Ruins of Lordaeron
- This article is about the in-game ruins. For the history before the ruins, see Capital City. For the arena, see Ruins of Lordaeron (arena).
 Ruins of Lordaeron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Capital City |
| Races |
  Forsaken    Darkfallen Abomination Slime giant |
| Formerly |
 Skeletons Wraith |
| Ruler(s) |
Desolate Council |
| Former ruler(s) |
 Queen Sylvanas Windrunner Varimathras † Balnazzar † Detheroc King Arthas Menethil † |
| Affiliation | Forsaken, Horde |
| Former affiliation(s) | Knights of the Silver Hand, Dreadlord Insurgents, Scourge |
| Location | Southern Tirisfal Glades |
| Status | Active |
The Ruins of Lordaeron (or Lordaeron Keep,[1] also called Ruins of Capital City[2] and Capital City Ruins, and sometimes referred to as Lordaeron City)[3] is the remains of the city of Lordaeron, the great capital city of the Kingdom of Lordaeron. It was destroyed by the Scourge after Arthas Menethil betrayed his people and set on the path to become the Lich King. The area is literally haunted by the final tragic events that led to the death of King Terenas and the city's destruction. Lordaeron's palace still stands, and once served as an entrance into the Forsaken capital of the Undercity.
After the events of the Battle for Lordaeron, the Forsaken lost control of the ruins, and the city was further devastated and completely blighted. The ruins could be flown over afterward, but getting too close to the ground would kill the player due to the blight. After the fall of the Jailer, the Forsaken, aided by adventurers of both the Alliance and Horde, utilized techniques learned in Maldraxxus to purge the blight from the ruins. Afterward, the city became their new capital, watched over by the new Desolate Council. The city also holds a translocation orb that links to Silvermoon City. It also has several portals that lead to Orgrimmar, Vengeance Landing and Grom'gol Base Camp; in lieu of the still ruined zeppelin towers that once led to these locations.
History
For the lore before the ruins, see Capital City.
Warcraft III
After the massacre of its citizens at the hands of the Scourge and the destruction of the city and its Alliance defenders, the ruins were overseen by Balnazzar, Detheroc, and Varimathras.
Several months after the end of the Third War, detachments of the surviving paladins of the Knights of the Silver Hand emerged from the rubble of the Lordaeron to form a resistance against the Scourge and to protect those who fled to Dalaran, recaptured by the Alliance resistance led by Grand Marshal Garithos.[4] Among them, the Crippling Force, the Defenders of Justice and the Circle of Holy Light guarded the ruined Lordaeron palace gardens, respectively under the command of Dagren the Orcslayer, Magroth the Defender and Halahk the Lifebringer. However, their combined efforts were not enough, as they were defeated by Arthas Menethil, Kel'Thuzad, and Sylvanas Windrunner on their return from Kalimdor, enabling the Scourge to murder the survivors and destroyed the resistance.[5] After his victory, Arthas ousted the dreadlords of the ruined city and named himself King of Lordaeron.[6]
When Ner'zhul recalled Arthas to Northrend, Balnazzar took control over the city once again. The combined forces of Grand Marshal Garithos and Sylvanas Windrunner defeated Balnazzar, at which point Sylvanas betrayed her allies and took the city for herself.[7] The Undercity, which lies beneath the ruins of the city, became the capital of the Forsaken.
World of Warcraft
To this day you can still hear the moments before King Terenas' death; hushed whispers in the courtyard, the clanging of bells in the entryway, the faint cheer echoing the welcome of Prince Arthas, and the murmur of voices in the throne room. One such sentence that is uttered says "This kingdom shall fall, and from the ashes shall arise a new order that will shake the very foundations of the world." — Arthas after slaying his father, and proclaiming the Scourge's invasion and victory over Lordaeron. If you can detect invisibility, you will see the ghosts of the citizens of Lordaeron still haunting the castle's courtyard. Beneath the ruins now lies the Forsaken capital city — the Undercity, where the dark queen prepares to conquer the lands to the east and south.
The lands outside the ruins are no longer full of cheerful people enjoying the sun, but with demons such as Darkhounds and Duskbats and the Scourge lurking nearby at the borders of the Plaguelands.
Prior to the start of the invasion of Outland, the gates of Lordaeron were invaded by a group of Burning Legion demons led by Highlord Kruul.[8]
A new section of this zone holding an Orb of Translocation was added that connects the Undercity to the blood elf capital of Silvermoon City for those with the Burning Crusade expansion. Additionally, an Arena was added.
The Horde forces led by Thrall and Sylvanas battled through the entrance against Varimathras's demons.
