Chapter Summaries

Garrosh Hellscream saw Orcs adopting human goods and earning wages in Theramore, and concluded that Thrall’s policies were weakening their people. He rallied supporters to unite in secret while waiting for the right time to change the Horde, then received praise from Zuluhed.

• Garrosh noticed Orc children playing with human glass beads and saw other Orcs using human and Dwarven goods.
• Draegash and other warriors complained that Orcs had grown weak by working for wages, while a young Orc defended the work as necessary to feed his family.
• Garrosh condemned the Orcs’ reliance on human goods and wages, and supporters called for him to become Great Chieftain.
• Garrosh said the Horde needed change but urged his supporters to contact those who still remembered Orc glory and unite without acting yet.
• Zuluhed met Garrosh privately and praised him as a born leader who could make the Orcs great again.

Thrall struggled to choose between preserving the Horde’s unity and supporting Garrosh’s vision of Orcish strength, while Garrosh resolved to change the Horde and seek more power. The chapter ended with Garrosh vowing to return the Orcs to what he considered their proper path.

• Vol'jin warned Thrall that Garrosh was dividing the Horde, but Thrall said he needed time to decide.
• Thrall weighed the benefits of ties with Theramore against his fear that the Orcs were losing their identity, then burned the report.
• Garrosh considered whether changing Orgrimmar could restore Orcish glory and resented the Horde’s alliances with other races.
• Garrosh crushed the Glass Bead in his hand and decided that change required more allies and power.
• Garrosh considered cooperating with mysterious guests and swore to lead the Orcs back to the right path in the name of Hellscream.

Deren proposed using Goblin greed to undermine the Twilight's Hammer by sending Goblin followers to infiltrate its finances. Onyxia and Chromie supported the scheme, and preparations began to contact Prince Rivendare and Jaina.

• Onyxia complained that Deathwing's Twilight Cultists were harassing them around Theramore, while Deren asked whether she knew where their strongholds were.
• Deren suggested asking Jaina to contact Prince Rivendare about a business deal, then argued that Goblins' greed made them resistant to corruption.
• Deren proposed sending Goblins to join the Twilight's Hammer and embezzle its funds with help from the cult's existing Goblin followers.
• Onyxia endorsed the plan, Chromie predicted it would succeed, and Onyxia contacted Jaina with a Communication Crystal.

Deren recruited Goblin Prince Rivendare to infiltrate the Twilight's Hammer and ruin its finances as revenge. Jaina questioned whether the scheme could thwart Deathwing, and Deren hinted that it might lead to a larger plan against the Old Gods.

• Deren asked Rivendare whether Goblins belonged to the Twilight Cult and explained that its financial system lacked oversight.
• Deren proposed using Goblin accountants and spies to skim donations, embezzle funds, and blame the Rustwater Syndicate.
• Rivendare eagerly agreed, planned to infiltrate the cult, and asked about the profit split.
• Deren gave Rivendare all the profits in exchange for making the Twilight's Hammer bankrupt, and Rivendare left to arrange the scheme.
• Jaina praised Deren's plan but asked whether it could stop Deathwing, and Deren said it could disrupt the cult before hinting at a future plan involving the Old Gods.

Deren’s crowded household struggled through breakfast as Jaina tried to manage the red dragon maids and Onyxia, Anveena, and Chromie kept Deren pinned in place. The chaos paused when Chromie recognized Alexstrasza standing in the living room.

• Jaina dressed the red dragon maids and sent them to prepare breakfast, reminding them to follow human customs in Theramore.
• Anveena and Chromie clung to Deren in their sleep, leaving him unable to free his arms as Onyxia complained.
• The Windrunner Sisters arrived for breakfast, where Jaina and Onyxia competed to help Deren while Anveena showed off her new spell and Chromie kicked him.
• Chromie sensed a draconic aura, woke up, and recognized Alexstrasza in the living room.

Alexstrasza reunited with the three Red Dragon Maidservants in Deren’s home and healed Derek Proudmoore’s scar from the Second War. She left after reconciling with her children, while Deren’s household returned to breakfast and Rivendare prepared to launch the Twilight Finance plan.

