Recaps

Khadgar and Velen rallied Azeroth behind a campaign against the Tomb of Sargeras, presenting the Burning Legion as the threat to secure support for Illidan's plan. Varian saw the campaign as a chance to regain power and decided to seek Illidan's help by raising an army of adventurers.

• Khadgar persuaded Xe'ra to support Illidan's plan and joined Velen in urging Azeroth's people to unite against the Burning Legion.
• Khadgar and Velen spread the claim that the Tomb of Sargeras was the Legion's headquarters, and the public accepted their call to war.
• Khadgar asked Varian to commit Alliance forces, but Varian acted drunk and gave him no clear answer.
• After Khadgar left, Varian revealed that he had been feigning drunkenness and learned from Sangqiu that Illidan, not the Burning Legion, was behind the Broken Isles' massacres.
• Varian decided to join the campaign to regain power and, following Sangqiu's advice, planned to use his influence to rally adventurers.

Varian traveled to Gilneas and learned that Greymane had gathered a ragtag force for the assault on the Tomb of Sargeras. Greymane explained his fears and revealed that he wanted Varian to lead the dangerous army, making victory Varian’s last chance to reclaim leadership of the Alliance.

• Varian arrived in Gilneas, where Greymane questioned how he had been allowed to leave Stormwind and presented the planned assault on the Tomb of Sargeras.
• Greymane showed Varian an unruly army made up of Alliance and Horde members, outcasts, criminals, and other recruits, then brought him to a guarded secret chamber.
• Greymane admitted that Gilneas was under pressure from Sylvanas and asked Varian how he would approach the battle at the Tomb of Sargeras.
• Varian proposed leading the Alliance’s elite forces to the Broken Shore, but Greymane argued that the assault was nearly hopeless and accused Varian of once sacrificing soldiers carelessly.
• Greymane revealed that he wanted Varian to command the ragtag army and said a victorious return could restore him as leader of the Alliance.

Varian agreed to command the Alliance army, while Aman'Thul tried to persuade Sylvanas to support his plan to bring the Iron Horde through a Dark Portal on the Broken Shore. Sylvanas rejected his threats, and Khadgar ended the chapter by giving her Elisande's painted scroll.

• Varian accepted Greymane's offer to command the Alliance army, hoping Illidan's support would help him regain power.
• Khadgar failed to convince the Alliance to open the Dark Portal and asked Aman'Thul for advice about gaining Sylvanas's support.
• Aman'Thul ordered Khadgar to arrange Dalaran's teleportation to the Broken Shore so he could summon the Dark Portal there.
• Aman'Thul told Khadgar to threaten Sylvanas and offer her a perfect, immortal Highborne body, then gave him Elisande's painting for her.
• Khadgar delivered Aman'Thul's demands to Sylvanas in Theramore, but she rejected his threats and said she would not let Illidan control the Iron Horde.
• Khadgar handed Sylvanas Elisande's painted scroll.

Sylvanas agreed to help Illidan take the Tomb of Sargeras in exchange for a body modeled on Queen Azshara, despite Mannoroth warning that the Iron Horde could not defeat the demons there. The Iron Horde prepared to cross the Dark Portal while the Alliance and Horde forces readied for a joint campaign at the Broken Shore.

• Khadgar persuaded Sylvanas to support Illidan by promising her an immortal Highborne body modeled on Queen Azshara.
• Sylvanas took Antonidas to Draenor and ordered the Iron Horde to prepare for war.
• Mannoroth privately warned Sylvanas that the Iron Horde lacked the strength and discipline to defeat the demons in the Tomb of Sargeras.
• Sylvanas dismissed Mannoroth's concerns and allowed him to remain in Draenor to guard against the Draenei.
• The Iron Horde assembled before the Dark Portal as the Alliance, Fel Elves, and Forsaken prepared for the Broken Shore, where Varian's army would meet the Horde.

