The Dark Portal (WC2 Orc)

The Dark Portal is the twelfth and final mission of the Horde campaign in Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal.

''As the burning remains of your victims fill the air with acrid smoke, the sky fills with a figure as black as night. Deathwing descends, exhausted from his long journey from Grim Batol, bearing grave news from his brothers at Blackrock Spire.''

''The Alliance has sent a host of warriors to the Black Morass and has engaged the forces of Warsong and Shattered Hand at the Dark Portal. You must rally the forces of Shadowmoon to break through this siege and return the artifacts you have secured to Draenor. Only then can Ner'zhul's plan of opening portals to new worlds be realized.''

''Succeed and you will command vast armies as they ravage untold worlds. Fail and be slaughtered.''

• Capture the Dark Portal
• Destroy all Humans

''Ner'zhul holds the ancient scepter of Sargeras in the air and intones the final words of the Spell of Conjuration. The air above you begins to swirl and presses down upon the assembled masses of the Horde. Above you, the crimson skies break open and reveal the chaotic pathways of the Twisting Nether.''

As Ner'zhul deploys his remaining forces towards the new portals, you glimpse the Shattered Hand and Warsong clans awaiting orders on the other side of the Dark Portal.

''"Master", you ask. "Should we not recall all of our forces from Azeroth?" "No," the ancient Shaman replys [sic] coldly. "They have served their purpose. From this point on, all that we gain will be ours alone." Ner'zhul gives a wicked grin as you unquestioningly follow him into the swirling madness of the Twisting Nether.''

• Horde of Draenor
• Grunts
• Axethrowers
• Berserkers
• Ogres
• Ogre magi
• Catapults
• Death knights
• Sappers
• Zeppelins
• Dragons
• Warships

• Alliance of Lordaeron
• Footmen
• Archers
• Rangers
• Knights
• Paladins
• Ballistae
• Mages
• Demolition Squads
• Flying machines
• Gryphon riders
• Warships

• The Portal itself is guarded by the five Alliance heroes introduced in Beyond the Dark Portal: Khadgar, Danath, Turalyon, Alleria and Kurdran, plus four Knights (who will be upgraded into Paladins by the time you get there) and a Cannon Tower.
• You get to control all five Beyond the Dark Portal Horde heroes in this mission: Teron Gorefiend, Kargath Bladefist, Grom Hellscream, Dentarg and Deathwing.
• This mission ends with the Warsong and Shattered Hand clan forces as well as their chieftains being abandoned on Azeroth by Ner'zhul. This was later Retconned in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, which had Kargath in Outland and turned into a fel orc with most of his clan with him. It was further retconned in the Beyond the Dark Portal novelization where Kargath and the Shattered Hand clan never left Draenor.
• Due to engine limitations, the Warsong and Shattered Hand clans count as members of the Shadowmoon clan in this mission's victory screen.
• The Once More Unto the Breach mission has a map with some similarities, such as the Dark Portal being on an island and the presence of the Shattered Hand and Warsong clans.
• The Dark Portal is normally a neutral building that cannot be "rescued". However, in this mission, it will come under the player's control once one of their units moves adjacent to it.