Dark Portal

Before its opening, this region was part of the Black Morass, a sodden wetland that stretched across the south. That changed when Medivh, possessed by Sargeras, joined his Tirisfal magics with the fel sorcery of Gul'dan on Draenor. The ritual drained untold lives and tore the fabric of reality apart. The Old Horde raised massive stone architecture to anchor the rift, marching armies through its threshold to shatter the Kingdom of Stormwind in the First War. The portal's fel emanations fundamentally corrupted the surrounding terrain, reducing lush marshes to the red, petrified wastes seen today.

Following the Alliance of Lordaeron's victory in the Second War, Archmage Khadgar shattered the physical stone frame with powerful magics, hoping to sever Draenor forever. However, the dimensional tear beneath proved functionally indestructible. The Alliance erected Nethergarde Keep nearby to watch the scar, while demons and remnants of the Shadow Council continue to slink through the blasted caldera. Today the gateway stands reassembled yet dormant, a silent scar between worlds that neither side dares abandon.