World of Warcraft®

Alrighty! I'd like to pick the communities' mind on this.

Curiosity lead me to do some research on these Dark Riders. I already knew there wasn't much there, but I wanted to see what speculation there was surrounding them.

So far, what I have discovered is that there was some speculation that they might have (at one time) either inhabited Raven Hill or originated from there. This idea is then set on its end with quest references tying them to Deadwind Pass (and the Scythe of Elune). There is some other speculation out there they these Dark Riders are in fact Death Knights, or some form of Death Knight. This then led me into an interesting derivation...

The Brotherhood of the Horse.

Wonderful Lore! I had heard their name passed around before but never knew their history. It is my understanding that these were the first Death Knights created in Lore. I might be wrong in that understanding. I understand how Gul'dan created them, and that they were essentially Orc Necrolytes souls placed within the corpses of slain Brotherhood of the Horse. If that's so, could these Dark Riders be remnants of these Orc-soul'd Death Knights from the First War?

I was also brought to the connection between the Brotherhood of the Horse and the architecture of the lower halls of Karazhan. I had been curious about its horse-themed architecture and now I have my answer... sorta... This is also left to some speculation.
Did the Brotherhood use Kara as a station or fort in life?
Were they there when Medivh inhabited the tower?, and if so...
Is he to blame for their souls begin trapped there at one time? I say "at one time" because it is my understanding that presently Kara is cleared out and more-or-less empty.
Is the "Unknown Soldier" (Rare NPC) tied to these Dark Riders? Or just an "easter egg"...

What are your thoughts?

That, I believe, was the implication - that the Dark Riders of Duskwood were in fact surviving death knights (though the word "surviving" is used rather loosely, considering) after the Second War. Popular rumor, before he showed up in Shadowmoon Valley (and later as a boss in the Black Temple), was that the leader of the Dark Riders was Teron Gorefiend himself. (How he ended up working for Illidan, or at the very least being tolerated enough to be allowed in his fortress, still remains a mystery, as far as I know.)

Of course, Gorefiend was not the only one Gul'dan raised, and we don't know how many there were altogether, and how many of them ended up dead, scattered through Azeroth (and/or Outland, or various other worlds through the travel through the Nether), how many of them ended up becoming agents of the Scourge, so on. I think the possibility still exists that there are some shambling human corpses with orc spirits in them, roaming the darker places of the world and terrorizing the populace for lack of anything better to do, now that the demon-corrupted Horde they once served is no more.

I remember reading something about the death knights we see today, the products of the Scourge - that they need to inflict pain and death on a regular basis to be able to function. Perhaps something similar applies to the originals?

Hmmm, curious!

What about the speculation that they might be associates of Morbent Fel?
In Cata he became a Lich. Could he have had power before or after to create the Riders?

Not necessarily, the Dark Riders were believed to be a breed unto themselves, in a specific timeframe. A singular group of these entities.

Morbent Fel, was unlikely, he may have had a loose alliance with them, but we'll never know. Also, taken from WoWpedia and the Dark Riders graphic novel.

"The Dark Riders were charlatan merchants who tried to sell fraudulent magical artifacts to Medivh. Medivh, being possessed by Sargeras, cursed the merchants to forever pay for their dishonesty by collecting true magical artifacts from all over the kingdom for Medivh, and bringing them back to Karazhan.[3]

The Riders first appear at the Yorgen Farmstead, apparently drawn by the time/space warping caused by the Scythe of Elune which Jitters had previously unearthed and lost again inside Roland's Doom. They murdered Sven Yorgen's wife and children after determining that they did not know where the Scythe was located. Jitters remained hidden while witnessing these events, and later recorded them.

The Dark Riders are mentioned as being allies of the necromancer Morbent Fel,[4] though no details are given as to the nature of this alliance.

No physical description is provided, but the Riders are described as speaking in a shrieking voice "both harsh and shrill". At one point, one used a small gem to communicate with someone referred to as the Lord from whom the Riders took directions. When Revil Kost used an artifact called the Cloak of Purity, he was able to see a Dark Rider's face. It was the face of a terrified man."

...the Dark Riders got a graphic novel? Huh.

02/19/2014 10:10 AMPosted by Rakeri

...the Dark Riders got a graphic novel? Huh.

I was as surprised as you when I heard about it.

And somehow through all of this, the Scythe of Elune wound up in Gilneas, as a secondary item in a quest whose real purpose largely seemed to be getting worgen near Tal'doren. *SIGH* For such an awesome questline from the Classic game, I feel like the Scythe got short shrift when shoehorning playable worgen into the game. :(

No one knows where it's at now; it could be in the hands of a worgen, it could be in the possession of the night elves who helped create the ceremony at Tal'doren... no one knows.

Karazhan seems to have largely been forgotten; the general feeling lorewise is that whatever else is happening, Med'an (Medivh's son) isn't canon, or if he is, he's so far below Blizzard's radar that I don't think anything will ever be done with Karazhan again. The Guardian of Tirisfal seems to be a non-issue now.

There's so much awesome lore that they could build entire expansions around, but for some reason it just doesn't get done, and so much promising story is left on the vine, rotting, for so long that eventually its fruit falls below whatever demarcation point causes it to be on Blizzard's radar, and it lies forgotten. :(

02/19/2014 04:46 PMPosted by Ragefang

And somehow through all of this, the Scythe of Elune wound up in Gilneas, as a secondary item in a quest whose real purpose largely seemed to be getting worgen near Tal'doren

That got explained, actually.

The Dark Riders found the Scythe and brought it to Karazhan as a part of the aforementioned "gather magical artifacts for Medivh" curse. At the end of the graphic novel, a gnome rogue named Brink finds the Scythe and says he's going to deliver it a night elf. And then in the comic Curse of the Worgen, a night elf named Valorn shows up at Tal'doren in Gilneas with the Scythe, saying it was liberated from Duskwood "mere days ago."