Invasion of Draenor The Invasion of Draenor ( also referred to as The Destruction of Draenor ) was the conflict which followed in the aftermath of the Second War between the Alliance of Lordaeron and the Horde of Draenor . These events were chronicled in the " Warcraft II : Beyond the Dark Portal " expansion pack , as well as in the novel " Beyond the Dark Portal " . Although its name is taken primarily from the Alliance Expedition ' s military campaign into the orcish homeworld of Draenor , it also refers to the battles and other major events which took place on both the worlds of Azeroth and Draenor during this time period . History . Forming the Horde 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 . Two years after the destruction of the Dark Portal , Teron Gorefiend and his followers went to Ner ' zhul , the former mentor of Gul ' dan , and convinced him to rally the remaining orc clans under his dark banner and restore the Dark Portal . 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 . Dentarg - Ner ' zhul ' s loyal follower - Grom Hellscream ( Warlord of the Warsong Clan ) and Kargath Bladefist ( Warlord of the Shattered Hand ) were the first to hear of Ner ' zhul ' s plan and flocked to his banner . Eventually , Dentarg and Kargath were sent to influence warriors from theThunderlord clan to join Ner ' zhul ' s Horde . Before Ner ' zhul could rebuild the Dark Portal to Azeroth and send his Horde through to gather the artifacts required for his grand scheme , he required the knowledge held by an order of Death Knights to complete his preparations . This group of Death Knights , though bearing the colors of the Shattered Hand Clan , was at that time under the control of Mogor , the renegade ogre - mage of theLaughing Skull clan , who was using their necromantic magic for creating a powerful spell . Ner ' zhul sent his forces , led by the Slayer of the Shadowmoon clan , against the Laughing Skull to subjugate the death knights and kill Mogor for his treachery . With the help of Grom Hellscream , who was freed from captivity at the hands of the Laughing Skull clan , Ner ' zhul ' s attack succeeded . Mogor was defeated but somehow survived , and Ner ' zhul gained the knowledge to open the Portal . Obris , a firm believer of Ner ' zhul ' s vision , took command of the remaining Laughing Skull clan . Ner ' zhul sent Grom Hellscream to obtain the Skull of Gul ' dan from Hurkan Skullsplinter . Grom slayed Hurkan and appointed Tagar Spinebreaker to take Hurkan ' s place of the Bonechewer clan who also joined Ner ' zhul ' s Horde . Procuring Artifacts . To power his new portals , Ner ' zhul needed a number of enchanted artifacts from Azeroth . To procure them , Ner ' zhul reopened the Dark Portal using the Skull of Gul ' dan and sent his ravenous servants charging through it . Nerz ' hul ' s forces began recruiting orcs stranded in Azeroth , notably among them Kilrogg Deadeye and his Bleeding Hollow clan . After failing to gain the support of the sons of Blackhand ( Rend Blackhand and Maim Blackhand ) , Gorefiend encountered Deathwing , the insane and scheming Aspect of the black dragonflight . He offered his own children for assistance in exchange for safe passage to Draenor and the Skull of Gul ' dan . They agreed and Deathwing helped them prepare for several key battles to steal two artifacts from the Alliance . The new Horde , led by veteran chieftains such as Grom Hellscream and Kilrogg Deadeye , surprised the Alliance defense forces and rampaged through the countryside . Grom andRexxar led the attack on Nethergarde Keep as a distraction for a team of orcs that were about to steal certain artifacts from Azeroth . Ner ' zhul sent Teron Gorefiend through the Dark Portal to claim three powerful artifacts required for his spell : The Book of Medivh , the Jeweled Scepter of Sargeras , and the Eye of Dalaran . Gorefiend has sensed a focus of arcane energies within a Castle that has been raised upon the foundations of Stormwind Keep . Ner ' zhul believes that this can only be the fabled Book of Medivh . At first , Gorefiend entered the Royal Library in Stormwind City only to find the Book of Medivh gone and its guard slain with an Alterac blade . The death knight leader then sent one of his lieutenants , Ragnok , to accompany Fenris , Tagar and their warriors to the Tomb of Sargeras . Gorefiend also secured the aid of black dragons from Deathwing until they reached the island . Their mission was to locate and retrieve the Jeweled Scepter of Sargeras . First they had stolen three boats from Menethil Harbor , but were discovered before leaving . A Kul Tiras naval armada sent by Admiral Daelin Proudmoore quickly