Recaps

Robbie and Kel'Thuzad found that Khadgar’s Plague had permanently poisoned Durotar, the Barrens, and Mulgore, while Chen Stormstout celebrated the Horde’s victory in Orgrimmar. Khadgar grew suspicious of secret arms purchases and the oversized statue shipment as signs of a threat, but Chen was unavailable and the chapter ended with Khadgar questioning the Goblins’ generosity.

• Robbie and Kel'Thuzad inspected the Plague-corrupted lands and decided to use Undead methods to address the damage.
• Chen Stormstout and the Horde celebrated their victory with a three-day banquet, while gifts arrived from across Azeroth.
• Khadgar learned that the Gnomes and Rustwater Port had sold thousands of rifles and ammunition to an unknown buyer.
• Khadgar dreamed of armed Lightforging Kobolds rising from underground tunnels, then woke and tried to warn Chen Stormstout.
• Mela Highmountain and Domiss barred Khadgar from seeing Chen, and Domiss threatened to accuse him of making advances on her.
• Khadgar investigated a disturbance at Orgrimmar’s gate and became suspicious when a huge statue shipment from the Goblins blocked the entrance.

Khadgar tried to warn Chen Stormstout that Orgrimmar was under attack, but the guards refused to wake him, and Khadgar fled with Aserok. The Kobolds conquered Orgrimmar, while Magni Bronzebeard confronted Osaid over the Holy Light; Chen Stormstout remained asleep as the chapter ended.

• Khadgar escaped the exploding city gate and hurried to Chen Stormstout's bedchamber, but Mela Highmountain and Domiss refused to let him disturb Chen.
• Aserok secretly urged Khadgar to flee, and Khadgar opened a Portal to Dalaran and left with him.
• The Kobolds bombarded Orgrimmar's walls and stormed the city, overwhelming its defenders while no Warchief's orders came.
• Osaid stopped his forces outside Chen Stormstout's bedchamber and summoned Magni Bronzebeard, who demanded the Kobolds withdraw on behalf of the Holy Light.
• Osaid revealed a thousand Kobold Paladins, and Magni Bronzebeard acknowledged their blessing before turning his attention to Domiss.
• Chen Stormstout slept through the fall of Orgrimmar after overeating and drinking, having ordered that no one disturb him.

Osaid punished Chen Stormstout for the plague that killed Kobolds, then led his people out of Orgrimmar toward Azshara. Gagg tried to claim the Horde leadership, but Magni Bronzebeard announced Eitrigg as the new Warchief.

• Chen Stormstout woke in Kobold custody, and Mela Highmountain forced him to drink the plague he had used against them.
• Osaid ordered Chen sent to the corrupted land south of Razor Hill and told Mela that Chen would not be killed.
• Osaid rejected the Horde Warchief position, ordered the Kobolds to withdraw from Orgrimmar, and set out for Azshara the next day.
• Gagg claimed Orgrimmar and declared himself Warchief, but Magni Bronzebeard confronted him and made him give up the title.
• Magni announced Eitrigg as the new Horde Warchief, leaving Thrall surprised after he had expected the position.

Robbie and Kel'Thuzad turned Chen Stormstout into a puppet leader for the New Scourge, using Christina's visit to frame her and the Consortium for his rise. Chen awakened as the Dark Emperor, trapped on a throne and unable to command the Undead directly, while Haramad confronted Christina about the plague.

• Robbie and Kel'Thuzad decided to keep Chen Stormstout alive and make him a puppet leader for the New Scourge, implanting a new plague and bones in his body.
• Christina investigated a bone altar at Razor Hill, where Chen stood before a black sword, and left after deciding the sword was merely decorative.
• The Black Sword of Frost flew into Chen's hand, and he bowed to Christina as she departed; news then spread that the Consortium had created the new Lich King, the Dark Emperor.
• Chen awoke fused to a throne and learned from a Ghoul that he was the New Scourge's leader but could not bypass the chain of command to give orders.
• Haramad boarded Christina's spaceship and told her that spreading plague was a grave taboo among the stars.

