Ashbringer

For the character with the title of "The Ashbringer", see Alexandros Mograine. For the player weapon introduced in World of Warcraft: Legion, see [Ashbringer]. For the player weapon from Naxxramas (Classic), see [Corrupted Ashbringer]. For other uses, see Ashbringer (disambiguation).

The Ashbringer is a powerful sword named for its ability to slaughter the undead and leave nothing but ash in its wake.^[1]^[2] The legendary sword was crafted by King Magni Bronzebeard on the Great Anvil of Ironforge, and was infused with the Holy Light.^[3] Ashbringer shares its name with its original wielder, Alexandros Mograine, the former Highlord of the Order of the Silver Hand who employed the title of "The Ashbringer".^[4]

Alexandros' oldest son, Renault Mograine, betrayed and murdered him with the sword, corrupting it. The Archlich Kel'Thuzad then resurrected Alexandros as a death knight to lead the Four Horsemen of the Scourge in Naxxramas. The undead Alexandros continued to wield the corrupted Ashbringer, until his younger son Darion Mograine killed him and reclaimed the unholy blade. Discovering that his father's soul had become corrupted and trapped in the sword, Darion impaled himself with Ashbringer in hope of freeing Alexandros.^[5] While successful, Darion became undead and joined the Scourge. He continued to wield the corrupted sword as the Highlord of the Death Knights of Acherus. During the second Battle for Light's Hope Chapel, Ashbringer was purified when Darion betrayed the Lich King and relinquished the sword to Tirion Fordring.^[6]

As the Highlord of the Argent Crusade, Tirion Fordring wielded Ashbringer during the Scourgewar in Northrend, and used it to shatter Frostmourne and defeat the Lich King in their culminating battle at the Frozen Throne. Following Fordring's death during the third invasion of the Burning Legion, the Ashbringer passed to his successor, a Champion of the Light who wielded it as the new Highlord of the Silver Hand. Ashbringer's power was later drained to neutralize Azeroth's wound inflicted by Sargeras.

The sword's story has been slowly revealed since World of Warcraft's inception. While Ashbringer had a pronounced role in Wrath of the Lich King, players were unable to wield it until the release of Legion. The Ashbringer is featured in a titular four-part comic miniseries.

History[]

Origins[]

See also: Old Hillsbrad Ashbringer event

Ashbringer1CoverArtworkB — Alexandros Mograine wielding the Ashbringer.

During the siege of Blackrock Spire in the Second War, Highlord Alexandros Mograine found a mysterious, dark crystal on the body of a dead orc warlock from Draenor. The crystal was described as a "living embodiment of shadow".

Mograine kept the crystal a secret for years until just before the Scourge invasion of Lordaeron. He revealed it to the other leaders of the Silver Hand, suggesting that they try to find the crystal's antithesis — a manifestation of the Holy Light itself — that could be used against the impending undead invasion. Mograine's peers were appalled at the sight of the dark crystal and tried to destroy it with holy spells. Unexpectedly, the crystal absorbed the spells and became the crystal of pure light that Mograine mentioned moments before. The group agreed to forge a weapon from the crystal that would smite the undead with such power that only a cloud of ash would remain in its wake.

Days later, Mograine and his advisor Fairbanks traveled to Ironforge to visit King Magni Bronzebeard with the unique crystal of pure light. They gave their condolences on Muradin Bronzebeard's fate in Northrend, and asked him to have a weapon forged from it. To avenge Muradin, Magni personally took on the task and forged the Ashbringer to oppose Frostmourne, Arthas, and the undead. While Magni never took much stock in the belief that Master dwarven blacksmiths could impart emotions into the weapons they create, standing before The Great Anvil, he found himself thinking of how he would not see Muradin again. He thus harnessed all of his rage, fury, the desire for vengeance, and willed them into being with each strike of his hammer. It is said he worked for three days straight,^[7] hoped the sword would be used to avenge his brother. When he was finished, he gave Mograine the finest blade that had ever been crafted by his hand.^[1]

Mograine finds the dark crystal.
The Silver Hand leaders purifying the crystal.
Magni forges the Ashbringer.

Fall of the Highlord[]

See also: Corrupted Ashbringer/Scarlet Monastery Event

Alexandros death Ashbringer — Alexandros' death in the *Ashbringer* comic.

Ashbringer Four Horsemen — The death knight Alexandros wielding the Corrupted Ashbringer among the Four Horsemen.

After Arthas' betrayal, the remaining leaders of the Silver Hand banded together to fight the undead of the Plaguelands. The Ashbringer became the most lethal weapon in their arsenal — and it quickly garnered the attention of Kel'Thuzad. The dreadlord Balnazzar (in the newly-possessed body of Grand Crusader Saidan Dathrohan) sought to manipulate the remnants of the paladin order to advance his goals for the Burning Legion. After Mograine stated his intentions to attack the Undercity, Balnazzar put plans into motion to eliminate Alexandros (ostensibly to protect his brother, Varimathras, who was in the Undercity secretly manipulating Sylvanas Windrunner and her Forsaken).

Therefore, Balnazzar made a pact with Kel'Thuzad to eliminate Alexandros and end his threat to both of them, he corrupted one of Alexandros' sons, Renault Mograine, and set a trap for the Highlord. Renault led his father and Fairbanks to Stratholme, where legions of the Scourge awaited them. During the battle, Renault hid while Alexandros and Fairbanks fended for themselves. At some point, Fairbanks eventually became trapped alive under a pile of corpses, while Alexandros alone continued to smite thousands of the undead, but eventually became weary and dropped Ashbringer. Renault came out of hiding and slew his father with the sword, which corrupted the blade. Later, Kel'Thuzad resurrected Alexandros as one of his death knights of Naxxramas and reclaimed his corrupted blade. Consequently, Balnazzar gained complete authority over the remnants of the Silver Hand and reformed it as the Scarlet Crusade, while Renault became Commander of the Scarlet Monastery.^[8]

Seeking to free his father, Darion Mograine led a mission into Naxxramas with a small party of Argent Dawn members. Upon finding him, Alexandros was unresponsive to his son's pleas and attempts to redeem him, forcing Darion to reluctantly kill him. After the battle, Darion took the Corrupted Ashbringer and fled from the necropolis. The blade had been corrupted to the Lich King's cause, and Darion realized that he could hear the voice of his father, his spirit trapped inside the weapon and desperate for a way out.

As Darion obeyed his father's wishes, he sought out his older brother Renault at the Scarlet Monastery. There, Darion confronted his brother, who lashed out and attempted to kill him. But before Renault was able to deal the final blow, Alexandros' spirit emerged from Ashbringer and decapitated his traitorous son, before retreating back into the blade. Whatever satisfaction Alexandros Mograine felt did not release him from his curse, as he was still trapped.^[9]^[5]

Having no other choice, Darion sought out Tirion Fordring, an old hero who was living in exile after his excommunication. Tirion knew of the Ashbringer's legacy, and he was distraught to see how it had been corrupted. Yet there was no easy means to cleanse it. According to him, the only way to break the curse and free the soul trapped within was to perform an act of compassion greater than the treachery that had defiled the weapon.

Later, during the first battle for Light's Hope Chapel, as the tide of battle soon turned against the Argent Dawn, Darion finally understood Tirion's words, as his father had died due to betrayal, the only act that could free him was to make the ultimate sacrifice. Darion took the Corrupted Ashbringer and impaled himself upon it. This selfless act did more than free his father, all the souls interred beneath the chapel were also awakened, and alongside Alexandros, their vengeful fury laid waste to the invading Scourge. The Argent Dawn and Light's Hope Chapel were saved. However, Darion's corpse was recovered by the Scourge and resurrected as a death knight by Kel'Thuzad. With the Corrupted Ashbringer, he became the Highlord of the Death knights of Acherus.^[10]^[5]

In World of Warcraft, it was stated that Alexandros was one of the founders of the Scarlet Crusade. The comic later depicted the formation of the Scarlet Crusade occurring after Alexandros's death, in which case he would have never been a member.

In World of Warcraft[]

Classic[]

This section concerns content related to the original World of Warcraft.

Launch to patch 1.10[]

MograineDK — Highlord Mograine seen in Naxxramas during *Classic*.

Ashbringer was the subject of intense rumors during the early years of World of Warcraft. It was one of the first legendary-quality items to be datamined from the game's files, and Caretaker Alen also mentioned Ashbringer by name in-game. This created speculation among players that there was a secret quest to obtain Ashbringer. Blizzard did not comment on whether it could be obtained or not.