pursed and threatened to destroy them , but the timely arrival of black dragons had destroyed three Kul Tiras vessels and the rest were forced to retreat at the hopeless situation . This allowed the access of the Great Sea to travel to the Tomb of Sargeras , Alterac and Dalaran . With the help of Deathwing , Teron Gorefiend made a deal with Alterac king Aiden Perenolde and got the Book of Medivh in exchange for the dragon aspect destroying the Alliance outposts in Alterac . Afterwards , Gorefiend traveled to the stronghold of Dalaran at Cross Island to steal the Eye of Dalaran , where the mages had built heavy fortification . He broke through the shoreline defenses , then he and his death knights broke into the Arcane Vault of the Violet Citadel , and stole the Eye . Several of the death knights were killed by Antonidas , joined by Krasus and Kael ' thas Sunstrider , but the Kirin Tor were unable to prevent the remaining , including their leader , from escaping . They killed Sathera and escaped atop the back of Deathwing and some of his black dragon s . Under Ner ' zhul ' s surgical command , the orcs quickly rounded up all 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 . Those recruited into the Alliance Expedition included veteran heroes of the Alliance such as Danath Trollbane , Kurdran Wildhammer , and Alleria Windrunner . Alliance Invasion of Draenor . Turalyon and Khadgar ' s forces marched into Draenor and repeatedly clashed with Ner ' zhul ' s clans upon the ravaged Hellfire Peninsula . After fortifying the Alliance Expedition ' s position on the Hellfire Peninsula where the Portal is located , they proceeded to establish a fleet to attack the surrounding clans . Their first target was to destroy the Orcish shipyards of Zeth ' kur . The Alliance Expedition established Honor Hold and later raided Hellfire Citadel , which was defended by Kargath Bladefist , his Shattered Hand clan , and Dentarg . The citadel was captured by the Alliance and Khadgar was able to slay Dentarg , but Kargath and a few of his orcs got away . Though the Horde headquarters was captured and the bulk of its military might was destroyed while the Alliance had few casualties , the Horde ' s new warchief Ner ' zhul wasn ' t in Hellfire Citadel as the Alliance Expedition believed . Khadgar discovered from Dentarg that Ner ' zhul was planning on using the stolen artifacts to make new portals . While examining the remains of the Hellfire Citadel , the Arch - Wizard has learned not only the location of the Book of Medivh , but also of another artifact integral to safeguarding Azeroth - the Skull of Gul ' dan . Khadgar believes it will be possible to destroy the Portal and permanently seal the rift created by Medivh if he can acquire these artifacts . Thus they decided to split their forces , with Danath and Kurdran continuing the pursuit of Ner ' zhul who still had the Book of Medivh and was en route to the Black Temple , while Khadgar , Turalyon , and Alleria pursue Deathwing who possessed the powerful Skull of Gul ' dan . Deathwing believed Draenor would be a relatively safe haven for his offspring and secreted away a cache of black dragon eggs there . However the Gronn did not take kindly to Deathwing and his black dragons trying to take over their territory and conflict arose between the two races . Gruul , the leader of the Gronn , eventually met the Alliance expedition heroes - Khadgar , Turalyon , and Alleria Windrunner - who were after the Skull of Gul ' dan which Deathwing possessed ( he demanded it as payment from Ner ' zhul ) . Seeing as they had a common enemy , the Gronn and the Alliance Expedition heroes formed an alliance to take down Deathwing . Gruul and his ogre minions , along with the heroes , challenged Deathwing from his perch in Gorgrond — killing his eggs and impaling his lesser black drakes on the mountain spikes . Infuriated by this act , Deathwing landed on top of them and attacked Gruul . Although clearly no match for the mad Aspect ' s power , Gruul distracted the dragon aspect while Khadgar cast a simple yet miraculous spell that disassembled some of the adamantium plates that were holding Deathwing ' s unstable body together , causing excruciating pain and resulting in Deathwing ' s retreat back to Azeroth . Khadgar took the Skull of Gul ' dan and decided to meet with Danath ' s forces at the Black Temple . Meanwhile , Danath and Kurdran pursued Ner ' zhul but Kurdran was struck down and captured by Ner ' zhul , who took his men to be holed up in Auchindoun . Danath and his forces established Allerian Stronghold and prepared to besiege the Auchindoun fortress . An arakkoa by the name of Grizzik was