Chapter Summaries

The narrator discussed the contradictory explanations for the Holy Light in Blizzard’s setting and proposed that it was energy administered by the Naaru, who required faith and consumed souls. The chapter ended with the narrator admitting these explanations were invented and that any interpretation was acceptable if it resolved some questions.

• The narrator recalled playing a Paladin in the level 60 era and described how later expansions introduced Naaru, Blood Elves stealing the Holy Light, and Tauren worshiping the sun.
• The narrator argued that the Holy Light’s connection to faith conflicted with the idea that it was simply energy that could be stolen.
• The narrator proposed that the Holy Light was energy, the Naaru administered it, and the Naaru needed faith and souls to restore their power.
• The narrator suggested that Tyr had obtained the Holy Light by bypassing the Naaru and speculated that the sun might be a Naaru.
• The narrator admitted the explanations were made up and concluded that the Holy Light could be interpreted in whatever way answered some questions.

Robbie, a human soul from Earth, awakened in Azeroth inside the body of adventurer Robbie Capor after Gul’dan captured him to test Demon Blood. He escaped the Iron Horde’s laboratory by feigning death, but found the Dark Portal destroyed and himself stranded in Draenor.

• Robbie woke chained in an Iron Horde laboratory, where a Gul’dan-like stranger revealed he had summoned Robbie’s soul from another world and was testing Demon Blood.
• Robbie sorted through his Earth memories and Robbie Capor’s memories, learning that the original adventurer had been used as cannon fodder after passing through the Dark Portal.
• The Demon Blood gave Robbie unusual strength and clarity, and he used his Warlock knowledge and a rudimentary feign-death skill to fool the Orc guards.
• The Orcs carried Robbie’s supposed corpse to a garbage dump, where he revived and escaped into the Iron Horde’s territory.
• Robbie made his way toward the Dark Portal, hoping to return home, but found it destroyed and his escape route cut off.

Robbie Capor escaped Draenor through Khadgar’s hidden portal, only to be branded a traitor, deserter, underwear thief, and blasphemer and driven from Lakeshire and an inn near Nethergarde Keep. As he headed back toward the Dark Portal, he found an unfamiliar Holy Light Codex that revived memories of his failed attempt to become a Paladin.

• Robbie found Khadgar’s hidden portal in a latrine and used it to return from Draenor to the Redridge Mountains.
• Robbie’s family rejected him, Lisa ended their engagement, and Lakeshire’s residents drove him out after Stormwind accused him of treason, desertion, theft, and blasphemy against Thrall.
• Robbie returned to the Blasted Lands, where an innkeeper barred him from the inn and other adventurers warned that he was shunned for insulting Thrall.
• Robbie decided to go through the Dark Portal to Draenor, believing its Draenei would not judge him for Thrall’s reputation.
• Robbie found an unfamiliar Holy Light Codex in his belongings and remembered how he had failed to become a Paladin despite extraordinary results in his entrance exam.
• Robbie read that the Holy Light had nothing to do with faith.

Robbie failed to win a Naaru’s favor or summon an Imp, then discovered a slaughtered Orc camp and met a miniature Kobold who blamed the massacre on Tirion Fordring. After finding a bizarre letter and learning the Peace Dove might punish Alliance adventurers, Robbie agreed to flee toward the Dark Portal with the Kobold.

• Robbie meditated with the Holy Light Codex but a Naaru rejected him, then his attempt to summon an Imp failed.
• Robbie found a camp of Orc whelp smugglers and Worgs slaughtered, with the bronze dragon whelps freed.
• A miniature Kobold told Robbie that a barehanded Tirion Fordring had killed the Orcs with Holy Light and cured his shrinking potion.
• Robbie discovered Eitrigg’s letter ordering ingredients for a broth meant to improve Thrall’s male function.
• The Kobold warned Robbie that the Peace Dove would investigate the massacre and might hang Alliance adventurers, so Robbie agreed to take a shortcut to the Dark Portal with him.

