Arthas Menethil was the prince of the human kingdom of Lordaeron and the heir to its throne. He was trained as a paladin of the Light, growing up in the upper echelons of the Alliance of Lordaeron. The warriors and leaders of this Alliance spend many years fighting the Orcish Horde, an army of invaders from another world who sought to pillage all that humanity had built. Growing up around those who fought the Horde all their life, Arthas was a very prideful and eager warrior from a young age — only compounded by his apprenticeship under Uther the Lightbringer, hero of the Second War, and the First Paladin.
The players’ journey with Arthas begins rather normally for the Warcraft universe—protecting a village from orcish raiders and then striking at their encampment. Things soon take a sinister turn when Arthas accompanies his longtime friend and romantic interest, Jaina Proudmoore, on a quest to investigate a plague that is ravaging northern Lordaeron—a plague that Arthas’s father, King Terenas, has yet to act against. Jaina is a promising young sorceress of the Kirin Tor, a faction of mages that operated out of their own magical city, Dalaran. In light of the king’s unwillingness to act, her master tasked her with acting on the Kirin Tor’s behalf. Arthas, Jaina, and the players soon learn that the plague, which is being spread by infected grain, is magical in nature. More specifically, it’s caused by a sinister group of necromancers known as The Cult of the Damned and their leader, Kel’Thuzad.
The chase after Kel’Thuzad ends at a city called Andorhal, which, to its key placement on The King’s Road, is a major highway within the Kingdom. Thus, it was the distribution center for most of the grain produced within Lordaeron. The confrontation in ends with Kel’Thuzad’s death; however, before he dies, he boasts that he is merely acting in service of greater power. Mal’Ganis is the being pulling the strings and the mastermind behind the plague — and the undead known as the Scourge it created. Kel’Thuzad tauntingly reveals that Mal’Ganis waits in Stratholme and Arthas angrily professes his desire to make for the city to kill Mal’Ganis. This is the first shift in Arthas’s demeanor, but given the circumstances, it can be overlooked with ease.
Arthas and Jaina make a rest stop in the town of Hearthglen, however, they learn that undead have been attacking nearby villages and that Hearthglen is likely the next target. Arthas orders Jaina to teleport back to the capital and warn Uther, who can muster Lordaeron’s army to defend the region. Arthas and the town’s troops prepare to dig in and defend, but Arthas notices an empty shipment of grain nearby. Realizing that the townspeople have already been infected, Arthas witnesses the effects of the plague firsthand: the people begin to fall ill and then suddenly, violently transform into hideous undead—Scourge. With this sudden appearance of hostiles in the middle of the town, the battle to defend Hearthglen begins.
Uther arrives just in time to save Arthas and his troops. Once the dust has settled, Arthas expresses frustration at how long it took Uther to arrive but quickly pivots back to Mal’Ganis and Stratholme. Though Uther endeavors to slow Arthas down, the prince does not take Uther’s attempts well and lashes out as he leaves for Stratholme saying, “Then feel free to tag along, Uther. I’m going. With or without you.” While this rapid change in character is understandable given all Arthas has dealt with in such a short time, players by this point should be growing concerned for the young prince’s mental wellbeing.
When the players rejoin Arthas, he is outside the gates to Stratholme, and it quickly becomes evident that Uther and Jaina did “tag along.” As Arthas prepares to move into the city proper and begin his hunt for Mal’Ganis, he notices the plagued grain has already been distributed. Arthas, having witnessed the effects of the grain on living humans back in Hearthglen, is aware of what fate awaits the citizens of Stratholme. In one of his most iconic lines, Arthas signifies his intent to Jaina, Uther, and his troops, “This entire city must be purged.” Uther objects immediately and aggressively and this leads to an argument between the two where Arthas invokes his future status as king to compel Uther to obey; he still refuses. Arthas, running high on emotion, labels Uther a traitor and strips him of his command, effectively alienating a man whose support he desperately needed. Arthas turns to Jaina and very softly seeks her support—she too turns her back on him, saying, “I’m sorry, Arthas. I can’t watch you do this.”
Arthas is a cocktail of emotions by this point, and that’s dangerously fueling his action-oriented personality. He is eager to leap into action, do what must be done, and eliminate the threat that Mal’Ganis poses. What he proposes is so outrageous that Uther and Jaina are appalled and ultimately completely repelled, leaving Arthas to carry out this dark and traumatizing deed by himself. Had Arthas had the support of those he trusted, who knows how his story would have played out. With the stage set, one of the most formative events in Arthas’s journey commences: The Culling of Stratholme.
When the prince enters the city, the architect of the plague reveals himself, and both Arthas and the players learn his true nature. Mal’Ganis stands several feet taller than any human, with hooves, horns, long claws, and large wings—a being known as a Dreadlord. This Dreadlord begins rampaging throughout Stratholme, destroying the homes that the civilians were taking shelter in and transforming them into mindless Scourge soldiers for him to command. Arthas, enraged at the sight and knowing that the people of Stratholme were doomed either way, vowed to kill them all himself, proclaiming, “I won’t allow it Mal’Ganis! Better that these people die by my hand than serve as your slaves in death!” After Arthas has slaughtered most of the population himself and killed those turned by Mal’Ganis, the two have their confrontation.
The excitement and eagerness Arthas portrays at finally being able to claim vengeance is a staggering departure from the paladin players were introduced to only a handful of missions ago. Mal’Ganis continues to taunt Arthas, however, and ultimately denies him the confrontation that he seeks. As he flees, Mal’Ganis tells Arthas to seek him out in the frozen land of Northrend, that they will have their final confrontation there. In a fit of rage, Arthas shouts after him, “I’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth if I have to! Do you hear me? To the ends of the earth!” And to the ends of the earth Arthas went.
