Helm of Domination

For the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj helmet, see [Helm of Domination].

Sylvanas holding the Helm of Domination.

The Helm of Domination^[1]^[2] (also referred to as a crown)^[3] was a magical, ornate^[4] helm used to control the Scourge. It was in the Lich King's possession until its destruction by Sylvanas Windrunner.

History

The Helm of Domination and the runeblade Frostmourne were crafted at the Runecarver's Oubliette in Torghast by the Runecarver, who was forced against his will to do so by the Jailer as part of the Jailer's plans.^[5]

It was obtained by Kil'jaeden and the dreadlords of the Burning Legion^[6]^[7] who used it to contain the spirit of Ner'zhul and make him the Lich King. The helm, and Ner'zhul's spirit, were both sealed within the Frozen Throne from which the Lich King would control the Scourge telepathically.^[8] Frostmourne was originally also sealed inside the Frozen Throne,^[9] but Ner'zhul cast it from the throne so that it would eventually find its way to Arthas.

When Illidan Stormrage attempted to destroy the Frozen Throne and the Lich King at the order of Kil'jaeden, Ner'zhul used the helm's powers to command Arthas—having become Ner'zhul's greatest death knight after taking up Frostmourne—to journey from Lordaeron to aid him.^[10] After Arthas defeated Illidan, Ner'zhul also had Arthas himself shatter the Frozen Throne in order to free Ner'zhul from his prison. Arthas would then don the helm, merging his soul with Ner'zhul's spirit and become the new Lich King.^[11]^[4]^[12]

Years later when Arthas was killed at the end of the War against the Lich King the helm was passed to Bolvar Fordragon who became the new Lich King in order to prevent the Scourge from running rampant.^[13] Following the Fourth War yet a few years later, Sylvanas Windrunner ventured to Icecrown Citadel after having abandoned the Horde and fought against Bolvar atop the Frozen Throne. While the helm made Bolvar immensely powerful, Sylvanas still managed to defeat him and seized the helm after winning the battle. Assuming she intended to become the Scourge's new master, Bolvar remarked that the helm's power would be her prison, however, Sylvanas countered that the world itself was a prison and split the helm in two, thereby piercing the veil between Azeroth and the Shadowlands.^[14]

The shards of the Helm were used to enter the Shadowlands and pursue Sylvanas,^[15] to tether Oribos with Azeroth,.^[16] as well as to peer into the Maw.^[17]

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

As long as the Lich King is alive, any creature donning the helm is slain immediately by a surging overflow of power. Only divine beings are not slain, but they still cannot command its powers if the Lich King is alive.^[11]

The Plate of the Damned, which is described in the Manual of Monsters to be combined with the Helm of Domination, makes the wearer nearly invulnerable.^[11]

In the TCG

This section contains information from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game and is considered non-canon.

Angrathar the Wrathgate is crafted to look like the Helm of Domination.^[18]

Notes and trivia

While the name originated from the non-canon RPG, Loreology confirmed that the name was canonical.^[19] The name was officially used for the first time in patch 7.2.0.
The helm can be seen in the Caverns of Frost in Diablo III.
It was originally stated that the Helm of Domination and Frostmourne were crafted by the dreadlords, before Shadowlands retconned this with the origin being the Runecarver instead.