Cairne Bloodhoof is the leader of the Tauren people in the Warcraft universe.
Description
A wise and fearless leader, he rules the Tauren from their capital city of Thunder Bluff. Ancient even by Tauren standards (103 years old, as of the start of World of Warcraft), it is assumed that he is training his son, Baine Bloodhoof, to one day take his place. It is said that Cairne is one of the most dangerous mortals alive: not only is he a powerful warrior, but also a spiritual shaman. Decades of leading his people and fighting the Centaur have left Cairne with great wisdom as well as brilliant strategic prowess. Cairne is physically formidable as well, and it is rumored that he can uproot a great tree with only his bare hands. Strangely in Warcraft 3 he wields an axe while the regular tauren wield ancestral totems.
History
A mighty warrior, he is responsible for uniting the Tauren tribes (including the Bloodhoof, the Grimtotem, and the Runetotem) to fight against the Centaur, their ancestral enemy who had driven them to the brink of extinction. Cairne's trust in Thrall (Warchief of the Horde) led the Tauren to be the second non-orc race to join the Horde since its reformation (The island trolls being the first). Years ago, when the Tauren lived near the shores of the Great Sea in the Barrens, Thrall and Cairne first fought together against these invading centaur; their victory secured Cairne's trust in Thrall. Hearing of the Tauren's plight, Thrall vowed to escort the dying Tauren to the fertile plains of Mulgore. To repay his debt to Thrall, Cairne told the orc warchief of an Oracle that lived high in the Stonetalon Mountains. After they scaled the mountain, they discovered there was no Oracle of Stonetalon but instead they encountered the prophet Medivh who told Thrall, along with Cairne and the humans' leader Jaina Proudmoore, that an alliance between the three was necessary to crush the demonic Burning Legion. Cairne accepted the alliance and, as an ally to the Horde, Cairne led the Tauren in the last struggle against their demonic foes. The Tauren proved to be an outstanding ally and were pivotal in the final stages of the battle. Once the Burning Legion was defeated, Cairne helped Thrall to establish the Orcish capital city of Orgrimmar, located in Durotar, before departing with his people for the plains of Mulgore, the Taurens' new home. Ever since his placement as leader of the united Tauren, Magatha Grimtotem, the "Elder Crone" and Matriarch of the Grimtotem clan, has constantly challenged Cairne's rule, arguing that she is the only one fit to rule the Tauren people.
Game Appearances
Cairne is a playable hero in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and in the orc bonus campaign in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
Quotes
* "The Spirits rage around you young one, they feel your anguish, your grief."
* "We tauren have always held great respect for the works of the Earthmother."
* "Take heart young one, the Earthmother is near."
* "I am Cairne, chief of the Bloodhoof tauren."
* "Ish-Nee-Alo Po-Rah, warrior."
* "My old bone aches."
* "Our debt to you orcs can only be repaid with blood."
Description
A wise and fearless leader, he rules the Tauren from their capital city of Thunder Bluff. Ancient even by Tauren standards (103 years old, as of the start of World of Warcraft), it is assumed that he is training his son, Baine Bloodhoof, to one day take his place. It is said that Cairne is one of the most dangerous mortals alive: not only is he a powerful warrior, but also a spiritual shaman. Decades of leading his people and fighting the Centaur have left Cairne with great wisdom as well as brilliant strategic prowess. Cairne is physically formidable as well, and it is rumored that he can uproot a great tree with only his bare hands. Strangely in Warcraft 3 he wields an axe while the regular tauren wield ancestral totems.
History
A mighty warrior, he is responsible for uniting the Tauren tribes (including the Bloodhoof, the Grimtotem, and the Runetotem) to fight against the Centaur, their ancestral enemy who had driven them to the brink of extinction. Cairne's trust in Thrall (Warchief of the Horde) led the Tauren to be the second non-orc race to join the Horde since its reformation (The island trolls being the first). Years ago, when the Tauren lived near the shores of the Great Sea in the Barrens, Thrall and Cairne first fought together against these invading centaur; their victory secured Cairne's trust in Thrall. Hearing of the Tauren's plight, Thrall vowed to escort the dying Tauren to the fertile plains of Mulgore. To repay his debt to Thrall, Cairne told the orc warchief of an Oracle that lived high in the Stonetalon Mountains. After they scaled the mountain, they discovered there was no Oracle of Stonetalon but instead they encountered the prophet Medivh who told Thrall, along with Cairne and the humans' leader Jaina Proudmoore, that an alliance between the three was necessary to crush the demonic Burning Legion. Cairne accepted the alliance and, as an ally to the Horde, Cairne led the Tauren in the last struggle against their demonic foes. The Tauren proved to be an outstanding ally and were pivotal in the final stages of the battle. Once the Burning Legion was defeated, Cairne helped Thrall to establish the Orcish capital city of Orgrimmar, located in Durotar, before departing with his people for the plains of Mulgore, the Taurens' new home. Ever since his placement as leader of the united Tauren, Magatha Grimtotem, the "Elder Crone" and Matriarch of the Grimtotem clan, has constantly challenged Cairne's rule, arguing that she is the only one fit to rule the Tauren people.
