Dreadlord Insurgents After Archimonde ' s defeat at the Battle of Mount Hyjal , there were several demonic forces still scattered across Azeroth . Some remained unaware of the defeat of their masters . Many of the dreadlords in Lordaeron in particular did not know of what had unfolded across the sea , despite a span of many months . Arthas returned to Lordaeron to claim his throne , but found that the Scourge was under the dominion of the dreadlord jailors . When Archimonde had been summoned into Azeroth , Tichondrius had asked that the Scourge be given to him , and thus it was the dreadlords who were the new custodians of the undead . However , without Archimonde , the dreadlords were exposed . Arthas drove them away , for the time being . Unfortunately for him , the Lich King was growing weaker . Control over the Scourge was lost , for the most part . The Dreadlord Insurgents were the result of the Lich King ' s will weakening , coupled with manipulative power . Most of the undead who were freed were in turn enslaved by the dreadlord custodians who were controlling the Scourge in Lordaeron . Balnazzar , Detheroc and Varimathras were the leaders of this Insurgency . The splintering of the Scourge was to free Sylvanas Windrunner , with whom the dreadlords made a pact . With the assistance of Sylvanas , the Dreadlord Insurgents prepared a trap for Arthas . Arthas was ambushed in Capital City and was separated from his majordomo , Kel ' thuzad . Despite this , he survived the onslaught and Sylvanas ' assassination attempts , and sailed to Northrend . This left a power vacuum in Lordaeron . There were three undead factions at large . One was the Scourge under Kel ' thuzad ' s control . Another was the precursor to the Forsaken ; Sylvanas and her banshees . Finally there were the Dreadlord Insurgents , retaining control over large unholy armies , including the mind controlled soldiers of the Lordaeron Resistance under Garithos . Kel ' thuzad chose not to interfere and was not seen for the most part of the Scourge Civil War . Sylvanas , on the other hand , was offered a place in the new order that was being forged by the Insurgents . She refused , and Varimathras launched an assault upon her base . Sylvanas improvised , and possessed local creatures using banshees to turn them against the Insurgents . In this manner she swayed Mug ' thol , Blackthorn , the Murloc Puddle Lord , Snarlmane and possibly Zul ' rogg , . This gave her several factions of beasts to throw against Varimathras . Eventually , she was successful , and Varimathras joined her in exchange for his life . The Dreadlord Insurgents still controlled much of Lordaeron , however . Detheroc ' s pet Garithos was protecting his master within a fortified city . With her banshees at hand , Sylvanas possessed the human gate guards and turned them on one another , allowing her army into the city by cover of night . While the soldiers of the Lordaeron Resistance slept , Sylvanas set about killing her enemies and taking the city . By the time they were alerted to her presence , it was too late , and the city was soon taken and Detheroc torn to bloody shreds . Ultimately , it was in Capital City that the Dreadlord Insurgency met its end . Sylvanas forged an alliance with the Lordaeron Resistance , promising Garithos that he could have Capital City in exchange for help in killing Balnazzar . Garithos agreed , and despite tensions , Sylvanas and the Resistance stormed Balnazzar ' s fortifications . Balnazzar proved a tenacious foe , throwing both demons and undead at his enemies , but he was surrounded and the city was destined to be taken . Sylvanas ordered Varimathras to kill Balnazzar , and it appeared that he did so . In truth , Balnazzar survived , going on to haunt Stratholme , where he killed Saidan Dathrohan and possessed his body . Sylvanas betrayed the Alliance and ordered Varimathras to kill the Grand Marshal , Garithos , which he gladly did . From that moment onward , the Forsaken were declared , and they became the dominant undead force in Lordaeron . As time passed , Kel ' thuzad was to return to action and waged his war against the Forsaken , but by then the rebel undead were firmly entrenched . The Dreadlord Insurgency lives on in the form of the Risen ( organization ) . During the Battle for the Undercity the Dreadlord Insurgents returned in the form of an undead and demonic army under the command of Grand Apothecary Putress and Varimathras . The Dreadlord Insurgency , including the leaders , was destroyed during the battle .