Recaps

While imprisoned in the Vault of the Wardens, “Illidan” learned that the Lich King Arthas had become important and waited for a chance to escape. Time travelers arrived in Azsuna and discovered that Jaina had taken Tyrande’s form to free him, while Illidan revealed why Tyrande had secretly met with him.

• “Illidan” heard from a Watcher that the Burning Legion had been defeated at Mount Hyjal and that Arthas led the dead, then pressed her for more information.
• Anachronos, Khadgar, Durotan, Velen, and Imperator Mar'gok arrived in Azsuna in the twentieth year of the Dark Portal and realized Illidan remained imprisoned.
• The five watched a bloodied Tyrande leave the Vault of the Wardens, then saw a different woman return and enter in Tyrande’s form.
• Anachronos and Khadgar identified the disguised woman as Jaina, who had traveled from the future to release Illidan.
• Illidan told Jaina that Tyrande had arranged to meet him, agreed to share Arthas’s power of death, and killed nearby Watchers to keep their discussion secret.
• Illidan explained that Elune had forbidden Tyrande from contacting the Scourge, leaving Jaina puzzled.

Illidan persuaded Jaina to free him and take him to the Tomb of Sargeras, where he found an Orc skull infused with Shadow Energy. After Illidan and Jaina left, their followers claimed other skulls, while Robbie uncovered a living skull that identified itself as Ner'zhul.

• Illidan convinced Jaina that the Scourge's magical legacy could free the Night Elves, and she broke his binding spell.
• Illidan led Jaina through the Tomb of Sargeras's dangerous garbage pit and explained that the so-called Skulls of Gul'dan came from Gul'dan's soldiers, whose heads had been soaked in Shadow Energy.
• Illidan chose a Fel-eroded Orc skull as a source of mana, then had Jaina teleport them to Felwood.
• Anachronos, Khadgar, Durotan, Imperator Mar'gok, and Prophet Velen entered the pit and each took a Skull of Gul'dan before leaving.
• Robbie and Krasus revealed an emerald-green skull hidden under the bones, and Robbie forced it to say its name: Ner'zhul.

Robbie and Krasus questioned Ner'zhul about his past and learned of a mysterious New World called Mardum. Meanwhile, Illidan revealed his knowledge of parallel timelines and urged Jaina and the Bronze Dragons to help him kill Thrall, while Robbie watched and Ner'zhul warned that Illidan was lying.

• Krasus challenged Ner'zhul's account of the Lich King and the destruction of Draenor, and Ner'zhul claimed a mysterious person had taken him to Northrend and ordered him to find Mardum.
• Robbie learned that Ner'zhul had escaped the Tomb of Sargeras with a Teleportation Rune and had become a skull in the process.
• In Felwood, Illidan recovered memories of other timelines and told Jaina that he had experienced different versions of events, including ruling Outland.
• Illidan revealed that he had arranged for Jaina and the Bronze Dragons to arrive in this timeline and had used the Skull of Gul'dan as part of his plan.
• Illidan urged the group to help him defeat Thrall in the Black Temple, claiming that doing so would save Azeroth, while Jaina and the Bronze Dragons wrestled with his proposal.
• Robbie watched Illidan's conversation through a crystal ball, and Ner'zhul warned him that Illidan was lying.

Illidan foresaw the betrayals awaiting him and tried to change the future while resisting the influence of Tyrande's Memory. When Akama challenged him, Illidan chose to appease him and offered to take him to Rustwater Port.

• Illidan used the Skull of Gul'dan to see visions of five skulls arriving before the Dark Portal and learned that Akama, Maiev, and Kael'thas would betray him.
• Illidan crushed Tyrande's Memory repeatedly, but the flower multiplied until he accused a golden-eyed Night Elf of altering his fate; he eventually tucked the last flower into his robes.
• Illidan reconsidered his plans for Akama and wondered whether humiliating the Broken had caused Akama's betrayal.
• Akama demanded to know why the Broken had been driven out of the Black Temple's Pleasure Gardens, and Illidan calmly offered him a better place instead.
• Illidan told Akama that Rustwater Port in Azeroth would satisfy him, then spread his wings and flew away.

