Chapter Summaries

Yrel fought Blackhand, evading his powerful attacks with skill and relying on the Light-Shadow Tai Chi within her to resist his battle cry. Blackhand gained the upper hand and struck at her again, but Yrel raised her warhammer to meet the blow.

• Yrel and Blackhand charged toward each other as their mounts began fighting separately.
• Blackhand opened with a warhammer strike and a fiery fist, but Yrel evaded both and continued dodging his assault.
• Blackhand taunted Yrel for refusing to face him directly, and she answered that he was weaker than the enemies she had defeated.
• Blackhand's battle cry briefly disoriented Yrel, but the power of Light-Shadow Tai Chi restored her focus and helped her avoid a fatal blow.
• Blackhand pressed his attack and smashed boulders around Yrel as she dodged and blocked his blows with her shield.
• Blackhand caught Yrel off balance and struck at her, and she met the attack with her warhammer.

Yrel used the Holy Light and shadow to counter Blackhand’s assault, then relied on patient evasions and precise strikes to wear him down. While the Draenei cavalry destroyed the fel cannons and their ammunition, Yrel continued the duel as Blackhand grew increasingly frustrated and impatient.

• Yrel blocked Blackhand’s attack, powered up with Holy Light and shadow, and struck him hard enough to dent his armor and crush his dragon-head pauldrons.
• Blackhand counterattacked recklessly, but Yrel dodged his blows and taunted him as their duel settled into a stalemate.
• The Draenei cavalry destroyed several fel cannons and detonated the stored fel ammunition, achieving Yrel’s strategic objective.
• Yrel kept fighting instead of retreating, evading Blackhand’s increasingly impatient attacks and landing another deep strike on his pauldron.
• Blackhand blamed his failure to hit Yrel on his strength and speed, then realized she was trying to provoke him.

Blackhand and Yrel fought a brutal duel, with Yrel demonstrating overwhelming Light and shadow powers before Gul'dan secretly weakened her attack. Blackhand charged through the remaining shadow, struck Yrel down, and began healing as she struggled back to her feet.

• Blackhand recognized Yrel's tactic and met her attacks with greater precision, striking her repeatedly until she countered with Holy Light and wounded him.
• Yrel engulfed Blackhand in magma with her flaming fist, then broke free with Divine Storm and attacked him with Death and Decay.
• Gul'dan secretly weakened Yrel's shadow magic to keep Blackhand alive, and Blackhand charged through the attack to smash into Yrel and hit her with his warhammer.
• Yrel rose with blood at her mouth and saw Blackhand's wounds healing.

Yrel battled Blackhand, whose demonic strength overwhelmed her and shattered her shield. She entered Shadowform and prepared to face him with shadow magic, leaving the duel poised for a new phase.

• Blackhand recovered from his wounds and challenged Yrel, praising the power granted to the Horde by the Great One.
• Yrel spat in Blackhand’s face and struck him with her warhammer, enraging him into a Whirlwind assault.
• Yrel held off Blackhand with her hammer, shield, and Divine Storm, but his lava-covered fist shattered her shield and sent her flying.
• Yrel’s golden light blinded Blackhand, and she dodged his counterattack before firing a shadow arrow at him.
• Yrel entered Shadowform, sacrificing her ability to use Holy Light to greatly strengthen her shadow spells.

Yrel used shadow magic and the Holy Light to gain the upper hand against Blackhand, but Gul'dan openly intervened to protect the Horde Warchief. After Yrel blocked Gul'dan's spells with Anti-Magic Shell, Blackhand closed in and forced her into close combat.

• Yrel recovered with Lay on Hands, evaded Blackhand's hammer using Shadow Walk, and struck him from behind with shadow magic.
• Gul'dan helped Blackhand resist Yrel's Death Coil, exposing his interference to the Orcs and Draenei.
• Yrel unleashed Death and Decay, forcing Gul'dan to spend more power shielding Blackhand.
• Blackhand used Whirlwind to destroy Yrel's Shadow Bolts while Gul'dan cursed her to disrupt her attacks.
• Yrel cast Anti-Magic Shell to block Gul'dan's spells, but Blackhand used the opening to close in and force her into melee.

