Frozen Throne
- This article is about the physical Frozen Throne. For the Icecrown Citadel raid, see Icecrown Citadel (instance). For the Warcraft III expansion, see Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
The Frozen Throne was the receptacle of the soul of the orc Ner'zhul following his transformation into the Lich King. It stood atop a tall spire within a vast chamber of ice and was described as a diamond-hard block.[1] Following the Third War, Arthas Menethil ascended the spire, shattered the ice with Frostmourne, and made it into a much more literal throne.[1] After the throne chamber collapsed, Arthas merged with Ner'zhul into the new Lich King. He used the remnants of the Frozen Throne as the seat from which he commanded the Scourge.[2]
After Arthas was defeated by the champions of Azeroth, Bolvar Fordragon encased himself, and the Frozen Throne, once again in ice, containing the threat of the Scourge as long as he could. Years later, he was defeated by Sylvanas Windrunner, who destroyed the Helm of Domination, ending the position of Lich King and leaving the Frozen Throne empty.
History
Birth of the Lich King
After the destruction of Draenor in 8 ADP, Kil'jaeden captured Ner'zhul in the Twisting Nether, then made him suffer unimaginable tortures at the Burning Legion's hands. When Ner'zhul agreed to serve the demon lord, the latter passed the orc's spirit through death and revived him as a spectral entity, then expanded his consciousness a thousandfold to grant him extraordinary psychic powers. The nathrezim later bound this disembodied spirit to a specially crafted set of armor and a mighty mourneblade called Frostmourne, which were locked in a specially crafted block of diamond-hard ice gathered from the far reaches of the Twisting Nether. At that moment, the orc known as Ner'zhul was shattered forever, and the Lich King was born.[3][4]
Through a tremendous expenditure of power, Kil'jaeden opened a small portal and cast the Lich King's icy cask back into the world of Azeroth, where the hardened crystal streaked across the night sky and smashed into the desolate arctic continent of Northrend, burying itself deep within the Icecrown glacier. The frozen crystal, warped and scarred by its violent descent, came to resemble a throne, and Ner'zhul's vengeful spirit soon stirred within it. While Ner'zhul learned to use his powers, the nathrezim began to construct fortifications around the Frozen Throne, the foundation of Icecrown Citadel.[5][6]
Among the individuals tempted by the power he could offer, Archmage Kel'Thuzad of Dalaran answered the call, and eventually journeyed to Northrend to witness the power of the Lich King.[7] Within the endless cavern of ice and shadows, he prostrated himself before the Frozen Throne and offered his soul to Ner'zhul, who promised him immortality and great power in exchange for his loyalty and obedience. Eager for dark knowledge and power, the human accepted his first great mission: to found a new religion that would worship the Lich King as a god: the Cult of the Damned.[8]
While the plague of Undeath spread through Lordaeron, the Lich King needed a mighty champion to extend his will beyond the Frozen Throne. With the dreadlords' approval, Ner'zhul channeled his power within the Frozen Throne and broke away a chunk of ice containing Frostmourne at the base of Icecrown Glacier, where it would await its future victim: Arthas Menethil.[9]
Ascension of the Lich King
- Main article: Ascension of the Lich King
During the Third War in 20 ADP, a small band of paladins of the Knights of the Silver Hand traveled to Northrend. When they finally reached Ner'zhul's icy fortress, embittered by the trials they had to suffer through, they had become dark and brooding. The Lich King offered them untold power in exchange for their service and loyalty, and they accepted to become death knights to his service.[10]
Following the Battle of Mount Hyjal, Illidan Stormrage was charged by Kil'jaeden with destroying the Frozen Throne, as the Lich King had betrayed the Burning Legion.[11] After he recovered the Eye of Sargeras and brought it to Dalaran, Illidan and his naga summoners used the artifact, combined with Dalaran's natural magical energies, to create devastating earthquakes that would tear Icecrown apart. However, the intervention of his brother Malfurion Stormrage, along with Maiev Shadowsong and Prince Kael'thas, stopped Illidan from completing his goal.[12][13]
Though he did not succeed in destroying the throne, Illidan's spell did rupture it, causing the Lich King to lose more of his power each day.[14] Knowing he would eventually fade from existence altogether, Ner'zhul had no choice but to merge with his greatest champion, Arthas Menethil, to free himself from the Frozen Throne.[15] As his essence was bleeding through the crack in the Frozen Throne, the Lich King's hold on the Scourge weakened, allowing many undead in Lordaeron to recover their free will. They later united under the command of Sylvanas Windrunner as the Forsaken.[16]
Fearing that Kil'jaeden would punish him for his failure, Illidan hid on Outland, the broken world of Ner'zhul, until the demon lord found him and commanded him to try again.[17] At the head of an army, Illidan invaded Icecrown in a bid to attack the throne directly.[18] He was ultimately defeated by Arthas, who ascended the spire, shattered the throne with Frostmourne, and donned the Helm of Domination, which contained Ner'zhul's spirit. Both ultimately merged into the new Lich King, and "The Frozen Throne" came to refer to the remnants of the crystal that Arthas physically sat upon as an actual throne.[2]
In the following years, as his body sat motionless on the Frozen Throne, Arthas concluded that sharing the Lich King's might with Ner'zhul would only lead to disagreements, confusion, and disorder. Only a single mind could wield this power with precision and harness its true potential. Both beings went to war for permanent control until Arthas clawed his way through the orc's mental wounds, tearing his mind apart. He then spent years recovering his strength, raising his armies in Northrend and ordering his most trusted agents to prepare themselves for their final war against the world.[19]
The Frozen Throne spire in The Ascension.
