The Corruption of the Horde

Kil’jaeden manipulated Ner’zhul into turning the orc clans against the draenei. When the shaman questioned the deception, Gul’dan became the willing instrument of the Legion’s plans. Under his influence, warlocks and the Shadow Council redirected the clans’ power toward conquest.

The blood of Mannoroth bound those who drank it to demonic corruption. The slaughter of the draenei and the ruin spreading through Draenor transformed the Horde’s future. Azeroth would encounter the resulting invasion through the Dark Portal, but the catastrophe that made that army began on the other side.

The Dark Portal Opens

Medivh, carrying the hidden influence of Sargeras, made contact with Gul’dan. The warlock’s people had exhausted their own world through conquest and corruption; Azeroth offered new lands and enemies.

Their work opened the Dark Portal, joining Draenor to Azeroth. What appeared to the defenders as an invasion from outside also depended on a betrayal within their own world. The Guardian entrusted with protection had helped create the road for the attack.

Stone Broken, Rift Remaining

The Alliance’s victory carried the grief of Lothar’s death with it. Pursuing the defeated Horde led the army toward the Dark Portal, the structure that had made the invasion possible.

Khadgar used his magic to destroy it. The visible gateway collapsed, and the campaign could appear to have reached its conclusion. Yet destroying the frame had not severed the connection between the two worlds.

That surviving rift made vigilance necessary. Nethergarde Keep was established to watch the site, but the quiet that followed was not proof that Draenor could never reach Azeroth again.

Three Relics for Another World

Ner’zhul sought a future beyond a ruined Draenor. His forces reopened the Dark Portal with the Skull of Gul’dan, then entered Azeroth to obtain tools for a different set of gateways.

The targets were the Book of Medivh, the Eye of Dalaran and the Jeweled Scepter of Sargeras. Together with a coming celestial alignment, they offered the means to reach other worlds.

The Alliance learned that the raids were preparations for further invasions. Khadgar joined the expedition through the portal to stop the plan at its source. The defenders of Azeroth were now advancing into the homeland of the enemy.

The Shattering of Draenor

Khadgar and the expedition reached Ner’zhul too late to prevent the ritual. The Book of Medivh, Eye of Dalaran and Jeweled Scepter had served their purpose. Portals opened across Draenor, but their instability began tearing the world apart.

Ner’zhul escaped through a rift, abandoning those behind him. Khadgar recovered the book and used its knowledge with the Skull of Gul’dan to close the Dark Portal. The expedition stayed beyond it so the catastrophe would not spread into Azeroth.

The survivors endured the upheaval and returned to a shattered landscape: Outland. Their sacrifice had protected their home while cutting them off from it. On Azeroth, those who did not know they had survived remembered the missing expedition as heroes lost beyond the gate.