Chapter Summaries

Arthas was inducted into the Order of the Silver Hand in Stratholme and celebrated with its knights at a banquet. Praised for his talent and character, he quietly reflected on the cursed destiny tied to his name.

• Arthas swore the paladin's oath before Archbishop Alonsus Faol and was welcomed into the Order of the Silver Hand.
• Uther congratulated Arthas, while Alonsus Faol praised him and returned to the cathedral because of his poor health.
• Arthas invited Uther to a banquet hosted by Baron Rivendare at the Lord's Manor in Stratholme.
• Gavinrad the Dire and other senior knights praised Arthas for becoming a paladin at nineteen and for his character.
• Arthas modestly deflected the praise and reflected on his fate as the future king of Lordaeron.

Arthas reflected on his memories of another world and the disasters threatening Azeroth, including the Burning Legion, the Old Gods, and Nozdormu’s Bronze Dragonflight. Now a fully fledged Paladin, he planned to strengthen Lordaeron and use the orc problem to build power for the dangers ahead.

• Arthas recalled that his destined future was to become the Lich King and die at Icecrown Citadel, while he secretly remembered a life in another world.
• Arthas considered the threats posed by the Burning Legion, the Old Gods, and the unstable Dragon Aspects, especially Nozdormu’s insistence on preserving history.
• Arthas reflected on how he had spent nineteen years hiding his abnormal identity and preparing for the Bronze Dragonflight to discover him.
• Arthas planned to use his new status as a fully fledged Paladin to begin projects that would help him survive future disasters.
• Arthas resolved to strengthen Lordaeron and turn the burden of the orc internment camps into a stepping stone toward building his own power.

After celebrating with the Silver Hand’s leading paladins, Arthas learned that the Forest Trolls had attacked the High Elves and that Lordaeron would send a relief force to Quel'Thalas. He agreed to join Uther’s expedition and added twenty Swords of the Secret Council to its forces.

• Arthas toasted Lordaeron and the Silver Hand with Uther, Gavinrad, Rivendare, Saidan Dathrohan, and Tirion Fordring at a feast.
• Arthas woke with a hangover and learned that Uther was waiting to see him in the reception room.
• Uther told Arthas that the Forest Trolls had attacked the High Elves and that the king had ordered them to send troops to Quel'Thalas.
• Uther outlined a force of elite infantry, cavalry, riflemen, priests, paladins, and archmages for the mission.
• Arthas agreed to bring twenty Swords of the Secret Council on the expedition.

Arthas and Uther traveled toward Quel'Thalas to aid the Farstrider Rangers against an unusually large Amani troll invasion, and Arthas questioned how the trolls had gathered so many fighters. He suspected the High Elf council had left the rangers unsupported for political reasons as the reinforcements continued toward the border.

• Arthas asked Uther how many Ranger Corps troops would fight in Quel'Thalas, and Uther estimated no more than two thousand against at least five thousand trolls.
• Arthas and Uther wondered why the trolls had assembled more than twice their usual forces as they traveled through Quel'Thalas's forestlands.
• Arthas recalled the Amani trolls' history and suspected their numbers and fanatical worship could pose a serious threat.
• Arthas delayed a forced march, judging that the Farstriders might be able to hold out while his small force traveled to the border.
• Arthas concluded that Silvermoon City's councilors were withholding support from the Farstriders and that Kael'thas had appealed to Lordaeron because he could not let them be abandoned.

Arthas led a relief force to Quel'Thalas's border fortress and met Lor'themar Theron, who described the Farstriders' shortage of troops and healers. After arranging to head for the front, Arthas ordered his soldiers to march.

• Arthas's force reached the Elf Gate, where the elves admitted them after checking their magical runes.
• Lor'themar Theron welcomed Arthas and Uther and explained that the Farstriders had many wounded and few healers.
• Arthas offered thirty Priests to treat the wounded, and Lor'themar thanked him for the aid.
• Lor'themar said fifteen hundred rangers were holding the front against the Trolls, while Arthas listed the reinforcements he had brought.
• Uther urged the group to proceed to the battlefield, and Arthas ordered the soldiers to march.

Sylvanas Windrunner's outpost came under a massive troll assault, and a trap left her gravely cursed as the trolls attacked in force. Just as her troops faced the prospect of retreat, Lordaeron's War Horn announced the arrival of reinforcements.

