Knights of the Silver Hand

Knights of the Silver Hand (a.k.a. Order of the Knights of the Silver Hand, Order of the Silver Hand, or simply the Silver Hand) was the order of paladins created after the First War by Uther the Lightbringer and Archbishop Alonsus Faol. Years after its decimation by the corrupted Prince Arthas during the Third War, the order in Lordaeron was then reformed by Tirion Fordring, who later merged it with the Argent Dawn to form the Argent Crusade in order to take the fight against the Lich King to Northrend.

However, the Knights of the Silver Hand present in Stormwind and the Southern Kingdoms were not affected by the ravages of the Scourge, and thus remain active members of the Alliance. All Human and Dwarf paladin player characters join the Silver Hand upon completion of their class introduction quest.

Foundation and the Second War
The former order led by Archbishop Alonsus Faol, the Holy Order of Northshire Clerics, was devastated during the First War. When Faol refounded the order in Lordaeron, he recruited noble knights and former clerics to train in the ways of war and the Light. Even a few members of the priesthood decided to take up the more physical and steadfast path. In Alonsus Chapel in Stratholme, Uther the Lightbringer was appointed the first of the paladins, followed by Saidan Dathrohan, Tirion Fordring, Turalyon, candidates recommended by Alonsus Faol himself, and Gavinrad the Dire, a candidate proposed by Lord Anduin Lothar. The Silver Hand was thus born.

The paladins were instrumental in winning the war, and the sight of them wielding their mighty warhammers and holy powers gave others inspiration on the battlefield and the home front. Uther and his paladins were truly a sight to behold. Even some of the Alliance's greatest knights and warriors were in awe when they saw them smashing orcs down while healing fallen allies at the same time. Uther is the first paladin known to have manifested his powers on the battlefield.

Destruction of the original Order
The introduction of the Plague nearly marked the end of the Order of the Silver Hand. The Knights of the Silver Hand entered a dark period when one of their own, Prince Arthas, turned his back on the order in his dark pursuit of vengeance. When Uther refused to follow Arthas' order of killing the infected population of Stratholme before they could die and be reborn as undead, Arthas disbanded the Order (though most paladins chose to ignore this). Arthas later fully embraced the evil he had been hunting and became a death knight in the service of the Lich King. Returning to Lordaeron, Arthas killed Uther Lightbringer and decimated the Order.

However, the remaining paladins continued to fight against the Scourge. Under the lead of Lord Commander Saidan Dathrohan and Highlord Alexandros Mograine, who wielded the Ashbringer, the paladins fought the undead through the Plaguelands. From their base at Hearthglen, they were able to gain some victories, but they weren't able to achieve their goal: the complete destruction of the Scourge.

After the Third War
Even after the triumph at Mount Hyjal, the paladins remembered Arthas's betrayal, and just how close their order and all of Azeroth had come to complete destruction. Many paladins felt responsibility for Arthas, because the Holy Light teaches that every person can strengthen other people. Since they were unable to strengthen Arthas, the entire world suffered. After such an enormous breach of trust, the paladins resolved anew to eliminate all traces of corruption in their ranks.

While the Alliance still had the Knights of the Silver Hand, few paladins were left in the order. The remaining knights started hunting Arthas's servants, the undead, with a ruthlessness that frightens some, but they were determined to fix their mistakes. The stalwart paladins of the Silver Hand who had traveled to Kalimdor worked to establish a new church there.

Though decimated in Lordaeron, the Silver Hand eventually bounced back. Humans founded the Knights of the Silver Hand, and though they remained the bulk of its membership, the new order started to accept dwarves into the ranks to replace paladins lost during the Third War (although they had previously accepted a few dwarven paladins as far back as the Second War, it was uncommon). The order was not nearly as active as it once had been, however those belonging to the organization became some of the most active members of the Alliance.

The Knights continued their battle against the undead on several fronts. The paladins, worried about the Forsaken entrenching themselves in the Ruins of Lordaeron, established a base in what would later be known as the Scarlet Monastery in Tirisfal Glades. They also made an alliance with Lord Valdelmar of Tyr's Hand for mutual help. However, during an attack on Stratholme, Lord Commander Saidan Dathrohan was possesed by the spirit of the dreadlord Balnazzar, though no other paladin was able to notice this. Balnazzar started slowly working against the Order's objectives from the inside.

Some former members of the Silver Hand, led by the possesed Saidan, formed the Scarlet Crusade. These paladins strive fanatically to destroy evil, without any regards to the means used. They despise all non-human races, which they deem as "lesser". Other paladins, disgusted with the Scarlet Crusaders' zealotry, formed the Argent Dawn, taking a less extreme approach, and deciding to accept in their order paladins from all of Azeroth's races.

Eventually, the paladin Tirion Fordring united the remains of the Silver Hand and the Argent Dawn into the new Argent Crusade. Along with the Knights of the Ebon Blade, they traveled to Northrend to end the Lich King's reign, and they were instrumental in his ultimate defeat.

