User:Joshmaul/Artimus Devaneaux/Dead Man's Freedom



After being liberated from the Scourge by the influence of Tirion Fordring, Baron Artimus Devaneaux swore his allegiance to the Knights of the Ebon Blade and to the son of the Ashbringer, Darion Mograine.

Soldier of the Alliance. Officer of the Scarlet Crusade. General of the Scourge. Artimus has been all these things and more in life - but now in death, Artimus merely seeks to be his own man once again, serving anyone who will take him...in a world that despises him and his kind as monsters.

The Battle of Acherus


Immediately after the Battle of Light's Hope Chapel, Artimus was approached by Highlord Mograine, who instructed him to use the Death Gate - a special spell that opened a portal to Acherus from anywhere the death knight travelled - to return to the Ebon Hold and claim it from the Scourge. Fordring's attack against the Lich King on the holy ground of the chapel had weakened the Lord of Death, and forced him to retreat back to Northrend - leaving his legions in Lordaeron to deal with the opposition.

Upon returning to Acherus, Mograine told him that the upper levels - containing the runeforge - were held by an army of abominations and val'kyr, led by Kel'Thuzad's "avatar of war", Patchwerk. The huge abomination was released from Naxxramas to wipe out the Ebon Blade, and Mograine commanded his death knights to destroy him. The Highlord warned Artimus not to take on Patchwerk alone, but instead fight alongside his brothers to destroy the creature. With his orders in hand and empowered by the might of Mograine, Artimus teleported into the heart of Acherus and unsheathed his blade, ready to fight the last of the Scourge legion in the Ebon Hold.

The Avatar of War


Patchwerk had been defeated by Saavedro during the paladin's sojourn in Naxxramas nearly a year earlier - after the opening of the Dark Portal - but it seemed that the Lich King was loathe to let his chosen servants die so easily. Noth, Gothik, Razuvious and Baron Rivendare were examples of Scourge commanders killed in the past, only to return in the present...

Marching across the runeforge chamber to the center of the room, which had once held unworthy initiates in soul chains, Artimus decapitated two abominations that stood in his way and banished a val'kyr battle maiden who attempted to send him to the hereafter as he marched towards Patchwerk. The emnity between the Alliance and the Horde temporarily forgotten, Artimus fought side-by-side with a Darkspear troll and together they unleashed their fury against the colossal monstrosity. With the combined might of the entire Order of the Ebon Blade, Patchwerk fell - but Artimus suspected that they would see the beast again in the halls of Naxxramas, where a reincarnated Kel'Thuzad no doubt awaited them.

With Patchwerk destroyed and the Scourge defeated, there was but one task left to Artimus now. In order to secure a place for himself among human society, Artimus was given a letter from Tirion Fordring to take to Stormwind, where he would throw himself at the mercy of the King.

All Sorrow Fail and Sadness at the Stormwind King's Return


Taking an open portal to the gates of Stormwind, Artimus was jeered and ridiculed by the townsfolk. Civilians screamed in his presence and the guards and others spat on him, threw rotten fruit at him and called for him to be hanged. Stoically ignoring this insult, Artimus made his way through the streets of Stormwind until he arrived at Stormwind Keep. The abuse continued from all lookers, even from young Anduin Wrynn, who had been king for the last few months. But the man standing before the throne had Artimus' full attention - Anduin's father, King Varian, recently returned from his disappearance at the hands of the Defias Brotherhood.

Realizing his life was measured in seconds, Artimus knelt before the King and delivered the letter from Fordring. The letter called upon Varian to show mercy towards the death knights of the Ebon Blade and to allow them a chance to prove themselves again as heroes of the Alliance. Commenting that Fordring's letter was the only thing saving his head, Varian allowed Artimus to live, and pledged to welcome him and his brethren back into the Alliance. Varian made an announcement to the entire city, calling upon the people to show their respect to these former champions despite their obvious taint, and to allow the death knights to prove their worth to the Alliance.

Thanks to Varian's intervention, Artimus now made his way to Nethergarde, where he would travel back to Outland and continue along his new path...as a death knight of the Alliance.

The Path He Has Chosen: Life After Acherus
Artimus Devaneaux's history as a respected human politician-turned-religious zealot-turned-dark warrior has made him well known to both sides of the conflict between the Alliance and the Horde, as well as to outside organizations - especially the Scourge.

Among the Light-Botherers of the Alliance
Artimus, despite his service in the Scarlet Crusade, has never been a particularly pious man - even less so now that he is technically dead. If anything, Artimus espouses the tenets of the Cult of Forgotten Shadow, the state religion of the Forsaken - introduced to him by brother death knight Settra of Borealis. Though he participated in the usual prayers with his comrades while in the Crusade (to do otherwise would have caused suspicion), Artimus never truly had any faith in the Light. He found faith through war, truth through honorable combat.

Allies on Both Sides
As head of the non-Scourge Council of Deathlords, Artimus had contacts with many of his fellow Knights of the Ebon Blade within both the Alliance and the Horde. The Council appears to transcend political borders to a certain degree, though this only applies to interaction between its members; obviously a member of the Alliance, death knight or no, couldn't accept missions from members of the Horde...unless that Horde member was the Warchief seeking to prevent a possible disaster (as was the case with Saavedro's journey to Orgrimmar following the Battle of Angrathar the Wrath Gate).

A Man of Many Enemies
Throughout his life (and eventual undeath), Artimus has made many enemies, all of them incredibly bitter. The first was Sekhesmet of Stratholme, seeking revenge for Artimus' slaying of his daughter, Euphrati (though he did not realize this until well after his own death) over a decade earlier. His service in the Scarlet Crusade, combined with his mastery of bladework, also made an enemy of the Argent Dawn, despite the fact that Artimus was considered one of the "purists" - a man who remained loyal to the memory of Alexandros Mograine and privately questioned the path the Crusade was taking.

Though he was reviled by the Alliance - Saavedro in particular - because of his service to the Crusade and later to the Scourge, it was Tirion Fordring's letter of clemency that saved his head when he went before King Varian. The same went for the Horde for his actions against Sekhesmet of Stratholme at Tarren Mill as he made his way back to Northrend, but he - aided by General Settra - managed to redeem his reputation among the Horde as an enemy of Joshmaul the Corruptor, who remained one of the most hated and feared opponents of Warchief Thrall. He has an ironic parallel with Joshmaul, however; Artimus only uses the Alliance as a means to an end, much like Joshmaul uses the Horde. The difference is that Artimus seeks revenge against the Lich King and the ultimate destruction of the Scourge; the warlock, much like Gul'dan long before him, uses the Horde as a means to obtain greater power.

However, Saavedro remains a threat to Artimus' plans of vengeance. Though he has acted as an ally and fellow warrior in many of Saavedro's exploits in Northrend, particularly the Battle of Utgarde Keep, the siege of the Undercity and the campaign against Drakuru, Artimus maintains a secret distaste for the paladin that dates back to his Scourge service. He particularly derides Saavedro's arrogance in thinking himself the self-appointed avenger of Lordaeron. He also believes, as Darion Mograine does, that the Light and all the moral restrictions that applied to its wielders would lead to their demise. His Forsaken contemporary, General Settra, believes that there will come a time where Saavedro and Artimus will meet in combat.

The saying that old grudges die hard is particularly true in the case of Artimus' most bitter enemy, Joshmaul the Corruptor. Despite having his eye replaced after several months of dealing with the implanted lens, Joshmaul still remembers the wound that caused him to lose the eye in the first place, inflicted by Artimus during a chance encounter in Tirisfal Glades. It is said (to the surprise of members of Stormwind Intelligence, and the amusement of Saavedro and his contemporaries) that Artimus is the only man that the Corruptor truly fears - more so than even Saavedro, his arch-nemesis. Artimus, for the most part, has been content to let Joshmaul and his followers fight Saavedro and his allies and destroy one another, leaving ripe pickings for him to claim in the aftermath. The single time Joshmaul and Artimus met in single combat, the Baron was victorious and the Corruptor dead; however, the warlock was more wily than Artimus had given him credit for, returning to life with a "living soulstone" - the head of his Avatar, slain months earlier - and wreaking havoc across Northrend, seriously wounding Artimus himself in a surprise attack.

