Arthas Menethil is a fictional character who appears in the Warcraft series of video games and novels by Blizzard Entertainment.
He was once a paladin of the Silver Hand and the crown prince of Lordaeron, but he was corrupted by the cursed blade Frostmourne in a bid to save his people.
We initially created Arthas as one of those leaders, so we knew from the beginning he would be central to the storyline", and that he "is the bridge connecting the human and the undead campaigns.
Though Arthas loved the kindly Uther like an uncle, he longed to take command of his own destiny and become a hero like the brave veterans who fought the orcs during the Second War.
Despite the heartache he felt when his brief affair with the sorceress Jaina Proudmoore came to an end, Arthas remained remarkably committed to his roles as both the prince of Lordaeron and as a holy paladin.
Archbishop Alonsus Faol led the initiation process, which included four of the five original paladins: Uther, Tirion Fordring, Saidan Dathrohan, and Gavinrad the Dire.
Arthas was presented with the holy warhammer called Light's Vengeance by Gavinrad, and had the ceremonial silver plates placed upon his shoulders by Uther.
[2] A highly debated moment in Warcraft lore revolves around Arthas's decision to purge Stratholme, a city under the influence of the Scourge with its residents about to transform.
Instead, the prince eventually fell prey to the Lich King's (Ner'zhul's) tremendous power when he took up the cursed runeblade ("mourneblade"), Frostmourne, believing that it would save his people.
Though the sword did grant him unfathomable power, it also stole his soul and transformed him into the greatest of the Lich King's death knights.
After taking control of the Scourge as the new Lich King, Arthas challenged the Alliance and the Horde by initiating attacks on their cities.
He was mortally wounded after a band of adventurers led by Tirion Fordring stormed his fortress, Icecrown Citadel, and defeated him in battle.
Arthas appears in the non-canon children's book Snow Fight: A Warcraft Tale by Chris Metzen and Wei Wang.
"[16] He was also included on "The 10 best video-game characters" list by The Guardian, which stated that "initially the valiant model of a medieval knight, everything changes when Arthas picks up a cursed sword and begins to perpetrate a steadily more sinister series of atrocities (think dead peasants), culminating in killing his own father.
The newly formed Lich King may have been evil, but he was keeping the undead Scourge in check, holding back the flood of the decrepit and the mindless.