Chapter Summaries

Kalecgos persuaded Muradin to confront Dranosh by promising him the location of a dangerous Titan relic, while secretly arranging for Muradin to withdraw during the battle. As Saurfang the Great faced his son at Icecrown Citadel, Dranosh revealed that he remembered his death and hinted that he could be resurrected like Tirion Fordring.

• Kalecgos offered Muradin the location of a Titan relic in Ulduar in exchange for one attempt to confront Dranosh, and Muradin accepted without promising to kill him.
• After Kalecgos left, Muradin secretly sent a letter to Icecrown Citadel.
• On the final day of the agreed period, Saurfang the Great arrived at Icecrown Citadel aboard Orgrimmar's Hammer, followed by the Skybreaker, while Thrall ordered Jaina to stop the Alliance airship.
• Muradin led a thousand Dwarves onto the balcony to face Dranosh, but a strange whirlwind carried Muradin and his warriors away, leaving Saurfang to confront his son.
• Dranosh told Saurfang that he remembered Thrall torturing him in Dalaran and suggested that the Undead could be resurrected like Tirion Fordring.

Dranosh defeated Saurfang the Great’s forces, though the supposed king he killed was an impostor. Jaina discovered a message from the captured Primordial Emissary and brought its Communication Gem to Aegwynn, who trusted its runes and dismissed Jaina’s suspicions.

• Saurfang the Great tried to persuade Dranosh to join him, but Dranosh rejected him, so Saurfang ordered his forces to attack.
• Dranosh fought three apparent Saurfangs the Great and used Blood Beasts to defeat them, discovering that none was the real king.
• Dranosh displayed one impostor’s head, causing Saurfang’s troops to surrender, then gave the head to Jaina as a gift.
• Jaina withdrew with the allied forces and found a Communication Gem and a message directing her to deliver it to Aegwynn.
• Aegwynn examined the gem in Theramore and told Jaina that its runes proved the message came from the Primordial Emissary.

After Aegwynn learned that the Scourge had discovered a way to slow aging, she ordered Jaina to attack Icecrown Citadel and follow Dranosh’s instructions. At the altar, the Primordial Emissary commanded Jaina to resurrect Dranosh using ten thousand willing warriors, and the soldiers agreed.

• Aegwynn deciphered a message from the Primordial Emissary and ordered Jaina to attack Icecrown Citadel with Dranosh after learning the Scourge could slow aging.
• Thrall accused Tirion of withholding Taelan’s warning, and Sylvanas and Vol'jin beat him before Thrall had him hung from a flagpole.
• Jaina led the allied forces to Icecrown Citadel, where they fought Dranosh’s undead Orcs and followed him into a vast abandoned hall.
• Jaina met Dranosh at a rune-covered platform, where the Primordial Emissary told her to resurrect him with the willing sacrifice of ten thousand warriors.
• Jaina asked the soldiers to offer their flesh and souls for Dranosh, and they answered together that they were willing.

Jaina’s ritual resurrected Dranosh Saurfang through the power of an Old God’s heart, and Robbie and Kel'Thuzad discovered that it could restore an Undead’s body and soul. As Jaina led the weakened Dranosh back toward camp, Garrosh Hellscream ambushed them, killed Dranosh, and ordered him prepared as dinner.

• Jaina conducted the Ten Thousand Souls Resurrection Ritual, and an Old God’s embryo formed before a spell destroyed it and left behind its heart.
• Robbie stopped the Undead Dranosh from consuming his new body and used the Old God’s heart to drain his Power of the Dead and restore his body and soul with the Curse of Flesh.
• Jaina realized the “Primordial Emissary” had tricked her, but she told the soldiers their sacrifices had helped resurrect Dranosh and led them out of Icecrown Citadel.
• Jaina detected Orcs lying in ambush at the allied camp and escaped with Blink as the soldiers remained unaware.
• Garrosh Hellscream emerged from the camp, snapped Dranosh’s neck, and ordered his corpse cooked for dinner.

Garrosh seized the coalition camp, but Antonidas helped Thrall and the others escape to the Undercity. Seeking Alliance support, they resurrected Varian as one of the Forsaken, leaving him furious with Thrall.

