Post by The Great JT on Sept 23, 2007 4:00:06 GMT 1
Yes, I started it. Damn it, I just can't help liking the game. Anyway, as you may (or may not, just out of common ignoring the game) know, the first World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade, is out. Just for the hell of it, lemme bring you up to speed. This storyline is from Warcraft 3.
Exodus Of The Horde
The orcs, under their warchief, Thrall, escaped the humans and headed for the forgotten lands of Kalimdor. Along the way, they ran aground to repair their ships and found a group of trolls called the Darkspear Trolls. Aiding the trolls escape the wrath of a sea witch and her murloc followers, the trolls made an honor-bound pact with the orcs to join them in their new nation upon Kalimdor's shores. However, the humans were at work as well.
The Scourging Of Lordaeron
The human nations, under strain from the taxes king Terenas Menethil had levied upon the citizens to keep the orc internment camps operating, were beginning to splinter. The high elven nation of Quel'Thalas had rescinded their allegiance to the humans and returned to their reclusive ways. And now with Thrall's new Horde running through the countryside styming the humans' efforts to corral them, the problems just seemed to keep piling on. King Terenas's only son, Prince Arthas Menethil, was sent to investigate the orcs' wake of destruction with the legendary hero of the Second War, Uther the Lightbringer. After it had become clear that the orcs were gone and no longer a threat to human civilization, Arthas was sent to escort a young archmage to Lordaeron's northlands to investigate a strange plague sweeping in from seemingly nowhere. Arthas and the archmage, Jaina Proudmoore, the daughter of another hero of the second war, Admiral Daenlin Proudmoore, discovered the source of the plague in Andorhol: granaries were being infected with the plague by the necromancer Kel'Thuzad, a former archmage and a former high-ranking member of Dalaran's ruling council, the Kirin Tor, and his Cult of the Damned to spread undeath throughout Lordaeron's northeastern borders. Arthas and Jaina killed Kel'Thuzad and thought that it would end the plague. However, it did not. At Hearthglen, a large town in Lordaeron's northlands, the plague's true motive was revealed: it was not simply to kill the hapless people of Lordaeron, but to turn them into the undead! Arthas elected to defend Hearthglen while Jaina enlisted the aid of Uther the Lightbringer. When the undead pressed the offensive, Uther and his knights arrived to aid Arthas. Arthas, Uther and Jaina headed to Stratholme, following the plagued grain's path as far as it spread. There, Arthas found that the grain was already distributed among the villagers and ordered Uther into an extreme situation: purge Stratholme by killing every one of its inhabitants. After Uther's initial refusal, Arthas commanded him by his right of succession to purge Stratholme. Uther only replied saying, "You are not my king yet, boy, nor would I obey that command even if you were!" Arthas used his right of succession to suspend Uther's paladins, the Knights of the Silver Hand, from service. Uther and Jaina left for the capital city, leaving Arthas, in his madness, to purge Stratholme. Among the fighting, Arthas found the leader of the undead among the city: the vampiric nathrezim, or Dreadlord as they were called, Mal'Ganis. Mal'Ganis escaped Arthas and told him that to find him, he should head for the arctic lands of Northrend. After weeks of sailing, Arthas and his men made camp near Daggercap Bay in Northrend. Moving inland, Arthas ran across a group of dwarves headed up by his friend Muradin Bronzebeard. Muradin, the brother of King Magni, served as a liason between the human nation of Lordaeron and the dwarven lands of Khaz Modan (meaning Khaz Mountain in dwarven tongue) and their capital of Ironforge during the dark days of the second war, had taught Arthas to fight during the second war against the orcish Horde. Muradin told Arthas of a runeblade called Frostmourne that he and his dwarven explorers were sent to locate, but they were bogged down by undead fighters. Arthas agreed to help his old friend recover the blade. After a few days, an emissary of Lordaeron arrived to force Arthas's men back to Lordaeron. Apparently, Uther had gone to King Terenas about the prince's actions and deemed them excessive, among other thing. Arthas destroyed his own ships to ensure that his men could not return and continued to hunt down Mal'Ganis. They would not have to wait long. A few days later, Mal'Ganis sent his minions to attack Arthas's base. Arthas left his captain in charge of the defense while he, Muradin and a handful of men went after Frostmourne. While Arthas and Muradin succeeded in reaching the vault in which Frostmourne was kept, Muradin