Recaps

Jaina searched for Arthas but learned only that Terenas had cast him aside, while Medivh advanced a plan to reshape the Orcs and prepare Ashkandi as a new leader. The chapter ended with Ashkandi promising to help Aiguleiya escape Karazhan.

• Jaina questioned Terenas about Arthas, but he said he did not know where his son was and suggested Uther might know.
• After hearing a children’s song praising Orgrim Doomhammer, Jaina decided to seek Arthas through the Peace Dove and declared that he must die for Azeroth.
• Medivh heard envoys accuse Blackmoore of abusing Orcs and murdering nobles, then began preparing the second phase of his human-nature experiment.
• Moroes reported that Ashkandi had mastered combat, scholarship, and magic, so Medivh decided to present him as Durotan’s son and give him a greatsword from the Iron Horse Brotherhood.
• Ashkandi told Aiguleiya that leaving Karazhan would only mean entering another cage, but promised to find a way to help him escape.

Ashkandi received a sword and agreed to become a leader for the Orcs, but insisted Aiguleiya be freed alongside him. Medivh approved the demand, intending to use Aiguleiya to test Ashkandi, while Moroes and Blackmoore began planning Ashkandi’s rise and the Orcs’ release.

• Ashkandi gave Aiguleiya a ring and promised they would never be separated.
• Moroes presented Ashkandi with a red greatsword, which he named Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood, and told him he was expected to become king of the Orcs.
• Ashkandi agreed to Medivh’s plan on the condition that Aiguleiya be freed too, and rejected Moroes’s warning to abandon their friendship.
• Medivh approved Ashkandi’s request, hoping Aiguleiya would become the test that drove Ashkandi to kill his own brother.
• In the eighteenth year after the Dark Portal opened, Ashkandi and Aiguleiya left Karazhan for Tarren Mill in the Hillsbrad Foothills.
• Moroes arranged with Blackmoore to promote Ashkandi and release the Orcs, and Blackmoore recommended building his fame through an arena and a powerful gladiator victory.

Blackmoore staged a ten-bout arena event for Ashkandi before an audience that included several kings and Prince Kael'thas. Ashkandi dodged Homan Ironhoof's scythe until the Tauren charged at him in a berserk rage, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Blackmoore confirmed with Moroes that Ashkandi would face ten consecutive bouts and asked for a show that looked challenging.
• Kings Terenas, Varian, and Greymane and Prince Kael'thas arrived to watch the event.
• After a warm-up match, Homan Ironhoof entered the cage as Ashkandi's first opponent; Ashkandi brought his brother Aiguleiya and handed him his red sword.
• Ashkandi dodged Homan Ironhoof's repeated scythe swings until the Tauren grew exhausted.
• Ashkandi closed the distance, and Homan Ironhoof dropped his scythe and charged at him in a berserk rage.

Ashkandi defeated Watermodo in the arena, while Anachronos and the others investigated the Ogre’s suspicious past. Watermodo survived by abandoning his Ogre body, but Jaina confronted him and demanded to know who had sent him.

• Ashkandi killed Watermodo by draining the Ogre’s blood with Blood Magic, prompting Anachronos and Khadgar to question how Ashkandi’s rise might alter history.
• Mar’gok recognized Watermodo as a former Highmaul Court Mage who had stolen a Titan stone tablet, and Blackmoore explained that Watermodo had offered to become a gladiator.
• Anachronos, Khadgar, Durotan, Mar’gok, and Velen suspected Watermodo had entered the arena for a hidden purpose, possibly involving Thrall.
• Watermodo’s corpse was taken to the arena kitchen, where he emerged as a Water Elemental after using Elemental Body to escape his Ogre body.
• Jaina confronted Watermodo and demanded to know who had sent him, offering to spare him if he behaved.

