Forsaken

> *“What am I, you ask? Well,*
>
>
>  *I could not say for sure: for I am both living and dead, abandoned and*
> *not abandoned at the same time, and more and less than my former self. For one,*
> *my body aches for the comfort of eternal slumber; but for another, my heart*
>
>
>
> *yearns for the wonders of a perpetual existence……”*
>
>

> — **Markus**
> **Weber**, scholar, historian, philosopher and rector of the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow, commenting on the nature of their existence
>
>

The **Forsaken**, or at times the **Undead Forsaken** or

simply the **Undead**, are what remains of the former glorious and powerful human kingdom of
Lordaeron, destroyed and left in ruin following Arthas’ disastrous wake, the
majority of its population slaughtered and raised through the Dark Arts to be
enslaved under the iron will of the fallen prince, committing countless
atrocities as mindless servants loyal to a dark cause.

After being freed from the will of the dark prince by Sylvanas Windrunner during the Third War, the Forsaken are finally left to forge their
own fates. Although their minds were liberated, their hearts and bodies were
not: abandoned by the world of the living and the dead, they were trapped in a
state of perpetual limbo and darkness. With thousands of atrocities etched in
their eyes, their minds were burdened with horror and guilt; their senses
dulled by the touch of death, forever unable to feel the warmth of the sun or
savor the taste of fine wine; their faith lost, along with all sense of
direction and pride that filled their lives when they still breathed. They were
truly Forsaken, as the Banshee Queen aptly renamed their fallen race, a lost
people of a lost nation.

Although technically encompassing any reanimated individual freed
from the grasp of the Lich King, the majority of the population remains to be
the former humans of Lordaeron, with a considerable number, including their
revered liberator and queen, of former high elves of Quel’thalas. Their numbers
currently are around 300,000.

## Biology

The curse, or blessing considered by some, of undeath had greatly
influenced the physical attributes of the Forsaken, else wise they are largely
similar to their former selves, many retaining the personalities of their
previous lives. However, the torment the race had been through had left many of
its members bitter and cynical, accompanied by the previous belligerent and
aggressive disposition of Lordaeron, the Forsaken have become ruthless and
cold, holding aversion to almost all living beings. Furthermore, their
cadaverous appearance usually arouse disgust and contempt in most living races,
and are abandoned by their previous allies, who consider them little different
from the scourge.

### Physiology

The physique of the Forsaken have significantly changed compared
to their former lives: they do not need to breath, eat, sleep or drink, nor
could they feel any sort of physical stimulation effectively, if not at all.
Their muscles are in a constant state of atrophy and decay, barely held
together by the dark necromancy that sustains their state of undeath. Like all
other undead creatures, the power of the Light is extremely painful when used
upon them, not to mention when wielded by them, which makes the Forsaken
priests and paladins individuals of extreme willpower and resolve. Otherwise,
they are very similar to what they once were, capable of advanced mental
processing, logical deduction, sophisticated lingual expression, as well as
displaying a wide range of emotions.

### Psychology

Similar to their living counterparts, the Forsaken are
a social race, preferring to be in company of one another, especially with
those of their own. They value cooperation, persistence and hardworking, and
retain their natural curiosity towards their environment. They are also as
self-centered as their living counterparts, albeit in a much more united way,
advocating social values such as the obliteration of the individual, devotion
towards the social community and loyalty.

## Politics

> *"It is by the grace of His Honorable and Faithful Regent Lord Bolvar Hemien Fordragon, the Second of His Name, Duke of Tir Irde and Lord of Lanwinn, Canthar and Greenspire, that I declare, by Article 2957, Line 97 of the Grand Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Collective Defense: No stated member of the Grand Alliance of Imperial Nations and Sovereign States shall establish any diplomatic or economic relationship with the claimed Kingdom of Lordaeron, for they are not the previous entity that inhabited the lands of the Aeonics and are denied of their request to be recognized of official statehood. Any violation to this rule will result in immediate termination of membership and considered an enemy to the Alliance......"*
>
>

> — Harold du'Plait, Spokesman of the King
>
>

### Government

As remembrance of their former ways of life, the Forsaken retain
most of the governmental structure of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, keeping roughly
the same offices and aristocratic families before the culling. However, many of
the noble houses are either completely destroyed beyond all restoration or
still under the sway of the Lich King, and with the royal bloodline gone, the
seat of the monarch lies empty without claimant. Despite the tireless efforts
of the Forsaken, they were compelled to face the truth that they were hardly
the proud human kingdom they once were.

