Chapter Summaries

Jaina woke from a vivid dream in which Arthas took a cursed sword and she died, while Arthas and Brann reached the cavern where Frostmourne lay. As Arthas transformed into a wielder of dark magic before the sword, Brann feared he no longer recognized his friend.

• Jaina awoke from a nightmare in which Arthas picked up a runic sword and she died in his arms, then wondered whether the dream foretold something.
• Arthas and Brann crossed Dragonblight's snowfields, discussing the Explorers' League and the danger of unreliable teleportation scrolls.
• Arthas led Brann and the Secret Council Knights to the cavern containing Frostmourne, and Brann chose to accompany him inside.
• Arthas protected Brann with Holy Light as they descended through the magically cold cave and encountered spirits drawn to Frostmourne.
• Arthas handed Brann [Revenge of the Holy Light] and transformed, his golden hair turning white as dark magic replaced his Holy Light.
• Brann gripped the warhammer and demanded to know who Arthas really was.

Arthas revealed his death magic to Brann, broke the Frost Throne, and seized control of [Frostmourne] without falling under its curse. He sent Brann to lead the Secret Council Knights back to Daggercap Bay while he went to deal with the threat himself.

• Arthas explained his identity and argued that a power’s morality depended on how it was used, then cleared the ghosts from the path to [Frostmourne].
• Arthas shattered the Frost Throne and took [Frostmourne], resisting the sword’s curse and erasing the influence of the Dreadlords and the Lich King.
• Arthas subdued [Frostmourne] and made it acknowledge him as its master, while Brann watched from behind a Holy Light Barrier.
• Arthas reassured Brann that he remained himself and gave him [Revenge of the Holy Light] back.
• Arthas gave Brann the Royal Seal of Lordaeron and ordered him to take the Secret Council Knights to Daggercap Bay.
• Arthas set out to settle the trouble once and for all.

Brann returned to camp without Arthas and ordered the troops to withdraw, but Thassarian abandoned his rank to search for the prince. Meanwhile, Arthas reached Mal'Ganis's Undead camp and fought through its defenders as the demon watched and reconsidered his strength.

• Brann told Thassarian that Arthas had gone alone to attack the Undead camp and ordered him to return to the Bay of the Sheathed Dagger Fortress.
• Thassarian rode away alone to find Arthas, leaving his major's insignia behind, and Brann ordered the troops to withdraw without pursuing him.
• Arthas approached Mal'Ganis's camp with [Frostmourne], which now yearned to consume the Nathrezim's soul.
• Mal'Ganis revealed himself and sent the frenzied Undead against Arthas, expecting him to have lost the Holy Light's protection.
• Arthas cut through the Undead with [Frostmourne], prompting Mal'Ganis to take his strength seriously and consider him as a possible fallen vanguard.

Arthas defeated Mal'Ganis and used Frostmourne to consume the Dreadlord's soul, leaving him imprisoned in the blade. He summoned Invincible and rode north into Northrend to retrieve something that belonged to them.

• Arthas gathered the undead souls into Frostmourne and charged Mal'Ganis, cutting through his defenses.
• Arthas trapped Mal'Ganis with Shadow Chains and soul-powered chains that pierced his wings.
• Arthas stabbed Mal'Ganis with Frostmourne, which consumed his soul and left his body to crumble into ash.
• Arthas preserved Mal'Ganis's head in his Space Pouch and used the Holy Light to bring down the Necropolis.
• Arthas reunited with Invincible and rode farther north into Northrend.

Thassarian searched Northrend for Arthas while Arthas reached a polluted river beneath Icecrown Glacier and confronted Anub'arak. Arthas’s power weakened the Lich King’s control over the Crypt Lord, and Anub'arak warned that he would still fight.

• Thassarian left the First Legion’s main force to search for Arthas and avenge the Thirteenth Battalion.
• Thassarian found strange green lights in the distance while camping overnight in Dragonblight.
• Arthas rode Invincible upstream through Crystalsong Forest and found Anub'arak waiting beneath a towering black wall.
• Arthas used his authority to force most of the undead to kneel and demanded Anub'arak’s obedience or death.
• Anub'arak revealed that his mind had briefly escaped the Lich King’s control, then attacked Invincible.
• Invincible’s blue flames burned Anub'arak’s soul, further weakening the Lich King’s control, and Anub'arak warned Arthas of his command over earth.