captured shortly after by Alliance forces , as he had been following the expedition . He promised to guide the Alliance into Auchindoun , where Ner ' zhul was hiding . There they encountered one of the last draenei , Nemuraan . Nemuraan assisted Talthressar , Danath and Rellian by allowing them to use seldom traveled passages , and he invoked the ghosts of dead draenei to assist the Alliance in their ambush against the orcs and their new allies , the Cabal of Vorpil . The Alliance fought valiantly and rescued Kurdran . Kilrogg Deadeye stayed behind to aid in Ner ' zhul ' s escape and was slain by Danath Trollbane in honorable combat . Ner ' zhul and Teron Gorefeind teleported to the Black Temple were Ner ' zhul began invoking the Spell of Conjuration . Unfortunately , seeking out the artifacts needed to seal the rift has given the Horde time to mount a strike against them . A great Orcish armada threatens the coasts that the Alliance Expedition have captured , and the armies of the Alliance have been hard pressed on many fronts . Khadgar and Danath ' s forces regrouped and razed the orc strongholds that guard the coastline of the Black Temple . Afterwards , the Alliance Expedition pressed their attack by raiding the Black Temple itself . Yet even though Turalyon had slain Teron Gorefiend and scattered the remnant orcish death knights , Khadgar ' s party was unable to prevent Ner ' zhul from opening his portals to other worlds . Unbeknownst to the other orc clans , the Skull of Gul ' dan had slowly corrupted Ner ' zhul until he became more concerned with his own power and well being rather than that of the Horde . Feeling the surge of power that came with having control of Draenor ' s magic , Ner ' zhul stopped caring about the welfare of the Horde , and thought only of harnessing his new powers . In his hubris , he ordered his followers through the portals he created , leaving behind the Horde . Obris , one of his servitors , protested at Ner ' zhul ' s choice to abandon the rest of the Horde . In response , Ner ' zhul blasted him aside ; he no longer cared . Inundated with power he previously could only have dreamed of , Ner ' zhul ' s greed overcame him , and whatever vestiges of honor and altruism still remained in him vanished as he and his followers went through the first portal , abandoning the rest of the Orcish Horde to its fate . Obris in his dying breath relinquished the Book of Medivh to Khadgar as a last act of defiance to his traitorous warchief . 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 . Worse , a multitude of Orcs have laid siege to the Alliance ' s fortifications at Hellfire . Although the attacking warriors were not well equipped , their sheer numbers threatened to spell the downfall of the Alliance ' s forces there . As Turalyon ' s forces fought desperately to fend off the abandoned orc clans and return home to Azeroth , the world of Draenor began to buckle in upon itself . 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 orcs attacked the human ranks in a desperate bid for freedom , the Alliance held their ground and protected Khadgar as he used the Skull of Gul ' dan and the Book of Medivh to destroy the Dark Portal . For the remaining orcs stranded on Azeroth like Grom Hellscream , 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 . Ner ' zhul and his followers however were immediately apprehended by the demon lord Kil ' jaeden in the aftermath of their escape from Draenor . Kil ' jaeden turned his captives into monstrosities , with Ner ' zhul himself eventually becoming the Lich King . After the Dark Portal ' s destruction , Khadgar and the remnants of the Alliance Expedition also escaped through one of Ner ' zhul ' s portals . As the burning seas rose up and roiled the shattered landscape , the tortured world was finally consumed in a massive , apocalyptic explosion causing the Outland it is today . Outland . Outland , though the broken remnant of Draenor , was still a surviving world full of resources , people , and open portals for the Burning Legion to infiltrate . The Burning Legion would once again turn its gaze upon the broken planet to subjugate it , with Magtheridon and his forces conquering it and ruling the surviving populace under his tyranny . The remnants of the Alliance Expedition returned to Outland to reclaim their abandoned fortifications , and renamed themselves the Sons of Lothar - a group dedicated to holding a vigil to staunch demonic influence over Outland and the worlds beyond . A new race called the Naaru would eventually travel to Outland as well to give its people hope and to spread the salvation of the Lightduring Outland ' s time of peril .