Artimus also faces an opponent from within the ranks of the Ebon Blade itself: Arrhae Leafrunner, a former druid. The night elf had been slain by Artimus' right hand, Battlelord Velenkayn, during the Scourge siege of Stormwind and brought to Acherus to become one of the death knights that would lay waste to the Scarlet Enclave. In fact, she had been paired with Artimus and his tauren comrade, Ublaz Deathspear, during the razing of Havenshire and New Avalon, and had drifted apart from him after they went before King Varian following the Battle of Light's Hope Chapel. Arrhae despises Artimus' penchant for killing for pleasure, and has also sworn revenge against Velenkayn for corrupting her. After deciding to rejoin Saavedro, Arrhae has made an enemy of the entire Council of Deathlords - with the exception of her master, Highlord Mograine.

Dealing With Saavedro's Unfinished Business


Two years earlier, Saavedro had battled the forces of the Qiraji in the deserts of Silithus. But he had never been able to enter the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, where dwelt their monstrous master - the Old God known as C'Thun.

Seeking to capitalize on Saavedro's failure, Artimus was called by members of the First Fleet to Ahn'Qiraj at the time they battled the twin Emperors, Vek'nilash and Vek'lor, and defeated them. Accompanying them to the chamber of C'Thun himself, Artimus was seriously wounded in the fight by a powerful blast of energy from the Eye of C'Thun. As his comrades died around him, Artimus watched a mere handful defeat the Old God before they were able to nurse him back to health - but he had a feeling there would still be more for Saavedro to deal with in Ahn'Qiraj...

The Salvation of Wildhammer Stronghold
Another matter Saavedro had left unresolved was the Burning Legion's attacks against Wildhammer Stronghold in Shadowmoon Valley. If there was anything that a knight of the Ebon Blade despised as much as the Scourge, the Legion would top the list - and Artimus seeked to capitalize on that. Destroying the army of infernals at Legion Hold, Artimus discovered that the demon behind the plan, the eredar Warbringer Razuun, resided in the Deathforge north of the Stronghold, behind a gate that could only be opened with a certain key - a key found on a dead dwarf inside the Deathforge caverns. Finding it, Artimus was aided in his plan by a mage and a priest as they journeyed across Shadowmoon Valley to carry out their orders from Wildhammer.

Eventually Artimus and the mage found themselves at an area known as Invasion Point: Cataclysm, accessed only from a teleporter in Legion Hold. First confronting Legion scientist Dr. Gutrick and taking a manual dealing with fel reaver maintenance, both men took control of fel reavers and created a swath of destruction through the rallying point, annihilating the infernals and the demon guards who defended them. With their victory secure, both men travelled back to the Stronghold and delivered the news of their victory to Kurdran Wildhammer himself, who commended them for their valiance against the Legion forces.

The Baron Returns to Northrend


After his victory in Shadowmoon Valley, Artimus was at last ready for the rigors of war in Northrend. Returning to Azeroth via a death gate to the Ebon Hold, Artimus flew from Acherus to Ironforge, entering the vault to retrieve some gear left for him by Saavedro of Stratholme - a beautifully-crafted set of armor made from cobalt, a metal found in Northrend. Taking the armor with him, Artimus flew next to Menethil Harbor and boarded the icebreaker Northspear. Her captain, John Brookman, had been requested to take Artimus to Northrend by Saavedro himself, and Brookman - distrustful of the undead warrior at first - agreed. The Northspear ran from Menethil to Artimus' "old stomping grounds" during his service to the Scourge: The Howling Fjord.

