Chapter 435: Orcish Situation

At the same time, chaos erupted within the distant Horde.

The leader of the Shadow Council, Gul'dan, had suddenly fallen into a coma, leaving the warlocks leaderless and in disarray.

Meanwhile, Warchief Blackhand, though confused by the situation, was pleased. 

For a long time, the Shadow Council had operated as an organization independent of his rule, answering solely to Gul'dan. 

Even Blackhand himself had been under the Council's influence to some extent. 

However, their recent performance had greatly disappointed him. 

Blackhand believed the Horde's repeated defeats against the Kingdom of Stormwind were largely due to the Shadow Council's lack of effort. 

Their inaction had allowed the human spellcasters to wreak havoc on the battlefield.

Now, with Gul'dan unconscious, Blackhand saw an opportunity to seize control of the Shadow Council.

However, another figure beside Blackhand also saw Gul'dan's coma as his chance to take power.

That person was Orgrim Doomhammer, Blackhand's trusted lieutenant and right-hand man.

Among the orcs, Orgrim was an anomaly—a rare strategist whose cunning was unmatched by any other orc.

When Gul'dan had tempted the orcs to drink the corrupted blood of the abyssal lord Mannoroth, only the Frostwolf Clan and Orgrim himself had refused.

After arriving in Azeroth, Durotan, the chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan and Orgrim's close friend, had keenly realized that Warchief Blackhand was nothing more than a puppet controlled by Gul'dan to manipulate the Horde. 

Durotan had led the Frostwolf Clan to leave the Horde and settle in the Alterac Mountains of Lordaeron. He then secretly returned to the Horde to share his discovery with Orgrim.

Tragically, the Shadow Council discovered Durotan and his wife's betrayal and assassinated them. 

Even their newborn child—future legend Thrall, also known as Go'el in the original lore—was abandoned in the frozen wilderness to die.

Upon learning of these events, Orgrim silently bided his time, vowing to save the Horde from the destruction Gul'dan and Blackhand were leading it toward.

Now, with Gul'dan in a coma and the Shadow Council overwhelmed, Blackhand's reputation had plummeted due to the Horde's failures against Stormwind. 

Orgrim believed the time had come to purge the Horde of its corruption.

He challenged Blackhand to a mak'gora, a traditional orcish duel to the death for leadership, accusing the Warchief of betraying their people to dark forces.

Mak'gora was sacred to the orcs; Blackhand could not refuse without losing the respect of his people.

The two orc warriors, adorned with their clan insignias, fought fiercely for hours. In the end, Orgrim crushed Blackhand's skull with his legendary weapon, the Doomhammer. The gathered orcs knelt in submission, declaring Orgrim their new leader.

Victorious, Orgrim publicly exposed the truth about Gul'dan and the warlocks, declaring that to prevent Azeroth from sharing Draenor's fate, Fel magic must be banned.

With Blackhand dead, the Shadow Council scattered like frightened birds. For now, unable to avenge Durotan and his wife, Orgrim focused his full attention on the war with Stormwind. 

The Horde's only path forward was to capture Stormwind and establish their home there.

Gul'dan's coma, however, was not without reason.

With Garona having been turned against him by Alaric, Gul'dan had lost a crucial pawn. 

When he attempted to contact his collaborator Medivh to open the Dark Portal, he encountered significant difficulties.

Gul'dan had originally intended for Garona, knowledgeable in human affairs, to act as an emissary and spy on Medivh. 

Now, he could only rely on magical artifacts for indirect communication with the Guardian.

Of course, Gul'dan had hidden traps within the artifacts to monitor Medivh.

When Alaric and his companions arrived to assassinate Medivh, Gul'dan panicked. 

He still needed Medivh to locate Sargeras's Tomb in Azeroth and gain its immense power. If Medivh died, his plans would be ruined.

In desperation, Gul'dan used his magical artifact to send his soul into Medivh's mind.

Ordinarily, Medivh and Sargeras's powerful souls would have left Gul'dan helpless. But the internal struggle between Medivh and Sargeras gave him an opening.

Amid the chaos, Gul'dan did discover the location of Sargeras's Tomb in Medivh's memories. Yet, just as he sought to learn more, Alaric delivered the fatal blow to Sargeras.

At the moment of the Guardian's death, Gul'dan's soul was struck by a tremendous shock.

Far away, his physical body fell into a deep coma.

…

Back in Karazhan, after dealing with Medivh's body, Alaric activated a Resurrection Stone to summon Medivh in spirit form.

Thanks to his intact soul and the power of the Soulbinding spell, Medivh did not appear as a fragmented, despondent ghost but as a complete spirit capable of existing normally in the world.

Unlike ordinary ghosts, who faded over time, or undead, who radiated hatred for the living, this was a unique result of combining magic from two worlds.

When Medivh appeared, she bowed deeply to everyone.

"I'm sorry, everyone. Because of me, I've caused you all so much trouble."

The sudden appearance of a female ghost left everyone momentarily silent until Lothar finally spoke.

"…So, madam, may I ask who you might be?"

He had completely mistaken Medivh for the spirit of a noblewoman who had died in Karazhan.

Medivh rolled her eyes at her old friend's foolish question.

"I'm disappointed in you, old friend. Don't you recognize me?" she said in her original male voice.

"Wait… Medivh? You're Medivh? But how is that possible?" Lothar was utterly stunned.

Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.

"Yes, my friend, I am Medivh," she said with a rueful smile. "And my mother can confirm my identity. I'm sorry for deceiving you and Llane all these years."

"She speaks the truth," Aegwynn added. "My child has always been a girl. I disguised her as a man to fool the Council of Tirisfal because those old fools were biased against female Guardians."

"But… but… this is impossible!" The shocking revelation sent the warrior's mind into turmoil. "Medivh… was a woman all along… and I've been her 'brother' for over forty years…"

"I never intended to hide the truth from you," Medivh sighed. "It's just that I've grown accustomed to living this way. As a woman, I wouldn't even know how to begin…"

"This is my fault," Aegwynn said, filled with remorse. "I shouldn't have forced my decisions on you. Your future should have been yours to decide."

Though Medivh could still return to life, Aegwynn remained consumed by guilt.

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