Chapter Summaries

Arthas and Robbie struggled to turn Lordaeron’s newly transformed civilians into a true Scourge, while Kel'Thuzad summoned Arthas to pass on his knowledge before he died. Kel'Thuzad explained that his attempt to become a Lich had failed and began recounting how he had encountered Ner'zhul in Northrend.

• Arthas considered becoming Undead, but Robbie argued that the Runes of the Dead were not enough to create a powerful Scourge and that they needed to be combined with the Holy Light Runes.
• Malogar told Arthas that Kel'Thuzad wanted to see him before his time ran out, as the Undead of Andorhal retreated in an orderly fashion.
• Arthas and Robbie found Kel'Thuzad gravely ill, and he said he wanted Arthas to inherit everything he had.
• Kel'Thuzad revealed that his attempt to become a Lich had failed, leaving his body filled with rotten fluid and his life dwindling as his luck declined under Azeroth’s curse.
• Kel'Thuzad said he could not reveal the Guardian’s secrets, but promised Arthas could defeat Medivh through his own strength and began explaining how he had found Ner'zhul in Northrend.

Kel'Thuzad died after entrusting Arthas with a spirit crystal and Robbie with a music box, and Arthas vowed to resurrect Lordaeron's people and bring Kel'Thuzad back. Experiment 335 awoke as an Undead, met Barthilas near a ruined outpost, and learned that Tirion Fordring was nearby.

• Kel'Thuzad told Arthas how he had altered the plague to preserve the souls of Lordaeron's people and urged him to keep searching for a way to suppress souls and defeat Ner'zhul.
• Kel'Thuzad gave Arthas the spirit crystal and named him leader of the Cult of the Damned, master of the Undead, and king of Lordaeron.
• Kel'Thuzad gave Robbie a music box that played an ancient song honoring Queen Azshara, then died as its music played.
• Arthas swore to bring Lordaeron's people and Kel'Thuzad back to life and make their enemies pay.
• Experiment 335 emerged from the ground as an Undead and mused that he needed a runeblade to become a Death Knight.
• Barthilas, a guard of Tirion Fordring, warned Experiment 335 to flee and revealed that Fordring was nearby; Experiment 335 teased him about his lord meeting a lover.

Experiment 335 tried to make Barthilas stronger by teaching him Rune Casting, but Barthilas could not hold the first three runes. When Barthilas fused a Scourge Rune with a Holy Light Rune and gained power, he revealed his hatred of Orcs, and Experiment 335 told him that Tirion Fordring was with the Orc he hated most.

• Experiment 335 decided to teach Barthilas Rune Casting so he could use him against Tirion Fordring.
• Barthilas formed Blood, Frost, and Evil runes, but each one dissipated immediately.
• Experiment 335 explained the Scourge Rune, and Barthilas fused it with a Holy Light Rune, awakening powerful Holy Light within him.
• Barthilas revealed that Orcs had killed his parents and said he wanted to protect Hearthglen and take revenge on them.
• Experiment 335 told Barthilas that Tirion Fordring was with the Orc he hated most.

Eitrigg tried to provoke Tirion Fordring into giving the Orcs an excuse to destroy Hearthglen, then demanded a bribe and fought him. Tirion Fordring regained his composure and gained the upper hand, but hesitated before killing the fallen Eitrigg.

• Eitrigg demanded half of Hearthglen's people and Tirion Fordring's wife and son as sacrifices for Thrall, and Tirion Fordring refused.
• Eitrigg attacked Tirion Fordring and whispered a demand for a bribe, while explaining that the Orcs wanted to provoke him into becoming their enemy.
• Tirion Fordring struck Eitrigg, and the two fought with weapons as Eitrigg accused him of threatening the Orcs and Azeroth.
• Tirion Fordring calmed down, used the Holy Light to heal and wear down Eitrigg, then wounded him in the thigh and knocked him into the dirt.
• Tirion Fordring prepared to kill the fallen Eitrigg but hesitated out of fear.