Yrel defeated Blackhand in their duel by using Divine Shield to survive a blast from the collision of Light and shadow, leaving him unconscious. Gul'dan revealed that Blackhand had survived through his magic, but the Horde's chaos was about to worsen.

• Blackhand drove Yrel into danger with his berserk hammer strikes, but she survived his final blow with Divine Shield.
• Yrel wounded Blackhand with blades of shadow and Light, then made the energies collide in a devastating explosion.
• Yrel emerged unharmed while Blackhand lay charred and unconscious, prompting the Draenei to cheer and the Horde to panic.
• Yrel led the cavalry back to Shattrath as Orcs charged to retrieve Blackhand and others fled the battlefield.
• Gul'dan revealed that he had used soul-manipulating magic to keep Blackhand alive as his puppet, but he could not restore order to the Horde.

After Yrel and Ye Ting’s plan left Shattrath and Auchindoun empty, the Horde searched Draenor for months without finding the Draenei. The repaired Genedar escaped the Burning Legion by leaping through time and space, arriving above Azeroth in the near future.

• Blackhand returned to battle after his apparent survival, and the Horde renewed its assault on Shattrath.
• The Horde discovered that Shattrath was empty, and Gul'dan learned that the Draenei had also vanished from Auchindoun.
• Blackhand ordered a sweeping search of Draenor, but the Horde found no trace of the Draenei for months.
• Kil'jaeden realized that Ye Ting and Yrel had deceived him, allowing the repaired Genedar to escape the Burning Legion fleet.
• Ye Ting activated transdimensional leap magic, and the Genedar arrived above Azeroth in the near future.

Fourteen years of peace had left Quel'Thalas prosperous and complacent, while rumors of new dangers spread among Silvermoon City's tavern patrons. A mysterious robed guest listened as talk turned to a fallen object, unrest among humans, and Sylvanas's response.

• Quel'Thalas was described as having enjoyed fourteen peaceful years since the defeat of the Amani Trolls and Orcs.
• Silvermoon City's Traveler's Dreamland tavern buzzed with elves, humans, and dwarves sharing drinks, dances, and rumors.
• Tavern patrons discussed an object that had fallen onto an island to the west and the Silvermoon Council's plans to investigate it.
• Drinkers repeated rumors that humans in the south were fighting the dead and that Ranger-General Sylvanas wanted to lead troops there.
• The mysterious robed guest frowned while listening to the rumors.

Ye Ting discovered that the Scourge had begun ravaging Lordaeron and was threatening Quel'Thalas, while the High Elves remained distracted by political disputes. After bringing the Draenei ship Genedar safely to Sunstrider Isle, he realized the High Elves had failed to investigate its arrival because they were still debating what to do.

• Ye Ting learned from rumors that Arthas Menethil had taken Frostmourne, murdered Terenas Menethil, and led the Scourge into Lordaeron.
• Ye Ting brought the Draenei ship Genedar to Azeroth and landed it in the mountains of Sunstrider Isle near Quel'Thalas.
• Ye Ting chose Sunstrider Isle because it was close to his Eastern Kingdoms connections, near the Sunwell, and sparsely populated.
• Ye Ting waited for High Elf scouts to investigate the landing, then went to Silvermoon City when no one appeared.
• Ye Ting discovered that the High Elves were holding a prolonged political meeting instead of responding to the disturbance.

Ye Ting returned to Azeroth and went to the Quel'Thalas border camp after learning Sylvanas was in danger from the Scourge. He arrived as Sylvanas prepared to lead her troops against the undead, while their army's stench approached from beyond the wall.

