Recaps

Varian and Jaina went to Deepholm to ask Therazane to free Thrall, but she tested their courage and revealed that Thrall had been trapped in stone by fear. Therazane agreed to help, saying that only love could awaken him.

• Jaina urged Varian to act boldly before Therazane, though she herself greeted the Stone Mother with flattery.
• Therazane tested Varian and Jaina by lifting them into the air among flying rocks, and both panicked but survived.
• Therazane showed them the petrified Earthen Ring members, who had failed the same test, and said Thrall was hiding in the Basalt Forest.
• Varian and Jaina found Thrall curled up and weeping, trapped in stone and unwilling to leave.
• Therazane agreed to help awaken Thrall, but said they would need to love him with all their hearts.

Varian agreed to marry one of Therazane's daughters in exchange for help saving Thrall, then traveled with Jaina and his army to the Firelands to recover the last part of Thrall's soul. There, Executus revealed Thrall's plan to destroy Azeroth, and Jaina admitted she had deceived Varian and insisted he had no choice but to continue.

• Therazane demanded that Varian marry one of her daughters, and Varian reluctantly agreed after Jaina urged him to make the sacrifice.
• Therazane released the stone prison holding Thrall's soul, giving Jaina three-quarters of it and leaving the Firelands as the final destination.
• Varian led his army through the Portal on Mount Hyjal into the Firelands, where Majordomo Executus protected them from the heat and questioned Varian's resolve.
• Executus led Varian and Jaina to Thrall's remaining soul, which revealed its plan to use Azeroth's four elements to repair Outland and destroy Azeroth.
• Varian asked Jaina whether Thrall's confession was true, and Jaina admitted she had deceived him and told him he had no choice but to obey.

Varian chose to help recover Thrall’s soul, but Jaina turned him into a mouse and claimed the rescue for herself. At the wedding, Agna stole Jaina’s credit, while the revived Thrall recognized Varian and vowed revenge.

• Jaina pressured Varian into accepting Thrall’s soul, and Executus explained that Ragnaros had hoped Varian would destroy the Orcs.
• Executus burned Thrall’s remnant soul, and Jaina recovered the last piece before returning to Mount Hyjal alone.
• Jaina turned Varian into a mouse, locked him in a cage, and claimed that she alone had rescued Thrall.
• The Red Dragon Queen restored Thrall’s soul to his unharmed body while Kalecgos warned Jaina that someone might take credit for her work.
• Agna claimed to have conquered the Elemental Planes, and the Dragon Aspects praised her while Jaina seethed.
• Thrall awoke, recognized Varian in Jaina’s cage, and threatened to make him the main course.

Varian endured a vision of Thrall and the Dragon Kings feasting on him while planning to conquer Azeroth, then found himself in a palace connected to the Emerald Dream. A voice offered to exchange dream and reality to save him, but demanded a price.

• Varian imagined Thrall and the Dragon Kings eating him while Thrall announced plans to unleash the Cataclysm and destroy the Alliance.
• The Dragon Kings questioned Thrall about the Elemental Lords, the Scourge, and Garrosh, learning that he was wary of opposing forces and declined their offer to replace Garrosh.
• Thrall planned to use Varian to make Stormwind’s people willingly become Forsaken and bring the Alliance under his control.
• Varian suddenly appeared whole in golden armor before a palace floating above Mount Hyjal and the ruins of Nordrassil.
• A voice explained that the palace was tied to the Emerald Dream and offered to exchange dream and reality to save Varian if he agreed to pay the price.

Varian returned to Thrall’s wedding feast with an army and took revenge by torturing Thrall and Agna, hoping to draw out the force behind Thrall. As Thrall slipped into madness, a Seed of Il'gynoth appeared, but Uther the Lightbringer arrived before Varian could feed it to him.

