Recaps

Jiyun Tafeng fought Garrosh in the ruins of the Vermilion Bird Temple and overwhelmed him, while Thrall prepared to kill Garrosh in the Throne Room. Varian did not intervene, and the Doomhammer struck a brilliant wall of Holy Light instead.

• Jiyun Tafeng found Garrosh in the Vermilion Bird Temple ruins and mistook his arrival for a test arranged by Grandpa.
• Garrosh attacked Jiyun Tafeng, but Jiyun Tafeng used his speed and martial arts to beat him until he surrendered.
• Jiyun Tafeng decided Garrosh was his prey and punched at him again.
• Garrosh fell into the Throne Room, where Thrall stopped Vol'jin and approached him with the Doomhammer.
• Robbie, Vanessa, and Murozond watched as Varian chose not to save Garrosh, and Thrall's hammer struck golden Holy Light.

Thrall attacked Garrosh, but Velen and Anduin intervened, prompting Thrall and Sylvanas to turn on them. Anduin revealed a prophecy about Heaven’s Shadow, which Robbie connected to Azeroth’s past interference with time.

• Velen used the Holy Light to shield Garrosh from Thrall’s Doomhammer, while Anduin tried to persuade Varian to save him.
• Thrall attacked Velen, breaking his arm and back, until Velen finally called upon the Holy Light to heal himself.
• Sylvanas threw Velen to the Abominations and questioned the restrained Anduin about the prophecy he and Velen had heard.
• Anduin explained that Heaven’s Shadow would arrive when Azeroth made a mistake, and that Garrosh could not die before then.
• Robbie realized the mistake referred to Azeroth’s large-scale interference with time and wondered what Heaven’s Shadow would bring.

Robbie explained the Shadow of Argus to Murozond, while the leaders debated Garrosh’s fate and chose to have Pandaria try him. Vol’jin became the Horde’s new Warchief, but Varian and Sylvanas made clear that he would have little power.

• Robbie told Murozond that the Shadow of Argus was an illusion meant to provoke conflict, and Murozond lamented how tangled the timelines had become.
• The Alliance and Horde leaders argued over Garrosh’s punishment, then Varian proposed that Pandaria try him and brought Taran Zhu before them.
• Thrall offered to serve Vol’jin as Warchief after insulting his inaction, and the Horde leaders pledged their support to Vol’jin.
• Varian warned Vol’jin that the Alliance would destroy the Horde if it repeated Garrosh’s crimes, while Sylvanas promised to kill Vol’jin if he became like Garrosh.
• Vol’jin accepted the Warchief’s position and recognized that Varian and Sylvanas had ensured he would remain a puppet.

The Alliance and Horde leaders disputed whether Garrosh should be treated as a Warchief or a prisoner while awaiting trial at the Temple of the White Tiger. Wrathion exposed Master Tian’s hypocrisy and killed him, but the leaders remained divided over Garrosh’s treatment.

• Taran Zhu asked the leaders whether Garrosh should be treated as a Warchief or a prisoner, prompting Thrall, Vol'jin, Tyrande, Anduin, and Prophet Velen to argue over his status.
• Master Tian declared that Garrosh should receive treatment befitting a Warchief, and Wrathion arrived and challenged his claim to hospitality.
• Wrathion demanded that Master Tian provide Pandaren as food for Garrosh, bound him with flame, and had him thrown into a boiling cauldron.
• Master Hight and Baine insisted that Garrosh should be treated as a prisoner and refused to provide Pandaren or Tauren as food.
• Anduin and Prophet Velen defended giving Garrosh preferential treatment, while Wrathion questioned their reasoning and the dispute continued.

Wrathion defeated Anduin and Velen, but Kairoz interrupted with the Hourglass of Time to present evidence for Garrosh’s trial. The artifact showed Durotan attacking a Draenei city while protecting a young girl, and the leaders praised his mercy.

• Anduin and Velen offered their people as ingredients for Garrosh, so Wrathion fought and defeated them with summoned Orcs and other tricks.
• Wrathion restrained Anduin and Velen, then caught Kairoz, who revealed he had brought the Hourglass of Time to judge Garrosh’s crimes.
• With Garrosh’s food problem resolved, Kairoz activated the Hourglass and showed an attack on the Draenei city of Telmor.
• The leaders watched Durotan slaughter Draenei civilians before he stopped an Orc from killing a little Draenei girl.
• Baine and Lor'themar praised Durotan for protecting the girl.

Kairoz used fabricated scenes from the Hourglass of Time to make Garrosh appear to have saved Azeroth, while Wrathion questioned his motives. Kairoz then visited Garrosh’s cell, where Velen and Anduin were being tortured, and suggested they might eventually resist.

