Four Generations of Death Knights
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First Generation
Created by: Gul’dan
In exchange for sparing his life, Gul’dan promised Orgrim Doomhammer powerful soldiers for the new warchief’s campaign in Lordaeron. Gul’dan infused the corpses of the fallen knights of Stormwind with the souls of the few remaining Shadow Council members and empowered them with the energies siphoned from the necrolytes slain by Orgrim.
Unlike later generations, these death knights were closer to spellcasters than actual knights.
All of these death knights were either slain by the Alliance or turned into liches by Kil’jaeden. However, the first and arguably most powerful one, Teron Gorefiend, would be resurrected by a particularly gullible adventurer in Shadowmoon Valley.
Second Generation
Created by: Ner’zhul
After the orcs failed in their purpose to weaken Azeroth’s defenders in preparation for the Burning Legion’s second invasion; Kil’jaeden turned the orc shaman Ner’zhul into The Lich King and tasked him with creating an undead army to succeed where the Horde failed.
To do this, Ner’zhul would need a champion to lead this new army and selected the human paladin and prince of Lordaeron, Arthas Menethil, to fill that role by turning him into a death knight similar to those created by Gul’dan. Arthas would prove to be a great success and Ner’zhul would repeat the process on slain paladins of The Silver Hand.
Unlike the previous generation that were orc warlocks in stolen bodies, these death knights contained the souls to which the body belonged and were intended to be the necrotic inverse of the holy paladins they were in life and thus more melee-focused.
Third Generation
Created by: Arthas Menethil
In an attempt to crush both the Scarlet Crusade and the Argent Dawn in one fell swoop Arthas (now The Lich King) created a new breed of death knight that evolved upon the second generation by combining them with the frost magic used by liches and the necrolyte magic wielded by the first generation death knights. They were also cursed with “The Eternal Hunger” which causes them incredible pain if they do not regularly inflict agony upon others.
Arthas lied to these Death Knights and told them they were chosen, hand-picked to be his champions, when in truth these death knights were mass-produced and meant to be disposable fodder for The Lich King’s plan. When these knights learned the truth about their disposable nature, their anger allowed them to break free of his control, after which they renamed themselves “Knights of the Ebon Blade” and swore vengeance upon the man who turned them into monsters.
Fourth Generation
Created by: Bolvar Fordragon
When the third Lich King, Bolvar Fordragon, sensed an imbalance in the Shadowlands, he believed it to be an ill omen and that Azeroth would soon need more champions to combat an incoming threat.
For this reason, he instructed the Knights of the Ebon Blade, who had entered a pact of servitude to him during the third Legion invasion, to steal the corpses of the Alliance and Horde soldiers who were dying in the ongoing Fourth War to be raised as new death knights.
Unlike previous generations, these new death knights are functionally identical to their predecessors and are usually impossible to distinguish from the third generation except for the ones whose bodies belong to races that were not present for the war against the Scourge.
(As of writing whether or not these death knights also suffer from The Eternal Hunger remains unknown.)
Death Knights In-Game
One thing that’s interesting is it’s actually possible to encounter all generations of these Death Knights in-game.
Teron Gorefiend in the Black Temple
Though the Death Knight Teron Gorefiend was initially killed by Turalyon, players were tricked into resurrecting him during the Burning Crusade as part of the Shadowmoon Valley campaign. As a result of this, Teron Gorefiend is the fourth boss of the Black Temple raid, a once-sacred site to the Draenor, that had been taken over by Illidan Stormrage.
During this storyline, we are sent to Shadowmoon Valley, original home of the Shadowmoon clan. The zone is a bleak one – covered in fel – and Shadowmoon ghosts still inhabit the area. We are given special Spectrecles (a cosmetic item now) that we can use to see these ghosts, so that we can get rid of some of the more annoying ones. As we do, they whisper about Teron Gorefiend, insisting they’ll never leave Shadowmoon Valley as long as his spirit remains present.
Shadowmoon Harbinger whispers: We will never dissipate, mortal… Our fate is tied to Gorefiend…
Eventually, we seek the council of an ancient orc spirit, who sends us to fetch several possessions belonging to Gorefiend, claiming he will be able to use these to divine more information about the Death Knight. Of course, the orc spirit turns out to be Teron Gorefiend himself, and all we end up doing is enable him to resurrect himself. And like all first generation Death Knights, his body is that of a human, rather than an orc. It is this resurrected orc-spirit, human-body Death Knight Teron Gorefiend that we face in the Black Temple raid.
