Chapter Summaries

Kazzak fought Ragnaros across the collapsing Firelands and defeated the Fire Lord after the fire imps abandoned him. Kazzak presented Ragnaros’s Flame Heart to Diakum and was welcomed into the cause of justice.

• Aegwynn appointed Kazzak to fight Ragnaros, and Diakum gave Kazzak Mannoroth’s purified Doom Spear.
• Ragnaros transformed into his true form and battled Kazzak while the Firelands broke apart and his fire-cursed forces fell into disarray.
• Hogger’s Horde and Hamuul’s druids restrained the crazed Dark Iron Dwarves as Hamuul and Kael’thas fought Beloroc.
• Kazzak absorbed Ragnaros’s power and tore him apart, while Executus and the fire imp lords blocked Ragnaros’s escape and sided with the invaders.
• Ragnaros unleashed a final explosion that damaged the Firelands, but Kazzak survived and presented the Fire Lord’s Flame Heart to Diakum.
• Yrel and the Lightforged cheered Kazzak, and Diakum welcomed the wounded Dawn Lord as a companion in the cause of justice.

After Ragnaros escaped by transferring himself to a follower, Diakum and his allies prepared to pursue him while securing the Firelands and claiming its remaining treasures. Diakum left with the Lightforged for the world’s south, where he expected to find Ragnaros’s Yaungol followers and address other problems.

• Kael'thas, Lelan, and Hamul examined Ragnaros's Flame Heart and concluded that he had escaped by transferring himself to a powerful follower, most likely Ordos among the Yaungol.
• Kael'thas collected a wisp of the Flames of Sulfuras, and Hamul used the remaining flame to create an Eternal Flame Torch for the Flame Druids.
• Yrel handed Maraad the Flame Heart, and he reforged his warhammer with its power and a holy fragment into a Lightforged divine weapon.
• Old Gani urged Yrel to serve ordinary people and protect the weak, and Diakum approved of the Loa's guidance.
• Diakum found Ragnaros's hidden jewelry and weapons, gave Nali a circlet, and said the warhammer would be saved for a Radiant Spirit.
• Diakum announced that he would take the Exodar and the Lightforged south to meet the pandaren and pursue Ragnaros, while Nali stayed to watch the Eastern Continent.

After the Firelands campaign, Diakum set out aboard the Exodar toward the newly emerged Pandaria, while Kael'thas returned to finish his studies and investigate the Sunstrider name. In the South Seas, Steamwheedle survived an airship crash and discovered the Wandering Isle, then contacted his partner for help.

• Kael'thas reflected on the Dark Iron Kingdom’s changes, and Diakum asked him to investigate the origins of the Sunstrider name and the secret behind Flame Strike.
• Kael'thas declined to travel to Pandaria because he needed to finish his graduation project before marrying his fiancée, while Diakum departed for Stormwind.
• Diakum, Aegwynn, and their companions boarded the Exodar and set course through the South Seas mists toward Pandaria.
• Steamwheedle’s airship crashed after a fleeing fire elemental struck it, leaving the trade prince stranded on an unfamiliar island.
• Steamwheedle sent goblin servants into the burning wreck for communications equipment, and the airship exploded, killing the others who had gone after treasure.
• Steamwheedle spotted the Wandering Isle and contacted his partner, asking her to honor their mutual-assistance agreement.

Diakum and the Exodar entered Pandaria and intervened when Mantid and Mogu Death Knights attacked the Temple of the Jade Serpent to free the Doubt Sha. After learning the invaders served the resurrected Thunder King, Lei Shen, Diakum moved to absorb the Sha, unaware that unseen eyes had marked him and his dagger.

• Onyxia reported that Steamwheedle had crash-landed near the Wandering Isle, and Diakum told the goblins to seek Chen Stormstout and warned them about Sha corruption.
• The Exodar passed through Pandaria’s mists, and Lady Aegwynn spotted Mantid and Mogu attackers assaulting Pandaren guards near Yu’lon’s statue.
• The Lightforged and Pandaren monks fought together, while Lady Aegwynn teleported a Mogu warlord to Diakum for questioning.
• The Mogu warlord revealed that Emperor Lei Shen had ordered the attack to release the Doubt Sha and that the Mogu planned to claim its power.
• Diakum explained that Sha energy came from the fallen Old God Y’Shaarj, then entered Voidform and began absorbing the Doubt Sha as unseen eyes watched him and his dagger.