• The Hourglass of Time showed Durotan saving a Draenei girl, and Azeroth’s leaders praised his mercy while Kairoz used the scene to support Garrosh’s case.
• Kairoz presented false visions of Garrosh defeating Arthas and Cairne Bloodhoof, and the leaders could not challenge the claims because their own secrets were at stake.
• Vol’jin ended the trial for the day as the visions made Garrosh’s defense seem stronger.
• Wrathion confronted Kairoz about the fabricated history, and Kairoz said he was showing everyone what they wanted to see while pursuing his own purpose.
• Kairoz and Wrathion heard Garrosh torturing Velen and Anduin in his cell, and they disagreed over whether the prisoners would resist.

A mysterious High Elf gave Anduin and Velen pills meant to poison Garrosh if he ate both their flesh, but the pills released worms that burrowed into their noses. The next morning Garrosh began eating Anduin, and Velen warned him that he would only be poisoned if he ate both men.

• Anduin and Velen lamented their torture and discussed Velen's hope that Garrosh would eventually remember their kindness.
• A disguised High Elf woman offered them two pills that would poison Garrosh if he ate both their flesh, then vanished after warning them that Kairoz's involvement could prolong the trial.
• Velen refused to take the pills because he trusted the Holy Light's prophecy, while Anduin decided to destroy them.
• The pills broke open, releasing a black worm and a white worm that burrowed into Anduin's and Velen's nostrils.
• The next morning Garrosh cut flesh from Anduin's thigh and ate it, but Velen warned him that eating only Anduin would not poison him.

As Garrosh’s trial stalled, Kairoz sought Anduin and Velen’s help with a plan that could either kill Garrosh or free him. He restored Velen’s sanity and left the choice to Anduin and Velen, giving them one night to decide.

• Garrosh tortured Velen and threatened to keep doing so, while the trial deadlocked as Vol'jin’s hardliners rejected Kairoz’s false evidence.
• Wrathion warned Kairoz never to lose the ability to fly, and Kairoz went to speak with Anduin and Velen.
• Anduin admitted he hated Garrosh but did not regret his choices, and Kairoz asked for his Holy Light to help with a plan.
• Kairoz explained that Velen had many personalities and awakened another one, restoring Velen’s sanity.
• Kairoz told Anduin and Velen he would create a chance to kill or rescue Garrosh and gave them the night to choose.

Velen revealed that he had secretly helped the Burning Legion corrupt the Orcs and orchestrated the Draenei’s slaughter to gain a chance at personal transcendence on Azeroth, and he persuaded Anduin to support releasing Garrosh. At Garrosh’s resumed trial, Velen invoked the Holy Light’s authority and declared Garrosh guilty.

• Kairoz described a possible future in which Garrosh’s death led to Thrall’s murder, the Orcs’ exile, lasting peace, and Sylvanas becoming Anduin’s queen.
• Velen told Anduin that he had secretly informed the Burning Legion of the Draenei’s whereabouts and arranged events to reach Azeroth and pursue immortality and power.
• Anduin admitted he wanted eternal life, and Velen urged him to release Garrosh so their futures would become uncertain and full of opportunity.
• At Garrosh’s resumed trial, Vol’jin questioned whether Velen would also forgive Kil’jaeden and challenged Velen’s reliance on the Holy Light.
• Velen declared that the Holy Light found Garrosh Hellscream guilty.

Velen and Anduin defended Garrosh at his trial, but when Garrosh began to reveal a secret, Kairoz triggered a prepared assault to free him. The Temple of the White Tiger erupted into chaos as attackers from other timelines and the Dragonmaw Clan struck.

• Velen declared Garrosh guilty only because he had failed to lead the Orcs in exterminating Azeroth’s other races, and Anduin also swore to sacrifice everything for Garrosh’s acquittal.
• Garrosh begged the tribunal to spare his life and offered to reveal a secret, then accused Thrall of knowing nothing about the true purpose of the Beast Emperor Plan.
• Kairoz ordered the plan into motion, the Hourglass of Time exploded, and Velen or Anduin helped Chromie’s Anti-Magic Cage trap her.
• Kairoz opened a Portal that brought in alternate-timeline versions of Jaina, Kael'thas, and Varian, who attacked the leaders in the tribunal.
• Zaela and Dragonmaw Orcs bombed the Temple of the White Tiger as the courtroom descended into chaos.

Kairoz rescued Garrosh and recruited him, Velen, and Anduin to travel through a dangerous space-time passage to an unfamiliar version of Draenor. The four arrived safely in Nagrand, where they found an unconscious Orc near a spring.

