How much free will do death knights have under the Lich King?
During Arthas Menethil’s rule as the Lich King, few members of the Scourge had much free will, even those who were fortunate enough to be spared from an existence as mindless undead [Quest: Cannot Reproduce]. That said, while Arthas’ will has been described as “indomitable” numerous times, it was not absolute. Some of his minions, including the death knights, were able to repeatedly resist his control and, in some cases, even shatter his hold over them completely.
A Preface on the Matter of Will
To start, the Lich King has the power to impose his will on the death knights in his service, essentially compelling them to carry out his commands, although he does not actually appear able to control their bodies beyond causing them great pain [Quest: The Will of the Lich King, Death Knight, Chapter Four, Ask CDev, Round Three, NPC: The Lich King Dialogue, Legends: Volume Four, Fate]. Little is clear about the exact workings of this process, but the Lich King floods the minds of his undead followers with his will in such a way that it dominates all other thoughts, including memories, and forces them to comply [Ask CDev, Round Three, Comic: Death Knight, Chapter Three, Ashbringer Volume Three: Naxxramas, Short Story: Dark Mirror]. This unique connection between the Lich King and his death knights also allows him to invade his minions’ minds and speak directly to them from a distance [Quest: The Will of the Lich King].
The Lich King can, if need be, forcibly reassert his will over any rogue undead, however some are able to break free from his control permanently in one way or another [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume III, pg. 188, Legends: Volume Four, Fate, Short Story: Dark Mirror].
Arthas’ Reign
According to one NPC, Arthas held the death knights so tightly in his thrall that only the most extraordinary of circumstances – such as those that transpired in the Eastern Plaguelands – would allow them to break free from his domination of their minds [Quest: If He Cannot Be Turned]. During the Battle for Light’s Hope Chapel, those who would eventually become the Knights of the Ebon Blade successfully wrested themselves from Arthas’ grip thanks to the staggering power of the Light and the shocking revelation that they had been betrayed and left for dead by the Lich King [Quest: The Light of Dawn]. Angered at being sent to his death by his master, Darion Mograine managed to resist Arthas’ control long enough during the battle to give Tirion Fordring the Ashbringer, thereby allowing the forces of the Light to fend off the Scourge [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume III, pg. 174]. This combination of events ultimately culminated in many of the death knights gaining complete independence from Arthas.
Although the Knights of the Ebon Blade were one of the largest groups of death knights to break free from the Lich King, there were others who also managed the unlikely feat [Object: Report from the Frontlines: Eastern Kingdoms]. For example, a death knight known as Minitalis deserted from the Scourge some time before the Knights of the Ebon Blade were formed [Object: The Death Knights of Acherus]. Another death knight, Trag Highmountain, resisted the Lich King’s direct commands time and time again, but not without much difficulty [Legends: Volume One, Fallen, Legends: Volume Two, Fear]. Although Arthas would come to dominate the tauren’s mind in time, Trag – strong of will and horrified at the prospect of killing his allies – was able to permanently break the Lich King’s hold on him [Legends, Volume Four, Fate]. It may be important to note, however, that Trag was raised as an undead through the power of an artifact known as the Orb of Ner’zhul, which may have given him the power he needed to free himself [Legends, Volume Four, Fate].
There are several additional instances in which some death knights were also able to disobey basic rules while under Arthas’ control. Not only did Thassarian choose to let Koltira’s brother go instead of killing him during the undead’s march on Silvermoon City, he would also later break protocol and send the player character to save Koltira after the elf was captured by the Scarlet Crusade [Death Knight, Chapter Three, Quest: Brothers in Death].
A small section in the non-canon RPG even hints at the existence of ‘coffer corpses,’ which are independent undead with no connections to the Scourge [RPG: Manual of Monsters, pg. 199]. That said, it is unclear if these so-called ‘coffer corpses’ were originally part of the Scourge and broke away, or if they were somehow reanimated by other means.
Under Bolvar
While the death knights under Arthas’ sway had only a modicum of free will during his reign as the Lich King, they now have nearly full autonomy under Bolvar. Rather than directly imposing his will on the remaining death knights, Bolvar instead chose to ally with and work alongside them [NPC: Darion Mograine Dialogue]. However, despite their newfound partnership, the Lich King still plays a rather significant role in both raising and directing the death knights, going so far as to dictate the identities of the Four Horsemen and have new death knights swear fealty to him [Quest: Death’s Power Grows, Quest: The Call of Icecrown, Quest: Return of the Four Horsemen].
Although Bolvar does not control the death knights against their will in the same way Arthas did, there may be some cause to believe that they are still not totally free of the Lich King’s mental control, especially since the death knights’ existence is said to be tied to his very consciousness [Quest: The Will of the Lich King]. The memory of Arthas present in the Blades of the Fallen Prince taunts the death knights, telling them that they are still at the mercy of the Lich King and always do “as He commands” [NPC: Memory of Arthas Dialogue].
Unlike his predecessor, though, Bolvar initially struggled to control the undead. Both the Val’kyr and pockets of Scourge in the Eastern Kingdoms managed to break free from the Lich King's grasp for good. While he tried to regain dominion over them, Bolvar was largely unsuccessful [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume III, pg. 188].
Whether or not that means Bolvar would have imposed his will on the death knights had be been stronger, it still stands to reason that the death knights have control over their own thoughts and motivations in a way that they did not under Arthas [NPC: Lord-Commander Arete Dialogue]. Of course, seeing as Bolvar is no longer the Lich King following the destruction of the Helm of Domination come Shadowlands, it remains to be seen how this affects the death knights or their relationship with him, if at all.
Like Shark Week on the Discovery Channel… but better, because it’s about death knights.
Last year, I put together a week-long info lore dump on druid shapeshifting after getting inspired to do research into the vast, vague, and sometimes contradictory history of druid lore. Although it’s been a little over a year since “Druid Week,” I decided I wanted to do another one and research a specific class in an attempt to both clear up any confusion about their lore and communicate some pretty cool lore facts along the way. After putting a vote to the masses, you guys chose death knights... so, without further ado, for every single one of the next six days, I will be posting popular questions (and my answers) about death knights!
What are some of the questions you’re answering?
To give you a taste of what’s to come in the next week, I will be answering questions like (in no particular order):
How much free will do death knights have under the Lich King?
How do different races and cultures view the death knights?
Who are the Four Horsemen?
How do each of the death knight generations differ from one another?
How are death knights’ bodies different from those of other undead like the Forsaken?
What is the exact nature of the death knights’ curse to inflict pain on others?
If you find you have additional questions you want me to answer, definitely send me a message and I’ll see what I can do!
As always, I am not an absolute authority on any of these topics and readily admit I have not meticulously combed through all of the relevant source material (although I really tried my best). Therefore, if you see I’ve missed something or you want to contribute your own input on these topics, you are more than welcome to do so - in fact, I encourage it.
Thanks and see you all during Death Knight Lore Week!
