Death Knight Week: Blood is Thicker

   There used to be a saying: The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. This proverb has since been changed to mean quite the opposite. Saying blood is thicker than water now implies familial ties are more important than others. This is a complete subversion and it is wrong. Shared hardships are what bind people together, not genetic happenstance (though family often has shared hardship as well). The blood we spill on the battlefield is what makes us call each other brothers and sisters, no matter what language, race, creed, or citizenship.

  Every player's Death Knight comes from one time and place. For whatever reason, we came from all races across the know world to come and prove our worth to the Lich King. We were raised by him into undeath for one purpose: to destroy, once and for all, the Scarlet Crusade and the Argent Dawn in the Plaguelands.

  There is a book in the Ebon Hold during the Starter Zone, The Death Knights of Acherus, that changes after certain quests. It is a roster with notes. In reference to the the player, it begins:

Name: <name>
Status: Alive
Comment: Needs more cowbell.

  Apparently we begin with a fever. After Victory at Death's Breach!, it reads:

Name: <name>
Status: Alive
Comment: Personally responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Scarlet Crusaders. Hungers for more.

  How quickly we make a name for ourselves. After the quest The Scarlet Apocalypse, it reads:

Name: <name>
Status: Alive
Comment: Soulless killing machine. No remorse. No regrets. Has killed more Scarlet Crusaders, destroyed more lives, and caused more chaos than any death knight before <him/her>. Promoted to Scourge Commander.

  Clearly, we revel in our undeath. Finally, after An End To All Things, the book reads:

Name: <name>
Status: Alive
Comment: Scourge Commander <name> was granted the [Greathelm of the Scourge] by the Lich King for <his/her> complete and utter domination of the armies of Tirisfal and Hearthglen. There were no survivors left from <name>'s brutal attacks. Currently en route to end the Argent Dawn.

  Also when completing An End To All Things, the quest text reads:

Kneel, champion. I place this helm upon your head to complete your terrifying visage. Any that dare look upon your dark countenance will know that death comes. Let none stand so boldly against your king so as to face your merciless wrath, <name>.
There remains one final task.
<The Lich King looks west.>
Light's Hope Chapel.

  Thus ensued The Battle for Light's Hope Chapel, and make no mistake, we were Team Evil.

  We soon found that we were betrayed by the Lich King, used only as pawns to draw out Tirion Fordring. This did not go well for Team Evil.

  The end of The Light of Dawn reads:

There will be no atonement for us, <name>. We are forever damned to walk the earth as monsters. While the Lich King may have loosed his grip upon us, the specters of the past will forever haunt our memories.
We must make amends in the only way we know how: Death...
I ask you now to join me in Acherus as a Knight of the Ebon Blade. Together we will destroy the Lich King and end the Scourge.

  As veterans of this battle, every Death Knight is bonded by this defining experience. As comrades in the Knights of the Ebon Blade, we later had our revenge against the Lich King. We may now serve in your ranks, Horde or Alliance, but we are not like you.

  We are dead to you.

  We were raised into undeath by our greatest enemy. We served that enemy, for whatever reason, be it a fear of death or a lust for power. We may have then broken free, but there is no returning from the crimes we committed against Havenshire and New Avalon. Our only redemption is in battle, and in a future, permanent death.

  Consider finally the words we hear earlier in the questing experience, after A Special Surprise:

Felt good, didn't it? You're not one of them anymore, <name>. You're Scourge. You're one of us. Forever...