I realized after going back through the Story Times that I had originally saved my one of my favorite stories for last, then completely forgotten about it. As someone who is incredibly close to their father, this story is very… awesome.

The story of the Ashbringer is a tale of sadness, betrayal and family, and as mentioned above, one of my favorites.

And so, it is with great pleasure that I give you,

Story Time with Grokk: The Ashbringer

Our story begins with a Paladin of the Silver Hand, during the Second War (The Second War with the Orcs), by the name of Alexandros Mograine. During an assault on the Blackrock Orc forces, Alexandros stumbles upon an Orc warlock who is channeling dark energies from a mysterious orb. Alexandros totally owns this warlock, and upon picking up the orb, his hand becomes a gnarly, decayed sickly mangled mess. While it is incredibly painful, his curiosity is peaked by this device, and so he decides to bring it back to Lordaeron with him to investigate it further.

Upon arriving back in Lordaeron, and after word had spread of the Undead plague sweeping over Lordaeron, he brought the relic to light to other members of the Silver Hand, and described it as “The living embodiment of Shadow.” (For this entire scene, you can go to Old Hillsbrad and watch it play out right in front of you! Pretty awesome!) The members of the Silver Hand debate on its use and its future, before one of the priests, without warning, fires off a bolt of Holy energy at it, hoping to destroy it. But the most curious thing happens… the relic absorbs the Light energies.

Immediately, all the paladins and priests begin to cast holy magic at the relic, and finally, it shifts to become a relic of pure Light energy. Alexandros picks it up, and his hand is instantly healed and restored to normal. It is decided after this that they will use this relic, and forge it into a weapon that they will use to combat the Undead hordes. To do this, they travelled to Ironforge to have the Great Dwarven King Magni Bronzebeard, forge this weapon for them. The King said it was the greatest weapon he’d ever made, and was very ok with the idea of them giving some payback to the Undead, since it was the Fallen Prince Arthas and his Undead Legions that were responsible for the demise of his brother. And So Alexandros was promoted to High Lord of the Silver Hand, and became a great weapon for them.

Unfortunately, this also meant that he attracted the attention of some of the Lich King’s generals. And so they set a trap for him. The Dreadlord demon known as Balnazzar possesed Alexandros Oldest son’s Renault, and used him to lure his father into a trap. Before Alexandros left though, he had a meeting with his younger son, Darion. Darion pleaded with his father to let him come with him, but his father declined, telling Darion that he was “barely of age to hold a sword, let alone old enough to battle the forces of Undead.” He told him to remain behind, and wait for him. That someday the Ashbringer would be his, and he would be the Commander of the Silverhand.

With this, Alexandros and the Priest Fairbanks, left for the ruins of Stratholme, following his son Renault, who had completely given in to the Demon possessing him. Upon arriving there, Renault fled as a massive army of Undead swept down upon Alexandros and Fairbanks. During the fight Fairbanks became buried beneath piles of undead, and was trapped. Yet Alexandros fought on, and somehow managed to defeat all the Undead that came at them: thousands upon thousands of zombies and ghouls lie at his feet.

The battle taxed him greatly, and so he collapsed, dropping the Ashbringer in exhaustion. Renault now reappeared, and picking up the Ashbringer, stabbed his father in the back through his heart. This despicable act of betrayal corrupted the Ashbringer, returning it to its evil state. Renault fled, conflicted with what he had done and started up the Scarlet Crusade, and his father Alexandros was raised as a Death Knight, a Captain of the very forces he hoped to defeat.

His younger son, Darion, after learning of his father’s death, set out to free him, and assaulted the lair of Naxxramas with fellow members of the Silver Hand. They progressed far, but in the end failed. Darion pressed on, drove to the point of desperation, only to see his father destroyed, before he to was killed and raised as a Death Knight, and finally given the ultimate punishment: he, as an agent of the Lich King, took up his father’s corrupted sword, and was forced evermore to listen to the maddening whispers of his father’s spirit inside the blade.

The rest of the story is wrapped up in the Death Knight starting zone, where Darion is finally freed from his curse, and given revenge at the very evil responsible for his father’s betrayal.

And that, is the story of the Ashbringer.

The End.