Prelude to War

The humans of Stormwind lived in peace and prosperity on the continent of Azeroth for many
years. But that ended when the sorcerer Medivh - possessed by the Dark Titan Sargeras - opened
the dimensional gate that later became known as the Dark Portal. Through the Portal came
the Orcish Horde(corrupted by Sargeras' lieutenant Kil'Jaeden) seeking to exterminate the humans.
The Orcs overconfidently unleashed their first assault directly on Stormwind Keep, but failed to
defeat the Human defenders. This attack is considered the start of the First War.
Chronology

The Orcish Horde conquer the planet of Draenor.

 Orc clans begin fighting amongst themselves.
 The child sorcerer Medivh is born of a coupling between the court Conjurer and
a mysterious traveler.
 Llane is born to King Adamant Wrynn III and Lady Varia.
 Medivh falls into a coma, and his father dies.
 While unconscious, Medivh sends Gul'dan a vision of Azeroth and the vast resources it
contains.
 Medivh awakens from a six year coma on the same day that Llane becomes Prince of
Azeroth, and sometime thereafter begins work on the Dark Portal. The warlockson Draenor
find a small tear in the dimensional fabric and begin studying it, using this information to
unite the Orcish Horde once again.
 The Dark Portal is opened and the Horde begins their invasion.
 Initial battles do not go well for the Horde. Expecting an easy victory against a weak
opponent, the orcs rush to assault the fortress of Stormwind Keep, only to suffer a defeat
of catastrophic proportions. Few orcs survive the initial battle.
 The Age of Chaos begins with the First War and the death of King Adamant.
 The Horde is humiliated by the unexpected rout, and the clans swiftly descend into
turmoil. Chaos ensues, with factions blaming each other for the orcs' defeat.
 Gul'dan manipulates a ruthless dictator onto the throne of the Warchief. Known
as Blackhand the Destroyer, the new Warchief rallies the clans back together again and
prepares them for a new assault on Azeroth. The orcs begin raiding activities against
outlying human settlements near the Black Morass.
 Medivh sends Gul'dan another vision, teasing him with images of the Tomb of Sargeras and
the power it contains.
 The orcs bring reinforcements surging into Azeroth, decimating towns and villages and
plundering everything in their path. The towns of Grand Hamlet and Sunnygladeare
destroyed.
 Lord Anduin Lothar realizes Medivh's betrayal. He leads a small band of warriors to
Medivh’s tower and confrontsthe wizard. Lothar and Khadgar slay Medivh, but Sargeras'
spirit escapes.
 While searching the mind of Medivh for the true location of the Tomb of Sargeras, Gul'dan
falls in a coma during the death of the Grand Magus, leaving Blackhand and the Shadow
Council helpless.
 Blackhand the Destroyer is betrayed and slain by Orgrim Doomhammer, a trusted general
and close friend. Doomhammer replaces Blackhand as Warchief of the Horde.
 Northshire, Goldshire, and Moonbrook are destroyed.
 Stormwind Keep falls before the full might of the Horde and is sacked. During the
battle, King Llane is slain by one of Gul'dan's assassins, the half-orc Garona.
 Durotan, chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, and his mate Draka seek an audience with
Doomhammer and tell him that Gul'dan seeks to betray the Horde. On their return trip,
they are ambushed and slain by orcs loyal to Gul'dan. The assassins leave Durotan's infant
 son for dead, but the young orc is quickly discovered and saved by a band of humans under
the command of Aedelas Blackmoore. The infant is taken as a slave and given the
name Thrall.
 Spies loyal to Orgrim Doomhammer capture and torture Garona. In agony, she reveals the
existence of the Shadow Council and directs them to the location of Gul'dan's warlocks
near the ruins of Stormwind Keep.
 Doomhammer dispatches his elite wolfriders to the ruins. They slay or execute most of
Gul'dan’s warlocks and disperse the remaining members of the Shadow Council. Gul'dan
awakens from his coma and pleads for mercy from Doomhammer, offering complete
submission. Doomhammer accepts and grants him mercy.
 Lord Anduin Lothar concedes that the Kingdom of Azeroth has been lost. He rallies his
countrymen and leads them in a desperate retreat north on the Great Sea, eventually
landing upon the shores of Lordaeron.
 The Warlocks resume their experiments with the dark por

The First War

Early stages

King Llane dispatched Sir Anduin Lothar to uncover what these new creatures were. Lothar led a
small force of knights to scout the Black Morass, resulting in the Knights of Stormwind clashing with
orcs for the first time in a series of bloody skirmishes. Lothar and his men scored a number of small
victories, yet for every orcs killed two more seemed to take its place. The humans were more
outnumbered in each subsequent battle, and Lothar was eventually forced to pull back without
venturing deep enough into the heavily guarded Black Morass to find the Dark Portal. Lothar
informed King Llane the invaders were bringing in reinforcements from somewhere, and the
kingdom readied itself for a full-scale war. Elsewhere, the orcs reported to Warchief Blackhand that
the region's humans were now aware of their presence. Preparations and scounting ceased, and the
First War had began in earnest.[48]
Lothar and his soldiers soon crossed paths with the Guardian Medivh and his apprentice Khadgar on
a scouting mission to the Black Morass. He had encouraged his friend to rejoin Stormwind's defense,
though understood that Medivh struggled with the power he unleashed on the Gurubashi years ago.
The Guardian played along and feigned a fear of tapping into unwieldy magical powers, though his
true intention was to buy time for the Horde to gain power. Lothar also spoke with Khadgar, telling
him about Medivh's troubled past and asking him to act as a caretaker in addition to an apprentice.
Medivh became more erratic afterward, disappearing for days at a time and being exhausted when
he finally returned.[52]
Warchief Blackhand ordered raiding parties to cut deep into Stormwind's lands to drive panic into
the human populace. Entire villagers in Brightwood, Westfall, and the southern Redridge
Mountains fell, their inhabitants either killed or forced to flee. By the time Stormwind's patrols rode
to defend the villages, the Horde was already gone. They were an enemy unlike any the humans had
ever faced.[53]
King Llane had named Lothar the "King's Champion", the highest military rank in the kingdom.
Deciding to use the orcs' mobility against them, Lothar studied the pattern of targets the Horde
would strike and set up ambushes along their paths of retreat. A loyal knight named Gavinrad the
Dire was given command of large numbers of troops by Lothar. In some cases, small units of human
knights were able to bring down entire orc raiding parties without any casualties. The orcs soon
realized the humans were unlike any enemy they had ever faced as well.[53]
Messengers were dispatched by King Llane to the other human kingdoms, warning of mysterious,
fearsome green-skinned invaders. However, no help was received as the reports were not believed.
Lordaeron was considered the most likely nation to help. However, Deathwing disguised as a visiting
Stormwind noble openly mocked King Llane and claimed the threat was actually a rebellion of
disgruntled citizens, causing Lordaeron to only politely wish Llane luck with his troubles. In the past,
Stormwind had prided itself on standing alone and developed a policy of isolationism in recent
decades, which many other nations saw as arrogant and likely influenced their passiveness.[53]

Other forces
While most of the Horde attacks were focused on Stormwind forces, Chieftain Kilrogg Deadeye and
his Bleeding Hollow clan led a few raiding parties into the western jungles of Stranglethorn Vale, as
the region reminded them of their ancestral home and they had aims of claiming it for themselves.
However, the Gurubashi jungle trolls who dwelled in the jungles united to fight back against this new
threat and began a guerrilla campaign against the orcs. The fighting between the two groups was
unspeakably vicious. While the Bleeding Hollow seemed to outnumber the Gurubashi in every
skirmish, they were still at a severe disadvantage against the trolls' knowledge of the region. The
Gurubashi were willing to give up vast swathes of jungle to draw the orcs deeper into their territory,
only to then launch bloody ambushes from all directions, resulting in horrific losses for the Bleeding
Hollow. When Blackhand learned how many orcs were dying in Stranglethorn for no apparent gain,
he ordered the Bleeding Hollow to retreat and join the fight against the humans. The Horde would
deal with the trolls later.[54]
The clerics from the Brotherhood of Northshire risked their lives to heal soldiers wounded in combat.
In the past the clerics were known to heal gnolls and trolls, which had granted them safety on the
battlefield in some cases. This was not the case with the orcs, who ruthlessly targetted every cleric
they found after learning of their abilities. Many clerics died without armor or weapons, but they
never hesitated from joining battle, making their bravery legendary among Stormwind's forces.[55]
As the war unfolded, the Twilight's Hammer clan became a source of irritation for Warchief
Blackhand. The clan's members were known to disobey orders, and too many wandered off never to
be seen again. Blackhand considered destroying the clan to make an example of them, but the ogre
mage Cho'gall, who had been acting as the Twilight's Hammer's de factoleader, offered to become
the clan's official leader and keep it in line, which Blachand allowed. The clan's disciplinary problems
ended almost overnight and they became obedient and effective soldiers, to the pleasant surprise of
Blackhand. Cho'gall had understood the clan and their beliefs. A clan attuned to the dark energies,
they had been hearing the Old Godswhispers louder and clearer after arriving in Azeroth. Cho'gall
told the clan the Hour of Twilight was near and depended on the Horde's success. Until then, the clan
had to keep up appearances with Warchief Blackhand while obeying their true masters in secret.[56]

