Ada: Months later he comes home. Church bells ring across Capital City, crowds line the avenues, and they shower the returning hero in red rose petals. The golden prince, victorious at last.45
Theo: That's the homecoming everyone wanted to believe in.
Ada: That's exactly the tale the bellringers were telling. But watch the petal. One drifts down, Arthas catches it in his gauntlet, and it rots black in his hand. He walks into the throne room a death knight.25
Theo: And his father has no idea.
Ada: King Terenas rises and says, ah, my son, I knew you would be victorious. Arthas says, you no longer need to bear the weight of your crown, I've taken care of everything. Then he draws Frostmourne, pulls his father onto it, and whispers, succeeding you, Father.45
Theo: The crown rolls down the steps.
Ada: Down the throne steps, blood on the stone. And that one act ends a thousand-year kingdom. From there he carves through the elves of Quel'Thalas, turns the ranger Sylvanas into the first banshee, and corrupts their sacred well to raise Kel'Thuzad as a lich.23
Theo: Is there anything left of the boy from the blizzard in there?
Ada: That's the last argument. The game says Frostmourne stole his soul outright. But Christie Golden's novel shows him inside his own mind, consciously choosing to murder his own conscience.47
Theo: So either the sword killed Arthas, or Arthas did.
Ada: And it ends on the roof of the world. Arthas climbs the frozen spire, shatters the ice around the old helm of the Lich King, sets it on his head, and says, now, we are one. The boy who swore he'd never let anyone suffer becomes the thing that makes everyone suffer.23
Theo: The oath and the monster were the same oath the whole time.
Ada: That's why it still lands. Every atrocity felt, to him, like keeping his promise. And by the way, Anon, you can stop any of our episodes and ask us anything, mid-blizzard if you like.
Theo: This was Historai, where history answers back.