Chapter Summaries

Sylvanas caught Yu Lin Bloodhawk flirting with the captive succubus Amelia and confronted him, then demanded that Amelia recount their recent interactions. Yu Lin Bloodhawk stormed off to his quarters, leaving Sylvanas furious and Amelia frightened.

• Sylvanas went to the succubus’s compartment and found Yu Lin Bloodhawk asking Amelia to massage him and teach him Demonic phrases.
• Sylvanas scolded Yu Lin Bloodhawk for his behavior and struck him after he claimed he was studying hard.
• Sylvanas threatened to kill Amelia, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk angrily defended her and called Sylvanas a madwoman.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk left the compartment and returned to his quarters, while Sylvanas ordered Amelia to tell her everything she had done with him.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk sulked in bed and reflected that he had enough Soul Shards to obtain another succubus if Amelia died.

Sylvanas interrogated the succubus while Alleria and Daelin investigated why an orc force had turned away from Menethil City. They suspected Grim Batol’s lingering dark magic might be drawing the orcs there.

• Sylvanas threatened to kill the succubus if she stepped out of line, then left her locked in the cabin.
• Alleria and Daelin learned that the orc army had turned southwest and was not heading for Menethil City.
• Alleria and Daelin discussed what might lie in the orcs’ new direction and could not identify a clear target beyond Grim Batol and the Twilight Highlands.
• Daelin explained that Modgud’s dark magic had tainted Grim Batol and forced the Wildhammer Dwarves to abandon it.
• Alleria suggested the lingering dark power in Grim Batol might have attracted the orcs.

Alleria returned to the Aircraft Carrier and found Sylvanas pretending to massage Yu Lin Bloodhawk as part of a scheme to make him look guilty. Alleria saw through the trick, then learned that the Allied Army had been driven into a desperate retreat across Arathi, with the orcs poised to threaten nearby regions.

• Alleria and Daelin abandoned speculation about the orcs and focused on returning to Menethil City to prepare defenses.
• Five days later, Alleria found Sylvanas massaging Yu Lin Bloodhawk aboard the Aircraft Carrier and hit him, believing he had forced her sister to serve him.
• Sylvanas admitted she had staged the scene to punish Yu Lin Bloodhawk for ignoring her, and Alleria recognized her sister's scheme.
• Alleria told Sylvanas and Yu Lin Bloodhawk that the Allied Army had lost most of Arathi and that the orcs might advance toward Southshore, Alterac, and the Hinterlands.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked whether the orcs had occupied Arathi's horse ranch, mines, lumber mill, and farms.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas planned to return to the Hinterlands and form the Hinterlands United Army, while Alleria explained that the orcs’ movements in Proudmoore had become suspicious. The chapter ended with Alleria revealing that defeated orcs had withdrawn northwest toward the Quarry instead of joining their main army.

• Alleria told Sylvanas that the orcs might seize Arathi’s resources and threaten Alterac and the Hinterlands.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk proposed returning to the Hinterlands to form the Hinterlands United Army before traveling to Kalimdor.
• Alleria pointed out that Yu Lin Bloodhawk lacked enough troops to unite the Hinterlands and proposed taking the Bloodhawk Burning Legion back as the army’s foundation while she kept the Hinterlands Fleet.
• Alleria said she would remain in Proudmoore with the Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion to help Daelin defend Menethil City and investigate the orcs’ objective.
• Alleria revealed that the defeated orcs had retreated northwest toward the Quarry rather than southwest toward their main army.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk realized the Dragonmaw Clan’s search around Grim Batol was likely connected to the Dragon Soul and the orcs’ future red dragon riders. He ordered the Gryphon Riders to watch the goblin directing the excavation, leaving Alleria and Sylvanas wondering what he had remembered.