The first siege of Stormwind Keep

Three years after the Dark Portal had been opened, the orcish raids on the countryside had razed
farms, towns, villages, forges, and trade houses, causing ruin to Stormwind's economy. Even more
dire, many sources of food supply had been destroyed or fallen into the Horde's control,
threatening Stormwind City with running out of supplies in a few months. With this knowledge in
mind, Warchief Blackhand decided to bring the Horde north to conquer Redridge Mountains and
from there launch an attack on Stormwind City. The Horde marched on the foothills of Redridge with
little resistance and believed the humans would not attack before they reached Stormwind City,
which was exactly what Commander Anduin Lothar wanted them to think.[57]
An orc raiding party led by Blackhand went into the mountains hoping to claim Lakeshire. However,
Lothar and his knightssuddenly charged down the slopes without warning and surrounded the orcs in
a spectacular ambush. The Horde raiders fought hard but almost all of them were slain. Lothar
himself had almost killed Blackhand, but the two Shadow Council warlocksaccompanying Blackhand
had turned the tide of battle with their fel fire and forced Lothar to withdraw. Blackhand was
humiliated by his brush with death and blamed the Shadow Council for not sensing the ambush. He
personally executed the two warlocks that saved his life for incompetence, which angered Gul'dan as
they were his subordinates and limited in number. Weeks later, a larger force took Lakeshire and the
surrounding land.[58]
After Brightwood, Westfall, and the Redridge Mountains had fallen, the Horde marched onto
Stormwind City, the capital of the Kingdom of Stormwind. Thousands of Horde soldiers marched
through Elwynn Forest and encircled Stormwind, cutting off all access except for the sea. Blackhand
had ordered Kilrogg Deadeye and Cho'gall to lead their Bleeding Hollow and Twilight's Hammer clans
in the assault on Stormwind. To weaken the city's defenses, siege engines bombarded the city walls
through the night, and at dawn Kilrogg and Cho'gall launched their attack. While orcs charged the
battlements, warlocks engulfed Stormwind's soldiers in fel fire, resulting in staggering losses. As it
seemed Stormwind would fall that day, there were suddenly cries of an attack from the Horde's rear
lines. Lothar and the majority of Stormwind's knights had moved around the Horde by sea. The King's
Commander was now leading a charge through Elwynn Forest, catching the orcs in the rearguard
completely by surprise as the knights cut through their lines. As the Bleeding Hollow and Twilight's
Hammer tried to push back the knights, Stormwind's large gates opened and soldiers poured out of
the city to flank the orcs in a counterattack. Outflanked on both sides and suffering many casualties,
the orcs were left with no choice but to flee. This was the greatest disaster to ever happen to the
Horde. Blackhand was infuriated and barely stopped himself from executing Kilrogg and Cho'gall
because their clan members might revolt. The Horde withdrew to Redridge to devise a new
plan.[59] Lothar and King Llane had received information about the Horde's battle plans from Khadgar,
who had learned them from Garona, which helped prepare for the attack on Stormwind.[60]

The Orcish Horde marches north

After their initial assault on Stormwind Keep, the Orcish Horde now knew what to expect from the
human troops. Blackhandassigned Orgrim Doomhammer to oversee the construction of an outpost
in the Swamp of Sorrows. The task was simple enough, the orcs had to build at least six farms, so that
they could keep their troops well fed and ready to do battle, and a barracks; to protect the farms and
to create a strategic outpost, Kyross.[61] From the Swamp of Sorrows, Orgrim led his troops onward,
while crushing any opposition that they encountered.[62] His troops' first real opposition was Grand
Hamlet. With orders from Blackhand, Orgrim built a simple outpost nearby and prepared his troops
for battle. Orgrim's troops razed Grand Hamlet to the ground and left no survivors standing.[63]
One night a runner sent by Warchief Blackhand reported that Griselda, the Warchief's own daughter,
had run off with the outlaw Turok and his band of ogres. Wolfriders were assigned to track them
down; they were discovered to be hiding out in the dungeons below the Deadmines. By order of his
Warchief, Orgrim led a small group of warriors into the dungeons and eliminated Turok, his forces
and even Griselda.[64] On their return from the dungeon, Orgrim received word from advanced scouts
that the recently established outpost near the Redridge Mountains was under siege. A group of
raiders were dispatched to assist Orgrim's troops in taking back the outpost and crushing the human
opposition. After saving the outpost from destruction, Orgrim's troops were ordered to search the
area and seek out from whence the human troops came from. Once the location was found Orgrim
ordered the remainder of his troops to dispose of it. The encampment was completely destroyed and
the threat was put to an end for good.[65]
Wanting for his troops to learn how the humans' magic was created, Blackhand ordered Orgrim to
lead an army into the town known as Sunnyglade and ravage it, leaving intact the mage tower to
study its knowledge. The humans of the town were fat and lazy with their prosperity and their weak
human armies were easily smashed into pieces.[66]

The Kingdom retaliates

The kingdom of Stormwind sent emissaries to the orcs hoping to negotiate with them but if any
returned, they did so in pieces. The mages of Stormwind also asked Dalaran's Kirin Torfor help but
they thought the orcs little more than a local nuisance.[67]
As a test for his abilities, King Llane appointed the Defender of the Crown as Regent over a small
parcel of land; the Defender of the Crown changed the town into a farming center with six farms in
order to feed Stormwind's troops. A barracks was also constructed in the farming center, as spies
reported that there were orc patrols in the area. The few orc patrols in the vicinity were wiped
out.[68] Some time later, spies reported that the orcs around Grand Hamlet were amassing a large
army to march against the town. The King sent the Defender of the Crown along with a small
detachment of troops to rally the townspeople of Grand Hamlet and defend the town from any
attack. The Defender of the Crown was successful in rallying the townspeople and managed to save
Grand Hamlet from being overrun.[69]
With Grand Hamlet saved and Blackhand's raiding parties routed, the time to secure a lasting peace
in the area around Grand Hamlet arose. The Defender of the Crown sought out the outpost known
as Kyross, from whence the army against Grand Hamlet amassed. After building a small encampment
in the vicinity of the outpost to gather his troops, the Defender of the Crown led them into battle
against the outpost, managing to destroy it.[70]
By that time it had been some twenty months since Sir Anduin Lothar had led an expedition into
the Deadmines to search for the lost Tome of Divinity. They were never heard from again. However,
the King's Champion had recently appeared to the Abbot of Northshire Abbey in a vision - battered
and pleading for assistance. The King, having heard of the news, sent the Defender of the Crown
along with a detachment of warriors and healers into the mines in an attempt to find Sir Lothar and
his expedition crew, heal them and bring them back alive. Even though the mines were littered with
ogres, the Defender of the Crown along with his soldiers still managed to cut through the ogre's
ranks and finally managed to find the gravely wounded Sir Anduin Lothar along with some other
injured members of his expedition. The healers at the scene immediately healed Sir Lothar and soon
after he resumed his job as the King's Champion.[71]
After a period of time, the King assigned some of his knights to aid the Defender of the Crown so that
the latter's task of ridding Elwynn Forest from Blackhand's dark minions could be more readily
completed. They set up in an outpost near the south-east edge of the forest. It wasn't long before an
orc encampment filled with orc warriors was found and destroyed, thus earning the Kingdom of
Stormwind a strategic key to securing the Borderlands.[72] Later on, the King ordered the Defender of
the Crown to go defend Northshire Abbey; the monks living in the town were under siege by a band
of human warriors that had been convinced by enemy agents to fight against the crown. A platoon of
knights was once again put under the Defender of the Crown's army, whom with them managed to
successfully defend Northshire Abbey in time. With the Abbey secured, the Defender of the Crown
marched his army to the source of the attackers and laid waste to them.
With Sunnyglade completely overrun by the Orcish Horde, a group of scouts were sent into the
remnants of the city to scout out the place; they reported back that the survivors had been taken to
a hidden orcish compound to serve as slaves. Intelligence had also confirmed that all the slaves were
grouped together in a offsite location and that an enclosure had to be destroyed in order to make a
path for the prisoners from which they could escape from. The Defender of the Crown took a
detachment of warriors to the town and managed to crush all opposition, destroying the orcish
encampment in the process. With the peasants of Sunnyglade set free, the rebuilding of Sunnyglade
was commenced.

