Chapter Summaries

The elven Army General Staff reorganized the eastern Hinterlands force after discovering that its 4,800 Vilebranch troll warriors lacked discipline and a unified command. The resulting Eastern Hinterlands Reinforced Combined Legion was sent to Shalvalsa, where Troll Armed Police officers began taking charge and the new Warchief demanded obedience.

• The elven commanders found that the Vilebranch troll warriors came from many tribes and had little organization beyond their loyalty to the new chieftain and Shilest.
• The Army General Staff suspended the trolls' equipment distribution so human leatherworkers could refurbish and paint their armor.
• The Army General Staff replaced an elven regiment with Troll Armed Police officers and formed the Eastern Hinterlands Reinforced Combined Legion, totaling 9,060 troops and specialists.
• The Police Station arranged for village militias to cover public security and received approval to recruit new officers, while the refugee department gained permission to form an emergency force of up to six hundred people.
• Twelve hundred Troll Armed Police officers went to Shalvalsa to organize and train the 4,800 Vilebranch warriors and take command of the eastern legion.
• The new Vilebranch Warchief summoned tribal leaders, ordered them to obey commands, and threatened those who deserted without permission.

The Alliance prepared the Vilebranch Trolls for the eastern front while Daelin’s forces finished sweeping the ruins of Grim Batol and the Wetlands front fell quiet. On the Arathi front, the orcs controlled most of the kingdom’s strategic resources and parts of Stromgarde, leaving the Alliance clinging to the northern district, western farms, and besieged Refuge Valley.

• Elven officers trained the Vilebranch Trolls in Shalvalsa, prioritizing drills, posture, formations, and discipline before the march to the western Hinterlands.
• Daelin led his troops through Grim Batol, found no living orcs, collected usable spoils, and withdrew with the Alliance army.
• The Wetlands front quieted for several months as no new orc forces entered and northern remnants stayed inactive.
• The orcs occupied Arathi’s eastern grasslands, southern mines, northern logging camps, and eastern and southern Stromgarde.
• The Alliance defenders held Stromgarde’s northern district and western farms, while Refuge Valley barely endured its prolonged siege.

Lor'themar struggled to keep the depleted elven Mage Corps effective in Refuge Valley while death knights ravaged Alliance forces. After supplies arrived but Quel'Thalas refused to send replacements, he told Lothar that the Zul'Aman trolls threatened the kingdom's defenses.

• Lor'themar assessed the Mage Corps' heavy casualties and described how death knights and their Army of the Dead overwhelmed Alliance lines.
• Lor'themar learned that the orcs had paused their attacks three days earlier and welcomed medical supplies from Quel'Thalas, though no replacement mages arrived.
• Lor'themar told Lothar that Quel'Thalas had refused to send more mages because Zul'Aman trolls were gathering their forces.
• Lothar questioned why the trolls were mobilizing, and Lor'themar explained that troops transferred from the Windrunner Burning Legion had weakened Quel'Thalas's defenses.

Lor'themar spoke with Lothar about the Windrunner Burning Legion, then learned that the Alliance was relying on the Elf Mage Corps to defend Refuge Valley while Stromgarde endured a brutal siege. Lothar explained that holding even a small part of Stromgarde was vital to preserving the Alliance’s presence and morale in Arathi.

• Lothar asked Lor'themar about the Windrunner Burning Legion and the Frostwolf Clan Regiment, and Lor'themar concealed what he knew about the Expeditionary Army Corps.
• Lothar visited Refuge Valley to assess its conditions and said the Arathi front needed to hold while the Alliance built a new defense line in Hillsbrad.
• Lor'themar told Lothar that the Elf Mage Corps had suffered devastating losses and had repeatedly requested rest and recovery.
• Lothar said the Dalaran Magic Legion had suffered even worse losses in Stromgarde, where Alliance forces were confined to the Northern District.
• Lothar told Lor'themar that the Elf Mage Corps had to keep defending Refuge Valley because Stromgarde was too important to the Alliance to abandon.
• Lor'themar understood that Stromgarde's complete fall could threaten the Human Alliance with collapse and disintegration.

