Third War #7: the blood of Mannoroth

September 9, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Third War" series — Third War #7. The story of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, from Medivh's prophecy to the Battle of Mount Hyjal. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.

The story of Grom Hellscream and Mannoroth is the heart of the Warcraft III orc campaign. In Kalimdor, Grom Hellscream drank once again the blood of the demon who had enslaved the orcs on Draenor. With that strength, he killed a demigod. Later, with the help of Thrall and Jaina, he broke free and killed Mannoroth himself. This chapter of the campaign goes from the logging of the trees in Ashenvale to Grom's sacrifice.

Lumber for the Horde

In the previous episode, Thrall sent Grom and the Warsong clan north to build a settlement. The task was to cut lumber in the forests of Ashenvale. Grom hated the order. His warriors had become lumberjacks.

The forest was not empty. Night elf Sentinels watched the orcs from the shadows. One clan warrior felt the forest was too quiet. When the elves attacked, with huntresses and hippogryph riders, Grom was impressed and called his enemies "perfect warriors".

The orcs even cut down Ancients and Trees of Life. One warrior warned that one of the trees pulsed with magic. Grom ordered it cut down anyway. In the end, the Warsong won a piece of southern Ashenvale, and the elves fell back into the forest.

The demons' plan

Far from there, two leaders of the Burning Legion met in a clearing in Ashenvale: the dreadlord Tichondrius and the pit lord Mannoroth.

Archimonde wanted Cenarius, the night elves' demigod, dead before the invasion of Kalimdor. Tichondrius thought the orcs, who had just ravaged the forest and angered Cenarius, could do the job.

Mannoroth had doubts. The orcs would stand no chance against a demigod. Tichondrius reminded him that the blood pact Mannoroth had made with the orcs long ago still bound them to him. All he had to do was recharge that energy. So Mannoroth spilled his own blood into a fountain. The purple waters turned red.

The death of Cenarius

Cenarius sensed the Legion's taint on the orcs and thought they were demon scouts. He led the Sentinels in a great counterattack, destroyed the orc outposts and advanced on Grom's base, near the place now called Warsong Gulch.

The orcs were losing. The shamans and witch doctors sensed a power coming from a fountain guarded by satyrs. It was the fountain Mannoroth had corrupted.

Grom defeated the satyrs and drank. The warriors who drank with him became chaos orcs, full of bloodlust and demonic strength. With that power, the Warsong crushed the Sentinels and killed Cenarius.

Soon after, Mannoroth appeared. He said the orcs would serve the Legion again. Grom protested that they were free. They no longer were.

The night elf side of this story is left for the next episode.

Thrall and Jaina against Grom

In the Oracle's chamber, the Prophet had told Thrall that Grom was corrupted. Thrall swore to save him. Now he fought alongside Jaina Proudmoore and Cairne Bloodhoof. For the first time, orcs and humans fought together against a common enemy.

The plan was Jaina's. She gave Thrall a Soul Gem. With it, Thrall could capture Grom's spirit without killing him. The spirit would be taken to Jaina's ritual circle and purified.

The battle took place in the Barrens, on the border with Ashenvale. Infernals fell from the sky in flames. Thrall broke through the defenses of Grom, who had demons (Doomguards and Felhounds) and orc warlocks at his side.

Grom's confession

When the two met, Grom revealed a secret. On Draenor, he and the other chieftains had drunk Mannoroth's blood of their own free will. The curse that fell on the orcs began with them.

Thrall was furious and fought Grom. Then he regained control and captured him with the Soul Gem. Thrall's shamans and Jaina's priests purified his spirit.

Free, Grom apologized. Thrall did not want apologies, he wanted action. So Grom told him where Mannoroth was waiting: in a canyon nearby.

The death of Grom Hellscream

The cinematic The Death of Hellscream closes the campaign. Grom and Thrall enter the canyon. Mannoroth mocks them and says that Grom's blood and the orc race belong to him.

Thrall hurls the Doomhammer. Mannoroth blocks it with his wing. Then he strikes the ground and throws Thrall against the rock, unconscious. Grom falls, but grabs the axe Gorehowl and gets back up.

Grom charges and buries the axe in Mannoroth's chest. The demon explodes, and the blast wounds Grom mortally. Thrall, hurt, reaches him. Grom says the blood haze is gone, that the demon's fire has left his veins and that he has freed himself. Then he dies. Thrall answers that Grom freed them all.

Mannoroth's canyon

The site of the fight was named Demon Fall Canyon, after the clash between Mannoroth, Grom and Thrall. The orcs began making pilgrimages there and raised a monument to Grom in the canyon.

What this changes in the story

Mannoroth's death breaks the blood curse that had bound the orcs to the Legion since Draenor. It is the end of a story that began with Gul'dan and the chieftains' pact. Grom, one of the first to drink, was also the one who ended it all.

The death of Cenarius has the opposite effect. For the night elves, the orcs become the murderers of their demigod. That grudge fuels decades of war in Ashenvale, which the player sees in WoW in the fight between the Warsong and the Sentinels.

And Grom leaves a son, Garrosh, who grows up in Nagrand, in Outland, ashamed of his father. The last news he had was that Grom had drunk Mannoroth's blood. Only years later, in Nagrand, does Thrall tell him how Grom really died.

Episode timeline

The Warsong clan cuts lumber in Ashenvale and faces the Sentinels.
Tichondrius and Mannoroth corrupt a fountain with the demon's blood.
Cenarius strikes back, and Grom drinks from the fountain.
The chaos orcs kill Cenarius, and Mannoroth takes back control.
Thrall and Jaina capture Grom with the Soul Gem and purify him.
Grom kills Mannoroth in the canyon and dies.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Grom Hellscream | The chief of the Warsong, who drank the blood twice. | | Mannoroth | The pit lord who cursed the orcs on Draenor. | | Tichondrius | The dreadlord who planned the fountain trap. | | Cenarius | The demigod of the forests, protector of the night elves. | | Thrall | The Warchief who saved Grom's spirit. | | Jaina Proudmoore | The mage who came up with the Soul Gem plan. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Ashenvale: the forest of the campaign, still divided between the Horde and the Sentinels.
Demon Fall Canyon: the canyon of Mannoroth's death, with the monument to Grom. During the Harvest Festival, the quest "Honoring a Hero" takes the player there.
Warsong Gulch: the battleground that continues the war between the Warsong and the Sentinels.
Orgrimmar: Grommash Hold, named in honor of Grom.