• Alexstrasza arrived at Deren’s home, where Misha, Aella, and Luna knelt and wept at seeing her.
• After breakfast, Chromie explained how Onyxia had rescued the three Red Dragons and Chronormu, and Alexstrasza thanked Deren and Onyxia for caring for them.
• Deren asked Jaina to teleport Derek Proudmoore to the house, and Alexstrasza healed his facial scar and lingering injuries from his imprisonment by the Orcs.
• Jaina and Derek embraced as Alexstrasza departed, and Deren’s household settled back into breakfast.
• In Treasure Bay, Rivendare and his Goblin Accountants prepared to implement Deren’s Twilight Finance plan.

Jaina brought Deren a gift from her parents in thanks for saving Derek, then embraced him to express her gratitude. Chromie revealed a grim alternate timeline and Deren explained his deduction that Derek had survived captivity before being turned Undead, leaving Jaina shaken but grateful that Derek had been saved.

• Jaina delivered a chest of gold and other gifts from Daelin and her mother, along with an invitation to visit Kul Tiras.
• Onyxia claimed the treasure, while Vereesa and Sylvanas wondered about Chromie's closeness with Onyxia and whether Deren minded.
• Jaina embraced Deren and thanked him for saving Derek, then Chromie offered to share stories from another timeline.
• Jaina raised a Star Soul Barrier, and Chromie revealed that Daelin had died, Theramore had fallen, and Derek had eventually become Undead in that timeline.
• Deren explained that Derek had likely survived the Second War as a prisoner of the Dragonmaw Orcs before being killed and raised as Undead, and Jaina thanked him for saving her brother.

Deren explained how he had arranged for Nefarian to rescue Derek, then Chromie revealed the grim fates the group had suffered in another Timeline. The revelations left everyone shaken, but they recognized that Deren had already changed those futures and turned their attention back to the present.

• Deren explained that he had asked Nefarian to search for Kul Tiran prisoners, leading to Derek's rescue, and Jaina praised his deduction while Onyxia kissed him.
• Chromie told Sylvanas that she had become the Queen of the Banshees and resurrected Derek as Undead, prompting Sylvanas to fear that fate might still repeat itself.
• Chromie revealed that Vereesa had married Rhonin, lost him in Theramore's Fall, and died in despair, while the three Red Dragon Maidservants had become armor.
• Chromie said Onyxia had died in the other Timeline and that Anveena and Jaina's futures were too complicated to disclose.
• Jaina withdrew the Star Soul Barrier after reflecting on the lives and events Deren had changed, and Onyxia lightened the mood by inviting everyone to count her gold coins.

Onyxia reluctantly let Chromie share the bed with her and Deren, but the night grew increasingly crowded as Anveena, Jaina, Sylvanas, and Vereesa joined them. Deren ended up trapped amid the growing crowd while Onyxia watched with amused anticipation.

• Onyxia allowed Chromie to sleep on the innermost side of the bed and warned Deren to keep his distance from her.
• After Chromie fell asleep, Onyxia and Deren began to turn toward each other, but Anveena squeezed between them after having a nightmare about the Sunwell drying up.
• Jaina emerged from beneath the blanket, claiming she had become lost while coming to take Anveena back.
• Sylvanas slipped into the room, and Deren begged her to stay rather than go to Arthas and become the Queen of the Banshees.
• Vereesa used the same threat to persuade Deren to let her stay, leaving him boxed in among the women as Onyxia watched with amusement.

Deren escaped the bedroom chaos after the bed collapsed and found Jaina sneaking through the kitchen. Jaina explained how she came to build Theramore, then prepared to reveal the secret behind her history with Arthas and the founding of the city.

• The Dragon Maids rushed into Onyxia’s bedroom, the bed collapsed under the group, and Jaina escaped with a Teleportation Spell.
• Deren retreated to the living room, where he encountered Jaina sneaking out of the kitchen for water.
• Jaina admitted she had been curious about the commotion and explained that Dreamgrass in the tea had made everyone unusually uninhibited.
• Jaina told Deren she developed Theramore because she refused to become a decorative Princess awaiting a political marriage.
• Jaina began to explain that a long-kept secret lay behind her relationship with Arthas, her journey with Lordaeron’s refugees, and the founding of Theramore.

Under the influence of Dreamgrass, Jaina told Deren how her father pressured her to marry Arthas for Kul Tiras’s benefit and how she secretly tried to build an independent future. She explained that Varian’s sudden rise as a marriage prospect became another threat as her father’s deadline approached.

