Sons of Lothar
- "Alliance Expedition" redirects here. For Jaina's expedition to Kalimdor, see Human Expedition. For the Sons of Lothar reputation, see Honor Hold.
 Sons of Lothar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Main leader | Unknown |
| Formerly |
 Force Commander Danath Trollbane[1] Supreme Commander Khadgar High General Turalyon |
| Secondary leaders |
 Captain Auric Sunchaser |
| Formerly |
 Gryphon Rider Commander Kurdran Wildhammer Lead Scout Alleria Windrunner |
| Race(s) |
  Human High elf  Wildhammer dwarf  Ironforge dwarf  Gnome Void elf (one) Orc (one)[2] |
| Character classes | Ranger, Footman, Gryphon rider, Knight, Mage, Warrior |
| Capital | Honor Hold |
| Other major settlements | Allerian Stronghold, Wildhammer Stronghold |
| Formerly | Vanguard, Expedition Armory, Kirin'Var Village |
| Theater of operations | Draenor/Outland, Azeroth |
| Language(s) | Common, Thalassian, Dwarven, Gnomish |
| Affiliation | Alliance army, Alliance, Sha'tar (allies) |
| Formerly | Alliance of Lordaeron |
| Status | Active |
| Reputation | |
| Tabard |
 |
“In remembrance of the Supreme Allied Commander, Anduin Lothar: A man who would sacrifice everything in the defense of his king, his people, his home...
Let our enemies know our names. Let our allies honor our passing. We are the Sons of Lothar.”
The Sons of Lothar,[3] also known as the Alliance Expedition[4][5] and the Alliance Expeditionary Force,[6][7] are mostly the veterans of the Second War[8] that ventured to the orc homeworld of Draenor during the invasion of Draenor.[9] Their main objective was to end the threat of the orcs and recovered several stolen magical artifacts (such as the Book of Medivh, Eye of Dalaran, etc.) from Ner'zhul before he could open portals to other worlds. They named themselves in honor of Anduin Lothar, who was considered to be the bravest and most selfless human warrior they ever knew.[3]
When the Dark Portal reopened twenty years later, the Sons of Lothar were once more reunited with the Grand Alliance, and subsequently led a campaign against the Burning Legion, fel orcs, and Illidan's forces across Outland. Among the Expedition's leaders — Khadgar, Danath Trollbane, and Kurdran Wildhammer — were first found on the broken world, while Alleria Windrunner and Turalyon only made their return during the Argus Campaign. All five expedition leaders have since returned to Azeroth, leaving the status of the Sons of Lothar and their leadership unknown, leaving the expedition hierarchy unclear.
Though they affiliate themselves with the Alliance,[10] Khadgar became available as a quest giver to both factions during the events of The Burning Crusade. Despite their military origins, the Sons of Lothar as a force now promote tolerance and mercy between different peoples.[11]
History
Invasion of Draenor
- Main article: Invasion of Draenor
As the fires of the Second War died down, the Alliance took aggressive steps to contain the orcish threat. A number of large internment camps, meant to house the captive orcs, were constructed in southern Lordaeron. Guarded by both the paladins and the veteran soldiers of the Alliance, the camps proved to be a great success. Though the captive orcs were tense and anxious to do battle once more, the various camp wardens, based at the old prison-fortress of Durnholde, kept the peace and maintained a strong semblance of order.
However, on the hellish world of Draenor, a new orcish army prepared to strike at the unsuspecting Alliance. Ner'zhul, the former mentor of Gul'dan, rallied the remaining orc clans under his dark banner. Aided by the Shadowmoon clan, the old shaman planned to open a number of portals on Draenor that would lead the Horde to new, unspoiled worlds. To power his new portals, he needed a number of enchanted artifacts from Azeroth. To procure them, Ner'zhul reopened the Dark Portal and sent his ravenous servants charging through it.
The new Horde, led by veteran chieftains such as Grom Hellscream and Kilrogg Deadeye (of the Bleeding Hollow clan), surprised the Alliance defense forces and rampaged through the countryside. Under Ner'zhul's surgical command, the orcs quickly rounded up the artifacts that they needed and fled back to the safety of Draenor.