• Varian accepted a deal to take cruel revenge on Thrall and Agna, then returned to the wedding feast with twenty thousand Stormwind soldiers.
• The Red Dragon Queen refused to help Thrall, and Varian’s soldiers beat Agna while priests kept her alive.
• Varian had Thrall nailed to the table and tortured, healing him repeatedly so he could continue eating Thrall’s flesh; Jaina and later Kalecgos joined the feast.
• After a day and night of torment, Thrall went mad, and a Seed of Il'gynoth appeared; Ysera identified it as a threat to corrupt his soul, while Nozdormu suggested it might reveal a prophecy.
• As Varian prepared to force the seed into Thrall’s mouth, Uther the Lightbringer stopped him and rebuked him.

Varian faced Uther and the resurrected Order of the Silver Hand, but Robbie sent undead Orc wolf riders to destroy them. Uther died before he could reveal who had sent him, leaving Robbie puzzled by the force that silenced him.

• Varian confronted Uther, who defended Thrall and summoned a thousand riders of the Order of the Silver Hand to threaten Varian's army.
• Robbie proposed exploiting the Silver Hand's weakness while Deathwing and Xavius watched Varian from the Emerald Nightmare.
• A voice taunted Uther with the claim that Saurfang had killed him, and fifty undead Orc wolf riders charged the Silver Hand.
• The wolf riders routed and slaughtered the Silver Hand, then Uther begged the young Orc general to spare him.
• Uther suddenly died before he could answer Varian's questions, and the Silver Hand, their horses, and their equipment vanished into black vapor.
• Robbie wondered why the power behind Uther's return had silenced him and what secret it was hiding.

Sir Lothar confronted Varian and the Dragon Aspects, then an order tied to Aman'Thul forced Varian to release Thrall and Agna. After the wedding farce ended and Cairne Bloodhoof prayed for help, Magatha Wildtotem appeared before him.

• Sir Lothar returned and told Varian he was not the person he remembered, then accused Alexstrasza, Nozdormu, and Ysera of their failures and crimes.
• Sir Lothar criticized Varian's army and demanded that Thrall be released, while Varian questioned who had sent him.
• Robbie recognized that Sir Lothar's footsteps traced the shape of a lightning bolt from Aman'Thul's staff, and Deathwing ordered Thrall released.
• After hearing a command to let Thrall and Agna go, Varian complied; he returned to Stormwind while Thrall and Agna went to the Maelstrom to recuperate.
• Cairne Bloodhoof, badly wounded and hiding nearby, prayed to the Earth Mother, and Magatha Wildtotem appeared before him.

Cairne returned to Thunder Bluff after Magatha treated his wounds and accepted responsibility for his failed alliance with Thrall. Garrosh forced him to choose between a disgraceful death, sacrificing his children, or a duel, and Cairne chose to fight him as the Horde’s leaders hurried to Orgrimmar.

• Magatha treated Cairne’s wounds, rebuked his alliance with Thrall, and learned that he had sent the Tauren calves to the Grimtotem for their protection.
• Cairne returned to an eerily deserted Thunder Bluff and surrendered to Garrosh, pleading for a chance to prove the Tauren’s loyalty.
• Garrosh rejected Cairne’s plea and offered him a choice between dying in disgrace or sacrificing his children to earn a duel.
• Cairne chose the duel, and Garrosh declared that he would kill and publicly eat him.
• Reports presented the duel as a harmless disagreement over the Night Elves, while Sylvanas rushed to Orgrimmar as Horde leaders recognized the crisis and opportunity.

Sylvanas brought Antonidas and the others to Orgrimmar for Garrosh Hellscream and Cairne Bloodhoof’s duel, which Garrosh turned into a public spectacle. After Cairne’s children were cooked and served as food for the Orcs, Garrosh named Baine Bloodhoof the new Tauren Chieftain, believing him to be a Quilboar.

• Sylvanas led Antonidas and the others into a festively decorated Orgrimmar, where Nazgrim presided over Garrosh and Cairne’s duel.
• Nazgrim praised Garrosh and vilified Cairne before the packed arena, while Orcs and Tauren cheered.
• Garrosh ordered Cairne’s children thrown into a giant cauldron and cooked for the Orcs.
• Nazgrim told Garrosh that Baine Bloodhoof was actually a Quilboar who believed he was a Tauren.
• Garrosh questioned Baine, accepted his claim that Cairne’s children had an honorable fate, and appointed him Tauren Chieftain.

