User:Joshmaul/Joshmaul the Warlock

"'He is unstoppable! He is immortal! Saavedro has failed us...he lives...oh, my good Master, something terrible has happened. Our House is damned - the Corruptor lives!'"
 * - Lieutenant Ivaris Sunblade of the Whitehair House Guard, near death, while questioned by Master Taeril'hane Ketiron

Joshmaul the Warlock, also called Joshmaul the Corruptor, has made many enemies in the years since hostilities began. In the near-decade since the Battle of Mount Hyjal, Joshmaul has become feared and reviled by all who know of him. To his followers, he is their unchallenged leader, a benevolent force guiding their hand. Constantly growing in power with the use of artifacts plundered from various points throughout the continent of Northrend, Joshmaul's aims for dominance over life (and unlife) have changed dramatically as the conflict in the frozen wastes continues. After his defeat in the Battle of the Court of Bones, Joshmaul largely disappeared from the world stage, and was believed by many to be dead - but using the powers of illusion, he hid in plain sight among those who fought against the Scourge in Icecrown.

Consumed by greed, powerlust and vengeance, Joshmaul sought to claim greater power through any means necessary, and achieve the one goal that had eluded him since the beginning: A final victory over his greatest enemy, Saavedro of Stratholme. As prophecied, Saavedro slew the Corruptor in single combat, at the cost of his own life. But Joshmaul had set great wheels in motion, and - aided by the powerful Twilight's Hammer cult - the Corruptor was returned to life...

Origins
The orc shaman Urgan, formerly a member of the Bleeding Hollow Clan, was born in the Bleeding Hollow's village in the outskirts of Terokkar Forest on Draenor. An idealistic but feared warrior of the Horde, Urgan fought during the First, Second and Third Wars, and - while apparently accepting his race's descent into evil (though he secretly opposed it) - retained his shamanistic heritage. After the Bleeding Hollow was captured following the sealing of the Dark Portal, Urgan was kept in one of the internment lodges in the courtyard of Durnholde Keep, and he and his fellow prisoners bore witness (silent as it was) to the escape of Aedelas Blackmoore's "pet orc" - Thrall, son of Durotan, later to become their Warchief. He was moved to another camp shortly thereafter - in fact, the camp that is now the location of the Horde outpost of Hammerfall - and officially rejoined the Horde shortly after the death of Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer. With Thrall as Warchief, the new Horde attacked and eventually destroyed Durnholde, ending the internment camp system. After Thrall was convinced by the mysterious prophet (later revealed to be Medivh, the Last Guardian) to leave the Eastern Kingdoms, Urgan and the rest of the orcish people made the great exodus to Kalimdor and participated in the Battle of Mount Hyjal. Once Durotar - and its capital city of Orgrimmar - had been created, Urgan lived in the Valley of Trials to the south of the capital and helped train new shamans.

Possession
The vengeful spirit of a powerful human sorcerer named Kiran Joshmaul (who had been killed in another reality) had crossed the dimensional plane and entered the world of Azeroth. Seeking a strong body to host his powerful soul, Joshmaul possessed the body of the shaman, forcing the old orc's soul out of its own body. Joshmaul changed the body to his liking, lengthening and braiding the white hair and growing out a shaggy white beard. After he was satisfied with his new body, Joshmaul drank deep of the details of the world he had entered. He found that there were humans here, and that the world of Azeroth was a very medieval myth-like society with knights, wizards and monsters. He found that the race of the shaman he had possessed, the orcs, had a primitive yet honor-bound society, oriented around combat and the betterment of the soul. But Joshmaul was not interested in being a "nature lover"...he craved power. He found it in the form of demonic warlock magic, which he found - to his surprise - that he had a natural affinity for. In secret, while he feigned allegiance to the Horde, Joshmaul saw that the Shadow Council offered more opportunities for him, and he began to rise steadily in its ranks.

After Joshmaul took possession of Urgan, a warrior-shaman named Noggra - Urgan's son - swore to take his revenge on the warlock who had possessed his father.

In-Game Accomplishments

 * Current Information
 * Part 1
 * Part 2
 * Assault on Karazhan
 * Assault on Zul'Aman
 * The Battle of Northrend
 * Returning on the Eve of the Shattering

Currently
Joshmaul currently resides in the Undercity.

