Kil'jaeden

Kil'jaeden (sometimes spelled as Kil'Jaeden)    (pronounced Kill-jay-den), was a powerful eredar demon lord and the second in rank of the Burning Legion. 13,000 years ago, Kil'jaeden, Archimonde and Velen were the leaders of the benevolent eredar people of Argus. When the Dark Titan Sargeras arrived and offered them the answer to the most important question there was, "what is the one true underlying flaw of the universe?", the eredar, as a knowledge-seeking race, accepted, led by Kil'jaeden and Archimonde. Sargeras blessed them with unimaginable power, turning the eredar into demons who would help Sargeras get rid of that flaw, while Velen and his followers fled, renaming themselves the draenei.

While Archimonde led the Legion's armies, Kil'jaeden's was charged with assimilating as many races as possible into the folds of the Burning Legion. He long sought to exact revenge on Velen and his followers for their perceived betrayal, which eventually led him to corrupt the orcs, native inhabitants of the world of Draenor which the draenei had settled upon. The orcs formed the First Horde, slaughtered the draenei and invaded the world of Azeroth, marking the beginning of the First War. Kil'jaeden also created the Lich King and the undead Scourge as a means to weaken Azeroth's defenses in preparation of a future Legion invasion.

Since Sargeras was nowhere to be seen following the death of Medivh, Kil'jaeden had assumed the role of acting leader of the Burning Legion.

Kil'jaeden is one the two main antagonists in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (alongside Illidan Stormrage) and the main antagonist in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, as well as the secondary antagonist in Legion.

Argus
Twenty-five millennia ago, the world of Argus was shaped into a paradise by the eredar race who called it home. Kil'jaeden, respected for his intelligence, a genius among a race of geniuses, quickly rose to become a leader of Argus alongside his best friend, Velen, who he loved as a brother. Together they formed the Second Duumvirate.

At one point, Kil'jaeden, Velen and the eredar rulers' inner circle bore witness to a grand demonstration held by the sorcerer Thal'kiel, who led an order of magi called the Wakeners. First, Thal'kiel summoned orderly rows of the old, familiar arcane constructs he and his followers were known for. Then, he started summoning a storm of infernals to destroy the constructs as a symbolic display of the "new era" he foresaw for his people thanks to the arts of demonic summoning he had recently discovered.

However, when he looked upon his colleagues' faces, Thal'kiel didn't see the approval he expected. Kil'jaeden's expression was remote and inscrutable, but Velen harshly condemned Thal'kiel's actions and forbade him from ever conjuring demons again, denouncing his "new era" as a failed experiment. Some time later, Thal'kiel resumed his experiments regardless, using cloaking magic to hide a demonic army he and his Wakeners were constructing with the purpose of installing him as dictator of Argus. The night before the planned coup, however, Thal'kiel's ambitious young apprentice, Archimonde, informed Kil'jaeden and Velen of his master's plans. To prove his loyalty to Argus' rulers, Archimonde himself led the attack on the Wakeners' secret training grounds and decapitated his former master with his own blade. Later, he would rise to rule the eredar alongside Kil'jaeden and Velen.

Corruption
Eredar society was shattered when their three leaders were contacted by Sargeras, who offered the eredar untold knowledge and magic at their disposal in exchange for their loyalty. Kil'jaeden and Archimonde readily accepted, though Velen curiously held back. As the eredar were preparing to receive their new powers, Kil'jaeden learned that Velen and his followers had sided with the naaru and were in the process of fleeing Argus. Enraged by this "betrayal", Kil'jaeden loosed his new powers and minions on the "Exiled Ones", or draenei in Eredun, and relentlessly pursued them across the cosmos for thousands of years.

Talgath delivered Velen's wife and son to Kil'jaeden, who then renamed the boy Rakeesh, meaning "butcher", and had the Demonic Inquisition torture him into an agent of the Burning Legion.

Sargeras molded Kil'jaeden's innate cunning and intellect and charged him with seeking out and transforming the races of the Great Dark Beyond into demons of the Burning Legion. The Deceiver first enslaved the vampiric race called the dreadlords - or nathrezim - led by Tichondrius, after which he also recruited the barbarous pit lords, or annihilan.

