User:Ximothy/Crusade/Crusade Characters

Crusade

Anduin Lothar

Anduin Lothar
Title	The Grand Crusader, Lion of Azeroth
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Class	Knight, Warrior
Affiliation(s)	Crusade, Kingdom of Stormwind.
Occupation	Grand Crusader of the Crusade
Location	Buried at Whisper Peak
Status	Deceased, killed by Orgrim.
Relative(s)	Taria Wrynn (sister, deceased), Cally Lothar (wife, deceased), Callan Lothar (son)
Student(s)	Turalyon

The Lion of Azeroth and first Grand Crusader, whom the position was invented for, Anduin Lothar of Stormwind was the last of the Arathi bloodline and strong defender of his nation, having fought in both the Gnoll and Gurubashi Wars prior to the Rise of the Crusade. He would lead the Crusade in their genocide against the Night Elves of Kalimdor and later command the first invasion of Draenor in the First Great War where he would conquer large swathes of the continent until a chain of defeats led to the Crusade's defeat at the Battle of Adamant; and his death at the hands of Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer.

Brief History

An old friend of both the Prince of Stormwind, Llane Wrynn, and the would be Guardian of Tirisfal, Medivh, Lothar did come to be proud of his service to his King and nation, his sister would marry Prince Llane and he himself would have a child with a woman named Cally. When his wife died giving birth to his son Callan it led to a strained relationship between the father and son that never truly healed before life in Azeroth changed for the worst. Lothar heard about the visions of destruction and feared a potential threat and believed unity with the northern Kingdoms was smart, however his King Barathen Wrynn refused his nation's entry. This changed when Barathen was assassinated by what seemed to be elves, as stated by Medivh a trusted friend, and so the newly crowned King Llane Wrynn sent Lothar north to join the Crusade.

Lothar had a commanding presence on the battlefield and rapidly saw even other commanders respecting his command. Lothar commanded the siege on Silvermoon itself and is believed to be responsible for slaying the elven Champion Thalorien Dawnseeker and taking Quel'Delar for the Crusade, giving it to his friend Turalyon. For his victory in Quel'Thalas the Council of Seven Nations voted to make him the military leader of the Crusade for the inventiable war on Kalimdor against these 'Night Elves' the visions warned of. While the title of Supreme Commander was initially suggested Archbishop Benedictus instead had the position of Grand Crusader created for Lothar. Lothar drew up war plans alongside other Cruasde leaders such as Admiral Proudmoore and Lord Uther and sailed a fleet to Kalimdor. Once there Benedictus offered the blood of demons, disguised as a font of power gifted by the Light, however Lothar had grown to be distrustful of Benedictus. Despite that Lothar still drank the blood and would go on to lead the invasion into Ashenvale. Lothar would lead the Crusade to victory over the Night elves after an intensive war against the natives, committing a second genocide in the process however this time Lothar held no moral qualms about it.

Despite destroying what was supposed to be the true enemy of man their world was dying. Lothar was presented to the Shadow Council, a secretive group that opposed Benedictus, and learnt about much of the true actions behind the Crusade such as the Legion, the machinations of Benedictus and the truth that the Light had left humanity. Lothar approved of the Night of Darkblades where most of Benedictus' Hidden were outed and killed save for the highest, most secretive members and Benedictus was brought before Lothar. Despite the urge to execute the man Benedictus was able to sway Lothar with promises of a new world for humanity, they would just have to claim it. Lothar chose pragmacy over morals and chose to stay his blade much to the disgust of some allies such as Khadgar. Yet Benedictus kept to his word and opened the Great Gate to a new world; Draenor.

After a year of scouting, which was detected by the natives of Dreanor, Lothar would lead the first wave of the Crusade's foray into this alien planet, conquering Tanaan in a few short months and establishing a new bastion on this world; Adamant, named for King Barathen, within Whisper Peaks. Eventually all of Tanaan would fall after driving out the Bleeding Hollow, which would lead to humanity's longstanding rivalry with the most widespread native on this world known as the Orcs, in particular Lothar would clash with the Blackrock orcs, Blackhand and Orgrim Doomhammer. As the months dragged on the Crusade would spread further, the southern Shadowmoon Valley would be conquered by Turalyon's and Benedictus' forces while Lothar would lead the war northwards into Gorgrond where he would conquer most of the region besides the Blackrock's home, the Rock, and he slew warlord Blackhand in single combat. However a defeat at the ruggard mountains between Gorgrond and Frostfire at the hands of the Horde would set up a chain reaction that would lead to his downfall. While Lothar was tied up in twin sieges in the northlands his forces in the south faltered and Benedictus, wanting to escape Lothar and those seeking his head, led his loyalists away from the Crusade to Ashran, effectively allowing the allied races of Draenor to retake Shadowmoon Valley.

Ordering Turalyon to hunt Benedictus down while he pulled the northern and central Crusade armies back to Tanaan the mass depletion of forces from loosing the Twin Sieges, the defection of Benedictus' large number of soldiers and having sent Turalyon's own forces against them left the Crusade heavily depleted in manpower. Loosing territory in Tanaan Lothar retreated to Adamant intending to use the vastly more defensible fortress against the Coalition forces and hope Turalyon could return in time to break the siege. This would not happen, instead a devastating battle for Adamant left the Crusade scattered and demoralised after Warchief Doomhammer slew Lothar in single combat, securing the war for the Coalition armies. Most of Lothar's treasures were claimed by the Horde, including his legendary Sword Ashkandi, and he would eventually be succeeded by his friend and second-in-command Turalyon.

