The paladins of the Argent Dawn and the Order of the Silver Hand had a new champion to rally behind. Tirion merged both groups into a single faction that he called the Argent Crusade, and he vowed to see the Lich King destroyed.
Most of the death knights on the field that day had been liberated from the Lich King’s control. Darion rallied these free-willed death knights and bestowed upon them a new name: the Knights of the Ebon Blade. They returned to their homes among the Horde and the Alliance, and they pledged to fight the Lich King alongside the two factions. Although there was plenty of uneasiness about forging a pact with these undead, the Horde and the Alliance believed the death knights would serve as valuable allies in the war to come. They eventually allowed the death knights into their ranks.
The Lich King’s former servants would soon have the opportunity to seek vengeance against him.
The Scourge’s attacks had sent the Alliance and the Horde into a righteous fury. Both factions mobilized their armies and brought war to the Lich King’s doorstep.
King Varian Wrynn of the Alliance commanded the paladin Bolvar Fordragon to eliminate the Scourge. The army under his control was dubbed the Valiance Expedition. Upon reaching Northrend, it established a beachhead on the Howling Fjord, a darkened, nightmarish coast filled with hostile vrykul and dangerous spirits. The Lich King’s reach quickly became frighteningly clear: many of the vrykul had fallen under the Frozen Throne’s sway, and they hurled themselves at the Alliance’s defenses until their numbers were spent.
Once the champions of the Alliance had secured the coastline, they found friendlier faces inland. The Frostborn dwarves, who lived in the icy Storm Peaks, were initially reluctant to join a war against the Lich King, but they eventually offered assistance to the Alliance campaign.
Warchief Thrall tasked the orc Garrosh Hellscream with leading the Horde’s forces. Garrosh was hungry to prove himself to his people, and he had already developed a reputation for showing keen leadership in battle. His army was called the Warsong Offensive, named after the bold orc’s ancestral clan, and it boasted many revered warriors. Two of the most famous were the seasoned fighter Varok Saurfang and his son, Dranosh Saurfang. The latter was given command over the Horde’s vanguard, a task that he accepted with great pride.
The Horde made landfall in the Borean Tundra, where they immediately faced resistance. Garrosh Hellscream helped carve through the ranks of the Scourge and oversaw the construction of a massive outpost that would serve as the core of the Horde’s push inland.
Nearby tribes of a noble race, distant ancestors of the tauren called the taunka, joined Garrosh’s forces in driving back the Scourge. Later, these mighty yet kindhearted creatures formally allied with the Horde in gratitude.
Through separate offensives, the Alliance and the Horde gradually marched deep into Northrend, pushing closer to the seat of the Lich King’s power. After they arrived at the frozen valley of the Dragonblight and established crude outposts, the Scourge launched its first major counterattack.
Naxxramas, the dreaded necropolis, appeared in the skies above the Horde’s and the Alliance’s forces. Commanding the stronghold was its old master, Kel’Thuzad. He had been reborn by the power of the Lich King, and he was mightier than ever before. Kel’Thuzad directed his undead armies with lethal precision, waylaying the Horde and the Alliance with attacks from all sides. His hidden spies sowed chaos within both factions and cut off the flow of crucial information from their leaders. The Alliance and Horde vanguards, headed by Bolvar Fordragon and Dranosh Saurfang, were creeping closer to Icecrown Citadel, but Kel’Thuzad’s strategy threatened to divide their campaigns and leave their armies vulnerable.
Yet Kel’Thuzad had made a critical mistake. By bringing Naxxramas so close to the front lines, he had given an opening for a daring strike on the fortress itself.
Champions from the Horde and the Alliance stormed into Naxxramas, tearing it apart from the inside and purging the evil from its halls. For some of these heroes, it was the second time they had assaulted this fortress, and they were more than prepared to face Kel’Thuzad again.
Despite the Lich King’s efforts to send reinforcements to the stronghold, Kel’Thuzad was defeated. Rumors quickly spread that his soul was lost to the Shadowlands, the realm of the dead. His fall deprived the Lich King of one of his most powerful lieutenants just as the invasion of Northrend was approaching its zenith.
