Ask a Faction Leader: Tirion Fordring

By Michael Sacco


WoW.com's prestige in the community has afforded us the opportunity to speak to major Azerothian leadership figures on any subject, and we're letting you, the reader, Ask A Faction Leader!

We recently spoke to Cairne Bloodhoof, High Chieftain of the tauren, and he shed light on several key issues, including cruelty to hawkstriders, data-mining farseers, two-handed totem trainers, and Earthmother itches. In this installment of Ask A Faction Leader, we'll be sitting with Highlord Tirion Fordring of the Argent Crusade.

Our first reader question:

Dear Highlord Fordring,
I assisted you in the quest to redeem your son Taelan in the Eastern Plaguelands, and I was proud and honored to join your service in Northrend. I assume that the task of forming the Argent Crusade was a mighty endeavour requiring many secretive months, during which I journeyed to Outland to participate in the battle against the Burning Legion. My only question is, how did you find the time to raid the Black Temple and the Sunwell Plateau to acquire your Lightbringer Armor set, and why did I never notice you there?

Faithfully yours, a curious paladin

Tirion replies:

Ah! A perceptive son of the Hand, I see. Your training has paid off! The answer is actually quite simple.


I realized that my armor was a bit outdated for my role as new leader of the amalgamated Silver Hand and Argent Dawn; however, I could not make the trip to Outland due to my busy schedule. Instead, I enlisted the help of two of my most favored paladins. Each of them made the trek to the Black Temple, defeated Illidan and his lieutenants, and were each successful in salvaging a full, radiant set of Lightbringer armor. Their duties fulfilled, they returned to me, adorned in their hard-earned regalia.

Then I made them fight to death and took the loser's armor. By the Light!

Dear Highlord,
I have been a follower of the light for several years now and a heavy enthusiast in the Argent Dawn and Argent Crusade's cause, rising to an Argent Champion, achieving crusader status on your tournament grounds, and besting all foes in The Colosseum. I and my fellow brethren paladin have fought hard when the Lich King was attempting to destroy our lands with his onslaught of Necropoli. So I ask you of a small favor..

Could I possibly borrow your Ashbringer for, I don't know, like a day or so... Maybe not even a day, like 2 hours, I'd even settle to hold it for 10 minutes, I could help you out and drive that old boy home right to Arthas and we can get a move on back home, anything... Please?

For the Light!

Rykkah,
Magtheridon – US

Tirion replies:

Your interest in the Ashbringer is understandable — it is undoubtedly one of the finest blades ever forged, and the most powerful weapon against the Lich King and his minions. The issue with the Ashbringer is that it's just really bad luck to have around. You wouldn't think so, being a blade of pure Light and all that, but seriously! It's bad news warbears for anybody but me.

Highlord Mograine? He got shanked by his own boy with it. Darion Mograine? Had to impale himself with it to redeem his father. Even the kid I lent it to for like five minutes got killed. Do you really want to be an entry-level raid boss or a dying questgiver in a starting zone? If you really want to die, the best way to do it is in glorious battle fighting an unrestrained monster for no reason in my Coliseum. Think about it.

Tirion,

Do you really have to yell all the time? I know it's hard to inspire people when speaking normally, but your voice seems to resonate in my helmet and it's giving me a headache. Seriously, I can feel it in my eyes. Darion may be a micromanager, but at least he's not constantly shouting in my ear. Is it that hard to use an indoor voice occasionally?
Sincerely,
Arterius, Death Knight

Tirion replies:

Ah, this is rather embarrassing. See, I was trying to organize my chat channels, and I accidentally... I mean, that is to say... Gah. All right! You got me! I accidentally disabled Say and General and Whisper. Do you know, like, a macro or something? I don't even know if my DKP tells are getting through and we have that Icecrown thing coming up so DKP is gonna reset. I gotta take everything I can get.

