Light's Hope Chapel

Light's Hope Chapel
	Light's Hope Chapel after its expansion
Type	Fortified chapel
Leader(s)	Lord Maxwell Tyrosus
Race(s)	Human; Blood elf; Draenei; Dwarf; Forsaken; Goblin; Orc; Tauren
Faith(s)	Holy Light
Affiliation(s)	Argent Crusade
Formerly	Argent Dawn, Kingdom of Lordaeron, Church of the Holy Light
Organizations	Knights of the Silver Hand, Brotherhood of the Light, Earthen Ring
Location	Central-eastern Eastern Plaguelands[75, 52]
Status	Active
Characteristics
Facilities	Inn Mailbox Stables Anvil & Forge Bank Auctions
Travel	Flight Master(s); Mass-transit; Portal(s)

Light's Hope Chapel is the Argent Crusade base of operations in the Eastern Plaguelands, and a place of comfort for those who make the journey here.^[1] Located on the slopes of a mountainous area east of the region, it serves as a quest hub for both Horde and Alliance heroes. Originally a mere chapel, it expanded into a full-fledged fortified outpost after the end of the Scourgewar.

Underneath the chapel is a catacomb which houses the remains of the heroes of Lordaeron. Many of the remains were exhumed from around Lordaeron and moved to the chapel so they could not be resurrected in the service of the Lich King.^[2]

History[]

After the Troll Wars and King Thoradin's reign of Arathor, many humans expanded the nation settling in the northern lands of Lordaeron, formerly ruled by the Amani forest trolls. These humans populated the Eastweald some 2,700 years before the Dark Portal and founded new Arathi settlements.^[3]

The Church of the Holy Light, with its origins tracing back to the chaos of the Troll Wars, was founded some centuries later in Lordaeron. It became a predominant human religion and the church constructed temples and shrines throughout the human lands. Light's Hope Chapel was among the oldest and most revered of these holy sites and places of worship, located in the verdant Eastweald.^[4]

Third War[]

Ashbringer4CoverArtworkB — Darion Mograine and Lord Maxwell Tyrosus protecting the chapel from the undead.

After Arthas's rampage through Lordaeron, Lord Maxwell Tyrosus and a few others were chosen for the secret task of unearthing the bodies of a thousand fallen heroes of the Light and bringing them to Light's Hope Chapel. It is there they were interred once more in sacred ground. This was done to protect the honored dead from being raised as nothing more than cogs in the Lich King's undead army.^[2] One of them was Killoren.^[5]

Following Alexandros Mograine's death, some paladins separated themselves from what would become the Scarlet Crusade and formed the Argent Dawn. After leaving Tirisfal Glades, they went deep into the Eastern Plaguelands and made the Light's Hope Chapel their main base. As a new faction they allowed all races to join, even members of the Horde. From there they would fight the undead their own way, even sending most recruits to Stratholme. Lord Raymond George was their first leader, but when he died Lord Maxwell Tyrosus took his place.^[6]

Ashbringer[]

This section concerns content related to the Warcraft manga or comics.

Some time after Alexandros Mograine was turned into a death knight, the lich Kel'Thuzad led a Scourge assault against Light's Hope Chapel, where the Argent Dawn was greatly outnumbered. The Battle for Light's Hope Chapel was a desperate last stand, because if the Argent Dawn failed, the Scourge would claim the consecrated ground and all the righteous souls who had been laid to rest there. At some point during the battle, Tirion Fordring arrived and joined the Argent Dawn's forces, but the tide of battle soon turned against the chapel's defenders, until Darion Mograine ran the Ashbringer through his own chest as a final act of faith and love to free his father's soul. Alongside Alexandros Mograine, the spirits of the thousand heroes interred below the chapel also awakened and brought forth a reckoning against the Scourge then, decimating the undead with their vengeful fury.

