History of the Known Orders

## The First War

The Holy Order of Northshire Clerics, led by Archbishop Alonsus Faol, suffered great losses in the First War. Alonsus Faol sought to create an order that would suffer less in battle, gathering both the knighthood of Lordaeron and the priesthood to learn in matters of martial and faith. Those who aspired to combine the arts of warfare and faith became the first Paladins.

## The Second War

The Knights of the Silver Hand, was the result of the combination between clergy and knighthood. The Paladins held a devotion to the Holy Light that rendered them infused by their own faith, and this new zeal and need for righteousness was brought forth with the promise of liberation from Orcish tyranny.

Uther the Lightbringer led the Silver Hand to victory in the Second War, and the order was respected and revered throughout the lands of Lordaeron and to the south of the reconstructing capital of Stormwind. The Silver Hand revolutionized the practices of the Holy Light.

## The Third War

The emergence of the plague of undeath, albeit immune to its effects, nearly brought the end to the Order of the Silver Hand in Lordaeron. The betrayal of Arthas Menethil and the rise of the Scourge resulted in the deaths of many, including Uther the Lightbringer.

The paladins that remained in Lordaeron continued their battle against the Scourge. Lord Commander Saidan Dathrohan and Highlord Alexandros the Ashbringer fought against the undead throughout the Plaguelands. Their leadership and skill managed to have them recover various settlements from the Scourge and even constructed a bastion in the Tirisfal Glades to defend against the Forsaken.

## The Rise, Growth and Fall of Schisms

Alexandros the Ashbringer’s demise in Stratholme marked an end to the unity that kept the remnants of the Silver Hand together, creating a great schism known as the Argent-Scarlet heresies.

Both heresies held no ties to the Church of the Holy Light, following their leadership exclusively. Those that remained with Saidan Dathrohan served the Scarlet Crusade, while those who did not agree with their zeal and fanaticism broke ties to serve Lord Maxwell Tyrosus’ Argent Dawn. The two orders shared the same goals, but the Argent Dawn extended its membership over to races beyond the Grand Alliance, including the Forsaken.

The Scarlet Crusade did not endure for long, as the appearance of Acherus the Ebon Hold, hovered in the skies above the Scarlet Enclave. The death knights appeared from Acherus and laid waste to Havenshire and New Avalon. Those that survived the attacks at Tyr’s Hand sailed to Northrend to combat the Lich King, to create a shadow of its former self, the Scarlet Onslaught.

During the Battle for Light’s Hope Chapel, ended as a heroic victory for the Argents, resulting in the Knights of the Ebon Blade to become free from the Lich King’s reigns and Tirion Fordring uniting what remained of the Silver Hand in to the Argent Dawn and formed what is now known as the Argent Crusade. The might of the Argent Crusade was brought to Northrend and brought end to the Lich King’s reign while the Scarlet Onslaught crumbled in Dragonblight.

Presently, the Argent Crusade holds a dominant presence in the Plaguelands and various Scarlet remnants and even factions still exist throughout the world. The Order of the Silver Hand, mainly operates in the capital of Stormwind under the leadership of Lord Grayson Shadowbreaker, various chapters still exist across the realm, mostly in Stormwind and Ironforge.