The Frozen Throne #2: Kael and the blood elves

September 12, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"The Frozen Throne" series — The Frozen Throne #2. The story of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, from Illidan's escape to Arthas becoming the Lich King. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.

This is the chapter of the campaign where the blood elves you know in WoW are born. In Curse of the Blood Elves, Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider tries to fight alongside the Alliance and is treated as a traitor. The origin of the blood elves, as a people apart from the high elves, runs through here: through a human commander's contempt, the help of the naga and an escape to another world.

A people without a home

In the Third War, Arthas' Scourge swept through Quel'Thalas. King Anasterian died, the capital was devastated and the Sunwell was used to bring Kel'Thuzad back as a lich. The source of magic that had sustained the elves for thousands of years was lost.

Kael'thas, Anasterian's son, was in Dalaran, where he was a member of the Kirin Tor. When he returned, he found the kingdom in ruins.

He gathered the survivors who could fight. Most of the people stayed in Quel'Thalas, under the protection of the ranger Lor'themar Theron, who was named regent. Kael took the warriors to Lordaeron to keep fighting the Scourge.

Why "blood elves"

The name came from Kael. In The Frozen Throne, he explains that the few who remained began to call themselves blood elves, in honor of their murdered people. Later, they take the name sin'dorei, which recalls the spilled blood and the royal bloodline.

But the name was not the only change. Since the fall of the Sunwell, the elves felt a strange hunger that they did not yet understand.

Garithos and his contempt for elves

In Lordaeron, Kael began serving under Grand Marshal Othmar Garithos, who led what was left of the human forces. Garithos was fighting the Scourge for control of the ruins of Dalaran. And he openly despised anyone who was not human.

When Kael arrives late at the camp, Garithos scolds him. Instead of sending him into battle, he orders the elves to repair three observatories on the eastern shore. Kael protests: they are warriors, not stonemasons. Garithos does not change his mind.

Vashj's first help

To reach an island in Lordamere Lake, Kael needs boats. The goblin shipyard had been destroyed by ghouls. Then Lady Vashj appears with her naga and offers the boats.

Kael accepts and finishes the mission. When he returns, Garithos finds out that he dealt with the naga. To the grand marshal, the naga are "inhuman" and must be crushed like any other enemy. He calls Kael's action treason and tells the prince to wait for orders.

A dark pact

The second mission makes the trap clearer. Garithos orders Kael to destroy a large undead army before it marches on Dalaran. At the same time, he takes almost all the soldiers to the front line. Kael is left with practically no troops. The answer from Garithos' messenger is short: "be creative".

The Scourge army, led by the dreadlord Dalvengyr, surrounds the elves. Once again, Vashj rises from the lake and offers help. Kael accepts, even knowing what Garithos thinks of the naga. Together, they retake the lost bases and kill Dalvengyr.

The hunger for magic

After the battle, Vashj talks with Kael. He tells her about the hunger his people have felt since they lost their kingdom. Vashj gives it a name: an addiction to magic, which can no longer be satisfied because the Sunwell is gone.

She suggests using demonic magic. Kael refuses, at least at first. But the idea stays with him. It is the seed of everything the blood elves will do in Outland.

Prison in Dalaran

Garithos' knights see naga warriors leaving. It is the proof the grand marshal wanted. He ignores Kael's explanations and orders all the blood elves arrested.

Kael and his people are sent to the Dalaran dungeons to await execution. The cells were built by the Kirin Tor, and the elves' magic does not work inside them. A guard tells them that Garithos plans to execute them at dawn.

Escape through the dungeons

Vashj appears again, rising from the prison's green water. She kills two guards with lightning and opens Kael's cell.

Then she makes an offer. In the city above, there is a portal opened by Kel'Thuzad to bring Archimonde to Azeroth. On the other side, her master is waiting: Illidan. He can give the elves a new destiny.

Kael will not blindly follow a demon. But first they have to escape. He frees his four lieutenants, fights the Kirin Tor's experimental creatures and battles his way to the exit. At the last gate stands the jailor Kassan, an old friend of Kael's. Kassan refuses to let them pass, and Kael and Vashj have to kill him.

The crossing to Outland

The elves run to the portal. Vashj warns that Garithos is going to attack. Kael stays behind, holding off the humans while his people cross.

On the other side lies Outland, what is left of Draenor. The blood elves leave Azeroth as fugitives from the Alliance. They will return to Northrend as Illidan's army.

What this changes in the story

This campaign marks the break between the elves of Quel'Thalas and the Alliance. Garithos is not the only one to blame, but the elves' imprisonment becomes a symbol of how the humans treated them after the war. Years later, the sin'dorei join the Horde.

It also shows the central problem of the blood elves: the addiction to magic. It is this hunger that leads Kael to Illidan, then to the Legion, and that makes the elves of Silvermoon drain magic from wherever they can.

Episode timeline

Quel'Thalas falls, and Lor'themar stays as regent.
Kael takes the warriors to fight under Garithos.
Vashj lends Kael boats on Lordamere Lake.
With no troops, Kael accepts the naga's help and kills Dalvengyr.
Garithos locks the elves in the Dalaran dungeons.
Vashj frees Kael, who kills Kassan during the escape.
The blood elves cross the portal to Outland.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Kael'thas Sunstrider | The prince of Quel'Thalas, leader of the blood elves. | | Othmar Garithos | The human grand marshal who despises non-humans. | | Lady Vashj | The naga sorceress who helps Kael on Illidan's behalf. | | Dalvengyr | The dreadlord who leads the Scourge near Dalaran. | | Kassan | The Dalaran jailor, an old friend of Kael's. | | Lor'themar Theron | The regent left behind in Quel'Thalas. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Silvermoon City and Eversong Woods: the blood elf capital and starting zone.
Tempest Keep (The Eye): the raid in Netherstorm where Kael'thas is fought in The Burning Crusade.
Alterac Mountains: the crater where Dalaran and its dungeons used to stand.
Dalaran, in Northrend: the city rebuilt by the Kirin Tor, which stops being the site of the prison and becomes a neutral capital.