#loreweek

How are death knights’ bodies different from those of other undead like the Forsaken?

As both the death knights and the Forsaken are technically undead, much about their bodies and vital functions – or lack thereof – is similar. Virtually all death knights do not feel temperature or physical pain and have no real need to breathe, rest, or sleep, which are traits they share with the Forsaken [Death Knight, Chapter Five, Legends: Volume One: Fallen, Volume Two: Fallen, Volume Three: Fiend, Quest: They’re Doing it Wrong, Item: Diving Log, NPC: Prince Erazmin Dialogue, Traveler, pg. 96 (softcover edition), Object: Guide to the Side Effects of Reanimation]. That said, it is still technically possible for death knights to sleep if they want to [Object: The Death Knights of Acherus].

Additionally, the death knights and the Forsaken are both capable of bleeding, provided they have some sort of substance running through their veins. The fact that Arthas could still bleed and feel, even as a death knight, enraged him so much that he removed his own heart and threw it down a pit immediately after becoming the Lich King [Quest: The Hunter and the Prince]. Another death knight, Koltira Deathweaver, also complained of internal bleeding at one point [NPC: Koltira Deathweaver Dialogue].

While many of the Forsaken are described as being bloodless, some, including the undead player character, have a type of fluid inside them that oozes out when they are cut [Traveler, pg. 96 (paperback edition), Elegy, Quest: Hiding in Plain Sight, Page: Undead]. Archbishop Alonsus Faol, for example, has no blood as an undead, but it is pointed out that he is “tied together” with ichor [Before the Storm, Chapter Twenty-Six]. Not dissimilarly, a group of gnolls were reanimated after their bodies were infused with a unique type of embalming ichor [Quest: Graverobbers, Quest: Rot Hide Ichor]. Others still, such as the Scourge’s gigantic flesh giants, cannot be created without both blood and embalming fluid to preserve their parts and keep them functioning [Quest: Spill Their Blood].

The biggest question most players have concerning death knights, however, is whether or not they decay like their Forsaken counterparts. The seemingly immaculate appearance of their bodies compared to the Forsaken, many of whom are in a perpetual state of decomposition and often lose limbs, led many to assume that death knights’ bodies are preserved and maintained by a greater degree of necromantic magic [Traveler, pg. 96 (paperback edition), NPC: Forsaken Battleguard Dialogue, Quest: The Wakening, Short Story: Dark Mirror]. This is, in fact, true as Sylvanas once explained that the Val’kyr serving under Arthas raised death knights in rituals so potent that it made their bodies much stronger and hardier than those of traditional undead [Short Story: Dark Mirror].

How do different races and cultures view the death knights?

The havoc wrought by the Scourge in the last decade and a half has left a deep scar on the psyche of both the Alliance and the Horde. The deaths of countless innocents, the fall of kingdoms, and the unholy twisting of the fallen has made the living reluctant to trust any of the undead, no matter their new allegiances. It should come as no surprise, then, that many of Azeroth’s inhabitants still revile the death knights today, years after they broke free from the Lich King’s grasp [NPC: Darion Mograine Dialogue].

In the Beginning

The death knights who deserted from the Scourge were not initially well received by their new living allies in either the Horde or the Alliance. Those who had personally felt the impact of the plague condemned the death knights as traitors, some going so far as to blame them for the demise of their own families [Quest: Where Kings Walk, Comic: Death Knight, Chapter Four]. Moreover, many of the living were wary of the death knights’ former position as servants of the Lich King, which did little to alleviate their distrust [Quest: Thassarian, the Death Knight, Quest: …All the Help We Can Get.]. Although the death knights sought to reintegrate back into society, many, such as Thassarian, felt stigmatized and that they had not been accepted by their peers [Comic: Death Knight, Chapter Five].

When Trag, a tauren raised as a death knight by the unholy power of the Orb of Ner’zhul, returned to his tribe to find a cure for his undeath, they tricked him and attempted to kill him [Legends: Volume One, Fallen]. Although the tauren race had allied with the Forsaken and promised to help those previously under the Lich King’s thrall, the shaman of his tribe – worried that Trag would ultimately succumb to Arthas’ control – plotted to put an end to his life [Legends: Volume One, Fallen]. The taunka, on the other hand, were much more accepting of Trag when he stumbled across them on his journey through Northrend. They welcomed the lone tauren with open arms in part because they felt kinship for him and his fight to survive, being engaged in a constant struggle against the Lich King themselves [Legends: Volume Three, Fiend].

Present Day

While the death knights have now been free from Arthas’ control for approximately six years, some of the living still continue to treat them with heavy disdain. Of course, the death knights’ dark past is not totally to blame for the uneasy relationships they have formed. Many of their recent actions are also viewed as morally questionable and, in some cases, even borderline treasonous. Without a doubt, the death knights’ need to increase their numbers by raising their fallen comrades on the battlefield draws the ire of their living allies [Quest: Knights of the Ebon Blade]. In fact, Darion Mograine recently remarked that turning both Nazgrim and Thoras Trollbane into undead horsemen would greatly upset the Horde and the Alliance [Quest: Return of the Four Horsemen, Quest: The Ruined Kingdom].