At the launch of World of Warcraft, Caretaker Alen was the only NPC to mention Ashbringer. Rumors were fueled further with the addition of more NPCs (and one item) that mentioned the weapon: Alexia Ironknife, Bardu Sharpeye, Narain Soothfancy, Commander Eligor Dawnbringer, Shen'dralar Zealots, and [Nat Pagle's Guide to Extreme Anglin']. Information from these sources suggested that Asbhringer was somehow lost, and that Nat Pagle and Prince Tortheldrin knew the location; however, neither shared their knowledge. Players continued to search feverishly for a secret quest that would reward Ashbringer.

In February 2006, the official Chinese World of Warcraft website published a promotional image for the then-upcoming patch 1.11, featuring a character wielding Ashbringer. This immediately drew player speculation that Ashbringer would finally be obtainable, until a European CM and Eyonix clarified it would not be:

European CM Response on Ashbringer! | 2006-02-24 19:15 | Eyonix

It's true that currently Ashbringer is not in the game, although one day in the future it will be, but not until after there is an awesome legendary item for casters. ;)

View original post

This was the first official statement that Ashbringer was not obtainable by players, and quashed rumors. The caster legendary item Eyonix hinted at was Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, added in patch 1.11.

Patch 1.11[]

Main article: Corrupted Ashbringer (non-canon^[11])

In the original version of the Naxxramas raid, players encountered Highlord Alexandros Mograine as a death knight in the Four Horsemen encounter. He wielded [Corrupted Ashbringer], which could be looted from the Horsemen. (Corrupted Ashbringer does not drop in the Wrath of the Lich King version of Naxxramas, and is no longer obtainable in retail World of Warcraft.) When Corrupted Ashbringer is equipped by a player, Scarlet Crusade NPCs become friendly, Argent Dawn NPCs become hostile, and a scripted event will play upon entering Scarlet Monastery cathedral.

In the scripted event, Scarlet Commander Renault Mograine welcomes the player as crusaders bow before them. Unexpectedly, the spirit of Highlord Alexandros Mograine (Renault's father), appears in Dreadnaught's Battlegear and slays his son for betraying him. Alexandros' spirit restores High Inquisitor Fairbanks from his undead form, then disappears. Fairbanks tells the player how Renault murdered his father, and that Ashbringer is corrupted beyond redemption. Fairbanks states Alexandros has another son in Outland who can forge a new one.

The "son in Outland" was apparently retconned in Wrath of the Lich King: Mograine's second son was revealed to be Darion Mograine, who has never been known to reside in Outland. The Ashbringer comic (published several years after the release of patch 1.11) loosely follows the Scarlet Monastery event, with Darion in place of the player, and no mention of any sons other than Renault and Darion.

Wrath of the Lich King[]

This section concerns content related to Wrath of the Lich King.

Wrath Classic Fall of the Lich King key art — Tirion Fordring's final battle against the Lich King.

Tirion Mercenaries 3 — Tirion shatters Frostmourne with the Ashbringer.

In his mission to eradicate the Scarlet Crusade and countless civilians in New Avalon, Highlord Darion Mograine served as the Lich King's right hand and the wielder of the Corrupted Ashbringer.^[12]

At the Lich King's command, Darion launched an attack on the Argent Dawn at Light's Hope Chapel. In the battle that ensued, the Corrupted Ashbringer began to turn on Darion. When the death knights were forced to surrender, Highlord Tirion Fordring revealed that the Lich King knowingly sent Darion and his knights into a trap. Shortly thereafter, the Lich King himself appeared. In an act of rebellion, and to save Tirion's soul from being claimed by Frostmourne, Darion Mograine resisted the Lich King's control just enough to give Tirion the Corrupted Ashbringer. The paladin drew upon the power of the Light and cleansed the blade in a blinding flash of energy. With the restored Ashbringer at his command, Tirion drove the Lich King from the chapel's holy ground.^[13]