Robbie remembered that he had beaten a supposed Thrall in a duel over whether the Alliance should cross the Dark Portal, before Maraad attacked him and he woke in an Iron Horde prison. As he and Big Candle Gagg approached the Dark Portal, Gagg spun more conspiracies about Thrall, leaving Robbie increasingly convinced that the Mini Kobold's worldview was delusional.

• Big Candle Gagg accused Medivh of summoning the Iron Horde and blamed Dalaran for failing to warn about the Dark Portal.
• Robbie recalled that Alliance fighters had captured the Dark Portal and argued with Khadgar, Thrall, and Maraad about whether to cross into Draenor.
• Khadgar proposed a duel to settle the dispute, and Robbie Capor was chosen to fight Thrall.
• Robbie remembered easily defeating a weak stand-in for Thrall before Maraad attacked him, after which Robbie awoke in an Iron Horde prison.
• Big Candle Gagg claimed Thrall had manipulated Garrosh, Deathwing, Arthas, and Illidan, while Robbie rejected his claims as nonsense.

Robbie left Big Candle Gagg and entered the Dark Portal for Draenor, where three mysterious orbs gave him a mission tied to a secret involving Med'an, the princess, and Karabor Temple. The chapter left Robbie drifting toward Draenor, tasked with protecting the princess and pursuing a blindfolded woman as a follower.

• Robbie parted ways with Big Candle Gagg, who urged him to grow stronger and uncover history's truths in Draenor.
• Robbie signed up at the Alliance portal, received a form for a reward set of equipment, and heard Orc guards chant, “May Thrall's head be forever green!”
• Robbie entered the portal and encountered three strange orbs discussing the Horde envoy Med'an's plan to reach Azeroth thirty-five years in the past through Karabor Temple.
• The orbs decided Robbie should stay beside the princess, and the icy orb urged him to protect her and uphold justice.
• The green orb told Robbie to find a blindfolded human woman in Draenor and become her follower.

Robbie struggled to find work in Stormshield until he met Vanessa, whose face and gaze reminded him of his lost first love. Recognizing him from the Deadmines, Vanessa offered him a chance to join her as a follower, though he would have to prove himself.

• Robbie objected to the battered equipment issued to him, then learned the Frostwolf Clan had supplied it after the prince intervened.
• Robbie discovered that commanders favored experienced and skilled adventurers, leaving him with little hope of becoming a follower.
• Robbie studied the Holy Light Compendium but could not make progress until he met a young woman who resembled his former lover.
• Robbie claimed he had mastered the Holy Light and disparaged Pandaren to persuade the woman to hire him.
• The woman identified herself as Vanessa VanCleef, leader of the Defias Brotherhood, and recognized Robbie from the Deadmines.
• Vanessa offered Robbie a chance to become her follower, with building, lumberjacking, or toilet cleaning as alternatives if he proved too weak.

Vanessa recruited Delvar Ironfist and brought Robbie to her assigned plot in Lunarfall, where they discovered the site was undeveloped and overrun with ravens. After Robbie questioned the point of risking their lives while others profited from Draenor’s land, the trio began clearing the birds.

• Vanessa sent Robbie to hire a Death Knight and gave him her signed employment certificate.
• Robbie hired Delvar Ironfist, whom he said was the strongest Death Knight in the barracks, and Vanessa verified his strength with Sargeras's Cursed Vision.
• Vanessa and Robbie flew to Lunarfall, where Robbie learned how Khadgar, Maraad, and Thrall were selling commander's certificates and land rights.
• Vanessa showed Robbie and Delvar her undeveloped garrison plot and explained that she could serve as their healer.
• Vanessa read the quests to mark eight trees and kill six Lunarfall Ravens, then the group began clearing the raven nest with Delvar tanking, Vanessa healing, and Robbie dealing damage.

Robbie received a Universal Holy Light Rune from Vanessa, which greatly strengthened his Paladin skills, and spent the day fighting Lunarfall Ravens with Delvar Ironfist. At Vanessa’s request, he went to recruit a follower, but the mysterious figure who met him attacked instead, leaving Robbie to recognize his likely identity as the chapter ended.