Illidan sent Vandel to take Akama to Rustwater Port, trusting him to kill Akama if he showed signs of betrayal. Meanwhile, Anachronos and his companions resolved to stop Illidan, while Khadgar followed Vandel and Akama through Azeroth and learned Vandel’s name.

• Illidan asked Vandel to take Akama to Rustwater Port, and Vandel agreed to watch over him while secretly holding orders to eliminate him if he planned to betray Illidan.
• Anachronos told Velen, Khadgar, and Durotan that history could be changed and insisted that they must breach the Black Temple and kill Illidan.
• Khadgar stayed behind at Nethergarde Keep to avoid meeting his Outland counterpart, then noticed Vandel and the disguised Akama at an inn.
• Vandel described Rustwater Port, Orgrimmar, and the Undercity to Akama, who chose to visit Rustwater Port instead of Orgrimmar.
• Khadgar followed Vandel and Akama through the Blasted Lands, the Swamp of Sorrows, and Darkshire into Stormwind City, where he learned Vandel’s name.

Vandel and Akama boarded a ship bound for Orgrimmar and discovered that its captain, Dierlifisi, was a Dreadlord collecting passengers’ souls for the Burning Legion. Akama fell for a Draenei woman named Lisa and vowed to save her from the voyage, while Vandel began helping him.

• Vandel and Akama forced their way onto the King of Orgrimmar, where Vandel revealed that its captain, Dierlifisi, was a weak but cunning Dreadlord.
• Vandel explained that Dierlifisi was transporting Orc worshippers to Orgrimmar and gathering their souls for the Burning Legion.
• Akama became smitten with Lisa, a Draenei woman boarding the ship, and learned she was heading toward danger with the other passengers.
• Vandel explained how the Peace Dove and magic had persuaded people to embrace Orc culture, and Akama asked him to break Lisa’s spell so he could save her.
• Vandel introduced himself to Lisa on deck, and she told him her name and that she was born on a rainy night.

Vandel and Akama tried to stop Lisa from traveling to Orgrimmar, but neither the genuine Holy Light nor warnings about the Orcs changed her resolve. After the King of Orgrimmar delivered its passengers to the docks, Lisa mysteriously disappeared, leaving Vandel convinced she had a secret mission.

• Vandel noticed Lisa seemed too intelligent and confident to have been bewitched, while Akama appeared in his restored Draenei form and spoke with her about her plans to meet Thrall.
• Lisa explained that she wanted to investigate the Orcs, and Akama used what he expected to be a fake Holy Light oracle to dissuade her, but the genuine Holy Light praised Thrall and strengthened Lisa's resolve.
• Vandel proposed secretly knocking Lisa out to protect her, while Akama hesitated over whether to help him.
• At Theramore, Yodel and the Goblin captain revealed that the passengers were being transported to Orgrimmar as food for the Orcs, but Lisa remained strangely composed.
• The King of Orgrimmar docked at Orgrimmar, and Vandel and Akama discovered that Lisa had mysteriously disappeared.

Akama ate Orgrimmar meat sauce, became violently ill, and encountered the spirit of the Tauren whose meat he had eaten. She convinced him that the Holy Light had set him a trial, leading him to witness Thrall’s cruelty and vow to protect him.

• Vandel took Akama to a meat sauce restaurant in The Drag, where Akama struggled to eat the poorly prepared Tauren sauce until the proprietor fried it with salt and seasonings.
• Akama suffered severe stomach pain that night and saw the Tauren’s spirit, who told him the Holy Light had not abandoned him and that he needed to forgive the Orcs.
• Akama agreed to undergo a trial to regain the Holy Light’s favor and followed the Tauren spirit into the guarded Valley of Honor, while Vandel secretly followed at a distance.
• Akama and the spirit entered an inn where Thrall had captives’ hearts served as food and punished chefs when an ingredient died before he finished eating.
• The Tauren spirit told Akama to protect Thrall, and Akama accepted the task, convinced that the Holy Light was with them.

