Chapter Summaries

Jaina, Arthas, and Kael'thas faced hostility at the Stormwind Royal Academy, where the new magical curriculum demanded loyalty to Sargeras. As Kael'thas wrestled with whispers urging him to seek the gods, a hidden mass of flesh and eyes watched him from beneath the academy.

• After several days in a cell, Jaina was pardoned and released, then complained to Arthas and Kael'thas about her treatment.
• Kael'thas warned Jaina to keep a lower profile, but Arthas vowed to condemn the Alliance and Night Elves for what had happened to her.
• At Stormwind Keep, Hu Feng said he disliked Jaina and Arthas, while discussing a possible Night Elf Imperial System with Alleria and King Llane.
• At the newly opened Stormwind Royal Academy, Jaina and Kael'thas saw that students would learn ancient elven magic and be taught to place loyalty to Sargeras above loyalty to their nations.
• Archmage Kaelar and Stormwind nobles mocked Jaina, while Kael'thas heard whispers urging him to seek the gods for help.
• Beneath the academy, a writhing mass of flesh and eyes watched Kael'thas.

The Mill-Eye Demon covertly influenced Kael'thas and founded Twilight's Hammer in Quel'Thalas to prepare the High Elves for a supposed coming disaster. Kael'thas grew increasingly resentful of Arthas and decided to seek guidance from the God of Magic before leaving.

• The Mill-Eye Demon planted a piece of himself beneath Stormwind's Royal Academy to whisper to Kael'thas while his main body turned its attention to Quel'Thalas.
• The Mill-Eye Demon guided minor nobles and mages to form Twilight's Hammer, whose followers believed Prince Kael'thas must lead the High Elves through the coming Twilight Judgment.
• Twilight's Hammer spread the god's messages in secret and waited for the High Elves to be ready for change.
• Kael'thas's whispers fueled his hatred of Arthas and his belief that Arthas threatened Jaina and Quel'Thalas.
• Kael'thas decided to meet the incarnation of the God of Magic before leaving and ask how he should choose.

Ner'zhul rejected Talon Bloodfiend’s plan to lead the Horde, but submitted to Tichondrius and Kil'jaeden rather than face further torment. Meanwhile, Heklar arrived in Lordaeron to discuss an arms deal with King Terenas, carrying a list of weapons his master had approved for sale.

• Ner'zhul ordered Talon Bloodfiend and the other Death Knight away, refusing to lead the scattered Horde back to Azeroth for artifacts.
• Tichondrius attacked the Death Knights and demanded that Ner'zhul submit to Kil'jaeden, and Ner'zhul agreed.
• Heklar reported Lordaeron’s direct arms-deal offer to his master and received a list of approved, reduced-version goods.
• Heklar arrived in Lordaeron and refused the diplomat’s offer of a welcoming banquet, insisting that they discuss business.
• King Terenas prepared to negotiate with Heklar, hoping to reduce Lordaeron’s dependence on the Alliance.

Heklar sold weapons to Lordaeron while secretly supplying outdated models with hidden weaknesses, then the northern kingdoms formed a rival alliance. Hu Feng approved its formation while privately telling King Llane that the rivalry would keep the southern Alliance prepared, and Llane introduced the rising noblewoman Katrana Prysto.

• Heklar left Lordaeron satisfied after securing a long-term weapons partnership with King Terenas, then continued selling weapons across the northern kingdoms.
• Heklar’s weapons included primitive or unstable models and Iron Stars with hidden remote-control backdoors, and his journey earned nearly one million gold coins in pure profit.
• Lordaeron led the creation of the Northern Alliance with Gilneas, Dalaran, Alterac, and Kul Tiras, while Stromgarde remained neutral between the rival blocs.
• Terenas sent Hu Feng gifts and requested his approval for the Northern Alliance, and Hu Feng accepted the gifts and approved its formation.
• King Llane questioned Hu Feng’s approval, and Hu Feng explained that a rival would keep the southern Alliance vigilant and prepared.
• Llane told Hu Feng that Katrana Prysto had become a prominent noblewoman and that he had made her a countess after she donated one hundred thousand gold coins.

