Chapter Summaries

Boss Hu approved the Northern Alliance’s formation while secretly viewing it as a useful rival to keep the Southern Alliance prepared for future threats. After learning that Katrana Pristor had entered Stormwind’s nobility and a cult was opposing him in Deadwind Pass, he decided to investigate the cult himself.

• The Northern Alliance sent Terenas’s delegation to Stormwind, where Boss Hu approved its establishment and accepted its gifts.
• The Northern and Southern Alliances began a military standoff as their nobles developed opposing traditions and rivalries.
• Boss Hu told Llane that the Northern Alliance would give the Southern Alliance a rival and keep its armies vigilant.
• Llane told Boss Hu that Katrana Pristor had donated one hundred thousand gold coins and received the title of countess.
• Llane reported that a cult from Deadwind Pass was spreading into Duskwood and destroying Boss Hu’s statues, so Boss Hu ordered the Crusaders to stand down and chose to investigate.

Boss Hu visited a village of refugees in Duskwood and discovered that the survivors of the Battle of Karazhan were suffering from the mixed divine power left by his battle with Sargeras. He reunited with Vivianka, who had survived the disaster and become a Chosen One wielding a transformed Apocalypse, and he left her with a false name.

• Boss Hu entered the impoverished village and found that many refugees were sick from the residual divine power of his battle with Sargeras.
• The village militiamen led Boss Hu to their council hall after he used a mental suggestion, where he sensed a force drawing out the lingering divine power.
• The commander introduced Vivianka as the Scarlet Demon Blade, and she dismissed the soldiers because she recognized Boss Hu as the noble who had once helped her village.
• Vivianka told Boss Hu that the divine shockwave had killed her family, while she survived in a cellar and awakened with divine power that transformed Apocalypse.
• Boss Hu examined Vivianka, comforted her, and introduced himself as Anduin Fortagen, claiming to be Grand Duke Bolvar's son.

Boss Hu persuaded Vivianka to accept Stormwind Kingdom’s rule and taxes so her refugees could remain safely in Duskwood, and promised to seek special treatment from King Llane. He left for Stormwind City, reflecting on his responsibility for the mortals harmed by his battle with Sargeras while continuing to accept the privileges of a god.

• Vivianka thanked Boss Hu for saving her people and said they planned to settle permanently without Stormwind City’s permission.
• Boss Hu warned that the refugees could be attacked if they rejected the kingdom’s rule, and persuaded Vivianka to acknowledge the Royal Court and pay taxes.
• Vivianka worried that Stormwind City would force her people to worship the Titans, and Boss Hu promised to ask King Llane for special treatment.
• Vivianka saw Boss Hu off from Duskwood Orchard Town, and he told her to cooperate with the Night Watch troops.
• A Nightborne asked whether they should kill the people who blasphemed against Boss Hu, but Boss Hu defended Vivianka as his most compatible chief Chosen One.
• Boss Hu admitted that his battle with Sargeras had harmed mortals and that he could have evacuated them, then said he would correct mistakes without dwelling on them.

The Stormwind Royal Court pardoned Duskwood and granted Vivianka Demon Blade local lordship, while the kingdom faced mounting threats across the region and strained finances. Countess Katrana Prestor gained influence at court and sought to approach Varian, but Boss Hu kept the young prince away from her.

• King Llane's proclamation pardoned Duskwood and Duskwood Orchard Town, restored them to the kingdom, and granted Vivianka Demon Blade lawful local lordship.
• The chapter described Duskwood's dangers, including an ogre tribe, cursed worgen, and rumors of undead at Crow's Vale Graveyard.
• King Llane and Grand Duke Bolvar struggled to fund Duskwood Town Fortress without raising taxes on the people.
• Countess Katrana Prestor offered political advice and gained the trust of King Llane and Grand Duke Bolvar, while avoiding Boss Hu.
• Katrana tried to get close to Varian, but the Titan Divine Lord repeatedly summoned the young prince away.

Hu Feng stopped Stormwind's treasury from withholding payment from the Artisan's Guild, and King Llane approved Edwin VanCleef's plan to organize the craftsmen into a commercial guild. The newly formed Defias Artisan Brotherhood prospered as the kingdom's official construction contractor, while the Blackrock Syndicate's loan offer was rejected.

• Hu Feng argued that delaying the Artisan's Guild's payment would leave its workers unable to feed their families, and King Llane summoned Edwin VanCleef.
• King Llane apologized to VanCleef and promised the guild all the gold it was owed, but VanCleef offered to take only enough to cover wages and material debts.
• VanCleef asked for priority on future construction projects and permission to trade in raw materials, and King Llane approved his requests.
• VanCleef founded the Defias Artisan Brotherhood, which secured official contracts, won everyday jobs, repaid its suppliers, and began paying taxes.
• The Blackrock Syndicate's Stormwind office failed to lend money to VanCleef after he rejected its usurious terms.