• Jaina told Deren that her father’s secret letter demanded she win Arthas’s favor, marry him, and use her position to secure benefits for Kul Tiras.
• Jaina explained that she delayed her father’s plans by writing affectionate letters to Arthas while secretly gathering mages and apprentices to support her own ambitions.
• Jaina said she used money from her father to recruit followers, but her resources and team were still insufficient to build a city.
• Jaina recounted that her father took her to Stormwind City for Arthas’s Silver Hand ceremony, after which she publicly acted as Arthas’s lover to buy time.
• Jaina revealed that her father threatened to arrange a match with Varian and make her Anduin’s stepmother if she did not commit to Arthas.

Jaina told Deren how she resisted a political marriage to Arthas, allied with Varian, and founded Theramore with support from Dalaran, Stormwind, and her mother. She explained that Theramore’s economic needs led her to target Deren’s fertilizer project, while the group’s drunken revelry continued upstairs.

• Jaina described using a double and an illusion to convince Arthas that they had spent the night together, then welcomed his loss of interest and return to Dalaran.
• Jaina explained that she and Varian staged rumors of a marriage alliance, prompting Stormwind’s nobles to bargain away power and allowing Varian to support Theramore with stonemasons and supplies.
• Jaina recounted founding Theramore with Dalaran’s followers and Stormwind’s stonemasons, surviving early hardships with help from her mother and Varian, and growing the city with Lordaeron refugees and trade with Thrall’s Orcs.
• Jaina told Deren that Theramore’s weak economy made her eager to pursue his fertilizer project.
• Deren and Jaina continued talking downstairs as the revelers upstairs turned their argument into singing.

After an awkward morning following the previous night’s Dreamgrass-fueled antics, Deren learned that Garrosh had restricted new Horde workers from coming to Theramore. He and Jaina decided to maintain ordinary rules for Orc laborers while establishing temporary humanitarian aid stations in the dock district.

• Deren woke on the sofa and saw Vereesa, Anveena, Jaina, Sylvanas, Onyxia, Chromie, and the Red Dragon Maidservants behaving awkwardly after the previous night.
• Jaina told Deren that Thrall had announced restrictions on Horde members coming to Theramore for work, while Orcs already there could keep their jobs.
• Jaina explained that Garrosh had pushed the restriction through the Horde council and that most Orc laborers in Theramore chose to renew their contracts.
• Deren decided Theramore would neither favor nor mistreat Orc laborers and would pay their wages and collect their taxes as usual.
• Deren proposed temporary relief stations in the dock district to provide food and shelter to Orc laborers affected by accidents, framing the aid as humanitarian rather than special treatment.

During breakfast, Deren, Jaina, Onyxia, Chromie, and Sylvanas discussed major developments across Azeroth, including an Alliance attack on Nefarian and Lordaeron’s restoration. The chapter ended with Sylvanas eager to confront Arthas as the Alliance began planning an expedition to Northrend, leaving Deren concerned for her safety.

• Onyxia predicted Orcs would seek work in Theramore, and Deren said family visits would soon bring them across the border despite Garrosh’s restrictions.
• Jaina reported that Stormwind, Ironforge, Gnomeregan, and Dalaran were preparing a three-pronged assault on Nefarian at Blackrock Mountain, while Onyxia refused to warn her brother.
• Jaina revealed that Lordaeron had been restored, prompting an emotional response from her, and explained that Quel'Thalas and Lordaeron were competing to attract immigrants.
• Jaina reported that Kael'thas had brought several hundred ancient Elves from Feralas to Quel'Thalas, and Sylvanas mocked the Sindra and teased Vereesa about love.
• Jaina said the Alliance was considering an expedition to Northrend, but dragons had blocked its scouting ships from passing through Dragonblight.
• Sylvanas declared that Arthas’s days were numbered, and Deren worried about finding a way to keep her safe in Northrend.

Jaina returned to Theramore and managed her government and magical affairs before receiving a warning about strange activity in Northrend. She found a mysterious Black-Robed Woman inside her sealed private study, who praised Jaina’s magic and called her the greatest gain of her journey.

• Jaina teleported from Deren’s home to the Theramore Mage Tower and began handling her work with Tex Gearspark.
• Jaina read a joint letter from the Council of Six warning that unusual magical fluctuations in Northrend might signal a strengthening connection to the Twisting Nether or an evil being escaping its prison.
• Jaina sent a magical messenger to prepare Theramore for a possible Scourge threat in Northrend.
• Jaina discovered the doors to her protected Chamber of Contemplation open, though no alarm or magical disturbance had been triggered.
• Jaina found a Black-Robed Woman reading her private notes, and the woman criticized Jaina’s research while admiring her magical ability.

