Recaps

Cairne Bloodhoof’s Tauren army destroyed Camp Taurajo, The Crossroads, and Ratchet before advancing on Orgrimmar. Vol’jin revealed the Horde’s time-wreathed golden token as Cairne sensed its power, and the chapter left Tyrande witnessing the vast Orc army through her owl.

• Cairne Bloodhoof’s Tauren army slaughtered the inhabitants of Camp Taurajo and The Crossroads, then burned the settlement.
• The Tauren stormed Ratchet, killed most of its Goblins, seized its supplies and wealth, and left the city in flames.
• Vol’jin rejected the young Orc generals’ plans to meet the Tauren outside Orgrimmar and revealed a golden token wreathed in time’s power.
• Cairne sensed the power of time near Orgrimmar, recalled the Orcs’ seemingly endless reinforcements, and ordered his army to rest before advancing.
• Cairne led the armored Kodo cavalry toward Orgrimmar and saw a vast Orc army ahead.
• Tyrande saw the Orc army through her white owl’s eyes and began to understand Elune’s special attention to the Orcs.

Vol'jin led a force of two hundred thousand Orcs against Cairne Bloodhoof's maddened Tauren, whose sudden charge plunged both armies into a bloody battle. The Orcs surrounded and steadily wore down the Tauren, and Sagulos Saurfang and Geldonazgolin advanced to attack the wounded Cairne.

• The Black Dragon Princess, Vanessa, and Robbie watched the enormous Orc army assemble beneath the Sea's Sovereignty.
• Vol'jin ordered the Orc army forward, while Cairne Bloodhoof led the Tauren in a direct charge at its center.
• The Tauren endured the axe throwers' volley and crashed into the Orc ranks, fighting with strength and seeming insensitivity to pain.
• Vol'jin sent wolf riders to encircle the Tauren and cut off small groups, gradually shrinking their force despite heavy Orc casualties.
• Sagulos Saurfang and Geldonazgolin led their elite troops onto the battlefield to confront the wounded Cairne Bloodhoof.

Gordo Nazgrim led Frostwolf riders against the wounded Cairne Bloodhoof, while Vol'jin's forces steadily overwhelmed the Tauren army. Cairne survived the slaughter and stood victorious atop the corpses, but a sudden flash of a blade appeared behind him as Vol'jin sensed danger.

• Gordo Nazgrim and four guards attacked Cairne, who killed three guards and suffered a deep wound to his neck before Gordo withdrew.
• Gordo ordered the Orcs to overwhelm Cairne with repeated attacks while the wolf riders broke apart the Tauren formation.
• Vol'jin withdrew his heavily depleted spearmen and sent in the sword-and-shield legion as armored wolf riders prepared to charge from both flanks.
• The armored wolf riders crushed the last Tauren forces, but Cairne remained alive atop a mound of corpses while Gordo and most of his elite Frostwolf troops disappeared.
• Vol'jin felt another premonition as Cairne laughed in victory, and a dazzling blade flashed behind the Tauren chieftain.

Sagulos Saurfang wounded Cairne Bloodhoof, but Cairne transformed the fallen Tauren into a monstrous undead army and routed the Horde forces. After pursuing the survivors to Orgrimmar, Cairne besieged the city and undermined Orc morale, leaving Vol'jin surrounded by calls to surrender.

• Sagulos Saurfang ambushed Cairne Bloodhoof, but Cairne revealed that the attack had helped his nematodes multiply.
• Cairne resurrected the fallen Tauren as stronger warriors, transformed into a Pit Lord-like creature, and led them to slaughter the Orc army.
• Cairne killed Vol'jin's decoy after recognizing him, while the real Vol'jin escaped with the routed soldiers.
• Cairne stopped short of attacking Orgrimmar and camped outside its walls, where he built siege engines and displayed rows of Orc skeletons.
• Gordo Nazgrim and Sagulos Saurfang urged surrender, while Vol'jin shut himself in his tent as the remaining Orcs lost hope.

