Teron Gorefiend In life , Teron Gorefiend ( known then as Teron ' gor ) was one of Gul ' dan ' s acolyte s . In death , he became the first of the necromantic terrors known as death knight s — the warriors promised by Gul ' dan to appease Orgrim Doomhammer and combat the human mages ' powerful magic . He is voiced by David Lodge in " " . Biography . Teron ' gor was a member of the Shadow Council , Gul ' dan ' s clandestine conclave of warlocks and necromancers that had ruled the Horde through the puppet Warchief Blackhand . When the Horde assaulted the Temple of Karabor , many draenei clerics were taken prisoner and were told that they were being marched to Hellfire Citadel far to the north . Outside the walls of the temple , Teron ' gor instead took the lives of every last one of them . The spirits of the clerics of Karabor remain outside the walls to this day . When Gul ' dan was incapacitated as the result of being in Medivh ' s mind when he was killed , the Shadow Council was discovered by Orgrim Doomhammer . Doomhammer had recently come to power through the assassination of Blackhand , and tortured Garona Halforcen to discover the Council ' s location . The majority of its members , including Teron ' gor , were killed by the Doomhammer ' s furious surprise attack . When Gul ' dan recovered from his catatonic state and was on the verge of joining the Shadow Council in death , he " submitted " to Doomhammer ' s authority and promised to create warriors to fight for the Horde and counter the powerful magic of the humans . Doomhammer allowed him to live , to carry out this promise . Gul ' dan took the corpses of the fallen Knights of Stormwind , and intended to imbue the rotting corpses with the souls of the Shadow Council . Nothing worked until he decided to sacrifice the necrolytes and cut out their hearts . He transmuted these hearts into powerful jewels , which were then affixed into truncheons . Upon making this stride , Gul ' dan informed Doomhammer of his success . Placing the first truncheon into the hand of one of the corpses , the warlock and the Warchief watched as the energies of the necrolyte ' s heart that powered the weapon coursed through the corpse , until its eyes finally opened . Teron ' gor was reborn as the first Death Knight , soon taking the name Teron Gorefiend to reflect his new life . Gorefiend , Gaz Soulripper , and the other death knights swore allegiance to Doomhammer and fought for the Horde where their powerful energies aided in many battles . When Gul ' dan betrayed the Horde , Gorefiend remained in the service of the Warchief until he was defeated . Leading the death knights beyond the Dark Portal before its destruction , Gorefiend remained on Draenor until Ner ' zhul , Gul ' dan ' s former master , came to the forefront and united the remaining clans into the Horde of Draenor . Ner ' zhul intended to open new dimensional gateways to other worlds , but needed powerful items to stabilize them . To that end , Ner ' zhul sent Gorefiend through a reconstructed Dark Portal to claim two powerful artifacts required for his spell : The Book of Medivh and the Eye of Dalaran . At first , Gorefiend entered the Royal Library in Stormwind City only to find the Book gone and the guard slain with an Alterac blade . After failing to gain the support of the sons of Blackhand , Gorefiend encountered Deathwing , the insane and scheming Aspect of the black dragonflight , who offered aid in exchange for being allowed to travel to Draenor , where he could safely hide the prized eggs of his brood . Gorefiend rode on Deathwing ' s back as they travelled to Alterac , where Gorefiend demanded the Book from its imprisoned king , Aiden Perenolde . Perenolde agreed to turn over the Book in exchange for the Horde slaying their Alliance wardens . Upon securing the Book of Medivh , Gorefiend — again , with Deathwing providing transport , his dragons carrying the warriors — flew to Dalaran where he was able to take the Eye from its secure vault . He tossed a gold coin into the Eventide ' s fountain , which he claims was not for a wish , but as ' payment ' for what he took up and fled away . Gorefiend rejoined the Horde in Draenor and made the march with Ner ' zhul to the Black Temple to perform the ritual . In the end , it was all for naught ; Ner ' zhul escaped to the Nether with his chosen followers , leaving the Horde leaderless and stranded on Draenor as it tore itself apart from the unstable rifts he had created . Gorefiend himself fell in battle against Turalyon on that fateful day , but his spirit rose from his broken death knight corpse and escaped into the skies . After this defeat , the remaining death knights travelled to Shadowmoon Valley . The death knights , showing