Is it widespread knowledge that the Ebon blade and the Deathlord take direct orders from the Lich king?
If this is the case would it be safe to presume that some death knights could break off from the Ebon blade as some may not like the idea of serving the Lich king again?
And my last question: Are death knights that leave the order considered renegades to be hunted down?
The Lich King speaking to you isnāt brought up by any other death knights or NPCs you encounter during the campaign, making it safe to assume that this is between you & the ice man, and no one else.
Iād assume that The Ebon Blade had largely grown into more of a loose association of undeath enthusiasts than a strict order like the Argent Crusade. They donāt seem to care for roaming undead one way or the other, as long as they stay out of the way of whatever they want to be doing. ā with the exception of some extra powerful ones they want to raise and/or use, like the DK dragon mount.
Yes, they are considered renegades; No, the ebon blade wonāt hunt them because they simply do not seem to care. This is more of a paladin thing, than a DK thing. Or indeed a faction thing, as some DKs are featured in Legion quests as combatants that the other faction has to kill.
This seems to be headcanon as far as Iām aware that Iāve seen a few DK RPers perpetuate despite no proof to suggest itās the case.
Koltira and Thassarian left to fight for their respective factions, before being recruited back into the Ebon Blade in Legion without any issue. In fact, they actually go out of their way to save Koltira and return him to the fold rather than punish him.
You are wrong you filthy elf. Its quite obvious that all the Knights of the Ebon Blade know that they are following the orders of the Lich King and they know of his existence. I mean even Darion Mograine says āAh [name], So, the Lich King chose you to be his hand?ā when you first encounter him during start of Legion. Not only that, but after you get your artifact and recieved LKās blessing, he publically states to the Ebon Blade that they would have to follow the Deathlordās command, as if they were his own.
Further evidence points out of the Ebon Bladeās affiliation to LK on their wowpedia page here,
https://wow.gamepedia.com/Knights_of_the_Ebon_Blade
Though however it can be assumed that only they and a small handful of lore characters like Jaina know the existence of a new Lich King.
But to answer the rest of the questions, I believe any of the DKs in the Ebon Blade could break off from the faction, but the question is why would you? Sure your character may not like the idea of serving the Lich King, but so far, heās stayed within āboundariesā.
And the last question is such bullsht really. The idea of becoming a ārenegadeā simply because you left an organization, doesnāt mean you will be hunted down. These kinds of things donāt exist. Same thing with āportal licencesā. No evidence from lore points otherwise. So no, you wonāt be hunted down.
In order:
Not so far as we know. Knowledge seems to be limited to Acherus.
Sure they could, individuals are individuals after all.
No, we see plenty of DKs working in the Alliance/Horde without issue. They would only have a problem with you if they deemed you were a threat to Azeroth (such as signing up with the Cult of the Damned or the Legion).
Darion Mograine is a pretty big exception though, since heās the de facto leader of the Ebon Blade until you finish the campaign. Iād assume heās more privvy to such happenings than any other member of the ebon blade.
And furthermore, itās dubious whether itās -orders-, -suggestions-, or -direct mind control-; Due to the way WoW works (where no matter what you play you canāt -refuse- to do a quest), itās uncertain just what level of influence the lich king really has.
But you donāt see any other character directly interacting with LK, leaving the possibility that while they may know he exists, that his grasp doesnāt really go beyond what -I assume- is the canon wielder of āshards of frostmourneā.
Amalāthazad the Frost Trainer Lich also knows about the Lich King and seems happy about it.
While youāre absent the Lich King upgrades the Ebon Hold so we do not know how many that know about the āāpactāā we made with the Lich KIng.
Iāll stick to my pet theory that this isnāt so much a āpactā as The Lich King being bored out of his mind and wanting to do -something- with the people he knows wonāt try to murder him, if heās nice to them.
You seem to assume the Ebon Blade alone could hope to stand against the Lich King, which seems highly unlikely. They were an ally of convenience for fighting the Legion, but ultimately pose little threat to him currently. Donāt forget that it took both factions, the Argents and the Ebon Blade to bring down Arthas.
We donāt really know how powerful Bolvar is as the Lich King as far as I know. I would assume heās not on Arthasā level, due to the fact that he doesnāt possess Frostmourne and was weaker than Arthas as living paladins, given that the latter was a prodigy among prodigies.
Bolvar indicated that the only thing keeping him from taking control of Acherus was the Deathlord.
Yeah thatās right. No need to thank me or anything. Youāre welcome.
Thank you in ten characters out of spite.
After the initial quest that introduces you to the new LK (when Acherus flies off to Northrend), the Lich King talks directly to all Death Knights.
