The Ebon Hold is a colossal, floating necropolis of solid saronite and bone, constructed by the @Scourge to serve as a mobile flying fortress, research laboratory, and the premier training ground for the @Arthas Menethil's elite @Death Knights. Suspended over the Eastern Plaguelands by powerful necromantic runes, its architectural design mirrors other Scourge citadels like @Naxxramas, but its purpose is highly specialized: the mass production and deployment of the Death Knights of Acherus.
Under the direct command of Highlord @Darion Mograine, @Acheruswas mobilized to crush the @Scarlet Crusade's final major stronghold in the @Eastern Kingdoms: the Scarlet Enclave. Hovering directly over New Avalon and Havenshire, the fortress rains down waves of death knights, ghouls, and plague vanguards.
@Acherus functions as a highly efficient slaughterhouse during this campaign:
The Hall of Command: The upper tier where Highlord @Darion Mograine, Prince Valanar, and Instructor Razuvious coordinate global Scourge movements and oversee the runeforging of unholy blades.
The Heart of Acherus: The lower tier dedicated to the torture of prisoners, the creation of abominations, and the mandatory execution of a death knight's former allies to permanently sever their emotional ties to humanity.
The absolute climax of the fortress's @Scourge history occurs during the second Battle for Light's Hope Chapel. @Arthas Menethil commands @Darion Mograine and the entire host of @Acherus to launch a suicidal assault against the sacred chapel, intending to draw out Highlord @Tirion Fordring. When the holy ground cripples the death knights, @Arthas Menethil manifests personally, callously revealing that the entire host of @Acherus was merely sacrificial bait.
Enraged by this supreme betrayal, @Darion Mograine breaks free from the @Arthas Menethil's mental dominance and surrenders the corrupted @Ashbringerto @Tirion Fordring. The purified blade forces @Arthas Menethil to retreat.
Following the battle, the emancipated @Death Knights rebelled against their former master. Reclaiming the floating fortress by force, they purged the remaining @Scourge loyalists from its halls. Under the leadership of a resurrected Highlord @Darion Mograine, the death knights re-christen themselves the @Knights of the Ebon Blade.
@Acherus is completely retrofitted from a @Scourge death machine into the sovereign headquarters of this rebel faction. The runeforges are claimed by free-willed @Death Knights to empower their weapons against the @Scourge, and the fortress's teleportation grid is linked directly to the front lines of the global war.
As the current war against the @Scourge intensifies, the Ebon Hold has flown across the Great Sea to the frozen continent of @Northrend. The floating fortress now hovers permanently over the northern wastes of Zul'Drak and the Storm Peaks, acting as the absolute staging ground for the @Knights of the Ebon Blade's campaign.
From its battlements, liberated @Death Knights launch aerial assaults against the @Scourge infrastructure, coordinating directly with the @Argent Crusade to systematically dismantle the @Arthas Menethil's empire from within, its final fate tied to the looming siege of @Icecrown Citadel.