Jaina enslaved Watermodo and ordered the Peace Dove Organization to find Arthas. At the Arena, Aiguleiya gave Ashkandi a stolen Super Titans Elixir, and Ashkandi used his newfound strength to defeat the Shadow Panther and challenge his remaining opponents at once.

• Watermodo confessed that Thrall had sent him, and Jaina enslaved him as her Water Elemental while clarifying that she was searching for Arthas.
• Jaina used King Terenas's authority to order the Peace Dove Organization to locate Prince Arthas.
• After the sixth duel, Ashkandi revealed that Watermodo's cold poison had injured his internal organs, and Aiguleiya offered him the stolen Super Titans Elixir.
• Ashkandi drank the elixir, healed his injuries, and gained greater strength and Blood Magic.
• Ashkandi tore apart the Shadow Panther in the seventh bout, alarming Kael'thas and impressing the Arena crowd.
• Ashkandi told the referee to send his three remaining opponents against him together.

Ashkandi defeated the Nerubian lord, the Gronn, and ten Orc gladiators before facing a Burning Blade Blademaster. The blademaster tried to kill Aiguleiya because he foresaw him causing a future of bloodshed, but Ashkandi protected his brother and prepared to fight.

• Blackmoore arranged a final challenge in which Ashkandi would fight a Nerubian lord, a Gronn, ten Orc gladiators, and a black-robed opponent while carrying chains.
• Ashkandi killed the Nerubian lord and the Gronn, then knocked down all ten Orc gladiators.
• The black-robed opponent revealed himself as an elderly Burning Blade Blademaster, and Ashkandi faced him with ten chains on his shoulders and no weapon.
• The Burning Blade Blademaster used an illusion to approach Aiguleiya, but Ashkandi rushed over and blocked his sword strike with the chains.
• The blademaster claimed a vision showed Aiguleiya bringing death and bloodshed to Azeroth, but Ashkandi refused to let him harm his brother.
• The Burning Blade Blademaster spun his longsword and prepared to attack Ashkandi.

After Ashkandi killed the Burning Blade Blademaster, Aiguleiya turned on him, exploiting a drug that paralyzed him and claiming victory in the Arena. Anachronos and Khadgar recognized Aiguleiya as Thrall, while Durotan approved of his ruthless victory.

• Ashkandi interrupted the Burning Blade Blademaster's Whirlwind and killed him with a broken sword, then comforted Aiguleiya.
• Aiguleiya declared that he and Ashkandi had to fight for the Arena championship and revealed his long-held resentment toward him.
• Aiguleiya used a failed Super Titans Elixir to paralyze Ashkandi, cut off his right arm and legs, and killed him by tearing out his heart and beheading him.
• Blackmoore and Moroes decided to proceed with the original plan and announce Aiguleiya as the champion.
• Anachronos and Khadgar recognized Aiguleiya as Thrall, and Durotan praised his ruthless conduct.

After the gladiatorial contest, Aiguleiya realized that winning had not brought him the future intended for Ashkandi, though he was told he was Durotan’s son. An Orc led him to Orgrim Doomhammer, who punished him for failing to recognize him and challenged his claim to leadership.

• Anachronos, Khadgar, and Velen discussed waiting to see Thrall’s future unfold, while Jaina told Watermodo that Aiguleiya had to face the price of growth himself.
• The contest ended without Aiguleiya being named champion, and he found that the Greatsword of the Brotherhood had disappeared.
• An Orc in chains called Aiguleiya the son of Durotan before soldiers whipped him, and Aiguleiya realized the revelation had been intended for Ashkandi.
• A free Orc brought Aiguleiya to a forest camp, where a stranger said he had intended to recruit Ashkandi as his right-hand man.
• The stranger attacked Aiguleiya, broke his shoulder and knee, and crushed his fingers before identifying himself as Orgrim Doomhammer.

After Orgrim tortured Aiguleiya, he survived by using a Super Titans Elixir and made his way to Durnholde Keep, where Taretha and her brother Falarin took him in. Still consumed by hatred and hunger, Aiguleiya attacked Falarin as soon as they were alone.

