The Lich King and the Plague

Trapped in the Frozen Throne, the Lich King's mind still reached across Northrend. He conquered the spider kingdom of Azjol-Nerub, raised its people as servants and built a fortress around his throne in Icecrown. Then he turned his gaze south, to the war-weary human kingdoms.

In Dalaran the respected archmage Kel'Thuzad had grown obsessed with necromancy. When the Kirin Tor rejected his studies, he answered the Lich King's call, traveled to Northrend and returned as his prophet. He founded the Cult of the Damned, promising the poor of Lordaeron equality and eternal life, and used its members to spread a plague hidden in grain shipments.

The plague killed and then raised its victims as mindless undead, the Scourge. Villages in the north of Lordaeron fell one after another while the kingdoms argued over taxes and the cost of the internment camps. By the time the Kirin Tor and the Silver Hand understood the danger, the plague had spread across Lordaeron's northern provinces. Dreadlords of the Burning Legion watched over the Lich King's work, for it was meant to clear the way for their masters' return.