Warlock Lore - Gul'dan

[Akasha]

Information Source: WoW Wiki

Gul'dan the Warlock, Initiate of the Seventh Circle Circle of the Shadow Council and Destroyer of Dreams, was the most powerful warlock in the Horde - indeed, the most powerful non-Eredar warlock ever to exist.
He is known for describing himself as "darkness incarnate" and "the Destroyer of Dreams." The latter title is believed to be a reference to his triumph over the Conjurers of Azeroth, known as "Dwellers in Dream."

General Information:

	Gender: Male
Race: Orc
Character class: Warlock, Shaman
Affiliation: Himself, Stormreaver Clan, the Shadow Council, Burning Legion, Old Horde, Shadowmoon Clan
Occupation: Master of the Shadow Council, Chieftain of the Stormreaver Clan, Betrayer of the Orcs
Status: Killed by insane demons, his skull consumed by Illidan Stormrage; soul trapped in Outland
Relatives: Ner'zhul (shaman mentor), Kil'jaeden (warlock master), Cho'gall (apprentice)

Early Life and Tutelage with Ner'zhul

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 orcish people.
At some point near the end of his studies with Ner'zhul, Gul'dan discovered that the shaman had been secretly trafficking with the demon lord Kil'jaeden. Eventually, however, Ner'zhul discovered that he had been duped by the Deceiver, and Gul'dan was all too willing to betray his master. 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.

The Horde and the Shadow Council

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 opposed his dark ideals from their true masters, Gul'dan and Kil'jaeden. 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 worshipped.

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-decimation of the Draenei, a race as old as his master Kil'jaeden, proved that the Orcs were ready for the next slaughter.

The First War

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. (Sargeras' ulterior motive, however, was to gain possession of his body once more.) 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 personally selected the Horde's new warchief, Blackhand, as the perfect pawn for the Shadow Council. Though Blackhand was competent in battle and a relatively sound tactician, he was extremely lustful - and thus easy for Gul'dan to control.

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 Azerothiens 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.

The Second War

Gul'dan awoke from the coma with only 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, 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. So 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 plausible, and Doomhammer disbanded the Raiders and placed them among the many Grunt regiments.

As a token of his "loyalty" to the Warchief, Gul'dan promised to create an army of undead riders loyal to him. Gul'dan slaughtered his necrolytes and used their powers - combined with the spirits of the Shadow Council, the corpses of the Knights of Azeroth and their steeds - to create the dreaded death knights. Of course, at the end of the day, they were still loyal to him, and Doomhammer had no idea that they might not be his warriors. Doomhammer then let Gul'dan to his own devices as he was quite busy with war. Gul'dan then founded the Stormreaver Clan as a way to reconsolidate some of his former power and in order to protect himself from any action Orgrim might take against him.

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. He did not however find the godhood he was hoping for, instead, he was torn to shreds by a swarm of insane demons that they had unleashed when the tomb was opened.

The remainder of his clans, including Cho'gall and his Twilight's Hammer, were slaughtered by Doomhammer's retaliation.

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 found the runes. When the tomb caved in Gul'dan's final testament was buried.

The Skull of Gul'dan

After Gul'dan died, his skull was turned into a channeling totem for demonic energy. 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. The skull was eventually destroyed by Illidan Stormrage, who absorbed its power, becoming half Night Elf and half demon

Gul'dan in World of Warcraft

Spirit of Gul'danThe spirit of Gul'dan is trapped in Shadowmoon Valley in what is now Outland - the remnants of Draenor. He appears to be trapped around the period of the opening of the Dark Portal, nearly forty years earlier

A massive volcano in Shadowmoon Valley is known as the Hand of Gul'dan. 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.