The Orcish Horde
For millennia, Kil'jaeden's scouts searched the Nether for the draenei, finding and destroying the worlds they had settled on, but they always managed to escape. Then, one day, Kil'jaeden's favored servant, Talgath, stumbled upon a world that showed signs of the draenei's magic. Though they initially assumed it was just another one of the planets the draenei briefly stopped upon, further investigations quickly discovered that the draenei had actually settled there, even going so far as to give it an eredun name: Draenor, meaning "Exiles' Refuge". There also resided a race of shamanistic beings called orcs. Intrigued by their potential, Kil'jaeden realized that they were exactly what he was looking for and thus sought an agent the orcish race to follow his will. Though Kil'jaeden found many suitable candidates none held as much potential as Gul'dan.

Gul'dan was born crippled, weak and deformed, which made him a target for constant mockery and abuse ever since his childhood. He knew that he was meant for more than his clan would ever allow of him, and he hated them for it. He used the hate and bitterness he felt as a way to keep going. One day, the other clan members grew so tired of the runt's refusal to accept his place in the clan that they beat him repeatedly in an attempt to rid themselves of him once and for all. As the chieftain was about to beat him again, the elderly shaman of the clan stopped him, saying that he had tried and failed to help Gul'dan find his place in the clan. Laying a hand on Gul'dan's shoulder, the elder said, not unkindly, that there was nothing more he could do for him, but that he had always believed there was greatness within him. He then advised the runt to seek out the Throne of the Elements, for perhaps there he would find his destiny. Though at first dismissal Gul'dan would eventually follow the advice, only to be rejected by the furies who sensed the darkness and fury within his heart. It was when he was at his lowest, that Kil'jaeden spoke to Gul'dan, promising power and godhood in exchange for Gul'dan helping the Burning Legion turn the orcs as a weapon to destroy the Draenei.

Gul'dan quickly agreed, for he only held disdain for his people. Kil'jaeden instructed his new servant in the ways of fel magic. The demon lord knew that these energies would physically change the orc or even draw the draenei's attention, so he took steps to hide Gul'dan new abilities. Kil'jaeden taught the orc how to mask his powers, and he ordered him to use fel magic only when absolutely necessary. Gul'dan took to the volatile power faster than expected, reveling in the destructive might his fingertips.

Knowing that Gul'dan couldn't serve as the figure they needed to forged the orc clans into an army, Kil'jaeden ordered Gul'dan to ally with someone who could inspire or lead the orc race. After destroying his former clan (in order to ensure that no one knew his past) Gul'dan would join the Shadowmoon clan, which was under the rule of Ner'zhul. In time Gul'dan's would earn Ner'zhul's trust and became the elder's shamanic apprentice. Under the guise of the orcs' sacred ancestors, Kil'jaeden tricked the shamans of each clan—including their most respected leader, the elder shaman Ner'zhul—into thinking that the draenei were plotting against the orcs. Soon, the clans began to launch successful skirmishes and raids against the draenei, believing it to be their ancestors' will that they be exterminated. However, plans faltered when Ner'zhul traveled to Oshu'gun, was shown the truth about his new patron, and attempted to undo his actions. Kil'jaeden, however, was already aware of Ner'zhul's actions and stripped the elderly shaman of his power, and Gul'dan would teach his fel magics to other the orcs. Eventually, as the elemental spirits refused to grant their powers to the shaman, these demonic powers would overtake the orcs.

Gul'dan also turned to Kil'jaeden for assistance in creating two deadly weapons, imploring the Burning Legion for aid since he did not want to ask the Furies for help. Kil'jaeden saw the value of having a covert assassin at the Shadow Council's command. The demon lord instructed and provided him the raw materials needed to create them.

After proving the orcs' ability to fight the draenei, Mannoroth's blood was given to the orcs to drink, and they degraded into a horrible bloodlust. As both a test of his new minions and as a revenge to his wayward brethren, Kil'jaeden ordered Gul'dan to finish the slaughter of the draenei in one climactic battle at Shattrath City. The attack was a brutal massacre, with much of Shattrath being destroyed. To all appearances, Kil'jaeden's pawns had finally triumphed over the draenei. Kil'jaeden was relatively pleased with the Horde's destruction of the draenei, as was Sargeras who viewed the Horde as the perfect army to weaken Azeroth and thus ordered Kil'jaeden to cut all communication with them. Sargeras wanted the orcs to be so desperate that they would anything to survive, even if that meant journeying to another world. Obeying his master's orders and taking it as a sign that Sargeras required him elsewhere Kil'jaeden retreated from Draenor, abandoning the Horde

