Second War #19: a legendary ending!

August 8, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Second War" series — Second War #19. 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 ended in the same place where the First had begun: the Dark Portal. After the battle of Blackrock Spire, Teron Gorefiend led the orcs who escaped back to the Black Morass. Turalyon chased them and decided the portal had to be closed for good. Khadgar and the mages destroyed it. The Alliance had won.

The flight to the Portal

Not all the orcs were captured at Blackrock Spire. Teron Gorefiend, the first death knight, gathered those who managed to flee and marched south, to the Black Morass, where the Dark Portal stood. The idea was to go back to Draenor.

The destruction of the Dark Portal

Turalyon chased the orcs to the Portal and decided it had to be sealed. As long as it existed, the Horde could come back. Khadgar and the Alliance mages used their magic to destroy the portal.

The passage between the two worlds was closed. The Second War was over.

What the victory left behind

The Alliance won, but the world it left behind was not simple:

Thousands of orcs imprisoned. The Horde's survivors were taken to internment camps, which were expensive and caused fights between the kingdoms.
A cracked Alliance. Some kingdoms felt they had already given too much and began to pull away.
A wound that did not close. The portal had been destroyed, but a rift of energy still linked the two worlds.

The next season

The story continues in Beyond the Dark Portal, with the internment camps, the return of the Horde under Ner'zhul and the Alliance expedition to Draenor.

What this changes in the story

The destruction of the Dark Portal seemed like the end of the orc threat. It was not. The rift that stayed open will be reopened by Ner'zhul in Beyond the Dark Portal, and the Portal works again in TBC, when players cross over to Outland.

The victory also left the problem of the imprisoned orcs. The internment camps were expensive and a reason for fights between the kingdoms, and it was in them that Thrall grew up and began to free his own people.

The Second War is, to this day, the basis of the rivalry between the Horde and the Alliance. Much of the hatred that WoW's characters carry comes from this war.

Episode timeline

Teron Gorefiend gathers the orcs who escaped.
They march to the Dark Portal, in the Black Morass.
Turalyon chases the orcs and decides to close the portal.
Khadgar and the mages destroy the Dark Portal.
The captured orcs go to the internment camps.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Turalyon | The Alliance commander after Lothar, who ordered the portal closed. | | Khadgar | The mage who destroyed the Dark Portal. | | Teron Gorefiend | The death knight who led the orcs back to the portal. | | Dark Portal | The passage between Azeroth and Draenor, destroyed at the end of the war. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Blasted Lands: the Dark Portal, rebuilt, is the passage to Outland in TBC.
Hellfire Peninsula: the other side of the Portal, in Outland.
Hillsbrad Foothills: Durnholde, the fortress that becomes one of the internment camps.