King Terenas of Lordaeron, convinced that the orcs were preparing a new invasion of Azeroth, assembled his most trusted lieutenants. He ordered General Turalyon and the archmage, Khadgar, to lead an expedition through the Dark Portal to put an end to the orcish threat once and for all. Turalyon and Khadgar's forces marched into Draenor and repeatedly clashed with Ner'zhul's clans upon the ravaged Hellfire Peninsula over the next several months. They founded Honor Hold as their primary base. The Sons of Lothar received erratic shipments of supplies and manpower from their homeworld then, as the Azerothian side of the Dark Portal switched sides several times during the late stages of the Invasion of Draenor.[12] The Alliance Expedition eventually went on the offensive, taking over Hellfire Citadel and tracking the Horde down, but even with the aid of the high elf Alleria Windrunner, the dwarf Kurdran Wildhammer, and the veteran soldier Danath Trollbane, Khadgar was unable to stop Ner'zhul.
The orc finally opened his portals to other worlds, but he did not foresee the terrible price he would pay. The portals' tremendous energies began to tear the very fabric of Draenor apart. As Turalyon's forces fought desperately to return home to Azeroth, the world of Draenor began to buckle in upon itself. Grom Hellscream and Kilrogg Deadeye, realizing that Ner'zhul's mad plans would doom their entire race, rallied the remaining orcs and escaped back to the relative safety of Azeroth.
On Draenor, Turalyon and Khadgar agreed to make the ultimate sacrifice by destroying the Dark Portal from their side. Though it would cost their lives and those of their companions, they knew that it was the only way to ensure Azeroth's survival. Even as Hellscream and Deadeye hacked their way through the human ranks in a desperate bid for freedom, the Dark Portal exploded behind them. For them, and the remaining orcs on Azeroth, there would be no going back.
Ner'zhul and his loyal Shadowmoon clan passed through the largest of the newly created portals, as massive volcanic eruptions began to break Draenor's continents apart. The burning seas rose up and roiled the shattered landscape as the tortured world was finally consumed in a massive, apocalyptic explosion.[13]
Aftermath
After they survived the cataclysm that created Outland, the Sons of Lothar returned to Honor Hold and launched search missions for their missing allies.[14] Turalyon and Alleria's disappearance was not taken lightly by the Alliance Expedition, which searched from Hellfire Peninsula to Nagrand, but found no leads. Eventually, Danath Trollbane and Khadgar could do nothing more than call off the search and presumed that they were dead.[15] With Turalyon missing, Danath took up leadership of the Sons of Lothar in his absence.
Eventually, the Burning Legion saw Outland as the perfect staging ground to launch assaults against other worlds, and dispatched the pit lord Magtheridon who corrupted the remaining orcs with his blood to create the Fel Horde. Khadgar, Kurdran, and Danath quickly realized they would never be able to defeat the demons on their own, but they could slow them down. The survivors mustered what soldiers they could to oppose the demons' incursion, and the two forces would skirmish intermittently for years.[16]
On Azeroth, accounts from the few Sons of Lothar who had come back painted a grim picture, but there was still hope that one day Danath, Turalyon, Khadgar, Alleria, Kurdran, and their followers might return. Many believed that they died during the destruction of Draenor; others believe they escaped to other worlds within the Twisting Nether; and some others believe that they survived in the remnants of the world. However, as the days, weeks, months, and years began to pass, that hope faded. All the leaders from the expeditionary force has since been immortalized in stone in the Valley of Heroes of Stormwind City,[17] so that all citizens would receive a daily reminder of those who had made the ultimate sacrifice in order to save their world.[18]
The Burning Crusade
In Year 26 ADP, the Dark Portal was reopened by the demon Lord Kazzak, and in his wake, legions of demons came spilling through into Azeroth. The forces of Nethergarde Keep were quickly rallied, and with aid from the Argent Dawn and numerous adventurers the demons were pushed back through the Portal, securing it once more. The adventurers, not satisfied with securing only one side of the Portal, pressed through to Outland after Kazzak, where they discovered what became of Draenor.