After the Lightforged defeated their enemies, the Doubt Sha drove Yrel and the others into intense self-recrimination, forcing them to retreat while Diakum contained its true body. Unscarred Malik ambushed Diakum with a mind bomb and stole the Blade of the Black Empire, pulling Diakum into a realm where the Sha of Fear and Doubt attacked his mind.

• Yrel became overwhelmed by doubts about her past mistakes and nearly raised her blade against Madam Liu Yanxin before Maraad stopped her.
• Nubodon recognized that the warriors’ sudden self-doubt came from a sha influence, and Madam Liu Yanxin led the affected Lightforged away from the battlefield.
• Diakum held the Doubt Sha’s true body in place with the Blade of the Black Empire while he and the Argus Lord discussed the dangers of Y'Shaarj’s power.
• Unscarred Malik struck Diakum with a mind bomb and seized the Blade of the Black Empire before fleeing.
• The combined power of the Sha of Fear and Doubt dragged Diakum into a sha demon space, where they attacked his mind and demanded that he reveal his fear.

Diakum resisted the Doubt Sha and the Sha of Fear by revisiting his past memories and defeating them within their illusions. He captured the weakened demons in the Dark Empire Blade, then arrived at the Temple of the Jade Serpent, where Yu'lon awaited him and a feast had been prepared.

• Diakum mocked the Doubt Sha and the Sha of Fear, provoking them to pour more power into their mental attack.
• The sha demons forced Diakum through memories of his past, but his former selves rejected doubt and fear and fought them off.
• Diakum tore open the illusion with Entropy Collapse and trapped the sha demons with entropy chains and the Twilight Hammer.
• A leaper returned the Dark Empire Blade, and Diakum ordered it to help build a specialized force from mantid champions before the sha demons entered the blade.
• Diakum rode to the Temple of the Jade Serpent carrying gifts from Pandaren, where Lorewalker Stone Step welcomed him and said Yu'lon was waiting.

Diakum met Yu'lon and learned that the Sha's influence had left his Lightforged followers trapped in painful self-doubt. He planned to use the Sha to break their fanaticism and rebuild their faith, then asked Oreses and Saloras to undergo the first trials.

• Yu'lon welcomed Diakum and Aegwynn at the Temple of the Jade Serpent, praised Diakum for subduing the Sha, and arranged for Lorewalker Stone Step to brief them on Pandaria.
• Yu'lon told Diakum that Zhou Zhuo had gone to Kun-Lai Summit to investigate the Thunder King's undead army and was likely detained by White Tiger Monks.
• Brann Bronzebeard and a group of shipwrecked explorers restarted their boat and sailed toward Pandaria, where Brann anticipated finding remarkable ruins.
• Oreses told Saloras that the Doubt Sha's influence had left her unable to stop questioning her beliefs, and Saloras worried that the warriors' doubts could weaken their Holy Light.
• Diakum explained that doubt and other Sha could strip away the Lightforged's fanaticism and help them rebuild sincere faith, then asked Oreses and Saloras to volunteer for the first trials.

Diakum learned that Pandaria’s three-way war had begun after the Thunder King’s resurrection and Shaohao’s disappearance, and concluded that a Death Force plot lay beneath the continent’s history. The chapter ended with Chromie reporting that she had found the Fire Lord’s hidden island and a Kun there.

• The Sha demons left many Lightforged warriors consumed by self-doubt, while Nubodon explained that their obsessions and hatred made them vulnerable.
• Diakum and the others listened as Elder Stone Step recounted Pandaria’s history, including the Thunder King’s return, the rise of undead Mogu, and the uneasy balance among Pandaren, mantid, and Mogu.
• Diakum told Stone Step that the Death Force had secretly influenced Pandaria and said the group needed to reach Kun-Lai Summit and the Nalak'sha Engine.
• Stone Step agreed to seek Master Taran Zhu’s permission for their journey to the contested Kun-Lai Summit.
• Chromie returned and reported that she had found the isolated island where the Fire Lord was assembling Fire Tauren cultists and that she had seen a Kun there.

Chromie brought Diakum and his companions to the Timeless Isle, where they encountered its time-altered inhabitants and learned that lingering there could trap them permanently. After spotting the demigod Ordos and Ragnaros, Diakum planned an assault and summoned Tauren allies, while the colossal Kunpeng swept ghost pirates into the sea.

