Gul'dan

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NeutralGul'dan
Image of Gul'dan
Title

"Darkness Incarnate", "Destroyer of Dreams",[1] Betrayer of the Orcs, the Great Betrayer[2]

Gender

Male

Race(s)

Orc

Character class
Affiliation
Occupation

Master of the Shadow Council, Chieftain of the Stormreaver clan

Location
Status

Deceased

Mentor(s)
Student(s)
"I am Gul'dan... I am darkness incarnate. I will not be denied."
The History of Orcish Ascension

Gul'dan was a former orc shaman from Draenor who became the first orcish warlock as well as the de facto founder of the Orcish Horde. Abandoning the ways of shamanism and betraying both his people and his mentor to the demonlord Kil'jaeden for personal gain and power, Gul'dan was directly responsible for the orcs' fall to demonic enslavement as well as for the Horde's invasion of Azeroth.[5] Tutored by the lord of the Burning Legion, he became the founder and master of the Shadow Council as well as the original creator of the necromantic terrors known as death knights.[1] He often referred to himself as "Darkness Incarnate" and "The Destroyer of Dreams."[1][6] Gul'dan is considered one of the most powerful warlocks to have ever existed.[7]

Biography

Rise of the Horde

Gul'dan by Metzen.

Little is known of Gul'dan's early history except that he was originally a member of the Shadowmoon clan, and showed extraordinary talent with working with the elemental powers of shamanism. Because of this, he was chosen as the honored apprentice to the elder shaman Ner'zhul, chieftain of the Shadowmoon Clan and spiritual leader of the orcs. At some point he found a rare two-headed ogre, Cho'gall, when he was young, and began to train him. Gul'dan was present at the Kosh'harg celebration in Nagrand.[8]

As Ner'zhul rallied the orcs for a war against the draenei at the behest of Kil'jaeden (hiding behind the facade of a powerful ancestor referred to as "The Beautiful One"), Gul'dan supported Ner'zhul fully. However, when Ner'zhul began to notice that they could no longer call upon the power of the elements or the ancestors, the shaman began to sense something was amiss. He discovered at Oshu'gun that he had been duped by Kil'jaeden and attempted to back out. To Ner'zhul's horror, he discovered that Gul'dan had seen everything at Oshu'gun and told Kil'jaeden of it all before Ner'zhul returned. Kil'jaeden approached Gul'dan and offered him the chance to become a master of warlock magic, on the condition that he help bring the orcs under his banner. Gul'dan accepted with no qualms whatsoever, and immediately began the work of reshaping the orcs, hitherto a collection of simple shamanistic clans, into an unstoppable and bloodthirsty Horde.

As a necessity of his bid for power, Gul'dan trained a number of like-minded and powerful orcs, whom he named the Shadow Council. The Council was soon using its power and influence to direct almost every aspect of orc society, so as to distract those few who opposed his dark ideals from their true masters, Gul'dan and Kil'jaeden. He opened schools of demonology and necromancy to teach shamans new power to replace their lost connections to the elements, transforming them into necrolytes and warlocks. He even founded and created his own clan, the Stormreavers, who were loyal only to him. However, this clan wasn't founded until sometime later. To seal the bargain between him and Kil'jaeden, Gul'dan and the Shadow Council offered the clan chieftains the Blood of Mannoroth. The resulting Horde was bloodthirsty, barbaric, and evil, an extension of the demons whom they now worshiped.

As a test of the Horde's strength, Gul'dan and the Shadow Council guided the orcs into murdering every single Draenei they could find on their homeworld. The near-extermination of the Draenei, a race as old as his master Kil'jaeden, proved that the orcs were ready for the next slaughter. It was at some point during these proceedings that Gul'dan "bred" one of his orcish warriors to a draenei female. The result was a Garona - a child that, as it would be discovered later, looked surprisingly human. Gul'dan had her magically aged and tortured,[9] later also placing controls on her mind to ensure obedience. She quickly became the chief interpreter of the Shadow Council and Gul'dan's personal spy and assassin. He also sent Blackheart the Inciter, whom he recruited after taking control of the Horde, and Vorpil with a group of orcs to plunder Auchindoun.[10] Gul'dan also manipulated the election of Blackhand as the Horde's new warchief, as he was the perfect pawn for the Shadow Council. Though Blackhand was competent in battle and a relatively sound tactician, he had a lust for power — and thus was easy for Gul'dan to control.

