Bolvar Fordragon - Rise of the new Lich King

With the release of the Cataclysm trailer yesterday (that you can check out here), I thought I would do another post regarding the upcoming expansion.  Though not as beautifully written as Arthas, Bolvar Fordragon has come to be a major factor in the Warcraft universe.  Let’s check out his backstory!

• Little is known about Bolvar’s early years besides the fact that he was a renowned human warrior.
• When Varian Wrynn, current King of Stormwind, went missing, he stepped up to look over the city.  (This was in Vanilla & BC.)
• When the King returned, Bolvar was named commander of the Alliance forces, and led his troops against the scourge in Northrend.

• Here’s the part that most lot of people don’t know about.
• At the end of the Wrathgate cinematic, it looks like Bolvar died, but he didn’t. 
• Both Saurfang and Bolvar’s bodies are recovered by the Scourge.
• Arthas, the Lich King at the time, tortured Bolvar Fordragon mercilessly, with the intent to corrupt him.  However, Bolvar managed to resist.
• When Arthas Menethil was killed, Tirion Fordring was told that someone had to control the scourge.  He was about to take up the job when Bolvar called to him.
• Bolvar told Tirion to give him the Helm of Domination (The spiky crown), to keep the scourge under control as his last act for Azeroth.
• Bolvar told Tirion that no one could know what had happened that day, to tell the people that the Lich King was dead, but Bolvar Fordragon died with him.
• And now, encased on the icy throne, is the new Lich King, Bolvar, the ‘Jailer of the Damned’.

So… what do you guys think?  Will he control the scourge, and keep his own people safe.  Or will he get power-hungry, like most people in his position do, and set the scourge after the innocent. 

Is Bolvar much different from Arthas?  Both had good intentions.  Both made sacrifices.  But will Bolvar fall to corruption, just as Arthas did?  Guess we’ll find out in Cataclysm.

Arthas Menethil – Hero, or Villain? (Part Four)

Anub'arak

Forgotten One

Once a fierce knight, who would do anything for his people, Arthas turned into an evil warmonger.  Arthas now makes his return to Northrend, for his power is threatened by forces that push towards The Lich King’s frozen throne.  Let’s find out if he’ll make it in time.

• Arthas returns to Northrend, gets attacked by Blood Elves, but is saved by the undead giant spider, Anub’arak, former king of the Nerubian Empire.
• Arthas killed Sapphiron, a mighty blue dragon, and resurrected it as a Frost Wyrm to serve him.
• Arthas and Anub’arak fought a ‘Forgotten one’.  An incredibly powerful tentacle-bearing monster thought only to exist in legend.  This was their hardest battle yet.
• Arthas reached the base of the Frozen Throne, and was immediately under attack by Naga and Blood Elves, hoping to keep Arthas from becoming all-powerful.
• Battling through the forces, Arthas magically activated the obelisks surrounding the glacier, opening the doors of the Frozen Throne.  Illidan was waiting for him.
• Arthas, the soon to be King of the Scourge, and Illidan, the Demon Hunter, fought.  This was one of the most badass fights to ever happen on Azeroth. 

• Arthas sliced Illidan’s chest with Frostmourne, and walked away the victor.
• As Arthas walked the stairs to the Frozen Throne, the voices of those he betrayed filled his mind.  Muradin, Uther, Jaina… He ignored all of them.
• He stood before a suit of armor frozen in ice on top of a throne.  With one strike from Frostmourne, Arthas broke the icy prison, and the Frozen Throne exploded.
• Arthas kneeled down, and put on Ner’zhul’s spiky helmet.  At that moment, Ner’zhul and Arthas fused into a single, mighty being.  The Lich King.

• Arthas later dies in WoW to Tirion Fordring, wielding Ashbringer, a sword forged by Magni Bronzebeard, King of Ironforge, and Muradin’s brother.
• Frostmourne is destroyed and Arthas spends his dying moments with the ghost of his father.  (Heart-breaking, I know).

So what do you think?  Was Arthas good at heart, and just corrupted by Ner’zhul and the other demonic forces?  Did he have good intentions his whole life?  Or was it evil from the start?  Let me know what you think in the comments below!  Thanks for reading!

Arthas Menethil - Hero, or Villain? (Part Three)

Was his goal to save his people? Or was it vengeance? Was Arthas just following the cookie crumbs that the villains in charge were leaving for him?  Frostmourne was cursed and he knew it, but he also knew he had to stop the scourge.  Was it worth it?  Let’s find out.

• Arthas now had the Lich King in his head, rightful owner of Frostmourne.  The Lich King’s spirit was imprisoned within ice the highest point of Northrend.
• The crowd cheered as Arthas, their champion, returned to Lordaeron.
• Arthas killed his father, King Terenas, and had the undead invade the city.