The Northspear arrived in the town of Valgarde, caught in the looming shadow of the vrykul castle of Utgarde. During his time as a Scourge death knight, before he was defeated by Saavedro, Artimus had coordinated with the Scourge overlord of the Fjord, the darkfallen Prince Keleseth, in the construction of a secret tunnel between Utgarde and the fortress of Gjalerbron far to the north. That tunnel was still under construction by the time Artimus arrived. In addition, Keleseth had been one of Artimus' mentors during the fight for the Scarlet Enclave, and had specifically tasked him with finding out more about the "Crimson Dawn" that Abbendis preached about - of which Artimus was to find out much later on. Both Saavedro and Joshmaul were prepared to enter Utgarde's halls and deal with its leaders, particularly Keleseth and Ingvar the Plunderer, who led the vrykul raids against Valgarde. Artimus decided to give his aid to Saavedro - accompanied by Ordevaas, who sought to avenge an insult Keleseth had made against Sylvanas (in the presence of her own fanatically loyal subjects, no less) - in insuring that they would be dead before Joshmaul arrived. The wary paladin agreed.

After defeating the forces in Utgarde, Artimus - now considered a "valuable ally" by the Regent of Lordaeron, albeit somewhat reluctantly - travelled to Valiance Keep at his invitation and despite the reservations of the troops, in an effort to contain the Scourge offensive. Though too late to participate in the battle against Valanar - waylaid on Coldarra fighting the blue dragonflight - Artimus sent one of his lieutenants, General Settra, to aid Saavedro and Ordevaas Portalseeker in their fight against the darkfallen Prince. Once that was done, he joined the two paladins in a sojourn into the Nexus to destroy the corrupted Keristrasza, who had been taken by Malygos and forcibly made into his consort after she had aided Saavedro in slaying Saragosa. Leaving a trail of death, Artimus took pleasure in the thrill of slaying legions of enemies, leaving the garrisons of the Nexus all but wiped out in his wake. Saavedro, not one for senseless slaughter (at that time, anyway), questioned the course of action he was taking, but did not shun the death knight for his brutality.

Abbendis: Last of the Originals


When Ordevaas and the Horde laid siege to New Hearthglen and destroyed the Scarlet Onslaught's standing army, the time was ripe to end the life of High General Brigitte Abbendis, the last of the original leaders of the Scarlet Crusade. Artimus sent his lieutenant, Battlelord Velenkayn, to locate Saavedro and Ordevaas and request a meeting outside of New Hearthglen. Artimus had scouted the place thoroughly and reported that Abbendis had arrived onboard her flagship, Sinner's Folly, while they were in Zul'Drak (Artimus had gone to Drak'Tharon with them at the behest of Drakuru, and was not surprised to find out that Drakuru was a traitor), and was now set in the city's cathedral. Slaying anyone who got in their way, the three men met the general in combat, with Artimus widely believed to have struck the killing blow. He briefly mourned the death of someone he had considered a friend...before taking her head as requested.

Infiltrating the Bloodsail


After his liberation from the Scourge and his return to Northrend, Artimus became involved in a dangerous game of intrigue against an enemy he had thought dead at his hands mere weeks before...

As part of the continuing efforts against the recently-resurrected Joshmaul, Artimus was called to a meeting at Saavedro's estate on the outskirts of Goldshire. Saavedro outlined a plan to infiltrate the Bloodsail Buccaneers - Joshmaul's latest attempt to shield himself from the wrath of others - to find out more about the Corruptor's operations. Baron Revilgaz and Fleet Master Seahorn, unbeknownst to anyone - including the Bloodsail - had survived Joshmaul's attack by using body doubles in anticipation for his move, sending captured Venture Company mercenaries in their place. Coordinating with both Revilgaz and Highlord Mograine (who wished Joshmaul dead for his murder of the Deathlord Koschei), Saavedro was able to find two other death knights intending to make a run on Booty Bay for a chance to join the Bloodsail, and sent Artimus to meet with them - complete with a legion of "bruisers" (more Venture goblins) and more body doubles for the Baron and the Fleet Master.

