Arthas Menethil
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| Arthas Menethil | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Human |
| Character class | Death Knight; formerly a Paladin |
| Affiliation | The Scourge; formerly The Alliance |
| Occupation | Lich King; Former Champion of the Scourge; former Prince of the Kingdom of Lordaeron |
Arthas Menethil is a fictional character in the Warcraft universe, a fictional universe in which a series of games and books are set.
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[edit] Backstory
Arthas Menethil is the son of King Terenas king of Lordaeron, the northernmost Human kingdom, and is thus the crown prince of Lordaeron. He has a sister named Calia Menethil. Arthas was first introduced in the novel Day of the Dragon as a young boy. At the age of nineteen he was inducted into the Knights of the Silver Hand at the behest and with the sponsorship of the renowned paladin Uther Lightbringer. It is indicated in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne that he had once competed with Prince Kael'thas of the Elven Kingdom of Quel'Thalas to win the heart and hand of Jaina Proudmoore. Little else is known of Arthas during his younger years.
[edit] Role in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
[edit] As a Paladin
At the beginning of the first part in the single-player campaign, Arthas is battling orcs when he hears of a mysterious plague in the north of Lordaeron. Arthas and Jaina Proudmoore journey northward in a desperate bid to outrace the plague, confronted at every step by a necromancer named Kel'Thuzad. The necromancer, apparently testing them, always departs with cryptic remarks directed towards Arthas about his eventual fate. Eventually Jaina and Arthas manage to slay Kel'Thuzad, but the plague, transmitted by infected grain, has already been distributed across the countryside by unwitting farmers and merchants. Arthas, in great agony at his failure, determines to slaughter the entire population of Stratholme before the plague takes effect, but Uther refuses to follow the order. Arthas rashly removes both Uther and the Knights of the Silver hand from their positions, resulting in their departure, as well as Jaina's. Arthas and his remaining forces begin to slay the city's population in their sleep. During this time a Dreadlord named Mal'Ganis taunts Arthas, converting some of the city's residents into zombies through the plague. Arthas' purge becomes a race against Mal'Ganis. In the end, Arthas prevails and Mal'Ganis flees to the northern continent of Northrend, pursued by a vengeful Arthas.
One week later, Arthas arrives in Northrend with a small group of loyal men. His travels lead him to encounter a group of stranded dwarves exploring the continent in search of a runeblade named Frostmourne. Arthas quickly enlists their aid, and with the help of their leader, Arthas' old friend Muradin Bronzebeard, they cut through the Undead. Upon hearing that his father has recalled the expedition, Arthas hires mercenaries to burn the ships that he had used to sail to Northrend, effectively stranding his men. Arthas then blames the mercenaries for the burning of the ships, and his army destroys them.
As the Alliance assault moves towards the citadel of Mal'Ganis, Arthas and Muradin take a force of men through monster-infested caverns to reach Frostmourne, hidden deep under a mountain. When Muradin and Arthas finally find the sword, the dwarf realizes it is cursed and warns his friend. However Arthas, consumed by rage and and a lust for vengeance, ignores the warning and takes the sword; the ice around Frostmourne shatters and a shard of it kills Muradin. Arthas is unmoved by the dwarf's death, rejoicing at finally having the instrument of Mal'Ganis' destruction and remarking that the death of his friend is an acceptable sacrifice when weighed against the chance for revenge. Abandoning his warhammer, the prince takes up the cursed blade and rejoins his men. He uses the newfound power of Frostmourne to lead his army to victory over the Undead, and eventually faces Mal'Ganis in single combat. Mal'Ganis gloats that he knew Arthas would choose the path of power, regardless of its outcome. To the dreadlord's surprise, Arthas exacts his vengeance, slaying Mal'Ganis, and marches off into the snow, abandoning the remnants of his army.
[edit] As a Death Knight
An undefined amount of time passes until the ending cinematic of the Human campaign, in which a black-clad Arthas walks through the streets of the Capital City of Lordaeron, while ringing church bells and strewn flower petals herald his return; at his touch, the rose petals seem to wither. Flanked by two hooded figures, he walks into the royal throne room, kneels before King Terenas, then kills him in full view of all present. This event marks the end of the human kingdom of Lordaeron.
