A New Power in Lordaeron (WC3 Undead)

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This article contains lore taken from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the manuals, and/or official bonus maps.

A New Power in Lordaeron is chapter 6 of the Legacy of the Damned. It was the last battle between the Dreadlord Balnazzar and Lady Sylvanas Windrunner and her allies, for control of the Plaguelands and the Undead thereof.

Prelude

Having broken free of the Lich King's waning power, Sylvanas had turned down the offer to rule the Plaguelands jointly with Balnazzar, Varimathras and Detheroc, as she considered this simply as another form of slavery. She gathered together a small army of free-willed Undead and defeated Varimathras, forcing him to pledge allegiance to her cause. The two of them marched upon Detheroc and slaughtered both him and his retainers, sparing the life of his mind-slave Grand Marshal Garithos so that he could bolster their forces with his remaining Alliance troops. In return for helping her attack Balnazzar, the last and most powerful Dreadlord, Sylvanas promised the egotistical commander control of Lordaeron.

Balnazzar was no fool; he had reinforced the former human capital extensively after ousting Arthas Menethil, and had gathered a very large Undead army to defend it, as well as opening a Dimensional Gateway to summon Demonic reinforcements. He was outraged by his brother's treachery, and promised to respond to Detheroc's destruction in kind.

The Battle

Sylvanas and Varimathras launched a frontal assault upon Lordaeron's walls whilst Garithos attacked from the rear. The latter was most displeased to find that his Ironforge reinforcements had gotten lost on the way to the battle; Garithos had to fight his way through the wilderness to lead them to safety. Despite the tensions between the racist commander and his Dwarven charges (who didn't think they were getting paid enough), this action added much needed firepower to Garithos's assault and the Alliance began to make headway against the Undead, forcing them back further and further into the city.

Likewise, despite the terrible magical powers Balnazzar brought to bear upon his foes, Sylvanas and Verimathras managed to storm the city gates and then rout the Dreadlord's forces, defeating his two pet Liches and destroying his Dimensional Gateway before capturing Balnazzar himself. The rest of the Undead duly surrendered.

Aftermath

Sylvanas ordered Varimathras to kill Balnazzar, as a last test of the Dreadlord's loyalty to her. Despite his protests that the Nathrezim were forbidden to harm one another he eventually did so, or at least seemed to. Garithos then ordered them out of "his" city, and Sylvanas told Verimathras to kill him also, which he did without any remorse whatsoever. The remains of Garithos's forces were slain or fled. With this final victory, Sylvanas declared herself ruler of the Plaguelands, and renamed the free-willed Undead who had pledged themselves to her the Forsaken.

In fact, whether by accident or design Varimathras did not kill Balnazzar; he later resurfaced as the leader of the Scarlet Crusade. Whilst Ras Splinterspine and Morbent Fell were defeated in this battle, they may have survived if their phylacteries remained intact.

In-Game

This battle is part of the Scourge campaign of Warcraft III expansion pack The Frozen Throne - Chapter 6: A New Power in Lordaeron. It is the last mission which featured Sylvanas Windrunner and her followers.