In the span of several hours, the three death knights were coated in blood and suffering from wounds and broken armor, but they made their stand and impressed Fleet Master Firallon, who rewarded all three of them with the rank of Admiral. As his flagship, Artimus received a vessel he christened the Sword of Acherus, and hand-picked his crew - Ebon Blade knights who had been sailors in life, and agents of Saavedro in the Alliance naval forces. With his initiation into the Bloodsail, Artimus now went on the hunt, tracking Joshmaul's movements - and making sure no one, especially Joshmaul, knew his true plan.

On the Corruptor's Trail: The Hunt in Grizzly Hills


After entering the Bloodsail and fighting against more enemies in Northrend, Artimus arrived in the Grizzly Hills hot on the Corruptor's trail. Eliphas Aximand, captain of Artimus' flagship Sword of Acherus, reported that Joshmaul's vessel, the Vengeful Spirit, was moored in Venture Bay - a key port being constantly fought over by the Alliance and the Horde. Several weeks earlier, Saavedro of Stratholme had led a daring attack using a rocket and unstable chemicals to ram a powerful warhead into the Horde's lumber barge moored along the river near the bay - while Ordevaas Portalseeker was inspecting the operations, no less - and completely destroy it. But Artimus preferred to fight with his feet firmly planted in the ground. Riding to Venture Bay and sneaking onboard the Vengeful Spirit, Artimus was surprised to find out that the ship had been manned by Horde troops from Conquest Hold, where Joshmaul was believed to be residing while he ventured through Grizzly Hills. Their leader was Captain Zorna, a particularly foul-tempered orc in Joshmaul's employ. Artimus slew her single-handedly, barely breaking a sweat. For his efforts in Venture Bay - which included slaying the Horde troops and smoking out Venture Company stragglers who had refused to leave the Bay - Artimus was given thirty Venture Coins to purchase a powerful item: a replacement for his sigil, the last item he had received from his service in the Scourge.

Tipped off by Saavedro and Ordevaas - who remained blissfully unaware (or so Artimus thought) of where they were during that attack - Artimus aided the two paladins in their investigation of the corruption of Vordrassil, the great tree in the center of the Hills that was now the war-torn furbolg city of Grizzlemaw. The corruption had not only tainted the tree, but its inhabitants as well. As they were to find out later, the corruption was traced back to Yogg-Saron, the Old God imprisoned somewhere in Northrend, "whose evil spreads beyond Vordrassil's roots" according to the resurrected bear god Ursoc. Artimus also contributed somewhat to Saavedro's campaigns against the Scourge-raised Arugal on Bloodmoon Isle and the efforts at the behest of - and later against - Drakuru in Drak'Tharon and Zul'Drak.

But his prime target remained Joshmaul; despite several close calls, the Baron and the Corruptor never crossed paths, though Artimus saw the effects of Joshmaul's handiwork throughout the Hills, particularly near Voldrune, where Joshmaul had earlier ambushed him. He suspected that he would see more of the warlock's lunacy in Zul'Drak, and was not looking forward to witnessing what horrors awaited him there...

Revenge Served Cold: Derailing the Scourge


On his way to Drak'Tharon from Dragonblight, Artimus was asked by Saavedro to accompany him into Azjol-Nerub. Eager for revenge against Anub'arak for killing him months earlier and knowing the tunnels better than the Regent, Artimus agreed and led the way deep into the nerubian catacombs until he reached Anub'arak's platform. In a brutal fight, Artimus slew the crypt lord and avenged himself upon the one who had damned him for eternity. With his murderer gone, Artimus now prepared to avenge himself upon the Lich King's legions, as the Ebon Blade desired...