Orgrim and the Ragefire Clan arrived in Orgrimmar, where Durotan welcomed them and agreed to rebuild the Horde. Durotan became Warchief, and the New Horde was formally established a few days later.

• Orgrim and the Ragefire Clan entered Orgrimmar and saw the thriving city shared by Orcs, Tauren, and Trolls.
• Durotan greeted Orgrim, comforted him over his failure to protect Durotan's son, and explained how the Frostwolf Clan had built a new home with help from the Night Elves and Tauren.
• Orgrim asked whether Durotan would welcome other Orcs and pledged to serve him, while Brox pledged the Ragefire Clan's service.
• Orgrim urged Durotan to become Warchief, and Durotan accepted, declaring that the New Horde would welcome allies beyond Orc clans.
• Cairne Bloodhoof and Vol'jin cheered Durotan's appointment, and Orgrim raised the Doomhammer in a toast to the Horde.
• A few days later, New Horde banners replaced the Frostwolf banners throughout Orgrimmar.

Durotan established the New Horde on Kalimdor, prompting Orc prisoners across the Eastern Kingdoms to resist and flee south. At Blackmore’s estate, Thrall kept his identity secret and planned an escape with Taresa, while another human in Stratholme came to understand a truth that would shape his life.

• Durotan reestablished the New Horde, while the Tauren, Darkspear Trolls, and Night Elves joined or formed ties with it.
• The New Horde’s founding inspired Orc prisoners and slaves to rebel, escape, and seek passage to Kalimdor, creating unrest across the Northern Alliance.
• Thrall’s fellow Orcs kept his identity as Durotan’s son secret from Blackmore and waited for a chance to help him escape.
• Thrall confided his escape plan to Taresa, who shared his longing for freedom and hoped to flee with him to Kalimdor.
• A human in the Stratholme region came to understand a truth that would determine the course of his life.

Tirion Fording defied Lordaeron’s court to protect Eitrigg, was stripped of his paladin status and exiled, then helped Eitrigg and other Orcs escape to Kalimdor. After the Holy Light returned to him, Tirion went into seclusion.

• Tirion met Eitrigg, an old Orc who had rescued him, and promised to keep his whereabouts secret after hearing his story.
• Balthalas and Dathrohan led a search that captured Eitrigg, and Tirion attacked the guards abusing him.
• Tirion refused to blame Eitrigg at his trial, so the court expelled him from the Silver Hand Knights and sentenced him to exile.
• Tirion and a group of former subordinates raided the prison and helped Eitrigg and other Orcs escape aboard a smuggling fleet bound for Kalimdor.
• After the Holy Light returned to him, Tirion changed into plain clothes and began living in seclusion.

King Terenas celebrated Lord Daval Pristor’s rise in Alterac while worrying over undead sightings, and Hu Feng discussed the Prestor family with King Llane. Prince Kael'thas met Hu Feng and faced a test about how he would respond if Quel'Thalas were asked to return to the Night Empire, leaving relieved after Hu Feng praised his answer.

• King Terenas welcomed Daval Pristor’s coming marriage to Cariath and hoped his rule of Alterac would benefit Lordaeron.
• King Terenas sent Arthas to purge undead creatures appearing in Hillsbrad Foothills and Stratholme.
• Hu Feng told King Llane that the Prestor family was dangerous and ordered him to recall agents investigating Countess Katrana Pristor.
• Kael'thas apologized to Sylvanas for past conflicts, and she accepted his apology before her journey to Kalimdor.
• Hu Feng asked Kael'thas how he would respond if Quel'Thalas were asked to return to the Night Empire, and Kael'thas said he would seek as much autonomy as possible.
• Hu Feng praised Kael'thas as a future leader, and Kael'thas wondered whether Hu Feng intended to rule the Night Elves forever.

Kael'thas warned Anasterian that the Scourge would devastate Quel'Thalas, but the Silvermoon Court suspected the warning was a Night Elf conspiracy. In Stormwind, Hu Feng defended allowing Silvermoon City to suffer if it helped ensure Archimonde's death, while offering Sylvanas a choice about becoming undead.