Unfortunately, while Light's Hope Chapel was saved, many had fallen and some were recovered by the Scourge. Among them, the corpse of Darion Mograine and the Ashbringer fell into the hands of Kel'Thuzad, who made him the Highlord of the Death knights of Acherus.^[2]^[7]

World of Warcraft[]

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

Years later, Light's Hope Chapel still served as headquarters for the Argent Dawn in the Plaguelands. The Siege of the Sanguine was an attack on Light's Hope Chapel by a large army of undead Scourge led by Kirkessen the Zealous. Fortunately, the attack was quickly repelled and Kirkessen suffered an incurable wound from Lord Maxwell Tyrosus that made Kirkessen unable to serve the Scourge in corporeal form.^[8]

At some point, Tirion Fordring and some of his reformed Knights of the Silver Hand joined the chapel.^[9]

Even though they officially detached themselves from the Scarlet Crusade, the Argent Dawn still allowed negotiations. They used the chapel as their meeting point with the Brotherhood of Light and the Scarlet Crusade during the Scourge Invasion heralded by Naxxramas.

Wrath of the Lich King[]

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

Darion v Light's Hope Chapel — Darion and his undead forces before the attack on the chapel.

Years after Arthas Menethil became the Lich King and entered deep slumber, he awoke and rallied his troops to prepare them for a campaign in the Eastern Plaguelands, in order to raise powerful soldiers for the Scourge from underneath Light's Hope Chapel.^[5]

When the Lich King arrived with the necropolis Acherus, he started a bloody war again the Scarlet Crusade. The Scarlet lands fell and their death fueled the Scourge war machine for their main objective. Therefore, Light's Hope Chapel was the last bastion of justice in the region, and the Second Battle for Light's Hope Chapel began.^[2]^[10]

With a superior army, the Scourge the chapel and its defenders. When the Argent Dawn had lost a third of their forces, Tirion Fordring and his paladins of the Silver Hand emerged to defend Light's Hope Chapel, killing all the undead in the area while the Death knights of Acherus knew defeat. At that moment, the Lich King appeared and revealed that the main reason for the attack was to make Tirion come out of hiding, regardless of how many Scourge forces and death knights would perish. In an act of rebellion, Darion Mograine resisted the Lich King's control just enough to give Tirion the Ashbringer, who used it to injure the Lich King, forcing him to flee.^[11]

Following their victory, Tirion Fordring merged the Argent Dawn the remaining Knights of the Silver Hand in Lordaeron to create the Argent Crusade, in order to bring war to Northrend and defeat the Lich King. At the same time, most of the death knights on the field that day had been liberated from Arthas' control, Darion rallied them as the Knights of the Ebon Blade and also declared war on the Scourge.

Cataclysm[]

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

Following the death of the Lich King, the Argent Crusade began to rebuild and fortify the area, turning it into a beacon of light in the otherwise eternal gloom of the Eastern Plaguelands, they also constructed a statue dedicated to their Highlord Tirion Fordring. After the Cataclysm, the Argent Crusade continued to recruit heavily to their cause, as prospective members must complete a trial in the chapel's cemetery to join their ranks, which involves defeating the spirit of the former leader of the Argent Dawn, Lord Raymond George.^[12]

Light's Hope Chapel after the Cataclysm.
The newly constructed walls.
The new fortifications.

Legion[]

This section concerns content related to Legion.

During the third invasion of the Burning Legion, the Sanctum of Light beneath Light's Hope Chapel became the headquarters for the restored Order of the Silver Hand, accessible by a trap door in the floor of the chapel itself.

The Silver Hand's ongoing offensive within the Broken Shore has drawn the interest of many paladins who wished to fight under the leadership of the new Highlord. The Highlord judged the new recruits themself and revealed that the chapel grounds were infiltrated by the nathrezim Volzarak the Deceiver who had disguised himself as one of the recruits.^[13]

At some point during the invasion, the chapel was once again invaded by the Knights of the Ebon Blade. The Deathlord raised undead from Chapel's crypt and sent it to attack Argent sentries while Darion and his three horsemen entered the Chapel, captured Tyrosus, and entered the Sanctum.^[14]

The priest champions of the Conclave also visited the Chapel in order to get pure Light. They killed Plaguemonger Pustulus and blighthounds.^[15]

Exploring Azeroth[]

This section concerns content related to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

Following the Fourth War, Mathias Shaw mentioned in his reports that Light's Hope Chapel still serves as a beacon for travelers in the region, and that the Knights of the Silver Hand continue to meet in the Sanctum of Light beneath the chapel.^[16]