The ice spire inside a massive chamber.
Arthas walking up the stairs of the spire.
Arthas approaching the Frozen Throne.
Arthas facing the throne.
Ner'zhul imprisoned moments before release.
Wrath of the Lich King
During the war against the Lich King in 27 ADP, the Frozen Throne served as the final subzone of the Icecrown Citadel raid, where the Lich King was encountered. The area had been rebuilt into a much more complex and extreme form at some point after the Lich King ended his dormancy. When Highlord Tirion Fordring and his champions arrived at the top of Icecrown Citadel, they discovered the disfigured Bolvar Fordragon suspended by chains above the Frozen Throne,[20] where the Lich King tortured him but could not break him.[21] In a valiant battle that shook Icecrown Citadel to its foundations, the champions of Azeroth ultimately defeated Arthas, who, in his dying moments, felt the corruption of the Frozen Throne fading away from him.[22]
After the death of Arthas, the spirit of King Terenas Menethil II warned that an uncontrolled Scourge would be all the more dangerous. Someone would have to take Arthas's place. While Tirion was ready for this sacrifice and took up the Helm of Domination, Bolvar intervened. Calling from his seat upon the Frozen Throne, his body warped by the red dragonflight's fire and his mind scarred, he declared that he could never walk among the living again. As a last act of service to Azeroth, Bolvar asked Tirion to place the Helm of Domination on his head. As the self-appointed "Jailer of the Damned," Bolvar sought to keep the Scourge under control for the sake of Azeroth. While he encased himself and the Frozen Throne once again in ice, he warned Tirion that no one could know what had happened here. He then instructed Tirion to tell the world that the Lich King was dead — and that Bolvar Fordragon had died with him.[23]
The Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner later traveled to the Frozen Throne, where she discovered that Bolvar was the new Lich King. Having no more reason to persist in her tormented existence, she flung herself from the top of Icecrown Citadel,[24][25] believing its saronite spikes would grant her rest.[26]
Warlords of Draenor
During the war in Draenor in 31 ADP, Darion Mograine traveled to alternate Draenor to find something that would unlock the secrets of the Frozen Throne, noting that the Knights of the Ebon Blade were no closer in their research than during the war against the Lich King. He also mentioned that Bolvar was still resigned to his fate at the time.[27][28]
Legion
During the third invasion of the Burning Legion in 32 ADP, the Lich King ordered the champion death knight to gather the fragments of Frostmourne across Icecrown Citadel, including the hilt that was found at the Frozen Throne. With their powers, the Deathlord forged the Blades of the Fallen Prince and then purged them from the echoes of Arthas and Ner'zhul.[29] After the Ebon Blade gathered all their artifacts, Bolvar Fordragon brought his champion to the Frozen Throne and bestowed his blessing upon them.[30][31]
Battle for Azeroth
During the Fourth War in 33 ADP, Vol'jin sought to find out who had whispered to him on his deathbed to name Sylvanas Windrunner as the new Warchief of the Horde. Along with Baine Bloodhoof, Talanji, and a Horde adventurer, he traveled to the Frozen Throne to confront Bolvar about it. The Lich King revealed he was not responsible and that Sylvanas was upsetting the balance of life and death. Furthermore, he informed Vol'jin that he had been altered more than he realized and that, as neither undead nor damned, he did not belong at the Frozen Throne, sending his ghouls to force them to flee.[32] After the armistice, a new generation of death knights was raised by Bolvar at the Frozen Throne and sent into the land of the living by Highlord Darion Mograine.[33]
Shadowlands
In Year 35 ADP, Sylvanas Windrunner traveled to Icecrown and defeated the Lich King Bolvar Fordragon at the Frozen Throne, using the powers granted by Zovaal the Jailer. When she broke the Helm of Domination, the resulting explosion was so powerful that it shattered the border between life and death, creating an ominous rift in the skies above Icecrown Citadel.[34][35]
Following the war against the Jailer, the Bronzebeard brothers reported that the throne was waiting, empty.[1]
Dragonflight
During the Time Rifts in Thaldraszus, heroes traveled to an alternate universe named Azmourne, where Arthas and his undead armies had succeeded in scourging the world. The adventurers eventually encountered the Lich King atop the Frozen Throne, much like the original battle in the primary timeline.
