Questions on Arthas, Nerzhul, and the Helm of Domination from the 4 Horsemen story

[Chanches]

First off, I loved this short story. It did wonders in adding character complexity, backstories, update us on what the 4 Horsemen have been up to since we DKs created them in Legion, how they have interacted with events of Legion and BFA, etc.

However, I do wonder what are the implications of the Helm of Domination's power that are described in the story. Questions I'd love to get your thoughts on:

-Do all beings raised in undeath have the "conduit of control" that can be used by the wearer of the Helm to control them?
-If so, how come Arthas and later Bolvar did not attempt to re-control the Forsaken and Sylvanas?
-Could Sylvanas be controlled by the Jailer through a similar "presence"?
-What makes the Ebon Blade different to the Forsaken when it relates to the Helm's ability to control them?

The story describes the moment when Sylvanas took the Helm of Domination from Bolvar as a moment of calm, where there was no more "presence", similar to when Arthas fell. However, for a long time the Helm of domination had no physical wearer but was incased in ice (and still was an active Lich King). Does this mean that the person defeated at ICC and thrown into the Maw by Uther is a mix of Arthas + Nerzhul?

Bolvar says there was always a presence in the Helm, but again when the Helm had no wearer the presence was gone. Who was the presence?

Do you think the idea of Frostmourne splitting Uther's soul into 2 will be explored? I'd love to see Uther's bastion persona find his other half in the Maw or some other realm. In general it would be awesome if all undead (forsaken, DKs, etc.) could reunite with their half souls in the shadowlands and decide to rejoin the living, or to pass on fully to the shadowlands.

[crosera]

First off, I loved this short story. It did wonders in adding character complexity, backstories, update us on what the 4 Horsemen have been up to since we DKs created them in Legion, how they have interacted with events of Legion and BFA, etc.

However, I do wonder what are the implications of the Helm of Domination's power that are described in the story. Questions I'd love to get your thoughts on:

-Do all beings raised in undeath have the "conduit of control" that can be used by the wearer of the Helm to control them?
-If so, how come Arthas and later Bolvar did not attempt to re-control the Forsaken and Sylvanas?
-Could Sylvanas be controlled by the Jailer through a similar "presence"?
-What makes the Ebon Blade different to the Forsaken when it relates to the Helm's ability to control them?

The story describes the moment when Sylvanas took the Helm of Domination from Bolvar as a moment of calm, where there was no more "presence", similar to when Arthas fell. However, for a long time the Helm of domination had no physical wearer but was incased in ice (and still was an active Lich King). Does this mean that the person defeated at ICC and thrown into the Maw by Uther is a mix of Arthas + Nerzhul?

Bolvar says there was always a presence in the Helm, but again when the Helm had no wearer the presence was gone. Who was the presence?

Do you think the idea of Frostmourne splitting Uther's soul into 2 will be explored? I'd love to see Uther's bastion persona find his other half in the Maw or some other realm. In general it would be awesome if all undead (forsaken, DKs, etc.) could reunite with their half souls in the shadowlands and decide to rejoin the living, or to pass on fully to the shadowlands.

My understanding is, in order:
- All undead have that conduit, but the dominating mind's power can be weakened by their own willpower, the dominated's willpower, and the distance from the dominator.
- See above, Mograine expressly says his will was driven by rage and that kept Arthas at bay.
- I would guess Sylvannas could be controlled? But we have no way of knowing. It's likely the Jailer would see a benefit in mutual gain rather than domination over her.
- My understanding is that Death Knights specifically have more of their will power than the average forsaken, and thus a resistance to being dominated and the ability to dominate more easily.

As far as the presence in the helm prior, Nerzhul's spirit was trapped in there, but there's a short story somewhere (or a whole novel? I can't remember) where Arthas "kills" Nerzhul at the end and takes the helm solely for himself. So it was Nerzhul, THEN Arthas, THEN Bolvar, THEN briefly no one, then smash!

[Kyux]

I agree with Crosera.

We know from the WC3 campaign that distance from the Throne had a significant impact, as did the health/state of the Lich King. There the Throne was being attacked by a spell and it caused Arthas physical pain.

We also know that beings of immense will can simply break free. See Gunther Arcanus for example (@Hirumaredx lol).

The Light has an impact, as Darion said in this short story.

I think the LK could theoretically gain control over Sylvanas again, but because of her willpower, general power, and time since she broke free she'd have a good chance of resisting.

Not all Ebon Blade are the same. The short story makes it clear that they include mindless minions. It's just the powerful death knights that broke free, or were given free will (original or allied race, respectively).