Following Orgrim Doomhammer's take-over of the Horde and resulting in its victory during the First War, Kil'jaeden would reestablish contact with Gul'dan, convincing the warlock to support Doomhammer. Unknown to Kil'jaeden however, Gul'dan had grown disillusioned with the eredar and plotted to acquire the power within the Tomb of Sargeras for himself. Thus his betrayal of the Horde came as a complete shock to Kil'jaeden. The enraged demon lord prepared to annihilate his servant for single-handedly dooming what should have been a momentous Legion victory when Sargeras himself ordered him to stand down. Sargeras decided that he would allow Gul'dan to come within reach of what he desired, let the foolish orc taste could have been his, and then Sargeras would rip it all away, as Gul'dan had done to the Horde's hopes of victory.

The Lich King
The defeat of the Horde during the Second War infuriated Kil'jaeden but it did not deter the demon lord. In truth, Kil'jaeden had learned an extremely valuable lesson. The Horde had failed because of internal conflict and disloyalty. The Legion's next strike against Azeroth would not suffer from the same weakness. Kil'jaeden convinced of a dark, disturbing way to raise a new puppet army that would be utterly incapable of diverging from the Legion's will. All he needed was a powerful spirit, skilled in the art of wielding magic to control it.

Calling in an unpaid vendetta, the Deceiver found Ner'zhul within the Twisting Nether, and, seeking vengeance against the shaman's defiance, tortured the orc for an impossibly long time, destroying his body piece by piece until finally, nothing remained but the shaman's tortured soul. Kil'jaeden offered the remnant of the soul a choice: remain in eternal pain in the eredar torture dimension, or become the ruler of an army of undeath. Ner'zhul, predictably, chose the latter and was transformed into the Lich King. Recalling Ner'zhul's previous duplicity and Gul'dan's failure, Kil'jaeden took no chances whatsoever. He refused to give the Lich King a body, instead sealing specially forged armor, along with the Lich King's soul, into the Frozen Throne. Just in case Ner'zhul wasn't daunted by immobility, he dispatched the Dreadlords to make sure he stayed on task. From his followers, he created the first liches. The demon lord promised him that if he succeeds, he will give him freedom and a new body.

The Lich King was to succeed where the orcs had failed: His undead servants would wipe out any potential resistance, and raise the unfortunate fallen as undead legions and thus the Third War began. However, the Lich King, aware of the eredar's hatred for the immortal elves, betrayed the Legion by breaking the pact he had forged with Kil'jaeden which bound him to the latter's will. In informing Illidan of the Skull of Gul'dan through his pawn Arthas, he facilitated the death of one of the Legion's greatest tacticians, Tichondrius, and dealt the first blow against the Legion that led to the ultimate fall of their forces in the Battle of Mount Hyjal.

The Frozen Throne
Although Kil'jaeden was infuriated at the failure and death of Archimonde, he knew better than to take reckless vengeance.

He did not believe that all was lost. He was still confident about the Scourge, the dreadlords, and the Lich King. But when he reached to the Lich King, the entity refused him. Kil'jaeden realized that if the Lich King conquered Azeroth, any future demonic invasions would be nearly impossible. He sensed a new demon who could complete the task of destroying the Lich King.

He found Illidan Stormrage, and told him that, despite his part in the Legion's downfall, the Deceiver was willing to offer him a chance at power. Illidan was informed that if he destroyed the Frozen Throne, thus killing the Lich King, that Kil'jaeden would reward him with power beyond his imagination (whether or not Kil'jaeden actually intended to do so is a moot point). He gave Illidan the Orb of Kil'jaeden to aid him in his task.

Illidan first gained the allegiance of the naga, who helped him first flee from Kalimdor and then later seek out the Eye of Sargeras. With it, they performed an arcane ritual to tear Northrend, the base of the undead Scourge, apart. Thus, the minions of Kil'jaeden came full circle, back to the power of the Dark Titan.

