Frostmourne Frostmourne was the runeblade that Ner ' zhul , the Lich King , thrust from the Frozen Throne , intending that Arthas Menethil — his unwitting potential host — would discover it on the continent of Northrend . It was wielded by Arthas , the new Lich King , until it was destroyed by Tirion Fordring following his defeat in Icecrown Citadel . A gold plated replica of Frostmourne ' s hilt is now on display in Dalaran held in place on the statue of Tirion Fordring . The shards of the weapon are used in " " to forge the artifact s Icebringer & Soulreaper for Frost Death Knights to fight against the Burning Legion . History . Origin . When Ner ' zhul was transformed into the Lich King by Kil ' jaeden , his disembodied spirit was shackled to a magical suit of armor as well as the runeblade , Frostmourne . Trapped within an icy tomb called the Frozen Throne , both the armor and the blade were crafted by the Nathrezim for the purpose of containing and controlling the Lich King . Ner ' zhul ' s Plan to Escape . Ner ' zhul was not content with being a pawn for the Burning Legion , and began working on a plan for escape . The first stage of his plan was set in motion when he used his powers to push Frostmourne through the ice and out of the Frozen Throne , plunging it into the snows of Northrend to await one who would claim it and become the Lich King ' s agent . Ner ' zhul found his agent in Arthas Menethil , the young prince of Lordaeron who had come to Northrend in a quest to end the plague . Muradin Bronzebeard , a dwarven explorer based at the time in Northrend , was searching for the weapon after hearing of Frostmourne ' s power when Arthas and his men arrived . When the forces of the dreadlord Mal ' Ganis began to close in around them , Arthas and Muradin set out to claim it . Deep within a hidden cave , Frostmourne was protected by The Guardian and several revenant s who tried to forewarn Arthas of the danger , but he ignored the warning and destroyed them . When they found the sword , Muradin read the inscription on the dais : " " Whomsoever takes up this blade shall wield power eternal . Just as the blade rends flesh , so must power scar the spirit . " " Muradin realized then that the blade was cursed , but Arthas said he would gladly bear any curse to save his homeland . Upon speaking those words , the ice encasing the sword shattered and exploded outward . A jagged shard struck Muradin , seemingly striking him dead . Arthas gazed upon Muradin ' s " corpse " , discarded his hammer , , and took hold of the blade . In the Hands of Arthas . With the sword in hand , Arthas returned to his base and staged a counterattack against Mal ' Ganis , quickly destroying the dreadlord ' s base . Mal ' Ganis confronted Arthas , telling him that Ner ' zhul had known he would take the cursed sword , and that it had now stolen Arthas ' s soul . He spoke as if he believed Arthas was now on his side , but to his surprise Arthas used the runeblade to slay the dreadlord on the Lich King ' s command . With his soul forfeited to the Lich King , Arthas ran off into the frozen wastes of Northrend . Now a death knight of the Scourge , Arthas before returning to Lordaeron , where he was hailed with a royal welcome . Arthas proceeded directly to the throne room , where he killed his father , King Terenas , and set the Scourge loose throughout the city . Some time after the Burning Legion ' s defeat at Mount Hyjal , the demon hunter Illidan Stormrage used a powerful spell to attack the Frozen Throne , where the Lich King was imprisoned . Though the spell was unsuccessful , it widened the crack through which Frostmourne had been thrust , and the Lich King ' s power began to wane , so he recalled Arthas to Northrend to aid him . Arthas defeated Illidan and ascended the spire of the Frozen Throne , then plunged Frostmourne back into the ice and donned the helmet sealed within , becoming the new Lich King . World of Warcraft : Wrath of the Lich King . The Frozen Halls . Just after he is defeated in the Pit of Saron , the leper gnome Krick lets it slip that Arthas leaves Frostmourne unattended in the Halls of Reflection , his private sanctum in the Frozen Halls of Icecrown Citadel . After surviving the Pit of Saron , the guides for the adventurers braving the Halls ( Jaina Proudmoore for the Alliance or Sylvanas Windrunner for the Horde ) lead the way into the Halls of Reflection . As Krick promised , Frostmourne stands alone , floating serenely above an altar in the center of the entry chamber . Jaina or Sylvanas attempt to commune with the souls trapped within the blade to find the key to the Lich King ' s weakness . They are contacted by the spirit of Uther the Lightbringer , who warns them that another must take the Lich King ' s place in order to keep the Scourge under control . Fall of the Lich King . During the final battle against the Lich King at the Frozen Throne , Frostmourne was shattered by Ashbringer , wielded by Tirion Fordring . The thousands of souls trapped within the blade swarmed the Lich King , suspending him in the air , where he was finished off by the champions assembled to defeat him . The trapped souls then remained in Icecrown Citadel , locked in eternal torment , unable to escape . On the Dedication of Honor monument at the center of Runeweaver Square in Dalaran , a bust of the shattered hilt of Frostmourne is shown at the feet of the statue of Tirion Fordring . The current location of Frostmourne ' s remains are resting at the base of the Frozen Throne within Icecrown Citadel . Curse . Frostmourne has the ability to drain life from its victims — and to drain the soul of anyone whom it connects to . The Lich King is capable of seeing through the eyes and hearing through the ears of anyone who wields Frostmourne ; this ability cannot be stopped by any mortal means . The Lich King can communicate with the wielder at will telepathically , on any plane and at any distance . The Lich King uses this ability to try and corrupt the wielder over time . This has several effects . An individual who wields Frostmourne will not part with it willingly . Over time the person will go from good to neutral and finally to evil . A non - undead evil wielder will then become undead . Finally the sword is able to suck the being ' s soul into the sword . Frostmourne then retains the memories and skills of its victim . In fact , as long as the wielder ' s original body remains within one mile of Frostmourne , the sword maintains control of the body , and he may not be completely aware that his consciousness has shifted to the weapon . Beyond one mile , the sword cannot control the wielder ' s body , and the wielder of course finally becomes quite aware of his current state ( if he is not already ) . The Lich King can take possession of a soulless body that comes in contact with him and Frostmourne at the same time . The soul within Frostmourne is destroyed unless it willingly merges with the Lich King , becoming lost as a separate entity for all eternity . If a soul merges with the Lich King , he gains all the skills and memories of the victim . He has only done this one time , with Prince Arthas Menethil . Powers . In Warcraft III . In " Warcraft III : Reign of Chaos " , Frostmourne increased Arthas ' base damage by 22 points and allowed him to deal chaos damage , which was fully effective against all types of armor ( including that of buildings and divine beings ) . " For balance reasons , this effect was only applied during the Frostmourne mission and not during the Path of the Damned or Legacy of the Damned campaigns . " In Warcraft RPG . In " Manual of Monsters " , Frostmourne is an artifact - level bastard sword with the following abilities : an increased chance to hit , increased damage , an increased chance of scoring a critical hit , an increased attack speed , the ability to strike incorporeal creatures as though they were fully corporeal , the ability to cause bleeding wounds and reduce the victim ' s stamina , bonus damage against good - aligned beings , bonus damage against living beings , and a life - draining effect that heals its wielder when he deals damage . In Arthas : Rise of the Lich King . In " " , Arthas is able to wield the runeblade almost effortlessly , despite its size and weight . It slices through most opponents with minimal resistance , and shatters most weapons it comes in contact with , including the elven runeblade Felo ' melorn . Those slain by Frostmourne have their souls drawn into the weapon . BlizzCon . < onlyinclude > < / onlyinclude > Theoretical stats for Frostmourne as a " World of Warcraft " item were shown during the Lore Panel at BlizzCon 2007 , likely as a joke . The quote on the item tooltip , " Hail to the King , Baby ! " , is a phrase popularized by Bruce Campbell ' s Ash at the end of " Army of Darkness " . The developers said they were " still working the fine details " and that the Equip effect was " shot down by various powers - that - be " ( illustrating the potential problem with a screenshot of the new Lich King , Private Ownusohard ) . However , they closed with " we ' ll get something to you guys , we promise . " During a Class Panel Discussion at BlizzCon 2009 , Blizzard developers revealed that the " something " in Icecrown Citadel was a new legendary axe , . List of Souls . The following characters were slain by Frostmourne or otherwise lost their souls to it . With the possible exceptions of those brought back as undead creatures , it is presumed that their souls remained trapped in the sword until its destruction . According to King Terenas Menethil II ' s spirit , there are thousands of souls contained within the blade .