In the RPG
The Lich King sits on the Frozen Throne at the bottom of the rift, and his glory and power are terrible. Four stone obelisks carved with runes of powerful magic surround it. Bridges of pale blue, translucent energy stretch from the obelisk platforms to the Frozen Throne. Jets of frost periodically spew blue flames into the air, and there are glyphs carved into the rocky ground surrounding the Throne. Whoever wishes to enter the Throne Chamber, to risk the Lich King's wrath, must activate all four obelisks.[36]
Descriptions and speculations
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This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.
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The exact description of the original throne chamber before its destruction has differed between sources. In The Frozen Throne, it was described and shown as lying within a frozen peak at the center of a valley in Icecrown. The RPG described the Frozen Throne as sitting at the bottom of a rift made upon its impact. The novel Arthas: Rise of the Lich King implies that the throne chamber was deep inside a cavern within the Icecrown Glacier itself, which sat in the middle of a valley.
Road to Damnation doesn't make reference to the cavern or rift (although the "very peak of Icecrown" is mentioned), but instead describes the Frozen Throne as sitting inside a massive chamber inside a citadel. This could be a reference to the overall fortified nature of the throne chamber. Both Arthas[37] and Kel'Thuzad[38] were said to have traveled downward before ascending the spire.
In Wrath of the Lich King, it seems as if the developers went with the original description from The Frozen Throne. Angrathar the Wrath Gate appears to connect directly to the current Icecrown Citadel via a tunnel drilled through a mountain. This mountain is most likely what's left of the original frozen peak that housed the throne chamber, though it stands further south than it was implied to be before.
Trivia
- Prophet Velen saw a vision of one possible future where a successive Lich King (which may or may not be Bolvar) rises from the Frozen Throne. This new Lich King is even more terrible than Arthas or Ner'zhul, and sweeps across the land with thousands of skeletal warriors in his wake. When the Burning Legion returns, Azeroth is already dead and the demons laugh and play with the undead draenei.[39]
- The Lichen King and his quotes are a reference to the Lich King, Fungmourne a reference to Frostmourne, and the Fungal Throne to the Frozen Throne.
- In Diablo Immortal, a larger crossover event called the "Eternal War" introduced a slew of Warcraft-themed cosmetics, including a battle against the Lich King on the Frozen Throne.[40]
Gallery
- World of Warcraft
The Spire, a stairway to the Frozen Throne.
The Frozen Throne, as seen from outside Icecrown Citadel.
Arthas seated on the throne.
Bolvar Fordragon sitting on the Frozen Throne when Arthas dies.
Lich King Bolvar iced on the Frozen Throne.
Lich King Bolvar and the new Four Horsemen at the Frozen Throne.
- Cinematic stills
Lich King Arthas frozen in the throne before emerging.
Sylvanas in front of the Frozen Throne in The King & The Queen.
The Frozen Throne in Justice Trailer.
The Lich King Ner'zhul imprisoned within the Frozen Throne.
Warcraft III Legacy of the Damned campaign menu.
The Frozen Throne, from the main menu of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
The original menu featured a darker version of the throne.
- Art and concepts
Lich King Arthas sitting on the throne by Glowei.
Arthas sitting with his helmet off by Glenn Rane.
Lich King Ner'zhul and the throne in the Trading Card Game.
Different illustration in the TCG.
The Frozen Throne on the Assault on Icecrown Citadel TCG raid deck art.
Concept art for the interior of the citadel and the spire leading up to the throne.
The Frozen Throne in Fate.
The Frozen Throne spire by Samwise Didier.
Concept with chains.
Arthas and the Frozen Throne by Bernie Kang.
- Other
Patch changes
- Patch 3.3.0 (2009-12-08): Added.
References
- ^ a b c Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 142
- ^ a b The Ascension
- ^
[The Birth of the Lich King]
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 17
- ^
[Icecrown and the Frozen Throne]
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 18
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 29 - 30
- ^ Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos manual, pg. 97-98
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 39
- ^ Warcraft III - Undead -> Units -> Death Knight.
- ^ Illidan's Task
- ^ The Ruins of Dalaran
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 91
- ^
[Civil War in the Plaguelands]
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 98 - 100
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 94
- ^ Kil'jaeden's Command
- ^ A Symphony of Frost and Flame
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 171 - 172
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 186
- ^ Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 142
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 186 - 187
- ^ Lich King (tactics)#Closing cinematic
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 188
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 8
- ^ Edge of Night
- ^
[40H] Shadowy Secrets
- ^ [40H Daily] Secrets of Soulbinding
- ^
[10-45] The Call of Icecrown
- ^ [10-45] The Call of Vengeance
- ^
[10-45] The Dead and the Damned
- ^
[50] Jailor of the Damned
- ^ [10] Defender of Azeroth
- ^ The King & The Queen
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4, pg. 175
- ^ Lands of Mystery, pg. 108
- ^ Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, pg. 299
- ^ The Road to Damnation, pg. 3
- ^ Prophet's Lesson
- ^ Azeroth Unleashes Eternal War in Sanctuary. Blizzard Entertainment (2024-11-05).
External links
| Icecrown Citadel | Icecrown Citadel | Death knight scenario | Death knight scenario | BfA scenario | BfA scenario |
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