I would like to pose some possible points against the common idea that Death Knights are created through the use of Shadow Magic and Rune Magic that is not of Arcane origin.
I am not a Lore master, so please, if you can provide some proof against any of my claims, I would be absolutely glad to hear it!
I spawned this thread because a friend and I had a heated discussion about the Creation of Death Knights. He's a champion and I regret possibly having made them grumpy because of it!
This is not a discussion on the magic that Death Knights use now, but rather the magic used to create them. However, the magic they use is a contributing factor.
Reasons why I believe Death Knights may be of Arcane origin
Commonly, Some believe frost magic was a major contributor to their creation, because it may be a reason they do not rot, they are not often beyond a cool temperature and they don't age.
1. Frost Magic has never been recorded to give life or unlife.
2. Although shadow magic has a history of animating the dead, Never before have any undead had the blue glow that Death Knights have, which is a very common side effect in Arcane magic. Examples are High Elves. Their eyes are blue from an addiction to arcane magic. I also note there are many Arcane animals, such as Arcane Wyrms and arcane monsters/constructions that are all blue.
3. The area in which rune magic is used was the current dominion of the Lich King when Death Knights were created, and was renowned for using ancient rune magic and/or having history of first using it, which is Northrend.
4. Although Death Knights use Unholy, Blood and Frost type runes, There are not many runes in WoW that are not blue in colour. There are no sources of other rune types in the area that the Lich King resides, Nor is there any evidence of other types of rune magic influence there.
5. Frost Magic is channelled through the manipulation of Arcane Magic. Runes can be created to manipulate anything in the universe. This can include blood and possibly the source of unholy magic as there is nothing in lore explaining the source of unholy(The use of "Shadow Damage" when unholy magic OOCly is discussed further on).
6. I have been told about, but cannot find anything, on other kinds of rune magic. The only rune magic I’ve been able to find information on is regular Rune Magic, which is used to describe Ley lines and in turn manipulate arcane magic which coincides with the concept that there are few runes that aren't actually blue, and that arcane magic often manifests itself as a blue colour.
Common Opposing Ideas:
1. Shadow Magic and/or Frost could have created Death Knights.
This is quite possible and at least partially true.. There are alot of Necromancers under the Lich King. This still does not explain the blue glow on death knights. This may explain the fact they use shadow magic in their unholy runes. Perhaps it was a mixture of shadow magic and arcane magic in their creation, which is also quite likely from the abundance of Necromancers. Necromancers may have been responsible for the reanimation of Death Knights but not enstilling their source of power.
However, as previously mentioned, there is no lore behind unholy magic. Shadow Magic may just have been the type of damage Blizzard decided to OOCly use. There are other instances, such as many Night Elf spells using “arcane†damage when they actually are sourced from the moon.
The Death Knight goes into the shadow plane several times and their horse consists of shadows. Their horse is also blue. I believe that the fact that the horse is blue does not reinforce the fact that the blue glow around Death Knights is sourced from shadow magic. I think this may just be an effect that Blizzard over looked, wanting to make the horse look interesting and to coincide with the Death Knight’s own blue glow. Blizzard have a reputation of being inconsistent.
As mentioned before, I cannot find any references to shadow magic ever giving a blue, glowing effect to things that it has reanimated.
2. Frost is the source of the glowing light on Death Knights
If this was true, then the extent of all Death Knight’s abilities in Frost magic are adept. Also, Frost magic hasn’t been recorded to give any form of strong glow on the user for extended periods of time. This is not to be confused with fog that can be produced from using Frost magic and the blue hue of the hands while casting frost magic.
Frost magic causing the Death Knight to have a blue glow would prevent Blood DK’s from ever warming themselves, using hysteria on themselves or any other form of heat changes to their own bodies. It may also severely stunt their ability over blood. Simply put, For Frost to engulf every Death Knight constantly would mean they all specialize in frost.
3. Arcane Magic is purple and therefore cannot be the source of their power, because they glow blue.
There are many instances of arcane magic glowing blue. As previously mentioned, High Elves eyes glow blue. So do many animals and constructions. Arcane magic manifests itself in both blue and purple, and at times, some other colours.
