| Uther the Lightbringer | |
|---|---|
 The Lightbringer | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Title | Knight of the Silver Hand |
| Origin | WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness |
| Voice Actors | Michael McConnohie |
| Activities | Paladin |
| Weapons and Powers | Paladin Hammer, Magic of The Light |
| “ | We are inherently unworthy, simply because we are human, and all human beings--aye, and elves, and dwarves, and all the other races--are flawed. But the Light loves us anyway. It loves us for what we sometimes can rise to in rare moments. It loves us for what we can do to help others. And it loves us because we can help it share its message by striving daily to be worthy, even though we understand that we cannot ever truly become so.
— Uther
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” |
Uther the Lightbringer was the first paladin of the order of the Knights of the Silver Hand, and a canonized saint of the Church of Light from the WarCraft franchise. As a veteran of both the Second and Third Wars, Uther was a renowned hero for those who worship The Light across all of Azeroth.
History[]
WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness[]
During the Second War, Uther battled in some of the most violent and dangerous battles, claiming the lives of countless Orcs in his quest. Uther's skill in combat was vital to the Alliance breaking Ogrim Doomhammer's siege of Lordaeron. Pushing the offensive, Uther and the Human forces engaged and defeated the Orcs at the Battle of Blackrock Spiral, where he was given the title of Lightbringer by his ally General Turalyon.
As the Lightbringer made his way to Darrowmere Lake, he was ambushed by a group of Alterac Pirates, who intended to kill him. While Uther was able to bring down his would-be assassins, this attack revealed that the Alterac faction planned to betray the Alliance, and uncovered a plot that could have crippled the human forces otherwise. He would later lead the final assault on the Burning Blade Clan, before allying with Turalyon once again at the Dark Portal, eventually gaining victory for the Alliance.
WarCraft III: The Scourge of Lordaeron[]
| “ | Remember, Arthas, we are paladins. Vengeance cannot be a part of what we must do. If we allow our passions to turn to bloodlust, then we will become as vile as the Orcs.
— Uther
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” |
Years after the final battle at the Dark Portal, Uther was a proud member of the Silver Hand, and had taken on the son of King Terenas Menethil of Lordaeron, Prince Arthas Menethil, as his apprentice. When numerous Orc clans began organizing uprisings in the southern regions of Lordaeron, King Terenas decided to send Uther and Arthas to quell them, hoping that sending the best warriors in the Kingdom would lead to a decisive ending before another war could begin. When Uther's scouts discovered a militarized camp of Orcs planning to move on the defenseless town of Strahnbrad, he sent Arthas to prepare a force to protect the villagers there while he took his men to engage the orcs and keep them at bay for as long as possible to buy the Prince time. After an extended battle, Uther sent one of his scouts to request Arthas rally his men at the Orc base to support him once the battle at Strahnbrad had ended.
Greeting Arthas at his camp, Uther was shocked to learn that the Orc attack had begun before Arthas could reach the town, and while he was able to push them out, many of the villagers had been taken captive. Meanwhile, Uther had sent his best two knights in an attempt to open negotiations with the Orcs leader, resulting only in the knight's gruesome deaths. After reprimanding Arthas to keep his desire for vengeance in check, he put the Prince in charge of leading the attack on the enemy base while he remained to defend their camp. Despite their best efforts, Uther and Arthas were unable to rescue the captured villagers, who were sacrificed in a blood ritual to the Burning Legion, as these Orcs, the Blackrock Clan, desperately sought the favor of their former masters again. In the ensuing conflict, the Blackrock Blademaster was slain, and the orc base wiped out- killing or routing any remaining Blackrock stationed there.
Some time later, Uther was tracked down by Jaina Proudmoore, who had been traveling with Arthas to uncover the truth behind the plague spreading through Lordaeron. She explained that the plague was actually the spreading of the undead Scourge, and that the necromancer Kel'Thuzad had infected a grain shipment sent to Hearthglen, where Arthas was holding out against an undead army. Uther quickly rallied an army of Silver Hand Knights and rode out with Jaina, arriving at Hearthglen just in time to turn the tide of battle and push the Scourge forces back, saving Hearthglen from falling to the horde. Despite their victory, Arthas was furious that he had lost so many people in the battle, and warned Uther that they had to track down the leader of the Scourge, the Dread Lord Mal'Ganis in Stratholme to stop the plague. While Uther attempted to warn Arthas that he couldn't succeed alone, the prince bitterly claims that regardless of whether Uther helps or not, he intended to see Mal'Ganis brought to justice.
Arriving at Stratholme behind Arthas' forces, Uther was too late to aid the Prince in fighting Mal'Ganis and the dreadlord's attempt to infect the city. Arthas bitterly greeted him, before realizing that the whole town had been infected with the plague, causing him to order the Silver Hand to purge the city, killing everyone within. Uther was horrified by Arthas change in demeanor, telling him that he was not his king yet, and even if he had been, he would never follow such an order. Arthas snapped back that if Uther wasn't willing to help him save Lordaeron, he was committing treason, relieving him from command and suspending his paladins from service. Ignoring Uther's final warnings, Arthas dismissed anyone left in the gathered armies that disagreed with him, and saw to the purging of Stratholme personally. In the aftermath of the purge, Uther tracked Jaina down, finding her mourning among the rubble. She told him that Arthas had already taken the fleet and sailed to Northrend in search of Mal'Ganis. Uther, worried about the path the prince had taken, set out to warn King Terenas.
