The Tomb of Sargeras (WC2 Orc)

The Tomb of Sargeras is the twelfth mission of the Horde campaign in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.

Mission briefing
''The Northlands have fallen, and now only the western regions of Lordaeron stand defiant before the ultimate supremacy of the Horde. As the Orc clans prepare for their final, massive campaign against the weakening Alliance, the War Chief sends you ill tidings... Gul'dan and his Stormreaver clan have betrayed the Horde and coerced the Twilight's Hammer clan to set sail and search for an ancient tomb said to be buried beneath the waves. An infiltrator under the direction of Doomhammer reports that Gul'dan has indeed raised volcanic islands from the ocean floor and thus has opened a hidden vault. While it is unknown what the great Warlock has released from this tomb, the War Chief has issued this command - Destroy the renegade clans and return with the head of Gul'dan.''

Objectives

 * Destroy the Stormreaver clan
 * Destroy the Twilight's Hammer clan

Background
The battle was the result of the treachery of the warlock Gul'dan, chieftain of the Stormreaver clan and former leader of the then-defunct Shadow Council. Having discovered the location of the legendary Tomb of Sargeras, which was the reason for him to create the Dark Portal in the first place, Gul'dan assembled the forces loyal to him, both the Stormreaver clan and the Twilight's Hammer clan which was led by his apprentice Cho'gall, and led them towards the Great Sea. Gul'dan cared little for the result of the Second War and sought only to find the tomb and take the power of Sargeras for himself.

Gul'dan and his followers betrayed the Horde during the battle at Lordaeron's Capital City, and with this massive loss of forces Doomhammer was forced to withdraw his troops from the capital to deal with the traitors, and he sent a large contingent of Blackrock troops alongside with Rend, Maim and their Black Tooth Grin clan to slaughter Gul'dan and every one of his followers.

After arriving to the submerged Tomb of Sargeras; Gul'dan, Cho'gall, some necromancers, warlocks and ogre magi started raising the Tomb from the floor of the ocean. Meanwhile, Torgus had already reported to Orgrim about Gul'dan treachery and Rend was going directly to battle Gul'dan. After hours of conjures Gul'dan and his followers succeeded in raising the Broken Isles, however after a few moments Rend Blackhand and his Black Tooth Grin warriors saw them and prepared for the battle.

Cho'gall detected the ships of Doomhammer's troops before they arrived to the isles. The ogre mage and most of the troops of both clans stood there to fight, they promised to Gul'dan to make everything possible to stop the Horde, meanwhile Gul'dan with some shamans and warlocks went inside the Tomb of Sargeras.

Strategy guide account

 * Note: this account comes from the Official Strategy Guide, which features a first-person description of each mission from the game.

First Utok's unit had to establish a city on the largest of the islands to the east and north. For this purpose, they sent their warships with a flier to clear the way. Two enemy ships and a submersible had to be sunk first, then a tower; finally, the inland catapult was drawn to shore with a fast destroyer and disassembled. While the warships waited, the transport ships were loaded with all but sappers and peons to make a landing; soon the island was theirs. While the existing structures were removed, the transports went back for the rest of the units and brought them safely to shore. From that point it was a matter of building a city from scratch, starting with a great hall as close to the gold mine as possible without being too close to shore. With the threat of enemy juggernaughts coming soon, all units were moved as far inland as possible and the ships were sent to anchor at the southern tip of the island.

As soon as a barracks, lumber mill, and a blacksmith had been built, they concentrated on producing catapults. These they used to sink any enemy ships foolish enough to wander too close to the shore by directing all of them to attack at once, then moving them safely back inland. Cannon towers helped somewhat, but their lack of mobility got them destroyed almost as fast as they could be built. Once they had a fair-sized group of catapults to fend off ships, construction of the shipyard and accompanying structures began on the southeast side of the island as far from enemy eyes as possible. To carry out their plan of invasion, they would need only two juggernaughts and three transports to make a landing on the main island. They loaded them with five trolls to give them a chance against flying daemons, a single worker, six ogres, and six catapults.