was a bit shaken by what they had found. On the dais of Frostmourne's pedestal was an inscription that read, "Whomsoever wields this blade shall wield power eternal. Just as the blade rends flesh, so too must power scar the spirit." Muradin realized that Frostmourne was cursed and begged Arthas to leave it be. Arthas, uncaring of the consequences, called to the blade and said he would bear any curse or pay any price for the power to defeat Mal'Ganis. The icy crystal cask that sealed Frostmourne away was shattered, and the resulting shock wave was too much for the nearby Muradin, who was killed instantly. Arthas, discarding his paladin warhammer, took up Frostmourne and took the fight to Mal'Ganis. Arthas used the blade to slay the dreadlord, then wandered into the frozen arctic northlands toward the glacier of Icecrown. Weeks later, Arthas returned to his kingdom and was welcomed as a hero. However, his intentions were much more sinister than they appeared. Arthas stormed into the palace's throne room, catching his father off guard while the royal guards were kept at bay by Arthas's accomplices. He charged his father and slung him to the floor. The king shouted, "What are you doing, my son?!" Arthas sneered and replied, "Succeeding you, Father." Arthas ran Frostmourne through his father's heart, slaying him and taking his kingdom in the name of the Undead Scourge.
Rise Of The Scourge And The Return Of Archimonde
Arthas had murdered his father and slain all within the capital city of Lordaeron. He had damned everyone and everything he had once held dear. And he felt absolutely no regret. On the outskirts of the capital city, Arthas was met and congratulated by, another dreadlord, this time by Tichondrius The Darkener, the leader of the Nathrezim. By taking up Frostmourne, Arthas had bound himself forever to the will of the Lich King, Ner'Zuhl. After locating the remainder of the Cult of the Damned in Vandermar village and struck out for Andorhol. There, his undead warriors swarmed the city and killed anyone they could find, looking for the tomb in which Kel'Thuzad's remains were kept. The remains were badly decomposed, and Tichondrius claimed they would, "Never survive the trip to Quel'Thalas." That being said, Arthas and his undead minions scoured Andorhol, only to find Uther the Lightbringer defending a small portion of the town. Arthas ordered Uther to hand over an urn Uther was carrying. Uther outright refused. "That urn holds your father's ashes, Arthas! What, were you hoping to piss on them one last time before you left his kingdom to rot?" Uther shouted as he stood ready to defend the urn. Arthas simply looked at him with utter content, slew Uther and stole the urn. He replaced his father's ashes with the remains of Kel'Thuzad. Afterwards, Kel'Thuzad's ghost began appearing to Arthas, telling him not to trust the dreadlords, claiming they were the Lich King's jailors. Arthas kept that in mind as he headed for the Elven-held lands of Quel'Thalas. There, he was met with great resistance by the Ranger-General of Silvermoon City, Sylvanas Windrunner. Sylvanas fought tooth-and-nail to keep Arthas out of Silvermoon, but Arthas simply killed any elf, soldier or civilian, that stood in his path. Outside Silvermoon, Arthas slew Sylvanas, and in a cruel gesture of his dominance, raised her spirit as a twisted banshee, cursed to undeath and service to the Lich King. Arthas and his undead razed Silvermoon until they got what Arthas wanted: The power of the elves' Sunwell. The Sunwell's vast power, taken from the Well of Eternity seven millenia before, had empowered the elves' magic and fortified them immensely. However, Arthas put Kel'Thuzad's remains in the Sunwell. Corrupted by dark energies, the Sunwell's ley energies had risen Kel'Thuzad as a skeletal lich. Kel'Thuzad and Arthas headed for Dalaran to steal the spellbook of Medivh, the last guardian. There, they clashed with the Kirin Tor and it's most powerful archmage (and Jaina's teacher), the leader of the Kirin Tor, Antonidas. Though old and frail, Antonidas's magics repelled the greater bulk of Arthas's undead through the use of magical barriers that damaged the undead should they stumble through it. Arthas, Kel'Thuzad and Arthas's minions won through, eventually, and stole the spellbook. At dusk, Kel'Thuzad started to perform an ancient spell that would summon a great demonlord to the world of Azeroth. He would eventually succeed, and the eredar warlock Archimonde The Defiler, one of the two lieutenants of the Burning Leigon (the other being Kil'Jaeden The Deciever), the creators of the Lich King. He told Arthas and Kel'Thuzad that he himself would oversee the Legion's actions from there and that the Dreadlords would be in command of the capital city. Needless to say, Kel'Thuzad and Arthas were nervous about the situation.