Christina arranged for Mogul Razdunk to infect a Tauren tribe with an Undead Plague while she fled Azeroth. As Tauren starved in devastated Mulgore, Rom Wildtotem rejected the Night Elves’ offer to join the Alliance and insisted they remain loyal to the Horde.

• Haramad warned Christina to leave Azeroth, but she decided to retaliate against those who had thwarted her Kobold trade.
• Christina gave Mogul Razdunk an Undead Plague and ordered him to release it among a strong, fertile race, and he chose the Tauren.
• Rom Wildtotem faced the hunger and dwindling Holy Light energy affecting Tauren gathered in Thunder Bluff.
• A Night Elf envoy offered the Tauren land on Mount Hyjal if they joined the Alliance, but Rom rejected the offer in the Horde’s name.
• Rom told the starving Tauren they should accept being eaten by Orcs, while privately keeping a safe escape for himself.

Rom Wildtotem accepted the Venture Company's offer of food in exchange for sending Tauren Shamans to investigate an ancient altar in Mulgore. At the altar, he found a statue of Emperor Deathhoof and learned that its Runed Spear was called the Spear of Sorrow, said to command the Undead Legion.

• Rom Wildtotem hid his lavish meals while Tauren starved, then rejected Kozzle's initial offer of aid.
• Kozzle revealed the Horde was unable to help and offered ten months of rations in exchange for a Tauren Shaman entering an altar near Red Rocks.
• After reading a private offer, Rom agreed to the Venture Company's request and arranged for it to deliver half the food first.
• Rom's Shamans discovered the ruins of Emperor Deathhoof, and Rom went to inspect them in person.
• Rom entered the altar's cavern and saw a statue holding a blood-red Runed Spear.
• A Shaman identified the spear as the Spear of Sorrow, which legend said could command the Undead Legion.

Rom took Emperor Deathhoof's Scarlet Runed Spear and transformed into a towering, maddened undead Tauren, while most of Thunder Bluff's people hesitated to flee. The chapter ended with Rom descending on the city and declaring that the Tauren would receive the baptism of death.

• Rom questioned the Shaman about the ancient statue and spear before the spear showed him a vision of Emperor Deathhoof and his undead army.
• Emperor Deathhoof told Rom to take the spear and command the Undead Legion, and Rom accepted it despite the Shaman's warning.
• Rom grew three times taller, turned blood-eyed and savage, and began losing his reason as the Shamans warned that Thunder Bluff was doomed.
• The Shamans opened Portals for the Tauren to escape, but only about one-fifth of them left before the Portals closed.
• Rom leaped from an airship toward Thunder Bluff with the Scarlet Runed Spear and called on the Tauren to accept the baptism of death.

Eitrigg took power in the ruined Orgrimmar, where Rend Blackhand exposed Thrall’s past and urged Eitrigg to destroy his reputation. In Stormwind, Robbie read a newspaper account portraying Eitrigg as the Horde’s true founder and Thrall as his adopted, unworthy successor.

• Eitrigg became Warchief of Orgrimmar with the support of the Army of the Light, while Thrall was held prisoner.
• Rend Blackhand accused Thrall of betraying and killing him, and Eitrigg confirmed that he had arranged the ambush; Thrall fell to his knees and begged for mercy.
• Eitrigg ordered Thrall taken away without changing his food or living conditions, while Rend managed Orgrimmar’s reconstruction.
• Rend urged Eitrigg to erase Thrall’s reputation, and Eitrigg decided to use hidden members of Peace Dove to influence the Alliance.
• Robbie read a Stormwind City Daily article claiming Eitrigg had united the Orcs, adopted Thrall, and trained him as his successor.

Eitrigg turned the Horde and Alliance against Thrall by publishing accusations that destroyed Thrall’s reputation, then revealed that Thrall was the original whose soul might have been altered by Arthas. As Thrall reeled from the revelation, an alarm announced that the Tauren were attacking Orgrimmar.