The final march towards Stormwind Keep

After the destruction of Sunnyglade, the orcs mastered the new found magic. With this power in
their hands, the time was ripe to burn the human occupation from the nearby lands. The Kingdom of
Stormwind held two outposts to the south of Orgrim's encampment. After a reconnaissance of the
area, orc scouts reported that the key to a victory for them in this confrontation would be to hold
back the human forces at their bridges while strengthening the orc's attack force to prepare for a
massive all-out attack. After all the troops were prepared, the attack commenced; the outposts were
laid to waste and all the human troops were slain.[75]
After tasting victory at the battle in northern Elwynn Forest, it was clear to Orgrim that one decisive
blow to the Kingdom of Stormwind would make the total and complete domination of the humans a
simple matter. His spies had gathered intelligence that pointed to an encampment near the center of
the Kingdom, a place where their knights and soldiers were sent to be trained. Since the humans
were not expecting an attack, it was a simple task. Orgrim's troops destroyed the entire place and
left no survivors, in the process greatly weakening the Kingdom's forces.[76]
The final march towards King Llane's home, Stormwind Keep, was at hand. Only two settlements
stood in the Orcish Horde's way. The hour of doom had arrived for the humans; Orgrim had ordered
the complete and utter destruction of the twin cities, Goldshireand Moonbrook, in order to sever the
lifeline between the King and his people. The orc troops, under the command of Orgrim, marched
onto the twin cities, and after a lengthy battle, razed them both to the ground. With this decisive
battle, the only stronghold that the Kingdom of Stormwind had left was the capital itself, Stormwind
City.[77]

The death of Medivh

Khadgar and Garona were the first to discover that Medivh aided in the bringing of the Orcish Horde
into Azeroth. To attempt to try and find out how the orcs entered Azeroth and from where the Dark
Portal came from, Garona requested that Khadgar summon a vision of the past
concerning Gul'dan and the Dark Portal; in the vision the two observed Gul'dan being given
instructions by someone who referred to himself as the Guardian, whom Khadgar and Garona knew
to be Medivh.[78]
After the horrifying discovery, Khadgar and Garona escaped from Karazhan to bring the disturbing
news to the King of Stormwind, King Llane, and to his Knight Champion, Anduin Lothar.[79] While
Lothar was quick to accept the news, the King had to take the matter into consideration. In the wee
hours of the morning, without alerting the King, Lothar awoke Garona and Khadgar and led them to
the top of one of Stormwind Keep's towers. There, waiting for the trio were a pack of gryphons (sent
by the dwarves) and a couple of other footmen under Lothar's commmand. As soon as the group
readied themselves, they took off to the tower of Karazhan. Lothar charged Gavinrad with
commanding Stormwind City's defenses in his absence.[80] After arriving in the tower, the group
couldn't fine any trace of the Magus and declared that he had escaped. However, before leaving the
tower, Garona managed to locate a hidden secret door leading into what seemed like an inverse
version of Karazhan. As the company started their descent into the inverse of Karazhan, a magic trap,
set by Medivh, was triggered and unleashed a group of demonic beasts onto the company. While
Lothar and his men held the beasts off, Khadgar and Garona continued their descent to find
Medivh.[81] Finally reaching the inverse observatory, the duo found Medivh.[82]
While the brace were confronting the Magus, Medivh confirmed to them that he truly
was Sargeras and that he had been planning this war for hundreds of years; to free his physical form
from his tomb so that he could destroy Azeroth and all of its inhabitants. While Medivh was still
talking, Garona attempted to stab him in the back but Medivh noticed her and cast a spell on her,
causing her to stagger backwards. With this move, the brace started their attempts in disposing the
Magus, but he proved to them that he was far too powerful for them to handle. Not long after their
brawl, the duo were on their knees, dazed and wounded, and the Magus was preparing to kill
Khadgar, but by a stroke of luck, the King's Champion, Lothar, appeared at the scene at this exact
moment and forced his old friend to do battle with him in order to buy the others some time. While
Lothar was keeping the Magus preoccupied, Khadgar managed to sneak around the room without
being noticed. Lothar, in the end, too proved to be no match for the Master Mage and before long he
too was wounded and dazed. With that being done the Magus returned to where Khadgar had been
kneeling to finish him off, but to Medivh's surprise he was not there; Khadgar was standing behind
Medivh with his sword pressed against Medivh's breast. At the first flinch from Medivh, Khadgar
lunged forward and drove his rune sword into Medivh's heart, mortally wounding him in the process;
with Medivh about to die, the Demon Lord Sargeras attempted to emerge from within the Magus to
avoid being 'destroyed' along with Medivh, but before he could release himself, Sir Lothar
decapitated Medivh's head, causing the titan to dissipate away and Medivh to die.[83] Medivh was the
first Guardian to be killed in combat in centuries.[80]
With Medivh's death, Gul'dan was comatosed due to entering Medivh's mind to search for
information at his time of death.[84] Orgrim saw this as an opportunity to take down Blackhand, and
so he marched to him and challenged him for supremacy of the Horde, a challenge which he won.[85]

The second siege of Stormwind Keep and the fall of the kingdom
The Orcish Horde was gathered like buzzards to carrion, as the moment of destiny was close at hand.
A low growl filled the air as the wolfriders whipped their savage mounts into a frenzy. The earth
shook as catapults were loaded and moved into position.[86] Under the mantle of Orgrim
Doomhammer, the various orcish clans began their siege on Stormwind Keep. The catapults let loose
their fiery rocks as the bulk of the main Horde marched towards the main gate, with the Blackrock
clan charging from the Eastern Wall. Within moments, Stormwind Keep was ablaze with shadows
dancing on the walls. While the militia were busy trying to put out the fires, Garona, under the
command of the Shadow Council, assassinated King Llane while delivering her report, which stated
that as long as a strong heart was on the throne, the mens' moral would not falter. With the
assassination of the king, the men lost their moral and Stormwind Keep fell under the might of the
Orcish Horde.[87

Aftermath

The aftermath of the war for the Orcish Horde

Orgrim, wanting to turn the Horde into an honorable force, tortured Garona into revealing whatever
secrets lied beneath the Horde. Her non-orc blood made her too weak to withstand much pain, and
she quickly revealed the Shadow Council and its location. Orgrim burst into their meeting and
slaughtered them on the spot, leaving only a couple of the warlocks, Cho'gall,
and Gul'danalive.[88][89] Soon after, Orgrim formed an alliance with Gul'dan[90] and preparations for
the Second War began.

The aftermath of the war for the Kingdom of Stormwind

Anduin Lothar had no other choice than to declare the war lost[91] and save what remained by
gathering the tattered remnants of the army and as many civilians as he could to lead them in a
desperate retreat across the Great Sea, toward the northern kingdom of Lordaeron to beseech aid
from King Terenas Menethil II.[92] Not all survivors could flee on time and the orcish
hunter Zigrisbecame infamous for tracking down Stormwind refugees and slaughtering them for
sport.
Following Lothar's impassioned speech in Lordaeron, Terenas called for an emergency council of war
to discuss the Orcish threat.[93] Terenas, through skilled political maneuvering, petitioned the support
of the human kingdoms of Stromgarde, Kul Tiras, Alterac, and Gilneas and also the city of Dalaran.
While most of the human nations banded together and pledged their support for this new
alliance, King Perenolde of Alterac and King Genn Greymane of Gilneas withheld their allegiance;
Perenolde because he feared the humans would be defeated by the orcs, and Greymane because he
felt that Gilneas was strong enough to stand on its own.[94] With this, preparations for the Second
War began.
Some time after the end of the war, the Stone of Remembrance, a monument located in Heroes'
Vigil in the center of Stone Cairn Lake, was erected to commemorate the humans who lost their lives
during the war.

