Chapter Summaries

Ye Ting comforted Ilucia after she accidentally ran into him and helped her cope with her brothers’ deaths. After Janice reappeared, Ilucia grew close to Ye Ting, and Janice asked him for a favor concerning her daughter’s magical education.

• Ilucia apologized to Ye Ting after bumping into him, and he comforted her when she spoke about her brothers mistreating her.
• Ilucia told Ye Ting she was searching for her missing mother, leaving him unsure how to explain that Janice was in his room.
• Janice arrived and reunited with Ilucia, explaining that she had gone to chat with Ye Ting that morning.
• At breakfast, Ilucia asked Ye Ting about magic, and he answered her questions while Janice and Onyxia watched.
• Janice told Ye Ting that Ilucia had strong magical talent and asked him to help educate her; Ye Ting agreed.

Janice asked Ye Ting to take Ilucia as his magic student, and he agreed, bringing him closer to Janice and her daughter. As Ye Ting met Malicia to learn about Ilucia’s education, Malicia approved of his relationship with Janice and explained her concerns about the Barov brothers.

• Janice asked Ye Ting to teach Ilucia magic, and he accepted; Ilucia kissed him on the cheek and ran off, embarrassed.
• Ye Ting decided to assess Ilucia’s academic knowledge before beginning her lessons and the Dragon Transformation ritual.
• Janice introduced Ye Ting to Malicia, the High Elf priestess who had tutored the Barov children in basic subjects.
• Malicia told Ye Ting that she had warned Janice about the Barov brothers’ selfish natures and regretted not disciplining them more strictly.
• Malicia praised Ye Ting’s character and said she did not object to his relationship with Janice, since their age difference was insignificant to High Elves.

Ye Ting used the Barov family’s wealth and connections to strengthen his plans while the Alliance prepared to trap the Horde in the Alterac Mountains. He remained at the family castle, but agreed to bring Jaina, Vereesa, and Garona there after they complained about his absence.

• Ye Ting gained the Barov family’s support, Janice as a political aide, Ilucia as a disciple, and Malicia’s help.
• Ye Ting stayed at the castle to teach Ilucia and comfort Janice while sending intelligence about the Horde and Alterac to the Alliance.
• King Terenas sent Alexandros Mograine to intercept the Horde as Lordaeron’s main army prepared to attack from the north.
• Lothar marched north from Tarren Mill to join Mograine in a pincer attack on the Horde.
• Jaina demanded to meet Ilucia, while Vereesa and Garona complained about Ye Ting’s absence, so he agreed to bring them to the castle.

After the Horde withdrew from Alterac’s occupied lands, Mograine’s forces trapped Orgrim’s army in the mountains and ruined its plan to attack Lordaeron City. Orgrim blamed Alterac for leaking his movements and turned his anger toward Perenolde.

• Orgrim withdrew the Horde from Alterac’s occupied territories, and Janice organized local governance and a garrison for the Barov family’s lands.
• Perenolde honored his agreement with Orgrim, allowing the Horde to cross Alterac without resistance until it reached the mountain pass.
• Mograine’s elite forces held Orgrim’s army on the narrow trail for two days, sacrificing half their soldiers while reinforcements gathered.
• Lordaeron and nearby nobles’ forces arrived and blocked the Horde inside the Alterac Mountains, ending Orgrim’s plan to attack Lordaeron City.
• Orgrim concluded that someone from Alterac had leaked the Horde’s movements and focused his anger on Perenolde.

Orgrim retaliated for the failed assault on Lordaeron by conquering Alterac’s royal capital, killing King Perenolde and General Haas. As the Horde occupied Broken Ridge, Alliance armies closed in on Orgrim from three directions, trapping his forces once more.

• Orgrim attacked Alterac’s royal capital after concluding that Perenolde was an untrustworthy ally who might betray the Horde.
• The Horde broke through the capital’s unprepared defenses, and General Haas died resisting the Orcs.
• Orgrim led the assault into Perenolde’s palace and beheaded the king, while most of the capital’s soldiers and civilians fled.
• Janice and the Barov family resettled the refugees and enlisted fleeing Alterac soldiers to help defend Caer Darrow County.
• Orgrim halted his advance after taking Broken Ridge and considered retreating, but Alexandros Mograine, Anduin Lothar, and Ye Ting advanced on his forces from the north, south, and east.