Entering Drak'Tharon with Saavedro and Ordevaas, Artimus was angered (but not altogether surprised) to witness Drakuru's treachery, selling his soul to the Lich King in exchange for dominion over Zul'Drak. Witnessing Saavedro go nearly mad at the deception and realizing that something had to be done, Artimus journeyed to Zul'Drak ahead of the Regent and set the groundwork for his - and Saavedro's - infiltration of Drakuru's command structure in the fast-collapsing Drakkari Empire. To that end, he called on a brother death knight, Stefan Vadu, who commanded the battalion at Ebon Watch near Zeramas in western Zul'Drak. With Stefan's aid, Artimus, Ordevaas and Saavedro were disguised as Scourge ghouls and did tasks for the troll overlord, all the while sabotaging his entire operation.

The War for Icecrown
At around the time Saavedro was fighting for the Argent Crusade, Artimus finally arrived at the front lines in Icecrown. Several days earlier, a contingent of Argent Crusaders and Ebon Blade knights, including Saavedro, had liberated the Shadow Vault from the Scourge's control and gained possession of some powerful minions. Artimus worked alongside the paladin in the war effort against the Scourge based off the gunship Skybreaker in the skies above Icecrown.



While Artimus faced legions of Scourge, Saavedro was off "investigating" something - something that was later revealed to be the source of a story Artimus had heard in Scourge service about Arthas cutting out his own heart. Saavedro was planning on meeting with Tirion Fordring at the Cathedral of Darkness, outside Icecrown Citadel, infiltrating the "congregation" and discovering more about this heart. At around that time, Artimus received an urgent summons from Darion Mograine to meet for an "intervention" in the event Tirion and Saavedro were discovered - which, due to the intervention of the Lich King, they were.

After the cultists surrounded the unconscious Tirion and his party, Darion, Artimus, Thassarian and Koltira charged in, killed all the cultists, and provided an escape route for the Argent Crusaders before the Lich King's fury killed them all. Artimus took Darion's words to heart: "Be content that for once, it is Tirion who is in our debt." This would cause a dramatic re-examination of his loyalties...

True Colors


While pretending to be an ally and (to some extent) a friend, Artimus had his own agenda while "serving" Saavedro. While it was true that the bloodshed at the Wrath Gate and the interaction with Thassarian and his sister had softened his heart a bit, it hardened back up once he became more focused on his task of revenge against the Lich King. His actions and Darion's words at the battle in the Cathedral had caused him to question his true loyalty: To the Ebon Blade, or to the near-sighted Alliance. After considering the options, and after seeing that Saavedro had denied him his revenge against Kel'Thuzad (though Artimus did have the distinct pleasure of slaying some of the men who had commanded the Scourge attack in the Scarlet Enclave), he decided on the former.

During an investigation of Utgarde Keep - rumors that Prince Keleseth and his ilk had returned from the dead being proven wrong, as Artimus' blades ran through him yet again - Artimus turned on Saavedro, raising an army of ghouls to back him. This time, Saavedro was alone, and took the only option he had left - he jumped into Daggercap Bay from the platform formerly occupied by Ingvar the Plunderer. Though he survived, it was only by sheer luck - and it left a message that Artimus' "service" was over...

Travelling into Utgarde's higher reaches and slaying the reanimated King Ymiron, Artimus plundered the vrykul monarch's treasure hoard and escaped unseen. Like Joshmaul in the Horde, Artimus felt he was untouchable by the Alliance, for fear that the death knights would rise against them instead of the Scourge...

The Consequences
King Varian was furious upon hearing of Artimus' treachery, and called Darion Mograine to Stormwind to account for his actions. Mograine had been equally blindsided by this reckless attempt to assassinate Saavedro, one of the Ebon Blade's staunchest supporters in the Alliance despite his distaste for death knights, and convinced Varian he knew nothing of Artimus' plans. He called the Baron to Acherus to account for his actions, and demanded that Artimus continue to work alongside Saavedro without pulling the same stunt again. Artimus grudgingly agreed, but his acceptance was feigned.

