Acherus ( Order Hall ) Acherus : The Ebon Hold ( pronounced a - ker - us ) is a former Scourge necropolis floating above and to the east of the Broken Shore in the Broken Isles . It is the headquarters of the Knights of the Ebon Blade and is the Order Hall for all death knight s of the Alliance and the Horde . As such , Ebon Hold has been designated as a sanctuary , with PvP combat forbidden within its halls . History . Built by the skeletal architect Obrahiim and said to be so powerful that not even the dread citadel of Naxxramas would be able to withstand a direct assault , Acherus was originally located in a region of the Eastern Plaguelands east of Tyr ' s Hand known as the Scarlet Enclave . Here , under the direct command of the Lich King , the death knights of Acherus were trained in its halls for a specific purpose : the destruction of both the Scarlet Crusade and the Argent Dawn , the last bastions of Light ( albeit corrupted , in the case of the Scarlet Crusade ) in the Plaguelands . Within the halls of Acherus were mounds of bodies , the corpses of slain heroes gathered by the Scourge to resurrect as death knights . Under the watchful eye of the feared Instructor Razuvious , Scourge necromancers raised bodies chosen by the Instructor and gauged for their worthiness . If they were found worthy , they were attired in the trappings of a " herald of Arthas " ; if they were found wanting , they were consumed by hungry ghouls . Also present inside are runeforge s , where death knights emblazon their weapons with runes that better aid them in their battles against their enemies . In the Heart of Acherus , other unworthies were kept in chains for initiates to slay in cold blood as part of their training . Given their task , the death knights of Acherus laid waste to the towns of Havenshire and New Avalon and before turning on Light ' s Hope . During the Battle for Light ' s Hope Chapel , the Lich King revealed that he sent the death knights on a suicide mission in order to lure Tirion Fordring out of hiding . After the Lich King fled back to Northrend when Fordring cleansed the Ashbringer , the death knights who remained on the field formed the Knights of the Ebon Blade under the command of Highlord Darion Mograine , and from the Scourge to serve as their base . Though Acherus hovered above the destroyed Scarlet lands as the base of operations for the Knights of the Ebon Blade , the invasion of the Burning Legion prompted its leadership to move the floating bastion to the Broken Isles to best combat the army of demons . Travel . Getting there . Death Knights initially access this version of Acherus through their artifact weapon questline . Additionally , Death Knights may cast their ability to travel to Acherus . Casting Death Gate from inside Acherus allows the Death Knight to travel to the graveyard closest to their previous location . Areas of interest . The Hall of Command is the lower level of the hold . This is where the flight master and command table are located , as well as the portal to Dalaran . This is the top level of the hold . All of the vendors are here , as well as a forge , anvil , runeforge , and soul forge . Moments are also placed on this level . Inspiration . , meaning " river of woe " , is a river that runs in northwestern Greece , and is connected to various underworld myths . In Greek mythology , the river Acheron was a branch of the river Styx ; Acheron was the border to Hades , and those seeking to enter Hades had to pay Charon , the ferryman , for passage . Those who could not were condemned to wander the banks of the Acheron for one hundred years . In his epic " Aeneid " , the Roman poet Virgil uses " Acheron " to refer to all of Hades , and says the following to the main character , Aeneas : " " Flectere si nequeo superos , Acheronta movebo " " ( " If I cannot deflect the will of Heaven , I shall move Hell " ) . Acheron was also described as the river that formed the border of Hell . In the " Inferno " , book one of his " Divine Comedy " , Dante Alighieri - given a guided tour of Hell by Virgil - meets Charon at the banks of the Acheron and pays for passage across ( at Virgil ' s insistence and despite Charon ' s reservations , as Dante was still a living man during his journey through Hell ) .