Hello everyone!
A little while ago we covered the story of Scholomance and the Western Plagelands which
of course had a lot of people wanting to see the follow up, the eastern plaguelands.
Like its western counter part, the eastern plaguelands was once a beautiful land and
part of the kingdom of lordaeron.
Stratholme was the largest city of the kingdom with its regional government centered around
this city.
It too felt the effects of the plague.
The grain that was meant to feed their people and sustain life had been infected.
Now it would cause them die, even worse, come back as mindless undead in servitude of the
Lich King.
Prince Arthas did everything he could to stop it, but ultimately fell to the scemes of the
lich king as well.
After following Malganys and traveling to Northrend, he picked up the cursed blade Frostmourne
to claim his revenge.
He too now served the very thing he had tried to fight against.
Death washed over the lands of lordaeron and made its way to the high home of the high
elves as they had need of their magical well of power, the Sunwell.
“I dearly hope that there’s a special place in hell waiting for you arthas.”
“We may never know Uther.
I intend to live for ever.”
If we follow the path they took, first location that pops up is the marris stead.
Maybe not a name that immediatly ring a bell as he now goes by the name of Blightcaller,
but in life Nathanos used marris, the name of his family.
The first and only human ranger trained by the high elves themselves.
This land was tented to by his grandfather, his father and perhaps if things would have
worked out differently...by Nathanos himself.
We can only wonder how many moment Sylvanas and Nathanos were able to steal away here
before the darkness of the world took away their chances and time.
First there was the Horde invasion to deal with and then the undead scourge.
Both of them would fall to the might of Arthas, Sylvanas to Frostmourne itself whle Nathanos
was slain by Ramstein the Gorger and both of them would regain control.
Sylvanas was first and one of the first she set out to do wasb ring back her champion.
Her banshee’s voice as well as just her presence, the memories of their lives together
was able to set Nathanos free of the haze clouding his mind.
I am yours, Dark Lady, he told sylvanas.
For all my days.
During classic we would see him hang out at the lands of his family and of course the
Alliance had no idea of the true fate of Nathanos Marris.
In their eyes he was still a hero of the war, a tactical genius responsible for alliance
victories spanning a decade of conflict.
They had no idea where his loyalties truly were so heroes formed raids, gathered their
might and released Nathanos from his tormented undead life...or atleast that’s what they
thought.
Feign death is a powerful ability indeed....
The horde had him as their quest giver handing out several quests.
One of them would send them to the Quel’Lithien Lodge where exiled High Elves were living
out their days.
When Arthas used the Sunwell, the fount of power became corrupted, so much so that they
were forced to destroy it.
Millenia of feeding on these magics had made them incredibly addicted.
For the survival of their people, they were forced to drain magic, even from living things
which some amongst their race simply refused.
They did not want to become somekind of vampire feeding on others and so Lor’themar told
them to go.
“We come in the name of the champion of the banshee queen” the horde said when they
arrived.
“You have something that belongs to him.”
The copy of the registry detailing Nathanos’ acceptance into the Farstriders.
He wanted it and made sure to have his forces leave as much strife and grief as possible
in their wake.
To leave the high elves suffering and suffer they did.
In time we would the Sunwell reignited birthing a new future for the now blood elves.
They were in a much stronger possition now, one that had Lor’themar offer these exiles
aid from Silvermoon but they refused...wanted nothing to do with Lor’themar and the allies
that he keeps.
“Deal with the devil as you please.
I can only hope that you get what you deserve.”
Lor’themar did not blame them for their reaction, he only felt sorrow for the way
things turned out.
The elves at Quel lithien lodge had seen hell over the years and their fate would only be
to fall to the very thing they were exiled for.
Their commander came upon an item of magical energy, one they couldn’t resist.
It’s seductive power corrupted them, turned them into Wretched fit only to be put out
of their missery.
Another quest handed by nathanos is to go out and collect relics from the battle of
Darrowshire.
A town nearby, a battle worthy of song.
“Today i found pamela wondeeeering Darrowshire”
The Battle of Darrowshire took place when the scourge forces rampaged across Lordaeron.
It was cut off from the bulk of Alliance forces, but the town was bolstered by a company of
troops, a contingent of paladins of the Silver Hand, and a staunch group of local militia
led by Captain Joseph Redpath.
The Scourge's first assaults on Darrowshire were sparse.