Game Appearances
Cairne is a playable hero in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and in the orc bonus campaign in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
Quotes
* "The Spirits rage around you young one, they feel your anguish, your grief."
* "We tauren have always held great respect for the works of the Earthmother."
* "Take heart young one, the Earthmother is near."
* "I am Cairne, chief of the Bloodhoof tauren."
* "Ish-Nee-Alo Po-Rah, warrior."
* "My old bone aches."
* "Our debt to you orcs can only be repaid with blood."
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.
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.
Queen Azshara is a character in the fictional Warcraft Universe.
Azshara was once the queen of the Kaldorei on the lands of ancient Kalimdor. She ruled them with benevolence and kindness, and was revered by her people for her beauty and spirit.
Azshara built a palace on the shores of the Well of Eternity, where she and her servants, called the Quel'dorei, or Highborne, studied the Well. Though the Kaldorei civilians continued to adore Azshara, they began to spurn the Quel'dorei for their smug narcissism and the superiority they seemed to display.
As they worked to discern the deepest secrets of the Well, Azshara and her followers found that, in time, they could control the flow of its mysterious energy.
Wishing to see the limits of her newfound powers, Azshara had many magical experiments done within the confines of her palace, seeking to test herself and her followers. The Highborne began to use magic recklessly and without any caution.
To the people of Kalimdor, a change had come over Azshara and the high-borne. Though previously something of an annoyance, the Highborne had now become cruel to the populace. Azshara, meanwhile, had secluded herself within her palace, and her skin paled over time. She heedlessly continued to embrace her new identity, and worked to test the limits of the Well's power. Soon, however, she attracted attention that was not of this world.
Azshara's experiments continued unabated, and soon, she felt a presence so powerful that it overwhelmed her, and she was greeted by the ancient Titan, Sargeras.
Azshara, impressed beyond words by Sargeras' power, agreed to allow him passage to their world. The Highborne too, were struck with awe as the majesty of Sargeras filled their minds. Soon, they abandoned worshiping Elune, instead worshiping Sargeras as a god.
Azshara and her followers banded together in a magical network and crafted a portal at the bottom of the Well of Eternity. Archimonde and Mannoroth came hurtling into this world with a legion of demons at their backs, and they ravaged the land, killing every creature in their path.
As all of Kalimdor fell to pieces around them, Azshara and the Highborne basked in the majesty of their magical creation and the power of Sargeras' innumerable demon hordes .
Some time into the invasion, Illidan Stormrage, one of the Highborne who had left her at the will of his brother, Malfurion, returned to warn Azshara that Malfurion was attempting to destroy the Well of Eternity to collapse the portal that Azshara had created. Azshara would not hear of that, and immediately prepared for Malfurion's assault.
The destructive magics she unleashed upon Malfurion's forces slaughtered most of them, but he came on relentlessly. Tyrande, attempting to attack Azshara from behind, was ambushed by the queen's guardsmen, and though she slew them, she fell with grievous wounds. Malfurion, enraged by the sight, attacked Azshara. To defend herself, Azshara attacked him with magic.
As their battle progressed, the carefully crafted spells that Azshara had spent so much time creating lost their balance, and the portal collapsed.
The resulting catastrophe sundered the world, and blew Azshara and most of her treacherous followers to the bottom of the sea.
However, in the aftermath of the explosion, the energies of the Well transformed the Night Elves into denizens of the deep. Over time, buried among the sunken ruins of Zin-Azshari, Azshara and her followers became the serpentine Naga. Azshara herself continued to transform into an insidious creature, malignant and cunning. More recently, she sent up expeditions of naga to survey the land and attempt to establish a power base. For the time will come, she is confident, when they shall have their revenge.
