First War

The First War was the orcish Horde's invasion of the human kingdom of Azeroth (later called Stormwind), and the war that brought orcs into the Eastern Kingdoms. It began when the Horde crossed from Draenor through the Dark Portal and ended with Stormwind in ruins and its people fleeing north to Lordaeron. Much of Classic's southern Eastern Kingdoms, from the Blasted Lands to Redridge, still bears its scars.

Background

On the world of Draenor, the demon lord Kil'jaeden of the Burning Legion corrupted the orc shaman Ner'zhul and his apprentice Gul'dan. Gul'dan's Shadow Council taught the orcs warlock magic and had the clan chieftains drink the blood of the pit lord Mannoroth. The once-shamanistic orcs became a unified, bloodthirsty Horde.

On Azeroth, the human mage Medivh, the Guardian of Tirisfal, was secretly possessed by the spirit of Sargeras. He reached out to Gul'dan, and together they opened the Dark Portal, linking Draenor to a swamp in the south of the kingdom of Azeroth known as the Black Morass.

The war

The Horde, led by Warchief Blackhand, poured through the Portal and attacked the human settlements nearby. King Llane Wrynn and his champion, Anduin Lothar, defended the kingdom for years.

Key events, as the lore now tells them:

• Medivh's death. The young mage Khadgar, Medivh's apprentice, discovered his master's corruption. With Lothar and the half-orc Garona, he confronted Medivh in his tower, Karazhan, and killed him.
• King Llane's assassination. Garona, under pressure from Gul'dan, assassinated King Llane in Stormwind Keep.
• The fall of Stormwind. The Horde, now led by Orgrim Doomhammer after he killed Blackhand, besieged and destroyed Stormwind.

Lothar gathered the survivors, including the young prince Varian Wrynn, and led them by sea to Lordaeron. There they warned King Terenas, whose alliance of human nations would fight the Second War.

Where players see it in Classic

Blasted Lands and the Dark Portal

The Black Morass became the Blasted Lands, a scorched red wasteland after the Portal's destruction at the end of the Second War. At its southern end, the Dark Portal (The Dark Portal) stands dark in its crater. The soldiers and mages of Nethergarde Keep guard against anything that comes through, and quests like Supplies for Nethergarde send players there with supplies.

Swamp of Sorrows

The Swamp of Sorrows was part of the same Black Morass. The Horde outpost of Stonard stands in the swamp, which is also home to the Lost Ones, such as the Lost One Chieftain, who in the lore are broken draenei from Draenor. Their village, the Fallow Sanctuary, lies in the north of the zone.

Deadwind Pass and Karazhan

Deadwind Pass holds Karazhan (Karazhan), the tower where Medivh lived and died. In Classic it is closed to players; the zone is a high-level patch of ghouls and ogres. The tower opened as a raid in The Burning Crusade.

Stormwind and the Defias Brotherhood

Stormwind City is the rebuilt capital. In The Defias Brotherhood, players learn that Edwin VanCleef led the Stonemasons' Guild that rebuilt Stormwind "after the orcs razed it in the First War." When the nobles refused to pay, the masons became the Defias Brotherhood. Much of the questing in Westfall and The Deadmines grows from that one unpaid bill.

The child king Anduin Wrynn sits on the throne while his father, Varian Wrynn, son of Llane, is missing.

Redridge and the Blackrock orcs

The Blackrock Clan, Blackhand's own clan, still raids the south. In Redridge Mountains, they raid from Stonewatch Keep, and the Lakeshire militia puts a bounty on the Outrunner leader Tharil'zun in Tharil'zun. Their stronghold is Blackrock Spire, which the Horde took during the Second War.

Later history and retcons

The First War's story has been retold several times:

• Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994) let players win as either side. Later lore made the Horde's victory canon.
• Garona's background was revised. She was originally described as half-orc, half-human; later material made her half-orc, half-draenei.
• The Last Guardian (2002), a novel by Jeff Grubb, told Medivh's story in detail, including Khadgar's role.
• The Warcraft film (2016) told a loose version of the war with many differences from the games.
• The Chronicle books placed the Dark Portal's opening at year 0 of the modern calendar, which later material uses as the reference date.

Sources

• First War - Warcraft Wiki
• Dark Portal - Warcraft Wiki
• Garona Halforcen - Warcraft Wiki
• Medivh - Warcraft Wiki