History Recap / DeathBattleS09E14SauronVSTheLichKing

* TheOlderImmortal: Sauron is this by far; Arthas has only been the Lich King for a few years while Sauron is aeons old. This is mentioned as being a significant factor, as Sauron has thousands of years of experience in both fighting and using magic over his opponant.

The first of the sorcerer kings to be examined is the titular Lord of the Rings, Sauron. Many eons ago, the universe was brought into being by the Supreme God Eru and his angel-like Ainur. However, one of these angels, Melkor, chose to rebel against his Creator, wreaking havoc across the world. Several of the lower-ranked angels, the Maiar, joined him and among their number, the one who would become the most feared and powerful, was the blacksmith Mairon who would later be renamed Sauron. A being dedicated to order, he joined the fallen Morgoth in a bid to bring his vision of a perfect world to fruition, regardless of how many lives needed to be destroyed. Serving Morgoth for millennia allowed Sauron to wield his vast array of god-like powers with impunity. More akin to a force of nature, he's capable of creating infernos and earthquakes, absorbing souls and even shapeshifting into anything from vampires and werewolves to a spiritual version of his corporeal body that can fight just as well as his physical self. His true greatest asset though, is his devilish intelligence and penchant for manipulation of both the mind and emotions. This intellect led him to abandoning his master when he realized that the armies of Middle-Earth would be able to topple the tyrannical Vala, allowing him to take his place centuries later as the new Dark Lord.

The first of the sorcerer kings to be examined is the titular Lord of the Rings, Sauron. Many eons ago, the universe was brought into being by the Supreme God Eru and his angel-like Ainur. However, one of these angels, Melkor, chose to rebel against his Creator, wreaking havoc across the world. Several of the lower-ranked angels, the Maiar, joined him and among their number, the one who would become the most feared and powerful, was the blacksmith Mairon who would later be renamed Sauron. A being dedicated to order, he joined the fallen Morgoth in a bid to bring his vision of a world of complete order to fruition, regardless of how many lives needed to be destroyed. Serving Morgoth for millennia allowed Sauron to wield his vast array of god-like powers with impunity. More akin to a force of nature, he's capable of creating infernos and earthquakes, absorbing souls and even shapeshifting into anything from vampires and werewolves to a spiritual version of his corporeal body that can fight just as well as his physical self. His true greatest asset though, is his devilish intelligence and penchant for manipulation of both the mind and emotions. This intellect led him to abandoning his master when he realized that the armies of Middle-Earth would be able to topple the tyrannical Vala, allowing him to take his place centuries later as the new Dark Lord.

From his seat of power within Mordor, Sauron concocted a new plan for conquest. He tricked the Elven blacksmiths into forging Rings of Power and distributing them to the leaders of the strongest races of Middle-Earth, all the while secretly crafting one of his own that could control the others: the One Ring to rule them all. Imbued with part of Sauron's soul and tempered by the fires of Mount Doom, the One Ring amplifies his already considerable power and allows him to control the bearers of the other Rings. This mental manipulation was so great, it even allowed him to dominate the minds of the Númenóreans, who numbered among the millions. This transgression finally invited divine intervention from Eru, who sank Númenor while Sauron was on it. Yet even the wrath of God was not enough to kill the Dark Lord who persisted in spirit before eventually reconstructing his body. Despite all of this immense power, creating the One Ring required much of Sauron's own essence and that power could be stolen away from him, as was the case when Isildur severed his finger and took the Ring for himself. If destroyed, Sauron himself could end up being crippled and unable to recover.