• Orgrim tortured Aiguleiya through the night, then left him hidden beneath leaves to suffer for days.
• Aiguleiya used the Super Titans Elixir concealed in his fang to regrow his limbs, skin, and eyes, and vowed revenge on Orgrim and the Orcs.
• Aiguleiya wandered out of the forest and collapsed near Durnholde Keep from hunger.
• Taretha and Falarin took the unconscious Aiguleiya home, and Taretha fed him porridge and explained her work with the Peace Dove.
• Aiguleiya asked for fresh meat, then hid a pair of scissors and lured Falarin close by offering to tell him about Medivh.
• Aiguleiya stabbed Falarin in the neck with the scissors and bit into him.

After escaping Taretha’s house, Aiguleiya sought out Grom Hellscream, hoping to join the Warsong Clan and build his own power. Iska brought him blindfolded to an underground cave, where Aiguleiya saw Hellscream asleep beside his battle axe.

• Aiguleiya attacked Falarin, and Taretha shielded him from Lieutenant Drak before he escaped through a window.
• Aiguleiya ran northwest and met a merchant caravan whose members praised Grom Hellscream and condemned Orgrim Doomhammer.
• Aiguleiya asked the merchants to help him meet Hellscream, while secretly planning to rise in power and take the Warchief’s place.
• At dawn, Iska and seven other Warsong Orcs bound Aiguleiya and carried him blindfolded to an underground cave.
• Iska removed Aiguleiya’s blindfold, revealing Grom Hellscream asleep on a stone bed beside his bloodstained battle axe.

Aiguleiya was forced into the Warsong Clan, where Grommash Hellscream made him a chained, crippled dog after he failed the clan’s brutal tests. A mysterious human took Aiguleiya away and recognized the hatred he had concealed, leaving him with a possible chance to act.

• Grommash Hellscream showed Aiguleiya the Warsong Clan’s deadly duels and offered him work in the mine when Aiguleiya said he could not fight.
• Grommash Hellscream threatened Aiguleiya, made him swallow maggot-filled meat, and had Iska collar him and break his lower legs.
• Aiguleiya endured humiliation and abuse as Grommash Hellscream’s chained dog.
• A frail human arrived, received Orc children from Grommash Hellscream, and gave him a jar of Blood of Mannoroth.
• The human took Aiguleiya through a green vortex to a mountain overlooking a fortified city and told him he saw deep hatred in him.

Aiguleiya accepted Varimathras’s offer to join the Burning Legion, take the name Thrall, and seek revenge by infiltrating the Orcs. After being transformed and sent to learn from Drek'Thar, Thrall attacked his new mentor while pretending to accept his conditions.

• Aiguleiya confessed his hatred and pledged himself to Varimathras and the Burning Legion in exchange for revenge and a new identity.
• Varimathras named Aiguleiya Thrall, meaning slave in Orcish, and ordered him to befriend Orgrimmar and Grommash Hellscream before betraying them.
• The Burning Legion transformed Thrall, giving him a powerful body, green skin, and a magical heart that let him sense the elements.
• Varimathras brought Thrall to Drek'Thar in the Alterac Mountains, and Drek'Thar agreed to train him after Thrall served for three years.
• Drek'Thar ordered Thrall to build a wooden house in five days, but Thrall claimed he could finish in two and jabbed at Drek'Thar's eyes.

Thrall tortured Drek'Thar into teaching him Shaman magic, then seized control of the Frostwolf Clan through brutal violence. Varimathras approved of Thrall's cruelty and said he would introduce him to Orgrim to help build his reputation.

