My Rebirth and the Strange Adventure of Black Zhen

During his two years of recovery, the clans of Draenor were at war with each other until Teron Gorefiend proposed opening a new portal and finding other worlds for the Horde to conquer. Teron approached Ner'zhul, hoping that the old shaman could lead the Horde again. After recovering, Ner'zhul led his people into seclusion in Shadowmoon Valley, where he saw a vision of death (which may have revealed his future fate). He painted his face a white skull. When Gorefiend, an undead, found him, Ner'zhul was not too surprised, and after a conversation agreed to help Gorefiend open the portal. In order to implement his plan smoothly, Gorefiend found several holy relics from Azeroth: the Skull of Gul'dan, the Book of Medivh, the Scepter of Sargeras, and the Eye of Dalaran. The other three holy relics, except the Skull of Gul'dan, correspond to the three constellations of Draenor, and connecting them through a certain celestial ritual can provide Ner'zhul with the power to open the portal.

The first item he obtained, the Skull of Gul'dan, gradually began to affect the old shaman, and the former apprentice communicated with Ner'zhul through his remaining consciousness. The old shaman began to care more and more about his own power and existence, rather than the interests of the tribe.

After obtaining all the relics, he began to attempt to open portals throughout Draenor. Feeling the surge of power and control over the magic of all Draenor, Ner'zhul no longer cared about the interests of the Horde, and only thought about how to use the new power in his hands. Arrogantly, he ordered his followers to pass through the portal, leaving the Horde aside. In response, one of his servants, Obris, expressed dissatisfaction with his decision to abandon the Horde. In response, Ner'zhul abandoned him as well, and he no longer cared. Feeling the power of his previous dreams filled his body, Ner'zhul was ultimately defeated by his own greed. The remaining glory and humanity in his heart disappeared as he and his men passed through the portal, leaving only the Horde to fend for themselves. The huge energy generated by the Spell of Conjuration tore all of Draenor into pieces after Ner'zhul escaped, and the shattered Outland was born.

After entering a portal, Ner'zhul and his men were immediately captured by Kil'jaeden. The elder shaman was torn to pieces, but his soul was preserved. After agreeing to renew his loyalty to the demon, Ner'zhul's soul was bound to the Helm of Domination and trapped within the Frozen Throne. His mind, mental energy, and magical powers were greatly enhanced, and the Lich King was born. As the Lich King, Ner'zhul ruled the Scourge alone until he merged with Arthas Menethil, which consumed his soul and made him unable to exist as the Lich King alone.

When Anub'arak arrived in Northrend, he traveled south to meet Arthas Menethil. He led an attack on the blood elves and rescued the Dark Prince before Anub'arak introduced himself to Arthas and informed him of Ner'zhul's plans. Anub'arak helped Arthas build a fortress and then planned an attack on the blue dragon Sapphiron. Anub'arak told Arthas that fighting the growing power of Kael'thas and Vashj would be a long process, and planned to travel through the underground ruins of Azjol-Nerub to reach the Icecrown Throne, but warned him that it was a dangerous journey.

Anub'arak led Arthas into the ruins of the Spider Kingdom, dealing with the many dangerous traps along the way, although he continued to fight with his former subjects, the living spiders who called him a traitor king because he served the Lich Queen and destroyed all of Azjol-Nerub.

As they entered the Inner Kingdom, they encountered the remnants of Muradin's expedition, now led by Balgunn Firebeard, who claimed that an ancient evil had been unleashed from the depths of the Old Kingdom, and would not allow anyone to open the gates to the Inner Kingdom. Anub'arak and Arthas defeated the troublesome dwarves and opened the gates to the Inner Kingdom. [6] Soon, they encountered the evil forces the dwarves spoke of - the Faceless Ones - strange, malformed creatures that had been imprisoned deep underground in ages forgotten. They even came face to face with a Forsaken, a creature with the ability to heal itself.

After entering the Upper Kingdoms, an earthquake separated Anub'arak from Arthas, and Anub'arak and his servants frantically dug through the rubble to reach Arthas before he was killed by traps scattered throughout the Inner Kingdoms of Azjol-Nerub. [8] When they found Arthas, they were surprised at his ability to survive and quickly brought him out of Azjol-Nerub to the surface, where they soon encountered Illidan Stormrage and his servants during the battle for the Frozen Throne.

Anub'arak soon joined the fray, and his guardian Arthas used magic to unseal the four obelisks surrounding Icecrown's summit. Eventually the seals on all four obelisks were broken, and Anub'arak stood by as Arthas climbed the stairs to his fate.

Kel'Thuzad was exiled for his interest in necromancy, and later became the leader of the Cult of the Damned and the Lich King's chief enforcer of the expansion of the Scourge in Lordaeron.

After spreading the plague to Lordaeron, he was killed by the paladin Arthas. After Arthas became a death knight, he resurrected Kel'Thuzad as a lich so that he could summon Archimonde the Deceiver to Azeroth. After following Arthas out of Northrend, Kel'Thuzad was appointed to lead the Scourge in Lordaeron from his floating city of Naxxramas. After his first defeat, he and his floating city moved to Northrend.

Shortly before the Second War, Kel'Thuzad was a member of the Council of Six, the ruling council of the Kirin Tor - the leaders of Dalaran. The Kirin Tor leaders were all interested in Medivh's knowledge, but Kel'Thuzad's desire was stronger. He seemed particularly interested in the mysterious Council of Tirisfal, as when he spoke of Medivh, he also mentioned Antonidas, the leader of the Kirin Tor.

