Second War #1: The prologue to the war

July 23, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Second War" series — Second War #1. The story of Warcraft II, from the exodus of Stormwind to the destruction of the Dark Portal. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.

The Second War begins with an escape. After Stormwind fell at the end of the First War, Anduin Lothar gathered the survivors of the kingdom of Azeroth and crossed the Great Sea to Lordaeron, the most powerful human kingdom in the north. He carried a warning: the Horde would not stop at Stormwind. This first episode shows the exodus and the world the refugees found on the other side.

The exodus from Stormwind

Stormwind had fallen, King Llane was dead and the kingdom of Azeroth no longer existed. Lothar gathered what was left of the people, soldiers, nobles, peasants and the young prince Varian, Llane's son, and put them all on ships heading north.

The journey across the Great Sea was long and hard. The refugees carried the little they had and the memory of a city in flames. Among them was the mage Khadgar, aged by Medivh's spell, and young soldiers who would become heroes in the war to come.

Lordaeron, the kingdom of the north

Lordaeron was the largest of the human kingdoms, ruled by King Terenas Menethil. To the northern nobles, the war in the south was a distant story. Few had ever seen an orc, and many thought the reports were exaggerated.

Lothar knew they were not. He had seen the Horde cross the entire kingdom of Azeroth, and he knew that, without a joint response, each human kingdom would fall alone, one after the other.

What the Horde was doing meanwhile

On the other side of the sea, the Horde had a new leader. Orgrim Doomhammer had killed Blackhand and taken command, and Gul'dan was still in a coma since Medivh's death. Orgrim wanted a more disciplined Horde and was preparing the push north.

The question was who would arrive first: the Horde at the gates of Lordaeron, or the Alliance that Lothar hoped to form.

What this changes in the story

The exodus from Stormwind defines who the characters of the Second War are. Lothar stops being the commander of a defeated kingdom and becomes the voice that will unite the humans. Varian grows up far from home, in Lordaeron, alongside Arthas, Terenas's son, and the two princes become childhood friends.

The exodus also creates a political problem that will last for years. Thousands of refugees arrive in a kingdom that did not ask for them, and the way Lordaeron receives them is the first test of solidarity between the humans. It is from this test that the Alliance is born, in the next episodes.

For anyone who plays WoW, the exodus explains why Stormwind, in Classic, is a rebuilt city, full of new stone, and why the stonemasons who rebuilt it resent the nobility so much.

Episode timeline

Stormwind falls and King Llane is killed.
Lothar gathers the survivors and Prince Varian.
The refugees cross the Great Sea by ship.
They arrive in Lordaeron, the kingdom of Terenas Menethil.
On the other side of the sea, Orgrim prepares the Horde to advance.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Anduin Lothar | The Stormwind commander who led the exodus, a descendant of the line of Arathor. | | Varian Wrynn | The crown prince of Stormwind, son of King Llane. | | Khadgar | The mage who helped Lothar defeat Medivh, aged by the fight. | | Terenas Menethil | The king of Lordaeron, the most powerful kingdom in the north. | | Orgrim Doomhammer | The new Warchief of the Horde. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Stormwind: the city was rebuilt after the war and is the human capital in the game.
Tirisfal Glades: the ruins of Lordaeron's capital, today Undercity.
Hillsbrad Foothills: the southern coast of Lordaeron, where the war arrives first.