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 older son Renault with the sword and raised as a death knight by Kel'Thuzad. His soul was ultimately freed by the sacrifice of his younger son Darion, and he now resides in the afterlife Maldraxxus as a baron of the House of the Chosen.

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 Shadowlands, he appears as a quest giver in the Maldraxxus storyline and the Necrolords Campaign.

The Ashbringer
During the siege of Blackrock Spire in the Second War, Highlord 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 Holy 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.

After Saidan Dathrohan informed them of the Culling of Stratholme and Prince Arthas' suspension of the Silver Hand, 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.

Mograine and the other Knights of the Silver Hand banded together to continue the war against the Lich King during the next years. 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. Now one the finest warriors the death knights had ever seen, Kel'Thuzad took Mograine back to Naxxramas to have him serve as one of his royal Horsemen. Later, led by nightmares of his father's tortured soul, Darion 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.

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.

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."

In the Unsealed Chest taken from the Lich King after he is defeated by a raid in which someone is wielding Shadowmourne, an item known as Alexandros' Soul Shard is found. When returned to Darion, Alexandros's spirit appears for the final time, thanking Darion for saving him from damnation.

Shadowlands
After being freed from Frostmourne, Alexandros' soul was sent to the Shadowlands realm of Maldraxxus, home to the Necrolord Covenant. He felt only horror and rage when he first awoke in the realm, for he perceived the Necrolords as being no different from the Scourge. However, Margrave Krexus of the House of the Chosen eventually showed him that the Maldraxxi were a force of honor and acclaim. Mograine rose through the ranks to become one of the two barons of the Chosen, the other being Vyraz. After he was named baron, he had Bonesmith Heirmir craft him a new sword called Fatebringer, modeled after the Ashbringer. Alexandros fought hard to come by some of the materials used in its crafting, including a skull of unknown origin.

At some point, Vyraz—who was secretly working with the traitorous House of Constructs and House of Rituals—betrayed Mograine and trapped him within the Maw, the realm of eternal torment. Draka later took Mograine's place as baron. While Draka and the Maw Walker were absent, Vyraz worked with the House of Constructs to kill Margrave Krexus. When Draka and the outsider returned, Vyraz blamed the deed on the constructs and sent the Maw Walker to rescue Mograine from the Maw. In truth, however, Vyraz did not expect the hero to return. The hero traveled into the Maw and first rescued Darion Mograine, who had been captured during an earlier assault on the realm. The two subsequently encountered the broker Ve'nari, who guided the outsiders to Perdition Hold, where they found Alexandros being held captive. Darion was shocked by the revelation of the baron's identity, as he had not expected to ever see his father again. With Ve'nari's help, Darion and the Maw Walker freed Alexandros and traveled to Oribos, where Alexandros informed Draka and the hero of Vyraz's betrayal. Before the two barons and the Maw Walker returned to Maldraxxus, Darion told his father that he would stand by his side once more when he could, and Alexandros promised his son that they would have time to speak again later. While Draka warned the Chosen's allies at the Seat of the Primus, Alexandros and the Maw Walker confronted Vyraz at the House of the Chosen to punish him for his betrayal. However, the treacherous baron and his guards proved to be too powerful. Draka interrupted the battle to bring Alexandros and the Maw Walker to the Seat of the Primus to defend it from an attack by Vyraz's allies. The Maw Walker subsequently used the Blade of the Primus to open the way into the Seat, unleashing the Primus' power and forcing Vyraz's forces to retreat, as well as revealing a message from the Primus.