Aegwynn arrived in Theramore to warn Jaina that the Burning Legion would destroy Azeroth, only to learn that the events she foresaw had already been prevented. Jaina questioned the origins of Aegwynn’s prophecy and offered to introduce her to Deren.

• Aegwynn revealed herself to Jaina and warned that the Burning Legion planned to summon Archimonde through the Scourge.
• Jaina told Aegwynn that Dalaran had stopped the summoning ritual months earlier and that the Scourge had retreated to Northrend.
• Jaina wondered why Aegwynn and Medivh had dreamed of a future that no longer matched events in the world.
• Aegwynn learned that the Guardian system had ended and that Medivh had returned as a prophet to warn Azeroth’s people.
• Jaina offered to introduce Aegwynn to her friend and Tactical Advisor, Deren, and called him special.

Aegwynn came to Jaina's Mage Tower because prophecy magic had awakened her despite the Scourge crisis already being resolved. After Deren argued that prophecies could not capture complex and changing realities, Aegwynn decided to stay in Theramore and offer Jaina magical guidance, pending Jaina's teacher Antonidas's consent.

• Aegwynn sensed that time and fate were tangled around Deren, and he insisted the strange events were accidents.
• Aegwynn said prophecy magic had awakened her even though the Scourge threat was gone, suggesting that something had interfered with fate.
• Deren told Aegwynn about the Blue Dragon obsessed with the Sunwell and explained that a prophecy's simple answer could not represent a complicated, changing reality.
• Aegwynn accepted Deren's explanation and decided to reside in Theramore and guide Jaina's magical studies.
• Jaina said she would first seek Antonidas's consent, and Aegwynn praised her respect for the teacher-apprentice bond.

Jaina accepted Aegwynn’s offer to teach her magic, while Deren spoke with Aegwynn about the strange forces behind fate and prophecy. Aegwynn left for her room, and Deren and Jaina noticed unexplained frost on her teacup.

• Aegwynn agreed to write Antonidas a sealed letter about teaching Jaina, but assigned Jaina a paper on Spatial Fold Theory due before sunrise.
• Deren and Aegwynn discussed how progress could threaten morality and humanity.
• Aegwynn told Deren that a strange temporal fluctuation, more ancient than the Bronze Dragons, had awakened her.
• Deren questioned why prophecies repeatedly fell to Aegwynn and Medivh, then claimed he treated fate like paper he could redraw or tear up.
• Aegwynn called Deren arrogant, then went to her room after Jaina showed her the way.
• Deren and Jaina noticed frost forming on Aegwynn’s teacup, and Deren guessed that his bragging had annoyed her.

Antonidas met Aegwynn in Theramore, where she tested his defenses and proposed formally taking Jaina as her disciple. Antonidas struggled to respond, leaving Jaina anxious as Aegwynn pressed him for an answer.

• Antonidas arrived in Theramore and went with Jaina to meet Aegwynn, hiding his nerves behind a Calming Potion.
• Antonidas greeted Aegwynn with an ancient mage's salute, and she abruptly attacked him with a Deconstruction Ray.
• Antonidas blocked the spell with a dodecahedral Arcane Shield, impressing Aegwynn with his response.
• Aegwynn asked Antonidas to approve her formally taking Jaina as her disciple and passing on everything she knew.
• Antonidas fell silent, and Aegwynn narrowed her eyes and demanded to know whether he objected.

Aegwynn accepted Antonidas as her junior disciple, giving the eager archmage access to Karazhan and a list of duties. Antonidas left to hand over his responsibilities, while Aegwynn turned her attention back to Jaina.

• Deren invoked Dalaran’s principle that anyone should have the chance to study magic, prompting Aegwynn to tease Antonidas about attending her lessons.
• Aegwynn accepted Antonidas as her junior disciple on Magna’s behalf and marked him with an emerald rune.
• Aegwynn assigned Antonidas weekly magical theses, library work at Karazhan, and the task of keeping an eye on Jaina.
• Antonidas decided to hand the Kirin Tor chairmanship to Krasus and received Alodi’s badge, which would open part of Karazhan’s wards.
• Antonidas teleported away to settle his affairs, and Aegwynn praised his curiosity and humility to Jaina.