At the beginning of the second part of the campaign, Arthas is greeted as a Death Knight by Tichondrius. He learns that upon taking up Frostmourne, he began to hear the voice of the Lich King Ner'zhul, who had forged the blade for the purpose of stealing souls. The first it claimed was Arthas'. Arthas is instructed to gather together Kel'Thuzad's Cult of the Damned, then to recover the remains of the necromancer for resurrection. Upon doing so, he sees the ghost of Kel'Thuzad, who tells him not to trust the Dreadlords. Tichondrius instructs Arthas to retrieve a sacred urn to carry the necromancer's remains, and Arthas kills his one-time mentor Uther Lightbringer (who, along with many of the remaining paladins continue to resist Arthas) to obtain it. Arthas then journeys to the woods of Quel'thalas, the homeland of the High Elves. He battles his way through the Elven defenders, killing the Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner and subsequently resurrecting her as a Banshee. The Undead assault the elven capital of Silvermoon and capture the Sunwell, the source of magic for the High Elves. Here Kel'Thuzad is reborn as a Lich.
Kel'Thuzad tells Arthas that the plague had been an initial strike by the Burning Legion, a demonic army that employed the Dreadlords and had spent countless millennia rampaging through the Great Dark Beyond. The Burning Legion was led by the Arch-Warlock Archimonde, and was preparing to destroy the world of Azeroth. Arthas and Kel'Thuzad next set their sights on the nearby Blackrock Orc Clan village guarding a demonic portal that would allow Kel'Thuzad to contact Archimonde. After assaulting the Blackrock Orcs and crushing them, Kel'Thuzad communicates with Archimonde, who tells the lich how to open a portal to the world of Azeroth. Arthas and Kel'Thuzad assault the wizards' city of Dalaran and claim the spellbook of Medivh, the Last Guardian. Using the book, Kel'Thuzad summons Archimonde to Azeroth, whose first action is to destroy the entire city of Dalaran at once using an eldritch spell, ending the second part of the campaign.
Arthas is absent for most of the remainder of the game; he makes one brief appearance facing off against the newly released Illidan Stormrage amid the corrupted forests of Ashenvale. Arthas tells Illidan how to acquire the Skull of Gul'dan and defeat their mutual enemy Tichondrius, which deals a heavy blow to the Burning Legion.
[edit] Role in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
The player next encounters Arthas during the third part of The Frozen Throne. After the downfall of the Burning Legion at the end of Reign of Chaos, Arthas journeys from Kalimdor back to Lordaeron. Upon his arrival, he launches an assault against the remaining Dreadlords ruling over the ruins of Lordaeron's Capital City, and declares himself king. It is then revealed that before the story of Warcraft III even began, the Lich King pushed the sword Frostmourne out of the Frozen Throne so Arthas could find it. A fracture in the Lich King's icy prison formed, leading to his loss of power. Arthas, his strength directly linked to the Lich King by his possession of Frostmourne, suffers seizures and loss of strength. Regaining her freedom of will from the weakened Lich King, Sylvanas and her banshees rebel. Her dreadlord allies occupy the Capital City, and Sylvanas herself plans an ambush to kill Arthas and avenge her ruined homeland of Quel'thalas, but is foiled by Kel'Thuzad's intervention.
Arthas escapes and heads to Northrend at the Lich King's summons. Waiting to meet him is a legendary king of the Nerubians, Anub'arak. Using their combined might, Arthas and Anub'arak descend into the depths of the ancient spider kingdom Azjol-Nerub, cutting through Illidan's Naga and Blood Elf warriors, as well as a company of Dwarves. Eventually Arthas and Anub'arak emerge at the base of the Frozen Throne. There, in a battle against the combined Naga and Blood Elf forces, the Undead manage to drive them back. In the end, a rejuvenated Arthas confronts Illidan at the base of Icecrown Citadel. A battle ensues and Arthas and Illidan fight each other fiercely. Eventually, Illidan is defeated and lies in a death-like state at the Ice Crown Glacier. Victorious, Arthas ascends to the Frozen Throne, ignoring echoes of voices from his past. The Lich King commands Arthas to release him from the Frozen Throne with Frostmourne, and Arthas does, freeing a helmet containing the Lich King's spirit. Arthas picks up the helmet and places it on his head, uniting the spirits of the Lich King and Arthas Menethil. The final scene in the game depicts the helmed figure sitting on the remnants of the Frozen Throne, frost and ice settling around and on him.
While some fans suspected that Arthas had killed Illidan, Blizzard has repeatedly assured them that this is not true and that the original script for that scene would have made it clear that Arthas had simply beaten him into submission and humiliated him. As a result, Illidan is present in the expansion pack to World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, having fled to Outland to lick his wounds and build a bulwark against the Lich King/Arthas, the Scourge and the Burning Legion.