Legacy

Lothar is seen as tragic by modern humanity, choosing to see him as a desperate man trying to keep humanity alive, however some view hi as a monster for the genocide he led humanity into and the other races of Draenor don't remember him fondly at all. No statues are risen to his memory, no locations named in his honour. Most humans seem content to forget the man existed outside of history books. His bloodline, however, does survive as his son Callan still lives though he no longer uses his father's last name and he lives in Theramore, humanity's new home on Ashran, as a blacksmith.

Preceded by: None

Position: Grand Crusader

Succeeded by: Turalyon

Turalyon

Turalyon
Title	The Dark Knight, the Second, Grand Crusader
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Class	Knight Errant. formerly Priest and Paladin
Affiliation(s)	Crusade, Crusade of Azeroth, Shadow Council.
Former affiliation(s)	Knights of the Silver Hand, Kingdom of Lordaeron, Crusade
Occupation	Grand Crusader of the Crusade of Azeroth
Location	Missing
Status	Unknown
Mentor(s)	Alonsus Faol, Lothar

Once a young and humble priest, Turalyon would go on to be a major force in the destructive fate of humanity. Going from a priest to a paladin and one of the founders of the Silver Hand Turalyon would learn of the Legion and attempt to work with his mentor, Faol, in stopping Benedictus however in the end the world was ruined and Turalyon lost his faith. Becoming a Knight Errant, a former paladin that uses dark and necromatic powers, Turalyon would become the second Grand Crusader after Lothar died during the Great War. His ultimate fate following the Shattering of Azeroth is unknown, with whatever happened to him being heavily speculated.

Brief History

Once a priest who possessed martial training he was selected as one of the first Knights of the Silver Hand, leading humanity against the elves as the shining example for all of the Crusade to follow. Due to the machinations of Benedictus the Silver Hand gave into their worst impulses and led the Crusade into darkness, Turalyon among them. However while the other Crusader Lords were more willing to give in Turalyon resisted the most and was eventually noticed by the former Archbishop, Faol.

Turalyon would form the Shadow Council along with Alonsus Faol and Khadgar as a type of inner resistance to Benedictus and his control over the Crusade. Despite being aware of this greater threat Turalyon still did fight on the front lines against the night elves of Kalimdor however he did not drink the demon blood being the only known Silver Hand member to refuse to do so. It was after the invasion of Kalimdor and the burning of its woods was complete that Turalyon's allies moved against Benedictus. They found an ally in the Grand Crusader himself and launched the Night of Knives where they slaughtered many of Benedictus' Hidden. Benecitus himself was brought before Lothar yet to the disappointment of Turalyon he was able to barter himself back into a position of influence as he alone knew how to open portals to new worlds.

His friend Khadgar left in disgust as Lothar begun plans to invade another world, and Faol fell back into being a recluse. Despite the triumph it felt like nothing had changed and humanity was still doomed. Turaylon foreswore his faith in the Light and officially left the Silver Hand, becoming the first of the so called Cavaliars, or Dark Knights as they were often called, who instead learnt how to wield necromancy and shadows to defend humanity. Other fallen paladins followed his lead forming the Brotherhood.

When the Great Gate opened to Draenor Turalyon was among those to cross, leading his Dark Knights to this new world as Lothar's second in command. Lord Uther did not cross, instead Saidan Dathrohan led the Silver Hand and was entrusted with watching over Benedictus at the request of Lothar and Turalyon, both unaware that Saidan was compromised and was loyal to the former Archbishop. Turalyon mostly fought in the south lands, across Shadowmoon Valley against the local orcs and draenei. When Benedictus' newest betrayal was discovered and he took large chunks of the Crusade's forces to Ashran Turalyon gave chase with his own forces. The brutal battle left both Saidan and Benedictus dead but his own forces were depleted too. He rushed to return to Adamant but was not able to return in time to support the siege, instead he attempted to fortify the Great Gate. When the armies of Draenor assaulted the Gate Turalyon saw a loosing battle and retreated through the portal which was destroyed behind him.

Back on the desolate Azeroth Turalyon attempted to keep order in the Crusade for two years yet was unable to without a rallying cause. When Archbishop Faol sought to bring the Crusade to new worlds Turalyon was promoted to Grand Crusader, however he answered to Faol. He was able to recover some artefacts for Faol on both Azeroth and Draenor while also clashing with the forces of Draenor. In particular he held a personal rivalry with Orgrim Doomhammer who slew Lothar in the previous war. Turalyon commanded the Crusade in the final battle over Tyr's Hand shortly before their world broke apart.

Legacy:

Turalyon is not remembered fondly by modern humans. Khadgar chooses to remember the friend he had but for most of humanity they only remember him as one of the leaders of the Crusade that damned humanity and unlike Uther he did not get to see redemption in they eyes. Most other races know him as one of the Crusade's greatest champions who butchered many, with the elves especially hating him.

The fate of Turalyon is unknown. Some reports say he fought Orgrim at that final battle yet its unclear who between the two won that duel. Some believe he died in that battle, others that he deserted once it was clear what Faol's goal was. Perhaps he died in the Shattering itself, like many others. No matter what the truth was Turalyon was not present for Deathwing's conquest of Outland. The most outlandish theory is that he survived and was recruited to some distant army, one that fights the demons that damned humanity and has given Turalyon a chance at redemption, though perhaps this is merely hopeful thinking.