Under such circumstances, the Forsaken looked towards their great
liberator and savior, the reanimated Sylvanas Windrunner, now the
self-proclaimed “Banshee Queen”, as their source of hope for returning to the
former glory of their cursed race, and dedicated their hearts and minds to
their Dark Lady. Most of the Forsaken are fearsomely devoted to their Banshee
Queen to nearly the state of worship, even extending such a dedication to their
daily regards. Loyal beyond question, many of them would die to protect their
great leader.

Although self-claimant as “Queen”, there are no progenies nor
relatives heir to Sylvanas; since the status of undeath grants her near
immortality, and that the loyalty of the Forsaken lies only to her as an
individual instead of a royal bloodline, the Kingdom of Lordaeron could no longer
technically be considered a feudal monarchy. Instead it is considered a
conciliatory oligarchy,
where an extremely large portion of power is controlled by the Banshee Queen
and her Leiteren Council, a cooperative of advisors, military commanders, religious leaders,
court officials and aristocrats, ruled by four noble lords: two former human
and two former elven. They serve as the supreme leaders of the nation and
dissidents to the system are few, as those who are usually face fates worse
than death.

Despite established as the Kingdom of Lordaeron, their political
status is refused to be acknowledged by nations of the Alliance, who look down
upon the Forsaken as vermin little different to the scourge, ceasing all diplomatic
procedures and enforcing an embargo on the nation, this has resulted in mass
boycott towards Alliance goods and severe deterioration in diplomatic relations between the kingdom
and its former allies, and is one of the leading factors that the kingdom
joined the Horde.

#### **The Banshee Queen**

The Banshee Queen, often referred to as the **Dark Lady**, is the honorific title to the current ruler of the
Kingdom of Lordaeron, Sylvanas Windrunner. Nominally her decision-making power
is supreme; however, in actuality, most of her power is delegated to the
Leiters Council, only personally dealing with foreign policy and issues of
state. In theory, she does not hold power over the military, which is vested
with the Grand Executor. However, the majority of the Forsaken are loyal to her enough that she practically has control over the armed forces in its entirety. In addition, the Deathstalkers answer only to the Dark
Lady herself.

The
Banshee Queen possesses overwhelming control over the nation and therefore
whose rule is supreme. Sylvanas, as the liberator of the Forsaken, has an
immense cult of personality surrounding her; being touted and revered
nation-wide, and is an inspiration to all Forsaken. Her political shrewdness and
determination has secured her people a steadfast position amongst the ranks of
the Horde, who in turn regard her with suspicious eyes, and is recognized as a
ruthless strongwoman across the world.

#### **The Leiteren Council**

The Leiteren (“heads” in High Common) Council is the collection of
advisors serving under the Banshee Queen, established to aid in her rule of the
country and are held responsible for all domestic, diplomatic, economic and
military decisions within the country. The council is headed by four
aristocratic lords, two former human and two former high elf, representing the
two largest population groups of the current Kingdom of Lordaeron; the rest of
the council consists of a collection of twenty two individuals, including the
two Archvicars of the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow; the Grand Apothecary of the
Royal Apothecary Society and his aide; the Grand Executor and the Champion of the Banshee Queen; the Meister of Merchants; the Meister of Scholars; the Meister of Ships and the
Meister of Constructors, as well as an assortment of minor advisors and fallen
nobles.

The council convenes every fourteen nights in the Chamber of
Whispers just beyond the Black Hall in the Royal Quarters, the council will
appeal to the four noble lords, who sit upon a balcony in the front of the
room. A seat in middle of the noble lords is reserved for the Banshee Queen,
who would be present when she is available. In her absence, the four lords will
decide on her behalf amongst themselves. When the lords are divergent in
opinion, they could propose a vote to pass an enactment in which at least
thirteen votes are required to pass.