• Kairoz used a time node to question Garrosh, who said he believed the Orcs were key to defeating Elune, then brought him through a Portal with Velen and Anduin.
• Kairoz invited Garrosh, Velen, and Anduin to join him, and Garrosh agreed in exchange for his life and safety.
• Kairoz activated Nozdormu's Hourglass, and the four were swallowed by its expanding galaxy as Velen and Anduin shielded them with the Holy Light.
• The four emerged safely on Draenor from thirty-five years earlier, and Kairoz warned them to stay near a fragment of the Hourglass to avoid being rejected by space-time.
• Garrosh led the group to food and a spring in Nagrand, where they discovered an unconscious Orc.

After arriving in an unfamiliar version of Nagrand, Kairoz, Garrosh, Anduin, and Velen discovered that Orcs preyed on Draenei and that the Warsong Clan was led by an Ogre rather than Grom Hellscream. Kairoz concluded that they were in a timeline too different for his plan and demanded that Velen explain the era.

• Garrosh caught the starving Orc Gremi after he bit off a piece of Velen's arm, and Gremi revealed that the Warsong Clan's fortress lay beyond a Gronn-filled wasteland.
• Gremi explained that Orcs ate Draenei exiles, contradicting Anduin's understanding of the timeline and alarming Kairoz.
• Kairoz asked to meet Grom Hellscream, but Gremi said the Warsong Clan was ruled by Grimak, a distant cousin of the Ogre ruler Imperator Mar'gok.
• Garrosh threatened Gremi for insulting the Hellscream name, but Kairoz stopped him because Gremi could still be useful.
• Kairoz told Velen that they needed to build a Dark Portal to return and demanded to know the truth about the era Velen had lived through.

Kairoz learned that ogres had enslaved the orcs for millennia and reconsidered his plans for Draenor. After Velen and Anduin escaped, Kairoz found himself isolated with Garrosh and Geromi, who appeared to be conspiring against him.

• Velen told Kairoz that he had banished Draenei to be eaten by orcs, and Geromi revealed that ogres ruled nearly every orc clan.
• Geromi explained that the Gorian Empire had enslaved the orcs for thousands of years, while the orcs viewed the Draenei as enemies.
• Garrosh suggested that the two Velens might meet, prompting Kairoz to turn against the Prophet Velen, who teleported away.
• Garrosh and Geromi ate Anduin's legs while he slept, and Anduin later used Holy Light Translocation to escape.
• Kairoz realized that Garrosh and Geromi were aligned and that he was alone without Velen or Anduin.

Kairoz decided Garrosh was unnecessary to his plan and began plotting to have the Warsong Clan kill him. Garrosh manipulated Geromi into warning Warchief Grimak, but Grimak answered Geromi’s prayer and told him to remain beside Kairoz; the group then set out for Grommashar Fortress, leaving Kairoz uneasy about Geromi’s sudden change.

• Kairoz decided he could take Garrosh’s place and arranged to use the Warsong Clan to eliminate him, while giving Garrosh a shard of the Hourglass to protect him from space-time.
• Garrosh questioned Geromi about his loyalty to Warchief Grimak and persuaded him that failing to warn Grimak about Kairoz’s planned attack would be betrayal.
• Kairoz said he intended to work with the Warsong Clan, and Geromi protested that a mortal working with the god was blasphemy.
• Geromi prayed to Warchief Grimak, who told him that his exile and beating had been part of a benevolent plan and instructed him to stay beside Kairoz as if nothing had happened.
• The next morning, Garrosh, Geromi, and Kairoz set out for Grommashar Fortress, and Kairoz grew uneasy when Geromi appeared newly energetic.

Kairoz arrived at Grommashar Fortress intending to overthrow Warchief Grimak, but Grimak had prepared for him and disabled his Dragon transformation. Garrosh helped Grimak kill Kairoz, and Grimak renamed Gremi as Grom Hellscream.

• Kairoz entered Grommashar Fortress and discovered that Grimak had killed the Warsong Clan Orcs he had secretly controlled.
• Grimak revealed that Kairoz could not transform into a Dragon and challenged Garrosh to prove his strength by killing Kairoz.
• Garrosh attacked Kairoz with Gorehowl, but Kairoz disarmed him and knocked him into a wall using the Holy Light.
• Grimak pinned Kairoz down with the Holy Light, and Garrosh stabbed him in the back with a curved hourglass shard.
• Kairoz died after telling Garrosh that the Orcs would never control their own destiny.
• Grimak asked Gremi his full name and declared that he would henceforth be called Grom Hellscream.