Preceded by: Anduin Lothar

Position: Grand Crusader

Succeeded by: Saidan Dathrohan (Draenor) Aiden Perenolde (Outland)

Daelin Proudmoore

Daelin Proudmoore
Title	Sovereign Admiral of the Crusade, Lord Admiral of Kul Tiras
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Class	Warrior, Hydromancer
Affiliation(s)	Crusade, Kul Tiras
Occupation	Lord of Kul Tiras, Sovereign Admiral of the Fleet
Location	Buried at Sea
Status	Assassinated
Relative(s)	Katherine Proudmoore (wife, deceased), Derek Proudmoore (son), Jaina (daughter)

The Lord of Kul Tiras and the Sovereign Admiral of the Crusade's Fleets, Daelin Proudmoore is one of the chief architects of the Crusade. He was the natural choice for leading the fleets of humanity, even if he did have personal reservations about what they were achieving. Being an admiral perhaps meant he was detached from the brutal realities of what the Crusade were doing. He traversed to Draenor and commanded the fleets for Grand Crusader Lothar, his old friend, yet doubts gnawed at him and ultimately he saw the corruption of humanity. Seeing his son too far gone he sought to save his daughter by secretly meeting the exiled Kirin Tor where he handed Jaina to them, but his actions were discovered by Benedictus' spies and he was assassinated for this treason.

Brief History

Hailing from the noble House Proudmoore of Kul Tiras Daelin was a legend in the Admiralty long before taking the position of ruler after the death of his father. He was a marine who had some training as a Hydromancer, a water mage of Kul Tiras, which was a highly valued skill for sea faring men and women to posses. When the visions of destruction struck humanity's priests Kul Tiras was initially unaffected, while the Tirans of the western islands of the nation were Light worshippers most Kul Tirans worshiped the Seas and the Tidesages, pseudo-shamans, were the religious body instead. Yet after the elements were weakened by the rituals of the Legion and their warlock pawns the Tidesages saw their powers wane considerably. As elvenkind was framed for this Daelin chose to join the Crusade when the call for unity was made by Archbishop Faol with the fleets being placed under his command. Being an Admiral Daelin did not see the butching of the high elves first hand and was disconnected emotionally from what they were doing, however he became concerned when the Elements entirely abandoned humanity for the seeping corruption and the Tide Sages were left powerless.

Kul Tiras was among the earliest nations to embrace warlockism after the new Archbishop, Benedictus, spread the practice as the Tide Sages sought a new power after loosing their original ones. Daelin found this unsettling but did not intervene with the Tide Sages' choice. Instead he was mostly working on transportation as he needed to oversee the construction of a fleet large enough to carry humanity across the sea to Kalimdor, with ships large enough to carry the new Vrykul allies that Benedictus brought into the Crusade. Incorporating many salvaged elven Destroyers and Vrykul Longships into the already considerable Kul Tiran fleet Daelin managed to safely bring the bulk of the Crusade across the seas to Kalimdor where he made first landfall in the Barrens region and established a foothold. Like most of humanity Daelin would drink the demons blood and unwittingly bind his nation to Mannoroth and the Legion. In the ensuring war with the night elves Daelin would raid the coastlines across northern Kalimdor and burn their ports, splitting their attention. The Burning of Nendis was a particularly brutal attack done under Daelin's orders that would haunt the man for the rest of his life.

As Azeroth endured incredibly harsh summers and freezing winters it was clear to all their world was dying. In the years after the elven genocide Benedictus opened a portal to Draenor, a new world, to give humanity another chance. As Grand Crusader Lothar organised the invasion force Admiral Proudmoore volunteered himself for joining the expedition which was unusual as most monarchs chose to remain on Azeroth. His wife Katherine insisted on taking their son Derek and their young child Jaina to this new world to get them away from the harsh conditions of Azeroth as soon as possible while she remains to safeguard over Kul Tiras. On Draenor Daelin would command over the fortress of Tol Ronal where he would build the Sovereign Armada for the Crusade, with himself being named the Sovereign Admiral. He would mostly engage in naval warfare with draenei and ogre vessels, with only on occasion would he directly fight the orcish Horde due to the orcs generally lacking naval capabilities. Still the actions of the Crusade on this world wore on his mind, as did the previous wars with the Burning of Nendis in particular haunting him. He begun to wonder if the now exiled Kirin Tor had the right of it in abandoning the Crusade yet he saw his Kul Tirans having become monsters and he himself was among the worst.

He secretly sent word to the Kirin Tor, being able to find them after months of searching, where he requested a meeting. Antonidas decided to give this meeting a chance and met with the man where Daelin gave him his young daughter Jaina, barely older than a toddler, and asked for her to be taken away from the corrupted Crusade and himself. Antonidas offered asylum to Daelin and anyone else yet he denied it, seeing himself as a monster and the same traits in his son Derek who Daelin feels he failed. Antonidas left the meeting with the young girl and promised to not reveal her parentage at Daelin's request, however Daelin was not as subtle in his meeting as he thought. Benedictus' spies knew where the Kirin Tor were as they had watched them since their exile and when Benedictus learnt about the meeting he decided that Daelin was growing too moral and ordered his assassination. Arator attacked and killed Daelin as he traveled back to Tol Ronal, killing him along with his friend and guard captain Cyrus Crestfall. In the following Invasion of Azeroth his wife Katherine would command the Crusade of Azeroth's fleets before she died in the Shattering, consumed by the void. Derek would survive both conflicts on Draenor and eventually join the Scarlet Crusade.