• Chromie flew Diakum, Stone Step, and their companions to the Timeless Isle and shared tales of the enormous Kunpeng and Pandaren legends about it.
• Chromie spotted Yaungol blackfire priests on the island and explained that their demigod Ordos and Ragnaros were dangerous; Diakum planned to capture Ragnaros and question Ordos.
• The group watched ghost pirates hunt the Sha of the Deep, and Chromie warned them that Epoch Stones and the island's chaotic time stream could assimilate visitors and keep them from leaving.
• Diakum summoned Hamul Runetotem and Cairne Bloodhoof to witness Ordos's defeat, while Saloras arranged for Lady Aegwynn to join them.
• Kunpeng surfaced beside the shore and its waves swept the ghost pirates into the sea before it disappeared beneath the water.

Hamul Runetotem and Cairne Bloodhoof arrived on the Timeless Isle and found Dezco and many Lightforged warriors questioning their faith. Diakum led the troubled Lightforged against Ordos, where Ragnaros’s attempt to strengthen the Fire Tauren collided with Ordos’s belief that he had to relight An’she’s sun.

• Hamul and Cairne found Dezco and the Sunwalkers sunk in doubts, while Leipi began discussing their crisis with them.
• Archbishop Saloras directed Hamul and Cairne to meet Commander Diakum and told them about the Yaungol tribes of Pandaria.
• Diakum blessed the Lightforged and led them toward Ordos’s Molten Court, where Yrel chose to fight rather than carry the battle standard.
• The Moon Goddess Sword Reindeer charged through the Black Flame cultists, while the Lightforged followed to battle the cultists who would be reborn through the island’s flow of time.
• Ragnaros transformed Black Flame priests into flame demons and urged Ordos to attack the Lightforged, but Ordos spoke of an approaching eclipse and the need to ignite An’she’s sun.
• When Diakum entered the Molten Court, Ordos charged him, declaring that the eclipse was coming and everyone had to become kindling.

Diakum fought Ordos as a black eclipse began draining the light from Timeless Isle, then entered Ordos's mind to learn the truth about An'she and the source of the darkness. The eclipse turned into moonlight, Ordos died in Diakum's arms, and the path to reigniting the sun remained ahead.

• Diakum and the Moon Goddess reindeer battled Ordos while Kazzak fought Ragnaros, and Ordos summoned a black eclipse that weakened the Holy Light.
• The Argus Lord warned Diakum that the eclipse was a true god's ritual, and Diakum struck Ordos with Enemybreaker: Duet, gravely wounding it without ending the eclipse.
• Aegwynn explained that the eclipse would end only if Ordos was purified, so Diakum entered Ordos's mind despite her warning.
• Diakum saw the black sun, learned that An'she had created the Naaru, and heard Mu'sha tell him that An'she awaited him at the end of the Holy Light.
• The eclipse became a brilliant moon, Ordos regained clarity and pleaded for the sun to be reignited, then died in Diakum's arms.

Yrel renewed her faith in the Holy Light and asked Maraad to let her help ordinary people after the war. At the Molten Court, Vigilant and the Lightforged transformed the condemned Ragnaros through their shared doctrines, leaving Diakum facing a difficult choice after the Fire Lord became the Lord of Radiance.

• Yrel recovered from the battle and told Maraad she wanted to leave the unit after the war to help people in need; Maraad approved and suggested she go to the Northern Borderlands.
• Diakum bound Ragnaros at the Molten Court, where Aegwynn offered the Fire Lord one last chance to answer the World Mother's summons.
• Ragnaros refused, condemned Azeroth's weakness, and rejected the chance to submit, so Aegwynn ordered Vigilant to carry out the sentence.
• Vigilant began reshaping Ragnaros with his doctrine, and Maraad, Yrel, Nubodon, Lelan, Eredath, the Twins, and the Lightforged joined in, adding their own oaths to the ritual.
• The Lightforged completed the ritual, killing the Fire Lord and bringing the Lord of Radiance into being.
• Diakum saw a line of golden runes appear and realized he might have to give up his fifty gold.

Diakum transformed Ragnaros into a powerful Holy Light elemental and gained the Sun God An'she’s Radiant Sun and Eclipse inheritances from Ordos’s black fire. The chapter ended with Shaohao waiting to reveal a secret about Pandaria and the Thunderlord Clan.

