Sylvanas Windrunner

Sylvanas Windrunner is the founder and leader of the Forsaken faction. Originally a high elf of Quel'thalas, at a young age Sylvanas displayed exceptional skills at being a ranger, advancing in the ranks until eventually earning the position of Ranger-General. When the Scourge invaded Quel'thalas during the events of *Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos*, Sylvanas valiantly defended her homeland, delaying the Scourge while the high elves attempted to create a defense. The Scourge however eventually overwhelmed her forces, and Prince Arthas Menethil (now a death knight) killed Sylvanas himself and raised her as an incorporeal banshee in his service as punishment for hindering his invasion. Prince Arthas' master, the Lich King, gradually lost control over the undead, a result of an attack by Illidan Stormrage and his forces on the Lich King's fortress, the Frozen Throne in Northrend. Thanks to this loss of control, Sylvanas regained her free will and physical body before launching an attack on Prince Arthas. Arthas fled to Northrend, but Sylvanas chose not to pursue him just yet, instead recruiting the majority of free-willed undead under her service and renaming themselves the 'Forsaken'. She led the Forsaken to consolidate their hold over the ruins of Lordaeron by defeating the dread lords of the Burning Legion and eventually betraying the Alliance remnants within the region (whom she manipulated to help her destroy her enemies). Under their new queen's guidance, the Forsaken established the Undercity beneath the ruins of Lordaeron's capital. While some Forsaken feared Sylvanas, others valued the security she provided. Many of the free-willed undead, however, found a purpose to their cursed existence through the banshee queen's burning desire to destroy the Lich King.

Sylvanas and the Forsaken hold a tense relationship with the Horde. After fighting for their right to join the Horde, Sylvanas led her "people" to the continent of Northrend to destroy the Lich King. Before they could succeed, an uprising among the Forsaken killed members of the Horde and Alliance, casting a shadow of mistrust over Sylvanas. She came to dwell on the Forsaken's dim prospects for the future; they were despised and unable to procreate. Ultimately, the Banshee Queen made a pact with the Val'kyr, nightmarish creatures capable of creating more undead, to give the Forsaken a chance to persist on Azeroth. Although having a respect and loyalty for the founding Warchief Thrall, Sylvanas despised his successor, Garrosh Hellscream—openly supporting and obeying Hellscream in his presence, yet plotting and scheming behind his back. Her brethren ultimately joined the Horde's rebellion against Garrosh, helping to bring an end to his tyrannical rule.

After Warchief Vol'jin was mortally wounded in the invasion of the Broken Isles, Vol'jin himself named Sylvanas Windrunner as his successor as Warchief of the Horde. Sylvanas then spearheaded the Hordes assault on The Broken Isles where she traveled to Stormheim in search of an artifact that would bind the remaining Val'kyr there to her will, thus allowing her once again to create more Forsaken. However, this plan was foiled when Genn Greymane attacked her and destroyed the artifact, creating more tension between the two factions