• Sylvanas led the Farstriders in defending their eastern forest outpost against repeated troll attacks.
• She shot a masked figure she believed was a witch doctor, then realized he was a troll slave used as bait.
• Several witch doctors' curses struck Sylvanas, shattered her protective pendant, and left her gravely weakened as the trolls launched a full assault.
• Sylvanas activated the outpost's magic barrier while priests suppressed her pain, but they warned that fighting would worsen the curse.
• Sylvanas heard Lordaeron's War Horn and recognized that reinforcements had arrived.

Arthas discovered that Sylvanas had been struck by a powerful curse linked to a possible Amani high priest of the Loa, forcing the allied forces to abandon hopes of destroying the Troll army. After agreeing to retreat to a fortress once they repelled the current attack, Sylvanas learned that Arthas had spoken Common to protect her dignity.

• Lor'themar and Arthas spotted the Trolls attacking the elven outpost, and Arthas ordered the forces to advance as Uther led the Paladins into battle.
• Arthas and Lady Lilian examined Sylvanas and found that a powerful curse resisted the priests’ attempts to dispel it.
• Arthas realized he could remove Sylvanas’s curse but would need several hours, and he suspected a high priest of the Loa had inflicted it.
• Arthas warned Sylvanas that the Trolls would not give them time to complete the treatment, so she decided to withdraw to a fortress after repelling the current wave.
• Arthas pledged that Lordaeron’s army would stand with the Farstriders and spoke in Thalassian, prompting Sylvanas to realize he had used Common to spare her embarrassment.

Arthas and Uther helped rout a Troll attack, then joined the commanders to assess the threat to Quel'Thalas. Arthas concluded that the Trolls were trying to lure Sylvanas and the Farstriders out from behind Ban'dinoriel to use them as sacrifices, and proposed testing his theory with bait.

• Uther and Arthas led the forces in breaking the Troll vanguard, which fled into the forest and left hundreds of corpses behind.
• Arthas learned that Sylvanas was cursed by a high-ranking Troll priest and said he could dispel it with time.
• Sylvanas reported that more than twenty thousand Trolls threatened the Outpost, prompting the commanders to plan a retreat behind Ban'dinoriel.
• Arthas reasoned that the Trolls were targeting Sylvanas and the Farstriders as sacrifices to revive the Loa rather than seeking ordinary conquest.
• Arthas proposed using bait to test his theory, noting that Trolls preferred living sacrifices to corpses.

Zul'jin planned to lure Sylvanas Windrunner and her rangers into a trap while preparing to exploit the elves' retreat. At the outpost, Arthas persuaded Sylvanas and Lor'themar to use her as bait to draw out the Troll scouts and help the troops withdraw safely.

• Zul'jin learned that Sylvanas had taken the bait and dismissed Malacrass's concerns about the cost of the plan.
• Zul'jin ordered scouts to watch the humans' rear and told Halazzi to join them so the Trolls could pursue Sylvanas when she retreated.
• Arthas proposed escorting Sylvanas as bait to draw out the Troll scouts while the rest of the troops prepared to withdraw.
• Sylvanas accepted Arthas's plan despite Lor'themar's objections, and Arthas proposed turning buried Mana Crystals into Mana Bombs.
• Uther agreed to command the troops following behind, and Arthas left to prepare for the operation.

Arthas and Sylvanas led their troops toward a Farstrider fortress, but troll scouts ambushed them and a lynx-like monster attacked. Sylvanas escaped with the troops while Arthas stayed behind to confront the creature and suspected Zul'jin was behind the invasion.

• Sylvanas detected that the forest had gone quiet and warned Arthas that troll scouts were following them.
• The trolls ambushed the party with nets and projectiles, but Arthas, Sylvanas, the Secret Council Knights, and the rangers fought back.
• The troll scout captain called for Halazzi, whose terrifying roar weakened the elves and knights as the trolls attacked more fiercely.
• A swift, lynx-like shadow killed a ranger and nearly struck Sylvanas, but Arthas shielded her with Holy Light.
• Arthas ordered Sylvanas to lead the troops to safety, then stayed behind, killed the fleeing trolls, and recognized the attacker as an artificially fashioned monster.

Arthas fought Halazzi alone to let Sylvanas and the others retreat, then revealed his dark frost powers and killed the Lynx God's priest. The Lynx God's soul escaped, and Arthas rode after Sylvanas's group.