This differs greatly with the account provided in the Well of Eternity book series. In the literature, Azshara is not as much personally involved in the casting and summoning, being replaced by her subordinate Lord Xavius. In addition, there is no "final showdown" or confrontation between Malfurion, Tyrande, and herself; instead, she is awaiting Sargeras' arrival from her palace room, when the Well of Eternity begins its implosion. Her hastily constructed magical barrier protects those in the palace, but she senses her power quickly fading, and accepts an offer of aid from the Old Gods, leading to the morphing of the Highborne into the Naga.
Azshara was once the queen of the Kaldorei on the lands of ancient Kalimdor. She ruled them with benevolence and kindness, and was revered by her people for her beauty and spirit.
Azshara built a palace on the shores of the Well of Eternity, where she and her servants, called the Quel'dorei, or Highborne, studied the Well. Though the Kaldorei civilians continued to adore Azshara, they began to spurn the Quel'dorei for their smug narcissism and the superiority they seemed to display.
As they worked to discern the deepest secrets of the Well, Azshara and her followers found that, in time, they could control the flow of its mysterious energy.
Wishing to see the limits of her newfound powers, Azshara had many magical experiments done within the confines of her palace, seeking to test herself and her followers. The Highborne began to use magic recklessly and without any caution.
To the people of Kalimdor, a change had come over Azshara and the high-borne. Though previously something of an annoyance, the Highborne had now become cruel to the populace. Azshara, meanwhile, had secluded herself within her palace, and her skin paled over time. She heedlessly continued to embrace her new identity, and worked to test the limits of the Well's power. Soon, however, she attracted attention that was not of this world.
Azshara's experiments continued unabated, and soon, she felt a presence so powerful that it overwhelmed her, and she was greeted by the ancient Titan, Sargeras.
Azshara, impressed beyond words by Sargeras' power, agreed to allow him passage to their world. The Highborne too, were struck with awe as the majesty of Sargeras filled their minds. Soon, they abandoned worshiping Elune, instead worshiping Sargeras as a god.
Azshara and her followers banded together in a magical network and crafted a portal at the bottom of the Well of Eternity. Archimonde and Mannoroth came hurtling into this world with a legion of demons at their backs, and they ravaged the land, killing every creature in their path.
As all of Kalimdor fell to pieces around them, Azshara and the Highborne basked in the majesty of their magical creation and the power of Sargeras' innumerable demon hordes .
Some time into the invasion, Illidan Stormrage, one of the Highborne who had left her at the will of his brother, Malfurion, returned to warn Azshara that Malfurion was attempting to destroy the Well of Eternity to collapse the portal that Azshara had created. Azshara would not hear of that, and immediately prepared for Malfurion's assault.
The destructive magics she unleashed upon Malfurion's forces slaughtered most of them, but he came on relentlessly. Tyrande, attempting to attack Azshara from behind, was ambushed by the queen's guardsmen, and though she slew them, she fell with grievous wounds. Malfurion, enraged by the sight, attacked Azshara. To defend herself, Azshara attacked him with magic.
As their battle progressed, the carefully crafted spells that Azshara had spent so much time creating lost their balance, and the portal collapsed.
The resulting catastrophe sundered the world, and blew Azshara and most of her treacherous followers to the bottom of the sea.
However, in the aftermath of the explosion, the energies of the Well transformed the Night Elves into denizens of the deep. Over time, buried among the sunken ruins of Zin-Azshari, Azshara and her followers became the serpentine Naga. Azshara herself continued to transform into an insidious creature, malignant and cunning. More recently, she sent up expeditions of naga to survey the land and attempt to establish a power base. For the time will come, she is confident, when they shall have their revenge.
This differs greatly with the account provided in the Well of Eternity book series. In the literature, Azshara is not as much personally involved in the casting and summoning, being replaced by her subordinate Lord Xavius. In addition, there is no "final showdown" or confrontation between Malfurion, Tyrande, and herself; instead, she is awaiting Sargeras' arrival from her palace room, when the Well of Eternity begins its implosion. Her hastily constructed magical barrier protects those in the palace, but she senses her power quickly fading, and accepts an offer of aid from the Old Gods, leading to the morphing of the Highborne into the Naga.
Arthas Menethil is a fictional character in the Warcraft universe, a fictional universe in which a series of games and books are set.
Backstory
Arthas Menethil is the son of King Terenas king of Lordaeron, the northernmost Human kingdom, and is thus the crown prince of Lordaeron. He has a sister named Calia Menethil. Arthas was first introduced in the novel Day of the Dragon as a young boy. At the age of nineteen he was inducted into the Knights of the Silver Hand at the behest and with the sponsorship of the renowned paladin Uther Lightbringer. It is indicated in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne that he had once competed with of the Elven Kingdom of Quel'Thalas to win the heart and hand of Jaina Proudmoore. Little else is known of Arthas during his younger years.