Arthas freed Anub'arak from Ner'zhul's control and secured his loyalty, then led their forces toward the Frozen Throne. After Anub'arak held off the vastly larger Scourge army, Arthas broke through its lines and reached the citadel, where the Lich King awaited him.

• Arthas used Frostmourne to drag Anub'arak from underground and destroy Ner'zhul's mark, freeing the Crypt Lord from the Lich King's control.
• Anub'arak submitted to Arthas, who placed a rune on him and took control of his undead forces after Anub'arak killed the brainwashed cultists.
• Anub'arak warned Arthas about Icecrown Citadel's defenses and the Scourge commanders, including Anub'Rekhan, as their army advanced toward the Frozen Throne.
• At the glacier's main peak, Anub'arak led Arthas's outnumbered troops against Anub'Rekhan and the Scourge while Arthas charged through the enemy lines.
• Arthas reached the Frozen Throne with Invincible, and the Lich King prepared to meet him in his most complete form.

Arthas reached the Frozen Throne and confronted Ner'zhul, resisting the Lich King's attempt to break his mind and turning the attack back on him. Ner'zhul summoned a massive ice-and-shadow puppet, and Arthas prepared to destroy it with the Revenge of the Holy Light.

• Arthas followed a vision of his former self up the Frozen Throne and watched it vanish before he examined Ner'zhul's prison.
• Ner'zhul tried to weaken Arthas with an illusion of the Scourge slaughtering his family and allies, but Arthas remained unmoved.
• Arthas exposed Ner'zhul to a glimpse of a terrifying void, exploiting his curiosity and shattering the Lich King's illusion.
• Ner'zhul threatened Arthas and formed enormous arms of ice and shadow from the glacier.
• Arthas chose the Revenge of the Holy Light over Frostmourne and advanced to destroy Ner'zhul's puppet.

Thassarian searched the ruined Necropolis, mistook the Dreadlord Detheroc for Mal'Ganis, and escaped. Believing Arthas was in danger, he chose to return to Howling Fjord and alert the First Legion, unaware Detheroc was watching him.

• Thassarian found only rubble and signs of undead activity in the Necropolis ruins before his warhorse sensed danger.
• Detheroc appeared, and Thassarian fired at him before fleeing on horseback.
• Detheroc failed to summon any souls, suspected Mal'Ganis had been killed or banished, and decided to learn more about Thassarian.
• Thassarian mistook Detheroc for Mal'Ganis and worried that Arthas was in danger.
• Thassarian decided to return to Howling Fjord and alert Brann and the First Legion while Detheroc watched him from above.

Arthas battled Ner'zhul atop the Frozen Throne, using Holy Light and his endurance to withstand the Lich King's attacks while searching for an opening. After disrupting Ner'zhul's perception with another powerful strike, Arthas reached for an object hanging from his chest strap.

• Arthas blocked Ner'zhul's ice attacks with his warhammer and endured the fight without tiring.
• Ner'zhul considered summoning the Dreadlords for help, while Anub'arak's forces held his undead army below the Frozen Throne.
• Arthas shattered Ner'zhul's dark rune barrier with a surge of Holy Light, disrupting the Lich King's soul sight.
• Arthas realized that violent energy bursts impaired Ner'zhul's vision and began exploiting those moments to seek an opening.
• Arthas blocked Ner'zhul's Death Coil, smashed through an ice wall, and reached for an object on his chest strap.

Arthas outmaneuvered Ner'zhul, destroyed his soul at the Frozen Throne, and claimed the Helm of Domination. As the Scourge’s new master, he calmed the undead and ordered them to purge Ner'zhul’s loyalists.

• Arthas used a holy light bomb to break through Ner'zhul’s defenses while Frostmourne fed on the souls Ner'zhul had gathered, freeing the Scourge from his control.
• Anub'Rekhan and Anub'arak realized the undead had been released from Ner'zhul’s command, but Anub'Rekhan warned that they could not resist the Lich King’s power directly.
• Arthas shattered the shadow ice imprisoning Ner'zhul, and the Lich King’s soul was torn apart in the resulting soul vortex.
• Arthas picked up the Helm of Domination and put it on, taking control of the Scourge from the Frozen Throne.
• Arthas ordered the undead across Northrend to calm down and kill Ner'zhul’s loyalists, establishing himself as their new master.