Draenor Before the Horde

Before it became Outland, Draenor was a living world of orc clans and draenei settlements. The draenei had fled the Burning Legion, while the orcs preserved traditions centered on clan loyalties, ancestors, and the elements. Their shared world had not yet been reduced to a battlefield for a demonic campaign.

The relationship between these peoples provides the human scale of Rise of the Horde. Its tragedy begins before the portal to Azeroth: families, friendships, and inherited customs are gradually overtaken by a war whose purpose has been hidden from those expected to fight it.

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 Dragon and the Skull

Following the stolen relics forced the expedition to divide. Ner’zhul had handed the Skull of Gul’dan to Deathwing, separating it from the book the pursuers also needed. Khadgar, Turalyon and Alleria went after the dragon.

In the lands that would become part of Outland, the dragon’s brood had enemies of its own. The expedition found an opportunity in that conflict. Khadgar could not simply overpower Deathwing, but he could interfere with the armor holding the dragon’s damaged body together.

The resulting pain forced Deathwing to retreat and left the skull behind. Possessing it brought temptation as well as a practical advantage. Khadgar rejected its offer of power and returned to the urgent work of stopping the portals.

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.

An Alliance Broken

Fighting beside the remnants of Lordaeron’s army did not give Kael’thas secure allies. Garithos distrusted the elves and left them facing the undead with inadequate support. When Vashj offered help, refusing her meant risking the soldiers he was trying to keep alive.

Accepting naga assistance became the charge used against him. Garithos imprisoned the prince and his followers in Dalaran and condemned them. Vashj returned to free them and offered a different prospect: Illidan might have an answer to their hunger for magic.

Kael’thas followed her into Outland. His new allegiance grew from that escape, but it did not remove his dependence. The promised cure was instead a way of finding more magic to consume, binding the prince’s hopes to another ruler’s power.

The Enemy of My Enemy

Outland offered Illidan distance from Azeroth, but not safety. Maiev captured him there before Vashj and Kael’thas intervened. The blood elf prince pledged his people’s service in exchange for help with their hunger for magic.

The shattered world already had a ruler. Magtheridon drew demonic reinforcements through portals and held Black Temple. Illidan’s forces closed those routes and joined Akama, whose people wanted the sanctuary taken back from its occupier. Together they defeated the pit lord.

Illidan claimed the victory as lordship over Outland. Akama would discover that removing Magtheridon had not restored his people’s freedom. Nor had conquest concealed Illidan from Kil’jaeden: the demon lord found him and demanded another attempt against the Frozen Throne.