Undeath, death knights, and decay.

[Trassk]

So, maybe nobody has an answer for this, but on the off chance someone read something somewhere, let's open a life question.

When it comes to undeath, there seems to be varying degrees of how decay works, and what it does to a reanimated being. It seems established undeath and necromatic energy is as much an established power as shadow, fire and light.

So when we see a zombie or a shambling horror walking around, we can assume it only has enough necro magic in it to animate it. These kinds of undead are falling it bits.
With forsaken and similar, it seems there was more energy put into their corpse to help them retain more freedom of movement and thought, or maybe it's because they were more fresh when brought back? But either way they stand more independent and free to act on their own free will, provided their not controlled by a powerful necromancer.
But even then, forsaken have mentioned themselves as rotting away, perhaps not at the speed a lesser undead would, but still it's been stated it's a matter of time before anyone forsaken will go that way, suggesting the energy will wane in time, or it won't be able to keep the body held together.


But that then comes to death Knights, can we assume they have been given so much necromatic energy, they will not decay at all, or to no more a degree then to that of a regular aging mortal? It seems from the moment a death Knight is created, the dk retains that permanent visage from when they were raised, and there's never been anything to suggest they rot like other undead. They also tap into raw necromatic energy and use it in combat, absorbing life essence from the living, giving the idea they might well be immortal?

[Piamonte]

i have a huge theory that explains how spirit and decay Works and how each tipe of energy is represented in the differents types of undeads but im too lazy to write it for the moment, for now, all i can say is that you cant try to analyze decay without bringing spirit to the mixture, they work together. What keeps dks from rotting is the spirit energy granted by the lich King or the valkyrs. Most undeads are brought back to life in the state that they were found, but a necromancer can remake a body using spirit energy. Spirit energy is what allow the bodys to grow

[Aquamonkey]

The whole allure of undeath is that it makes you immortal. They don't decay.

Hey, lore question: Do Forsaken keep rotting once they're reanimated?
Answer: @Majextic They're in a state of 'preserved decay,' depending on condition when raised. Could live forever if body kept in-tact! (DaveKosak)

Meryl Felstorm kept himself alive as undead for 3000 years.

[Piamonte]

The whole allure of undeath is that it makes you immortal. They don't decay.

Hey, lore question: Do Forsaken keep rotting once they're reanimated?
Answer: @Majextic They're in a state of 'preserved decay,' depending on condition when raised. Could live forever if body kept in-tact! (DaveKosak)

Meryl Felstorm kept himself alive as undead for 3000 years.

this is no longer canon with the new silvanas short story

[Aquamonkey]

this is no longer canon with the new silvanas short story

Meryl lasting thousands of years as undead with no debilitating rot is still canon.

Necromantic energies "heal" undead. Sylvanas is just hording it for herself. That's part of the "could live forever if body kept in-tact."

[Piamonte]

Meryl lasting thousands of years as undead with no debilitating rot is still canon.

Necromantic energies "heal" undead. Sylvanas is just hording it for herself. That's part of the "could live forever if body kept in-tact."

a quick search in wowpedia, says this "he has kept himself "alive" by the strenght of his own magic". He use his magic, he is listed as a warlock and as a mage, he is not a necromancer and wasnt there a thing about mages using spells to keep themselves alive longer tan usual??

also i repeat, acording to the new silvanas short story, undeads do rot

[Aquamonkey]

a quick search in wowpedia, says this "he has kept himself "alive" by the strenght of his own magic". He use his magic, he is listed as a warlock and as a mage, he is not a necromancer and wasnt there a thing about mages using spells to keep themselves alive longer tan usual??

also i repeat, acording to the new silvanas short story, undeads do rot

You read his Wowpedia page and completely missed the part where he's undead? He was mortally wounded during the Troll Wars, but kept himself alive by becoming undead. He's been that way for thousands of years.

Meryl
A powerful undead mage, he has survived for thousands of years by the strength of his own magic. An original member of the now defunct Council of Tirisfal, he is now Med'an's guardian and mentor.
--Conflicting Loyalties

[Piamonte]

You read his Wowpedia page and completely missed the part where he's undead? He was mortally wounded during the Troll Wars, but kept himself alive by becoming undead. He's been that way for thousands of years.

Meryl
A powerful undead mage, he has survived for thousands of years by the strength of his own magic. An original member of the now defunct Council of Tirisfal, he is now Med'an's guardian and mentor.
--Conflicting Loyalties

"he has kept himself alive using his own magic", not because he is undeath, if you say its because he is undead you are contradicting the new lore that states undeads do rot, pls just accept you are wrong, nothing bad will happen to you only because you made a mistake xD,

[Aquamonkey]

"he has kept himself alive using his own magic", not because he is undeath, if you say its because he is undead you are contradicting the new lore that states undeads do rot, pls just accept you are wrong, nothing bad will happen to you only because you made a mistake xD,

Oh, FFS.

"This is the legendary Meryl Winterstorm--a founding member of the Council of Tirisfal, to which I [Aegwynn] once belonged. He was mortally wounded during the Troll Wars, but was... forced by circumstance... to survive as one of the undead."
--The Winds of War

[Piamonte]

Oh, FFS.

"This is the legendary Meryl Winterstorm--a founding member of the Council of Tirisfal, to which I [Aegwynn] once belonged. He was mortally wounded during the Troll Wars, but was... forced by circumstance... to survive as one of the undead."
--The Wind of War

yes, he escaped death by becoming undead, but he has kept himself alive all this time using his magic, pls dude, just accept it, you can be wrong, there is nothing wrong in that..