Alexandros remained stationed at the Seat. The Necrolords later received word from Xandria, the kyrian Paragon of Courage, that the House of Constructs had sent reinforcements to Bastion to continue their earlier assault on the Temple of Courage. Alexandros volunteered to spearhead the defense of the temple with the support of the Necrolord Maw Walkers in order to restore Maldraxxus' honor. Xandria was highly distrustful of the Necrolords and stated that she would only tolerate their presence if they helped set things right by defeating their treacherous kin. The Ashbringer and Maw Walkers disabled the Construct forces' shields in the outer area of the temple, then flew with Xandria to the edge of the Necrotic Wake—the temple's ruined inner sanctum—where the Construct necromancers had created a toxic cloud preventing the kyrian from flying in en masse. As Alexandros and the heroes went to work killing the necromancers, they heard the mocking voice of the Construct commander, Baroness Antolyte, an old rival of Mograine who was never able to defeat him in the arena. Once the skies above the temple were cleared, Xandria and Necrolords wiped out the Construct forces on the ground before heading to the necropolis Zolramus, where they confronted and killed Antolyte. As they returned to the entrance of the temple, Xandria stated that her kin desired vengeance against the Constructs, and Alexandros replied that the Necrolords would need time to prepare their forces for such an assault. Before they returned to Maldraxxus, Alexandros asked Xandria why the Arbiter had not chosen for him to spend his afterlife in Bastion when he had spent his life in service to the Light. He wondered if it was because his faith hadn't been strong enough or if his soul had been tainted when he was raised as undead. Xandria replied that forces like the Light had no purchase in the Shadowlands and brought Alexandros to Agthia's Repose to discern the source of his courage. By meditating on the repose's scrolls, Alexandros realized that it was the memory of his loved ones—not his devotion to the Light—that was the true source of his strength. If he had been chosen for Bastion, his memories of Elena, Renault, and Darion would've been deemed a burden and stripped from him, and thus the Arbiter decided that he belonged in Maldraxxus instead. The Maw Walkers subsequently returned to Draka with news of their victory over the Constructs, but Alexandros chose to stay a moment in Bastion to reflect before accompanying Xandria to Archon's Rise to plan the attack on the Constructs. The two spoke at length, and Alexandros suggested that the Construct ruler Margrave Gharmal's heart could be used to empower the kyrian's Crest of Ascension. During the conversation, Xandria also told the Ashbringer about a Forsworn named "Uther".

Together, kyrian and Necrolord forces assaulted the House of Constructs with the necropolis Zerekriss. Alexandros and Emeni led the assault on the stronghold's western gate while the Maw Walkers helped Xandria and the kyrian advance from the east. Alexandros and Emeni's forces—including Bonesmith Heirmir and Plague Deviser Marileth—came under heavy bombardment from Margrave Gharmal's juggernauts of kyrian flesh, preventing them from advancing into the Stitchyard. Kynthia brought the Maw Walkers to the Ashbringer's position to assist him. The juggernauts' hides were impervious to normal weapons, but Alexandros devised a plan to deal with them. First, he told the Maw Walkers to absorb the essences of Gharmal's minions into the Blade of the Primus. Then, he and the heroes mounted his pet deathroc Marrow, headed into the sky above the Stitchyard, and unleashed the runeblade's power on the juggernauts to destroy them, thereby forcing Margrave Gharmal into the open. With the attackers having gained control of the stronghold, Alexandros and the heroes joined Xandria at the stronghold's central ripening pond and engaged in combat with Gharmal in order to buy enough time for Draka to focus the Zerekriss' weaponry. While Xandria dueled the margrave directly, Alexandros and the heroes focused on holding off Gharmal's minions. The battle ended with Draka using the Zerekriss to fire a massive bolt of energy at the margrave, killing them. Afterward, Alexandros convinced Xandria to take Gharmal's heart as he had suggested earlier. Draka appeared shortly after to show the Ashbringer and Necrolord Maw Walkers a troubling discovery she had made in Gharmal's private tower: canisters of anima from Revendreth. Before returning to the Seat, she told the Ashbringer and the heroes to search the rest of the tower for anything of value. At the top of the structure, they discovered the Primus' Mantle of Eternal Victory, which they took with them back to the Seat.

