Chapter Summaries

Calia chose Hearthglen as her temporary headquarters and prepared to rescue survivors in the Darson Barony, while Taelan began contacting Lordaeron’s remaining forces. The chapter left Calia leading an expedition toward Dalsen Castle and Taelan working to unite the resistance.

• Taelan showed Calia and Ye Ting Hearthglen, whose defensible valley and abundant resources had protected its people from the Scourge.
• Calia designated Hearthglen as her temporary headquarters and ordered an army of six hundred to evacuate soldiers, civilians, and refugees from the Darson Barony.
• Calia insisted on joining the expedition, then defeated Taelan in a duel and persuaded him to accept her decision.
• Calia departed Hearthglen for the Darson Barony, leaving Taelan behind.
• Taelan began sending letters by Gryphon Riders to Lordaeron’s lords and forces, seeking to unite them under Calia.

Ye Ting reviewed the forces resisting the Scourge and the foreign nations’ responses as Calia prepared to restore Lordaeron. The southern and western resistance leaders pledged support, while Garithos questioned Calia’s claim and refused to aid her.

• Ye Ting gathered intelligence about resistance forces across Lordaeron, including the Scarlet Monastery fighters led by Alfred Abidis and Isillien, the Southshore remnants led by Alexandros Mograine and Saidan Dathrohan, and Garithos’s northern army.
• Ye Ting assessed foreign powers’ responses: Kul Tiras sent ships to transport supplies, Gilneas fought the Scourge after refusing Lordaeron’s request for help, and other kingdoms lacked the ability to provide immediate aid.
• The Southshore paladins pledged allegiance to Calia and planned to march north once they replenished their troops and supplies.
• Alfred Abidis and Isillien offered to join Calia at Hearthglen and urged her to call for a counteroffensive against the undead.
• Garithos questioned Calia’s identity and right to inherit the throne and showed no intention of sending troops to support her.

Ye Ting returned to Dalaran as the Scourge threatened the city and visited a tavern before meeting the Kirin Tor. He recognized a mysterious hooded woman and invited her to drink Sunlight Vintage, and she warmly accepted after seeing him.

• Ye Ting arrived in Dalaran and found the city tense but not yet panicked about the Scourge.
• Ye Ting entered a tavern and noticed a hooded woman drinking alone at the bar.
• Ye Ting ordered an expensive bottle of Sunlight Vintage, and the elven bartender served him after noticing his magical rings.
• Ye Ting sat beside the hooded woman and invited her to drink with him.
• The hooded woman recognized Ye Ting and smiled as she agreed to share a drink.

Ye Ting met Medivh in a tavern, where she questioned why he was so deeply involved in the mortal struggle against the Scourge. He explained that he believed in mortal civilization’s potential to become the world’s chief defender, and Medivh agreed to help him prove it.

• Ye Ting shared Sunlight Vintage with the hooded Medivh, who criticized the wine and revealed herself.
• Medivh called Ye Ting her father, and he dismissed the claim before asking what she wanted to discuss.
• Medivh questioned why Ye Ting intervened in mortal conflicts when powerful guardians could defeat the Scourge.
• Ye Ting pointed out that Medivh had warned mortal leaders, and she admitted she wanted mortals to prove they could protect the world.
• Ye Ting said he trusted civilization’s potential, and Medivh agreed to cooperate and see what he could accomplish.

Ye Ting learned from Medivh why the Scourge was attacking Dalaran and discovered that Jaina had become a legendary mage at twenty-two. Medivh said Jaina was in the city and led Ye Ting to visit her before the Scourge arrived.

• Ye Ting asked Medivh why the Scourge was attacking Dalaran despite the absence of Medivh's Book.
• Medivh explained that Ner'zhul's forces had stolen powerful artifacts and sent them to Dalaran before Draenor was destroyed, making the city's treasury a target.
• Ye Ting asked Medivh about his apprentices, and she praised Jaina and Ilucia's talent and training.
• Medivh told Ye Ting that Jaina had reached legendary rank at age twenty-two, surpassing Medivh's record.
• Medivh said Jaina was in Dalaran and invited Ye Ting to visit her before the Scourge arrived.

