The Ashfort

The Ashfort is the ancestral seat of the house of Ashvale, located in Northern Tirisfal, Lordaeron. Once a great stronghold and a symbol of the house's wealth, the Castle is now largely a ruin with much of its outer walls having been destroyed or collapsed into the sea. The Ashfort presently serves as the base of operations for the forsaken host known as The Bloody Dawn.

History
Built in the year 403 K.C. by Damon Ashvale, the Ashfort was constructed with the defense of the region in mind. With its main, defensive walls over fifty feet high and four guard towers, the Castle was easily defensible, even with a small garrison. Over the next two centuries, many improvements were made to both the Castle grounds and the fortress itself, including a grand ballroom and a dining hall capable of seating more than two hundred guests. It is connected to Ashfort City by a small land bridge that was easily closed off during a siege.

Destruction
Though the Castle weathered the scourge onslaught, the years that followed the rise of the forsaken would mark the end of the great Ashvale stronghold. During a one-month siege, Ashfort City was taken and the outer walls of the Ashort itself were heavily bombarded and eventually breached. With no hope of withstanding a force of more than eight hundred forsaken, Lord Ethan and his family were forced to evacuate their home, leaving behind many personal possessions, a collection of priceless artwork and virtually the entire Ashvale treasury.

The Long, Bloody Struggle
For almost four years after it was lost, Lord Ethan made numerous attempts to reclaim the Ashfort, squandering what little wealth he had managed to salvage on mercenaries after losing nearly his entire militia in the first attempt. Shortly after Ethan's death during the siege of Icecrown, his son was slain during the final attempt to retake the Castle.

Currently
Though it was abandoned by the forsaken since the great cataclysm, the Ashfort is stranded at the edge of the sea, with large forsaken outposts cutting it off from any other Alliance settlement, making it virtually impossible for any force to enter it without being detected. Remarkably, the Ashfort's vault has remained undisturbed since the Castle was lost to the forsaken. The Ashfort presently serves as a base of operations for the forsaken host known as The Bloody Dawn while it rebuilds its strength.