Lothar asked Lor'themar to persuade Alleria to bring the Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion from the Wetlands to defend Stromgarde, but Lor'themar doubted he could change her mind. Turalyon pressed the request, while Lor'themar privately judged him against the rumored Bloodhawk Lord as a rival for Alleria.

• Lothar asked Lor'themar to persuade Alleria to lead her troops from the Wetlands to help defend Stromgarde and ease the pressure on Refuge Valley.
• Lor'themar learned that Daelin had refused to release Alleria and that Allied Command hesitated to order her because she distrusted it.
• Turalyon introduced himself and asked whether Lor'themar could find a way to bring Alleria to the Arathi front.
• Lor'themar studied Turalyon and privately compared his refined appearance with the Bloodhawk Lord, whom he considered better suited to a villain's role.

Lothar learned that Alleria, Sylvanas, and the Lord of Bloodhawk had urgently returned to Quel'Thalas, leaving the Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion under provisional command. He feared that a new troll offensive might draw Quel'Thalas out of the Alliance and further weaken its position against the orcs.

• Lor'themar told Lothar that Alleria, Sylvanas, and the Lord of Bloodhawk had left Proudmoore months earlier to deal with an unknown emergency at home.
• Lor'themar joked to Turalyon that the three might have returned to get married, and Turalyon reacted with alarm.
• Lothar considered whether the trolls of Zul'Aman had attacked Quel'Thalas and worried that the high elves might withdraw from the war.
• Lothar reflected on the Alliance's military weakness and the political divisions that had shaped his appointment as Grand Marshal.
• Lor'themar asked what Lothar was thinking, and Lothar wondered aloud whether Zul'Aman had gone to war with Quel'Thalas.

Alleria studied the Dragon Soul in Quel'Thalas while Sylvanas briefed her on the worsening war and the order to return to the Expeditionary Army Corps. The chapter ended with Sylvanas teasing Yu Lin Bloodhawk about avoiding the fighting as the orcs advanced through Hillsbrad.

• Lothar left Refuge Valley worried that the elves might recall their Expeditionary Army, and Lor'themar decided to send someone to Quel'Thalas for news.
• Alleria continued studying the Dragon Soul, while Sylvanas and Yu Lin Bloodhawk discussed why they had not brought back the goblin who might know how to use it.
• Sylvanas told Alleria that the Silvermoon Council had ordered them to return to the Expeditionary Army Corps immediately.
• Sylvanas reported that Neltharion had destroyed twelve thousand orcs at Grim Batol and that orc forces were now concentrated on the northern front.
• Sylvanas described the Alliance's dire position in Arathi and the orcs' advance into Hillsbrad, while saying Lieutenant Blair's resistance had kept the Hinterlands relatively safe.
• Sylvanas accused Yu Lin Bloodhawk of staying out of the fighting, and he defended himself by pointing to the navy he had sent to Proudmoore.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk argued with Alleria and Sylvanas over reimbursement for the cost of the fighting in the Wetlands, then joined the Windrunner sisters as Alleria continued studying the Dragon Soul. The sisters activated it, and the chapter ended with its growing power threatening to tear apart the chamber.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk demanded reimbursement for his military expenses, and Alleria agreed to submit a request to the Silvermoon Council for negotiations with Alliance Supreme Command.
• Alleria said she had discovered something new about the Dragon Soul and showed Sylvanas a manuscript of magical symbols and diagrams.
• While Yu Lin Bloodhawk napped, Sylvanas called out that she and Alleria had succeeded in activating the Dragon Soul.
• The Dragon Soul blazed with four-colored light, released immense dragon origin power, and expanded toward the chamber walls.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk shouted for the sisters to contain the Dragon Soul, while Alleria and Sylvanas struggled to hold it back.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Alleria, and Sylvanas unsealed the Dragon Soul and narrowly prevented its primordial power from escaping the chamber and alerting the Dragon Aspects. After Alleria taught Yu Lin how to refine the power and planned to use doubles to mislead the Council, she began discussing how they would divide and transform the four sources.

