The Portal Between Worlds

The histories behind the world you explore.

Artwork of Dark Portal opens and the Horde invades Azeroth, used to illustrate the related chapter The Portal Between Worlds
Dark Portal opens and the Horde invades Azeroth — subject illustration for The Portal Between Worlds; not a literal scene reconstruction.Image: © Blizzard Entertainment

Quick Overview

The creation of the Dark Portal brought the orc clans of Draenor into direct war with Azeroth's human kingdoms. Gul'dan's schemes and Sargeras's influence over the Guardian Medivh converged to open the passage, placing Blackhand's Horde on Stormwind's doorstep. Early resistance could slow the invasion but not stop the danger flowing between worlds. Stormwind's eventual defeat drove its survivors north and helped give birth to the Alliance that would fight the Second War.

Full History

The Dark Portal opened a path between Draenor and Azeroth, allowing the newly forged Horde to attack the human kingdom of Stormwind. Medivh's involvement brought the Guardian's hidden corruption into the same story as Gul'dan's schemes. Two worlds that had developed apart became joined by war. The invasion turned the orcs' transformation into a crisis for the Eastern Kingdoms.

The Horde entered Azeroth under Blackhand's leadership, driven by the ambitions of warlocks and chiefs whose unity remained imperfect. Its first campaigns struck Stormwind's lands, bringing defenders such as Llane and Lothar into conflict with enemies they scarcely understood. The Portal was therefore not just a magical threshold. It joined the consequences of Sargeras's influence over Medivh to the demonic manipulation that had already changed orc society on Draenor.

Stormwind could resist raids and win battles without sealing the breach between worlds. Its eventual fall showed the depth of the danger, sending survivors north and compelling human rulers to form an alliance against the Horde. The Portal's opening marks the beginning of a historical era in which Azeroth's kingdoms could no longer assume that their threats arose only from peoples born upon their own world.

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