Blizzard has revealed some more information about the history of the new legendary weapon that will come in Patch 3.3: Shadow Agony.
Before the beginning of his reign as Lich King, Prince Arthas Menethil was a servant controlled by a sword that he considered essential in saving his people: the Frostmourne Runeblade. Finding and obtaining the sword in the frozen wastelands of Northrend was quite an odyssey for which the prince paid a high price: he lost his mentor, his relationship with his subjects and his humanity. The price paid by the living beings of Azeroth was even greater.
Clinging tight to the sword he had laid down his life for, Arthas wreaked havoc on the kingdom of Lordaeron and freed himself from the control of the Burning Legion. By the time the young prince proclaimed himself leader of the Scourge, the Frostmourne was already filled with the souls of those who had dared to oppose him.
Now, Arthas has become so inseparable from his weapon that the image of the sword has carved a hole even in the architecture of his fortress: Icecrown Citadel. Its hilt is never far from your hands, its ghostly whispers constantly ringing in your ears. The Frostmourne has as much control over Northrend as the Lich King.
To challenge that control, mighty heroes will have to follow Arthas's path more closely than ever.
In his relentless attempt to arm the troops of the living against the Scourge, Darion Mograine has created the Ashen Verdict, a union between the most skilled craftsmen of the Argent Crusade and the Ebon Blade. While the unrivaled champions of the Crusade wield the power of the Light and their leader wields the Crematorium, some of Mograine's dark warriors have begun to question their hopes of victory.
These Death Knights insist that the Cremation and the abilities of the Argent Crusaders, while powerful, are not enough to defeat Frostmourne. They claim that Darion Mograine knows of another legendary weapon: one that could hold the key to defeating the Lich King and cleanse Northrend… but it doesn't exist yet.
At the moment, the weapon is a formless idea that has no more killing power than an angry thought. When it is spoken of, it is spoken in a low voice and the High Lord has a habit of silencing those who mention it in public.
But the hope for an artifact capable of competing with Frostmourne is strong in the minds of the Ebon Blade. Their very name inspires furnaces to burn late into the night, bellows to pump air, and the darkest half of Verdict blacksmiths to swing their hammers until their fingers falter. As other craftsmen bend over sharpening stones and gather hundreds of jagged weapons, a few dream of a unique weapon to end the Northrend war.
Shadow Agony… A great two-handed ax fit for a giant, born of corrupt and sacred powers, the recipient of a thousand dead souls, and capable of being wielded only by the most faithful armourers of Azeroth. Its creation seems almost impossible and, even so, the rumors do not stop.
Some smiths declare that the Shadow Agony must be no more than an ordinary ax, sharpened with unsurpassed perfection; while others shape it from a weapon of immense importance to the world. It is said that Mograine, when persuaded to talk about her, believes that only Arthas's own hammer would be a worthy model ... but such absurd ambition is only the beginning of the creation of the Shadow Agony.
- To contain the energies that dance along its cold edges, the Shadow Agony must be carved out of piles of impure saronite, hardened blood of the ancient god Yogg-Saron, treated only by master metal shapers.
- To fuel its killing power, it is vital that the Shadow Agony soaks into the souls of the Scourge's most powerful servants by killing them, one by one, with the unfinished blade.
- To help break through the Lich King's armor, the Shadow Agony must be adorned with fragments of the Frozen Throne, originally created by Kil'jaeden with ice from the Twisting Nether.
It is said that only with these powerful components can the Shadow Agony be ended. And yet, even if the ax can be completed, questions and fears remain. Does forging the souls of the dead to create a weapon treated with blood and the essence of the Twisting Nether differ from the creation of the Scourge Runeblades? Who can say that the Lich King would not simply annihilate, or control, the creator for the recklessness of imitating his most prized possession? If Arthas, one of the most dedicated knights of his era, lost his humanity to the whispers of the Frostmourne, is it possible that the Shadowhorn brings the same doom and misery to the living?
Without knowing the answers to these questions, who will be brave enough to dare to wield it?