• Arthas used Consecration to keep Halazzi at bay while Sylvanas led the troops farther away.
• Halazzi leapt at Arthas, but Arthas's dark power encased him in ice and slowed his movements.
• Arthas struck Halazzi with the [Might of Menethil], used [Death Grip] to drag him back, and killed him with a final blow.
• The Lynx God's soul escaped Arthas, and Arthas's golden hair and Holy Light aura returned.
• Arthas learned from Halazzi's soul that the trolls reused the name Halazzi for each new priest, then healed his horse and rode after Sylvanas.

Sylvanas and Arthas prepared for the Amani Trolls’ next assault after Arthas killed the high-ranking priest Halazzi. Arthas then removed Sylvanas’s curse with agonizing Holy Light, leaving her cured but furious with him.

• Sylvanas reached Ban'dinoriel, reunited with the Farstriders, and ordered Lor'themar to prepare the troops as Arthas arrived with Halazzi’s head.
• Arthas told Sylvanas to withdraw the frontline troops, and she mounted Halazzi’s head on the fortress wall and invited Arthas to Windrunner Manor.
• Sylvanas and Arthas prepared the defenses after scouts reported that roughly eight thousand trolls were gathering for another attack.
• Sylvanas asked Arthas to remove her curse so she could fight alongside the Farstriders, and he warned her that the treatment would be painful.
• Arthas dispelled Sylvanas’s curse with searing Holy Light, and she vowed never to seek healing from him again.

After Arthas and Uther discussed the threat posed by the Amani Trolls, Arthas spoke with Sylvanas on the fortress wall about her family and the burdens she carried. Sylvanas teased him about being attracted to her, then said she thought they could become friends.

• Uther questioned Arthas about the troll priest's attack, and Arthas showed him how badly his armor had been damaged.
• Arthas told Uther that Lordaeron should prepare for future troll attacks but could not afford a major offensive, and Uther agreed.
• Arthas and Sylvanas discussed the western mountains of Tirisfal Glades while watching the forest from the wall.
• Sylvanas described how war and duty had left her the only Windrunner in Quel'Thalas and burdened her with protecting her people.
• Arthas praised the sacrifices of Sylvanas and her sisters, and Sylvanas teased him about having fallen for her.
• Sylvanas said she would never fall for a human but thought she and Arthas could become friends, and Arthas felt relieved.

Arthas helped the defenders of Farstrider Hold defeat a Troll assault, while Zul'jin learned that Arthas wielded a power resembling Bwonsamdi's and decided to avoid further conflict for now. The victory bought Lordaeron and Quel'Thalas time, but Arthas suspected the Trolls had gathered their dead for a ritual and might threaten them again within ten years.

• Uther brought Arthas a report that around eight thousand Trolls, led by a minor chieftain, had approached the fortress, and Arthas ordered the defenders to meet them with full force.
• Zul'jin told Malacrass that the Lynx God feared Arthas's death power and that Arthas had nearly bound part of the god's soul, so they agreed not to send more priests after him.
• Zul'jin decided the Amani Trolls should avoid major conflicts for several years while their gods recovered, then declared they would rise again within ten years.
• The Trolls attacked Farstrider Hold for a day before retreating with their dead, suffering four or five thousand casualties against several hundred among the defenders.
• Arthas told Uther he suspected the Trolls had taken their fallen for a ritual to restore their gods, and the two learned that Terenas had ordered the army to rest in Quel'Thalas for three days.

Arthas traveled with Sylvanas through Quel'Thalas to the Windrunner estate, where they discussed her family, humans, and her dedication to protecting her people. At Windrunner Spire, Sylvanas reflected on her absent siblings and hoped Arthas might help change Quel'Thalas's fortunes.

• Arthas and Sylvanas rode through the golden forests of Quel'Thalas and agreed to address each other by their names.
• Sylvanas explained her distrust of humans because Alleria had left with Turalyon, while Arthas listened without mentioning her younger sister Vereesa.
• Arthas praised Sylvanas's love for Quel'Thalas and said she seemed suited to become Ranger-General.
• Sylvanas brought Arthas to the Windrunner estate and showed him the gardens, galleries, and Windrunner Spire.
• From the tower at sunset, Sylvanas remembered her absent family and resolved to protect Quel'Thalas, hoping Arthas could help change its fortunes.

At Sylvanas's banquet, Arthas met Archmage Rommath and spoke with Kael'thas Sunstrider through a magical projection. Kael'thas sought Arthas's help against the Silvermoon Council, and their conversation ended as Kael'thas began to recall an incident from shortly after he arrived in Dalaran.

