World of Warcraft
Among the many banners raised against the Scourge, none bore a legacy as carefully guarded as that of the Argent Crusade. Born in the shadow of Light’s Hope Chapel and almost the destruction of it by the formerly dominated knights of the Ebon Blade, the Crusade emerged not as a reaction of desperation, but as a deliberate union shaped by restraint, memory, and purpose. Its founders understood that zeal without reflection had already scarred the Plaguelands once before, and they vowed never to allow righteous fury to eclipse compassion again. From its earliest days, the Argent Crusade stood as a gathering place for all peoples of Azeroth, bound not by allegiance to crown or faction, but by devotion to the preservation of life itself. Through triumph and tragedy, through victory and devastating loss, the Crusade endured as a measured flame, bright enough to challenge the darkness, yet controlled enough not to consume all it touched.
The Birth of a United Light
The Argent Crusade was formed in the aftermath of the Battle for Light’s Hope Chapel, when the purified Ashbringer returned to the hands of Tirion Fordring. Having reclaimed both his faith and his role as Highlord of the reformed Silver Hand, Fordring recognized that the war against the Lich King demanded unity greater than any single order could provide. The Argent Dawn, long strained by attrition, was folded into a broader purpose, and from this union arose a crusade meant to face Northrend itself.
From the beginning, care was taken to ensure the new order would never mirror the blind fanaticism that had consumed the Scarlet Crusade. The Argent Crusade fought not merely to destroy the Scourge, but to safeguard the living and remember what they defended. While forces departed for Northrend, Lord Maxwell Tyrosus remained in the Eastern Plaguelands, fortifying Light’s Hope Chapel and reclaiming the ancient watchtowers, ensuring the heartland of the Crusade would endure even as the war expanded northward.
The Northern Campaign Begins
When open war against the Lich King commenced, the Argent Crusade advanced alongside the Alliance and Horde, establishing a presence across Northrend’s fractured front. The disaster at Angrathar the Wrathgate shattered an already fragile trust between the great factions and threatened to derail the entire campaign. In the aftermath, it was the Argent Crusade, together with the Knights of the Ebon Blade, who maintained focus upon the true enemy. Their neutrality allowed the war to continue when politics threatened collapse.
In the Howling Fjord, Tirion Fordring set foot upon Northrend under secrecy, ensuring the Ashbringer reached safety before openly declaring the Crusade’s arrival. From Dragonblight, the Argent Crusade struck at the Scourge’s defenses, freeing tormented souls along the Forgotten Shore and battering open the road toward Zul’Drak. Each engagement reinforced the Crusade’s role as the steady spine of the northern campaign, advancing methodically while others faltered.
Blood and Ash in Zul’Drak
Zul’Drak became a crucible where faith was tested against despair. Though Icecrown loomed as the ultimate objective, the Scourge’s hold over the troll kingdom demanded attention. The Argent Crusade entrenched itself across the region, establishing forward camps and ultimately the Argent Stand as a bulwark against the undead advance. There, paladins fought not only Scourge forces, but the consequences of Overlord Drakuru’s bargains, as plague and corruption consumed the Drakkari people.
Even catastrophe failed to halt the Crusade’s resolve. The fall of the necropolis Kolramas unleashed horrors that turned fallen crusaders against their former brethren, yet the Argent Crusade endured, adapting and pressing forward. When Drakuru’s failure led to his execution at the Lich King’s own hand, the Scourge’s grip upon Zul’Drak weakened, allowing the Crusade to resume its march toward Icecrown.
The Road to the Frozen Throne
Icecrown presented the Argent Crusade with its greatest trial. Advancing from Crystalsong Forest, Tirion Fordring personally led the campaign into the Lich King’s domain. The Argent Vanguard was established under relentless assault, and from there the Crusade carved breaches through sheer cliffs and entrenched Scourge fortresses. Scourgeholme was pacified, its masters slain, and Justice Keep (also called Crusader’s Pinnacle) raised upon sanctified ground as a declaration of defiance against the Frozen Throne itself.
Amid these battles came a revelation. The discovery of Arthas Menethil’s heart offered a fleeting hope of redemption, one ultimately surrendered when Tirion chose finality over mercy. Though grievously wounded, the Crusade survived only through intervention by the Knights of the Ebon Blade, whose arrival ensured escape when annihilation seemed certain. From this ordeal arose the grim clarity: the Lich King could not be redeemed, only ended.
Tournament, Verdict, and Victory
Recognizing that a direct assault would only swell the Scourge’s ranks, the Argent Crusade conceived the Argent Tournament as preparation rather than spectacle. Within its trials, champions were tested, unity was cautiously fostered, and infiltration was meticulously prevented. Though disrupted repeatedly by the Lich King’s schemes, the tournament achieved its purpose, culminating in the Trial of the Crusader and the unveiling of deeper threats beneath Icecrown itself, the resurrected Anub’arak.
When the time came, the Argent Crusade joined with the Knights of the Ebon Blade as the Ashen Verdict, breaching Icecrown Citadel and carving a path to the Frozen Throne. There, sacrifice and faith prevailed where armies had failed. Frostmourne was shattered, Arthas Menethil was slain, and Bolvar Fordragon was crowned to bind the Scourge. In the war’s wake, the Crusade honored its fallen with the Dedication of Honor, a monument not to conquest, but to endurance.
Personal Thoughts on the Argent Crusade
Though the fall of the Lich King marked the Argent Crusade’s greatest triumph, it did not signal an end to their purpose. In the years that followed, they reclaimed the Plaguelands, guarded against rising threats, and stood watch as new shadows gathered across Azeroth and beyond. Their numbers dwindled, their Highlord was lost, yet their ideals endured. Neither army nor kingdom, the Argent Crusade remained a promise, that vigilance would outlive victory, and that the Light, tempered by humility and sacrifice, would never again be allowed to burn unchecked.
The Argent Crusade, even though I’m not particularly fond of paladins, remains a cool faction in my eyes. To not only stand tall and unyielding in the wrath of the Lich King (wink wink), they also did not stray from their path, going as far as to ally themselves with the Ebon Blade death knights. This dedication ultimately paid off, and earned them a mighty reputation that will continue to stick throughout WoW’s history, which will also help many paladin newcomers to feel right at home.