#### **Royal Apothecary Society**

> *Main Article: Royal Apothecary Society*
>
>

The Royal Apothecary Society, although not technically politically associated, is arguably the most influential organization within the kingdom besides the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow. Consisting of a wide variety of scholars, mages, alchemists and engineers, the Society is the heart of Forsaken progress and knowledge. Based in the Apothecarium, deep within the bowels of their black academy, the most brilliant minds of the kingdom work in fetid laboratories and infernal forges, churning out ever so bizarre contraptions that would shock even the most talented dwarven engineer, dreadful creatures that would turn the stomach of the most experienced warrior and violent poisons and diseases whose formulae would confound even the most learned of epidemiologists; but most of all, passing on their knowledge to students aspiring to join in the little-known workshops and contribute their own wisdom.

A tightly-knit guild, the Royal Apothecary Society shuns outsiders, jealously guarding the secrets of their creations to only the highest members of the court, the black robed members of the academy are enigmas to the Forsaken themselves, with many sinister suspicions and theories about them, many evolving into slanders and whispers of treason. Nevertheless, as perhaps the most important group to the under-kingdom, perhaps even superseding their religious counterparts, they are extremely wealthy and powerful, with eyes and ears all over the world.

Since the Forsaken joined the Horde, the Royal Apothecary Society had expanded their influence to distant lands, gathering knowledge on the exotic while acting as spies for the Banshee Queen, at the same time taking in new members interested in their line of work and bringing them in as allies. Few have extended their dissatisfaction to such a blatantly aggressive act of expansionism, for those who do end up in the sewers with a poisoned knife in their ribs, or even worse, disappear into the barbed gates of the academy to be never seen again.

The Banshee Queen is well aware of the overwhelming influence of the organization and has thus taken heed to position an extra group of Deathstalkers around their headquarters and had given orders to the Grand Executor that should one day their loyalty show to falter, their properties be sure to be confiscated and their likes driven out.

## Economy

> "Them manlings o'south forbids trade with the pale buggers, I say 'blast 'em'! Every ploughin' guildsman who has his mind in the right place knows that the dead manlings produce the best alchemic brews north of Thandol's old crooker! Just be careful talking to 'em, right wicked they are."
>
>

> — Balzad Greymead, Dwarven merchant in Stormwind
>
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## Culture

The Forsaken, as former Lordaeronians, are proud of their
heritage, and consider themselves the last true descendants of the
Aeonic-speaking population that originally settled in Tirisfal. In battle they still bear the banners
of their fallen kingdom, and in formal documents they are still referred to as
the **Kingdom of Lordaeron**. They try to return to their way of life before
they were reanimated and strive to preserve their culture by establishing a
settlement just beneath their former capital, and embrace their former ideas of
civil service, aristocracy and knighthood and chivalry, albeit twisted in
mockery of the ways of the living. Many priests and paladins return to faith in
Light, although also twisted in a rebellious mindset that their faith abandoned
them, they now worship its other side, Shadow. Those who still hold faith in
their previous religion remain avid followers of their former beliefs.

### Language

Abandoning
Common used by their allies, the Forsaken embrace their Aeonic heritage by
adopting the black market jargon Gutterspeak, a mixed language based on High Common, Thalassian and a bit of Dwarvish.

### Society

Although outrightly debased as creations of darkness and
mindless slaves of an evil tyrant by their former allies, the social system of
the Forsaken, ironically, is much more liberal and equal than many of the
hegemonic human nations. It associates members of the society of equal value,
regardless of faith, origin, social status or profession, all members of the
Forsaken are considered brothers-and-sisters-in-death; and the aristocracy
merely serves as a symbol of their past while at the same time act as national
leaders. Since death had stripped them of most of their mortal senses, their
requirement for material wealth and enjoyment have dimmed, if not vanished
altogether; thus, all property and wealth of the nation belongs to state
authority, where it is used to fund the construction of the nation and feed the
Forsaken war machine.