WarCraft III: Path of the Damned[]
| “ | The urn holds your father's ashes, Arthas! What, were you hoping to piss on them one last time before you left his kingdom to rot?
— Uther
|
” |
After Arthas' return from Northrend and assassination of his father, King Terenas, Uther volunteered to guard the King's ashes in the city of Andorhal. Only days later, however, Uther's few remaining Paladins of the Silver Hand were attacked by The Scourge, now lead by Arthas- who had embraced the sword Frostmourne and had become a Death Knight. Arthas had come to recover the urn containing Terenas' ashes to use in a necromantic ritual to bring back Kel'Thuzad as a lich- killing Uther's companions Gavinrad the Dire, Ballador the Bright and Sage Truthbearer in the process. Finally, Uther and Arthas dueled for possession of the ashes. Despite his experience and skill in the Paladin arts, Uther was overwhelmed by Arthas' new powers, and the man he once called a dear friend ran him through with his new blade. In his final moments, Uther prayed that Arthas would discover a special layer of Hell waiting for him, though Arthas merely scoffed, taunting that he intended to live forever. With Uther dead, the Silver Hand was no more, and nothing remained to prevent Arthas from claiming the urn containing his father's ashes.
World of Warcraft: The Wrath of the Lich King[]
| “ | Arthas... Alas, hero of Azeroth. You give me a greater gift than you know. Long have I struggled to forgive the prince for his terrible transgressions. My soul has been wracked with unbearable anxiety, dark thoughts, distancing me from the light. I recall clearly... the gleam of pride in his eye as he stood before me, eager to defeat the enemies of the Light... eager to defend his people, no matter the cost. It is this memory of Arthas that I choose to keep in my heart. I shall always be in your debt, friend. Thank you.
— Uther's Spirit
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” |
After death, Uther's soul was consumed by Frostmourne- one of many. His soul was called to by Jaina and Sylvannas Windrunner in the Halls of Reflection, where he warns them that there must always be a Lich King, else the Undead Scourge would run wild and directionless across Azeroth. He also explains that the Lich King can only be truly defeated at the place of his creation- the Frozen Throne.
When an adventurer later travels to the Halls of Reflection with the blade Quel'Delar, Uther tries to warn them not to carry the blade any further, but is too late to stop it from coming to life and attacking the Adventurer. When they are able to defeat and stop the blade, Uther tells them that the blade must be taken to the Sunwell to be cleansed.
After the death of Arthas, an Adventurer finds a chest near the Frozen Throne that contained a Silver Hand Badge. Bringing it back to Uther's soul, the Paladin is finally able to find peace- coming to terms with his former friend's actions and choosing to hold on to the memories of Arthas when he was still a young Paladin eager to bring The Light's enemies to justice, before he was claimed by the Darkness and became the Lich King.
Non-Canon History[]
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft[]
In Hearthstone, Uther the Lightbringer is the avatar that represents the player of The Paladin class. Each turn, Uther's unique class power allows him to summon a 1/1 Silver Hand card to the field.
Heroes of the Storm[]
| “ | Back in my day, there was only one type of Paladin, and we were glad to have 'em! And we could only level to ten! What are you now, level one hundred? More?! *sigh* You kids these days...
— Uther
|
” |
Uther the Lightbringer was one of the 18 heroes revealed for Heroes of the Storm at BlizzCon 2013, added to the game because the developers wanted to feature a character whose mechanics would be based around healing. Uther's passive trait is Eternal Devotion, which allows him to become an Invulnerable spirit for 10 seconds, while his Abilities and Basic Attacks do 50% healing and damage. His Divine Shield ability allows him to make an allied Hero Invulnerable and increase their Movement Speed by 20% for 3 seconds. Divine Storm deals 75 damage and stuns nearby enemies for 1.5 seconds. Holy Light heals an ally for 150 Health. Holy Radiance heals all allies in a line for 480 (100 + 20 per level) Health, dealing 350 (65 + 15 per level) damage to enemies. Hammer of Justice deals 200 (48 + 8 per level) damage and stuns the target for 1 second.
Uther has four costumes in-game: his default, based on his redesigned appearance in Hearthstone, a heavily armored variant available for unlock after leveling him to 10, a purchasable StarCraft Medic armor costume, and a variant of Uther that turns him into Arthur Light of British Columbia, a Lumberjack from an alternate universe.
Appearances[]
- Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (1995)
- Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002)
- Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (Voice Only) (2003)
- World of Warcraft (Mentioned) (2004)
- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Mentioned) (2007)
- World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (2008)
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (2014)
- Heroes of the Storm (2014)