Chapter Summaries

Kites fell for Agna, an Orc Shaman secretly sent by Thrall to influence Stormwind’s king, and his feelings led him to delay supporting Garrosh’s impeachment. He met Agna again and asked whether she would stay in Stormwind after completing her mission.

• Agna told Kites that Thrall had forced her to seduce him by threatening Orgrimmar’s orphans, and Kites insisted Stormwind would not make concessions.
• After Kites left, Agna revealed her tears had been an act, while a mysterious shadow assured her that she had planted a seed in the king’s heart.
• Kites refused to help Garrosh impeach Thrall for now, choosing to wait rather than publicly declare that the Alliance would not join the Northern Expedition.
• Bolvar and Benedictus watched Kites secretly visit Agna, discussed the danger she posed, and decided to activate a backup plan.
• Kites and Agna met again, and he asked whether she would remain in Stormwind after completing her mission to draw the kingdom into war against the Scourge.

Agna manipulated Kites into signing a declaration of war against the Scourge, which the Peace Dove published across Azeroth. After discovering the deception, Kites confronted Duke Alpha’s empty manor and received Agna’s farewell letter, while she escaped by ship.

• Agna persuaded Kites to promise a declaration of war by claiming that Frostwolf tradition required them to marry after touching.
• Duke Bolvar warned Kites that declaring war could send adventurers to Northrend to die, but Kites later dismissed Agna’s regret and agreed to keep the declaration secret.
• Kites drafted and sealed the declaration of war, then handed it to Agna, who arranged for the Peace Dove to publish thousands of copies.
• Kites awoke to learn that Azeroth believed the Alliance had declared war on the Scourge, and he led troops to Duke Alpha’s manor.
• Kites found Agna’s farewell letter and learned that she had fled with Duke Alpha, who said they might use Kites again in the future.

Kites faced objections after declaring war on the Scourge, while Bolvar urged him not to send troops. In Northrend, Tirion Fordring and Eitrigg planned to recruit the Tuskarr and hunt local creatures to feed the Orcs, as Varimathras received a letter from Agna and vowed revenge on the Night Watch.

• Fandral Staghelm confronted Kites over the war declaration, and Bolvar privately promised that the Night Elves would send no soldiers.
• Bolvar asked Kites for Agna's letter, and Kites had a guard deliver it to him.
• Tirion Fordring learned through Taelan Fordring that Naxxramas planned to withdraw, then welcomed thousands of adventurers after Varian declared war on the Scourge.
• Eitrigg told Tirion Fordring that Thrall had abandoned the plan to use Alliance adventurers as Orc rations and urged him to recruit the Tuskarr and hunt Northrend wildlife for food.
• Varimathras received a secret letter written by Agna, burned it, and vowed revenge on the Night Watch.

Bolvar met Varimathras at Thandol Span and persuaded him to cooperate by offering him a chance to confront Dranosh and King Varian. In Northrend, Eitrigg and Tirion Fordring tricked and slaughtered the Tuskarr to supply the Orcs with food, as Garrosh's New Warsong Corps began the war against the Scourge.

• Bolvar met Varimathras at Thandol Span and convinced him to cooperate by revealing that Agna was with Dranosh and promising him a chance to face Dranosh and King Varian.
• Eitrigg ordered Tirion Fordring to massacre a Tuskarr village and leave evidence that implicated Tirion's group.
• Tirion Fordring and Eitrigg summoned the Tuskarr leaders, persuaded them that the Orcs were heroes, and convinced them to send their people to camp.
• Tirion Fordring tricked the Tuskarr into entering a false Portal, where adventurers processed and slaughtered more than ten thousand of them each day for Orc military rations.
• Garrosh led the elite New Warsong Corps onto Northrend, beginning the Alliance and Horde's war against the Scourge.

