Beyond the Dark Portal #23: the end of Draenor

August 29, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Beyond the Dark Portal" series — Beyond the Dark Portal #23. 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.

Draenor was finished. With Ner'zhul's portals tearing the planet apart, Khadgar and Turalyon used the Skull of Gul'dan and the Book of Medivh to destroy the Dark Portal on the Draenor side, saving Azeroth from destruction. The expedition was trapped on the other side. Ner'zhul was captured by Kil'jaeden, and Draenor broke into pieces floating in the void: Outland.

The destruction of the Portal

The energy of the portals was destroying Draenor and threatened to reach Azeroth through the Dark Portal. While the Horde besieged the Alliance fortifications on Hellfire Peninsula and the Laughing Skull clan made a truce with the Alliance, Khadgar and Turalyon used the Skull and the Book to destroy the Portal on the Draenor side.

It was a conscious choice: saving Azeroth meant being trapped on a world that was ending.

The fate of the heroes

The survivors of the expedition came to be called the Sons of Lothar and kept a watch against the demons. In TBC, Danath Trollbane commands Honor Hold, Kurdran Wildhammer is in Shadowmoon and Khadgar welcomes heroes in Shattrath.

According to the audio drama A Thousand Years of War, Turalyon and Alleria crossed the Twisting Nether and joined the Army of the Light, fighting the Legion for a thousand years.

The fate of Ner'zhul

Ner'zhul and the Shadowmoon clan went through the portal, but they never reached a new world. They were captured by Kil'jaeden, the demon who had deceived Ner'zhul at the very beginning. As punishment, Kil'jaeden bound the shaman's spirit inside a suit of ice armor and sent him to Northrend as the Lich King.

Outland

Draenor shattered. What was left of the planet became Outland, pieces of land floating in the void, linked by stone bridges. On the Azeroth side, the orcs still on the continent, like Grom Hellscream, lost their way home. They would only play a major role again in Warcraft 3.

What this changes in the story

The end of Draenor is one of the great turning points of Warcraft. It creates Outland, where TBC takes place, it creates the Lich King, the villain of WotLK, and it separates for decades the heroes who stayed on each side of the Portal.

It also closes Ner'zhul's arc. The shaman who was deceived by Kil'jaeden at the start of the First War ends up as a prisoner of that same demon, locked in ice armor in Northrend. Years later, Arthas merges with him on the Frozen Throne.

The next great war is the Third War, told in Warcraft 3, with the plague, the fall of Lordaeron and the arrival of the Legion. It is covered in episodes 1 to 5 of the History of Warcraft series.

Episode timeline

Ner'zhul's portals begin to destroy Draenor.
The Laughing Skull clan makes a truce with the Alliance.
Khadgar and Turalyon destroy the Dark Portal on the Draenor side.
Ner'zhul is captured by Kil'jaeden and becomes the Lich King.
Draenor shatters and becomes Outland.
The survivors become the Sons of Lothar.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Khadgar | The archmage who destroyed the Portal and stayed in Outland. | | Turalyon and Alleria | The heroes who joined the Army of the Light. | | Ner'zhul | The shaman captured by Kil'jaeden, who became the Lich King. | | Kil'jaeden | The demon who turned Ner'zhul into the Lich King. | | Outland | The remains of Draenor, floating in the void. |