Prelude to war
Following the events of the First War, the survivors of Stormwind led by Anduin Lothar made their
way through the Great Sea to the northern kingdom of Lordaeron to beseech aid from King Terenas
Menethil II. Following Lothar's impassioned speech, Terenas called for an emergency council of war
to discuss the Orcish threat. Meanwhile, the Orcish Horde pillaged Stormwind city and the
surrounding areas, effectively destroying all human holdings south of the Burning Steppes.
In the years between the defeat of the Kingdom of Azeroth and the outbreak of the Second War, it
can only be assumed that both the Horde and Alliance went through massive reformations and
began huge military build-ups in preparation for war.
King Terenas, through skilled political maneuvering, enlisted the support of the human kingdoms
of Gilneas, Stromgarde, Dalaran, Alterac, and Kul Tiras. They also managed to gain the allegiance of
the Bronzebeard Dwarves of Ironforge, the Wildhammer Dwarves of Aerie Peak, and
the Gnomes of Gnomeregan. Envoys led by King Terenas attempted to gain the allegiance of the High
Elves of Quel'Thalas, though initially they were uninterested in the coming conflict and sent merely a
pittance of their forces at first. However, after the Horde's destruction of a sacred Elven monolith at
Caer Darrow, the High Elves joined King Terenas's cause fully, pledging their rangers and navy to the
war. This resulted in the creation of the Old Alliance, the Alliance of Lordaeron.
In the last days of the First War, the leader of the Shadow Council, the Warlock Gul'dan fell into a
deep coma attempting to probe the mind of Medivh. Without the machinations of the Shadow
Council, the Horde fell prey to infighting. In a coup d'état led by Orgrim Doomhammer to end what
he saw as a corrupting influence over the Horde, the Shadow Council was destroyed as well as its
puppet Warchief, Blackhand the Destroyer. Doomhammer successfully took control of the remaining
Horde forces and began to bolster their devastated armies with orcs and ogres from beyond the Dark
Portal. With trolls, ogres and orcs fighting side by side, it was not long before the enterprising goblins
saw the potential profit in aiding them.[1] (HPG 169) The Horde gained support
from Goblinmachinists and mercenaries, and through use of the Demon Soul managed to enslave the
Red Dragon Alexstrasza and the majority of her brood. It is unknown what relationship the Horde had
with the Troll tribes of Stranglethorn Vale, however they did not join forces with the Horde and
stayed apart from the Second War. Upon awakening from his coma and finding himself without
allies, Gul'dan "swore" allegiance to Doomhammer and began creation of the first death knights in
the service of the Warchief. This was the beginning of the so-called Horde.
The Horde Offensive

Pre-war status: Red indicated Horde territory, blue for Alliance, and yellow for neutral nations.

The map of the Second War with the main battles and war paths

A gnomish combat engineer working to develop new battle machinery to be used by the Alliance,
Second War era.
In the 6th year after the fall of Stormwind, the Horde began their northern offensive against the
Alliance forces. The Horde simultaneously launched two primary assaults. The first was a land
offensive launched out of Blackrock Mountain which moved north to the Dwarf holdings in Khaz
Modan. The second was a naval assault launched from the ruins of Stormwind, which sailed north
taking the islands of Zul'dare, Tol Barad, and Crestfall and establishing them as primary naval bases.
From these launching points, the Horde landed troops along the coasts of the Wetlands, the Arathi
Highlands, and most importantly the southern coast of Lordaeron. Southern outposts such
as Southshore, Tarren Mill and Hillsbrad were assaulted, and the Horde squeezed a large amount of
troops into Lordaeron this way, assisted by the nation of Alterac who provided them with maps and
secret routes.
Soon after, Zul'Jin and some of his champions were discovered by Horde scouts in a makeshift prison
near Tarren Mill. Upon hearing the news, Doomhammer immediately ordered his release from the
40-man raid party that captured him. Now in Doomhammer's debt, Zul'Jin agreed to form a pact with
the orcish Horde: the plains and valleys of Lordaeron would belong to the Horde, while the trolls
would take back their ancestral forests from their mortal enemies, the high elves.
The Horde's land assault proceeded to lay waste to Loch Modan, pushing the outnumbered Dwarf
and Gnome forces into the city of Ironforge, who sealed themselves from the outside threat.
The Bleeding Hollow Clan attempted several raids on the mighty dwarven city, to no avail. For the
most part, Dwarves and Gnomes were cut off from the rest of the Alliance, save through air support.
Following the ravaging of Loch Modan, the Horde pushed farther north into the Wetlands, taking Dun
Algaz, Dun Modr, and Grim Batol and converting them into fortresses for the Horde. Grim Batol
became the primary base for the land offensive, and was also converted into a hatchery for the
enslaved red dragonflight. Thandol Span was a pivotal battleground in the Second War, constantly
shifting in possession between the two factions.
Finally, owing to a diversion of Lothar's main army at Aerie Peak, the Horde succeeded in penetrating
Quel'Thalas through the cliffs undetected. Together with the entirety of the Amani tribe under
Zul'Jin, Doomhammer's troops slashed and burned their way through the elven forests, and made it
as far as Eversong Woods before the Alliance reinforcements could arrive.

Brief counterattacks from the Alliance

Outraged at the attack on their borders, the Elves finally put forth their full strength in the war effort.
This included the deployment of Elven Destroyers south to the Hinterlands and to the shores of
Lordaeron. High Commander Anduin Lothar decided to split his army in order to out manuever the
Horde. He left half of his army, under command of his second in command, to destroy the Horde
threat in the Elven Forests, while Lothar's half would stay in the Hinterlands to destroy the large
number of Horde still remaining there. Lordaeron and Quel'Thalas managed to push back the
majority of Horde forces to the shores of Hillsbrad, but not before Gul'dan was able to acquire High
Elven runestones to use in his effort to create Ogre-magi for the war effort. With support from the
Elves, the Alliance was able to launch an attack on Zul'dare and end the invasion of Lordaeron.
Though Hillsbrad and Southshore were nearly obliterated, the Horde navies were driven back,
presumably to the shores of the Wetlands, Crestfall, and the ruins of Stormwind.
Following the victory in the north, the Alliance concentrated on pushing back the ground offensive
on the edge of the Arathi Highlands on the great bridges of the Thandol Span. The first step was a
bloody retaking of the Horde fortress on Tol Barad for use as a staging point for an invasion upon
Dun Modr, the primary base of support for the attacks upon the Thandol Span. With naval support
from Tol Barad, the Alliance ground forces were finally able to push across the Thandol Span and
reclaim Dun Modr. The Alliance continued to push south, taking the base at Dun Algaz. Though they
were unable to completely take the cursed fortress of Grim Batol, they effectively shattered the
armies of the Horde and causing them to retreat from Khaz Modan.
After the defeat of the Horde forces in Khaz Modan, a brief pause in open combat ensued. The Horde
attempted to gather more troops from the south, including the newly completed Death Knights. The
Alliance began to turn their sights northward to the remnants of the Horde forces in northern
Lordaeron, and to that end they sent Uther Lightbringer and his newly formed Knights of the Silver
Hand to lend aid to the victims of the war. However, a minor peasant riot in Tyr's Hand led to a
discovery of a plot from Lord Perenolde of Alterac, who was attempting to destroy the Alliance from
within. Learning of Alterac's plots, the Alliance forces obliterated the small, treacherous kingdom.

The Siege of Lordaeron

Alterac's betrayal had let the entire Horde army through to the walls of Lordaeron, and they began
sieging the capital. Troops from Stromgarde cut off all remaining Horde reinforcements in Alterac
and imprisoned Perenolde for his treason. The whole of the Alliance army converged on the Horde,
but were unable to defeat them at first.
Meanwhile, Gul'dan took the Stormreaver and Twilight's Hammer Clans to the location of the Tomb
of Sargeras in an attempt to raise the Tomb from the sea and claim the demonic powers for his own.
It was foolish of him to try however because both clans, including Gul'dan, were annihilated by the
demons inside. Meanwhile, Doomhammer withdrew his forces to pursue Gul'dan in order to keep
them from dishonoring the Horde. The Alliance jumped on this opportunity and proceeded to mop
up the horde's remaining standing troops in Lordaeron, who were in shambles and without air
support. The Stormreaver and Twilight's Hammer Clan were destroyed by Doomhammer's forces.
The mage Rhonin also led a small contingent of Alliance warriors and succeeded in destroying
the Demon Soul as well as its keeper, the warlock called Nekros. After being freed Alexstraza,
enraged, slaughtered many of the orcs that had enslaved her and her red dragonflight.