Garrosh Hellscream arrived in Northrend, stripped Tirion Fordring’s camp of supplies, and redirected his campaign toward plundering the Blue Dragonflight’s Nexus through Dalaran. After the Red Dragonflight rescued Tirion’s starving troops, Dranosh Saurfang arrived to find the camp bare and nearly beat Tirion to death.

• Garrosh Hellscream’s New Warsong Clan reached Tirion Fordring’s camp before Eitrigg was prepared and forced Tirion to meet him.
• Garrosh’s troops plundered the camp, including its food, equipment, clothing, tents, and Tirion’s maps, while leaving Tirion and his soldiers exposed to the cold.
• Tirion advised Garrosh to seize Dalaran and use its mages against the Blue Dragonflight, and Garrosh beat him before departing with his army.
• Eitrigg helped Tirion recover, and Tirion called for aid; the Red Dragonflight rescued his troops, after which he reorganized the Argent Dawn as the Argent Crusade.
• Dranosh Saurfang arrived with poorly supplied forces, learned that Garrosh had taken everything, and beat Tirion nearly to death.

Dranosh’s Orcs devastated Dragonblight and exploited the Argent Crusade, while the Red Dragon Queen chose to blame the Scourge for the destruction. After Tirion recovered and tried to rally the Crusaders, Krenna’s army arrived, and Gorgonna challenged him to a game.

• Eitrigg handed the gravely injured Tirion to the Argent Crusade, while Dranosh’s troops massacred Tuskarr and Wolvar villages and stripped Dragonblight of food, timber, and wildlife.
• Alexstrasza watched the devastation, and after Krasus urged her to act, she decided to blame the Scourge for the Orcs’ crimes.
• Dranosh left Dragonblight for Utgarde Keep, taking Crusaders as laborers and rations, before the Holy Light fully healed Tirion.
• Tirion claimed the Red Dragons would punish anyone who harmed Azeroth, forcing the remaining Crusaders to keep working as he thanked the Holy Light.
• Krenna’s Orgrimmar and Thrallmar forces arrived, and Tirion told her Garrosh had taken his supplies by force.
• Gorgonna confronted Tirion and said she wanted to play a game with him.

After enduring half a month of torture at the hands of Keleina and Gorgonna, Tirion learned that Thrall’s hidden Dragonblood Orcs had arrived in Northrend. He discovered the Horde planned to attack Zul’Drak for plunder and left him to lead the Alliance against the Scourge.

• Keleina and Gorgonna tortured Tirion by cutting off his flesh and relying on the Holy Light to heal him, but their plan to use Paladins as an endless food source failed.
• The Orc sisters took their forces toward Grizzly Hills, and Tirion returned to the depleted Argent Crusade camp, where Eitrigg called his suffering an honor.
• Tirion sent letters through Peace Dove to Jaina, asking her to recruit adventurers for the Argent Crusade.
• Tirion and Eitrigg welcomed a secret force of Orcs at Mo’aki Harbor, and Tirion was astonished to see thousands of Dragonblood Orcs among them.
• Vol’jin and Rokhan revealed that the force intended to seize Gundrak City and plunder Zul’Drak rather than fight the Scourge.
• Vol’jin told Tirion to lead the Alliance against the Scourge, leaving him the glory of defeating the Lich King while the Horde pursued its own goals.

Vol'jin and Eitrigg forced Tirion Fordring to help the Horde exploit the Argent Crusade and the Alliance, but Naxxramas withdrew after disabling the Dragonblood Orcs. Tirion was hailed as a hero while reports spread of Dranosh Saurfang and Garrosh Saurfang winning major victories against the Scourge.

• Vol'jin and Eitrigg pressured Tirion Fordring to stage a campaign against the Scourge and lure Alliance armies into a Horde ambush.
• Vol'jin, Eitrigg, and Rokhan tortured Tirion Fordring at his camp, while Naxxramas watched the Horde forces.
• Naxxramas's glow incapacitated most of the Dragonblood Orcs, then the necropolis flew toward Icecrown Glacier.
• The Argent Crusade celebrated Naxxramas's withdrawal, and books credited Tirion Fordring and Duke Bolvar with its defeat.
• News reported that Dranosh Saurfang killed Anub'arak and Garrosh Saurfang slew Sindragosa with Gorehowl.