Baine pledged loyalty to Garrosh after being chosen as the Tauren chieftain, while Garrosh weakened Cairne before their duel. With Vanessa secretly empowering Cairne’s Runed Spear, Cairne overcame Garrosh and left him bleeding on the arena floor.

• Baine thanked Garrosh for favoring him and swore to serve him, then joined the other race leaders as the duel approached.
• Nazgrim ordered Orc interrogators to weaken Cairne’s muscles without leaving marks, and Cairne learned that the Tauren had a new chieftain without learning who it was.
• Robbie identified a mysterious power within Garrosh, and Vanessa secretly sent Archimonde’s Power of Destruction into Cairne’s Runed Spear.
• Garrosh repeatedly wounded Cairne while Cairne pretended to be too weak to fight back, and the crowd cheered Garrosh’s attacks.
• Cairne suddenly struck Gorehowl from Garrosh’s grasp, pierced his chest with the Runed Spear, and bit through his neck until Garrosh collapsed.

Cairne Bloodhoof, consumed by Archimonde’s Power of Destruction, defeated Garrosh and slaughtered Kor'kron soldiers and spectators in the arena. After Garrosh rose again and lost their second clash, Cairne challenged the leaders and moved to kill him, but flesh and blood gathered around Garrosh into a pulsing mass.

• Nazgrim accused Cairne Bloodhoof of cheating and sent the Kor'kron Legion into the pit, but Cairne slaughtered hundreds and then attacked the spectators.
• Nazgrim fled with the unconscious Garrosh, who later returned healed and empowered by Holy Light fused with a mysterious power.
• Garrosh charged Cairne with Ashbringer, but Cairne concentrated his strength into Gorehowl and defeated him in one clash.
• Cairne picked up Ashbringer and challenged Tirion Fordring and Sylvanas, while Tirion hid and Sylvanas refused to fight.
• Cairne prepared to finish Garrosh, but countless pieces of flesh and blood gathered around Garrosh and formed a pulsing pustule.

Cairne fought Medivh and Gul'dan after Medivh protected the writhing flesh, but Robbie empowered Ashbringer with Holy Light and helped Cairne overcome Gul'dan's Infernals. As Cairne closed in on Gul'dan, another powerful Orc emerged from the flesh and addressed him.

• Medivh shielded the writhing flesh and tried to delay Cairne with magic and Elementals, but Cairne's Power of Destruction broke through his defenses.
• The flesh revealed Gul'dan, who summoned three Infernals that countered Cairne's Power of Destruction and began to overwhelm him.
• Robbie secretly ignited Ashbringer, and Cairne used its Holy Light to destroy the Infernals and take the fight to Gul'dan.
• Gul'dan summoned Evil Eyes and a gigantic three-headed Felhound, but Cairne's Holy Light shield protected him as he advanced.
• The writhing flesh split open and dropped a powerful Orc, who told Gul'dan he never expected them to fight side by side.

Orgrim Doomhammer appeared and fought Gul'dan while Vanessa stole a piece of the fleshly mass and Robbie and Vanessa withdrew Cairne’s borrowed power. Tirion reclaimed the Ashbringer and helped capture Cairne, but as Robbie and Vanessa escaped Orgrimmar, a giant Thrall formed from enslaved Water Elementals and threatened to destroy the city unless the Orcs submitted.

• Orgrim Doomhammer appeared and traded accusations with Gul'dan before the two began fighting, giving Cairne a chance to retrieve Gorehowl.
• Vanessa stole a fragment of the enormous mass of flesh while Medivh was distracted, and she and Robbie withdrew the power they had lent Cairne.
• Tirion Fordring called the Ashbringer back to himself, defeated the weakened Cairne, and watched as General Nazgrim had the Tauren chained and taken prisoner.
• Robbie and Vanessa escaped through Orgrimmar’s back gate, where Robbie sensed that the Water Elementals were being controlled; Jaina recognized Neptulon’s power in the gathering storm.
• Thrall returned in a colossal form made from Water Elementals, stopped Gul'dan and Orgrim’s fight, and demanded that the Orcs submit or die.