The Alliance celebrated the Spring Festival with red decorations, fireworks, and red envelopes, while Hu Feng was forced to hand out his savings to the younger generation. Festivities spread to Suramar and Lordaeron, where Mill-Eye Demon caused mischief, and Fandral Staghelm began to question whether he had been wrong.

• The Alliance celebrated the Spring Festival as children swarmed Orc soldiers for red envelopes, leaving the soldiers penniless.
• King Llane, Varian, Lothar, Medivh, and the Windrunner Sisters demanded red envelopes from Hu Feng, while Sylvanas and Alleria searched his rings for coins.
• The Crusaders gave Fandral Staghelm a Spring Festival meal, and he asked to see his son as he began doubting his beliefs.
• Mill-Eye Demon joined Suramar's celebrations by hiding tentacles with red envelopes around the city.
• Mill-Eye Demon stole nobles' gold coins in Lordaeron City and burrowed underground with the money.

Orgrim arrived in Orgrimmar and reunited with Durotan, whose thriving homeland convinced him that the Orcs needed a new path. Durotan accepted the role of Warchief and founded the New Horde, while news of it brought hope to Orcs in the internment camps and anger to King Terenas.

• Durotan welcomed Orgrim and Brox Sarufal to Orgrimmar, reassured Orgrim about Gul'guro, and asked about the Iron Horde.
• Durotan described how the Frostwolf Clan had built a peaceful new home with help from the Night Elves and Tauren, and promised to accept any Orc kin who came there.
• Orgrim and Brox urged Durotan to lead a rebuilt Horde, and Durotan accepted the position of Warchief and declared that the New Horde would include allies beyond the Orcs.
• The Tauren and Darkspear Trolls joined the New Horde, the Night Elves established friendly relations with Orgrimmar, and Orcs in the internment camps regained hope.
• King Terenas raged over the New Horde and accused the Southern Alliance of betraying humanity, then welcomed Daval Prysto's acquisition of Alterac and planned marriage to Calia.

Hu Feng tested Kael'thas's loyalty and received a brief message from Xue-Nu the White Tiger, who recognized him as a like-minded Titan. Kael'thas then asked Hu Feng for guidance about Jaina and Arthas, while the White Tiger reflected on their affinity from Pandaria.

• Hu Feng and King Llane discussed Countess Katrana Prestor and the newly appointed King of Alterac, Prysto.
• Kael'thas apologized to Sylvanas and answered Hu Feng's question about how he would respond if the Night Elves demanded Quel'Thalas return to their rule.
• Hu Feng praised Kael'thas's answer, and the bracelet Liu Lang gave him transformed as Xue-Nu the White Tiger briefly contacted him through the mists.
• Kael'thas told Hu Feng that he needed help understanding Jaina and Arthas, and Hu Feng agreed to discuss them.
• In Pandaria, the White Tiger trained monk apprentices and thought Hu Feng might be the only being who could fully understand him.

Hu Feng defended his plan to let Silvermoon City suffer so Archimonde could be killed, while offering Sylvanas a choice about becoming undead and reconciling with Alleria. Meanwhile, Ner'zhul became the Lich King, and Kael'thas warned Quel'Thalas of the coming Scourge, though its rulers doubted him.

• Kael'thas left to prepare for the coming disaster, while Alleria objected to Hu Feng's decision to accept Silvermoon's destruction as part of the plan to kill Archimonde.
• Hu Feng offered Sylvanas the choice to gain power by becoming undead, promising to sever her link to the Lich King and restore her appearance; she considered his offer.
• Alleria told Hu Feng she was not ready to accept his reasoning but would not end their relationship over their disagreement.
• Kil'jaeden imprisoned Ner'zhul's soul in a block of ice, gave him the power to spread the undead plague, and named him the Lich King.
• Kael'thas warned Anasterian and the Silvermoon Royal Court about the Scourge, but they were skeptical of his report.
• The Lich King's ice fell on Icecrown Glacier, where Ner'zhul sensed a human settlement and decided to test the undead plague there.