Akama saved Thrall from Lisa’s assassination attempt but was tortured after Thrall accused him of being a conspirator. Vandel rescued and healed him, and the female Tauren’s soul then offered Akama another test: help Thrall capture Vandel or reject the Holy Light.

• Lisa tried to kill Thrall, but Akama shielded him with Holy Light, allowing her to escape.
• Thrall ordered Akama seized, and Eitrigg tortured him until Akama revealed what he knew about Lisa and Vandel.
• Vandel killed the Orcs in Akama’s cell, rescued him, and healed his injuries with a Burning Legion medicine.
• Akama chose to travel with Vandel to Rustwater Port after recovering in Azshara.
• The female Tauren’s soul told Akama that he could regain Thrall’s friendship by leaving secret marks to help the Orcs capture Vandel.

Akama followed Vandel through Rustwater Port, where the city’s filth and brutal customs led them to a blood-soaked den of slaughter. Eitrigg tracked Akama’s secret mark to the alley and ordered the surrounding homes and shops destroyed to capture Vandel.

• Akama endured Rustwater Port’s stench and filth as Vandel explained that its lawlessness made it a place of indulgence.
• Vandel killed an Orc in the street, and starving Goblins devoured the corpse while Akama watched.
• Akama secretly left a mark as Vandel took him to a fortress-like building, where Vandel paid an older Quilboar woman and entered a slaughterhouse filled with dying captives.
• Vandel drank a Troll’s blood, and its strange scent left Akama dazed as women crowded around him.
• Eitrigg’s Orc scouts followed Akama’s mark to the alley, and Eitrigg ordered them to surround it and raze its 130 households and seventeen shops.

Eitrigg bombed a district in Rustwater Port and used the wounded Akama as bait to lure Vandel into a trap. Vandel rescued Akama, defused the bomb, and set it off after they escaped, then confronted Akama about betraying him again.

• Eitrigg ordered three airships to bomb a district, then Orcs killed Goblin onlookers and found Akama alive beneath the rubble.
• Eitrigg had Akama taken to a guarded Castle and placed a massive bomb beneath his bed to kill Vandel when he came to rescue him.
• The female Tauren urged Akama to lure Vandel to the Castle in exchange for the Holy Light's acceptance, and Akama broke the locator device in his tooth.
• Vandel found Akama, carried him out of the Castle, and defused the bomb before placing a pill in Akama's mouth.
• Vandel detonated the bomb remotely and asked Akama whether he had betrayed him again.

Akama was captured by Eitrigg’s Orcs, while Illidan and Vandel concluded that the Holy Light had turned Akama against them and planned to move the Elves to Mardum. In Orgrimmar, Thrall’s attempt to make Akama’s soul into a puppet was interrupted by Mannoroth, who took the Shade of Akama and announced a plan to exploit Illidan’s pride.

• Eitrigg’s Orcs found Akama after Vandel disappeared and threatened him for surviving while the other Orcs died.
• Vandel reported Akama’s betrayal to Illidan, who believed Akama’s Holy Light faith had made him vulnerable to Thrall’s influence.
• Illidan explained that the Army of the Light might oppose the Elves if they embraced Fel, and Vandel identified Mardum as their possible refuge.
• Grand Apothecary Faranell extracted part of Akama’s soul in Orgrimmar, and Thrall prepared to brand it as his puppet.
• Mannoroth emerged through a Portal, ate Thrall and more than a hundred Orcs, then revived Thrall and claimed the Shade of Akama.
• Mannoroth told Thrall that Illidan’s pride was his greatest weakness and that Kil’jaeden’s plan against him was ready to unfold.

Khadgar rescued Akama from Orgrimmar and disguised himself as a Draenei to escort him back to Shattrath City. Akama entrusted Khadgar with the Ashtongue Deathsworn, and news arrived that Maiev Shadowsong had escaped from prison.