• Eitrigg and Rend Blackhand watched public opinion turn against Thrall as newspapers spread accusations about his supposed crimes.
• Eitrigg took Thrall to an Orgrimmar inn, where patrons called Thrall a fraud and threatened to eat him.
• Thrall read the newspapers, collapsed after confronting Eitrigg, then recovered and claimed he was a copy made by Jaina.
• Eitrigg revealed that Thrall was the original and that the Army of the Light had staged the copy story, while Arthas may have tampered with Thrall’s soul.
• An alarm sounded, Eitrigg and Rend Blackhand rushed outside, and someone announced that the Tauren were attacking.

Eitrigg’s forces failed to stop Rom’s powerful Tauren, while the Emissary, Medivh, and Magni Bronzebeard investigated the supposed Emperor Deathhoof. Tyrande revealed that Deathhoof was a fictional character, but the Emissary still ordered them to seek the Tear of Elune to purify the Tauren.

• Rom challenged Eitrigg outside Orgrimmar, and Eitrigg sent Lightforging Orcs to attack the Tauren.
• The Tauren slaughtered the Lightforging Orcs without suffering casualties, so Eitrigg ordered Orgrimmar’s gates shut.
• Rend Blackhand secretly met the Emissary, Medivh, and Magni Bronzebeard, who discussed Eitrigg’s leadership and the Tauren’s mysterious Plague.
• The Emissary said the Tauren could be purified with the Tear of Elune, and the group visited Tyrande to ask about Emperor Deathhoof.
• Tyrande found an old book showing that Emperor Deathhoof was a character in a Tauren Bard’s novel.
• The Emissary ordered the group to obtain the Tear of Elune and purify the Tauren despite Deathhoof being fictional.

Tyrande ambushed the Emissary, Medivh, and Magni Bronzebeard when they tried to take the Tear of Elune, then used the clash to assert her authority over the Night Elves. She forced Medivh to surrender seven secret vaults while sparing Magni’s Titans Relics, leaving the three visitors defeated and at her mercy.

• Tyrande pretended to agree to hand over the Tear of Elune, then trapped the Emissary, Medivh, and Magni Bronzebeard in the Temple of the Moon’s reception hall and bombarded them.
• Tyrande accused the three visitors of trying to steal the Tear of Elune and revealed to the Night Elves that she had used it to defend herself.
• Tyrande blasted the Emissary with the Tear of Elune, and he realized that her hidden Arcane Magic—not the Tear—had supplied its immense power.
• Medivh and Magni Bronzebeard begged for mercy, offering Karazhan’s wealth and Titans Relics, while the Night Elves demanded greater compensation.
• Tyrande made Medivh hand over seven of his ten secret vaults and declared that she would take no Titans Relics from Magni.

Tyrande forced Magni Bronzebeard, Medivh, and the Emissary to surrender enormous ransoms, including the remaining treasure of Hakkar. After leaving the Temple of the Moon, the three plotted to regain their wealth by coercing Azeroth’s richest figures, settling on Prophet Velen as their next target.

• Tyrande threatened the Emissary with death, but he offered the location of Hakkar’s treasury in exchange for his life.
• Tyrande bound the Emissary, Magni Bronzebeard, and Medivh with a spell and ordered them to deliver their ransoms to the Temple of the Moon within seven days.
• The Emissary revealed that Hakkar’s treasury still held thirty-seven Titans Relics, and Magni Bronzebeard and Medivh realized he had directed Tyrande toward it to cause trouble for the Night Elves.
• Magni Bronzebeard explained how he had used his role as Azeroth’s Spokesman to obtain Titans Relics, prompting Medivh to plan a similar scheme against wealthy people.
• Medivh named Andenani as the person who knew about Dalaran’s remaining wealth, but the Emissary pointed out that Prophet Velen had amassed far greater riches during the Draenei’s travels.
• Medivh and Magni Bronzebeard decided to demand that Prophet Velen sacrifice himself to purify the Tauren of Thunder Bluff.

Velen sought refuge at the Temple of the White Tiger, but Shang Chun agreed to hand him over when Medivh, Magni Bronzebeard, and the Emissary arrived. They demanded that Velen sacrifice himself to purify the mutated Tauren, and Velen surprised them by agreeing before raising a concern about his accumulated wealth.