Medivh brought Ye Ting to see Jaina’s extravagant mage tower, the Azure Star, and explained how its construction reflected her status and ties to him. Ye Ting learned that the tower had been built using his reserved plot, Jaina’s family wealth, House Barov’s support, and contributions from Medivh, Mother, and his black Dragon maid.

• Medivh led Ye Ting to the blue-and-white Azure Star, a lavish mage tower near the Violet Citadel.
• Ye Ting wondered why Jaina had received such an impressive tower when he did not have one of his own.
• Medivh explained that the Kirin Tor had reserved a plot for Ye Ting, then gave it to Jaina after he disappeared.
• Medivh said House Proudmoore and House Barov funded the tower, while she, Mother, and Ye Ting’s black Dragon maid provided essential magical materials and its core design.
• Ye Ting realized that the combined wealth and resources behind the Azure Star could have rebuilt the Violet Citadel, and felt envious of Jaina.

Medivh and Sandor entered Jaina’s lavish, heavily fortified mage tower and were escorted by its tower spirit, Azure. They reached the laboratory, where Ye Ting saw his long-unseen disciple Jaina Proudmoore.

• Medivh spoke the authorization phrase, and Azure recognized Medivh and Sandor before opening the tower doors.
• Azure welcomed the visitors and explained that Jaina was occupied with an important magical experiment.
• Azure guided Medivh and Sandor up the tower’s moving spiral staircase as Ye Ting observed its many magical facilities and defenses.
• The staircase stopped at the laboratory, where Ye Ting saw Jaina Proudmoore for the first time in years.

Ye Ting returned to Jaina after more than a decade, but she pretended to ignore him while secretly hoping to embarrass him. Her plan backfired when he quietly watched her supposedly genuine experiment, leaving her afraid he would realize she was faking it.

• Ye Ting visited Jaina's mage tower with Medivh and recognized that Jaina was deliberately giving him the cold shoulder.
• Medivh worried that Jaina's defiance might anger Ye Ting, but he remained calm and did not take her slight personally.
• Jaina pretended to be absorbed in developing the Mass Teleportation spell, expecting Ye Ting to greet her so she could ignore him before welcoming him later.
• Ye Ting silently sat beside Jaina and watched her experiment, disrupting the scene she had planned.
• Jaina realized she had lost focus on the experiment and feared Ye Ting would expose her pretense.

Jaina discovered that Ye Ting and Medivh had seen through her pretense, but Ye Ting broke the awkward stalemate by helping her improve her Mass Teleportation spell. Jaina successfully teleported herself and her two teachers a short distance, marking a breakthrough in group spatial magic.

• Ye Ting and Medivh realized Jaina was pretending to conduct an experiment, and Medivh joined Ye Ting in waiting for her to react first.
• Ye Ting explained that Jaina's spell failed because she had overlooked how people interacted with arcane energy and showed her a rebuilt spell model.
• Jaina understood the revised design, began a new test, and cast Mass Teleport with Ye Ting and Medivh beside her.
• Jaina, Ye Ting, and Medivh vanished from one side of the laboratory and reappeared a few meters away.
• Jaina celebrated her success as Ye Ting and Medivh applauded her breakthrough in Mass Teleportation.

Ye Ting reconciled with Jaina by apologizing and giving her a charm-enhancing necklace, then listened as she recounted her magical accomplishments. The three turned their attention to the Scourge threatening the city.

• Jaina admitted she was still upset that Ye Ting had left her for years, and Ye Ting argued that he had also helped and protected her.
• Medivh mediated between them, and Ye Ting offered Jaina an ornate necklace blessed by the God of Love and Beauty.
• Jaina accepted the necklace and forgave Ye Ting, then eagerly described how she had become a legendary mage in her early twenties.
• Ye Ting praised Jaina's talent and hard work, and the three began discussing the Scourge waiting outside the city.

Jaina told Ye Ting that Dalaran’s mages had rejected evacuation despite the Scourge threat, and she asked him to save the city. Ye Ting agreed to help, and he and Jaina headed to the Violet Citadel to meet the Kirin Tor.

