In life, Sylvanas Windrunner was the valiant ranger-general of Quel’Thalas, a high elf whose leadership acumen and martial prowess were without equal. During the Third War, she bravely defended her kingdom from a Scourge invasion led by the death knight Arthas. Ultimately, however, Sylvanas fell in battle. Rather than honor the ranger-general with a quick death, Arthas ripped out her soul and transformed it into a banshee: a cunning and vengeful agent of the Lich King empowered by hate.

When the Lich King’s control over his minions weakened, Sylvanas broke away from her tyrannical master’s control and reclaimed her body. Vowing to avenge her death, Sylvanas gathered other renegade undead and set out to wage war against the Scourge. Thus it was that the Forsaken and their banshee queen came to be. Under Sylvanas’ command, the Forsaken joined the Horde and later helped bring about the Lich King’s fall in the frozen wastes of Northrend.

Yet many challenges still lay ahead for Sylvanas. After an uprising within her ranks that killed other members of the Horde, the banshee queen is now mistrusted by many of her allies. Most recently, Sylvanas began fortifying her territory within the Tirisfal Glades in order to establish a proper kingdom for her followers. While Sylvanas maintains that her loyalty to the Horde is undiminished, some of the faction’s members are uncertain about her true intentions.