Apocalypse

Apocalypse is the artifact used by unholy death knights in World of Warcraft: Legion.

This item is a quest reward from The Dark Riders (death knight).

''Vampiric demons known as nathrezim forged this ancient sword, which brings with it violence, plagues, and death. Apocalypse soon earned a horrific reputation in the hands of a Tirisgarde mage who couldn't control its destructive energies. In time the sword was seized by the malevolent Dark Riders: servants of Medivh, the corrupted Guardian of Tirisfal. They hid the blade in the catacombs under his home, the tower of Karazhan.''

''An ancient blade crafted by the Nathrezim which spreads plague, death and violence in its wake, Apocalypse is a powerful tool of destruction. The blade was wielded by the Tirisgarde before it fell into the hands of the Dark Riders. Now the only way to find it is to hunt down the riders to their secret lair.''

''Most stories about the Burning Legion speak of countless demons stampeding over worlds, but the cunning nathrezim know that brute force is not only way to conquer an enemy. One lie can break an alliance. One drop of poison can cripple a giant. One disease can reduce a great city to a graveyard. The nathrezim blade called Apocalypse has accomplished all of these things. It holds the power to spread plagues, incite wars, and turn ally against ally. In the right hands, this weapon has singlehandedly brought entire civilizations crashing down before the Legion's army ever began their invasion.''

Apocalypse has been forged and reforged by countless nathrezim over their centuries in the Burning Legion. Every time the blade changed hands, its new owner would infuse it with additional plagues and maledictions and hone it further into a weapon of unspeakable evil and innumerable crimes. Eventually, it fell into the hands of Kathra'natir during the Legion's invasion of Navane. The cunning dreadlord infiltrated Navane's united forces, manipulating them into turning against each other and letting Apocalypse's dark magic to inflame their hatreds of each other until, in a single bloody night, Navane's armies slaughtered each other.

Thousands of years ago, reckless wizards in Dalaran inadvertently tore holes in the fabric of reality. Kathra'natir entered Azeroth through one such hole, and quickly set about repeating his work in Navane among the mages of Dalaran, creating magical plagues to sweep through the city. This time, though, he was found out by Alodi, the Guardian of Tirisfal, who defeated and banished the dreadlord. Apocalypse remained left behind, however. Alodi recognized the blade's dark nature, and the terrible influence it attempted to assert over him, and wished it destroyed. The rest of the Council of Tirisfal, however, chose to instead lock it away in their vault.

Millennia later, when the Guardian Aegwynn found herself losing the battle against the Legion, the Council began to unearth many of their long-sealed relics to aid in the fight. Apocalypse was given to a mage named Laith Sha'ol, and it quickly poisoned his mind, driving him to terrible deeds. In Laith's hands, Apocalypse left a wake of death, famine, and pestilence across the realms. Aegwynn eventually learned of Laith's actions and confronted him. When he unleashed the sword's power against her, she used a spell to break its hold over him. Suddenly overcome with the horrors he had wrought under its influence, he dropped the sword and fled. When Aegwynn proved unable to destroy the blade, she sealed it away in the Badlands.

Years later, Laith's son, Ariden, ran afoul of Aegwynn's son, the Guardian Medivh. Medivh cursed Ariden and his companions to act as his servants, compelling them to seek out powerful artifacts and bring them to Karazhan. Owing to his father's history, Ariden felt especially drawn toward one artifact in particular: Apocalypse. After he unearthed it, he continued to wield it as he and his Dark Riders continued to hunt relics and artifacts over the years.

During the third invasion of the Burning Legion, the Deathlord of the Ebon Blade sought to wield Apocalypse against the Burning Legion. They tracked it to the catacombs beneath Karazhan, where they confronted Ariden himself. Upon Ariden's defeat, his father's spirit appeared and told him the curse was lifted. Ariden died, and the Deathlord turned the accursed blade against its creators. Once the Burning Legion had been defeated, they expended Apocalypse's power to purge the corruption from the Sword of Sargeras. What became of the sword afterwards is unknown.

• Temple Priestesses and Aranelle comment on the weapon.

Apocalipsis Apocalypse