In Howling Fjord, Alliance adventurers were sent to retrieve a [Sacred Artifact] from Utgarde Catacombs. Upon returning it to Valgarde, a nearby cleric unmasks himself as Tirion Fordring and equips the artifact, which is revealed to be the Ashbringer. The Highlord explained that he was convinced by his advisors to travel to Valgarde in disguise, while Ares the Oathbound was entrusted to transport the sword separately to Northrend. This was a security precaution to protect the leader of the Crusade, should the Lich King's forces go after the sword's keeper in an attempt to kill him.^[14]

During the final battle against the Lich King in Icecrown Citadel, Tirion Fordring was frozen by Arthas and unable to help his champions against the Dark Lord of the Scourge. The Lich King had won, and while he began to raise his foes into undeath, Tirion refused to give up. He broke free of his icy prison, and with a desperate blow, he destroyed Frostmourne with the Ashbringer, releasing the spirits of the Lich King's victims.^[15]

Darion with the Corrupted Ashbringer on his back in Acherus: The Ebon Hold.
Darion leading the Scourge at Light's Hope Chapel with the Corrupted Ashbringer.
Tirion confronts Arthas with the Ashbringer at Light's Hope Chapel.
Tirion Fordring wielding Ashbringer after the Battle for Light's Hope Chapel.
Tirion Fordring and the Ashbringer during the Scourgewar.

Cataclysm[]

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

After the victorious march on the Icecrown Citadel, Tirion Fordring returned to his old home - Hearthglen. There, he began establishing a new Argent Crusade base, and the Ashbringer, the sword that shattered the Frostmourne itself, serves as a symbol of a new dawn for everyone.

Legion[]

This section concerns content related to Legion.

Main article: Ashbringer (artifact)

During the third invasion of the Burning Legion, Ashbringer is the legendary artifact used by retribution paladins in Legion. During the Battle for Broken Shore, Tirion was captured by the Legion and died after being tortured, though a hero paladin was able to recover the Ashbringer at the Broken Shore. Before he died, Tirion declared them the new Ashbringer and the sword's wielder.

Upon killing enemies, the Ashbringer may whisper to its wielder, the voice and quotes being those of Tirion Fordring when he was alive.

After Sargeras plunged his sword into Azeroth, Ashbringer's power (along with that of all Legion artifacts) was completely drained to neutralize the wound.^[16]

Shadowlands[]

This section concerns content related to Shadowlands.

In the Shadowlands, Alexandros Mograine wields the sword Fatebringer, which he requested Bonesmith Heirmir forge in the likeness of Ashbringer.^[17]

Dragonflight[]

This section concerns content related to Dragonflight.

When the Hand of the Lich King from the Azmourne alternate timeline entered the main timeline through a time rift, they were equipped with [Azmourne's Corrupted Ashbringer] and the Dreadnaught's Battlegear. After the Hand was defeated, it left behind the variant Corrupted Ashbringer and Baron Sliver siphoned the necromantic energy from the variant sword, noting that "prior to the variant blade's redemption at the Battle of Light's Hope, it emanated more energy than our version."^[18]

Notes and trivia[]

Canonically the only wielders of Ashbringer while it was corrupted were Alexandros Mograine and his son Darion Mograine, despite that adventurers could obtain it from Naxxramas (Classic).
During the Ashbringer (artifact) acquisition quest, the Ashbringer uses the Fallen Hope appearance when Balnazzar attempts to corrupt the adventurer.
Micky Neilson stated that he planned to reveal that the crystal from which Ashbringer was forged was part of a dark naaru, although this has not been explicitly stated in official sources.^[19]
- The spark of M'uru holds the same design as the dark crystal before it was purified.
In the Corrupted Ashbringer Scarlet Monastery event from Classic, Fairbanks mentions that Highlord Mograine had a second son in Outland that could forge a new Ashbringer.
- During The Burning Crusade, many players speculated this second son was David Wayne assuming a false identity. However, Wrath of the Lich King later revealed Alexandros' second son is Darion Mograine (although he is not known to have resided in Outland).
- The Ashbringer comic (published after Classic) closely mirrors the in-game scripted event, but with Darion Mograine in place of the Adventurer. However in the comic, Fairbanks does not mention any sons other than Renault or Darion, apparently retconning the existence of any son residing in Outland.