Role in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
As a Paladin
At the beginning of the first section of the single-player campaign, Prince Arthas and his mentor and friend Uther the Lightbringer are battling Blackrock Orcs when he hears of a mysterious plague in northern Lordaeron. Meeting with the sorceress Jaina Proudmoore, they journey northward in a desperate bid to investigate the plague. At every step they are confronted by a necromancer named Kel'Thuzad, the founder of The Cult of the Damned, who always departs with cryptic remarks to Arthas about his eventual fate. Following the necromancer to Andorhal, Arthas and Jaina Proudmoore discover that the plague was being administered to the unwitting populace through infected grain. Before their very eyes, they watched as innocent townspeople fell ill and perished, only to rise again as the undead and attack the living. Realizing that the town was in danger of being overrun, Arthas sends Jaina Proudmoore to gather Uther the Lightbringer and his knights, while he and his forces attempt to defend the town. They are nearly overtaken by the time that Uther arrives, and together they manage to defeat the undead attackers. Eventually Jaina Proudmoore and Arthas manage to slay Kel'Thuzad, but the infected grain had already been distributed across the countryside by unwitting farmers and merchants. Arthas arrives at the city of Stratholme and decides to slay the entire population before the plague can take effect there, but Uther the Lightbringer and Jaina Proudmoore refuse to follow his order. Arthas rashly removes Uther the Lightbringer from command, resulting in the departure of Uther and his knights as well as Jaina Proudmoore. Then, a Dreadlord named taunts Arthas as he converts some of the city's residents into the undead through the plague. Racing against the Dreadlord's dark mission to convert the townspeople, Arthas successfully purges the city. Arthas, now full of vengeful wrath, then rallies his forces and sets off to pursue Mal’Ganis to the continent of Northrend, leaving Stratholme a flaming wreck of death and sorrow. Later, Uther the Lightbringer returns to the city, appalled at what he sees. He finds Jaina Proudmoore there, and finds out from her that Arthas has taken the fleet north to pursue Mal’Ganis in Northrend.
One month later, Arthas arrives in Northrend with a small group of loyal followers. They encounter a group of stranded dwarves exploring the continent in search of a runeblade called Frostmourne. Arthas quickly enlists their aid, and with the help of their leader, Arthas' old friend Muradin Bronzebeard, they cut through the Undead. Shortly afterward, an emissary of the king arrives and informs Arthas that the king has recalled the expedition. Infuriated at this news, Arthas conspires with a group of local mercenaries to burn and sink the ships that they used to sail to Northrend. While his men worked at clearing a path to the shoreline through the thickness of the forest, Arthas, Muradin and the mercenaries slipped past them unseen, and succeeded in destroying the ships, stranding his own men. His men eventually reached the shoreline to find that their only way home has been lost. When asked what had happened, Arthas turned on the mercenaries, claiming they had sunken the ships and robbed his people of their only way home. Within seconds, Arthas and his men killed the surprised mercenaries, while Muradin could only watch, horrified.
Privately, Muradin confronts Arthas about his treachery, about how he lied to his men and betrayed the mercenaries that fought for him, and that he was growing concerned about what it happening to his friend. Arthas, disregarding his friend’s concern, only stated that Muradin wasn’t there to see what Mal’Ganis had done. Muradin, although no longer sure if what they’re doing is justified, remains to help Arthas, since he previously swore to see this endeavor through. Arthas and Muradin take a force of men through monster-infested caverns to reach Frostmourne, hidden in a frozen vault deep beneath a mountain. When they finally come upon the sword, the dwarf warns Arthas that it is cursed, but Arthas, consumed by rage and a lust for vengeance, swears an oath to bear any curse and pay any price if the sword will help him. The ice around Frostmourne shatters and a shard of it kills Muradin. Arthas, unmoved, abandons his warhammer and takes the sword. With his newfound power, his army destroys Mal’Ganis’s base. He finally corners Mal’Ganis, who revealed that all Arthas had done was foretold by his master, the Lich King, and that it is the voice of the Lich King that whispers to Arthas through the sword. Dark whispers are heard from the sword as Mal’Ganis asks what the Lich King is telling Arthas to do. Arthas announces that the Lich King has told him that the time for his vengeance has come, and quickly kills the shocked and betrayed Dreadlord. Without another word, Arthas abandons his army and flees into the icy wastes of Northrend, slowly losing his sanity.
