Backed by the Stormreaver and Twilight's Hammer clans, Gul'dan succeeded in raising the Tomb of Sargeras from the sea floor. However, when he opened the ancient, flooded vault, he found only crazed demons awaiting him.

Seeking to punish the wayward orcs for their costly betrayal, Doomhammer sent his forces to kill Gul'dan and bring the renegades back into the fold. For his recklessness, Gul'dan was torn apart by the maddened demons he had set loose. With their leader dead, the renegade clans quickly fell before Doomhammer's enraged legions.

Though the rebellion had been quelled, the Horde was unable to recoup the terrible losses it had suffered. Gul'dan's betrayal had afforded the Alliance not only hope, but also time to regroup and retaliate.

Lord Lothar, seeing that the Horde was fracturing from within, gathered the last of his forces and pushed Doomhammer south, back into the shattered heartland of Stormwind. There, the Alliance forces trapped the retreating Horde within the volcanic fortress of Blackrock Spire. Though Lord Lothar fell in battle at the Spire's base, his lieutenant, Turalyon, rallied the Alliance forces at the eleventh hour and drove the Horde back into the abysmal Swamp of Sorrows.

Turalyon's forces succeeded in destroying the Dark Portal, the mystical gateway that connected the orcs to their homeworld of Draenor. Cut off from its reinforcements and fractured by infighting, the Horde finally buckled in upon itself and fell before the might of the Alliance.

The scattered orc clans were quickly rounded up and placed within guarded internment camps. Though it seemed that the Horde had been defeated for good, some remained highly skeptical that peace would last. Khadgar, now an Archmage of some renown, convinced the Alliance high command to build the fortress of Nethergarde that would watch over the ruins of the Dark Portal and ensure that there would be no further invasions from Draenor.

For the first time in nearly three thousand years, the disparate nations of Arathor were once again united under a common banner. Appointed as Supreme Commander of the Alliance forces, Lord Lothar prepared his armies for the coming of the Horde.

Aided by his lieutenants, Uther the Lightbringer, Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, and Turalyon, Lothar was able to convince Lordaeron's demi-human races of the impending threat as well. The Alliance succeeded in gaining the support of the stoic dwarves of Ironforge and a small number of high elves of Quel'Thalas.

The elves, led at that time by Anasterian Sunstrider, were largely uninterested in the coming conflict. However, they were duty-bound to aid Lothar because he was the last descendent of the Arathi bloodline, which had aided the elves in ages past.

The Horde, now led by Warchief Doomhammer, brought in ogres from its homeworld of Draenor and conscripted the disenfranchised Amani forest trolls into its fold. Setting out on a massive campaign to overrun the dwarf kingdom of Khaz Modan and the southern reaches of Lordaeron, the Horde effortlessly decimated all opposition.

The epic battles of the Second War ranged from large-scale naval skirmishes to massive aerial dogfights. Somehow the Horde had unearthed a powerful artifact known as the Demon Soul and used it to enslave the ancient Dragonqueen, Alexstrasza. Threatening to destroy her precious eggs, the Horde forced Alexstrasza to send her grown children to war. The noble red dragons were forced to fight for the Horde, and fight they did.

The war raged across the continents of Khaz Modan, Lordaeron, and Azeroth itself. As part of its northern campaign, the Horde succeeded in burning down the borderlands of Quel'Thalas, thereby ensuring the elves' final commitment to the Alliance's cause. The greater cities and townships of Lordaeron were razed and devastated by the conflict. Despite the absence of reinforcements and overwhelming odds, Lothar and his allies succeeded in holding their enemies at bay.

However, during the final days of the Second War, as the Horde's victory over the Alliance seemed almost assured, a terrible feud erupted between the two most powerful orcs on Azeroth. As Doomhammer prepared his final assault against the Capital City of Lordaeron - an assault that would have crushed the last remnants of the Alliance - Gul'dan and his followers abandoned their posts and set out to sea.

The bewildered Doomhammer, having lost nearly half of his standing forces to Gul'dan's treachery, was forced to pull back and forsake his greatest chance at victory over the Alliance.

Are you here to train in Archaeology?

The Magocrats proposed the notion of empowering a single mortal champion who would utilize their powers in order to fight a never-ending secret war against the Legion. It was stressed that the majority of mankind could never know about the Guardians or the threat of the Legion for fear that they would riot in fear and paranoia. The elves agreed to the proposal and founded a secret society that would watch over the selection of the Guardian and help to stem the rise of chaos in the world.

The society held its secret meetings in the shadowed Tirisfal Glades, where the high elves had first settled in Lordaeron. Thus, they named the secret sect the Guardians of Tirisfal. The mortal champions who were chosen to be Guardians were imbued with incredible powers of both elven and human magic. Though there would only ever be one Guardian at a time, they held such vast power that they could single-handedly fight back the Legion's agents wherever they were found in the world.

The Guardian power was so great that only the Council of Tirisfal was allowed to choose potential successors to the mantle of Guardianship. Whenever a Guardian grew too old, or wearied of the secret war against chaos, the Council chose a new champion, and under controlled conditions, formally channeled the Guardian power into its new agent.

As the generations passed, Guardians defended the masses of humanity from the invisible threat of the Burning Legion throughout the lands of Arathor and Quel'Thalas. Arathor grew and prospered while the use of magic spread throughout the empire. Meanwhile, the Guardians kept careful watch for signs of demonic activity.

Welcome to my Inn, weary traveler. What can I do for you?

These machines are fantastic! How could they operate with no anomalies or chance of failure? Oh, excuse me. Did you need something?

The Ranger Captain acknowledges that my experience in relic study will be invaluable against the host of threats in the days ahead. Before this, I was cataloging relics for the Dragonscale Expedition. When our camp heard of the attack on the Sunwell, I joined those who raced to return home to Silvermoon. I have not forgotten when the people of Quel'Thalas rallied to defend Suramar years ago. I will help in any way I can.

I hope you're not wasting my time, human.

It is a great honor to represent Harandar in this grand city.

Our banner should be outside by the natural beauty of the goddess, not locked within a hut.

Welcome, adventurer! Have you been aiding in the defense of Quel'Thalas against the recent incursions? I'd be happy to exchange your hard-earned Field Accolades for the new weapons and armor we've recently discovered. I'm also happy to exchange any Dark Particles you may find during these incursions for Field Accolades. My sister and the other ren'dorei are studying them in hopes of better understanding who and where these attacks are coming from.

After Xal'atath's initial attack on the Sunwell, a hidden cache of armor and weapons was discovered in the wreckage. We believe some of these may have been stashed here since the Legion's takeover of the Sunwell Plateau. It took us a bit to catalogue and check for any unsafe anomalies that may have formed during the years they were hidden, but we've managed to sort through them all. With more volunteers joining the Ranger Captain's strike force, we're going to need all the weapons and armor we can get.

<Maren glances at Mayven before looking back at you with a smile.> Yes. Twin sister, in fact. We both shared a common fondness for magic, which led us to pursue further studies within the Magister's Terrace. I went down one path... and she went down another. It's been a few years since our fallout, but I'm grateful she's back. She's may be a bit... cold sometimes but she's harmless. Well, mostly. <Maren scrunches her nose as if doubting her own words.>

This is such an interesting find!

A small group of us have been studying some relics from the recent assault on the city. The items appear to have been infused with latent void magic, which I believe has greatly increased their potential. The items' physical properties have also been altered, giving them all a striking look! Interesting, isn't it? Once we are sure they pose no threat to our own, we can start outfitting our troops with them and use this power against our enemies!

Oh don't tell me you're also here to side with Lady Darkglen, Priest ?

On her approach to... everything! Studying historical sites, investigating strange magic, and even preserving relics of power! 'Lady' Darkglen isn't so much keen to preserve our history as she is to understand the darkness that threatens it. Even if that means taking a more destructive approach.

Of course we should but at what cost? There must be a way to both preserve what is ours and defeat the enemies at our doorstep. We can do both, despite what Lady Darkglen thinks. Her obsession with dark powers has shattered her once-delicate approach to such things.

Greetings, human.

Young... I was the oldest Explorer-In-Training at the basecamp! Plus I had been starting to work with Rae'ana studying artifacts. She agreed to take me on as an apprentice. I have never been to a city like Silvermoon. It is so grand! We got to visit Valdrakken once, but there are so many more people here.

The threats that lay siege to Eversong and Zul'Aman's borders are relentless, adventurer, but we are no strangers to dealing with these attacks. Be it forces of the Void, marauding ethereals, or the Twilight's Blade, we will be ready.

My guards, ha. They are more accurately your guards. It is nice though dat they think three of dem are enough to stop me if I did want to do harm. Mibaza could take them alone. <Mibaza lets out a low growl.>

<Lady Darkglen tilts her head as she looks you over.> Now, what can an important priest like yourself do for me?

<Lady Darkglen sighs.> Due to the current climate of Silvermoon, it was unwise to have my usual... entourage here in the city. While dear Blocciniux is away, I have an alternate. Do try to behave in front of him, hmm? He's quite dedicated to his job.

A part of the Reliquary? Me? I'm afraid not. I've always found their work to be rather fascinating--I've even contributed to Tae'thelan's lavish fundraisers that finance his expeditions. But sadly, the High Examiner has never granted me membership. I must have offended him at some point. <Lady Darkglen offers a coy smirk.> And yet, when the need arose for someone with an intrigue for both dark magic and history alike, none were as suited to the task as I was. He couldn't deny my credentials, so in turn he sent Andoren here to lecture me on... well, I've stopped listening to his prattle if I'm being honest.

<Mayven closes her eyes as she slowly exhales before looking at you.> Yes, she is. If you're that curious about my familial relations, please feel free to ask her all about it. While you do that, I've got work that requires my attention. These dark particles aren't going to study themselves.

<Mayven narrows her eyes at you for a moment before she gestures to the void magic circling around her hand.> Since you're so curious... I'm studying the dark particles left behind by these new threats. Why you may ask? Most types of magic leave behind a faint residue that can be used to determine the type of magic or in some cases, the reagents and fuel source used to power the spell. In this case, we are trying to unravel these particles to learn more about these threats and maybe find a way to counter their next move.

The forces of the Void and the Hal'hadar are relentless in their onslaught. We must remain vigilant and ready.

Oh, hello there!

As you can no doubt tell, I am somewhat preoccupied with my research. Unless your question pertains to my work, please direct all matters to my sister, Maren.

How many times must I repeat myself... De factions attacking your perfect elf allies are also attacking us in Zul'Aman. A few of you have proven worthy fighters and honorable enough we hope to work together to combat de new threats. Does dat satisfy your inquiry?

Hello there. You must be... adventurer?

Have you heard of Captain Grayson? Some say that he's the figment of a drunken sailor's imagination, but anyone in Westfall will tell you that Grayson is real! He's a ghost that haunts the Westfall Lighthouse far to the west, off the coast of the Longshore. Do you dare investigate?

Darnell tells me that the two of you have already met. That's good, because I'm sending you both into Deathknell. Your work is done here. Speak with Deathguard Saltain in Deathknell, to the north. He will tell you more of what you must know.

Stand back, monster. You want to fight? Because I'll fight you. I'll fight any one of you creatures! Do you hear me?