Wildfire Riders

Okay, admit it. You've made a Death Knight. Now don't be ashamed, it's perfectly natural. We all go through these phases in life someday...

Anyway. I see a lot of new DKs on the block, and a lot of them with interesting and unique RP stories. While some are more farfetched than others, I'm curious about how this community has gone about creating their DKs.

So, here's a few questions:

Why is your character a Death Knight?
Did they fall willingly into the hands of the Lich King?
Are they alive or undead?
Do they gain their powers from a runeblade, or another source?

Oh, also, before I contribute, there was a good quote from Renna about DK magic some of you might find intresting:

Varenna wrote:Expanding on defining death knights via their magic:

Death Knights utilize blood magic, frost magic, and your basic everyday necromancy, mixed into a special cocktail designed specifically for melee combat and working alongside and enhancing undead/allies. They use runeblades to amplify and channel their magic-- a runeblade being any weapon which has been imbued with magic runes to serve that purpose. Rune magic on weapons is not inherently evil-- the family sword of the Sunstrider dynasty, Flamestrike, was a runeblade. What kind of magic is channeled depends on what runes are used-- for death knights, as we know just by playing them, it's Blood, Frost, Unholy, and Death runes.

Here is what makes some runeblades scary: Specially relevant for death knights, the traditional Frostmourne-style runeblade was called a vampiric runeblade. Such weapons are able to absorb life force (SOULS) to become more powerful-- both life force of people slain by the blade, and that of the wielder; they were specifically designed to corrupt powerful heroes into death knights in the Lich King's service. The weapons hide their nature, appearing as plain old magic weapons, until some poor schmuck falls into the trap and picks it up and starts using it. This is what happened to Arthas himself. As the runeblade's wielder uses it, it becomes attuned to them; minorly sentient and empathic, they further the wielder's conversion by manipulating their emotions away from "good" feelings like mercy, kindness, and generosity and towards "bad" feelings such as selfishness, hate, and anger. Death Knights ARE their runeblades.

I think it's not at all unlikely that many of the current generation of death knights, especially the living ones, were created in this way.

For the Ebon Knights specifically, I think it's probably the case that if they used vampiric runeblades previously they don't use them anymore, since the weapons are intended to undermine the wielder's will. Ebon Knight magic is probably just like it appears-- blood magic, frost magic, necromancy, rune magic, done.

Why is your character a Death Knight?

Better to ask "why did she join the Scourge", in this case, really. Maraviglia Norvallen was, once upon a time, a student of the arcane arts in Dalaran, embodying everything one might expect of a popular, spoiled, arrogant rich girl. She graduated at the top of her class, and married an equally wealthy man ('Norvallen' is not her maiden name) who was a member of the Kirin Tor, which she herself was well on her way towards being inducted into, serving for the time being in the martial corps maintained by the city.

Having a lot to lose, and subsequently losing every last shred of it, surrounded as she was by her own dead companions and the wreckage of the once-mighty city on the day it fell to the Scourge, has unfortunate effects on one's decision-making process. It was Arthas himself that approached this one, like he had many others, with an offer that at the time, she could not refuse.

Did they fall willingly into the hands of the Lich King?

Despite any excuse the situation might allow, she accepted Arthas' offer of her own free will. Somewhere in her mind, desire to be on the winning side won over any prior loyalties, and so it began.

In terms of her character, it's worth noting that this instinct is still firmly in play, if not all but kicked into overdrive, as of right this moment.

Are they alive or undead?

Norvallen is entirely living. In fact, it's this, and her own ability to have been clinging so tenaciously to it the past five years, that play no small part in her disenfranchisement with the Scourge in general.

Anyone who's also created a Death Knight may have noticed the Scourge propaganda lying about in Acherus, during those opening quests, discussing the philosophical reasons behind spreading undeath. I won't go into it here, but there are potential volumes that Norvallen herself could pen about how massively flawed their rhetoric is. In her own opinion, anyway.

Do they gain their powers from a runeblade, or another source?

Norvallen was already a highly accomplished mage, and in no small degree familiar with necromancy itself, when she took the Runeblade. Thus, her indoctrination into the ranks of Death Knights was more a matter of teaching her the plain, old-fashioned swordplay aspect than familiarizing herself with the mystical aspect. Learning from this angle gave her a unique approach, but the end result is still functionally indistinct from your typical death knight, otherwise. She did at one point possess a true vampiric runeblade which she had grown strongly accustomed to, but lost it due to a mishap suffered near the end of her time with the Scourge (more on that likely to come in an RP post). As of this time, her primary abilities still stem from arcane disciplines, augmented with martial skill, but she's learned to never again grow dependent on a specific weapon.

Why is your character a Death Knight?

Sabethe was a pretty simple country girl out of Strath, on her father's horse breeding farm. She was good with the horses, so she did a lot of barn-labor to help around the land. However her father was an addicted gambler, and eventually someone he owed a lot of money came to collect- which just so happened to be the same night as The Culling. (when townspeople get slaughtered, guards are too busy to help poor farmers.) Sabethe found the man and his hired help having just killed her father in the barn. The hired help grabbed her and took her out back, with intent to rape her. During her escape, Sabethe used a pitchfork to defend herself and ended up running the hired help through, killing him instantly. The suddenl horror of having taken a life drove Sabethe to flee on her prized horse- Claxron. With her home burning behind her, she had no where else to go.

