Chapter Summaries

Rhode killed Rivendare after exposing his false surrender, then left with Lilia while Norn kept the encounter secret. Five days later, the crowd gathered for the Archmage duel at the Sunspire, and Sylvanas welcomed Rhode as he arrived.

• Rivendare pretended to surrender and offered to testify against Dar'Khan, but Rhode revealed his identity and killed him with a fireball.
• Rhode asked Norn to keep the killing secret, then used Blink to leave with Lilia as people approached.
• Five days later, Norn and Mullen joined the crowd outside the Sunspire, where High Elf guards restricted access to the duel.
• Council members and military leaders, including Kael'thas, Dar'Khan, Sylvanas, and Antonidas, arrived at the tower.
• Milduran claimed that Dar'Khan was his teacher and suggested Rhode might have backed out of the duel.
• Rhode arrived holding Lilia's hand, and Sylvanas welcomed him at the Sunspire entrance.

Rhode arrived at the Sunspire to face King Anasterian in a magical duel, greeted by Sylvanas and welcomed by the gathered leaders of Azeroth. After learning about Anasterian’s abilities and questioning the wards Dar’Khan had prepared, Rhode flew to the tower’s summit, where the Sun King was waiting.

• Sylvanas welcomed Rhode at the Sunspire, while the crowd celebrated his arrival and Norn revealed that he and Rhode were old friends.
• Rhode privately confirmed that Norn had kept their connection secret, leaving Milduran and Mullen astonished by their acquaintance.
• Inside the Sunspire, Antonidas warned Rhode that Anasterian wielded powerful Mage Hand weapons and a mental-power attack shaped like sunlight.
• Kael’thas explained that protective wards surrounded the transparent dueling platform, and Rhode questioned whether Dar’Khan had prepared them.
• Rhode flew to the summit of the Sunspire, where King Anasterian greeted him and said he had been waiting.

Rhode exposed Dar'Khan's sabotage of the Sunspire's magical wards, but Anasterian insisted on dueling him before arresting the traitor. After the two mages removed the wards' hidden mechanisms, their first exchange ended without a clear victor and surprised Anasterian with Rhode's power.

• Rhode showed Anasterian evidence that Dar'Khan had conspired with Kel'Thuzad to steal the Moon Crystals and explained how they came into his possession.
• Rhode discovered that Dar'Khan had secretly altered the Sunspire's protective wards to release stored magical energy and cause destruction during the duel.
• Anasterian refused to postpone the duel, explaining that he had long awaited a worthy opponent and that Dar'Khan could be captured afterward.
• Rhode and Anasterian removed the wards' sabotage mechanisms, then agreed to fight while the wards retained their protective functions.
• Anasterian attacked with a blade of arcane energy, and Rhode countered with a sphere of Fire Orbs; their collision wrecked the tower's platform but left both mages standing.

Rhode and Anasterian fought atop the Sunspire, escalating their duel with magic and legendary weapons. Rhode shattered Anasterian’s Soulreaper and sent him over the tower’s edge, but Anasterian reappeared in a ball of fire, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• Anasterian brought out the Sun King's Scepter and used lightning against Rhode, whose Fire Orbs shielded him and struck back.
• Rhode’s enormous fist overwhelmed Anasterian’s scepter, prompting the Sun King to summon his seven legendary weapons.
• Anasterian unleashed the Spiritstring Longbow, Destruction, Infinity Blade, Cosmic Infuser, Phaseshift Bulwark, Warp Slicer, and Soulreaper, forcing Rhode to the Sunspire’s edge.
• The Moon Crystal linked and repaired Rhode’s Fire Orbs, and Rhode answered Anasterian’s Soulreaper with a powerful slash that shattered it and drove Anasterian over the edge.
• Spectators believed Rhode had won when he stood alone atop the damaged tower, but Anasterian rose above it in a ball of fire, showing that he remained in the fight.

Rhode defeated Anasterian in a spectacular duel atop the Sunspire, using the Moon Crystals to overcome the Sun King's Scorching Sun Flame. After Anasterian admitted defeat, Rhode confronted Dar'Khan, revealing that he knew of his connection to the Scourge.

• Anasterian formed a fiery sun from his magical and mental power, while Rhode summoned the Moon Crystals as a blue moon above the Sunspire.
• Anasterian unleashed Scorching Sun Flame, but Rhode transformed the crescent moon into a full moon that destroyed the attack.
• Anasterian conceded defeat, and he and Rhode descended from the tower together as witnesses reacted with shock.
• Kael'thas felt humiliated by Rhode's victory, while Dar'Khan panicked because his plan to make both combatants fall had failed.
• Rhode approached Dar'Khan and addressed him as Dar'Khan of the Scourge.

