In the "Warcraft" universe's lore, the Paladin was first conceived by Archbishop of . Faol felt that the contribution to the war effort by pure clerics during the First Great War ("") would not be sufficient for the battles ahead, and decided to create a more versatile cleric that didn't need protection in combat. Faol's apprentice became the first Paladin. Uther used his natural leadership skills to rally the best knights of Azeroth to be blessed as Paladins, and formed the Knights of the Silver Hand. In "Warcraft II", they were upgraded knights who could heal injured comrades and exorcise undead. At this point, Paladins were amongst the Alliance's most powerful melee units.