During her run, her horse slowly fell more ill as the lands around suffered from the plauge of undead, until eventually it was claimed by death. Wallowing in her own guilt and sorrow on losing her last living companion, she was an easy pickup for the Cult of the Damned, who offered to take away all her pains and bring her horse back to her- for the price of servitude to the Lich King.

Did they fall willingly into the hands of the Lich King?
Yes, and slowly she felt almost as mindless as the undead she controlled as a necromancer. Some time after Arthas' rise to power and the creation of his death knights, she was gifted a runeblade and began her training as a tool of death.


Are they alive or undead?
Sabethe is alive- Claxron is a pretty dead horse however.

Do they gain their powers from a runeblade, or another source?
Sabethe's powers are at least channeled through her Runeblade, I haven't really put much thought into if it's a real 'vampric' runeblade myself, yet.

Why is your character a Death Knight?

Elestera, ultimately, suffered from sheer bad luck.

While on a journey to escort a badly injured and only semi-lucid Erilahl Runestrider back home, the Scourge Invasion came ripping through Azeroth. Elestera fought a wave of undead, alone, in order to give Erilahl a slim chance at escape to Light's Hope. Ele herself would wind up dead, impaled through her torso to an abomination's meat hook and dragged away from the battle. Her skill in battle combined with an already present natural affinity for magic made her a perfect candidate for resurrection.

Did they fall willingly into the hands of the Lich King?

No. Elestera was killed quite violently and was brought back as a mind-slave to the Lich King, enough of her personality restored to give her autonomy and a vicious streak in the battlefield, but her will completely suppressed until the battle of Light's Hope severed control.

Are they alive or undead?

Ele is undead, though not an immediately obvious example. She was only dead for a matter of hours before the necromancers took an interest in her, and the spells binding her have stalled any further decay to prevent a loss in combat effectiveness due to deterioration.

Do they gain their powers from a runeblade, or another source?

Ele's spellcasting abilities are ultimately arcane in nature, though with definite elements of her own curse prevalent. Being dead already, she has very few qualms about using the black magic that's already made her into an unholy aberration against her enemies. Her runeblade is an amplifier for her abilities, but not the source, and she disposed of the blade she was 'gifted' with in Arthas's service almost immediately, now exclusively using weapons she's enchanted and inscribed herself.

Why is your character a Death Knight?

Gustavf is a Death Knight because I wanted a high level dwarf and a DK >.> <.<

The backstory however, is a bit more complex. Gustavf Ironbeard was one of Muradin Bronzebeard's forces that he recruited to go to Northrend in order to search for Frostmourne. As a Wildhammer, he was one of the scouts and aerial support for the movement. Arthas came and went, Muradin went missing presumably dead and Gustavf was one of the troops left behind. On a routine scouting patrol he encountered a group of scourge and had to escape in a particular bit of bad weather. Unable to return to the beginnings of Valiance Keep he was forced to hunker down and wait it out, which is the last thing he remembers before waking up in Ebon Hold.

Did they fall willingly into the hands of the Lich King?

No. Gustavf doesn't remember anything of his turning, though he was a faithful servant up until the Battle at Light's Hope, as well as events beforehand slowly awakening his memory.

Are they alive or undead?

Gustavf's heart still beats, though he doesn't know if it's blood booze or goo flowing through him. It hasn't occured to him to find out himself.

Do they gain their powers from a runeblade, or another source?

The same as functually in game. With a Runeblade he has full access to his powers, without, it's greatly diminished.

These questions are excellent for the thinking.

I have two death knights. I'll write here on the one I'm not shrouding in lolmystery, though these questions are helping me flesh that guy out too.

Why is your character a Death Knight?
Eloim Balthasar's death knightism is entirely Jak's fault. A few years back, Uncle Eloim got wind that Sir Jakob was up and moving in some way, and so the fellow decided to hop, somewhat literally, up around Lordaeron to look for the boy. While there, he got into an Unfortunate Event; surrounded by Scourge, and once the abom knocked him off the horse, well, he was pretty much screwed. Still, he's an old warrior, full of piss and vinegar, and put up quite the fight against the lot of them. The Cultist who happened to find him, still alive but slowly bleeding to death, offered him a sweet deal; he could join willingly, get his leg back, get a chance to serve his rightful King, and help finding his nephew. Or he could go ahead and die, and they'd raise him, sew a leg on him, make him a ghoul, and he'd never see his family again. Okay, so not really a sweet deal. But one he couldn't refuse.

Naturally, he did anyway. The cultist was already cleaning him up for resurrection before he finished dying. He did speed the process by cutting off the stump of his missing leg.

Did they fall willingly into the hands of the Lich King?
No. He'd sworn to never again betray his family. He's still not sure if death was the non-betraying choice.

Are they alive or undead?
Quite undead. He's very careful with his rot, especially regarding the new leg. The magic helps.