Hu Feng read the White Tiger’s letter about Pandaria and hosted Chen Stormbrew for a night of food and drinking in Stormwind Keep. He woke the next morning beside Alleria and Sylvanas, unsure what had happened while they were drunk.

• Hu Feng read the White Tiger’s letter, which described Pandaria’s factions, the other Celestials, and the White Tiger’s plan to put Shaohao through his trial.
• Chen Stormbrew told Hu Feng that the White Tiger had sent the letter only to share his thoughts, and Hu Feng invited Chen to drink and cook with him.
• Sylvanas returned to Stormwind Keep and found Llane and Lothar drunk in the side hall, while Hu Feng, Alleria, and Chen feasted in the inner hall.
• Chen used monk martial arts to prepare Pandaren dishes as Hu Feng, Alleria, and Sylvanas ate and drank.
• Hu Feng woke the next morning beside Alleria and Sylvanas and realized that he could not remember what had happened after drinking.

Hu Feng summoned Countess Katrana Prestor and had the Crusaders of the Truth arrest her. She was brought before him in Tempest Keep and forced to kneel, while her fear grew that he had uncovered her secret.

• Hu Feng gave Sylvanas gold to shop in Stormwind City and told her to take her sisters along.
• Hu Feng ordered a Nightborne Crusader to bring Countess Katrana Prestor to him.
• The Nightborne Crusaders stormed Prestor's villa and ordered her to accompany them to Stormwind Keep.
• Prestor failed to break the magical chains binding her and feared that Hu Feng had discovered her secret.
• The Crusaders dragged Prestor before Hu Feng in Tempest Keep, where one of them kicked her to her knees.

Hu Feng exposed Onyxia, who had infiltrated Stormwind as Countess Prestor, and tortured her before offering her enslavement or death. Onyxia chose to become his divine servant, leaving her fate and the use of her egg-laying ability in Hu Feng’s hands.

• Hu Feng kept Countess Prestor kneeling in Stormwind Keep before revealing that he knew she was Onyxia.
• Onyxia claimed she wanted to enjoy life in Stormwind and help the Alliance, but Hu Feng rejected her excuses and attacked her.
• Hu Feng sealed Onyxia’s dragon form and power, wounded her with Void Energy, and forced her to crawl before him.
• Hu Feng considered using Onyxia’s eggs to turn Dragonmaw Clan mounts against their riders and to supply the Iron Horde with Black Dragons.
• Hu Feng offered Onyxia enslavement as his divine servant or death, and she chose to serve him forever.

Hu Feng glimpsed possible futures in which he loved the blue dragon Stellagosa and led a vast elven empire against the Burning Legion and Void creatures. He returned to Stormwind resolved to prepare for the eventual cosmic conflict, though the future remained uncertain.

• Hu Feng used foresight and discovered fragments showing possible futures that had not appeared in his visions before.
• Hu Feng saw a future self with Stellagosa, who shifted between dragon and elf forms while he called her Little Star.
• Hu Feng witnessed a future empire’s fleet preparing to attack the Burning Legion and Void creatures, with his future self commanding the Night Empire and the New Pantheon.
• Hu Feng saw more than a dozen Titans appear before the vision shattered, and his future self silently told him to follow his heart.
• Hu Feng returned to Stormwind Keep and considered building his legions and fleet for a future assault on Argus when the Burning Legion invaded the Broken Isles.
• Hu Feng remembered a silver-haired woman beside his future self and wondered whether Azeroth herself would always remain with him.