For two decades, the Sons of Lothar steadfastly held on to their Hellfire outpost of Honor Hold and other Alliance strongholds. According to Khadgar, after they were trapped in this broken wasteland now known as Outland, they did their best to survive. Over time, they sensed that a new evil was closing in around them from the Twisting Nether and believed the demons once again sought to claim Outland. They were joined by the armies from Stormwind and Ironforge, and together they continued to fight demonic and native aggression, while also striving to put an end to the Burning Legion's Burning Crusade. Force Commander Danath Trollbane led the Sons of Lothar's campaign in Honor Hold, while Kurdran Wildhammer patrolled the skies of Wildhammer Stronghold in Shadowmoon Valley. Allerian Stronghold, on the edge of Auchindoun in Terokkar Forest, was named after Alleria and is where most high elves reside, and Kirin'Var Village, in Farahlon, is where the mages of the expedition settled. Sometime before the Dark Portal's reopening, Khadgar had used his magic to reach into the Great Dark Beyond and found the naaru led by A'dal. He convinced the Sha'tar to come to Outland to aid in stopping the Legion's incursion on the shattered planet.[19] Only Alleria and Turalyon had yet to be found as they were presumed lost during some horrific battle with the Burning Legion. Their son, Arator the Redeemer, believed them to be still alive and continued his search for them. He traveled to Honor Hold with the Alliance armies and offered Commander Trollbane his services.[20]
Although many died during the Sons of Lothar's military campaigns, some continued to haunt their fallen holdings as restless spirits. The Alliance soldiers stationed at the Expedition Armory fell to the Horde of Draenor and became the spectral Unyielding. The mages of Kirin'Var Village too were decimated; since the Kirin'Var mages died from a mana bomb detonated by Kael'thas's Sunfury forces.[21] Following the blood elven assault, the necromancer lich, Naberius, had enslaved the fallen Kirin Tor as enthralled spirits.[22]
The floating remains of Draenor, now known as Outland, become a warzone. The Alliance and the Horde have occasionally skirmished for political reasons, but the Illidari, savage Outland natives, and agents of the Burning Legion have all threatened the Sons of Lothar with their machinations to dominate Outland. The Sons of Lothar employed adventurers of the Alliance to secure Outland from these threats and tame the shattered planet's savage lands.
Return to Azeroth
Following the Cataclysm in 28 ADP, Kurdran Wildhammer returned to Azeroth and led the Alliance forces in the Twilight Highlands.[23]
During the third invasion of the Burning Legion in 32 ADP, Danath Trollbane traveled to Dalaran.[24] It was later discovered from the Light's Heart that Turalyon and Alleria were still alive, having become leaders in the Army of the Light.[25] Khadgar reunited with them on Argus, homeworld of the Burning Legion, and told them that Danath and Kurdran were both still alive. The three resolved that the Sons of Lothar would hold a reunion feast when the invasion was over.[26]
The War Within
“The Sons of Lothar fight on the same battlefield once again! Taste the might of Stromgarde!”
In Year 42 ADP, after the destruction of Dalaran by Xal'atath and the presumed death of Khadgar, the combined Alliance and Horde forces in Stromgarde prepared to travel to the Isle of Dorn. At their head, Turalyon proclaimed to Lady Jaina Proudmoore that the Sons of Lothar would also join the battle, to which Kurdran noted that they had not used that name in a long time, but Turalyon countered that perhaps it was time to reclaim it.[28]
Months later, the Sons of Lothar finally held their long-awaited reunion party in celebration of the Feast of Winter Veil in the Arcantina. The orc Eitrigg also attended, having recently begun working with Danath to calm tensions in the Arathi Highlands. The last to arrive at the dinner was Kurdran, who came dressed as Greatfather Winter with a sack of presents for the children of Stormwind.[29]
Blood Ties
After the war in Khaz Algar, Alleria and Turalyon finally decided to marry, with the rest of the Sons attending their wedding. Khadgar was Turalyon's best man, and Danath and Kurdran his groomsmen. Eitrigg is now considered a member of the Sons.[2] The wedding was interrupted by a demon attack, and afterward Alleria decided they couldn't be together, leaving Turalyon behind.[30]
Leadership
Though Turalyon was the Supreme Commander of the Alliance of Lordaeron following the death of Anduin Lothar, the Alliance Expedition itself was led by Khadgar. As their Supreme Commander, he had called for the army to be rallied at Nethergarde Keep and led into the Dark Portal to Draenor. As Khadgar's task was by far the most important - to retrieve the Book of Medivh and seal the Dark Portal to save Azeroth from destruction - Turalyon and his lieutenants deferred to him when it came to ways to achieve that task. Otherwise, the command of the Expedition's forces fell under Turalyon's purview.