Robbie and Vanessa discovered that fire weakened the blood-colored nematodes empowering the Undead Tauren, while Cairne’s forces prepared to take Orgrimmar. Vol’jin faced a brewing mutiny as Robbie argued that the war needed more casualties on both sides.

• Robbie asked Vanessa why the Horde’s Shamans had not fought, and she explained that they belonged to the Earthen Ring and obeyed Thrall alone.
• Cairne read pledges of allegiance from Barrens races, including fawning offers from Hazzrul Bloodmark and Charlga Razorflank, while preparing to take Orgrimmar.
• Robbie and Vanessa captured a Tauren officer and found that fire killed the blood-colored nematodes sustaining the Undead Tauren, while frost only froze them.
• Doras urged Vol’jin to surrender the Warchief position to Cairne, but Vol’jin dismissed the gathered Orcs and later learned that prominent generals were plotting to overthrow him.
• Vol’jin began considering how to escape, while Robbie told Vanessa, the Black Dragon Princess, and the girl pretending to be Jaina that the war needed more casualties on both sides.

Dracula Shredwheel sold Vol'jin a way to escape Orgrimmar and a method for killing the Undead Tauren, restoring his confidence. Vol'jin demonstrated that enchanted fire could stop the Tauren from regenerating, while Cairne Bloodhoof prepared to attack the city.

• Dracula Shredwheel contracted with Vol'jin to provide teleportation services for five thousand gold coins.
• Dracula offered Vol'jin a method to kill the Undead Tauren for fifty million gold coins and supplied a formula and an officer for testing.
• Vol'jin returned to the throne room and announced that Cairne Bloodhoof and the Tauren could be defeated.
• Vol'jin used the Hotwind Scimitar to wound and decapitate the Undead Tauren officer, whose wounds did not heal and who did not resurrect.
• Sagulos Saurfang recognized that the enchanted scimitar's flames had killed the officer's blood-red worms and concluded that fire could kill the Undead Tauren.
• Cairne Bloodhoof grew impatient with the Orcs' refusal to surrender and decided to attack.

Vol'jin’s Orcs repelled Cairne Bloodhoof’s attacks on Orgrimmar by using fire to kill the undead Tauren, but both leaders suffered heavy losses and began considering peace. Vol'jin sent Trade Prince Gallywix to negotiate with Cairne, and Gallywix opened by flattering the Tauren chieftain.

• Vol'jin armed five thousand elite Orcs with fire-enchanted weapons and the Orcs prepared heated weapons to fight the undead Tauren.
• Cairne Bloodhoof attacked Orgrimmar, but the Orcs held the walls and used fire to prevent fallen Tauren from rising again.
• After several failed attacks and heavy losses on both sides, Cairne withdrew and Vol'jin recognized that the war was draining Orgrimmar.
• Cairne and Vol'jin decided negotiations could avert mutual destruction, and Vol'jin sent Trade Prince Gallywix to the undead Tauren camp.
• Gallywix praised Cairne and offered negotiations, claiming Vol'jin believed the Tauren should receive the same treatment as the Forsaken.

Cairne demanded that Vol'jin make him Warchief of the Horde, threatening war if the Orcs refused. As Vol'jin searched for a weakness in the undead Tauren, Robbie decided to help Cairne, and a Kobold named Lok'De offered a plan to conquer Orgrimmar.

• Gallywix described Vol'jin's generous promises to Cairne, but Cairne insisted on becoming Warchief immediately and gave Vol'jin three days to open Orgrimmar's gates.
• Gallywix returned to Orgrimmar, where Vol'jin continued secretly studying captured undead Tauren to discover their weakness and buy time.
• Vol'jin struggled to resist pressure from the Orcs and feared losing his position, while Cairne's threat of raising undead Quilboar and Centaurs alarmed him.
• Robbie monitored the negotiations and decided to secretly support the undead Tauren to keep the war going.
• A guard told Cairne that Lok'De, a Kobold mercenary, had a way to conquer Orgrimmar, and Cairne agreed to meet him.