Thrall and Garrosh became vessels for rival powers and fought across Orgrimmar and The Barrens, devastating the land and killing countless Orc civilians. The chapter left the survivors watching in terror, unable to question either leader as the battle continued.

• Medivh recognized that Thrall had been stripped of his emotions and fled as Garrosh revealed his trap, which consumed most of the two hundred thousand Orcs gathered in Orgrimmar.
• A meteor of fire elements struck the mass of flesh, and Garrosh emerged as a flaming giant while Robbie explained that both Thrall and Garrosh had become representatives for powerful beings.
• Thrall pursued Garrosh into The Barrens, where their water-and-fire battle burned settlements, flooded the land, opened a chasm, and divided the region.
• Survivors mourned their families and homes but praised or defended Thrall and Garrosh, too frightened to complain about the destruction.

Robbie watched as Thrall and Garrosh’s battle devastated Kalimdor and spread to the Eastern Kingdoms, where Garrosh sought to ignite Blackrock Mountain. Thrall intercepted him, but Garrosh reached the Badlands with enough lava power, leaving the two poised for another battle.

• Robbie sent Vanessa to Icecrown Citadel to consult Kel'Thuzad, then stayed behind to watch Thrall and Garrosh fight in The Barrens.
• Their battle caused floods that devastated Thousand Needles and the Shimmering Flats, killing countless Tauren.
• Garrosh and Thrall fought across Ashenvale and Darkshore, destroying forests and settlements until Al'Akir the Wind Rider drove them away from Auberdine.
• The two crossed Kalimdor, destroying Feathermoon Stronghold and Steamwheedle Port, before Garrosh headed across the Great Sea toward Blackrock Mountain.
• Thrall pursued Garrosh through Stranglethorn Vale and Loch Modan, but Garrosh broke the Stonewrought Dam and ignited volcanoes in the Badlands.
• Garrosh reached the Badlands with enough lava power, and he and Thrall prepared to fight again.

Thrall and Garrosh fought for more than half a month before agreeing to a temporary truce and heading to Stormwind City. After Varian failed to escape by ship, Deathwing offered to help defend the city in exchange for an all-out Alliance war against the Horde.

• The Badlands flooded as miners hid underground, while leaders across Azeroth feared the consequences of Thrall and Garrosh's battle.
• Stormwind residents fled in large numbers despite Varian sealing the city and assuring them that it was safe.
• Thrall and Garrosh called a truce after discussing their failing bodies and agreed to travel together to Stormwind City.
• Varian tried to flee by ship but discovered that his trusted subordinate had already taken it away.
• Deathwing revealed his identity to Varian and offered the Black Dragonflight's aid if the Alliance and Horde went to war and destroyed the Orcs.

Varian rejected Deathwing's offer to take over Stormwind City's defenses, then secretly fled with Anduin while abandoning the city’s people. Thrall and Garrosh arrived and Garrosh began consuming Stormwind’s population, until Kel'Thuzad returned with news that they had found a way to stop the invaders.

• Deathwing offered to protect Stormwind City, but Varian insisted on consulting his subjects and spoke of dignity.
• Varian ordered a retreat through the Portal to Elysian Palace, explaining that he would sacrifice the commoners rather than risk House Wrynn losing power to the Black Dragonflight.
• Thrall and Garrosh arrived, and Stormwind’s people welcomed them as saviors.
• Garrosh revealed his intention to consume the people, then drew Stormwind’s population into the air and tore apart their bodies and souls.
• Garrosh turned his attention toward Westfall as Robbie hesitated to use Archimonde's Power of Destruction.
• Kel'Thuzad stepped through a Portal and told Robbie that they had found a way to deal with the invaders.