As the Alliance and Horde fleets approached the Tomb of Sargeras, a powerful being froze time and confronted Varian with his desires, fears, and the danger of the coming battle. Varian refused to retreat, and after time resumed, Sylvanas crossed onto his airship.

• Varian watched a massive pillar of Fel energy rise over the Broken Shore as the Alliance fleet advanced toward the Tomb of Sargeras.
• A mysterious voice froze time, tempted Varian with Sylvanas, and revealed his deepest fear: Prince Anduin.
• The voice warned Varian that the battle was beyond mortals and urged him to flee, but Varian chose to continue fighting for Azeroth.
• Time resumed, and a soldier told Varian he had dreamed of being with his beloved Lisa; the Horde airship then signaled the Alliance vessel.
• Sylvanas leaped gracefully from the Horde airship onto Varian's airship.

Varian and Sylvanas argued over whether to retreat from the Broken Shore, where Illidan’s plan brought the Iron Horde through a Fel portal and placed the armies under the control of his Fel tower. Inside the Tomb of Sargeras, powerful beings voted to fight Azeroth’s forces and drew lots to determine who would battle first.

• Sylvanas warned Varian that the Broken Shore was a trap and urged him to retreat, but he insisted on fighting for Azeroth.
• A colossal Fel Dark Portal appeared, and Iron Horde forces poured onto the Broken Shore; Antonidas told Sylvanas that Illidan had thwarted his attempt to stop them.
• Sylvanas called on Varian to join her against Illidan, but Varian declared that he fought only for Azeroth.
• Sylvanas recalled witnessing Silvermoon City’s destruction in a vision and vowed not to compromise with Illidan again.
• Aman'Thul explained that his Fel tower could control beings with Fel power, prompting Sylvanas to publicly pledge herself to Illidan.
• The entities inside the Tomb of Sargeras voted to fight Azeroth’s forces and agreed to draw lots for the order of battle.

Grosse attacked the Alliance and Horde armies, killing nearly three thousand soldiers and shattering their morale. Aman'Thul demanded the leaders charge into battle, then killed Varian when he refused, leaving the assembled generals terrified.

• Grosse volunteered to attack first, while Khadgar and Prophet Velen rallied the armies and Illidan urged them to fight for Azeroth.
• Grosse leaped through the Alliance and Horde ranks, killing thousands with Infernal flames before returning to the Tomb of Sargeras.
• Aman'Thul summoned the leaders and ordered them to lead their troops into the next charge.
• Sylvanas stayed silent, and the Orc chieftains hesitated after seeing how powerful Grosse was.
• Aman'Thul ordered Varian to lead the Alliance, but Varian tried to refuse.
• Aman'Thul seized Varian and burned him to death with Fel power, then challenged the other generals to refuse.

After Varian's death, Aman'Thul forced the Alliance and Horde to feed their armies into futile attacks on the Tomb of Sargeras, while Sylvanas and Antonidas searched for a way to escape Illidan's domain. The demons began to suspect the relentless assaults concealed a conspiracy.

• Aman'Thul ordered the Alliance and Horde to alternate attacks on the Tomb of Sargeras, with the other faction serving as blocking troops.
• Alliance and Horde soldiers charged the tomb in waves for a full day, and tens of thousands died without meaningfully harming the demons.
• A human general confronted Illidan, who used his domain to execute the general and his soldiers after the rebellion.
• Antonidas told Sylvanas that Illidan's domain drew power from the pyramid and planned a death squad to destroy its spatial confinement array, but Elisande's Nightborne guarded it.
• The soldiers resumed their futile attacks the next day with numb resignation, and the demons began to suspect a conspiracy.

The Alliance and Horde’s repeated assaults weakened the demons of the Tomb of Sargeras, prompting Grosse to attack the Fel pyramid. As Antonidas and the suicide squad followed him inside, Grosse uncovered a chamber of vengeful death power that spread toward the Tomb.