Aid to the Blood Knight Order


Upon the blood elves' introduction into the Horde - which Joshmaul, at first, was somewhat reluctant to agree to - he found that they espoused a philosophy very similar to his own: When power is there for the taking, take it.

Joshmaul particularly found the blood elves' use of paladins intriguing in that they did not act to the standards of the much-lauded (and much-hated) Order of the Silver Hand. Instead the Order of Blood Knights, as the paladins of Silvermoon were known, were what could best be described as the Silver Hand's complete opposite: A paladin of the Silver Hand was renowned for their humility, their gentle nature towards people in need and their righteous fervor against the enemies of the people, while a Blood Knight is entirely arrogant, cruel and selfish. The paladins' connection to the Holy Light was entirely natural, a symbol of their piety, while Blood Knights feed off the Light energies of the captured naaru known as M'uru, held in a vault beneath Blood Knight headquarters in Silvermoon. It was in Silvermoon that he met Ordevaas Portalseeker, and was so impressed with his skills that the warlock named him his chief lieutenant.

Believing this to be the chance he sought to obtain glory, Joshmaul offered his services to Lady Liadrin, the Matriarch of the Blood Knight Order. His duty was to take promising Blood Knights that he encountered along his travels - including members of the Royal Undercity Mounted Police, to which Joshmaul belonged - and, if they were worthy, take them to Stratholme to complete the final tasks to become a Blood Knight Master. Under Joshmaul's watchful eye, the aspiring Masters would complete their task and earn the right to ride a Thalassian charger and wear the black-and-crimson tabard of the Order. Joshmaul agreed, and immediately set upon his task.

The first successful trial was done with Ludovicus Dawnstar, the Princeps of the Legion of Anasterian - a group of blood elves who swore their allegiance to the legacy of the last King of Quel'Thalas. After this was completed, many months passed before another proved themselves worthy - a Blood Knight named Zynn Proudheart, an officer of the RUCMP who rose through the ranks aided by Joshmaul and Ordevaas on several occasions. Now, Zynn prepared for the final trial in Stratholme, and just with Ludovicus, Joshmaul was ready. With the aid of a fellow Mountie named Cyradwanu, the task was completed quickly. Victorious, the three rode from the Eastwall Gate through the Thalassian Pass to Tranquillien, then flew the rest of the way to Silvermoon before mounting up once more and riding into the city. Zynn knelt before Lady Liadrin, who bestowed him the rank of Master, the tabard of the Order and the reins of a Thalassian charger.

Joshmaul's third success story would be the lieutenant that he trained to carry out his dark bidding throughout the worlds. After nearly a year of intensive, grueling battle across the world of Azeroth, Ordevaas Portalseeker achieved his destiny; aided by senior commanders Maruz and Sheperd, with funds and items scrounged up by Joshmaul himself, Ordevaas entered Stratholme and completed his sacred task. Less than a week later, a young Blood Knight named Vatarri beseeched Joshmaul for his aid. Once again calling upon the services of his ally Cyradwanu, Joshmaul took the aspiring Master to Stratholme; just as before, the trial was completed effortlessly and without casualties.

Joshmaul was shunned by the Blood Knight Order upon the revelation of his treachery - and the treachery of Kael'thas - to Lady Liadrin and Ordevaas Portalseeker. However, the four Masters he trained remain "marked" by the Corruptor's influence.

The Lost Eye


While in Tirisfal Glades, Joshmaul encountered the aspiring death knight Artimus Devaneaux, sneaking along the coast, heading for a plagued barge anchored nearby. Joshmaul, both infuriated that the human was in Horde territory and that he was an agent of the Scourge, attacked. Artimus wore two blades at his belt, a proper sword and a shorter blade, gifts from Aedelas Blackmoore - the human general who had overseen the internment camp system. With the flat of the longer blade, Artimus smacked him across the face; with the shorter blade - stained with the blood of Euphrati, daughter of Sekhesmet - he carved Joshmaul's right eye out of its socket. Joshmaul occasionally uses glass eyes, but his favored replacement was created from the eye of one of the demonic beholders that resided in Outland.

His eye was eventually replaced by the Forsaken using the corpse of a slain orc in the Howling Fjord, which they had taken to experiment on. The scar, and his desire for revenge against - and private fear of - the man who had taken it from him, still remain.

Joshmaul's Adventures in Piracy!