Legacy

Daelin's legacy is a mixed one, as Antonidas did speak somewhat favourably of the man when writing humanity's fall, however he did not shy away from the crimes Daelin committed against various races. As promised Antonidas did not disclose to Jaina who her parents were, merely telling her she was an orphan of some Crusade sailors as an lie of omission. The Scarlet Crusade would name one of their legions the Proudmoore Legion, their naval division, after him. Ultimately Jaina would help redeem humanity, helping establish the port city of Theramore on Ashran as their new home on Draenor, so Daelin's last act helped save his people even if he did not live to see such fate.

Preceded by: None

Position: Grand Admiral of the Crusade

Succeeded by: Katherine Proudmoore

King Ymiron

King Ymiron
Title	King of the Vrykul
Gender	Male
Race	Vrykul (Humanoid)
Class	Warrior
Affiliation(s)	Crusade
Occupation	Lord of Dragonflayer, Commander of the Winterskorn, Bloodwake and Fleshrot clans
Status	Deceased, killed by Durotan
Relative(s)	Queen Angerboda (wife)

The King of the Northrend vrykul, Ymiron once ruled countless years ago and played a part in the creation of humanity after the Curse of Flesh corrupted several of their children into becoming malformed and small, the origins of humanity. When woken thousands of years later Ymiron would come to work for the descendents of those children he once sought to slaughter for being weak after being subdued by Benedictus. His loyalty was earned by Anduin Lothar, however, when he was defeated and he loyally served the Crusade until his eventual death on Dreanor.

Brief History

Before the Sundering back when the ancient world was one continent King Ymiron came to power over the vrykul clans of the north. He for a time worshiped the Titans and the Old Faith such as Odyn, Thorim and the others until his people became affilicted by the Curse of Flesh. As silence came from the Watcher Pantheon Ymiron declared his people abandoned by their Gods, and saw these weak malformed babies as a sign of this abandonment, ordering their mass execution. Some vrykul did as ordered, drowning their babies, others refused and fled south far away from Ymiron's domain with those parents who stayed or other families that helped being hunted down and wiped out. In the ensuring Dragon Wars the vrykul earned a fierce reputation and Ymiron's clan, the Dragonflayer, were in particular seen as monsters among them. For their role in the Dragon War they were placed in a deep sleep, as was all vrykul in the north of Kalimdor, with King Ymiron among them.

He was awoken several thousands of years later, long after the War of the Ancients and the Sundering left their world broken, by Archbishop Benedictus who was seeking new pawns for the Crusade. Initially Ymiron refused to work for such small and weak beings, disregarding their shared heritage. It was only when Benedictus displayed immense power to break several vrykul warriors that King Ymiron backed down, learning that his powers came from one of the Titans, Sargeras, and that the Dark Titan had plans for this world. Having felt abandoned by the other Titans Ymiron would take this new faith among the vrykul, much like the Dark Irons had, and would take the northern clans into the Crusade. Yet despite agreeing to work alongside the Crusade he proved a troublesome ally, often ignoring orders or taking matters into his own hands an inappropiate times during the campaigns against the other races of Azeroth. Anduin Lothar saw value in him as a warrior and commander and did not want him disposed off, so instead he challenged him to a one-on-one duel. Despite the size difference Lothar was able to defeat the ancient King but did not kill him, instead claiming his life in return for service. Ymiron finally was bowed into service and proved a far greater servant of the Crusade, though he would only take orders from the Grand Crusader himself.

When Benedictus bought another faction of vrykul into the Crusade, those of Skovald and the sea vrykul, Ymiron was not pleased. Ymiron and Skovald would develop a petty rivalry throughout the Kalimdor campaigns and after the genocide of the elves and desolation of Azeroth left the Crusade fighting amongst themselves the two vrykul Kings clashed with one another. Order between the vrykul clans was restored when the Dark Portal opened, however Ymiron was chosen to lead the vrykul clans on Draenor over Skovald who would instead find himself serving Alonsus Faol instead through some unique circumstances. On Draenor Ymiron was mostly famous for fighting under Lothar's direct command in Gorgrond and Frostfire where he mostly fought orcs, being impressed with the small races' natural ability to fight creatures far larger than themselves. He was tasked with maintaining the siege on the Rock while Lothar attempted to invade Frostfire.

When Benedictus betrayed the Crusade and crippled their manpower in the south, costing them Shadowmoon Valley, King Ymiron was ordered to withdraw back to Adamant in Tanaan for a last stand that Lothar hoped would break the heart of the coalition army and allow a counter attack. During the Battle at Adamant Ymiron would wreck havoc on the Horde's forces until he was confronted by Durotan of the Frostwolves. The two fought one another yet the smaller warrior was able to out manoover and slay the ancient king once and for all, taking his helmet as a trophy to hang in their halls. Lothar would die soon after to Orgrim and Adamant would fall to the coalition forces shortly afterwards.

Legacy

Ymiron's death broke any unity among the vrykul clans on Draenor. His wife, Angerboda, survived and would lead the Dragonflayer from then on. She held a bitter hatred for the orcs in particular and the Dragonflayer would ally themselves with the attempt at reforming the Crusade, the so called Fel Crusade or Scarlet Crusade, led by Grand Inquisitor Isillien and Grand Crusader Garithos. The other clans did not remain with the humans, the Winterskorn went far to Frostfire and would wipe out the Grimfrost ogres, becoming a problem for the Horde. The Bloodwake took to the seas and became pirates, constantly raiding coastal settlements with a rumoured fortress full of plundered treasures somewhere out in the Shadowed Sea. The last clan to cross over, the Fleshrot, moved to Ashran and are enemies of the Alliance there, and are believed to be allies of the Undead Scourge.