In other media[]

Corrupted Ashbringer appears as an obtainable weapon in Diablo III.
In Hearthstone, Tirion Fordring appears as a legendary card, and upon death he equips the player with an Ashbringer weapon.
Ashbringer replicas can be seen in the Blizzard World map in Overwatch.
An Ashbringer replica was in the works at the Blizzard Consumer Products but was never released due to not meeting the quality that they wanted while also staying true to the model in-game.^[20]
In Release that Witch, the Ashbringer serves as the given name of the Witch Ashes' blade after it was rebuilt by Roland, with the new blade including a rounded disk made from super-dense black material in a similar spot to the swords' namesake.

Rumors and speculation[]

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

Ashbringer's origins[]

Ashbringer crystal — The dark crystal from which the Ashbringer would be crafted, before and after its purification.

If the Ashbringer crystal came from a dark naaru (as Mickey Neilson intended to reveal), then there are few known naaru it could have originated from. Tempest Keep had not yet arrived on Draenor when Alexandros obtained the crystal, suggesting that the crystal's source is ostensibly one of the naaru that arrived on Draenor earlier aboard the Genedar: K'ure, D'ore or K'ara, all of whom have entered a darkened state. Only K'ara remains unaccounted for in the main timeline.

Old questline and earlier appearance[]

The Ashbringer may have been originally intended to be in the game during Classic. Parts of what seems to be a scrapped quest line can be pieced together:

Nat Pagle learned the location of the Ashbringer and wrote about it in his book, [Nat Pagle's Guide to Extreme Anglin'], of which players only had the last page.
The full but unreadable copy of the book (A Thoroughly Read Copy of "Nat Pagle's Extreme' Anglin.") could be found in Dire Maul.
Shen'dralar Zealots also in Dire Maul claimed Prince Tortheldrin knew the location of the Ashbringer, and was willing to tell the adventurer if one were to bring him the [Head of Nefarian].
The Prince, being a bibliophile, ostensibly learned of the Ashbringer's location from Nat's book, and discarded the book in Dire Maul where the adventurer found it.
The zealots' words suggest there might have been plans for Ashbringer to be the legendary item associated with Blackwing Lair, which would be released four months after Dire Maul. However, the Blackwing Lair legendary was instead [Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker].
At one time, [Timolain's Phylactery] could be looted from Large Vile Slimes in the Weeping Cavern of the Western Plaguelands. Lengthy discussion on the official forums led to an incorrect but popular conclusion that Timolain was the name of the mage referred to by Bardu Sharpeye and Alexia Ironknife, and therefore was the crafter of the Ashbringer in its original questline. Bloodmage Thalnos was also speculated to be the crafter of the Ashbringer at one point, since the Scarlet Crusade had no affinity for the arcane.

The implementation of the Ashbringer was likely delayed so that the story could be explored in Naxxramas, released in patch 1.11.

Blizzard acknowledged these old rumors in a quest line to obtain the [Heart of Corruption], an artifact appearance for the Ashbringer Legion artifact that causes the Ashbringer to resemble the original [Corrupted Ashbringer].

See also: [1] Good and Evil, [65] The Legacy of the Ashbringer

Gallery[]

Alexandros Mograine with Ashbringer.
Tirion with Ashbringer during the fall of the Lich King.
Call of the Crusade patch 3.2 key art.
The original World of Warcraft Ashbringer model, added in vanilla.
The updated World of Warcraft Ashbringer model, added in Legion.
The World of Warcraft Corrupted Ashbringer model.
A statue of Tirion Fordring wielding Ashbringer in Hearthglen.
On the statue of Alexandros Mograine in the Sanctum of Light.
Corrupted Ashbringer in the TCG.
Highlord Tirion Fordring (Assault on Icecrown Citadel, back).
Tirion, the Ashbringer (Assault on Icecrown Citadel).
Blessing of Defense (Assault on Icecrown Citadel).
Vindictive Strike (Assault on Icecrown Citadel).
Icecrown set key art, Tirion vs. the Lich King.
Mograine's ghost in the TCG.
Darion Mograine wielding the Corrupted Ashbringer in Hearthstone.
In Warcraft Arclight Rumble.
The promotional image from WoW China with Ashbringer erroneously featured.
The Ashbringer and Corrupted Ashbringer as they appear in Diablo III.
From the Azeroth Armory Ashbringer video (based on the Crest of the Redeemed artifact appearance).
The remnants of M'uru had the same look as the dark crystal that was purified for Ashbringer.