Since the population of the nation is no longer living, and the
land cursed by black magic, nearly unable to grow anything of edible value,
agriculture has been abandoned altogether in favor for a larger labor force in
manufacture, alchemy, military service and research into the arcane arts. Most
of those who perviously made a living as meagre peasants in life could now find
employment as merchants, craftsmen, tailors, even pursue education to become an
Archvicar, a Black Cloak, or even a Grand Apothecary or Warlock-Engineer. The
idea of a society that is established on the contribution of individuals
instead of predetermined social classes, would seem preposterous in the eyes of
most of the human nations.

As descendents of the Aeonics, the people of Lordaeron are not
only known for their pride and damning ego, they are also known for their
diligence, persistance and
scholarly rigorousness. These qualities, being carried on to the
Forsaken, makes them some of the most progressive people in Azeroth, able to
understand and master many of the dark magi-science used by the scourge to
develop their terrible armies. The Forsaken value education and knowledge, as
the Royal School of Alchemy and the Dark Arts, its campus situated in both the
Magic Quarter and the Apothecarium, is one of the most budding academic schools
dedicated to alchemy, metallurgy, engineer magery, theoretic and applied
necromancy in the world. The armed dead of the Forsaken armies are strictly
disciplined and systematically trained, combining drilling methods of both
Lordaeron and Thalassian origins, and are equipped with weapons forged with
meticulous care using materials designed and crafted in the laboratories of the
Apothecarium.

Although most of the population is now taking residence in the
bellows of their putrid under-kingdom, there is still a portion of the
population who refuses to leave the home of their lives, where they lived, died
and were reanimated. These families take up residence in former townships
guarded by restless members of the Deathguard, keeping vigil against the wild
creatures that would harass the population. These residents strive as much as
possible to restore their villages and now many of these townships provide
lodging and basic service to Horde travelers staying on their lands since the
construction of the zeppelin tower near Brill, which establishes a mercantile and transportation airway between Orgrimmar and the Undercity.

## Military

### Forsaken Infantry

* **Deathguards** – Numerous and undead, the Deathguards make up the bulk of the Forsaken army. Capable of enduring vastly harsher conditions than living troops, the tireless Deathguard can march for days, even weeks. Former farmers or members of local militias, they are largely expendable; given most basic training and many armed with the chipped and decaying weapons they held when they died. They are tasked with mundane tasks such as guarding military outposts or performing long, boring border patrols, leaving more important and sensitive operations to elite forces.
* **Throat Seekers** – A dreadful derogatory given to the Lordaeronian Ranger Corps, earning it through their fearsome training to aim at the vulnerable necks of foes. Armed with an assortment of crossbows, bows and arbalests, these hooded warriors were former woodsmen and hunters or promoted from the ranks of Deathguards, trained in the arts of unconventional warfare and marksmanship by the Dark Rangers, they are elite skirmishers and excellent scouts.
* **Deathwarders** – The nickname given to the members of the Blood Banners, a division of light assault infantry tasked with breaking enemy defense lines. Chosen from the ranks of Deathguards who distinguished themselves in battle for skill and willingness to sacrifice, these Forsaken troopers are lightly armored in mail and leather and carry wickedly barbed short blades forged in the infernal furnaces of the Apothecarium, as well as bandoliers of grenades and explosives infused with dark magic. They are fully dedicated to the frontlines and prepared to embrace true death to aid their comrades' advance.
* **Ascetics** – A militant group formed from fanatical devotees, these fearless fanatics seek true death to ascend and become one with the shadow. Armed with flails and wickedly fashioned staffs, these monks charge into the fray yelling incomprehensible phrases from their dark sacred tomes, seeking to slaughter those who betrayed them in twisted devotion.
* **Ascendants** – The warrior-priests of the Cult. Put under the tutelage of the Archvicars, the ascendants gain better understanding of the shadow and put thus knowledge into arduous practice. They are often seen maintaining the sacred temples of the Cult, but when times are needed they show their true colors as formidable combatants, confounding foes with simple shadow spells while striking the killing blow with their ritual scythes.
* **Plaguebringers** – One of the most fearsome regiments in the Forsaken army, they are weapons teams armed with a blightspreader, a vile weapon that showers foes with sickly, black-green corrosive liquids containing plague agents that are so potent that could even destroy the dead, and melt flesh off the bone of a living creature in mere seconds.
* **Luitdorf Troopers** – Heavily armored shock troopers armed with the "Luitdorf Weapon", a fearsome hand-held device that discharges black-blue arcs of lightning enhanced by dark magic when fired. They are called in when situations are most desperate, as their powerful weapon is as dangerous to their foes as to their own.
* **Dreadguards** – The Banshee Queen's personal guard, the dreadguards are heavily armored foot soldiers armed with large, curved swords called Kloydenspeals. Formerly an elite Lordaeronian infantry formation known simply as the "Black Brigade", the dreadguards are the most disciplined and deadly warriors within the Forsaken army, and commanding a company of these hardened warriors is considered a great honor and a symbol of trust from the Dark Lady. Charging headlong into battle shouting the name of their fallen kingdom, their terrifying black armor and cruel blades are the nightmare of many Alliance commanders.
* **Corvian Auxilleries** – Corvian auxilleries are the combination of what's left of the Lordaeronian Rifle Corps with the civil auxillery forces of the Duchy of Corvia. Few in numbers, these expert marksmen are instead tasked with battlefield reconnaissance, special operations and assassination. Armed with the Artenburgh Firelock, a longrifle designed on basis of the dwarven longrifle, these master snipers are able to easily drop an armored knight from a hundred paces and cover their tracks before anyone realizes.

