In the face of absolute power, all objections were futile. Arthas's return to Lordaeron proved that perfectly.
The Old Nobles had pinned their hopes on the prince's return, believing they could negotiate with him using the resources they held and regain their former status and authority.
But Arthas no longer possessed his former mercy. He gave the nobles of the Royal Court two choices: swear allegiance or die.
A bunch of old nobles scared witless by Rowan, who knew nothing but groveling and compromise-what right did they have to bargain with me?
Having resolved his financial troubles, Arthas turned his attention to royal authority.
After King Terenas retired, Arthas swiftly took control of the royal family's power.
Faced with the Mawforged Burning Legion, every official in the Royal Court kept silent, not daring to object.
With the throne within easy reach, Arthas clearly no longer had the patience he once possessed.
The few stubborn old men who refused to obey were executed on the spot.
To make an example of them, Arthas cast the souls of those obstinate dissenters into the dark, agonizing River of Souls, letting them undergo the baptism of the Maw.
By then, the Jailer, Zodick, had already severed the connection between the Realm of the Living and the Shadowlands.
Caught completely unprepared, the Arbiter of Oribos had been corrupted by the power of the Maw and fallen into a deep slumber.
Meanwhile, Zodick used the anima he had plundered by exploiting the anima drought in the Shadowlands to widen the passage to the Maw. As a result, the first stop in the Shadowlands for countless souls who died in the living world was the Maw.
The Maw was no longer a place where sinful souls were punished. It had become a land of death that held