Quick Overview
Survivors of the Silver Hand and other defenders of Lordaeron formed the Scarlet Crusade after the Scourge devastated the kingdom. Arthas's betrayal, the plague, and the fall of royal authority destroyed many of the structures that upheld that ideal. Other survivors pursued a different path through the Argent Dawn, which would fight the Scourge without the Crusade's sweeping hostility.
Full History
Survivors of the Silver Hand and other defenders of Lordaeron formed the Scarlet Crusade after the Scourge devastated the kingdom. The order dedicated itself to the destruction of undead enemies, but its zeal made little room for judging whether an individual undead creature was enslaved or free. The defenders' original purpose narrowed into a doctrine of purification.
The Silver Hand had once embodied the protection of the human kingdoms by paladins devoted to the Light. Arthas's betrayal, the plague, and the fall of royal authority destroyed many of the structures that upheld that ideal. In the ruins, the Scarlet Crusade attracted warriors who had lost homes and families and no longer trusted those who might carry corruption. Its strength came partly from the depth of those losses.
Other survivors pursued a different path through the Argent Dawn, which would fight the Scourge without the Crusade's sweeping hostility. Scarlet soldiers occupy Tirisfal and the Plaguelands, while Argent representatives seek allies near the same battlefronts. Their shared origins did not produce shared methods or a single political future.
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