Chapter Summaries

Yu Lin Bloodhawk completed his Blademaster training, learning basic Mirror Image and Wind Walk before the instructors said they had nothing more to teach him. As his strength became proof of the War God's blessing in Quel'Danil, the Orc Blademasters began questioning their own faith in the demons worshipped by their people.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned to conjure one Mirror Image and use basic Wind Walk, though further progress depended on his own insight.
• After two more months, the Orc Blademaster instructors declared that Yu Lin Bloodhawk had learned all they could teach him and turned to training the Rangers in swordsmanship.
• Rangers including Shidewa and Xingluoge found that they could no longer defeat Yu Lin Bloodhawk in sparring matches.
• The War God Temple's elders promoted Yu Lin Bloodhawk's rapid improvement as evidence of the War God's blessing, and many people accepted the explanation.
• The Orc Blademaster instructors began to doubt their demon-worship after comparing the War God's teachings with the demons' effects on the orcs and Draenor.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk encouraged the orcs to question their beliefs and planned to preserve the Burning Blade Clan by protecting its Blademaster instructors. He hoped they would train his Hinterlands elves in basic Blademaster skills, and he intended to repay them by keeping them alive until Thrall founded the New Horde.

• The orc prisoners began questioning their faith and discussing the War God with clerics and rangers, while the temple clerics spread their faith among several peoples.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk reflected on the Burning Blade Clan’s influence and the dwindling number of its Blademasters.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk resolved to protect the Blademaster instructors and preserve the clan’s remaining warriors until Thrall founded the New Horde.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk hoped the instructors would train his elves in the Hinterlands to become beginner-level Blademasters.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk prepared Quel'Danil's forces for a suspected Orc surprise attack while struggling to advance beyond the peak of the high-ranking Ranger tier. As Orc movements remained impossible to detect and Two-Headed Ogre Mages appeared, his unease deepened.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk realized that his physical training had brought him close to his limit and that reaching the Legendary realm would require insight he could not be taught.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk kept the Bloodhawk Burning Legion and City Lord's Household Guard at the harbor, secretly preparing them while ordering rare-quality Two-Handed Swords for his soldiers.
• Shidewa and Xingluoge questioned Yu Lin Bloodhawk's unusual deployment, but he told them only to keep training the troops.
• Alleria sent a fleet to patrol the seas, while Sylvanas deployed Dragonhawk Riders and Gryphon Riders to watch the Zul'Aman Trolls.
• After months without detecting suspicious Orc movements, Yu Lin Bloodhawk grew more worried, especially when Allied Command reported that Two-Headed Ogre Mages had appeared among the Orc forces.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk tried to bring Alleria and the Hinterlands fleet home because he believed the homeland was in danger, but Alleria initially stayed with the Alliance to preserve goodwill. She eventually agreed to withdraw, leaving the Alliance short of intelligence as Lor'themar began investigating the elves' sudden departure.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk suspected Doomhammer was planning an attack and ordered preparations to return to The Hinterlands.
• When Alleria did not reply, Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned she had postponed returning because the Alliance relied on her fleet's intelligence and no unusual orc movements had been found.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk sent Alleria a reprimand and ordered the Hinterlands fleet to return immediately, declaring that the homeland was in danger.
• Alleria hesitated over the political consequences, but she agreed to bring the Expeditionary Army Corps back after Yu Lin Bloodhawk claimed he could resolve the matter.
• The withdrawal deprived the Allied Command of vital intelligence, damaged the elves' reputation among their human allies, and drew complaints from Daelin.
• Lor'themar noticed the unusual withdrawal and sent a Gryphon Rider to ask whether something had happened in Quel'Thalas.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk arranged for the Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion and Hinterlands Fleet to return to Quel'Thalas, warning Allied Command and Mez'dra of a possible Orc attack despite having no supporting intelligence. As Sylvanas prepared the weakened Windrunner Burning Legion for war, Yu Lin suggested Temple Guard Armor as a substitute for scarce standard-issue equipment.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk dismissed the Alliance's complaints about the expeditionary force's recall, then sent Lor'themar an unsupported warning that Doomhammer might open new fronts in Quel'Thalas and the Hinterlands.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Mez'dra that he would withdraw nearly all his High Elf forces from the Hinterlands, while Quel'Danil would continue supplying provisions and military goods.
• Mez'dra accepted Yu Lin Bloodhawk's decision and began consolidating forces and preparing Aerie Peak for war.
• Sylvanas struggled to prepare the Windrunner Burning Legion because its hybrid Giant Bloodfang Boars were not ready, its fighting force was limited, and its armor supplies were inadequate.
• Sylvanas asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk to prioritize rare-quality armor for her troops, and he recommended Temple Guard Armor, though it was not regulation army equipment.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk advised Sylvanas to prepare the Golden Mist Burning Legion for a possible war by arming its battle pets and using retired dire wolves, and the Farstriders Commander followed suit. Sylvanas remained unable to persuade civilians to evacuate and asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk for a solution.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Sylvanas to equip the Golden Mist Burning Legion's raptors and use its battle pets aggressively, since the Hinterlands could replace them after the crisis.
• Sylvanas arranged for the Golden Mist Burning Legion to take in retired breeding male dire wolves for its soldiers, and its commander agreed.
• The Farstriders Commander, alarmed by the Golden Mist Burning Legion's preparations, arranged for the Sunbloom Burning Legion to receive the remaining retired dire wolves.
• Sylvanas warned the Farstriders Commander that orcs and Zul'Aman trolls might attack southern Quel'Thalas, though she had no evidence to support the prediction.
• Sylvanas struggled to convince civilians, including her own family, to evacuate and wrote to Yu Lin Bloodhawk for advice.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk returned to Quel'Thalas and helped Sylvanas pressure stubborn Elf civilians into evacuating by staging Troll attacks. When Lireesa Windrunner questioned him about his warning of an impending war, he admitted it was only a deduction but said he believed it and wanted to spare the Elves suffering; she asked what would happen if the prediction was wrong.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Sylvanas to stage Troll sightings and attacks to frighten Elf civilians into leaving their homes.
• Sylvanas and the Windrunners carried out the plan, prompting some civilians in southern Eversong Woods to evacuate while others stayed.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk's fleet secretly reached Shalandis Isle, and Alleria explained its return to Quel'Thalas to Lireesa Windrunner.
• Lireesa Windrunner questioned Yu Lin Bloodhawk about the intelligence behind his prediction of war, and he said it was a guess he believed.
• Lireesa Windrunner asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk what would happen if his prediction was wrong.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk urged Lireesa Windrunner to prepare for a possible threat to Quel'Thalas, while Sylvanas arrived with a similar warning about Zul'Aman. Lireesa was left considering the unexplained agreement between their suspicions.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk insisted that he would recall the fleet to Quel'Thalas and estimated a seventy percent chance that his unsupported suspicion was correct.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk urged Lireesa Windrunner to move the family to Shalandis Isle, but she hesitated over acting without evidence.
• Sylvanas entered in military gear, and Lireesa Windrunner questioned her about the trolls in Zul'Aman.
• Sylvanas reported finding troll spies and poisoned bodies in southern Eversong Woods, then proposed relocating civilians despite lacking proof of an imminent attack.
• Lireesa Windrunner asked Sylvanas whether she expected a major war, and Sylvanas said she did based only on a feeling.

