Dimensional gateway

Dimensional gateways are magical gateways between worlds similar to the Dark Portal. However, where the Dark Portal was securely fixed as a doorway between two temporal worlds — Azeroth and Draenor — with a single terminus on both planets, dimensional gateways are less stable and are tunnels between the worlds, as opposed to mere doorways. This feature is part of what caused Draenor's explosion.
The gateway used to summon Hakkar the Houndmaster and the other demons in the War of the Ancients was closer to the Dark Portal than a dimensional gateway — the terminus of that portal was located on a Legion-controlled world.
==Invasion of Draenor==
On the Draenor side of the now-closed Dark Portal, the elder shaman Ner'zhul, chieftain of the Shadowmoon clan, planned to open dimensional gateways that would lead the Horde of Draenor to new, unspoiled worlds to conquer.Slayer of the Shadowmoon (WC2 Orc) Teron Gorefiend also desired a world of his own,The Rift Awakened (WC2 Orc) and together they led their armies in an invasion of Azeroth in order to gather the artifacts required for their plans: the Jeweled Scepter of Sargeras, the Book of Medivh and the Eye of Dalaran.
During the last hours of the conflict, Ner'zhul cast the Spell of Conjuration in order to create his gateways. Huge dimensional rifts crackling with the cosmic energies of the Twisting Nether appeared over the skies of Draenor. The energies emitted from these newly formed rifts torn apart the fabric of reality in Draenor and caused massive tidal waves, earthquakes, and volcanoes to erupt.The Bitter Taste of Victory (WC2 Human) The planet was eventually shattered in the ensuing cataclysm.
==Third War==
There were four dimensional gateways left over from Ner'zhul's experiments, outside of Magtheridon's Black Temple. They brought demons in from the Twisting Nether which Magtheridon brought under his control. Illidan Stormrage shut down the gateways, which cut off the flow of demons and ended the extra stresses on the remnants of the planet, now called Outland.Gates of the Abyss (WC3 BloodElf)
Despite this, other gates were still active in Outland even after Magtheridon's imprisonment in Hellfire Citadel, and several weeks before his defeat in the Black Temple, Illidan was still trying to close them all.World of Warcraft: Illidan, chapter 5: "Lady Malande raised her hand in a languid salute. “Lord Illidan, Prince Kael'thas regrets he could not be present. He has taken a force to close the Legion's gate in the Netherstorm and —” Before she could complete her explanation, High Nethermancer Zerevor butted in. “The magical defenses of the temple have been rewoven, Lord Illidan. They were in a disgraceful state, but—” Gathios the Shatterer, broad for a blood elf and encased in the heavy armor of a paladin, interrupted, “There is no sign of Legion activity in Shadowmoon Valley, Lord Illidan. The gates remain as closed as the day we sealed them, and there have been no indications of demonic manifestation.”The Burning Crusade Flash site#Shadowmoon Valley
==World of Warcraft==
Several dimensional gateways can be found in Outland with The Burning Crusade. There are only three currently in the game, though they are located in other regions than the four gateways closed by Illidan in The Frozen Throne which were shown in Hellfire Peninsula (later retconned to Shadowmoon Valley):
*At the Portal Clearing on the shores of Marshlight Lake in western Zangarmarsh. (Not currently functional)
*At Twilight Ridge in western Nagrand. (Not currently functional)
*At Death's Door east of Thunderlord Stronghold in the Blade's Edge Mountains. (Functional, but not open)
According to Gathios the Shatterer, the portals closed in the aftermath of the Third War in Shadowmoon Valley have remained sealed and aren't the same ones that appeared in the forge camps. Lady Malande also informed Illidan that Kael'thas could not attend the Illidari Council in the Black Temple since he was on the task to close another Legion’s gate in the Netherstorm.World of Warcraft: Illidan chapter 12: "Lord Illidan, we closed Magtheridon's portals with your aid. Surely we can close these."
==Speculation==
*It is likely that Kel'Thuzad opened such a gateway, or a variation thereof, in Dalaran to summon Archimonde.
*The absence of the four dimensional gateways in the outskirts of the Black Temple in game may be due to scale issues.
*Given the absence of any dimensional gateway in the Netherstorm it's possible that Lady Malande was referring to forge camps, or that she's lying to Illidan to cover up Kael'thas' treachery.
*The Felstorm can likely be counted as a dimensional gateway.
==Notes==
The "portals to other worlds" make up a collection of portals of which Chris Metzen revealed in the Developer Panels that Illidan closed these in Outland. Nevertheless, MagusRogue, a World of Warcraft RPG Game Designer from White-Wolf revealed the following:
:"The portals were shut down by Illidan, actually. However, some of the quests in the Burning Crusade Expansion have you re-opening these and going to new dimensions, fighting the legion in new worlds. Should be awesome."
:"One of the things we're most excited about," says Metzen, "is the chance to create environments unlike anything you've seen in previous games. We really want to ramp it up for the players now. We're saying, 'Hey, you've graduated, you're over level 60 now, so let's get crazy with some really alien worlds and creatures." Even better, this is something that's infinitely expandable for us in updates and expansions down the line. There can always be more portal worlds."
==Gallery==
BTNDarkPortal.png|The Frozen Throne icon.
BTNDarkPortal-Reforged.png|Reforged icon.
Ner'zhul TCG Alt.JPG|Ner'zhul holding the Skull of Gul'dan in front of a dimensional gateway.
Ner'zhul dimensional gateway Black Temple trailer.jpg|Ner'zhul and a dimensional gateway in the Black Temple trailer.
==References==
Category:Portals
Category:Lore