Ner'zhul

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Title	{{#if:\|<{{{title}}}>\|Elder Shaman,<ref name="Slayer of the Shadowmoon">Slayer of the Shadowmoon (WC2 Orc)</ref>; Warchief of Draenor,<ref name="Slayer of the Shadowmoon" />; Lich King}} {{#if:\|<ref>{{{title ref}}}</ref>}}
Gender	Male
Race{{#if:\|(s)}}	{{#if:\|{{{races}}}\|{{#ifeq:Orc\|\|Unknown\|Orc}} {{#if:\|({{{creature}}})}}}}
Level	{{#ifeq:\|-1\|Template:Maxlevel\|}}
Heroic level	{{#if:\|{{{hlevel}}} }}
Affiliation	{{#if:\|[[{{{city}}}]]\|Scourge}}
Former affiliation(s)	Orcish Horde, Shadowmoon clan, Horde of Draenor, Burning Legion
Occupation	The Lich King
Former occupation(s)	Warchief of Draenor,; Elder shaman and chieftain of the Shadowmoon clan
Status	Active
Student(s)	Gul'dan
Pet family	{{#if:\|[[{{{pet}}}]]}}
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Ner'zhul was the chieftain and elder shaman of the Shadowmoon clan as well as the Warchief of the Horde of Draenor, the clans of Draenor that remained uncaptured after the Dark Portal was destroyed in Azeroth. He was tricked into making a Blood Pact with Kil'jaeden the Deceiver, one that bound the orcs into the service of the Burning Legion. Following the Second War, he opened several portals on Draenor in an attempt to seek out new lands to escape to and conquer but was immediately captured by Kil'jaeden. His mortal form was destroyed and his spirit was transformed into the spectral Lich King, which was then encased in the mystical ice of the Frozen Throne atop the Icecrown glacier in distant Northrend.

Background

The Elder Shaman and the Shadow Pact

Ner'zhul, being the most respected leader of the shamanistic orcs, was the individual whom Kil'jaeden chose to contact in his effort to corrupt the race. Appealing to Ner'zhul's desire for knowledge and power, Ner'zhul entered into a Blood Pact with the demon, which would bind the orcs to the service of the Burning Legion for many years to come. However, Ner'zhul realized that what Kil'jaeden desired would ultimately destroy his people and eventually defied his demon master. Kil'jaeden vowed revenge, and turned to Ner'zhul's student, Gul'dan, who betrayed Ner'zhul to the demon-lord.<ref>Kil'jaeden and the Shadow Pact</ref>

Warchief of Draenor

Following the Horde's defeat in the Second War, Ner'zhul, as Warchief of Draenor, discovered how the rift was first formed and devised a plan of opening new portals and finding other worlds to conquer. To this end, he sought out several artifacts from Azeroth: the Skull of Gul'dan, the Book of Medivh, the Jeweled Scepter of Sargeras, and the Eye of Dalaran. Unlike the Orcish Horde of Azeroth, Ner'zhul's Horde of Draenor did not maintain the unity of the Horde in Azeroth and was kept subjugated through fear and brute force,<ref>Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal game manual, Clans of Draenor, Shadow Moon Clan</ref> enforced primarily by Ner'zhul's enforcer, the ogre mage Dentarg.<ref>Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal game manual, Legends of the Land, Dentarg</ref> It was thus by his command that the Slayer of the Shadowmoon subjugated the Laughing Skull clan, who had taken control of an order of death knights that had secured the knowledge needed to rebuild the Dark Portal,<ref name="Slayer of the Shadowmoon" /> as well as the Thunderlord and Bonechewer clans to recover the Skull of Gul'dan and to subjugate their clans when they opposed Ner'zhul's vision.<ref>The Skull of Gul'dan (WC2 Orc)</ref><ref>Thunderlord and Bonechewer (WC2 Orc)</ref>

This new Horde, led by veteran chieftains such as Grom Hellscream and Kilrogg Deadeye, surprised the Alliance defense forces and rampaged through the countryside. Under Ner'zhul's surgical command, the orcs quickly rounded up the artifacts that they needed and fled back to the safety of Draenor. King Terenas of Lordaeron, convinced that the orcs were preparing a new invasion of Azeroth, assembled his most trusted lieutenants. He ordered General Turalyon and the archmage, Khadgar, to lead an expedition through the Dark Portal to put an end to the orcish threat once and for all. Turalyon and Khadgar's forces marched into Draenor and repeatedly clashed with Ner'zhul's clans upon the ravaged Hellfire Peninsula.<ref>The Invasion of Draenor</ref> Upon the retrieval of all of the artifacts, Ner'zhul opened a series of portals on Draenor. However, the Laughing Skull stole the Book of Medivh from them, granting it to the Alliance in exchange for the removal of the Thunderlord and Bonechewer strongholds in the Blade's Edge Mountains.<ref>Dance of the Laughing Skull (WC2 Human)</ref> Regardless, Ner'zhul had learned enough of the book's secrets to conjure his darkest spell and still succeeded in opening the portals.<ref>The Bitter Taste of Victory (WC2 Human)</ref> However, the vast energies that the Spell of Conjuration created then tore the planet apart, creating the shattered realm of Outland.

Birth of the Lich King

Upon passing through one of the portals, 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.<ref name="The Birth of the Lich King">The Birth of the Lich King</ref>

The orcs' failure to conquer the world for the Burning Legion forced Kil'jaeden to create a new army to sow chaos throughout the kingdoms of 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.<ref name="The Birth of the Lich King" />

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.<ref name="The Birth of the Lich King" />

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.<ref name="The Birth of the Lich King" />

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.<ref name="The Birth of the Lich King" />

In time, Ner'zhul would guide Arthas Menethil to Frostmourne in order to make the young paladin his champion, planning on turning against his demonic masters.

References

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Preceded by:
Orgrim Doomhammer

Position:
Warchief of the Horde

Succeeded by:
Orgrim Doomhammer

Preceded by:
Unknown

Position:
Chieftain of the Shadowmoon clan

Succeeded by:
Unknown

Preceded by:
None

Position:
Lich King of the Scourge
(alone)

Succeeded by:
Arthas Menethil and Ner'zhul
(conjoined spirits)

Preceded by:
Ner'zhul (alone)

Position:
Lich King of the Scourge
(conjoined spirits with Arthas)

Succeeded by:
Incumbent