their allegiance , knelt before Gorefiend or whatever was left of him after his physical demise ; in response , Gorefiend beheaded them ( they rose once more , as the Ghostriders of Karabor ) . His spirit , however , became trapped and eagerly seeks a willing host to free him . . . World of Warcraft : The Burning Crusade . At the Altar of Shadows in Shadowmoon Valley , there resides an Ancient Shadowmoon Spirit , a ghostly orc who appears to be an expert on the history of Teron Gorefiend . After completing the early quests with the Spectrecles in Wildhammer Stronghold ( Alliance ) or Shadowmoon Village ( Horde ) , you are sent to the Altar of Shadows to speak to this orc ghost who does indeed know of Gorefiend . The Ancient Shadowmoon Spirit sends you on a set of three quests to locate Gorefiend ' s regalia , items that he used in his " life " , that may aid in locating him . The locations of Gorefiend ' s Regalia . Two of the three items can be found at or near the walls of the Black Temple . A Dark Secret Revealed . The Ancient Shadowmoon Spirit claims to be using the items to divine Gorefiend ' s location . Upon returning the items to the spirit , you find out the truth : the spirit IS Gorefiend , and he managed to convince you to return his gear to him . After taking back his regalia , Gorefiend possesses your body , trapping your spirit in the Altar of Shadows . Upon being possessed , Karsius the Ancient Watcher , Gorefiend ' s ethereal draenei jailor , spawns , and the battle begins once you attack him . While you are possessed by Gorefiend , a small bar appears with Gorefiend ' s spells - Unholy Armor , Death Coil , Death and Decay , and Haste , powers he is seen to wield in Warcraft II . It is recommended that in the battle with Karsius , you use Unholy Armor and Death Coil as often as you are able , and Death and Decay periodically as well ; Death Coil will heal you significantly and drain Karsius ' HP . After you defeat Karsius , you are freed , and Gorefiend mounts his undead steed ( epic skeletal mount ) and rides off towards the Black Temple , shouting that he has returned . With a heavy heart , you return to the quest giver in Wildhammer Stronghold or Shadowmoon Village , and are tasked with destroying Gorefiend ( seeing as it was your actions that unleashed him ) . Changes in patch 2 . 1 . Gorefiend appears to have found a place for himself within the Black Temple , which opened in Patch 2 . 1 . The reasons for Gorefiend ' s joining Illidan — if he has done so at all — is unclear , but he must be at least tolerated by Illidan to be allowed to remain in his fortress . Prior to this patch , when he possessed the bodies of players , Gorefiend appeared to be an orc wearing modified Corruptor Raiment , the warlock Tier 5 armor . When patch 2 . 1 went live , his model in the Black Temple was changed to give him an appearance that better fit the lore — the spirit of an orc trapped in the body of a dead human knight . This model was accordingly used for the Altar of Shadows event . Black Riders rumor . " Note : Most of these speculations are outdated , but retained for historical reasons . " Prior to the introduction of the Black Temple , a theory was circulated that the Black Rider s of Deadwind Pass are the remaining death knights that Gul ' dan created . Fans suspected that Teron Gorefiend was the leader of the Black Riders , and possibly had some connection to the Worgen infestation of Duskwood . Ner ' zhul had promised Gorefiend a world to rule over if he aided him in opening multiple portals on Draenor . So when Ner ' zhul opened the portals and the massive energy began to tear Draenor apart , Gorefiend and his Knights may have decided to make good on Ner ' zhul ' s promise and fled through one of the Portals . Some believed that the world Gorefiend arrived in was the world of the Worgen . According to popular theory , the Worgen ' s homeworld became compromised by the invading Burning Legion , and Gorefiend laid out a plan to have himself and the Worgen moved to the only other intact world he knew of . Prince Malchezaar has since been revealed as the current ruler of Karazhan , casting much doubt on the supposed link between Gorefiend and the Black Riders . The link was further discredited when Gorefiend was discovered having been imprisoned in Outland . Brann Bronzebeard mentions this rumor in " Horde Player ' s Guide " while discussing several ideas about who is in control of the tower : one of the ideas he mentions is that Teron Gorefiend maybe leading the dark riders from the tower of Karazhan , but he adds that the dark riders are possibly being controlled by someone or something more sinister . Other ideas included Sargeras or a mysterious , hitherto - unseen being .