Second War #13: the Stranger

August 3, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Second War" series — Second War #13. 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.

When the Horde fell back from Quel'Thalas, Gul'dan made a strange request: he wanted to stay behind to finish breaking the Sunwell's shield. Orgrim agreed. It was a lie. Gul'dan used the chance to take his followers, the Stormreaver, and Cho'gall's Twilight's Hammer clan far from the war, toward the place he had always wanted to find: the Tomb of Sargeras.

Gul'dan's request

Gul'dan never fought for the Horde. Since the First War, his goal had been the Tomb of Sargeras, where he believed he would find a power that would turn him into a god. He had discovered the tomb through Medivh's mind.

When the Horde left Quel'Thalas, Gul'dan convinced Orgrim to leave him behind, saying he would finish the work against Silvermoon's shield. Orgrim, busy with the march south, accepted.

The betrayal

As soon as he was free, Gul'dan made his move. The spies Orgrim had placed in his clan were already loyal only to Gul'dan. He took the Stormreaver and Cho'gall's Twilight's Hammer clan west, across the sea, toward the Broken Isles, where the Tomb of Sargeras lay.

With them went part of the ships and a large number of warriors. The Horde lost strength exactly when it was about to attack the heart of the Alliance.

The Horde's stranger

To the orcs, Gul'dan had always been an outsider: a warlock who spoke with demons, who had manipulated Blackhand and who lived on secret plans. His betrayal confirmed what many, like Orgrim and Durotan, already suspected.

What happened to him at the Tomb of Sargeras is the subject of episode 15.

What this changes in the story

Gul'dan's betrayal is the turning point of the Second War. Up to then, the Horde was winning: it had conquered Khaz Modan, burned Quel'Thalas and was closing in on Lordaeron. Without the Stormreaver and the Twilight's Hammer, Orgrim lost the strength he needed to finish the war.

Cho'gall's Twilight's Hammer clan survives in another form. After the war, it becomes the Twilight's Hammer cult, which worships the Old Gods and appears in WoW Classic in Silithus and Blackfathom Deeps, and in Cataclysm as Deathwing's great cult.

Gul'dan's ambition, to become a god through the Tomb of Sargeras, comes back in different versions many years later: in Warlords of Draenor, the Gul'dan from another timeline opens the same tomb at the start of Legion.

Episode timeline

The Horde falls back from Quel'Thalas.
Gul'dan asks to stay behind and break Silvermoon's shield.
Orgrim accepts.
Gul'dan takes the Stormreaver and the Twilight's Hammer west.
The Horde loses strength before attacking Lordaeron.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Gul'dan | The warlock who betrayed the Horde to seek the Tomb of Sargeras. | | Cho'gall | The two-headed ogre, leader of the Twilight's Hammer, who followed Gul'dan. | | Stormreaver | The clan of Gul'dan's followers. | | Twilight's Hammer | Cho'gall's clan, which later becomes a cult of the Old Gods. | | Orgrim Doomhammer | The Warchief who was fooled by Gul'dan. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Silithus: the Twilight's Hammer, heir to Cho'gall's clan, is active in the desert in Classic.
Blackrock Depths: followers of the Twilight's Hammer show up among the enemies.
Black Temple: Gul'dan and his legacy in Outland.