Lok'De pointed out that Orgrimmar’s low-lying position made it vulnerable to flooding, inspiring Cairne to use magic and a dam to threaten the city. After the Orcs celebrated Cairne’s secret withdrawal, Vol'jin learned that a reservoir was being built above Orgrimmar and realized the danger.

• Lok'De warned Cairne that Orgrimmar’s valley location could let attackers flood the city, and Cairne imagined diverting the Southfury River with Water Elementals and a dam.
• Cairne abandoned thoughts of negotiating peace and decided to demand harsher terms from the Orcs after the Undead Tauren’s heavy losses.
• Vol'jin heard that the Undead Tauren had withdrawn and, believing the Horde had won, felt relieved as Gordo Nazgrim and Sagulos Saurfang argued over who deserved credit.
• Scouts reported that Cairne had built a dam in a high valley and used tens of thousands of Water Elementals to fill a reservoir above Orgrimmar.
• Vol'jin received the news that the reservoir could unleash a catastrophic flood on Orgrimmar and was left reeling.

As the Undead Tauren’s war pushed Orgrimmar toward destruction, Vol'jin sought help from the Alliance, Night Elves, and Sylvanas. Sylvanas weighed whether to intervene when Gagg arrived in the Undercity bearing the secret phrase “Dark Side of the Moon.”

• Cairne's forces ambushed Gordo Nazgrim's army, and the Orcs suffered a crushing defeat.
• Vol'jin's wolf riders raided Tauren supply lines and settlements, but Cairne's army countered their attacks as casualties mounted.
• Vol'jin appealed to Prince Anduin and Tyrande for aid, but Anduin refused and Tyrande raged at being called Granny Whisperwind.
• Vol'jin eventually asked Sylvanas and the Blood Elves for reinforcements, while Robbie realized Sylvanas had been overlooked.
• Sylvanas considered using her forces and plague to gain power as Warchief, then received Gagg after he sent her the phrase “Dark Side of the Moon.”
• Sylvanas questioned Gagg about whom he represented.

Big Candle Gagg told Sylvanas that a mysterious figure wanted her to become Warchief and seize control of the Iron Horde, then gave her Fel Essence that restored her body. After awakening reborn in Fel, Sylvanas traveled to Farahlon Island to meet a powerful ally, where she encountered the enormous Arakkoa leader.

• Big Candle Gagg told Sylvanas that Cairne was a decoy and that she was meant to become Warchief, control the Iron Horde, and rule Draenor.
• Big Candle Gagg gave Sylvanas Fel Essence, and she swore to become Warlord of Draenor and queen of Azeroth.
• Seven days later, Sylvanas awoke from the Fel pool with a powerful, beautiful Fel body and resolved to challenge Grommash Hellscream for control of the Iron Horde.
• Sylvanas summoned Grand Magister Antonidas and followed Big Candle Gagg through a portal to Farahlon Island.
• Big Candle Gagg led Sylvanas to the mysterious Arakkoa leader, a terrifying creature of enormous size.

Sylvanas learned that Mannoroth believed demon blood could protect the Orcs from an Old God’s influence, and that he planned to use a Fel-modified Earth Giant arm to force the Iron Horde to drink blood. As the Undead Tauren weakened and Grom Hellscream faced Mannoroth, Antonidas, and Sylvanas at Hellfire Citadel, Sylvanas stepped forward to confront him.

