History Of Warcraft :Part 4 : Alliance and Horde

Chapter 4: Alliance And Horde

The Dark Portal and the Fall of Stormwind

 As Kil'jaeden prepared the Horde for its invasion of Azeroth, Medivh continued

to fight for his soul against Sargeras. King Llane, the noble monarch of

Stormwind, grew wary of the darkness which seemed to taint the spirit of his

former friend. King Llane shared his concerns with Anduin Lothar, the last

descendent of the Arathi bloodline, whom he named his lieutenant-at-arms.

Even so, neither man could have imagined that Medivh's slow descent into

madness would bring about the horrors that were to come.

 As a final incentive, Sargeras promised to bestow great power upon Gul'dan if

he agreed to lead the Horde to Azeroth. Through Medivh, Sargeras told the

warlock that he could become a living god if he found the undersea tomb

where the Guardian Aegwynn had placed Sargeras' crippled body nearly a

thousand years before. Gul'dan agreed and decided that once the denizens of

Azeroth were beaten, he would find the legendary tomb and claim his reward.

Assured that the Horde would serve his purposes, Sargeras ordered the

invasion to begin.

 Through a joint effort, Medivh and the warlocks of the Shadow Council

opened the dimensional gateway known as the Dark Portal. This portal

bridged the distance between Azeroth and Draenor, and it was large enough

that armies might pass through it. Gul'dan dispatched orc scouts through the

portal to survey the lands which they would conquer. The returning scouts

assured the Shadow Council that the world of Azeroth was ripe for the taking.

Still convinced that Gul'dan's corruption would destroy his people, Durotan

spoke out against the warlocks once more. The brave warrior claimed that

warlocks were destroying the purity of the orcish spirit and that this reckless

invasion would be their doom. Gul'dan, unable to risk killing such a popular

hero, was forced to exile Durotan and his Frostwolf Clan into the far reaches

of this new world.

 After the exiled Frostwolves charged through the portal, only a few orc clans

followed. These orcs quickly set up a base of operations within the Black

Morass, a dark and swampy area far to the east of the kingdom of Stormwind.

As the orcs began to branch out and explore the new lands, they came into

immediate conflict with the human defenders of Stormwind. Though these

skirmishes usually ended quickly, they did much to illustrate the weaknesses

and strengths of both rival species. Llane and Lothar were never able to

gather accurate data of the orcs' numbers and could only guess at how great

a force they would have to contend with. After a few years the majority of the

orcish Horde had crossed into Azeroth, and Gul'dan deemed that the time for

the primary strike against humanity had come. The Horde launched its full

might against the unsuspecting kingdom of Stormwind.

 As the forces of Azeroth and the Horde clashed across the kingdom, internal

conflicts began to take their toll on both armies. King Llane, who believed the

bestial orcs to be incapable of conquering Azeroth, contemptuously held his

position at his capital of Stormwind. However, Sir Lothar became convinced

that the battle should be taken directly to the enemy, and he was forced to

choose between his convictions and his loyalty to the king. Choosing to follow

his instincts, Lothar stormed Medivh's tower-fortress of Karazhan with the

help of the wizard's young apprentice, Khadgar. Khadgar and Lothar

succeeded in vanquishing the possessed Guardian, whom they confirmed to

be the source of the conflict. By killing Medivh's body, Lothar and the young

apprentice inadvertently banished the spirit of Sargeras to the abyss. As a

consequence, the pure, virtuous spirit of Medivh was also allowed to live on...

and wander the astral plane for many years to come.

 Although Medivh had been defeated, the Horde continued to dominate the

defenders of Stormwind. As the Horde's victory drew nearer, Orgrim

Doomhammer, one of the greatest orc chieftains, began to see the depraved

corruption that had spread throughout the clans since their time in Draenor.

His old comrade, Durotan, returned from exile and warned him yet again of

Gul'dan's treachery. In speedy retribution, Gul'dan's assassins murdered

Durotan and his family, leaving only his infant son alive. Unknown to

Doomhammer was the fact that Durotan's infant son was found by the human

officer, Aedelas Blackmoore, and taken as a slave.

 That infant orc would one day rise to become the greatest leader his people

would ever know.

 Incensed by Durotan's death, Orgrim set out to free the Horde from demonic

corruption and ultimately assumed the role of warchief of the Horde by killing

Gul'dan's corrupt puppet, Blackhand. Under his decisive leadership the

relentless Horde finally laid siege to Stormwind Keep. King Llane had severely

underestimated the might of the Horde, and he watched helplessly as his

kingdom fell to the green-skinned invaders. Ultimately King Llane was

assassinated by one of the Shadow Council's finest killers: the half-orc,

Garona.

 Lothar and his warriors, returning home from Karazhan, hoped to stem the

loss of life and save their once-glorious homeland. Instead, they returned too

late and found their beloved kingdom in smoking ruins. The orcish Horde

continued to ravage the countryside and claimed the surrounding lands for its

own. Forced into hiding, Lothar and his companions swore a grim oath to

reclaim their homeland at any cost.

The Alliance of Lordaeron

 Lord Lothar rallied the remnants of Azeroth's armies after their defeat at

Stormwind Keep, and then launched a massive exodus across the sea to the

northern kingdom of Lordaeron. Convinced that the Horde would overcome all

of humanity if left unchecked, the leaders of the seven human nations met

and agreed to unite in what would become known as the Alliance of

Lordaeron. For the first time in nearly three thousand years, the disparate

nations of Arathor were once again united under a common banner.

Appointed as Supreme Commander of the Alliance forces, Lord Lothar

prepared his armies for the coming of the Horde.