• Velen questioned Shang Chun about the Temple of the White Tiger's safety, and Shang Chun assured him the temple would protect itself at any cost.
• Medivh, Magni Bronzebeard, and the Emissary arrived and demanded that Velen come with them.
• Shang Chun disowned Velen and agreed to let the visitors take him, while Medivh bound him with an Arcane chain.
• Magni Bronzebeard explained that mutated Tauren had surrounded Orgrimmar, and the Emissary and Medivh claimed Velen had to die to save Azeroth.
• Velen agreed to go to Thunder Bluff and sacrifice himself, then said he did not know whom to leave his wealth to.

Velen offered his vast fortune to Azeroth, prompting Medivh and Magni Bronzebeard to quarrel over its division until the Emissary arranged for Moon Goddess Elune to decide. At a press conference in Orgrimmar, Medivh tried to announce Velen’s sacrifice to purify the besieging Tauren, but the gathered media turned the story against Medivh and called him a coward.

• Velen told Medivh, Magni Bronzebeard, and the Emissary that his remaining wealth in Oshu'gun could buy all of Azeroth and asked them to use it for the people.
• Medivh and Magni Bronzebeard argued over who should control the treasure and how to divide it until the Emissary warned them that Velen was exploiting their greed.
• The Emissary proposed that Moon Goddess Elune distribute Velen’s wealth, and Medivh and Magni Bronzebeard accepted.
• The Emissary and Medivh decided to publicize Velen’s promise in Orgrimmar so he could not take it back, and Medivh agreed to address the media.
• Eitrigg welcomed Medivh and Velen to Orgrimmar, where the Tauren had surrounded the city, and arranged Medivh’s press conference.
• Medivh announced that Prophet Velen would sacrifice himself to purify the Tauren, but reporters questioned why the Guardian was not taking responsibility and accused him of cowardice.

Medivh slaughtered reporters who challenged his courage until Naruk Xil intervened and took him away to face judgment by the Holy Light. The Emissary and Magni Bronzebeard celebrated their plan, then turned their attention to Velen and his wealth.

• Medivh declared that courage was a lie and killed reporters who questioned him, trapping the crowd behind a barrier and slaughtering them.
• The Emissary and Magni Bronzebeard watched the massacre and discussed how the Army of the Light had to preserve its appearance of justice.
• Naruk Xil descended and ordered Medivh to stop, but Medivh defended his cruelty and continued killing a Tauren.
• Naruk Xil bound Medivh with Holy Light, erased the survivors' memories of the slaughter, and took Medivh away to face judgment.
• The Emissary and Magni Bronzebeard celebrated their gamble and asked Velen to satisfy them with his wealth.

The Emissary, Magni Bronzebeard, and Velen traveled to Oshu'gun, where Magni learned that Velen's promised fortune was seven mysterious black stones. A cloaked figure gave Magni the stones and rescued Velen, while Rend Blackhand received a message in Orgrimmar to proceed with a plan.

• Magni Bronzebeard revealed that MOTHER and the Faceless One Zakul had joined forces to claim Velen's wealth, and the Emissary withdrew rather than fight them.
• MOTHER detected nearby Burning Legion camps as the group approached Oshu'gun, and Velen revealed that his wealth consisted of seven black stones made by an advanced liquid civilization.
• Magni Bronzebeard seized Velen in anger after MOTHER confirmed Velen's account, but a cloaked human figure rescued Velen and presented Magni with seven stones.
• Magni Bronzebeard thanked Velen for the stones after MOTHER warned that the powerful newcomer could not be defeated.
• Rend Blackhand found a letter in The Drag stating that the alliance of three had been broken and that he should proceed as planned, then swallowed it.

Rend Blackhand awakened the Blackrock Clan members among the Lightforging Orcs and took control of Orgrimmar after Eitrigg fled. Eitrigg escaped in disguise aboard a ship bound for Dazar'alor, where a voice told him the Tauren had never attacked and Rend had become Warchief.