• Vanessa discovered hidden runes in Robbie’s Holy Light Codex and gave him a Universal Holy Light Rune, greatly increasing the power of his Paladin skills.
• Robbie and Delvar Ironfist killed Lunarfall Ravens until the flock began foraging in groups, forcing them to stop for the day.
• Vanessa sent Robbie to a tavern with her token to recruit a follower, and he visited several crowded inns before meeting a disguised figure.
• The figure lured Robbie to a secluded place and attacked him, chewing through the head of his wooden hammer.
• Robbie dodged the attacker’s claws and knocked him down, then recognized him from Robbie Capor’s memories as the chapter ended.

Robbie learned that Hogger was a boastful SI:7 operative who had joined Vanessa’s forces, then studied Kel’Thuzad’s book on magic and runes. At dawn, Vanessa prepared the group to eliminate the ravens, but Robbie tried to share an idea.

• Hogger claimed he had served SI:7, stolen the Furlbrows’ land deed, fought the Goblins, and infiltrated the Stockade before joining Vanessa’s forces.
• Robbie saw Hogger become deferential around Vanessa, then returned to camp and read Kel’Thuzad’s book on spellcasting, runes, and cats.
• Robbie noticed gaps in the book’s basic mathematical explanations and wondered whether a powerful being had taught Kel’Thuzad.
• At dawn, Hogger howled and ran around the garrison, while Delvar emerged from the ground and Vanessa ordered the group to eliminate the ravens.
• Robbie interrupted Vanessa, saying he had an idea.

Robbie helped Vanessa earn gold from Lunarfall Ravens and devised a way to get Alliance elites to defeat Shockfist, earning superior equipment and clearing the way for the garrison. As construction began, Vanessa planned an oversized level-three garrison and hinted that she would obtain resources by exploiting corrupt commanders’ fake garrisons.

• Robbie and Vanessa sold hundreds of Lunarfall Ravens and their eggs to hunters, while Vanessa auctioned the raven matriarch for fifteen hundred gold.
• Vanessa assigned Robbie, Hogger, and Delvar Ironfist the task of eliminating Shockfist, but Hogger returned wounded and reported that the stone giant was epic-tier.
• Robbie suggested using Shockfist’s resemblance to Krol'un to persuade Grand Marshal Tremblade to send Alliance elite captains, and Vanessa asked Marshal Tremblade for help.
• Alliance captains arrived from Stormshield and drove Shockfist to take his own life; Vanessa sold his corpse to the Azeroth Mineral Company for enough to build a level-five garrison.
• Robbie received a full set of superior-quality Stormwind City elite guard equipment, and construction began on Vanessa’s garrison.
• Vanessa ordered a level-three garrison built and suggested she could acquire resources by taking advantage of nobles’ children who maintained fake garrisons.

Vanessa and Robby investigated why Yuli, an elf Druid Vanessa remembered seeing dead at the Dark Portal, was alive and adventuring in Draenor. After confronting Yuli and Sori Beastmaster, they learned the pair had once fallen into Vanessa’s Deadmines illusion, but Yuli’s identity and survival remained unexplained.

• Vanessa led Robby and Delvar Ironfist to clear pale Orcs from the harbor while Robby showed off his newly mastered Paladin abilities.
• Robby advised Vanessa to follow the cautious example of long-lived adventurers, and Vanessa recognized Yuli as an elf she had seen dead at the Dark Portal.
• Vanessa and Robby intercepted Yuli and Sori Beastmaster, but Sori refused to explain how Yuli could be alive.
• Robby asked why the elves had avoided a raid, and Sori said they distrusted the adventurers in Draenor and had come only to be together.
• Vanessa recalled that she had drugged and ensnared the pair in a Deadmines nightmare, then Robby concluded Yuli had not been the person who died at the Dark Portal.

After Vanessa helped clear Silent Kinndy’s name, she sent Robby to capture the messenger Stalvan Mistmantle, but Robby found Stalvan dead and was nearly killed by a powerful Orc Rogue. Vanessa arrived and identified the attacker as Garona, ordering her to spare Robby.

