An Eye Turned North

Kil’jaeden demanded the destruction of Ner’zhul, whose disobedience had made the Lich King a threat to his former master. Illidan accepted the task. The memories taken from the Skull gave him a route to a weapon powerful enough to attempt it.

With Vashj’s naga, Illidan entered the Tomb of Sargeras and claimed the Eye. Maiev followed him inside, but his escape left her companions trapped in the collapsing tomb. Her pursuit became inseparable from those losses.

At Dalaran, Illidan directed the Eye’s power toward Icecrown. The ritual threatened the land around the Frozen Throne as well as its prisoner. Malfurion, Maiev and Kael’thas intervened before the attack could finish. The artifact was destroyed and Illidan’s promise to Kil’jaeden remained unfulfilled.

The Ascent to the Frozen Throne

The weakening Ner’zhul called Arthas back to Northrend. Illidan and his allies were moving against the Frozen Throne, and the death knight could no longer assume that the power sustaining him would endure. Reaching Icecrown became a race to preserve his master and himself.

Anub’arak offered a route through the fallen nerubian kingdom. The former king guided Arthas through tunnels haunted by the consequences of the Scourge’s conquest. For Arthas the passage was a shortcut; for Anub’arak it was the ruin of the realm he had once ruled.

At Icecrown, Arthas overcame Illidan and climbed to the prison above. He broke the ice and put on the Helm of Domination, joining himself to Ner’zhul as the Lich King. The prince who had taken a cursed blade to save his people now sat at the center of the power that had destroyed them.

Illidan survived the duel. Vashj and Kael’thas brought him back to Outland, where the failure left him preparing for Kil’jaeden’s wrath. Arthas gained a throne; his opponent returned to a kingdom that could not make him safe.