Kel'Thuzad

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General

Species
Undead Human
Gender
Male
Death
Sacrificed his life to seal the hex in Velameestra Windrunner's ring. His soul now occupies the item.
Height
5'07"
Status
Undead

Relatives Alanna Reòthadh (Wife)
Faerlina Reòthadh (Daughter)

Ross Reòthadh (Brother-in-Law)

Kel'Thuzad was one of the members of the Kirin Tor's Council of Six and was widely considered to be the organization's "maverick". He has since attached his soul to a ring in the possession of his student, Velameestra Windrunner, in order to contain the hex that had been slowly feeding upon her.

Appearance

Kel'Thuzad is a very elderly human man who has started to exhibit the frailty that comes with old age. He has long white hair, and a fairly long beard that he keeps neatly trimmed. He was always cold to the touch. After his death he no longer possesses a physical body, though he has shown to be capable of projecting an image of himself in Velameestra's mind so that they can still talk "face-to-face"—of course, she is the only one able to see him. This projection mirrors what he looked like before his death.

Personality

Kel'Thuzad is an introvert at his core and spent a lot of his personal time in quiet contemplation or personal study. While he was an active member of the Council of Six, his unconventional lines of thought and his status as the "maverick" had left him rather distanced from most other members of the Kirin Tor. The fact he also did not typically teach many classes also alienated him from many of the students as well.

However, he took a shining to the young elven mage, Velameestra Windrunner, and holds a certain degree of affection for his student as he considers her to be incredibly bright and unconventionally open-minded to the more taboo routes of arcane study, which lead to him offering to teach her the secrets of necromancy. Over the many years he spent teaching her, that affection grew to a degree of familial fondness as he found it to be a privilege to be able to watch her grow and harness her mind and her abilities as a mage.

Outside of Velameestra and his cat, Mr. Bigglesworth, it did not seem that he had any other consistent companions, and Velameestra's association with him was a carefully guarded secret. Given that he now inhabits a ring worn by his student, it is unlikely that will change anytime soon.

Biography

Early history is unknown. At some point he did rise to become a member of the Council of Six, and is known to be a powerful mage. It has also been heavily implied that he once, at the very least, possibly had a wife, and whatever happened to her may have been the catalyst for his studies into necromancy.

His wife was confirmed to have had auburn hair.

Teachings of the Dead

Kel'Thuzad took a degree of interest in the young elven mage Velameestra during her early schooling at the Kirin Tor. He was aware of her natural talent for the arcane arts, and her tendency to ask questions that "others feared to answer" was enough to keep him intrigued. He eventually extended an offer to teach her in private in order to continue nurturing her studies and her inquisitive mind.

He ultimately guided her with wisdom and was quick to shut down any pursuits that would simply "lead to misery" when Velameestra started to inquire about the potential to use necromancy to truly resurrect the dead. Instead, he sought to encourage her to reach an understanding of the line between life and death so that it could be more carefully traversed as death, ultimately, was the only inevitability - which made defeating it one of the purest pursuits man-kind could have.

Of course, considering the taboo nature of such studies, their teacher and student relationship was kept secret.

Chapter One: Matters of Life and Death

While the undead started to flock to Zalazane's rule, Kel'Thuzad's student, Velameestra, had briefly returned to Dalaran and sought him out in order to inform him of the situation and seek advice on how to deal with the undead troll "king" as Zalazane seemed to be completely sapient. Kel'Thuzad admitted that he had kept the potential for intelligent undead secret, though chose to entrust her with the extent of his more recent research by revealing the presence of a ghoul, a wight, and a skeleton he kept contained in his basement.

