Chapter Summaries

Aiguleiya was forced into the Warsong Clan, where Grommash Hellscream made him a chained, crippled dog after he failed the clan’s brutal tests. A mysterious human took Aiguleiya away and recognized the hatred he had concealed, leaving him with a possible chance to act.

• Grommash Hellscream showed Aiguleiya the Warsong Clan’s deadly duels and offered him work in the mine when Aiguleiya said he could not fight.
• Grommash Hellscream threatened Aiguleiya, made him swallow maggot-filled meat, and had Iska collar him and break his lower legs.
• Aiguleiya endured humiliation and abuse as Grommash Hellscream’s chained dog.
• A frail human arrived, received Orc children from Grommash Hellscream, and gave him a jar of Blood of Mannoroth.
• The human took Aiguleiya through a green vortex to a mountain overlooking a fortified city and told him he saw deep hatred in him.

Aiguleiya accepted Varimathras’s offer to join the Burning Legion, take the name Thrall, and seek revenge by infiltrating the Orcs. After being transformed and sent to learn from Drek'Thar, Thrall attacked his new mentor while pretending to accept his conditions.

• Aiguleiya confessed his hatred and pledged himself to Varimathras and the Burning Legion in exchange for revenge and a new identity.
• Varimathras named Aiguleiya Thrall, meaning slave in Orcish, and ordered him to befriend Orgrimmar and Grommash Hellscream before betraying them.
• The Burning Legion transformed Thrall, giving him a powerful body, green skin, and a magical heart that let him sense the elements.
• Varimathras brought Thrall to Drek'Thar in the Alterac Mountains, and Drek'Thar agreed to train him after Thrall served for three years.
• Drek'Thar ordered Thrall to build a wooden house in five days, but Thrall claimed he could finish in two and jabbed at Drek'Thar's eyes.

Thrall tortured Drek'Thar into teaching him Shaman magic, then seized control of the Frostwolf Clan through brutal violence. Varimathras approved of Thrall's cruelty and said he would introduce him to Orgrim to help build his reputation.

• Thrall ambushed Drek'Thar, gouged out his eyes, and tortured him until he taught Thrall all the Shaman magic he knew.
• Thrall carried the broken Drek'Thar to the Frostwolf village, killed Snow Spirit, and drove the gathered frostwolves into a panic.
• Thrall used Earthquake and Chain Lightning to force the Frostwolf Clan to submit, then made the Orcs kill one another to satisfy his demand for a massacre.
• Varimathras visited the silent, terrorized village and praised Thrall's cruelty.
• Varimathras told Thrall he would introduce him to Orgrim so Thrall could build his reputation.

Thrall and Orgrim discussed rescuing the Orcs from the internment camps and agreed to focus on Durnholde, whose defenses seemed difficult to breach. Thrall obtained a map of the fortress by threatening Taretha, and the chapter ended with Orgrim questioning a passageway on it.

• Thrall met Orgrim in the Hillsbrad Foothills and declared his plan to conquer Lordaeron and wage endless war.
• Orgrim warned Thrall that the Orcs could not sustain themselves by fighting humans and explained why a direct assault on Durnholde would be difficult.
• Thrall told Orgrim that Taretha, a member of the Peace Dove who worked for Blackmoore, could provide information about Durnholde.
• Thrall invited Taretha to meet the Orcs, then struck and threatened her until she described the fortress's defenses.
• An Orc skilled in surveying drew a map from Taretha's information, and Orgrim pointed to a broad passageway and asked what it was for.

Thrall used Taretha and the Peace Dove to open Durnholde’s underground passage, then led an Orc raid into the keep’s cavern. Blackmoore had anticipated the attack and captured the Orcs, while Thrall’s prepared substitute was mistaken for him.

• Orgrim rejected the plan to enter Durnholde himself, so Thrall persuaded Taretha to recruit the Peace Dove members to open the passage door.
• Peace Dove members flooded Durnholde, and Blackmoore decided to let the Orcs and protesters clash rather than feed the protesters to the Orcs.
• Thrall led several dozen Orcs, including five veterans sent by Orgrim, through the passage after three Peace Dove members opened its door.
• Thrall’s Orcs killed the three Peace Dove members and entered the cavern, where they planned to free a Rock Giant.
• Blackmoore’s guards surrounded the Orcs, and Thrall suspected Orgrim had betrayed him before a burly Orc stepped forward as a decoy.
• Blackmoore ordered the burly Orc taken away as a potential gladiator and sent the rest of the Orcs to the internment camps as slaves.

Thrall observed the Orcs’ conditions in Blackmoore’s internment camp, gained a Legion Communication Crystal from the dying Bukelain, and contacted Varimathras with a plan to seek Dalaran’s help. The chapter left Varimathras curious about whether High Archmage Antonidas would act.

