Forsaken (WoW AU)

The **Forsaken**, alternatively known as the Forsaken Undead or simply the Undead, are a race and faction of intelligent undead who broke away from the Scourge and took control of much of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, destroyed during the Third War by the Scourge. The Forsaken are led by their Banshee Queen, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, the former Ranger-General of Quel'Thalas. Their capital is the Undercity, in the royal catacombs beneath the ruins of the capital city of Lordaeron.

Although the vast majority of the Forsaken's ranks consists of undead humans, there are undead of many races loyal to the Banshee Queen. Undead high elves are the second-largest racial group of the Forsaken, due in part to the incredible destruction wrought by the Scourge on Quel'Thalas. Regardless of whatever race the undead belonged to in life, they have since assumed their racial identity as "Forsaken" due to their shared goals and loyalties.

## Culture and people

The Forsaken capital of Undercity is always awake, just like the Forsaken themselves. The city is a place of dark, somber colors, stone walkways, and steps. The Undercity has inns, forges, and businesses that cater not only to the undead, but visitors from the Horde, with whom the Forsaken have allied themselves. There are some illuminations in the form of dim lamps and muted torches. These sources of light are not merely there to serve the living; though the undead have no true need of light, it perhaps gives Undercity's chief inhabitants a façade of some other existence.

### Free will and the Gift

Free will is the cornerstone of Forsaken identity, that which separates them from the mindless monstrosities of the Scourge that many once unwittingly serve. It is this unwitting servitude that has shaped the way the undead see their purpose in undeath, and has profoundly impacted the way the Banshee Queen treats her subjects. A new Forsaken is raised in a process known as *the Gift*, yet a Forsaken does not have free will upon first being raised; it takes more concentrated magic to release an undead's mind. After this process is complete, assuming the undead has evaded a state of frenzy, they are given an ultimatum: join the Dark Lady, or return to the grave. Some undead (especially those who die in combat or under extreme stress and are raised soon after) enter into a violent, frenzied state. Undead in this state are easily manipulated and their rage is often directed at the foes of those who raised them. After the effects wear off, assuming the risen corpse has not been destroyed in the fray, they are given the same ultimatum.

Each Forsaken has different reasons for joining Sylvanas: some will join out of fear or intimidation of those raising them, some out of fear of once again returning to death, some out of a desire to avenge their untimely end, and some just out of necessity for they have nowhere else to turn to. Whatever the reason, the newly-raised undead will usually hold genuine honour or gratitude (as much as their undead emotions can express) towards the Dark Lady for allowing them another chance at living. Any Forsaken can, of course, alternatively choose to remain dead. This willing acceptance of their final death is known as the *last death***.**

Once sufficient duty has been given, all it takes to be released from Sylvanas' command is a respectful asking. Though she demands loyalty, she would not hold her agents in thrall, as free will is paramount in what makes someone Forsaken and not a mindless undead. Most undead who are released from their loyalty accept their last death, some decide to go off and attempt to live some semblance of a life. The Forsaken were strongly discouraged from revisiting places they had loved in life. Their home was no longer Lordaeron but the Undercity. Certain material such as books from the outside were prohibited, as it was stated that there was no need to remember their human history as only the history of the Undercity and the Forsaken now mattered.

### Alignment

Most Forsaken are loyal to the Banshee Queen and the Undercity, but there are some who either abandoned their loyalty