Joshmaul has recently engaged in another act which has earned him the ire of not only the Alliance and many elements within the Horde, but of the goblins of the Steamwheedle Cartel: piracy. He allied himself with the feared Bloodsail Buccaneers, who operated in Stranglethorn Vale and were staunch enemies of the Steamwheedle port of Booty Bay. Upon proving himself to the Bloodsail - involving the slaughter of hundreds of goblins sent to confront him - Joshmaul received an opportunity from Fleet Master Firallon onboard his flagship Crimson Veil. If Joshmaul could slay the leaders of Booty Bay - Baron Revilgaz and Fleet Master Seahorn - he would be granted the rank of Admiral. Joshmaul agreed and, with the aid of what few allies he had left in the Horde, flew into Booty Bay. There, in a heated and bloody battle, he slew both leaders and their guards, earning his new rank.



Joshmaul's flagship was the Vengeful Spirit, a powerful vessel equipped with dozens of cannons. Upon being granted this new vessel, Joshmaul raided up the Savage Coast without restraint; with Booty Bay leaderless, the Steamwheedle Cartel could not easily stop the Bloodsail raiders. They did, however, place a 1,000 gold bounty on Joshmaul's head for his role in assassinating Revilgaz and Seahorn, as well as the crimes for which he had earned death sentences in Orgrimmar and Stormwind.

Shortly before the second Scourge Invasion, the Vengeful Spirit also raided the coast of Tanaris and shelled Steamwheedle Port, their major connection to their eastern port. When the Plague broke out in the capitals, Joshmaul called off the plunder and set a course for northern Tirisfal, to return to the "war effort" before journeying to Northrend. Intelligence reports from the Valiance Expedition indicate that the Vengeful Spirit was part of the pirate flotilla blocking Westguard Keep in the Howling Fjord, a region where Joshmaul was known to operate. It has since relocated to Venture Bay in the Grizzly Hills.

The Vengeful Spirit was seriously damaged as the result of an attack against the pirate fleet in the Fjord orchestrated by the Valiance Expedition and carried out by Joshmaul's nemesis, Saavedro of Stratholme. Using a stolen zeppelin, the Alliance forces used it as a bomber to rain death on the crews and armaments of the pirate ships. One such vessel, deprived of its captain and navigator just as it prepared to make sail, smashed into the stern of Joshmaul's flagship, destroyed the captain's cabin, and very nearly hit the rudder. If that had happened, the vessel would have been dead in the water; as it was, the damage was serious enough that the ship nearly sank as it made its way to Vengeance Landing for repairs.

The Vengeful Spirit was later destroyed by Artimus Devaneaux in a sneak attack.

Corruptor's Downfall
With news of the clandestine alliance with his old enemy Artimus Devaneaux, who was one of the most despised enemies of the Horde's warlock guilds, Joshmaul was called to Orgrimmar by the people he had once spoken for, and was accused of high treason. He was sapped by Euphrati, the House of Whitehair's top assassin and discoverer of Joshmaul's plot, before he could lash out or make an escape. Under heavy guard and with the Forsaken assassin ready to strike if he made any sudden moves, Joshmaul was taken before Thrall in Grommash Hold. The Warchief made it clear that he would not tolerate the Corruptor's continuing blackmail, and with the warlock guilds now falling in line with the Warchief and the House of Shadowsun recently being declared enemies of the Horde, Joshmaul found himself without anyone to defend him.

His influence over Thrall gone and his reputation among his own brethren destroyed, Joshmaul grudgingly swore his allegiance to the Warchief and promised to end his blackmail, in exchange for his own life. Like Gul'dan, Joshmaul's greatest instinct was to preserve himself without any consideration for his allies, and in order to live he was forced to serve the Horde as a "loyal minion". But Thrall is far from trusting of the Corruptor's loyalty; he made it clear that Joshmaul will kept on a short leash, tailed by the Warchief's agents.

Despite the official break with the warlock guilds, Joshmaul still maintains his links with the Forsaken in light of his invaluable assistance in the development of their new plague. In light of the new "security restrictions", Joshmaul has enlisted the aid of Deathstalkers loyal to him to act as a countermeasure to the Warchief's spies. However, though his relations with the Forsaken as a people remain solid, his relations with the leadership - particularly the Banshee Queen herself - have soured somewhat. He will find that, if he is forced to come to her for protection, Sylvanas will demand a very high price...

