Medivh and Gul’dan contact one another

Full History

Medivh inherited the power of the Guardian from Aegwynn, but he also carried the hidden spirit of Sargeras. Across another world, Gul'dan had risen through the corruption of the orcish clans and used the Shadow Council to direct the Horde. Their contact brought these two centers of power into alignment. The encounter was important not because the men shared a culture or allegiance, but because their different ambitions could converge upon the opening of a passage between worlds.

For Gul'dan, the new world promised opportunities beyond a devastated Draenor, and his deeper interest in the secrets of Sargeras would later drive him toward the Tomb beneath the sea. For Medivh, the plan furthered the demonic influence that had survived through Aegwynn's apparent victory over Sargeras's avatar. The Guardian's position made the bargain particularly dangerous: one of Azeroth's foremost magical protectors now helped undermine its isolation from the Horde.

The Dark Portal opened in the Black Morass, allowing orc warriors to cross into the kingdom ruled by Llane Wrynn. What began with reconnaissance and raiding grew into the First War. Stormwind's defenders had little knowledge of the larger forces behind the invasion, and the presence of an enemy army arriving through a supernatural gateway transformed the nature of the threat facing their lands.

Medivh's role was later uncovered by those closest to him, including Khadgar, Garona, and Anduin Lothar. His downfall at Karazhan ended the corrupted Guardian's immediate actions, but the Portal and the wars it had unleashed were already realities. The dealings between Medivh and Gul'dan thus joined Sargeras's ancient plans to the history of the orcs and the human kingdoms. Their alliance was brief in comparison with the conflicts it caused.