Third War #5: the path of the damned

September 7, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Third War" series — Third War #5. The story of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, from Medivh's prophecy to the Battle of Mount Hyjal. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.

The Scourge campaign in Warcraft 3, called Path of the Damned, shows the other side of the war. Now the player controls Arthas, already a death knight of the Lich King. In a few chapters, he kills Uther, invades Quel'Thalas, turns Sylvanas into a banshee, raises Kel'Thuzad in the Sunwell and helps bring the demon Archimonde to Azeroth.

Arthas in the service of the Lich King

Arthas arrives at a graveyard riding Invincible, his horse, now undead. He thinks he will find Mal'Ganis, but another dreadlord is waiting there: Tichondrius.

Tichondrius praises the prince for killing his father and handing Lordaeron to the Scourge. And he reveals a truth: the first soul Frostmourne took was Arthas' own. He accepts this without drama and asks for the Lich King's orders.

The first order is to gather the Cult of the Damned. The cultists are hiding among the people of a village. One of them says Kel'Thuzad warned them that Arthas would come.

The death of Uther

The next step is to bring Kel'Thuzad back. Arthas goes to his tomb, near Andorhal. The necromancer's ghost appears: "I was right about you, Prince Arthas."

But there is a problem. The remains are too rotten to survive the trip to Quel'Thalas, where only the energy of the Sunwell can restore him. Arthas needs a special urn, guarded by the paladins.

The one guarding the urn is Uther the Lightbringer. He confronts his former student. He reminds him that Terenas ruled for seventy years and that Arthas destroyed the kingdom in days. The urn holds the ashes of Terenas himself.

Arthas takes the urn anyway. Uther dies with one last line: "I hope there's a special place in hell waiting for you, Arthas." The answer is cold: "I intend to live forever."

Arthas empties the urn and puts Kel'Thuzad's remains inside. The ghost, whom only Arthas can see, warns that the dreadlords are the Lich King's jailers and that he should not trust Tichondrius.

The invasion of Quel'Thalas

"Ah, the wondrous, eternal Quel'Thalas. I haven't been here since I was a boy." Arthas cuts his way through the forest and destroys the first elven outposts.

The defense is led by Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner. She falls back from gate to gate. The Elfgates fall one by one. To pass the last one, Arthas takes the Key of the Three Moons.

Sylvanas sets up a base on the other side of the river to strike the Scourge's flank. Arthas places gargoyles on the roads, and every messenger she sends to warn Silvermoon dies on the way.

Sylvanas becomes a banshee

When her base falls, Arthas strikes her down with Frostmourne before she can draw her bow. Sylvanas begs for a clean death.

Arthas refuses. "After all the trouble you've caused me, woman, the last thing I'll give you is the peace of death." He tears her spirit out of her body and binds it as a banshee, a slave of the Lich King.

Kel'Thuzad is reborn in the Sunwell

Arthas reaches the Sunwell and places the urn in the sacred waters. Kel'Thuzad's ghost enters the well, corrupts the elves' source of magic and rises as a lich. "I am reborn, as promised!"

Quel'Thalas ceases to exist as a nation. A few survivors flee into the woods and, later, become Kael'thas' blood elves.

The revelation

In the Alterac Mountains, Kel'Thuzad explains everything to Arthas. The Lich King foresaw their meeting in Andorhal. He chose Arthas as his champion long before the Scourge began.

The dreadlords serve the Lich King's creators: the lords of the Burning Legion. The plague, the citadels in Northrend and the attack on the elves were only preparation. The Lich King was created to pave the way for the Legion's arrival.

For the next step, Kel'Thuzad needs a Demon Gate. The closest one is in the hands of the Blackrock clan. The Scourge wipes out the orcs, and Kel'Thuzad contacts Archimonde.

Archimonde gives the order: the book of Medivh is kept in Dalaran. Only his lost spells are strong enough to bring the demon into the world. The summoning must begin at nightfall, in three days.

The siege of Dalaran

Antonidas knew the attack was coming. Most of the population was evacuated, and a small group of mages prepared spells that hurt the undead inside the city. Before that, he had sent Jaina away with the survivors to Kalimdor.

The Scourge kills the mages one by one, breaks the defenses and reaches the vault. Arthas kills Antonidas. The Book of Medivh goes to Kel'Thuzad, and Tichondrius takes the Skull of Gul'dan.

Archimonde under the burning sky

On a hill outside Dalaran, Kel'Thuzad begins the ritual. Arthas has to protect him for thirty minutes against the counterattack of the Kirin Tor and their allies. The Legion sends felhounds and infernals to help.

The ritual works. "Tremble, mortals, and despair! Doom has come to this world!" Archimonde praises the "little lich" and takes command of the Scourge away from the Lich King, handing it to the dreadlords.

To make an example, Archimonde destroys Dalaran. The city of mages turns to rubble. Arthas is furious at being pushed aside. Kel'Thuzad asks for patience: the Lich King foresaw this too.

After Dalaran, the Legion's next target is Kalimdor. Thrall and Jaina, guided by the Prophet, are already there, along with the night elves of Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion Stormrage. Before Mount Hyjal, the Prophet will unite them all. The war changes continents and only ends at Mount Hyjal.

What this changes in the story

The Scourge campaign creates almost every WotLK villain. Kel'Thuzad becomes the lich of Naxxramas. Sylvanas, as a banshee, will later free herself and found the Forsaken. And the defiling of the Sunwell creates the blood elf crisis.

The Lich King's plan also becomes clear. He used Arthas, the dreadlords and the Legion, but he saved a role for the prince that no one expected.

Where to see it in WotLK

Western Plaguelands: Andorhal and Uther's Tomb.
Eversong Woods and Ghostlands: the Dead Scar, the path Arthas carved to Silvermoon.
Isle of Quel'Danas: the Sunwell, in the Sunwell Plateau raid.
Alterac Mountains: the crater where Dalaran stood, before the city was rebuilt and moved to Northrend.
Naxxramas: Kel'Thuzad, the lich, as the raid's final boss.