• Garrosh captured the coalition camp and persuaded Tirion Fordring to join him and urge him to execute Thrall, Vol'jin, and Sylvanas.
• Antonidas opened a Portal and rescued Thrall and the others before Garrosh could reach them.
• Thrall fled to the Undercity and asked Sylvanas to prepare its defenses while he sought help from Medivh.
• Sylvanas proposed asking the Alliance for troops, and Antonidas said he could resurrect Varian if they found something from his body.
• Vol'jin gave Antonidas Varian's shrunken skull, and Antonidas used Soul Summoning to bring Varian back as one of the Forsaken.
• Varian remembered that Thrall had cooked and eaten him, then swore he would never coexist with Thrall.

Thrall and Sylvanas forced Varian to return to Stormwind and raise an army against Garrosh, so Varian assembled a ragtag force and claimed it numbered five hundred thousand. Garrosh accepted Sylvanas’s offer to betray Thrall, while Tirion Fordring’s Argent Crusade confronted Varian’s army, and a battle began.

• Thrall and Vol'jin pressured Varian to help fight Garrosh, while Sylvanas threatened him until he agreed to obey.
• Thrall ordered Varian to rally Stormwind’s forces, and Sylvanas sent royal guards to escort him back to the city.
• Varian forcibly recruited Stormwind’s residents, then conscripted gnolls and murlocs in Elwynn Forest, assembling an army of fifty thousand.
• Varian marched the army to Tirisfal Glades and falsely proclaimed it numbered five hundred thousand.
• Sylvanas secretly offered to betray Thrall and his allies to Garrosh in exchange for Undercity keeping its status in the Horde, and Garrosh accepted.
• Tirion Fordring led the Argent Crusade to investigate Varian’s army, and the two forces clashed in a massive melee.

Varian and Tirion Fordring led their forces into a chaotic battle in which the Gnolls and Murlocs eventually fled, leaving Varian a prisoner. Meanwhile, Thrall and his followers escaped the Undercity through the sewers and flew to his hidden palace in the Swamp of Sorrows to wait for a chance to return.

• Tirion Fordring urged the Argent Crusade to attack the humans, while Varian positioned his human soldiers between the Gnolls and Murlocs.
• The Gnolls and Murlocs charged in confusion, breaking up the armies and turning the battle into a melee that left Varian and Tirion fighting side by side.
• The Gnolls fled into the forest and the Murlocs escaped to the Tirisfal coast, while Tirion captured Varian and accused him of causing the deaths.
• Thrall, Vol'jin, Eitrigg, and their companions escaped the Undercity through a sewer passage Thrall had learned about from a bribed merchant.
• Thrall rejected suggestions to seek refuge elsewhere and revealed his hidden palace in the Swamp of Sorrows, where he planned to wait for Garrosh's power to weaken.
• Thrall's group disguised themselves as Horde adventurers, rented Gryphons in Silverpine Forest, and flew to the Swamp of Sorrows at night.

After capturing King Varian, Tirion Fordring reported that Thrall had escaped, prompting Garrosh to threaten Undercity before the Emissary beat him and ordered him to attack the Scourge. Garrosh’s Orcs swept through three defensive lines at Icecrown Citadel, and he led ten thousand elite Orcs toward its open gates, unaware of Robbie’s plan to trap them.

• Tirion Fordring reported Thrall’s escape to Garrosh, who threatened to destroy Undercity and conquer the Eastern Kingdoms before the Emissary stopped him.
• The Emissary beat Garrosh into submission and ordered him to attack Icecrown Citadel as a command from a god.
• Kel'Thuzad built five defensive lines to lure Garrosh’s Orcs deeper into the Scourge’s trap.
• Garrosh sent the Argent Crusade to test the defenses, then led a night attack that broke through three lines and killed more than fifty thousand Scourge soldiers.
• Big Candle Gagg’s coverage spread exaggerated reports of Garrosh’s victories, and Garrosh dismissed comparisons with Thrall.
• Garrosh led ten thousand elite Orcs through Icecrown Citadel’s open gates, expecting to win the final battle and feast on the Frozen Throne.