The Corruptor Rallies


With the Warchief's command against him, the House of Shadowsun now declared persona non grata in Quel'Thalas and bounties placed on the heads of both Erennia and Linavil, Joshmaul found himself running out of options. Fortunately, however, help arrived in the form of a somewhat unstable Blood Knight named Zaelan Bloodhammer, a former servant of the House of Shadowsun, now devoted to Joshmaul's cause. Shankolin Blightpath, the time-altered Forsaken death knight that represented one of Saavedro's possible futures, also aided in this endeavor and jokingly referred to Zaelan as the "Shield of Joshmaul". Joshmaul was impressed by the Blood Knight's devotion, given his general manner of untrustworthiness and clear insanity.

Discreetly calling in some old debts from former supporters in the Council of Silvermoon, Joshmaul instructed that any houseless blood elf seeking to better themselves be sent to join the House of Shadowsun in exile, where they would better themselves under the joint leadership of Erennia and Linavil. Much to his lack of surprise, many prospective warlocks were included in the mix - blood elves were probably among the most adept in this path other than orcs, in Joshmaul's estimation - and the Corruptor, aided by Linavil, undertook their training personally. Joshmaul declared that the new warlocks were the true Hands of Joshmaul, warlocks who did not subscribe to the timidity of the Horde's warlock guilds.

Another agent to come forward was Helbrand, Joshmaul's blade-fisted vrykul enforcer and apprentice. Helbrand, also known as "the Wanderer", had lost his right hand in a clash with Saavedro of Stratholme in the Howling Fjord, just as the invasion of Northrend began. Joshmaul took in the injured vrykul, learned of his circumstances, and trained him in the demonic arts. For his right hand, he had a new bladed fist forged by Vengeance Landing's blacksmiths. Helbrand now wanders Northrend at the will of his master, and has also pledged his support to the Corruptor's bid to maintain some semblance of fear.

Loss of the Vengeful Spirit
Joshmaul also faced opposition from within the Bloodsail Navy, particularly from his now-former ally, Artimus Devaneaux. Returning to Acherus after plundering the ruins of Naxxramas, Artimus boarded his flagship, the Sword of Acherus, at King's Harbor and set sail for Northrend. Artimus' flag captain, Eliphas Aximand, reported that Joshmaul's flagship was anchored in Venture Bay on the coast of the Grizzly Hills, where she had remained ever since her arrival in Northrend.

On Artimus' command, the Sword of Acherus opened fire on the unsuspecting Vengeful Spirit and destroyed the captain's cabin, killing Captain Miller and most of his officers. Joshmaul had been in Dalaran at the time, but Linavil Shadowsun, Joshmaul's apprentice, was onboard and managed to escape the destruction, fleeing immediately for Conquest Hold along with the survivors of Joshmaul's crew. The fires caused the gunpowder to ignite, causing an explosion that destroyed the Vengeful Spirit and two other vessels moored alongside her. With the permission of the Forsaken, Joshmaul transferred his flag to the Dark Defiance, one of their ships moored off Vengeance Landing.

The Corruptor's Fate
Joshmaul's end has been prophecied by many shamans, but only one crystal-clear revelation came at the height of the war in Northrend, just after the completion of the Argent Coliseum. The draenei shaman Ammenkayn, daughter of the draenei paladin Joshmaul had corrupted, was mortally wounded by the Corruptor and left for dead on the Broken Front in Icecrown. Found by Saavedro moments later, Ammenkayn revealed her final vision, indicating that after "the king is dethroned" (referring to the final defeat of the Lich King in Icecrown Citadel), Saavedro will meet his greatest enemy - Joshmaul - and "both of your times will end", indicating that Joshmaul will be destroyed by Saavedro at the cost of his own life.

After the fall of the Lich King, brought about by Saavedro's allies (Saavedro himself had been seriously wounded in battle against the lich Lady Deathwhisper), Joshmaul ambushed General Oren Tanis just outside the Argent Tournament Grounds. Alerted to the Corruptor's plan by some unknown sixth sense, Saavedro flew across Northrend from his residence in the Howling Fjord on the back of his gryphon, Intrepid, and confronted the Corruptor on the cliffside. In a battle that left both combatants drained, Saavedro succeeded in vanquishing Joshmaul, casting his wrecked body onto the cliffside and into the sea below, but succumbed to his wounds some days later.