Garrosh submitted to Grimak, who made Grom Hellscream chieftain of the Warsong Clan and revealed plans to recruit more Orcs. At the Temple of the White Tiger, the leaders discussed Garrosh’s escape and how to pursue him before a mysterious figure fell from a vortex in the sky.

• Garrosh recognized that Grimak controlled the Gronn heart keeping him alive, knelt, and accepted Grimak’s orders.
• Grimak named Grom Hellscream chieftain of the Warsong Clan and told Garrosh they needed more Orcs for their plan.
• After the Dragonmaw Clan’s attack, Zaela surrendered while Garrosh escaped, and Vol’jin threatened her with torture.
• Zaela reminded Thrall that she had been in his bed, so he persuaded Vol’jin to end his threats against her.
• Chromie blamed the leaders for Garrosh’s escape, and Sylvanas proposed using the Ley Line to find him, but Chromie said Kalecgos would refuse.
• A mysterious vortex appeared above the Temple of the White Tiger, and a figure fell from it.

Velen revealed that Garrosh had escaped to Draenor thirty-five years in the past and warned that Kairoz planned to build an Iron Horde to invade Azeroth. Though Chromie said the army could not return without cooperation from someone in Azeroth, the Horde leaders secretly gathered that night and feared the Devil-in-a-Bottle Riddle made betrayal inevitable.

• Velen landed at the Temple of the White Tiger, denied responsibility for Garrosh's escape, and blamed the Alliance and Horde leaders for failing to pursue him.
• Velen told the leaders that Kairoz had taken Garrosh to a parallel Draenor thirty-five years in the past, where he planned to unite the Orcs and build an Iron Horde.
• Chromie explained that Garrosh could invade only if someone in Azeroth helped Kairoz recalibrate a Dark Portal, so the leaders assumed they could prevent his return by refusing to cooperate.
• That night, Baine met secretly with Sylvanas and found the Horde leaders discussing the Devil-in-a-Bottle Riddle and the risk that someone would help Garrosh to protect themselves.
• Thrall, Vol'jin, and Sylvanas warned that no one could safely trust others to refuse Garrosh's offer, leaving the Horde leaders worried about a future betrayal.

Vol'jin maneuvered Thrall into returning to service and assigned him to secure Alliance support and lead the Horde army against Garrosh's Iron Horde. Varian dismissed warnings that the Horde might help Garrosh, even after Genn Greymane reported that its leaders were plotting.

• Vol'jin turned Baine's objection into a supposed suggestion to open the Dark Portal, while Lor'themar Theron and Sylvanas supported the plan and Trade Prince Gallywix objected over its cost.
• Thrall offered to return to service, and Vol'jin welcomed him while asking him to persuade the Alliance to share the costs of opening the Dark Portal.
• Vol'jin also tasked Thrall with leading the Horde army against Garrosh's Iron Horde, and Thrall agreed to charge into battle and kill Garrosh.
• Malfurion and Tyrande warned Varian that the Horde might help Garrosh open the Dark Portal, but Varian dismissed their concerns and sent them away.
• Genn Greymane told Varian that the Horde leaders were still gathered at the Temple of the White Tiger, but Varian doubted they planned to cooperate with Garrosh.

Anduin was captured by Varian and traded intelligence about Garrosh and Draenor for a temporary reprieve. Thrall told Medivh about Garrosh’s plans, and Medivh mentioned his disciple Khadgar.

• Varian ordered his guards to seize Anduin and brought him to the docks’ dungeon for questioning.
• Varian threatened to kill Anduin, who revealed that a Magic Beacon found on Gremi the Escape Expert came from Dalaran.
• Anduin claimed he could help Varian against Garrosh’s Iron Horde, and Varian decided not to execute him for the time being.
• Thrall visited Medivh at Karazhan and explained how Garrosh had traveled to Draenor thirty-five years in the past to create the Iron Horde.
• Medivh listened to Thrall’s account and said that he had a disciple named Khadgar.

Thrall tasked Velen with persuading Varian to help attack Garrosh's Iron Horde, then Velen passed the dangerous assignment to Maraad. Maraad suspected the request was a Horde scheme to weaken the Alliance, and explained how the Horde might exploit an Iron Horde invasion.

• Thrall met Velen in Booty Bay and threatened him with punishment unless he persuaded Varian to join Medivh's campaign against Garrosh.
• Velen waited until Maraad arrived in Ratchet, then falsely claimed A'dal would punish him unless he convinced Varian to fight the Iron Horde.
• Maraad questioned whether the impossible assignment was a Horde trick.
• Maraad warned Velen that the Horde could let the Iron Horde invade the Blasted Lands, then exploit the Alliance's fight against Garrosh to destroy Stormwind and Ironforge.