Thrall was rescued from Blackmoore’s prison by Grom Hellscream, Sylvanas, and their companions, while resurrected Orc heroes freed prisoners across the Hillsbrad Foothills. In Southshore, Mograine named the purified Light Crystal’s future weapon Ashbringer.

• Thrall shared his escape plans with Taretha, who agreed to help him and the Orc prisoners.
• Grom Hellscream and Sylvanas arrived at Thrall’s cell and revealed that they had come to rescue him.
• Thrall learned that Grom was his father Durotan’s old friend and that other Orcs were being freed from nearby camps.
• Resurrected Orc heroes killed the guards and led prisoners out of internment camps throughout the Hillsbrad Foothills.
• Thrall and his rescuers headed toward Tarren Mill to save Taretha and take her and her family away.
• Mograine decided to forge a two-handed sword from the purified Light Crystal and named it Ashbringer.

Thrall and his allies rescued Taretha from Tarren Mill, where the Eternal Dragonflight had altered events and put her into a coma. After Sylvanas revealed her connection to Sargeras, the Time Hunter restored Taretha and withdrew, and Chromie arrived demanding to know what had happened before Sylvanas invited her to come see the changed future.

• Sylvanas and Grom killed the human guards as Thrall rushed to Taretha's home.
• Thrall found Taretha unconscious and learned that her mother had been murdered.
• The Time Hunter and the Eternal Dragonflight appeared, and Sylvanas warned them against interfering with Sargeras and his allies.
• The Time Hunter restored Taretha, declared that the Eternal Dragonflight would no longer trouble them, and disappeared with the dragonkin.
• Chromie arrived, recognized Grom and Sylvanas's changed fates, and questioned Sylvanas about the Eternal Dragons.
• Sylvanas invited Chromie to return with them and see the altered future for herself.

Thrall’s group traveled south toward Stormwind, where Taretha worried about being enslaved again and Queen Sylvanas encouraged her feelings for Thrall. Meanwhile, the Orc escape sparked a political feud between the Northern and Southern Alliances, and King Prysto revealed himself to Heklar as Deathwing.

• Grom told Thrall about his heritage, the New Horde, and the split between the peaceful Orcs and the Iron Horde as they traveled south.
• Dwarves from Ironforge met Thrall’s group in the Arathi Highlands while Stromgarde stayed neutral, and Queen Sylvanas reassured Taretha that she and Thrall would reach Kalimdor safely.
• Lordaeron accused Stormwind and Ironforge of aiding the Orcs, and King Llane answered with insults as both alliances mobilized troops along their border.
• King Prysto summoned Heklar and demanded weapons, but Heklar resisted his attempt to control him with Mind Magic and invoked his master, the God of Magic.
• Prysto recognized Heklar’s connection to Titan Sargeras, then revealed black dragon horns and armor, shocking Heklar into recognizing him as Deathwing.

The Infinite Dragons debated how to respond to Titan Sargeras’s changes to the timeline, and Malygos ordered them to follow their original plan while observing events. In Karazhan, Merith and Medivh continued restoring the tower as new threats emerged in Northrend and Alexstrasza received distress signals from her offspring in the Eastern Kingdoms.

• Malygos agreed that the Titan’s timeline might have been accepted by the River of Time, but ordered the Infinite Dragons to keep to their original plan and avoid interfering with the Titan’s changes.
• Malygos assigned Aeonus and Tempestus to handle Arthas’s point in time and told them to adapt to circumstances.
• Merith Winterwind and Medivh repaired Karazhan, cleansed its haunted halls with Morose, and watched the Violet Eye’s efforts to claim its magical knowledge.
• Merith restored the opera troupe’s free will and planned to invite his mentor, his mentor’s wife, and Medivh’s mother to see their ghostly performance.
• The Dragon Aspects discovered that dragon remains, possibly including Galakrond’s bones, were being taken to Icecrown Glacier by undead.
• Alexstrasza received distress signals from her offspring in the Eastern Kingdoms and grew worried about their condition.