Small groups of marauding skeletons and corpses wandered the outskirts of the village and
were repelled.
But the Scourge were not balked by the defenders' tenacity, and responded in kind; soon after
the first wave of attacks a second wave emerged.
Champion ghouls, servants of the ghoul lord Horgus, screamed down from the hills and clashed
with beleaguered Darrowshire defenders.
The Defenders weakened, but were relieved by paladins, disciples of the Silver Hand.
Their leader, Davil Crokford, was a native of Darrowshire.
He brought his followers to the village when he heard of the impending attack, and together
with the defenders they held back the servants of Horgus.
When Horgus himself entered the battle, he met with Davil.
For many minutes they fought and Davil eventually prevailed, but he suffered a mortal wound
and died soon after defeating the ghoul lord.
The battle continued, and Captain Redpath led his militia bravely.
And it might have been won, had the captain not been corrupted by the death knight Marduk
the Black.
In the middle of the fray Marduk rode up to Redpath, and with black magic he tore loose
Redpath's spirit, twisting it into an evil shadow of the brave captain.
The corrupted Captain Redpath then spread his evil taint among the defenders of Darrowshire,
who betrayed their allies and slaughtered them.
They then turned on the town of Darrowshire and killed all who hid in their homes.
The remaining scourge army, along with the corrupted spirit of Captain Redpath, then
left the ravaged village of Darrowshire and tore into Lordaeron, adding to the pain and
death of the war.
“Can you help me find my dolly?
I left her by the window sil and have you seen my daddy?
I think he went off to war.
And can you tell my family I’ve been missing for oh so very long.
Ask them why they leave me here alooooone.
DARROWSHIRE”
We learn off this history through a very tragic questline with the spirit of Little Pamela.
Her aunt hid her away during the battle, but she doesn’t know what happened to her and
wants us to check it out.
Like her auntie, Pamela is a spirit, did not survive the horrors that fell upon Darrowshire,
missing her family and dolly dearly.
It’s easier for us to bring her back her doll so that’s the first thing we do and
then it’s time to mess around with time and recruit the aid of the bronze dragon Chromie.
Now we can’t exactly go around and change history entirely.
Joseph Redpath still needs to die and become corrupted, but atleast we could immediatly
end the suffering by defeating his corrupted form.
That way his spirit can reunite with pamela, return home from the war, meaning there’s
work to do.
We find the Annals of Darrowshire detailing the events of what happened here.
Chromie uses her magic, adding pages that describes the eventual fates of those that
took place in the battle.
We need that knowledge as we need these relics of the past for her time magic to work.
Horgus the Ravager fell at the Battle of Darrowshire.
But the evil within him was not fully spent.
The victorious Scourge forces removed his skull from the battlefield, carrying it with
them to sow dread among the living they faced.
Days later, the company of Scourge who possessed the head were defeated by Silver Hand Paladins.
Horgus' head was then cast into Blackwood Lake.
Marduk the black still lives, yet his sword was lost in a battle near Corin's Crossing.
A dwarf captain shattered the sword on his enchanted shield, forcing Marduk to flee the
field and winning the day for the Alliance.
Marduk's sword sank into the earth and corrupted it, eating a gorge into the land, now known
as the Infectid Scar.
Davil Lightfire died at the Battle, but his bravery inspired the Alliance throughout the
war.
His book, his paladin's libram, was recovered by Scarlet Crusade troops.
It now resides in the town hall of Hearthglen, often read by crusaders eager to draw from
Davil's strength.
Joseph Redpath was killed during the Battle of Darrowshire.
His spirit was corrupted and took new shape, and this creature spread great evil in Lordaeron.
At Gahrron's Withering, east of Andorhal, the corrupted Redpath was finally defeated
by Alliance forces.
His shield still rests near the barn of the plagued farmstead, and Scourge minions are
still drawn to the memory of his evil.
The bundle of relics as well as the skulls of the scourge who participated in the battle
are placed in town allowing us to relive the battle as it played out.
Only this time the corrupted joseph is not allowed to leave Darrowshire.
We end him here and now, forgiving him for what has happened and reuniting pamela with
her daddy.
“And your father’s coming home again.
The war for him is over.
And his spirit is once again be at rest...in Darrowshire...”
Not all of the redpaths have been wiped out though.
Her older sister left Lordaeron during the first horde first invasion where as her uncle
Carlin Redpath, survived the battle at Darrowshire and joined the Argent Dawn.