• Thrall observed the camp’s strict controls and worked in the mines while earning the Orcs’ respect by healing Bukelain.
• Thrall secretly worsened Bukelain’s condition with fire elements until the old soldier revealed a hidden object beneath the entrance tree.
• Bukelain confessed he had been Warchief Blackhand’s liaison to the Burning Legion and asked Thrall to deliver the communication device to someone from the Warsong Clan.
• Thrall smothered Bukelain, retrieved the green Legion Communication Crystal, and used it to contact Varimathras.
• Thrall told Varimathras that the camp’s Orcs distrusted Orgrim and feared Grommash Hellscream, then asked for Dalaran’s help and named Antonidas as the person he wanted to act.

Antonidas agreed to help Varimathras promote Thrall by confronting Durnholde, where Blackmoore proposed a wager over whether the imprisoned Orcs wanted freedom. The chapter ended before Antonidas accepted the wager or the Orcs chose.

• Jaina told Antonidas that she and Kael'thas had argued over his hatred of Orcs and his demand that she avenge her brother.
• Varimathras secretly met Antonidas and asked him to help Thrall, Durotan's son, gain recognition by freeing the Orcs at Durnholde.
• Antonidas agreed and brought seventeen trusted disciples and the Book of Medivh to Durnholde.
• As a storm gathered over Durnholde, Blackmoore ordered his guards to stay in their barracks and had the imprisoned Thrall brought to him.
• Antonidas demanded that Blackmoore release the Orcs, and Blackmoore proposed that he and Thrall each address them to see whether they preferred freedom or remaining at Durnholde.

Thrall tried to lead the Orcs out of Durnholde, but Blackmoore exposed images of Thrall torturing and killing Orcs, turning the camp against him. When the Orcs rejected him, Thrall ordered Antonidas to unleash a Blizzard on the internment camp.

• Blackmoore wagered the lives of the camp's guards against whether the Orcs would leave, and Thrall delivered a speech declaring them free.
• Blackmoore showed the Orcs images of Thrall torturing Drek'Thar, massacring the Frostwolf village, and killing Bukelain.
• Antonidas opened Portals throughout the camp, but almost all the Orcs refused to leave and only a few dozen went through.
• Thrall rejected defeat and demanded that Antonidas destroy the camp with a wide-area spell.
• Antonidas and his disciples summoned a Blizzard that killed and froze Orcs across the camp as Thrall watched and mocked them.

Thrall and Antonidas used Blizzard and Fel Flame to massacre the Orcs at Durnholde, while Blackmoore was abducted by a mysterious time-wielding dragon before he could kill himself. Thrall and Varimathras then selected surviving Orcs for the Burning Legion, and Antonidas destroyed the camp to conceal the killings.

• Orcs fleeing the Blizzard found Fel Flame beyond the Portals, and many died as the two forces engulfed the camp.
• Blackmoore celebrated the massacre, but a poisoned dagger he used against Thrall killed an Antonidas disciple instead, and a strange black-and-white dragon abducted him.
• Thrall left with Varimathras to inspect the surviving Orcs, while Antonidas summoned a Meteor Shower that reduced Durnholde and its remaining inhabitants to ruins.
• Varimathras showed Thrall the Legion's Fel Flame training pit, where surviving Orcs were beginning to fuse with Fel.
• Thrall said he wanted weak Orcs who would flatter him and prove his greatness, and Varimathras agreed to select them.

Thrall massacred most of the internment camp Orcs, seized control of the survivors, and spread fabricated stories blaming Blackmoore for his crimes as he built his reputation as the Orcs’ Savior. In Lordaeron, Terenas considered taking Thrall as his adopted heir while ordering a search for Arthas, and Jaina learned where the prince was hiding.

• Thrall burned Orcs who refused to praise and worship him until only 421 of the 45,000 internment camp Orcs remained, then persuaded Orgrim to cooperate with him.
• Thrall killed Taretha and falsely attributed her death to Blackmoore, spreading stories that presented himself as a heroic liberator.
• King Terenas discussed Thrall’s growing influence with Uther and considered adopting him, while directing Uther to send Arthas to Deathknell if he found him.
• Uther told Terenas that Peace Dove was also searching for Arthas, raising concerns that an infiltrator had entered the organization.
• Jaina learned from Peace Dove that Arthas was hiding at Quel'Danil Lodge near Aerie Peak.

Jaina tried to have Thrall kill the young Arthas at Quel'Danil Lodge, but the attack awakened Arthas's hidden potential instead. Jaina then sent Watermodo after him, and he fled as well, leaving her determined to kill Arthas herself despite the risk of temporal backlash.

