Chronologically speaking, Of Blood and Honor is the last book of the Warcraft: Archive series. This book is written by the esteemed Chris Metzen, generally regarded as the father (or one of the fathers) of Warcraft. It is of an honor to finally read his work.
Of Blood and Honor, on the surface, is a rather short story. Lord Tirion Fordring, a human paladin and a follower of Light, one day finds an old orc in his province. In his days, every orc is a monster and must be eliminated. Tirion fights the old orc and is being defeated. As the tower collapses threatened to kill the unconscious Tirion within, the old orc saves his life, binds him onto his horse, and sends him back to his Keep.
Deeply affected by how the situation turns out, Tirion has decided to return to abandoned tower and confront the old orc once again. Why would a monster save its enemy’s life? To his surprise, this old orc speaks his language and has a name. Eitrigg further enlightens Tirion on how some orcs have decided to leave their ranks because they do not wish to be corrupted by the demonic power and lose their way of life. Do orcs have honor? This one seems to have, so thinks Tirion. In return to Eitrigg’s saving his life, Tirion has vowed to leave Eitrigg in peace and never seek him out.
Unfortunately, words are out and people now know that there are orcs in the area (although there is only one). Is Tirion willing to risk losing everything he has in order to uphold his honor and his vow with an enemy? To those of us who have been playing World of Warcraft since the beginning, the interaction between Tirion and Eitrigg marks a pivoting moment in the history of Warcraft – Horde and Alliance can collaborate. They can fight side by side if a situation calls for. This is exactly what we do today, when we face the worse adversity the world has yet to face.
Of Blood and Honor may not be rich in complexity. However, without a doubt, it is a book that is rich in honor and sacrifice. The path to heroism is not easy. Especially when most don’t see that you are one.