• Gamon told Khadgar that a Broken he had been tasked with burying had come back to life and asked for help taking him to Shattrath City.
• Khadgar paid Gamon to lead him to Akama, whose soul had been forcibly torn in two, and used the Holy Light to save him.
• Khadgar disguised himself as a Draenei named Atani and agreed to take Akama to Shattrath City.
• Khadgar and Akama passed through the Dark Portal and reached Shattrath City, where Akama revealed his identity and named Khadgar as a possible successor to lead the Ashtongue Deathsworn.
• Akama introduced Khadgar to the Ashtongue Deathsworn officers in the Lower City, then learned that Maiev Shadowsong had escaped from prison.

Maiev met Akama in Shattrath City, where he offered an alliance and a list of Illidan’s spies, while Khadgar became her contact. Akama then returned to Illidan and pretended to confess, but Illidan recognized the deception and planned to use him to expose the hidden force behind it.

• Akama told Khadgar that Maiev’s escape improved his chances of survival, and Maiev traveled in disguise to Shattrath City to rally the Watchers.
• Akama met Maiev in the Lower City, showed her his wounds and torn soul, and said Illidan had punished him after a dispute with Vandel.
• Akama offered Maiev an alliance and gave her a list of Illidan’s spies, including Aiwei'er, while naming Khadgar as her contact.
• Akama went to the Black Temple and falsely confessed to Illidan, offering half his soul and promising to find Maiev and the traitor who freed her.
• Illidan accepted half of Akama’s soul but told Vandel that he saw through the ruse and intended to use Akama to uncover the one pulling the strings.

Illidan discovered Legion runes hidden in Akama’s soul and turned him into the Shade of Akama, while Khadgar used a Hula Girl Doll to expose Akama’s allegiance and survive his betrayal. Khadgar escaped the Fel trap, leaving Akama convinced he had killed him as he prepared to target Maiev.

• Illidan found hidden Burning Legion runes in Akama’s soul, transformed him into the Shade of Akama, and ordered Vandel’s Demon Hunters to work with him until Maiev was captured.
• Khadgar bought a Hula Girl Doll from Griftah and worked with Maiev to eliminate Illidan’s spies in Shattrath City.
• Akama falsely blamed Atani for Maiev’s escape, then lured Khadgar to a cabin and revealed he had joined the Burning Legion.
• Akama trapped Khadgar in a Fel-powered Magic Circle and burned him, but Khadgar used the Hula Girl Doll as a substitute and teleported away.
• Akama believed Khadgar was dead and vowed to prove himself to Mannoroth by going after Maiev next.

Khadgar decided to disrupt Akama’s plans after learning that Akama had betrayed Atani, and Akama manipulated Maiev into preparing to attack Illidan at Gul’dan’s Hand. The chapter ended with Akama reporting to Mannoroth, who planned to let the Watchers and Illidan weaken each other before destroying the Black Temple.

• Khadgar concluded that Akama would target Maiev and chose to interfere by meeting her as Atani.
• Akama told Maiev that he had killed Atani to gain Illidan’s trust and claimed Illidan planned to summon a portal at Gul’dan’s Hand.
• Maiev agreed to attack the ritual, believing that her Watchers and Akama’s Broken could capture Illidan and bring down the Black Temple.
• Akama secretly contacted Mannoroth and said Illidan had taken the bait.
• Mannoroth rejected Akama’s suggestion to send in the Legion army, saying he would wait for the Watchers and Illidan to weaken each other before destroying the Black Temple.

Maiev led the Watchers into Illidan’s trap at Doom Volcano, but she used an ancient silver ring to turn the Fel Orcs against one another and tried to escape through the Naga hordes. A secret Night Elf Mage Corps arrived to open a path for her, while Illidan watched and wondered how others would react to her escape.