The Lich King’s ultimate strategy was imperiled by this unexpected defeat, but fortunately for him, another threat would soon distract the heroes of the Alliance and the Horde.
THE NEXUS, LAIR OF THE BLUE DRAGONFLIGHT
The fall of Naxxramas had allowed the invading armies to establish permanent footholds in the Dragonblight from which they hoped to strike at Icecrown Citadel itself.
It was not to be. The Kirin Tor had finally uncovered what was happening at the Nexus. Malygos and most of his blue dragonflight were draining away Azeroth’s arcane magic, and they were killing every mage who dared to oppose them.
Archmage Rhonin and the ranking members of the Kirin Tor were shocked to learn that some of their own had defected to the blue dragonflight’s cause. The danger posed by Malygos was so great that the magi of Dalaran did something unprecedented: they pooled their power and teleported their entire city to the skies above Northrend.
From their new vantage point, the Kirin Tor launched an offensive to stop Malygos’s campaign, but progress was slow. The blue Dragon Aspect and his servants were too strong for even the great magi of Dalaran to contend with. In time, the Kirin Tor called upon the Alliance and the Horde to aid them. The idea of diverting resources from the war against the Lich King did not sit well with Garrosh Hellscream or Bolvar Fordragon, but both agreed that it was necessary.
Members of the Horde and the Alliance set out to probe the blue dragonflight’s defenses around the Nexus. They were joined by representatives of the other dragonflights, who had also grown wary of Malygos. The mortals and dragons attempted to contact the Aspect of Magic and convince him to end his destructive crusade, but their efforts were met with open hostility.
As this conflict intensified, the Dragon Aspect Alexstrasza and ambassadors from the other dragonflights met to discuss Malygos’s fate. Even some of the blue dragons who opposed the Aspect of Magic attended the gathering. Malygos had already killed too many innocents, and his siphoning of Azeroth’s ley lines had upset the balance of the world. The death and destruction were bound only to worsen over time.
TWILIGHT DRAGONS
The black dragonflight attempted to use the war with Malygos to their advantage. One of the few nether dragons who had escaped the Aspect of Magic’s wrath was captured by Sintharia, consort of Deathwing. She was determined to rebuild her flight by creating a new and fearsome breed of dragon.
Sintharia drew on the nether dragon’s power to forge creatures known as twilight dragons. Her desperate attempt to restore the black dragonflight was only partially successful. A number of heroes, including the dragons Kalecgos and Korialstrasz, learned of Sintharia’s experiments. They launched an attack on the black dragon, killing her and eradicating most of her progeny.
Unfortunately, not all of the twilight dragons were destroyed. Deathwing had discovered Sintharia’s brood, and he had recognized the twilight dragons’ incredible potential.
In the months to come, he would carry on his fallen consort’s work.
With heavy hearts, the dragons reached an agreement that would become known as the Wyrmrest Accord. For the good of Azeroth, they would join the side of mortals and make war on Malygos. Reaching this decision was difficult for all of them, but especially for Alexstrasza. She saw Malygos as a brother. And as a guardian of life, she abhorred the bloodshed that was to come. Yet if she did nothing, she knew the number of lives lost would be unimaginable.
The united f
orces of the Wyrmrest Accord assaulted Malygos’s stronghold in the Nexus. Alexstrasza herself was there when Azeroth’s defenders faced the Aspect of Magic and struck him down. She felt no relief or joy in ending the life of her ancient friend, only a deep sorrow.
With Malygos dead, the blue dragonflight’s campaign was put to an end. Members of the Kirin Tor would spend years reversing the damage done to Azeroth’s ley lines, eventually restoring them to their former power.
After Malygos’s death, the Horde and the Alliance refocused on Icecrown Citadel. Bolvar Fordragon and Dranosh Saurfang waged separate campaigns against the Scourge, pushing the undead armies farther and farther back into the Dragonblight.