• Arthas left Lordaeron and went to Invincible’s grave, the horse he used to love.
• Using his new necromantic powers, he resurrected Invincible, his old steed.
• Arthas traveled to Andorhal to dig up Kel’Thuzad’s remains.
• To resurrect Kel’Thuzad, Arthas needed a magical urn that was being kept by the Knights of the Silver Hand, Arthas’ former group of Paladins.
• Arthas found the magical urn, but it was being guarded by Uther, Arthas’ Paladin mentor and long friend.  Uther told him the urn kept the ashes of Arthas’ father. 
• Arthas killed Uther, got the urn, dumped out his father’s remains, and replaced them with Kel’Thuzads.
• Arthas traveled to Quel’Thalas in order to resurrect Kel’Thuzad.  He killed Sylvanas Windrunner, and transformed her into a banshee to help him. 
• Arthas and his undead army marched onto Silvermoon, the Night Elf capital at the time, and destroyed the city.
• Using the Sunwell, a fountain of magic, Arthas brought Kel’Thuzad back to life, reborn as an undead lich.
• Kel’Thuzad, Arthas, and their army traveled to Dalaran in order to summon the demon lord Archimonde. 
• Using a spellbook, they summoned Archimonde to Azeroth.  Archimonde had no use for Arthas or Kel’Thuzad, so they just chill for a couple monthes.
• Archimonde gets destroyed by wisps while trying to destroy the world tree.
• Arthas returned to Lordaeron to take control of the city, but his power was dwindling.  Sylvanas, her fellow banshees, and some dreadlords betrayed Arthas, forcing him to retreat from the city.
• Arthas started having painful seizures, and could feel the Lich King calling for him.
• He was told to return to Northrend, for demonic forces were working to destroy the Frozen Throne, ending the Lich King, and Arthas’ power.

Stay tuned for the final addition of this four-part series!

Arthas Menethil – Hero, or Villain? (Part Two)

In my last post I talked about Arthas’ beginnings, his early life, and the culling of Stratholme, an event that majorly impacted Azeroth.  Sure, he killed all of those infected townsfolk.  But what would you have done?  Let the plague spread?  Is Arthas a hero for what he did?  Or is he a monster?  Maybe hearing the rest of the story will help you decide.

• Arthas followed Mal’Ganis, the demon responsible for Stratholme, to Northrend.
• Arthas and his men ran into Muradin Bronzebeard, the Dwarf that trained Arthas in swordfighting as a boy.  He was with his group of Dwarves exploring.
• Arthas received word from Uther and his father to return home with his men.
• Arthas wouldn’t leave until he killed Mal’Ganis.  While his men were heading back to the boats, he hired a group of mercenaries to set fire to the ships.
• When Arthas’ men arrived, he betrayed the mercenaries, accused them of burning the boats, and had them killed.
• Muradin told Arthas of Frostmourne, a fabled runeblade hidden in Northrend.  
• Arthas, Muradin, and a small group of men pressed on to Mal’Ganis’ base. 
• Using an ancient waygate, they made their way to Frostmourne, inside an icy cavern.

• Arthas was confronted by a Revenant Guardian, who told Arthas that Frostmourne was a cursed blade, and that he would not allow him to have it.  Arthas struck him down.
• As the Revenant was dying, he said, “Turn away… before it’s… too late.”  Arthas replied saying, “Still trying to protect the sword, are you?”  “No…” the Revenant said, “Trying to protect you… from it.
• Muradin read an inscription on the ice, and told Arthas that the blade was indeed cursed.  He told him to forget about the blade and lead his men home.
• Arthas refused, he stood before the blade, and shouted out to the spirits of the cavern to release Frostmourne, that he would give anything to protect his people.
• As the weapon broke from its icy prism, Muradin, Arthas’ long friend was struck by a shard of ice.  Arthas no longer cared about his friend.
• Arthas dropped his holy warhammer, wielded Frostmourne, and made his way past Muradin to defeat Mal’Ganis.
• Mal’Ganis told Arthas about how his thoughts were now controlled by the Lich King.  Arthas replied telling him that the voice said to kill him.  Slaying the dreadlord, Arthas ran farther north, leaving his troops to fend for themselves.
• Arthas soon lost the last remnants of his sanity.

Arthas Menethil - Hero, or Villain? (Part One)

Many WoW players nowadays only know of the villainous Arthas, the Lich King, the ‘bad guy’, or big scary guy in black armor that you see when rolling a Death Knight.  Everyone coin has two sides, and it saddens me to know that many people are playing WoW without knowing anything about the story line. 

Arthas, after he turned evil.

Arthas, before he turned evil.

So, let me fill you in on how Arthas Menethil, an innocent boy, turned into the Lich King.

• Arthas was born a prince, heir to King Terenas Menethil II, ruler of Lordaeron, now known as the Undercity.
• At age nine, Arthas was gifted a horse from family friends, he named it ‘Invincible’, and fell in love with it through battle.  It was his war-steed.
• Ten years later, in the harsh of winter, Athas needed some alone time from the insides of Lordaeron, so he decided to take Invincible out for a joy ride.
• Once outside, with snow and ice blanketing the ground, he guided Invincible over a familiar jump, but his horse slipped, shattering its forelegs.  With no way to get help, Arthas gave Invincible a merciful death.  Some say it pushed him to become a paladin, some say it pushed him to the darker side of things.