As a Death Knight
In the ending cinematic of the first campaign, some unspecified time later, a black-clad Arthas walks through the streets of the Capital City of Lordaeron. Flanked by two hooded figures, he enters the royal throne room and kills his father, King Terenas, with Frostmourne. This event marks the end of the human kingdom of Lordaeron.
At the beginning of the second part of the campaign, Arthas is greeted as a Death Knight by Tichondrius. He learns that upon taking up Frostmourne, he began to hear the voice of the Lich King Ner'zhul, who had forged the blade for the purpose of ensnaring a powerful soul. The first it claimed was Arthas'. Tichondrius instructs Arthas to gather together Kel'Thuzad's Cult of the Damned, then to recover the remains of the necromancer for resurrection. Upon doing so, Arthas sees the ghost of Kel'Thuzad, who advises him not to trust the Dreadlords. Arthas then kills his once-mentor Uther Lightbringer to retrieve a sacred urn to carry the necromancer's remains. Arthas then journeys to the woods of Quel'thalas, the homeland of the High Elves. He battles his way through the Elven defenders, killing the Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner and subsequently resurrecting her as a Banshee. The Undead sack the elven capital of Silvermoon and corrupt the Sunwell, the source of magic for the High Elves. Here Kel'Thuzad is reborn as a Lich.
Kel'Thuzad tells Arthas that the plague is an initial strike by the Burning Legion, a demonic army that employs the Dreadlords and has spent countless millennia rampaging through the Great Dark Beyond. Next, Arthas and Kel'Thuzad attack a nearby Blackrock Orc Clan village guarding a demonic portal. After crushing the Orcs, Kel'Thuzad uses the portal to contact Archimonde, one of the Legion's mightiest leaders, who instructs the lich on how to open a portal allowing the demon into the world of Azeroth. Arthas and Kel'Thuzad assault the wizards' city of Dalaran and claim the spellbook of Medivh, the Last Guardian. Kel'Thuzad uses this book to summon Archimonde to Azeroth, whose first action is to destroy the entire city of Dalaran at once using an eldritch spell, which ends the second part of the campaign.
Arthas is absent for most of the remainder of the game; he briefly appears in one chapter, facing off against the newly released Illidan Stormrage amid the corrupted forests of Ashenvale. Arthas tells Illidan how to acquire the Skull of Gul'dan and kill their mutual enemy Tichondrius, which deals a heavy blow to the Burning Legion.
Role in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
The player next encounters Arthas during the third part of The Frozen Throne. After the downfall of the Burning Legion at the end of Reign of Chaos, Arthas journeys from Kalimdor back to Lordaeron. Upon his arrival, he launches an assault against the remaining Dreadlords ruling over the ruins of Lordaeron's Capital City, and declares himself king. It is then revealed that before the story of Warcraft III even began, the Lich King pushed the sword Frostmourne out of the Frozen Throne so Arthas could find it. A fracture in the Lich King's icy prison formed, leading to his gradual loss of power over the course of the campaign as the his magic seeps out of the fracture. Arthas, his strength directly linked to the Lich King by his wielding of Frostmourne, suffers seizures and loss of strength (manifested in-game as level loss). Regaining her freedom of will from the weakened Lich King, Sylvanas and her banshees rebel. Her dreadlord allies occupy the Capital City, and Sylvanas herself attempts to kill Arthas in an ambush, but is foiled by Kel'Thuzad's intervention.
Arthas escapes and headed to Northrend at the Lich King's summons. Waiting to meet him is a legendary king of the Nerubians, Anub'arak. Using their combined might, Arthas and Anub'arak descend into the depths of the ancient spider kingdom Azjol-Nerub, cutting through Illidan's Naga and Blood Elf warriors, as well as a company of Dwarves and a horde of subterranean monsters called 'The Faceless Ones', awoken by the partial destruction of the glacier by Illidan. Eventually Arthas and Anub'arak emerge at the base of the Frozen Throne, where the Lich King channels his power into Arthas once more, enabling him to regain his strength. The Undead drive back Illidan's combined Naga and Blood Elf forces. At the base of Icecrown Citadel, Arthas defeats Illidan after a fierce fight which leaves Illidan mortally wounded. Arthas ascends to the Frozen Throne, ignoring echoes of voices from his past. The Lich King commands Arthas to release him from the Frozen Throne with Frostmourne. Obeying, Arthas shatters the ice prison encasing the armor imbued with Ner'zhul's spirit, and places the helmet upon his head. Ner'zhul's voice echoes in his mind: "Now, we are one!" At that moment, the spirits of Ner'zhul and Arthas fuse into a single being.