• Diakum replaced the Lightforged’s Seraphim form with the Lord of Radiance form, and Lelan and Nubodon gained the ability to summon Ragnaros.
• Cairne and Hamuul prepared to preserve Ordos’s ashes and a Yaungol stone tablet, while Chromie learned that Shaohao was waiting to speak with Diakum.
• Aegwynn urged Diakum to use Ordos’s black fire, and he received the Radiant Sun and Eclipse Mythic Secrets from An’she.
• Diakum lost control of his new power briefly and burned Aegwynn’s steel hand before sealing the power away.
• Chromie brought Diakum to meet Shaohao, who claimed to be the last Pandaren emperor and asked to reveal who had fought the Thunderlord Clan in Mogu’shan Vaults.

Emperor Shaohao revealed that an unknown hero had spent ten thousand years suppressing a Netherworld rift beneath Pandaria and asked Diakum to help save the continent. After Shaohao departed, Diakum returned to the mainland and met Master Taran Zhu, who immediately coughed up blood.

• Shaohao told Diakum that a mysterious lord had held back a Netherworld invasion beneath Mogu'shan Palace for ten thousand years and urged him to join the fight in Kun-Lai Summit.
• Shaohao explained the danger hidden in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and warned that the mantid were collecting the Sha to awaken a Dark Entity.
• Shaohao bid farewell to Diakum and rode a crane into the morning sky as Stone Step recorded his departure and wept.
• Diakum returned to the Jade Forest, sent the Lightforged to celebrate, and followed Liu Yanxin to a private meeting at the Temple of the Jade Serpent.
• Diakum greeted Master Taran Zhu, who abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Diakum healed Taran Zhu, accidentally destroyed his Touch of Reincarnation, then replaced its death qi with Solar Fist and gained new martial arts. As Diakum and Yu'lon prepared to pursue the mysteries of Kun-Lai Summit and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, news arrived that Shen-zin Su and the Wandering Isle Pandaren were under attack in the Krasarang Wilds.

• Diakum healed Taran Zhu's old injuries, purified his cultivated death qi, and replaced it with a new power he called Solar Fist.
• Taran Zhu agreed to send Shado-Pan monks with Diakum to Kun-Lai Summit and left him a martial arts manual; Diakum learned advanced monk skills and gained the title Grandmaster of Martial Arts.
• Yu'lon told Diakum about the Harmony Bell, the sacred key to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, and the dangers of the Illusory Tranquility Sacred Bell, then agreed that Diakum could take the latter away if he recovered it.
• Diakum and Yu'lon attended the victory feast, where Yu'lon explained her reincarnations and revealed that she had retained her memories through them.
• Anzu's raven reported that Shen-zin Su had arrived in the Krasarang Wilds and that the Wandering Isle Pandaren were besieged by Mantid and Mogu forces; Yu'lon recognized the travelers as possible descendants of Liu Lang's explorers, and she and Diakum set out to welcome them.

Steamwheedle persuaded Master Shang Xi to let the goblins join the first landing so it could search for the Fountain of Youth, while the Wandering Isle Pandaren returned to Pandaria. The landing party was attacked by Mantid and Lizardfolk, and Steamwheedle led Li Li and wounded monks to the besieged Temple of the Red Crane, expecting Vigilant to rescue them.

• Steamwheedle convinced Master Shang Xi to send it and its goblins ashore with the first wave, despite the abbot's warning about its greed and the Sha.
• Shen-zin Su reached Pandaria, and Old Chen led the first boats toward the Krasarang Wilds with Li Li, who had secretly come aboard.
• Old Chen gave Li Li the powerful staff Dawn and told her to stay close as the Pandaren began establishing a landing site.
• Mantid attacked the landing party, while Lizardfolk riding a Mushan fired a Mogu Cannon at Shen-zin Su; Steamwheedle led Li Li and injured monks into the jungle.
• Steamwheedle brought the group to the Temple of the Red Crane, where they found thousands of Mantid besieging it, and urged everyone inside while calling for Vigilant to save them.

Old Chen and the monks survived a Mantid assault, while Li Li reached the Temple of the Red Crane and discovered Chi-Ji had been ambushed and was being corrupted by the Sha of Doubt. Master Shang Xi entered the sealed chamber with Fountain of Youth Water to help Chi-Ji, choosing to defend Pandaria rather than return to a peaceful life on the Wandering Isle.