• Alleria reported that twelve thousand orcs had entered the Wetlands and occupied Grim Batol, while Yu Lin Bloodhawk struggled to recall why that location mattered.
• A gryphon scout squad reported that the Dragonmaw Clan had a goblin leading several hundred orcs in digging through Grim Batol and searching through dwarven debris.
• After confirming that the orcs belonged to the Dragonmaw Clan, Yu Lin Bloodhawk connected their excavation to the Dragon Soul and the steps needed to create red dragon cavalry.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered the Gryphon Riders to keep the goblin under covert surveillance and demanded detailed daily intelligence reports.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Alleria and Sylvanas that the orcs were searching for the Dragon Soul, an artifact created by the dragonflights and stolen by Neltharion. He revealed that a goblin tied to Neltharion was guiding the search and proposed that they seize the artifact.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk brought Alleria and Sylvanas into a guarded cabin to discuss a secret matter.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk explained that the Dragon Soul was made from the essence of the five dragonflight rulers, but Neltharion stole it, leading to a devastating war among the dragonflights.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk said the Dragon Soul had been missing for nearly ten thousand years and suggested it had been intended for use against Sargeras.
• Sylvanas realized Yu Lin Bloodhawk knew the orcs would find the artifact because of his origins, and Alleria asked how he was certain.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk identified the goblin as one of Neltharion's confidants and said they could track him to the Dragon Soul.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk suggested seizing the artifact, and Alleria asked whether that was his plan.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Alleria, and Sylvanas planned to steal the Dragon Soul from the orcs at Grim Batol and realized its power might be absorbed. Alleria and Sylvanas agreed to join Yu Lin, forming a trio ready to steal the artifact.

• Alleria warned that the orcs' two full-strength legions made stealing the Dragon Soul by force impossible, so Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Alleria, and Sylvanas quietly planned a more careful approach.
• Yu Lin worried that Neltharion might be at Grim Batol, while Alleria said her town portal scroll could help them escape with the artifact.
• Alleria and Sylvanas questioned what they would do with the Dragon Soul, and Yu Lin realized they might absorb the power the dragons wanted to reclaim.
• Yu Lin explained that Neltharion was already burdened by immense power and speculated about why he had stolen the Dragon Soul, though he admitted he did not know the truth.
• Sylvanas and Alleria agreed with Yu Lin that they should steal the Dragon Soul, forming what the chapter called the strongest robber trio in history.

Daelin received Allied Command's request to draw more orcs away from the northern front and send General Alleria's Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion north, but he hid the report to protect Proudmoore. When the elves began redeploying a third of their soldiers by ship, Daelin set out to speak with Alleria.

• Daelin learned that Arathi had fallen except for a besieged part of Arathi Castle and the Alliance's foothold at Refuge Valley, while Allied Command prepared a new defensive line near Southshore and Tarren Mill.
• Allied Command asked Daelin to attract more orcs to Proudmoore and persuade Alleria to take the Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion north.
• Daelin refused, sent Allied Command a stern reply, and kept the request from Alleria because he feared losing Menethil City and Proudmoore.
• Daelin stayed away from Alleria while the elves continued sharing intelligence about the orc forces in the Wetlands.
• After the Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion began a major redeployment and nearly a third of its soldiers boarded warships, Daelin went to speak with Alleria.

Daelin visited the elves’ aircraft carrier hoping to discuss military matters with Alleria, but learned that she and other commanders had returned to Quel’Thalas. He studied the latest battlefield intelligence and concluded that the Alliance was preparing to make Hillsbrad the site of its final battle against the orcs.

• Daelin boarded the elven flagship and learned from an elf officer that Alleria, the Bloodhawk Lord, and Sylvanas had left for Quel’Thalas a month earlier.
• Daelin entered the command room as elven ships began departing the docks and examined the elves’ map of the Eastern Kingdoms.
• An elf commander predicted that the orcs would attack Alterac, with Tarren Mill likely to fall and Southshore facing a decisive defense.
• Daelin explained Southshore’s strategic importance and agreed that holding it could contain the orc offensive within Hillsbrad.
• Daelin noted that the Supreme Command was fortifying the approaches to Silverpine Forest and Alterac Valley, suggesting that Hillsbrad would be the final battle site.

Daelin learned that the orcs could use the Hinterlands to bypass the Alliance’s Hillsbrad defenses, while elven troops remained in Menethil City unless the Hinterlands faced greater danger. Near Grim Batol, the Robbery Trio continued watching the orc excavation teams search for an artifact.