When Velameestra left to continue pursuing Zalazane, Kel'Thuzad had spent some time looking into the hex that had afflicted his student. When he received word that Zalazane had been defeated and she had returned safely to Lordaeron, he sent word to her via the sending spell requesting she meet with him as soon as possible. She appeared at the door of his manor a few days later. He expressed that there were some changes about her—likely referring to the latent signs of arcane corruption after the fight with Zalazane—and asked what it had been like to witness something like Zalazane in person. When she expressed she was glad he was back in the ground, he whole-heartedly agreed before he offered the use of his expansive library to her as it seemed quiet study was something she needed.

Physical Death

However, Kel'Thuzad's other motive became apparent a few days later when Velameestra was once again attacked by the hex. Having been watching for the signs of such, he was able to intervene and temporarily keep the hex at bay while he awoke her. After requesting that she trust him fully, he utilized the feign death spell to fool the hex into thinking its target had passed, and he used the opportunity to effectively contain the hex by attaching his soul to the ring that contained it.

The cost of which was that he had had to shed his mortal body, though he had made arrangements within his will to ensure that Velameestra would inherit his home and assets (and thus his secrets would be kept) by willing everything to his cat, Mr. Bigglesworth, and, therefore, whoever was able to take care of him. The Council of Six, when it was found that Velameestra was the only one the cat would tolerate, thus transferred the deed to her.

While Kel'Thuzad was now unable to research and investigate of his own accord, he could still communicate directly with his student using the ring, which allowed their mentor and teacher relationship, and their research, to continue. In addition, the hex that was slowly killing Velameestra, at least for the time being, was kept at bay.

Chapter Two: Casting Dice

Kel'Thuzad largely served as a sounding board and a source of advise for Velameestra throughout the investigation of the warlock situation in Silvermoon. However, after the fall of the elvish capital, and his student's return to Dalaran, he decided it was time that Velameestra become privy to his most deeply guarded secret. He instructed her in the method to uncover the teleportation circle in his former manor, and provided several scrolls of the same spell as well as another teleportation circle that he wished for her to travel to--one located in Caer Darrow.

This site was also revealed to be the home of Scholomance, a secret school that Kel'Thuzad had created to offer a safe haven for those that were researching the forbidden arts. The school itself, and the resources it offered, were thus available for his student to use in the war on the horizon.

EXPAND THIS

Chapter Three: The Scales Tip

WIP

Chapter Four: Homecoming

During the resurrection of Sangrias Stillblade, Kel'Thuzad's focus was primarily directed at Frostmourne, which Lana'thel Duskseeker had summoned when she arrived unexpectedly to aid in the ritual. Following the ritual, he expressed to Vel that the sword was, without a doubt, the powerful necromantic presence that Jandice had sensed previously.

Chapter Five: Civil War

Familiar


Original by Blizzard Entertainment, Inc

Kel'Thuzad's primary companion was cream and brown-gray cat named Mr. Bigglesworth. While his master has technically passed on, he still remains as Velameestra serves as a direct link to his master. He primarily remains in Kel'Thuzad's manor, and rarely leaves its halls unless commanded to do so.

Appearance

Mr. Bigglesworth is a fluffy cream and brown-grey cat that has appeared to be rather old for some time now. However, he still seems to retain a deal of spryness, and is capable of moving with the agility expected of a typical cat.

His eyes are incredibly bright blue, almost unnaturally so.

Personality

He is a fairly typical cat and tends to have a preference for lazing about undisturbed. While he put on a grand show of affection toward Velameestra in front of the Council of Six (likely under Kel'Thuzad's orders) he is not a particularly affectionate cat by default and tends to seek out such things on his terms.

He is known to yowl loudly in irritation if something is particularly bothersome to him, and the only person he has only showed actual, genuine affection toward was his later master, Kel'Thuzad.

Appeared In

Chapter Three: The Scales Tip

Chapter Four: Homecoming

Chapter Five: Civil War

Trivia

Related Pages

Categories: Chapter Five | Chapter Four | Chapter Three | Chapter Two | Dalaran | Humans | Kirin Tor | Mages | Male Characters | NPCs | Scholomance | Undead