However, due to interference from Illidan's brother, Malfurion Stormrage, the Eye was destroyed before Illidan managed to destroy the Frozen Throne. Having failed Kil'jaeden, Illidan instead went on to rescue Tyrande Whisperwind from the Scourge along with his brother. Aware of Kil'jaeden's capabilities, he fled to Outland to evade capture, during which he gained the loyalty of one more former Highborne race, the blood elves. With his new servitors, Illidan eventually moved against the pit lord Magtheridon by destroying the dimensional gates Ner'zhul had opened decades before. The stratagem was meant to keep Kil'jaeden and his minions away from Outland and would have stopped Magtheridon from calling in reinforcements. Without any further demonic aid to strengthen his standing forces, Magtheridon was quick to fall before Illidan and his followers.

But Kil'jaeden was no fool. Because of Draenor's former importance as the homeworld of the orcs and the refuge of the draenei (and Magtheridon himself an agent of the Legion), Kil'jaeden kept at least half an eye on the torn planet. Quickly uncovering what had happened (or perhaps watching all along), the Deceiver once again appeared in front of Illidan and commanded him to return to the icy continent to finish what he had started (citing that his new servitors showed "some promise"; while Kil'jaeden probably didn't buy Illidan's story, he knew that his best bet in destroying the traitor still lay in Illidan), and told him that if he failed again, he would face his "eternal wrath." However, Illidan failed and the Lich King persists, having cheated the Deceiver by merging with Arthas Menethil.

The war in Outland
After Illidan destroyed the dreadlord homeworld of Nathreza and dealt the greatest blow to the Legion in ten thousand years, the Legion was now clearly aware of the threat that Illidan posed and would learn from spies from within the Illidari that Illidan planned to launch a similar assault on Argus. He believed that Kil'jaeden attacked the forces of Azeroth, luring them to Outland to put an end to Illidan. Once within the shattered realm, the Horde and Alliance would begin striking against both the Legion and the Illidari. Kil'jaeden manipulated his enemies into fighting each other, and when they were weakened from the battle he planned to destroy them all. Kil'jaeden also sent the Doomwalker to lay siege to the Black Temple.

After Varedis Felsoul was killed at the Black Temple, his demonic soul entered the Twisting Nether where he was found by Kil'jaeden. Kil'jaeden heaped endless torment upon Varedis, who resisted for a time, but it was not pain that broke his spirit. The Deceiver played upon his shock from the battle at the Black Temple. Champions had been prepared to face Varedis and known to use the Book of Fel Names, so who had told them of that power? Varedis knew it would not have been the Burning Legion or the Shadow Council, as they would have preferred the book to remain intact. Kil'jaeden convinced Varedis that it could only have been the Illidari, who knew of his power and betrayed him.

With the help of other eredar, Kil'jaeden conducted a dangerous, agonizing ritual, infusing a small part of his soul into Varedis's spirit. When the ritual was complete, Varedis was not a demon hunter but a demon, loyal to the Burning Legion and hungry for vengeance. Varedis found that his weapons, now the Twinblades of the Deceiver, had also been changed. The ritual had imbued them with another slice of Kil'jaeden's astonishing power. Caria Felsoul willingly joined the demon lord and Kil'jaeden bestowed her the ancient Aldrachi Warblades.

Fury of the Sunwell
Some time prior to Illidan's defeat at the Black Temple, Kil'jaeden turned to one of the Betrayer's former lieutenants to be his instrument of vengeance: Kael'thas Sunstrider, Lord of the Blood Elves whom he enticed with promises of salvation for the blood elves. Defeated at Tempest Keep, Kael was revived by Priestess Delrissa who healed his wounds by planting a fel crystal inside his chest. Kael'thas was then sent to Azeroth, where he infiltrated Silvermoon City, took the dark naaru M'uru, and traveled to the Isle of Quel'Danas where he planned to use the Sunwell as a gateway for Kil'jaeden to enter the world. Kil'jaeden used the Scepter of Sargeras, which he had retrieved from Ner'zhul after Draenor's destruction, to aid Kael'thas in opening the portal. Adventurers fought their way through Kael's minions and Burning Legion demons to reach the Sunwell, just in time to see Kil'jaeden begin pulling himself through... Anveena, the embodiment of the Sunwell's energies, was held in an arcane barrier, her powers being drained to feed the portal, but later in the encounter she sacrificed herself to weaken the Deceiver, who could then successfully be banished back into the Nether, leaving only his large necklace behind on the surface of the Sunwell.