The flotilla was escorted by a zeppelin to spot enemy submersibles. It sailed west to the edge of the area before turning north and quietly passing the main island. Then it headed east to find a good landing spot south of a small barren island. The juggernaughts were sent in first to clear the shore of a tower and catapult before the troops were unloaded behind a small stand of trees. They were careful to unload the ogres first, with catapults behind, and trolls on the other side, since the enemies would come to them once the catapults started on the enemy barracks nearby. When things quieted down a bit, Utok's forces erected their own barracks and began pouring troops and catapults through it to slowly take over the island. Utok's unit blew a hole through some rocks with sappers and claimed both of the heads of an orc and ogre mage (believed to be Gul'dan and Cho'gall but really being decoys) as a clear signal to all who would oppose the Horde.

Novel account
During the battle both sides suffered heavy casualties but the difference were the numbers, the Stormreaver clan was the smallest of all and the Black Tooth Grin clan was one of the largest clans within the Horde, Gul'dan forces were outnumbered and they knew it, however they were fanatically loyal and refused to surrender, they fought until the last orc, they took many of Doomhammer's warriors with them.

However, the truth is that Cho'Gall faked his own death, cutting one of the arms of the strongest Black Tooth Grin warriors as he fell, while Gul'dan went inside the Tomb of Sargeras. Finally the beach was full of corpses with only Doomhammer's forces standing, meanwhile Gul'dan continued his journey inside the Tomb. He brought some shamans, necromancers, warlocks and ogre magi with him, he frightened his warriors by killing Urluk Cloud-killer and they started to search for the powers of Sargeras. They found a hidden vault, protected against all Azerothian races by Aegwynn, but Gul'dan was an orc of Draenor and he could open it. He looked for the Eye of Sargeras but only found crazed daemons that ambushed him. His warriors abandoned him when they saw the daemons, still he continued, he evaded the guardians but then he heard a laughter, Sargeras was mocking Gul'dan. Gul'dan started dying because of injuries caused by the daemons, he wrote his story in runes with his own blood.

Rend Blackhand commanded the troops to make an attack against Gul'dan but when they found the tomb, the daemons attacked them, many were paralysed by those horrible beast but others fought back.

Aftermath

 * Although the Horde no longer had to worry about traitors, they were left divided and weakened, thus setting the stage for an Alliance victory during the war.
 * Gul'dan was killed, though his Skull retained all the massive power once held by the warlock, becoming an amulet of unparalleled power. The Skull was apparently taken by one of the survivors and eventually found its way to Draenor and into the hands of Hurkan Skullsplinter of the Bonechewer clan, who ignored the power of the Skull and wore it simply as a sign of his power.
 * The corpses of the fallen Horde warriors were raised by the magics emanating from the Tomb. The undead skeletal orcs began to recreate the battle in which they fell until Maiev Shadowsong came and wiped out the entire host of undead warriors.
 * Drak'thul became an hermit.
 * The other surviving Stormreaver necrolytes and warlocks scattered. Some hid in the Broken Isles while others reached the shores of Kalimdor.
 * The few survivors from the Twilight's Hammer clan started serving the Old Gods and recruiting members of any race.

Forces

 * Doomhammer loyalists
 * Grunts
 * Axethrowers
 * Berserkers
 * Ogres
 * Ogre magi
 * Catapults
 * Death knights
 * Sappers
 * Zeppelins
 * Warships


 * Gul'dan loyalists
 * Grunts
 * Axethrowers
 * Berserkers
 * Ogres
 * Ogre magi
 * Catapults
 * Death knights
 * Sappers
 * Zeppelins
 * Warships
 * Necrolytes
 * Warlocks
 * Shamans
 * Daemons

Trivia

 * The gameplay of the mission in Warcraft II seemed to contradict the preceding cutscene in which Gul'dan is slaughtered by a daemon from the Tomb, as in the actual mission Gul'dan appeared as a death knight surrounded by daemons. The Official Strategy Guide offered a possible explanation about the Horde forces only encountering a decoy.

Speculation

 * Among the islands surrounding the Broken Shore on this map may be the future Eye of Azshara.