Nerubian Empire The Nerubian Empire was the home of the Nerubian s until the Lich King defeated them . Parts of it , once an underground network that stretched nearly half the breadth of Northrend , can still be found beneath Northrend . History . Origin . After the Azj ' Aqir , the Empire of the Aqir , was shattered by the Gurubashi and Amani Troll s , the nerubians fled north and founded their empire in the northern wastes . It ' s unknown what effect the Great Sundering had on it , but they developed to a high culture with great architecture and created an kingdom beneath the frozen wastes of Northrend . The capital was called Azjol - Nerub , sometimes generalized for the whole empire . War of the Spider . When the Lich King became stronger , he began to battle with the Nerubians in a war called the War of the Spider . After ten years of fighting the Undead managed to enter the kingdom and brought its subterranean temples crashing down . Most Nerubians were killed and resurrected , the surviving nerubians hid deeper . The remains of Muradin ' s dwarves , led by Baelgun Flamebeard conquered an entrance to the empire and founded the Doorward . When Illidan Stormrage used the Eye of Sargeras to destroy Icecrown , the earthquakes freed the Faceless one s , which took over a part of the kingdom . The nerubian survivors and the dwarves were mostly killed when Arthas went through the labyrinth to reach Icecrown Citadel . Arthas also destroyed most traps and treasures , which were still hidden there . Organization . The Nerubians had a complex social organization , like ants or bees . The function of each individual was predetermined by genetics , as well by the subspecies they belonged to . The colonies were headed by a Nerubian queen who was responsible to giving birth to new Nerubians . The queens wielded great power , although in most cases they shared it with Spiderlord s ( a subspecies that bears more resemblance to beetles than to spiders , which are born from a litter of 20 egg sacks laid by a queen ) and the Nerubian vizier s ( another subspecies with preference for magic ) , acting as special advisors to their queen . There was also a Spiderlord reigning over all the Nerubians , and whose main function was coordinate the Nerubians colonies through its queens . He also should provide protection to them . All the spiderlords , and the last king of the Nerubians , Anub ' arak , were killed and later resurrected by the Lich King after the War of the Spider , and they became Crypt lord s of the Scourge . At the bottom of society were the Nerubian worker s who performed various tasks . Workers who showed unusual physical abilities became warriors ; workers who showed mental talents became seers , and those who demonstrated exceptional weaving skills became Nerubian webspinner s . Other subspecies are Nerubian flyer s and Nerubian spiderling s . Today . The Lich King , the Eye of Sargeras and the death of the Forgotten one made most tunnels and buildings collapse , so only small parts are left . The former great empire is now inhabited by some surviving nerubians , undead minions of the Lich King , and some Faceless one s , which have recently been reinforced with Twilight ' s Hammer clan members .