Dar'Khan Drathir

Once an esteemed magister, Dar'Khan Drathir would become one of Quel'Thalas' greatest traitors. His limitless ambition, combined with his egotistical mindset, made him an easy pawn for the forces of the Lich King. Empowered by the treacherous Prince Arthas himself, Dar'Khan opened the way for the Scourge to enter Quel'Thalas and ravage the land in their march to the Sunwell.

While Dar'Khan has met death several times (execution by Arthas, vaporization by Anveena, and killed with an enchanted arrow by Lor'themar Theron), he has consistently managed to cheat his fate and return from the grave. Most recently, he was resurrected by the Lich King[citation needed] and now resides at the fortress of Deatholme in the southern Ghostlands, where he commands the Scourge in Quel'Thalas. His presence at the doorstep of Quel'Thalas is one of the primary obstacles preventing the blood elves' full acceptance into the Horde.

Discontented Magister
Dar'Khan Drathir spent his childhood at Dawnstar Spire. At some point, he researched the Void, and the bulk of his research was conducted there. He discovered the fragments of an ancient world teetering on the brink of the Void itself, which held an ancient object of unspeakable might. Years later, Dar'Khan's research would lead to the creation of the void elves.

As a magister of Quel'Thalas, Dar'Khan used the Sunwell to help construct the cities, shape the land, and attain whatever the high elves desired. He was sent to aid Priestess Liadrin in uncovering the mystery behind a runestone malfunction, though was captured and slated for torture. Beaten and exhausted, Dar'Khan struggled to free the group, though eventually succeeded in mustering the energy for a teleportation spell. The experience was the start of a friendship between himself, Liadrin, Galell, and future Regent Lord Lor'themar Theron, all of whom had survived the ordeal together.

Dar'Khan was a highly ambitious and egotistical elf, feeling he was never duly rewarded for his deeds. He greatly coveted the position of Grand Magister of Quel'Thalas, though was unable to attain it. Lack of recognition for his part in high elf society coupled with his own egotistical nature pushed him down a dark path and he began to secretly develop his own magic, as well as an obsession with the Sunwell. Frustrated by a lack of progress, Dar'Khan was elated when Prince Arthas reached out to aid him and pledged his loyalty to the despoiler of Lordaeron.

Manipulated and strengthened by his "Blessed Lord", it was his friendship with Lor'themar that allowed Dar'Khan to help Arthas and his army slip through the Thalassian defenses, slaughtering his own comrades in the process, all the while believing that Arthas was helping him to fulfill his desire for the Sunwell's power. Dar'Khan was tasked with binding the Sunwell, to ensure Ban'dinoriel could not protect the kingdom from the undead onslaught. Dar'Khan left for the Sunwell Plateau, and murdered several members of the Convocation of Silvermoon; though the first kill was difficult, he came to revel in the carnage as his murders became more frequent. Dar'Khan succeeded in his mission, though could not help but have a "taste" of the power that awaited him.

After the resurrection of Kel'Thuzad, Dar'Khan - having attempted to betray Arthas, just as he had betrayed his own people - was killed by the death knight, a fact that pleased the recently-raised banshee Sylvanas Windrunner to no end. At some point afterward, he was brought back in the service of the Scourge.

The corrupted Sunwell would be later destroyed by Prince Kael'thas, but Dar'Khan realized that some of the magical pond's power had survived the incident. Drathir was sent to track down where the remaining magic had gone.

The Sunwell Trilogy
Following years of fruitless searching, he finally neared his goal, detecting the Sunwell's presence near a peasant girl named Anveena Teague, who had also drawn attention from members of the blue Dragonflight. Dar'Khan, now skilled in necromancy and commanding Scourge forces, attempted to capture her and ascertain the power's whereabouts. After failed attempts at her home and again in Tarren Mill, he finally came to the realization that she was, in fact, an Avatar of the Sunwell's power in humanoid form. Kidnapping her in Alterac Mountains and spiriting her to the ruined lands of Quel'Thalas, now known as the Ghostlands, he confronted her with the truth of her existence.

Dar'Khan then attempted to cast a spell which would allow him to absorb the energies from her, however with the aid of her allies, Anveena manifested the Sunwell's power and wielded it against him. More lich than a living being, he made a final desperate attempt to drain the energy from her directly, but was unable to withstand its brilliance and was burned away.

Blood of the Highborne
Against all odds, Dar'Khan had somehow survived his pulverization at the hands of Anveena, and was once again reanimated as a puppet of the Scourge. Two years after his previous death, the Lich King, intrigued by the possibility of Light-wielding warriors who adhered to no particular moral code, had tasked Drathir with luring out members of the new Blood Knight Order to be slain and raised into undeath. Dar'Khan, delighting in the notion of forcing Lady Liadrin to attack her beloved Silvermoon, left a number of clues regarding the delivery of the Stone of Light, Stone of Flame, and Stone of Spark to focus scrutiny on Dawnstar Spire and draw out an adequate number of knights. Posing as a man named "Thadirr," Dar'Khan ambushed the elves with an undead horde at his back, though Lor'themar had seen through his deceit and arrived with Astalor Bloodsworn and the royal guard to kill him. The tide turned further when Halduron Brightwing and his rangers relieved the battle, though Dar'Khan set Theron ablaze and prepared to flee. However, the Blood Knights healed the regent lord's wounds, and Lor'themar fired an arrow enchanted with a fragment of the Stone of Spark straight into Drathir's head, which caused the former magister to crumble into dust.

Research into the Void
Dar'Khan had made extensive research on the powers of the Void at some point during his lifetime. He had eventually discovered a shattered world teetering on the edge of the Void that contained a powerful artifact, but he had been unable to claim it before his eventual demise. The world he had discovered, the Telogrus Rift, and the artifact within would be accessed many years later by Magister Umbric, who had been exiled from Silvermoon for dabbling in the powers of the Void. The artifact would eventually fuel the transformation of Umbric and his followers into the ren'dorei, or "void elves".

The Burning Crusade
Dar'Khan rose once more, this time directing agents of the Scourge from safely behind the walls of Deatholme. Dar'Khan is a level 21 elite undead located at the Tower of the Damned, the skull-topped structure in the center of Deatholme in southern Ghostlands.

Magister Kaendris at the Sanctum of the Sun wants Dar'Khan's head. The head was then delivered to Lor'themar Theron.

History adapted from WoWPedia