Old Horde

The Old Horde (aka old Horde with lower-case "old" - see below for details) is a nickname given to the Horde from its beginning prior to the First War until it was defeated by the Alliance of Lordaeron at the end of the Second War. It is used to differentiate it from the New Horde, founded by Thrall after the Old Horde's defeat. Fundamental principles of the Old Horde included demon worship, the consumption of demon blood to become stronger, merciless killing and warfare, and victory in combat to prove one's worth. Their ranks consisted originally only of orcs, soon joined by ogres from the Blade's Edge Mountains and later by forest trolls and goblins from Azeroth.

History


The Horde began when Kil'jaeden, one of the primary leaders of the Burning Legion, discovered the world called Draenor and the orcs living upon it. At this point the orcs were a peaceful and shamanistic race calling themselves the Mag'har. Kil'jaeden planned to transform the orcs into a vicious and brutal force that could be used to invade Azeroth, and began to communicate with the orc shaman Ner'zhul. The orc was initially willing to listen and began to practice warlock magic. After several years, many of the orcish clans were following his dark ways, and the orcs were at war with the draenei. Ner'zhul finally discovered how the orcs were being twisted and corrupted, and refused to follow Kil'jaeden any longer. One of Ner'zhul's students, Gul'dan, was quick to step in as Kil'jaeden's agent and convinced the orcs to drink the blood of Mannoroth. This infused the orcs with the Blood Curse, driving them into a furious demonic rage and viciousness. They slaughtered most of the other creatures living on Draenor, conquered the world, and even began to fight amongst themselves. When they allied to destroy the draenei, the Horde was born. Kil'jaeden had succeeded in making his weapon.

With no other enemies to fight, the orcs would have destroyed themselves. Gul'dan was however contacted by Medivh, a human mage possessed by Sargeras (leader of the Burning Legion) in Azeroth. Together, Gul'dan's Shadow Council and Medivh created the Dark Portal. The Horde marched through it to Azeroth where they clashed together with its inhabitants and created the First War. It was at this point they allied themselves with the forest trolls and goblins. The Horde was ultimately victorious and conquered the Kingdom of Stormwind, but were later pressed back to the Dark Portal during the Second War when the Alliance of Lordaeron fought back. When Khadgar ultimately destroyed the Dark Portal (or at least tried to), the orcs lost their moral and were quickly captured and put in internment camps where they suffered from demon blood withdrawal. This marked the end of the Second War and the end of the Old Horde.

Branches
Even after its defeat, the Old Horde's ideals still lived on (and lives) in organizations connected to it.

The Horde of Draenor


The loose alliance of orc clans that remained on Draenor during the Horde's invasion of Azeroth. It was led by Ner'zhul who, from request by Teron Gorefiend, had agreed to rally the remaining orcs in Draenor. He furthermore planned to open new portals to other worlds for the orcs to conquer. The Horde of Draenor eventually clashed together with the Alliance Expedition when it stepped through the Dark Portal to defeat the orcs in their own home. Most of the Horde of Draenor was wiped out by this war, and even more of it when Ner'zhul's new portals tore Draenor apart. Notice that the Horde of Draenor is also referred to as the new Horde, given how it was created in the wake of of the old Horde's defeat.



The Dark Horde
A group of orcs, trolls, ogres and goblins making their home in Blackrock Spire in the upper Blackrock Mountain. Originally the home of the Dark Iron clan dwarves (just as the rest of the mountain), Blackrock Spire was seized by the Old Horde and used as their headquarters during the Second War. The orcs were defeated in the Assault on Blackrock Spire, something which laid foundation for the Alliance of Lordaeron's victory at the Dark Portal. In the aftermath of the Horde's defeat, survivors returned to Blackrock Spire under the rule of Rend Blackhand. Nefarian arrived shortly after and became the new leader with Rend Blackhand and Rend's brother Maim Blackhand as his subordinates.



The Fel Horde
The remaining orcs of the Horde of Draenor - having become fel orcs from demon blood - that makes their home in Hellfire Peninsula. Hellfire Citadel is their headquarters. Rallied by Magtheridon after Draenor's shattering, the fel orcs in Outland became Illidan Stormrage's servants when he overthrew Magtheridon in a coup d'état after the Third War. Kargath Bladefist, who in the aftermath of the Second War helped gather the artifacts needed to open Ner'zhul's new portals, acts as their leader second after Illidan. He refers to the Fel Horde as the "true", "real" and "only" Horde. Indeed, the Fel Horde is possibly the branch which resembles the Old Horde the most.

Old or old?
The early Horde is described as the "old Horde" (lower-case "old") in only one known instance in lore, Lord of the Clans, and never used since (most of the time Thrall - the protagonist in this book - just calls it the "Horde"). Some fans call the early history of the Horde the "Old Horde" (upper-case "Old"), being used to describe the way the Horde existed until the end of the Second War. This is referencing the fact that the modern day Horde is called the "new Horde" occasionally, in the games and lore, so in comparison, fans call the Horde of the past, "the old Horde".

Legacy
Many players familiar with the Old Horde remember it with a sense of awe and nostalgia, considering it to have been more "badass" and "hardcore" than the New Horde. At the same time, they consider the New Horde to be too much concerned about honor and too little about warfare. Oppositely, other players consider the New Horde to be better organized and pursue more important aims. It seems that players who have played WC1 and WC2 (which features the Old Horde) prefer the Old Horde, while players who have only played WC3 and/or WoW (which features the New Horde - especially WoW) prefer the New Horde.