Aiden Perenolde

Not to be confused with Aliden Perenolde.

Aiden Perenolde
Title	King of Alterac
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Affiliation(s)	Kingdom of Alterac
Former affiliation(s)	Alliance of Lordaeron, Old Horde
Former occupation(s)	King of Alterac, Ally of the Old Horde
Location	Unknown
Status	Deceased
Relative(s)	Aliden (son), Unnamed children, Isiden (nephew), At least one unnamed nephew, Daval Prestor ("distant cousin")

“Alterac will survive. No matter the cost.”

— Aiden Perenolde

Aiden Perenolde was the king of the human nation of Alterac. During the Second War, he betrayed the Alliance by making a nonaggression treaty with the Horde, allowing them passage through his lands in return for Alterac's promised safety.

Biography

Before the Second War

During Aiden's reign, Alterac was involved in several conflicts with neighboring Stromgarde over their shared borderlands. This created an intense personal enmity between him and his Stromic counterpart, Thoras Trollbane. Drenden, a mage of the Kirin Tor, knew Aiden when he was younger.

Second War

Aiden was one of the human leaders who attended the Council of Seven Nations to form the Alliance of Lordaeron. Like Genn Greymane of Gilneas, he initially expressed doubt about the orcs' existence due to false rumors that a Stormwindian noble (Deathwing in disguise) had spread during the First War. Aiden asked if the orcs would be open to negotiation, and derided Anduin Lothar as urging for unity but having nothing himself to bring to such assembly. Even after the fall of Khaz Modan, Aiden and Genn stubbornly resisted calls for creating an alliance, since they feared that unification would mean the loss of some of their regional power. Divisions widened between the council members until Alterac and Gilneas threatened to abandon the discussions entirely, but the priest Turalyon delivered an impassioned speech that swayed even Aiden and Genn and convinced the leaders to form the Alliance. During the following debates on who should lead the Alliance military, each monarch argued that the role should go to them. Aiden suggested that brute force alone was not enough but that the commander should have intelligence, wisdom, and vision, all of which he felt he possessed in abundance. Ultimately, Anduin Lothar was chosen for the role instead.

At the beginning of the Second War, Aiden had Alteraci garrisons barricade the passes through the Alterac Mountains that could otherwise have given the Horde a route to Lordaeron's Capital City. Aiden praised Lothar and King Terenas for their war efforts, but privately feared that the Alliance would fall before the Horde and that only the surrender of his forces and his sovereignty would save his subjects' lives. His fear only deepened when he learned of the death knights, red dragons, and ogre magi the Horde added to its ranks. From early on in the war, it was rumored among parts of the Alliance, including the Kirin Tor, that Aiden held back his forces out of fear and that he intended to make a deal with the Horde if the Alliance was defeated.

Indeed, Aiden ultimately became convinced that the Horde was unstoppable, that the Alliance had failed at its purpose of protecting humanity, and that every kingdom had to look out for its own survival. When the Horde began to cross the Alterac Mountains in order to invade the Lordaeronian heartland, Aiden directly contacted Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer with a messenger bird and arranged a secret nightly meeting with him. Impressed that Doomhammer could speak Common, Aiden started finding the orc a cultured and honorable warrior. The two leaders agreed to a nonaggression treaty: Aiden would give the Horde safe passage through the mountains by moving his own forces out of the way and give Doomhammer a map showing the fastest route through the southern passes. In exchange, Doomhammer would keep his soldiers in check and not kill Alteraci citizens or raid their settlements. The warchief further promised that once the Horde had conquered Lordaeron, he would place Alterac under his protection to keep it safe. Aiden returned to his castle in Alterac City and informed General Hath and his other officers that, starting immediately, Alterac was no longer part of the Alliance and would side with the Horde instead. He quelled his officers' protests by insisting that this was their only hope of survival and by reminding them of the oaths of fealty they'd sworn. He instructed Hath to keep the common soldiers in the dark and to station them in the northern passes and leave the southern passes unmanned in order to give the Horde free passage. Immediately after the meeting, an Alliance messenger arrived with instructions from Lothar that Alterac had to send troops to defend Capital City. Aiden murdered the messenger with a dagger and hid his body in the castle garderobe.