However, there are seers among the Horde who do not believe that Joshmaul's end will be permanent. The rumors of Joshmaul's original human birth, and his possession of Urgan, led to the interpretation that Joshmaul the orc will be destroyed, but that the warlock himself will somehow survive. Those prophets of the Alliance, particularly Farseer Jaeden'laek, do not believe that Joshmaul will return after his defeat, though this is perhaps chalked up to wishful thinking rather than true prophetic vision.

Before his demise, Joshmaul used his powers to come into contact with a Gilnean sorcerer named Kellen Maggard, who showed promise in the demonic arts. At the time, Gilneas was still in the throes of civil war and the Greymane Wall still sealed, leaving the Gilneans trapped in their quickly-deteriorating homeland. Joshmaul knew of the prophecies of Deathwing's impending return, a return that would shake the world of Azeroth to the core. Seeking new allies in the inevitable war that would result between Alliance and Horde, Joshmaul explained the prophecy of his death to Maggard and told the fringe warlock that the head of his original Avatar, kept in the abandoned Shadowfang Tower in Northrend's Grizzly Hills, could be used to resurrect him. Joshmaul, in fact, intended to claim the body of Maggard - who would become a worgen as a result of the continuing battle in Gilneas - for his own. Maggard, to his credit, recognized this, and came up with a plan to not only bring back Joshmaul but to obtain the power that the warlock had promised him - once he escaped Gilneas, he would find a suitable orc and take it to Northrend, then conduct the resurrection ritual.

Warlock Guilds
Joshmaul is of the opinion that the Horde should not shun the warlock guilds. He opposes Warchief Thrall's efforts to keep them out of sight, and scorns those warlocks who reside in Orgrimmar for subscribing to that practice, "hiding in a pit in the ground, cowering like children, while real warlocks are out in the open for everyone to see". He is a former disciple of Kaal Soulreaper, who resides in the Undercity, living and working alongside the warlock trainers of the Forsaken; in fact, Joshmaul himself favors the approaches taken by both the Forsaken and the blood elves, who do not hide what types of magic they use but rather utilize it for their own interests.

Joshmaul played a dangerous game as a principal spokesman of the warlock guilds, blackmailing the Warchief into turning a blind eye to the warlocks' less-than-savory practices in exchange for their obedience. What Joshmaul is unaware of, however, is that while there are many warlocks who subscribe to his way of thinking - serving as they see fit - there are many more who genuinely serve the Horde, fighting fire with fire. With Joshmaul's public humiliation in Orgrimmar, his influence among the warlock guilds was forever broken, making him a pariah amongst his peers.

Death Knights and Necromancy
With rumors that death knights will be joining both the Alliance and the Horde, many "sensible people" on both sides believe that utilizing the weapon of the enemy makes them no better than the enemy. Many others, including Joshmaul, believe otherwise. Through his encounters with General Settra, an undead death knight who joined Sylvanas shortly after she and others were freed from the Lich King's domination, Joshmaul believes that utilizing the necromantic magics of the death knights would turn the tide against Arthas' legions in Northrend, provided they were properly accustomed to their enemies beyond Northrend - including the forces of Illidan and the Burning Legion in Outland.

Ulterior Motives
Joshmaul's all-encompassing goal - one he appears to share with Sylvanas, though the means are somewhat different - was the absolute domination of all life on Azeroth, as well as the unlife that dominates northern Lordaeron since Kel'Thuzad unleashed the Plague. Though their plans intertwine, their methods were somewhat different; Sylvanas seeks to wipe out both the living and the dead and pave the way for her Forsaken to dominate the world, while Joshmaul sought to dominate all life as it stands - including, possibly, usurping the power of the Lich King and taking control of the Scourge for his own means. Thousands upon thousands of undead infest the Plaguelands of Lordaeron as well as the northern continent of Northrend, an unstoppable army that, if in the right hands (Joshmaul's, naturally) could remake the world in the image of its master.

Joshmaul's priorities changed once in Northrend, however...

Nemesis
The warlock's greatest opponent in his quest for immortality is Saavedro of Stratholme, Regent Lord of Lordaeron and Knight of the Silver Hand. Saavedro is one of few survivors of Lordaeron in active Alliance service, a veteran of battles against the Horde, the Scourge and the Burning Legion on countless battlefields on two worlds. The paladin's primary goal remains the restoration of the fallen Kingdom of Lordaeron, which is divided between the Forsaken (who hold the Tirisfal Glades and Silverpine Forest) and the Scourge (the Western and Eastern Plaguelands).

