Beyond the Dark Portal #20: a dangerous ally

August 26, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Beyond the Dark Portal" series — Beyond the Dark Portal #20. The story of Beyond the Dark Portal, from the internment camps to the end of Draenor. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.

The group of Khadgar, Turalyon and Alleria went after Deathwing and uncovered a secret: the dragon had hidden black dragon eggs in Gorgrond. The gronn, giants who lived there, were at war with his dragons. The king of the gronn, Gruul, decided to help the Alliance. He was a powerful ally, and a dangerous one.

Deathwing's eggs

Deathwing had a plan of his own in Draenor. He hid black dragon eggs in Gorgrond, far from Azeroth and the other Aspects, to raise a new flight.

The gronn and Gruul

The gronn were brutal giants, the strongest in Draenor. Deathwing's dragons and the gronn fought over territory, and the gronn hated the dragons.

Their king, Gruul, saw the Alliance as a chance to get rid of Deathwing and joined the heroes. Nobody trusted him, but nobody would turn down his strength.

Gruul in TBC

Gruul survived the destruction of Draenor. In TBC he is known as the Dragonkiller and has his own raid, Gruul's Lair, in Blade's Edge Mountains. The bones of the black dragons he killed lie scattered across the region.

What this changes in the story

The alliance with Gruul shows how alone the Alliance expedition was in Draenor. To face a Dragon Aspect, it needed the help of a brutal giant who had no reason at all to be friends with humans.

The rivalry between the gronn and the black dragons continues in TBC. Blade's Edge Mountains, the Gorgrond region after the destruction of Draenor, is full of dragon bones, and Gruul earned the title of Dragonkiller.

Deathwing's eggs hidden in Draenor also have consequences: the dragons of the Netherwing flight, in Outland, hatched from those eggs, transformed by the energy of the planet's destruction.

Episode timeline

Khadgar's group chases Deathwing.
They discover the black dragon eggs in Gorgrond.
The gronn are at war with the dragons.
Gruul allies with the Alliance against Deathwing.
The showdown with Deathwing draws near.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Gruul | The king of the gronn, who allied with the Alliance against Deathwing. | | Gronn | The brutal giants of Draenor. | | Deathwing | The black dragon who hid eggs in Gorgrond. | | Khadgar, Turalyon and Alleria | The Alliance group chasing Deathwing. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Gruul's Lair, in Blade's Edge Mountains: the TBC raid with Gruul the Dragonkiller.
Blade's Edge Mountains: the gronn and the black dragons of Outland.
Blackwing Lair and Onyxia's Lair: Deathwing's children in Azeroth.