The Burning Crusade in order: Illidan, Kael'thas, Vashj and the fate of Outland

May 20, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"The History of the Expansions" series — Episode 2. The story of World of Warcraft told expansion by expansion, with the patches that changed it. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.

The opening of the Dark Portal

At the end of Classic, the Dark Portal reopened. On the other side was Outland — what was left of Draenor after Ner'zhul destroyed it by opening too many portals at once.

A world broken in half, floating in the Nether. With Burning Legion forces regrouping there. And Illidan Stormrage controlling everything with an iron fist.

TBC's opening mission was simple: go through the portal, establish a foothold, find out what was going on.

Who controlled Outland and why

Illidan Stormrage wasn't exactly a villain. He was a guy who made terrible decisions for understandable reasons.

In Warcraft III, he consumed the Skull of Gul'dan to gain enough power to fight the Legion — and turned into something that was no longer entirely elf. Malfurion banished him. Tyrande sided with Malfurion. Illidan went to Outland.

There, with Vashj and Kael'thas as allies, he built a power base in the Black Temple — an ancient fortress of Draenor — and raised an army supposedly to hold back the Legion.

The problem: his methods were indistinguishable from those of the enemies he claimed to fight.

The fall of Kael'thas and Vashj

Lady Vashj — a naga and Illidan's longtime ally — controlled Serpentshrine Cavern and Outland's water supply. Defeated by the heroes.

Kael'thas Sunstrider — prince of the blood elves — had his domain in Tempest Keep. He claimed to be fighting to recover magical resources for his people after the destruction of the Sunwell, in Quel'Thalas. In truth, he had sold his loyalty to Kil'jaeden of the Legion. Defeated in Tempest Keep. (He resurfaces later in Magisters' Terrace — but that's another story.)

With both of them out of the picture, Illidan was left alone in the Black Temple.

Illidan's death and what it meant

Illidan was defeated at the top of the Black Temple — TBC's final raid before Sunwell.

His death scene is famous: Maiev Shadowsong, who had been his jailer for ten thousand years and then hunted him, delivers the final blow. Illidan replies that she has won, but that the huntress is nothing without the hunt, and that she is nothing without him.

But what really happened? A being who had devoted his existence to fighting the Legion — the wrong way, with horrible methods — was killed by the very heroes who were supposed to be fighting the Legion.

Lore-wise, Illidan was rehabilitated later. In Legion, he returns as a central figure in the fight against the Legion. But in TBC, for players, he was the final boss. Period.

Sunwell Plateau and the true end of TBC

After Illidan, attention turned back to the blood elves. Kil'jaeden was using the Sunwell — the elves' source of power — to enter Azeroth. M'uru, a naaru, had been corrupted to fuel that process.

The heroes stormed the Sunwell Plateau, defeated Kil'jaeden before he could fully arrive, and purified the Sunwell with M'uru's essence.

The blood elves got their source of light back. And with that, TBC's story came to a close — partially redeeming a people who had spent the whole expansion as secondary villains.

The consequences that set up WotLK

With Illidan dead and Kil'jaeden contained:

Outland was left without central leadership — but the threat there was smaller
The Legion pulled back temporarily
The Lich King, silent in Northrend throughout TBC, decided it was time to act

The transition from TBC to WotLK is clean, story-wise: one enemy dealt with, another waking up. Northrend waited for the right moment — and TBC gave it that time.

The zones of Outland and what each one tells

Outland is what was left of Draenor, and each zone holds a piece of the history of the orcs and the draenei:

Hellfire Peninsula: the first zone, with Hellfire Citadel, where the red orcs of the Fel Horde still serve the Legion, and the pit lord Magtheridon chained in its dungeons.
Zangarmarsh: a swamp of giant mushrooms, where Lady Vashj's naga drain Outland's water.
Terokkar Forest: the city of Shattrath, refuge of the draenei and the naaru, and the ruins of Auchindoun, the destroyed draenei burial ground.
Nagrand: the plains of the Mag'har, the orcs who never drank the demon blood, home of Geyah, Thrall's grandmother, and where the player meets Garrosh.
Blade's Edge Mountains: Gruul's ogres and gronn, and Deathwing's black dragons.
Netherstorm: Kael'thas's blood elves and the ships of Tempest Keep, stolen from the naaru.
Shadowmoon Valley: Illidan's Black Temple, homeland of the Shadowmoon clan and of Ner'zhul.

TBC raids in order

| Raid | Where | Final boss | What it tells | |------|-------|------------|---------------| | Karazhan | Deadwind Pass | Prince Malchezaar | Medivh's tower and the ghosts left behind. See Medivh and Karazhan | | Gruul's Lair | Blade's Edge | Gruul | The gronn king, the "Dragonkiller" | | Magtheridon's Lair | Hellfire Citadel | Magtheridon | The pit lord Illidan chained up | | Serpentshrine Cavern | Zangarmarsh | Lady Vashj | The leader of the naga | | Tempest Keep | Netherstorm | Kael'thas | The fall of the blood elf prince | | Hyjal Summit | Caverns of Time | Archimonde | Warcraft 3's Battle of Mount Hyjal, relived | | Black Temple | Shadowmoon Valley | Illidan | Illidan's end, with Akama and Maiev | | Zul'Aman | Ghostlands | Zul'jin | The troll leader's last war | | Sunwell Plateau | Isle of Quel'Danas | Kil'jaeden | The Sunwell and the demon's arrival |

Shattrath, the Aldor and the Scryers

In the middle of Outland lies Shattrath, the city of the naaru. There the player chooses one of two factions: the Aldor, draenei priests who have served the naaru for millennia, or the Scryers, blood elves who abandoned Kael'thas. The rivalry between the two groups is one of the best remembered in TBC and defines the expansion's reputations.

Where to see it in WotLK

On the server, all of Outland is in the game. It's where you level from 58 to 70, before Northrend, and every TBC raid can be done by players who are already level 80. Illidan's story in Warcraft 3, which explains why he was in the Black Temple, is in History of Warcraft #5: Illidan Stormrage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the story of The Burning Crusade?

The Horde and the Alliance cross the Dark Portal into Outland, the remains of Draenor, and bring down Illidan's allies, Lady Vashj and Kael'thas, and then Illidan himself. The expansion ends with Kil'jaeden defeated at the Sunwell.

Who is the villain of TBC?

Illidan is the boss of the Black Temple, but the villain behind it all is Kil'jaeden, of the Burning Legion, who appears as the last boss in Sunwell Plateau.

What is the order of the TBC raids?

Karazhan, Gruul's Lair and Magtheridon's Lair, then Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep, followed by Hyjal Summit and Black Temple, and finally Zul'Aman and Sunwell Plateau.

"The History of the Expansions" series

← Previous: Episode 1: WoW Classic at a glance: major conflicts and faction reconstruction Next → Episode 3: WoW History: Wrath of the Lich King