#scourge lore

Arthas’ Reign

According to one NPC, Arthas held the death knights so tightly in his thrall that only the most extraordinary of circumstances – such as those that transpired in the Eastern Plaguelands – would allow them to break free from his domination of their minds [Quest: If He Cannot Be Turned]. During the Battle for Light’s Hope Chapel, those who would eventually become the Knights of the Ebon Blade successfully wrested themselves from Arthas’ grip thanks to the staggering power of the Light and the shocking revelation that they had been betrayed and left for dead by the Lich King [Quest: The Light of Dawn]. Angered at being sent to his death by his master, Darion Mograine managed to resist Arthas’ control long enough during the battle to give Tirion Fordring the Ashbringer, thereby allowing the forces of the Light to fend off the Scourge [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume III, pg. 174]. This combination of events ultimately culminated in many of the death knights gaining complete independence from Arthas.

Although the Knights of the Ebon Blade were one of the largest groups of death knights to break free from the Lich King, there were others who also managed the unlikely feat [Object: Report from the Frontlines: Eastern Kingdoms]. For example, a death knight known as Minitalis deserted from the Scourge some time before the Knights of the Ebon Blade were formed [Object: The Death Knights of Acherus]. Another death knight, Trag Highmountain, resisted the Lich King’s direct commands time and time again, but not without much difficulty [Legends: Volume One, Fallen, Legends: Volume Two, Fear]. Although Arthas would come to dominate the tauren’s mind in time, Trag – strong of will and horrified at the prospect of killing his allies – was able to permanently break the Lich King’s hold on him [Legends, Volume Four, Fate]. It may be important to note, however, that Trag was raised as an undead through the power of an artifact known as the Orb of Ner’zhul, which may have given him the power he needed to free himself [Legends, Volume Four, Fate].

There are several additional instances in which some death knights were also able to disobey basic rules while under Arthas’ control. Not only did Thassarian choose to let Koltira’s brother go instead of killing him during the undead’s march on Silvermoon City, he would also later break protocol and send the player character to save Koltira after the elf was captured by the Scarlet Crusade [Death Knight, Chapter Three, Quest: Brothers in Death].

A small section in the non-canon RPG even hints at the existence of ‘coffer corpses,’ which are independent undead with no connections to the Scourge [RPG: Manual of Monsters, pg. 199]. That said, it is unclear if these so-called ‘coffer corpses’ were originally part of the Scourge and broke away, or if they were somehow reanimated by other means.

Under Bolvar

While the death knights under Arthas’ sway had only a modicum of free will during his reign as the Lich King, they now have nearly full autonomy under Bolvar. Rather than directly imposing his will on the remaining death knights, Bolvar instead chose to ally with and work alongside them [NPC: Darion Mograine Dialogue]. However, despite their newfound partnership, the Lich King still plays a rather significant role in both raising and directing the death knights, going so far as to dictate the identities of the Four Horsemen and have new death knights swear fealty to him [Quest: Death’s Power Grows, Quest: The Call of Icecrown, Quest: Return of the Four Horsemen].

Although Bolvar does not control the death knights against their will in the same way Arthas did, there may be some cause to believe that they are still not totally free of the Lich King’s mental control, especially since the death knights’ existence is said to be tied to his very consciousness [Quest: The Will of the Lich King]. The memory of Arthas present in the Blades of the Fallen Prince taunts the death knights, telling them that they are still at the mercy of the Lich King and always do “as He commands” [NPC: Memory of Arthas Dialogue].

Unlike his predecessor, though, Bolvar initially struggled to control the undead. Both the Val’kyr and pockets of Scourge in the Eastern Kingdoms managed to break free from the Lich King's grasp for good. While he tried to regain dominion over them, Bolvar was largely unsuccessful [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume III, pg. 188].