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For strategy on the Throne of Thunder encounter, see Lei Shen (tactics).
For the Terrace of Endless Spring boss, see Lei Shi.
NeutralEmperor Lei Shen
Image of Emperor Lei Shen
Title Emperor of the Mogu, Thunder King
Race Mogu (Humanoid)
Affiliation(s) The First Dynasty
Occupation First Emperor of the Mogu
Location Throne of Thunder, Isle of Thunder
Status

Killable Mists of Pandaria

Deceased (lore)
"Pandaria, her hills of gold, in dark and mournful times of old, did once a hopeless horror hold. When from her sacred vale did spring, with storm and flash, a monstrous thing, his name, Lei Shen, the Thunder King."
Lorewalker Cho

Emperor Lei Shen, pronounced (LAY-shen), also known as the Thunder King, was the first emperor of the mogu. After stealing the power of storms from the titanic watcher Ra-den, Lei Shen united the mogu clans into the first great Mogu Empire. Able to defeat even an August Celestial in combat, none were able to stop his goals of unifying Pandaria. During his rule, Lei Shen made several significant changes and contributions to Pandaria. The construction of the Serpent's Spine, the barrier separating the dreaded Mantid from the rest of Pandaria's races, is often cited as his greatest achievement.

Recently, the Thunder King was resurrected by the mogu's Zandalari allies and attempted to unify the mogu once again, serving as the main antagonist in Patch 5.2. However, the combined Shado-Pan, Alliance, and Horde assault on the Isle of Thunder put an end to Lei Shen's rule once and for all.

Background

Young Lei Shen was born the son of a warlord during the terrible Age of a Hundred Kings. Like his brothers, he was strong of arm and fluent in the ways of war. But unlike others of his generation, he spoke of more than conquest. The legends of his forefathers were etched into his heart. Once Lei Shen had come of age and commanded his own legions, he announced his intent to awaken the gods. Only his most loyal of followers accompanied him where no mogu had dared tread: into the very heart of the Thundering Mountain, the sacred home of the one the mogu had called their master.[1] What he found was illuminating: the titanic watcher Ra-den, who stood guard over a powerful titan device, the Engine of Nalak'sha. Lei Shen claimed dominion over both.[2] It is said that he tore out the very heart of the mogu god. And from that hateful act, he gained power over wind and storm.

His followers fell to their knees before him. "We will call you 'The Lightning King'", they said. But Lei Shen did not agree. "Lightning strikes in an instant and is over in a flash," he said. "But thunder. Thunder! Thunder proclaims the coming of the storm. Thunder quakes the skies long before the lightning strikes, and thunder echoes in the hills long after lightning's power is spent. It is thunder that sends animals cowering and fills the hearts of peasants with dread. Let thunder be my herald, so that my power is felt throughout the land. I will be... The Thunder King."[3] He declared the Thundering Mountain to be his seat of power and atop its summit he built a majestic and forbidden city.[4]

Rise to Power

Armed with the power of storms, Lei Shen, now known as the Thunder King, gathered together his followers and rose to power "the mogu way", eliminating his rivals one by one.[5] Most did not submit to his authority: the lucky ones were vaporized by lightning or trampled by his growing legions. The others were dragged off in chains until he deemed them "broken". But many mogu saw in Lei Shen the unity of purpose that had been lacking in the generations since their masters had fallen silent. They flocked around the Thunder King's banner and eagerly did his bidding as he enslaved the other races, believing - as Lei Shen did - that the "lesser" races should serve the mogu, just as the mogu had once served their masters.[6]

Reign of the Thunder King

After his rise to power, he built the Mogu'shan Vaults to contain and protect his secrets, and converted the surrounding structure into a sort of shrine dedicated to the mogu empire. The complex houses many of the empire's lost artifacts and is the resting place of the spirits of old mogu kings.[5]

Emperor Lei Shen unified the language, established a single currency and standardized weight and measures.[6] He also created the first code of laws, written in the unified language. The first rule was that sedition, insurrection and rebellion be punished by public evisceration.[7] The Thunder King saw great potential in the pandaren, and for this reason he did not trust them. After he conquered the land, the pandaren were forbidden to learn to read or write. Their leaders and philosophers were executed and all pandaren art and literature was burned.[8]