Preceded by: Unknown

Position: King of the Vrykul

Succeeded by: Angerboda

Former Members

Benedictus

Jarl Benedictus
Title	Archbishop, the Arch Traitor, Shephard of Humanity
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Class	Warlock, formerly Priest
Affiliation(s)	Himself, the Hidden, Burning Legion
Former affiliation(s)	Crusade, Knights of the Silver Hand, Kingdom of Stormwind, Northshire Brotherhood
Occupation	Betrayer of Humanity, Leader of the Hidden
Location	Skull on Outland, skeleton on Ashran.
Status	Deceased
Mentor(s)	Alonsus Faol, Kil'Jaeden
Student(s)	Kel'thuzad, Isillien, Dar'Khan Drathir and Molus Blackburn.

The Shephard of Humanity and the Arch Traitor to mankind, Benedictus was once a man of the Light who lost his faith and became a pawn of the Burning Legion. He rotted the Crusade from within, influencing the minds of its leaders and led humanity to damnation. Once Azeroth was left desolate he brought the Crusade to Draenor at the orders of his Masters despite the fear of Lothar's wrath hanging over him. When Benedictus begun to doubt victory over Draenorian races he abandoned the Crusade and fled to Ashran where he was confronted by Turalyon and slain.

Brief History

Benedictus was born as a man named Jarl in the Kingdom of Stormwind and he was a member of the Northshire Brotherhood, a cadre of priests operating out of the peaceful Northshire Abbey. His mentor was the Archbishop himself, Alonsus Faol, and from his time as a Brother he would love the Light and feel its wramth in return. However his path of damnation begun when the Gurubashi War, a conflict engineered by Kil'Jaeden to test the faith of humanity, left him spiritually scarred as his powers would not heal the Fel induced wounds on his paitents and he saw the slaughter of innocents. It was after this harrowing war left deep mental scars that Kil'Jaeden begun approaching him yet he did not hide his demon nature from him. While Jarl fled the first encounter in fear he would keep returning for future meetings and did not report this to the Church. He would fully be convinced by Kil'Jaeden at the weakness of the Light and human nature, becoming the first Human Warlock.

While Kil'Jaeden begun spreading visions across human priests to install the fear of elvenkind and galvanate them against them Jarl would begin gaining followers, the early beginnings of his Hidden network, that would include members such as Isillien and Landgren. With the aid of demons they would slaughter the tauren of the Earthen Ring and inact a ritual that affected the Elements' of Azeroth. This upheavel in elements was blamed on elvenkind and with the visions plauging the priests minds six of the Seven Kingdoms rallied into the Crusade. Only Stormwind stood aside for now. Benedictus worked to influence the heart and minds of the Silver Hand, the leaders of the Crusade's military, to encourage more brutal and drasic methods against the elves of Quel'Thalas resulting in butchering Tranquillien. When Faol saw this butchery he had a crisis of faith and questioned everything. A Naaru appeared to him however was swept away by Kil'Jaeden and a curse placed on Faol, forcing him to make Jarl the new leader of the Church where he took up a new name; Benedictus.

His first actions was to have King Barathen of Stormwind assassinated, and stage failed assassinations on the other kings, to bring Stormwind into the war once Medivh, possessed by Sargeras, placed the blame on the elves. Benedictus would continue to build the Hidden recruiting Kel'thuzad of Stormwind, a traitor elf Dar'khan Drathir of Quel'Thalas, Molus Blackburn of the Dark Iron clan, and even was able to make a willing pawn out of King Aiden of Alterac. Once Quel'Thalas was conquered Benedictus would seek out and awaken the vrykul clans across Azeroth to bring them into the Crusade for the invasion of Kalimdor, and he and his Hidden were able to banish Ragnaros from Blackrock Spire, freeing the Dark Irons and earning them as allies to the Crusade. Once on Kalimdor Benedictus would present the blood of Mannoroth to the human lords and kings where they would drink, save for the Kirin Tor. Empowered with demons blood, reinforced by vrykul, armed by Dark Iron crafts and aided by summoned demons the Crusade would wash over Kalimdor and slaughter the night elves, even their powerful leaders and gods would perish. With them gone the fate of Azeroth was sealed.

Victory did not hold for long as Faol had created the Shadow Council in secret and managed to launch the Night of Knives, slaughtering many of Benedictus' followers save for the highest, most secret circles of the order. Benedictus was brought before Grand Crusader Lothar however the cunning warlock was able to bargain his way out of execution by promising a portal to a new, untainted world for humanity. Working with Medivh and an ally on this new world a portal was created between Azeroth and Draenor, the latter ripe for invasion. Benedictus was forced to go along with the invasion by Lothar and he was to be watched by Uther. However Benedictus managed get his pawn, Saidan Dathrohan, to take Uther's place giving him freedom to rebuild his powerbase within the Crusade, with the Inquisition, an order of priests, working for him in secret. The war against the Draenor races went well for the first two years but begun to stall and crumble as time went on, with the Twin Sieges ending in defeat.

