Uther the Lightbringer

Uther the Lightbringer was the leader of the Knights of the Silver Hand in the fictional Warcraft universe.

Background

During the First Great War against the Horde, Uther was an apprentice cleric of Archbishop Alonsus Faol, Abbot of Northshire Abbey. Faol felt that the war effort put in by pure clerics during the First War was not going to be sufficient enough for the battles ahead. He then decided to combine the skills of knight and cleric, the Paladin, of which Uther was the first. Uther was a young prodigy in the uses of the Holy Light and put his life on the line many times for the Alliance. He was already skilled in melee combat and possessed great military knowledge, so he was the perfect candidate for this new combat cleric.

Warcraft II

Uther the Lightbringer appears for the first time in a mission in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, where he is supposed to be brought to safety by an escort patrol through dangerous Orc territory. Using his natural leadership ability, he rallied the greatest of the knights of Azeroth and Lordaeron to join him and Faol, and formed the Knights of the Silver Hand.

Warcraft III

In his later life (before and during the start of the Third War) he trained Prince Arthas Menethil as a paladin despite the prince's prominent attitude. He loved Arthas like a son and felt he would make a great King in the future. He saw great potential in him as a paladin as well, and hoped that he would take up the mantle of leader of the Silver Hand once he died.

When the plague struck, Uther and his knights tried their best to track down the source, but had no success. Arthas was able to kill the Cult of the Damned's leader, Kel'Thuzad, halting the undead advancement for a short time. The plague began to strike again, and Arthas became almost insane in his crusade to eradicate any plagued civilians. Uther refused orders to purge the plagued city of Stratholme. For this, Arthas disbanded the Silver Hand and relieved Uther of command, but King Terenas ignored it and tried to keep the order together. Arthas went on to Northerend and fell to the shadow. He became a Death Knight in the service of the Lich King. He would later return home to slay his father the king.

Arthas betrayed Uther and the rest of the Alliance, who refused to recognize his right of succession. Uther guarded the remains of King Terenas in a special urn, which Arthas needed. Many paladins died in the ensuing battle with the undead while Uther and Arthas squared off in final combat. After an intense battle, Arthas slew Uther and took the urn of the king. Uther the Lightbringer, one of humanity's greatest heroes, died. The few paladins that survived either joined the Scarlet Crusade, left for the Theramore Isles, or went south to enter the service of Stormwind, the last great kingdom of humanity.

"I dearly hope there's a special place in hell for you, Arthas!"

"We might never know. I intend to live forever."

Related Trivia

His tomb can be seen in World of Warcraft, in the graveyard of Sorrow Hill in the Western Plaguelands - the only light in a land of darkness.

A recently added quest for Horde characters in World of Warcraft has you defiling Uther's grave for one of his former Elven paladin students.

A recently added quest for Alliance characters in World of Warcraft has players escorting a Non-Player character to the tomb to return "The Mark of the Lightbringer" and pay homage. At the end of the quest, Uther himself appears, in a ghostly form.

Some players of the video game World of Warcraft coined the term "W.W.U.D.?" meaning, "What Would Uther Do?" in his honor.

A rather popular custom game in Warcraft III is Uther Party, a game where players play many minigames, like Mario Party, which is what it is named after.

He was perhaps named after Uther Pendragon.

Inscribed at the base of the tomb:
Here lies Uther the Lightbringer
First Paladin - Founder of the Order of the Silver Hand.
Uther lived and died to defend the Kingdom of Lordaeron. Though he was betrayed by his most beloved student, we believe that his spirit lives on. He continues to watch over us, even as the shadows close in around our ruined land. His light is the light of all humanity - and so long as we honor his example, it shall never fade.
-Anonymous

cs:Uther Lightbringer
fr:Uther Lightbringer
it:Uther Lightbringer
pl:Uther the Lightbringer

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu