Chapter Summaries

Meryl Dongfeng and Mal'Ganis watched Thrall's Orcs lose to the Worgen, then Mal'Ganis decided to exploit Thrall's envy by setting him against Eitrigg. A young Orc who doubted Thrall's claims was driven from his settlement and met Eitrigg, who shared his suspicions.

• King Greymane led the Worgen in a counterattack that routed the leaderless Orcs, killing about a thousand without pursuing the survivors.
• Mal'Ganis watched Thrall rally his defeated troops and devised a plan to provoke him with a rival.
• Mal'Ganis named Eitrigg in Lordaeron as the rival he would use against Thrall.
• A young Orc questioned how Thrall could feed more than a hundred thousand Orcs, but his settlement rejected him for refusing to join the Savior.
• The young Orc left alone and encountered a well-fed Orc group, where Eitrigg praised his independent judgment and introduced himself.

Nazgrim met Eitrigg, who explained the hardships facing ordinary Orcs and showed him the brutal conditions at the Home of the Orcs. Eitrigg then took Nazgrim to observe Thrall’s camp, where Nazgrim saw his former settlement’s Orcs welcomed and prepared for a bath.

• Eitrigg recognized Nazgrim’s talent for command and told him that Orcs needed to rise above others to escape poverty and hard labor.
• Nazgrim saw more than twenty thousand Orcs suffering in the filthy Home of the Orcs, where Undead Orcs supervised their labor.
• Eitrigg told Nazgrim that filthy, disorderly living conditions had long been common in Orc settlements, despite his failed attempt to teach the Orcs better habits.
• Eitrigg took Nazgrim to a hill overlooking Thrall’s camp, where Nazgrim saw tidy huts and well-fed Orcs, and wondered how Thrall supported them.
• Nazgrim spotted the more than two hundred Orcs from his former settlement arriving at Thrall’s camp, where they were warmly welcomed and sent to bathe.

Eitrigg revealed to Nazgrim that Thrall had been killing wandering Orcs and turning them into Tough Jerky, so Nazgrim blockaded the routes feeding Thrall’s camp. Thrall marched to crush Nazgrim’s forces, and the chapter ended as he charged into a narrow valley despite suspecting an ambush.

• Eitrigg told Nazgrim that Thrall’s followers had eaten more than a hundred thousand Orcs and warned that Thrall’s propaganda made him difficult to oppose.
• Nazgrim agreed to stop the wandering Orcs from reaching Thrall and took command of five thousand Orcs from the Home of the Orcs.
• Nazgrim’s forces blocked the routes into Silverpine Forest, capturing, turning back, or killing wandering Orcs and cutting off Thrall’s recruits.
• Thrall discovered Nazgrim was behind the blockade and led his two thousand followers to attack him at the border of Tirisfal Glades and Silverpine Forest.
• Thrall’s charge broke Nazgrim’s formation, and Nazgrim retreated with his remaining troops into a narrow valley.
• A young Orc officer persuaded Thrall to pursue, and Thrall ordered his warriors to charge into the valley.

Thrall’s army was destroyed after Eitrigg and Nazgrim ambushed it, and Lady Barov forced Thrall to rebuild his forces from wandering Orcs. Sylvanas then burned down his new camp, but Thrall escaped to Tirisfal Glades and began gathering followers again.

• Eitrigg’s Undead Orcs and Nazgrim’s troops attacked Thrall’s army in the valley, wiping it out while Thrall escaped by teleportation.
• Lady Barov had Kirtonos capture and torture Thrall, then gave him seven days to gather two thousand Orcs or lose his head.
• Thrall recruited wandering Orcs around Lake Darrowmere, sacrificed many to make Tough Jerky, and quickly assembled an army of two thousand.
• Thrall proclaimed a call for Orcs to join him, drawing large numbers of wandering Orcs across Lordaeron as Sylvanas watched with concern.
• Sylvanas’s forces attacked Thrall’s camp at night with Dragonhawks, torches, and arrows, but Thrall escaped by teleportation.
• Thrall reached his hidden camp in Tirisfal Glades, and news of his return began attracting wandering Orcs again.

Eitrigg and Nazgrim arranged for High Archmage Antonidas to attack Thrall, while Thrall’s allies fled and Thrall escaped the camp. Disguised as a human, Thrall boarded a ship hired to find the Tidal Charm, unaware that Mal'Ganis had watched him leave.