We actually found him at Light’s Hope Chappel which has been pretty much the remaining bastion
of light in the area against the invading undead forces.
When Arthas decided to purge Stratholme and Uther refused to follow the order, he told
him and his fellow paladins of the silver hand that their organisation was suspended
from service.
“Have you lost your mind arthas?”
The paladins flowed out of an organisation called the Church of the Holy Light which
goes way back in time, more than 2000 years ago.
We’re talking about the time period in which the early humans teamed up with the high elves
to take on the trolls that weren’t too happy with these new settlers in their lands.
Even to this day we can find remants of trolls in the plaguelands, like at Zul’Mashar,
sadly like so much in this land, fallen to undeath.
So back in the day, visions from strange forms, thrumming with holy power, sparked the humans
faith in the holy light and became the predominant human religion.
Centuries later, lordaeron’s leaders codified the different light based traditions and belief
systems.
From these efforts the church of the holy light came to be.
Lordaeron served as the home of this church with the most important places of worship
located in the verdant Eastweald, the original name of the Plaguelands.
Among the oldest and most revered of these holy sites were Andorhal, Light’s hope chapel,
stratholme, and tyr’s hand.
Then the Horde came to azeroth and Alonsus foul came up with the brilliant idea of combining
the teachings of the church with the skills of a warrior, and voila the first paladins
of the Silver Hand came to be.
A great asset in the war against the Horde and now Arthas wanted to put them out of service.
The boy was not a king yet nor did the paladins simply stop being paladins because their prince
told them too.
These members of the silver hand would continue to battle, continue to defend their lands
against the darkness.
Many of them were slain when Arthas returned as a death knight yet the Light is not easily
vanquished.
Some of these defenders would then form an organisation known as the Argent Dawn where
as the more zealous ones would form the scarlet crusade.
The scarlets were infiltrated and manipulated from within by a dreadlord, pushing them further
and further to the point where they could no longer see the difference between the living
and the undead.
All of them that did not stand with them had to be purged in the light.
The whole necromancy things, raising the fallen into undeath, did not just count for those
recently slain.
Heroes of the past, warriors, priests, paladins, champions of battles long past... they were
burried in cemeteries and catacombs.
They quickly figured out that they couldn’t let the Scourge get their hands on them so
after Arthas killed his father, and the scourge rampaged through lordaeron, a secret mission
began.
It was decided that their honored dead would be transported to the Light’s hope chappel,
this small out of the way location , to this small out of the wya chapel, where they interred
them once more into sacred ground.
A thousand of the bravest souls to walk the earth, the Light defending this sacred ground.
We’ve seen the heavens open up here as Darion Mograine sacrificed himself, decimating the
forces Kel’thuzad send out to try and claim the chappel.
The day was saved yet dieing while fighting the scourge often means you wake up fighting
for the other side.
Darion returned during the death knight starting area.
Their forces lead the scharge from the Ebon Hold pushing the scarlet out of their enclave
and then the assault.
Now attacking the chappel he gave his life to defend.
Arthas the Lich King knew full well that his death knights were send to their doom, but
in his eyes it was worth it if it meant drawing out Highlord Tirion Fordring.
Tirion was a member of the order of the silver hand but was kicked out when he helped the
orc eitrig.
Forced to leave his family behind, he lived in exile for quite some time.
We could even find him during classic, help him try to save his son.
Taelan Fordring had renounced the order of the silver hand.
With so many of their members dead, his father in exile, he decided to join the scarlet crusade.
In northdale he dropped the symbol of lost honor, a symbol of the silver hand that we
recovered.
Not an organisation Tirion wanted his son to be a part of so we tried to get him out.
Tried to convince him to come with us and Taelan actually tries to leave the corrupted
organisation.
Keyword tries as he doesn’t make it out alive too which Tirion comes out of exile
and eventually make his way to Light’s hope chappel.
The Lich King’s betrayel would cost him dearly as Darion throws the corrupted Ashbringer
to Tirion, cleansing it, returning it to its original light state and forcing Arthas to
retreat.
In front of the chappel, Tirion declared that the Argent dawn and the Order of the Silver
Hand would come together as one.
Combine their forces in the Argent Crusade.
Bring Arthas down for what he had done to them.
Even the death knights decided to join on this crusade, an impossible missions that
they completed all the same.
There must always be a lich king though so Tirion placed the helmet on Bolvar Fordragon
and then returned home to Hearthglen.