Eitrigg beat and humiliated Tirion Fordring, but a Holy Light blast collapsed the watchtower and left Tirion gravely wounded before Eitrigg fled. Barthilas rescued Tirion and agreed to investigate him, while Arthas discovered the fourth Holy Light Rune in Hearthglen.

• Tirion Fordring lowered his sword, but Eitrigg called him a coward and attacked him until Tirion begged for mercy.
• A Naaru sent Holy Light toward Barthilas, but the first blast struck the watchtower and buried Tirion; Eitrigg tried to pull down Tirion's pants before another blast drove him away.
• Barthilas freed the unconscious Tirion from the rubble and healed him, while Experiment 335 warned Barthilas to investigate Tirion's suspicious meeting with Eitrigg in secret.
• Barthilas carried Tirion away on Mirada and promised to prove Experiment 335 wrong.
• Robbie and Arthas secretly buried Kel'Thuzad in Andorhal, and Arthas discovered that the fourth Holy Light Rune had appeared in Hearthglen.

As Tirion Fordring lay unconscious, he recalled how Uther’s disastrous command had turned the Silver Hand into a force that sacrificed soldiers for honor and glory. He woke beside his wife Kalendra and decided that protecting his family and Hearthglen mattered more than defending honor, even if it meant abandoning the town.

• Tirion Fordring remembered joining the Silver Hand with hope, then recalled surviving a battle where his comrades died after he charged the Orcs under Uther’s Aura of Courage.
• Saidan Dathrohan told Tirion that Uther’s Aura of Courage drove Paladins into reckless battles and taught him to use the Aura of Concentration to survive.
• As one of the Silver Hand’s founders, Tirion proposed ambushes, night attacks, and holding Lordaeron’s defenses, but Uther rejected each plan in favor of honorable field battles that cost thousands of lives.
• Tirion came to see the Silver Hand’s clenched-fist banner as a pig’s trotter and stopped offering advice after Uther backed helping the Orcs in the name of a prophecy.
• Tirion woke from his coma, saw Kalendra and heard children outside, then resolved that Hearthglen could be abandoned to protect his home and family.

After recovering from his injuries, Tirion Fordring planned to resume negotiations with Eitrigg, while Robbie and Arthas revealed Eitrigg’s presence in Hearthglen to Barthilas. Barthilas agreed to help Arthas learn about his Deity Rune after hearing the truth about Lordaeron, and concluded that saving Hearthglen required Guardian Medivh’s approval.

• Tirion Fordring learned that Barthilas had saved him with the Holy Light and resolved to negotiate again with Eitrigg after he recovered.
• Robbie told Barthilas that Eitrigg was staying in Tirion Fordring’s manor house as an honored guest.
• Robbie introduced Arthas Menethil to Barthilas, and Arthas asked him about the Deity Rune on his forehead.
• Barthilas agreed to help Arthas learn how to condense the Deity Rune and where it came from, provided Arthas explained the situation in Lordaeron.
• Robbie and Arthas told Barthilas what was happening in Lordaeron, and Barthilas concluded that saving Hearthglen required Guardian Medivh’s approval.

Robbie and Arthas learned that Barthilas’s Deity Rune came from one of thirty-six mysterious church tablets and was changing him into a being of Holy Light. Barthilas stayed in Hearthglen to protect its people, while Tirion Fordring prepared to meet Eitrigg after Barthilas revealed he knew the Orc was hidden in Tirion’s manor.

• Barthilas told Robbie and Arthas that he found the Deity Rune carved on a stone tablet in Hearthglen’s church, and they recognized that its Holy Light was changing his body.
• Arthas reported that thirty-six Holy Light churches once held different rune tablets and that Stratholme’s intact tablet might contain the Evolution Rune.
• Robbie invited Barthilas to Stratholme, but Barthilas refused because he wanted to save Hearthglen’s people from the crisis.
• Tirion Fordring told Alton to care for Eitrigg and keep his presence secret from Barthilas, who was searching for the Orc.
• Barthilas confronted Tirion Fordring, revealed he knew Eitrigg was in the manor basement, and offered to stop the search if Tirion handed him over.
• Tirion Fordring rode to the collapsed watchtower to meet Eitrigg, believing he would have to sacrifice Hearthglen’s people to protect his family.