Warlords of Draenor
Kil'jaeden's plans to corrupt the orcs into a Horde that would slaughter the draenei he hated so much went awry on an alternate due to the intervention of a time-traveling Garrosh Hellscream, who prevented the drinking of the Blood of Mannoroth by warning the orcs beforehand. With Kil'jaeden's plan falling to pieces, Archimonde took control of the Legion's invasion of Draenor himself. Under Archimonde, the demons were much more forceful and out in the open than they were in the main timeline.

Though Kil'jaeden's plans failed, he continued to watch 's actions throughout the events on Draenor.

The Tomb of Sargeras
After the defeat of Archimonde in, Gul'dan was sent to Azeroth to open the way for the Burning Legion to invade. Kil'jaeden telepathically communicated and instructed Gul'dan until the warlock had successfully entered the Tomb of Sargeras. Soon after Khadgar (who had been searching Gul'dan) arrived and a furious battle erupted between the two. When Khadgar began gaining the upper hand Kil'jaeden instructed Gul'dan how to shattered the seals blocking the power of the Tomb of Sargeras from being used. However, Gul'dan soon realized that he could not kill Khadgar and shatter the final seal at the same, Gul'dan sought to convince Kil'jaeden to infuse him with the tomb's power. A plea that Kil'jaeden granted, after Gul'dan learned the fate of his prime timeline counterpart.

With his new power Gul'dan was able to defeat Khadgar and Kil'jaeden ordered Gul'dan to allow the power to flow to the portal and spark the invasion of Azeroth. However, Gul'dan refused and instead used his new power to reach through his demonic link and speak face to face with his master, sitting on a throne in some distant world within the Nether. Gul'dan accused him of planning to discard the orc from the beginning. Kil'jaeden denied this, having invested too much into Gul'dan. He explained that the original Gul'dan died because his betrayal is what sealed the defeat of the first Horde — and by extension, Kil'jaeden and the Legion — on Azeroth during the Second War. When Gul'dan angrily replied that that was not him, Kil'jaeden told him that betrayal was in his nature. Seeing great potential within the orc, however, buried beneath a short-sighted selfishness, the eredar had dragged Gul'dan to Thal'dranath to lead him to even greater power. The eredar then went on to explain that while Gul'dan had always been destined for power, he would never be his own master; that every creature served a master, even the Deceiver. Then, he gave the warlock a choice: prove himself loyal, return his power to the portal and open the way for the Legion, or betray his masters yet again to exact his petty vengeance on insignificant mortals before the Legion destroyed him. He left with a closing thought: Gul'dan may call him 'the Deceiver', but Kil'jaeden stated that he had never lied to him. "Not once. Not in this world, and not in yours."

Gul'dan would ultimately realign with the Legion, a choice that Kil'jaeden would commend Gul'dan for, and later reveal that in doing so that Gul'dan had secured the trust of the Legion.

Legion


Kil'jaeden briefly appears on board the Shadowgore Citadel to bless Akaari Shadowgore and her Fangs of the Devourer. He also orders Varedis Felsoul to return to Argus before he dies at the hands of the Illidari.

Kil'jaeden appears before the Illidari at the Fel Hammer on Mardum and gives them an offer to join the Burning Legion. When their leader in Illidan's absence declines, Kil'jaeden replies that he will send Caria and Varedis after them. As the Illidari invade Niskara to kill Varedis and Caria, Kil'jaeden watches the battle and tells them to fight for his pleasure. He ignores his demon hunters' pleas to be saved as they die, and tells the Illidari that their fate is sealed.

Legionfall
Since striking the bargain that chased the draenei into the stars, Kil'jaeden believed the Legion could not be stopped. Yet, none of his deceptions prevented the heroes of Azeroth from reaching this critical moment. Infuriated that Sargeras' promise of victory never came to pass, the demon lord prepared to battle the order leaders himself in the Tomb of Sargeras, for a final battle that would shape Azeroth's destiny forever. Kil'jaeden is seen watching Khadgar and Velen meeting with the Order Hall champions in Dalaran and listening as his former friend derides him as a monster. Kil'jaeden then reminisced about what was promised him and proceeded to question Sargeras saying all they have to show for their efforts is failure. Sargeras, in return, asked Kil'jaeden if he had lost sight of the Legion's destiny, and wondered if he had overestimated Kil'jaeden's resolve. An irritated Kil'jaeden claimed that he paid for his destiny with his world and that the time had come to see it done. He then summoned several Legion ships to invade Dalaran, commanding them to burn it to ash.

