Headless Horseman (Warcraft)

File:Headless-horseman.png

“	Prepare yourselves, the bells have tolled! Shelter your weak, your young and your old! Each of you shall pay the final sum! Cry for mercy; the reckoning has come!	„
	~ Headless Horseman's battle-cry

“	"Harken, cur! Tis you I spurn! Now feel... the burn!	„
	~ Headless Horseman (yelled whenever he is about to attack a random victim with a flaming pumpkin)

The Headless Horseman is a seasonal boss from the popular MMORPG World Of Warcraft, he can only be faced during the event known as Hallow's End (the equivalent to the real world Halloween).

The tormented spirit of a former hero turned mad the Headless Horseman comes in two forms, his true-form: which resides in the Scarlet Monastery and his Shade - which is freeroaming and significantly weaker, both forms of the Headless Horseman must be defeated by the heroes of both the Alliance and the Horde to stop his endless terror during the time of Hallow's End.

Shade Of The Headless Horseman

The Shade Of The Headless Horseman is the weaker form of the mad spirit and also the part of him that is free to roam across the lands of Azoreth - over the course of Hallow's End this shade continually attacks Alliance and Horde settlements, flying across them on his spectral mount and tossing flaming pumpkins at buildings to set them ablaze while also randomly throwing these deadly projectiles at any foolish enough to be in his line of fire.

The shade's attacks have become so regular that every year heroes are gathered to perform fire-fighting tasks, extinguishing the spirit's destructive handiwork - yet inevitably this brings the Headless Horseman's wrath upon them and should they succeed in extinguishing all the fires the Shade will descend and begin to attack, thankfully the Shade tends to be a fairly easy fight.

The Headless Horseman (True Form)

Sadly the same can not be said for the Headless Horseman's true form, imprisoned within the Pumpkin Shrine in the Scarlet Monastery this form is much more powerful and houses the Headless Horseman's true power - in order to truly stop the continual attacks on Azeroth's settlements brave adventurers must make their way to the Shrine and summon the fearsome spirit, who has a collection of dangerous abilities by which to vex even experienced warriors.

When defeated, he is revealed as Thomas Thomson (aka Sir Thomas). He appears in his true but ghostly form after his headless form is defeated. He then asks for forgiveness, and that his holy tome, the Tome of Thomas Thomson be brought back to a Costumed Orphan Matron.

Origin

Thomas Thomson was present as the Scourge destroyed Lordaeron. He witnessed Baron Rivendare's betrayal when he sent a large supply of plagued grain to a village he was defending. He received word that not only had Prince Arthas returned from Northrend and murdered his father, he would later murder Uther the Lightbringer. And finally the last great Paladin of the Silver Hand, Alexandros Mograine, the Ashbringer was slain. Desperate to keep his family safe, he ordered his wife to flee to Kalimdor while he remained in Lordaeron with the Scarlet Crusade to destroy the Scourge. However, under Saidan Dathrohan's wing, Thomas, like so many Scarlets, became fanatical and saw everyone as being plagued and participated in many of their raids.

In one these raids however, he accidentally killed his own family before he realized it was them. He came to the conclusion that a storm destroyed the last ship fleeing to Kalimdor, and all the workers have either been drafted into service or became one of the undead themselves and thus had to hide wherever they could. Broken, he was taken back to the Scarlet Monastery where he finally went mad, believing the entire world to be infected and he alone was the only being that could save them. After killing many of his former comrades, he was beheaded. Dathrohan decided to give the fallen crusader a honorable burial. Once entombed, Dathrohan (who in truth was Balnazzar disguised as the fallen general) warped Thomas' corpse into becoming a death knight, thus creating the Headless Horseman.

Quotes

“	The sky is dark, the fire burns! You strive in vain as fate's wheel turns!	„
	~ Headless Horseman

“	The town still burns, a cleansing fire! Time is short, I'll soon retire!	„
	~ Headless Horseman

“	Fire consumes, you've tried and failed! Let there be no doubt, justice prevailed!	„
	~ Headless Horseman

“	My flames have died, left not a spark! I shall send you myself to the lifeless dark!	„
	~ Headless Horseman

“	So eager you are for my blood to spill! Yet to vanquish me, tis my head you must kill!	„
	~ Headless Horseman

“	It is over, your search is done! Let fate choose now, the righteous one!	„
	~ Headless Horseman upon being summoned

“	Get over here, you idiot!	„
	~ Headless Horseman's head to his body

“	I'm over here, you fool of a body!	„
	~ Headless Horseman again to his body

“	Here's my body, fit and pure! Now, your blackened souls I'll cure!	„
	~ Headless Horseman rejoining his body

“	Your body lies beaten, battered and broken! Let my curse be your own, fate has spoken!	„
	~ Headless Horseman defeating the player

“	Soldiers arise, stand and fight! Bring victory at last to this fallen knight!	„
	~ Headless Horseman summoning his pumpkin minions

“	This end have I reached before. What new adventure lies in store?	„
	~ Headless Horseman's defeat