Thrall plotted to reclaim the Warchief title by revealing Gorehowl’s secret to the Lich King, while Robbie and Kel'Thuzad used the information to manipulate Garrosh’s assault on Icecrown Citadel. Garrosh’s army pushed through the citadel’s defenses but suffered its heaviest losses yet on the third level, where the Orcs prepared to counterattack the Frost Dragons and Scourge mages.

• Thrall gathered his followers, proposed using Arthas to kill Garrosh, and explained that Gorehowl’s sealed Gronn-heart magic could kill its wielder if the seal was removed.
• Thrall sent Robbie a letter containing the black magic needed to remove Gorehowl’s seal, and Robbie planned to use it without raising Garrosh’s suspicions.
• Robbie’s Old God-heart magic resurrected Taelan Fordring, who recovered and took on the Lich King’s armor, while Kel'Thuzad praised undeath as humanity’s path of evolution.
• Garrosh led ten thousand elite Orcs through the first and second levels of Icecrown Citadel, overcoming Ghouls, Crypt Fiends, Death Knights, and Abominations with limited losses.
• On the third level, Frost Dragons and Scourge mages killed over a thousand Orcs before exhausting their attacks, and Garrosh had Orc peons bring up enormous ballistae.

Garrosh led the Orcs through the Scourge’s defenses and wore down Arthas’s Vrykul guards with successive waves of Rage-potion-fueled soldiers. After Taelan raised fallen Orcs as Ghouls, Garrosh’s forces destroyed them and exhausted the Lich King, leaving Garrosh eyeing Gorehowl as the Orcs’ axes failed to pierce his armor.

• The Orcs used magical ballistae to bring down most of the Frost Dragons, clearing the way to the Frozen Throne.
• Garrosh ordered Orcs to take Rage Potions and attack the thousand Undead Vrykul guarding the passage, sending wave after wave until the Vrykul grew exhausted.
• After more than five thousand Orcs had fallen, the Vrykul were slaughtered, and Garrosh challenged the lone figure on the Frozen Throne.
• Taelan summoned Scourge minions through Frostmourne, raising fallen Orcs as Ghouls, but Garrosh’s remaining soldiers defeated them.
• Garrosh’s personal guard surrounded Taelan and wore him down while the Orcs fought; exhausted and unable to lift Frostmourne, Taelan remained protected by his sturdy armor.
• When the Orcs’ battle axes failed to damage Taelan’s armor, Garrosh looked at Gorehowl.

Garrosh’s attack on Icecrown Citadel ended in disaster when Gorehowl turned against him, and he returned to camp blaming Thrall. Tirion Fordring’s assault confirmed that the Scourge still had large forces, so he advised Garrosh to keep sending troops to wear Arthas down.

• Garrosh challenged the exhausted Arthas to a duel, but Gorehowl’s backlash trapped him until the Primordial Emissary spilled the blood of more than half the Orc soldiers to stop it.
• Garrosh escaped Icecrown Citadel while the remaining Orc soldiers covered his retreat, leaving him as the only survivor of the ten thousand who had marched there.
• Garrosh returned to camp with 190,000 troops remaining, blamed Thrall for his defeat, and ordered Tirion Fordring to attack Icecrown Citadel.
• Tirion led five thousand Argent Crusade soldiers into the citadel, fought the Ghouls and Crypt Fiends on the first floor, and retreated after failing to defeat them.
• Tirion reported that Death Knights and Abominations remained on the second floor, then advised Garrosh to keep attacking because each Scourge death consumed Arthas’s life.

Garrosh continued sending Orcs to attack Icecrown Citadel on the Primordial Emissary’s assurances, losing a hundred thousand before refusing to sacrifice more. The Emissary arrived, blamed Tirion Fordring, and ordered Garrosh to commit his entire army to an uninterrupted assault.

