"My my, the child of the
Worldbreaker, proof that none are beyond redemption." -Chi-Ji, the Red
Crane
The Ransom Theory is the name I give to the list of rules I have set
myself when play RPGs and fantasy card games. One day I will explain the name.
But not today.
I started playing World of
Warcraft during the Cataclysm
expansion, because the best time to start something is when everyone else is quitting.
I gave myself the following rule: don't play a warlock or death knight. Both use
magic that is evil in origin, which I'm not comfortable with.
Cataclysm saw the beginning
of a fourth war between the Horde and the Alliance, instigated by the new
Warchief Garrosh Hellscream and the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner. (To be
fair to Garrosh, the Horde did need resources being held by the Alliance's
night elves, who think that killing people because trees is a perfectly reasonable
thing to do.) Whilst I really enjoyed Cataclysm
overall, I was not very happy about quests constantly telling me to go kill the
Horde when seriously, an evil dragon and a nihilistic cult were trying to
destroy the world, and why aren't we putting aside our differences and fighting
them instead?
And then something odd happened. I arrived at the city of Andorhal in
the Plaguelands, one of the last bastions of the Scourge. An army of Alliance
soldiers lead by the death knight Thassarian were attempting to wrest control
of the city away from the Scourge, and also prevent it from falling to the
Horde. On the other side of the city was a force of Horde soldiers led by
another death knight, Koltira Deathweaver. In a climactic battle, myself and
Thassarian ended up in the city square facing the necromancer controlling the
city, just as Koltira arrived to do the same. After the leader of the Scourge
was forced to retreat, the Alliance and Horde armies found themselves looking
at each other. And then, the two commanders ordered their forces to pull back
and regroup, with Thassarian ordering me not to tell anyone what had happened
in the square. What on earth was going on here? Who were these guys? And why
were two death knights the only faction
members willing to turn around and walk away from the war?
But answers were not forthcoming. I was sent to assist the Argent
Crusade in the east, and I would not see Thassarian again for quite some time.
But it had started me thinking.
In Northrend, the paladin Highlord Tirion Fordring and the death
knight Highlord Darion Mograine discuss tactics. Darion criticises Tirion when
the latter refuses to fire on his own men to kill the Scourge. When Tirion
claims that doing so would make him no better than the Scourge themselves,
Darion's chilling reply is 'Then you have lost.'
And then there is the short story Silver
Hand, Ebon Blade. It takes the above disgreement, and turns it into a much
bigger argument culminating in a parting of ways over Darion's creation of the
cursed axe Shadowmourne. But when Tirion's Argent Tournament is attacked, and
Tirion is about to give up, Darion returns and throws his entire order of death
knights behind Tirion's cause. Though he never actually admits it, the
implication is clear - Darion has realised that Tirion was right.
And it was at this point I thought that maybe - just maybe - I was
missing something. So I did some research. Darion's order of death knights -
the Knights of the Ebon Blade - are sometimes referred to as the third wave of
Death Knights. The first wave were the Shadow Council reanimated by Gul'dan,
the most famous of them being Teron Gorefiend. These dudes were already evil
before they even died. The second wave were created by the Lich King (Ner'zhul),
and included Prince Arthas. Most of these knights, like Arthas, chose to become
what they were. But the third wave was different. Created by the second Lich
King (Arthas) these death knights had no choice in the matter. They were killed
and brought back against their will. They didn't even want to be death knights.
Now that was interesting.
So I decided to create a death knight character, to see how the story went.
Of course, being me, I decided to specialise in frost instead of unholy. When I
started out, my character was still under the control of the Lich King, along
with Darion Mograine, Thassarian and the entire newly-created Ebon Blade. I was
sent to completely wipe out an order of paladins known as the Scarlet Crusade.
This is not particularly nice, but it's bearable because the Scarlet Crusade
are secretly the army of the dreadlord Balnazzar, and are actually just as evil
as the Scourge. But when the Scarlet Crusade was defeated, I was ordered to take
on the other order of paladins, the Argent Crusade. Unlike the Scarlets, the
Argent really are dedicated to everything that is righteous, good and holy.
They are led by the aforementioned Highlord Tirion Fordring. I didn't want to
fight him, and I was thinking that really, this death knight thing was not for
me. But then everything changed.
They call it The Battle for Light's Hope Chapel. The
Argent Crusade is surrounded by a Scourge army consisting of the Ebon Blade,
lots of ordinary undead, and the Lich King himself. Their backs are literally against
the wall. Until Tirion appears, and in a blinding flash of light he overpowers
Darion and destroys every ordinary undead in the area, leaving only the Ebon Blade, the Lich King and a few others standing.
At which point, the Lich King reveals that this
was his plan all along.
He wanted Tirion out in the open, vulnerable to attack. And the only
way to do that, was to force him to take the field. The Lich King knew that any army
he sent against Light's Chapel would be decimated. Losing most of his second
wave death knights was not desirable, not even if it resulted in the death of
Tirion. So he needed cannon fodder. Powerful cannon fodder, but cannon fodder
none the less. The Ebon Blade was created merely as a tool to that end.
But the Lich King made one mistake. A mistake villains all too often
make. He gloated too much. And at that moment, the Knights of the Ebon Blade
break free of his control. It is never definitively stated why. Is it because
of their proximity to Light's Hope Chapel? The presence of Tirion? The Lich
King's revelation that he created them to die? The vision that Darion has of
his father? Or is it because the Ebon Blade never wanted to be death knights in
the first place? We may never be sure.
But in that moment, the Ebon Blade suddenly regains free will, and
with it, they choose to ally with the Argent Crusade. The Lich King realises he
cannot stand against both orders, not on the holy ground of Light's Hope, and
is forced to retreat.
Now this is a story worth my time. This is not the story of a fall. This
is a story of redemption. It is not the story of the warlock or necromancer,
whose lust for power leads them down the path of forbidden magic. This is not
the story of Teron Gorefiend, who has returned from the dead because he wanted
to. This is not the story of Prince Arthas, consumed by a desire for vengeance
that twisted his very soul. This is the story of a person who was a slave to
evil, but is now free. A person who still has the evil desire to inflict pain
on others, but chooses instead to protect them. A person who is not asking the question 'Why am I here?' but the question 'What do I do now?' Have you heard that story? I have. I am that story.
Long ago, I asked why Thassarian walked away from a battle in Andorhal.
I have my answer now. I only play two of my Warcraft characters a lot - and one
of them is a death knight.