• Jaina reported that Antonidas and the other mages had refused to abandon Dalaran, despite the destruction of the Sunwell and Quel'Thalas's losses.
• Jaina praised Ye Ting's magical achievements and persuaded him to help defend Dalaran, then kissed his cheek as a reward.
• Medivh stayed behind to avoid revealing her identity, while Ye Ting and Jaina left for the Violet Citadel.
• Jaina explained that Dalaran had not aided Lordaeron because it fell quickly, Dalaran lacked a standing army, and its mages were vulnerable on a battlefield.
• Ye Ting and Jaina arrived at the Violet Citadel, where Antonidas and the Kirin Tor were meeting about the coming Scourge assault.

Jaina and Ye Ting met Antonidas as he prepared Dalaran’s defenses against the Scourge, and Antonidas urged Jaina to leave and preserve hope elsewhere. Antonidas recognized Ye Ting as the returned Archmage Sandor Liver, who offered to help Dalaran face the crisis.

• Jaina and Ye Ting learned that the council on Dalaran’s defenses had ended and found Antonidas adjusting the Violet Citadel’s magical defenses.
• Antonidas told Jaina to leave Dalaran, explaining that the Scourge’s strength was unknown and that she had responsibilities beyond the city.
• Antonidas blamed himself and Terenas for ignoring the prophet’s warning, and insisted Jaina protect those who depended on her.
• Antonidas joked that Jaina was fortunate not to have accepted a man’s courtship and proposal, prompting Ye Ting to ask who the man had been.
• Ye Ting revealed that he was an old friend, and Antonidas recognized him as the long-missing Archmage Sandor Liver.
• Ye Ting told Antonidas that he had returned to help Dalaran resolve its troubles.

Ye Ting persuaded Dalaran’s leaders that his experience fighting the Scourge in Quel’Thalas made him valuable to the city’s defense. He began explaining the Scourge’s forces and warned them about abominations as the chapter ended.

• Antonidas doubted Ye Ting could change Dalaran’s fate and urged him to evacuate with his apprentices.
• Ye Ting revealed that he had fought alongside the High Elves during the Scourge’s invasion of Quel’Thalas.
• Kael’thas confirmed Ye Ting’s role in defending Silvermoon City and saving the Sunwell, then thanked him on behalf of the High Elves.
• Antonidas accepted Ye Ting’s account, and Ye Ting offered to help Dalaran defend against the Scourge.
• Ye Ting described the undead army’s advantages and warned that abominations spread a persistent plague, recommending Holy Light and fire against them.

Ye Ting explained the Scourge’s forces and warned that hidden Cult of the Damned agents could undermine Dalaran’s defenses. He proposed placing critical controls in trusted hands, then pointed to the Scourge’s true leader and its purpose in attacking Dalaran as the greater threat.

• Ye Ting described the Scourge’s units, including frost wyrms, and explained that fear of the dragons limited their use.
• Ye Ting dismissed Jaina’s suggestion to seek help from the Dragonflight and warned that outside aid could not be relied upon.
• Ye Ting explained that the Scourge relied on overwhelming numbers and asked what the others knew about the Cult of the Damned.
• Ye Ting warned that some cultist spellcasters and believers might still be hidden among them, spying for the Scourge.
• Kael'thas recalled Dalkhan’s betrayal of Quel'Thalas, and Antonidas worried that Dalaran had no time to investigate traitors.
• Ye Ting proposed putting key defensive controls in the hands of a trusted group, then said the real problem was the power behind the Scourge and its purpose in attacking Dalaran.

Ye Ting warned Antonidas and the others that the Scourge was likely targeting powerful artifacts in Dalaran to summon Archimonde, but the city’s mages refused to move them. The chapter left Dalaran preparing to defend its treasury while Ye Ting chose not to intervene further.

• Kel'Thuzad summoned Archimonde, who ordered him to retrieve Gul'dan's Skull from Dalaran so the demon lord could enter Azeroth.
• Kel'Thuzad told Arthas that his knowledge of Dalaran and help from an insider would let the Scourge attack the city as it had Quel'Thalas.
• Ye Ting told Antonidas, Jaina, and the others that the Scourge likely sought the artifacts once taken by the Orcs and urged them to move the items to safety.
• Antonidas explained that Dalaran's mages would not approve moving the artifacts because they prized the power and knowledge the relics could bring.
• Ye Ting proposed strengthening the treasury's defenses and decided to leave Dalaran's fate to its mages rather than steal the artifact himself.