• Ye Ting reflected on Quel'Thalas's past defeats and wondered whether it would withstand the Scourge without repeating history.
• After returning to Azeroth, Ye Ting kept his identity hidden and headed for Sylvanas's frontline camp.
• Scouts' reports convinced the unsettled soldiers that the Scourge threat was real, while Silvermoon City failed to send aid.
• Sylvanas ordered Vereesa to guard the main camp and prepared to lead her army out against the rebellious princes.
• Ye Ting arrived as Sylvanas watched from the gate and sensed the approaching undead army by its stench.

Sylvanas and her rangers were overwhelmed by the Scourge despite their arrows, swordsmanship, and defensive position. As the undead revived fallen cultists and a massive stitched monstrosity advanced, Sylvanas saw Arthas watching her with a cold smile.

• Sylvanas ordered her archers to target the living cultists first and then use flaming arrows against the undead, but the volleys killed too few enemies.
• The undead climbed the wall and forced the rangers into exhausting close combat, eventually overwhelming them with their numbers and lack of fear.
• Sylvanas continued commanding and fighting as her rangers fell, but a gargoyle killed a subordinate after her arrow failed to pierce its hide.
• Sylvanas saw the dead Cult of the Damned members begin to move again and spotted a huge corpse-stitched monstrosity approaching.
• Sylvanas looked toward Arthas in horror and saw him watching her with a cold smile.

Sylvanas’s defenses collapsed as Arthas used necromancy, siege weapons, and plague to break through the Elfgate. She sent Vereesa to warn Sunwell Plateau and report that the Runestones might have been compromised, while preparing for the battle ahead.

• Arthas raised slain elves as undead and used Abominations, Crypt Fiends, and plague-filled corpses to assault Sylvanas’s defenders.
• The Elfgate fell, and Sylvanas led the surviving rangers in a retreat to the main camp.
• Sylvanas ordered Vereesa to go to Sunwell Plateau and warn the nobles about the attack.
• Sylvanas told Vereesa that something was wrong with the Runestones and that they might have been betrayed.

Sylvanas hoped the Elrendar River would delay Arthas’s Scourge, while she worried that traitor Dar'Khan Drathir had revealed how to disable Quel'Thalas’s magical defenses. The Scourge crossed the river in a day by building a bridge from their own bodies, forcing Sylvanas’s rangers to retreat.

• Sylvanas considered the river and destroyed bridges a chance to delay Arthas until Silvermoon City could prepare.
• Sylvanas worried that Dar'Khan Drathir had told Arthas the secret of the Key of the Three Moons and Ban'dinoriel.
• Dar'Khan had directed Arthas to seize the moon crystals at An'telas, Andalos, and An'owyn to undermine the magical defenses.
• Arthas had the Scourge build a bridge by piling undead bodies in the river, allowing the army and its war machines to cross.
• Sylvanas’s rangers retreated after the Scourge crossed the Elrendar River in a single day.

Sylvanas led the retreat to Fairbreeze Village, evacuated its civilians, and gathered the remaining rangers at an abandoned tower to make a final stand against Arthas's Scourge. The undead vanguard reached the tower as the rangers took their positions, and the enemy prepared to overwhelm their first defensive line.

• The Scourge used their fallen to cross a natural barrier, forcing Sylvanas to order another retreat.
• Sylvanas reached Fairbreeze Village, where villagers aided the wounded and armed themselves while she ordered civilians to flee to Silvermoon City.
• Sylvanas chose an abandoned tower on Arthas's route and moved the wounded and remaining soldiers toward a final defense.
• Sylvanas led the rangers into the tower, prayed for Quel'Thalas, and arranged their positions as a scout spotted the undead.
• The rangers saw zombies, skeletal soldiers, abominations, and circling gargoyles approaching, while the enemy threatened to break through their first line.

Sylvanas and the remaining rangers made their final stand against the Scourge at the tower. As the undead overwhelmed the lower levels, Sylvanas fought on and faced them with twin blades at the stairway.

