Windrunner Fleet
- "The Windrunner Fleet" redirects here. For the quest, see
[10-30] The Windrunner Fleet.
The Windrunner Fleet[1] (or The Dark Lady's Fleet)[2] is a fleet of the Forsaken navy originally led by Captain Harker during the Northrend campaign. During the events of Stormheim on the Broken Isles, the fleet saw its number of battleships increased and fell under the command of Dread-Captain Tattersail.
Background
Wrath of the Lich King
During the war against the Lich King in 27 ADP, after a brutal confrontation between the Hand of Vengeance and the North Fleet in the Bleeding Vale,[3] the Windrunner Fleet was sent to bombard the Alliance survivors barricaded at the Derelict Strand.[4] Despite being hungry, injured, and ill-equipped, however, the North Fleet crews were able to board the fleet's ships.[5] In time, the Windrunner, the Oblivion, and the Dark Defiance were being fought over on an island off the Derelict Strand, whilst the Queen's Reprisal was destroyed and salvaged by the Alliance. On the orders of Captain Harker, the Horde adventurers were sent to kill the North Fleet Marines,[6] taking back the boats to destroy the Alliance cannons and win the battle.[7]
Legion
During the third invasion of the Burning Legion in 32 ADP, the Eternity, the Blightcaller, the Banshee's Wail, the Black Rose, the Creeping Death and the Deathbringer were added to the fleet, but the Dark Defiance was not seen during the conflict.
The Queen's Reprisal was present at the battle for the Broken Shore.[8] The Fleet was later used by Sylvanas Windrunner to sail to Stormheim to transport Horde adventurers seeking the Aegis of Aggramar, as well as pursuing Sylvanas' personal mission to find and subjugate Eyir. Captain Dreadwake and the Oblivion had already sailed to Stormheim in advance in search of the Vault of Eyir, establishing Dreadwake's Landing and sending word back to the rest of the Fleet about its discovery.[9] Just shortly before the Fleet deployed, Admiral Harker held a staff meeting aboard the Windrunner for which the captain of the Queen's Reprisal was present.[10]
While the Fleet was en route to Stormheim, the Queen's Reprisal was separated from the other ships when the fleet was struck by a massive storm and was sunk along the shores of Azsuna.[11] The surviving crew was beset upon by a local colony of makrura and gilblins and were dragged ashore, suffering from potent gilblin poisons, and were eventually either saved by members of the Horde or put out of their misery by members of the Alliance, in the area. The captain of the Queen's Reprisal was allegedly consumed by the makrura queen.[12]
Upon arrival in Stormheim, the Windrunner Fleet was engaged by Alliance forces of the Skyfire commanded by King Genn Greymane and Sky Admiral Rogers, the ensuing battle scuttling the entire fleet in the Cove of Nashal and crashing the Skyfire. Deathweaver Cassandra and Cauldronmaster Mills, captains of the Banshee's Wail and the Black Rose, were killed in the attack, and Dread-Captain Tattersail was taken captive. The Black Rose, which operated as a seafaring laboratory of the Royal Apothecary Society, released one of its more volatile substances on the shores of Stormheim when it sank,[13] which began affecting both the local wildlife and the surviving crew.[14] Captain Tomas was ordered by Nathanos Blightcaller with restoring the Blightcaller to operational status.[15]
Dread-Captain Graham and the Deathbringer were later sent to Stormheim as reinforcements to Dreadwake's Landing and the Oblivion in Ashil's Bay. Shortly after the events in Stormheim concluded, the Deathbringer was infiltrated by Alliance agents. Slaying Graham and much of the crew, they also sabotaged the ship's plague cistern, causing a large explosion that sank the vessel.[16]
Battle for Azeroth
By the time of the Fourth War in 33 ADP, the Banshee's Wail, fully repaired and renovated, served as the command post of the Honorbound while docked in the Port of Zandalar in Zuldazar.
Shadows Rising
Through unknown means, the Banshee's Wail was acquired by Banshee loyalists and was captained by Deliria Dawes, delivering the loyalists at different areas in Nazmir under Nathanos' command.[17]
List of ships
| Name | Captain | Location(s) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Banshee's Wail |   Captain Deliria Dawes
|
Unknown | Active |
| The Black Rose | Captain Mills
|
Cove of Nashal, Stormheim | Sunk |
| The Blightcaller |  Captain Tomas
|
Cove of Nashal, Stormheim | Damaged |
| The Creeping Death | Unknown | Cove of Nashal, Stormheim | Sunk |
| The Dark Defiance | Unknown | Derelict Strand Howling Fjord | Active |
| The Deathbringer | Dread-Captain Graham
|
Ashil's Bay, Stormheim | Sunk |
| The Eternity | Unknown | Cove of Nashal, Stormheim | Active |
| The Oblivion | Captain Dreadwake
|
Ashil's Bay, Stormheim | Active |
| The Queen's Reprisal | Unknown | Azsuna[65, 57] | Sunk |
| The Windrunner | Dread-Captain Tattersail
|
Cove of Nashal, Stormheim | Active |
Gallery
The fleet's shipwrecks in the Cove of Nashal.
The Banshee's Wail
The Windrunner
The Oblivion
The Dark Defiance
The Queen's Reprisal
References
- ^ [10-30] The Windrunner Fleet
- ^ Portal during
[10-45] Stormheim
- ^ [10-30] War is Hell
- ^ [10-30] Reports from the Field
- ^ [10-30] The Windrunner Fleet
- ^ [10-30] Ambushed!
- ^ [10-30] Guide Our Sights
- ^ Queen's Reprisal Sailor: "We were... going to Stormheim... after the Broken Shore."
- ^ [10-45] Making the Rounds
- ^
[Captain's Log of the Queen's Reprisal]: "I have a staff meeting with Admiral Harker on the Windrunner in an h..."
- ^ [Captain's Log of the Queen's Reprisal]: "... separated by a massive storm. I've given the order to batten down the hatches and weather it. There's no sign of the fleet. Once the...[illegible text] ... we'll catch up and rendezvous at the..."
- ^ [10-45] Shipwrecked Sailors
- ^ [10-45] Pump it Up
- ^ [10-45] Side Effects May Include Mild Undeath
- ^ Captain Tomas#Quotes
- ^
[45WQ] Oh, Ship!
- ^ Shadows Rising