 Aided by his lieutenants, Uther the Lightbringer, Admiral Daelin Proudmoore,

and Turalyon, Lothar was able to convince Lordaeron's demi-human races of

the impending threat as well. The Alliance succeeded in gaining the support

of the stoic dwarves of Ironforge and a small number of high elves of

Quel'Thalas. The elves, led at that time by Anasterian Sunstrider, were largely

uninterested in the coming conflict. However, they were duty-bound to aid

Lothar because he was the last descendent of the Arathi bloodline, which had

aided the elves in ages past.

 The Horde, now led by Warchief Doomhammer, brought in ogres from its

homeworld of Draenor and conscripted the disenfranchised Amani forest

trolls into its fold. Setting out on a massive campaign to overrun the dwarf

kingdom of Khaz Modan and the southern reaches of Lordaeron, the Horde

effortlessly decimated all opposition.

 The epic battles of the Second War ranged from large-scale naval skirmishes

to massive aerial dogfights. Somehow the Horde had unearthed a powerful

artifact known as the Demon Soul and used it to enslave the ancient

Dragonqueen, Alexstrasza. Threatening to destroy her precious eggs, the

Horde forced Alexstrasza to send her grown children to war. The noble red

dragons were forced to fight for the Horde, and fight they did.

 The war raged across the continents of Khaz Modan, Lordaeron, and Azeroth

itself. As part of its northern campaign, the Horde succeeded in burning down

the borderlands of Quel'Thalas, thereby ensuring the elves' final commitment

to the Alliance's cause. The greater cities and townships of Lordaeron were

razed and devastated by the conflict. Despite the absence of reinforcements

and overwhelming odds, Lothar and his allies succeeded in holding their

enemies at bay.

 However, during the final days of the Second War, as the Horde's victory over

the Alliance seemed almost assured, a terrible feud erupted between the two

most powerful orcs on Azeroth. As Doomhammer prepared his final assault

against the Capital City of Lordaeron - an assault that would have crushed the

last remnants of the Alliance - Gul'dan and his followers abandoned their

posts and set out to sea. The bewildered Doomhammer, having lost nearly

half of his standing forces to Gul'dan's treachery, was forced to pull back and

forsake his greatest chance at victory over the Alliance.

 The power-hungry Gul'dan, obsessed with obtaining godhood itself, set out on

a desperate search for the undersea Tomb of Sargeras that he believed held

the secrets of ultimate power. Having already doomed his fellow orcs to

become the slaves of the Burning Legion, Gul'dan thought nothing of his

supposed duty to Doomhammer. Backed by the Stormreaver and Twilight's

Hammer clans, Gul'dan succeeded in raising the Tomb of Sargeras from the

sea floor. However, when he opened the ancient, flooded vault, he found only

crazed demons awaiting him.

 Seeking to punish the wayward orcs for their costly betrayal, Doomhammer

sent his forces to kill Gul'dan and bring the renegades back into the fold. For

his recklessness, Gul'dan was torn apart by the maddened demons he had

set loose. With their leader dead, the renegade clans quickly fell before

Doomhammer's enraged legions. Though the rebellion had been quelled, the

Horde was unable to recoup the terrible losses it had suffered. Gul'dan's

betrayal had afforded the Alliance not only hope, but also time to regroup and

retaliate.

 Lord Lothar, seeing that the Horde was fracturing from within, gathered the

last of his forces and pushed Doomhammer south, back into the shattered

heartland of Stormwind. There, the Alliance forces trapped the retreating

Horde within the volcanic fortress of Blackrock Spire. Though Lord Lothar fell

in battle at the Spire's base, his lieutenant, Turalyon, rallied the Alliance

forces at the eleventh hour and drove the Horde back into the abysmal

Swamp of Sorrows. Turalyon's forces succeeded in destroying the Dark Portal,

the mystical gateway that connected the orcs to their homeworld of Draenor.

Cut off from its reinforcements and fractured by infighting, the Horde finally

buckled in upon itself and fell before the might of the Alliance.

 The scattered orc clans were quickly rounded up and placed within guarded

internment camps. Though it seemed that the Horde had been defeated for

good, some remained highly skeptical that peace would last. Khadgar, now an

Archmage of some renown, convinced the Alliance high command to build the

fortress of Nethergarde that would watch over the ruins of the Dark Portal

and ensure that there would be no further invasions from Draenor.

The Invasion 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. Ner'zhul, the former mentor of Gul'dan,

rallied the remaining orc clans under his dark banner. 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. To power his

new portals, he needed a number of enchanted artifacts from Azeroth. To

procure them, Ner'zhul reopened the Dark Portal and sent his ravenous

servants charging through it.

 The new Horde, led by veteran chieftains such as Grom Hellscream and

Kilrogg Deadeye (of the Bleeding Hollow clan), surprised the Alliance defense

forces and rampaged through the countryside. Under Ner'zhul's surgical

command, the orcs quickly rounded up 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. Turalyon

and Khadgar's forces marched into Draenor and repeatedly clashed with

Ner'zhul's clans upon the ravaged Hellfire Peninsula. Even with the aid of the

high elf Alleria Windrunner, the dwarf Kurdran Wildhammer, and the veteran

soldier Danath Trollbane, Khadgar was unable to prevent Ner'zhul from

opening his portals to other worlds.

 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. As Turalyon's forces fought desperately to

return home to Azeroth, the world of Draenor began to buckle in upon itself.

Grom Hellscream and Kilrogg Deadeye, realizing that Ner'zhul's mad plans

would doom their entire race, rallied the remaining orcs and escaped back to

the relative safety of Azeroth.

 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 Hellscream and Deadeye hacked their way

through the human ranks in a desperate bid for freedom, the Dark Portal

exploded behind them. For them, and the remaining orcs on Azeroth, there

would be no going back.

 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. The burning seas rose up and roiled the shattered

landscape as the tortured world was finally consumed in a massive,

apocalyptic explosion.

The Birth of the Lich King

 Ner'zhul and his followers entered the Twisting Nether, the ethereal plane

that connects all of the worlds scattered throughout the Great Dark Beyond.

