Alliance expedition crosses into Draenor

Full History

The Second War had ended with the Horde's defeat, but the reopening of the Dark Portal showed that the threat was not finished. Orcish forces under Ner'zhul sought the magic necessary to travel to other worlds. Rather than allow another invasion to develop unchecked, the Alliance sent soldiers through the gateway to challenge the surviving Horde on Draenor itself. The venture carried the war into territory wholly unfamiliar to most of those who volunteered.

The expedition included leaders whose earlier service had tied them to the Alliance's struggle for survival. Turalyon had rallied troops after Anduin Lothar's death; Khadgar knew the Portal's magical origins; Alleria Windrunner, Danath Trollbane, and Kurdran Wildhammer brought their own abilities and commitments. Together their force became remembered as the Sons of Lothar, honoring the commander whose work had united the resistance after Stormwind's fall.

Their campaign involved battles over strongholds and magical artifacts, all while Ner'zhul pursued his ritual plans. The Alliance hoped to prevent the creation of new gateways that could expose Azeroth to further attacks. Yet the magnitude of the forces being gathered made the struggle larger than a contest between the expedition and the remaining orcish clans. Draenor itself became endangered by the magic its leaders sought to wield.

When the portals tore the world apart, Khadgar moved to close the connection to Azeroth. The decision saved their homeworld from the effects of the disaster but left members of the expedition stranded in the shattered realm. Their fate remained part of the unresolved history inherited by the original World of Warcraft. The Sons of Lothar had gone beyond Azeroth to prevent another invasion and paid for that defense with separation from the world they served.