• The demons debated the strange sacrificial magic and agreed to wait, but Grosse insisted he would attack the pyramid when he got the chance.
• The Alliance and Horde kept attacking for seven days, and their soldiers’ deaths caused a strange power to sicken and weaken the Tomb’s demons.
• After the Alliance was nearly wiped out and more than half of Sylvanas’s troops had fallen, Grosse broke away and attacked the pyramid’s Fel shield.
• Antonidas led the suicide squad into the pyramid after Grosse shattered the shield, while Sylvanas followed disguised as an ordinary soldier.
• Grosse rampaged through the pyramid and reached a sealed chamber filled with death power, which spread toward the Tomb of Sargeras.
• The Demon Inquisition identified the power as that of vengeful death spirits and said that only the ancient Death Lord had been known to wield it.

Sylvanas escaped the destruction of the Tomb of Sargeras with Antonidas, but learned she could no longer reach Draenor after Mannoroth altered its Magic Beacon. Meanwhile, Mannoroth claimed power over Draenor, and Aman'Thul took control of the avatar and challenged Khadgar and Velen.

• The Death Wraith overwhelmed the demons in the Tomb of Sargeras, and Aman'Thul conquered the tomb as Sylvanas and Antonidas destroyed the containment array and escaped through a portal to Theramore.
• Sylvanas mourned the loss of her forces and agreed to retreat to Draenor, but Antonidas failed to open a portal there because its Magic Beacon had been changed.
• Sylvanas blamed Mannoroth for betraying her and blocking her return to Draenor.
• Mannoroth celebrated becoming Draenor's ruler, until Archimonde appeared through a Legion Portal and reminded him whom he served.
• Aman'Thul placed the Key to the Worlds in the avatar inside the Tomb of Sargeras, then confronted Khadgar, Velen, Grom Hellscream, and the other Orc chieftains.

Aman'Thul forced Khadgar to use the Key to the Worlds to summon Argus Planet, intending to sacrifice Azeroth's inhabitants in a ten-thousand-year war. The summoning unexpectedly transported everyone from the Broken Shore to Argus, leaving Khadgar and Velen confused among the Iron Horde.

• Aman'Thul announced his plan to bring Argus Planet near Azeroth and described a future of endless sacrifices, with humans breeding quickly to supply the battlefield.
• Aman'Thul promised to spare the Draenei for their technical help, and Velen pledged their service; Khadgar accepted his forced role in the summoning.
• Aman'Thul placed the Eye of Aman'Thul in the avatar's hand as Khadgar cast the spell, and Argus Planet appeared in the sky.
• Everyone on the Broken Shore vanished and reappeared on Argus Planet, where Khadgar and Velen realized they had been transported there unexpectedly.

Aman'Thul, Velen, and Khadgar abandoned the stranded Iron Horde on Argus, while Robbie and Black Cat uncovered the Key to the Worlds' original purpose. Back on Azeroth, Sylvanas retrieved the Ashbringer and was suddenly attacked.

• Aman'Thul fled the berserk Iron Horde, and Velen and Khadgar used a teleportation spell to escape as well.
• Grom Hellscream decided that the remaining Orcs had to seek refuge with the Burning Legion.
• Robbie took the Key to the Worlds and the Eye of Aman'Thul from the avatar in the Tomb of Sargeras, and Black Cat explained that the Pantheon had planned to dismantle Azeroth.
• Greymane marched on the Undercity and claimed Lordaeron, while Sylvanas hid beneath Northrend with Antonidas.
• Sylvanas and Antonidas went to Light's Hope Chapel, where Antonidas summoned the Ashbringer, and someone struck Sylvanas from behind.

Sylvanas was killed by Tyrande, who celebrated the end of the war before learning that Elune had ordered Teldrassil burned. Tyrande and Malfurion struggled to protect their reputations, then welcomed the Draenei leader Rakeesh, whose confrontation with them threatened to sour the celebration.