The Alliance Takeover

With the Horde forces thus weakened, the Alliance laid siege to the fortress of Blackrock. In order to
break the siege, Doomhammer and what followers he had left charged out of the Spire and attacked
Lord Lothar and his Paladins. After a titanic duel, Doomhammer narrowly managed to kill Lord
Lothar. Upon his death, Lothar's second-in-command, the Paladin Turalyon took command, bested
Doomhammer and made him his prisoner, and chased the retreating orcs to their last bastion of
power, the Dark Portal.
Ragged and broken, the remaining Horde forces attempted a defense of the Dark Portal. In what has
been described as the bloodiest battle of the Second War, the orcs were finally defeated, their
leaders rounded up, and Doomhammer himself had been taken in chains. Shortly thereafter, the
wizard Khadgar, flanked by the brave warriors of the Alliance, destroyed the Dark Portal. With the
destruction of the Dark Portal, the Second War was ended.

Forming the Horde of Draenor

As the fires of the Second War died down, the Alliance took aggressive steps to contain
the orcish threat. A number of large internment camps, meant to house the captive orcs, were
constructed in southern Lordaeron. Guarded by both the paladins and the veteran soldiers of the
Alliance, the camps proved to be a great success. Though the captive orcs were tense and anxious to
do battle once more, the various camp wardens, based at the old prison-fortress of Durnholde, kept
the peace and maintained a strong semblance of order.
However, on the hellish world of Draenor, a new orcish army prepared to strike at the unsuspecting
Alliance. Two years after the destruction of the Dark Portal, Teron Gorefiend and his followers went
to Ner'zhul, the former mentor of Gul'dan, and convinced him to rally the remaining orc clans under
his dark banner and restore the Dark Portal. Aided by the Shadowmoon clan, the old shaman
planned to open a number of portals on Draenor that would lead the Horde to new, unspoiled
worlds. Dentarg- Ner'zhul's loyal follower- Grom Hellscream (Warlord of the Warsong Clan)
and Kargath Bladefist (Warlord of the Shattered Hand) were the first to hear of Ner'zhul's plan and
flocked to his banner. Eventually, Dentarg and Kargath were sent to influence warriors from
theThunderlord clan to join Ner'zhul's Horde.
Before Ner'zhul could rebuild the Dark Portal to Azeroth and send his Horde through to gather the
artifacts required for his grand scheme, he required the knowledge held by an order of Death
Knights to complete his preparations. This group of Death Knights, though bearing the colors of
the Shattered Hand Clan, was at that time under the control of Mogor, the renegade ogre-mage of
theLaughing Skull clan, who was using their necromantic magic for creating a powerful spell.
Ner'zhul sent his forces, led by the Slayer of the Shadowmoon clan, against the Laughing Skull to
subjugate the death knights and kill Mogor for his treachery. With the help of Grom Hellscream, who
was freed from captivity at the hands of the Laughing Skull clan, Ner'zhul's attack succeeded. Mogor
was defeated but somehow survived, and Ner'zhul gained the knowledge to open the Portal.Obris, a
firm believer of Ner'zhul's vision, took command of the remaining Laughing Skull clan.[citation
needed] Ner'zhul sent Grom Hellscream to obtain the Skull of Gul'dan from Hurkan Skullsplinter.
Grom slayed Hurkan and appointed Tagar Spinebreaker to take Hurkan's place of the Bonechewer
clan who also joined Ner'zhul's Horde.

Procuring Artifacts
To power his new portals, Ner'zhul needed a number of enchanted artifacts from Azeroth. To
procure them, Ner'zhul reopened the Dark Portal using the Skull of Gul'dan and sent his ravenous
servants charging through it. Nerz'hul's forces began recruiting orcs stranded in Azeroth, notably
among them Kilrogg Deadeye and his Bleeding Hollow clan. After failing to gain the support of the
sons of Blackhand (Rend Blackhand and Maim Blackhand), Gorefiend encountered Deathwing, the
insane and scheming Aspect of the black dragonflight. He offered his own children for assistance in
exchange for safe passage to Draenor and the Skull of Gul'dan. They agreed and Deathwing helped
them prepare for several key battles to steal two artifacts from the Alliance.
The new Horde, led by veteran chieftains such as Grom Hellscream and Kilrogg Deadeye, surprised
the Alliance defense forces and rampaged through the countryside. Grom andRexxar led the attack
on Nethergarde Keep as a distraction for a team of orcs that were about to steal certain artifacts
from Azeroth.
Ner'zhul sent Teron Gorefiend through the Dark Portal to claim three powerful artifacts required for
his spell: The Book of Medivh, the Jeweled Scepter of Sargeras, and the Eye of Dalaran.
Gorefiend has sensed a focus of arcane energies within a Castle that has been raised upon the
foundations of Stormwind Keep. Ner'zhul believes that this can only be the fabled Book of Medivh. At
first, Gorefiend entered the Royal Library in Stormwind City only to find the Book of Medivh gone
and its guard slain with an Alterac blade.
The death knight leader then sent one of his lieutenants, Ragnok, to accompany Fenris, Tagar and
their warriors to the Tomb of Sargeras. Gorefiend also secured the aid of black dragons from
Deathwing until they reached the island. Their mission was to locate and retrieve the Jeweled
Scepter of Sargeras. First they had stolen three boats from Menethil Harbor, but were discovered
before leaving.[1] A Kul Tiras naval armada sent by Admiral Daelin Proudmoore quickly pursed and
threatened to destroy them, but the timely arrival of black dragons had destroyed three Kul Tiras
vessels and the rest were forced to retreat at the hopeless situation.[2] This allowed the access of
the Great Sea to travel to the Tomb of Sargeras, Alterac and Dalaran.[3]
With the help of Deathwing, Teron Gorefiend made a deal with Alterac king Aiden Perenolde and got
the Book of Medivh in exchange for the dragon aspect destroying the Alliance outposts in
Alterac.[4][5] Afterwards, Gorefiend traveled to the stronghold of Dalaran at Cross Island to steal the
Eye of Dalaran, where the mages had built heavy fortification. He broke through the shoreline
defenses,[6] then he and his death knights broke into the Arcane Vault of the Violet Citadel, and stole
the Eye.[7] Several of the death knights were killed by Antonidas, joined by Krasus and Kael'thas
Sunstrider, but the Kirin Tor were unable to prevent the remaining, including their leader, from
escaping. They killed Sathera and escaped atop the back of Deathwing and some of his black dragons.
Under Ner'zhul's surgical command, the orcs quickly rounded up all the artifacts that they needed
and fled back to the safety of Draenor.
King Terenas of Lordaeron, convinced that the orcs were preparing a new invasion of Azeroth,
assembled his most trusted lieutenants. He ordered General Turalyon and the archmage, Khadgar, to
lead an expedition through the Dark Portal to put an end to the orcish threat once and for all. Those
recruited into the Alliance Expedition included veteran heroes of the Alliance such as Danath
Trollbane, Kurdran Wildhammer, and Alleria Windrunner.