• Sori Beast Tamer told Robby that Silent Kinndy had been framed and asked for help killing Norn Bloodseeker to clear Kinndy’s name.
• Vanessa agreed to the mission, infiltrated the Pale Orc camp, killed Norn Bloodseeker, and returned with his head.
• Vanessa sent Robby back to Fallen Moon Camp to capture the messenger Stalvan Mistmantle.
• Robby found Stalvan dead in his tent and was attacked by a female Orc Rogue whose shadow attacks pierced his armor and Divine Shield.
• As the Rogue held a dagger to Robby’s neck, Vanessa called her Garona and threatened to kill her if she harmed her follower.

Robbie and Vanessa drove Garona away, then used plague-tainted rice to turn Stalvan into an Undead and question him. Stalvan denied murdering the Flintley family, and Hogger began threatening him to force a confession.

• Vanessa frightened Garona off with the threat of hunting her down using the Fangs of the Father, and Robbie realized a Hyacinth Macaw had helped save him.
• At Stalvan's tent, Robbie stopped Sori Beast Tamer from dissecting the corpse and proposed turning Stalvan into a Ghoul so they could question him.
• Vanessa used plague-contaminated rice to raise Stalvan as an Undead after Delvar Ironfist admitted he could not perform necromancy.
• Robbie used Holy Light to keep Stalvan conscious, and Stalvan said he had died after fulfilling his vengeance.
• Stalvan described his past but claimed Moonbrook had been peaceful under the Defias Brotherhood, prompting Robbie to ask how he had killed the Flintley family.
• Stalvan denied killing anyone, so Robbie and Hogger began a good-cop, bad-cop interrogation.

Vanessa interrogated Stalvan, who revealed the Flintley family’s hidden history and the letter he carried to Sentinel Hill. Robbie and Vanessa uncovered the Ninth Divine Realm’s betrayal and discussed Garona’s failed assassination of Khadgar, while Vanessa connected Stalvan and Yuli’s journeys to a failed space-time experiment in Karabor Temple.

• Vanessa frightened Stalvan into recounting his work for the Flintley family, including Earl Flintley’s secret letters, the attack on the estate, and his escape through a portal to Karabor Temple.
• Stalvan gave Robbie the letter, which contained the coded message, “I have failed. The cold wind of Northrend needs your help,” and Vanessa judged that Stalvan was telling the truth.
• Stalvan admitted that he had joined the Ninth Divine Realm to avenge Earl Flintley and had exposed Blackwater’s secret message to Norn Bloodseeker.
• Vanessa explained that Blackwater had taken Alliance and Horde supplies worth over two million gold coins and was now under Prophet Velen’s protection; she asked Robbie to persuade Velen to hand him over.
• Robbie suggested that Stalvan could be protected as Delvar Ironfist’s Ghoul, and Vanessa told him that Garona had failed to assassinate Archmage Khadgar.
• Robbie argued that Khadgar’s survival suggested the assassination attempt was staged, and Vanessa revealed that Stalvan and Yuli had crossed over after a space-time experiment failed in Karabor Temple.

Vanessa judged Robbie ready to condense a Holy Light rune and gave him Benedictus's book, Whispers of the Old Gods. Robbie read that Benedictus had used Old God whispers to develop mental rune-casting, leaving Robbie unsettled by the hidden ties between the Holy Light, the Twilight's Hammer, and the Void.

• Robbie told Vanessa that mysterious blood had given him unusual knowledge, and she concluded it came from an ancient demon whose power shared principles with the Holy Light.
• Vanessa reviewed Robbie's rune-casting notes with him, then gave him Whispers of the Old Gods and sent him away after her attitude abruptly turned cold.
• Robbie returned to his barracks room, ignored the noise from Hogger's room, and began reading Benedictus's book.
• Benedictus's account described how Spellstealers used the whispers of the Old Gods to condense runes with mental power and advance spellcasting for ascetics.
• Robbie read that Benedictus had underestimated the Void Lords and their covert agents, and decided to set the book's disturbing revelations aside while he sought power.

After the fortress was completed, Robbie assigned Brotherhood members to manage its buildings and oversaw the arrival of congratulatory envoys from several notorious factions. The chapter ended when an envoy from the Infinite Dragonflight arrived, leaving Robbie and Marisa puzzled about the faction’s connection to the Brotherhood.