Benedictus begun to doubt in the Crusade and their ability to win so during the war's fourth and final year he abandoned the Crusade alongside his followers among the Inquisition and Silver Hand, heading to Ashran where Benedictus had created a makeshift portal to a new world in order to escape there. Turalyon and his forces chased him to Ashran as his betrayal allowed Shadowmoon Valley to be reclaimed by the Coalition armies. There Turalyon over came and defeated the two armies loyal to Benedictus and killed the warlock himself, taking his head as proof before rushing to return to Adamant to lift the siege. Turalyon was ultimately unable to reach it and instead fled with his forces back through the Dark Portal, taking Benedictus' head with him. Turalyon had the skull of Benedictus carefully preserved as a morbid trophy however Alonsus Faol, who was attempting to create new portals on a mass scale, took the Skull as it was a powerful item. It would be given to Deathwing as part of the deal between the Crusade and the Black Dragonflight before finally being taken by the Expedition shaman Rulkan, who used it to close the Dark Portal to spare Draenor from the Shattering.

Legacy

The legacy of Benedictus is of damnation, death and destruction. While its easy to lay the blame for humanity's fall entirely at his feet the truth is Benedictus expoited fears and hatreds already there, his followers were already power hungry when they joined him, the average citizen already feared elves which allowed them to easily believe in the worst. Yet Benedictus' role in humanity's fall can't be questioned, he spread warlockism across humanity and presented to them with the demon's blood. Even if it was by choice that mankind drank the blood Benedictus is still remembered as the harbinger that brought that corruption to them. He is still remembered as the "Shephard of Humanity" as he guided, not led, humanity to its darkest hours. Some still revere him, in particular the Cabal of Outland and Isillien's Scarlet Crusade.

Preceded by: Alonsus Faol

Position: Archbishop of the Church

Succeeded by: Alonsus Faol

Alonsus Faol

Alonsus Faol
Title	The Lich King, Archbishop, He Who Would Be King, Broken Dreamer
Gender	Male
Race	Human (Undead)
Class	Necromancer, Death Knight, former Priest
Affiliation(s)	Undead Scourge, Burning Legion
Former affiliation(s)	Crusade, Shadow Councul, Crusade of Azeroth
Occupation	The Lich King
Former occupation(s)	Archbishop of the Church, Leader of the Shadow Council
Location	Soul Trapped in the Helm
Status	Deceased
Student(s)	Benedictus, Ner'zhul.
Companion(s)	Turalyon, Khadgar

Alonsus Faol, once the Archbishop of the Church, master of the Shadow Council and Lich King of the Scourge, the man has led a long life as both a hero of his people and one of the greatest evils to grace both worlds. The Archbishop was tricked by demon lords into leading humanity down the path of damnation before being cast aside for a more willing pawn, and he would remain behind after the Crusade invaded Draenor. After the defeat of mankind there Alonsus Faol, having fallen into despair, would renew the Crusade after a series of internal battles and seek new worlds to conquer to escape the dying Azeroth. In the end Alonsus' plan brought destruction to Azeroth and he escaped through a portal, only to be captured by Kil'jaeden and tortured.

His soul ripped out and cast into runic armor he was cast down to Draenor once more and engineered the rise of the Scourge. He would once more be betrayed by a student, this time Ner'zhul, who would over throw him and become the new Lich King. Now his soul has imprisoned into the recesses of the Helm of Domination.

Bioagrphy

The Archbishop

Faol in life before his corruption.

Born to the religious Kingdom of Lordaeron the man that would become Alonsus Faol entered the Church at a young age, spending decades in service before reaching the rank of Priest of Lordaeron, serving in the Capital City. He knew Terenas as young Prince and the two were friends, with Alonsus being the older and thus more mature of the two. As they grew older the two drifted apart due to seperate responsibilities however they remained good friends for decades, especially after Alonsus became the High Priest of the Lordaeron Church, spending more time in the Capital. He was close with the Brotherhood of Northshire, a chapel located in the Kingdom of Azeroth, and would see a Lordaeronni Knight named Uther as an informal apprentice of sorts, he would grow to be loyal to both the Kingdom and the Church, holding both Terenas and Alonsus in high esteem. The three of them considered one another a good friend, a friendship that would over come any hardship that came their way.

In the coming decades he could become the Archbishop of the Church, canonized as Alonsus Faol and he would spend much of his time in Tyr's Hand, the religious bastion of the faith, or travelling to various churches and chapels across the Seven Kingdoms. He would take a student, a Priest of Stormwind named Jarl, and would be content with his lot in life. That was until whispers of destruction reached him and he, along with the various high ranking Priests of the Church, would begin having visions of war and death. They were warned of elvenkind slaughtering humanity, first by weakening the natural world then striking at their homes. Faol forced himself to look beyond his doubts regarding elves, who he always saw as brothers to humanity, and placed his trust in the Light. He would rally six of the Seven Kingdoms into the Crusade after the forewarned elemental disturbances begun; winter became freezing and summer became scorching. After his student, who was secretly a pawn of Kil'jaeden, engineered the Blackwood Massascre the Crusade launched on the offensive by invading Quel'Thalas. To lead this invasion Faol would form the Knights of the Silver Hand, recruiting five trusted people to form this order; Turalyon, Saidan Dathrohan, Tirion Fordring, Alexandros Mograine and his old friend Uther.