To experience this storyline yourself, head over to Shattrath City, where you can pick up the initial quest. The storyline progresses as follows:
Arthas Menethil, Death Knight
By the time we encounter Arthas Menethil in World of Warcraft, he’s the Lich King, but there are ways to witness some of his story from when he was a Death Knight. One way to do this involves Matthias Lehner, a ghost child we first meet at the bottom of a deep pit under Icecrown Citadel.
Essentially, Matthias seems to want us to understand just what we’re up against, and shows us visions of Arthas while he was still a Death Knight. First, we witness Arthas betraying his own men – the 1st Legion – who accompanied Arthas to Northrend. Arthas turned on his men and killed them, raising them as undead. Later, we get to witness Arthas’s fight against Illidan Stormrage outside Icecrown Citadel. Illidan attempted to stop Arthas from reaching the Frozen Throne, but failed.
According to Matthias, it was the fight with Illidan that made Arthas realize that, to be truly powerful, he needed to get rid of the last humanity he had left – which he did. Matthias claims Arthas threw his heart into a great pit – the same pit where we met this ghost. In other words, Matthias Lehner, whose name happens to be an anagram of Arthas Menethil, is that last shred of Arthas’s humanity, which had to be discarded before Arthas could go from Death Knight to full Lich King.
To experience this yourself in-game, you will first need to unlock the quest that takes us to Matthias by first reclaiming a few areas. It’s quite a lot of quests, but can be sped through fairly easily on any high-level character:
Arthas Menethil’s Death Knights
The third generation of Death Knights, created by Arthas Menethil, is the first generation players themselves can play in World of Warcraft.
In this story, you were once a hero of your faction, but died in battle. Arthas, now the Lich King, has recently resurrected you as a member of the Ebon Blade. As you come to terms with your new powers, you follow the Lich King’s orders to terrorize the local mortals, sowing discord and chaos wherever you go.
The story culminates in the Battle for Light’s Hope Chapel, a famous battle where Highlord Darion Mograine, leader of the infamous Four Horsemen, commanded an army of thousands of Scourge against a small force of Argent Dawn at Light’s Hope. During this Battle, Mograine found himself struggling with his Corrupted Ashbringer, which seemed strangely unwilling to strike.
Highlord Darion Mograine says: What is this?! My… I cannot strike…
Highlord Darion Mograine says: I… I cannot… The blade fights me…
Highlord Darion Mograine says: Power… wanes…
The tide of the battle turns sharply in the forces of the Light’s favor with the arrival of Tirion Fordring, who uses the Light’s power to force Darion to his knees before berating him for blindly following the Lich King.
Highlord Tirion Fordring says: Have you learned nothing, boy? You have become all that your father fought against! Like that coward, Arthas, you allowed yourself to be consumed by the darkness, the hate… feeding upon the misery of those you tortured and killed!
Highlord Tirion Fordring says: Your master knows what lies beneath the chapel. That is why he dares not show his face! He’s sent you and your death knights to meet their doom, Darion.
Highlord Tirion Fordring says: What you are feeling right now is the anguish of a thousand lost souls! Souls that you and your master brought here! The Light will tear you apart, Darion!
To Darion’s shock, a vision of his father and his younger self appears. You watch as the son speaks of joining the fight against the Scourge with his father, and the father promising the day will one day come. In this vision, Highlord Alexandros Mograine is wielding the Uncorrupted Ashbringer, which became corrupted when Darion’s brother, Renault Mograine betrayed their father and used the blade to murder him.
Darion Mograine says: If I die, Father, I would rather it be on my feet, standing in defiance against the undead legions! If I die, let me die with you!
Highlord Alexandros Mograine says: My son, there will come a day when you will command the Ashbringer and, with it, mete out justice across this land. I have no doubt that when that day finally comes, you will bring pride to our people and that Lordaeron will be a better place because of you. But, my son, that day is not today.
Highlord Alexandros Mograine says: Do not forget…
The vision is interrupted by the Lich King himself, who arrives to kill Tirion – only he is unable to, due to Darion’s intervention. Still shaken by his vision, Darion throws the Ashbringer to Tirion – as the Paladin catches it, the sword is miraculously cleansed. Arthas is forced to flee before the Light’s power.