Arthas, and Invincible.

• Training under the first Paladin, Uther, Arthas was accepted into the Knights of the Silver Hand at age 19.  The greatest fighting force of the Alliance.
• Arthas formed a romantic relationship with Jaina Proudmoore, a powerful mage.
• When Arthas was 23, scourge invaded northern land spreading the plague.
• Arthas, Jaina, and his men went to defend their land and found Kel’Thuzad, one of the scourges leaders.
• Before Arthas killed him, Kel’Thuzad told them that he had infected the stored grain in Anderhol, and had already shipped it out to the surrounding villages.
• Kel’Thuzad also told them that his boss, Mal’Ganis, a demon, who was stationed in Stratholme.  Arthas, his soldiers, and Jaina, met up with Uther, Arthas’ mentor.
• Here’s where it get’s intense.  They get to Strathlome to find that most of the citizens have already eaten the infect grain, and are turning into the undead.
• Arthas ordered his soldiers and Uther to purge the entire town.  Uther was shocked Arthas said that, even if he was the king he wouldn’t follow that order.
• Jaina and those who were loyal to Uther left, while Arthas and those loyal to him remained.  They slaughtered every townsfolk they saw, and set Stratholme on fire.
• Arthas encountered Mal’Ganis and demanded a duel, but he slipped away, telling Arthas to meet him in Northrend.
• Something snapped in Arthas that day.  He realized that whatever he did, however many people he killed, he wouldn’t be able to stop the scourge.  The plague would always spread faster then he could quell it.

Cataclysm is coming up. Lets get to know Deathwing!

So here’s what happened. 

• At the beginning of time there were these Titans, they created Azeroth. 
• They created the Old Gods to watch over everything and start up mortal life.
• Old Gods thought they were hot shit, went batshit crazy, and tried to corrupt everything. 
• Titans came back and kicked their asses.  The Titans then created the Five Dragon Aspects to rule over Azeroth.

Alexstrasza, the Life-Binder.

(The ‘mommy’ dragon.)

Nozdormu, the Timeless One.

(Controls time, pretty important.)

Neltharion, the Earth-Warder

(Deathwing, the biggest, badass one of them all)

Malygos, the Spell-Weaver

(Badass mage dragon.)

Ysera, the Dreamer.

(But she’s not the only one.)

• The Old Gods started whispering to Neltharion telling him of a power he could have.
• They told him to create a Dragon Soul and to convince the other dragons to put their power inside of it.
• Burning Legion was attacking the Night Elf capital, Zin-Azshari.
• Neltharion unleashed the Dragon Soul, killing the burning legion AND a lot of Night Elves.
• Neltharion wanted the other dragons to obey him and his power, but they weren’t gonna take any shit.
• All of the Dragon Aspects and their families attack Neltharion.
• Neltharion paralyzed all of them with the Dragon Soul, wiped out most of Blue Dragonflight.
• Nozdormu, Alexstrasza, Ysera, and Malygos all managed to escape, and went into hiding to protect their dragon flights (Kin).
• Neltharion now known as Deathwing, Dragon Soul now known as Demon Soul.
• Malfurion Stormrage stole the Demon Soul, Illidan Stormrage took it and gave it to Mannoroth.
• Mannoroth used it to open a portal for Sargeras to enter Azeroth. (Very bad!)
• Deathwing tried to get the Demon Soul back, interrupting the portal, and blowing up everything.
• The Dragon Aspects tapped all of their energy into the Demon Soul to seal it, Malfurion hid it.
• 10,000 years later, Deathwing finds the Demon Soul, can’t use it, so manipulates orcs.  Alexstrasza gets held captive by the horde working for Deathwing.
• One of her kin, Korialstrasz and a human mage, Rhonin, try to free Alexstrasza by stealing the Soul.
• Korialstrasz gets the other Dragons to come out of hiding to kill Deathwing, even without their powers.
• Rhonin discovered the weakness of the Demon Soul, and destroys it, freeing Alesxstraza and restoring the powers of the other Dragon Aspects.
• Deathwing managed to escape from the other Dragons, and went into hiding… until the Cataclysm.

Plants vs. Zombies? No Wrong! Peacebloom vs. Ghouls

So for anyone who hasn't seen this yet, this is World of Warcraft's newest mini game addition in the cataclysm beta. This is not an addon, it will be a short quest line available and once you finish it you will be able to repeat the quest indefinitely each time you repeat it though it gets more difficult.

In my opinion this is exactly what blizzard needed to do and keep doing, I don't play anymore but after seeing this I am having thoughts on returning for cataclysm basically just to play this mini-game. I would like to hear your thoughts on this and also if you liked the video you can check out some more of The Cynical Brits work at http://www.cynicalbrit.com/