Ashbringer Comic RETCONNED? The Light can make you DUMBSTRUCK?

Argent Dawn
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Hello,

So I was looking up some Legion lore about the Priest artefact weapon Light’s Wrath as I’m basically a Scarlet head and all things Scarlet interest me. I completely forgot all weapons had books you could read more about beyond their base description, and having not done the Priest order hall research / campaign I just decided to have a look.

I found some interesting footnotes in that book, some that potentially retcon - or at least change - the events back to their vanilla counterparts: https://www.wowhead.com/lights-wrath-discipline-priest-artifact#artifact-book-text

The text as followed:

Ten of the Scarlet Crusade’s learned priests gathered in Hearthglen to create Light’s Wrath. For weeks, they practiced a ritual that would purify the dark jewel and bind it to the staff.

What they never accounted for was a demon in their midst.

A nathrezim named Balnazzar had infiltrated the Crusade and assumed the identity of its leader, Saidan Dathrohan. When the demon learned of the plans to forge Light’s Wrath, he feared that such a weapon could unmask his deception and shatter his hold over the Crusade.

Balnazzar disrupted the cleansing ritual, and the crusaders lost control of their delicate spellwork. A storm of holy energy ripped through the meeting place, instantly killing the ten priests. Yet Light’s Wrath was left intact. The blast had purified the jewel and affixed it to the staff.

Upon close inspection, Balnazzar found that the staff trembled with unstable energies. Wielding it with any reliability would be near impossible. Rather than destroy the weapon, the demon allowed the Scarlet Crusade to keep it. He looked forward to the mayhem it would cause in the years to come.

I have highlighted the keynote.

This is important because it states Balnazzar infiltrated the Scarlet Crusade after it’s creation. In the Ashbringer comic the order is only formed by Balnazzar himself after he has Alexandros Mograine killed and the group of Silver Hand Paladins split up into the Argent Dawn and Scarlet Crusade respectfully.

If we’re going off this, that may mean the original story-line for the Scarlet Crusade from vanilla has been restored, and the events in Ashbringer are only semi-canon. You could say instead of them all being Silver Hand in the beginning, they were always Scarlets from the start and the Monastery and other holdouts were already established.

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There is also this note that sparked some interest:

A letter from Grand Inquisitor Isillien to High General Abbendis of the Scarlet Crusade:

"I received your last letter, and I understand your concerns. But in terms of raw power, Light’s Wrath has surpassed our wildest expectations. The recent battle near Tyr’s Hand is proof of this.

"The Scourge outnumbered our righteous warriors twenty to one. It would have been a massacre if not for Light’s Wrath. The staff’s blazing light carved through the Scourge like a scythe through wheat, leaving none behind.

"It is true that Light’s Wrath killed its wielder and many of the soldiers at his side. It is also true that the surviving crusaders have been left dumbstruck, unable to dress or feed themselves without assistance.

“But at a ratio of twenty to one, I consider such losses acceptable.”

Does this mean if you are damaged or overwhelmed with the Light it can leave you in a vegetable state? Brain damaged?

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Anyway, what do you think? Are we witnessing a Med’an retcon they discussed at Blizzcon?

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Brain damage from a powerful cosmic force striking you sounds possible.

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Yeah, I’ve always been of the opinion that enough Light magic poured into your mind is eventually going to fry your brain.

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It means that people struck by the backlash of an unstable legendary artifact were left brain damaged, which is a level of power you’re unlikely to find in most roleplay.

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A legendary artefact of Light power that backlashed.

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So you agree that this phenomenon was caused by an item of exceptional rarity, and that this event of the Light striking people dumb isn’t something that frequently occurs?

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It’s quite possible to be both.

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Ashbringer? Retcon? … it’s my favorite comic, please no. :sob:

Well, it was always a place of wonder, that Scarlet Crusade was formed AFTER Alexandros’ death, or he was a leader or founder of it?

In Vanilla seemed and has been told that Morgriane was a founder/leader (I don’t remember which actually.)of Scarlet Crusade. And the Crusade being Good once.

In his whispers of Corrupted Ashbringer, he once again refers to being a Scarlet.

"I… Was… Pure… Once"
"Betrayed… by… my… order."
"Scarlet… Crusade is pure …no longer."
"Balnazzar’s… crusade… corrupted… my son."