Kites weighed whether the Alliance should send troops to Northrend as Duke Bolvar warned that the Horde was trapped and the Scourge remained dangerous. Doubting Bolvar and swayed by a mysterious letter from Agna, Kites sought Prophet Velen’s counsel, hoping for a reason to act.

• Duke Bolvar told Kites that the Horde’s four armies were stalled by fear of Naxxramas and would run out of supplies if the Alliance stayed out of the war.
• Kites worried that the Horde might defeat the Scourge and gain glory and strength, while Bolvar urged him not to send troops and reminded him of Goldrinn’s warning.
• Kites questioned Bolvar’s friendship with Arthas, causing Bolvar to leave the Throne Room after realizing the king no longer trusted him.
• Kites reread Agna’s letter inviting him to the top of the Frozen Throne and remained torn over whether to send the Alliance to Northrend.
• Prophet Velen arrived in Stormwind City, praised Kites as chosen by the Holy Light, and compared powerful figures’ mistakes to Goldrinn’s fallibility.
• Kites asked Velen whether the Alliance should send troops to Northrend.

Velen used the Song of Souls to show Kites a vision of Arthas falling and Tirion Fordring triumphing, encouraging the king to prepare the Alliance for war. Duke Bolvar threatened Velen into revealing a different vision: a peaceful new world that Arthas had refused to let the Draenei enter.

• Velen used the Song of Souls to show Kites a vision of Frostmourne breaking, Arthas falling atop the Frozen Throne, and Tirion Fordring winning.
• Kites thanked Velen and began issuing orders to convene a military meeting.
• Duke Bolvar threatened to turn the Night Elves and Horde against the Draenei unless Velen gave him the real prophecy.
• Velen told Bolvar he had seen a peaceful world where humans and Night Elves lived amid magical cities and abundance.
• Velen said the Draenei had wanted to enter that world, but Arthas had refused him.

Kites sent Duke Bolvar and the Stormwind City Royal Guards toward Northrend without adequate supplies, effectively banishing them and earning Goldrinn’s warning. In Orgrimmar, Thrall and Jaina discussed how to eliminate the Fordragon Legion, and Jaina suggested asking King Rastakhan to intervene.

• Kites ordered Duke Bolvar to sail for Northrend within three days with the Stormwind City Royal Guards, despite the lack of ships, supplies, warm clothing, and equipment.
• Duke Bolvar sold his property to buy weapons and armor, then departed with the underprepared legion as Archbishop Benedictus blessed them.
• Kites watched the Fordragon Legion sail away, felt Goldrinn’s power leave him, and accepted the loss of strength as the price of freedom.
• Thrall and Jaina agreed that the Horde should not openly attack the Fordragon Legion, which was sailing in fishing boats and could be destroyed by a storm.
• Jaina proposed that Thrall ask King Rastakhan to send Rezan against the legion, and Thrall agreed that Rastakhan would obey.

Bolvar Fordragon’s fleet used Kel'Thuzad’s Old God-powered tentacles to survive a surprise attack by Rastakhan’s Zandalari warships. The fishing boats surrounded and seized all five ships, leaving Rezan trapped as Jaina realized the attack had been a trap.

• Tierte urged Bolvar to turn south, seize ships at Booty Bay, and attack Theramore, but Bolvar said he trusted someone and had already made plans.
• Kel'Thuzad arrived aboard Bolvar’s fleet and attached octopuses to the ships, giving them tentacles that propelled them across the sea.
• Jaina warned Rastakhan that Bolvar’s fleet had Court Mages and that the Zandalari needed to strike quickly, while Rastakhan summoned Rezan.
• Rastakhan ordered the Zandalari warships to fire on Bolvar’s flagship, but tentacles shielded it from the shells.
• Bolvar’s fleet surrounded and entangled the five Zandalari warships, while tentacles bound Rezan and left him unable to move.