While some fans suspected that Arthas had killed Illidan, Blizzard has repeatedly assured them that this is not true and that the original script for that scene would have made it clear that Arthas had simply beaten him into submission and humiliated him. As a result, Illidan is present in the first expansion pack to World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, having fled to Outland to lick his wounds and build a bulwark against the Lich King/Arthas, the Scourge and the Burning Legion.
Role in World of Warcraft
In World of Warcraft, which takes place four years after The Frozen Throne, the Lich King resides on the Frozen Throne, and has rebuilt the massive fortress around it, which houses a thousand undead warriors. His loyal vassal, Kel'Thuzad, commands the Scourge in Lordaeron, while Sylvanas with her Forsaken hold only Tirisfal, a small part of the kingdom. Presumably, he will continue to bolster the Scourge to make sure that there is no threat left from his creator and former masters, the demon lord Kil'jaeden and the Burning Legion.
In the Eastern and Western Plaguelands the Scourge appears to be rising in power, a fact which has given rise to very ominous rumors of his return. His floating Necropolis, Naxxramas, hovers above the Eastern Plaguelands, further bolstering his army. Arthas' lieutenant, the Lich Kel'Thuzad, commands this 40-man raid instance. The voice of the Lich King is heard throughout the Kel'Thuzad boss encounter.
It has been confirmed that the continent of Northrend will be the primary focus of the second expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King. Northrend houses the Frozen Throne and the ruins of the Nerubian kingdom Azjol-Nerub. Players will be able to challenge Arthas as the final boss of a major raiding instance, though Blizzard has stated that player characters will not stand a chance against Arthas until they are capable of advancing to level 80 at least. The level cap currently stands at 70 with the Burning Crusade expansion.
Many fans of Warcraft III believe that if Blizzard keeps true to the continuity of the story, that Arthas would probably be the most powerful single unit in the entire game. This is based on his single-handed defeat of Illidan, who is arguably the second most powerful character in the story, and also because Arthas has now ascended to a completely new level of power that is above and beyond any other non-monster, humanoid character in the Warcraft universe.
Backstory
Arthas Menethil is the son of King Terenas king of Lordaeron, the northernmost Human kingdom, and is thus the crown prince of Lordaeron. He has a sister named Calia Menethil. Arthas was first introduced in the novel Day of the Dragon as a young boy. At the age of nineteen he was inducted into the Knights of the Silver Hand at the behest and with the sponsorship of the renowned paladin Uther Lightbringer. It is indicated in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne that he had once competed with of the Elven Kingdom of Quel'Thalas to win the heart and hand of Jaina Proudmoore. Little else is known of Arthas during his younger years.
Role in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
As a Paladin
At the beginning of the first section of the single-player campaign, Prince Arthas and his mentor and friend Uther the Lightbringer are battling Blackrock Orcs when he hears of a mysterious plague in northern Lordaeron. Meeting with the sorceress Jaina Proudmoore, they journey northward in a desperate bid to investigate the plague. At every step they are confronted by a necromancer named Kel'Thuzad, the founder of The Cult of the Damned, who always departs with cryptic remarks to Arthas about his eventual fate. Following the necromancer to Andorhal, Arthas and Jaina Proudmoore discover that the plague was being administered to the unwitting populace through infected grain. Before their very eyes, they watched as innocent townspeople fell ill and perished, only to rise again as the undead and attack the living. Realizing that the town was in danger of being overrun, Arthas sends Jaina Proudmoore to gather Uther the Lightbringer and his knights, while he and his forces attempt to defend the town. They are nearly overtaken by the time that Uther arrives, and together they manage to defeat the undead attackers. Eventually Jaina Proudmoore and Arthas manage to slay Kel'Thuzad, but the infected grain had already been distributed across the countryside by unwitting farmers and merchants. Arthas arrives at the city of Stratholme and decides to slay the entire population before the plague can take effect there, but Uther the Lightbringer and Jaina Proudmoore refuse to follow his order. Arthas rashly removes Uther the Lightbringer from command, resulting in the departure of Uther and his knights as well as Jaina Proudmoore. Then, a Dreadlord named taunts Arthas as he converts some of the city's residents into the undead through the plague. Racing against the Dreadlord's dark mission to convert the townspeople, Arthas successfully purges the city. Arthas, now full of vengeful wrath, then rallies his forces and sets off to pursue Mal’Ganis to the continent of Northrend, leaving Stratholme a flaming wreck of death and sorrow. Later, Uther the Lightbringer returns to the city, appalled at what he sees. He finds Jaina Proudmoore there, and finds out from her that Arthas has taken the fleet north to pursue Mal’Ganis in Northrend.