### Forsaken Cavalry

* **Dark Knights** – the Dark Knights are the remainder of the once-powerful and numerous knightly orders of the Kingdom, who were once the backbone of the military might of the mighty nation. Skilled and noble warriors, they were once the paragons of the human warrior. Now, bound to a dark destiny, their once proud hearts are now as cold and bitter as their blades and they seek nothing more than sweet vengeance against those who betrayed their beloved nation. Clad in sinister-looking ebony armor and wielding cruel yet eerily elegant runeblades, riding atop ghastly skeletal chargers, they would put any Stormwindian knight to shame, with only perhaps the horsemen of Alterac on par with their skill.
* **Royal Bat Knights** – An elite division of the Royal Armed Fellow-Brothers of the Black Moon, these terrifying undead knights ride into battle atop barbed mistbats, a frequent beast of the dark fairy tales since before the fall of the Kingdom and one of the most feared creatures that have terrified the glades of Tirisfal. Considered elite amongst elite, these experience riders are as brutal as their bloodthirsty mounts and seek to claim the head of those who wronged them while their mounts sink their claws into armor and feast on the blood and flesh of their foes.

### Forsaken Warbeasts

* **Blightcrawlers** – A rather pitiful creation compared to the other works of the Royal Apothecary Society at first glance, the small size of the octopodal creature belies its dangerous nature. Created through the experimentation of the giant spiders in southern Silverpine, the blightcrawlers' abdomens carry a gland that secretes a highly volatile toxic substance that is mixed with the plague agents carried within their body, its potency able to kill a fully grown man with a single drop.
* **Plague Hounds** – Horrifically mutated by dark magic, these dire wolves bear little semblance to their former selves, becoming little more than a grotesque mound of flesh and bones: Buboes and blisters filled with yellow pus pulsate on their rotten hides, spikes of bone protrude from their diseased bulk like the needles of a porcupine, drips of black saliva containing an abundance of miasmas drip from their yellowed fangs. Subject to constant torture and brutal conditioning from the apothecaries, these barely-alive beings are stripped of their sanity, leaving only primal urges of savagery and bloodlust.
* **Giant Bats** – The terrifying vampiric mistbats of Lordaeron were once only stuff of folklore; bedtime stories that mothers would tell to misbehaving children: a horrid beast able to grow a wingspan as wide as a horse and could cleave an armored man in two with its vicious claws. With the land left saturated with dark magic, these elusive beasts absorbed the massive twisted energy to become even more bloodthirsty monsters, that the Forsaken now prize as aggressive steeds to ride into the heat of battle.
* **Abominations** – Grotesque and repulsive constructs made from the flesh and bones of the dead, sewn together in a haphazard fashion and given life with dark magic. They say one could not find two abominations that are the same, for they come in such many forms and sizes, each fulfilling an equally disturbing role. What is clear is that, these golems are the perfect machines for war: hard to stop and utterly obedient.
* **Gorebrutes** – The perfect example of the collaboration between the maniacal warlock-engineers and the diabolical apothecaries, gorebrutes are, essentially, abominations clad in dark-magic-enhanced heavy armor plates and outfitted with the eccentric and deadly inventions produced from the infernal forges of the Apothecarium. They are some of the most deadly creations the Forsaken has to offer.