The Horde abandoned Broken Ridge and marched east toward Caer Darrow, hoping to escape Alterac and secure supplies. Ye Ting evacuated the surrounding settlements and prepared the city’s defenses, and the chapter ended as Orgrim led the Horde’s charge toward the walls.

• Orgrim chose to break east through Barov territory, while Ye Ting kept his forces defensive and withdrew to Caer Darrow.
• Ye Ting ordered the Barov soldiers to evacuate nearby villages and towns and remove supplies and useful materials.
• The Horde crossed the mountains and found the settlements empty, leaving them unable to gather provisions along the way.
• Orgrim reached Darrowmere, saw Caer Darrow defended, and ordered the Horde to attack.
• Orgrim led the charge toward the city, whose defenders were now led by Sandor Liver.

The Horde advanced toward Caer Darrow County after abandoning Broken Ridge, forcing Ye Ting to organize the county’s defenses and seek Alliance support. Lothar learned of the threat and ordered the cavalry to march into Alterac immediately.

• Vereesa warned Ye Ting that the Orcs had bypassed Broken Ridge and were advancing along the lakeshore toward Caer Darrow County.
• Ye Ting saw the Horde approaching and explained to Janice that Orgrim had chosen their territory as an escape route from Alterac.
• Ye Ting ordered most of the castle’s guards to sail to town, sent messages to the Alliance forces, and prepared to take command of the defenses with Onyxia.
• Lothar received Ye Ting’s warning, blamed himself for overlooking the Orcs’ movements, and ordered his troops to assemble.
• After Turalyon reminded Lothar that the army was exhausted, Lothar ordered every available cavalryman to enter Alterac.

Ye Ting and Onyxia organized Caer Darrow County’s defenses as the Horde advanced, despite the defenders’ limited numbers and morale. Ye Ting’s forces poured boiling oil onto the Orc vanguard and prepared to hold against a prolonged siege.

• Janice saw the Horde approaching Caer Darrow’s walls and trusted that Ye Ting’s preparations could withstand the assault.
• Onyxia swiftly evacuated civilians, secured the gates, organized the defenders, and prepared the town before Ye Ting arrived.
• Ye Ting assessed the defenders’ shortage of experienced soldiers but resolved to hold the city with his forces and magic.
• Ye Ting ordered the soldiers to pour hot oil over the Orcs at the foot of the walls, badly burning the vanguard.
• Ye Ting ordered logs and stones used to delay the Orcs while the defenders prepared more hot oil for the coming siege.

Lothar’s forces reached Caer Darrow County and found it besieged, so Liadrin flew ahead to contact Ye Ting and the defenders. Gul’dan attacked her with fel magic, and as her Holy Light shield began to falter, Ye Ting prepared to intervene.

• Lothar saw the Horde surrounding Caer Darrow County and decided his army could trap them if he contacted Sandor and the defenders.
• Liadrin volunteered to carry the message by gryphon, and Alleria warned her that an Orc warlock could threaten her from the sky.
• Ye Ting recognized Liadrin approaching and ordered the defenders not to shoot at her.
• Gul’dan struck at Liadrin with a Shadow Bolt, but her Holy Light protected her and the gryphon.
• Gul’dan summoned a prolonged rain of Fel Flames, weakening Liadrin’s shield until Ye Ting realized he had to act.

Ye Ting dispelled Gul'dan's Rain of Fire as a gryphon rider arrived at Alterac's walls. Liadrin brought word that Lothar and Alleria were leading cavalry through the northern valley to attack the Horde from behind and join Ye Ting's forces in a pincer.

• Ye Ting used a magic scroll to clear the fel-tainted sky and dispel Gul'dan's Rain of Fire.
• Gul'dan withdrew after his spell was interrupted, while Ye Ting waited atop the wall.
• Liadrin landed her gryphon at the watchtower, and the soldiers mistook her for another woman drawn to Commander Sandor Liver.
• Ye Ting greeted Liadrin, who said Lothar and Alleria were leading cavalry through the northern valley to attack the Horde from the rear.
• Ye Ting praised the plan and said the cavalry's support would help destroy the Orcs.

