Lore ·
Who Is Khadgar? Medivh's Apprentice and the Archmage of the Dark Portal
Khadgar is the Kirin Tor mage who apprenticed under Medivh, helped defeat his possessed master, destroyed the Dark Portal after the Second War and had Nethergarde Keep built to watch it. In World of Warcraft: Forever (WoW Forever), set in the first year of World of Warcraft (year 25 after the Dark Portal), Blizzard Watch's account has him stay in Outland and wait there until The Burning Crusade, so players do not meet him in Azeroth.
Quick answer: Khadgar served Medivh at Karazhan, learned that the titan Sargeras controlled him, and helped Anduin Lothar's force kill him. He stayed with Lothar through the Second War, destroyed the Dark Portal and led the expedition that closed it from the other side. What players meet in Azeroth is the keep he founded, not the man.
Some guardians wear a crown and some wear a mage's robe a little too old for them. Khadgar's came with a young man's mind in an old man's body, and a long watch over a door he had helped to shut.
Key facts
- Order: the Kirin Tor, the mages of Dalaran (Warcraft Wiki, Blizzard Watch)
- Master: Medivh, whom he served at Karazhan (Warcraft Wiki, Blizzard Watch)
- The cost of the fight: his body aged into that of an old man (Warcraft Wiki, Blizzard Watch)
- Ally: Anduin Lothar, whom he followed to Lordaeron (Warcraft Wiki, Blizzard Watch)
- Second War: destroyed the Dark Portal and oversaw Nethergarde Keep (Warcraft Wiki, Blizzard Watch)
- Nethergarde Keep: in the Blasted Lands, built to watch the Dark Portal (Warcraft Wiki)
- First year of WoW: in Outland, by Blizzard Watch's timeline (it says he waited there until The Burning Crusade); Warcraft Wiki places him in the game in Shattrath City in The Burning Crusade
Who is Khadgar and how did he meet Medivh?
Khadgar is a mage who was sent to learn from a master and found a prisoner. Warcraft Wiki says the Kirin Tor sent him to Medivh at Karazhan, and Blizzard Watch's Know Your Lore column says Khadgar of the Kirin Tor was apprenticed to the Guardian Medivh. Warcraft Wiki says he learned that Medivh was a Guardian of Tirisfal and that Sargeras was controlling him. Read Who Is Medivh? for the Guardian, and the Dalaran guide for the city of the Kirin Tor.
Warcraft Wiki and Blizzard Watch say Khadgar helped defeat the possessed Medivh, and that the fight left his body aged into that of an old man while his powers grew. Warcraft Wiki's First War page says Khadgar drove a rune sword into Medivh's heart and that Anduin Lothar then beheaded him. Engadget's Know Your Lore on Medivh also says Khadgar killed him. Read Who Is Anduin Lothar? for the commander at his side.
What did Khadgar do in the Second War?
Khadgar was the mage in the Alliance's war room. Blizzard Watch says he traveled with Lothar's refugees to Lordaeron and explained Medivh's fall to the Council of Six of Dalaran, and Warcraft Wiki says he fled north with Lothar and that the Council named him its liaison to Lothar. Warcraft Wiki says he fought at Lothar's side in the first skirmishes at Hillsbrad and Southshore, and its Second War page lists powerful magi of the Kirin Tor led by Khadgar among the Alliance's forces. For the realm he served, read Lordaeron explained.
After the Horde was beaten, Warcraft Wiki and Blizzard Watch say Khadgar destroyed the Dark Portal and oversaw the building of Nethergarde Keep. Warcraft Wiki's Nethergarde Keep page says it was built to keep watch over the Dark Portal after the Second War, that Khadgar commissioned it, that the Alliance kingdoms funded it and that the Kirin Tor staffed it. The same page places it on a bluff in the northeastern Blasted Lands, on the only road into the region.
Why did Khadgar go through the Dark Portal?
A closed door can open from the other side. Warcraft Wiki and Blizzard Watch say that when the orcs threatened Azeroth again, Khadgar went through the Dark Portal with the Alliance expedition to Draenor. Both say he closed the portal from the Draenor side. Blizzard Watch says that stranded the expedition in Outland and that Khadgar stayed there and waited, and Warcraft Wiki says he used Medivh's spellbook to do it.
Where does Khadgar stand in WoW Forever's era?
In the first year of World of Warcraft, Khadgar is not in Azeroth. Blizzard Watch says he stayed in Outland and waited there until The Burning Crusade, which puts him in Outland in the first year of World of Warcraft, though the article does not name that year. Warcraft Wiki's account of him in the game places him in Shattrath City, in The Burning Crusade. That makes The Burning Crusade a later event, outside WoW Forever.
What survives is the keep. In the original game, according to Warcraft Wiki, Nethergarde Keep has a flight master, vendors and quest givers on the Alliance side. Warcraft Wiki's Patch 1.60 page, which summarizes Forever, does not mention Nethergarde Keep, the Blasted Lands or the Dark Portal, so whether Forever includes them is unconfirmed. Read the Alliance leveling zones guide for the routes Forever's Alliance players take, and the Mage guide for the class Khadgar's order trains.
The free Lore Forever add-on shows readable zone and quest background as you travel, and the optional Willo voice companion lets you ask about the names you read. Both are fan-made.
What is not confirmed yet
- Blizzard has not published a list of Forever's Khadgar quests or dialogue, so this article describes the character, not new content.
- Warcraft Wiki's Patch 1.60 page does not mention Nethergarde Keep, the Blasted Lands, the Dark Portal or Karazhan, so Forever's treatment of them is unknown.
- Warcraft Wiki says the Council of Six named him liaison to Lothar, while Blizzard Watch says he refused to return to Dalaran's service. The two accounts are hard to reconcile, so this article reports each with its source and treats neither as settled.
- Later events, including his place in Shattrath and his role against the Burning Legion, are outside WoW Forever.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Khadgar in World of Warcraft?
Khadgar is a Kirin Tor mage who was Medivh's apprentice. He helped defeat Medivh, destroyed the Dark Portal after the Second War and had Nethergarde Keep built.
Is Khadgar in WoW Forever?
Not in Azeroth. Blizzard Watch says Khadgar stayed in Outland and waited there until The Burning Crusade, and WoW Forever is set in the first year of World of Warcraft, before that expansion.
Why does Khadgar look old?
Warcraft Wiki and Blizzard Watch say the fight with the possessed Medivh aged Khadgar into an old man, though his powers grew.
Who killed Medivh?
Khadgar and Anduin Lothar killed Medivh at Karazhan, according to Warcraft Wiki. Engadget says Khadgar killed him.
What is Nethergarde Keep?
Nethergarde Keep is a fortress in the Blasted Lands built to watch the Dark Portal after the Second War. Warcraft Wiki says Khadgar commissioned it and the Alliance kingdoms funded it.
Sources
Reviewed October 25, 2026. This article covers history before and during Forever's setting and does not treat later events as Forever canon. Lore Forever and Willo are fan-made and are not affiliated with Blizzard Entertainment.