Rhode exposed Dar'Khan's ties to the Scourge and defeated him, then secured Anasterian's support for an invasion of Northrend. The Alliance approved expedition preparations and selected the forces for its first landing.

• Rhode played Rivendare's recorded testimony, and Dar'Khan revealed his loyalty to the Scourge and the Lich King.
• Rhode shattered Dar'Khan's defenses and blew him apart with a Mage Hand, then asked Anasterian to support an invasion of Northrend.
• Anasterian agreed that the Scourge had to be eradicated, and Rhode left the tower to speak with Norn.
• News of Rhode's victory and Dar'Khan's betrayal spread across Azeroth, and Alliance nations approved plans for a Northrend base and cold-weather supplies.
• Rhode and the Alliance nations selected the first landing force, including troops from Lordaeron, Stormwind, Gilneas, Kul Tiras, Stromgarde, and Rhode's South Seas Coalition.

Rhode’s Alliance Expeditionary Force landed in Northrend and met a fierce Scourge attack, despite the smooth voyage and the troops’ Necromantic Potions. Rhode sent Drake’s cavalry to strike the undead flank, and they broke through the Scourge rear as the battle continued.

• Rhode prepared to land in the Borean Tundra and established Valiance Keep as the expedition’s intended base.
• The fleet reached Northrend, and Scourge forces attacked the landing parties, including the Gilneas Brigade.
• Rhode confirmed the troops had taken Necromantic Potions but questioned why the lesser undead were still fighting so effectively.
• Rhode ordered Major Drake to charge the undead flank and target the necromancers.
• Drake led the cavalry into the Scourge rear, crushing necromancers and trampling skeletons.

The South Seas Coalition and Alliance battled the Scourge until Lady Deathwhisper appeared and rallied the undead, but Archmage Rhode killed her with a devastating spell. With their leader gone, the Scourge were defeated, and Rhode considered how their forces had changed as Arthas came to praise him.

• The South Seas Coalition's Ogres, heavy infantry, and ranged troops reinforced the Alliance, pushing the undead toward defeat.
• Lady Deathwhisper appeared with Cult of the Damned members, empowered them, and sent the Scourge into a renewed assault.
• Major Drake ordered the cavalry to attack the cultists, but Lady Deathwhisper began casting black mist to stop them.
• Rhode struck Lady Deathwhisper with a blinding arcane blast that pierced her shield and killed her in a massive explosion.
• With Lady Deathwhisper dead and their command shattered, the undead were swiftly cut down, and the Alliance celebrated Rhode's victory.
• Rhode concluded the Scourge had upgraded its forces and neutralized the Necromantic Potion, then Arthas approached to thank him.

Rhode coordinated the Alliance’s defenses in Northrend, then led an SI:7 reconnaissance team toward the Scourge stronghold at En'Kilah. The team discovered a guarded Cult of the Damned camp in a corrupted forest, identifying it as a source of intelligence.

• Rhode identified En'Kilah as the likely source of the Scourge attack and assigned coalition forces to defensive positions across Borean Tundra.
• Rhode, Arthas, Kienlo, Lilia, and SI:7 agents set out to scout the Scourge base northeast along the coast.
• Kienlo warned that evil creatures were moving through the corrupted forest, but Rhode led the team inside despite her unease.
• Rhode sensed a barrier nearby while Kienlo found that the forest animals had become hostile and impossible to communicate with.
• Rhode ordered the team to take cover when they reached a clearing, where they spotted a fortified camp guarded by members of the Cult of the Damned.

Rhode led SI:7 in a direct assault on the Cult of the Damned’s camp, where Darth Bloodstain unleashed an army of ghosts that possessed corpses. Rhode amplified Arthas’s Holy Light into a massive golden pillar that began destroying the ghosts, turning the battle against the cult.

• Rhode ordered Shaw and the SI:7 agents to attack openly, and his fireballs demolished the camp’s defenses.
• Shaw, Arthas, Lilia, and the agents fought through the cultists, while Kienlo lifted a curse that had weakened an expert agent.
• Darth Bloodstain summoned countless ghosts, which possessed corpses and overwhelmed the agents with their growing numbers and strength.
• Rhode identified the black column as the ghosts’ source of power and used the Fire Orb to amplify Holy Light from Arthas.
• The enormous golden pillar burned the ghosts to ashes as Darth Bloodstain realized his forces were losing.