Do they gain their powers from a runeblade, or another source?
He was loathe to give up the runeblade--he'd been using it for years, after all. Still, if that miserable murdering tosser Mograine could do it, so could he, and so like many, he's switched over to necromantic power of the straight arcane variety, channeled through less dangerous rune weapons.

Why is your character a Death Knight?

After her murder, as seen in the Ribbons and Runeblades thread, Ilarra took it upon herself to try and bring back her friend, Raya from a wrongful death. Somewhere in the process, whether it be Larra's slipping grip on holy spells, corrupted means of her death, the time between death and resurrection, ect... it went wrong. The poor girl was stuck somewhere between living and dead.

Ilarra did the best thing she could to cover her mistake - she took over the mind of one of the many new and free knights, had him teach Raya the art of runeforging, the offed him and handed Rayala his runeblade. Somewhere within this all, a nice, handy story was imprinted into Raya's mind about how this knight himself had raised and intended to use her for his own good, before she bravely escaped.

Did they fall willingly into the hands of the Lich King?

Raya never served under Arthas. Outside of text in books, she has no idea who he truly even is.


Are they alive or undead?

She's somewhere stuck on a balance in-between. I haven't worked out the pros and cons of this yet, if there are any.


Do they gain their powers from a runeblade, or another source?

Rayala was originally Genise's apprentice - and a terrible one at that. If she could chain more than two basic spells together, Genise would faint. Thus, any connection between her powers and her former magedom are nil. Raya's power as a DK comes 100% from her runeblade. If she's ever caught without it, she's easy prey, as she's nothing more than the spoiled teenage apprentice with an unreasonable fear of her own shadow. =P

I took a little different tack with my DK. She's an orc named Moktor, who was actually a female orc rogue I had for the longest time but never leveled past about level 26.

Moktor was nothing more than an Orgrimmar street tough--brutal, thuggish, cruel, a real predator. Living on the street as she did, she was vulnerable to the latest plague and became one of Orgrimmar's first zombie victims. But she retained a modicum of her old intelligence and savvy, and using that, she became a very effective zombie considering her youth and relative inexperience, killing and turning many people and slipping away to hide. Perhaps it was that, or just her sheer inner hatred and toughness, that caught the eye of the Scourge. For whatever reason, as it became clear the plague wasn't working, Moktor was grabbed by agents of the Scourge and spirited away to Acherus, along with a retrieved female orc body of roughly the same age and physical appearance. Her soul was transferred from the zombie to the orc via necromantic magic (although it wasn't a complete job--she has a pallor no normal orc does, and her skin is badly scarred and pitted), and she was thus raised as a Death Knight trainee. She became a Death Knight and served Arthas well, willingly and with real relish (albeit briefly) until the betrayal at Light's Hope. Now? She's just loving being a Death Knight. She thrives on the ability she has to get what she wants and the fear she can raise in people by her mere presence. She remembers her old self somewhat fuzzily, but doesn't think about the past too much...with far more power than she ever dreamed of having as a "normal" orc, she has no reason to look backward.

I figure Moktor is alive, but if her DK powers were ever to fade for some reason, her body would fall apart pretty quickly. So maybe she's half-alive.

And as for a runeblade, she gains no power from it other than what the runes give her in combat. Her power comes from her training and the blood magic she's infused with, combined with her raw cruelty and hatred.

Elliott Whitechapel hails from Alterac, and reluctantly followed Lord Aiden Perenolde's treacherous plan for their nation's salvation during the Second War. Once a proud member of the Order of the Silver Hand, he turned against his comrades in Tyr's Hand, helping to organize a peasant rebellion to sow anarchy in the region. Whitechapel escaped capture in the battle that ensued, but the Perenoldes would, of course, be defeated, and Alterac would fall despite the desperate actions of its people. Elliott would never forgive himself, for he had failed his people, and traded away his honour for nothing -- But he remained true to the teachings of the Holy Light, and after the Second War had ended, he would take up his sword again in defense of the Alliance of Lordaeron.

When age had brittled his bones, and he found himself too weak to wield a blade, he began looking after the orphans of Stormwind. But a new strength would well up inside him when the call went out to travel north, across the great seas to oppose the Lich King, who had once been one of the Alliance's greatest hopes. If he could play even the smallest part in Lordaeron's revenge against the mad Prince, then perhaps some of Elliott's lost honour could be restored as well.

But Elliott Whitechapel would meet his end in Northrend; a bloody feast for the ravenous Scourge. And in time, he would rise again, in service to the dreaded Lich King himself. Whatever small part of him that remained was deeply sorrowed by this dark reawakening, and forced him to adopt a moniker to shadow himself from the deeds of this new and horrible person, lest the name of his family be further shamed. Elliott Whitechapel would become known as Blacksard, and though he would go on to champion his new lord's dark agendas, he would do so from behind a mask of self-disgust.

Perhaps one day, the time will come to strike a mighty blow against the Lich King from a position within his own defenses. Until that day arrives, Elliott Whitechapel waits -- and Blacksard serves.

love,
nathan.