• Maiev and the Watchers slipped past the Fel Orc guards when Akama’s Broken distracted them with fresh meat.
• Maiev attacked Illidan’s spellcasters at the summit, but Vandel confronted her as Illidan revealed the hidden Fel Orc ambush.
• Maiev used an ancient silver ring to drive the Fel Orcs mad, but Illidan activated a hidden circle with the Skull of Gul’dan and sent Naga to attack the Watchers.
• Maiev ordered the Watchers to retreat through the Naga, and they cut their way down the volcano as casualties mounted.
• Maiev opened a scroll, summoning a silver cube carrying twelve Archmages who blasted a path through the Naga.
• Illidan watched Maiev escape and wondered what others would think of it.

Illidan used Maiev’s escape attempt to force Anachronos, Durotan, Imperator Mar'gok, and Prophet Velen to reveal their allegiance. After they helped complete the encirclement, Illidan captured Maiev and the Watchers, then called the four out to talk.

• Illidan held his forces back while Maiev and the Watchers fought through the Naga, and Akama questioned his plan.
• Anachronos, Durotan, Imperator Mar'gok, and Prophet Velen realized Illidan was testing them and decided to help capture Maiev rather than give up the Skull of Gul'dan.
• An Orc and a two-headed Ogre interrupted Maiev’s advance, and the Naga completed their encirclement of the three hundred Watchers.
• Illidan swooped down, stumbled into the Naga ranks, then confronted the exhausted Maiev and persuaded her to surrender to protect the Watchers.
• Illidan welcomed Maiev as his prisoner and called Anachronos, Durotan, Imperator Mar'gok, and Prophet Velen out of hiding for a talk.

Akama discovered that Illidan was opening a soul-powered Portal and secretly learned that Atani was alive, while Illidan enlisted the time travelers’ cooperation. Khadgar revealed that he and his companions came from the future, then attacked Akama in a sealed room in Shattrath.

• At Gul'dan's Hand, Vandel told Akama that the Portal needed more souls, and Akama received a secret note saying Atani was alive.
• In Shattrath, Illidan entertained Anachronos, Mar'gok, Durotan, and Velen, then asked them to excavate Titans' relics while he made his own preparations.
• Akama secretly met Khadgar, recognized Velen among the four who stopped Maiev, and deduced that Khadgar and the others were from the future.
• Khadgar said he had summoned Akama to test time's ability to repair itself by killing him, then trapped Akama in a sealed space where he could not sense Elemental Power.
• Akama's arms broke as he tried to block Khadgar's Holy Light, and Khadgar struck at him again despite his plea for mercy.

Kael'thas rescued Akama from Khadgar, but Robbie discovered that scarlet holy light had turned the prince into a puppet. After Robbie freed him, Kael'thas recounted how the Blood Elves captured M'uru and fell under outside control, revealing a conspiracy tied to Tempest Keep.

• Khadgar nearly killed Akama before Kael'thas intervened, rescued him, and fled with him.
• Robbie and Krasus followed Kael'thas, and Ner'zhul's skull identified him as a puppet controlled by the scarlet holy light.
• Robbie drew the scarlet holy light from Kael'thas, who woke confused in a Fel Orc house.
• Kael'thas explained that the Blood Elves seized Tempest Keep after finding it nearly empty and captured M'uru with an Ethereal Mech.
• Kael'thas revealed that wine from black stones triggered the Blood Elves' mana addiction, after which they drained M'uru and became puppets.

Robbie helped Kael'thas uncover how Lor'themar Theron had used his mind control to frame him and moved to rescue Kael'thas's followers. Meanwhile, Akama returned to Maiev with a warning that Illidan planned to use her and the Watchers to populate a new world.

• Kael'thas recalled that Rommath had urged him to absorb M'uru's power and realized Lor'themar Theron had made him appear responsible for betraying the Blood Elves.
• Kael'thas remembered meeting a colossal demon resembling Kil'jaeden while controlled, and Robbie warned that Lor'themar Theron could use the accusation to have him executed.
• Robbie spotted Shattrath's defense force assembling and opened a Portal to Tempest Keep so Kael'thas could rescue his trusted followers.
• Akama woke in Shattrath, found the dead Fel Orc, and resolved to leave and take revenge on those who betrayed him.
• Akama visited Maiev in her Legion cell and told her that Illidan planned to use her and the Watchers to bear children in a new world.