The Orcs Arrival
Miles of sea away, the orcs had made land on an unknown, uncharted location. Convinced they had made land on Kalimdor, Thrall had his orcs search for any other orcish and troll survivors, most notably Thrall's friend and mentor, Grommash Hellscream, or Grom as he was commonly called, the chieftain of the Warsong clan. Though they did not initially find Grom, they did find and assist an aging inhabitant of the newfound land: Cairne Bloodhoof, chieftain of the Bloodhoof tauren, a race of cow-like humanoids. Though slowed a bit by age, Cairne was still stronger than twenty men. After telling Cairne of why he and his people were on Kalimdor, Thrall was informed of an oracle that lived in Stonetalon Peak that could help them. Thrall agreed to help escort Cairne to his people in the reigon of Mulgore in an attempt to thwart an ambush from the marauding centaur in the reigon. In return Cairne told them how to reach Stonetalon Peak. While en route to the peak, Thrall's orcs ran across the Warsong orcs at last, only to find them fighting with humans. Thrall told Grom not to fight the humans. However, in a rage, Grom and his Warsong warriors charged the human encampments. Angered, Thrall and Grom wiped them out. Afterwards, Thrall sent the Warsong clan north to gather lumber for a new settlement, hoping the time off from fighting would cool Hellscream off. Grom and his warriors headed north to the Ashenvale forests and began to gather wood from the forests. However, a new enemy was fast approaching the Warsong orcs. A race of elves known as the Night Elves emerged from the forestlands and attacked the orcs. At first taken aback by the elves, Grom concluded they were not the high elves he had fought years previous, claiming they were too tall and savage. Elsewhere in the forest, Mannoroth The Destructor, a vicious Pit Lord engine of hate and malice, tracked the orcs to Kalimdor and detected the Warsong clan nearby. Years earlier, Mannoroth spiked the Orcs' blood with demonic corruption and bound the orcs to him. He spilt his burning blood into a fountain and corrupted it, knowing it would drag the orcs to it. After a short run-in with the elves, the Warsong clan was attacked again, this time by the reclusive demigod protector of the night elves, Cenarius. Cenarius commanded nature itself to rise up and fight the orcs. With their base destroyed, the troll witch doctors sensed a great power nearby, thinking it would help them defeat Cenarius. Grom and his warriors powered through to the fountain that Mannoroth corrupted with his blood. Grom and his orcs drank the blood (the trolls refused, claiming it was a corrupting power) and gained unfathomable power. Grom and the Warsong Clan charged Cenarius and the night elves, and in the battle, the demigod fell. Mannoroth then appeared to Grom, claiming to welcome him back into the fold. Miles away in the Stonetalon mountain range, Thrall and his orcs were nearing the peak. Cairne Bloodhoof and his tauren warriors arrived to back up Thrall's forces, claiming he was honor-bound to repay Thrall. The aged chieftain and the young warchief charged the peaks and won past a full battalion of humans and got into Stonetalon Peak. Inside, the orcs, trolls and tauren fought their way past gnolls, quillboars and humans and were able to locate the oracle. Though the oracle was more familiar to the warchief than anyone knew. This oracle had appeared to Thrall in his dreams, promising him a peaceful existance for his people in Kalimdor. The leader of the humans in Kalimdor, Jaina Proudmoore, had also found her way to the oracle, and though they nearly started a fight, the oracle stopped them when he informed Thrall that Grom had fallen to demonic corruption. Jaina and Thrall put their races' hatreds aside and worked together to capture Grom in a Soul Gem and purify him. The orc warlocks, once great shamans of the Warsong clan, summoned Infernals and Doom Guard to attack Thrall and his compatriots, but the young orc finally got to Hellscream. Grom told Thrall that it was true the Orcs had been corrupted by demons, the orcs willingly accepted the demons' corrupting influenced. This angered Thrall, who charged Grom. Capturing him within the Demon Soul, Thrall rushed back to Jaina's base, where the elven preists and orcish shaman purged the corruption from Grom. Grom told Thrall where to find Mannoroth and the two orcs set out to find and kill him. They found the mighty pit lord in a nearby chasm and fought him. Thrall pounded the mighty Doomhammer against the ground and threw it at Mannoroth, but he managed to block it with his wing and smashed Thrall into the rocky wall. Grom, angered by this, gripped his axe, Gorehowl, and charged Mannoroth. Grom struck Mannoroth in the chest and pierced his black heart. The resulting explosion from Mannoroth's death unleashed a wall of flame that came rushing head-on at Hellscream. The mighty warrior fell from the blast. Thrall limped over to check on Grom. Grom coughed, saying, "Thrall, the blood haze...has lifted. I...have...freed...myself." Grom fell dead in Thrall's arms. Thrall laid his friend's head down, saying, "No, old friend. You've freed us all."
