Varimathras

Full History

Lordaeron's fall did not leave one enemy ruling undisputed over its ruins. The Scourge had destroyed the old kingdom, yet the Burning Legion had its own agents among the undead. When the Legion's invasion failed at Mount Hyjal and the Lich King's control over some of his servants weakened, the dreadlords Balnazzar, Detheroc, and Varimathras struggled to retain their hold on the broken capital. Their rule rested on domination and fear, but it was vulnerable to enemies who no longer obeyed their masters.

One of those enemies was Sylvanas Windrunner. Freed from the Lich King's direct command, she gathered undead who shared her new independence and sought revenge on those who had used her people as weapons. Varimathras recognized the danger posed by this growing faction. He confronted Sylvanas, trying to draw her away from rebellion and back toward the authority of the dreadlords. She rejected him. His attempt to preserve the old order instead drew him into a struggle in which the undead he expected to command had become his adversaries.

Sylvanas defeated Varimathras's forces and brought the dreadlord to her mercy. For a demon who had relied on terror, the change was sharp: he could perish or accept the orders of a former servant of the Scourge. He chose submission. Sylvanas understood that he knew the remaining dreadlords' methods and positions, and she used that knowledge in her campaign against his own allies. His oath made him a useful lieutenant, but it could not erase his nature or prove that he had truly abandoned the Legion.

The war for Lordaeron drew in the surviving human forces of Grand Marshal Othmar Garithos. Varimathras assisted Sylvanas as she took advantage of their struggle against Detheroc and Balnazzar. The coalition was never a promise of lasting friendship between humans and the free undead. Once the dreadlords' position collapsed and the capital was secured, Sylvanas broke her temporary alliance with Garithos. Varimathras carried out the killing of the human commander, an act that revealed the ruthless foundation upon which the Forsaken would hold their new seat of power.

The ruined royal city became the Undercity, home to the Forsaken beneath the land they had once inhabited as living citizens. Varimathras remained near Sylvanas, commanding soldiers and serving as an intermediary in the new realm's affairs. His presence was an uncomfortable fact: the Forsaken, who valued freedom from masters, had adopted a dreadlord into the center of their command. Sylvanas could profit from his experience while keeping a threat close enough to watch.

In the earliest years of the Undercity, Varimathras stood in the Undercity as a reminder that the victory over the Scourge's control had not made Lordaeron safe or innocent. The Forsaken had won a home among their own graves through expedient bargains and violent choices. The dreadlord's service explained part of their success, but whether a creature formed by the Legion's designs could be trusted remained a question no oath had settled.