Unfortunately Kil'jaeden and his demonic minions were waiting for them.

Kil'jaeden, who had sworn to take vengeance on Ner'zhul for his prideful

defiance, slowly tore the old shaman's body apart, piece by piece. Kil'jaeden

kept the shaman's spirit alive and intact, thus leaving Ner'zhul painfully

aware of his body's gross dismemberment. Though Ner'zhul pleaded with the

demon to release his spirit and grant him death, the demon grimly replied

that the Blood Pact they had made long ago was still binding, and that

Ner'zhul still had a purpose to serve.

 The orcs' failure to conquer the world for the Burning Legion forced Kil'jaeden

to create a new army to sow chaos throughout the kingdoms of the Azeroth.

This new army could not be allowed to fall prey to the same petty rivalries

and infighting that had plagued the Horde. It would have to be merciless and

single-minded in its mission. This time, Kil'jaeden could not afford to fail.

 Holding Ner'zhul's spirit helpless in stasis, Kil'jaeden gave him one last

chance to serve the Legion or suffer eternal torment. Once again, Ner'zhul

recklessly agreed to the demon's pact. Ner'zhul's spirit was placed within a

specially crafted block of diamond-hard ice gathered from the far reaches of

the Twisting Nether. Encased within the frozen cask, Ner'zhul felt his

consciousness expand ten thousand-fold. Warped by the demon's chaotic

powers, Ner'zhul became a spectral being of unfathomable power. At that

moment, the orc known as Ner'zhul was shattered forever, and the Lich King

was born.

 Ner'zhul's loyal death knights and Shadowmoon followers were also

transformed by the demon's chaotic energies. The wicked spellcasters were

ripped apart and remade as skeletal liches. The demons had ensured that

even in death, Ner'zhul's followers would serve him unquestioningly.

When the time was right, Kil'jaeden explained the mission for which he had

created the Lich King. Ner'zhul was to spread a plague of death and terror

across Azeroth that would snuff out human civilization forever. All those who

died from the dreaded plague would arise as the undead, and their spirits

would be bound to Ner'zhul's iron will forever. Kil'jaeden promised that if

Ner'zhul accomplished his dark mission of scouring humanity from the world,

he would be freed from his curse and granted a new, healthy body to inhabit.

Though Ner'zhul was agreeable and seemingly anxious to play his part,

Kil'jaeden remained skeptical of his pawn's loyalties. Keeping the Lich King

bodiless and trapped within the crystal cask assured his good conduct for the

short term, but the demon knew that he would need to keep a watchful eye

on him. To this end, Kil'jaeden called upon his elite demon guard, the

vampiric dreadlords, to police Ner'zhul and ensure that he accomplished his

dread task. Tichondrius, the most powerful and cunning of the dreadlords,

warmed to the challenge; he was fascinated by the plague's severity and the

Lich King's unbridled potential for genocide.

Icecrown and the Frozen Throne

 Kil'jaeden cast Ner'zhul's icy cask back into the world of Azeroth. The

hardened crystal streaked across the night sky and smashed into the desolate

arctic continent of Northrend, burying itself deep within the Icecrown glacier.

The frozen crystal, warped and scarred by its violent descent, came to

resemble a throne, and Ner'zhul's vengeful spirit soon stirred within it.

 From the confines of the Frozen Throne, Ner'zhul began to reach out his vast

consciousness and touch the minds of Northrend's native inhabitants. With

little effort, he enslaved the minds of many indigenous creatures, including

ice trolls and fierce wendigo, and he drew their evil brethren into his growing

shadow. His psychic powers proved to be almost limitless, and he used them

to create a small army that he housed within Icecrown's twisting labyrinths.

As the Lich King mastered his growing abilities under the dreadlords'

persistent vigil, he discovered a remote human settlement on the fringe of

the vast Dragonblight. On a whim, Ner'zhul decided to test his powers on the

unsuspecting humans.

 Ner'zhul cast a plague of undeath - which had originated from deep within the

Frozen Throne, out into the arctic wasteland. Controlling the plague with his

will alone, he drove it straight into the human village. Within three days,

everyone in the settlement was dead, but shortly thereafter, the dead

villagers began to rise as zombified corpses. Ner'zhul could feel their

individual spirits and thoughts as if they were his own. The raging cacophony

in his mind caused Ner'zhul to grow even more powerful, as if their spirits

provided him with much-needed nourishment. He found it was child's play to

control the zombies' actions and steer them to whatever end he wished.

Over the following months, Ner'zhul continued to experiment with his plague

of undeath by subjugating every human inhabitant of Northrend. With his

army of undead growing daily, he knew that the time for his true test was

nearing.

The Battle of Grim Batol

 Meanwhile, in the war-torn lands of the south, the scattered remnants of the

Horde fought for their very survival. Though Grom Hellscream and his

Warsong clan managed to evade capture, Deadeye and his Bleeding Hollow

clan were rounded up and placed in the internment camps in Lordaeron.

Notwithstanding these costly uprisings, the camps' wardens soon reestablished

control over their brutish charges.

 However, unknown to the Alliance, a large force of orcs still roamed free in

the northern wastes of Khaz Modan. The Dragonmaw clan, led by the

infamous warlock Nekros, was using an ancient artifact known as the Demon

Soul to control the Dragonqueen, Alexstrasza, and her dragonflight. With the

Dragonqueen as his hostage, Nekros built up a secret army within the

abandoned - some say cursed - Wildhammer stronghold of Grim Batol.

Planning to unleash his forces and the mighty red dragons on the Alliance,

Nekros hoped to reunite the Horde and continue its conquest of Azeroth. His

vision did not come to pass: a small group of resistance fighters, led by the

human mage Rhonin managed to destroy the Demon Soul and free the

Dragonqueen from Nekros' command.

