The Blood Prince Council is a group of 3 of the strongest members of the San’layn, brought back by the Lich King to serve him once again.

Valanar, along with his brother Keleseth and Prince Taldaram from Ahn’kahet, have returned in Icecrown Citadel as members of the Blood Prince Council. The three princes were raised in undeath by the Lich King to avenge themselves upon their slayers and to act as bodyguards for Blood-Queen Lana’thel, the blood-queen of the San’layn. His line “Naxxanar was merely a setback!” is a tribute to the oft-paraphrased line delivered by Kael’thas in Magister’s Terrace.

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Blood-Queen Lana’thel is the leader of the San’layn, a sect of blood elves who were raised in undeath by the Lich King.

Following the destruction of their homeland, the determined blood elves began to regroup and rebuild. It was during this time that the battle-hardened warrior Lana’thel stumbled upon Quel’Delar, and soon afterward the greatest opportunity to use the blade presented itself: Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider raised an army and combined forces with Illidan Stormrage, who led them north to Icecrown on a mission to destroy the Lich King. Lana’thel readily followed her prince with one thought in mind — revenge against the Scourge — but only tragedy awaited her.

In the icy hills of Northrend, Arthas ultimately defeated Illidan and Kael’thas, and the expedition’s few survivors were scattered across the frozen wastes. One by one the Lich King sought out those who had challenged him, and Lana’thel found herself cornered. Using Quel’Delar, she struck at him with all her might… but Frostmourne’s evil powers overwhelmed her. Through his blade, the Lich King chose Lana’thel to serve him in undeath as blood-queen of the San’layn, a group responsible for overseeing the Scourge’s operations across Azeroth.

Blood-Queen Lana’thel eagerly carried out her new duties, but every time she looked at her blade, maddening anger would swell within her as she remembered her former life. She could not afford such distractions, and with a scream that echoed throughout Icecrown, she shattered Quel’Delar and flung the fractured pieces as far as she could.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESHpu5aoxfs&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

She now resides in the Crimson Halls of Icecrown Citadel and is the second boss of the wing.

The majority of the fight is spent in the land phase 1, interrupted occasionally by healing intensive phase 2. During the land phase, you will want a few things kept in check. Two tanks will have to swamp on the boss, so they don’t get overwhelmed by the bleed from Delirious Slash. The tanks will also have to be close to each other – the OT needs to be the closest player to the MT, so they soak the damage transferred through Blood Mirror. Other players will want to be relatively spread out (at 6-10 yards range), but still close enough to be able to run to each other quickly when Pact of the Darkfallen happens. Run out of the mandatory void zones Swarming Shadows, of course.

The trick to the fight is to not run out of people to bite as a vampire. Since Lana’thel will bite a player every 20-30 seconds or so, and those players will need to bite somebody after a minute, you may find yourself running out of people very soon. Do not risk and wait to bite another player though, as a single person gone frenzy can and will wipe the raid. Keep in mind, biting requires melee range with the target.

Phase 2 lasts only a few seconds and is preceded by the spawning of a few Blood Whirls throughout the room. Make note of them and spread out so you are at least 6 yards away from each other. Healers will have to heal through the high damage the raids will take, and then phase 1 will re-start.

Tags: Arthas, Azeroth, blood elves, Blood-Queen Lana'thel, boss, check, citadel, Crimson Hall, Don, Eck, Elf, fro, From, Frostmourne, Frozen, Halls, healer, healers, Icecrown, Icecrown Citadel, Illidan, Illidan Stormrage, Kael'thas, Kael'thas Sunstrider, King, Lana'thel, Lich, Lich King, Northrend, Orc, patch 3.3, Prince Kael'thas, Quel'Delar, raid, San'layn, Scourge, shadow, Storm, tank, tanks, Target, The Lich King, Time, two tanks, Undeath, warrior

Quel’Delar, the Sister Blade is a prismatic blade forged by the night elves and the five dragonflights along with its sibling, Quel’Serrar. Quel’Delar serves as an idol of opposition against the Scourge, and the elven factions of Dalaran would therefore like to see the blade play a pivotal role in the assault on Icecrown Citadel.

Coming Patch 3.3, players are able to embark on a mission to assemble the sword and either wield it themselves or trade it with their respective Dalaran faction for a weapon they can use. Doing so will reward the achievement  The Sword in the Skull.

After its creation, the sword was given to the quel’dorei and passed down from father to son until it was wielded by Thalorien Dawnseeker against the trolls and the Scourge. Thalorien eventually fell at the hands of Arthas’ lieutenants and the blade was susequently brought to Icecrown by Lana’thel, one of the followers of Kael’thas. Lana’thel originally intended Quel’Delar to be an instrument of vengeance, but after her own demise began to harbor hatred for the sword.

Now that the Ashen Verdict, alongside the Horde and the Alliance, are ready to march upon Icecrown Citadel, interest in the sword has been renewed. When Lana’thel defiles the sword at Quel’Delar’s Rest, the Silver Covenant and the Sunreavers immediately vow to return the blade to its former glory, so players are asked to reforge and cleanse the sword. The whole process takes players to distant places like the Halls of Reflection, the Sunwell and Dalaran.

The Quel’Delar Quest is part of the WOW 3.3 update that involves completing a 5 man instance, which from all reports will take you back into Sunwell, although it is not clear exactly how much work will be involved in Sunwell.  The Quel’Gelar Quest is set up as a chain quest which has at least 11 sub quests which include; The Battered Hilt, What The Dragons Know, The Sunreaver Plan, and several others.

