Beyond the Dark Portal #6: look who's back!

August 14, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Beyond the Dark Portal" series — Beyond the Dark Portal #6. 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 Alliance thought the danger was over. It was not. With the Skull of Gul'dan, Ner'zhul reopened the Dark Portal, and the Horde came back to Azeroth. The orcs attacked Nethergarde, the keep that guarded the rift, and sent small groups deep into the continent. For the Alliance, it was a shock: the war was back.

The Portal opens again

Using the Skull of Gul'dan, Ner'zhul reopened the passage between the two worlds. The rift Khadgar had found became a portal again, one an army could march through.

The attack on Nethergarde

The first thing the Horde did on Azeroth was attack Nethergarde, the keep built to watch over the Portal. Grom Hellscream and the half-ogre Rexxar led the assault. Black dragons showed up helping the orcs, to the Alliance's surprise.

The attack had another goal: to draw the Alliance's attention while smaller groups of orcs spread across the continent looking for something else.

What the Horde was looking for

Khadgar realized the orcs were not trying to conquer Azeroth. Small groups went to faraway places, with no clear plan of conquest. They were after the artifacts Ner'zhul needed.

What this changes in the story

The Horde's return caught the Alliance off guard, but the way it attacked surprised them even more. Instead of a mass invasion, like in the First and Second Wars, the orcs sent small groups after specific targets. Khadgar was the first to understand that they did not want Azeroth.

Nethergarde Keep still stands in WoW Classic, in the Blasted Lands, still watching over the Portal. In TBC, the keep shows up again when the Legion attacks through the Dark Portal before the expansion.

Rexxar, who fought alongside Grom at Nethergarde, only gets an important role again in The Frozen Throne, when he helps Thrall against Daelin Proudmoore.

Episode timeline

Ner'zhul reopens the Dark Portal with the Skull of Gul'dan.
The Horde returns to Azeroth.
Grom and Rexxar attack Nethergarde.
Black dragons show up helping the orcs.
Smaller groups of orcs spread across the continent.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Ner'zhul | The leader of the new Horde, who reopened the Portal. | | Grom Hellscream | One of the leaders of the attack on Nethergarde. | | Rexxar | The half-ogre who fought with Grom at Nethergarde. | | Khadgar | The archmage who saw the Horde's true goal. | | Nethergarde | The Alliance keep that guarded the Portal. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Blasted Lands: Nethergarde Keep and the Dark Portal.
Hellfire Peninsula: the other side of the Portal, in Outland.
Desolace and Blade's Edge Mountains: Rexxar appears in WoW, walking the road through Desolace and at Thunderlord Stronghold.