"KILL … THEM… ALL…"

So he refers to Scarlet as his own order, forming it. But in the comic was shown that it was formed after him, a point you also mentioned.

But there is an interesting point: Saidan Dathrohan wears red, scarlet colors,in the comic… Before he dies and get possessed. :slight_smile:
So it’s possible if Scarlet Crusade existed in some form, maybe even as a division,which later became dominant and THE thing.

Also, another thing about the Comic:
The founder of Argent Dawn was Lord Raymond George, but he didn’t appear in comic, odd enough.
But instead, Maxwell Tyrosus appeard and seemed to be the leader; even possible that Raymond was leader in Background. :smile:

Anyway, interesting topic Pullo. :blush:

For more Corrupted Ashbringer whispers:

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Just remembered, we holy priests have the skill chastise which stuns you, that could technically be giving you brain damage from messing with your head.

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I assume you like Zabra Hexx from the comic, my Loa. The Troll who found the Light and met Alexandros. :smile:

…and in Legion, he had turned to shadow, and all progression he had was lost. :rage: It’s a peeve of mine…
But still, was an interesting char in that Comic.

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Never really knew much about him, i liked him in legion though because Troll priest. I only play Priest because the Healing output is :ok_hand:

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Saidan Dathrohan always wore red, and was noted to be the only paladin of the Silver Hand to do so (among having a red tabard). I think in the Ashbringer comic they’re just inspired to copy possessed Saidan rather than anything else.

In vanilla the order was led by Alexandros and Saidan I recall, then at some point Saidan is possessed and brings about the Ashbringers downfall.

I much prefer the original lore because Ashbringer already conflicts with what we’re shown in game already – such as the Hall of Champions having elf and dwarf heroes of the order.

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This opens up a lot of questions thank you for this info.

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It’s very patchy and confusing, at what point can we simply gain some canon lore on these patchy stories.

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It may be a small detail but suddenly raises a lot of questions.

some off the top of my head.

Alexandros Mograine - was a member.

The Crusade - wasn’t evil from the very start got corrupted from within by Balnazzar

Maybe even more up in the air now. The racist thing even…? may just of been abbendis now and simply a fear of the plague.

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To be honest, paladins and priests are already in a vegetative state… No need for EXCESSIVE exposure : )

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Alexandros was the Scarlet Highlord and one of the three founders of the Scarlet Crusade alongside Abbendis and Isillien in vanilla lore. They were both the High General and High / Grand Inquisitor respectfully so it implies to me they ruled as three rather than one leader in its infancy. Though it’s said Alexandros was the ‘lynchpin’ of the order as a whole.

Then the Grand Crusader Saidan Dathrohan appeared during the early days and the ‘wheels of corruption were set in motion.’ The Grand Crusader made a deal with Kel’thuzad to take control of the order and betray Mograine. That could mean Saidan betrayed Alexandros when he was alive, and was then possessed by Balnazzar or he was already so.

Old vanilla lore states: “The Crusade was actually headed by the dreadlord Balnazzar, possessing the corpse of Saidan Dathrohan, which led to the betrayal and murder of Highlord Mograine by his own son.”. This falls in line with Light’s Wrath notes, but it just seems odd to me the founders of the Crusade (Alexandros, Abbendis, Isillien) were not the leaders.

However, in the old RPG lore Abbendis, Isillien Scarlet Commander Morgraine,
and Taelan Fordring were credited as founders and leaders, but Saidan became leader at some point later on in the orders history, quote: "became Grand Commander Dathrohan. He took command of the organization, while Abbendis and Isillien took control of the troops. "

So I suppose something like that may have happened in vanilla too. Perhaps out of respect for Saidan being one of the founders of the Silver Hand or just a natural leader.

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Personally, I don’t see this changing much, if anything. I think it was an isolated case, caused by an extremely unique artifact in unique circumstances. I definitely don’t think it’s either normal or frequent.

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I want give it a benefit of the doubt that this is a lore-writing, as in it is a book, written by an archivist NPC, therefore with an obvious miss in some actual lore that happened years and years ago.

But knowing Blizzard and their writing, I am somewhat sure that they simply forgot how the Crusade was created, therefore the “retcon”.

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Technically it says no such thing — only that he infiltrated it. To me, establishing the organization under the guise of someone else also counts as infiltration.