• Kael'thas returned to Quel'Thalas and warned Anasterian about the coming Scourge.
• Alleria grieved over the predicted disaster for Silvermoon City, while Hu Feng insisted that Archimonde had to die at Mount Hyjal even at a terrible cost.
• Sylvanas accepted that Arthas would not succeed with Hu Feng's help, and Hu Feng offered her the choice to become undead with her body restored and her connection to the Lich King severed.
• Sylvanas comforted Hu Feng, and he went to reassure Alleria that he would try to minimize casualties.
• The Silvermoon Court and Anasterian doubted Kael'thas's warning and suspected the Night Elves were using it to draw the High Elves into their empire.

Chen Stormstout met Hu Feng in Stormwind Keep and shared Xuen’s plans for Pandaria, then joined the others for a night of drinking and cooking. The next morning, Hu Feng woke beside Alleria and Sylvanas and realized he could not remember what had happened after drinking.

• Chen Stormstout told Hu Feng that the August Celestials planned to awaken Shaohao, reunite the Pandaren, and find a way to dispel Pandaria’s mists.
• Hu Feng invited Chen to drink his homemade liquor, and Chen enthusiastically accepted.
• Sylvanas returned to Stormwind Keep and found Llane and Lothar drunk while Hu Feng, Alleria, and Chen feasted in a makeshift kitchen.
• Chen cooked Pandaren dishes using Monk combat techniques, while Sylvanas learned to use chopsticks and joined the meal.
• The next morning, Hu Feng woke with Alleria and Sylvanas asleep beside him and realized Sylvanas’s presence posed a problem.

Hu Feng sent Nightborne Crusaders to arrest Countess Katrana Prestor and bring her to Stormwind Keep. The Crusaders seized her at her manor, killed her guards, and began searching the house.

• Hu Feng told Sylvanas he would take responsibility for their night together, and she took five thousand gold to shop in Stormwind City.
• After Sylvanas left, Hu Feng ordered a Nightborne Crusader to bring Countess Katrana Prestor to him immediately.
• The Nightborne Crusaders stormed Katrana's manor and ordered her to accompany them to Stormwind Keep.
• The Crusaders bound Katrana with Arcane cuffs and chains, killed her four guards, and searched her manor.

Hu Feng exposed Countess Katrana Prestor as the Black Dragon Princess Onyxia and confronted her about her motives for infiltrating Stormwind. Onyxia was left restrained and powerless as he accused her of planning to manipulate the kingdom.

• Stormwind nobles spread news of Countess Prestor's arrest and wondered whether she was truly a heretic.
• Nightborne soldiers dragged Prestor into a reception room, where she knelt before Hu Feng while he silently reviewed documents.
• Old Chen briefly entered to tell Hu Feng he was leaving for Westfall, then departed.
• Hu Feng revealed that Prestor was Onyxia, and she tried to persuade him that she admired Stormwind and wanted to help the Alliance.
• Hu Feng struck Onyxia with divine power, sealed her dragon form, and demanded to know why she had infiltrated Stormwind.
• Hu Feng accused Onyxia of intending to seize control of Stormwind by kidnapping King Llane or Prince Varian and manipulating Duke Borrevar.

Boss Hu spared Onyxia by enslaving her as his divine servant and ordering her to produce eggs for a black dragon air force. Onyxia entered Stormwind politics under his supervision, while her first batch of eggs went to the Iron Horde instead of Nefarian and the Dragonmaw Clan.

• Boss Hu wounded Onyxia, then decided to enslave her for her ability to lay black dragon eggs rather than kill her.
• Onyxia accepted servitude and asked to enter politics; Boss Hu allowed it but forbade her from undermining the Royal Court or manipulating Grand Duke Bolvar.
• A few days later, Countess Katrana Prestor was released, and King Llane approved her participation in Stormwind's government after Boss Hu vouched for her.
• Onyxia's first batch of black dragon eggs was secretly delivered to the Iron Horde in Westfall, leaving Nefarian and the Dragonmaw Clan without their supply.

King Daval Pristor broke Lordaeron’s annexation plans and rallied Alterac against invasion, while an Orc rebellion spread through Hillsbrad Foothills. Thrall prepared to escape Blackmore’s castle with Taresa and the Orcs there as a Night Saber squad approached.

• King Daval Pristor renounced his agreement with Lordaeron, canceled his marriage alliance, declared Alterac neutral, and demanded that Lordaeron return Hillsbrad Foothills.
• Onyxia told Boss Hu that her father Deathwing might act without any plan, while Boss Hu rejected her offer to serve him.
• Orc slaves across Hillsbrad Foothills rebelled after receiving weapons and armor from a mysterious organization, capturing some internment camps.
• Thrall confided his escape plan to Taresa, and she agreed to help him and leave with him for Kalimdor.
• An assault squad riding Night Sabers infiltrated Hillsbrad Foothills and headed toward Blackmore’s castle.