It would've taken the Horde months to cross the mountains had they been fully barricaded, but Aiden's betrayal allowed them to cross in only two days and lay siege to Capital City while most of the Alliance forces were occuped in the Hinterlands and Quel'Thalas. Aiden also arranged for a peasant revolt in Tyr's Hand to cover Horde mining operations there, kidnapped magi from Dalaran, sent pirates to assassinate Uther (the leader of the Knights of the Silver Hand), and sent Alteraci sailors to assist the Horde fleet. Upon learning of the Horde's unexpectedly fast crossing of the mountains, Thoras Trollbane immediately guessed that Aiden had betrayed the Alliance and led forces into Alterac, where he convinced General Hath to disobey his king and help barricade the southern passes to cut off the Horde's reinforcements. Aiden was still in the castle with his personal guard, but Thoras decided to let the Alliance deal with him later due to a lack of time. Furthermore, if Hath or Thoras had tried to draw him out themselves, it would've constituted treason or an invasion, respectively.

Beyond the Dark Portal

The Book of Medivh, which Aiden stole from Stormwind and later traded to the Horde.

After the Second War, the black dragon Deathwing disguised himself as Daval Prestor, a "distant cousin" to Aiden Perenolde, and convinced Terenas to march his forces into Alterac, declare martial law, and depose Aiden, confining him to house arrest in his palace and putting the rest of his family on close watch. Prestor presented this as a temporary solution while the Alliance decided on Alterac's fate and who, if anyone, should succeed Aiden as king, but actually intended it as a way to split the Alliance's attention away from the Horde. As a sovereign king, Aiden could not be exiled or imprisoned without making the other kings worry that they'd suffer the same fate if they disagreed with Lordaeron on anything. Terenas wanted Aiden to abdicate so that he could be tried and executed as a lesser noble, but Aiden refused since he knew that this would mean his death. With no consensus, nothing more was done with the Perenoldes for two years after the Second War. To ensure that his captive "cousin" wouldn't contradict the lies he was telling in Lordaeron, Deathwing made Aiden go insane.

Shortly before the Invasion of Draenor, Aiden sent agents to steal the Book of Medivh from New Stormwind so he could use it as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Alliance. Shortly after, Horde agents in the form of Teron Gorefiend and his death knights, riding on Deathwing and his black dragons, confronted Aiden in his palace, sending in orcs to kill his guards and drag the king outside to demand the Book of Medivh from him. Initially frightened, the mad king quickly saw a way to benefit from the situation and agreed to turn over the book if the Horde destroyed the Lordaeronian and Stromic troops occupying Alterac City. As the dragons attacked the Alliance garrison, the king's eldest son Aliden discovered what his father had done and punched him in the face, saying that his actions would destroy everything Aliden had done to try to redeem the Perenolde name. Aiden, for his part, broke down in a manic fit of laughter and sobs and relished the sound of the Alliance forces' destruction as the loveliest thing he'd ever heard.

The question of Alterac's fate eventually escalated into a political crisis, with competing claims from Daval Prestor and Aiden's nephew Isiden Perenolde over who should take over his title and lands.

Aiden died at some point, but the exact time and cause of death are unknown.

Appearance and personality

Aiden was a soft-spoken, cultured-looking man with graying brown hair, hazel eyes and narrow, elegant features. He wore fine, richly-embroidered clothes and owned a well-made longsword which he'd never used.

Even before his betrayal during the Second War, Aiden was ill-regarded by his allies. Thoras Trollbane of Stromgarde despised him both as a political enemy and on a personal level: he considered the Alteraci king an oily, arrogant idiot, as well as a coward and a bully who was only willing to fight as long as it didn't put him at any risk. In Thoras' view, Aiden cared only about himself and would happily "make a deal with demons" to keep himself and his lands safe. Terenas Menethil II of Lordaeron had also never liked Aiden, who struck him as selfish, scheming, and militarily incompetent. Anduin Lothar and Khadgar both quickly took a disliking to the man due to his arrogant manners at the Council of Seven Nations. Lothar thought that Aiden reminded him of similar men he'd known in Stormwind, "smooth and silky and nasty and always out for themselves at any cost", and who more often than not turned out to be cowards. Orgrim Doomhammer thought that Aiden reminded him of Gul'dan, in that both were clever and selfish but too cowardly to betray a stronger force. On the other hand, his betrayal came as a surprise to Drenden, who remembered the young Aiden as having been timid but seemingly not "the traitorous type". Toward the end of his life, Aiden suffered from insanity brought on by Deathwing, which caused him to act erratic and boisterous.