King Rastakhan watched Rezan drive off the Fordragon fleet, while Kel'Thuzad revealed that Rezan had traded secrets of the Loa for his freedom. At the Nexus, Malygos was drawn into the Ley Line plane and saw an elegant blue Dragon who had haunted his dreams.

• Jaina identified Kel'Thuzad, then teleported away and left King Rastakhan to face Rezan's corruption.
• Rezan broke free of the Old Gods' tentacles, but Kel'Thuzad teleported the Fordragon fleet away before Rastakhan could attack.
• Rezan told Rastakhan his injuries were minor and claimed victory over the Scourge.
• Kel'Thuzad showed Duke Bolvar a scroll of secrets about the Loa, then asked why Bolvar had built Fordragon Fortress near the Wrathgate.
• Duke Bolvar said the fortress was his final act of loyalty to the Kingdom of Stormwind and that he would correct his own mistake.
• Malygos worried about defending the Nexus without devastating the world, then found himself in the Ley Line plane and saw an elegant blue Dragon.

Sindragosa confronted Malygos in the Ley Line Plane and offered him a Chromatic Dragon corpse that could give him the power of the five Dragon Kings. Malygos accepted the gift, sealed the remains in an arcane prison, and began infusing them with Arcane energy, regaining his confidence.

• Malygos rejected Sindragosa because she had returned from the dead, even as she offered to reveal who had helped destroy the Nexus.
• Sindragosa criticized Malygos's hesitation and told him that Nefarian had perfected Chromatic Dragons and could mass-produce them as Chromatus.
• Sindragosa gave Malygos the remains of a nearly flawless five-headed Chromatic Dragon, explaining that it could serve as a powerful Vessel at the cost of the user's body.
• Malygos connected the corpse to the Ley Line Plane, then sealed it in an arcane prison and infused it with Arcane energy.
• Malygos looked down at his subjects from the Eye of Eternity, newly confident in his strength.

Garrosh seized control of Dalaran and secured the Red Dragonflight’s support for an assault on the Nexus, demanding the Blue Dragonflight surrender its flesh and blood. Facing overwhelming odds, Arygos planned to hide the Dragon Eggs with other factions and lead the remaining blue dragons in a final battle.

• Garrosh occupied Dalaran, forced its mages to submit, and waited to attack the Nexus until he was sure the Scourge would not intervene.
• Garrosh rejected the Red Dragon Queen’s offer to hand over the Blue Dragonflight’s treasure and demanded its flesh and blood, agreeing to spare Kalecgos and the Dragon Eggs.
• The Red Dragon Queen accepted Garrosh’s terms and joined the coming battle against the Blue Dragonflight.
• Garrosh sent a surrender demand to the Nexus, and Arygos gathered the blue dragons to consider their choices as war approached.
• Arygos proposed dividing the Dragon Eggs among the Scourge, the Black Dragonflight, and a group that would hide them, while the remaining blue dragons fought to the death.

Malygos ordered the Blue Dragonflight to fight rather than submit, and its dragons attacked Orcs who were raiding a Kobold village. The blue dragons then used Ley Line power to destroy Garrosh’s observing force, though Garrosh and Rhonin escaped through a Portal.

• Arygos rallied the blue dragons, but Malygos appeared and teleported Kalecgos to Theramore before ordering the Blue Dragonflight to war.
• Garrosh sent Orcs to attack a Kobold village near the Nexus and watched from the rear while the villagers sent a distress signal.
• Five adult blue dragons appeared, defeated the Orcs, and then flew toward Garrosh’s observing force.
• Rhonin raised a Magic Shield as the five blue dragons prepared Netherstorm, then recognized that they were drawing on the Ley Line.
• Rhonin opened a Portal, and Garrosh entered it first; the dragons’ Netherstorm killed most of the mages who had not escaped.