• Garrosh agreed with Tirion Fordring to send ten thousand Orcs each day to attack Icecrown Citadel, but the Scourge’s elite Undead Vrykul inflicted mounting losses.
• Taelan’s messages relayed the Primordial Emissary’s encouragement, and Garrosh repeatedly recommitted to the assault despite growing casualties and despair.
• After a hundred thousand Orcs had died without defeating the Scourge, Garrosh stopped sending troops, and Tirion revealed that the Primordial Emissary had been imprisoned.
• The Emissary arrived at the allied camp, accused Tirion Fordring of causing the losses, and ordered him stripped and hung from a flagpole.
• The Emissary ordered Garrosh to send his entire army against Icecrown Citadel without pause and threatened that Thrall could replace him, so Garrosh reluctantly agreed.

Garrosh led the Orcs through Icecrown Citadel, defeating the Scourge’s Vrykul and undead Demons at the cost of nearly his entire army. He reached the Frozen Throne, where “Arthas” spoke of the dangers of kingship and the Shadowlands.

• Garrosh sent his Orcs in waves against the undead Vrykul on the first and second levels, while “Arthas” repeatedly offered peace.
• Garrosh rejected “Arthas’s” offers and continued the assault, believing the weakened Lich King was near defeat.
• On the third level, Garrosh’s Orcs fought the Scourge’s undead Burning Legion Demons until every Demon fell.
• “Arthas” fled toward the Frozen Throne as fewer than ten thousand Orcs remained after 190,000 had died at Icecrown Citadel.
• Garrosh reached the Frozen Throne, where “Arthas” sat with Frostmourne and described the abyss beneath it and the Shadowlands.

“Arthas” revealed that he had healed more than three thousand abandoned orc soldiers, who joined Dranosh Saurfang in defeating Garrosh’s army at Icecrown Citadel. Garrosh escaped to Dalaran and decided to kill Tirion Fordring before the Emissary could replace him.

• “Arthas” told Garrosh that the wounded orcs he had treated had sworn loyalty to him, and fighting broke out on the Frozen Throne and its lower levels.
• Garrosh’s forces became trapped and fought Dranosh Saurfang’s advancing soldiers, but exhaustion left them unable to resist.
• Garrosh teleported to Dalaran as his army suffered a crushing defeat at Icecrown Citadel.
• An Argent Crusade officer rescued Tirion Fordring and told him Garrosh had lost; Tirion feared Garrosh would kill him and urged the officer to help him escape.
• Garrosh arrived at the Violet Citadel, beat Rhonin nearly to death, and decided to kill Tirion Fordring before the Emissary could discard him.

Garrosh fled after failing to capture Tirion Fordring, while the Emissary ordered Tirion to lead an attack on Icecrown Citadel. Tirion’s teachings made the allied army too afraid to fight the Orcs, so he and the Emissary considered asking Thrall to persuade them to leave the Scourge.

• Garrosh revived Rhonin, ordered Dalaran Mages to help him return to camp, and discovered Tirion had escaped.
• Garrosh fled to Ratchet before the Emissary arrived, and the Emissary learned that only a little over two thousand Orcs remained at Icecrown Citadel.
• The Emissary ordered Tirion to lead forty thousand allied soldiers against Arthas, but Tirion realized he could not bring himself to attack the Orcs.
• Tirion sent his adjutant to lead the assault, but the allied soldiers surrendered rather than fight the Orcs, and Tirion kept the army camped outside Icecrown Citadel.
• The Emissary pressed Tirion to explain the delay, and Tirion argued that defeating the Orcs would dishonor them and suggested bringing back Thrall to persuade them to leave the Scourge.

Tirion Fordring tried to secure help against the Orcs and Arthas, but the Alliance refused to send troops and his army ran out of food. A Peace Dove official suggested a hunger strike to force the Emissary to bring Thrall back, and Tirion considered whether the soldiers would join it.

• The Emissary threatened Tirion Fordring and gave him ten days to defeat Arthas, refusing to bring Thrall out of retirement.
• Tirion Fordring arranged for Varian to return to Stormwind City in exchange for a promise to seek Alliance reinforcements against the Orcs.
• Varian offered land to the Dwarves, Gnomes, and Draenei for their help, but the Dwarves and Gnomes delayed while Velen demanded Stormwind City.
• Tirion Fordring learned that the army had run out of food and worried that the hungry soldiers would mutiny.
• A Peace Dove official proposed that the soldiers go on hunger strike to demand Thrall's return, and Tirion Fordring asked whether they would cooperate.