Quotes

• "You say this threat is coming, and I would not dispute it. And you say we must band together to end the threat. Yet I wonder, have you tried other methods to resolve the matter? Surely these ... orcs ... are rational beings? Surely they have some goal in mind? Perhaps we can negotiate with them?"
• "I find it strange that a stranger to our shores should be so concerned for our survival. Forgive me for treading upon fresh wounds, sir, but your own kingdom is gone, your king dead, your prince little more than a boy, your lands overrun. Is this not so? You have brought word of this threat to us, for which we are grateful. Yet you speak repeatedly of what we must do, how we must unite. I do not see anyone else from your kingdom here, and you have said yourself that the prince is but a boy and the lands a conquered territory. If we were to consider your suggestion and unite, what could you possibly add to the assembly? Beyond your own martial prowess, of course."
• "Yes, I would have us conspire with them! Because I would have us survive! Do you have any idea what we are facing? The Horde, the entire Horde, is planning to sweep through these mountains! Through our home! Do you have any idea how many of them there are? Thousands! Tens of thousands! And do you have any idea what these orcs are like? I have seen one of them, no farther away from me than you are now. They are enormous! Nearly as tall as trolls, and twice as wide! Massively muscled, with tusks and fangs—this one carried a hammer it would take three men to lift, and he waved it about as if it were a child's toy! No man could stand against that! They'll kill us all, don't you understand? They've already destroyed Stormwind, and Alterac will be next!"
• "The Alliance what? Where are they now? Not here, I'll tell you that! We formed the Alliance to protect our kingdoms against exactly this sort of attack, but here we are with the Horde breathing down our necks and the precious Alliance is nowhere in sight. They've abandoned us, don't you see? It is every kingdom for itself now. I have to think about Alterac first. The other kings would do the same."
• "You do not have to like it. You only have to obey. I am king here, and I have made my decision. You have sworn oaths to me, and you will abide by them."

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Different RPG books give conflicting depictions of Aiden. Lands of Conflict (released 2004, shortly before the launch of World of Warcraft) describes him as still alive and as a leader of the Syndicate, seemingly conflating him with his son Aliden, who was introduced in the MMO. Alliance Player's Guide (2006) and Dark Factions (2008) clearly separate the two characters, with Aiden being long dead and Aliden being the leader of the Syndicate.

In Alliance Player's Guide and Dark Factions

Aiden Perenolde was perhaps the most notorious human noble of the Second War. He was in charge of Alterac at the beginning of the hostilities. Perenolde was cowardly and was will weak; he betrayed the Alliance in favor of the enemy, the Horde, and sent ships to strike at the Alliance vulnerabilities.

Aiden was good in using his political skills to turn people against each other.

Biography

During the Second War, the situation in the Alterac Mountains was dire as Lord Aiden Perenolde and the rest of the ruling families of the kingdom of Alterac secretly sided with the orcs in exchange for power. Aiden was terrified of the Horde and persuaded a number of Alterac's nobles that an orcish victory was inevitable. Thus it was that the nation of Alterac aided the Horde in a number of ways, not the least of which was allowing the orcs to march west, unhindered, from Quel'Thalas through the Alterac Mountains. Many good men were lost to their initial deception.

When King Terenas of Lordaeron discovered Perenolde's treachery, he sent Alliance soldiers into Alterac and declared martial law. Perenolde was ultimately captured and ousted, and other collaborators were stripped of their titles and property, then imprisoned or exiled.

Lord Aiden was left rotting in prison (where he would eventually die), and his son Aliden attempted to assume command of the exiled Alteraci. He eventually succeeded his father and is now leading a bandit group known as the Syndicate, which includes the fallen noble families of Alterac, all seeking to reclaim their lost lands.

In Lands of Conflict

Aiden Perenolde is the former lord of the kingdom of Alterac, and is a high-ranking Syndicate member. He is 66, dark of skin and hair with blue eyes. Rumors say he is addicted to flushbloom.

Aiden resides in his keep in the Uplands, and is the scion of the Perenolde family. His wife Isolde died some time ago and his oldest child, Beve, is an important member of the Syndicate. She is fiercely devoted to her family but disagrees with her father on many issues. Beve thinks her leadership would be much more beneficial and since she is next in line, it would not be bad if Aiden disappeared. She believes he is blind to her machinations, but he is well aware of her desires.

Biography

Aiden Perenolde grew up wealthy, never knowing need. He adored his home in the Alterac Mountains, but had his eyes on Lordaeron City. He held none of the lineage for the throne, even if everyone in Lordaeron died inexplicably.

When the Horde invaded the continent of Lordaeron, he saw his chance to ride the wave of their destruction and claim the jewel of the Alliance as his own. And thus he betrayed the Alliance in the Second War. Alterac's honor has been blemished ever since.