Saavedro and Joshmaul have gone head to head several times over the years; Saavedro is a far more experienced fighter and commander, having fought countless enemies - the Horde on the battlefields of Azeroth; the Scourge on numerous occasions, including the invasion that marked the return of Kel'Thuzad; the Burning Legion, as well as the servitors of Illidan, in the wastes of Outland. He has uncovered many of the secrets of Karazhan and, like Joshmaul, has fought in battle against the Amani. However, Joshmaul - being a warlock - is a crafty and conniving foe to the Regent of Lordaeron, as well as immensely skilled in the arts of shadow magic, and allied with beings who possess great skills with necromancy. Observers on both sides believe the battle will come to a head in Northrend, where both will test themselves - and each other - in combat against the Scourge.

Seeing Saavedro earn praise and accolades from all who knew him caused the Corruptor's already questionable sanity to completely snap. Instead of seeking to simply one-up the paladin, Joshmaul actively seeks to first destroy Saavedro's reputation, and then Saavedro himself. Now the Corruptor wanders throughout Northrend, searching for artifacts that would give him the edge to do just that.

Enemies of Joshmaul
Joshmaul has as many enemies as he does allies; the majority of his opponents, surprisingly, are members of the Horde, including Warchief Thrall - though his archnemesis is an influential member of the Alliance. Saavedro of Stratholme, Sekhesmet's former apprentice and now a powerful Knight of the Silver Hand, had gained quite a following himself. Like Joshmaul, Saavedro allied primarily with the "new race" of his faction following the opening of the Dark Portal - in the human's case, the draenei, though his allies were more diverse than Joshmaul's. The Corruptor focused his alliances primarily with the blood elves and the Forsaken, the only two races he believed strong enough to bother with; Saavedro had lieutenants from all of the Alliance, with personal emissaries to the Cenarion Circle (night elves), the Gnomeregan High Tinker-in-Exile, the King of Ironforge, and the Prophet Velen.

But even Joshmaul's lieutenants became his enemies. When he began his campaign, the House of Whitehair - an influential family in Quel'Thalas - became his staunchest supporters. Ordevaas Portalseeker, a Blood Knight Master, became Joshmaul's chief lieutenant and helped him commit unspeakable acts of cruelty. But the family was not quite as tight-knit as Joshmaul was led to believe. Ordevaas' daughter Areinnye Scourgebane, a renowned hunter, turned against her family for remaining in Joshmaul's service; she had, in fact, shot her grandfather and family patriarch, Lord Kel'theris, with a poison arrow as a sign of renouncing her ties to the House of Whitehair, because it served Joshmaul.

Not long afterwards, her grandfather ended the alliance between Joshmaul and the House of Whitehair...at the urging of her father, who discovered that Joshmaul - and Grand Magister Rommath, Prince Kael'thas' ambassador to the blood elves remaining in Quel'Thalas - had lied to them about their allegiances, and the allegiance of their Prince. Now the House of Whitehair has allied themselves to Thrall and the greater Horde.

Quotes
"The lord of all blood elves is a servitor of the Legion? Hmm...Ordevaas is not going to like this." -upon discovering Kael'thas' allegiance (and not telling Ordevaas - a fact that got him into trouble!)

"You ask me why I do not spend as much time among my own people, Lady Sylvanas? Well, the truth is, I'm not entirely sure who my people are. My soul comes from another world, another time - and the body I wear today is a race that is opposed to humans, which is what I called myself once upon a time. So you could say I too am forsaken in the general sense...and Forsaken in the Horde sense, if you get my meaning."

"There are going to be a lot of angry kids outside this cave, I think..." -after slaying Gruul the Dragonkiller

"Damn that Saavedro. Karazhan's secrets should be MINE - and all I have to do is have a chat with Medivh to get it. Simple, right?" -echoing his creator's gripe about how hard getting the key to Karazhan is with him, lol

"The warlock guilds have turned on me. The Alliance seeks to slay me. The Horde seeks to control me. My own apprentice now doubts me. But this is no matter - I need only myself and the powers at my command to rule. Saavedro, the Whitehairs, Artimus, Mograine, Thrall...even Arthas will kneel before me in the end. For I am the Corruptor of All Azeroth, and the world shall tremble with every step."