• Malfurion ambushed Sylvanas, and Tyrande beheaded her and displayed her head across Azeroth before returning it to Darnassus.
• Tyrande and Malfurion celebrated their victory as envoys arrived for a grand banquet in Darnassus.
• Elune ordered Tyrande to burn Teldrassil, and she warned Malfurion that the World Tree's Azerite-filled trunk could catch fire easily.
• Malfurion resisted evacuating Teldrassil because it would ruin their reputation, while Tyrande feared losing their power if they disobeyed Elune.
• Tyrande and Malfurion welcomed Rakeesh, the Exodar's new leader, and Malfurion called him a junior whom they would look after.
• Rakeesh angrily rejected Malfurion's claim of seniority and threatened the Night Elf leaders with the Draenei's wrath.

Malfurion and Tyrande lured Rakeesh into Darnassus’s underground vault, where he broke through seven Draenei-locked doors. While Tyrande told the guests a fabricated history of the Night Elves and explained Teldrassil’s destruction mechanism, the crystal ball showed Rakeesh pressing its red button.

• Rakeesh insulted the gathered envoys and threatened to destroy the Night Elves, so Malfurion offered to show him an artifact left by Prophet Velen.
• Malfurion led Rakeesh into the underground vault and left him waiting in a chamber, where Rakeesh followed arrows through the maze after Malfurion failed to return.
• Rakeesh dismantled the Draenei locks on seven stone doors and entered a chamber containing a red button marked with a warning never to press it.
• Tyrande entertained the guests in a war museum and claimed the Night Elves had prepared to destroy Teldrassil if Archimonde attacked it.
• Tyrande used a crystal ball to show the underground chamber, and the guests watched Rakeesh press the red button.

Rakeesh triggered Teldrassil’s destruction and escaped after the Night Elves exposed him as a demon of the Burning Legion. As Teldrassil burned, Azeroth’s envoys vowed to oppose the Draenei, while Rakeesh returned to the Exodar confident he could lead them into the Legion.

• Tyrande and Malfurion’s trap prompted Rakeesh to press the button, starting Teldrassil’s one-hour self-destruct countdown.
• Rakeesh unleashed Fel power, fought off Tyrande and the Night Elf guards, and fled toward the Exodar.
• Malfurion directed the evacuation, and Teldrassil burned after its residents and guests reached safety.
• Azeroth’s envoys promised to demand justice from the Draenei and send forces against the Exodar.
• Rakeesh returned to the Exodar and reflected that he had gained the Draenei’s support by claiming to be Velen’s son and purging his opponents.

After taking power from Prophet Velen, Rakeesh exploited the Draenei’s unquestioning loyalty to provoke a war and turn them toward the Burning Legion. The Draenei killed O’ros and lost the Holy Light, while Rakeesh opened a Legion Portal in Exodar.

• Rakeesh tested the Draenei elders and generals by proposing war against the Night Elves and then all of Azeroth, and they praised both plans without dissent.
• Rakeesh falsely accused O’ros of serving the Night Elves and ordered the Draenei to destroy the Naaru.
• The Draenei attacked the Seat of the Naaru and killed O’ros, plunging Exodar into darkness and cutting them off from the Holy Light.
• Rakeesh revealed his Fel power and convinced the Draenei that they had to join the Burning Legion to escape the Army of the Light.
• Rakeesh activated the Legion Beacon, opening a massive Legion Portal in Exodar as the Draenei pledged their loyalty to him.

Robbie and Black Cat discussed how to recover the World Tree’s data while anticipating the Moon Goddess Elune’s interference. They decided to search for a ten-thousand-year-old organization that might know Elune’s countermeasures, and Robbie entered Dalaran’s archives to investigate.

• Robbie reviewed reports that Teldrassil had burned, the Draenei had vanished, and Rakeesh was blamed, while suspecting Tyrande and a larger conspiracy.
• Black Cat told Robbie that his desire to prevent Azeroth’s destruction gave him a purpose, but warned that Elune might anticipate their attempt to retrieve World Tree data from another timeline.
• Robbie reasoned that Elune would need agents watching the timelines where the three World Trees existed, and he and Black Cat decided to search Azeroth’s ancient organizations for clues.
• Black Cat named Dalaran and the Explorers’ League of Ironforge as likely repositories of old histories, and Robbie chose Dalaran as his first target.
• Robbie entered Dalaran’s archives, where vast, unorganized collections of historical records and rumors awaited him and Black Cat.

