Long before the Dark Portal, the orcs of Draenor are a shamanistic people living in clans, and young Durotan is heir to the Frostwolf chieftaincy. Their neighbors are the draenei, exiles from another world. When the elder shaman Ner'zhul starts receiving visions he believes come from the ancestors, Durotan and his friend Orgrim watch their people begin to change.
What this adds if you've played the games
If you play the Horde, this isn't optional. It shows how the orcs fell to demon blood, what that did to the draenei and why Thrall's father matters. The Burning Crusade's Outland and Warlords of Draenor's alternate Draenor both make far more sense afterwards, since many of their characters appear here first, from Velen and Kil'jaeden to Blackhand and Gul'dan. It's dark, and Golden makes it hit hard.
Where it fits
- Read beforeWarcraft: Orcs & Humans
Draenor's story up to the moment the orcs step through the Dark Portal, which is where the first game begins. Either can come first.
- Ties intoWorld of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Its framing scenes are set just before The Burning Crusade, and many of Outland's places and people, from Nagrand to the draenei, first appear in it. Read it beforehand.
Editions
Simon and Schuster paperback
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