Tirion Fordring negotiated with Eitrigg to protect his wife and son, agreeing to help the Orcs obtain provisions in exchange for wealth and safety. Their deal was exposed when Barthilas arrived and revealed he had overheard everything.

• Tirion Fordring brought his warhammer to meet Eitrigg, prepared to fight if their negotiations failed.
• Eitrigg admitted that he had rescued Tirion Fordring from the ruins, giving Tirion hope that they could reach an agreement.
• Tirion Fordring offered to help Eitrigg obtain a hundred unborn ones through his pirate connections in exchange for his family's safety and a share of Hearthglen.
• Eitrigg promised Tirion Fordring fifty households, servants, and a villa as they agreed on how the Orcs would take Hearthglen and conceal their crimes.
• Barthilas emerged from the woods and told Tirion Fordring that he had overheard the negotiations.

Barthilas revealed his overwhelming strength by maiming Eitrigg and declared that Hearthglen’s people were his family, while Tirion’s family mattered most to Tirion. He exiled Tirion and threatened his son, leaving Tirion fleeing in terror and Hearthglen under Barthilas’s control.

• Tirion worried Barthilas would expose his secret deal with the Orcs, but Barthilas said he was doing what Tirion wanted but lacked the courage to do.
• Eitrigg attacked Barthilas with a battle-axe, but Barthilas caught it, disarmed him, and threw the weapon away.
• Barthilas beat Eitrigg, tore into his flesh, and offered Tirion a piece while explaining that he had hated Orcs since childhood.
• Barthilas told Tirion he would protect Hearthglen’s people as his family and urged Tirion to report his planned Orc-meat feast to Thrall and Uther to save his wife and children.
• Barthilas declared Tirion no longer lord of Hearthglen and threatened to kill Tirion’s son if he returned, so Tirion fled on horseback.

Tirion sought help from his old friend Dathrohan to rescue Eitrigg from Barthilas and protect his family. Dathrohan revealed that the Orcs had slaughtered his family and people, and that Balnazzar planned to turn him into a vessel for a Dreadlord.

• Tirion avoided asking Uther or Thrall for help and went to find Dathrohan in the Silver Hand barracks.
• Dathrohan welcomed Tirion and offered to take him to Thrall, believing Tirion wanted forgiveness for fighting Eitrigg.
• Tirion explained that Barthilas had abducted Eitrigg and asked Dathrohan to help, while pleading for Hearthglen and his family to be spared.
• Dathrohan declared Hearthglen deserved punishment and told Tirion that sacrificing his family was necessary for the greater good.
• Dathrohan revealed that Orcs had killed his wife, children, parents, and people, and that he had willingly offered them as rations.
• Dathrohan showed Tirion a letter in which Balnazzar ordered him to learn Fel magic so his body could become a Dreadlord's vessel.

Tirion Fordring embraced madness and offered to sacrifice his family to beg Thrall’s forgiveness, so Uther exiled him. At Hearthglen, Uther let the Orcs slaughter his Paladins and promised Thrall that he would hunt down the survivors before Thrall ordered the town razed.

• Dathrohan lamented his losses, and Tirion concluded that Lordaeron’s failures came from collective cowardice and abandoning conscience and faith.
• Tirion told Uther about the kidnapping in Hearthglen and offered to kill Kalendra and Taelan as an apology to Thrall; Uther stripped him of the Holy Light and exiled him.
• Uther led 1,500 Paladins and 600 Orcs to Hearthglen to rescue Eitrigg, while Thrall watched from the rear.
• When the Orcs killed a female knight, Uther called her death a necessary sacrifice, and the Orcs attacked the Paladins.
• Thrall struck Uther after most of the Paladins were killed, and Uther promised to capture the survivors as Orc rations.
• Thrall announced that the Orcs would raze Hearthglen.