In their fury, Alexstrasza's dragons tore Grim Batol apart and incinerated the

greater bulk of the Dragonmaw clan. Nekros' grand schemes of reunification

came crashing down as the Alliance troops rounded up the remaining orc

survivors and threw them into the waiting internment camps. The

Dragonmaw clan's defeat signaled the end of the Horde, and the end of the

orcs' furious bloodlust.

Lethargy of the Orcs

 Months passed, and more orc prisoners were rounded up and placed within

the internment camps. As the camps began to overflow, the Alliance was

forced to construct new camps in the plains south of the Alterac Mountains.

To properly maintain and supply the growing number of camps, King Terenas

levied a new tax on the Alliance nations. This tax, along with increased

political tensions over border disputes, created widespread unrest. It seemed

that the fragile pact that had forged the human nations together in their

darkest hour would break at any given moment.

 Amidst the political turmoil, many of the camp wardens began to notice an

unsettling change come over their orc captives. The orcs' efforts to escape

from the camps or even fight amongst themselves had greatly decreased in

frequency over time. The orcs were becoming increasingly aloof and

lethargic. Though it was difficult to believe, the orcs - once held as the most

aggressive race ever seen on Azeroth - had completely lost their will to fight.

The strange lethargy confounded the Alliance leaders and continued to take

its toll on the rapidly weakening orcs.

 Some speculated that some strange disease, contractible only by orcs,

brought about the baffling lethargy. But Archmage Antonidas of Dalaran

posed a different hypothesis. Researching what little he could find of orcish

history, Antonidas learned that the orcs had been under the crippling

influence of demonic power for generations. He speculated that the orcs had

been corrupted by these powers even before their first invasion of Azeroth.

Clearly, demons had spiked the orcs' blood, and in turn the brutes had been

granted unnaturally heightened strength, endurance, and aggression.

 Antonidas theorized that the orcs' communal lethargy was not actually a

disease, but a consequence of racial withdrawal from the volatile warlock

magics that had made them fearsome, bloodlusted warriors. Though the

symptoms were clear, Antonidas was unable to find a cure for the orcs'

present condition. Then too, many of his fellow mages, as well as a few

notable Alliance leaders, argued that finding a cure for the orcs would be an

imprudent venture. Left to ponder the orcs' mysterious condition, Antonidas'

conclusion was that the orcs' cure would have to be a spiritual one.

The New Horde

 The chief warden of the internment camps, Aedelas Blackmoore, watched

over the captive orcs from his prison-stronghold, Durnholde. One orc in

particular had always held his interest: the orphaned infant he had found

nearly eighteen years before. Blackmoore had raised the young male as a

favored slave and named him Thrall. Blackmoore taught the orc about tactics,

philosophy, and combat. Thrall was even trained as a gladiator. All the while,

the corrupt warden sought to mold the orc into a weapon.

 Despite his harsh upbringing, young Thrall grew into a strong, quick-witted

orc, and he knew in his heart that a slave's life was not for him. As he grew to

maturity, he learned about his people, the orcs, whom he had never met:

after their defeat, most of them had been placed in internment camps. Rumor

had it that Doomhammer, the orc leader, had escaped from Lordaeron and

gone into hiding. Only one rogue clan still operated in secret, trying to evade

the watchful eyes of the Alliance.

 The resourceful yet inexperienced Thrall decided to escape from

Blackmoore's fortress and set off to find others of his kind. During his

journeys Thrall visited the internment camps and found his once-mighty race

to be strangely cowed and lethargic. Having not found the proud warriors he

hoped to discover, Thrall set out to find the last undefeated orc chieftain,

Grom Hellscream.

 Constantly hunted by the humans, Hellscream nevertheless held onto the

Horde's unquenchable will to fight. Aided only by his own devoted Warsong

clan, Hellscream continued to wage an underground war against the

oppression of his beleaguered people. Unfortunately, Hellscream could never

find a way to rouse the captured orcs from their stupor. The impressionable

Thrall, inspired by Hellscream's idealism, developed a strong empathy for the

Horde and its warrior traditions.

 Seeking the truth of his own origins, Thrall traveled north to find the

legendary Frostwolf clan. Thrall learned that Gul'dan had exiled the

Frostwolves during the early days of the First War. He also discovered that he

was the son and heir of the orc hero Durotan, the true chieftain of the

Frostwolves who had been murdered in the wilds nearly twenty years before.

Under the tutelage of the venerable shaman Drek'Thar, Thrall studied his

people's ancient shamanistic culture, which had been forgotten under

Gul'dan's evil rule. Over time, Thrall became a powerful shaman and took his

rightful place as chieftain of the exiled Frostwolves. Empowered by the

elements themselves and driven to find his destiny, Thrall set off to free the

captive clans and heal his race of demonic corruption.

 During his travels, Thrall found the aged warchief, Orgrim Doomhammer, who

had been living as a hermit for many years. Doomhammer, who had been a

close friend of Thrall's father, decided to follow the young, visionary orc and

help him free the captive clans. Supported by many of the veteran chieftains,

Thrall ultimately succeeded in revitalizing the Horde and giving his people a

new spiritual identity.

 To symbolize his people's rebirth, Thrall returned to Blackmoore's fortress of

Durnholde and put a decisive end to his former master's plans by laying siege

to the internment camps. This victory was not without its price: during the

liberation of one camp, Doomhammer fell in battle.

 Thrall took up Doomhammer's legendary warhammer and donned his black

plate-armor to become the new warchief of the Horde. During the following

months, Thrall's small but volatile Horde laid waste to the internment camps

and stymied the Alliance's best efforts to counter his clever strategies.

Encouraged by his best friend and mentor, Grom Hellscream, Thrall worked to

ensure that his people would never be slaves again.

