Ask a Lore Nerd: The 7th Legion is cooler than you
by Alex Ziebart 
Feb 9th 2009 at 9:00AM
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, where each week blogger and columnist Alex Ziebart answers your questions about the lore and history of the World of Warcraft. Ask your questions in the comments section below, and we'll try to answer it in a future edition.Another day with a load of Northrend questions! I like those sorts of questions, because they're relevant right now, but don't be afraid to ask about older stuff, too! We're going to jump right in today, though.
gearwhizz asked...
The Scarlets have a new class of Raven Priests who carry Terrok's Shadowstaff, cast shadowy magic and are accompanied by flocks of birds; is there any other connections between them and the Skettis, is it a red herring or should I wait and see?
The Raven Priests do carry some significance, but it's not a link to Terrok or Skettis. I won't reveal why, exactly, the Raven Priests exist, but it's a sign that even the Crusade is losing a part of themselves up in Northrend. The most zealous crusaders on Azeroth, the ones who are most adamantly anti-Undeath, have lost their morals in the war. They have Death Knights in their ranks, and the Raven Priests represent a much darker side of their worship.
There is a very real force that's pushing these changes on the Crusade, but I'll let you find out for yourself (if you haven't already.)
Dinosoar asked...
Are the Knights of the Ebon Blade evil? The dialogue between Tirion and the Ebon Watcher (I won't say who he really is so as not to spoil it for anyone who hasn't been to Icecrown yet and reads these comments) seems to imply that they at least have a rather strong hatred of the holy light, which does send up some warning flags about them, as so far all light hating races have been evil.
They're not quite evil, and they don't really hate the Light. 'Morally grey' is a pretty good description of how they view things. They don't hate the Light, but they think Tirion's absolute faith is a shortcoming. To fight the Scourge, you need to get your hands dirty. While the Argent Crusade's actions are dictated by their faith, the Ebon Blade has absolutely no problem playing dirty and being rat bastards to advance their efforts against the Lich King.
Darion Mograine sees Tirion's devotion to the Light as something of a weak point, something the Lich King can (and will) exploit. There are things Tirion simply won't do. That's where the Ebon Blade comes in. They will do those things, because they realize that to win this war, they need to. You have to admit, how they operate has been pretty effective. Most of our victories in Icecrown were due to the Ebon Blade's involvement. Even Tirion's big moments, he had Darion Mograine and the Ebon Blade backing him up.
Sometimes you need to make sacrifices, and the Ebon Blade knows that. Tirion is a 'no man left behind' kind of guy, and when you're up against the Lich King, that only goes so far.
thrax asked...
What's the deal with the 7th Legion in the Dragonblight? Are they just shock troops for the alliance or something more?
They're the Alliance's elite. Great warriors from all of the united Alliance races, and they've been on the front lines of all of the really major Alliance battles. As their flavor text mentions, they were at the Battle of Mount Hyjal, the recent Ahn'Qiraj war effort, and now in Northrend. We never saw them by name at Hyjal, but they were there in Silithus a few years ago, but not many people remember them. Wowwiki has pictures, if you're interested.
They're the Alliance's military badasses, but they're not royalty or politicians or anything like that. They're not as world famous as Alliance heroes like Jaina or Varian or Magni, but when they get called to the field they get shit done.
Ask a Lore Nerd is here to answer all of your questions about the lore and story of the Warcraft universe. From the religions of the universe to the 'evils' of Azeroth, everything is fair game. If you want more in-depth answers to some of your questions, you may find what you're looking for in Know Your Lore.Filed under: Alliance, Analysis / Opinion, Lore, Ask a Lore Nerd
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Sang Feb 9th 2009 9:10AM
What exactly is the official story behind the cleansing of Ashbringer? One story is the Death Knight starter quests where Darion gives it to Tirion and then it' purified, and then the Alliance has a quest to bring the Ashbringer out of a crypt where it apparently fell. Has Blizzard indicated which one is the canon story, or are they just leaving it as whichever one the player experiences is how it happened?
Zummers Feb 9th 2009 9:26AM
Those aren't mutually exclusive. After Tirion cleanses the Ashbringer at LHC there's a several month lull as the Northrend expeditions set up and all the heroes go to Outlands. To avoid detection, the Ashbringer is disguised and one of the Silver Hand's paladins takes it to Northrend, where he is ambushed by the Vry'kul. The Alliance quest returns it to Tirion and he declares himself and his crusade openly.
DragonFireKai Feb 9th 2009 9:32AM
The Light of Dawn is the purification of the Ashbringer.
The quest in the howling fjord, was the Argent Crusade dropping the ball on getting it to Northrend. The AC decided it was too risky for Tirion to simply take it into Northrend, so they had another paladin try to smuggle it in. In the quest, "Guided by Honor" Tirion says, "It should have been me that carried the blade. That burden was mine to bear." Obviously the attempt to smuggle it into Northrend was more or less a failure.
silverdragon Feb 9th 2009 9:32AM
They made a 4 issue comic actually explaining all that. It's called Ashbringer.
Mainman Feb 9th 2009 10:02AM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but they both happen. Tirion cleanses the blade in the Battle for Light's Hope Chapel, but apparently it only worked temporarily. Consider the dialogue of the questgiver found in the Utgarde catacombs:
"I am an envoy of the Silver Hand, charged with a sacred duty.
"Wrested the artifact from the hands of a fallen warrior of Light. Our forces descended from the dread heart of Naxxramas. So many perished in the wake of its redemption. "
This seems to contradict the existence of the DK event, but it actually fits, barring the last sentence. The Ashbringer was 'wrested' from Mograine's hands. The Argent dawn withdrew from Naxx to defend against The Ebon Hold (with Naxx whooshing off to Northrend in the meantime). But what's this about people perishing on the road to the sword's redemption?