Thrall led the Orcs to attack Hearthglen and ordered them to kill Barthilas instead of accepting his challenge to a duel. Barthilas effortlessly killed Orcs and ate their hearts, leaving Thrall and his army frightened as Thrall tried using Rage Potions to overwhelm him.

• Thrall boasted to Uther and Tirion Fordring about Orc superiority, then sent Saurfang to handle Barthilas with sneak attacks.
• Thrall found Barthilas alone at Hearthglen's open gate, with the wounded Eitrigg hanging behind him, and refused Barthilas's challenge to a duel.
• Thrall ordered Orcs to charge Barthilas, who vanished and tore out an attacker’s heart before eating it.
• Barthilas killed two more Orcs in successive attacks, frightening the six hundred Orcs and leaving Thrall shaken.
• Thrall threw Rage Potions at the Orcs to send them into a frenzy, but Barthilas killed them and remarked that frenzied Orc hearts tasted better.
• Thrall threw dozens more Rage Potions at Barthilas, but they no longer seemed to work well.

Barthilas slaughtered the Orcs at Hearthglen despite Thrall’s attempts to surrender, while Uther’s Aura of Courage only made the Orcs charge into further danger. Barthilas knocked Thrall down and wondered whether Guardian Medivh would appear to save him.

• Thrall learned that Saurfang had supposedly left to attend his seventh concubine’s labor, then watched the terrified Orcs refuse to face Barthilas.
• Thrall tried to placate Barthilas by claiming the Orcs had come for a picnic, but Barthilas rejected the appeal and killed four Orcs.
• Uther activated his Aura of Courage, restoring the Orcs’ resolve, and Barthilas used the renewed advance to kill hundreds of them.
• Thrall struck Uther and ordered him to end the aura; the Orcs regained their fear and turned on Uther, who begged for mercy.
• Barthilas confronted Thrall, who first denied being the Savior and then claimed the title again; Barthilas knocked him down and wondered if Guardian Medivh would come to his aid.

Thrall transformed into an Infernal but was swiftly defeated by Barthilas, who tortured and ate pieces of him while Tirion Fordring watched from hiding. As the Orcs fled, Barthilas confronted the unmoving Uther, who listened to whispers from the Naaru.

• Tirion Fordring escaped custody with Dathrohan's help and promised to reveal the truth about the Orcs and the Silver Hand's betrayal.
• Thrall transformed into a Fel-burning Infernal, but Barthilas struck him down with a massive Holy Light sword.
• Tirion Fordring witnessed Barthilas's power and began to value wielding the Holy Light above rescuing his wife and child.
• Barthilas cut pieces from Thrall and ate them, then hung him beside Eitrigg as the remaining Orcs fled.
• Barthilas questioned why Uther had not run, while Uther stood listening to the Naaru's whispers.

Uther chose the Naaru’s Deity Descension and fought Barthilas, believing the Holy Light would ensure his victory. Barthilas revealed that the Naaru had manipulated Uther with a false choice, then vanished to seek another weapon.

• The Naaru offered Uther a choice between temporary power to fight Barthilas and permanent power to ally with him against Thrall, and Uther chose Deity Descension despite his resentment toward Thrall.
• The Naaru empowered Uther with golden wings and the Deity power Demon of Light, while Barthilas revealed that he had also received two choices from them.
• Uther and Barthilas clashed with colossal Holy Light swords, and Uther gained the advantage as the Naaru replenished his strength.
• Tirion Fordring watched from a mountain and feared that Uther’s seemingly inexhaustible power meant Barthilas would lose and Hearthglen would fall.
• Barthilas claimed the Naaru had never offered a real second choice and said his Deity was Hope of Victory before disappearing to find a new weapon.

