The Characters of Warcraft/Gul'dan (original)
This article is a copy of "Gul'dan", an official article by Blizzard Entertainment located in "The Characters of Warcraft" section of the online Game Guide. It presented information about the main universe version of the referred individual. The article (archived here) was updated on 7th August of 2014 to depict the alternate universe version of Gul'dan, erasing the original content in the process.
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Do NOT change this article or section. It needs to be an accurate copy of the source.
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| Character Information | |
|---|---|
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| Gender | Male |
| Race | Orc |
| Affiliation(s) | Horde, Shadow Council |
Gul'dan
- Betrayer of the Orcs
When he compromised his people for demonic power, the warlock Gul’dan tainted the very soul of the orcish race.
Born on Draenor, the home world of the orcs, Gul'dan was a shaman until he helped his mentor, Ner'zhul, ally the orcs with the demon lord Kil'jaeden. Ner'zhul sought to undercut their alliance when he learned the pact would make the entire orc people slaves to demons, but before he could, Gul'dan betrayed him and took his place. Gul'dan became the first known warlock and the head of the Shadow Council, a cabal of resourceful orcs who secretly served the Burning Legion from within orc society. Gul'dan's actions would ultimately lead to the corruption of the Horde; he deceived several leaders of the orcish clans into drinking the blood of the pit lord Mannoroth, binding them to the Legion.
With a unified orc army at his back, Gul'dan launched an unprovoked attack against Shattrath City, and razed the draenei capital. Even though the orcs had followed Kil'jaeden's orders, the demon lord abandoned them, leaving them to fight amongst themselves for years on a world that quickly turned barren from the use of destructive fel magic.
Gul'dan saw a new destiny for the Horde after being contacted by the corrupted human sorcerer, Medivh. The orc warlock was promised endless power in exchange for conquering Azeroth and freeing the body of the fallen titan, Sargeras. The Shadow Council built and opened a Dark Portal with Medivh's help, and the orcs plundered their way across the Eastern Kingdoms, eventually laying siege to Stormwind City. With victory in his grasp, Gul'dan decided he no longer wished to wait for Medivh to voluntarily tell him the location of Sargeras' tomb. The warlock was searching deep within Medivh's mind when the human sorcerer was killed during a daring raid, and Gul'dan fell into a coma. By the time Gul'dan awoke, most of his followers were dead, and the Horde was now firmly under the command of Orgrim Doomhammer.
Gul'dan swore allegiance to the new Warchief by assembling an undead army – the dreaded Death Knights – from the corpses of Stormwind's fallen heroes. However, when Doomhammer's Horde needed him the most during the Second War, Gul'dan and some of his clans abandoned Doomhammer to seek the tomb of Sargeras, where he uncovered the terrible truth behind his efforts: Sargeras never had any intention of granting him power at all. Gul'dan was torn to shreds by the masses of vicious demons inside the tomb, and his very skull became a focus of demonic power.