History of Warcraft #7: constant danger

September 22, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"The History of Warcraft" series — Episode 7 of 8. In the previous episode, the kingdoms rebuilt after the Third War, each with an open wound. This is the world your character is born into.

The story of WoW Classic has no single villain. It is made of dozens of conflicts at the same time: rebels in Westfall, undead in the north, religious fanatics, black orcs on the mountain and a peace between Horde and Alliance that never took hold. This episode is a map of those dangers, in the order a character meets them while leveling up.

The story of WoW Classic starts in the starting zones

WoW starts small on purpose. The humans of Elwynn deal with kobolds and the first signs of the Defias Brotherhood. The orcs of Durotar face the Burning Blade cult, warlocks who still worship the Legion. The Forsaken of Tirisfal begin to see that Sylvanas's Royal Apothecary Society is preparing a new plague, this time against the living.

Each starting zone introduces a local problem that, later on, turns out to be part of something bigger.

The Defias Brotherhood in Westfall

Westfall was once Stormwind's breadbasket. At the start of WoW, the farms are abandoned, the kingdom's guard never shows up and the Defias Brotherhood rules the region. Edwin VanCleef's betrayed stonemasons now rob, kidnap and build a warship hidden in a mine: the Deadmines.

The Defias investigation takes the player back to Stormwind and shows how rotten the kingdom's court is, which sets up the reveal of Onyxia.

The Scourge and the Scarlet Crusade in the north

Lordaeron is still occupied. The Eastern and Western Plaguelands belong to the Scourge, commanded from afar by Kel'Thuzad. The city of Stratholme, where Arthas carried out the Culling, became a fortress of the dead and of the Scarlet Crusade itself.

The Scarlet Crusade controls the Scarlet Monastery, in Tirisfal, and the town of Hearthglen. It kills undead, but it also burns any living person it finds suspicious. What few people know is that a dreadlord, Balnazzar, is behind the Crusade's leadership, using its fanaticism for his own ends.

The Argent Dawn and the exiled paladin Tirion Fordring are the other answer: fighting the Scourge without giving up the Light or compassion.

The black orcs and the Dark Iron dwarves

In the heart of the Eastern Kingdoms stands Blackrock Mountain. The top belongs to the orcs of the Blackrock clan, who never accepted Thrall's Horde and follow the chieftain Rend Blackhand. The depths belong to the Dark Iron dwarves of Emperor Dagran Thaurissan.

The two forces fight each other and everyone else. What neither of them truly controls is what lies above and below them: a black dragon at the top and a fire lord underground. That is the subject of the next episode.

Horde against Alliance

The peace between Thrall and Jaina never reached the rest of the world. In many places, Horde and Alliance fight openly:

Ashenvale: the Warsong clan keeps cutting down the forest, and the elven Sentinels keep defending it. This is the war of Warsong Gulch.
Alterac Valley: Drek'Thar's Frostwolf orcs and the Stormpike dwarves fight over the valley in the south of the mountains.
Arathi Basin: the Forsaken Defilers and the League of Arathor fight over the resources of the highlands.
Southshore and Tarren Mill (Hillsbrad): the human village and the Forsaken village are a few minutes from each other, and the war there never stops.

Read more: Warsong Gulch, Alterac Valley and Arathi Basin.

Other dangers along the way

Gnomeregan: the gnomes' city is still overrun by troggs and radiation, and the gnome who caused the disaster is still down there.
Shadowfang Keep: the mage Arugal created werewolves, the worgen, in a castle in the south of Silverpine. It is the first clue about what is happening in Gilneas.
Scholomance: the Barov family handed its own castle over to the Cult of the Damned, which turned it into a school of necromancy.
Silithus: a cult called the Twilight's Hammer is active in the desert of southern Kalimdor, near ancient walls nobody remembers the purpose of.

Read more: The fall of Gnomeregan and The Worgen curse.

What all of this has in common

The dangers of Classic seem unrelated, but almost all of them are leftovers of earlier wars. The Defias come from the rebuilding of Stormwind. The Scarlet Crusade and the Scourge come from the Third War. The Blackrock orcs come from the Second. And underneath it all are much older threats, which had slept for centuries and are starting to wake up.

Where to see it in WotLK

On the server, all of this Classic content is in the game, the way it was before Cataclysm:

Westfall and the Deadmines: the Defias and Edwin VanCleef.
Scarlet Monastery, in Tirisfal Glades: the four wings of the Scarlet Crusade.
Stratholme and Scholomance, in the Plaguelands: the Scourge and the Cult of the Damned.
Blackrock Depths and Blackrock Spire: the Dark Iron dwarves and Rend's orcs.
Warsong Gulch, Alterac Valley and Arathi Basin: the battlegrounds of the war between Horde and Alliance.
Gnomeregan and Shadowfang Keep: the dungeons of the gnomes and of Arugal.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the villain of WoW Classic?

There is no single villain. Classic has several conflicts at once, such as the Defias, the Scourge, the Scarlet Crusade and the Blackrock orcs. The raids bring the big threats, such as Ragnaros, Nefarian and C'Thun.

Is the Scarlet Crusade good?

It started out fighting the Scourge, but it became fanatical and kills anyone it considers impure. On top of that, it is secretly led by a dreadlord.

Why do Horde and Alliance fight in WoW Classic?

Because the peace between Thrall and Jaina never reached everyone. Land disputes, as in Ashenvale and Alterac, and the hatred built up over the wars keep the two sides in conflict.

Series episodes

← Previous episode: History of Warcraft #6: the four years Next episode → History of Warcraft #8: ancient threats