After the Blue Dragonflight used the Ley Lines and killed familiar figures, Lekles led fifteen Red Dragons to confront Arygos at the Nexus. Arygos used the Focusing Iris to crush them and teleported the still-living dragons to Dalaran, where Garrosh and Rhonin arrived.

• Rhonin returned to Dalaran as the city grieved, while Garrosh celebrated the Blue Dragonflight's actions and hoped the Red Dragonflight would attack them.
• Krasus urged the Red Dragons to consult their queen, but Lekles dismissed him and led fifteen Adult Red Dragons toward the Nexus.
• Arygos met the Red Dragons alone and warned them to leave, but Lekles accused the Blue Dragonflight of plotting against Azeroth and refused.
• Arygos wielded the Focusing Iris to crush Lekles and the fifteen Red Dragons into a ball of flesh.
• Arygos teleported the injured Red Dragons to Dalaran's square, where Garrosh arrived with Rhonin, who confirmed they were still alive.

Garrosh ordered the fifteen captured red dragons slaughtered and their heads sent to the Red Dragon Queen, while the Orcs’ brutality shocked Rhonin. After receiving Lekles’s head, the queen chose to wage an all-out war against the Blue Dragonflight to seize the Nexus, though she admitted Arygos’s actions had influenced her decision.

• Garrosh rejected Rhonin’s plea to spare the red dragons and ordered the Orcs to eat them and send their heads to the Red Dragon Queen.
• Krasus returned to Wyrmrest Temple and told the Red Dragon Queen that Malygos’s Blue Dragonflight had used the Focusing Iris.
• The Red Dragon Queen decided to postpone confronting the Blue Dragonflight until Lekles and the other injured dragons had recovered.
• Dalaran mages delivered the fifteen severed dragon heads, and the Red Dragon Queen grieved for Lekles behind Krasus’s Magic Shield.
• Krasus warned that the Orcs were protected by Elune and allied with the Burning Legion, and the queen resolved to unite Azeroth’s forces to destroy the Blue Dragonflight.
• The Red Dragon Queen nodded when Krasus asked whether she would have decided differently if Arygos had killed the red dragons outright.

With few allies willing or able to help her, Alexstrasza appealed to Stormwind for support against the Blue Dragonflight. Kites was manipulated into ordering an expedition led by Garrison, and decided to command it himself.

• Alexstrasza struggled to gather support from the other Dragonflights and races, and turned to the Alliance for troops.
• Kites heard Alexstrasza’s letter praising him and ordered the Alliance to join the war against the Blue Dragonflight.
• When an SI:7 official warned that Stormwind troops were ill-suited to the conflict, Kites killed him with Goldrinn’s power.
• An old general recommended that Garrison lead the City Guard, while other officials flattered Kites and urged him to seek glory in battle.
• Garrison promised to kill Malygos and praised Kites as a future savior, persuading Kites to personally lead the expedition.

Kites led Stormwind’s army to Northrend, unaware that rival Orc forces planned to seize his troops’ provisions. As the armies converged on Valiance Keep, Kites suffered another loss of Goldrinn’s power, and Duke Bolvar recognized the trap.

• Kites sailed for Northrend with more than twenty thousand troops, while Thrall ordered Orc armies to race for Valiance Keep and compete for the provisions.
• Jaina proposed using Agna to convince Kites that Garrosh planned to turn his army into provisions, drawing him closer to Thrall’s forces.
• Garrosh ordered his army to march for Valiance Keep after receiving Kites’s offer to fight the Blue Dragonflight.
• Dranosh sent most of his force toward Valiance Keep, hoping to capture the provisions Kites’s army would bring.
• Kites arrived at Valiance Keep, then fell to his knees when another portion of Goldrinn’s power left him.
• Duke Bolvar read the intelligence report and told Robbie that someone was killing with a borrowed knife.