Loken’s assault on Dalaran gave way to disastrous wars as Thrall and Varian were manipulated into costly campaigns. After Varian woke in a parallel world and the Argent Tournament began, a soul formation beneath Icecrown exposed a deeper threat and the Black Knight was dragged underground.
Thrall and his allies maneuvered the Horde and Alliance toward Icecrown, while Robbie uncovered the Scourge’s links to Elune and Y'Shaarj. After Taelan became the Lich King, the Argent Crusade’s assault exposed the Scourge’s weakness and ended with Elune confronting the Emissary.
Varian’s disappearance and the Emissary’s schemes fractured the alliance against the Scourge, while Garrosh rose to power and spent his army attacking Icecrown Citadel. The arc ended with Tirion refusing to force the exhausted Orc survivors into battle and suggesting that Thrall bring them away from the Scourge.
Thrall manipulated the Alliance and Horde into a disastrous assault on Icecrown, while the leaders fought over the Scourge and its relics. The discovery of a multiplying Kobold weapon transformed the crisis into a threat to all of Azeroth.
Thrall led Azeroth’s leaders to Outland, then plotted to seize Archimonde’s destructive power and gain immortality. After the ritual collapsed and Thrall’s soul was scattered across the Elemental Planes, Varian and Jaina began recovering it through brutal sacrifices.
Varian, Thrall, and Garrosh were drawn into a chain of betrayals and catastrophic battles that devastated Stormwind and much of Kalimdor. As Jaina maneuvered to seize Gilneas, Robbie and the Bloodfang Worgen prepared to defend the city against Sylvanas’s invading Forsaken, while Jaina sought Garrosh’s intervention.
Jaina and the others struggled over the choice of Thrall’s Vessel as Moira’s bid for Ironforge’s throne ended in defeat. After Liam became the host for a powerful being, Jaina pursued a Black Dragon Egg, which Wrathion used to begin manipulating the Goblins of Kezan.
Wrathion’s schemes brought Thrall, Anduin, and the Horde’s rivals to Pandaria, where shifting loyalties and the Sha drew the factions toward war. As the Orcs advanced on the Shado-Pan Monastery, Ye Wen became the Sha of Anger and the Sha of Madness empowered the defenders.
Nazgrim’s campaign against the Pandaren led the Horde into Mogu’shan Vaults, where the Mogu sought Orc blood to end the Curse of Flesh. Meanwhile, Wrathion trapped the August Celestials and experimented with Pandaria’s mist, but Yanzhu’s time-domain powers and the resurrected Immerseus left the Horde in crisis.
Wrathion’s schemes to stop Garrosh collided with the Sacred Bell, Velen’s crimes, and the Orcs’ invasion of Pandaria. After Garrosh’s army collapsed and Cho'gall seized Orgrimmar, Garrosh sought allies while Medivh exposed the plan, leaving Nazgrim to negotiate with the Dragonmaw Clan.
Garrosh’s and Thrall’s conflict and Medivh’s experiments led into End Time, where Thrall and his allies confronted the Beast Emperor and Elune. After the Unique Beast fell, the Emissary tasked Thrall with gathering recruits and seizing a treasure in the Hour of Twilight.
Thrall forced Hagara and other powerful figures into his service while pursuing allies and weapons for the Hour of Twilight. His search led him and his companions through a Time Beacon to the ancient Zandalar Great Empire.
Robbie and his allies uncovered Emperor Ata’s plan to sacrifice the Zandalari to Hakkar, while Yeh'kinya exposed the empire’s buried crimes and the Dark Scepter’s hold over its people. After Corrupted Blood ravaged Zandalar and the group scattered, Thrall learned of a Titan conspiracy and began preparing to use Azeroth’s elemental power against Al'Akir.
Thrall tried to seize Uldum and the Forge of Origination, but Ra-den’s schemes and the Void drew the conflict into a wider struggle. After Thrall was restored and tasked with rescuing Ra-den, Jaina and Garrosh began plotting around the Ley Lines and the Focusing Iris, leaving Theramore at the center of a dangerous trap.
Jaina’s pursuit of the Focusing Iris collapsed into Theramore’s destruction, and she was later killed in the struggle around Orgrimmar. Anduin was drawn into Peace Dove’s schemes and the war against Garrosh, while Chen Stormstout’s search for Y'Shaarj’s heart ended in a confrontation with Jiyun Ailin.
Garrosh claimed the Heart of Darkness and used its power to build a vast coalition, while Thrall maneuvered to oppose him and their staged duel erupted into a wider battle. The struggle left both sides plotting new alliances, with Garrosh turning his attention toward Velen and Exodar.
Garrosh’s schemes drove the Alliance and Horde toward war, while Thrall and Vol’jin struggled to shape the Horde’s future. Orgrimmar fell under siege, but Garrosh escaped with Ra-den’s Heart, leaving Thrall blamed and Jiyun Ailuan preparing a trial at the Vermilion Bird Temple.
Garrosh escaped his trial with Kairoz and traveled to Draenor thirty-five years in the past, where Grimak began shaping Orcs into a force that would become the Iron Horde. Back in Azeroth, the Alliance and Horde struggled to decide whether to cooperate against Garrosh, while Grimak built legends to unite the Orcs.
Garrosh reshaped Draenor’s clans, killed Mannoroth before they could be bound to the Legion, and forged the Iron Horde. The story ends with the Burning Legion threatening Draenor as Vanessa chooses to remain and face the danger.
Velen’s pursuit of power turned Draenor into a struggle between the Lightforging Orcs, Durotan, and Mar'gok, while Robbie and Aman'Thul pursued their own plans. Mar'gok seized control of Highmaul, but Velen began conspiring with the entity in Cho'gall’s body as Aman'Thul approached Antonidas.