Later, Alexandros accompanied the Necrolords as they assaulted the stronghold of the House of Rituals in order to remove the influence of the traitor Kel'Thuzad. After breaking down the barriers blocking a side entrance into the stronghold, the Necrolords pushed into the Grimoirium and confronted Kel'Thuzad's servant, Baroness Ninadar. After empowering herself with anima, Ninadar began battling Alexandros, Draka, and the Maw Walkers until they nearly defeated her, at which point she started draining even more anima and inadvertently destroyed herself in the process. The attackers continued to the Prime Arcanum, where they were unable to stop Kel'Thuzad from summoning a Maw Infernous but received sudden reinforcements from the Venthyr Covenant that allowed them to defeat the creature. The attackers pressed on to Exoramas, where Kel'Thuzad was waiting with the captive Margrave Sin'dane. Alexandros and the others spread out to hold off Kel'Thuzad's skeletal minions while the Maw Walkers dealt with the lich himself. After Kel'Thuzad escaped in defeat and the Necrolords gained the allegiance of Sin'dane, Alexandros pointed out that there was still much to be done, such as making Vyraz answer for his treachery and dealing with Kel'Thuzad more permanently. Draka agreed but stated that for the time being, they should return to the Seat and savor their victory.

Alexandros can be invited to participate in the Ember Court.

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 frees Fairbanks' spirit from his undead form. 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.

Abilities

 * During In Death We Are Truly Tested

In addition to the two listed above, he also has:
 * During Death Rains and Sustain, In Vain

Maldraxxus storyline

 * 1) A Soul Saved
 * 2) In Death We Are Truly Tested

Necrolords Campaign

 * Do Not Forget
 * 1) The Only Cure
 * 2) Death Rains
 * 3) Sustain, In Vain
 * 4) No Peace In Death
 * 5) The Golden Dawn


 * A Golden Dawn
 * 1) Trouble on the Western Front (Necrolord)
 * 2) Charging The Blade (Necrolord)
 * 3) Power of the Chosen (Necrolord)
 * 4) The End is Now (Necrolord)


 * 1) An Abominable Discovery
 * 2) Gharmal's Tower (quest)
 * 3) Prized Possession
 * 4) The Mantle Returned

Kyrian Campaign

 * Righteous Retribution
 * 1) Trouble on the Western Front (Kyrian)
 * 2) Charging The Blade (Kyrian)
 * 3) Power of the Chosen (Kyrian)
 * 4) The End is Now (Kyrian)

Ashbringer comic
At Light's Hope Chapel:
 * Ready yourselves, men! If it is blood these green-skined heathens crave then it is blood they shall have! Come you, knights! Raise hammers, bare steel! We fight to the end, we die if we must! For Lordaeron! FOR THE KING! ATTACK!
 * I love you, Elena! I always have loved you!
 * I love you, Darion!
 * I... Loved you, Renault.
 * I love you, son. With all that I am... All I was... All I ever will be.
 * My soul will forever bear the weight of your sacrifice, my son. And just as you never gave up on me, I shall never give up on you. For you've taught me the most valuable lesson of all: Hope... Never dies.

Dialogue

 * Maldraxxus storyline


 * Necrolords Campaign


 * Kyrian Campaign


 * Seat of the Primus conversations (triggered by talking to Baroness Draka)
 * say
 * say
 * say
 * say


 * say
 * say
 * say
 * say
 * say


 * say
 * say
 * say
 * say


 * say
 * say
 * say
 * say

...
 * On approach in the Bleak Redoubt if part of the Venthyr Covenant and are not a Friend or higher


 * On approach in the Bleak Redoubt if part of the Venthyr Covenant and are a Friend or higher
 * say

On-click

 * Greetings
 * Even in death, we must fight.
 * My blade is ready.
 * Orders?
 * This land festers. We must cauterize the wound.
 * We have little time to waste.
 * What do you need?
 * What is my task?


 * Irritated
 * Cease your prattling!
 * I have little patience for these games!
 * I AM NOT ABOVE TURNING YOU TO ASH!


 * Farewell
 * Ambition is nothing without honor.
 * Ashes to ashes.
 * Krexus' will be done.
 * I await the next battle.
 * I will not suffer this corruption any longer!
 * It is in death that we are truly tested.
 * Trample our enemies! Leave nothing but ash.