Alliance Invasion of Draenor

Turalyon and Khadgar's forces marched into Draenor and repeatedly clashed with Ner'zhul's clans
upon the ravaged Hellfire Peninsula. After fortifying the Alliance Expedition's position on the Hellfire
Peninsula where the Portal is located, they proceeded to establish a fleet to attack the surrounding
clans. Their first target was to destroy the Orcish shipyards of Zeth'kur.[9] The Alliance Expedition
established Honor Hold and later raided Hellfire Citadel, which was defended by Kargath Bladefist,
his Shattered Hand clan, and Dentarg. The citadel was captured by the Alliance and Khadgar was able
to slay Dentarg, but Kargath and a few of his orcs got away. Though the Horde headquarters was
captured and the bulk of its military might was destroyed while the Alliance had few casualties, the
Horde's new warchief Ner'zhul wasn't in Hellfire Citadel as the Alliance Expedition
believed.[10] Khadgar discovered from Dentarg that Ner'zhul was planning on using the stolen
artifacts to make new portals.[11] While examining the remains of the Hellfire Citadel, the Arch-
Wizard has learned not only the location of the Book of Medivh, but also of another artifact integral
to safeguarding Azeroth - the Skull of Gul'dan. Khadgar believes it will be possible to destroy the
Portal and permanently seal the rift created by Medivh if he can acquire these artifacts. Thus they
decided to split their forces, with Danath and Kurdran continuing the pursuit of Ner'zhul who still had
the Book of Medivh and was en route to the Black Temple, while Khadgar, Turalyon, and Alleria
pursue Deathwing who possessed the powerful Skull of Gul'dan.[12]
Deathwing believed Draenor would be a relatively safe haven for his offspring and secreted away a
cache of black dragon eggs there. However the Gronn did not take kindly to Deathwing and his black
dragons trying to take over their territory and conflict arose between the two races.
Gruul, the leader of the Gronn, eventually met the Alliance expedition heroes- Khadgar, Turalyon,
and Alleria Windrunner- who were after the Skull of Gul'dan which Deathwing possessed (he
demanded it as payment from Ner'zhul). Seeing as they had a common enemy, the Gronn and the
Alliance Expedition heroes formed an alliance to take down Deathwing. Gruul and his ogre minions,
along with the heroes, challenged Deathwing from his perch in Gorgrond — killing his eggs and
impaling his lesser black drakes on the mountain spikes.[13] Infuriated by this act, Deathwing landed
on top of them and attacked Gruul. Although clearly no match for the mad Aspect's power, Gruul
distracted the dragon aspect while Khadgar cast a simple yet miraculous spell that disassembled
some of the adamantium plates that were holding Deathwing's unstable body together, causing
excruciating pain and resulting in Deathwing's retreat back to Azeroth. Khadgar took the Skull of
Gul'dan and decided to meet with Danath's forces at the Black Temple.[14]
Meanwhile, Danath and Kurdran pursued Ner'zhul but Kurdran was struck down and captured by
Ner'zhul, who took his men to be holed up in Auchindoun. Danath and his forces established Allerian
Stronghold and prepared to besiege the Auchindoun fortress.[15] An arakkoa by the name
of Grizzik was captured shortly after by Alliance forces, as he had been following the expedition. He
promised to guide the Alliance into Auchindoun, where Ner'zhul was hiding. There they encountered
one of the last draenei, Nemuraan.[16] Nemuraan assisted Talthressar, Danath and Rellian by
allowing them to use seldom traveled passages, and he invoked the ghosts of dead draenei to assist
the Alliance in their ambush against the orcs and their new allies, the Cabal of Vorpil. The Alliance
fought valiantly and rescued Kurdran. Kilrogg Deadeye stayed behind to aid in Ner'zhul's escape and
was slain by Danath Trollbane in honorable combat.[17] Ner'zhul and Teron Gorefeind teleported to
the Black Temple were Ner'zhul began invoking the Spell of Conjuration.
Unfortunately, seeking out the artifacts needed to seal the rift has given the Horde time to mount a
strike against them. A great Orcish armada threatens the coasts that the Alliance Expedition have
captured, and the armies of the Alliance have been hard pressed on many fronts. Khadgar and
Danath's forces regrouped and razed the orc strongholds that guard the coastline of the Black
Temple.[18] Afterwards, the Alliance Expedition pressed their attack by raiding the Black Temple
itself. Yet even though Turalyon had slain Teron Gorefiend and scattered the remnant orcish death
knights, Khadgar's party was unable to prevent Ner'zhul from opening his portals to other worlds.
Unbeknownst to the other orc clans, the Skull of Gul'dan had slowly corrupted Ner'zhul until he
became more concerned with his own power and well being rather than that of the Horde. Feeling
the surge of power that came with having control of Draenor's magic, Ner'zhul stopped caring about
the welfare of the Horde, and thought only of harnessing his new powers. In his hubris, he ordered
his followers through the portals he created, leaving behind the Horde. Obris, one of his servitors,
protested at Ner'zhul's choice to abandon the rest of the Horde. In response, Ner'zhul blasted him
aside; he no longer cared. Inundated with power he previously could only have dreamed of,
Ner'zhul's greed overcame him, and whatever vestiges of honor and altruism still remained in him
vanished as he and his followers went through the first portal, abandoning the rest of the Orcish
Horde to its fate. Obris in his dying breath relinquished the Book of Medivh to Khadgar as a last act of
defiance to his traitorous warchief.[19]
Ner'zhul finally opened his portals to other worlds, but he did not foresee the terrible price he would
pay. The portals' tremendous energies began to tear the very fabric of Draenor apart. Worse, a
multitude of Orcs have laid siege to the Alliance's fortifications at Hellfire. Although the attacking
warriors were not well equipped, their sheer numbers threatened to spell the downfall of the
Alliance's forces there.[20] As Turalyon's forces fought desperately to fend off the abandoned orc
clans and return home to Azeroth, the world of Draenor began to buckle in upon itself.[21]
On Draenor, Turalyon and Khadgar agreed to make the ultimate sacrifice by destroying the Dark
Portal from their side. Though it would cost their lives, and the lives of their companions, they knew
that it was the only way to ensure Azeroth's survival. Even as orcs attacked the human ranks in a
desperate bid for freedom, the Alliance held their ground and protected Khadgar as he used the Skull
of Gul'dan and the Book of Medivh to destroy the Dark Portal.[21] For the remaining orcs stranded
on Azeroth like Grom Hellscream, there would be no going back.[22]
Ner'zhul and his loyal Shadowmoon clan passed through the largest of the newly created portals, as
massive volcanic eruptions began to break Draenor's continents apart. Ner'zhul and his followers
however were immediately apprehended by the demon lord Kil'jaeden in the aftermath of their
escape from Draenor.[23] Kil'jaeden turned his captives into monstrosities, with Ner'zhul himself
eventually becoming the Lich King. After the Dark Portal's destruction, Khadgar and the remnants of
the Alliance Expedition also escaped through one of Ner'zhul's portals. As the burning seas rose up
and roiled the shattered landscape, the tortured world was finally consumed in a massive,
apocalyptic explosion causing the Outland it is today.[24]

Outland
Outland, though the broken remnant of Draenor, was still a surviving world full of resources, people,
and open portals for the Burning Legion to infiltrate. The Burning Legion would once again turn its
gaze upon the broken planet to subjugate it, with Magtheridon and his forces conquering it and
ruling the surviving populace under his tyranny. The remnants of the Alliance Expedition returned to
Outland to reclaim their abandoned fortifications, and renamed themselves the Sons of Lothar- a
group dedicated to holding a vigil to staunch demonic influence over Outland and the worlds beyond.
A new race called the Naaru would eventually travel to Outland as well to give its people hope and to
spread the salvation of the Lightduring Outland's time of peril.

After their defeat in the Second War, the Old Horde's Warchief, Ner'zhul was captured
by Kil'jaeden for his failure. As punishment, the Deceiver destroyed Ner'zhul's body, and tortured his
spirit until he agreed to serve the Legion once again. His soul encased in a suit of armor which was
then bound to the Frozen Throne, Kil'jaeden hurled his creation towards Azeroth where it smashed
into Icecrown Glacier. Thus the first major player of the Third War, the Lich King was born. Once on
Azeroth, the Lich King took control of Northrend and he had the necromancer Kel'Thuzad take
the Plague of Undeath to Lordaeron.

Exodus of the Horde

One rainy night, the prophet Medivh came to the young orcish Warchief Thrall in a dream. Thrall
later meets Medivh and he tells him that he must rally the newly-reformed shamanistic Horde and
move them across the sea to Kalimdor in order to escape the shadow that was coming to consume
the land. Trusting the prophet's words, and wishing to find a new home for his people, Thrall listened
to his call, fought his way through Alliance troops, freed Grom Hellscream, and sailed west.
While sailing though the Maelstrom, Thrall lands on Darkspear Islands, discovers the Darkspear tribe,
fights both Kul Tiras and Underworld Minions of Zar'jira. The Darkspear tribe join the Hordeand they
escape from the Darkspear Islands.

Scourge of Lordaeron

Disturbance in the north

A rumor had started to travel around Lordaeron telling how a mysterious plague had gripped the
northern lands, as the majority of Lordaeron's attention was focused on the Horde's flight and
rebelling orc clans. When Medivh appeared before King Terenas telling him just as he told Thrall: to
save his people, he must travel west, Terenas told him that he would defend his kingdom. To do so,
he sent his own son Arthas Menethil, who was dealing with the rebelling orcs with Sir Uther the
Lightbringer north to investigate. Jaina Proudmoorefrom the Kirin Tor was sent from Dalaran to aid in
the investigation.