• The Dragon Soul expanded to within twenty centimeters of the chamber walls, then stopped, leaving Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Alleria, and Sylvanas exhausted and frightened.
• Alleria reassured Yu Lin that the chamber would contain the energy, while Sylvanas warned that the Dragon Aspects would sense anyone who absorbed it unless they refined it into different primordial power.
• Alleria left to arrange doubles to fool the Council, and Sylvanas taught Yu Lin how to refine the energy while they delayed their trip to the Hinterlands.
• Alleria returned and said each of them should choose one of the four sources to absorb and refine, since refining multiple kinds would take too long.
• Alleria explained that Yu Lin could transform the energy into an attribute such as arcane, frost, or fire, and he asked which one he should choose.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk chose to refine the energy he had absorbed into frost energy, while the Quel'Danil Army General Staff marched the newly formed Eastern Burning Legion toward Aerie Peak and planned the defense of the Hinterlands. The chapter leaves the army training on a forced march as the staff prepared firebreaks and forest-burning defenses against the Orcs.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk chose to refine his absorbed energy into frost energy after Alleria and Sylvanas steered him toward the Blue Dragon's source power.
• Shidewa, Xinluoge, and the other officers led the Eastern Burning Legion toward Aerie Peak while intelligence indicated that human forces at Durnholde were holding the Orcs back.
• The Quel'Danil Army General Staff kept the Eastern Burning Legion on a forced march, relying on Troll Armed Police junior officers to manage disruptions among the poorly trained Vilebranch Trolls.
• The Army General Staff assessed the force's limited magical strength and concluded that it could not reliably defeat the Orcs in a head-on battle.
• The Army General Staff planned to divide the battlefield with firebreaks and burn forest zones only as a last resort, and the Wildhammer Dwarves agreed to the strategy.
• The officers imposed strict training on the Bloodhawk Burning Legion soldiers and Vilebranch Trolls as the Eastern Burning Legion continued toward its defensive position.

The Eastern Burning Legion reached the Hinterlands’ Wildhammer Dwarf territory and spent months training while the Alliance fought around Southshore and Tarren Mill. When Supreme Command ordered the Wildhammer Dwarves and elves to assist Lieutenant Blair, they decided not to deploy, leaving the order unenforced.

• The Quel'Danil Council approved the purchase of two thousand dire wolves to strengthen the Vilebranch Trolls of the Eastern Burning Legion.
• After half a month on the march, Shidewa and Xingluoge led the Eastern Burning Legion to Wildhammer Dwarf territory while Lord Mez'dra was away at an Alliance Meeting.
• The Wildhammer Dwarves and elves positioned their legions around the Hinterlands entrance, keeping the Vilebranch Trolls near the front to separate them from the Witherbark Trolls.
• After three months without an orc attack, Alliance resistance forces under Lieutenant Blair continued to hold the Durnholde region while gryphon riders watched orc movements.
• Supreme Command ordered the Wildhammer Dwarves and Hinterlands elves to enter Durnholde and cut off orc supplies, but they decided their troops and defenses were not ready and refused to send forces.

The elves and Wildhammer dwarves sent the Eastern Burning Legion and gryphon riders toward Andorhal to intercept an orc force that had slipped behind the Alliance lines. Shidewa’s reconnaissance revealed the orcs were moving covertly on a mysterious mission, while Xingluoge’s main force was still three days away.