* **Flesh Beasts** – The crowning achievement of the Royal Apothecary Society's reanimation experiments, this monstrosity towers over any previous work of the craven apothecaries. A colossus of flesh and bone, these hideous constructs are engines of pure destruction, lumbering through ranks of soldiers and smashing through walls with the slightest ease, demoralizing any foe who could muster the courage to even gaze upon the ghastly creations.

### Forsaken War Machines

* **Plague Splatterer** – Although primitive in appearance compared to the other weaponry created by the Royal Apothecary Society, its effectiveness is without doubt. A rudimentary catapult or mangonel mounted upon a cart driven by a power core infused with dark magic, this foul contraption hurls glass containers filled with whatever diseased mixture concocted by the apothecaries into enemy ranks and over fortified walls.
* **Luitdorf Cannon** – The pinnacle of mad engineer Luitdorf's inventions, the Luitdorf cannon is a marvel of engineering and the ultimate siege machine. Capable of launching focused bolts of dark-magic-enhanced lightning able to vaporize an entire company of soldiers and collapse the thickest of castle walls in an instant, it is a complicated and potent weapon.
* **Shrine of Shadows** – Driven into war by a band of fanatical ascetics, the shrine of shadows is an unholy icon of faith in the Forgotten Shadow. Atop of the altar stands a vicar with a tome of dark incantations which maintains a forboding portal leading into the void itself, when in position the vicar and aseptics chant dark maledictions from the unholy tome, summoning eldritch powers that could drive foes into a fit of delirium.

### Forsaken Lords

* **Executors** – Feared by foes for their flowing black capes, which earns them their eponymous nickname; they are commanders of the Forsaken's war machine, each powerful warriors and masterful strategists in their own. Despite with different personalities and habits ranging from individual to individual, one thing is certain: They are veterans of countless battles, ones they fought in life, and many as they fought in undeath.
* **Dark Rangers** – Once proud members of the Silvermoon Ranger Corps, these deathless elven warriors still remain loyal to their former commander. Bringing their lifelong training into their reanimation, they are archers and partisans unrivaled. Their skills in guerilla warfare and marksmanship have elevated many into positions of leadership, and their study into the Dark Arts have forged them into even more formidable combatants, silencing enemies while piercing their armors with cursed arrows.
* **Archvicar of the Forgotten Shadow** – An Archvicar is one of the highest ranking clergy within the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow. They are the apprentices and heralds of the High Sermonist and only two at a time may fill the rank, representing the Cult in the Leiteren Council. These powerful warrior-priests are the epitome of the Balance that the Cult seeks, capable of wielding the Light and Shadow in accord, and are no less skilled fighters in combat, cutting down foes with a swooping strike from their ritual scythes while protected by a suit of heavy armor blessed with the dark incantations from their unholy tomes. When war calls these individuals charge into battle headlong, leading and inspiring hosts of ascetics to their Ascension.
* **Master Apothecary** – The Master Apothecaries are the most brilliant minds of the Royal Apothecary Society, with only the most talented of the apothecaries able to be promoted to such a position. They are extremely knowledgeable individuals and rigorous scholars, dedicating their undeath to more obscure tomes and lorebooks in search for the formula to the perfect plague. However, if one would mistaken these studious individuals as mere alchemists with a streak of madness, they will pay for such a mistake, often with their very lives, for these well-versed individuals are also prestigious wizards of the Dark Arts, many able to conjure up the most ancient of morbid spells known through their years of study.