When the Thunder King needed slaves to build the cities and fortresses of his empire, he marched on Kun-Lai Summit. Faced with a defiant populace, Lei Shen made a declaration: if a warrior could best him in one on one combat, he would depart and leave those lands in peace. If he won, however, the people of those lands would submit to his rule. The Thunder King's challenge was accepted by Xuen, the White Tiger, who had seen the plight of the free peoples and could bear it no more. The legendary figures fought for thirty days and thirty nights as lightning fell from the skies and the ground rumbled with their fury. In the end, Xuen fell to Lei Shen's unearthly power. "Your peasant magic is no match for my sorcery, fool of a tiger," Lei Shen bellowed. "I commend your tenacity, but your defiance must be punished." To the people of Kun-Lai, the Thunder King proclaimed: "Know this, those who would defy me shall witness the full power of my wrath! This creature shall not know the mercy of death. In these mountains we shall build a prison for him to stand upon for all of time. From this pinnacle, he shall watch and bask in his failure, as you and your children shall serve my empire as slaves."[9]

As he began to unify his people under a single banner and subjugate the other races of Pandaria, Lei Shen knew that the mantid, with all their strength, would never bow to his authority. He commanded his slaves to construct the Serpent's Spine, a magnificent wall that spanned the length of the empire. It took many generations to be build, but Lei Shen knew that fear would to motivate his subjects, the fear of the mantid moved mountains, raised armies, secured his empire, and built his wall.[10]

Every soldier of his army wore a jade badge with the symbol of a crown and crossed lightning bolts.[11] The elite warriors formed a group called the Emperor's Shield.[12]

Lei Shen forged an alliance between the mogu and Zandalar tribe of trolls, and this alliance would last millennia, long after Lei Shen had passed on.

Death

Tomb of Elements - Thunder King

The Tomb of Emperor Lei Shen.

Lei Shen eventually died of old age.[13]

According to a Pandaren legend, told by Loh-Ki, Lei Shen died after a great battle in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, in which the mogu armies were overcome by brave monks. In his final moments, Lei Shen summoned an otherwordly storm that blanketed the vale for several days. The storm washed the blood of the fallen into Whitepetal Lake, which burned crimson and gave rise to Alani the Stormborn.[14] Loh-Ki's story cannot be entirely accurate, as other mogu emperors were known to have ruled after Lei Shen but before the Pandaren revolution.

Resurrection

Recently, the Zandalari along with the allied troll tribes rekindled with the mogu and found Emperor Lei Shen's body buried inside the Tomb of Conquerors in Valley of Emperors along with his army. The trolls have taken the body to the Isle of Reckoning and the Thunder King was resurrected by Prophet Khar'zul.

Throne of Thunder

In patch 5.2.0, the Thunder King returned to his island stronghold. He gathered most of the mogu clans and the Zandalari to his throne, forming a ruthless army capable of crushing Pandaria. He quickly encountered opposition, however, from the Shado-Pan Assault, the Kirin Tor Offensive, and the Sunreaver Onslaught.

The Thunder King's legions were eventually defeated, and Lei Shen himself was slain at the Pinnacle of Storms. Jaina Proudmoore had what remained of his power drained into the Inv staff 14 [Staff of Antonidas], transforming it into the Inv staff 14 [Storm-Stave of Antonidas].[15] The Inv heart of the thunder king icon [Heart of the Thunder King] was brought to Wrathion, who wanted to know how and why the mogu came to be. Wrathion ultimately ate the heart to prevent Lei Shen from ever being resurrected again.[16] Without a central leader, the surviving mogu dispersed.

Equipment

Emperor Lei Shen wielded a spear, an axe and wore a helm into every battle. They were the finest works of Forgemaster Deng, who worked and personally oversaw the great Thunder Forge. The Forgemaster crafted and especially gifted the set to Lei Shen just before the master blacksmith's death.[17] His helm became so well-known that his enemies would flee at the mere sight of it, and his spear murdered thousands of innocents. It is said that he could throw his axe with brutal accuracy, and when it hit its target it made a sound like crashing thunder. When the emperor died, the mogu placed his helm in the very bottom of the Guo-Lai Halls, surrounded by thousands of terracotta soldiers. Thus, they could look upon their leader and follow him into death.[18][19][20]

Quotes

Main article: Lei Shen (tactics)#Quotes
  • "Today, a star leaves earth and ascends to the heavens."[17] (Said at the burial ceremony of Forgemaster Deng)

Gallery

Videos

Trivia

  • Lei Shen (雷神, Léishén) is a Chinese Taoist deity whose name means "Thunder God."
  • Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, seemingly inspired Lei Shen. He united the empire, unified the language, defined the laws, established a single currency and standardized weight and measurements. He outlawed books and killed scholars to ensure the stability of his reign. He also commissioned the Great Wall of China to protect his empire against intrusions.
  • Lei Shen is voiced by Paul Nakauchi.[21]

Patch changes

References

Preceded by:
None
Position:
Emperor of the Mogu
Succeeded by:
Dojan Firecrown
Preceded by:
Xin the Weaponmaster(as king)
Emperor Lao-Fe (as previous emperor)
Position:
Emperor of the Mogu
Succeeded by:
None
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