• Old Chen sent Aysa Cloudsinger and the wounded monks toward Zhu Family Village, then headed for the Temple of the Red Crane after learning Mantid had flown from its direction.
• Diakum healed Ji Firepaw and the wounded, while Old Anzu reported that the Wanderers and Shen-zin Su were safe; Old Chen rushed toward the temple after a burst of holy fire appeared in the jungle.
• Li Li watched Master Shang Xi drive back the Mantid with the Staff of Dawn, then learned that Chi-Ji was suppressing the Sha of Doubt and that the Goblins were being consumed by greed.
• The Mantid ambushed Chi-Ji, and the resulting Sha eruption overwhelmed the Red Crane monks until Master Shang Xi used a Solar Storm to rescue them.
• Yalia Sagewhisper offered a golden pill to help Chi-Ji, but Shang Xi stopped her and took the Fountain of Youth Water Li Li had received from Steamwheedle.
• Shang Xi entered the chamber alone with the water and wine cups, declaring that he had returned to defend his homeland and urging Chi-Ji not to despair.

Diakum and Old Chen entered the Temple of the Red Crane to rescue Chi-Ji from the Sha of Doubt, while Old Chen recovered Master Shang Xi’s body. Diakum let the Sha possess him and destroyed it with the power of Eclipse, then promised to keep fighting fate until a new Dawn Age began.

• Old Chen found Li Li helping the wounded, learned Master Shang Xi had died saving Chi-Ji, and prepared to lead the monks into the corrupted temple.
• Diakum strengthened the Red Crane monks with Holy Light and cleared a path through the Sha energy, then reached the sealed chamber where Chi-Ji fought the Sha of Doubt.
• Old Chen carried Master Shang Xi’s body out of the temple while Diakum stayed behind to confront the Sha of Doubt.
• Diakum summoned Lord of Radiance Ragnaros to batter the Sha, then allowed it to possess him and used Eclipse to extinguish it completely.
• Chi-Ji sensed that the Sha of Doubt had been destroyed, and Diakum later told Chi-Ji he had defeated it by betting that it would find no despair within him.

Diakum helped Old Chen confront his grief over Master Shang Xi and reconsider taking his body back to the Wandering Isle, then learned that his goblin partners were in danger near a strange spring in Krasarang Wilds. He left to help them while Anzu stayed behind to assist the weakened Chi-Ji.

• Li Li asked Diakum to stop Old Chen from taking Master Shang Xi's body away from Pandaria, and Diakum joined Chen on the beach.
• Diakum comforted Old Chen and challenged his belief that Pandaria was unworthy of being Master Shang Xi's resting place; Chen stopped insisting on returning the body to the Wandering Isle.
• Diakum urged Old Chen to carry on Master Shang Xi's ideals and invited him to join the journey to Kun-Lai Summit, while Li Li stayed with her grieving uncle.
• Anzu worried that Chi-Ji's beauty might threaten his chances with Rukhmar, and Diakum reassured him that the two birds would be rivals or friends rather than lovers.
• Anzu told Diakum that the goblins were surrounded by Mogu near a strange spring and were being corrupted by Sha energy; Diakum left to investigate and asked Anzu to help the weakened Chi-Ji.

Diakum found Steamwheedle rallying Mogu rebels with promises of wealth and employment while corrupted by an unusual Sha. After Diakum removed the Sha, Steamwheedle regained his senses but immediately returned to plotting profitable schemes, leaving Diakum wary of keeping him in Pandaria.

• Diakum rode into the Duyang Ruins and found Steamwheedle trying to turn Earthbreaker Broye's Mogu followers against their leader by exposing Broye's secret use of the Fountain of Youth.
• Steamwheedle urged the Mogu to join his trading venture, and they marched off to confront Broye after testing the spring water and discovering they had been deceived.
• Steamwheedle revealed fanatical plans to turn the world's ambitions and wealth into an enduring system of profit, while claiming his other servants had scattered to steal the Fountain of Youth Water.
• Diakum used the Blade of the Black Empire to extract the Sha of Greed from Steamwheedle, who then complained that the corruption had reduced the profit he could have squeezed from the Mogu.
• Steamwheedle began planning to monopolize Pandaria's food trade and suggested creating a grain crisis, so Diakum threatened him with a Light Blade until he took back the idea.