Alexandros Mograine Alexandros Mograine , also known as The Ashbringer , was one of the leaders of the Silver Hand and the original wielder of the Ashbringer . He was murdered by his son Renault with the sword and raised as a death knight by Kel ' Thuzad . He was originally encountered in Naxxramas as the leader of the Four Horsemen , but was replaced by Baron Rivendare in Wrath of the Lich King . In the " World of Warcraft " , it is stated that Alexandros was one of the founders of the Scarlet Crusade . The would depict the formation of the Crusade occurring " after " Alexandros ' death , in which case he would have never been a member . Background . During the assault on Blackrock Spire in the Second War , Mograine of the Silver Hand witnessed an orcish warlock channeling magic through a dark orb . After the warlock ' s death , Mograine went to claim it for the Alliance , but his hand was badly mangled as soon as he touched it . Though describing the orb as the " living embodiment of shadow , " he was still curious as to what power it might hold and kept it in an iron chest . Mograine kept the orb a secret until the Scourge reached Lordaeron . He revealed it to several other members of the Silver Hand , suggesting that they search for the orb ' s polar opposite - a manifestation of the Light itself - to be used against the impending undead holocaust . Mograine ' s peers , appalled at the sight of this dark crystal , attempted to destroy it with a holy spell . Unexpectedly , the crystal absorbed the spell and became its antithesis , the very crystal of pure light that Mograine suggested moments before , and even restored life to his mangled hand . It was decided that from this crystal a weapon would be forged that would smite the undead with such power that only a cloud of ash would remain in its wake — " The Ashbringer . " Under the command of Saidan Dathrohan , Mograine and Fairbanks traveled to Ironforge to ask King Magni Bronzebeard to forge the mighty blade . Magni , having only just learned of his brother ' s apparent demise , was more than willing to craft a weapon to battle the undead , and described it as the greatest creation wrought by his hand . Death Knight . Mograine and the other former Knights of the Silver Hand banded together to continue the war against the Lich King . Alexandros was appointed Highlord and the Ashbringer was the Order ' s greatest weapon . However , the blade caught the attention of Kel ' Thuzad . Striking a deal with Balnazzar , who had covertly taken control of the Order by possessing Dathrohan and wished to use it against the Lich King , the two planned to kill him . To do so , Balnazzar corrupted Mograine ' s son Renault and had him lead his father into a trap . Renault led his father and High Inquisitor Fairbanks to Stratholme where an army of undead waited for them . Renault fled and Fairbanks , being the first to fall , was trapped under the pile of undead corpses . Mograine stood alone against the undead , yet managed to destroy all sent at him . In fatigue , Alexandros dropped his blade . Renault returned and killed Mograine with his own sword , corrupting the Ashbringer . Unable to use the blade , Renault left it with his father ' s corpse . However , Kel ' Thuzad raised the Ashbringer ' s corpse turning him into a death knight of the Scourge , and reclaimed his blade . Kel ' Thuzad took Mograine back to Naxxramas to have him serve as one of the Four Horsemen . Later , led by nightmares of his father ' s tortured soul , Alexandros ' s other son , Darion Mograine led a small group of Argent Dawn members into Naxxramas to free him . Darion was the only one to survive the assault , escaping with the blade but forced to leave his father ' s body behind . When Darion returned to the Scarlet Monastery with the blade , Alexandros ' s corrupted spirit manifested and confronted Renault , accusing him of murder before mercilessly killing him . Later , during a Scourge assault on Light ' s Hope Chapel , Darion plunged the Ashbringer into his own chest in an act of self - sacrifice that obliterated the Scourge armies and seemingly freed Alexandros ' s soul of the Scourge ' s corruption . In doing so , however , Darion damned himself into undeath and was escorted off the battlefield by Kel ' Thuzad . In Wrath of the Lich King . During the Battle for Light ' s Hope Chapel , Darion - now a death knight himself and wielding the Corrupted Ashbringer - led an attack against Light ' s Hope Chapel but he was defeated by Tirion Fordring . During the dialogue between Darion and Tirion , Alexandros ' s spirit appeared and a dialogue between father and son - evidently a flashback of some kind - took place . Alexandros mentioned that Darion would one day wield Ashbringer . However , their reunion was cut short by the arrival of the Lich King , who claimed Alexandros ' s soul with Frostmourne . In the taken from the Lich King after he is defeated by a raid in which someone is wielding , an item known as is found . When returned to Darion , Alexandros ' s spirit appears for the final time , thanking Darion for saving him from damnation . As a result of his story advancement since his original in - game appearance , Alexandros did not return in Naxxramas with the rest of the Four Horsemen . According to Commander Eligor Dawnbringer ' s lecture in Wintergarde Keep , Alexandros " was the finest warrior that the Death Knights had ever seen . However , after the events in Azeroth , he vanished without a trace . Kel ' Thuzad has appointed Baron Rivendare in his place . " With the Corrupted Ashbringer . Players who obtained the from the original version of Naxxramas could take it to the Scarlet Monastery and see a special event in which Alexandros Mograine returned , killed his son , and revived Fairbanks . With the updated lore in the comics and the expansion , however , this event and the information given by Fairbanks regarding the Ashbringer have mostly been retconned out . At Light ' s Hope Chapel :