BE IT NOW KNOWN that the individual called Lord Aiden Perenolde and every known ally, due to their association with the vile Horde during the war and their traitorous actions toward the Alliance and her citizens, shall be stripped of all land, holdings and wealth and known hereafter as traitors to the Alliance. They shall forfeit all rights to citizenry in the Alliance. Indeed, they are considered enemies of all citizens of Lordaeron. Let no good people of this land show them hospitality, mercy or sanctuary. Consider the honor they gave the Alliance and her citizens, and treat them no better.

So said in this seventh year of the new Alliance.

Sir Uther Lightbringer of the Knights of the Silver Hand

— Proclamation from Uther Lightbringer regarding the ousted noble traitors, known later as The Syndicate

The ousted nobles discovered, to their dismay, that the few bands of free orcs in Lordaeron wanted nothing to do with them and refused them sanctuary, so they began stealing to stay alive. Soon, they banded together to become more powerful and called themselves the Syndicate. A haughty, fractious group led loosely by Lord Aiden Perenolde. They managed to stay alive by stealing from towns and villages, and traveling frequently.

In the Arathi Highlands, Aiden knew if they did not work together, they would die. He managed to gain a loose hold on the prickly nobles to organize raiding parties on the local towns. Now acting as the self-proclaimed leader of the Syndicate, Lord Aiden realized he had to do something drastic to reclaim his lands. When the Burning Legion and the Scourge began their assault on Lordaeron, he did not make the same mistake twice by allying himself with the enemy; he simply took advantage of the Alliance's distraction to begin moving on his lands. The harried and panicked citizens, the people they used to lord over, were frightened and confused and put up little fight, more concerned with the hellish creatures that were rampaging over the land.

When Aiden regained control of his lands — and his neighbors — after the Third War, he had a burning desire to punish the Alliance (never mind that it lay shattered with the fall of Lordaeron). Due to that, he managed to urge his fellow nobles into taking more and more surrounding land, and currently the Syndicate holds a good portion of the Alterac Mountains and Arathi Highlands. He knows he is a target for the nobles who chafe under his rule and protects himself accordingly.

When Lord Aiden Perenolde came up with the idea to take advantage of the Alliance's crippled state and attack neighboring lands, the Syndicate once again came under his rule, grudgingly. Lord Falconcrest, who had been one of the many lesser nobles under Lord Perenolde during his reign, took over command in the Arathi Highlands. Falconcrest never liked the older man, but he admitted that Perenolde had a good idea from time to time, and thought it was a fine idea to work with the Horde. After they were exiled, Falconcrest blamed Perenolde for the loss of their holdings.

The Syndicate accepted bandit pledges of fealty, and thus stronger warriors and rogues brought their skills to the group. One of the smarter decisions Aiden Perenolde made for the Syndicate was to break up these bandit gangs among the noble families, giving the bandits new allegiances so the gangs could not stay together to work against the nobles. This trick worked perfectly, and most bandits went along with it for the greater reward.

Far enough away from Perenolde's control, Falconcrest is slowly grooming the rogues under him to work against Aiden and the northern Syndicate. Falconcrest is younger than Perenolde, only in his forties, and is prepared to bide his time until he is ready.

Notes

• According to the orc Gol'dir, Aiden and later his son Aliden planned to enslave the orcs that stood against them, a plan they had in common with Aedelas Blackmoore.
• Aiden Perenolde was originally simply named "Lord Perenolde" in the earliest Warcraft manuals and novels; no first name was given. The RPG book Lands of Conflict (2004) was the first source to establish his name as Aiden Perenolde, followed by the Alliance Player's Guide (2006), both of which are now non-canon. The novelization Tides of Darkness (2007) is the earliest still-canonical source to feature him with the name Aiden.
• In Warcraft II, Aiden is described as having secretly worked with the Horde since the start of the Second War. The novelization Tides of Darkness retconned him into only allying with the Horde late in the war, when the Horde had already reached the Alterac Mountains.
• As of Legion, Aiden is the only human king from the Second War who has never been depicted in-game in any Warcraft game.
• In Warcraft III: Reforged, the Syndicate bandit Benedict drops a rune named Perenolde's End.

Speculation

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

Death knight

One of the Death Knight hero names in Warcraft III is "Baron Perenolde". It is unknown if this Baron was meant to be a relative of Perenolde, or Aiden Perenolde himself (by the programmers). But if Aiden was alive after Warcraft III, the latter is unlikely, in which case the character may not actually exist. He may also be the nephew mentioned in Day of the Dragon (who was named Isiden in Beyond the Dark Portal).

References

Preceded by: Unknown

Position: Ruler of Alterac

Succeeded by: Aliden Perenolde Isiden Perenolde (Fighting for control)