Maraad warned Varian that the Horde might help Garrosh’s Iron Horde open a route to Azeroth, and persuaded him to consider cooperating with the Horde under Medivh’s oversight. Varian wavered after Shanmiusen, a Faceless One serving as his guard, urged him to attack the vulnerable Horde instead.

• Velen dismissed the risk of Thrall allying with Garrosh, while Maraad argued that Varian would not trust the Horde’s mercy.
• Maraad warned Varian that the Horde might join the Iron Horde and use the weak point near Theramore to reach Azeroth.
• Varian accepted Maraad’s proposal to cooperate with the Horde against Garrosh, with Medivh restraining both sides.
• Shanmiusen revealed his Faceless One corruption and challenged Maraad’s plan, warning that the Horde might betray the Alliance once the Dark Portal opened.
• Maraad suggested Khadgar and Medivh could oversee the alliance, but Shanmiusen urged Varian to attack the vulnerable Horde instead.

Maraad used Velen’s prophecy about House Wrynn’s downfall to persuade Varian to abandon plans to destroy the Horde and reconsider how to deal with the Orcs. Varian rejected Shanmiusen’s proposal after Bolvar condemned it, and Maraad began advising him about the Orcs’ weaknesses.

• Varian considered Shanmiusen’s plan to destroy the weakened Horde and win Sylvanas’s allegiance with the Scourge’s support.
• Maraad warned Varian that the prophecy predicted House Wrynn would lose the throne and flee to Silvermoon after peace came.
• Varian dismissed Shanmiusen and sent him to capture Gryphons in the Hinterlands.
• Varian told Maraad that Bolvar had rebuked him for betraying the Alliance, leaving him to consider cooperation with the Horde.
• Maraad struck the Draenor terrain model with the Hammer of the Naaru and urged Varian to learn from his past encounters with Orcs.

Maraad told Varian how Kargath became the Shattered Hand Clan’s hero, while Grimak revealed that this history was a fabrication and began shaping Kargath into a leader who would drive the orcs to their deaths. Grimak offered Kargath the power to rule the gladiators, and Kargath agreed to pay any price.

• Maraad recounted how Kargath escaped slavery by shattering his own hand and slaughtering ogres, and told Varian that the Shattered Hand Clan’s brutality was its weakness.
• Grimak brought Garrosh to Highmaul and explained that he wanted to create a controllable arena hero to inspire the orcs.
• The slave master described Kargath as a cowardly, servile gladiator who had surrendered his hand to earn comfort and favor.
• Kargath told Grimak that he hated the orcs who had tormented him and believed they would submit to anyone stronger than themselves.
• Grimak offered to make Kargath powerful enough to rule the gladiators and send them to their deaths, and Kargath agreed to anything.

Garrosh watched Grimak turn Kargath into a celebrated Arena champion by arranging his slaughter of a hundred Orcs, then grant him the name Bladefist. The chapter ended in Stormwind City, where Maraad began telling a shaken King Varian about the Iron Horde’s leader.

• Grimak explained that he planned to create an Orc hero and use wandering Orcs as fighters, while Garrosh watched uneasily from the Ogre stands.
• Kargath entered the Arena, where a hundred Orc gladiators taunted him, and fought with a magically empowered blade fist.
• Kargath slaughtered the Orcs as his blade fist fueled his frenzy, until the survivors fled and he stood alone in the Arena.
• Grimak named Kargath Bladefist and outlined his plan for Kargath to escape, gather followers, and form a new clan.
• Maraad addressed a shaken King Varian in Stormwind City and began to tell him about the Iron Horde’s leader.

Maraad frightened Varian with an account of Grom Hellscream’s supposed survival after a hundred days of torture, making Varian reconsider crossing the Dark Portal. On Draenor, Grimak revealed that Grom’s legendary ordeal had been staged and photographed to inspire the Orcs.

• Maraad described the Warsong Clan’s brutality and claimed Grom had survived a hundred days hanging from a tree before killing an Ogre warlord.
• Varian panicked, overturned the sand table, and questioned whether Maraad or Prophet Velen could defeat Grom.
• Maraad sensed magic was influencing his emotions as Varian considered abandoning the crossing of the Dark Portal and dismissed him.
• Grimak showed Garrosh photographs of Grom hanging from a tree beside dead Warsong Orcs and explained that the scene was fabricated to create a legend.
• Grom climbed down, accepted a replica Ogre head, and Grimak said the photographs would spread across Draenor.
• Garrosh questioned the Orc chieftains’ reliance on false legends, and Grimak said some chieftains had real ability.