Gossip

 * Seat of the Primus after The Door to the Unknown
 * This corruption... I had come to expect as much from the vile force of Death.
 * I felt only horror when I awoke here. Horror and rage. But in time, Margrave Krexus showed me that the Maldraxxi were not the Scourge: honor presided among the Chosen.
 * But he has been slain by his own subordinate. The other margraves advance upon us. The hunger for dominance has starved what little honor remained.
 * I will purge this wretched place.


 * Seat of the Primus (Covenant Sanctum version)
 * The fire within me shall only be quelled by justice.

...
 * Bleak Redoubt, if part of the Venthyr Covenant and are not a Friend or higher


 * Bleak Redoubt, if part of the Venthyr Covenant and are a Friend or higher
 * Is your experience in the Shadowlands your first time leading, ?
 * I doubt it from the way you handle yourself. Leadership is a burden few bear correctly the first time.
 * I have heard the other guests gossiping at court, displeased with some choice or another that you made. As if the entirety our [sic] the Shadowlands revolved around their whims.
 * Do not let their words discourage you.
 * Chart a path to victory, and lead us there. They will understand eventually.


 * The Stitchyard during Righteous Retribution/A Golden Dawn
 * Margrave Gharmal will die this day.


 * If the player uses the Quill of Correspondence, he responds with a Letter

Notes and trivia

 * Alexandros used to wear the helm Justice Gaze.
 * Alexandros is remembered by the Silver Hand and his statue is located in the Sanctum of Light. His plaque says: The beginning of a legend still spoken of in hushed whispers. His memory will never be forgotten, just as the forces of darkness will never forget his blade.
 * In World of Warcraft, it was stated that Alexandros Mograine was known as the "Scarlet Highlord"    and was one of the three founders of the Scarlet Crusade. The Ashbringer comic depicts the formation of the Crusade occurring after Alexandros' death, in which case he would have never been a member.
 * Alexandros can be seen during the Old Hillsbrad Ashbringer event.
 * Korfax watched Mograine crack open the skulls of the undead with Dreadnaught Sabatons during the Third War.
 * Alexandros is voiced by Marc Graue in Wrath of the Lich King and Richard Epcar in Shadowlands.
 * During the days of The Burning Crusade it was a common speculation that David Wayne would eventually end up being revealed as the second son of Alexandros. It all began with the Corrupted Ashbringer Scarlet Monastery event which mentioned another Mograine living in Outland and who might be able to forge Ashbringer anew. David's relative youth for a member of the Sons of Lothar, his isolation, his blacksmithing skills and dialogs all led people to think he was the one High Inquisitor Fairbanks was speaking about, but Wrath of the Lich King eventually revealed that the other son was actually Darion Mograine. The Ashbringer sword was thus purified by the Light of Dawn instead of being recreated.
 * An unused NPC representing a modern version of Alexandros Mograine was added roughly at the same time as matching versions of the three other original Horsemen, all presumably meant to appear in World of Warcraft: Legion. He and these other NPCs didn't make it out of the Legion alpha stage. It is notable that Mograine was still called "The Ashbringer" and that he was wearing the Dreadnaught's Battlegear set, an armor that was originally made exclusively for him.
 * The Dreadnaught's Battlegear set can be briefly seen in the Ashbringer comic, worn by Mograine's ghost.
 * During the patch 9.1 PTR, Alexandros mistakenly appeared in the Sanctum of Domination as one of the Ebon Blade's Four Horsemen in place of Darion. This version of Alexandros used his Shadowlands model with Fatebringer equipped, but with the title of  and riding Darion's Crimson Deathcharger. Lead Narrative Designer Steve Danuser confirmed that this was a PTR bug that would get corrected before the patch's release.
 * According to A Cleansing Fire, Alexandros died four years after the death of Terenas. In the current timeline his death occurred two years after Terenas' death.
 * A passage from Alexandros' libram reads: My brothers, my sisters, join me now in battle, join me now in victory, and we shall ride forth to the Light’s embrace together.
 * Alexandros' generic name during Death Rains and Sustain, In Vain is Righteous Blademaster. Unlike many other generic versions of NPCs, the Righteous Blademaster retains Alexandros' appearance.