Notable members
| Name | Role | Status | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
  Alleria Windrunner
|
Lead Scout and Intelligence Agent. | Alive | Various |
 Auric Sunchaser
|
Captain of the high elves. | Alive | Allerian Stronghold, Terokkar Forest |
 Danath Trollbane
|
Force Commander and Tactical Advisor. | Alive | Various |
 Eitrigg
|
Only Horde member, considered part of the group as of the war in Khaz Algar.[2] | Alive | Various |
 Herrick
|
Right hand of Danath Trollbane. | Alive | Khaz Algar |
 Khadgar
|
Supreme Commander of the Sons of Lothar. | Alive | Various |
 Kurdran Wildhammer
|
Commander of the Gryphon Rider Division. | Alive | Various |
| Malgor Devidicus
|
Priest and old friend of Turalyon. | Alive | Honor Hold, Hellfire Peninsula |
 Rellian
|
Blood elven ranger, left the group sometime after the Invasion of Outland. | Alive | Saltheril's Haven, Eversong Woods |
| Talthressar
|
Lieutenant of the Sons of Lothar. | Deceased | Unknown |
 Turalyon
|
High General of the Sons of Lothar. | Alive | Various |
| Vargoth
|
Leader of the Kirin Tor expedition. | Unknown | Various |
 Verana
|
Right hand of Alleria Windrunner. | Undead | Telogrus Rift |
 Grizzik
|
Guide | Unknown | Unknown |
In the RPG
The Alliance Expedition is also known as the Draenor Expedition.[31]
Notes and trivia
- The Sons of Lothar were already wearing their current tabard before and during the Invasion of Draenor.[32]
- Most of the Sons of Lothar in Honor Hold are now old and gray-haired, with the younger-looking Caretaker Dilandrus saying he was born here.
- Many veterans and refugees of the expedition joined Shattrath City, as presumably did most of the humans living in the Lower City.
- In Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, the military actions of the expedition were described as such: after constructing Vanguard as their main fortress in Hellfire Peninsula,[33] the expedition was ultimately successful in fighting the Shadowmoon clan and their allies in a string of military victories on Draenor and destroyed Fortress Shadowmoon.[34] The Laughing Skull clan stole the Book of Medivh before Fortress Shadowmoon was destroyed and gave the Expedition the Book along with soldiers in exchange for helping the traitor clan dominate on Draenor.[35] However Ner'zhul had learned enough from the book to succeed with his plan to open numerous portals. Seeing the destruction of Draenor, the Alliance forces chose to close the Dark Portal in order to protect Azeroth from the influx of energy unleashed from the quickly dying world.[36]
- In the canceled Warcraft Adventures, a bulletin board inside Durnholde Keep showed that the Alliance was still looking for information about the missing members of the expedition.
- During the Warlords of Draenor alpha stage Lotharian Peacekeepers briefly appeared during the Shattrath City battle.
- By the time of the Fourth War, at least nine of the original members of the expedition have returned to Azeroth. These include all five of the expedition leaders (Archmage Khadgar, General Turalyon, Danath Trollbane, Alleria Windrunner and Kurdran Wildhammer), as well as Archmage Vargoth, Ravandwyr, Captain Auric Sunchaser, and Eli Thunderstrike. By the time of Midnight, many of their forces chose to stay in Outland, still occupying Allerian Stronghold and Honor Hold. Some, like Auric Sunchaser, returned to Outland after visiting Azeroth.
Gallery
The Sons of Lothar fighting against the Horde of Draenor.
Turalyon and Alleria overlook Hellfire Peninsula from Honor Hold.
The Alliance Expedition leaders in Warcraft Adventures.
See also
References
- ^ [10-30] Force Commander Danath
- ^ a b c Blood Ties, chapter 18
- ^ a b c Monument of Remembrance
- ^ The Dusts of Outland
- ^ Master Mathias Shaw#Battle for Azeroth 2
- ^ Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual, pg. 32
- ^ Ultimate Visual Guide
- ^ Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 2
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 190: Turalyon raised his banner, declaring that he would lead this army - the "Sons of Lothar" - into the orcish homeworld...
- ^ [10-30] Overlord
- ^ [80] Trouble in the Highlands
- ^ Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 16
- ^
[The Invasion of Draenor]
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 12
- ^ Arator the Redeemer's dialogue with Danath
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 16
- ^ A Thousand Years of War, Part One – Two Bright Lights
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 198
- ^ Khadgar#Khadgar's story in his own words
- ^ Arator the Redeemer#quotes "I am thankful for what you have done, Commander. As my father called upon you, a brother in arms, know that you may call upon me. I am at your service, my Lord."
- ^ [25-30] The Unending Invasion
- ^ [25-30] Destroy Naberius!
- ^ Fire and Iron
- ^
[10-45] An Important Mission
- ^
[10-45] The Scion's Legacy
- ^ Sizing Up The Opposition
- ^ [80] Cutting Off the Legs
- ^ Heartlands, Chapter 5 - The Battle of Go’Shek Farm
- ^ Seasons
- ^ Blood Ties, chapter 20
- ^ Alliance Player's Guide, pg. 131, 136
- ^ Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 6
- ^ Siege of Vanguard (WC2 Human)
- ^ The Heart of Evil (WC2 Human)
- ^ Dance of the Laughing Skull (WC2 Human)
- ^ The Bitter Taste of Victory (WC2 Human)