Kael'thas gathered his freed Blood Elves at Tempest Keep and began seeking help to control the Naaru ship while preparing to defend it. In Shattrath, A'dal assigned Voren'thal to lead the effort to retake Tempest Keep, and Voren'thal proposed uniting the Alliance and Horde.

• Kael'thas, Robbie, and Krasus entered Tempest Keep and found its Blood Elves unconscious; Kael'thas freed them from the scarlet Holy Light.
• Kael'thas rejected Krasus's suggestion to abandon Tempest Keep and sent trusted subordinates to seek help from the Consortium, the Burning Legion's Forge Camp, and the Draenei.
• Robbie and Krasus discussed whether to help Kael'thas, while Kael'thas prepared to defend Tempest Keep with his limited forces.
• Voren'thal met Ishanah at Holy Light Plaza, where the two leaders traded insults over their factions and loyalties.
• A'dal ordered Voren'thal to lead the battle for Tempest Keep, and Voren'thal proposed uniting the forces of the Alliance and Horde.

Lor'themar, Rommath, and Liadrin debated Silvermoon City's future before Sylvanas proposed an alliance between Silvermoon City, Undercity, and the Night Elves. They agreed in principle, but Rommath suggested consulting M'uru before proceeding.

• Lor'themar, Rommath, and Liadrin discussed their fear that Kael'thas would return and their options for joining the Horde or Alliance.
• Sylvanas entered the throne room and argued that Silvermoon City should oppose the Horde rather than join it.
• Sylvanas proposed uniting Silvermoon City, Undercity, and the Night Elves, offering to resurrect fallen Night Elves as an Undead army.
• Lor'themar, Rommath, and Liadrin agreed to pursue the alliance and planned to persuade Silvermoon's nobles and council of elders.
• After Sylvanas left, Rommath suggested asking M'uru for advice.

M'uru urged Lor'themar and his companions to join Thrall's Horde, so Lor'themar rejected Sylvanas's proposed alliance and sent Rommath to negotiate. Voren'thal then tried to win Thrall's favor, but Thrall attacked one of his disciples and asked whether Voren'thal would let him eat him.

• M'uru told Lor'themar, Liadrin, and Rommath that they should join Thrall's Horde and warned that anyone who opposed Thrall would die.
• Lor'themar decided to reject Sylvanas's offer and join the Horde, then appointed Rommath as a diplomat to Orgrimmar.
• Voren'thal brought four disciples to Ratchet and bribed Eitrigg to arrange a meeting with Thrall.
• Thrall agreed to see Voren'thal after learning that many Blood Elves remained alive in Azeroth and Outland.
• Thrall welcomed Voren'thal, bit through one disciple's neck, and recalled eating Anasterian Sunstrider.
• Voren'thal forced himself to call it an honor, and Thrall asked whether he would let him eat him.

Rommath brought the mutilated Voren'thal to A'dal, who restored his body but left him mentally broken. After Mannoroth decapitated Thrall and sent his head to Shattrath, Voren'thal recovered his sanity and chose to forgive him, leaving Rommath's hopes of joining the Horde alive.

• Eitrigg struck Voren'thal and the Troll chefs mutilated him, while Rommath secretly found him in Orgrimmar's garbage dump and teleported him to Shattrath City.
• A'dal restored Voren'thal's body, but Voren'thal remained mad and Rommath used his suffering to provoke A'dal against Thrall.
• Mannoroth decapitated Thrall, placed his head in a Fel Box, and ordered Eitrigg to take it to the Sha'tar to seek Voren'thal's forgiveness.
• Eitrigg delivered the Fel Box to A'dal, and Voren'thal regained his sanity before thanking Rommath and hearing his request to help the Blood Elves join the Horde.
• Voren'thal considered the consequences of killing Thrall and publicly declared that he had forgotten what happened in Orgrimmar and that Thrall was merciful and kind.