Out Of The Shadows
Just north of the Stonetalon Peak reigon, in the shadowy recesses of Ashenvale Forest, the leader of the night elf Sentinels and high priestess of Elune, Tyrande Whisperwind, was watching over the orcs and humans as they 'desecrated their ancestral forests' and saw Grom Hellscream slay Cenarius. As she looked down on the humans and orcs with contempt, she formulated a plan to get them out of their forests. She led a battalion of her archers against the humans and orcs, only to find that a battalion of Undead warriors was also encroaching on their position. Apparently they had followed the humans from Lordaeron. Tyrande managed to evade the undead and demons and return to her base. Thinking quickly, she decided that to combat this new threat, she would reawaken the druids, and among them her beloved, the Arch-Druid Malfurion Stormrage. Using the Horn of Cenarius, Tyrande awakened Malfurion from his barrow den and out of the mysterious ethereal realm created by Yzera and her Green Dragonflight known as the Emerald Dream. Tyrande and Malfurion first awakened the Druids of the Talon, night elves who had adapted the power to become mighty birds. Then, they went north and located the barrow den that held the Druids of the Claw, a group that could morph into bears. However, there was a bit of a hold-up while awakening the Druids of the Claw. Also hidden within that barrow den was the barrow prison that held Malfurion's brother, The Betrayer, Illidan Stormrage. Ages before, in the War of the Ancients, Illidan sold out the night elves to the magic-corrupted queen of the night elves, Azshara and her Highborne guard. Malfurion and Tyrande defeated Azshara, and for his betrayal, Malfurion caged Illidan in a barrow prison for all time. Tyrande freed Illidan, thinking the former demon hunter would be perfect for defeating the demonic Burning Leigon and redeeming himself somewhat in his peoples' eyes. For a time, Illidan complied with Illidan and Malfurion, but his lust for magic's corrupting, chaotic powers eventually won out. Tyrande told Illidan to destroy a demonic artifact known as the Skull Of Gul'Dan. However, before he could reach it, Illidan squared off with Arthas Menethil, Ner'Zuhl's favored Death Knight. Arthas told him that if Illidan was to consume the power of the skull, he would gain untold power. Indeed, Illidan consumed the power of Gul'Dan's skull. Malfurion and Tyrande found out, however. Disgusted with his brother's unquenchable thirst for magic and inability to control his lust for the chaotic, corrupting power, he banished Illidan from Kalimdor. Soon afterward, Malfurion was visited in a dream by a great raven that told him and Tyrande to meet him near a waterfall near Mount Hyjal's base. There, the night elves met Jaina, Cairne and Thrall, and the oracle from Stonetalon Peak, the Prophet from both Thrall and Malfurion's dreams, made himself known. He was Medivh, the last Guardian, come back from the beyond to redeem himself for past deeds. Medivh said that the Orcs, Humans and Night Elves would have to band together to combat the evil known as Archimonde. The following day, at Mount Hyjal, Malfurion formulated a plan to destroy Archimonde. As Archimonde and his demons and undead made their way toward Hyjal's summit, the humans, orcs and night elves stopped his ascent for as long as they could. When Archimonde won through to Nordrassil the World Tree, Malfurion revealed his true plan. Malfurion had called the power of the World Tree to destroy Archimonde and end his threat forever. Though Nordrassil was the night elves' link to the eternal world and the source of their cherished immortality, Malfurion gladly gave up eternal life to ensure Archimonde's complete destruction. Soon afterward, the night elves disappeared back into the shadow, the orcs returned to founding their new nation and the humans, unable to return to their homeland, founded a new city in Kalimdor.