One month later, Arthas arrives in Northrend with a small group of loyal followers. They encounter a group of stranded dwarves exploring the continent in search of a runeblade called Frostmourne. Arthas quickly enlists their aid, and with the help of their leader, Arthas' old friend Muradin Bronzebeard, they cut through the Undead. Shortly afterward, an emissary of the king arrives and informs Arthas that the king has recalled the expedition. Infuriated at this news, Arthas conspires with a group of local mercenaries to burn and sink the ships that they used to sail to Northrend. While his men worked at clearing a path to the shoreline through the thickness of the forest, Arthas, Muradin and the mercenaries slipped past them unseen, and succeeded in destroying the ships, stranding his own men. His men eventually reached the shoreline to find that their only way home has been lost. When asked what had happened, Arthas turned on the mercenaries, claiming they had sunken the ships and robbed his people of their only way home. Within seconds, Arthas and his men killed the surprised mercenaries, while Muradin could only watch, horrified.
Privately, Muradin confronts Arthas about his treachery, about how he lied to his men and betrayed the mercenaries that fought for him, and that he was growing concerned about what it happening to his friend. Arthas, disregarding his friend’s concern, only stated that Muradin wasn’t there to see what Mal’Ganis had done. Muradin, although no longer sure if what they’re doing is justified, remains to help Arthas, since he previously swore to see this endeavor through. Arthas and Muradin take a force of men through monster-infested caverns to reach Frostmourne, hidden in a frozen vault deep beneath a mountain. When they finally come upon the sword, the dwarf warns Arthas that it is cursed, but Arthas, consumed by rage and a lust for vengeance, swears an oath to bear any curse and pay any price if the sword will help him. The ice around Frostmourne shatters and a shard of it kills Muradin. Arthas, unmoved, abandons his warhammer and takes the sword. With his newfound power, his army destroys Mal’Ganis’s base. He finally corners Mal’Ganis, who revealed that all Arthas had done was foretold by his master, the Lich King, and that it is the voice of the Lich King that whispers to Arthas through the sword. Dark whispers are heard from the sword as Mal’Ganis asks what the Lich King is telling Arthas to do. Arthas announces that the Lich King has told him that the time for his vengeance has come, and quickly kills the shocked and betrayed Dreadlord. Without another word, Arthas abandons his army and flees into the icy wastes of Northrend, slowly losing his sanity.
As a Death Knight
In the ending cinematic of the first campaign, some unspecified time later, a black-clad Arthas walks through the streets of the Capital City of Lordaeron. Flanked by two hooded figures, he enters the royal throne room and kills his father, King Terenas, with Frostmourne. This event marks the end of the human kingdom of Lordaeron.
At the beginning of the second part of the campaign, Arthas is greeted as a Death Knight by Tichondrius. He learns that upon taking up Frostmourne, he began to hear the voice of the Lich King Ner'zhul, who had forged the blade for the purpose of ensnaring a powerful soul. The first it claimed was Arthas'. Tichondrius instructs Arthas to gather together Kel'Thuzad's Cult of the Damned, then to recover the remains of the necromancer for resurrection. Upon doing so, Arthas sees the ghost of Kel'Thuzad, who advises him not to trust the Dreadlords. Arthas then kills his once-mentor Uther Lightbringer to retrieve a sacred urn to carry the necromancer's remains. Arthas then journeys to the woods of Quel'thalas, the homeland of the High Elves. He battles his way through the Elven defenders, killing the Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner and subsequently resurrecting her as a Banshee. The Undead sack the elven capital of Silvermoon and corrupt the Sunwell, the source of magic for the High Elves. Here Kel'Thuzad is reborn as a Lich.
Kel'Thuzad tells Arthas that the plague is an initial strike by the Burning Legion, a demonic army that employs the Dreadlords and has spent countless millennia rampaging through the Great Dark Beyond. Next, Arthas and Kel'Thuzad attack a nearby Blackrock Orc Clan village guarding a demonic portal. After crushing the Orcs, Kel'Thuzad uses the portal to contact Archimonde, one of the Legion's mightiest leaders, who instructs the lich on how to open a portal allowing the demon into the world of Azeroth. Arthas and Kel'Thuzad assault the wizards' city of Dalaran and claim the spellbook of Medivh, the Last Guardian. Kel'Thuzad uses this book to summon Archimonde to Azeroth, whose first action is to destroy the entire city of Dalaran at once using an eldritch spell, which ends the second part of the campaign.