• Rend Blackhand used Blackrock ore to awaken more than three thousand Blackrock Clan members and persuaded them to pledge loyalty to him.
• Eitrigg learned the Blackrock Clan had gathered and ordered his troops to prepare to fight, then heard that the Tauren had entered Orgrimmar through an opened gate.
• Rend Blackhand seized the chieftain's hall, claimed the Warchief's throne, and won the generals' allegiance.
• Eitrigg escaped Orgrimmar with a Teleportation Scroll and disguised himself as a Pandaren in Ratchet.
• Eitrigg boarded a ship bound for Dazar'alor, and a voice told him the Tauren had never attacked and Rend Blackhand had become Warchief.

Kesutruisi questioned Eitrigg about the Army of the Light and told him that uncovering its aims could help him regain the Warchief position. Rend Blackhand became Warchief and used Thrall’s propaganda to send Lightforging Orcs to die against the Tauren, while Thrall urged him to negotiate an alliance with them.

• Kesutruisi asked Eitrigg whether he had seen a Holy Dragon and advised him to discover what the Army of the Light wanted if he hoped to become Warchief again.
• Rend Blackhand met Thrall in Orgrimmar, announced his plan to sacrifice Lightforging Orcs in battle, and recruited Thrall to persuade them to fight.
• Thrall’s propaganda inspired the Lightforging Orcs to charge the Tauren, and nearly all of Eitrigg’s followers were killed within three days.
• Naruk Xil established a permanent Portal in Orgrimmar and sent fifty thousand Lightforging Orcs to support Rend’s campaign.
• Tauren Chieftain Rom considered negotiating after the relentless fighting exhausted and injured his people, but Rend refused the Tauren’s offer.
• Thrall urged Rend to make peace with the Tauren and form a New Horde alliance against the Alliance, arguing that the Army of the Light wanted varied souls.

Rend Blackhand tried to unite Kalimdor’s leaders into a New Horde and convened five moguls in Ratchet to plan against Chen Stormstout and the Kobold Holy Light Great Emperor. Their meeting nearly collapsed into violence before Rend proposed that King Magni Bronzebeard lead them instead of any of the five.

• Rend Blackhand persuaded Thrall to serve him and declared his intention to unite Kalimdor under a New Horde.
• Rend and Rom allied and summoned Durotan, Imperator Mar'gok, and Taran Zhu to a meeting in Ratchet.
• Robbie secretly watched the five moguls’ meeting through Kel'Thuzad’s magical projection.
• Rend proposed joining forces against Chen Stormstout and the Kobold Holy Light Great Emperor, but the leaders argued over the campaign and who should become Warchief.
• As Rom and Imperator Mar'gok prepared to fight, Rend suggested appointing King Magni Bronzebeard as their leader.

Thrall proposed Magni Bronzebeard as Warchief, and Magni took the title after the Moguls backed him under pressure from his powerful companions. Osaid then used explosives and a deadly poison to force Magni aside and take control, though Robbie warned that the struggle was not over.

• Thrall argued that Magni Bronzebeard should become Warchief, and Rend Blackhand would benefit by supporting him.
• Magni arrived with MOTHER and Zakul, silenced Taran Zhu and Mar'gok, and was accepted as Warchief by the Moguls.
• Osaid revealed explosives beneath Ratchet and threatened to destroy the city unless Magni gave up the position.
• Magni yielded the title to Osaid, and the Moguls withheld their objections while planning to reverse the decision later.
• Osaid made the Moguls drink wine containing a poison that required his antidote, then declared that the New Horde would rise under his leadership.
• Kel'Thuzad questioned whether a Kobold would truly become Warchief, and Robbie replied that the matter was not over.

Osaid tried to take the Horde Warchief position, but Naruk Xil intervened and backed Rend Blackhand as the election’s likely winner. Before the vote began, four armored figures attacked Naruk Xil with Shadowlands-powered arrows and chains, leaving the Naaru trapped.