• Mannoroth told Sylvanas that the Burning Legion wanted the Iron Horde tainted with demon blood, partly to guard against a possible Old God’s influence over the Orcs.
• Mannoroth showed Sylvanas a giant Earth Giant arm that he was modifying with Fel so he could force the Iron Horde to drink blood.
• Cairne Bloodhoof saw the Undead Tauren weaken after they routed the Orcs, while Robbie observed that the decline could eventually let the Orcs win.
• Mannoroth, High Archmage Antonidas, and Sylvanas arrived at Hellfire Citadel beneath the looming stone hand.
• Grom Hellscream came out with Kilrogg Deadeye to meet the visitors, and Sylvanas stepped forward to face him.

Sylvanas used the threat of undeath and her power over Fel to force the Iron Horde to submit. Grommash Hellscream and Kilrogg Deadeye drank the Blood of Mannoroth and pledged themselves to her.

• Sylvanas tried to intimidate Grommash Hellscream with an illusion of an Earth Giant, but he saw through the trick and mocked her.
• Antonidas summoned a future Forsaken version of Grommash, who knelt before Sylvanas and licked her toes, horrifying the living Grommash.
• Blackhand confronted Sylvanas, but she overwhelmed him with Fel, killed him, and raised him as a Forsaken servant.
• Grommash Hellscream drank the Blood of Mannoroth rather than risk the fate Sylvanas had shown him.
• Kilrogg Deadeye also drank the Blood of Mannoroth, and Sylvanas declared the Iron Horde submitted.

Sylvanas took control of the Iron Horde and chose to bring the Blood Elves of Silvermoon under her command before pursuing her revenge. After hearing of her rise, Lor'themar Theron confided his fears to Halduron and Rommath, who urged him to consider returning the Blood Elves to the Alliance.

• Sylvanas ordered Mannoroth to transform the Iron Horde and decided to target Silvermoon City to secure the Blood Elves' loyalty.
• Mannoroth suggested making the Blood Elves drink his Fel blood or Sylvanas's blood, and Sylvanas agreed to the plan.
• News of Sylvanas's control of the Iron Horde spread to Azeroth, alarming Lor'themar Theron, who expected her to move against the Blood Elves.
• Lor'themar told Halduron and Rommath that Sylvanas would use force to ensure their loyalty and asked them for advice.
• Halduron rejected submission to Sylvanas, while Rommath suggested that Lor'themar consider returning the Blood Elves to the Alliance.

Lor'themar prepared to leave the Horde while pretending to remain loyal to Sylvanas, and secretly sought support from the Alliance. At Light's Hope Chapel, Sylvanas met a strange Troll who offered advice for securing her supremacy.

• Lor'themar, Halduron, and Rommath discussed leaving the Horde and agreed to stall Sylvanas while waiting for the Alliance to unite against her.
• Lor'themar sent Sylvanas a letter pledging loyalty and secretly contacted Alliance leaders and Dalaran.
• Sylvanas arranged to meet Lor'themar at Light's Hope Chapel, where she arrived with High Archmage Antonidas, but Lor'themar did not appear by the appointed time.
• A Troll stranger approached Sylvanas, praised her prospects for supremacy, and urged her to abandon the Undercity and attack Darnassus.

Sylvanas’s forces destroyed the Argent Crusade by turning its soldiers into undead, while Tirion Fordring betrayed the order in exchange for the promise of a blessing. After Fordring handed over the Ashbringer, Eitrigg stabbed him.

• Sylvanas rejected a Troll’s proposal to abandon the Undercity, and Antonidas killed him when she demanded to know who had sent him.
• Mannoroth persuaded Tirion Fordring to help claim the remains beneath Light’s Hope Chapel, promising him the Dark Lady’s blessing.
• Lor’themar, Halduron, and Rommath secretly watched as Antonidas’s portal delivered Argent Crusade soldiers to Light’s Hope Chapel.
• Undead apothecaries sprayed the soldiers with plague, transforming them into undead while Fordring declared their deaths a sacrifice for Azeroth.
• Fordring gave Mannoroth the Ashbringer, claiming it could open the crypt’s barrier, and Eitrigg stabbed him in the chest.