Faol would venture to Quel'Thalas after the southern woods were conquered and he saw how rapidly humanity had fallen into blood lust and brutality, especially in the conquest of Tranquillien. Even Uther, whom Faol saw as a bastion of all that is good and righteous, had even been the leader of this attack after being influenced by the words of Jarl. His faith was shaken; was the Light truly desiring such slaughter? He couldn't believe it and sought answers where he received dire warnings from a crystaline being of Light before it was swept aside by Kil'jaeden. The demon lord laid his claws on the soul of the Archbishop and had him step down so Kil'jaeden's willing pawn, Jarl, could take his place becoming the Archbishop Benedictus. Faol went into exile to Northshire, where he hid away in shame for some time before hearing word of the beginning of the Invasion of Kalimdor. His heart broke again and hardened to do whatever it took to stop Benedictus. He first sent word to the Kings and the Grand Crusader, Lothar, to not drink this strange contoxin that Benedictus was promising would grant them power; only Antonidas listened and forbade the Kirin Tor from drinking the demon blood. As Benedictus' focus was on Kalimdor Faol begun to search for allies among the Eastern Kingdoms.

The Broken Dreamer

Due to the pride and wrath of humaniy their world Shattered into what is now known as Outland.

Recruiting the student of Medivh, Khadgar, and the only founding Knight of the Silver Hand Faol believed to remain moral, Turalyon, Faol laid the foundations of the Shadow Council and begun a war from the dark. He was able to gather information, uncovering much of the Hidden who were a faction devoted to Benedictus and the demons. This information was not easy to come by and many agents they trusted were lost either to the Hidden or to agents of the dragon Neltharion who was also manliupating humanity from the shadows. Faol was able to get the names of most of the Hidden; all but the upper most circles of the order. He also learnt to his horror through Khadgar that Medivh was indeed possessed by a demon. Faol would bring this information before Grand Crusader Lothar and engineered the Night of Six Daggers where most of the Hidden save for the upper elchelons that remained anomyous were wiped out, even the spies Faol had placed within the Hidden were killed in case they became compromised. Once Lothar led a task force to deal with Medivh the fate of Benedictus was debated, however the Archbishop was able to weasle his way back into some form of power with promises of a new world for humanity, one Lothar was desperate enough to take. Although the Hidden were largely wiped out and the Crusade no longer marched on the orders of demons Faol felt the damnation was done and their world was dying regardless. He retreated to Tyr's Hand now, refusing to cross over the newly created Great Gate to this new world.

Faol was unsurprised when remnants of the Crusade's invasion force returned defeated years later, speaking of the various races on the other side that united against them. He was informed by Turalyon, the highest ranking survivor of the invasion, of the many deaths including Lothar and Benedictus, the latter of whom Turalyon recovered the skull of and gave it to Faol. Alonsus had spent these years dreaming of a better world, a better humanity untainted by demons and after convening with the Skull of Benedictus resolved to create new portals to new worlds for the Crusade to conquer. However he needed various artefacts and knew his worlds' power was largely spent as such he needed the Crusade. The rulers of Stormwind, Gilneas, Kul Tiras, Alterac and Stromgarde would fall back into the renewed Crusade however Terenas Menethil refused. Alonsus could not afford division and he sent Uther to deal with the 'traitorous' King, something Uther was reluctant to do. While the Renewed Crusade was able to sack the Capital City and end the life of Terenas this act broke Uther, but perhaps worse was that Alonsus Faol felt nothing about ordering the death of his oldest friend neither did he care for the emotional state of Uther. He had grown cold and broken, with his focus on escaping this dying world being his only goal.

With Turalyon named the second Grand Crusader who answered to Faol the Renewed Crusade made war on Draenor again this time to recover various artefacts such as the Book of Medivh, the Cipher of Damnation and one of the Ata'mal Crystals. As part of this conflict Faol struck a bargain with Neltharion and his Black Dragonflight who provided assistance to the Crusade in return for aid in moving a large portion of their clutch to Draenor and the Skull of Benedictus. Ultimately the actions of the Crusade on Draenor resulted in a retaliation strike in the form of the Expedition, led by the Orcish Horde's Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer, and the Far Seer Rulkan. The Expedition would sack Crusader's Citadel and Stromgarde, killing two of the monarchs Llane Wrynn and Thoras Trollbane, in addition word reached Faol that Uther deserted with some soldiers and took the infant Prince Arthas to Draenor. Faol dismissed all of these, stating that these corrupted kings and knights were never going to a new world as he planned on taking only those he considered "Pure" as well as his inner most circle. As the Expedition forces closed in on Tyr's Hand Faol conducted a ill prepared ritual that ripped open far too many portals to various worlds, each unstable and pulled on the fabric of Azeroth in various directions.

The world Shattered, with the Expedition heroes sealing the Dark Portal to prevent the destruction from spreading to their world. Alonsus Faol and his cabal fled into the most stable of these portals with their 'Pure' brainwashed civilians however no paradise awaited them; Faol fled into the hands of Kil'jaeden.

He Who Would Be King

The last student of Faol was the elder shaman, Ner'zhul, in the arts of Necromancy.

Taken by Kil'jaeden Faol was tortured relentlessly, broken and rebuilt over and over again. By the time Kil'jaeden has finished only Faol's soul remained, his body was reduced to nothing in the process, and Kil'jaeden had his Dreadlord servants reforged the soul into a set of armour imbued with the very essence of death for Kil'jaeden's new plan of taking Dreanor; through the power of Death. Faol was broken by this process, growing to fear Kil'jaeden more than a normal person could fathom, and swore to uphold the Deceiver's every order. Kil'jaeden encased the armour in obsidian and cast Faol to Draenor, towards a font of death where the Veil was thinnest and the impact became known far and wide as the Obsidian Throne. With the aid of Dreadlords that served as his handlers and jailers the newly christened Lich King begun to understand his new power and spread the influence of death across the continent he found himself on; Southeron. In short order the local orcs, scorpar and other life begun to fall before the spreading darkness, dead sands spreading like a plague across the continent. Yet he knew an outright invasion of the mainland to the north would be suicide, as such he begun to plan a slower plan to corrupt the heartlands of the two most powerful races; orcs and draenei.