After the Armies of Legionfall began to reclaim the Broken Shore, Kil'jaeden sent Legion invasions across all the Broken Isles.

In the Tomb of Sargeras, Kil'jaeden sent the Fallen Avatar against adventurers. During the battle, Velen confronted Kil'jaeden with Khadgar and Illidan and pursued him into the Twisting Nether.

Aboard Kil'jaeden's command ship, Velen confronted his old friend and declared his intent to stop Kil'jaeden's hunt across the stars. Kil'jaeden told Velen that he had lacked vision back then and refused to see the Legion's inevitable victory, while Velen insisted that Kil'jaeden had lost faith in the Light and if the two of them had worked together they could have resisted Sargeras and saved Argus. Kil'jaeden questioned if the Light had saved Velen's son, or if what shone in Rakeesh's eyes when he died was hatred for the father who had abandoned him. Enraged, Velen declared his intent to fight alongside Azeroth's champions against Kil'jaeden and end his crusade.

Upon Kil'jaeden's defeat, his ship began to crash toward Argus. Mortally wounded, Kil'jaeden admitted to Velen that he was always envious of the latter's gift, faith, and vision. Kil'jaeden had never believed that Sargeras could be stopped but wondered if perhaps Velen would prove him wrong. As Khadgar prepared to teleport everyone back to Azeroth through a rift Illidan had opened with the Sargerite Keystone, Velen silently placed a hand on Kil'jaeden's forehead as a sign of forgiveness and sympathy. When the heroes of Azeroth vanished before him, Kil'jaeden closed his eyes as he died in a fel explosion that destroyed him and his command ship.

Once again, it is his necklace that is looted by adventurers. As he died in the Nether, his death is final.

Personality
Kil'jaeden was described as the most powerful and decisive of the three eredar leaders, while Velen was described as once the strongest, the wisest, and the most attuned to magic and science.

Prior to joining the Burning Legion, Kil'jaeden was the most brilliant of the three rulers of Argus. He was witty and cunning, reveling in puzzling out the most confounding mysteries of the cosmos. He was described as being the most decisive of the three and wanted what was best for their people.

Kil'jaeden seems to have no problem keeping his ego from dominating judgment. He is surprisingly forgiving to failed servitors, provided they aren't complete failures. He nursed a burning desire for utter obliteration that Archimonde lacked. Kil'jaeden regards Velen, who was once closer to him than a brother, as his arch-nemesis, and has spent millennia in a fury over what he perceives as Velen's betrayal, much to the confusion of his servitors and Archimonde. Whenever Velen had escaped his grasp, Kil'jaeden nursed his insulted pride by destroying the worlds visited by the draenei, but the slaughter of primitive races did not slake his demonic thirst for complete and total revenge.

He was described as a schemer who corrupted so many.

Kil'jaeden consistently allows those who serve under him chances to redeem themselves, a policy which acts to cement their loyalty. Kil'jaeden also takes the excuses and explanations of those who serve under him with careful consideration and merit so long as he believes them to be doing all they can. These policies are in direct contrast to Archimonde's approach, which can be summed up as "succeed or die."

One of his agendas is to consume life and magic, assimilate every possible race into the Legion's ranks, slay any who dare resist, and ultimately destroy all of creation.

Velen wonders whether his lost friend has grown to tire of the death he brings, and if, in the blackness of his soul, Kil'jaeden ever doubts the choices he has made.

In The Tomb of Sargeras patch 7.2 trailer, after dismissing Velen's hologram with a swipe, Kil'jaeden seemed to be displeased when Velen called him a "monster" that hunted his people across the stars. Kil'jaeden was offended by Sargeras telling him that he might have lost sight of their destiny and even voicing an opinion that he might've overestimated Kil'jaeden's resolve. Kil'jaeden then vehemently stated that he paid for his destiny with his world. Kil'jaeden is frustrated that Sargeras promise of victory has not come to pass as the Legion keeps failing on Azeroth due to Sargeras' designs.