Cataclysm
The city received an overhaul and is finally completely visible to players due to the addition of flying mounts to the Eastern Kingdoms. The architecture of the Ruins of Lordaeron as well as the Undercity was not heavily changed in Cataclysm, however, it was updated to allow flying mounts. Little Forsaken presence could be seen here until patch 4.2.0, when the area was populated with Forsaken Citizens and Kor'kron Overseers. Apothecary Initiates were also added near the plague wagons.
Warlords of Draenor
Following the fall of Garrosh Hellscream during the Siege of Orgrimmar, the Kor'kron Overseers left the Forsaken capital, and the abominations returned to their posts as Undercity Guardians.
Battle for Azeroth
Capital City was put under siege by the Alliance during the reignited war between the Alliance and the Horde. Led by High King Anduin Wrynn, the Alliance sought to reclaim the fallen capital from the Forsaken and the Horde. Though Sylvanas and the Horde put up a fierce defense, the Alliance routed the Horde from the city. Rather than let the Alliance claim Lordaeron as a stronghold, Sylvanas had rigged all of the Undercity and Lordaeron Keep to be blighted. In the end, the Horde was forced to abandon Capital City and the Undercity beneath it, leaving the ruins plagued and unclaimed, only occupied by the living skeletons that fell during the siege.
By the time of the end of the Fourth War, Renzik "The Shiv" reported that parts of the ruins of Lordaeron appear slightly less dangerous as if the blight was slowly fading, but the toxic blight will likely take a very long time to disperse completely.[9]
Shadowlands
After retaking Brill and bringing back a plague eater empowered by the magic of Maldraxxus, the Forsaken launched an attack on the blight spread across the Ruins of Lordaeron, unleashing the plague eaters on it. The consumed blight and the plague eaters manifested into an Amalgam.[10] After its defeat, prominent leaders formed the new Desolate Council in the courtyard of the Ruins of Lordaeron, and the Forsaken returned home.[11]
Dragonflight
A few years later, the Scarlet Crusade forces under the command of Scarlet Commander Forsythe seized Fenris Isle and launched an attack upon the Ruins of Lorderon.[12] In response, the Desolate Council rallied their people and launched a counterattack, in which they claimed Fenris Isle and killed Forsythe. In the aftermath of the battle, the Forsaken celebrated their victory in the Ruins of Lordaeron.[13]
In the RPG
Lordaeron's capital city stood for centuries, a monument to humanity's might. In the Third War, Prince Arthas slew his father King Terenas in Lordaeron's throne room and ransacked the city. He planned to use Lordaeron as his capital on the continent and ordered his minions to expand the catacombs beneath the city. Then the Lich King summoned Arthas to Northrend and the work was left uncompleted.
During Arthas' exodus, Sylvanas Windrunner broke free of the Lich King's control and took many banshees and other undead with her. With Varimathras' assistance she defeated the dreadlords that controlled the city and set her newly dubbed Forsaken to finish Arthas' job in the dungeons. The Forsaken carved Undercity and now rule the surrounding countryside.[14]
Notes
- Capital City's harbor is not present in-game.
- The rounded southern wall in WoW seems to be based on the shape of the land and rocks from the Warcraft II mission, while the city in Warcraft III was more rectangular.
Gallery
Entrance.
Portal room.
Inhabited area.
Inhabited area.
Inhabited area.
Overview of the southern area.
The ruined palace and its garden in The Frozen Throne.
The city streets The Frozen Throne.
The city streets The Frozen Throne.
In the Ashbringer comic.
In the TCG.
Gates of Lordaeron in Cataclysm.
Videos
- Battle for Lordaeron
- Lordaeron Throne Room Confrontation - Horde
- Lordaeron Throne Room Confrontation - Alliance
- Lilian Calia Finale In Game Cutscene - Patch 9.2.5
Patch changes
- Patch 9.2.5 (2022-05-31): Subzone revamped and retaken as a Forsaken hub after
[Return to Lordaeron]. - Patch 8.0.1 (2018-07-17): Subzone revamped, models updated, blighted and abandoned.
- Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Subzone redone and opened for flying mounts.
See also
References
- ^
[10-50] The Battle for Lordaeron
- ^ Ashbringer: Death is Contagious, pg. 29
- ^
[30] Test of Lore
- ^ "Terror of the Tides: The Ruins of Dalaran", Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Blizzard Entertainment.
- ^ "Legacy of the Damned: King Arthas", Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Blizzard Entertainment.
- ^ King Arthas (WC3 Undead)
- ^ A New Power in Lordaeron (WC3 Undead)
- ^ Dark Portal Opens
- ^ World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: The Eastern Kingdoms, pg. 116
- ^
[60] The Remedy of Lordaeron
- ^ [60] The Desolate Council
- ^
[50-70] Our Enemies Abound
- ^ [50-70] I Am Forsaken
- ^ Lands of Conflict, pg. 109
External links
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es:Ruinas de Lordaeron pl:Ruins of Lordaeron