Hold that thought, as we contrast with Tirion's dialogue/reveal once you bring the blade to him:
"The boy's death and, in fact, the deaths of all of the knights involved in the redemption of this blade could have been avoided. Their passing weighs heavily on my soul."
"It should have been me that carried the blade. That burden was mine to bear."
Use your imagination. We don't know many details, but it's safe to assume that the blade required purification ('redemption') of some sort once the Argent Crusade landed at the Fjord. Perhaps there was a shrine to the Light, or a powerful holy artifact, deep within those catacombs? ( I seem to recall the sword being in front of a podium, surrounded by a cone of light) And considering that catacombs + being on the Lich King's doorstep = a lot of undead trouble, the Crusade must have had to send waves of men into the tombs in an attempt to reach this source and have the sword purified; something which Tirion laments/wishes had been his sole responsibility (Lord Irulon Trueblade assures him "The path of freedom has always been beset with tragedy, sire. We could not risk losing you. The Order could not have survived such a blow").
So yes, unless I'm missing something, both events are canonical.
Suzaku Feb 9th 2009 6:20PM
As someone previously mentioned, the canon story of the Ashbringer is being told in the 4-part comic miniseries, World of Warcraft: Ashbringer. While only three parts have been released so far, enough is available between the comics and game to get a good grasp on the full picture.
In short, it was forged by Magni using a Draneish crystal Alexandros obtained from an orc warlock during the second war. It was corrupted when Renault used it to kill his father. Alexandros became leader of the Four Horseman. Darion joined the Argent Dawn and they five-manned Naxx. He killed his dad and looted the sword, then took it to SM where it manifested his dad's spirit and killed Renault. Some time between then and the DK starting area, Darion kills himself with it, freeing his father's soul but condemning himself to undeath.
naixdra Feb 9th 2009 9:17AM
Through the valleys and peaks of Mount Hyjal, across the shifting sands of Silithus, against the Legion's dread armies - we have fought. We are the nameless, faceless, sons and daughters of the Alliance. By the Light and by the might of the Alliance, the first strike belongs to us and the last strike is all that our enemies see.
We are 7th Legion.
Gotta say a few quests in Dragonblight completely dried up the whole "carebare" Alliance sentiments to me.
The very first interaction with the 7th Legion is to turn in a list of traitors, Wyrmbane laughs and points to the corpses hanging at the gate and simply says,"Ghoul bait."
I really like the darker/badass nature that Blizz has given this x-pac.
Dominika Feb 9th 2009 9:45AM
First time I went to Wintergarde Keep, my gryphon flew through Grizzly Hills to get there.
Let's just say that the Grizzly Hills theme playing over this speech is more awing than one would expect from a video game.
Boydboyd Feb 9th 2009 9:25AM
This article is like a mixture of Ask a Lore Nerd mixed with the format of The Queue.
Me likey!
Jardal Feb 9th 2009 9:40AM
What's going on in the Ebon Hold where the DK trainer is killing a druid to explain how plague strike is the lifebloom eater? Wouldn't the alliance kind of frown on killing their allies or is this kind of a "what they don't know won't hurt them" thing
SimpleSurvival Feb 9th 2009 10:52AM
I believe the Horde equivalent to the 7th legion is High Overlord Saurfang.
It takes an entire legion to come close to equal the badassness of High Overlord Saurfang
SimpleSurvival Feb 9th 2009 10:53AM
another of the many reasons why the comment system is annoying... this one was a comment @Eternauta
kabuki Feb 9th 2009 12:25PM
It's not something that's easy to explain. Being a Death Knight myself, I've always figured it's tied to the fact that realistically there's no way the Alliance military could get up to the Death Knight stronghold. For one, they wouldn't have much reason to, and secondly it could be a very dangerous proposition. Remember, that stronghold isn't just full of Allied Death Knights, but Horde ones also. And, it's armed to the teeth. So you're presented with a scenario that plays out thusly:
The Alliance knows that there's something bad going on up there, but they don't want to anger their new allies, and chance this elite undead force turning its eyes back to the old kingdoms. So, for now they're willing to turn a blind eye to what's going on, at least until Arthas is gone. Then, they would probably try to do something about it.
Eternauta Feb 9th 2009 9:45AM
I've a couple of questions:
1) What's the Horde counterpart to the 7th Legion?
2) You mentioned that "There is a very real force that's pushing these changes on the Crusade, but I'll let you find out for yourself (if you haven't already.)"
How can I find out? It's a quest chain?
Mainman Feb 9th 2009 10:07AM
To answer the second question:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37540
Ragehorn Feb 9th 2009 10:14AM
The Horde doesn't need a separate legion for it's badasses; it's already completely badass ;)
Jason Feb 9th 2009 10:20AM
1. Maybe the Korkron Elites?
2. There is a quest chain in Dragonblight involving the Scarlet Onslaught that gets followed up with another in Icecrown. Both are pretty illuminating about who/what is pulling their strings.
Sakinah Feb 9th 2009 10:19AM
For your first question, I believe you're looking for the Kor'kron. From defending the Warchief to the front lines of Outland and Northrend (the quest chain goes more into it in Agmar's Hammer and Icemist Village), the Kor'kron are the Warchief's right hand.;
But I totally agree with the second reply. The Horde is already so totally badass, we don't need something like the 7th Legion.
vocenoctum Feb 9th 2009 10:20AM
I've seen the diary, and it infers quite a bit, but is that it? The article made it sound like more direct information was presented, rather than just a (horde only) diary.
Please, spoil me (with appropriate spoiler warnings :) rather than hint at stuff.
Aketsu Feb 9th 2009 10:26AM
If I'm not mistaken, the Horde counterpart to the 7th Legion would be the Kor'Kron