• The Wildhammer dwarves declined to send troops into the war, and the Hinterlands remained peaceful for several months as Aerie Bastion’s defenses neared completion.
• A gryphon rider reported that roughly twelve hundred orcs had crossed the Alterac front and turned east, prompting the Alliance to approve an ambush near Andorhal.
• The Eastern Burning Legion set out for Andorhal under Xingluoge, accompanied by more than three hundred Wildhammer gryphon riders, while Shidewa led the flying scouts ahead.
• Andorhal’s lord welcomed Shidewa’s force but worried that the city’s weak defenses could not stop the orcs until he learned the legion was coming.
• Shidewa’s scouts found that the orcs traveled by night, avoided populated areas, and killed any humans they encountered, suggesting they were on a secret mission.
• Shidewa learned that Xingluoge’s main force would arrive in three days and complained that it was moving too slowly.

Shidewa prepared an ambush at Hera Mountain Valley for the orcs, then met with Uther, whose paladins had arrived as reinforcements. The two commanders disagreed over whether to wear down the orcs cautiously or attack quickly on ground suited to cavalry.

• Shidewa refused to rescue villagers pursued by Orc Wolf Riders and ordered his adjutant to arrange their evacuation without revealing the orc invasion.
• Shidewa prepared an ambush at Hera Mountain Valley with poison traps and gunpowder bombs, aiming to catch the orcs after they passed more dangerous terrain.
• An elven Gryphon Rider officer reported that roughly three hundred Silver Hand paladins were approaching the temporary base.
• Uther arrived after dark, and he and Shidewa discussed how to defeat the orc force.
• Uther urged an early battle on terrain suited to a cavalry charge, while Shidewa insisted on a staged campaign that would minimize allied losses.

Uther ignored Shidewa’s objections and led three hundred Silver Hand Paladins to ambush the Orc Wolf Rider vanguard. As the Orc commander’s scouts disappeared, the forces approached a clash.

• Uther and Shidewa’s commanders ended their dispute over battlefield tactics without reaching an agreement.
• A Gryphon Rider told Shidewa that Uther had already taken his Paladins toward the Orcs, prompting Shidewa to summon an emergency meeting and order surveillance.
• Uther led three hundred Paladins toward the Orc vanguard, intending to destroy its three hundred Wolf Riders before attacking the main force.
• Uther positioned his Paladins behind low hills near level grassland and ordered them to take cover.
• The Orc Wolf Rider commander sent scouts to investigate after his first scouting squad failed to return, but the second squad also vanished.

Uther and the three hundred Silver Hand Paladins ambushed the Orc Wolf Rider Vanguard and revealed themselves as an entirely class-holder force. The Orc commander escaped with a dozen riders to warn the main force while Uther ordered the Paladins to finish off the remaining Orcs and prepare to attack.

• The Orc Wolf Rider Vanguard commander, unsettled by missing scouts, continued onward and halted when the terrain seemed suspicious.
• Three hundred human heavy armored cavalry appeared along the slopes, and the Orc commander ordered his Wolf Riders to charge.
• Uther led the Silver Hand Paladins downhill, and they unleashed golden light that revealed all three hundred were Paladins.
• The Paladins struck the Orc Wolf Riders in a crescent formation, killing many and trapping most of the survivors as the commander broke through with about a dozen riders.
• The Orc commander retreated toward the main force, while Uther ordered the Paladins to eliminate the Orcs still fighting and then attack the main force.

The Paladins of the Silver Hand fought a desperate elite Orc force, suffering heavy losses as the Orcs focused their attacks on individual defenders. Uther empowered his troops with Devotion Aura and defeated a high-ranking Orc Warrior, rallying the battlefield with a cry for the Alliance.

• The Orc Wolf Riders changed tactics and concentrated their attacks on individual Paladins, killing nearly twenty before the Silver Hand regained control.
• Uther, furious at the Paladins’ losses and believing the Elves had withheld information, cast Devotion Aura to empower his troops.
• Uther interrupted an Orc Warrior’s attack on a struggling Paladin with Hammer of Justice, then charged the Warrior himself.
• Uther’s clash with the Orc Warrior sent the Orc flying and shattered his greatsword.
• Uther raised his sword and shouted, “For the Alliance!”