Jaina and Medivh left Dalaran to lead refugees and young mages to Kalimdor, while Ye Ting spoke with Kael'thas about his choice to stay. Kael'thas revealed that he remained to take revenge on Arthas, and Ye Ting warned him that Arthas had become powerful enough to threaten even a legendary mage.

• Antonidas finalized Dalaran's defenses and prepared Jaina to lead an evacuation fleet to Kalimdor with Medivh as its guide.
• Jaina and Medivh left Dalaran to carry out their mission.
• Ye Ting asked Kael'thas why he had stayed in Dalaran instead of returning to Quel'Thalas.
• Kael'thas said Sylvanas, Liadrin, and Belova had stabilized Quel'Thalas, leaving him free to pursue revenge for his father's death and his people's suffering.
• Ye Ting warned Kael'thas that Arthas's cursed sword had made him a formidable foe, but Kael'thas still wanted to challenge him.

Dalaran sealed itself behind a lethal magical barrier as Arthas brought the Scourge to its gates and demanded surrender. Antonidas rejected him, while Kael'thas attacked Arthas and learned that Frostmourne made a direct duel too dangerous; the siege was about to begin.

• Antonidas placed Dalaran under a citywide magical barrier that burned an approaching rabbit to ash.
• The Scourge gathered beneath Dalaran, and Arthas demanded that the Kirin Tor open the gates and surrender.
• Ye Ting amplified Antonidas's voice, and Antonidas mocked Arthas before warning him that Dalaran's wards would destroy invading undead.
• Kael'thas attacked Arthas with Flamestrike and Pyroblast, but Arthas survived and taunted him about his father's death and Frostmourne's destruction of Felo'melorn.
• Kael'thas abandoned the duel after recognizing Arthas's advantage, and Antonidas gave the Scourge a final ultimatum to retreat or face Dalaran's full strength.

Arthas launched the Scourge’s assault on Dalaran, expecting its magical barrier to weaken under relentless attacks, but the barrier destroyed the undead without showing any strain. The chapter revealed that Antonidas had designed it to absorb undead vitality and replenish itself, leaving Arthas’s army unable to break through.

• Arthas ordered the Scourge to attack Dalaran’s barrier with Meat Wagons, archers, gargoyles, and ground forces.
• Kael'thas recognized dead elven rangers among the Scourge’s archers and clenched his fists in hatred.
• The barrier reduced the incoming corpses, arrows, and attacking undead to ash or molten metal without allowing them to reach the city.
• Arthas halted the assault after realizing the barrier remained unharmed despite the destruction of more than a hundred thousand undead.
• The chapter explained that Dalaran’s barrier used a stable magical loop and absorbed nearby undead vitality to replenish its power, a defense Antonidas had designed specifically against the Scourge.

After Dalaran repelled the Scourge’s first siege, Ye Ting realized that Kel'Thuzad’s knowledge of the city’s defenses made the victory fragile. Kel'Thuzad told Arthas he had prepared a way to destroy one of the magical shield’s nodes, leaving Dalaran exposed to the Scourge.

• Dalaran celebrated its victory as the Scourge withdrew, while Ye Ting doubted the mages understood the danger.
• Ye Ting recalled Kel'Thuzad’s history in Dalaran and his extensive knowledge of the city’s magical shield.
• Kel'Thuzad studied the shield during the attack and worked out how its original structure could be exploited.
• Kel'Thuzad told Arthas that a mechanism he had hidden beneath his former mage tower could destroy one of the shield’s six secondary nodes.
• Kel'Thuzad explained that the node’s destruction would collapse the shield’s closed loop and leave Dalaran’s gates open to the Scourge.

Arthas learned that Kel'Thuzad's contingency had failed to weaken Dalaran's magical barrier, while Ye Ting's alteration of a barrier node had neutralized the trap. Kel'Thuzad accepted the setback and turned to another plan.

• Arthas praised Kel'Thuzad's usefulness but resented that the lich truly served the Lich King rather than him.
• An explosion sounded inside Dalaran, but the magical barrier remained intact.
• Kel'Thuzad returned and told Arthas that his contingency had failed despite being activated.
• Ye Ting had moved the barrier node connected to Kel'Thuzad's former mage tower to his disciple's tower, preventing the trap from damaging the barrier.
• Kel'Thuzad set aside the failed contingency and decided to proceed with another plan.