Mael Shelub

Mael Shelub is a bitter and cruel nerubian necromancer. He despises everyone, especially the Lich King and the Scourge, and though still alive - unlike many of his kin - he prefers the company of the dead rather than the living. His hatred of the Lich King stems from his belief that undead creatures should always be under mortal control — anything else is an abomination.

Mael offered his services to Blarus Whitrick, a Forsaken undead, who readily accepted. They settled in Gaval Moch, a ruined castle in Silverpine Forest, with a number of acolytes. Mael only pretended to serve Blarus however, as his beliefs concerning undead extended to the free-willed Forsaken, whose use of magical arts repelled him. The nerubian also despised Blarus's (supposed) servant, the dreadlord Ganthrifal who he consider to have moved in on his territory. Mael often entertained the thought of murdering the cunning dreadlord. Much like Ganthrifal, he only pretended to serve Blarus as he believed he could use him in his own schemes; though he would have slayed him if given the opportunity. For a long time, Mael had felt that joining forces with a hated Forsaken was a poor idea, though he had not been able to determine how to extricate himself from the situation. Though he believes that he is a surpassingly competent necromancer, the truth is the Lich King, dimly aware of a remote threat, granted Mael a small amount of power to combat Blarus' plans.

His magic allows him to animate minor undead creatures — zombies and skeletons — that did routine work around Gaval Moch but were useless in combat. They performed routine maintenance, repairing the doors and strengthening the walls of Gaval Moch. He also convinced (making liberal use of the Command Undead spell) a local spectre to join him, and the creature serves him unquestioningly. When a roving ogre band attacked Gaval Moch, hoping to use the ruins for its own purposes, Blarus's forces drove the ogres away and Mael Shelub attempted to reanimate the corpses of the ogre dead to replace the acolytes lost in the attack. He knew the possibility was remote since ogres, being giants, were extremely difficult to resurrect. Much to his surprise, they rose from the ground.

When a group of heroes invaded Gaval Moch in order to destroy Blarus's plans, Mael leapt at the chance to take command. He offered to join forces with the heroes and once they had served their purpose, turned on them. However, he was wounded in the ensuing battle; avoiding death by teleporting away. Some time later, Mael Shelub's twenty children came looking for their father...

The creature is currently found operating in Lordaeron. His alignment is towards chaotic evil and he is most certainly not to be trusted.

Trivia

 * Mael Shelub's name references Shelob (lob being an archaic word for spider) the demonic spirit appearing in the form of a gigantic spider in the Lord of the Rings.