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If you're the type that digs into all the minutiae of a game before it ships, this primer probably isn't going to offer much new on Blizzard's
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Well ... except for the story of Braxorigan, my newly created Death Knight. Together, Braxorigan and I will get you up to speed with the lore that surrounds the expansion, and how the fantastic Death Knight starting area plays out. There are some spoilers, but we've left out some major events that you're sure to enjoy.
"Go now and claim your destiny, Death Knight."
The Death Knight is the first Hero Class character to be added to
World of Warcraft. What makes him a "hero"? Just the fact that you begin life at level 55, and must have a character of that level or higher in order to create one. You only get one per server, so if your kids are playing on your account, they'll be ready to throw down for the chance to run that Death Knight for themselves -- with good reason. Death Knights are awesome, and probably a little overpowered until they get to Northrend, the new continent that's been added in the expansion. They've got an entirely new system of skills and magic usage, as well as their own means of enchanting their swords and... well, here's Brax:
My name is Braxorigan and I am no longer dead.
I hear his voice in my head, faintly, calling me to arms. He was all I wished to destroy before my life came to an end, but now he forces me to obey. Arthas Menethil, one-time heir to the throne of Lordaeron and former Knight of the Order of the Silver Hand -- now the Lich King! -- cannot be denied.
I still have my memories of being a young boy living in Goldshire, raising hell in the Elwynn Forest with my brother Bayourn. People always mistook us for twins, inseparable until the coming of the Scourge -- but Bayourn followed the teachings of his hero Uther the Lightbringer, whom he idolized. When the Plague of Undeath came, I could not tread that same path. The Scarlet Crusade's methods were far more appealing to me. We were now like white and black, day versus night...
"All that I am: anger, cruelty, vengeance -- I bestow upon you, my chosen knight. I have granted you immortality so that you may herald in a new, dark age for the Scourge."
My new King's voice feels like physical brutality upon my decayed bones. I must serve. Instructor Razuvious wants me to create a runeblade. The runeforge makes this a simple task: Even though the steel of my castoff blade seems brittle and worn, the runeforge turns it into a weapon of power. Runes will empower the blade -- Cinderglacier runes give it Frost and Shadow power -- and there will be many more, once I've better harnessed my new gift of immortal life.
Runeforging has turned out to be a little less exciting than Brax makes it sound. Brax is now level 62 and he's still only got five runes to choose from for his sword. These work like enchantments, offering bonuses to certain types of damage or deflecting damage and so on. Once you've emerged into Azeroth proper, the only place to change out your runes is at the Ebon Hold. It's really easy to get there, so if you decide you need to swap, it can be done in very little time.