Arthas mustered his troops and sailed for Northrend. Players join him just after his ships make landfall. His captain reports to him how the vessels fared in the voyage when he notes that Arthas isn’t reacting to the biting cold taking its toll on the rest of the men. Arthas is dismissive and disregards his report almost entirely, instead ordering that the troops move out immediately so they can make headway into Northrend and find Mal’Ganis.
By coincidence, they soon encounter Arthas’s old friend and mentor: the Dwarf Muradin Bronzebeard. Muradin implores Arthas to help his men defend their encampment from an undead attack not far from their current location. Arthas agrees to help his old friend and after they’ve secured the dwarven base camp, Arthas learns from Muradin the dwarves’ purpose for being in Northrend: they’re seeking an ancient artifact, a weapon known as Frostmourne. Back in Lordaeron, players find Jaina in Stratholme, surveying the destruction caused by Arthas and Mal’Ganis, lamenting that Arthas could have done something so vile. Her musings are interrupted by Uther, who had returned to the capital to inform King Terenas about the events in northern Lordaeron; he beseeches Jaina to tell him where Arthas took the fleet, and the scene ends before she can respond.
While Arthas and Muradin are away from the camp, a zeppelin arrives, and an emissary of the King disembarks. He informs Arthas’s captain that King Terenas has recalled the fleet and all of Arthas’s troops. When Arthas learns of his father’s orders, he is overcome with anger. He races against his own soldiers, recruiting mercenaries along the way. In the end, he’s faster, successfully burning all the ships and robbing his troops of a way home. Just as the deed is finished, his troops emerge from the trees to see their ships in ruins and their prince standing amongst mercenaries of all races. Arthas quickly pins the blame on the mercenaries he had hired and orders his troops to slaughter them and claim vengeance. Once the mercenaries are dead and his tracks are covered, Arthas orders the troops to get back to their posts.
Soon thereafter, Muradin confronts Arthas over his actions, knowing the reality of what had happened. Arthas dismisses him harshly, however, and before their conversation can continue, Mal’Ganis appears. His appearance heralds a wave of Scourge larger than anything Arthas has seen up to this point—it’s clear they will be overwhelmed before long. Muradin tells Arthas of a waygate that will lead them to Frostmourne, suggesting that its power may be what they need to turn the tide. The two quickly depart for the waygate. After stepping through the waygate, they come face to face with a magical guardian barring their entrance into the cave where Frostmourne must lie in wait. After defeating the guardian, it implores them to turn back and leave the sword hidden away. Arthas arrogantly dismisses the guardian as still trying to protect the sword, but it ominously corrects him, “No… trying to protect you… from it.”
As they enter the chamber, they see Frostmourne suspended in a magical pedestal—on the sword, where the blade emerges from the guard, is the visage of a skeletal dragon, the eyes and nostrils glowing an ominous, magical blue. The dragon’s horns spiral out into the guard. Down the length of the blade are etched runes, glowing the same blue. The metal of the sword is a deep black. It is a vicious-looking sword that stands in contrast to Arthas in every way. From Arthas’s golden plate to his rounded armor, Frostmourne’s abyssal black and jagged, sharp edges are a stark and intentional departure from his design. Arthas reaches for the sword, but Muradin stops him to read an inscription on the pedestal. It reads, “Whomsoever takes up this blade shall wield power eternal. Just as the blade rends flesh, so must power scar the spirit.” Muradin recognizes this for what it is: Frostmourne is a cursed blade.
After hearing Muradin recount the inscription, Arthas proudly states, “I would gladly bear any curse to save my people. Muradin begs Arthas to let go of his vendetta and lead his men home, that it isn’t worth taking up a cursed blade just for revenge. Arthas emphatically says, “Damn the men! Nothing will stop me from having my revenge, old friend. Not even you.” Arthas then shouts, “Now, I call out to the spirits of this place. I will give anything or pay any price, if only you will help me save my people.” Then he takes up the blade. Freeing Frostmourne from its pedestal unleashed a small explosion of energy, which kills Muradin. After taking up the blade, Arthas seems to change almost instantly — his golden blonde hair is distinctly duller, his eyes glowing a magical and ghostly blue, not dissimilar from Frostmourne’s own blue, and even his golden armor seems to have dulled to a soulless silver.
Arthas returns to the camp, uses Frostmourne to repel the Scourge with ease, and chases after Mal’Ganis. Once the two come face to face again, Mal’Ganis seems distinctly unsurprised at how things have turned out. Claiming the Dark Lord said Arthas would take up Frostmourne at the expense of his comrades’ lives. Arthas dismisses him, saying he heeds only the voice of Frostmourne now. Mal’Ganis corrects him, saying that he hears the voice of the Dark Lord of the Dead, and asks what he is telling Arthas now. To Mal’Ganis’s apparent shock, Arthas replies, “He tells me the time for my vengeance has come.” With that, Arthas stabs Mal’Ganis with the runeblade, killing him. Arthas then wanders off into the snowdrift, still clutching Frostmourne. As the scene fades, it reads, “After taking his revenge on Mal’Ganis, Prince Arthas wandered off into the frozen wastes of Northrend. Tormented by Frostmourne’s maddening voice, Arthas lost the last vestiges of his sanity. Now, driven by the sword’s dark will, Arthas plans to return home to Lordaeron and claim his just reward…”
This final, in-engine scene gives way to a Blizzard staple: a fully rendered, high-quality cinematic. Please watch it before reading on.
–Nico De Paolis