Rhode and Lilia tracked the Scourge’s research camp after learning Professor Putricide was developing weapons there, then infiltrated it in disguise to find him. They reached the guarded main hall, where Rhode learned Putricide was inside.

• Rhode destroyed Darth Bloodstain and forced a surviving cultist to reveal that Professor Putricide was conducting weapons research at the Death Camp.
• Rhode ordered Shaw to take the prisoners back while he and Lilia flew to the camp to target Putricide in a small, fast strike.
• Rhode disguised himself and Lilia as Cult of the Damned members and talked their way past the camp’s gate guards.
• Rhode and Lilia made their way through the camp toward the main hall as other cultists eyed them suspiciously.
• A guard blocked Rhode from entering the research area, and Rhode confirmed that Professor Putricide was inside.

Rhode and Lilia forced their way into the Scourge base, where Lilia killed the guards who tried to stop them. They concealed themselves inside the meeting hall and listened as Professor Putricide raged over failed experiments on the Matriarch, before someone reminded him that more important matters awaited.

• Lilia killed the guard who blocked the entrance, then cut down Robert and defeated the rest of the guards as Rhode watched.
• Rhode and Lilia entered the meeting hall and used Glamour to hide themselves so they could listen to the Scourge leaders.
• Rhode observed the hall’s grotesque experiments, including the Matriarch, a stitched organism secreting green liquid into a pool.
• Professor Putricide berated the apothecaries for repeatedly failing to make the Matriarch’s plague harmless to the Scourge.
• An unidentified senior member told Professor Putricide to stop losing his temper because they had more important things to do.

Professor Putricide demonstrated his Death Frenzy Potion to the Black Knight, transforming animals and apothecaries into violent undead. High Priest Tarekan detected Rhode and Lilia spying, forcing Rhode to reveal them in the hall.

• The Black Knight urged Professor Putricide to accelerate his research as the Alliance army approached, and Putricide described his plague and Death Frenzy Potion projects.
• Putricide showed how the potion turned a rabbit into a savage undead creature that attacked and killed another rabbit.
• Putricide tested the potion on two apothecaries; the first transformed, and the second’s consumption caused the monster to grow until its body burst.
• Putricide proposed using enhanced flesh for his Rotface and Festergut project, and the Black Knight asked to see its Taunka subjects.
• High Priest Tarekan sensed Rhode and Lilia in the hall, and Rhode canceled his Glamour and revealed them.

Rhode and Lilia fought their way through the Scourge stronghold while searching for the imprisoned Taunka. After Rhode killed the Black Knight and destroyed the Lich King’s projection, he and Lilia headed toward the back of the hall to find the captives.

• A cultist reported that the guards were dead, and Lilia admitted to killing them before a Dark Mage attacked her and Rhode.
• Lilia split the Poison Flame Palm with Azure Swordlight, and the scattered flames killed the apothecaries below the platform.
• Rhode killed High Priest Tarekan and several other Scourge experts while demanding that Professor Putricide reveal where the Taunka were held.
• Rhode struck down Professor Putricide and killed the Black Knight and his guards, even as the Lich King’s projection appeared.
• Rhode destroyed the Lich King’s projection, then took Lilia toward the back of the hall to search for the Taunka.

Rhode and Lilia freed the captive Taunka from the Death Camp, destroyed the cult’s forces, and burned the camp. Meanwhile, Taunka Village prepared to flee the Scourge, but the rescued villagers returned with news that an Alliance army had come to help, led by an Archmage.

• Rhode melted the enchanted lock, and he and Lilia found the captured Taunka unharmed in cages.
• Rhode and Lilia led the Taunka out of the hall, and Rhode’s flying sword killed the cult members waiting outside.
• Rhode sent the Taunka to avenge their families and friends, then helped them wipe out the camp and burned it to ashes.
• Chieftain Winterwind and the elders voted to evacuate Taunka Village east to Frostmist Village as the Scourge spread closer.
• A messenger told Chieftain Winterwind that the missing villagers had returned and that an Alliance army had defeated the Scourge and rescued them.
• The messenger said their rescuer’s title was Archmage.

Rhode met Chief Winterwind and Grandmother Taja, learned that the Taunka’s planned refuge was occupied by the Scourge, and gained intelligence about the floating fortress En'Kilah. He and Lilia reached the city, where someone detected them as living intruders.