• Thrall ambushed Drek'Thar, gouged out his eyes, and tortured him until he taught Thrall all the Shaman magic he knew.
• Thrall carried the broken Drek'Thar to the Frostwolf village, killed Snow Spirit, and drove the gathered frostwolves into a panic.
• Thrall used Earthquake and Chain Lightning to force the Frostwolf Clan to submit, then made the Orcs kill one another to satisfy his demand for a massacre.
• Varimathras visited the silent, terrorized village and praised Thrall's cruelty.
• Varimathras told Thrall he would introduce him to Orgrim so Thrall could build his reputation.

Thrall and Orgrim discussed rescuing the Orcs from the internment camps and agreed to focus on Durnholde, whose defenses seemed difficult to breach. Thrall obtained a map of the fortress by threatening Taretha, and the chapter ended with Orgrim questioning a passageway on it.

• Thrall met Orgrim in the Hillsbrad Foothills and declared his plan to conquer Lordaeron and wage endless war.
• Orgrim warned Thrall that the Orcs could not sustain themselves by fighting humans and explained why a direct assault on Durnholde would be difficult.
• Thrall told Orgrim that Taretha, a member of the Peace Dove who worked for Blackmoore, could provide information about Durnholde.
• Thrall invited Taretha to meet the Orcs, then struck and threatened her until she described the fortress's defenses.
• An Orc skilled in surveying drew a map from Taretha's information, and Orgrim pointed to a broad passageway and asked what it was for.

Thrall used Taretha and the Peace Dove to open Durnholde’s underground passage, then led an Orc raid into the keep’s cavern. Blackmoore had anticipated the attack and captured the Orcs, while Thrall’s prepared substitute was mistaken for him.

• Orgrim rejected the plan to enter Durnholde himself, so Thrall persuaded Taretha to recruit the Peace Dove members to open the passage door.
• Peace Dove members flooded Durnholde, and Blackmoore decided to let the Orcs and protesters clash rather than feed the protesters to the Orcs.
• Thrall led several dozen Orcs, including five veterans sent by Orgrim, through the passage after three Peace Dove members opened its door.
• Thrall’s Orcs killed the three Peace Dove members and entered the cavern, where they planned to free a Rock Giant.
• Blackmoore’s guards surrounded the Orcs, and Thrall suspected Orgrim had betrayed him before a burly Orc stepped forward as a decoy.
• Blackmoore ordered the burly Orc taken away as a potential gladiator and sent the rest of the Orcs to the internment camps as slaves.

Thrall observed the Orcs’ conditions in Blackmoore’s internment camp, gained a Legion Communication Crystal from the dying Bukelain, and contacted Varimathras with a plan to seek Dalaran’s help. The chapter left Varimathras curious about whether High Archmage Antonidas would act.

• Thrall observed the camp’s strict controls and worked in the mines while earning the Orcs’ respect by healing Bukelain.
• Thrall secretly worsened Bukelain’s condition with fire elements until the old soldier revealed a hidden object beneath the entrance tree.
• Bukelain confessed he had been Warchief Blackhand’s liaison to the Burning Legion and asked Thrall to deliver the communication device to someone from the Warsong Clan.
• Thrall smothered Bukelain, retrieved the green Legion Communication Crystal, and used it to contact Varimathras.
• Thrall told Varimathras that the camp’s Orcs distrusted Orgrim and feared Grommash Hellscream, then asked for Dalaran’s help and named Antonidas as the person he wanted to act.

Antonidas agreed to help Varimathras promote Thrall by confronting Durnholde, where Blackmoore proposed a wager over whether the imprisoned Orcs wanted freedom. The chapter ended before Antonidas accepted the wager or the Orcs chose.

• Jaina told Antonidas that she and Kael'thas had argued over his hatred of Orcs and his demand that she avenge her brother.
• Varimathras secretly met Antonidas and asked him to help Thrall, Durotan's son, gain recognition by freeing the Orcs at Durnholde.
• Antonidas agreed and brought seventeen trusted disciples and the Book of Medivh to Durnholde.
• As a storm gathered over Durnholde, Blackmoore ordered his guards to stay in their barracks and had the imprisoned Thrall brought to him.
• Antonidas demanded that Blackmoore release the Orcs, and Blackmoore proposed that he and Thrall each address them to see whether they preferred freedom or remaining at Durnholde.

