Dullahan
General
- Classification
- Undead (Corporeal)
- Faction/Affiliation
- Independent
- Homeworld
- Azeroth
- Area(s)
- Various
- Languages
- Common, Thalassian
Dullahan were a type of undead that were readily identified by their lack of a head, which resulted from a death by beheading. They were frequently beings of vengeance due to the violent nature of their death.
History
The story of the dullahan, like many specific varieties of undead, was one that was ancient in nature and has a great many different origins based on the culture that tells of it. However, one thing that remained consistent throughout those tales was that they were typically spirits of vengeance that manifested in response to a violent end through beheading.
Many months after the invasion of Quel'thalas by the orcish Horde, the former elven Ranger-General Lireesa Windrunner manifested as a dullahan after the veil was thinned by her granddaughter, Velameestra, when the necromancer called for the vengeance of their people against the orcs, trolls, and demons that still roamed the elflands. While Lireesa was not the only spirit that returned to the material plane, she took charge of the undead host and became its leader in the assault against the Horde and Legion forces.
A second dullahan manifested many months later when Taelan Fordring was beheaded by the Scarlet Crusade at the Scarlet Monastery. In the moments before his death, Taelan called out a curse and a vow of vengeance on those that had betrayed him. That curse manifested in his return as a dullahan that attacked any present in the monastery, be they friend or foe, until his rage could be calmed and redirected to those who had actually wronged him.
Description
Typically, the dullahan would carry their severed head with them, but dullahan that did not have a head to carry (such as Lireesa Windrunner) would also manifest with smoke or mist seeping from their severed neck from which a pair of eyes glistened. Sometimes these dullahan would be compelled by a desire to locate their lost head so that they could once again carry it with them.
Most forms of dullahan would possess their bodies in a manner similar to what banshees were capable of, which allowed them to roam in a corporeal state and interact with the material world. However, sometimes a dullahan would temporarily manifest as a ghost until their body could be successfully recovered. Unlike banshees, however, they could not possess bodies that were not their own, and had a specific tie to their own corpse.
Dullahan also had an quirk in way of speaking where they were prone to rhyming.
Abilities
Many dullahan were skilled warriors in life, and that prowess extended into undeath, which made them fearsome opponents when empowered with the strength of their undead forms. They also normally had some form of magical ability, though the nature of said ability ranged based on the dullahan. Taelan, for instance, was capable of animating pumpkins and other plant-life and could use them as minions in addition to a soft affiliation with fire.
Notable
 |
 | Lireesa Windrunner | Former Ranger-General of Silvermoon, and former wielder of Thas'dorah | Undead |
| Warcraft Creature Types |
|---|
| Aberration • Beast • Celestial • Construct • Demon • Dragonkin • Elemental • Fey • Giant • Humanoid • Monstrosity • Ooze • Plant • Undead |
| Undead Creatures | |
|---|---|
| Corporeal | Abomination (Flesh Giant • Fleshshaper • Plague-dog) • Crawling Hand • Deathcharger • Deathroc • Dullahan • Frost Vrykul • Geist • Ghoul • Homunculus • Lich • Mummy • Nightscreamer • Shadehound • Skeleton • Undead Dragon (Bone Drake • Emberwyrm • Frostwyrm • Magmawyrm) • Vampyr (San'layn) • Zombie (Vargul) |
| Incorporeal | Banshee (Farshee) • Shade • Spectre • Wisp • Wraith |