[Nerovar]

But that then comes to death Knights, can we assume they have been given so much necromatic energy, they will not decay at all, or to no more a degree then to that of a regular aging mortal? It seems from the moment a death Knight is created, the dk retains that permanent visage from when they were raised, and there's never been anything to suggest they rot like other undead. They also tap into raw necromatic energy and use it in combat, absorbing life essence from the living, giving the idea they might well be immortal?

I highly recommend you to read the official short story "Dark Mirror" (https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/st...ry/dark-mirror)

Sylvanas nodded. "Arthas once forced the Val'kyr to raise death knights for his army. That was a much more potent ritual than the one with which they now transform fresh corpses into Forsaken. They can use their powers to reshape your body and make it stronger, more... enduring."

TL;DR the higher the quality of the spell that is used to resurrect someone as an undead, the more "lifelike" it will be (including their senses and also feelings).

[Maljinwo]

I don't think they rot as usual dead people.
However there is a quest, where Gretchen Dedmar says:

It's so cold, now. The Plague of Undeath crawls through my veins like an icy serpent. The Mindless State will be upon me soon. But no doomed destiny will prevent me from serving our Dark Lady. When the call arose I sewed body bags for the fallen soldiers of Sylvanas's mighty army.

Now my hands shake from the chill. If you would bring me five Duskbat Pelts and some Coarse Thread I could sew myself a blanket. Help me, <name>, so that I can continue to serve the cause.

That means that undead... enter a mindless state with time? Maybe the Frosaken that were risen by the val'kyr avoid this fate as this is never referenced again, I think

[fathom81]

Meryl his undead but not the same as the forsaken undeads; it was his own magical powers that kept him from' dying'.

[omeomorfismo]

"he has kept himself alive using his own magic", not because he is undeath, if you say its because he is undead you are contradicting the new lore that states undeads do rot, pls just accept you are wrong, nothing bad will happen to you only because you made a mistake xD,

the story doesnt contradict anything, unless you really believe that being constantly in war could be considered "keeping intact".

[Friendlyimmolation]

yes, he escaped death by becoming undead, but he has kept himself alive all this time using his magic, pls dude, just accept it, you can be wrong, there is nothing wrong in that..

Trying to say Aquamonkey is wrong while blatantly failing to read. That is hilarious.

[Aquamonkey]

yes, he escaped death by becoming undead, but he has kept himself alive all this time using his magic, pls dude, just accept it, you can be wrong, there is nothing wrong in that..

*cough*

Necromantic energies "heal" undead. Sylvanas is just hording it for herself. That's part of the "could live forever if body kept in-tact."

Meryl and Sylvanas and any undead will live forever if they keep their undead bodies intact. Meryl did this for thousands of years with his magic (and it only worked in his case because he became undead, he's not a Guardian). Sylvanas has the val'kyr.

[Friendlyimmolation]

I don't think they rot as usual dead people.
However there is a quest, where Gretchen Dedmar says:




That means that undead... enter a mindless state with time? Maybe the Frosaken that were risen by the val'kyr avoid this fate as this is never referenced again, I think

THe weak willed undead eventually fall into the mindless state of the scourge. Its like dementia. Some people get it and some people dont.

[Piamonte]

the story doesnt contradict anything, unless you really believe that being constantly in war could be considered "keeping intact".

just read the lattest silvanas short story...

[Deleted]

So, maybe nobody has an answer for this, but on the off chance someone read something somewhere, let's open a life question.

When it comes to undeath, there seems to be varying degrees of how decay works, and what it does to a reanimated being. It seems established undeath and necromatic energy is as much an established power as shadow, fire and light.

So when we see a zombie or a shambling horror walking around, we can assume it only has enough necro magic in it to animate it. These kinds of undead are falling it bits.
With forsaken and similar, it seems there was more energy put into their corpse to help them retain more freedom of movement and thought, or maybe it's because they were more fresh when brought back? But either way they stand more independent and free to act on their own free will, provided their not controlled by a powerful necromancer.
But even then, forsaken have mentioned themselves as rotting away, perhaps not at the speed a lesser undead would, but still it's been stated it's a matter of time before anyone forsaken will go that way, suggesting the energy will wane in time, or it won't be able to keep the body held together.


But that then comes to death Knights, can we assume they have been given so much necromatic energy, they will not decay at all, or to no more a degree then to that of a regular aging mortal? It seems from the moment a death Knight is created, the dk retains that permanent visage from when they were raised, and there's never been anything to suggest they rot like other undead. They also tap into raw necromatic energy and use it in combat, absorbing life essence from the living, giving the idea they might well be immortal?

I'd wager DKs are technically immortal as long as they have magic power. They don't function by natural and bodily ways but magic.

Dunno about forsaken. I'd wager that Forsaken Warlock can keep himself up indefinitely because he too is sustained by magic and since warlocks can drain life/soul which is shadow/necromantic then duh

+ we have forsaken DKs

[Piamonte]

*cough*
Meryl and Sylvanas and any undead will live forever if they keep their undead bodies intact. Meryl did this for thousands of years with his magic (and it only worked in his case because he became undead, he's not a Guardian). Sylvanas has the val'kyr.

how is he going to keep his body intact with arcane or fel magic xD, it doesnt make any sense, dude, just read silvanas short story xD