• Jaina sent Thrall to kill Arthas, believing Thrall could withstand any backlash from changing history.
• Thrall was transported to Quel'Danil Lodge, where Arthas and Saldo Shallowflow discussed King Terenas, Uther, and the Holy Light.
• Arthas sensed Thrall's approach and defended Saldo after magic weakened the Elf's strength.
• Thrall clashed with Arthas, discovered he was outmatched, and fled as Arthas briefly awakened a mysterious source of power.
• Jaina ordered Watermodo to attack Arthas, but Watermodo refused to fight and fled, prompting Jaina to resolve to kill Arthas herself.

Murozond brought Blackmoore into a rift in time and offered him a deal: save Arthas in exchange for a chance to compete for Lordaeron’s throne in a parallel world. Blackmoore accepted new shadow powers and arrived at Quel'Danil Lodge, where he attacked Jaina as she threatened Arthas.

• Murozond explained that Blackmoore was supposed to become king of Lordaeron and asked him to save Arthas in exchange for sending him to a parallel world.
• Blackmoore accepted, and Murozond removed his obsession with alcohol while granting him shadow powers, black armor, and the greatsword Flesh Ripper.
• At Quel'Danil Lodge, Jaina attacked Arthas with ice claws, but Blackmoore struck her Ice Barrier and forced her to retreat.
• Jaina used frost to search for Blackmoore, then Holy Light to track him as he avoided her attacks and destroyed her two clones.
• Blackmoore pursued Jaina with Shadowstep and swung Flesh Ripper at her, but she blocked the blade with a golden, dragon-scaled arm.

Jaina failed to kill Blackmoore after future Arthas intervened, while Murozond sent Blackmoore to a New World and warned him to beware of Thrall. Thrall returned to the Frostwolf Clan and ordered Orcs to wait for food at Gray Grass Cave, where a human rescue party arrived believing it was there to save him.

• Jaina sacrificed her dragon arm to escape the Old Gods’ corruption, but future Arthas struck her down and she fled after using Thrall to distract Blackmoore.
• Nozdormu tried to bury Blackmoore in a desert, but Murozond pulled him back through time and sent him to the New World to pursue his destiny as king of Lordaeron.
• Jaina persuaded Thrall to hate Blackmoore, told him to learn how to become a king, and sent him back to his people.
• Thrall returned to the Frostwolf Clan and, facing empty food stores, ordered Orcs to wait at Gray Grass Cave for food to fall from the sky.
• A human rescue party entered Gray Grass Cave, intending to free Thrall from Blackmoore, and found Orcs guarding the entrance.

Med'an traveled to Gray Grass Cave to study Orcs and tested Thrall by ordering him to cook an Orc, but Thrall proposed raiding internment camps for Orcs to eat. They set their sights on Silverpine Forest, where Peace Dove representative Thule confronted Captain Landon over sending Orc newborns to Fenris Isle for research.

• Orcs killed and looted a five-person adventuring party at Gray Grass Cave, then hunted the adventurers for food.
• Medivh sent Med'an to Gray Grass Cave to learn about Orcs, and Med'an killed the Orcs there before taking the Quartermaster's corpse to Thrall.
• Thrall agreed to eat the Quartermaster and suggested rescuing Orcs from internment camps to use as food; Med'an approved.
• Thule confronted Captain Landon with evidence that he had sent newborn Orcs to Fenris Isle in exchange for food.
• Captain Landon warned Thule that Thrall was on his way to the camp, and Thule urged him to defend the camp while insisting the Orcs must not be harmed.

Captain Landon and Thule fled after the Silverpine Forest internment camp was abandoned, while Thrall devised a way to seize its two thousand Orcs. Thrall used a toxin to defeat Moyan’s forces and forced the captives to compete for a hundred places to live, as Anachronos and four others departed for Outland.

• Captain Landon fled with his troops to Gilneas, and Thule denounced him to King Terenas before escaping to Fenris Isle.
• Thrall halted his advance after learning the Silverpine Forest internment camp’s guards had fled, then planned to keep only a hundred Orcs and turn the rest into hard jerky.
• Moyan refused to submit without testing Thrall and threatened to kill him if he proved unworthy.
• Med'an brought Test Subject 012 to the camp, where it released a toxin that incapacitated all two thousand Orcs, allowing Thrall’s troops to take control.
• Thrall displayed Moyan’s tortured corpse and promised to spare a hundred Orcs who praised him loudest, while Anachronos and four others left for Outland.

While imprisoned in the Vault of the Wardens, “Illidan” learned that the Lich King Arthas had become important and waited for a chance to escape. Time travelers arrived in Azsuna and discovered that Jaina had taken Tyrande’s form to free him, while Illidan revealed why Tyrande had secretly met with him.

