During the last moments of Medivh’s life, while fighting Khadgar and Sir Lothar, Gul’dan reached out with his mind to learn from Medivh’s mind the location of the Tomb of Sargeras.
When Sir Lothar decapitated Medivh, Gul’dan was still linked mind-to-mind, thus causing Gul’dan to go into a coma for days. By the time he awakened, he was under custody by the forces of Orgrimm Doomhammer, who had killed Blackhand, taking his mantle as new Warchief of the Horde.
Through deception, Gul’dan offered Doomhammer a new army of Death Knights risen with necromancy from the corpses of Humans. Secretly, he had imbued the spirits of the slain Shadow Council’s orc warlocks into these human corpses.
During the Second War, Gul’dan betrayed Doomhammer taking the Twilight’s Hammer and the Stormreaver Clans from the war to travel by sea. Gul’dan used powerful magic to rise an isle from the bottom of the ocean floor.
His ships arrived to what is now known as Stormreaver Bay. His destination was the Tomb of Sargeras.
This was the secret location where Magna Aegwynn had buried Sargeras’ avatar eight hundred years ago. An ancient Kaldorei temple beneath the waves of the Great Sea.
What lied within the Tomb of Sargeras would grant Gul’dan power, but instead he found death. The demons within protected the Tomb of Sargeras, and slayed Gul’dan and his followers. On the outdoors, whoever survived, was majorly slain by Doomhammer’s forces who came to avenge the betrayal. Because Gul’dan retreated his forces for this personal quest, the Horde lost the Second War.
To this day, we know Cho’gall survived the ordeal, as well as one of the Stormreavers known as Drak’Thul. Other Stormreaver hermits can be found throughout these isles too.
The next visit to the Tomb of Sargeras happened some time later, when Ner’zhul sent Teron Gorefiend through the Dark Portal to retrieve four items of power: The Eye of Dalaran, the Book of Medivh, the Skull of Gul’dan and the Scepter of Sargeras. The latter obtained from the Tomb of Sargeras.—Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal (RTS) and World of Warcraft: Beyond the Dark Portal (Pocket Books)
In the Warcraft III: Frozen Throne, we also find out other Stormreavers survived the carnage. The demons bound the souls of those Blackrock, Twilight’s Hammer and Stormreaver orcs that died there, and eternally replay their battle. Though the fel enchantments binding their souls were destroyed by Maiev and her sentinels, there is no telling if the demons have restored what was undone.
Illidan and Lady Vashj came to the Tomb of Sargeras to retrieve the Eye of Sargeras, an artifact that Illidan used later in Dalaran to channel a spell aimed to shake Icecrown to its foundations in an attempt to destroy Ner’zhul the Lich King.
This earthquake is what caused the emergence of the Faceless Ones and the Forgotten One from the depths of Azjol-Nerub.
Bestiary
The Broken Isles is composed of four major islands and a few scattered smaller isles. It is currently occupied by the Death Hiss Naga. Goblins and their mercenaries have built settlements here lurking for any means of profit and merchantile opportunities. The Lostfin Murlocs tribe. The Makrura. Sea Giants. Hydras. Snapdragons, Dragon Turtles. Sea Turtles. All these may be found in the Broken Isles or within the temple.
Locations
Izal-Shurah is an ancient Kaldorei library. It is now a Makrura stronghold. Suramar city was formerly the home of Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind and the brothers Stormrage. Other locations in the Broken Isles, of importance, are the Boughs of Azshara which once was a fabled garden; and Arauk-Nashal.
The walls within the ancient Kaldorei temple where the Tomb of Sargeras is located, has various glyphs marked with Gul’dan’s blood. These tell the story of his last moments of life. Maiev Shadowsong abandoned her Sentinels and Naisha, a close friend, when Illidan used the Eye of Sargeras to cause an earthquake that collapsed some of the tunnels of the Tomb of Sargeras.
Whether we will find Naisha and her friends alive or as ghosts in World of Warcraft is unknown. Drak’Thul may have rescued them. Or the Druids of the Talon and Dryads may have been able to help them survive. Only time will tell.
Well, I always believed Naisha had potential to come back, somehow. Undead, alive, ghost…
Also, Broken Isles are a perfect place for demon hunting… and a return of Maiev. One of my main ideas is that Akama would gather all the surviving Illidari and form a new faction, changing the Aldor-Scryers to Shattered_Sun-New_Illidari. This new faction would, also, be the perfect excuse for a new generation of demon hunters. Fight the fire with fire, without Illidan’s fail. We must not become what we fight.
Add Akama as the leader, and Altruis the Sufferer, Maiev and Lantresor of the Blade as the secondary leaders. Why those? Altruis would join, as the master demon hunter. Maiev has no home, and, after Illidan’s death, she’s empty. I think she’ll wander around, trying to find what she lost all this years watching over Illidan. Her life will lost sense, but Akama will take her and give her a new family and a new role. Lantresor is just cool, and, well, he could do “Rexxar” and live someone in charge, or just try to unite the ogres or something like that. Also, the 3 secondary leaders would define the new fighting style of the demon hunters: Demon hunter, warden and blademaster.
And why should they leave for Broken Isles? 1: Demons=Hunt-time. 2: Jarod Shadowsong. He’s missing, but could make a fine return as an hermit or a… naga? What if he left for vengeance against Azshara and the Maelstrom took his crew and transformed them into naga? He could have infiltrated the naga and be related somehow to the new rebel faction. He always believed Suramar was his only home, but, well, the isles weren’t raised until some years ago. It’s the only explanation I find for him being disappeared this long. Also, don’t forget he was friend of the ancients. They could have given him a gift or something like that, but nah, I prefer the naga theory. Maiev loved her brother, and if something happens to him, she would dare do anything. 3: Cho’Gall. Wicked ogre-mage-warlocks like him are a danger for the ogre society. Lantresor could try researching around to find something to benefit his people. And Akama, well, he’s the leader.
Also, I’ll repost my undead idea for this place:
Obrahiim, the Traveler, a scourge architect, creator of Naxxramas, got lost after going to research the ruins of Zin-Azshari.
He would be the perfect leader for a force of undead around the South Seas, and perfect for the Broken Isles.
He could build a new necropolis, better than his best creation, Naxxramas, with naga (NE ruins) architecture. It would be just simply awesome.
He, too, could gather an army pretty easily. Take his minions, with more than one powerful being between its ranks, watching over his research, and then add all the undead orcs of the second war. If that’s not enough, the Kvaldir would have in him the perfect excuse for being around the South Seas. Give them the leadership of their greatest leader, or just one great leader, and that