### Forsaken Heroes

* **Warlock-Engineers** – The manically ingenious Warlock-Engineers of the Royal Apothecary Society are the masterminds behind most of the Forsaken's most dreadful creations. Reverse-engineering Scourge technology and combining it with demonic magics, these artisans delve into areas that no living being would step foot in and their insane machinations are outlandish as they are terrifying. Beyond their engineering capabilities however, they are also powerful sorcerers of their own reputation, capable of wielding the Dark Arts to deadly effect.
* **Deathstalkers** – Former members of Lordaeronian Intelligence, they are notorious for being some of the most ruthless and brutal assassins in the Old World. After the fall of the Kingdom, the reanimated agents still tirelessly serve their country in undeath, silencing political foes all over the world in the name of their queen and kingdom. Masters of poison and blades, these dark-clad individuals are now more feared than they ever were in life.
* **Banshee** – The spirits of elven sorceresses who died a gruesome death in the Scourge invasion, the banshee are denied the peace of death and are bound to the world by vengeance. Incorporeal and immaterial, they act as the eyes and ears of their eternal queen. Able to subtly influence the minds of the living through their hollow whispers, they are the most fearsome agents of the Banshee Queen.
* **Black Champions** – Once proud paladins of the Silver Hand, these brave and masterful warriors were the best of the best, the mortal incarnation of the Holy Light and paragons of the human warrior. While great tragedy had taken their loved ones from them and still many remain enslaved under a dark power, many of those who did perish refused to lie down in light of their comrades' suffering, thus those who were barely released from the grips of death rise again to serve as the strongest warriors under the banner of their fallen kingdom, with sorrow in their hearts they turn into a furious gush of anger, seeking to pay back hideous crimes with sword and blood.

## Places of Interest

### Cantons of the Kingdom of Lordaeron

#### Vassals

* The Principality of **Aemaen**

* The Duchy of **Corvia and Kaslain**
	+ The Duchy of **Kaslain**

#### Provinces

* The Grand County of **Tuath and Mynaea**
	+ The Earldom of **Mynaea**
* The Province of **Glanmor**

### Notable Cities and Townships

* The **Capital City**
* **Wisserburgh**
* **Artenburgh**
* **Reighwait**
* The **Twin Cities**
* **Gwed Ilyncu**
* **Brill**
* The **Sepulcher**
* The **Bulwark**

