Dark Portal opens and the Horde invades Azeroth

Full History

Before the Portal, the orcish clans had waged their campaigns on Draenor. Gul'dan's dealings with the corrupted Guardian Medivh made it possible to reach another world. The Dark Portal connected the two realms, and the first orc warriors crossed into the swamps east of Stormwind. Their arrival ended Azeroth's isolation from the conquering force that the Burning Legion had helped create.

The initial presence of the Horde grew through exploration, raids, and the establishment of positions in the marshlands. Human settlements near the frontier suffered attacks as orc commanders learned the strengths and weaknesses of the kingdom they had invaded. King Llane Wrynn and his champion Anduin Lothar worked to organize resistance. Their soldiers faced enemies whose weapons, tactics, and very origins were unfamiliar to the people of Stormwind.

The conflict developed into the First War. Stormwind's armies won engagements but could not prevent the Horde from sustaining pressure on the kingdom. Political danger reached into the royal court when Garona eventually assassinated Llane. The capital fell, and Anduin Lothar led survivors north across the sea to Lordaeron, seeking aid against the enemy that had destroyed their home.

The Portal's historical significance far exceeds the first moment when an orc stepped onto Azeroth. It connected the fates of two worlds and created the circumstances for the Alliance of Lordaeron, the Second War, the destruction of Draenor, and Thrall's later effort to build a new Horde. At the original World of Warcraft starting point, the ruined frontier around the Portal remained one of the most recognizable sites of modern history. The gateway was the threshold through which centuries of separate stories became one war.