The First War

Gul'dan and the Dark Portal.

Eventually, Gul'dan was contacted by the mad sorcerer Medivh - possessed by the Dark Titan Sargeras - who offered him the promise of godhood, locked away within the Tomb of Sargeras if he would use the Horde to conquer Azeroth. Gul'dan agreed, and with the assistance of the Shadow Council, he helped Medivh open the Dark Portal between Azeroth and Draenor. Over the next few years, Gul'dan and his ogre-mage apprentice Cho'gall would secretly manipulate the Horde as it rampaged across Azeroth. Gul'dan convinced Grom Hellscream and his Warsong clan to remain on Draenor during the conflict later known as the First War.[11] In the year 0, Durotan and Draka were killed on his orders.

Gul'dan saw the Horde led to supremacy over most of the Kingdom of Azeroth, but on the eve of the final siege of Stormwind, Gul'dan was aware of a raiding party against Medivh's tower of Karazhan. Realizing that the Azerothians intended to slay the Guardian, Gul'dan hastily ransacked Medivh's mind for the Tomb's location. He was still deep within the Guardian's thoughts when Lothar and Khadgar killed him, ending Medivh's treachery and forcing Gul'dan into a coma.

Without the counsel of Gul'dan, Blackhand was easily slain by Orgrim Doomhammer, who, with information acquired from an interrogated and tortured Garona, proceeded to slaughter Gul'dan's warlocks and the majority of the Shadow Council.[12]

The Second War

Gul'dan in Warcraft II.
Gul'dan, Darkness Incarnate.

Gul'dan awoke from the coma with only Cho'gall, the Twilight's Hammer and his necrolytes still loyal to him; Blackhand, the Shadow Council and the warlocks were dead, and Garona and the other clans had betrayed him. Garona's betrayal of course had been forced. Doomhammer was willing to spare Gul'dan's life, despite his gut feeling he would one day regret this, and even let him run Balor and the ruins of Stormwind Castle, in exchange for information in regards to Blackhand's followers. This was simple enough; Rend and Maim hadn't professed continued loyalty to Gul'dan, so the warlock had no qualms about betraying them. Gul'dan informed Doomhammer that the raiders were preparing to join the sons of Blackhand and stage a coup against him, as Blackhand had once been a raider himself. Whether this information was true or not (not even Gul'dan was certain), it was possible, and Doomhammer disbanded the raiders and placed them among the many grunt regiments.

As a token of his "loyalty" to the new warchief, Gul'dan promised to create an army of undead riders loyal to him and him alone. Gul'dan and his necrolytes, led by Rakmar Sharpfang, tried to place the souls of the dead warlocks into the dead bodies of the Stormwind knights, and thus raising them as undead sorcerers. Their efforts were continuously met with failure, and a frustrated Gul'dan eventually found another way. He and Cho'gall joined his necrolytes in a powerful ritual and at its height he slaughtered each and every one of them. He transformed their hearts into mystical gems containing all their necromantic power and their souls. He placed these gems into truncheons and gave these truncheons to the bodies of the orc possessed knights, and was met with success as each on awakened the moment the truncheon was placed in its hand. They became the dread death knights, but at the end of the day their loyalty lay with Gul'dan, not Doomhammer. Satisfied Doomhammer left Gul'dan to his own devices to focus on the war; blissfully unaware that the death knights were not truly his soldiers.

Betrayal and death

Ultimately, Gul'dan's thirst for power proved to be the Horde's undoing. On the eve of Doomhammer's attack on Lordaeron's capital, Gul'dan took the Stormreaver and Twilight's Hammer clans and set out to sea to locate the Tomb of Sargeras. With nearly half of his standing forces suddenly gone, Doomhammer was forced to retreat and hunt down the traitorous warlock. This reprieve would ultimately give the Alliance time to regroup and retaliate.