The Scourge and Black Dragonflight captured Thrall and Garrosh in Stormwind, transformed them into Faceless Ones, and drained the energy from their bodies. After Varian returned to the city, Jaina delivered Medivh’s order that he rescue the two sealed leaders so Azeroth could have a Savior and the Horde a Warchief.

• The Scourge froze Stormwind and attacked Thrall and Garrosh with petrification and the Old Gods’ Curse of Flesh, turning them into Faceless Ones.
• Kel’Thuzad questioned the captives, but Garrosh explained that his true self was beyond their reach and that the torment had been transferred to Garrosh’s soul.
• Deathwing offered to extract the beings’ energy, and Robbie and Kel’Thuzad accepted his help.
• Deathwing and Black Dragon mages drained the Faceless Ones until they reverted to stone statues resembling Thrall and Garrosh.
• Three days later, Varian returned to Stormwind and celebrated the statues’ presence before Jaina arrived with Saurfang and ordered him to rescue the sealed leaders on Medivh’s behalf.

Jaina forced Varian to admit Deathwing caused the Cataclysm and ordered Stormwind to provide a blood sacrifice to rescue Thrall and Garrosh. At the Lion's Pride Inn, Robbie met Lailar Yanya, who revealed his history with the Worgen Druids and Arugal.

• Jaina had Saurfang and the Orcs beat Varian until he agreed to her demands, then ordered twenty thousand Stormwind citizens prepared for sacrifice.
• Lailar Yanya, a member of the Gilneas delegation, reconsidered an alliance with Stormwind after witnessing Varian's humiliation.
• Robbie approached Lailar at the Lion's Pride Inn and concealed their conversation from the other drinkers.
• Lailar told Robbie that his dreams and explorations of ruins had made him question the accepted account of the Sundering.
• Lailar admitted he had fled after Tyrande secretly asked to meet him, then led Worgen Druids who were imprisoned in the Emerald Dream by Malfurion and Tyrande.
• Lailar said he escaped with Arugal's help and followed his orders, helping turn half of Gilneas's humans into Worgen.

Robbie brought the Scythe of Elune to Wind Valley Village to test whether it could restore the Worgen’s sanity and help Gilneas defend itself. After Vanessa awakened the Worgen, she founded the Wolf Worship Cult and made Lailar Yanya Grand General of the Pack.

• Lailar Yanya told Robbie that the Worgen had gone mad because humans could not balance the strange energy in their bodies, and Robbie offered to help them regain their sanity.
• Lailar secretly took Robbie and Vanessa to Wind Valley Village, where Worgen gathered and knelt before the Scythe of Elune at night.
• Robbie explained that the Scythe was a replica whose call had been replaced by the Whispers of the Old Gods, and urged Lailar to unite the Worgen into an army.
• Lailar refused to take the Scythe, so Vanessa raised it and called on the Worgen to face their leader; its power returned them to human form.
• Vanessa founded the Wolf Worship Cult, declared herself its leader, and appointed Lailar Yanya Grand General of the Pack.

Lailar secretly organized the Bloodfang Worgen across Gilneas while Stormwind sacrificed twenty thousand citizens to revive Garrosh. Back in Orgrimmar, Garrosh put the tortured Cairne Bloodhoof on trial, and Med'an proposed turning Cairne's bones into an Undead chair.

• Vanessa appointed Lailar Yanya great general of the pack, and he used the replica Scythe of Elune to gather Worgen and secretly build the Bloodfang Worgen throughout Gilneas.
• Jaina used Stormwind's repair costs as an excuse to tax citizens, and King Varian imprisoned those who could not pay until twenty thousand people were gathered.
• Jaina performed a blood sacrifice that revived Garrosh, who returned to Orgrimmar with Saurfang the Great.
• Garrosh summoned the Horde leaders and had Nazgrim bring the tortured Cairne Bloodhoof before them for a public interrogation.
• Med'an laughed at Garrosh's treatment of the mentally broken Cairne and suggested making Cairne's bones into an Undead chair for Garrosh.