War of the Spider

 While Thrall was liberating his brethren in Lordaeron, Ner'zhul continued to

build up his power base in Northrend. A great citadel was erected above the

Icecrown Glacier and manned by the growing legions of the dead. Yet as the

Lich King extended his influence over the land, one shadowy empire stood

against his power. The ancient subterranean kingdom of Azjol-Nerub, which

had been founded by a race of sinister humanoid spiders, sent their elite

warrior-guard to attack Icecrown and end the Lich King's mad bid for

dominance. Much to his frustration, Ner'zhul found that the evil nerubians

were immune not only to the plague, but to his telepathic domination as well.

The nerubian spider-lords commanded vast forces and had an underground

network that stretched nearly half the breadth of Northrend. Their hit-and-run

tactics on the Lich King's strongholds stymied his efforts to root them out

time after time. Ultimately Ner'zhul's war against the nerubians was won by

attrition. With the aid of the sinister dreadlords and innumerable undead

warriors, the Lich King invaded Azjol-Nerub and brought its subterranean

temples crashing down upon the spider lords' heads.

Though the nerubians were immune to his plague, Ner'zhul's growing

necromantic powers allowed him to raise the spider-warriors' corpses and

bend them to his will. As a testament to their tenacity and fearlessness,

Ner'zhul adopted the nerubians' distinctive architectural style for his own

fortresses and structures. Left to rule his kingdom unopposed, the Lich King

began preparing for his true mission in the world. Reaching out into the

human lands with his vast consciousness, the Lich King called out to any dark

soul that would listen....

Kel'Thuzad and the Forming of the Scourge

 There were a handful of powerful individuals scattered throughout the world

who heard the Lich King's mental summons from Northrend. Most notable of

them was the archmage of Dalaran, Kel'Thuzad, who was one of senior

members of the Kirin Tor, Dalaran's ruling council. He had been considered a

maverick for years due to his insistence on studying the forbidden arts of

necromancy. Driven to learn all he could of the magical world and its shadowy

wonders, he was frustrated by what he saw as his peers' outmoded and

unimaginative precepts. Upon hearing the powerful summons from

Northrend, the archmage bent all of his considerable will to communing with

the mysterious voice. Convinced that the Kirin Tor was too squeamish to seize

the power and knowledge inherent in the dark arts, he resigned himself to

learn what he could from the immensely powerful Lich King.

 Leaving behind his fortune and prestigious political standing, Kel'Thuzad

abandoned the ways of the Kirin Tor and left Dalaran forever. Prodded by the

Lich King's persistent voice in his mind, he sold his vast holdings and stored

away his fortunes. Traveling alone over many leagues of both land and sea,

he finally reached the frozen shores of Northrend. Intent on reaching Icecrown

and offering his services to the Lich King, the archmage passed through the

ravaged, war-torn ruins of Azjol-Nerub. Kel'Thuzad saw firsthand the scope

and ferocity of Ner'zhul's power. He began to realize that allying himself with

the mysterious Lich King might be both wise and potentially fruitful.

 After long months of trekking through the harsh arctic wastelands, Kel'Thuzad

finally reached the dark glacier of Icecrown. He boldly approached Ner'zhul's

dark citadel and was shocked when the undead guardsmen silently let him

pass as though he was expected. Kel'Thuzad descended deep into the cold

earth and found his way down to the bottom of the glacier. There, in the

endless cavern of ice and shadows, he prostrated himself before the Frozen

Throne and offered his soul to the dark lord of the dead.

 The Lich King was pleased with his latest conscript. He promised Kel'Thuzad

immortality and great power in exchange for his loyalty and obedience. Eager

for dark knowledge and power, Kel'Thuzad accepted his first great mission: to

go into the world of men and found a new religion that would worship the Lich

King as a god.

 To help the archmage accomplish his mission, Ner'zhul left Kel'Thuzad's

humanity intact. The aged yet still charismatic wizard was charged with using

his powers of illusion and persuasion to lull the downtrodden, disenfranchised

masses of Lordaeron into a state of trust and belief. Then, once he had their

attention, he would offer them a new vision of what society could be - and a

new figurehead to call their king.

 Kel'Thuzad returned to Lordaeron in disguise, and over the span of three

years, he used his fortune and intellect to gather a clandestine brotherhood

of like-minded men and women. The brotherhood, which he called the Cult of

the Damned, promised its acolytes social equality and eternal life on Azeroth

in exchange for their service and obedience to Ner'zhul. As the months

passed, Kel'Thuzad found many eager volunteers for his new cult amongst

the tired, overburdened laborers of Lordaeron. It was surprisingly easy for

Kel'Thuzad to achieve his goal: namely, to transfer the citizens' faith in the

Holy Light into belief in Ner'zhul's dark shadow. As the Cult of the Damned

grew in size and influence, Kel'Thuzad made sure to hide its workings from

the authorities of Lordaeron.

 With Kel'Thuzad's success in Lordaeron, the Lich King made the final

preparations for his assault against human civilization. Placing his plagueenergies

into a number of portable artifacts called plague-cauldrons, Ner'zhul

ordered Kel'Thuzad to transport the cauldrons to Lordaeron, where they

would be hidden within various cult-controlled villages. The cauldrons,

protected by the loyal cultists, would then act as plague-generators, sending

the plague seeping out across the unsuspecting farmlands and cities of

northern Lordaeron.

 The Lich King's plan worked perfectly. Many of Lordaeron's northern villages

were contaminated almost immediately. Just as in Northrend, the citizens who

contracted the plague died and arose as the Lich King's willing slaves. The

cultists under Kel'Thuzad were eager to die and be raised again in their dark

lord's service. They exulted in the prospect of immortality through undeath.

As the plague spread, more and more feral zombies arose in the northlands.

Kel'Thuzad looked upon the Lich King's growing army and named it the

Scourge, for soon it would march upon the gates of Lordaeron and scour

humanity from the face of the world.