• Ye Ting watched the rangers’ desperate resistance but decided he could neither defeat the Scourge nor save them.
• Sylvanas recalled her sisters, her necklace from Alleria, and the human who had been gone for fifteen years.
• Sylvanas ordered the rangers to attack for Quel'Thalas, knowing they could not stop the undead.
• The Scourge broke through the rangers’ barrage and wiped out the defenders on the tower’s lower levels.
• Sylvanas discarded her bow, drew her twin blades, and fought alone at the narrow stairway.

Sylvanas fought Arthas and the Scourge until Arthas nearly killed her with Frostmourne. A man she recognized as Liver Sandor intervened, pinning the sword beneath his foot and saving her life.

• Sylvanas fought through the Scourge until her rangers were dead and the enemy halted its attack.
• Arthas confronted Sylvanas and charged her on his deathsteed with Frostmourne.
• Sylvanas's twin blades shattered against Frostmourne, and the sword's cold froze her hands.
• Liver Sandor appeared, pinned Frostmourne beneath his foot, and saved Sylvanas from Arthas.
• Sylvanas recognized Liver Sandor and asked if he had returned to save her.

Sandor Liver returned from the astral realm and rescued Sylvanas from Arthas at the Sunwell. He confronted Arthas and dodged Frostmourne’s assault through martial skill, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Sandor Liver appeared before Sylvanas, who realized he had returned and tearfully welcomed him.
• Arthas interrupted their reunion and recognized Sandor Liver as the legendary archmage who had disappeared fifteen years earlier.
• Sandor Liver said he had come to save Sylvanas, then questioned how Arthas had become a death knight.
• Arthas unleashed Frostmourne’s power and charged Sandor Liver, who carried Sylvanas away from the blade’s attack.
• Sandor Liver nimbly dodged Arthas’s sword strikes without using magic, relying on his martial skill.

Ye Ting evaded Arthas’s attacks until the death knight’s ice spikes filled the narrow tower, then blocked Frostmourne with his magically reinforced staff. Arthas shifted to martial skill for his next assault, unaware that Ye Ting was far more experienced and powerful than the mage he remembered.

• Arthas unleashed a wave of bitter cold, but Ye Ting remained unaffected while Sylvanas sought warmth in his arms.
• Arthas used the frost-filled battlefield to summon ice spikes and steadily boxed Ye Ting into the tower’s narrow corridors.
• With only a few meters left to dodge, Ye Ting stopped evading and blocked Arthas’s blow with his staff, strengthened by Force Field.
• Arthas failed to overpower Ye Ting and began another attack using the martial arts he had learned in Lordaeron and the Silver Hand.

Ye Ting used repeated Blinks to overcome Arthas's sword-and-magic assault and disarm him. As Ye Ting prepared to finish him, he sensed a powerful, icy will watching from the sky.

• Arthas attacked Ye Ting with agile sword strikes and frost and death spells, but Ye Ting countered his assault.
• Ye Ting repeatedly Blinked behind Arthas and struck from unexpected directions, overwhelming the death knight.
• Arthas fell to the ground, and Frostmourne flew from his grasp.
• Ye Ting approached to deliver the final blow, then stopped when he sensed a powerful, icy will looking down at them.

Ye Ting identified the immense soul commanding the Scourge as the Lich King Ner'zhul and realized its strength depended on draining the undead linked to it. As the Lich King attacked, Ye Ting prepared to counter the assault and escape the surrounding Scourge.

• Ye Ting sensed a soul whose scale surpassed even Sargeras's and discovered that every Scourge undead was connected to it.
• Ye Ting recognized the soul as belonging to Ner'zhul and condemned his method of drawing power from undead souls.
• Ye Ting concluded that the Lich King's power was vulnerable because most of it came from other beings' souls.
• Ye Ting considered how to withstand the attack and escape the Scourge's encirclement.
• Ye Ting invoked Third Magic: Heaven's Cup and called upon the Wheel of Restraint to grant the power to guard the scales.