Barthilas defeated Uther with a scaffold empowered by the Holy Light, while Medivh studied Barthilas’s Deity Descension and tried to learn its source. Barthilas began describing the kind people who had helped him in Hearthglen, leaving Medivh confused about how their stories explained his power.

• Barthilas used Thrall and Eitrigg as hostages while fighting Uther with the Holy Light-bound scaffold, eventually striking Uther down and leaving him at his mercy.
• Medivh watched from a hidden Void force field and searched Karazhan’s books, finding similarities between Barthilas’s Deity Descension and the Dwarves’ Avatar ability.
• Medivh emerged and offered Barthilas one condition in exchange for learning the source of his power, though he had no intention of honoring his promise.
• Barthilas told Medivh how Uncle Andre, a blacksmith in Hearthglen, had fed him when he was a child, but clarified that he had not said Andre taught him Deity Descension.
• Barthilas recalled Aunt Jones’s steamed buns and the 3,624 buns she had given him, leaving Medivh baffled about the connection to his power.

Barthilas convinced Medivh that the kindness of Hearthglen’s people had given him his power, and warned that harming the town would destroy the chance to uncover its secrets. When Medivh tried to seize him, Barthilas turned to crystal and died, leaving Hearthglen safe; he then walked toward the World of the Dead, believing the battle was not over.

• Barthilas told Medivh that Hearthglen’s blacksmith, baker, townspeople, and Tirion Fordring’s wife had helped make him strong.
• Jaina urged Medivh to capture and interrogate the people Barthilas had named, while Barthilas warned that they were ordinary and that harming them would ruin everything.
• Medivh asked Uther how Barthilas had gained his power, but Uther insisted that humans could not comprehend Deity Descension.
• Barthilas declared that Hearthglen itself held unknown power and warned Medivh to leave the town untouched.
• Medivh tried to capture Barthilas, but Barthilas transformed into crystal and died, while Tirion Fordring mourned and understood that Hearthglen was saved.
• Barthilas awoke on the road to the World of the Dead, where people praised him as a hero, and continued forward believing the battle was not over.

Robbie and Arthas arrived at Stratholme as its defenders prepared for war and accepted a Plague Potion that would slowly turn them into Undead. Uther’s youngest daughter drank it alongside the loyal Paladins and took the name Lady Deathwhisper.

• Robbie and Arthas reached Stratholme, and Arthas mourned Barthilas while condemning the treachery among Lordaeron’s leaders.
• Baron Rivendare stopped Uther’s daughter and her armed party outside the city, urging them to leave through the harbor instead of fighting in Stratholme.
• Rivendare explained that the defenders were drinking a Plague Potion that would turn them into Undead and poison Orcs who consumed their corpses.
• More than a dozen Paladins refused the potion and left, while Uther’s daughter realized Thrall had likely planted spies among them.
• Uther’s daughter drank the potion, the remaining Paladins followed, and she declared herself Lady Deathwhisper.

Robbie advised Baron Rivendare on how to defend Stratholme, including using plague to ruin the nearby forest and ambushing enemy supplies. Robbie and Arthas found a Holy Light Rune of evolution, while Thrall, Uther, and Sylvanas marched toward Stratholme and discovered the plague transforming the land into a Plaguelands.

• Robbie proposed disguising a mage as Kel'Thuzad to deter Medivh and using plague to make the nearby forest useless for siege equipment.
• Robbie promised Baron Rivendare that an elite squad could intercept and burn enemy siege supplies, and the baron agreed to give him a chance.
• Robbie and Arthas found a stone tablet bearing the Holy Light Rune of evolution in Stratholme's church and struggled to understand it.
• After failing to take Hearthglen, Thrall summoned Uther and Sylvanas and led their forces toward Stratholme.
• At Corin's Crossing, Thrall, Uther, and Sylvanas saw the plague rapidly wither the fields and forest, and Uther warned that the land was becoming a Plaguelands.