Sylvanas resurrected Cairne Bloodhoof as an Abomination and revealed her hidden Tauren Abomination Legion, recruiting him to lead it against the Orcs. She ordered him to destroy Gilneas as Darius Crowley was summoned to meet Queen Jaina in Theramore.

• Garrosh approved Med'an’s chair proposal, while Sylvanas volunteered to make Cairne’s chair and took Cairne back to Undercity.
• Sylvanas and Antonidas arranged to disguise Cairne’s son’s soul as Cairne’s so they could deceive Garrosh, Med'an, and Medivh.
• Cairne awoke in an Abomination body and learned from Sylvanas that she had resurrected him to keep him from dying permanently.
• Sylvanas showed Cairne the hidden Abomination Legion made from the bones and souls of Tauren eaten by the Orcs, and Cairne agreed to serve as its leader.
• Sylvanas ordered Cairne to destroy Gilneas, while Darius Crowley woke in Theramore and received Queen Jaina’s summons.

Jaina recruited Darius to lead an attack on Gilneas, claiming she wanted to end Greymane’s rule. She revealed that she intended to use twenty thousand Worgen to seize the city and make herself Queen of Gilneas, and Darius agreed to serve her.

• Jaina told Darius that Thrall had been rescued and urged Azeroth’s people to unite against Deathwing.
• Jaina asked Darius to describe Greymane, and Darius condemned him and described the dangers of catching Man-faced Fish.
• Jaina asked Darius to lead an army to retake Gilneas, while insisting Theramore would not openly participate.
• Jaina showed Darius more than fifty ships carrying twenty thousand Worgen and explained that she planned to unleash them on Gilneas City.
• Jaina said she would weaken the Worgen after the city fell, leaving Darius to claim the victory while she became Queen of Gilneas, and Darius agreed to serve her.

Jaina used a mass teleportation to unleash frenzied Worgen on Gilneas’s royal city, while Robbie and Lailar tried to limit the slaughter and turn residents into Bloodfang Worgen. King Greymane escaped with Prince Liam and thousands of soldiers as Jaina prepared Darius to seize the kingdom and make her its queen.

• Robbie sent a spy to investigate Gilneas and, after the royal city appeared peaceful, placed Bloodfang Worgen near it to watch for threats.
• A fleet appeared at Shipwreck Bay, and more than a hundred teleportation beacons brought Worgen into the royal city, where they attacked its inhabitants.
• Lailar recognized that the attackers were not Bloodfang Worgen, and Robbie suspected Jaina was behind the assault; he sent Lailar to draw attackers toward the cathedral and ordered Bloodfang Worgen to infect residents.
• King Greymane fled with Prince Liam as the attackers overwhelmed the city, but Bloodfang Worgen subdued them and helped the King reach the north gate with more than three thousand soldiers.
• Outside the city, Jaina told Darius that her spell would soon weaken the Worgen and that he was to save Gilneas; Darius accepted, and Jaina opened a Portal to leave.

Darius surrendered to King Greymane after the Bloodfang Worgen took Gilneas City, then Greymane’s forces withdrew to his manor as Sylvanas’s Forsaken army surrounded the city. Robbie urged Lyral to hold out until Orc reinforcements arrived, while Jaina sought Garrosh’s help to stop Sylvanas from claiming Gilneas.

• Darius entered Gilneas City with two thousand soldiers, joined forces with Greymane against the Bloodfang Worgen, and was imprisoned after surrendering at Greymane Manor.
• Lyral and Robbie found Gilneas City emptied of humans and prepared the Bloodfang Worgen to defend it from the Forsaken.
• Sylvanas appointed Cairne Bloodhoof warlord and sent her army toward Gilneas by land and sea through a breach in the Greymane Wall.
• Robbie told Lyral to hold the city until Orc reinforcements arrived, explaining that he had sent a spy to provoke Garrosh into sending troops.
• Jaina learned Darius was Greymane’s prisoner and the Forsaken were invading Gilneas, then sent a messenger to Orgrimmar to persuade Garrosh to intervene.