• Lor'themar apologized to Arthas for his earlier behavior, then accidentally criticized Sylvanas's ways while she stood behind him.
• Sylvanas ended Lor'themar's blunder and brought Arthas upstairs to meet Archmage Rommath.
• Rommath projected a magical image of Kael'thas, who thanked Arthas and promised him a personal gift.
• Kael'thas told Arthas that the Silvermoon Council endangered Quel'Thalas and asked for help addressing its entrenched power.
• Arthas suggested the councilors might flee if Silvermoon City fell, prompting Kael'thas to recognize the grim implications and recall an incident from his early days in Dalaran.

Kael'thas reflected on the elves' mana addiction and how Arthas had hinted at a possible solution, which led him to become Arthas's close friend. At a private meeting, Kael'thas tried to strengthen their alliance while misreading Sylvanas's diplomatic behavior as romantic interest.

• Kael'thas recalled how leaving Quel'Thalas had weakened him and how mana addiction threatened elves who stayed away from the Sunwell.
• Kael'thas realized that Quel'Thalas's rangers served as a safeguard in case the Sunwell failed, while he struggled to find a cure for mana addiction.
• Arthas told Kael'thas that pure energy could replace the Sunwell's mana, then left without explaining how to free the entire elven race from the condition.
• Kael'thas interpreted Arthas's hint as an offer to help him personally and became Arthas's close friend to learn from him and secure his support.
• Kael'thas visited Arthas to thank him and align their interests, then speculated that Sylvanas had fallen for him.
• Sylvanas had only been acting formally for diplomatic reasons, while the other participants in the meeting pursued their own agendas.

Arthas warned Kael'thas and Sylvanas that the Burning Legion would return and that the trolls under Zul'jin would soon threaten Quel'Thalas again. After Sylvanas gave him a seaside estate, Arthas returned to Lordaeron and planned to use Kael'thas's precious materials to have Muradin forge him new armor.

• Arthas warned Kael'thas that the Burning Legion would target the Sunwell and urged him to address Quel'Thalas's dangers instead of playing political games.
• Arthas told Kael'thas that Zul'jin had rallied the Amani Trolls and their Loa, and Kael'thas decided to return to Quel'Thalas to speak with his father.
• Kael'thas asked how they could verify Arthas's warning about the Burning Legion, and Arthas said Medivh would return in five years.
• Sylvanas gave Arthas the deed to a seaside estate near the Windrunner Estate, and he accepted the gift.
• Arthas returned to Lordaeron, inspected the precious materials Kael'thas had sent, and decided to give them to Muradin to forge new armor.

Arthas accepted Varian Wrynn’s invitation to Stormwind City, where he discovered that Countess Katrana Prestor was the black dragon Onyxia manipulating Duke Bolvar Fordragon. He left the chapter recognizing her identity and regarding her as a valuable dragon to capture and put to work.

• Bolvar Fordragon invited Arthas to Stormwind City for the celebration of Anduin Wrynn’s birth, and Terenas granted Arthas leave to attend.
• Arthas read a report that his elite agents had landed in Northrend to investigate the spiders, but chose to postpone any major expedition there.
• Arthas and Bolvar traveled through a linked portal to Stormwind City, where Arthas noticed signs of unrest beneath the rebuilt city’s prosperity.
• Countess Katrana Prestor met Bolvar on the way to Stormwind Keep, and Arthas recognized through Soul Sight that she was Onyxia, daughter of Neltharion.
• Onyxia noticed Arthas’s interest in her, while he considered capturing the black dragon for her valuable materials.

Arthas reunited with Varian in Stormwind and warned him to be wary of Countess Katrana and the nobles exploiting the rebuilt city. He blessed young Anduin and gave Queen Tiffin a protective amulet as Varian revealed his growing anger at Stormwind’s returning nobles.

• Varian warmly welcomed Arthas to Stormwind, introduced him as Anduin’s godfather, and complained that Katrana’s schemes had stirred up the nobles.
• Arthas cautioned Varian that the Prestor family’s sudden appearance was suspicious, and Varian admitted he also distrusted them.
• Varian introduced Arthas to Queen Tiffin and their newborn son, Anduin, whom Arthas blessed with holy light and said had a strong affinity for it.
• Arthas gave Tiffin a protective amulet blessed by Faol and urged her to keep it for herself.
• Varian told Arthas that Stormwind’s nobles had fled during the city’s disaster and returned to profit from its rebuilding, and he vowed they would face his wrath.