Arthas retrieves Frostmourne in Northrend

Full History

The plague had driven Prince Arthas Menethil from one desperate decision to another. After the horror of Stratholme, he fixed upon the dreadlord Mal'Ganis as the enemy he must destroy. The pursuit carried him away from Lordaeron to the frozen continent of Northrend. There he confronted both the Scourge's military forces and the limits of his own willingness to listen to counsel from those who still wished to turn him from his course.

Among the dangers of Northrend was Frostmourne, a runeblade of terrible power. Arthas sought the sword as a weapon capable of giving him victory against Mal'Ganis. Muradin Bronzebeard warned of its curse, but the prince's desire for revenge outweighed concern for the consequences. He claimed the blade and brought its power into the struggle, sacrificing the safeguards that might have preserved his judgment and freedom.

The sword's influence became the means by which the Lich King took hold of Arthas. The prince's original mission had been to save Lordaeron from the undead plague; he now became the instrument through which the Scourge would destroy it. His companions were abandoned, and the campaign in Northrend ended in a transformation far more consequential than the destruction of one dreadlord.

Arthas returned home not as the victorious defender his people expected, but as a death knight. He murdered King Terenas and turned his forces against the very institutions he had served. Frostmourne therefore marks the pivotal choice that connected the personal tragedy of the prince to the collapse of a kingdom. The runeblade did not create every error he had made beforehand, but it made his earlier obsession the channel of the Lich King's victory over him.