Lothar and Alleria’s cavalry attacked the Horde from behind, but the Orcs drove them back to the lakeshore and renewed their assault on the city walls. As the gates began to crack, Liadrin volunteered to hold off Gul'dan so Ye Ting could check the defenses.

• Lothar led a cavalry charge while Alleria and the mounted archers attacked the Orcs, coordinating with the city’s catapults and defenders.
• The Horde forced Lothar’s outnumbered army back to the lakeshore, then resumed climbing the walls and battering the gates.
• Ye Ting, Janice, Garona, Onyxia, and Liadrin helped repel Orcs who reached the wall, while the defenders struggled to clear the growing piles of bodies.
• Lothar and Alleria agreed to retreat across the lake and attack again after the Orcs turned their backs.
• Garona warned Ye Ting that the gates were cracking, and Liadrin offered to hold off Gul'dan while Ye Ting went to check them.

Ye Ting repaired Caer Darrow’s shattered gate with Reparo and joined the defenders in fighting the Horde’s siege. As Orgrim’s assault intensified, he grew uneasy when Gul’dan failed to return from pursuing the Alliance cavalry.

• Ye Ting ordered the gate reinforced, then used Reparo to restore it completely before the Orcs could break through.
• Ye Ting returned to the wall, and after Lothar’s forces attacked from behind the Horde, he ordered the catapults and archers to support the pincer attack.
• Orgrim sent Gul’dan with several thousand Orcs to drive off the Alliance cavalry, and Gul’dan forced them to retreat before both forces disappeared from sight.
• Orgrim intensified the siege, personally raising the Orcs’ morale as the defenders grew exhausted and their supplies dwindled.
• By evening, Orgrim believed the Horde was close to taking Caer Darrow, but he began to suspect something was wrong when Gul’dan still had not returned.

Waduka informed Doomhammer that Gul'dan had fled with warriors from the Twilight's Hammer and Stormreaver Clan after killing an Orc who questioned him. With the mountain road blocked and his army weakened, Doomhammer abandoned the idea of pursuit and faced the danger of being unable to capture 3.7 City or survive the approaching Alliance forces.

• Waduka reached Doomhammer and reported that Gul'dan had betrayed the Horde and escaped with his followers.
• Doomhammer praised Waduka for escaping to deliver the warning but refused to pursue Gul'dan while the Alliance threatened his army.
• Sabek told Doomhammer that the mountain road was blocked and that the warriors sent to guard it had not returned.
• Doomhammer told Sabek that Gul'dan had taken a force with him, leaving the Horde short of the troops needed to capture 3.7 City.
• Doomhammer blamed Gul'dan's betrayal and resolved to find a way to keep his remaining force alive.

Orgrim abandoned the siege of Caer Darrow and led the Horde into the Alterac Mountains to escape the Alliance blockade. With the Orcs retreating and Alterac left in ruins, Ye Ting returned to the Alliance camp as the Alliance prepared a broad counteroffensive.

• Orgrim judged that the Horde could not break through Caer Darrow or face the Alliance directly, so he ordered his army to climb through the Alterac Mountains.
• The exhausted defenders of Caer Darrow watched the Orcs leave, while Ye Ting decided not to pursue them through the vast mountains.
• Lothar and Alleria arrived after the Horde had fled, and Alexandros Mograine brought Lordaeron's army the following morning.
• The Alliance placed Alterac under the Barov family's temporary authority and left Lordaeron troops there, while Janice took charge of the kingdom's recovery.
• Ye Ting left Ilucia in Caer Darrow with Janice and Malicia, then departed with Lothar and the others for the Alliance's main camp.
• The Alliance gathered supplies and forces for a pincer offensive from Thoradin's Wall and Stromgarde, aiming to drive the Horde back and liberate the occupied kingdoms.

Gul'dan and his warlocks raised an archipelago from beneath the sea to reach an ancient temple. After the islands emerged, Gul'dan identified the destination as the Tomb of Sargeras and prepared to claim its treasure.

• Gul'dan sensed a powerful fel aura beneath the sea and ordered his ships to stop at the site.
• Gul'dan told Cho'gall and the gathered warlocks they would raise the island rather than dive to the temple below.
• Gul'dan led the warlocks in combining their fel energies to pull the land upward through a violent storm.
• Several islands rose from the seabed, and the storm gradually subsided as the warlocks finished the spell.
• Gul'dan sensed the temple's location and declared that he would soon claim the treasure within the Tomb of Sargeras.