Thrall tried to lead the Orcs out of Durnholde, but Blackmoore exposed images of Thrall torturing and killing Orcs, turning the camp against him. When the Orcs rejected him, Thrall ordered Antonidas to unleash a Blizzard on the internment camp.

• Blackmoore wagered the lives of the camp's guards against whether the Orcs would leave, and Thrall delivered a speech declaring them free.
• Blackmoore showed the Orcs images of Thrall torturing Drek'Thar, massacring the Frostwolf village, and killing Bukelain.
• Antonidas opened Portals throughout the camp, but almost all the Orcs refused to leave and only a few dozen went through.
• Thrall rejected defeat and demanded that Antonidas destroy the camp with a wide-area spell.
• Antonidas and his disciples summoned a Blizzard that killed and froze Orcs across the camp as Thrall watched and mocked them.

Thrall and Antonidas used Blizzard and Fel Flame to massacre the Orcs at Durnholde, while Blackmoore was abducted by a mysterious time-wielding dragon before he could kill himself. Thrall and Varimathras then selected surviving Orcs for the Burning Legion, and Antonidas destroyed the camp to conceal the killings.

• Orcs fleeing the Blizzard found Fel Flame beyond the Portals, and many died as the two forces engulfed the camp.
• Blackmoore celebrated the massacre, but a poisoned dagger he used against Thrall killed an Antonidas disciple instead, and a strange black-and-white dragon abducted him.
• Thrall left with Varimathras to inspect the surviving Orcs, while Antonidas summoned a Meteor Shower that reduced Durnholde and its remaining inhabitants to ruins.
• Varimathras showed Thrall the Legion's Fel Flame training pit, where surviving Orcs were beginning to fuse with Fel.
• Thrall said he wanted weak Orcs who would flatter him and prove his greatness, and Varimathras agreed to select them.

Thrall massacred most of the internment camp Orcs, seized control of the survivors, and spread fabricated stories blaming Blackmoore for his crimes as he built his reputation as the Orcs’ Savior. In Lordaeron, Terenas considered taking Thrall as his adopted heir while ordering a search for Arthas, and Jaina learned where the prince was hiding.

• Thrall burned Orcs who refused to praise and worship him until only 421 of the 45,000 internment camp Orcs remained, then persuaded Orgrim to cooperate with him.
• Thrall killed Taretha and falsely attributed her death to Blackmoore, spreading stories that presented himself as a heroic liberator.
• King Terenas discussed Thrall’s growing influence with Uther and considered adopting him, while directing Uther to send Arthas to Deathknell if he found him.
• Uther told Terenas that Peace Dove was also searching for Arthas, raising concerns that an infiltrator had entered the organization.
• Jaina learned from Peace Dove that Arthas was hiding at Quel'Danil Lodge near Aerie Peak.

Jaina tried to have Thrall kill the young Arthas at Quel'Danil Lodge, but the attack awakened Arthas's hidden potential instead. Jaina then sent Watermodo after him, and he fled as well, leaving her determined to kill Arthas herself despite the risk of temporal backlash.

• Jaina sent Thrall to kill Arthas, believing Thrall could withstand any backlash from changing history.
• Thrall was transported to Quel'Danil Lodge, where Arthas and Saldo Shallowflow discussed King Terenas, Uther, and the Holy Light.
• Arthas sensed Thrall's approach and defended Saldo after magic weakened the Elf's strength.
• Thrall clashed with Arthas, discovered he was outmatched, and fled as Arthas briefly awakened a mysterious source of power.
• Jaina ordered Watermodo to attack Arthas, but Watermodo refused to fight and fled, prompting Jaina to resolve to kill Arthas herself.