Eitrigg killed Tirion Fordring and Mannoroth condemned his soul to wander the Plaguelands, ending the Argent Crusade. Sylvanas confronted Lor'themar over his divided loyalties and offered him a cup of Fel-tainted blood, revealing that the price of accepting was her newly restored beauty.

• Eitrigg tore out Tirion's heart and killed him, and Mannoroth pulled out his soul to wander the Plaguelands in anguish.
• Mannoroth led the necromancers, Undead apothecaries, and the Undead army away from Light's Hope Chapel as Lor'themar prepared to meet Sylvanas.
• Sylvanas revealed that she knew Lor'themar had also offered allegiance to the Alliance, but said she would give him and the Blood Elves a chance to start over.
• Sylvanas cut her wrist and offered Lor'themar a cup of her Fel-tainted blood, warning him that he should make the right choice.
• When Lor'themar asked what the price was, Sylvanas removed her hood and revealed her newly beautiful face, astonishing him, Halduron, and Rommath.

Sylvanas used Fel blood to win Rommath and Halduron, eliminate Lor'themar, and transform the Blood Elves into Fel Elves. After taking Silvermoon City, she launched an attack on Zul'Aman to remove the Amani Tribe.

• Rommath drank Sylvanas's blood, gained a more handsome appearance, and discovered that his Mana Addiction had disappeared.
• Halduron drank the blood too, then helped Sylvanas and Antonidas bind Lor'themar and stab him to death.
• With Rommath and Halduron leading, Sylvanas took Silvermoon City, and the Blood Elves accepted Fel blood and became Fel Elves.
• Sylvanas began an attack on Zul'Aman, deciding the Amani Tribe no longer had a place in her plans.

Robbie prepared the Kingdom of Stormwind to control the Dark Portal while Sylvanas led the Forsaken and Fel Elves in an assault on Zul'Aman. The chapter ended with Sylvanas ordering the Amani Tribe wiped out after plague and bombardment destroyed their defenses.

• Robbie learned that Sylvanas had gained a Fel Body, taken control of the Iron Horde, and turned the Blood Elves into Fel Elves.
• Kel'Thuzad urged Robbie to secure the Dark Portal, and the Kingdom of Stormwind began rebuilding Nethergarde Keep under the Black Dragon Princess's direction.
• Sylvanas gathered the Forsaken and Fel Elves outside Zul'Aman, where Archmage Rommath saw how outmatched Silvermoon City was by the Forsaken army.
• Sylvanas ordered High Archmage Antonidas to attack, and the Forsaken spread plague through the forest and bombarded Zul'Aman's walls until they collapsed.
• Sylvanas refused to accept the Amani Tribe's surrender and ordered her forces to kill them all.

As the Forsaken overran Zul'Aman, Amani priests manipulated the tribe into sacrificing its people to resurrect Zul'jin. Zul'jin returned from the pool of blood, but his first words urged the Trolls to run.

• Amani priests claimed Zul'jin alone could save the tribe and stirred the desperate people to offer their lives for his return.
• Amani tribespeople fell into the corrosive blood pool, willingly or after being shoved, and became sacrifices while the priests watched.
• The chapter recounted how Thrall had killed Zul'jin by boiling and eating him, then returned his skull while the Amani priests concealed the truth.
• After the pool consumed enough flesh and blood, Zul'jin rose from it and sang about his hatred of the Elves and the Horde before shouting for everyone to run.

Zul'jin returned from the dead, rallied the Amani Trolls with dark magic, and secretly escaped as they charged the Forsaken. After the Forsaken conquered Zul'Aman, Sylvanas investigated the mysterious power around the altar and saw a hazy figure looming above it.

