Post by Lilitha on Dec 7, 2006 14:42:01 GMT -5
Prologue
Before Orgrimmar was built, before Durotar was founded and even before the Alliance was formed, the orcs lived in Draenor, the place now known as the Outlands. Medivh and the warlocks of the Shadow council were the ones responsible for the creation of the Dark Portal and the invasion of the Horde. The Kingdom of Azeroth was caught off guard when the orcs came through. This was the beginning of the First War.
The First War
During the first battle the orcs rushed Stormwind Keep only to face a catastrophic amount of casualties. The few orcs that remained had retreated back through the Dark Portal. Human forces attempted to pursue the fleeing orcs but the warlock Gul’dan invoked shadow magic and enshrouded the Black Morass in a mist that allow the orcs to pass freely while sending the humans into a state of confusion.
The orcs were humiliated by their defeat and the many clans erupted into a state of chaos. Each clan started to blame each other. Gul’dan manipulated a ruthless leader and gives him the title of Warchief, the first of three. This dictator was Blackhand the Destroyer. Upon taking control, Blackhand rallied the clans back together and prepared for a new assault on Azeroth. This was the start of what is now known as the Old Horde, the first unification of the orc and ogre clans of Draenor.
Under Blackhand’s guidance, the Horde went back through the Dark Portal, this time attacking outlying human settlements around Black Morass. After these areas were under Horde control, they began attacking towns closer to the capitol. The towns of Grand Hamlet, Sunnyglade, Goldshire and Moonbrook were decimated. While the Horde rampaged through the Eastern Kingdoms, another series of events is unfolding.
Durotan, chieftain of the Frostwolves clan, was ambushed and slain by rival orcs. The ambushers left Durotan’s son for death. He is soon saved by a group of humans under Aedelas Blackmoore’s command. He is then taken in as a slave and given the name Thrall.
Gul’dan went into a deep coma after trying to enter the mind of Medivh, though he only sees the Eye of Sargeras. After learning about the murder of Durotan and learning the identity of the ambushers, Orgrim Doomhammer seizes the opportunity to assassinate Blackhand in order to avenge him. Doomhammer becomes the second Warchief of the Horde. The new Warchief leads a full frontal assault against Stormwind Keep which soon crumbles under the full might of the Horde. He later enslaved Alexstrasza, Queen of the Red Dragonflight.
During the battle one of Gul’dan’s assassins, the half-orc Garona, had slain King Llane. Spies loyal to Orgrim captured and tortured her to reveal the location of the Shadow Council. In tremendous pain, Garona told them of the ruins near Stormwind Keep. Doomhammer sent a legion of Wolfriders to execute the Shadow Council. Gul’dan awoke in time of Doomhammer’s arrival and told Orgrim that he completely submitted himself to the Warchief and would train powerful Death Knights under Doomhammer’s control if Gul’dan were to live. Intrigued, Orgrim agreed to the idea.
Meanwhile, Lord Anduin Lothar realized that it was Medivh who helped to open the Dark Portal and allowed the passage of the Horde. Leading a group of knights to his tower, Lothar confronted his old friend and killed him. That severed Sargeras’ grip on Medivh’s mind and allowed his spirit to escape.
Lothar returned to the ruins if Stormwind Keep and conceded that the Kingdom of Azeroth had been lost. He gathered the all the survivors he could and set sail for Lordaeron. This marks the end of the first war, the Horde was victorious.