## Notable Individuals

* **Sylvanas Windrunner** – The Banshee Queen, The Great Liberator, The Dark Lady. The youngest daughter of the prestigious Windrunner family, Sylvanas Windrunner was the Ranger-General of Silvermoon during the Third War, where she lead a valiant defense against the Scourge invasion before being felled by Arthas. Risen as a powerful banshee, she served under the death knight as one of his lieutenants before she betrayed the black prince and injured him with a poisoned arrow. Afterwards, Sylvanas broke free what's left of Lordaeron's reanimated forces and fought against armies of the Scourge, the Burning Legion and the Alliance to regain the lost kingdom of Lordaeron, from which they prevailed and successfully driven out the occupation forces. Self-stylizing as the Banshee Queen, Sylvanas is revered by the undead forces liberated from the black prince's grasp, now known as the Forsaken, and had gained herself a lost kingdom and undeathly subjects unswervingly loyal to her.
* **Varimathas** – The Dreadlord Varimathas is one of the Burning Legions key agents in Lordaeron before his defeat at the hands of the Forsaken army near the end of the Third War. Having plead for his life in exchange for aiding their efforts in defeating Garithos' army, Varimathas is granted a position as the Banshee Queen's personal advisor. Arrogant as he is cunning, many within the Shadowed Court questions whether he had completely severed his ties with his former masters. Those who do, however, dare not voice, for those who raises inquiries against the mighty demon have the tendency of disappearing quietly from plain sight, never to be seen again.
* **Nathanos Blightcaller** – Commander of the Lordaeronian Ranger Corps, Nathanos Marris was well known within the Alliance even before his death: a mere archer commander, his exceptional skills with the bow had made him witness to a historical military exchange between the kingdoms of Lordaeron and Quel'thalas, as Nathanos and his men the first humans sent to train as rangers under the tutorship of the elves, with Nathanos earning the fervent support of General Sylvanas herself and becoming the first human to earn the rank of Ranger-general. However, his skill still proved insufficient against the tide of destruction of the Scourge, and he was felled defending his homestead. When Sylvanas liberated him from the grip of the dark prince, he swore his unwavering allegiance to his former commander and now serves as the Champion of the Banshee Queen, supervising training of new members to the reformed Lordaeronian Ranger Corps.
* **Putress** – Known as Heyndrich Luitdorf in life, the figure known as Putress is the Grand Apothecary and Chief Engineer of the Royal Apothecary Society. One of the most brilliant and ambitious inventors the kingdom has ever seen, Putress is behind several of the most ingenious and deadly devices within the Forsaken arsenal. A polymath and scholar, Putress also serve as one of the Dark Lady's closest advisers, a relationship in which some would question where the talented Warlock-Engineer's true loyalty lies.
* **Matthias Faranell** – Master Apothecary Faranell is the aide to Grand Apothecary Putress and one of the five Master Engineers of the Royal Apothecary Society. An industrious epidemiologist during his early days, Faranell was said to have known every disease and ailment that had wrought havoc upon the Old World. Once determined to cure all disease inflicting mankind, he now utilizes his expertise to develop strands of plagues with new levels of depravity and deadliness.
* **Turathas Mortus** – The current Grand Executor of the Forsaken warhost, Turathas Mortus rose to his rank from a mere foreman-turned militia commander in life. His family butchered in front of him during the Scourge invasion, Mortus did not have the pleasure of reuniting with his family in undeath. Turning the sorrow from such a misfortune into burning hatred, Mortus rose through the ranks for his bravery, brutal effectiveness and masterful tactics applied from his interest in military theory in life. Now the chief military advisor to the Banshee Queen, the Grand Executor seeks nothing more than seeing the dreaded prince fall before blade, and would do anything to make sure it is so.
* **Alexey Barov** – Lord Alexey Barov the Younger is the eldest son of the extravagant and notorious aristocratic family of Ravnin descent, House Barov. Released from the control of the Scourge, he now serves as the Meister of Merchants and plots to restore his family's name by recovering his lost fortune. Arrogant and pompous as he may be, the young fallen noble proves to be more than capable of dealing with the daily financial operations of the kingdom and is appreciated by the Banshee Queen herself for revitalizing the Grand Bank Reserve of Lordaeron.
* **The Tall One** – The Tall One is the current High Sermonist of the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow and the spiritual leader of the Forsaken. An exceptionally powerful sorceror, he might as well be the most powerful individual within the underground kingdom. Surrounded by innumerable loyal followers, the Tall One has now secluded himself seeking to truly become one with the Shadow, giving up his mortal name and leaving all matters in the hands of his proteges. Previously the Archbishop of the Church of the Holy Light in Lordaeron, the Tall One was well respected by the people, and was known to fight till the bitter end before being overwhelmed by the Scourge during the fallen prince's dark crusade.
* **Ernst yst Brattengorf** – More commonly known by his Azerothi alias Aleric Hawkins, Ernst was the former head of Lordaeronian intelligence and current Master Assassin of the Deathstalkers. Known for his foul-mouthed black humor, his laid-back personality belies the calm and calculating master spy and cruel, cold-blooded killer underneath. Famed for his stylized signature of slitting a target's throat and pulling their tongue from the incision, Brattengorf has been linked to the assassination of several key elements of the Alliance after the Third War and is the reason why Alliance commanders would keep an extra group of bodyguards at night.