• Zul'jin returned to life and decided to flee, but first used dark magic to stir the Amani people into fighting the Forsaken.
• Zul'jin escaped with the priests through a secret passage toward a ship bound for the Zandalari Empire as the Trolls attacked the Forsaken.
• The Forsaken overwhelmed the Amani resistance, took Zul'Aman, and began turning Troll souls and remains into resources for their army.
• The Forsaken halted before the altar where Zul'jin had been resurrected because its mysterious power filled them with fear.
• Antonidas investigated the altar but could not climb it, then reported back to Sylvanas.
• Sylvanas approached the altar, recognized its flawless power, and saw a hazy figure looming above it.

Sylvanas ordered the slaughter of Zul'Aman's Troll civilians and prepared to counter the Alliance's move to control the Dark Portal. In Shadowmoon Valley, Khadgar struggled with his loss of purpose and learned that Cordana still needed his help concerning Illidan.

• Sylvanas saw a vision of Azeroth's destruction and vowed to survive at any cost.
• Sylvanas ordered the Forsaken to kill Zul'Aman's civilians, arguing that the Trolls deserved vengeance for their past and their alliance with the Orcs.
• The Forsaken learned that Zul'jin had escaped by boat, and Sylvanas sent an emissary to demand that Rastakhan surrender him and apologize.
• Sylvanas learned that the Alliance was rebuilding Nethergarde Keep to control the Dark Portal and said she would use the Blue Dragonflight to counter them.
• Khadgar lamented that Sylvanas's control of the Iron Horde had left him with no role, and Cordana told him she still needed his help with Illidan.

Khadgar refused to help Cordana Felsong rescue Illidan and told her about his past love for Lisa to argue that she should let go. After Cordana left, the injured Kalecgos arrived at Starfall Outpost with a message from Sylvanas Windrunner.

• Khadgar told Cordana that Illidan had failed in his duty and that he would not help free him.
• Cordana accused Khadgar of deceiving her, and the two argued over Illidan and whether love was worth facing.
• Khadgar recounted how he had met Lisa in Lakeshire and left her to pursue magic at Karazhan.
• Cordana left Khadgar, determined to rescue Illidan herself.
• An injured Kalecgos arrived at Starfall Outpost, and Khadgar drove off the eagle pursuing him.
• Kalecgos told Khadgar that Sylvanas Windrunner had sent him with a few words.

Khadgar told Kalecgos that Sylvanas was only a pawn in a plan to destroy Azeroth and urged him to help weaken the Alliance. While they inspected New Nethergarde Keep and its magically trapped lake, Khadgar and Kalecgos were pulled through space onto a vast expanse of ice.

• Khadgar revealed to Kalecgos that he had worked to weaken the Alliance and that Sylvanas was a scapegoat for a hidden Destroyer.
• Khadgar said Illidan and Queen Azshara were targets of their schemes and questioned Kalecgos's loyalty to Sylvanas.
• Khadgar and Kalecgos flew to the Blasted Lands and saw that the Alliance had rebuilt New Nethergarde Keep beside the Dark Portal, which was submerged in a lake.
• Khadgar sensed ice and spatial magic in the lake, identified Kel'Thuzad as its source, and told Kalecgos to flee.
• A spell from the Book of Medivh transported Khadgar and Kalecgos to a vast expanse of ice.

Kalecgos and Khadgar escaped a parallel Azeroth after Khadgar learned why Kalecgos had betrayed the Blue Dragonflight. In Orgrimmar, Cairne secretly prepared a flood attack that struck the sleeping Horde.

• Kalecgos and Khadgar found themselves stranded on an icy parallel world, where Khadgar discovered the coordinates to return.
• Kalecgos told Khadgar that his kin had mocked and neglected him for being weak, and that betrayal had been his means of survival.
• Khadgar agreed to help Kalecgos leave after making a private deal with him, then opened a portal from the ice field.
• Cairne used Tauren savings and Goblin treasure to buy Water Elemental Scrolls and hire mages to fill a pool above Orgrimmar, while Vol'jin remained unaware.
• After the Horde soldiers and Vol'jin fell asleep, Cairne's prepared flood crashed down from the sky onto Orgrimmar.