As for the Death Knights of the Ebon Blade, you are now free of the Lich King’s influence. Under the leadership of Darion Mograine, the Ebon Blade join the Alliance and Horde, and take part in the war effort against the Lich King.
To experience this story in-game, all you need to do is play through the original Death Knight opening experience. On retail, you’ll want to choose one of the original races when creating a Death Knight: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome, Drenei, Orc, Undead, Tauren, Troll, or Blood Elf. Alternatively, if you’ve met the requirements, you can play through the Death Knight opening questline on Wrath of the Lich King Classic.
Bolvar’s Death Knights
After Arthas’s defeat in Wrath of the Lich King, Bolvar Fordragon made the sacrifice to become the new Lich King at the Frozen Throne. For many years, Bolvar was silent, until the events of Legion. In response to the Legion’s threat, Bolvar reached out to the Ebon Blade, who agreed to once again ally themselves with a Lich King.
Though the Legion was eventually defeated, Bolvar sensed a growing imbalance in the Shadowlands – one that convinced him to start recruiting more Death Knights, largely from heroes who had fallen in the Fourth War.
Highlord Darion Mograine says: Dire times call for new allies. You come from a strong people. No doubt you will serve the Ebon Blade well.
Highlord Darion Mograine says: It seems the Lich King has sensed the same truth as we have. That a rising threat stalks us from the shadows, and that we must bolster our ranks to face it.
Highlord Darion Mograine says: There is little time for ceremony, <name>. Take up your blade and prove your mettle. Conquer the darkness. Become its master.
Highlord Darion Mograine says: Many in this world will fear you. Revile you. But they need you, more than they know.
Highlord Darion Mograine says: Go forth and claim your destiny, death knight. And through all the trials you endure… suffer well.
To experience being recruited as a fourth generation Death Knight yourself in-game, simply create a Death Knight in retail from one of the newer races: Goblin, Worgen, Pandaren, or any Allied Race.
But for a real in-depth view of Bolvar’s Death Knights, you’ll want to play through Shadowlands… We’re kidding. WE’RE KIDDING. You’ll want to play through the Death Knight Legion Order Hall. More information about this campaign can be found in our Class Hall Campaign guide. While this story is set before the fourth generation of Death Knights were raised, it goes into detail to explain the Ebon Blade under Bolvar specifically, including the recruitment of the new Four Horsemen.
Death Knights and the Red Dragonflight
After playing a major role in Shadowlands, Bolvar Fordragon has been cautiously absent from Dragonflight, and probably for good reason. One of the Death Knight Order Hall campaign quests involves raising a red dragon to be used as a new, undead mount. To discover the dragon’s resting place, the Ebon Blade are sent into the Ruby Sanctum to interrogate the red dragons – who did not want to share.
Bolvar Fordragon
Spare who you will, or slay them all… the choice is yours.
If players choose to completely wipe out the dragons of the Ruby Sanctum, Bolvar even has a special line for them.
The Lich King says: You are empty inside, just like me.
Whether or not Ebon Blade Death Knights wiping out the Ruby Sanctum is canon, the Red Dragonflight clearly was never happy about one of their own being raised and desecrated this way.
Death Knights aren’t the only ones to have an uncomfortable history with the Red Dragonflight. Orcs infamously rode red dragons into battle during the Second War, after enslaving Alexstrasza with the Demon Soul. However, this dark history is addressed directly in Dragonflight with the Duroz & Kolgar side quests from the Waking Shore. Unfortunately, there has been no such closure for Death Knights – even though their actions are a lot more recent.
In fact, Bolvar and the Ebon Blade were even absent in the recent final battle for Amirdrassil – when defenders from all over Azeroth appear to help in the fight against Fyrakk – and they’re also absent from the party celebrating Amirdrassil’s blooming. This could simply be because they played an important role in Shadowlands, and so are getting a break, but the lack of presence is interesting, considering the fact that Bolvar does have very good reason to keep away from Alexstrasza, especially now that she has returned to full power.
Dragonflight’s main plot is done, but the story isn’t over yet. Could we still see a confrontation between these two in the future? It would certainly be interesting.