Gul'dan did indeed locate the Tomb, and used his power to raise it from the ocean floor. Taking with him his most select followers, Gul'dan cast open the doors and entered and began searching for the Eye of Sargeras. He did not however find the godhood he was hoping for. Instead, he was torn to shreds by a swarm of insane demons that had long ago been drawn to the tomb through the dark magics that emanated from Sargeras’s remains.[13] The remainder of his clans were slaughtered by Doomhammer's retaliation. In those last moments, Gul'dan realized he had just been a pawn, that Sargeras had fooled him into doing his dirty work.

Legacy

The skull of Gul'dan in Illidan's grasp.

After Gul'dan died, his skull was turned into a channeling totem for demonic energy. A small shard of Gul'dan's soul remained within the bleached bone of the skull, where he whispered to whoever held it; the warlock proved to still be dangerous, even in death. The skull was used by Ner'zhul to open portals to other worlds on Draenor, and later by Khadgar to destroy the Dark Portal. After the destruction of the Dark Portal, Khadgar left the skull behind on Draenor in his haste to escape through one of Ner'zhul's rifts. Years later it would appear again on Azeroth, this time used by the Burning Legion to corrupt the forests of Felwood. After learning of its existence from Arthas the death knight, Illidan Stormrage found and took the skull, absorbing its power, remaining only half night elf and becoming half demon. Gul'dan's memories survived within the warlock magic of his skull and the runes he painted on the walls of the Tomb. Illidan found the Tomb using Gul'dan's memories from the Skull, and Maiev Shadowsong found the runes. When the tomb caved in, Gul'dan's final testament was buried.

His loyalists in the Twilight's Hammer clan would turn from the Burning Legion and begin worship of new masters.

In World of Warcraft

TBC This section concerns content exclusive to The Burning Crusade.

A vision of Gul'dan can be seen at the Altar of Damnation of Shadowmoon Valley in what is now Outland — the remnants of Draenor. The altar lies in front of a massive volcano known as the Hand of Gul'dan. The repeating vision appears to depict an event prior to the opening of the Dark Portal, where according to the Earthen Ring, the volcano was raised from the valley floor by Gul'dan himself when he severed the orcish people's connection to the elemental spirits of Draenor.

Location

Notable appearances
Location Level Health
Shadowmoon Valley  ?? 4,299

Powers and abilities

Medivh acknowledged that Gul'dan was the single most powerful warlock among his people.[14] Both are likely correct; The Skull of Gul'dan remained an incredibly powerful focus of warlock magic for decades after the orc's death. He also was responsible for raising the gigantic fel volcano known as the Hand of Gul'dan after severing the orcs' ties to the elemental spirits of Draenor.

Gul'dan was also able to wipe out the Sketh'lon arakkoa with a single spell that not only destroyed their camps, but twisted their spirits too.

In the RPG

The RPG Icon 16x36.png This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft RPG and is considered non-canon.

Personality

Gul'dan possesses an unquenchable thirst for power and a ruthless personality. Equally willing to manipulate friend and foe alike, he constantly tries to better his station in life through any means possible. Even though Gul’dan constantly tends to be embroiled in many different plots and schemes, his overarching goal is always to discover the location of the Tomb of Sargeras and to claim the dark titan’s powers for himself. Nothing else matters in comparison to this quest, and Gul’dan is willing to betray his own people and sacrifice his closest friends to achieve it.

Gul'dan can only be trusted to do what is in his own best interests. He often freely offers wealth to people in exchange for clues or information that might be useful, and then has them killed and reclaims his payment. Gul’dan only truly trusts people who are like himself — those who are openly ambitious and who will do anything to improve their lot in life. He feels that those people can be most easily predicted and manipulated through offers of wealth or prestige. It is the people who serve higher moral or religious powers that he fears. They are often resistant to his lures, and in Gul’dan’s eyes can never be completely trusted or relied upon. Because of this, he tends to associate most easily with mages, sorcerers, rogues and scouts and dislikes druids, priests and paladins. His allegiance is with the Horde, and he is openly hostile to members of the Alliance races unless they are key to something Gul'dan desires.[15]