• Eitrigg told Nazgrim that Antonidas would help them and tasked him with killing Thrall.
• Anachronos, Rend, and Velen confronted Thrall about his failure to stop Blackmoore, and Thrall admitted he needed guidance.
• Velen sensed Antonidas locking down the camp’s space, and he and Anachronos fled while Rend held Thrall behind.
• Antonidas mistakenly took Rend for the important Orc and made him vanish, then left Thrall behind.
• Thrall escaped to the Tirisfal Glades coast, disguised himself as a human with an Orb of Deception, and joined a ship seeking the Tidal Charm.
• Mal'Ganis watched from the dock as the ship carrying Thrall sailed away.

Thrall tried to find a way to escape his worsening predicament while helping the adventurers search for the Tidal Charm. At the Southshore shipyard, Herkula revealed that he recognized Thrall and greeted him as Warchief.

• Thrall heard that the adventurers were searching for the Tidal Charm near the Arathi Highlands and decided to help them before sailing to Kalimdor.
• Thrall fled from wanted posters in Gilneas, then learned Queen Doras barred male Orcs from Kalimdor and paid for their deaths.
• Murlocs searched the sailboat for Thrall after a five-million-gold bounty was announced, but Thrall escaped detection again.
• At Southshore, Herkula revealed himself as a Lich and Kel'Thuzad's disciple, then greeted Thrall as Warchief.

Thrall accepted Herkula’s offer to keep killing Orcs in exchange for Kel'Thuzad’s help against Antonidas and a future marriage to Doras. When bounty hunters and Dalaran Mages attacked Herkula’s manor, Herkula led Thrall into a prepared secret passage.

• Thrall recognized Herkula’s history and agreed to trust him when Herkula offered refuge from the bounty hunters.
• Herkula took Thrall to a manor near Southshore, where Thrall recovered and later overheard Herkula bargaining with Kel'Thuzad.
• Kel'Thuzad offered to help Herkula perfect his Lich body, and Herkula promised him Thrall in return.
• Herkula told Thrall to return to Lordaeron and continue killing Orcs, promising Kel'Thuzad would help stop Antonidas and that Thrall could marry Doras afterward.
• Thrall agreed to Herkula’s plan, but bounty hunters and Dalaran Mages attacked the manor, so Herkula led Thrall into a secret passage.

Herkula led Thrall through Alterac’s ruins to reveal a hidden source of magic, but Medivh tracked them there using a Rune concealed in Thrall’s shirt. Herkula hid with Thrall in a cesspit to evade Medivh, and the chapter ended as Kel’Thuzad arrived in response to Herkula’s signal.

• Herkula escaped with Thrall through a secret passage and a Portal, bringing him to the ruins of Alterac’s capital.
• Herkula told Thrall that he was born into Alterac’s royal family and explained his hatred of Orcs and King Terenas.
• Herkula led Thrall into the ruined Royal Magic Association headquarters and revealed that a source of magic like the Sunwell was hidden inside a statue of Sargeras.
• Medivh tracked them to the ruins after Herkula found a Rune concealed in a button on Thrall’s shirt.
• Herkula pulled Thrall into a cesspit to avoid Medivh’s detection magic and told him they would have to hide there whenever Medivh pursued them.
• Kel’Thuzad arrived after receiving Herkula’s signal, giving Herkula hope that they were safe.

Thrall watched Kel'Thuzad apparently die, then discovered the events leading him to the Helm of Domination had been staged by Herkula, a Dreadlord. Desperate to build a New World, Thrall put on the helm, surrendered his soul to a dark consciousness, and destroyed the Statue of Sargeras.

• Thrall and Herkula watched Antonidas and Medivh defeat and apparently kill Kel'Thuzad, then fled into the cesspit.
• Thrall learned that the Statue of Sargeras concealed a helm that had consumed the consciousness of a previous wearer.
• Thrall touched the helm and realized the recent events, including the battle and Kel'Thuzad's death, had been an illusion staged to manipulate him.
• Herkula admitted Thrall had seen through the scheme, and Thrall recognized him as a Dreadlord who had driven him toward the helm.
• Thrall put on the helm, allowing a dark consciousness to take over his body, and shattered the Statue of Sargeras.