Deathwing enlisted Heklar to ask the Divine Sovereign what had happened to Onyxia, while Kel'Thuzad followed the Lich King's call to Northrend and reached Icecrown Citadel. After witnessing Lord Marrowgar's power, Kel'Thuzad pledged himself to the Lich King and was summoned to the Frozen Throne.

• Deathwing told Heklar that he wanted to know why Onyxia had vanished from his awareness and asked him to request the Divine Sovereign's help in sparing her if possible.
• Heklar left Alterac, leaving his weapons for Deathwing, and secretly set out to deliver the message.
• Kel'Thuzad, driven by the Lich King's whispers and barred from studying necromancy in Dalaran, disappeared and sailed to Northrend.
• Kel'Thuzad traveled through Icecrown Glacier to Icecrown Citadel, where undead creatures escorted him to the fortress.
• The Lich King showed Kel'Thuzad Lord Marrowgar, who demonstrated Bone Storm and devastated the hall.
• Kel'Thuzad knelt and pledged to serve the Lich King, who called him to the Frozen Throne.

Thrall arrived in Stormwind City with Taretha and saw the Alliance’s different races living together, while Grom and Sylvanas guided them toward Hu Feng. Sylvanas brought Thrall, Taretha, and Grom into the hall, where Alleria was studying a cookbook and said Hu Feng was inside.

• Thrall entered Stormwind City with Taretha and was impressed by its defenses and the statue of the Divine Venerable.
• Sylvanas and Grom introduced the statue and led Thrall through the city, where he saw humans, orcs, elves, dwarves, and gnomes living and working together.
• Sylvanas guided Thrall, Taretha, and Grom through the Royal District and past the Crusaders of the Truth to Hu Feng’s quarters.
• Sylvanas entered the hall and found Alleria studying a cookbook while Vareesa slept nearby.
• Alleria told Sylvanas to keep quiet and said Hu Feng was inside, while Sylvanas joked that she had given up on learning to cook.

The Cult of the Damned spread plague across Lordaeron, turning the dead into undead as Prince Arthas struggled to protect his people. The chapter ended with the ghost of Pamela hiding in ruined Darrowshire, alone and afraid.

• The Southern Alliance and its allies halted northern food trade and prepared defenses as the Cult of the Damned spread through the Eastern Kingdoms.
• Arthas, Uther the Lightbringer, and Jaina fought undead in the plague-ridden region near Stratholme after learning Kel'Thuzad and his cult had spread infected grain and poisoned water.
• Arthas killed Kel'Thuzad, who smiled and told him that his destiny was about to begin and that Arthas would summon him again.
• Arthas saved villagers, and Timmy asked whether the prince would protect them forever; Arthas promised that he would always protect his people.
• Pamela awoke as a ghost amid the ruins of Darrowshire and hid from a group of Ghouls that searched the village.

Arthas massacred Stratholme after dismissing Uther and losing Jaina, while Mal'Ganis escaped and lured him toward Northrend. Hu Feng told King Llane and his allies that the Lich King sought a body and had originally targeted Llane, leaving them to prepare their next move.

• Arthas rejected Uther and Jaina's pleas, stripped Uther of his ranks, and ordered his army to enter Stratholme.
• Aeonus killed Tempestus and ordered a Time Hunter to find a hidden Bronze Dragon and gather information about the plague for the being in the south.
• Arthas's troops slaughtered Stratholme's citizens as undead spread through the city, and Mal'Ganis taunted Arthas before escaping toward Northrend.
• Hu Feng told King Llane, Lothar, and Medivh that the Burning Legion had sent the Lich King to claim a suitable body.
• Hu Feng revealed that the Lich King's first choice had been Llane and his second had been Lothar, but his surveillance had forced the Lich King to settle for Arthas.