Robbie and Black Cat used mechanical life to search for ancient organizations connected to the World Trees and Elune, finding the Consortium, Venture Company, and Darkmoon Faire. The chapter ended with dubious documents and a poem suggesting those groups had bizarre dealings with the Moon Goddess’s supposed divine envoy.

• Black Cat explained mechanical life and used it with Robbie to search for organizations matching their criteria.
• The mechanical life identified the Consortium, Venture Company, and Darkmoon Faire as possible candidates.
• Robbie and Black Cat learned that the Consortium had operated on Azeroth and may have helped Archimonde transport a Fel Reaver production line.
• The records traced the Venture Company from its origins as a Zandalari commercial venture through repeated takeovers and reorganizations.
• The Darkmoon Faire was linked by rumor to Malfurion Stormrage and suspected of serving as a Night Elf intelligence network.
• The mechanical life presented dubious records involving the Consortium, the Venture Company, and a supposed divine envoy, including a poem attributed to Thrall.

Robbie uncovered clues that the Moon Goddess may have used the Burning Legion and Titan relics to stop transmigrators from reaching Nordrassil. He gained limited access to the Explorers' League vault, where Moira revealed a forbidden staff that could trap transmigrators in a time rift.

• Robbie studied Dalaran's archives and found a letter from the previous leader of the Darkmoon Faire warning Archimonde to keep everyone but the divine envoy away from Nordrassil.
• Robbie concluded that the Battle of Mount Hyjal might have been tied to Arthas's search for Aetrit's Nexus and the Moon Goddess's plans.
• Robbie traveled to Ironforge and bribed a Dwarf craftsman to arrange a meeting with Moira Bronzebeard so he could visit the Explorers' League collection.
• Moira told Robbie that the Explorers' League had collected Titan relics and forbidden items, including a staff that could detect transmigrators and strand them in a rift in time.
• Moira opened the underground vault and gave Robbie half an hour to look through its contents.

Robbie distracted Moira while Black Cat searched the Explorers' League vault and found Magni Bronzebeard's damaged diary. The diary revealed the Dwarves' secret mission to guard the World Trees and left Robbie recognizing the disguised human who had once forced him to drink blood as the Moon Goddess's envoy.

• Robbie stalled Moira among the Titan statues and relics while Black Cat searched the depths of the vault.
• Black Cat returned with Magni Bronzebeard's diary, which a mechanical life-form had partially restored.
• Magni's diary revealed that the Moon Goddess had charged the Dwarves with guarding the three World Trees and that the Dream Hammer could implant false prophecies.
• Magni wrote that the Dwarves watched for a time traveler and had agents across Azeroth, and that he feared the Scourge's threat to Nordrassil.
• Magni described a human disguised as Gul'dan who claimed to be the Moon Goddess's envoy, and Robbie recognized him as the man who had made him drink blood.
• Magni recorded Moira's claim that her infant was Thaurissan's son and noted that Thrall had tried to deceive the divine envoy by substituting a Troll woman for the Zandalari queen.

Robbie read Magni Bronzebeard’s damaged diary and learned that Talanji was Thrall’s daughter, Moira had become entangled with Prince Anduin, and the Moon Goddess had guided Magni toward a dangerous ritual. He decided to return to the moment Archimonde descended on Dalaran and fight beside Arthas against the Burning Legion.

• Robbie read Magni Bronzebeard’s diary, which described Thrall’s secret relationship with the queen of Zandalar and the birth of their daughter, Talanji.
• The diary revealed that Magni had taught Moira to scheme, intended her to inherit Ironforge, and suspected trouble surrounding her relationship with Prince Anduin and a Moon Goddess oracle.
• Robbie concluded that Magni had served as the Moon Goddess’s hidden guardian and decided to seek another path to Nordrassil through Teldrassil.
• Robbie told Black Cat he would return to Archimonde’s descent on Dalaran and fight alongside the Lich King Arthas against the Burning Legion.
• Robbie visited Vanessa, entered Mount Hyjal to look over its scarred land, and set out after completing his preparations.