The Alliance Splinters

 Unaware of the death cults forming in their lands, the leaders of the Alliance

nations began to bicker and argue over territorial holdings and decreasing

political influence. King Terenas of Lordaeron began to suspect that the fragile

pact they had forged during their darkest hour would not last for much longer.

Terenas had convinced the Alliance leaders to lend money and laborers to

help rebuild the southern kingdom of Stormwind, which had been destroyed

during the orcish occupation of Azeroth. The higher taxes that resulted, along

with the high expense of maintaining and operating the numerous orc

internment camps, led many leaders - Genn Greymane of Gilneas in

particular - to believe that their kingdoms would be better off seceding from

the Alliance.

 To make matters worse, the high elves of Silvermoon brusquely rescinded

their allegiance to the Alliance, stating that the humans' poor leadership had

led to the burning of their forests during the Second War. Terenas fought back

his impatience and quietly reminded the elves that nothing of Quel'Thalas

would have remained if not for the hundreds of valiant humans who'd given

their lives to defend it. Nonetheless, the elves stubbornly decided to go their

own way. In the wake of the elves' departure, Gilneas and Stromgarde

seceded as well.

 Though the Alliance was falling apart, King Terenas still had allies that he

could count on. Both Admiral Proudmoore of Kul Tiras and the young king,

Varian Wrynn of Azeroth, remained committed to the Alliance. Furthermore,

the wizards of the Kirin Tor, led by the Archmage Antonidas, pledged

Dalaran's steadfast support to Terenas' rule. Perhaps most reassuring of all

was the pledge of the mighty dwarven king, Magni Bronzebeard, who vowed

that the dwarves of Ironforge would forever owe a debt of honor to the

Alliance for liberating Khaz Modan from the Horde's control.

Chapter 5: Return Of The Burning Legion

The Scourge of Lordaeron

 After preparing for many long months, Kel'Thuzad and his Cult of the Damned

finally struck the first blow by releasing the plague of undeath upon

Lordaeron. Uther and his fellow paladins investigated the infected regions in

the hope of finding a way to stop the plague. Despite their efforts, the plague

continued to spread and threatened to tear the Alliance apart.

 As the ranks of the undead swept across Lordaeron, Terenas' only son, Prince

Arthas, took up the fight against the Scourge. Arthas succeeded in killing

Kel'Thuzad, but even so, the undead ranks swelled with every soldier that fell

defending the land. Frustrated and stymied by the seemingly unstoppable

enemy, Arthas took increasingly extreme steps to conquer them. Finally

Arthas' comrades warned him that he was losing his hold on his humanity.

Arthas' fear and resolve proved to be his ultimate undoing. He tracked the

plague's source to Northrend, intending to end its threat forever. Instead,

Prince Arthas eventually fell prey to the Lich King's tremendous power.

Believing that it would save his people, Arthas took up the cursed runeblade,

Frostmourne. Though the sword did grant him unfathomable power, it also

stole his soul and transformed him into the greatest of the Lich King's death

knights. With his soul cast aside and his sanity shattered, Arthas led the

Scourge against his own kingdom. Ultimately, Arthas murdered his own

father, King Terenas, and crushed Lordaeron under the Lich King's iron heel.

Sunwell - The Fall of Quel'Thalas

Though he had defeated all of the people he now saw as his enemies, Arthas

was still haunted by the ghost of Kel'Thuzad. The ghost told Arthas that he

needed to be revived for the next phase of the Lich King's plan. To revive him,

Arthas needed to bring Kel'Thuzad's remains to the mystical Sunwell, hidden

within the high elves' eternal kingdom of Quel'Thalas.

 Arthas and his Scourge invaded Quel'Thalas and laid siege to the elves'

crumbling defenses. Sylvanas Windrunner, the Ranger-General of Silvermoon,

put up a valiant fight, but Arthas eventually eradicated the high elf army and

battled through to the Sunwell. In a cruel gesture of his dominance, he even

raised Sylvanas' defeated body as a banshee, cursed to endless undeath in

the service of Quel'Thalas' conqueror.

 Ultimately, Arthas submerged Kel'Thuzad's remains within the holy waters of

the Sunwell. Although the potent waters of Eternity were fouled by this act,

Kel'Thuzad was reborn as a sorcerous lich. Resurrected as a far more powerful

being, Kel'Thuzad explained the next phase of the Lich King's plan. By the

time Arthas and his army of the dead turned southward, not one living elf

remained in Quel'Thalas. The glorious homeland of the high elves, which had

stood for more than nine thousand years, was no more.

Archimonde's Return and the Flight to Kalimdor

 Once Kel'Thuzad was whole again, Arthas led the Scourge south to Dalaran.

There the lich would obtain the powerful spellbook of Medivh, and use it to

summon Archimonde back into the world. From that point on, Archimonde

himself would begin the Legion's final invasion. Not even the wizards of the

Kirin Tor could stop Arthas' forces from stealing Medivh's book, and soon

Kel'Thuzad had all he needed to perform his spell. After ten thousand years,

the mighty demon Archimonde and his host emerged once again upon the

world of Azeroth. Yet Dalaran was not their final destination. Under orders

from Kil'jaeden himself, Archimonde and his demons followed the undead

Scourge to Kalimdor, bent on destroying Nordrassil, the World Tree.

 In the midst of this chaos, a lone, mysterious prophet appeared to lend the

mortal races guidance. This prophet proved to be none other than Medivh,

the last Guardian, miraculously returned from the Beyond to redeem himself

for past sins. Medivh told the Horde and the Alliance of the dangers they

faced and urged them to band together. Jaded by generations of hate, the

orcs and humans would have none of it. Medivh was forced to deal with each

race separately, using prophecy and trickery to guide them across the sea to

the legendary land of Kalimdor. The orcs and humans soon encountered the

long-hidden civilization of the Kaldorei.