Uther’s Paladins defeated Gul’dan’s elite Orc Vanguard but suffered more than twenty casualties, leaving Uther uncertain about attacking the larger force. When an elven Gryphon Rider asked him to wait for the main army, Uther refused and received a map of its planned ambush position.

• The elite Orc warrior died after Uther’s Paladins struck him down, and the Vanguard was overwhelmed as the battle ended with heavy losses on both sides.
• Uther counted more than twenty dead Paladins and hesitated over whether to attack the thousand or more Orcs still nearby.
• An elven Gryphon Rider delivered Chief of Staff Shidewa’s request for Uther to halt and wait for the main army.
• Uther insisted that his force could attack, pointing to the Orcs they had defeated.
• The elven Gryphon Rider gave Uther a map of the main army’s planned ambush position and agreed to ask Andorhal to collect the spoils.

Uther used the elves’ map to order an attack while Shidewa struggled with delays and uncooperative Paladins. In Proudmoore, the three elven supreme commanders left the war to their operations staff and spent their days on vacation, while Daelin took comfort in their fleet’s continued presence.

• Uther studied the elves’ map and ordered his troops to assemble and attack.
• Shidewa worried that the main force was late and the Paladins were acting independently, so he repeatedly urged Xingluoge to reach the planned ambush position.
• Shidewa sent word to Andorhal about the orcs’ spoils and left the useful Worgs for the humans.
• Alleria, Sylvanas, and the Lord of Bloodhawk arrived in Menethil Harbor, delegated their authority to the operations staff, and refused to take part in expeditionary business.
• Daelin watched the elven fleet and commanders from his window, reassured that they remained in Proudmoore.
• Daelin recalled how Proudmoore’s forces and the elves had defeated raiding orc bands and captured three death knights and six Orc Warlocks.

Daelin insisted that the elven expeditionary army remain in Proudmoore, while Alleria, Sylvanas, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk waited for their mistresses and Yu Lin struggled to absorb the Blue Dragon's source power. A report of an orc force appearing in Lordaeron's Andorhal region raised suspicions about what had happened in Alterac, and Sylvanas concluded that something was wrong.

• Daelin resolved to keep the elven expeditionary army in Proudmoore so his forces could withstand the orcs.
• Alleria, Sylvanas, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk complained about their long, secretive vacation aboard the aircraft carrier.
• At Windrunner Spire, Sylvanas mocked Yu Lin for taking so long to absorb the Blue Dragon's source power.
• Alleria refused Sylvanas's suggestion to share the Bronze Dragon's source power and showed her a report about an orc force in Andorhal.
• Sylvanas questioned how the orcs had crossed Alterac and, noting the kingdom's unusual silence, declared that something was wrong.

Alleria and Sylvanas discussed a suspected traitor and the danger posed by an orc force in Andorhal, concluding that the orcs might be targeting the region’s granaries. They planned to pass their suspicions to Allied Command while Yu Lin Bloodhawk continued struggling to absorb the blue dragon’s source power.

• Sylvanas suspected that a traitor within Allied Command or the Kingdom of Alterac had allowed an orc force to reach Andorhal.
• Alleria decided to send the intelligence to Supreme Command without directly accusing anyone, leaving the humans to investigate their own affairs.
• Sylvanas reasoned that the orcs were too few to hold Andorhal and proposed that they might instead burn its granaries.
• Alleria agreed that the orcs could be trying to cripple the Alliance’s supplies and morale, and said they would share their guess with Allied Command.
• Alleria estimated that Yu Lin Bloodhawk needed another month to absorb the blue dragon’s source power, while Sylvanas called him an idiot and he silently resented his slow progress.