[edit] Role in World of Warcraft
Arthas's role in World of Warcraft is, as yet, unconfirmed. However, in the Eastern and Western Plaguelands the Scourge appears to be rising in power, a fact which has given rise to very ominous rumors of his return. He has a floating Necropolis, Naxxramas, built in the Eastern Plaguelands to bolster his army further. In charge of this 40-man raid instance is the Lich Kel'Thuzad. The voice of the Lich King is heard through out the Kel'Thuzad boss encounter.
Though very little has been revealed about Arthas' role in World of Warcraft, it has been rumored that the continent of Northrend will be the primary focus of the second expansion pack. Northrend houses the Frozen Throne and the ruins of the Nerubian kingdom Azjol-Nerub. There is no concrete evidence or citations from official Blizzard staff confirming the aforementioned content, but numerous implications on the game forums by various community managers support the notion. Many fans of Warcraft III believe that if Blizzard keeps true to the continuity of the story, that Arthas, if included in this rumored potential expansion, would probably be the most powerful single unit in the entire game. This is based on his single-handed defeat of Illidan, who is arguably the second most powerful character in the story, and also because Arthas has now ascended to a completely new level of power that is above and beyond any other non-monster, humanoid character in the Warcraft universe.
Blizzard employees have hinted that player characters will not stand a chance against Arthas until they are capable of advancing to level 90 at least. The level cap currently stands at 70 with the Burning Crusade expansion. Even then, Arthas is very likely to be the boss of a major raiding instance, and probably stronger than all but the most powerful raiding parties.
[edit] Shadow of the Necropolis quotes
(Download the speech by clicking the text)
- It is good that you serve me so faithfully... Soon, all will serve the Lich King. And in the end, you shall be rewarded. So long as you do not falter. (he says this shortly before the fight with Kel'thuzad)
- Your security measures have failed! See to this interruption immediately! (He says this once Kel'thuzad notices the raid in Naxxramas)
- Very well... Warriors, of the frozen wastes, rise up, I command you to fight, kill, and die, for your master. Let none survive... (He says this in response to Kel'thuzad's quote "Master! I require aid!")
[edit] Criticism of the Character
While support for the storyline in Warcraft III and its expansion remain strong, a number of critics have pointed to similarities between Arthas and Darth Vader of Star Wars. Some of these similarities include the fact that both characters are bold, arrogant young men, only admitted into a knighthood of warriors over the objection of senior members, who then are corrupted by power and become dreaded dark lords of a greater evil.
It should be noted however that while most people find the similarities above, Arthas in fact bears considerable similarity to Siegfried Stauffen (Schtauffen in Soul Calibur 3), notably in regards to his campaign for the sword Frostmourne, which is incredibly similar to the plot of Soul Edge. Frostmourne is incredibly similar to Soul Edge, in that both swords are sentient, evil and possess whoever wields them, although it should be noted that in their respective games Frostmourne played a considerably smaller role than Soul Edge. Further, Arthas is similar to Siegfried in that he is arrogant and brash and like Siegfried. Both men also killed thier own fathers, Siegfried killing an unidentified man whom he later recognized as his father, and Arthas knowingly murdering his father in order to gain his throne.
[edit] External links
| Warcraft Universe |
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| Aegwynn | Alleria Windrunner | Antonidas | Anub'arak | Archimonde | Azshara | Balnazzar | Cairne Bloodhoof | Cenarius | Killrogg Deadeye | Orgrim Doomhammer | Durotan | Elune | Shandris Feathermoon | Garona Halforcen | Gul'dan | Grom Hellscream | Kel'Thuzad | Khadgar | Kil'jaeden | Anduin Lothar | Mannoroth | Medivh | Arthas Menethil | King Terenas Menethil | Nefarian | Neltharion | Ner'zhul | Nozdormu | Captain Placeholder | Admiral Daelin Proudmoore | Jaina Proudmoore | Rexxar | Rhonin | Rokhan | Sargeras | Sen'jin | Maiev Shadowsong | Fandral Staghelm | Illidan Stormrage | Malfurion Stormrage | Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider | Thrall | Tichondrius | Uther the Lightbringer | Lady Vashj | Vol'jin | Sylvanas Windrunner | Tyrande Whisperwind | Zul'jin |
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