, but of course, exile would not be the end of Tirion Fordrings
story. While living in the wilds, azeroth kept on
turning. Dark schemes from the cold lands of Northrend
placed young prince arthas menethil on a road to damnation. Guided by the invisible hand of the Lich King,
Kel’thuzad spread the plague across the lands of Lordaeron. A plague designed to not only kill its citizens,
but turn them into the undead scourge. Arthas became so zealous in his mission of
claiming vengeance that he picked up the cursed Runeblade Frosmourne which did give him the
kill he desired, but also cost him a piece of a soul, now serving against the very thing
he had fought. Back in Lordaeron he murdered his father and
the scourge spread out across the land. Kel’thuzad was brought back as a Lich and
great heroes like Uther the Lightbringer and Gavinrad fell to this darkness. But not all hope was lost. Great heroes also rose up like Alexandros
Mograine and his mighty blade, the ashbringer. The undead scourge litteraly turned to ash
as Alexandros cleaved them down. A great threat that had to be taken care of
and once more, manipulations would do the trick. As Saidan Dathrohan, Mograine and others charged
stratholme to cleanse it of the undead filth, their party got seperated and Dathrohan was
cornered by the dreadlord Balnazzar. After slaying the paladin and taking over
his body, he started manipulate events from within their order, like pitching Renault
Mograine against his father. Motivating him to lead him into a trap and
murder him with his own blade. This action corrupted the holy weapon and
even more horrible, Alexandros’ body was taken by Kel’thuzad. Twisting and torturing it until all that remained
was the death knight Mograine, one of the four horseman wielding that corrupted Ashbringer. In the meantime those still holding their
ground against the scourge were not doing so well. They found out about Alexandros death, and
Balnazzar kept on corrupting them from within. While some wanted to recruit help from different
races against the scourge, others believed that their organisation should remain pure. In light of this some of the members decided
to split up where as the Scarlet Crusade recieved Renault Mograin as their first commander,
placed their by balnazzar disguised as dathrohan, others formed the organisation known as the
Argent Dawn. Thankfully Mograine had another son, Darion,
who teamed up with the Argent Dawn, found out about his father, entered Naxxramas and
took out his own father. This act stopped his fathers physical form,
but his spirit was bound to the corrupted blade and would know no rest. From the weapon his father whisperd to Darion
to take him to renault. From the blade rose his spirit, claiming delicious
vengeance for what his son had done. The youngest of the mograine family couldnt
believe what had happened to his father, but the scourge was still gathering more and more
forces and they were getting ready to assault lights hope chappel. In a dream Darion was told to seek out Tirion
if he wanted to find a way to save his fathers soul. Tirion by now has spend a few years in exile,
watching his son grow up from a distance. At first has no desire to listen to Darion,
but he changes his mind when Darion tells him that his fathers soul is at stake. The entire tale seems disturbing and unbelievable,
but Tyrion can sense that a soul is trapped within the blade and tells Darion that if
there’s anything that might undo the corruption, then it would be an act of love greater than
the act of evil that corrupted the sword. Such an act is often the ultimate test of
faith. With this knowledge in mind Darion makes his
way back to the Argent Dawn, but before he leaves he asks Tyrion to come back. He was once a vessel of the light with faith,
wisdom, valor, honor. Tyrion was once a paladin and an inspiration,
he could be a hero once more but the descision is for Tyrion to make. Back at lights hope, Darion finds out that
a massive scourge army is making its way to the chappel. Beneath it the order has relocated 1000 of
the bravest souls, warriors, priests, paladins, champions of battles long past, they were
all moved beneath the chappel to keep them away from the scourge, to keep them away from
being turned into their enemy. Kel’thuzad and the scourge know this, that’s
exactly why they want to take the chappel and the Argent Dawn gets ready to lay down
their lives to defend this holy place. A massive battle erupts, one that not even
Tirion can turn around...Darion realises what he must do. A strong act of love, the ultimate test of
faith. His father had died due to betrayal. The only act that could free him was to make
the ultimate sacrifice. And if darion could free him, then perhaps
alexandros mograine could save the argent dawn from annihilation. Darion took the corrupted ashbringer and impaled
himself upon it. This selfless act did more than free his father. The souls interred beneath the chapel were
also awakened. Alongside alexandros, their vengeful fury
laid waste to the invading scourge. Lights hope was saved, but many had fallen
to defend it. Some, including darion, were recovered by
the scourge. Though he had saved his father’s soul, he
had now damned his own. Both darion mograine and the ashbringer were
now in the scourges hands, a new wielder for the corrupted blade... someone who would make
a return real soon, but first Tirion had his son to worry about. That part of the story and so much more we’re
going to save for next week so for nooooow....thank you very much for watching everyone! Subscribe if you like my videos, leave a like
if you enjoyed this one aaand until next time....see ya!