 The orcs, led by Thrall, suffered a series of setbacks on their journey across

Kalimdor's Barrens. Though they befriended Cairne Bloodhoof and his mighty

tauren warriors, many orcs began to succumb to the demonic bloodlust that

had plagued them for years. Thrall's greatest lieutenant, Grom Hellscream,

even betrayed the Horde by giving himself over to his baser instincts. As

Hellscream and his loyal Warsong warriors stalked through the forests of

Ashenvale, they clashed with the ancient night elf Sentinels. Certain that the

orcs had returned to their warlike ways, the demigod Cenarius came forth to

drive Hellscream and his orcs back. Yet Hellscream and his orcs, overcome

with supernatural hate and rage, managed to kill Cenarius and corrupt the

ancient forestlands. Ultimately, Hellscream redeemed his honor by helping

Thrall defeat Mannoroth, the demon lord who first cursed the orcs with his

bloodline of hate and rage. With Mannoroth's death, the orcs' blood-curse was

finally brought to an end.

 While Medivh worked to convince the orcs and humans of the need for an

alliance, the night elves fought the Legion in their own secretive ways.

Tyrande Whisperwind, the immortal High Priestess of the night elf Sentinels,

battled desperately to keep the demons and undead from overrunning the

forests of Ashenvale. Tyrande realized that she needed help, so she set out to

awaken the night elf druids from their thousand-year slumber. Calling upon

her ancient love, Malfurion Stormrage, Tyrande succeeded in galvanizing her

defenses and driving the Legion back. With Malfurion's help, nature herself

rose up to vanquish the Legion and its Scourge allies.

 While searching for more of the hibernating druids, Malfurion found the

ancient barrow prison in which he had chained his brother, Illidan. Convinced

that Illidan would aid them against the Legion, Tyrande set him free. Though

Illidan did aid them for a time, he eventually fled to pursue his own interests.

The night elves braced themselves and fought the Burning Legion with grim

determination. The Legion had never ceased in its desire for the Well of

Eternity, long the source of strength for the World Tree and itself the heart of

the night elf kingdom. If their planned assault on the Tree was successful, the

demons would literally tear the world apart.

The Battle of Mount Hyjal

Under Medivh's guidance, Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore - the leader of the

human forces in Kalimdor - realized that they had to put aside their

differences. Similarly, the night elves, led by Malfurion and Tyrande, agreed

that they must unite if they hoped to defend the World Tree. Unified in

purpose, the races of Azeroth worked together to fortify the World Tree's

energies to their utmost. Empowered by the very strength of the world,

Malfurion succeeded in unleashing Nordrassil's primal fury, utterly destroying

Archimonde and severing the Legion's anchor to the Well of Eternity. The final

battle shook the continent of Kalimdor to its roots. Unable to draw power from

the Well itself, the Burning Legion crumbled under the combined might of the

mortal armies.

The Betrayer Ascendant

 During the Legion's invasion of Ashenvale, Illidan was released from his

barrow prison after ten thousand years of captivity. Though he sought to

appease his comrades, he soon reverted to true form and consumed the

energies of a powerful warlock artifact known as the Skull of Gul'dan. By

doing so, Illidan developed demonic features and vastly magnified power. He

also gained some of Gul'dan's old memories - especially those of the Tomb of

Sargeras, the island dungeon rumored to hold the remains of the Dark Titan,

Sargeras.

 Bristling with power and free to roam the world once more, Illidan set out to

find his own place in the great scheme of things. However, Kil'jaeden

confronted Illidan and made him an offer he could not refuse. Kil'jaeden was

angered by Archimonde's defeat at Mount Hyjal, but he had greater concerns

than vengeance. Sensing that his creation, the Lich King, was growing too

powerful to control, Kil'jaeden ordered Illidan to destroy Ner'zhul and put an

end to the undead Scourge once and for all. In exchange, Illidan would

receive untold power and a true place amongst the remaining lords of the

Burning Legion.

 Illidan agreed and immediately set out to destroy the Frozen Throne, the icy

crystal cask in which the Lich King's spirit resided. Illidan knew that he would

need a mighty artifact to destroy the Frozen Throne. Using the knowledge he

had gained from Gul'dan's memories, Illidan decided to seek out the Tomb of

Sargeras and claim the Dark Titan's remains. He called in some old Highborne

debts and lured the serpentine naga from their dark undersea lairs. Led by

the cunning witch Lady Vashj the naga helped Illidan reach the Broken Isles,

where Sargeras' Tomb was rumored to be located.

 As Illidan set out with the naga, Warden Maiev Shadowsong began to hunt

him. Maiev had been Illidan's jailor for ten thousand years and relished the

prospect of recapturing him. However, Illidan outsmarted Maiev and her

Watchers and succeeded in claiming the Eye of Sargeras despite their efforts.

With the powerful Eye in his possession, Illidan traveled to the former wizard-

city of Dalaran. Strengthened by the city's ley power lines, Illidan used the

Eye to cast a destructive spell against the Lich King's citadel of Icecrown in

distant Northrend. Illidan's attack shattered the Lich King's defenses and

ruptured the very roof of the world. At the final moment, Illidan's destructive

spell was stopped when his brother Malfurion and the Priestess Tyrande

arrived to aid Maiev.

 Knowing that Kil'jaeden would not be pleased with his failure to destroy the

Frozen Throne, Illidan fled to the barren dimension known as Outland: the last

remnants of Draenor, the orcs' former homeworld. There he planned to evade

Kil'jaeden's wrath and plan his next moves. After they succeeded in stopping

Illidan, Malfurion and Tyrande returned home to Ashenvale Forest to watch

over their people. Maiev, however, would not quit so easily, and followed

Illidan to Outland, determined to bring him to justice.