Dear Tirion,
I know that the crusade is rewarding loyal paladins like myself with a custom Charger to ride. But I also remember when I tamed my original charger, I had to free an equine spirit, then redeem a fallen knight. My question is, where has the crusade found such an unlimited source of fallen chargers? And can I get in on some of the action?

Tremeroy
Paladin of Shadowsong

Tirion replies:

Your question is "Where are we getting dead horses?" Have you even been in the five-man?

Dear Tirion,
Some taurens in Thunder Bluff have started a group of sun worshipers and have started calling themselves paladins. For me that just sounds ridicilous but do you think you will accept these sun worshippers into the Argent Crusade. If you ask me no member of the Horde should be accepted....but maybe thats just because im a strong member of the alliance. I think it would be a bad move but.....its your decision
-A Stormwind Guard called Bob

Tirion replies:

Well, we've had tauren in the Argent Dawn and Crusade for a while. They're great warriors, admittedly, and their desire to take up the trade isn't surprising. The reason we're accepting them as Light-wielding brothers-in-arms, though, is because as a class, we're severely lacking in races with huge shoulders. All we've really got is draenei! We're in danger of falling even further behind warriors in terms of average epaulet size. This was really the only way. Now, if we could get orcs to bother with anything Light-related, we'd be ahead of the game, but they can barely focus on light fixtures, much less the real thing. I guess there's not enough red paint or spikes on our tier sets for them. And no, we don't want your elves, thank you very much.


Dear Tirion,

For the past month, several members of my guild have been having this foreboding sensation that after our march against the Lich King, something cataclysmic is going to happen to Azeroth. As a Hunter and Night Elf both, my pets and I share this same feeling. Tell me, if such an event were to happen, could we count on the Argent Crusade and the Argent Dawn's help for a decidedly new and threatening world?

May Elune guide you,
Araniis of and her Pet Wolf Frisket.
Tirion replies:

Well, sure, we'd help, but a cataclysm? I'm not sure any threat to Azeroth is greater than the Lich King, and I especially can't think of one that could cause destruction that great. Are we talking, like, earthquakes, cave-ins, that kind of thing? Because I'm really good at predicting cave-ins, and I got nothin'.

Dear Tirion Fordring:

What are your inevitable plans for when the tournement succeeds in killing most of the Argent Crusade? Will you wither into obscurity? Throw yourself off the top of the Icecrown Citadel?

-Ais

Tirion replies:

Looks like somebody's lost sight of the big picture! Sometimes you gotta crack a few omelets, lady! I know it might be hard to understand, but there's definitely a formula for success here. Look:

1. Set up Crusader's Coliseum
2. KILL OR BE KILLED, CHAMPIONS
3. Be killed
4. ?????
5. Arthas dies

Besides, we'll never run out of Crusaders no matter how many of them can't learn to use their strafe keys on Icehowl. People will always want mounts and non-combat pets. I could offer a repeatable quest to slap a handful of kittens and people would do it if I gave them a little pet for it. And they'd drop the kittens off a cliff for a mount.

Highlord Tirion,
I took part in your tournament as a champion representing the Undercity. I have a question though. Whenever we fight the various champions of the Alliance, we let them live, since the Tournament is supposed to be friendly competition. However, every time we lose, the Alliance does not let us yield. Instead, they brutally murder us and I awaken later after being resurrected by a priest. As one of the Forsaken, being resurrected by Holy magic is followed by severe nausea as we are held together by dark magic. Would it be too much to ask if you told them to just lay off a bit.

Sandeface
Undead mage

Tirion replies:

Look, Sandeface, I don't mean to be, you know, that guy, but the waiver you signed clearly states that we aren't responsible for adverse reactions to Holy magic. Or immolation by snobolds. Or waxy dark energy buildup. Or swarm scarab bites. Or death. Really try to keep that last one in mind.

That's all for our audience with Tirion Fordring! Next week, we'll be speaking with Highlord Darion Mograine of the Ebon Blade! If you have questions for Darion, whether you need advice or have questions about ghouls or diseases or anything in between, send them via email to sacco@wow.com with the subject line "AAFL".

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