• The five Moguls praised Osaid after he revealed the poison in their bodies, while a Goblin attendant rejected the idea of a Kobold Warchief and fled rather than kill himself.
• A Kobold attendant exploded, and Naruk Xil descended into Ratchet, declaring that the Horde could not have a Kobold Warchief and binding Osaid with Holy Light.
• Robbie made Osaid vanish, and Naruk Xil removed the Moguls’ poison, destroyed Ratchet’s bombs, and told Rend Blackhand to oversee the Warchief election.
• Rom, Taran Zhu, Durotan, and Mar'gok all supported Rend Blackhand, who insisted that the group hold a vote.
• Four armored figures emerged from black mist and shot Naruk Xil with arrows that became feathers and Shadowlands chains, trapping him in the air.

Naruk Xil was abducted through a portal, derailing Rend Blackhand’s bid to become Warchief and sending him to Shattrath to seek A'dal. There, Velen met Rend and received a clear vision of Thrall standing on Azeroth’s Timeways.

• A shadowy figure bound Naruk Xil with black chains and pulled the Naaru through a portal after Naruk Xil urged Rend to find A'dal in Shattrath City.
• Durotan, Mar'gok, Rom, and Taran Zhu rejected Rend Blackhand’s claim to the Warchief title, and the gathering of the five Moguls broke up.
• Robbie told Kel'Thuzad that the abductors were allies and that they would prepare to go to the Timeways.
• Rend Blackhand traveled to Shattrath City, where Velen welcomed him and offered to arrange a meeting with A'dal.
• While praying in his residence, Velen saw a vision of Thrall standing on Azeroth’s Timeways.

Velen and Rend learned that Thrall was the key to rescuing Naruk Xil through the Timeways, then took the unconscious Thrall to the Caverns of Time. Anachronos began explaining the Timeways and the nature of the Main World and parallel worlds.

• Velen tried to avoid helping Thrall, but brought Rend to A'dal to hear a prophecy and compare it with the one he had hidden in a pouch.
• A'dal revealed that Naruk Xil's kidnappers came from the Timeways and named Thrall as the key to opening them, while assigning Rend and Velen to lead the rescue.
• Rend and Velen agreed they could blame Thrall if the mission failed, then dragged him unconscious from Orgrimmar to the Caverns of Time.
• Anachronos said Thrall would make the mission easier and explained that Azeroth consisted of a Main World and parallel worlds, clarifying that the world someone inhabited was their Main World.

Anachronos explained that belief could create Parallel Worlds, and that Thrall’s fabricated origins had brought this world into existence. The group followed a path revealed by Thrall’s tears into a world matching his story, where an approaching human discovered baby Thrall.

• Anachronos explained that Thrall’s invented history had created a Parallel World, and that Naruk Xil’s kidnappers came from it.
• Anachronos led Rend, Velen, and Thrall into the Timeways to search for Naruk Xil, and Thrall’s tears revealed a shimmering trail distinct from the suspicious footprints.
• Thrall sensed a world unfolding before him, and the four followed the trail through a Portal into a Parallel World.
• Anachronos identified the place as Hillsbrad Foothills after the Dark Portal opened, where they saw infant Thrall floating downstream in a wooden basin.
• Velen concealed the group with Holy Light as Anachronos listened for movement, and a human approached the infant and exclaimed over his green skin.

Aedelas Blackmoore rescued the Orc infant Thrall and planned to adopt him, naming him Goudan and raising him as a scholar. Velen, disguised as a priest, convinced Blackmoore that Thrall was destined to become a king and savior, leaving Blackmoore asking how he should raise him.

• Aedelas Blackmoore rescued the Orc infant from the river and decided to adopt him, despite Tammis Foxton's objections.
• Blackmoore said he would raise the infant peacefully and asked Tammis to find a learned bard to teach him.
• Tammis suggested naming the infant Goudan, and Rend laughed at the thought of Thrall growing up as a bard.
• Velen disguised himself as a human priest named Denathrius Fashu and claimed the Holy Light had revealed Thrall's destiny.
• Velen told Blackmoore that Thrall would become a king and savior, and that only Blackmoore could raise him for that role.
• Alarmed by the possibility that Azeroth might be destroyed, Blackmoore asked Velen how he should raise Thrall.