A number of powerful individuals scattered across the world heard the Lich King's spiritual call from Northrend. Kel'Thuzad was the most notable of these and the first to answer the Lich King's call. [10] For many years, Kel'Thuzad was regarded as a maverick due to his persistence in studying the forbidden art of necromancy. This mentality drove him to explore all that the magical world had to offer and the mysterious wonders it created, but he was also frustrated by the conservative and rigid nature of his fellow warriors. Since hearing the powerful call from Northrend, the archmage has used his strong will to commune with the mysterious voice. Because Kel'Thuzad believed that the Kirin Tor was too conservative to gain access to the knowledge and power hidden in the dark magic, he vowed to learn all that he could from the extremely powerful being known as the Lich King.

Eventually, Antonidas learned that Kel'Thuzad had been trying to use necromancy to resurrect dead rats. Fearing for Dalaran's safety and reputation, Antonidas searched Kel'Thuzad's belongings, and all items related to the dark magic were confiscated and destroyed. Antonidas warned Kel'Thuzad that if he did not abandon his "mad" ways, his position and wealth would be stripped away, and he would be exiled from Dalaran - and even from all of Lordaeron. Abandoning his wealth and once-famous status, Kel'Thuzad renounced the ways of the Kirin Tor and left Dalaran forever. Constantly spurred on by the voice of the Lich King in his mind, he sold much of his possessions and stored some of his wealth. After traveling alone across much of the united land and sea, he finally reached the frozen shores of Northrend. To reach Icecrown and pledge his allegiance to the Lich King, the archmage traveled through the war-torn ruins of Azjol-Nerub. Kel'Thuzad saw firsthand the terrifying power of Ner'zhul. He began to believe that joining the mysterious Lich King was not only wise, but also likely to be fruitful.

Kel'Thuzad met with Anub'arak, who told him of all the powers he could wield. Fearing the strange things that could be found in Naxxramas, Kel'Thuzad teleported out and attempted to escape. Unfortunately, he was surrounded by wraiths, who took him back. [11]

After months of traveling across the icy wastes, Kel'Thuzad finally reached Icecrown. He came to Ner'zhul's dark citadel, and was shocked when the silent undead guards let him pass.

He walked down the road, and at the bottom of the glacier, he saw the Frozen Throne and dedicated his soul to the Lich King.

The Lich King was very pleased with his new follower. He promised Kel'Thuzad immortality and great power in exchange for his loyalty and obedience. Kel'Thuzad, eager for dark knowledge and power, immediately accepted his first mission - to go deep into the human world and establish a new sect that worships Ner'zhul as a god.

In order to help the Archmage complete his mission, Ner'zhul allowed him to keep his human body. The Archmage completed the mission brilliantly, using illusions and religious power to attract a large number of exiled Lordaeron people and describing a beautiful new society to them - and gave each of them a puppet that could contact the Lich King at any time...

Kel'Thuzad secretly returned to Lordaeron and remained active there for three years. He used his wealth and intelligence to gather some humans who were willing to follow him and formed a sect called "Cult of the Damned". He promised his followers equal social status and eternal life in exchange for their obedience to Ner'zhul.

Over the months, many disillusioned people joined his cult. Kel'Thuzad's goal - to make people abandon their faith in the light and worship the dark power of Ner'zhul - was easily achieved. As the cult of the damned continued to grow, Kel'Thuzad had to ensure that the rulers of Lordaeron would not discover their secret activities.

When Kel'Thuzad was successful in Lordaeron, the Lich King was also making final preparations for attacking the human world. Ner'zhul poured his plague energy into many artifacts called "Plague Sources" and ordered Kel'Thuzad to take these artifacts to Lordaeron and hide them in villages controlled by the sect.

These plague sources protected by loyal believers will serve as the source of the plague, releasing the plague continuously and sweeping across the cities and villages in northern Lordaeron.

The Lich King's plan worked very successfully. Many villagers in northern Lordaeron were infected almost instantly. As in Northrend, humans who were exposed to the plague died and then became slaves who obeyed the Lich King's orders.

The followers led by Kel'Thuzad are eager to die and serve their master, hoping to become immortal in this way. As the plague gradually spreads, more and more zombies appear in northern Lordaeron. Kel'Thuzad manages this growing force and calls them "the Scourge". Soon, it will step into the gates of Lordaeron and wipe out humans from this world forever.

Kel'Thuzad, following the Lich King's instructions, was monitoring the spread of the plague in a small town called Brill. But there, he was discovered by Jaina Proudmoore and Prince Arthas. Kel'Thuzad quickly retreated from there, and the prince and the mage followed him back to Andorhal. There, Kel'Thuzad told Arthas that Mal'Ganis of Stratholme was the mastermind. Arthas killed Kel'Thuzad in a rage. But before that, Kel'Thuzad declared to him that his death meant nothing. They were not over yet.

After Arthas arrived in Northrend and killed Mal'Ganis with Frostmourne, he returned to Lordaeron, betrayed his kingdom, and became a servant of the Lich King. Kel'Thuzad, under Arthas's protection, began to appear beside him in ghostly form. The stern Gavinrad was killed by Arthas, and Kel'Thuzad's body was preserved. Kel'Thuzad seemed to come only for Arthas. He told Arthas that he did not trust the dreadlords. They were only here to monitor the Lich King. He also promised Arthas that as long as he set foot on the land of Quel'Thalas again, he would explain to him all the Lich King's plans.

Kel'Thuzad monitored Arthas's slow progress towards the Sunwell. Arthas encountered Sylvanas Windrunner in Silvermoon City. Eventually, Arthas breached the two elven gates and ultimately laid siege to Silvermoon City, invading the fabled Sunwell. Arthas placed Kel'Thuzad's remains in the well, and with the help of Tichondrius, Kel'Thuzad was reborn into a terrifying lich form.