Mograine named the purified Light Crystal Ashbringer as Sylvanas and Grom Hellscream led a rescue of Thrall and the imprisoned orcs across Hillsbrad Foothills. The uprising spread through the internment camps and Blackmore Castle, where Thrall faced Lieutenant Draka as the escape continued.

• Mograine decided to forge the purified Light Crystal into a two-handed greatsword and named it Ashbringer.
• Sylvanas and Grom Hellscream infiltrated Blackmore Castle and freed Thrall from the dungeon.
• Thrall learned that Grom had known his father, Durotan, and agreed to escape with the rescuers before returning for other imprisoned orcs.
• Resurrected orc Death Knights freed prisoners from internment camps across Hillsbrad Foothills, and the orcs burned the camps and fought their way out.
• Thrall organized the orc slaves’ resistance at Blackmore Castle and confronted Lieutenant Draka, who refused to flee.

Thrall’s rescue of Taresa brought him and his allies into a confrontation with the Infinite Dragons, who had trapped Tarren Mill in stopped time. Sylvanas invoked Sarodar’s power to deter them, while the Bronze Dragons began closing in.

• Sylvanas persuaded Lieutenant Draka to leave the burning castle, and Thrall led the rescue party toward Tarren Mill to find Taresa.
• Sylvanas’s rangers and Grom’s Death Grip helped the assault squad overcome the town’s guards as Thrall rushed to Taresa’s home.
• Thrall found Taresa unconscious and surrounded by black energy, and learned that her mother had been murdered.
• An Infinite Dragon appeared over Tarren Mill, while the town’s human guards transformed into draconic humanoids and surrounded Thrall’s group.
• Sylvanas identified the Infinite Dragons and showed the time hunter her eyeball necklace, warning that Sarodar would punish them if they attacked.
• The time hunter hesitated as Sylvanas warned that the Bronze Dragons were approaching and demanded that the Infinite Dragons let them leave.

The Time Hunter released Taresa and ended the Infinite Dragon threat, while Sylvanas persuaded Chromie to travel with the group rather than enforce fate. Meanwhile, Kargath’s Iron Horde destroyed Blackmore’s stronghold, freed the Orc slaves, and took Blackmore to the Shattered Hand Arena.

• The Time Hunter restored Taresa, declared that the Infinite Dragon would no longer trouble Sylvanas, and vanished with the other Infinite Dragons reverting to unconscious humans.
• Chromie arrived to stop the group from changing Taresa’s fate, but Sylvanas invited her to see the altered future for herself.
• Thrall insisted that Taresa would leave with him for Kalimdor, and Chromie agreed not to erase her memory.
• Kargath’s Iron Horde executed Blackmore’s surviving soldiers and relatives, then wounded Blackmore and ordered him taken to the Shattered Hand Arena.
• Kargath surveyed the burning Hillsbrad Foothills and flew away as the Orc slaves were liberated.

Thrall’s southbound group crossed the Arathi Highlands with help from Ironforge, while Taresa worried about their future and Sylvanas encouraged her feelings for Thrall. News of the Orc slave breakout inflamed tensions between the Northern and Southern Alliances, as Alterac’s war with Lordaeron intensified.

• Thrall learned more about his past from Grom as the group traveled south through the Arathi Highlands toward Stormwind and Kalimdor.
• Ironforge Dwarves and Gnomes met Thrall’s group, while Stromgarde pretended to pursue them and stayed neutral.
• Taresa asked Sylvanas whether Thrall would be enslaved again in Stormwind, and Sylvanas reassured her and teased her about her feelings for him.
• Lordaeron condemned Stormwind and Ironforge over the Orc breakout, and Llane and the Ironforge Dwarves responded with insults.
• The Northern and Southern Alliances mobilized forces along their border while Stromgarde avoided involvement.
• Alterac’s powerful soldiers, supported by weapons from the Blackrock Syndicate, fought Lordaeron’s army and worsened the northern war.

Blackrock encountered King Purtress in Alterac and discovered that the king was Deathwing in disguise. Before leaving, Blackrock heard Deathwing ask the Titan Divine Lord to explain why Onyxia had lost contact with him and to release her if possible.

• King Purtress tried to control Blackrock with mental magic and demanded weapons, but Blackrock resisted and invoked his ties to the Titans.
• Purtress revealed his black dragon horns, and Blackrock recognized him as Deathwing.
• Blackrock argued that he was valuable to the Titan Divine Lord and offered the Blackrock Syndicate's assistance to Deathwing.
• Deathwing explained that he wanted Blackrock to ask the Titan Divine Lord what had happened to Onyxia and whether she could be released.
• Blackrock left Alterac a few days later, leaving his weapons and supplies behind for Deathwing.