On his deathbed, Kil'jaeden revealed he had always been envious of Velen's gift, faith, and vision and now wondered if he would be able to stop Sargeras after all, since he believed it to be impossible. This may imply that the Deceiver may have accepted Sargeras' deal out of fear to preserve his people rather than a desire for power like Archimonde. Upon silently being forgiven by Velen for all of his terrible transactions against him, Kil'jaeden seemed to welcome death calmly.

Powers
The exact powers at the Deceiver's command are unknown. As his ultimatum to Illidan and his appearance to Ner'zhul and the orcs exemplifies, he is a master of illusions. Kil'jaeden has also shown the ability to control his overall size (an ability shared by Archimonde), but that may not be the limit to his shapeshifting abilities. Though these are the only powers observed in recent years, assuming that these cantrips are the limits of his power is a grave mistake. Even prior to the eredar's transformation, Velen acknowledged that Kil'jaeden was his, as well as Archimonde's, superior in matters of the arcane. However, in Kil'jaeden's point of view, Velen was the strongest and wisest of the three of them. Velen was also said to be the most attuned to magic and science.

However, Kil'jaeden's full powers lie not within the boundaries of physical and magical ability, but in the mind. His unrivaled cunning allowed him to corrupt the orcs with very little magical expenditure, a plan executed almost entirely by manipulation.

Character development
Like most demons, Kil'jaeden's original position in Warcraft lore was a minor one; in this case, he was the tutor of Gul'dan, one of the major characters in Warcraft II. After the role of Sargeras was built up from a footnote to that of the major lore antagonist, Kil'jaeden's role was also increased, to the extent that he is now one of the most significant behind-the-scenes villains.

In the RPG
Kil'jaeden possesses an extremely long-term mindset and views individual events as nothing more than single links in the thousand-year-long chains of his schemes. Perhaps because of this outlook, Kil'jaeden is extremely tenacious and rarely lets short-term defeats or missteps prevent him from reaching his goals. If one method of completing a scheme is prevented for whatever reason, he simply finds other ways to proceed. However, he also has a long memory when it comes to individuals who, either intentionally or unintentionally, obstruct his plans. Kil'jaeden does not forget those who hinder him in any way and often comes back to brutally punish them later, in his own time. His bidding is typically carried out by minions or intermediaries, and Kil'jaeden rarely meets individuals face to face. When he does, it is usually to force them to his will or to slay them once and for all.

Kil'jaeden the Deceiver has a highly adaptable physical presence and frequently shifts among several forms. He usually tries to assume whatever shape the people around him will trust the most or be the most awestruck by. He attains his goals through a combination of subtle coercion and blatant intimidation.

As with Archimonde, Kil'jaeden has his own hierarchy of demons. The Dreadlords, like Tichondrius, serve under him. Risen terrors and shadow priests serve under him also.

Rise of the Horde

 * "I do not want to give up what I know to be positive and good and true for what I fear might be unpleasant. Nor, I think, do you."


 * "It is not about rendering him powerless. It is about destroying him and those foolish enough to have followed him. It is about crushing him for his lack of faith. For his stubbornness. For his refusal to think about what was best for all of us."


 * "If I will do away with lies, so must you. You live for power. You hunger for it. You thirst for it. And over the last few months, your skill has grown to where I can make proper use of you. Ours is not a partnership of adoration or respect, but one of convenience and selfish benefit. Which means that it will likely last."


 * "There is more...New spells have flooded your minds. Use them well. Take the draenei now!"

Beyond the Dark Portal

 * "You could not leave well enough alone, I knew that eventually you would try to cast magics you were not ready to handle and did not understand. I waited, knowing that some day your own arrogance would bring you to me. And here we are! You have dreamed of death. You thought to escape it. Now, my little puppet, death will be all you ever know."

Illidan's Task

 * Kil'jaeden: "Illidan, in the past you have been both friend and foe to the Burning Legion. But, by consuming the Skull of Gul'dan, you sealed our defeat in this world. I come to offer you a second chance to serve us."
 * Illidan Stormrage: "What would you have me do, great one?"
 * Kil'jaeden: "My creation, the Lich King, has betrayed me. He dared to break the pact that binds him to my will, but his spirit still lies trapped inside the Frozen Throne of Icecrown. Destroy it for me, and I will grant you your heart's desire."
 * Illidan Stormrage: "It shall be done, great one. It shall be done."