With no word to anyone else in the Council, Artimus put aside one vendetta to carry out another, and secretly allied with Joshmaul the Warlock, who had been responsible for murdering Deathlord Koschei and attempting to kill General Settra. Both men had a common enemy in Saavedro, albeit for somewhat different reasons; Joshmaul, because Saavedro was the greatest block to his plan for dominance, and Artimus, out of petty jealousy. However, their alliance remained a secret for no more than five seconds. Euphrati, the House of Whitehair's top assassin, had witnessed Artimus' meeting with Joshmaul in the Underbelly of Dalaran, and reported the result to General Settra and later to Master Taeril'hane Ketiron, the House Warmaster, onboard the Orgrim's Hammer. Settra, through Stormwind General Oren Tanis, informed Saavedro of the happenings, and also briefed his fellow Horde Deathlords, Ublaz Deathspear and Seekthreed. Settra admonished his comrades to keep this amongst themselves and not inform the remainder of the Council, so not to alert Artimus of their knowledge.

The three death knights also took their news to Highlord Mograine, who agreed to keep the secret until Artimus made a move that would require their attention. King Varian called a formal, but private, trial to call Artimus to account for his actions; while no public action could be taken to avoid a scandal, Varian made it clear that the Baron would be kept on a short leash. At the urging of both General Tanis and Whitehair patriarch Ordevaas Portalseeker, who was present during the trial, Euphrati and several assassins from SI:7 were sent to tail Artimus' every movement, especially when he is in the company of Saavedro.

The Real Plan


What Artimus did not reveal, however, was that he initiated this plan to lull Joshmaul into a false sense of security and eventually destroy his power base. Though he has no love for Saavedro and is genuinely embittered against the paladin for the prestige he has won in the war for Northrend, Artimus holds an even greater grudge against Joshmaul for killing his brother death knights. He knows that the more loyal-to-the-Horde element of the Council, all sworn enemies of Joshmaul, would likely break away if they knew the truth - that Artimus himself was no less an insane schemer as Joshmaul himself - lending credence to a dire prophecy that the draenei seer Jaeden'laek had made to Seekthreed of the second splitting of the Council. The possible reformation of the House of Shadowsun into a self-contained entity, outside the bounds of Alliance or Horde and opposed to Joshmaul's insane scheming (surprising, as Erennia Shadowsun is the sister of Joshmaul's trusted apprentice), may be the salvation or detriment of the Council. This was the outcome Artimus expected: Sowing the seeds of doubt among the warlock guilds, allies of Joshmaul, and even the Corruptor's own apprentice, leaving him alone against the tide.

After the firestorm of criticism (albeit contained by King Varian and Saavedro) in the Alliance and even members of his own Council, Artimus revealed to his trusted lieutenant, Battlelord Velenkayn, his entire plan to bring down Joshmaul. Velenkayn, not fond of orcs under any circumstances - the memory of Telmor still vivid - agreed to keep Artimus' secret. "Saavedro will find out soon enough," was Artimus' comment.

Aided, ironically, by the House of Whitehair, Artimus' plan worked. The word leaked out to the Horde's warlock guilds, who reviled Artimus. Joshmaul was called to Orgrimmar by Zevrost, leader of Orgrimmar's warlock guild, and accused of high treason. The warlock guilds of Orgrimmar and Silvermoon, and many warlocks in Undercity, cut their ties with him (the exception was Joshmaul's old mentor, Kaal Soulreaper), and the Corruptor was backed against the wall by Warchief Thrall, forcing Joshmaul to swear allegiance to him in exchange for his own life. Finding that a more delicious revenge than simply killing him, Artimus severed ties with the Corruptor after his "disgrace".

Rise of the Malevolent Intent


Artimus knew that the Defias Brotherhood, commanded by Edwin VanCleef, had commissioned the construction of a colossal warship in the Deadmines beneath Westfall. Managing to shake off his constant surveillance, Artimus, accompanied by Captain Aximand, entered the Deadmines and decided to take the vessel for themselves. Aximand named it the Malevolent Intent, for that was the spirit that had driven its construction, and Artimus agreed wholeheartedly.