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The Birth of the Lich
King
Ner'zhul and his followers entered the Twisting
Nether, the ethereal plane that connects all of the
worlds scattered throughout the Great Dark Beyond.
Unfortunately, Kil'jaeden and his demonic minions
were waiting for them. Kil'jaeden, who had sworn to
take vengeance on Ner'zhul for his prideful
defiance, slowly tore the old shaman's body apart,
piece by piece. Kil'jaeden kept the shaman's spirit
alive and intact, thus leaving Ner'zhul painfully
aware of his body's gross dismemberment. Though
Ner'zhul pleaded with the demon to release his
spirit and grant him death, the demon grimly replied
that the Blood Pact they had made long ago was still
binding, and that Ner'zhul still had a purpose to
serve.
The Orcs' failure to conquer the world for the
Burning Legion forced Kil'jaeden to create a new
army to sew chaos throughout the kingdoms of the
Azeroth. This new army could not be allowed to fall
prey to the same petty rivalries and infighting that
had plagued the Horde. It would have to be merciless
and single-minded in its mission. This time,
Kil'jaeden could not afford to fail.
Holding Ner'zhul's spirit helpless in stasis,
Kil'jaeden gave him one last chance to serve the
Legion or suffer eternal torment. Once again,
Ner'zhul recklessly agreed to the demon's pact.
Ner'zhul's spirit was placed within a specially
crafted block of diamond-hard ice gathered from the
far reaches of the Twisting Nether. Encased within
the frozen cask, Ner'zhul felt his consciousness
expand ten thousand-fold. Warped by the demon's
chaotic powers, Ner'zhul became a spectral being of
unfathomable power. At that moment, the Orc known as
Ner'zhul was shattered forever, and the Lich King
was born.
Ner'zhul's loyal death knights and Shadowmoon
followers were also transformed by the demon's
chaotic energies. The wicked spellcasters were
ripped apart and remade as skeletal liches. The
demons had ensured that even in death, Ner'zhul's
followers would serve him unquestioningly.
When the time was right, Kil'jaeden explained the
mission for which he had created the Lich King.
Ner'zhul was to spread a plague of death and terror
across Azeroth that would snuff out human
civilization forever. All those who died from the
dreaded plague would arise as the Undead, and their
spirits would be bound to Ner'zhul's iron will
forever. Kil'jaeden promised that if Ner'zhul
accomplished his dark mission of scouring humanity
from the world, he would be freed from his curse and
granted a new, healthy body to inhabit.
Though Ner'zhul was agreeable and seemingly anxious
to play his part, Kil'jaeden remained skeptical of
his pawn's loyalties. Keeping the Lich King bodiless
and trapped within the crystal cask assured his good
conduct for the short term, but the demon knew that
he would need to keep a watchful eye on him. To this
end, Kil'jaeden called upon his elite demon guard,
the vampiric dreadlords, to police Ner'zhul and
ensure that he accomplished his dread task.
Tichondrius, the most powerful and cunning of the
dreadlords, warmed to the challenge; he was
fascinated by the plague's severity and the Lich
King's unbridled potential for genocide. .
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