Ever since the Horde's attempts in invading Azeroth failed millenia ago, the Orcish clans were no longer united and they kept on fighting among themselves. The land reeked of Fel Magic and Corruption since the days of the first Warlocks. With the clans dying out due to infighting and what not, the new millenium of Orcs searched for the beacon of light who once guided them through the dark times : the Elder Shaman Ner'zhul.

A small dot amidst the blood red skies was the old shaman's hut, nestled atop the hills overlooking the Shadowmoon Lands, a pocket of land occupied by the Shadowmoon Clan. He kept himself in hiding for his own deception led his former apprentice Gul'dan to lead the Orcs down the dark paths that led Draenor to a state of ruin. He was at peace in seclusion but that was to change for he fell into a trance as he meditated and everything around him turned snow white.

The shaman stood there, vigilant and curious. He could see a human equipped with some high-tech gadgets and a stone embedded on his forehead. Ner'zhul poised himself in an attempt to strike him but that's when the human spoke: "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Ner'zhul: "Who are you? Another one of Kil'jaeden's minions?"

"I am not who you think you are. I am Nova, the Overlord of Zalem and I am in dire need of you and your kind."

"You? You need me? How pathetic of you to say that when millenia ago, your ancestors were the ones that thwarted the Horde from invading Azeroth!"

"I know, but they were not my ancestors exactly. You see, the world has changed over the years. Humans alone don't live on this planet, which you have known by the name Azeroth."

He resumed after a brief pause, "This land crawls with machine bodied beings with human minds. Now, one of them has threatened to destroy my regime and ..."

Ner'zhul couldn't contain his laughter and he bellowed, "So, you expect me to believe your lies? Do you think I'll send my legion to win your wars when we're dying out and have no place to survive?"

"I'm not asking." and the shaman noticed that the stone embedded on Nova's forehead began to glow brightly. A searing pain tore through Ner'zhul's body as the Technocrat held the shaman under his torturous grip!

"You have the power of the Elven Runestone! But how?" Ner'zhul shrieked.

"That's none of your concern. If you won't send your legion, you're missing an opportunity to redeem your kind!"

Ner'zhul, furious from this assault now used his shamanistic powers to turn the tides of the battle. The Technocrat now struggled to hold his own even as the shaman forced the unearthly elements to bend to his will. "Say that again!"

Nova: "Yes, the Orcs will be allowed to live on whatever is left of Iron City. If you send your legion to destroy those human minded machines, you can settle down on whatever that's left of them."

"The last time the Horde ventured out to your world, they were brutally decimated by the Alliance. How is it going to be any different this time?"

"The Alliance as you know it does not exist anymore. Besides, I'll equip your troops with the latest human weapons so that you can fight your enemies with them."

The idea was somewhat convincing, yet the old shaman had his doubts. Before he could do anything further, a cold icy voice spoke to him: "Master?"

That awoke Ner'zhul to his senses. It was Teron Gorefiend, the first of the Death Knights.

"After all these years, you were hiding in plain sight!"

"What do you want?"

"I have a plan that can save the Orcs. I can tell you only if you're willing to become our warchief.""

"What kind of a plan is it?"

"We must go looking out for other worlds, worlds that won't have beings resilient to our invasion."

"And how do you plan on doing this?"

"We need a few artifacts from the human world to build portals to other worlds."

"What! Why must we set foot on that world again. We've lost enough already and ..."

"Master, the humans would have changed by now. If we reopen the Dark Portal once again and send our forces through it, they will surely be taken by surprise."

"How do you know about this?"

"When the dark portal was destroyed, the rift between Draenor and Azeroth still remained. That's why I've been getting news about human developments. How they severed their ties with Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes. How they turned away from magic and to something loathsome as "science". How they've built more powerful weapons so that they don't have to use swords anymore. If we could get a hand on these human weapons, we can turn the battle to our favour!"

Ner'zhul paused for a while. He was in a deep thought. Nova's and Teron's words rang through his head and he couldn't think of anything else other than that. Then it struck him!

Ner'zhul: "Did you just say that there was a rift? All these years?"

Teron: "Yes master. It is an unstable one but if we try, we can reopen the Dark Portal once again. We need Gul'dan's skull to get started."

"And where shall we find the remains of my treacherous apprentice?"

"Hurrikan Skullsplinter, the chieftain of the Bonechewer clan wears it like a mask, not knowing the true power hidden in this relic!"

Ner'zhul paused for a while. Immediately, he fell into a trance again with the technocrat standing before him.

Nova: "So, do we have an agreement?"

"Why yes of course, the enemy of my enemy is truly my friend!" for he thought "Atleast, I'll get the artifacts that I need and I don't have any dealings with him henceforth!"

Coming back to his senses, Ner'zhul summoned Teron Gorefiend to muster his crew of Death Knights and take away Gul'dan's Skull from the Orc Chieftain. As a matter of fact, they found Grom Hellscream, Chieftain of the Warsong Clan imprisoned by the Bonechewers.

"Yeaaaah!" Exclaimed the chieftain relishing the freedom that was restored to him.

"Greetings ..." retorted Teron in an icy whisper. "Now that we've freed you from your captors, help us defeat them."

Grom motioned to another encampment where Kargath Bladefist, chieftain of the Shattered Hand Clan was held captive by Bonechewer's allies, the Thunderlord clan. They joined forces and freed a few grunts and troll berserkers, after which, they lay waste to the surrounding settlements of the Bonechewer and the Thunderlord clans that were not willing to comply with Ner'zhul's commands

"For Ner'zhul!" and a commotion arose where they noticed a band of bloodthirsty ogres led by Dentarg also joined in their fray. Now this forced the Bonechewer chieftain Hurrikan Skullsplinter to come forward.

Dentarg : "Are you opposing Shadowmoon? Ner'zhul will have your head!"

"Fine !" retorted the chieftain, "then take whatever you want, my troops are all yours and so is this!" he unmasked himself and handed over the Skull of Gul'dan over to Teron.

The newly forged Horde now went back to Ner'zhul's hut. The shaman was pleased. He held the skull of his former apprentice and in a light whisper it spoke back to him: "A new benefactor is it? First, it was Medivh and now, it is Nova!"

Ner'zhul however took no heed of his words. He was surprised that even after death, Gul'dan's powers did not diminish at all! "Yes, this is it!" he thought and he led the Horde to the barren lands of the Hellfire Peninsula, the place where the ruins of the Dark Portal lay. On his way to the citadel, he gathered followers from the neighbouring clans of Warsong and Shattered Hand and then, he used his shamanistic powers to rebuild the portal from its ruined state.

A legion of Death Knights led by Teron began to pronounce incantations as the crimson red skies above turned darker and darker. A few moments later, Nova contacted Ner'zhul telepathically: "We're ready! Open the portal now!"

At this, the shaman lifted Gul'dan's Skull and the eye sockets began to glow brightly. It fired a brilliant red beam and soon, the gateway which looked like an open window, now showed something like a black screen. The Horde screamed as they charged through the dark portal, towards what seemed to be a bright future ahead.