Tirion Fordring’s hunger strike plan collapsed as thousands of soldiers deserted to the Scourge, forcing the Emissary to summon Thrall back. Thrall returned to Northrend as Warchief amid public acclaim and immediately sought to bring the deserters back.

• Tirion Fordring arranged for the Argent Crusade and Stormwind’s army to stage a hunger strike until Thrall was allowed to return, and the Emissary challenged them to last seven days without food or water.
• Robbie offered the soldiers a place in the Scourge, and more than ten thousand deserted within three days as Tirion Fordring failed to stop them.
• The Emissary blamed Tirion Fordring for strengthening the Scourge, arranged for grain to be brought from the Broken Isles, and decided to let Thrall return.
• Thrall abandoned his demands after the Emissary’s messenger threatened him with King Varian, then returned to Northrend as Warchief to widespread acclaim.
• Thrall asked Tirion Fordring to send Taelan to Icecrown Citadel with a letter urging the Orc deserters to return.

Thrall lured two thousand Orcs away from the Scourge and had them massacred, then beat Tirion and persuaded the Emissary to invite the Alliance and Horde to destroy Arthas together. The chapter ended with Thrall sending the invitation, confident that the other races would join the assault.

• Thrall sent a letter to the Orcs at Icecrown Citadel, appealing to their family ties and longing for female Orcs in Orgrimmar.
• Robbie let the Orcs read the letter and gave them a chance to flee; all two thousand escaped and gathered in a valley, where Vol’jin’s forces killed them.
• Thrall mocked Tirion over the dead Orcs, then beat him for trying to claim the glory of defeating the Scourge.
• Thrall proposed to the Emissary that the Alliance and Horde join the assault on Icecrown Citadel, framing it as a test of their loyalty to Moon Goddess Elune.
• The Emissary approved the plan, and Thrall invited the Alliance and Horde to join the attack on Arthas.

Thrall’s call to join the assault on Icecrown Citadel forced the Alliance and Horde leaders to decide how to support him. Magni, Varian, and Velen each ordered troops or supplies to be sent, while Cairne prepared to answer Thrall’s summons.

• In Ironforge, Magni told Brann that Thrall’s invitation tested the races’ loyalty and ordered the Dwarves to send food to Orgrimmar and ten thousand elite troops to Northrend.
• In Stormwind City, Varian agreed to trade Duskwood to Booty Bay in exchange for Troll slaves to support Thrall’s campaign.
• In Exodar, Velen saw a vision of himself becoming the Lich King, then ordered Maraad to assemble five thousand Draenei warriors and launch their secret weapon.
• In Thunder Bluff, Cairne reminded his commanders that Thrall had saved the Tauren and called on them to repay his kindness.

Cairne Bloodhoof, Vol'jin, Lor'themar Theron, Jaina, and Sylvanas assembled forces for Thrall's campaign against Icecrown Citadel, each pursuing their own aims. As the Alliance and Horde armies began heading to Northrend, the Draenei arrived first aboard their spaceship, Burning Legion's Demise.

• Cairne Bloodhoof ordered ten thousand Tauren to march from Thunder Bluff to kill Arthas, while Rokhan assembled twelve thousand Darkspear warriors on Vol'jin's orders.
• Lor'themar Theron sent three thousand Blood Elves, and High Tinker Mekkatorque joined the Dwarves' march with two thousand Gnomes.
• After Aegwynn advised Jaina to promise soldiers Scourge treasure, Jaina drew about thirty thousand Theramore soldiers into the campaign.
• Sylvanas sent twenty thousand Forsaken openly and another twenty thousand secretly, along with a newly developed plague, to join the assault on Icecrown Citadel.
• The Alliance and Horde races sent troops toward Northrend, while the Night Elves refused to participate; the Draenei arrived first near the Argent Crusade's camp in the spaceship Burning Legion's Demise, carrying five thousand warriors.