Robbie entered the period of Dalaran’s destruction and joined Arthas’s retreating Scourge after Archimonde invaded Azeroth. He offered to use a spell to hold Archimonde back, and the Scourge gathered to help him as the demon advanced.

• Black Cat warned Robbie that Azeroth lacked the strength to defeat the Burning Legion and told him not to interfere too much with history.
• Robbie entered the time portal to Dalaran’s destruction, intending to defeat Archimonde and buy time for the Scourge’s rise.
• Archimonde ordered the Orcs to spare Dalaran’s mages, then began gathering strength while the Scourge retreated with Frostmourne.
• Robbie reached Arthas and said he could hold Archimonde back with the Scourge soldiers’ help.
• Arthas ordered the Scourge to gather, and Archimonde rose and strode toward them.

Robbie used Old Gods Transformation to confront Archimonde, who tried to lure Arthas into joining the Burning Legion and attacked the Scourge. Archimonde mistook Robbie’s transformed manifestation for Queen Azshara and withdrew, while Robbie learned new spells but recognized that he could not hold the form for long.

• Robbie cast Old Gods Transformation, combining the power of hundreds of thousands of Scourge soldiers into a temporary Old God manifestation.
• Archimonde tried to tempt Arthas with vengeance against the Orcs, but Arthas refused and denounced the demons.
• Archimonde summoned Dalaran’s tallest spire as a weapon, but it crumbled after a few swings, and he attacked Arthas.
• Robbie’s tentacles caught Archimonde, and Robbie absorbed his Doomfire attack through a black hole before repairing the damaged space.
• Archimonde mistook Robbie for Queen Azshara, warned him against returning before the time was right, and left.
• Robbie’s transformed body vanished, and the Scourge withdrew from the Dalaran Kingdom.

Archimonde’s Legion destroyed Dalaran and used its mages and residents to fuel the invasion, while Thrall protested that the Orcs had been reduced to peons. He challenged the Legion’s treatment of the Orcs through a duel, but Saurfang was swiftly killed by a Felguard, leaving Thrall to confront the Legion’s technological advantage.

• Archimonde had the Legion build Portals with captured Dalaran mages, then ordered Varimathras to sacrifice them and erase Dalaran while the Orcs slaughtered its people.
• Thrall discovered that the Orcs were performing manual labor for the Legion and protested to Varimathras that they deserved respect as warriors.
• Varimathras offered the Orcs equal status if their strongest warrior defeated a Legion soldier, and Thrall chose Saurfang to fight a Felguard.
• Saurfang attacked the Felguard, but Fel armor and speed let the demon kill him almost instantly.
• Thrall accused the Legion of making the duel unfair, but Varimathras said its Fel technology was part of its strength and declared the Orcs fit only to be peons.

Archimonde planned to use the Orcs and other native races to attack the Night Elves and draw out Queen Azshara. In Lordaeron, Robbie urged the Scourge not to despair and began explaining the Undead’s greatest advantage.

• Thrall offered to lead the Orcs as the Burning Legion’s vanguard, but Varimathras ordered them to remain laborers.
• Archimonde decided to use the Orcs against the Night Elves, hoping their peril would force Queen Azshara to reveal herself.
• Varimathras proposed recruiting Trolls, Tauren, and Centaurs to join the Orcs, and Archimonde tasked him with the recruitment and Mannoroth with leading the Orcs.
• In Lordaeron, Kel'Thuzad blamed Antonidas for the Legion’s arrival, while Arthas blamed himself for failing to attack Dalaran sooner.
• Robbie asked Kel'Thuzad and Arthas to identify the Scourge’s strengths, then began explaining that the Undead were magical creations sustained by death.