Combat, powers and abilities

Gul'dan summons monsters to distract and harass his foes before entering melee with his demon staff against foes that have been isolated by his divide-and-conquer tactics.[15]

Gul'dan is widely agreed to be one of the most powerful beings ever encountered. Brann believes that "Gul'dan became the most powerful mortal warlock in history".[5]

Memorable quotes

Rise of the Horde

  • "Imagine what you could do if you led a group of shaman who controlled the source of their powers, instead of begging and scraping for it. Imagine if these shaman had servants who could also fight on your side. Servants who could, say, send your enemies fleeing helplessly in terror. Suck their magic dry as the insects in the summer suck blood. Distract them so that their attention was not on battle."[16]
  • "What I am about to tell you may be hard for you to accept, but I have faith that my people are not close-minded when it comes to ways to better themselves. Just as we were surprised and awed to learn that there were powerful beings other than the ancestors and the elements, we have discovered that there are ways to harness magic other than cooperating with the elements. Power that is not predicated on asking or begging or pleading...power that comes because we are strong enough to demand it to come. To control it when it does. To force it to obey us, bend to our will, rather than the other way around."
  • "Behold those who have power, and who are not afraid to wield it. Behold... the warlocks!"[17]
  • "Even now, our ally is working to open the Portal on his side. And now, we will begin. Blood is a pure offering to those who give us these vast powers. And the blood of a child is purer still. With the life fluid of our enemies, we will open the Portal and step into a glorious new world--a new page in the history of the Horde!"[18]
  • "Beautiful." (upon receiving the plans for the Dark Portal from Medivh)

Tides of Darkness

  • "But you do need warlocks. You need our magic, for the humans have magic of their own and without us you will fall to their power. And you have very few warlocks left. Myself, Cho'gall, and a handful of neophytes. I am too useful to kill simply for revenge.[19]
  • "The necrolytes have served their purpose. Now they shall have a new one, an even greater one. Gather our implements. We shall make a sacrifice."[20]
  • "Doomhammer slaughtered the other warlocks but their souls linger. We will summon them and instill them in human bodies. They will be eager to return to this world, and to serve the Horde once more."[21]
  • "Do not fear, Rakmar. This is not the end for you. On the contrary. You shall succeed at your task, with my help. You will fight again for the Horde. And Doomhammer will have his undead warriors. That is the good thing about necromancers--we never let anything go to waste."[22]
  • "Myself? No. I have no desire to march through the streets with an axe or a hammer, meeting my foes in the flesh. My path is the far greater one. I shall meet them in spirit and crush them from afar, devouring them by the hundreds and the thousands. Soon, all that was promised me shall be mine, and then Doomhammer will be as nothing against me. Even the might of the Horde will pale before me, and I shall stretch out my hand and wipe this world clean, to remake it in my own image!" (when asked by Cho'gall about becoming a warchief)

The Altar of Damnation

  • Be silent! The shattering is soon to come!
  • Bear witness to the undeniable power of our dark master!
  • With his gift, I shall raze this land and reform it!
  • Watch! See the ground shatter before us! Watch as the energy flows! It will feed our armies...
  • We will never be without power! I have secured our future! Bask in my glory!
  • It... is... done...

Trading Card Game

From him

  • "I am darkness incarnate. I will not be denied!"

About him

  • The ruined world of Draenor serves as a caution to those who would follow in Gul'dan's footsteps.[24]

Trivia

Possible slayers of Gul'dan

Questionmark-medium.png
This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

WoW-novel-logo-16x62.png This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft novels or short stories.