Rise of the Blood Elves

 At this time, the undead Scourge had essentially transformed Lordaeron and

Quel'Thalas into the toxic Plaguelands. There were only a few pockets of

Alliance resistance forces left. One such group, consisting primarily of high

elves, was led by the last of the Sunstrider dynasty: Prince Kael'thas. Kael, an

accomplished wizard himself, grew wary of the failing Alliance. The high elves

grieved for the loss of their homeland and decided to call themselves blood

elves in honor of their fallen people. Yet as they worked to keep the Scourge

at bay, they suffered greatly at being cut off from the Sunwell that had

empowered them. Desperate to find a cure for his people's racial addiction to

magic, Kael did the unthinkable: he embraced his people's Highborne

ancestry and joined with Illidan and his naga in hopes of finding a new

magical power source upon which to feed. The remaining Alliance

commanders condemned the blood elves as traitors and cast them out for

good.

 With no place left to go, Kael and his blood elves followed Lady Vashj to

Outland to help contest the warden, Maiev, who had recaptured Illidan. With

the combined naga and blood elf forces, they managed to defeat Maiev and

free Illidan from her grasp. Based in Outland, Illidan gathered his forces for a

second strike against the Lich King and his fortress of Icecrown.

Civil War in the Plaguelands

 Ner'zhul, the Lich King, knew that his time was short. Imprisoned within the

Frozen Throne, he suspected that Kil'jaeden would send his agents to destroy

him. The damage caused by Illidan's spell had ruptured the Frozen Throne;

thus, the Lich King was losing his power daily. Desperate to save himself, he

called his greatest mortal servant to his side: the death knight Prince Arthas.

Though his powers were drained by the Lich King's weakness, Arthas had

been involved in a civil war in Lordaeron. Half of the standing undead forces,

led by the banshee Sylvanas Windrunner, staged a coup for control over the

undead empire. Arthas, called by the Lich King, was forced to leave the

Scourge in the hands of his lieutenant, Kel'Thuzad, as the war escalated

throughout the Plaguelands.

 Ultimately, Sylvanas and her rebel undead (known as the Forsaken) claimed

the ruined capital city of Lordaeron as their own. Constructing their own

bastion beneath the wrecked city, the Forsaken vowed to defeat the Scourge

and drive Kel'Thuzad and his minions from the land.

 Weakened, but determined to save his master, Arthas reached Northrend only

to find Illidan's naga and blood elves waiting for him. He and his nerubian

allies raced against Illidan's forces to reach the Icecrown Glacier and defend

the Frozen Throne.

The Lich King Triumphant

 Even weakened as he was, Arthas ultimately outmaneuvered Illidan and

reached the Frozen Throne first. Using his runeblade, Frostmourne, Arthas

shattered the Lich King's icy prison and thereby released Ner'zhul's

enchanted helm and breastplate. Arthas placed the unimaginably powerful

helm on his head and became the new Lich King. Ner'zhul and Arthas' spirits

fused into a single mighty being, just as Ner'zhul had always planned. Illidan

and his troops were forced to flee back to Outland in disgrace, while Arthas

became one of the most powerful entities the world had ever known.

 Currently Arthas, the new and immortal Lich King, resides in Northrend; he is

rumored to be rebuilding the citadel of Icecrown. His trusted lieutenant,

Kel'Thuzad, commands the Scourge in the Plaguelands. Sylvanas and her

rebel Forsaken hold only the Tirisfal Glades, a small portion of the war-torn

kingdom.

Old Hatreds - The Colonization of Kalimdor

 Though victory was theirs, the mortal races found themselves in a world

shattered by war. The Scourge and the Burning Legion had all but destroyed

the civilizations of Lordaeron, and had almost finished the job in Kalimdor.

There were forests to heal, grudges to bury, and homelands to settle. The war

had wounded each race deeply, but they had selflessly banded together to

attempt a new beginning, starting with the uneasy truce between the Alliance

and Horde.

 Thrall led the orcs to the continent of Kalimdor, where they founded a new

homeland with the help of their tauren brethren. Naming their new land

Durotar after Thrall's murdered father, the orcs settled down to rebuild their

once-glorious society. Now that the demon curse was ended, the Horde

changed from a warlike juggernaut into more of a loose coalition, dedicated

to survival and prosperity rather than conquest. Aided by the noble tauren

and the cunning trolls of the Darkspear tribe, Thrall and his orcs looked

forward to a new era of peace in their own land.

 The remaining Alliance forces under Jaina Proudmoore settled in southern

Kalimdor. Off the eastern coast of Dustwallow Marsh, they built the rugged

port city of Theramore. There, the humans and their dwarven allies worked to

survive in a land that would always be hostile to them. Though the defenders

of Durotar and Theramore kept the tentative truce with one another, the

fragile colonial serenity was not meant to last.

 The peace between the orcs and humans was shattered by the arrival of a

massive Alliance fleet in Kalimdor. The mighty fleet, under the command of

Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore (Jaina's father), had left Lordaeron before

Arthas had destroyed the kingdom. Having sailed for many grueling months,

Admiral Proudmoore was searching for any Alliance survivors he could find.

Proudmoore's armada posed a serious threat to the stability of the region. As

a renowned hero of the Second War, Jaina's father was a staunch enemy of

the Horde, and he was determined to destroy Durotar before the orcs could

gain a foothold in the land.

 The Grand Admiral forced Jaina to make a terrible decision: support him in

battle against the orcs and betray her newfound allies, or fight her own father

to maintain the fragile peace that the Alliance and the Horde had finally

attained. After much soul-searching, Jaina chose the latter and helped Thrall

defeat her crazed father. Unfortunately Admiral Proudmoore died in battle

before Jaina could reconcile with him or prove that orcs were no longer

bloodthirsty monsters. For her loyalty, the orcs allowed Jaina's forces to

return home safely to Theramore.

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