Tag: Warcraft 3

After Arthas becomes the Lich King and sits on the Frozen Throne, he enters a meditative state where his personality and the Lich King’s fight for dominance over the being that the two have now become. The Scourge presence in the ruins of Lordaeron, now known as the Plaguelands, remains but is not as aggressive as it had once been. Like Sylvanas and her banshees, many of the undead were freed from the control of the Lich King and Arthas when his power weakened, and that control could not be reasserted. Sylvanas led this new faction of undead that had broken free from the Scourge and they would come to be known as the Forsaken; forsaken by their former brethren, as the humans viewed them as monsters and would not accept them.

The Forsaken had only one purpose in undeath and it was vengeance. They intended to kill Arthas Menethil, the Lich King, by any means necessary. The events of the Burning Legion’s eventual invasion of Kalimdor would set the stage for the modern Alliance and Horde factions to be formed. This is where World of Warcraft begins, and it will eventually lead to the game’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade, which sees the Burning Legion once again threaten the world. Then, as the heroes of the Alliance and Horde return home from their campaign against the Legion, they find their cities beset by an old enemy. The Scourge. 

The world would soon learn that the events of this cinematic took place sometime after the events of The Burning Crusade and led to World of Warcraft’s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Arthas reawakened, having successfully suppressed both the consciousness of the original Lich King and his own humanity, and decided that the time had come for the Scourge to sweep across the entire globe—for all life to be snuffed out, consumed by the Scourge, and reanimated as another soldier in his unending army.

After repelling the initial Scourge invasions, both the Alliance and Horde sent multiple expeditionary forces to Northrend to wage war against the forces of undeath. Across Northrend, the champions of the Alliance and Horde—the players—assaulted various Scourge operations, bases, and commanders, pushing their footholds back further and further. The goal was to reach Icecrown, a region that occupied the entire northwestern corner of Northrend where Arthas’s stronghold, Icecrown Citadel, stood erected around the Frozen Throne to protect it from future assaults like Illidan’s. Directly south of Icecrown was a region known as Dragonblight, and therein was a rear gate that led directly into the heart of Icecrown Citadel. This gate was known as the Angrathar the Wrathgate, and the Alliance and Horde had established forward outposts to lay siege to the citadel and hopefully bring a swift end to Arthas.

The Alliance forces at the Wrathgate were led by Highlord Bolvar Fordragon, while the Horde’s were led by Warlord Dranosh Saurfang. As players arrive at their faction’s outpost, they are prompted to partake in The Battle of the Wrathgate, which is depicted as an in-engine cinematic. Please watch before continuing. 

With Dranosh and Bolvar both dead, the assault on the Wrathgate was abandoned. The Forsaken who attacked from the ridge was a trusted lieutenant of Sylvanas, Apothecary Putress, who had gone rogue and staged a coup against not only the Horde, but also the Dark Lady herself. The Alliance and Horde would be briefly sidetracked, recovering the Forsaken capital city—the former Lordaeron capital city—from the traitors. The course of the expansion would see players sidetracked taking on several other threats, from Kel’Thuzad and his floating fortress, the necropolis Naxxramas, to the old god Yogg-Saron trapped within an ancient and high-tech titan facility known as Ulduar. Ultimately, however, the battle would be taken to Arthas himself, as The Argent Crusade—a faction of Silver Hand paladins determined to bring down the Scourge—laid siege to the gates of Icecrown Citadel.

The Argent Crusade was led by Tirion Fordring, a legendary paladin—one of the original five alongside Uther. He took up this fight much against Arthas and the Scourge well before the armies of the Crusade were in Northrend, specifically following a key battle that took place in the eastern Plaguelands of Lordaeron, namely at a holy site known as Light’s Hope Chapel. Arthas had an army of death knights waging war on a human faction known as the Scarlet Crusade, and once they successfully wiped out the Scarlet Crusade, he set his sights on Light’s Hope, as it was home to thousands of fallen Alliance heroes: perfect new members of the Scourge. The death knights marched on Light’s Hope; however they were repelled by the paladins who resided there.

Eventually Arthas himself appeared on the battlefield, and his appearance forced Tirion, who had been in hiding, to reveal himself as well. Tirion was able to repel Arthas, and through the events of the battle, Arthas’s control over the death knights was broken and they quickly took up arms against him under a new name—The Knights of the Ebon Blade. The siege on Icecrown Citadel was jointly led by the Argent Crusade and the Knights of the Ebon Blade, and together they formed a faction known as the Ashen Verdict. Players, with a great deal of assistance from the Verdict as well as their own faction’s expeditionary force, would fight through the horrors of Icecrown Citadel until they made their way to the same frozen spire that Arthas climbed all those years ago. Atop the citadel sat the Frozen Throne, where Arthas waited with a prisoner he had collected from the aftermath of the Battle of the Wrathgate: Bolvar Fordragon.