Kil'jaeden's Command

 * Kil'jaeden: "Foolish little mongrel. You failed to destroy the Frozen Throne as I commanded. And still you thought to hide from me in this forsaken backwater! I thought you to be more cunning, Illidan."
 * Illidan Stormrage: "Kil'jaeden! I was merely set back. I was attempting to bolster my forces. The Lich King will be destroyed, I promise you!"
 * Kil'jaeden: "Indeed?"
 * Kil'jaeden: "Still, these servitors you've gathered show some promise. I will give you one last chance, Illidan. Destroy the Frozen Throne, or face my eternal wrath!"

The Tomb of Sargeras (Audio Drama)

 * "I was there when you first bound yourself to us. False ambition has always poisoned your mind, Gul'dan."
 * "We tempt the weak with trinkets and fleeting rewards... We promised you much, much more."
 * "You died because you betrayed us. You were meant to help my Horde exterminate all resistance on this world. Yet at the moment of truth, you abandoned them. You split their armies to claim this place. Our plans came to nothing. You earned your fate."
 * "From the beginning, you believed you were destined for power. You are. You also believed you were destined to be your own master. That will never happen."
 * "Know this: you can call me 'Deceiver', but I did not lie to you. Not once. Not in this world, and not in yours."


 * Dialogues

Notes and trivia

 * Initially, in Warcraft II, Kil'jaeden was portrayed as a daemon. In Warcraft III he was portrayed as red-skinned eredar, and finally in World of Warcraft he was portrayed as a combination of the two, gaining horns and wings. As a shapeshifter, the difference in appearance between Warcraft II and III is likely not a retcon. Notably, he is the first winged eredar to appear in Warcraft lore, and the only male eredar with wings witnessed thus far.
 * In Warcraft III, Kil'jaeden leaves fiery track marks when he walks, like Illidan. This visual feature appears to be common to demons of great power, and may not have any other connotation.
 * Kil'jaeden's art in the non-canon Shadows & Light RPG book has defined his general appearance since then.
 * Jaedenar in Felwood is named after him.
 * There is a mountain in the Hellfire Peninsula in Outland north of Thrallmar known as the Throne of Kil'jaeden. The mountain was named by Gul'dan, after he gathered the orcs there to partake of the blood of Mannoroth. Today, Doom Lord Kazzak, one of Kil'jaeden's lieutenants, resides there after reopening the Dark Portal from Azeroth.
 * Minions of the Burning Legion who reside in Terokkar Forest and Nagrand drop Marks of Kil'jaeden that can be turned in for reputation with the Aldor.
 * Sinestra's model in Cataclysm uses Kil'jaeden's skeleton and animations.
 * Data exists for Kil'jaeden in Heroes of the Storm.
 * Kil'jaeden was voiced by an unknown actor in Warcraft III: Frozen Throne, Fred Tatasciore in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade and is now voiced by Lex Lang in World of Warcraft: Legion.
 * Kil'jaeden's unique model for the Sunwell raid seems to be based on 's of Satan for 's , half embedded in the ground.
 * In the original lore, the first orc Kil'jaeden directly contacted was Ner'zhul instead of Gul'dan, and it was only after Gul'dan betrayed Ner'zhul at Oshu'gun that the demonlord would take him as an apprentice. The formation of the Old Horde was also described as being more of Kil'jaeden's pet project rather than as a plan of the entire Burning Legion, as it was only after the genocide of the draenei that Kil'jaeden informed Sargeras that the orcs could eventually be used for his vengeance against Azeroth.
 * Whenever his forces would experience setbacks in Azeroth, Kil'jaeden would pull out Micronax and terrorize the local cat-like creatures of Argus to vent his frustrations.
 * The music from Sunwell Plateau plays on the walk-up to Kil'jaeden in the Tomb of Sargeras, in reference to his previous encounter.

Speculation

 * It's possible the difference in Kil'jaeden's appearance between Warcraft III and World of Warcraft is not a retcon either and he in fact gained his enhanced form as a gift from Sargeras during the interim period. At the least he didn't gain his wings when he was first transformed into a demon, as he's witnessed in his freshly converted form during Velen's escape. It is also almost certainly his true form, as he sported the wings while speaking directly to Sargeras in solitude; two things which would discourage him from assuming any other.