Runeblade

Greatsword of the Ebon Blade, a death knight runeblade, in the Trading Card Game.

Runeblades are weapons inscribed with runes, symbols that hold magical power. They are particularly wielded by death knights, but they are not unique to the Scourge. Notably, demons and high elves are known to forge rune-etched blades as well, such as Felo'melorn, the sword of the Sunstrider dynasty. By the time of the Third War, runeblades were not unheard of, but they were considered extremely rare and terribly powerful weapons.^[1]

Background

Maldraxxi runeblades

Maldraxxi Necrolords wield runeblades which can be charged with anima from souls, whether willing^[2] or forcibly taken,^[3] that can then be unleashed in powerful attacks.^[4] Souls can be forged into the blades themselves.^[5]

Mourneblades

Mourneblades are incredibly powerful runeblades of Domination magic.^[6] Associated with the Maw and the Jailer, they are capable of shattering souls into fragments when wielded with rage.^[7] A portion of the victim's soul is absorbed to empower the mourneblade, while the remaining portion continues to the Shadowlands as normal.^[8] The Jailer's mourneblades inevitably attempt to consume their own wielders' souls as well.^[9]

Several mourneblades were created by the Primus during his imprisonment by the Jailer; the greatest of these was the dreaded Frostmourne, the weapon of the Lich King.^[10] It was capable of consuming souls (and presumably "essences of a similar nature"),^[11] of shattering any blade it met with in combat, and even displayed some form of intelligence.^[12] As the sword of Arthas Menethil it became the most famous of the runeblades, and probably the most unique.

In order to Dominate Anduin Wrynn, the Jailer reforged Anduin's sword Shalamayne into Kingsmourne, a mourneblade that was even greater than Frostmourne^[13] and infused with Arthas Menethil's soul.^[14] Similar to Frostmourne's ability to steal souls, the Dominated Anduin used Kingsmourne to steal the sigils of the Eternal Ones.

Death knight runeblades

As a death knight, it is through your runeblade that your will shall be imposed on all who dare resist the Lich King. For just as you, young death knight are the extension through which the Lich King imposes his will, so is your runeblade the instrument that has been granted the honor in delivering this authority. Of this authority, understand these principles:

1.) United, your runeblade becomes an extension of your very body. And your body belongs to the Lich King.

2.) As one, your runeblade becomes your will manifest in physical form. And your will is that of the Lich King.

3.) Together, your runeblade becomes the vein through which death itself is delivered to your soul. And your soul shall deliver the will of the Lich King.

— Lady Blaumeux, This is my Runeblade: There Are Many Like It But This One Is Mine

The Scourge death knights of the Third War wielded black, vampiric runeblades bestowed on them by the Lich King.^[15]^[16] Marduk Blackpool, a death knight of the Scourge who fought during the war, had his runeblade shattered and yet continued to operate, although he may have kept its hilt.

To modern death knights of Acherus, the runeblade is their single most important and most guarded piece of equipment—an extension of their being through which they command the powers of frost, blood, and the unholy as well as a vessel to store their runic power. A death knight cannot battle without a runeblade. A knight separated from their runeblade is weak and powerless, and a runeblade without a death knight's hand to guide it is only a hollow shell.^[17]^[18] Death knights use runeforging to emblazon their weapons with words of power in the language of Maldraxxi rune magic originally developed by the Primus,^[19] allowing them to transform mundane weapons into runeblades. Forging a runeblade in this way was the first task given by Instructor Razuvious to newly-raised Acherus knights.^[17] The most powerful death knights can command their runeblades simply with an extension of their will, animating them into dancing rune weapons that fight alongside them.^[18]

Other examples

The Burning Legion forged various dangerous runed weapons, including Apocalypse (which was forged and refined by various nathrezim)^[20] and the Maw of the Damned (which was crafted by Netrezaar to consume Kil'jaeden and co-opted by the Legion to consume entire civilizations over the course of the Burning Crusade).^[21] Champions of the Drust wield runeblades empowered by the Emerald Nightmare.^[22] Other notable runeblades include Felo'melorn, the fiery high elven runeblade of the Sunstrider dynasty, and the Great Royal Sword, a runeblade of Stormwind wielded by Anduin Lothar.

Known runeblades

Draconic

Drust

Other

Felo'melorn.

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

The vampiric runeblades are empathic weapons given to new death knights by the Lich King Ner'zhul or one of his designates to turn them into death knights. Once the runeblade is used to turn a hero into a death knight, it becomes that knight's personal weapon and is slowly charged with the life energies of those injured and slain thereafter.^[23]

Death knights are now few and far between, but their legacy lives on. The runeblade is one example of their terrible power. It channels life force, which bestows a kind of life upon the blade itself. Though not very intelligent, the runeblade has a strong survival instinct.

When a death knight who owns a runeblade is destroyed, the sword dampens its powers, taking on the appearance of a nondescript magical weapon. It uses its empathic powers to manipulate its next owner — encouraging feelings of possession and anger, discouraging kindness and altruism. Once it gains enough control over its owner, it encourages him to seek out the secret places where death knights still dwell. Only then can the runeblade accomplish its goal of gaining a new master.^[24]