Both commanders quickly realized that a victory for one faction was a victory for all against the Lich King. When one side attacked the undead, the other would “coincidentally” order their own forces to draw the Scourge’s attention on another front. A grudging mutual respect formed between the two commanders, and their subtle attempts to coordinate attacks were remarkably effective. Though their efforts took the Horde and the Alliance in different directions, they eventually met at the southern entrance of Icecrown: Angrathar the Wrath Gate.
Once the Wrath Gate was secured, both factions would be able to mount offensives against Icecrown Citadel at the time of their choosing. The Lich King’s defenses were formidable, and breaking through the bulwarks would take a brutal, costly battle.
Neither Bolvar nor Dranosh would allow the other to claim all the glory. Thus, when the day came to assault the Wrath Gate, both sides eventually gathered on the field of battle. The Scourge army that stood before them was greater than anything the Horde and the Alliance had yet faced. Vicious, close-quarters fighting ensued.
Before the combined might of Azeroth’s defenders, the Scourge’s lines buckled. Slowly, Bolvar and Dranosh cleaved their way to the foot of the Wrath Gate. Victory seemed within reach, but the Lich King could not allow his enemies to prevail. His plan to convert the Horde and the Alliance’s champions to his side would succeed only if both factions were war-weary and exhausted by the time they arrived at the Frozen Throne. Should they come brimming with confidence and in a position of power, they might very well sweep away the Scourge entirely.
The Lich King emerged from the Wrath Gate, joining the fight himself. The very sight of him could have shifted the tide of battle in favor of the Scourge. Yet the Alliance and the Horde refused to flee before his presence. They grimly dug their heels in and fought on.
BOLVAR FORDRAGON AND DRANOSH SAURFANG BATTLE THE SCOURGE AT THE WRATH GATE
If the Battle of the Wrath Gate had reached its conclusion, it might have spelled the end of the Lich King. But that was not to be.
From a rise overlooking the Wrath Gate, a barrage of plague canisters rained down on all armies and stopped the fighting dead in its tracks. A lethal green fog, capable of killing the living and the undead alike, enveloped the battlefield. The Lich King instantly understood what was happening, and he retreated without hesitation. Everyone left on the field of battle was killed: Bolvar Fordragon and almost five thousand Alliance soldiers, and Dranosh Saurfang and over four thousand loyal Horde followers.
The plague would have spread throughout the entire region and destroyed whomever it touched if not for the red dragonflight. Alexstrasza and her servants descended from the skies and purified the land with enchanted fire. They could not save the fallen, but they did eradicate the plague.
When the smoke cleared, Dranosh’s and Bolvar’s bodies were missing. Their disappearance was a mystery for another day. Both factions were enraged by what had transpired at the Wrath Gate. The origin of the plague was obvious to all: only the Forsaken could create such a weapon.
And the Horde and the Alliance were ready to destroy those responsible for using it.
Following the disaster at the Wrath Gate, Warchief Thrall sent a summons to Queen Sylvanas Windrunner, but she was already on her way to meet him. She told the warchief that she had been forced to flee her home in the Undercity after a faction of undead dissidents and demons had attempted to overthrow her rule. The dreadlord Varimathras—once thought to be cowed and cut off from the Burning Legion—had apparently been scheming against her all along. He had convinced a gifted alchemist, Grand Apothecary Putress, that the Legion would have more rewards to offer than the Banshee Queen. Together, they had created a new plague of undeath. Not only was it capable of slaying the living, but it could also destroy the Scourge and perhaps even the Lich King himself.
As Thrall and Sylvanas worked together to plan a counterattack, Jaina Proudmoore convened with them. King Varian Wrynn was prepared to lay all responsibility for the Wrath Gate at the Horde’s feet…unless Jaina could convince him otherwise.
Sylvanas told Jaina what she knew and promised that she would exterminate the traitors who had killed so many on both sides.
When Jaina brought this news to Varian, he greeted Sylvanas’s explanation with suspicion. But whether or not the Banshee Queen was lying, Varian saw an opportunity. For the moment, the Undercity was not under the Horde’s control. Perhaps it was time for the Alliance to reclaim the old nation of Lordaeron.
The Horde and the Alliance launched separate offensives against the Undercity. The Horde, led by Sylvanas and Thrall, targeted Varimathras, the mastermind behind the coup. The Alliance invasion, helmed by Varian, stormed through the city’s sewers in search of Putress.
