Quick Overview
Sylvanas Windrunner and a growing group of undead escaped the Scourge's control as the Lich King's influence weakened. The survivors still inhabited the ruined kingdom where many had died and faced enemies who saw no distinction between them and the Scourge. The Forsaken eventually occupied the Undercity beneath the ruins of Lordaeron and sought allies beyond their isolated territory.
Full History
Sylvanas Windrunner and a growing group of undead escaped the Scourge's control as the Lich King's influence weakened. Unlike Arthas's obedient armies, these undead could choose leaders and pursue their own survival. They called themselves the Forsaken, turning a moment of liberation into a separate political and military struggle in Lordaeron.
Freedom did not restore their former lives. The survivors still inhabited the ruined kingdom where many had died and faced enemies who saw no distinction between them and the Scourge. Sylvanas had herself been raised into undeath by Arthas; she used the break in his control to gather followers and oppose the dreadlords vying for the fallen capital. Her campaign combined revenge against former masters with the creation of a homeland for people rejected by the living.
The Forsaken eventually occupied the Undercity beneath the ruins of Lordaeron and sought allies beyond their isolated territory. Their break from the Lich King explains both their hostility toward the Scourge and the precarious condition in which players encounter them at the start of original World of Warcraft. Independence had been won, but security and acceptance had not.
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