Players, alongside Fordring, charged into battle against Arthas. However, Arthas froze Fordring in a block of ice so he could focus on the players. Arthas utilizes everything in his arsenal to bring down the brave heroes who sought to overcome death itself. In a decisive moment, however, Arthas kills every single player with a single attack and reveals his master plan to the frozen Tirion. He had planned all of this. Every challenge the players had faced in Northrend, Arthas had intended for them to face; all to test and hone them. All so that when they finally arrived at the foot of his Frozen Throne, he would know that they truly were the world’s greatest champions. Then, he could kill them and raise them as true masters of the Scourge and with so many immensely powerful beings under his sway, nothing would be able to stop him or his Scourge from sweeping across the entire world. Fordring utters one final prayer to the Light from within his icy prison, breaks free of his prison, and strikes Frostmourne as Arthas is raising the players into undeath. Frostmourne is shattered, and all the souls trapped within are released. Immediately they lash out at Arthas in vengeance. The spirit of King Terenas resurrects all the dead heroes, and they rise and deliver the final blow to Arthas. 

As Arthas is defeated, this cinematic plays and players can witness the end of one of the most tragic and iconic villains in fiction.

–Nico De Paolis

Following the events of the cinematic, Arthas’s words came to pass. Lordaeron fell to the Scourge almost entirely. Players rejoin Arthas, now a Death Knight, as he is summoned by a Dreadlord whom Arthas mistakes for Mal’Ganis, but quickly learns is Tichondrius. Tichondrius, like Mal’Ganis is a servant of the Dark Lord of Death; only Tichondrius gives this Dark Lord a proper name — The Lich King. He sheds more light on the curse that Muradin spoke of in Frostmourne’s chamber: Frostmourne is a runeblade that was forged and empowered by the Lich King to steal souls, and Arthas’s was the first it consumed. This provides an extra layer of context to everything the fallen prince has done since taking up the blade. Following this revelation, Arthas reflects on how his actions have damned all that he once stood to protect. Yet he acknowledges that he feels no remorse or pity — a sign to players that the brash yet empathetic prince is gone completely; despite Arthas’s story continuing, this will not be a redemption story.

In a twist of dark irony, Tichondrius sends Arthas to Andorhal to recover the remains of Kel’Thuzad, so he can be resurrected. Arthas successfully claims the remains but needs to recover a special urn to keep them safe on the journey to Quel’Thalas —the home of the high elves. Come to find out that the urn is a relic of great importance to the paladins of the Silver Hand, and it is currently being guarded by Arthas’s former teacher and master, Uther. After learning of Arthas’s goal, Uther, beside himself with rage, finally looses the most emotional condemnation a paladin of his composure and stature could allow, “The urn holds your father’s ashes, Arthas! What, were you hoping to piss on them one last time before you left his kingdom to rot?”

Arthas is completely unfazed by Uther’s words, and this may have been alarming had players not witnessed the prince’s deeds up to this point. Yet it still does much to illustrate just how detached the death knight has become from all he once fought for and loved. Uther is subdued and shares words with Arthas one final time, condemning him to rot in hell. Arthas arrogantly proclaims that he aims to live forever, kills Uther, then collects the urn and moves out — presumably dumping his father’s ashes unceremoniously to the ground. Players may have expected the death of Uther to carry more weight or be given greater focus, yet the lack of importance placed on the scene is reflective of how little Arthas thinks of the deed. Uther is an obstacle like any other and Arthas feels no sentimentality towards him—he feels nothing at all.

As Arthas and his forces arrive in the elven lands of Quel’Thalas, which themselves are situated to the north of Lordaeron, they learn that the lands are protected both naturally and magically—dense forests provide natural fortification against any troop movements, and magically reinforced elfgates bar the main roads. As Arthas fights his way north into the heart of elven territory, he and his forces are harried by Sylvanas Windrunner, the Ranger General of Silvermoon City—the elven capital—and her farstriders, elite elven archers tasked with the defense of Quel’Thalas.

Making quick work of Quel’Thalas’s defenses, both natural and elf-made, Arthas carves a scar of devastation up the main road and through the forests, his siege weapons shearing massive pathways through the forests, he and his necromancers raising every fallen elf into an undead servant, and his army razing every elven structure in its path. His actions this day would blight the land forever, and the hideous blemish left behind on the golden land of Quel’Thalas would go on to be known as The Dead Scar. Finally, Arthas and his soldiers break down the last elfgate and invade Silvermoon City proper. As Arthas reaches the heart of Silvermoon, he finally gets the better of Sylvanas, but to repay her for the annoyance, instead of killing her, he rips her soul from her body and turns her into a banshee enslaved to his will.

The same fate befell many of her farstriders, as they now marched with Arthas and the Scourge. Arthas’s ultimate goal in Quel’Thalas was a font of great magical power—a point where many of the magical leylines of the world converged—The Sunwell. The Sunwell was the elves’ greatest treasure, and it was the source of their boundless magical power. It’s energies would be powerful enough to resurrect Kel’Thuzad. With Silvermoon conquered and the Ranger General dead and raised into his service, there was no one left to stop him. His forces continued to raze the city, killing, consuming, and raising those who hadn’t yet perished. As the elven kingdom collapsed all around him, Arthas used the Sunwell to resurrect Kel’Thuzad, corrupting it in the process. Not only was the elven population ravaged and their homeland all but destroyed, but their greatest treasure and font of power was also corrupted completely by Arthas.