SYLVANAS’S ROLE AT THE WRATH GATE
Like most good lies, Sylvanas Windrunner’s account of the rebellion in the Undercity contained some truth. Grand Apothecary Putress truly had attempted to overthrow her, and Varimathras truly was trying to claim the Forsaken in the name of the Burning Legion.
But the plague had been created at her direction. Sylvanas was willing to take vengeance against the Lich King at almost any cost, even by making a weapon as deadly as the plague. Whether she was aware that Putress and Varimathras were planning to use the concoction remained a mystery. Rumors persisted that she knew about the attack at the Wrath Gate beforehand, and her denials did not assuage the doubts of her detractors.
Both missions were successful. Varimathras and Putress paid the price for their treachery and were defeated.
But Varian was not satisfied. Still seething with rage, he marched to the Undercity’s throne with blades drawn to confront Thrall. No matter who was truly responsible for the attack at the Wrath Gate, Varian Wrynn could not trust the Horde, and he believed the world would be a better place without it. He declared war upon Thrall and his people right then and there.
A catastrophic battle unfolded, but Jaina Proudmoore expertly used her magic to subdue everyone present and teleport the Alliance forces out of the Undercity.
For the moment, full-scale war was averted. But tensions still boiled between the two factions. In the days to come, the Horde’s and the Alliance’s armies in Northrend frequently clashed, though only in small, short-lived skirmishes.
As the war in Northrend raged on, Yogg-Saron continued amassing its forces in the depths of Ulduar. The Old God was greatly pleased by the chaos unfolding above. Not only were the Horde and the Alliance in conflict with the Lich King, but they had turned their wrath on each other. However, Yogg-Saron knew that the longer both factions swept across Northrend in search of hidden Scourge outposts, the more likely they were to discover the entity’s presence in Ulduar.
Yogg-Saron had been watching closely when C’Thun was defeated in Ahn’Qiraj, and it had no desire to meet the same fate. The Old God bided its time. Its corrupted servant, Keeper Loken, had reignited the enchanted Forge of Wills and was crafting new generations of fearsome iron dwarves and vrykul, all of them loyal to Yogg-Saron.
Yet even though the Old God concealed its presence, it could not hide from mortal eyes forever. One of the founders of the Explorers’ Leagu
e, Brann Bronzebeard, stumbled upon the secret. He had come to Ulduar seeking revelations about his race’s ancient history, and he found more than he had bargained for. Brann barely escaped from Ulduar with his life, and he immediately notified Rhonin of the Kirin Tor that a living nightmare was stirring within the forgotten stronghold.
Rhonin notified the Alliance and the Horde, hoping they would see fit to set aside their differences again, if only for one more battle. When King Varian Wrynn, Warchief Thrall, and Garrosh Hellscream gathered in Dalaran to discuss Ulduar, all hope of cooperation vanished. Garrosh and Varian almost immediately came to blows. They would have fought to the death if Rhonin had not intervened.
Though the two commanders were set firmly against each other, many of their followers recognized that ignoring the darkness in Ulduar would doom their war against the Lich King.
Members of the Alliance offered to escort Brann Bronzebeard into Ulduar to uncover more of its mysteries. They infiltrated a wing of the fortress known as the Halls of Stone, home to the Forge of Wills. Sjonnir the Ironshaper, one of Keeper Loken’s most trusted servants, was waiting for them. He served as the master of the Forge of Wills and the architect of Yogg-Saron’s iron army. The Alliance heroes braved countless dangers and destroyed Sjonnir, denying the Old God any further reinforcements.
Meanwhile, the Horde did not remain idle. A handful of its greatest heroes traveled to another of Ulduar’s wings: the Halls of Lightning. Loken called this corner of the fortress home, and he surrounded himself with his most ardent followers. The Horde’s champions were nearly struck down when they came face-to-face with the fallen keeper, but their persistence paid off, and they slew him. In his final moments, Loken gave his enemies a cryptic message: his death would herald the end of Azeroth.
World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 3 Page 21