During Legion the Highlord’s life was ended by the demons too which he passed on the Ashbringer
and paladins of the world united in their order hall, right here in light’s hope chappel.
The death knights also had their order hall and they thought it would be really cool to
try and claim the body of Tirion.
Make him a member of the four horseman, but the Light had something else to say about
that.
This chappel is protected by more then just sword and shield.
To the east we find another of those sacred holy places, Tyr’s hand.
In the past there was actually quite a bit of speculation on the naming of this place.
Was there perhaps a connecting to keeper Tyr.
Was this the place where he had fallen?
Was there a connection to the darkness beneath Tirisfal?
The chronicles has now cleared all of that up.
Tyr’s heroic sacrifice made him a legend amongst the Vrykul and eventually the humans.
This city also held its ground as the scourge washed over the land, allied to the Order
of the Silver hand until the faction started to splinter.
They decided to team up with the scarlet crusade and like I mentioned before, an organisation
infiltrated by a dreadlord is not the healthiest to find yourself in.
The fate of the scarlet crusade is tragic, if somewhat ironic.
At one point they led the charge of humanity against the undead.
Now, they resemble those corpses that they once hunted.
Together with the brotherhood of the light, another subfaction that’s Argent Crusaders
at their core except with less morals, guilt and other useless human emotion to keep them
in check.
We clean out Tyr’s hand of the now undead scarlet crusade and claim it for the Light
once more.
In many ways the scarlet crusaders were well intentioned, but their zeal grew too strong,
and their hate blinded them to reason.
We can only hope that the same doens’t happen to the brotherhood of light.
The last thing to talk about for the Eastern Plaguelands, that is of course Fiona’s Caravan.
Added with the Cataclysm, this caravan guides adventurers through the eastern plaguelands,
going through the stories we spoke about, gaining more passengers as we go.
The more passengers we have, the more people we help out, the more zone buffs we gain access
too.
Like Fiona’s lucky charm will give you a chance to loot extra gold and items from creatures.
Argus’ journal gives you a 2% experience bonus, but anyone with a heart will of course
pick Pamela’s doll.
Pamela Redpath will follow you on your adventure, not really offering a buff just fun company,
giving you a chance to show the spirit more of the land.
Their caravan is traveling here because Gidwin Goldbraids and Tarenar Sunstrike both want
to join the Argent Crusade.
Where as the blood elf has a more natural affinity to the light, his dwarf buddy always
spends his time studying, keeping up and pushing him every step of the way.
Despite some protests, their journey to lights hope is interupted a couple times.
Breaks at Crown guard tower and light’s shield tower.
3 more are in the zone, eastwall, northpass and plaguewood.
Back in classic, blizzard tried to promote a bit of world pvp with an event called A
game of towers.
Horde vs Alliance fighting over control.
For each tower that your faction holds, all members of your faction in the Eastern Plaguelands
deal 1% extra damage against undead enemies.
If your faction controls all four towers, this buff increases to +5%.
Each of the towers also offered special bonuses like a ghostly flying mount to fly to the
other towers.
An extra graveyard.
Npc’s to help you fight a tower and a 5% hit buff.
Truly epic rewards to go for, from what I remember, people didn’t really care a whole
lot about this event which might explain why it was removed with the cataclysm.
So our buddies from the caravan eventually make it to lights hope, go through the trial
and become official members of the Argent Crusade.
Gidwin, the one who wasn’t too happy about all these breaks we took, quickly becomes
restless and goes out to fight undead.
He’s captured by the enemy, a powerful paladin like himself would make for an incredibly
strong death knight so chances are they haven’t immediately killed him.
Together we do everything it takes to track him down.
Together we confront Baroness Anastari and save Gidwin’s life.
There ends our adventures in the plaguelands, but Fiona and her crew would carry on adventuring
together.
You might even remember seeing them on alternate draenor.
Now the name Anastari might sound familiar to those that have stepped into Stratholme
before.
She’s one of the bosses you need to kill in order to make your way through the eternally
burning city.
However I want to save the story of Stratholme for next week to give it the proper time it
deserves.
So for now thank you very much for watching everyone!
By all means let me know in the comments down below which zone you’d like me to cover
next.
It can be anything on azeroth or even outland or draenor.
Your call!
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Leave a like if oyu enjoyed this one aaaand until next time guys...see ya!