Murozond brought Blackmoore into a rift in time and offered him a deal: save Arthas in exchange for a chance to compete for Lordaeron’s throne in a parallel world. Blackmoore accepted new shadow powers and arrived at Quel'Danil Lodge, where he attacked Jaina as she threatened Arthas.

• Murozond explained that Blackmoore was supposed to become king of Lordaeron and asked him to save Arthas in exchange for sending him to a parallel world.
• Blackmoore accepted, and Murozond removed his obsession with alcohol while granting him shadow powers, black armor, and the greatsword Flesh Ripper.
• At Quel'Danil Lodge, Jaina attacked Arthas with ice claws, but Blackmoore struck her Ice Barrier and forced her to retreat.
• Jaina used frost to search for Blackmoore, then Holy Light to track him as he avoided her attacks and destroyed her two clones.
• Blackmoore pursued Jaina with Shadowstep and swung Flesh Ripper at her, but she blocked the blade with a golden, dragon-scaled arm.

Jaina failed to kill Blackmoore after future Arthas intervened, while Murozond sent Blackmoore to a New World and warned him to beware of Thrall. Thrall returned to the Frostwolf Clan and ordered Orcs to wait for food at Gray Grass Cave, where a human rescue party arrived believing it was there to save him.

• Jaina sacrificed her dragon arm to escape the Old Gods’ corruption, but future Arthas struck her down and she fled after using Thrall to distract Blackmoore.
• Nozdormu tried to bury Blackmoore in a desert, but Murozond pulled him back through time and sent him to the New World to pursue his destiny as king of Lordaeron.
• Jaina persuaded Thrall to hate Blackmoore, told him to learn how to become a king, and sent him back to his people.
• Thrall returned to the Frostwolf Clan and, facing empty food stores, ordered Orcs to wait at Gray Grass Cave for food to fall from the sky.
• A human rescue party entered Gray Grass Cave, intending to free Thrall from Blackmoore, and found Orcs guarding the entrance.

Med'an traveled to Gray Grass Cave to study Orcs and tested Thrall by ordering him to cook an Orc, but Thrall proposed raiding internment camps for Orcs to eat. They set their sights on Silverpine Forest, where Peace Dove representative Thule confronted Captain Landon over sending Orc newborns to Fenris Isle for research.

• Orcs killed and looted a five-person adventuring party at Gray Grass Cave, then hunted the adventurers for food.
• Medivh sent Med'an to Gray Grass Cave to learn about Orcs, and Med'an killed the Orcs there before taking the Quartermaster's corpse to Thrall.
• Thrall agreed to eat the Quartermaster and suggested rescuing Orcs from internment camps to use as food; Med'an approved.
• Thule confronted Captain Landon with evidence that he had sent newborn Orcs to Fenris Isle in exchange for food.
• Captain Landon warned Thule that Thrall was on his way to the camp, and Thule urged him to defend the camp while insisting the Orcs must not be harmed.

Captain Landon and Thule fled after the Silverpine Forest internment camp was abandoned, while Thrall devised a way to seize its two thousand Orcs. Thrall used a toxin to defeat Moyan’s forces and forced the captives to compete for a hundred places to live, as Anachronos and four others departed for Outland.

• Captain Landon fled with his troops to Gilneas, and Thule denounced him to King Terenas before escaping to Fenris Isle.
• Thrall halted his advance after learning the Silverpine Forest internment camp’s guards had fled, then planned to keep only a hundred Orcs and turn the rest into hard jerky.
• Moyan refused to submit without testing Thrall and threatened to kill him if he proved unworthy.
• Med'an brought Test Subject 012 to the camp, where it released a toxin that incapacitated all two thousand Orcs, allowing Thrall’s troops to take control.
• Thrall displayed Moyan’s tortured corpse and promised to spare a hundred Orcs who praised him loudest, while Anachronos and four others left for Outland.