Dreadlord

Dreadlords are a race of demonic creatures found in the fictional Warcraft Universe.

Known as the Nathrezim in their native tongue, they were discovered by Kil'jaeden, first in command of the Burning Legion, the army of the fallen immortal titan, Sargeras. Kil'jaeden realized that they were a race for whom trickery, deception, and manipulation came naturally and enslaved their entire race to use as puppets for Sargeras' destruction from world to world.

In the Burning Legion's Second Invasion of Azeroth, the Dreadlords were used as commanders among the race of Undead in their attack on the peoples of Azeroth. With their vampiric powers they were great generals to the Undead army, but it was not enough to overcome the might of the mortal races combined with that of the Night Elves.

Three high ranking Dreadlords and several other lower ranking ones were left behind to guard the fallen lands of Lordaeron and were unaware of the fall of the Burning Legion at the Battle of Mt. Hyjal. They had been long awaiting news from their lord, Archimonde. Though they rousted King Arthas from the Capital City and gained control of most of his previous forces, the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner, no longer under the control of the weakening Lich King, fought with them and successfully defeated the Dreadlord's grip on the Plague Lands, establishing a faction known as the Forsaken, a variation of the Undead not loyal to the Lich King.

Known Dreadlords
Balnazzar
Balnazzar was a mighty dreadlord in the fictional world of Azeroth, who was left in charge of Lordaeron when Archimonde and The Burning Legion traveled West to Kalimdor.

When he received word of the Legion's fall, he took control of The North-Eastern Kingdoms until he was defeated and captured by the army of the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner. Sylvanas then ordered Balnazzar's brother, Varimathras, to kill him; after which Sylvanas' forces, with Varimathras as second in command, then took control of the region known as Tirisfal Glades.

Balnazzar reappears in World of Warcraft as the true leader of the Scarlet Crusade's detachment in Stratholme. The members of the Crusade do not know that their leader is a dreadlord, as Balnazzar possessed the Paladin (Grand Crusader Dathrohan) that leads them. In-game, players fight Dathrohan, who unexpectedly turns into Balnazzar when nearly defeated.

The possible discontinuity of Balnazzar's survival is so far unexplained. In the game, he implies that he faked his own death. Varimathras' involvement is not elaborated on, so his true loyalty remains in question, however no current evidence supports any disloyalty to the Forsaken. Varimathras has stated in Warcraft III that Nathrezim are forbidden to destroy one another, but he could have meant that they are unable to.

Detheroc
Detheroc is the name of a member of a demonic race known as the Dreadlords that appears in the Warcraft III expansion pack, The Frozen Throne. Along with his brothers Balnazzar and Varimathras, Detheroc was charged by his masters within the Burning Legion to oversee the Undead Scourge, particularly in the regions that once comprised the kingdoms of Lordaeron and Quel'Thalas, now referred to as the Plaguelands. The trio's base of operations was within the ruined capital city of Lordaeron, home of the hidden Undercity.

The three Dreadlords' power was usurped when, after the defeat of the Legion's master Archimonde at Mount Hyjal, an Undead Civil War was sparked when the Scourge's Death Knight Prince Arthas returned to claim the city for himself. After Arthas' departure for Northrend, Detheroc's brother, Varimathras, was forced on pain of death into the service of the Dark Ranger Sylvanas Windrunner, who had recently been released from being mentally controlled by the Lich King. Working together, the two timed an assault on Detheroc's stronghold while he was sleeping, not only destroying the Dreadlord's forces, but also releasing his army of human mind slaves, led by the human supremistic knight Lord Garithos. This victory was instrumental in Sylvanas' capture of the Undercity, and the establishment of The Forsaken, an army of Undead not controlled by the Scourge.

Tichondrius

Varimathras

Other Dreadlords
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne included appearances by several minor Dreadlord characters. Among these were Dethecus, who appeared in the second chapter of the Scourge campaign, and Dalvengyr.

Few Dreadlords remain alive in Azeroth aside from the traitorous Varimathras. A character named Solenor the Slayer, who disguises himself as a gnome while roaming the southern part of the Silithus desert, has made an appearance in World of Warcraft. The Dreadlord model has also been used in WoW for minions in the Tainted Scar in Blasted Lands.

Dreadlords in other media
*Dreadlords are also high ranked servants of the Dark One who can channel, in Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time series, that were used as generals in The War of Power (aka The War of the Shadows).
*Dread Lords are also found in the Midkemia based books by Raymond E. Feist, where they portray many of the same features as in Warcraft, such as being from another hellish plane of existence and sucking the life out of whatever they touch, even the grass beneath their feet; they are commonly confused with the Forsaken by the less educated.
*The evil branch of the precursor race in Galactic Civilizations II is named Dread Lords.

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