Spreading influence the Lich King would create a cult within the societies of the Mainland, most notably Teron'gor who would become the master of the Cult of the Damned and helped create the Plague of Undeath to spread among the lands of Shadowmoon Valley. Watching the orcs react Faol saw Ner'zhul, an elder but powerful shaman who had grown despondent since his mate vanished beyond the Dark Portal and in him saw a kindred spirit; one he could exploit. The Lich King desired a body and saw the souls of him and Ner'zhul compatable, the age of the orc did not matter once they fused as death magic would keep them alive. As such Faol would have the Plague spread to drive Ner'zhul to further desperation, driving away allies even his own student in his quest to save his people. This would ultimately lead Ner'zhul to chase the Dreadlord Mal'Ganis to Southeron where Alonsus laid the final trap; the scythe, Ulthalesh, laid waiting to claim Ner'zhul's soul. Once the shaman took the Scythe his fate was bound to that of the Obsidian Throne and with he he took vengeace on Mal'Ganis, taking his soul into Ulthalesh. Ner'zhul would hear the whispers of the Lich King and returned to the mainland, ready to spread death and destruction for the Scourge, erasing all pain.

Although the Lich King had done as ordered, his Scourge destroyed the heartlands of the draenei and orcs, killing many heroes and turning others into new champions of darkness, the Legion would assume direct command of the invasion once Archimonde was summoned forth. Alonsus Faol, in his fear-instilled loyalty to Kil'jaeden, sat back however Ner'zhul was not pleased with this. After the Legion's defeat in Nagrand, in the shadow of Oshu'gun, Ner'zhul would launch a rebellion against the Lich King turning most of the Mainland Scourge into his servants, including Teron'gor, and invading Southeron. Ner'zhul would lay siege to the Obsidian Throne and ascend the tower, confronting the man who would be King. Shattering the crystaline prison with Ulthalesh, Ner'zhul took the Helm of Domination and cast down the spirit of Faol, reducing the spirit into a mere echo of its former self before claiming the Throne. With that the last power of Faol, once beloved Archbishop and then dreaded Lich King, was snuffed out.

Preceded by: Unknown

Position: Archbishop of the Church

Succeeded by: Benedictus

Preceded by: Benedictus

Position: Archbishop of the Church

Succeeded by: None

Preceded by: None

Position: Lich King of the Scourge

Succeeded by: Ner'zhul

Uther

Uther
Title	The Lightbringer, the Great Butcher
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Class	Paladin, formerly Priest
Affiliation(s)	Human Alliance
Former affiliation(s)	Crusade, Knights of the Silver Hand, Kingdom of Lordaeron
Occupation	Mentor of Arthas, former Crusader Lord of the Silver Hand
Location	Buried in Theramore.
Status	Deceased
Relative(s)	Arthas Menethil (Adoptive Son)
Mentor(s)	Alonsus Faol
Student(s)	Arthas Menethil (Paladin)

Known to the Crusade as the Highlord of the Silverhand, and to the elves as the Butcher, Uther has deep blood on his hands from his past at the forefront of the Crusade's rise. Once a zealot for the cause he led the genocide against the elves at the orders of the Council of Seven. When on Kalimdor he was the first to drink Mannoroth's blood at his own demand. The desolation of their world brought doubts to Uther, who remained on Azeroth during the Great War and heard of the defeat when Turalyon and the survivors returned.

Although Uther was among the first to join Archbishop Faol when the man regrouped the Crusade he was ordered to bring Lordaeron to heel after Terenas refused to rejoin the Crusade. After a Crusader struck Terenas down Uther had a crisis of faith. He took the babe Arthas to Draenor during the war to escape Faol and the dead world, and was on the Draenor side when it closed. He and what few knights he had left escaped into the mountains near but not too close to the Reserve built for humanity.

Raising Arthas in this enclave the two would sneak in and out of the Reserve through an entrance only those from their small community knew about, thus exposing Arthas to the desitute that humanity had fallen to. Uther spent decades in meditation and thought, being the first to reclaim the Light by humbling himself and feeling unworthy. He acted as a healer for the community and became known as the “Lightbringer” for being the first human to use the Light again. He raised Arthas as a Paladin and attributed his own rediscovery of the Light to raising the boy.

During the Second War when humanity left the mainland and begun settling on Ashran they were chased by the demons of their past, only in a more literal case. The Legion and their Scourge minions confronted Uther and almost twisted him back to the path of demonic fel that he long sought to resist, however with the aid of Arthas and Jaina he was able to resist the urge. Uther struck down the Pit Lord who's blood damned humanity only to be mortally wounded in the ensuring explosion. The curse lifted as he laid dying, deemed a hero by Arthas and Jaina and they told him he had freed their people from the curse.

Legacy:

For humanity Uther is a hero, the Lightbringer that restored the Light to them and he who struck down Mannoroth who's blood enslaved them to the Legion, with Castle Uther named in his honour within Theramore. However few other races have such a charitable view, only the Draenei see him as a redeemed figure. The elves in particular utterly hate him as the Butcher as he was one of the leaders of the genocide, and even the night elves view him with hatred as he was the one to strike down Cenarius.