Undead

Death offered no escape for the scores of humans killed during the Lich King’s campaign to scour the living from Lordaeron. When his grasp over the Scourge faltered after the Third War, a contingent of undead broke free of their master’s iron will. Calling themselves Forsaken, they now struggle to thrive in a world that has come to despise their existence.

The undead of the Undercity, better known as the Forsaken undead^[1] (also simply called Forsaken^[1]), are one of the playable Horde races in World of Warcraft. Former humans that succumbed to the Plague of Undeath, they were forced to serve the Lich King in his undead Scourge. That is until Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, former ranger general of Quel'Thalas, broke her fellow undead free. These rebels banded together under her and rebranded themselves the Forsaken, claiming the ruined kingdom of Lordaeron for their own.

The undead start in Deathknell, a sub-zone located in western Tirisfal Glades. Their capital was the Undercity, consisting of the labyrinthine tunnels beneath the Ruins of Lordaeron. However, the Alliance's retribution for the burning of Teldrassil saw the Undercity made uninhabitable canonically, although it is still visitable in-game. In a parallel to when they were alive, the undead race's mount of choice is the skeletal horse - damned, just like them. Gutterspeak is the foul language of death, but undead also speak orcish to communicate with their living allies.

History

Bound to the iron will of the tyrant Lich King, the vast undead armies of the Scourge seek to eradicate all life on Azeroth. Led by the banshee Sylvanas Windrunner, one group of undead broke away from the Scourge in a small period of time when the Lich King lost some of his power, and freed themselves of the Lich King's domination. These renegades call themselves the Forsaken. They fight a constant battle not only to retain their freedom from the Scourge, but also to exterminate those who would hunt them as monsters.

With Sylvanas as their banshee queen, the Forsaken have built a dark stronghold beneath the ruins of Lordaeron’s former capital city. This hidden 'Undercity' forms a sprawling labyrinth that stretches beneath the haunted woods of the Tirisfal Glades. From this bastion, the Forsaken wage an unending battle against the Scourge as well as the remaining humans who still seek to reclaim their lands. For though the very land is cursed, the zealous humans of the Scarlet Crusade cling to their scattered holdings, obsessed with eradicating the undead and retaking their once-beautiful homeland.

Convinced that the primitive races of the Horde can help them achieve victory over their enemies, the Forsaken have entered an alliance of convenience with the savage orcs and the proud tauren. Harboring no true loyalty for their new allies, they will go to any lengths to ensure their dark plans come to fruition.

As one of the Forsaken, you must eliminate any who pose a threat to the new order – be they human, undead, or otherwise.^[1]