Frostmourne

Legendary items

1 min read

The Lich King's runeblade, which claimed Arthas Menethil's soul in the ice of Northrend.

Frostmourne was bound to the Lich King’s prison in Icecrown, and Ner'zhul pushed it out of the Frozen Throne to lure a champion. It waited in a frozen cavern in Northrend, guarded, and bearing a warning that its power would scar the soul of whoever took it up. Prince Arthas, desperate to stop the plague, ignored the warning and seized the blade while Muradin Bronzebeard lay struck down by a shard of ice.

The sword devours the souls of those it slays. With it Arthas killed the dreadlord Mal'Ganis, then his own father, King Terenas, and his old mentor Uther. By year 25 it rests at the side of the Lich King himself. In later stories, beyond Classic, Tirion Fordring shattered it with the Ashbringer.

Related lore

Glossary

Lich King

The undying master of the Scourge, enthroned in the ice of Northrend.

Legendary items

Ashbringer

A holy blade forged in Ironforge to burn the undead to ash, then betrayed and corrupted in the Plaguelands.

Chapter 16

The Fall of Lordaeron

Prince Arthas hunted the plague to its source, took up Frostmourne and returned to destroy his own kingdom, Quel'Thalas and Dalaran.

Sources

The text above is original; facts were checked against these pages.

Frostmourne

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Original text written for WoW Forever Path. Facts were checked against the listed sources; warcraft.wiki.gg pages (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Blizzard posts are references, not copied text. World of Warcraft and Blizzard are trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

An unofficial fan tool, not affiliated with Blizzard Entertainment. · Checked 30 Oct 2026