• “Illidan” heard from a Watcher that the Burning Legion had been defeated at Mount Hyjal and that Arthas led the dead, then pressed her for more information.
• Anachronos, Khadgar, Durotan, Velen, and Imperator Mar'gok arrived in Azsuna in the twentieth year of the Dark Portal and realized Illidan remained imprisoned.
• The five watched a bloodied Tyrande leave the Vault of the Wardens, then saw a different woman return and enter in Tyrande’s form.
• Anachronos and Khadgar identified the disguised woman as Jaina, who had traveled from the future to release Illidan.
• Illidan told Jaina that Tyrande had arranged to meet him, agreed to share Arthas’s power of death, and killed nearby Watchers to keep their discussion secret.
• Illidan explained that Elune had forbidden Tyrande from contacting the Scourge, leaving Jaina puzzled.

Illidan persuaded Jaina to free him and take him to the Tomb of Sargeras, where he found an Orc skull infused with Shadow Energy. After Illidan and Jaina left, their followers claimed other skulls, while Robbie uncovered a living skull that identified itself as Ner'zhul.

• Illidan convinced Jaina that the Scourge's magical legacy could free the Night Elves, and she broke his binding spell.
• Illidan led Jaina through the Tomb of Sargeras's dangerous garbage pit and explained that the so-called Skulls of Gul'dan came from Gul'dan's soldiers, whose heads had been soaked in Shadow Energy.
• Illidan chose a Fel-eroded Orc skull as a source of mana, then had Jaina teleport them to Felwood.
• Anachronos, Khadgar, Durotan, Imperator Mar'gok, and Prophet Velen entered the pit and each took a Skull of Gul'dan before leaving.
• Robbie and Krasus revealed an emerald-green skull hidden under the bones, and Robbie forced it to say its name: Ner'zhul.

Robbie and Krasus questioned Ner'zhul about his past and learned of a mysterious New World called Mardum. Meanwhile, Illidan revealed his knowledge of parallel timelines and urged Jaina and the Bronze Dragons to help him kill Thrall, while Robbie watched and Ner'zhul warned that Illidan was lying.

• Krasus challenged Ner'zhul's account of the Lich King and the destruction of Draenor, and Ner'zhul claimed a mysterious person had taken him to Northrend and ordered him to find Mardum.
• Robbie learned that Ner'zhul had escaped the Tomb of Sargeras with a Teleportation Rune and had become a skull in the process.
• In Felwood, Illidan recovered memories of other timelines and told Jaina that he had experienced different versions of events, including ruling Outland.
• Illidan revealed that he had arranged for Jaina and the Bronze Dragons to arrive in this timeline and had used the Skull of Gul'dan as part of his plan.
• Illidan urged the group to help him defeat Thrall in the Black Temple, claiming that doing so would save Azeroth, while Jaina and the Bronze Dragons wrestled with his proposal.
• Robbie watched Illidan's conversation through a crystal ball, and Ner'zhul warned him that Illidan was lying.

Illidan foresaw the betrayals awaiting him and tried to change the future while resisting the influence of Tyrande's Memory. When Akama challenged him, Illidan chose to appease him and offered to take him to Rustwater Port.

• Illidan used the Skull of Gul'dan to see visions of five skulls arriving before the Dark Portal and learned that Akama, Maiev, and Kael'thas would betray him.
• Illidan crushed Tyrande's Memory repeatedly, but the flower multiplied until he accused a golden-eyed Night Elf of altering his fate; he eventually tucked the last flower into his robes.
• Illidan reconsidered his plans for Akama and wondered whether humiliating the Broken had caused Akama's betrayal.
• Akama demanded to know why the Broken had been driven out of the Black Temple's Pleasure Gardens, and Illidan calmly offered him a better place instead.
• Illidan told Akama that Rustwater Port in Azeroth would satisfy him, then spread his wings and flew away.

Illidan sent Vandel to take Akama to Rustwater Port, trusting him to kill Akama if he showed signs of betrayal. Meanwhile, Anachronos and his companions resolved to stop Illidan, while Khadgar followed Vandel and Akama through Azeroth and learned Vandel’s name.

• Illidan asked Vandel to take Akama to Rustwater Port, and Vandel agreed to watch over him while secretly holding orders to eliminate him if he planned to betray Illidan.
• Anachronos told Velen, Khadgar, and Durotan that history could be changed and insisted that they must breach the Black Temple and kill Illidan.
• Khadgar stayed behind at Nethergarde Keep to avoid meeting his Outland counterpart, then noticed Vandel and the disguised Akama at an inn.
• Vandel described Rustwater Port, Orgrimmar, and the Undercity to Akama, who chose to visit Rustwater Port instead of Orgrimmar.
• Khadgar followed Vandel and Akama through the Blasted Lands, the Swamp of Sorrows, and Darkshire into Stormwind City, where he learned Vandel’s name.