• Rhode told Chief Winterwind and Grandmother Taja that the Alliance could protect the Taunka and warned them that Frostmist Village was overrun by the Scourge.
• Grandmother Taja used Far Sight to locate En'Kilah and identify its leader, Lich Lord Kilwint, and the three high priests whose treasures powered the fortress.
• Rhode recognized an Engine Core Crystal he had taken from High Priest Tarekan as one of the treasures and left with Lilia to investigate En'Kilah.
• Grandmother Taja told Chief Winterwind that Rhode was so unusual she suspected he might not belong to their world.
• Rhode and Lilia found En'Kilah and descended toward its square under Glamour, but a piercing howl announced that living people were nearby.

Rhode and Lilia fought their way into the Scourge’s holy city, En'Kilah, where Rhode killed High Priest Andorath and learned that Lich Lord Kilwint held the Scourge Navigation Stone. Kilwint gathered his strongest Mages to stop the intruder, but Rhode appeared in their room before they could leave.

• A magical eye detected Rhode and Lilia, setting off an alarm and bringing Scourge soldiers, abominations, Crypt Fiends, and Cult of the Damned members against them.
• Lilia cut through the undead while Rhode shielded her and unleashed a Flamestrike that defeated the forces in the square.
• Rhode questioned High Priest Andorath about the Magic Gyroscope, En'Kilah, and the Scourge Navigation Stone, then killed him.
• After learning Lich Lord Kilwint held the Navigation Stone, Rhode entered En'Kilah as Kilwint ordered his Mages to stop him.
• Rhode announced himself from the doorway before Kilwint and the Mages could leave.

Rhode and Lilia reached the Holy City and confronted Lich Lord Kilwint, who refused to surrender the Scourge Navigation Stone. Rhode defeated Kilwint and his clones, leaving the Scourge Stones gathered into a single stone.

• Rhode told Kilwint that he and Lilia had come for the Scourge Navigation Stone, but Kilwint refused and attacked.
• Rhode broke Kilwint’s spells with powerful magic while Lilia fought the undead mages.
• Kilwint used his Soul Clone Technique to create seven physical copies, then armed them with Scourge Stones transformed into weapons.
• Kilwint’s clones attacked Rhode with the artifacts’ combined power, but Rhode emerged in a golden sword form and destroyed all seven.
• The artifacts fell together and formed a single stone as the undead mages watched Kilwint die.

After Rhode and Lilia destroyed the Scourge stronghold at En'Kilah, Rhode learned that the captured artifacts could help lift large structures and persuaded Dalaran's mages to use the Book of Medivh to make the city an aerial fortress. The Alliance and Quel'Thalas gathered their leaders and mages in Dalaran, and the teleportation spell began building power.

• Rhode and Lilia killed the undead mages at En'Kilah, and Rhode took the Scourge Stone, Engine Core Crystal, and Magic Gyroscope.
• Rhode brought the artifacts to Archmage Antonidas, who explained that the Book of Medivh could power a spell to lift and teleport a large structure.
• Rhode proposed moving Dalaran to Northrend, and Antonidas nominated him to replace Kel'Thuzad on the Council of Six.
• Two weeks later, Varian Wrynn, leaders from Quel'Thalas, and mages from across Dalaran gathered to prepare the city's teleportation.
• Antonidas raised the Book of Medivh as the artifacts connected to it, and the gathered mages began casting while arcane runes formed above the magic circle.

The mages used the Book of Medivh to teleport Dalaran to Northrend, where the floating city arrived above Valiance Keep. Rhode and the Alliance’s leaders and armies joined the forces there, preparing to launch their final counteroffensive against the Scourge.

• Antonidas, Anasterian, and Rhode activated the Book of Medivh and opened a vast portal in the sky.
• Dalaran rose into the portal and vanished from its original location, completing its flight through space.
• At Valiance Keep, Katel and Millhouse Manastorm spotted a black hole forming in the sky as Dalaran emerged above Northrend.
• Rhode arrived at the construction site with Anasterian, Antonidas, and other renowned mages, prompting cheers from the gathered workers and soldiers.
• Varian Wrynn brought the First Burning Legion and Seventh Legion, while Garithos reported with Lordaeron’s First Cavalry Regiment and First Infantry Regiment.
• The gathered leaders and troops recognized that Dalaran’s arrival marked the start of the Alliance’s final counteroffensive against the Scourge.