Cult of the Damned

After joining Jaina Proudmoore, prince Arthas discovered that Andorhal's granaries were wrought
with a plague that killed all who are infected (within a period of time) after they had
encountered Kel'Thuzad in the town of Brill. Since Andorhal was the main distribution point for grain
in the area, this meant that many other towns were in danger. As they fought their way through the
infected city of Andorhal they bore witness to a unique devastation like Azeroth had never seen.
They hunted down and attacked Kel'Thuzad for his crimes against the people. The necromancer told
Arthas that he served a greater power, a dreadlord named Mal'Ganis, and that he was responsible
for the Scourge. Enraged, Arthas vowed he would kill Mal'Ganis and they traveled to Stratholme to
confront him after slaying the corrupted wizard.
Rise of the Scourge
While in Hearthglen, Arthas and Jaina's forces were attacked by legions of undead. Arthas had Jaina
search for Uther while he and his forces remained to protect the town from the Scourge. It was then
he learned the truth behind the plague. The plague didn't just kill those infected, it turned them into
the undead, and thus, the Scourge. Before his army was defeated, Uther and his knights arrived and
saved the town. Not long after this battle, Arthas was met by Medivh, who warned the prince to
travel west to Kalimdor. Like his father, Arthas refused, saying his place was with his people. Jaina
believed the prophet's words but Arthas would not be swayed to leave his kingdom. They continued
to Stratholme to deal with the threat of the Scourge.

Culling of Stratholme
Upon arriving at Stratholme, they discovered that the grain had already been distributed amongst
the townsfolk. Arthas, not wanting to deal with an entire army of undead, ordered Uther and
his paladinsto destroy the town. Uther was appalled by this, saying he wouldn't follow the order even
if Arthas was the king. For his defiance, Arthas disbanded the Knights of the Silver Hand and called all
those still loyal to Lordaeron to come with him. Uther took his followers and left, and Jaina quickly
followed. Abandoned by his teacher and friend, Arthas continued to Stratholme to slaughter the
town.
Upon arrival, Arthas met Mal'Ganis himself. The two had a race of sorts for the lives of the town.
Arthas wished to destroy them, Mal'Ganis wished to corrupt them. When the town was in ruin,
Arthas demanded a final showdown with Mal'Ganis. Mal'Ganis, however, slipped away, vowing to
meet him in Northrend.
After the Culling, Jaina and Uther returned to Stratholme to bury the dead. Jaina was met by Medivh,
who told her Arthas would only die if he went to Northrend. The prophet then told Jaina, as he had
told everyone else, that she must travel west to Kalimdor, a request she answered to.

Rise of the death knight

After arriving in Northrend, Arthas discovered the brother of the dwarven king Magni
Bronzebeard, Muradin. Upon arriving at Northrend, Muradin's expedition was attacked by the
undead and was cut off from the rest of the world. He had come to Northrend to obtain the
runeblade Frostmourne. When word from Lordaeron called Arthas's men back home, the prince used
mercenaries to burn their ships before turning his forces on the mercenaries. With no way to get
home, he told his men that their only way home was to get Frostmourne. When he finally found the
blade, he and Muradin learned that the blade was cursed. Arthas accepted this curse and took the
blade, though Muradin was believed to be killed in the process (he was knocked out with terrible
amnesia). With Frostmourne, Arthas led an assault on the Scourge base where Mal'Ganis was
stationed and killed the dreadlord. With the cause of his madness dead, Arthas fled to the wilderness
of Northrend, leaving his men to fend for themselves.
Months later, Arthas returned to Lordaeron. When he greeted Terenas, he took up the cursed sword,
telling his father, "You no longer need to sacrifice for your people. You no longer need to bear the
weight of your crown. I've taken care of everything." Without a moment of consideration, he slew his
father. Arthas then named himself King of Lordaeron and gave the land to the Scourge. Weeks later,
Arthas, now a death knight under the orders of the Lich King, was given the task of resurrecting the
dead necromancer Kel'Thuzad. To do so, Arthas had to take his remains to a place of immense
magical power. Arthas killed his former mentor Uther for the urn he was carrying. The urn carried the
ashes of his father, which Arthas simply disposed of and placed Kel'Thuzad's remains inside the urn.
The only magical nexus with the necessary power was the Sunwelldeep inside Silvermoon, capital of
the high elves. To revive Kel'Thuzad, the Scourge would have to burn Quel'Thalas.

Fall of Quel'Thalas
Upon reaching the borders of Quel'Thalas, the Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner became a quick
thorn in the death knight's plan. Despite the mighty elf gates, the destruction of an important bridge,
and many well trained rangers, the Scourge plowed their way through Quel'Thalas' defenses on their
way to Silvermoon, and from there the Isle of Quel'Danas and the Sunwell. Before Sylvanas could
warn Silvermoon of the Scourge invasion, her camp was raided and she was taken prisoner. Arthas
tortured her and, before giving her the peace of death, he used his power to turn her into the
first banshee, making her a slave to the Scourge. With its defenses destroyed, the Scourge entered
Silvermoon and slaughtered all the high elves in the city. When Arthas reached the Sunwell, he
placed Kel'Thuzad's remains in the enchanted waters, thus turning him into a lich and corrupting the
Sunwell. With his business in the area done, Arthas had the Scourge kill the remaining high elves of
Quel'Thalas.

The Defiler
With Kel'Thuzad revived, they had to do their job for the dreadlords. The Scourge traveled south
to Dalaran to obtain the Book of Medivhand use it to summon Archimonde himself to Azeroth. The
Kirin'Tor used their most powerful magics, but failed to prevent the Scourge from stealing the
spellbook. With the book, Kel'Thuzad summoned Archimonde and the Burning Legion to Azeroth.
Archimonde's first order of business when entering the world was to destroy Dalaran with his great
power. From this point and for the rest of the war, Archimonde, the Field Commander of the Legion,
led the invasion of Azeroth himself, and planned to destroy Nordrassil, the World Tree at Mount
Hyjal.

Flight to Kalimdor
Shortly after the culling, before Arthas had killed Terenas, Jaina Proudmoore brought thousands with
her to Kalimdor following Medivh's request.
Having fled the Eastern Kingdoms, the Horde was scattered while sailing past the Maelstrom. Some
of the ships landed in a chain of islands near the Maelstorm where they met the Darkspear tribe.
Here the orcs aided the trolls, then led them on an escape to Kalimdor.
In Kalimdor, Grom Hellscream, chieftain of the prominent Warsong Clan, had landed with his clan.
Before they could regroup with Thrall, they ran into Jaina's soldiers and battles soon began.
When the rest of the Horde reached and regrouped on Kalimdor, Grom directly defied Thrall's orders
by attacking Jaina Proudmoore's encampment after giving in to his instinctual bloodlust. As a
punishment he was sent north to the massive Ashenvale Forest where he would collect lumber to
build a capital for the orcs.
Meanwhile, Thrall began his search for the rest of the Horde, and eventually came across the tauren,
and their leader Cairne Bloodhoof. After helping Cairne repel invading centaurs, Cairne told Thrall of
an oracle up in the Stonetalon Mountains who could aid the Horde in their journey.
Upon reaching the Stonetalon Mountains, Thrall and Jaina met the prophet who called doom long
before the Scourge of Lordaeron, Medivh. Medivh asked that the Horde and the Alliance work
together, forgetting their old hatreds to battle a new, more powerful enemy.

Mannoroth
Grom Hellscream and his clan started collecting lumber as they had been ordered to. However, by
doing so, they enraged the night elves. After battling the night elves, their demigod Cenarius stepped
in personally to deal with the Warsong Clan.
After fighting a lost battle, the orcs realized that they couldn't kill Cenarius by conventional means.
Cenarius saw the orcs as demon spawn and therefore only their total eradication would satisfy him.
To defeat them, Grom and the followers drank from a mysterious fountain that empowered them,
not knowing that it had been defiled by the blood of the pit lord Mannoroth. Energized and turned
into fel orcs, the Warsong successfully attacked and killed Cenarius. With the orcs once again doing
the bidding of the Burning Legion, Mannoroth stormed up to Grom and revealed it was his blood that
empowered the orcs. Despite their victory, they were once again under demon control, and thus the
control of the Burning Legion.
To help their new allies, Jaina created a magical Soul Gem. Thrall would need to capture the mighty
Grom within it, and take the gem to a prepared magical circle to free his spirit of corruption. Standing
between the humans and free orcs, however, was the entire Warsong clan, fortified with scores of
demons that waited in ambush and mighty infernals that rained from the sky. Despite his woes of
killing many of the Warsong clan, Thrall captured Grom and brought him back for a ritual of
cleansing. Along with Thrall's shamans, Jaina, and Jaina's best priests and sorcerers, they managed to
pull the demonic taint out of Grom. Thrall and Grom then challenged Mannoroth, and though Thrall
was defeated, Grom managed to deliver a killing blow, destroying Mannoroth and freeing the orcs at
the cost of his own life. Thus Grom redeemed himself for bringing them into the legion.