Kel’Thuzad’s resurrection transformed him into a being known as a lich—an undead with immense and potent magical power. Arthas now learned that Kel’Thuzad was key to the Lich King’s plans because his ultimate goal was to herald the coming of the Burning Legion—a colossal army of demons that travel from world to world, consuming and destroying them completely. The Dreadlords are demons working in service of a demon lord, and this demon lord created the Lich King with the task of preparing this world for his coming—softening it, destroying any organized forces that could stand against him; the humans of Lordaeron or the elves of Quel’Thalas, for instance.

Before Kel’Thuzad herald this demonic invasion, the lich had to commune with the demon lord, Archimonde, to learn where to find the needed incantations. They reside in the spellbook of Medivh, the Last Guardian, a human mage whose history is deeply entwined with the Burning Legion. His spell book is in the possession of the Kirin Tor of Dalaran, so Kel’Thuzad and Arthas set out for Dalaran. There, Arthas ultimately kills Antonidas, and they retrieve the tome. Arthas and Kel’Thuzad set up the summoning ritual just outside of Dalaran and Kel’Thuzad summons Archimonde into their world.

While he does not officially commence the Burning Legion’s invasion, he does state that the Lich King has served his purpose and transfers command of the Scourge to the Dreadlords. As the members of the Legion depart, Arthas and Kel’Thuzad are left behind. Arthas angrily questions Kel’Thuzad about their fate now that the demons have no need of them, yet Kel’Thuzad reassures Arthas that the Lich King has accounted for this as well and that there may yet be more for them to do as his agents. That is all players and Arthas are told for now, as the narrative of Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos moves on to follow the events of the Burning Legion’s invasion.

Warcraft 3’s expansion, The Frozen Throne, follows a number of characters and plot threads left open at the conclusion of Reign of Chaos, but there is one angle in particular that is relevant to the history of Arthas Menethil; the conflict between Illidan Stormrage and Arthas who both serve as proxies in the conflict between their masters the Burning Legion and the Lich King. Illidan is first approached by the Burning Legion and asked to destroy The Frozen Throne, the Lich King’s seat of power, using a demonic artifact known as The Eye of Sargeras. Using this artifact, Illidan weaves a spell that sends tremors throughout the earth all the way to Northrend, where he intends to destroy the very land that The Frozen Throne is built upon. He is thwarted by his brother, Malfurion, however and soon flees to the shattered world of Outland.

During this time Arthas, Kel’Thuzad, and Sylvanas are working to regain control of the Scourge and the ruins of Lordaeron from the Dreadlords left in control of it, Detheroc, Varimathras, and Balnazzar. Arthas begins having random seizures, during which he also has visions of the Lich King speaking to him. The Lich King speaks of danger, of enemies approaching, and of time running out. Arthas and Kel’Thuzad struggle to make sense of the visions, but Arthas can feel his powers beginning to fade. As they work to undermine the Dreadlords the visions become more frequent, and the Lich King’s warnings become more urgent. Eventually he warns Arthas that agents of the Burning Legion are making for the Frozen Throne to destroy him once and for all, and he beckons Arthas back to defend him.

By this point, Arthas’s power has all but waned and he isn’t even able to control his own troops anymore. This is in part from a weakening of the Frozen Throne thanks to Illidan’s earlier attacks with the Eye of Sargeras. The Dreadlords see this as a key opportunity to kill Arthas and so they set a trap for him near the coast as he rushes to return to Northrend. He is separated from Kel’Thuzad but is able to escape with the help of a few of Sylvanas’s banshees. They lead him into the forest where they can regroup when suddenly an arrow flies out of the tree line and hits Arthas. A paralytic poison sets in immediately, and Sylvanas reveals herself. She and her banshees broke free of his control long ago but were biding their time so that they could lay the perfect trap, and strike when the fallen prince was at his weakest. Right as they are about to finish him off, however, Kel’Thuzad arrives and drives them off.

With his aid, Arthas escapes the mainland and makes for Northrend. Once there, Arthas learns that the agents of the Legion are Illidan Stormrage and two of his chief lieutenants, Lady Vashj of the Naga, and Prince Kael’Thas Sunstrider of the blood elves of Quel’Thalas. With the help of a Nerubian Underking, Anub’Arak, Arthas uses a subterranean tunnel system built by the Nerubians to arrive at the Frozen Throne in time. Once there, he fights Illidan, eventually overcoming him, and enters the Throne Chamber. He ascends the frozen spire to the top where the Lich King, a spirit trapped in a set of armor and frozen in a pillar of ice, awaits.

This and what follows it are depicted, once again, in a cinematic. Please watch it as well before reading on.

–Nico De Paolis

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