I am not a Lore master, so please, if you can provide some proof against any of my claims, I would be absolutely glad to hear it!
I spawned this thread because a friend and I had a heated discussion about the Creation of Death Knights. He's a champion and I regret possibly having made them grumpy because of it!
This is not a discussion on the magic that Death Knights use now, but rather the magic used to create them. However, the magic they use is a contributing factor.
Reasons why I believe Death Knights may be of Arcane origin
Commonly, Some believe frost magic was a major contributor to their creation, because it may be a reason they do not rot, they are not often beyond a cool temperature and they don't age.
1. Frost Magic has never been recorded to give life or unlife.
2. Although shadow magic has a history of animating the dead, Never before have any undead had the blue glow that Death Knights have, which is a very common side effect in Arcane magic. Examples are High Elves. Their eyes are blue from an addiction to arcane magic. I also note there are many Arcane animals, such as Arcane Wyrms and arcane monsters/constructions that are all blue.
3. The area in which rune magic is used was the current dominion of the Lich King when Death Knights were created, and was renowned for using ancient rune magic and/or having history of first using it, which is Northrend.
4. Although Death Knights use Unholy, Blood and Frost type runes, There are not many runes in WoW that are not blue in colour. There are no sources of other rune types in the area that the Lich King resides, Nor is there any evidence of other types of rune magic influence there.
5. Frost Magic is channelled through the manipulation of Arcane Magic. Runes can be created to manipulate anything in the universe. This can include blood and possibly the source of unholy magic as there is nothing in lore explaining the source of unholy(The use of "Shadow Damage" when unholy magic OOCly is discussed further on).
6. I have been told about, but cannot find anything, on other kinds of rune magic. The only rune magic I’ve been able to find information on is regular Rune Magic, which is used to describe Ley lines and in turn manipulate arcane magic which coincides with the concept that there are few runes that aren't actually blue, and that arcane magic often manifests itself as a blue colour.
Common Opposing Ideas:
1. Shadow Magic and/or Frost could have created Death Knights.
This is quite possible and at least partially true.. There are alot of Necromancers under the Lich King. This still does not explain the blue glow on death knights. This may explain the fact they use shadow magic in their unholy runes. Perhaps it was a mixture of shadow magic and arcane magic in their creation, which is also quite likely from the abundance of Necromancers. Necromancers may have been responsible for the reanimation of Death Knights but not enstilling their source of power.
However, as previously mentioned, there is no lore behind unholy magic. Shadow Magic may just have been the type of damage Blizzard decided to OOCly use. There are other instances, such as many Night Elf spells using “arcane†damage when they actually are sourced from the moon.
The Death Knight goes into the shadow plane several times and their horse consists of shadows. Their horse is also blue. I believe that the fact that the horse is blue does not reinforce the fact that the blue glow around Death Knights is sourced from shadow magic. I think this may just be an effect that Blizzard over looked, wanting to make the horse look interesting and to coincide with the Death Knight’s own blue glow. Blizzard have a reputation of being inconsistent.
As mentioned before, I cannot find any references to shadow magic ever giving a blue, glowing effect to things that it has reanimated.
2. Frost is the source of the glowing light on Death Knights
If this was true, then the extent of all Death Knight’s abilities in Frost magic are adept. Also, Frost magic hasn’t been recorded to give any form of strong glow on the user for extended periods of time. This is not to be confused with fog that can be produced from using Frost magic and the blue hue of the hands while casting frost magic.
Frost magic causing the Death Knight to have a blue glow would prevent Blood DK’s from ever warming themselves, using hysteria on themselves or any other form of heat changes to their own bodies. It may also severely stunt their ability over blood. Simply put, For Frost to engulf every Death Knight constantly would mean they all specialize in frost.
3. Arcane Magic is purple and therefore cannot be the source of their power, because they glow blue.
There are many instances of arcane magic glowing blue. As previously mentioned, High Elves eyes glow blue. So do many animals and constructions. Arcane magic manifests itself in both blue and purple, and at times, some other colours.