Even members of neutral factions such as the Argent Crusade have openly declared they barely tolerate the death knights, which is little surprise seeing as undead forces have attacked Light’s Hope Chapel no less than four separate times [NPC: Argent Sentry Dialogue, Ashbringer: Issue Four, Dust to Dust, Quest: The Light of Dawn, Quest: The Fourth Horsemen, Object: Compendium of Fallen Heroes]. When Darion led the charge to infiltrate the chapel barely a year ago in an attempt to raise Tirion Fordring as the final of the Four Horsemen, it weakened an already tenuous peace between the Knights of the Ebon Blade and the Knights of the Silver Hand. Moreover, the death knights’ attack on their own allies and flagrant disregard for the dead that day also drew the anger of prominent members of the Alliance and the Horde, including Lady Liadrin [Quest: The Fourth Horseman].

Specific Races and Their Views

Most night elves – and perhaps tauren by extension, as evinced by Trag’s story – canonically abhor the death knights because of their unnatural existence, which goes against everything they stand for [Ask CDev, Round Four].

Unfortunately, there are few specifics on how many other races view the undead among their ranks. While it is safe to say humans and blood elves certainly despise the death knights given their personal past with them, there are not many in-game examples to corroborate this.

Having said all that, it appears some death knights seem to have fully reintegrated back into society and adopted something close to a normal lifestyle without much of an issue. Libbiara Blightrunner, for example, is a wealthy sin’dorei socialite who dresses up and spends much of her free time watching Brawler’s Guild fights [Quest: Undercover Agent: Nugg Lumbo]. Even Thassarian, who initially struggled to find acceptance among the Alliance, was eventually lauded by his brothers-in-arms [Quest: Thassarian, the Death Knight].

How much free will do death knights have under the Lich King?  

During Arthas Menethil’s rule as the Lich King, few members of the Scourge had much free will, even those who were fortunate enough to be spared from an existence as mindless undead [Quest: Cannot Reproduce]. That said, while Arthas’ will has been described as “indomitable” numerous times, it was not absolute. Some of his minions, including the death knights, were able to repeatedly resist his control and, in some cases, even shatter his hold over them completely.

A Preface on the Matter of Will

To start, the Lich King has the power to impose his will on the death knights in his service, essentially compelling them to carry out his commands, although he does not actually appear able to control their bodies beyond causing them great pain [Quest: The Will of the Lich King, Death Knight, Chapter Four, Ask CDev, Round Three, NPC: The Lich King Dialogue, Legends: Volume Four, Fate]. Little is clear about the exact workings of this process, but the Lich King floods the minds of his undead followers with his will in such a way that it dominates all other thoughts, including memories, and forces them to comply [Ask CDev, Round Three, Comic: Death Knight, Chapter Three, Ashbringer Volume Three: Naxxramas, Short Story: Dark Mirror]. This unique connection between the Lich King and his death knights also allows him to invade his minions’ minds and speak directly to them from a distance [Quest: The Will of the Lich King].

The Lich King can, if need be, forcibly reassert his will over any rogue undead, however some are able to break free from his control permanently in one way or another [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume III, pg. 188, Legends: Volume Four, Fate, Short Story: Dark Mirror].

What is it?

Like Shark Week on the Discovery Channel… but better, because it’s about death knights.

Last year, I put together a week-long info lore dump on druid shapeshifting after getting inspired to do research into the vast, vague, and sometimes contradictory history of druid lore. Although it’s been a little over a year since “Druid Week,” I decided I wanted to do another one and research a specific class in an attempt to both clear up any confusion about their lore and communicate some pretty cool lore facts along the way. After putting a vote to the masses, you guys chose death knights... so, without further ado, for every single one of the next six days, I will be posting popular questions (and my answers) about death knights!

What are some of the questions you’re answering?

To give you a taste of what’s to come in the next week, I will be answering questions like (in no particular order):

How much free will do death knights have under the Lich King?

How do different races and cultures view the death knights?

Who are the Four Horsemen?

How do each of the death knight generations differ from one another?

How are death knights’ bodies different from those of other undead like the Forsaken?

What is the exact nature of the death knights’ curse to inflict pain on others?

If you find you have additional questions you want me to answer, definitely send me a message and I’ll see what I can do!

As always, I am not an absolute authority on any of these topics and readily admit I have not meticulously combed through all of the relevant source material (although I really tried my best). Therefore, if you see I’ve missed something or you want to contribute your own input on these topics, you are more than welcome to do so - in fact, I encourage it.

Thanks and see you all during Death Knight Lore Week!

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How do each of the death knight generations differ from one another?

