Beyond the Dark Portal #5: the Sons of Lothar

August 13, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Beyond the Dark Portal" series — Beyond the Dark Portal #5. 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.

On the Alliance side, the heroes who would face Ner'zhul were veterans of the Second War. Turalyon, Khadgar, Alleria Windrunner, Danath Trollbane and Kurdran Wildhammer formed the group that later became known as the Sons of Lothar, in honor of the commander who had died at Blackrock Spire.

The heroes

Turalyon, the paladin who took command when Lothar died.
Khadgar, the archmage who destroyed the Dark Portal.
Alleria Windrunner, the greatest ranger of Quel'Thalas.
Danath Trollbane, of Stromgarde, who had overseen the internment camps.
Kurdran Wildhammer, the leader of the dwarven gryphon riders, with the gryphon Sky'ree.

Alleria and Turalyon

Alleria and Turalyon had stayed together since the Second War. Their story on Draenor and afterward, across the thousand years they spent fighting the Legion, is told in A Thousand Years of War.

Why "Sons of Lothar"

After they got stuck on Draenor, the survivors of the expedition began calling themselves the Sons of Lothar, in honor of the Lion of Azeroth. They kept a vigil against the demons on the other side of the Portal, and that is why the player meets them in Outland in TBC.

What this changes in the story

The Sons of Lothar are one of the Alliance's most important groups of heroes. They went through the Dark Portal knowing they might not come back, and most of them really did not: they were trapped in Outland for years.

Each one had a different fate. Danath and Kurdran kept the vigil in Outland, and the player meets them in TBC. Khadgar became the great mage of Shattrath and, later, of Legion. Alleria and Turalyon spent a thousand years fighting the Legion and came back in Legion with the Army of the Light.

Alleria's sister, Sylvanas, thought she had died. The separation of the Windrunner sisters starts here and is only resolved much later.

Episode timeline

The heroes of the Second War keep serving the Alliance.
Alleria and Turalyon stay together.
Danath oversees the camps and gets ready for a new war.
Kurdran and the Wildhammer patrol the skies.
The group will become the Alliance expedition to Draenor.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Turalyon | The commander of the expedition. | | Khadgar | The archmage who studied the rift of the Portal. | | Alleria Windrunner | The ranger of Quel'Thalas. | | Danath Trollbane | The warrior from Stromgarde. | | Kurdran Wildhammer | The leader of the dwarven gryphon riders. | | Sky'ree | Kurdran's gryphon. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Honor Hold, in Hellfire Peninsula: Danath Trollbane commands the keep in TBC.
Shattrath: an older Khadgar welcomes the heroes to Outland.
Shadowmoon Valley: Kurdran at Wildhammer Stronghold.