Cost of Honor Reveals Riverglades Lore

Blizzard Entertainment released a new short story for WoW: Forever on November 13 titled Cost of Honor, detailing the history of the Riverglades zone through the Siege of Blackrock Spire.

The Tech TL;DR:

• Blizzard published Cost of Honor on November 13 as an illustrated PDF and narrated video on the official World of Warcraft site and YouTube channel.
• Written by Jonathan Maberry with illustrations by Surfside 3D and narration by Peter Jessop, the story bridges Second War lore with the new WoW: Forever zone, the Riverglades.
• The narrative centers on a campfire telling of the Siege of Blackrock Spire by Demar Brant, setting up game content ahead of the first raids opening on December 9.

Jonathan Maberry Pens Story

Jonathan Maberry wrote the narrative, Surfside 3D handled the illustrations, and Peter Jessop narrates the video version as Demar Brant, gamefragger.com reported. The World of Warcraft account shared the video on November 13 at 11:23 AM MST with the official post, “Gather round the crackling fire for a retelling of Riverglades history with Demar Brant in ‘Cost of Honor’ 🔥.”

Additionally, Sean Copeland is credited in the PDF’s credits page for lore consultation, alongside a game team consultation group that counts Chris Metzen among its members. Copeland previously appeared on the WoW: Forever Podcast for a lore episode on November 12, as WoW: Forever launched on November 4 with a level cap of 60 and nine new dungeons.

Campfire Tale of Blackrock Spire

Set against a backdrop of rolling thunder, the narrative takes the form of a campfire tale where Brant, the Knight-Captain of Farholde Keep, gathers the youth of the Riverglades.

He informs them that the songs they have previously heard contain only pieces of the truth before guiding them through the Siege of Blackrock Spire, which was a Second War clash between the Horde under Orgrim Doomhammer and the Alliance of Lordaeron.

During his account, Doomhammer slays Anduin Lothar, driving the Alliance close to collapse until Turalyon—a paladin, Lothar’s lieutenant, and a member of the Silver Hand—steps up to rally the troops. Turalyon engages Doomhammer using Lothar’s shattered blade alongside his own hammer, successfully rendering the warchief unconscious, after which the Alliance takes Doomhammer and his orcs captive in chains instead of executing them all.

Brant Explains Why His Brotherhood Broke with the Alliance

In the aftermath of the siege, Brant details the motivations behind his brotherhood’s split from Stormwind and the Alliance so they could pursue the escaping remnants of the Horde.

“Ask yourselves . . . is an oath given of more worth than the lives of villagers and innocent farmers? If the respect and trust of the Alliance is more important than the lives of the people who depend upon us, then who are we? What are we?”

Brant asked the children in the story, according to the official text. Following references to the Twilight’s Hammer and a location named Sunnyglade—which he describes as feeling “like a knife” within memory—the narrative concludes back at Farholde Keep.

“Yet here we are . . . in Farholde Keep,” he told them, as gamefragger.com reported. “And this has become a safe home for us.”

Riverglades and Upcoming Raids

Designed for characters ranging from level 35 to 40, the Riverglades serves as one of the brand-new zones in WoW: Forever, appearing alongside Mount Hyjal, Shen’dralas, and Zephras Isle. The game’s presets and rules are laid out in the WoW: Forever Quickstart Guide, and the game’s first raids open on December 9.

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