However, there is also possibility that fiends that Gul'dan encountered in the tomb were Naga. Several pieces of evidence support this theory. At the end of seventeenth chapter in "Tides of Darkness", a novel by Aaron Rosenberg, there is short description of those fiends as they emerged from the building and attacked orc forces that were sent by Doomhammer to kill Gul'dan for his betrayal. It describes how one creature had too many limbs and too many joints and altogether too many teeth; and that it was soon followed by others. In first part of twelfth chapter in "Beyond the Dark Portal", a novel by Aaron Rosenberg & Christie Golden; death knight Ragnok Bloodreaver, Tagar Spinebreaker, chieftain of the Bonechewer clan, Fenris Wolfbrother, chieftain of the Thunderlord clan, and other orcs from both clans joined together in swift assault on the Tomb of Sargeras to claim Jeweled Scepter of Sargeras. There they encountered the fiend that was holding the very scepter. "Creature was so tall that it was forced to hunch within the room beyond. Its skin was scaled and covered in bumps that seemed to ripple, as if somehow its surface were fluid like water. Spikes jutted form the shoulders, the forearms, the chest, and various other places, The over-long arms ended in huge hands with long claws. The face was too narrow at the bottom and too wide at the top, with slanting eyes that glowed a smoky, roiling yellow and a tiny mouth somehow filled with a insane number of razor-sharp teeth. A long tail whipped about behind it." The description has very strong similarities with Naga's appearance. Furthermore, the location and history of the location of the tomb potentially link it to the Naga. During the Sundering, several ancient Kaldorei capitals were destroyed and Queen Azshara was forced to make pact with the Old Gods in order to save herself and her people from drowning. And so the Old Gods used their dark powers on drowning Highborne and transformed her and the Highborne into Naga. These vengeful humanoid sea serpents were filled with hate and rage, their monstrous appearance reflecting the wickedness and malice that had always hidden within their core. Since then Naga have occupied most of the sunken parts of their old kingdom and because of this, it is highly possible that they also inhabited the very tomb as well, as it is part of their former capital Suramar.

Warcraft film

Gul'dan is portrayed by Daniel Wu in the 2016 film Warcraft.

Gallery

Patch changes

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition manual, pg. 28
  2. ^ Lord of the Clans
  3. ^ Rosenberg, Aaron. Tides of Darkness, 88. ISBN 978-1-4165-3990-2. The oldest of the surviving orc necromancers after Gul'dan himself, Rakmar Sharpfang was the necrolytes' unofficial leader and often thrust into the role of conveying their accomplishments - or failures - to the high warlock.
  4. ^ Rosenberg, Aaron. Tides of Darkness, 92. ISBN 978-1-4165-3990-2. "This is not the end for you. On the contrary. You shall succeed at your task, with my help. You will fight again for the Horde. And Doomhammer will have his undead warriors." [Gul'dan] laughed. "That is the good thing about necromancers - we never let anything go to waste."
  5. ^ a b Horde Player's Guide, 132
  6. ^ Rosenberg, Aaron. Tides of Darkness, 304. ISBN 978-1-4165-3990-2. 
  7. ^ http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/11725913 Gul'dan's Hearthstone page
  8. ^ A Warrior Made--Part 2
  9. ^ The Gathering
  10. ^ Beyond the Dark Portal chapter 19
  11. ^ Beyond the Dark Portal
  12. ^ Rosenberg, Aaron. Tides of Darkness, 16-22. ISBN 978-1-4165-3990-2. 
  13. ^ http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/11725913
  14. ^ Rise of the Horde, 331
  15. ^ a b Shadows & Light, 39
  16. ^ Rise of the Horde, pg. 312
  17. ^ Rise of the Horde, 220
  18. ^ Rise of the Horde, pg. 517
  19. ^ Tides of Darkness pg. 36
  20. ^ Tides of Darkness pg. 135
  21. ^ Tides of Darkness pg. 135
  22. ^ Tides of Darkness pg. 138
  23. ^ WoW TCG Card: Orc Necrolyte
  24. ^ WoW TCG Card: Forang Deathrattle

External links


Preceded by:
Velen
(as Superior of the Temple of Karabor)
Position:
Master of the Black Temple
Succeeded by:
Ner'zhul
(as Lord of Shadowmoon Fortress)
Preceded by:
None
Position:
Grand Master of the Inner Circle of the Shadow Council
Succeeded by:
Grandmaster Vorpil and Fel'dan
Preceded by:
None
Position:
Warchief of the Horde
(conjointly with Blackhand)
Succeeded by:
Orgrim Doomhammer
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