"I now mark you with my sigil. Let all recognize you as the enforcer of my will. " - the Lich King.
Furthermore we have Baron Sliver, during the quest for the player to obtain the Maw of the Damned, say:
"The Lich King said my partner would be one of the mightiest knights ever known. I assume he was speaking of you? Iāll rely upon your skills to get us through this in one piece. "
Illanna Dreadmoore, Ebon Blade Archivist, also refers to the player as the āhand of the Lich Kingā.
Iāve sadly not been active enough with the forums for them to permit me to share links yet, but I can provide you with the sources for the above quotes, if necessary, but I think you should take my word for it.
I personally think it is safe to assume that it is common knowledge among the death knights of Acherus that they were working with the Lich King throughout the events of Legion.
They arenāt. When you leave the starting zone, Darion gives you the quest to establish relations with the Horde or the Alliance and act as the EBās representant.
"You are now, and forever will be, a Knight of the Ebon Blade but know this: you were once a hero of the Horde.
This order must establish allies for itself if it is to survive. You must represent the Knights of the Ebon Blade to the Horde."
https://wow.gamepedia.com/Where_Kings_Walk
https://wow.gamepedia.com/Saurfang%27s_Blessing
All Death Knights, no matter if they serve in the Alliance, the Horde, or just go fishing, are knights of the Ebon Blade. The only exceptions to this would probably be DKs serving the Lich King directly or defecting to the Cult of the Damned.
The Ebon Blade and the Deathlord do -not- take direct orders from the Lich King. Iām reasonably sure that if you had the freedom of choice to turn down the quest OOC, you could will yourself not to do it, however I view it more as āmutual co-operationā towards the Legionās end. Itās interesting to speculate IC however, what influence the Lich King/Bolvar has over the Ebon Blade, but thereās nothing to suggest that heās leading or commanding it.
If that was the case, theoretically, there would probably be consequences, yes.
Itās logical to assume that given the current stance of the Ebon Blade in lore, that they wouldnāt take kindly to one of their number frolicking about committing atrocities unchecked. It was the āKnights of the Ebon Bladeā that were welcomed into the Alliance and Horde, not individual undead.
It seems likely that depending on how you go about role-playing, one of their number may see it as their responsibility to deal with you. Whether or not the Ebon Blade itself, as a whole, will go after you then probably not unless like I said before, youāre openly hostile to the organisation or seen as a threat.
Actions and choices always have consequences and itās good to take this into consideration because itās ultimately what generates good, immersive and developmental role-play. Ultimately, if your character just quietly slipped out of the fold and wandered off, I donāt think anyone would care. If you make a big song and dance about it, then they might. Itās logical.
The Lich King is essentially offering the Ebon Blade power during Legion and Death Knights with their eternal hunger, are more than likely drawn towards power to meet their own selfish or selfishly selfless ends. My character views it as mutual co-operation, because after what the scourge put them through, itās unlikely that theyād bend the knee to a ālich kingā ever again, if anyone at all. It simply wouldnāt make sense.
Whether or not the whole ārenegadeā thing is head-canon or not, itās an over-exaggeration thatās spawned and rooted from a position of logical consequence. It ultimately depends on your character.
If youāre going to go out of your way to be hostile towards the order youāre making a lot of noise/etc to leave, or commit deeds that give that order a bad name, then there are going to be consequences regardless of what any āofficialā position might be.
Thereās an implication that as a death knight, youāre forever bound to the Ebon Blade, but I think this would depend on whether or not youāre a third generation Acherus death knight.
Death Knights are singularly powerful entities. It strikes me as a tad unusual that they can roam entirely unchecked.
Truth of the matter is, you can be aligned with the Knights of the Ebon Blade, the Horde or Alliance, and still do personal things of your own accord.
If for example, my character wished to create distance between herself and Acherus, she simply would frequent it less often or just not bother but hey, where else is she going to have convenient access to runeforges, vital information about the state of affairs on Azeroth, training from experienced masters and veterans, and other resources?
It may also be presumptuous for me to make this assumption but Iām thoroughly convinced that at the very least, my character wouldnāt cower or feel distaste at the mere speculation of the Lich Kingās involvement with The Ebon Blade.
Death Knights are usually hardened by many tougher experiences than this. If on the other hand, Bolvar tried to assume direct control, it would be a fight between her buried pride and eternal hunger.
It would be interesting to say the least.
Wrong lol.
Nou? In ten characters.
The rogue DK think is a pain in the ars. āWHEREāS YOUR TABARD?! ROGUE DK ALERT! KILL!ā
Stop pls.