This chain quest will feature separate versions and loot for both Alliance and Horde respectively.  Although, the loot rewards will be similar in stats, just have different names.  The overall point of this chain quest is to aquire the Quel’Delar blade by first finding its hilt and you retrieve the hilt from the Forge of Souls inside Icecrown Citadel.  Once you have the hilt you will head to Krasus’ Wyrmrest Temple and get your instructions that tell you the the blade you are searching for is infact is Quel’Delar.

This 3.3 quest chain will take you to Silver Enclave in Dalaran to to do some covert spying and steal Ancient Dragonforged Blades tome for Magister Hathorel.

You will eventually make your way to Quel’Delar’s Rest located outside the Coliseum to in order to find Myralion Sunblaze (Horde) or Caladis Brightspear (Alliance), that give you the quests to head to the Pit of Saron to reforge the sword.  One the sword is reforged, you will learn that it is possessed by the Lich King, and sends you to the Halls of Reflection.

Eventually you will need to travel to Sunwell to cleans the blade and return it to your appropriate faction Sunreavers, the Alliance version will most likely have you give it to the Argent Crusade.  This is a prime example of Blizzard taking a pro-active role with not only adding new content to the game but also encouraging players to revisit previous areas of the game that have in many cases become stale.

Tags: Achievement, Alliance, Ancient, Argent, Argent Crusade, Arthas, Ashen Verdict, Blizzard, Cleanse, crusade, Dalaran, dragon, Dragonflight, dragonflights, dragons, first, Forge of Souls, fro, From, Halls, Halls of Reflection, horde, Icecrown, Icecrown Citadel, instance, King, Lana'thel, Lich, Lich King, Lieutenant, loot, patch, patch 3.3, pit, Pit of Saron, Quel'Delar, Quel'Delar Quest, Quel'Serrar, Quel’Gelar Quest, Quest, rewards, Saron, Scourge, Souls, Sunwell, Sword, Thalorien Dawnseeker, The Ashen Verdict, The Battered Hilt, the Forge of Souls, The Halls of Reflection, The Sunreaver Plan, The Sword in the Skull, Troll, trolls, Vengeance, Weapon, What The Dragons Know, wow, wow 3.3, Wyrmrest, Wyrmrest Temple

Grand Entrance of the Citadel

After breaching the fortress, players will face a legion of undead guards directed to repel any invaders. Commanding the defenders is Lord Marrowgar, a monstrosity fused together from the bones of the undead. Supreme Overseer of the Cult of the Damned, Lady Deathwhisper is the next opponent. She bolsters the faith of her followers by promising them the opportunity to give eternal service in undeath.

As they continue their ascent, the Alliance and Horde heroes ultimately end up outside of the citadel where their hatred for one another erupts into a battle for dominance over the Rampart of Skulls. Players will join in battle alongside High Overlord Saurfang on the Orgrim’s Hammer gunship or Muradin Bronzebeard on The Skybreaker in a unique encounter. Each faction will protect its gunship and try to destroy the other one in a back-and-forth battle to see who is truly worthy of facing the Lich King.

The Lich King’s most powerful death knight then stands as the final obstacle for the heroes to enter the upper reaches of the citadel.

The Wings of Icecrown Citadel

After the heroes of the Alliance or Horde defeat the other faction on the gunships and wipe out the creatures near the entrance, players will venture into an area with three separate wings. Here they will face a multitude of terrors that must be vanquished in order to confront the Lich King.

In the Frostwing Halls players will battle alongside the Ashen Verdict and push into the lair of the deadly frost wyrm Sindragosa, who continues to strengthen her brood with the help of Ymirheim’s vrykul. Along the way, the heroes will stumble upon Valithria Dreamwalker, a captured green dragon whom the Scourge is using as a test subject for their own ends….

The Plagueworks contains the most twisted experiments ever produced by the Scourge. In this wing players will face two new forms of abomination in Festergut and Rotface, who currently protect their devious creator, Professor Putricide.

The Crimson Hall contains the leaders of the San’layn, undead blood elves who oversee the Scourge’s operations throughout Azeroth. The blood-princes Valanar, Keleseth, and Taldaram were raised into undeath by the Lich King to avenge themselves while protecting their blood-queen, Lana’thel.

The Frozen Throne

After clearing all three wings, players will ascend to the Frozen Throne, where the Lich King and his runeblade, Frostmourne, await to deliver them to their deaths….

Tags: Abomination, Alliance, Ashen Verdict, Azeroth, blood elves, citadel, Crimson Hall, Deadly, Death, death knight, dragon, Fall of the Lich King, Festergut, fro, From, Frost, Frost Wyrm, Frostmourne, Frostwing, Frostwing Halls, Frozen, Frozen Throne, gunship, Halls, High Overlord Saurfang, horde, Icecrown, Icecrown Citadel, Keleseth, King, Lana'thel, Lich, Lich King, Lich King's, Lord Marrowgar, Muradin Bronzebeard, Orgrim's Hammer, patch 3.3, Plagueworks, Professor Putricide, Putricide, Rotface, runeblade, San'layn, Saurfang, Scourge, Sindragosa, Skybreaker, Taldaram, The Ashen Verdict, The Frozen Throne, The Lich King, The Plagueworks, Undead, Undeath, Valanar, Valithria, Valithria Dreamwalker, vrykul, Wings, world of warcraft, wow 3.3, wyrm