Rend and Maim Blackhand pursued Gul'dan and the Stormreaver Clan to an island raised from the sea, while Gul'dan prepared to enter its temple and claim a treasure. As the Blacktooth warriors began landing, Cho'gall agreed to hold them off.

• Orgrim learned that Gul'dan had deceived him, taken the Stormreaver Clan, seized ships in the Wetlands, and sailed west.
• Orgrim ordered Rend and Maim Blackhand to pursue Gul'dan, and the brothers led the Blacktooth Clan by ship.
• Rend reassured his warriors about fighting warlocks and ordered them to land and attack Gul'dan's followers.
• Cho'gall spotted the approaching ships and Gul'dan recognized them as Doomhammer's forces.
• Gul'dan ordered Cho'gall to delay the pursuers while he entered the island's temple to find the treasure.

Rend and Maim Blackhand’s forces defeated the Twilight’s Hammer warriors, but Cho’gall escaped after unleashing a devastating shadow attack. The Blackhand brothers pursued Gul’dan to the Tomb of Sargeras, where he led Drak’thul and the other warlocks inside to seek the Eye of Sargeras.

• Rend and Maim led their Blacktooth warriors into battle against Cho’gall’s Twilight’s Hammer forces, which were outnumbered but fought fanatically.
• Cho’gall killed two warriors with shadow magic, then unleashed a powerful shadow orb that killed dozens more before escaping by ship.
• Rend declared that the Blackhand brothers would pursue Gul’dan and make him pay for his betrayal.
• Gul’dan reached the ruined ancient Temple of Elune, whose power pulsed around the Tomb of Sargeras beneath it.
• Gul’dan ordered Drak’thul and the other warlocks to enter the temple with him, intending to find the Eye of Sargeras.

Gul'dan led the warlocks through the submerged temple to a sealed crypt, expecting to claim Sargeras's power. When he opened the door, imprisoned demons poured out and overwhelmed his followers, leaving Gul'dan desperate to flee.

• Gul'dan ordered the warlocks to search the temple and led them down a richly carved corridor to the underground crypt.
• Gul'dan opened the black iron door, and Aegwynn's ward let him pass because he was an Orc from Draenor.
• The crypt's darkness formed into a horde of terrifying, maddened demons that attacked Gul'dan and the warlocks.
• Gul'dan's fel spells destroyed some demons, but the horde pressed forward and made him realize how powerless he was.
• Gul'dan panicked and tried to flee as the demons reached him.

Gul'dan fled through the tomb after its guardians attacked him, but he was killed before he could escape. Outside, Rend Blackhand and Maim witnessed monsters pouring from the temple and an explosion that began breaking apart the island, then returned to their ship to rejoin the war.

• Gul'dan realized Drak'thul and the others had fled, then struggled through the tomb while bleeding from his wounds.
• Gul'dan used his blood to record his encounter with the guardians and admitted that he had been deceived by the Burning Legion.
• The guardians caught Gul'dan and plunged their claws into his body, killing him.
• Rend Blackhand stopped Maim from entering the temple as uncontrolled monsters emerged and attacked the Orcs on the beach.
• An explosion shook the temple and the island, and Rend concluded that Gul'dan was no longer a threat.
• Rend told Maim they would return to Doomhammer and headed with him toward their waiting ship.

The Alliance defeated the Horde in the Arathi Highlands and pursued Orgrim’s retreating army across the Wetlands toward Khaz Modan. When scouts reported Alliance cavalry ahead, Orgrim ordered the Horde to march without rest so it could reach Kilrogg Deadeye and the Bleeding Hollow Clan.

• Lothar and King Trollbane attacked the Horde from the front and rear, forcing Orgrim to retreat from the Arathi Highlands.
• Orgrim led the Horde across the Thandol Span and into the Wetlands as the Alliance continued its pursuit.
• Orgrim planned to reach Khaz Modan and join Kilrogg Deadeye and the Bleeding Hollow Clan before turning to fight the Alliance.
• An Orc scout reported that a force of human heavy cavalry and High Elf mounted archers had appeared to the Horde’s east.
• Orgrim ordered Saurfang to make the Horde advance at full speed without resting.