• An elven commander warned Daelin that orcs could enter the Hinterlands through a narrow path near Aerie Peak and threaten the Alliance’s rear by taking Andorhal.
• An elf officer explained that the Bloodhawk Burning Legion had been ordered to join the Wildhammer Dwarves and trolls in the Hinterlands, while the remaining elves stayed to help defend Menethil City.
• Daelin agreed that moving his headquarters to Menethil City would improve coordination with the elves.
• Near Grim Batol, Sylvanas complained that the excavation teams had searched for three months without finding the artifact, and her companions urged her to be patient.
• The Robbery Trio continued observing the dig because they could not infiltrate the orcs without speaking Orcish.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk and his companions kept watch on the Orc excavation team while avoiding the Orc Wolf Riders and using the routine Gryphon patrols as cover. As they shared their meager food, Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas joked about his long-running revolution against the capitalists.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and his companions avoided Orc Wolf Riders after their earlier encounter had alerted the Orcs and forced them to kill a patrol.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s Gryphon Rider Bodyguards ended their surveillance and left to help establish a joint force in the Hinterlands, while routine Gryphon patrols became familiar to the Orcs.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Sylvanas, and Alleria shared their last roasted crocodile leg, magical bread, and water after the Gryphon Riders flew away.
• Sylvanas complained about their repetitive meals, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk joked that she and Alleria were capitalists.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk claimed Alleria had joined his cause, and Sylvanas teased that her sister was a capitalist too.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Sylvanas, and Alleria confirmed that the orcs had unearthed the Dragon Soul and infiltrated the excavation site disguised as orc wolf riders. The chapter ended with Sylvanas knocking down a guard and intimidating the surrounding orcs as the group advanced toward the artifact.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk spotted a flash of colored light, and Alleria insisted they wait until they could confirm it was the Dragon Soul.
• A goblin emerged from the crowd holding the Dragon Soul, whose four colored orbs confirmed its identity to Alleria.
• Alleria ordered Sylvanas to seize the Dragon Soul while she and Yu Lin Bloodhawk fought off the guards, but they changed their plan to approach quietly in disguise.
• The orc diggers mistook the three riders for fellow orc wolf riders and cleared a path for them.
• When a wolf rider challenged them, Sylvanas slapped him from his mount and frightened the nearby orcs into making way.

Sylvanas seized the Dragon Soul from the Goblin and ordered an Orc Wolf Rider squad leader to kill the Orc laborers so their deception would go unnoticed. As she, Alleria, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk headed toward Grim Batol, Alleria sensed an immensely powerful force approaching.

• Sylvanas rode past the astonished Orcs and made the Goblin hand over the Dragon Soul.
• Sylvanas identified the Wolf Rider squad leader and signaled him to kill all the Orc laborers; he eventually agreed and rode back to them.
• Sylvanas stored the Dragon Soul in her magic backpack and explained that the slaughter would delay the Orcs from discovering their deception.
• Sylvanas, Alleria, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk continued toward Grim Batol, and Alleria warned that a powerful force was rapidly approaching.

Sylvanas hid the Dragon Soul in her magic backpack, and she, Alleria, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk escaped by Town Portal as Deathwing closed in. Neltharion blamed the orcs for stealing the artifact and attacked Grim Batol, demanding they return it.

• Sylvanas put the Dragon Soul into her magic backpack, concealing its aura and causing the approaching presence to rush toward the group.
• Alleria, Sylvanas, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk fled into the woods, dispelled their transformations, and used a Town Portal Scroll to escape as five powerful presences converged.
• Neltharion arrived too late to catch the three riders and burned the woods, convinced they had stolen the Dragon Soul.
• Neltharion flew to Grim Batol and demanded that the orcs hand over the Dragon Soul.
• Neltharion crashed into Grim Batol's tallest tower, then unleashed torrents of flame as the terrified orcs fled.

After Neltharion burned Grim Batol while searching for the Dragon Soul, he escaped the four dragon leaders who arrived to confront him. Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Alleria, and Sylvanas reached Windrunner Spire in Quel'Thalas, where Sylvanas revealed the Dragon Soul.