Symbolism
The Order of the Silver Hand took its name and symbol from the legend of Tyr. A paragon of order and justice, Tyr sacrificed his right hand in a fight against an unfathomable evil. Although it was within his power to fix his hand after the fighting had ended, the hero instead chose to replace it with a closed fist made of the purest silver. In this way, he impressed upon those who followed him that true order and justice can only be accomplished through personal sacrifice.

Status of the Order


According to Brann Bronzebeard;
 * We have the Knights of the Silver Hand on our side, but this is a group that has experienced more hardships than most during these dark days. Once the pinnacle of enlightenment, goodness, purity and light, they are forever shamed that the powerful Lich King who sits upon the frozen throne was one of theirs. They wrack their brains on where they went wrong, why they couldn’t see the streak of evil that obviously lurked inside Arthas. If he were truly a paladin, as they are, then there is no way he would have been corrupted. I think they have rather a too high opinion of the paladins, but I’m not the one to tell them.


 * Even though paladins are some of our most powerful weapons against the Scourge, with their holy power over undead, the paladins are not what they once were. Some have been driven into obsessive madness, forming the Scarlet Crusade and killing living and undead alike in their eagerness to eradicate the Scourge. Others traveled across the sea with Jaina Proudmoore to help defeat the Burning Legion and now reside on Theramore. They certainly do what they can to destroy undead they discover on Kalimdor, but the Scourge's numbers there are like a thimble of beer compared to the great kegs that are Lordaeron and Northrend. We’ll need the paladins to defeat the Scourge, but they are not up to the task right now, and I don’t know how much longer we can wait.

According to the Tirion Fordring questline, from his perspective and opinion, the order no longer exists, having been destroyed by Arthas. After losing their leadership and being driven from their headquarters, the paladins scattered all over the continent, with some even following Jaina Proudmoore across the ocean to stay in Theramore. Tirion Fordring believes that no other paladin had the right to take up Uther's mantle as the leader of the Silver Hand. However, spurred by his son Taelan's death, Tirion vows to reform the Order, and to take his place as Highlord to combat the Scarlet Crusade and the Scourge.

Time will tell how many paladins will unite under his banner: the fact that Uther Lightbringer himself ordered his exile might keep some hardliners of the old order from trusting his way.

However, other characters in the game have a different view regarding the current status of the Order. Several in-game sources and the Warcraft RPG indicates that an "Order of Silver Hand" in some form is still in existence. According to the paladin history in character selection screen (pre-patch 2.01):

"'Although paladins were once exclusively human, number of stout-hearted dwarves have recently been welcomed into the Order of the Silver Hand'"

Several paladin trainers in Stormwind City and Ironforge consider themselves to be part of the Order. A human paladin, Brother Sammuel, invites a new human paladin into the Order of the Silver Hand:

"'But until then, be patient... Knight of the Silver Hand.'"

The dwarven paladin Bromos Grummner also invites a new dwarf paladin into the Order of the Silver Hand:

"'You're a Knight of the Silver Hand now, be ready to play the part.'"

Even articles and short stories in the RPG, for example Alliance Player's Guide of 2006, confirms the current existence the Order, and that there are still individuals calling themselves "Knights of the Silver Hand" in modern times. Although it appears to be much smaller than the original order, as well as reference to some kind of leadership which is still in control.

Trey Lightforge is described as being a Knight of the Silver Hand.

For example, according to Alliance Player's Guide, it says that the Argent Dawn has members who are still Knights of the Silver Hand (as well as members who were former Silver Hand Knights). The book also discusses that organization of the Knights of Silver Hand still exists, even though it was nearly wiped out, and elsewhere in the book that Tirion Fordring has not yet taken over leadership of the Silver Hand and is still in exile.

They are members of a "current" order of the Silver Hand, which "bounced back" after its decimation. Tirion is pledging to reform the original Order by reestablishing himself as the leader of the current one. The RPG discusses the existence of the current Order of the Silver Hand that still exists. Brann believed if Tirion Fordring could be recruited into the Silver Hand, he could whip it back into action, and also bring the Scarlet Crusade back into the realm of sanity.



In Wrath of the Lich King: Return of the Silver Hand
It was announced at BlizzCon 2007 — based on the quest chain involving him and his son — that Tirion Fordring will appear in the new expansion, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, near the port of Valgarde in the Howling Fjord. He has been identified as Highlord Tirion Fordring (he hinted at this after completing : "I now take my place as Highlord of the new Order of the Silver Hand").

After, the last of the death knight quests, Fordring unites the Silver Hand and the Argent Dawn into the new Argent Crusade. Now along with the Knights of the Ebon Blade, they travel to Northrend to end the Lich King's reign.

Members
For a complete list of Knights of the Silver Hand, see List of Knights of the Silver Hand paladins.