Arthas is absent for most of the remainder of the game; he briefly appears in one chapter, facing off against the newly released Illidan Stormrage amid the corrupted forests of Ashenvale. Arthas tells Illidan how to acquire the Skull of Gul'dan and kill their mutual enemy Tichondrius, which deals a heavy blow to the Burning Legion.
Role in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
The player next encounters Arthas during the third part of The Frozen Throne. After the downfall of the Burning Legion at the end of Reign of Chaos, Arthas journeys from Kalimdor back to Lordaeron. Upon his arrival, he launches an assault against the remaining Dreadlords ruling over the ruins of Lordaeron's Capital City, and declares himself king. It is then revealed that before the story of Warcraft III even began, the Lich King pushed the sword Frostmourne out of the Frozen Throne so Arthas could find it. A fracture in the Lich King's icy prison formed, leading to his gradual loss of power over the course of the campaign as the his magic seeps out of the fracture. Arthas, his strength directly linked to the Lich King by his wielding of Frostmourne, suffers seizures and loss of strength (manifested in-game as level loss). Regaining her freedom of will from the weakened Lich King, Sylvanas and her banshees rebel. Her dreadlord allies occupy the Capital City, and Sylvanas herself attempts to kill Arthas in an ambush, but is foiled by Kel'Thuzad's intervention.
Arthas escapes and headed to Northrend at the Lich King's summons. Waiting to meet him is a legendary king of the Nerubians, Anub'arak. Using their combined might, Arthas and Anub'arak descend into the depths of the ancient spider kingdom Azjol-Nerub, cutting through Illidan's Naga and Blood Elf warriors, as well as a company of Dwarves and a horde of subterranean monsters called 'The Faceless Ones', awoken by the partial destruction of the glacier by Illidan. Eventually Arthas and Anub'arak emerge at the base of the Frozen Throne, where the Lich King channels his power into Arthas once more, enabling him to regain his strength. The Undead drive back Illidan's combined Naga and Blood Elf forces. At the base of Icecrown Citadel, Arthas defeats Illidan after a fierce fight which leaves Illidan mortally wounded. Arthas ascends to the Frozen Throne, ignoring echoes of voices from his past. The Lich King commands Arthas to release him from the Frozen Throne with Frostmourne. Obeying, Arthas shatters the ice prison encasing the armor imbued with Ner'zhul's spirit, and places the helmet upon his head. Ner'zhul's voice echoes in his mind: "Now, we are one!" At that moment, the spirits of Ner'zhul and Arthas fuse into a single being.
While some fans suspected that Arthas had killed Illidan, Blizzard has repeatedly assured them that this is not true and that the original script for that scene would have made it clear that Arthas had simply beaten him into submission and humiliated him. As a result, Illidan is present in the first expansion pack to World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, having fled to Outland to lick his wounds and build a bulwark against the Lich King/Arthas, the Scourge and the Burning Legion.
Role in World of Warcraft
In World of Warcraft, which takes place four years after The Frozen Throne, the Lich King resides on the Frozen Throne, and has rebuilt the massive fortress around it, which houses a thousand undead warriors. His loyal vassal, Kel'Thuzad, commands the Scourge in Lordaeron, while Sylvanas with her Forsaken hold only Tirisfal, a small part of the kingdom. Presumably, he will continue to bolster the Scourge to make sure that there is no threat left from his creator and former masters, the demon lord Kil'jaeden and the Burning Legion.
In the Eastern and Western Plaguelands the Scourge appears to be rising in power, a fact which has given rise to very ominous rumors of his return. His floating Necropolis, Naxxramas, hovers above the Eastern Plaguelands, further bolstering his army. Arthas' lieutenant, the Lich Kel'Thuzad, commands this 40-man raid instance. The voice of the Lich King is heard throughout the Kel'Thuzad boss encounter.
It has been confirmed that the continent of Northrend will be the primary focus of the second expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King. Northrend houses the Frozen Throne and the ruins of the Nerubian kingdom Azjol-Nerub. Players will be able to challenge Arthas as the final boss of a major raiding instance, though Blizzard has stated that player characters will not stand a chance against Arthas until they are capable of advancing to level 80 at least. The level cap currently stands at 70 with the Burning Crusade expansion.
Many fans of Warcraft III believe that if Blizzard keeps true to the continuity of the story, that Arthas would probably be the most powerful single unit in the entire game. This is based on his single-handed defeat of Illidan, who is arguably the second most powerful character in the story, and also because Arthas has now ascended to a completely new level of power that is above and beyond any other non-monster, humanoid character in the Warcraft universe.