Return of the Night Elves

When it became evident that the Burning Legion had returned, Tyrande led her Sentinels into the
trees, fleeing a wave of undead which had destroyed a human and orc camp. As they fled, they were
cornered by dreadlords and Archimonde. Tyrande believed that with the Defilers' return the only
way to defeat the Burning Legion was to use the forces of old, the sleeping druids and their
leader, Malfurion Stormrage, her old love. After waking Malfurion, the next order of business was to
awaken the rest of the Druids of the Talon and the Druids of the Claw.
In their quest to free the druids, they discovered the prison that held the old demon hunter, Illidan
Stormrage. Tyrande believed that the Betrayer, as the night elves grew to call him, could be a
powerful ally against the Burning Legion and left Malfurion to awaken the druids while she freed
Illidan. Malfurion continued on to awaken the druids, who had grown feral after almost ten millennia
in the caves. However, the Horn of Cenarius freed them of their madness.

The Betrayer
Tyrande continued her quest to free Illidan, fighting her way through the warden's guards. Tyrande
placed her trust in Illidan, believing his power would help them against the Burning Legion.
Malfurion, however, still distrusted his reckless brother. Eager to prove himself, Illidan vowed he
would show his brother the demons had no hold over him and he led a portion of the night elf army
to Felwood. Shortly after, the death knight Arthas found and battled with Illidan. As the two were
evenly matched, there was no reason for Arthas to engage Illidan. Illidan demanded that Arthas
reveal the reason for his presence in Felwood. Arthas told him of a powerful artifact: the Skull of
Gul'dan. The skull was responsible for the corruption of the night elves' beloved forest. Arthas played
to Illidan's thirst for power, mentioning that the skull held immense power, and Illidan took the bait
willingly.
After fighting his way through the demons, Illidan reached and consumed the power of the Skull.
With its power added to his own, he slew the leader of the dreadlords, Tichondrius, and helped seal
the Legion's defeat. When Malfurion and Tyrande found the new demon-night elf that was now
Illidan, Malfurion banished Illidan for his demonic corruption, claiming that he was "no brother of
his". A very resentful Illidan tore his way through the dead trees and was not heard of until the
coming of the naga.

Battle of Mount Hyjal

Fall of the Defiler

After Illidan's banishment, Medivh called Malfurion and Tyrande to a secret grove where he had
Thrall and Jaina meet them. Medivh revealed that he was the one who helped Burning Legion create
the Dark Portal and allowed the Horde to invade Azeroth. After he was slain for his crimes, he had to
return to right his wrongs and protect Azeroth from the Legion's return. Medivh asked that the
mortal races unite to defeat the Legion, as their combined power was their only hope.
To prepare for the demons' attack, three camps were built around Mount Hyjal. Malfurion devised a
plan to use the power of the World Tree itself to destroy Archimonde. As he went back up the
summit to make the necessary preparations for Archimonde, Jaina and Thrall used whatever night
elves Tyrande could spare to fortify their bases. Archimonde tore his way through ranks of human
knights, elven sentinels, and orcish warriors and smashed his way through the human castle and orc
fortress. Jaina was able to teleport most of the surviving troops. Before Thrall escaped death, he
managed to hurt Archimonde with a bolt of his shamanistic lightning, an incredible feat in itself. With
the two bases destroyed, Archimonde stormed through the night elf gate protecting the summit.
With Archimonde at the World Tree, Malfurion used the Horn to call on the ancient spirits in the area
to attack the demon. In an instant, they detonated into a massive explosion that destroyed the
Defiler, much of his demon army with him, and the World Tree. The price for this defeat was the
night elves' immortality, but the Third War was over.

Aftermath
The Third War left Lordaeron destroyed, the Night Elves mortal, and the High Elves nearly extinct. No
large group of humans would ever regain control of Lordaeron, though the Argent Dawn and Scarlet
Crusade have been fighting the Scourge in order to retake their land. Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider of
the High Elves returned to his ruined city and renamed his people the Blood Elves in memory of their
fallen comrades. The Blood Elves would eventually retake much of Quel'Thalas, and in time would
even reactivate the power of the Sunwell. After the war, Sylvanas would break free of the Lich King's
control, and form the Forsaken. One human commander, Garithos, has gathered the remnants of the
Alliance still remaining in Lordaeron and retaken Dalaran and the Alterac mountains for the Alliance.
After that, Garithos formed an uneasy truce with Sylvanas Windrunner and together they assaulted
the capital city of Lordaeron, which was under the control of the Dreadlord Balnazzar. After intense
fighting and careful planning, the Alliance and the Forsaken managed to defeat his forces and regain
control of the city. After the battle, Sylvanas ordered her second-in-command Varimathras to
execute his brother Balnazzar and then to kill Garithos, which forced the Alliance forces to retreat.
The Forsaken then took over the city of Lordaeron, making their home in its sewers and calling it
the Undercity.
The political scene of the current Azeroth was greatly influenced by the Third War. Under Warchief
Thrall, the orcs, tauren, and Darkspear trolls were brought together on Kalimdor to become the new
Horde, which the Forsaken and the blood elves would later join. A peace agreement was made
between the Horde and Alliance after the war, and Thrall has made it his job to ensure that nothing
happens to break this already stressed pact. However, after the Wrathgate incident, Varian
Wrynn declared war upon the Horde, to Thrall's lament.
Without Lordaeron, the rebuilt city of Stormwind would become the base of the Alliance, with
the Ironforge dwarvesbecoming their closest geographical allies. The gnomes of Gnomeregan had
been unable to help in the Third War as they were dealing with their own issues closer to home —
namely a trogg invasion of their city. Because an invasion of troggs paled in comparison to the might
of the Scourge, the gnomes decided they would fight their war alone. In the end they were forced to
flee Gnomeregan and, with their king Gelbin Mekkatorque, settled in Ironforge with the dwarves.
The night elves, dealing with the loss of their immortality, and having been exposed to the world
outside their forests once more, decided they would have to make alliances with the wider world.
Because of the animosity with the orcs for killing Cenarius, the night elves in the end joined the
Alliance. As the new leader of the Alliance, the King of Stormwind, Varian Wrynn, sent troops from
Stormwind to repel the Scourge invasion, retaking Southshore and Hillsbrad for the Alliance, repelling
the Scourge on the Alterac Mountains, constructing a final border point (Chillwind Camp) for
the Alliance before the entrance of the Plaguelands, and seizing the Forsaken takeover of Lordaeron.
The human refugees of Lordaeron were given shelter in Stormwind, making it their new home. A few
months later, King Varian was kidnapped by the Defias Brotherhood after trying to make a peace
agreement with the Horde making him absent for 3 years. In his absence, his 10-year-old son Anduin
was crowned as king.
The losses were not in vain, however, as the Burning Legion was heavily damaged. Many senior
commanders were killed in the war, including a large number of dreadlords and countless others.
As Aegwynn put it in the Cycle of Hatred to Theramore Guard colonel Lorena, they "did more damage
to the entirety of demonkind than has been done in thousands of years."

Timeline
The Third War begins about 20 years after the events of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. The events
of Thrall's Vision and Chasing Visions take place about 20 years after the events of Warcraft: Orcs &
Humans during an unclear day, week, and month of that year. The time that passed during the
events of Chasing Visions and Departures was about 3 days. It is unclear how much time passed
between the start of Departures and the end of Countdown to Extinction. It is unclear how much
time passed between the ending of Countdown to Extinction and the start of The Warning. The time
that passed during the events of The Scourge of Lordaeron was about 1 month, 3 weeks, and 4 days.
It is unclear how much time passed between the start of Frostmourne and the start of Arthas'
Betrayal.
It is unclear how much time passed between the ending of Arthas' Betrayal and the start of Trudging
through the Ashes. The time that passed during the events of Path of the Damned was about 1 week
and 5 days. It is unclear how much time passed between the start of Under the Burning Sky and the
start of The Long March. An unclear amount of weeks passed between the ending of Departures and
the start of Landfall. The time that passed during the events of The Invasion of Kalimdor was about 1
week and 6 days. It is unclear how much time passed between the start of By Demons be Driven and
the end of Enemies at the Gate. The time that passed during the events of Eternity's End was about 1
week. It is unclear how much time passed between the start of Twilight of the Gods and the ending
of Eternity's End. The Third War ends about 20 years after the events of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans.
The time between the beginning and the end of the Third War appear to take place about 1 month, 8
weeks, 4 days, with plus or minus several unspecified weeks along with an unclear timeline between
the start of By Demons be Driven and the end of Enemies at the Gate, and 20 years after the events
of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans.