History of Warcraft #3: a new enemy

September 19, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"The History of Warcraft" series — Episode 3 of 8. In the previous episode, Arthas destroyed Quel'Thalas and brought Kel'Thuzad back as a lich. Now it becomes clear that the Scourge was never the main enemy.

The new enemy in Warcraft 3 is the Burning Legion. The Scourge, the plague and even the Lich King were only the setup: their job was to clear the way for the demon Archimonde to enter Azeroth. He arrives at Dalaran, destroys the city of the mages and only fails to win because a man everyone thought was dead comes back to warn the living.

What Kel'Thuzad revealed to Arthas

After being reborn at the Sunwell, Kel'Thuzad told Arthas what not even the servants of the Scourge knew. The Lich King had been created by the Burning Legion, and the plague existed to weaken the human kingdoms before a demonic invasion.

The dreadlords, demons of the nathrezim race such as Tichondrius, watched the Scourge closely. Officially they were allies. In practice they were the Lich King's jailers, sent by Kil'jaeden to make sure Ner'zhul never forgot who was in charge.

The plan needed one last step: opening a portal for Archimonde himself. For that, the Scourge needed a book kept in the best-protected city in the world.

The siege of Dalaran and the arrival of Archimonde

The book was the Book of Medivh, with the spells of the last Guardian. It was in Dalaran, the city of the Kirin Tor mages, protected by magical barriers and by Archmage Antonidas.

Arthas and Kel'Thuzad besieged the city, broke the barriers and killed Antonidas. With the book in hand, Kel'Thuzad opened the portal in the middle of Dalaran, and Archimonde the Defiler came through. One of the first things the demon did was crush the city with a single blow.

Archimonde dismissed the Lich King, and the dreadlords took control of the Scourge in Lordaeron. From then on, the Legion no longer wanted one human kingdom: it wanted the whole world, and above all the energy of the World Tree in Kalimdor.

Who the Prophet is

Before all of this, a hooded man, who sometimes appeared as a raven, traveled the kingdoms warning that destruction was coming. He told everyone the same thing: the peoples had to cross the sea and go west, to the forgotten continent of Kalimdor.

King Terenas threw him out. The mages of Dalaran did not believe him. Only later did people find out who he was: Medivh, the Guardian who had opened the Dark Portal. Killed by Lothar and Khadgar, he had been brought back, now free of Sargeras's influence, to try to fix the harm he had done.

Thrall and the free Horde

One of the people who believed the Prophet was a young orc named Thrall. The son of Durotan, he was found as a baby by the human noble Aedelas Blackmoore, who raised him as a gladiator and slave in the fortress of Durnholde.

Thrall escaped, found the few orcs who were still free and learned shamanism from old Drek'Thar of the Frostwolves. With the help of Orgrim Doomhammer and Grom Hellscream, he freed the internment camps. Orgrim died in that fight and left Thrall his armor and his hammer, the Doomhammer. Thrall became Warchief of a new Horde that wanted to rid itself of demonic blood and return to shamanism.

When the Prophet appeared to him in a dream, Thrall took human ships and led the Horde across the sea to Kalimdor.

Jaina and the flight west

Jaina Proudmoore, Antonidas's apprentice, had parted ways with Arthas after Stratholme. When the Scourge began attacking Dalaran, Antonidas sent her to listen to the Prophet, and she led the surviving humans of Lordaeron to Kalimdor.

By the end of Warcraft 3, three peoples are on the same continent without really knowing why: Thrall's Horde, Jaina's humans and the night elves, who have lived there for ten thousand years and want neither of them. The Prophet will have to convince all three to fight together.

What this episode changes in the story

The Scourge takes on a life of its own. The dreadlords take control of Lordaeron, and this opens the door for Sylvanas to break free later.
Dalaran falls, but the Kirin Tor survives. The city will be rebuilt and, in WotLK, floats above Northrend.
Thrall and Jaina go to Kalimdor. The friendship they form there is the basis of the peace between Durotar and Theramore in WoW Classic.

Where to see it in WotLK

Alterac Mountains: the ruins of Dalaran and the violet dome are in the Alterac Mountains, in the Classic zones.
Dalaran, in Crystalsong Forest: the city rebuilt and taken to Northrend by the Kirin Tor.
Naxxramas, in Dragonblight: Kel'Thuzad, the lich you saw reborn, is the final boss.
Hyjal Summit, in the Caverns of Time: the direct continuation of Archimonde's invasion, which you play in the next episode.