• Robbie showed Hogger the paladin runes he had mastered during twenty days of research, then cleaned up and joined the fortress completion ceremony.
• Marisa asked Robbie to choose someone to receive the People's Militia, and he assigned Hogger to greet Marshal Gryan Stoutmantle's soldiers.
• Robbie assigned Brotherhood members to manage the fortress's mines, flower beds, fishing grounds, lumber mill, inn, and other buildings.
• Marisa explained how to identify friendly and hostile guests, then Robbie received gifts from the Cult of the Damned and Twilight followers.
• Envoys from Gnomeregan, Scholomance, Stratholme, the Qiraji Empire, and the Firelands brought more gifts, after which an envoy from the Infinite Dragonflight arrived and confused Robbie and Marisa.

The Infinite Dragon gave Robbie Nefarian’s research notes on corrupted healing, while the Argent Crusade envoys arrived at Lunarfall and provoked a confrontation. The chapter ended with Robbie learning that the arrogant envoy he had insulted was General Tuyang Tusunpo, a powerful figure with ties to both the Alliance and Horde.

• The Infinite Dragon visited Robbie and gave him Nefarian’s book on corrupted healing, urging him to read it and seize his destiny in the present.
• Robbie studied Nefarian’s failed research into turning Holy Light into dangerous corrupted Holy Light, but could not see how the notes would help him.
• Marisa warned Robbie to be serious when the Argent Crusade envoys arrived, and she explained their resentment over the People’s Militia refusing to join the Wrathgate attack.
• Robbie saw the envoys’ imposing escorts and recognized that their visit could cause trouble at Lunarfall.
• General Tuyang Tusunpo insulted Lunarfall, the People’s Militia, and King Varian, so Robbie angrily called him an arrogant fool.
• Marshal Gabrielle identified Tuyang Tusunpo as Turalyon’s son, a chief Paladin of the Argent Crusade, Thrall’s godson, Vol’jin’s cousin’s nephew, and Tirion Fordring’s personal disciple.

Robbie and the fortress’s leaders faced Tuyang Tusunpo, who arrived with an absurdly broad appointment to investigate the Blasted Lands massacre and authority to search the fortress. After Hogger challenged his power, Tuyang demonstrated devastating strength and was identified as the Argent Crusade’s strongest Paladin, leaving the defenders wary of resisting him.

• Hogger questioned Tuyang Tusunpo’s claim to be Turalyon’s son, and Tuyang invoked Thrall as his godfather while Marisa exposed his past betrayal of the Alliance in Alterac Valley.
• General Kash Baolu presented Anduin’s appointment letter naming Tuyang chief investigator of the massacre of fifty-seven Orcs and authorizing him to search the fortress.
• Tuyang ordered Marshal Gabrielle and Kash Baolu to tear the fortress apart, but Hogger demanded evidence and challenged him to a fight.
• Andenani attacked Hogger with a fireball after Marisa mocked her, but Hogger effortlessly dispelled it.
• Tuyang demonstrated his Holy Light Finger by felling a century-old tree, while Udir revealed that Tuyang was the Argent Crusade’s strongest Paladin and had been intended as a secret weapon against the Lich King.

Robbie Capor challenged Tuyang Tusunpo after the self-proclaimed strongest Paladin threatened the Brotherhood's bastion. Robbie talked Glubtok out of firing the hidden cannons and arranged a duel, which began before a crowd of adventurers who overwhelmingly bet against him.

• Tuyang Tusunpo challenged the Brotherhood to tear down its bastion, and Robbie stepped forward to fight him.
• Cordana Felsong confirmed that Robbie had beaten Thrall, prompting Tuyang Tusunpo to attack with a Holy Light Finger that Robbie dodged.
• Glubtok revealed thirteen bastion cannons aimed at Tuyang Tusunpo, and Robbie persuaded him to put them away rather than waste ammunition.
• Robbie challenged Tuyang Tusunpo to dismount, but Andenani claimed that rider and mount were one, so Robbie agreed to fight him mounted.
• Hogger appeared at the arena and offered bets, and the adventurers placed their money on Tuyang Tusunpo before the duel began.