One ad from ''Bespoke Post'' later and the hosts journey from Middle-Earth to the World of Warcraft. On the orcish home world of Draenor, the shaman Ner'zhul's scheme to escape the demon Kil'jaedan failed and the orc was forced into service as the first Lich King. Turned into a disembodied spirit inhabiting a set of magical armor, Ner'zhul was sent to the world of Azeroth to raise an undead army and sow chaos. This Scourge would eventually come into contact with the Kingdom of Lordaeron and its prince, Arthas Menethil. A master with nearly all weapons, the prince was nonetheless unable to quell the undead and the mounting pressure from both the Scourge and the Horde drove him into a perfect position to be manipulated by Ner'zhul into becoming the leader of his undead. Tricked into claiming the cursed, soul stealing Runeblade, Frostmourne, the prince was transformed into a Death Knight and lead the Undead against the people he once wanted to save.

Eventually, the former hero would claim Ner'zhul's self-repairing Saronite armor for himself, truly becoming the Lich King in body, mind and soul. Now freed from his frozen imprisonment, the Lord of the Dead was free to unleash his cursed power on Azeroth personally. The Lich King's power is immense, able to summon ice storms, Shadow magic and even conjure the Eye of Acherus with its ability to discern secrets. His power is such that even the demon hunter Illidan, who could best the orc Gul'dan and claimed enough power to magically raise islands, could not defeat Arthas even when was a mere Death Knight. Now as the Lich King, his power far exceeded even that feat. Moreover, within the mind of the Lich King, Arthas had finally managed to silence and dominate Ner'zhul granting him sole control of the full might of Undeath.

Having finally shed the last remnants of his humanity, Arthas turned his attention to completing his destruction of all life on Azeroth. He led his Scourge and spread the Plague of Undeath throughout the world, killing many legendary heroes on both sides of war. It was only when a group of twenty-five unlikely adventurers banded together were they able to raid the Icecrown Citadel and put an end to the Lich King's reign by shattering Frostmourne with the equally legendary Ashbringer. Though Arthas was defeated, the Scourge cannot truly be stopped, only controlled by another willing to don the Helm of Domination. Arthas remains one of the greatest threats Azeroth has ever faced, with a reign darker and more horrific than any other could hope to achieve.

One ad from ''Bespoke Post'' later and the hosts journey from Middle-Earth to the World of Warcraft. On the orcish home world of Draenor, the shaman Ner'zhul's scheme to escape the demon Kil'jaedan failed and the orc was forced into service as the first Lich King. Turned into a disembodied spirit inhabiting a set of magical armor, Ner'zhul was sent to the world of Azeroth to raise an undead army and sow chaos. This Scourge would eventually come into contact with the Kingdom of Lordaeron and its prince, Arthas Menethil. A master with nearly all weapons, the prince was nonetheless unable to quell the undead and the mounting pressure from both the Scourge and the Horde drove him into a perfect position to be manipulated by Ner'zhul into becoming the leader of his undead. Tricked into claiming the cursed, soul stealing Runeblade, Frostmourne, transforming the prince into a Death Knight.

Eventually, the former hero would claim Ner'zhul's Saronite armor for himself, truly becoming the Lich King. Now freed from his frozen imprisonment, the Lord of the Dead was free to unleash his cursed power on Azeroth personally. The Lich King's power is immense, able to summon ice storms, Shadow magic and even conjure the Eye of Acherus with its ability to discern secrets.
''[This recap is a work in progress]''

Even still, the powers afforded by the One Ring, including invisibility and future sight, are invaluable and most would be hard-pressed to destroy it, especially when the Ring tempts its user with promises of its wearer's desires. Without the ring, Sauron is still nigh unstoppable, able to destroy armies, erupting volcanoes through sheer will and has complete control over his body and soul. Of course, his power is also far in excess of most other Maiar, including the island raising Ossë. Sauron's hunt for the One Ring saw him raise an orcish army to complete his quest for order. No army in the world could stop him and many had resigned themselves to certain doom. However, the Dark Lord ultimately overestimated the temptation of his Ring's absolute power and suffered the consequences when it was destroyed thanks to the efforts of Frodo Baggins. Though even with his downfall, the dark legacy of domination and fear left behind by the Lord of the Rings remains absolute.