Azjol-Nerub

Full History

Long before Arthas reached Northrend, the nerubians had built a civilization beneath its frozen wastes. Their cities and passages spread through the earth, forming a realm that could resist enemies the surface kingdoms scarcely understood. The Lich King's arrival transformed that isolation into a battlefield. The Scourge sought control of the north, and the nerubians fought to preserve their own kingdom against an army that could raise the dead.

The conflict ruined Azjol-Nerub. Anub'arak, once its king, fell and was brought back in undeath as a servant of the Lich King. The defeat was doubly cruel: the leader who had fought for his people could now be commanded to act for the power that destroyed their freedom. The wrecked chambers of the kingdom became part of the Scourge's route beneath the continent.

When Illidan Stormrage threatened the Frozen Throne, Arthas returned to Northrend to aid the Lich King. Anub'arak met him and offered a passage through the underground ruins toward Icecrown. Their journey confronted dangers within the old realm even as enemy forces raced aboveground. The passages offered speed at the cost of entering a devastated kingdom whose surviving inhabitants and guardians had their own reasons to resist.

Azjol-Nerub's story was thus more than a shortcut for a death knight. It was the history of a conquered civilization, and of a king forced to lead another conqueror through the remains of his own domain.