Old Horde

Before it crossed into Azeroth, the Horde was forged on Draenor through demonic manipulation. The demon lord Kil'jaeden used the warlock Gul'dan and the elder shaman Ner'zhul to corrupt the proud, spiritual orc clans. As elemental spirits abandoned the warring orcs, shamanistic traditions were cast aside for warlock magic. Sealed by the consumption of the blood of Mannoroth, the clans surrendered to bloodlust, slaughtering the draenei and draining their homeland of life.

With Draenor's lands withering away and resources exhausted, the warlock Gul'dan and the possessed human guardian Medivh opened the Dark Portal into Azeroth. The Horde poured through, igniting the First War against the Kingdom of Stormwind. Under Warchief Blackhand—and the covert strings of Gul'dan's Shadow Council—the Horde battered the southern realm. Toward the war's conclusion, Orgrim Doomhammer slew Blackhand and purged the Shadow Council, taking command of the Horde and razing Stormwind to the ground.

Orgrim Doomhammer drove the Horde north across the seas into the Second War, forging alliances with forest trolls and goblin mercenaries. However, at the height of the siege of Lordaeron, Gul'dan deserted the war effort with his loyalists to seek the Tomb of Sargeras. Fractured and reeling from the betrayal, the Horde was pushed back to Blackrock Mountain and crushed by the Alliance of Lordaeron. Defeated, their portal destroyed, surviving orcs were herded into internment camps, afflicted with lethargy as the demonic blood haze faded.