• Neltharion destroyed most of Grim Batol, then fled when red, blue, green, and bronze dragons demanded the Dragon Soul.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Alleria, and Sylvanas emerged from a teleportation circle at Windrunner Spire in Quel'Thalas.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk startled Alleria and Sylvanas by worrying that his exile meant he could not safely return home.
• Alleria kept their return secret and led Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas into a sealed stone room.
• Sylvanas took the Dragon Soul from her bundle, filling the room with its four-colored light.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk watched Alleria examine the Dragon Soul and learned that he did not know how to siphon arcane energy. Meanwhile, a Gryphon Rider reported that an enormous Black Dragon had destroyed Grim Batol, and the commanders arranged to verify the report with a Memory Crystal.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk questioned how the Dragon Soul could harm Sargeras, while Alleria and Sylvanas spotted delicate patterns on its surface.
• Alleria explained arcane siphoning to Yu Lin Bloodhawk and tried to draw dragon origin power from the red orb, but her spell snapped and vanished.
• Alleria asked Sylvanas to teach Yu Lin Bloodhawk arcane siphoning while she studied the Dragon Soul.
• At the joint operations headquarters in Menethil Harbor, an Elf Gryphon Rider reported that an enormous Black Dragon had burned down Grim Batol and likely destroyed the Orcs there.
• Daelin and the other commanders doubted the report despite believing the rider, so they sent him to rest and gave a second Gryphon Rider squad leader a Memory Crystal to record the scene.

After the officers confirmed that a gigantic black dragon had set Grim Batol ablaze and apparently destroyed the orc legions, Daelin and the commanders still could not verify the orcs’ fate. They organized a mounted vanguard to investigate once the flames had died down.

• Elf gryphon riders showed the human and elf commanders memory-crystal footage of Grim Batol engulfed in flames, convincing them that the scouting report was true.
• Daelin and ten human and ten elf officers flew to Grim Batol with a gryphon escort, where they found the city still hidden by fire and smoke.
• The inspection party agreed to leave the area before dark and return to Menethil Harbor the next day without learning what had happened to the orcs.
• Daelin proposed sending a cavalry vanguard to Grim Batol, and the commanders approved the plan.
• The humans assigned twelve hundred heavy and light cavalry, while the elves sent four hundred rangers and two hundred mages to accompany them.

Daelin led the combined human and elf cavalry into the scorched ruins of Grim Batol, where a vast field of dead orcs drew the attention of an enormous black dragon beneath the city. Meanwhile, the Quel'Danil Council secured an agreement to form a Hinterlands United Army but encountered an unexpected problem.

• Daelin led the cavalry across the ash-covered wasteland and joined the light cavalry vanguard outside Grim Batol.
• The combined force entered Grim Batol and found the city filled with the brittle skeletons of more than twelve thousand orcs.
• An enormous black dragon sensed the soldiers moving above its cavern and quietly observed them.
• The Quel'Danil Council spent two months negotiating with the Hinterlands' major powers and reached an agreement to form a united army.
• The Quel'Danil Council discovered that the main difficulty in forming the army was not the issue they had expected.

The Hinterlands factions formed plans for two united legions, with the green dragons securing an exemption from the early war in exchange for construction work. The Quel'Danil Army General Staff arrived to command the Eastern Burning Legion and found the assembled Vilebranch troops alarmingly undisciplined.

• The green dragon representatives refused to join the army or fight unless the orcs reached central Hinterlands, then agreed to build a Neutral City and a fortress in exchange for exemption from the war's early stages.
• The factions divided their forces into a Western Burning Legion of Wildhammer Dwarves and Witherbark Trolls and an Eastern Burning Legion of Vilebranch Trolls and high elves.
• The Quel'Danil Army General Staff prepared the Eastern Legion, which gained twenty-four hundred elf rangers, twenty clerics, thirty Vilebranch warlocks, and ten priests.
• Shidewa, Xinluoge, and the other elf officers traveled to New Capital Shalvalsa to take command of the Vilebranch troops and discovered that the soldiers were strong but lacked discipline and formation.

Shidewa and the elf officers inspected the Vilebranch Troll army and worried its lack of discipline would make it vulnerable to the orcs. The new Warchief agreed to provide the troops’ names after learning Quel'Danil would compensate the families of fallen soldiers, though Shidewa realized he had not prepared a roster.

• Shidewa and the other elf officers judged the Vilebranch Troll soldiers poorly organized and feared they could not withstand the orcs without overwhelming numbers.
• The new Vilebranch Troll Warchief admitted that his strongest warriors had joined the navy and that the troops assembled for the army were the best he had left.
• Shidewa warned the Warchief that the orcs would be powerful and that he did not want many Vilebranch soldiers to die.
• The Warchief said he had 4,800 warriors, and Shidewa requested their names so Quel'Danil could compensate the families of those killed in the war.
• The Warchief hurriedly sent people to prepare a roster, and Shidewa realized he had not made one beforehand.