Before beginning, it is necessary to clarify that “generation” is a somewhat misleading term when applied to the different groups of death knights over the years. Rarely, if ever, is a generational distinction made between them in canon – in fact, the phrase is often solely used by the player-base to distinguish between death knights based either on when they were created or what Lich King ruled at the time of their reanimation. With the exception of the very first death knights – the only group to ever be referred to as a “generation” in lore –, the rest hardly vary from one another in any significant way* [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume III, pg. 52].

What is “Death Knight Lore Week”?

Like Shark Week on the Discovery Channel… but better, because it’s about death knights.

Long story short, I put together a week-long info lore dump on everything death knights. I asked you to give me some of your most puzzling questions regarding death knight lore and then I set off to research and answer them using as many canon sources as possible to the best of my ability.

What did I do?

All of the posts have been archived under the tag #death knight lore week here on Tumblr. Just in case you missed any of them, I’ve also provided links below:

How much free will do death knights have under the Lich King?

Who are the Four Horsemen?

How do different races and cultures view the death knights?

How are death knights’ bodies different from those of other undead like the Forsaken?

How do each of the death knight generations differ from one another?

What is the exact nature of the death knights’ curse to inflict pain on others?

As always, I am not an absolute authority on any of these topics and readily admit I have not meticulously combed through all of the relevant source material (although I really tried my best). Therefore, if you see I’ve missed something or you want to contribute your own input on these topics, you are more than welcome to do so even though Death Knight Lore Week is officially over.

Will there be more Lore Weeks in the future?

I think I can confidently say yes, but I have no definite plans for another one right now. I had so much fun researching and putting together these posts, but I was slow to write and it’s a terribly time consuming effort, so I ended up neglecting a lot of my other lore projects to get this one cobbled together in a decent amount of time. That makes me hesitant to do another one anytime soon because I want to go back and focus more on my botany posts and Highborne Lore Project posts, but rest assured I will definitely do another Lore Week at some point.

On the topic of death knights, Death Knight Lore Week may be over, but that does not mean I’m done writing about them! You are always welcome to ask me more questions about death knights, but even if you don’t, it’s highly likely that I will continue to write more posts on the topic in the future, especially since there’s always something to cover (and Shadowlands is on the horizon…).

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What is the exact nature of the death knights’ curse to inflict pain on others?

All death knights have an irresistible compulsion – formally called the “eternal” or “endless hunger” – to regularly inflict pain upon others, lest they themselves experience an incredible agony prone to drive them into a mindless and bloodthirsty hysteria [Ask CDev, Round Two, Quest: The Endless Hunger].

A Question of Pain

The lack of any specifics about the death knights’ affliction has given rise to many questions, virtually all of which are impossible to answer definitively without more details. For example, as to the question of what type of suffering death knights have to cause in order to sate their addiction, the answer is unclear. Some canon references to the endless hunger – of which there are only approximately three total, the most recent of which was in Legion – merely say or at least imply that “agony” and “pain” must be inflicted on another creature [Ask CDev, Round Two, Quest: The Endless Hunger]. One might argue that does not mean death knights have to kill in order to feed their addiction, although it is worth noting that the text of one quest explicitly says, “Kill and the pain will cease. Fail and suffer for eternity” [Quest: The Endless Hunger]. Additionally, the Maw of the Damned, an infamous weapon designed to drain the life energies from its victims and thus kill them, is said to embody the eternal hunger [Quest: The Dead and the Damned].

A Question of Intention

Who are the Four Horsemen?

The Four Horsemen are some of the most powerful, formidable death knights to ever walk on Azeroth [NPC: Commander Eligor Dawnbringer Dialogue, Spell: Raise Horseman]. Resurrected into undeath through pure, unholy power granted only to the lich Kel’Thuzad and the Deathlord, the Four Horsemen were initially meant to serve as the Scourge’s harbingers of destruction and, to a lesser extent, Kel’Thuzad’s personal guard [Quest: Return of the Four Horsemen, Comic: Ashbringer, Volume Two, NPC: Commander Eligor Dawnbringer Dialogue]. Now, however, the elite cadre of death knights has a slightly different purpose: to lead the remaining death knights alongside the Deathlord and combat any enemies the heroes of Azeroth may come across.

The first generation of horsemen – Sir Zeliek, Lady Blaumeux, Thane Korth’azz, and Alexandros Mograine – were each raised by Kel’Thuzad and set to watch over the floating citadel of Naxxramas. Following Alexandros’ death at the hands of his son Darion Mograine during a small raid on the undead fortress some time after the Third War, Kel’Thuzad appointed Baron Rivendare to serve as the leader of the Four Horsemen in his place [Comic: Ashbringer, Volume Three, NPC: Commander Eligor Dawnbringer Dialogue, World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume III, pg. 130]. In time, all four death knights would meet their demise when soldiers of the Alliance and the Horde stormed Naxxramas during the war against the Lich King [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume III, pg. 175].