I'm gonna continue this, so keep reading.
Exodus Of The Horde
The orcs, under their warchief, Thrall, escaped the humans and headed for the forgotten lands of Kalimdor. Along the way, they ran aground to repair their ships and found a group of trolls called the Darkspear Trolls. Aiding the trolls escape the wrath of a sea witch and her murloc followers, the trolls made an honor-bound pact with the orcs to join them in their new nation upon Kalimdor's shores. However, the humans were at work as well.
The Scourging Of Lordaeron
The human nations, under strain from the taxes king Terenas Menethil had levied upon the citizens to keep the orc internment camps operating, were beginning to splinter. The high elven nation of Quel'Thalas had rescinded their allegiance to the humans and returned to their reclusive ways. And now with Thrall's new Horde running through the countryside styming the humans' efforts to corral them, the problems just seemed to keep piling on. King Terenas's only son, Prince Arthas Menethil, was sent to investigate the orcs' wake of destruction with the legendary hero of the Second War, Uther the Lightbringer. After it had become clear that the orcs were gone and no longer a threat to human civilization, Arthas was sent to escort a young archmage to Lordaeron's northlands to investigate a strange plague sweeping in from seemingly nowhere. Arthas and the archmage, Jaina Proudmoore, the daughter of another hero of the second war, Admiral Daenlin Proudmoore, discovered the source of the plague in Andorhol: granaries were being infected with the plague by the necromancer Kel'Thuzad, a former archmage and a former high-ranking member of Dalaran's ruling council, the Kirin Tor, and his Cult of the Damned to spread undeath throughout Lordaeron's northeastern borders. Arthas and Jaina killed Kel'Thuzad and thought that it would end the plague. However, it did not. At Hearthglen, a large town in Lordaeron's northlands, the plague's true motive was revealed: it was not simply to kill the hapless people of Lordaeron, but to turn them into the undead! Arthas elected to defend Hearthglen while Jaina enlisted the aid of Uther the Lightbringer. When the undead pressed the offensive, Uther and his knights arrived to aid Arthas. Arthas, Uther and Jaina headed to Stratholme, following the plagued grain's path as far as it spread. There, Arthas found that the grain was already distributed among the villagers and ordered Uther into an extreme situation: purge Stratholme by killing every one of its inhabitants. After Uther's initial refusal, Arthas commanded him by his right of succession to purge Stratholme. Uther only replied saying, "You are not my king yet, boy, nor would I obey that command even if you were!" Arthas used his right of succession to suspend Uther's paladins, the Knights of the Silver Hand, from service. Uther and Jaina left for the capital city, leaving Arthas, in his madness, to purge Stratholme. Among the fighting, Arthas found the leader of the undead among the city: the vampiric nathrezim, or Dreadlord as they were called, Mal'Ganis. Mal'Ganis escaped Arthas and told him that to find him, he should head for the arctic lands of Northrend. After weeks of sailing, Arthas and his men made camp near Daggercap Bay in Northrend. Moving inland, Arthas ran across a group of dwarves headed up by his friend Muradin Bronzebeard. Muradin, the brother of King Magni, served as a liason between the human nation of Lordaeron and the dwarven lands of Khaz Modan (meaning Khaz Mountain in dwarven tongue) and their capital of Ironforge during the dark days of the second war, had taught Arthas to fight during the second war against the orcish Horde. Muradin told Arthas of a runeblade called Frostmourne that he and his dwarven explorers were sent to locate, but they were bogged down by undead fighters. Arthas agreed to help his old friend recover the blade. After a few days, an emissary of Lordaeron arrived to force Arthas's men back to Lordaeron. Apparently, Uther had gone to King Terenas about the prince's actions and deemed them excessive, among other thing. Arthas destroyed his own ships to ensure that his men could not return and continued to hunt down Mal'Ganis. They would not have to wait long. A few days later, Mal'Ganis sent his minions to attack Arthas's base. Arthas left his captain in charge of the defense while he, Muradin and a handful of men went after Frostmourne. While Arthas and Muradin succeeded in reaching the vault in which Frostmourne was kept, Muradin was a bit shaken by what they had found. On the dais of Frostmourne's pedestal was an inscription that read, "Whomsoever wields this blade shall wield power eternal. Just as the blade rends flesh, so too must power scar the spirit." Muradin realized that Frostmourne was cursed and begged Arthas to leave it be. Arthas, uncaring of the consequences, called to the blade and said he would bear any curse or pay any price for the power to defeat Mal'Ganis. The icy crystal cask that sealed Frostmourne away was shattered, and the resulting shock wave was too much for the nearby Muradin, who was killed instantly. Arthas, discarding his paladin warhammer, took up Frostmourne and took the fight to Mal'Ganis. Arthas used the blade to slay the dreadlord, then wandered into the frozen arctic northlands toward the glacier of Icecrown. Weeks later, Arthas returned to his kingdom and was welcomed as a hero. However, his intentions were much more sinister than they appeared. Arthas stormed into the palace's throne room, catching his father off guard while the royal guards were kept at bay by Arthas's accomplices. He charged his father and slung him to the floor. The king shouted, "What are you doing, my son?!" Arthas sneered and replied, "Succeeding you, Father." Arthas ran Frostmourne through his father's heart, slaying him and taking his kingdom in the name of the Undead Scourge.
Rise Of The Scourge And The Return Of Archimonde
Arthas had murdered his father and slain all within the capital city of Lordaeron. He had damned everyone and everything he had once held dear. And he felt absolutely no regret. On the outskirts of the capital city, Arthas was met and congratulated by, another dreadlord, this time by Tichondrius The Darkener, the leader of the Nathrezim. By taking up Frostmourne, Arthas had bound himself forever to the will of the Lich King, Ner'Zuhl. After locating the remainder of the Cult of the Damned in Vandermar village and struck out for Andorhol. There, his undead warriors swarmed the city and killed anyone they could find, looking for the tomb in which Kel'Thuzad's remains were kept. The remains were badly decomposed, and Tichondrius claimed they would, "Never survive the trip to Quel'Thalas." That being said, Arthas and his undead minions scoured Andorhol, only to find Uther the Lightbringer defending a small portion of the town. Arthas ordered Uther to hand over an urn Uther was carrying. Uther outright refused. "That urn holds your father's ashes, Arthas! What, were you hoping to piss on them one last time before you left his kingdom to rot?" Uther shouted as he stood ready to defend the urn. Arthas simply looked at him with utter content, slew Uther and stole the urn. He replaced his father's ashes with the remains of Kel'Thuzad. Afterwards, Kel'Thuzad's ghost began appearing to Arthas, telling him not to trust the dreadlords, claiming they were the Lich King's jailors. Arthas kept that in mind as he headed for the Elven-held lands of Quel'Thalas. There, he was met with great resistance by the Ranger-General of Silvermoon City, Sylvanas Windrunner. Sylvanas fought tooth-and-nail to keep Arthas out of Silvermoon, but Arthas simply killed any elf, soldier or civilian, that stood in his path. Outside Silvermoon, Arthas slew Sylvanas, and in a cruel gesture of his dominance, raised her spirit as a twisted banshee, cursed to undeath and service to the Lich King. Arthas and his undead razed Silvermoon until they got what Arthas wanted: The power of the elves' Sunwell. The Sunwell's vast power, taken from the Well of Eternity seven millenia before, had empowered the elves' magic and fortified them immensely. However, Arthas put Kel'Thuzad's remains in the Sunwell. Corrupted by dark energies, the Sunwell's ley energies had risen Kel'Thuzad as a skeletal lich. Kel'Thuzad and Arthas headed for Dalaran to steal the spellbook of Medivh, the last guardian. There, they clashed with the Kirin Tor and it's most powerful archmage (and Jaina's teacher), the leader of the Kirin Tor, Antonidas. Though old and frail, Antonidas's magics repelled the greater bulk of Arthas's undead through the use of magical barriers that damaged the undead should they stumble through it. Arthas, Kel'Thuzad and Arthas's minions won through, eventually, and stole the spellbook. At dusk, Kel'Thuzad started to perform an ancient spell that would summon a great demonlord to the world of Azeroth. He would eventually succeed, and the eredar warlock Archimonde The Defiler, one of the two lieutenants of the Burning Leigon (the other being Kil'Jaeden The Deciever), the creators of the Lich King. He told Arthas and Kel'Thuzad that he himself would oversee the Legion's actions from there and that the Dreadlords would be in command of the capital city. Needless to say, Kel'Thuzad and Arthas were nervous about the situation.
The Orcs Arrival
Miles of sea away, the orcs had made land on an unknown, uncharted location. Convinced they had made land on Kalimdor, Thrall had his orcs search for any other orcish and troll survivors, most notably Thrall's friend and mentor, Grommash Hellscream, or Grom as he was commonly called, the chieftain of the Warsong clan. Though they did not initially find Grom, they did find and assist an aging inhabitant of the newfound land: Cairne Bloodhoof, chieftain of the Bloodhoof tauren, a race of cow-like humanoids. Though slowed a bit by age, Cairne was still stronger than twenty men. After telling Cairne of why he and his people were on Kalimdor, Thrall was informed of an oracle that lived in Stonetalon Peak that could help them. Thrall agreed to help escort Cairne to his people in the reigon of Mulgore in an attempt to thwart an ambush from the marauding centaur in the reigon. In return Cairne told them how to reach Stonetalon Peak. While en route to the peak, Thrall's orcs ran across the Warsong orcs at last, only to find them fighting with humans. Thrall told Grom not to fight the humans. However, in a rage, Grom and his Warsong warriors charged the human encampments. Angered, Thrall and Grom wiped them out. Afterwards, Thrall sent the Warsong clan north to gather lumber for a new settlement, hoping the time off from fighting would cool Hellscream off. Grom and his warriors headed north to the Ashenvale forests and began to gather wood from the forests. However, a new enemy was fast approaching the Warsong orcs. A race of elves known as the Night Elves emerged from the forestlands and attacked the orcs. At first taken aback by the elves, Grom concluded they were not the high elves he had fought years previous, claiming they were too tall and savage. Elsewhere in the forest, Mannoroth The Destructor, a vicious Pit Lord engine of hate and malice, tracked the orcs to Kalimdor and detected the Warsong clan nearby. Years earlier, Mannoroth spiked the Orcs' blood with demonic corruption and bound the orcs to him. He spilt his burning blood into a fountain and corrupted it, knowing it would drag the orcs to it. After a short run-in with the elves, the Warsong clan was attacked again, this time by the reclusive demigod protector of the night elves, Cenarius. Cenarius commanded nature itself to rise up and fight the orcs. With their base destroyed, the troll witch doctors sensed a great power nearby, thinking it would help them defeat Cenarius. Grom and his warriors powered through to the fountain that Mannoroth corrupted with his blood. Grom and his orcs drank the blood (the trolls refused, claiming it was a corrupting power) and gained unfathomable power. Grom and the Warsong Clan charged Cenarius and the night elves, and in the battle, the demigod fell. Mannoroth then appeared to Grom, claiming to welcome him back into the fold. Miles away in the Stonetalon mountain range, Thrall and his orcs were nearing the peak. Cairne Bloodhoof and his tauren warriors arrived to back up Thrall's forces, claiming he was honor-bound to repay Thrall. The aged chieftain and the young warchief charged the peaks and won past a full battalion of humans and got into Stonetalon Peak. Inside, the orcs, trolls and tauren fought their way past gnolls, quillboars and humans and were able to locate the oracle. Though the oracle was more familiar to the warchief than anyone knew. This oracle had appeared to Thrall in his dreams, promising him a peaceful existance for his people in Kalimdor. The leader of the humans in Kalimdor, Jaina Proudmoore, had also found her way to the oracle, and though they nearly started a fight, the oracle stopped them when he informed Thrall that Grom had fallen to demonic corruption. Jaina and Thrall put their races' hatreds aside and worked together to capture Grom in a Soul Gem and purify him. The orc warlocks, once great shamans of the Warsong clan, summoned Infernals and Doom Guard to attack Thrall and his compatriots, but the young orc finally got to Hellscream. Grom told Thrall that it was true the Orcs had been corrupted by demons, the orcs willingly accepted the demons' corrupting influenced. This angered Thrall, who charged Grom. Capturing him within the Demon Soul, Thrall rushed back to Jaina's base, where the elven preists and orcish shaman purged the corruption from Grom. Grom told Thrall where to find Mannoroth and the two orcs set out to find and kill him. They found the mighty pit lord in a nearby chasm and fought him. Thrall pounded the mighty Doomhammer against the ground and threw it at Mannoroth, but he managed to block it with his wing and smashed Thrall into the rocky wall. Grom, angered by this, gripped his axe, Gorehowl, and charged Mannoroth. Grom struck Mannoroth in the chest and pierced his black heart. The resulting explosion from Mannoroth's death unleashed a wall of flame that came rushing head-on at Hellscream. The mighty warrior fell from the blast. Thrall limped over to check on Grom. Grom coughed, saying, "Thrall, the blood haze...has lifted. I...have...freed...myself." Grom fell dead in Thrall's arms. Thrall laid his friend's head down, saying, "No, old friend. You've freed us all."
Out Of The Shadows
Just north of the Stonetalon Peak reigon, in the shadowy recesses of Ashenvale Forest, the leader of the night elf Sentinels and high priestess of Elune, Tyrande Whisperwind, was watching over the orcs and humans as they 'desecrated their ancestral forests' and saw Grom Hellscream slay Cenarius. As she looked down on the humans and orcs with contempt, she formulated a plan to get them out of their forests. She led a battalion of her archers against the humans and orcs, only to find that a battalion of Undead warriors was also encroaching on their position. Apparently they had followed the humans from Lordaeron. Tyrande managed to evade the undead and demons and return to her base. Thinking quickly, she decided that to combat this new threat, she would reawaken the druids, and among them her beloved, the Arch-Druid Malfurion Stormrage. Using the Horn of Cenarius, Tyrande awakened Malfurion from his barrow den and out of the mysterious ethereal realm created by Yzera and her Green Dragonflight known as the Emerald Dream. Tyrande and Malfurion first awakened the Druids of the Talon, night elves who had adapted the power to become mighty birds. Then, they went north and located the barrow den that held the Druids of the Claw, a group that could morph into bears. However, there was a bit of a hold-up while awakening the Druids of the Claw. Also hidden within that barrow den was the barrow prison that held Malfurion's brother, The Betrayer, Illidan Stormrage. Ages before, in the War of the Ancients, Illidan sold out the night elves to the magic-corrupted queen of the night elves, Azshara and her Highborne guard. Malfurion and Tyrande defeated Azshara, and for his betrayal, Malfurion caged Illidan in a barrow prison for all time. Tyrande freed Illidan, thinking the former demon hunter would be perfect for defeating the demonic Burning Leigon and redeeming himself somewhat in his peoples' eyes. For a time, Illidan complied with Illidan and Malfurion, but his lust for magic's corrupting, chaotic powers eventually won out. Tyrande told Illidan to destroy a demonic artifact known as the Skull Of Gul'Dan. However, before he could reach it, Illidan squared off with Arthas Menethil, Ner'Zuhl's favored Death Knight. Arthas told him that if Illidan was to consume the power of the skull, he would gain untold power. Indeed, Illidan consumed the power of Gul'Dan's skull. Malfurion and Tyrande found out, however. Disgusted with his brother's unquenchable thirst for magic and inability to control his lust for the chaotic, corrupting power, he banished Illidan from Kalimdor. Soon afterward, Malfurion was visited in a dream by a great raven that told him and Tyrande to meet him near a waterfall near Mount Hyjal's base. There, the night elves met Jaina, Cairne and Thrall, and the oracle from Stonetalon Peak, the Prophet from both Thrall and Malfurion's dreams, made himself known. He was Medivh, the last Guardian, come back from the beyond to redeem himself for past deeds. Medivh said that the Orcs, Humans and Night Elves would have to band together to combat the evil known as Archimonde. The following day, at Mount Hyjal, Malfurion formulated a plan to destroy Archimonde. As Archimonde and his demons and undead made their way toward Hyjal's summit, the humans, orcs and night elves stopped his ascent for as long as they could. When Archimonde won through to Nordrassil the World Tree, Malfurion revealed his true plan. Malfurion had called the power of the World Tree to destroy Archimonde and end his threat forever. Though Nordrassil was the night elves' link to the eternal world and the source of their cherished immortality, Malfurion gladly gave up eternal life to ensure Archimonde's complete destruction. Soon afterward, the night elves disappeared back into the shadow, the orcs returned to founding their new nation and the humans, unable to return to their homeland, founded a new city in Kalimdor.
I'm gonna continue this, so keep reading.