Arthas Menethil: Encyclopedia II - Arthas Menethil - Arthas' Greed for Magic

Arthas Menethil - Arthas' Greed for Magic

The next stage of Arthas's destructive conquest would take him to the woods of Quel'thalas, the homeland of the High Elves. There, he battled his way through the Elven defenders, taking time to kill, and subsequently raise, the General of the Elven Rangers, Sylvanas Windrunner, as a Banshee. The vast Scourge force devastated the forests and land as every elf who stood in their way was crushed beneath their feet. At last the Undead forces lay siege to the capital city of the elves, Silvermoon, and in a bloody conquest the Undead reached the Sunwell, the source of magic for the High Elves. Here Arthas emptied the urn that contained the remains of Kel'Thuzad, and the necromancer was reborn as a mighty Lich.

With Kel'Thuzad coming into his newfound power, Arthas and Kel'Thuzad next set their sight on a nearby Blackrock Orc clan village. There, the orcs were guarding a demonic portal that would allow Kel'Thuzad to contact the lord of the Burning Legion, Archimonde. After assaulting the Blackrock Orcs and crushing them, the Lich was able to communicate with Archimonde. The demon lord told Kel'Thuzad of how to open a portal to the world of Azeroth and to finally begin the true assault of the Burning Legion.

Utilizing the most powerful Undead units, Arthas and Kel'Thuzad assaulted the human city of Dalaran, where the spellbook of Medivh, the Last Guardian, lay. After a savage assault, and braving the barrier that destroyed the undead, the book was at last in the possession of the Scourge. Using the book, Kel'Thuzad was able to breach the barrier between Azeroth and the Twisting Nether and bring Archimonde to Azeroth, where his first action was to destroy the city of Dalaran in one blow.

It was then that Arthas disappeared. His actions during the initial meeting of the Night Elf Sentinels of Ashenvale Forest and the Horde are unnoted, and he made but a brief appearance facing off against the newly released Illidan Stormrage amid the corrupted forests of Felwood. After a few minor words, and blows exchanged, Arthas left Illidan with information on how to acquire the Skull of Gul'dan; an artifact that eventually helped bring down Tichondrius and dealt a fatal blow to the Burning Legion. Arthas had loyalty to only the Lich King; and for the Burning Legion cared nothing.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Arthas' Greed for Magic", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki