Gul’dan — The First Death Knights

Full History

The first Horde death knights were created through Gul'dan's necromancy during the Second War, long before Arthas became the Lich King's champion. The warlock used the remains of fallen human knights and spirits associated with the destroyed Shadow Council to form undead riders. These beings expanded the Horde's command of unnatural magic. They were instruments of Gul'dan's ambitions, not members of the later Scourge.

The fall of the Shadow Council left Gul'dan seeking ways to retain value in Orgrim Doomhammer's Horde. Creating new magical warriors offered a means of demonstrating usefulness while preserving access to dark sorcery. The death knights joined necromantic power to the forms of human cavalry, turning the dead of one side into weapons for another. This was part of the extraordinary brutality of the Second War's magical escalation.

Later histories also use the title death knight, but the term does not make the different generations identical. The Lich King's champions emerged under distinct circumstances during the Third War. The original Warcraft II manual provides a specific account of Gul'dan's experimentation and the Old Horde's undead riders. That history stands on its own, with its own creators, victims, and political purposes.