Sylvanas asked Lireesa Windrunner to move their relatives to Shalandis Isle, while Alleria explained why she intended to marry Yu Lin Bloodhawk and leave Quel'Thalas for the Hinterlands. Lireesa remained doubtful about him but was astonished to hear that he had built a city for trolls and supported more than four hundred thousand people.

• Sylvanas asked Lireesa to let her move their relatives to Shalandis Isle, and Lireesa agreed while forbidding her from forcing commoners to relocate without an external threat.
• Lireesa asked Alleria whether she had decided to marry Yu Lin Bloodhawk, and Alleria said she would give up her position and future in Quel'Thalas to live in the Hinterlands.
• Alleria defended Yu Lin, saying he had sacrificed much for Quel'Thalas and more for her than she had for him.
• Alleria urged Lireesa to visit the Hinterlands and explained that High Elves and trolls there were allies.
• Lireesa was astonished when Alleria told her Yu Lin had built a city for the Vilebranch Trolls and supported more than four hundred thousand people.

Lireesa Windrunner gave Alleria the legendary bow Thori'dal, Fury of the Stars, after Alleria yielded her place as the Windrunner family’s first heir to Sylvanas. The chapter ended with Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas entering another house, where Sylvanas anxiously asked whether the trolls under him had kept out of her mother’s sight.

• Lireesa Windrunner took Alleria to a secret chamber in Windrunner Spire and revealed Thori'dal, Fury of the Stars.
• Lireesa Windrunner explained that she had planned to give the ancestral bow to the future Ranger-General, but chose Alleria after she gave up her place as first heir to Sylvanas.
• Alleria worried that Sylvanas should receive the bow, but Lireesa Windrunner said she would explain her decision to her.
• Lireesa Windrunner gave Thori'dal to Alleria as a gift meant to protect her and help her live a happy life.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas entered another house on Shalandis Isle, and Sylvanas asked whether his trolls had stayed out of sight of her mother.

Sylvanas ordered Yu Lin Bloodhawk to secretly relocate the scattered elf commoners of southern Eversong Woods to the Hinterlands, using disguised troll troops to drive them toward a harbor. She planned to block roads north so the king and Silvermoon Council would not discover the operation.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Sylvanas that her mother had not seen the ships’ passengers, and Sylvanas suspected her mother had come to Shalandis Isle on a Silvermoon Council assignment.
• Sylvanas showed Yu Lin Bloodhawk a map marking scattered elf commoner households and explained that more than ten thousand, nearly twenty thousand, needed relocation before war reached them.
• Sylvanas said she could not openly force the commoners north without evidence of an impending war, so she ordered Yu Lin Bloodhawk to move them to the Hinterlands instead.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk worried that secretly moving so many people could provoke the Royalist Party Faction and prevent his fleet from leaving Quel'Thalas.
• Sylvanas proposed disguising Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s troll soldiers as Zul'Aman troops to drive the commoners east to Goldenmist Village harbor, where ships would take them secretly to the Hinterlands.
• Sylvanas said the Windrunners and Farstriders would guide the commoners and block every road north to conceal the relocation.

Sylvanas and Yu Lin Bloodhawk planned to evacuate nearly twenty thousand high elf civilians to the Hinterlands before war began, while keeping the Expeditionary Army Corps hidden as a surprise force. As Sylvanas took command of the officers’ meeting, Yu Lin Bloodhawk saw in her a resemblance to Alleria and wondered if she was becoming a queen.

• Sylvanas explained that the Windrunner family would guide elven civilians toward Goldenmist Village and transport them to the Hinterlands, avoiding attention from the king and Silvermoon Council.
• Sylvanas said she had enlisted the Golden Mist Burning Legion and the Farstriders to establish a cordon, while keeping the Expeditionary Army Corps secret from the trolls of Zul'Aman.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk agreed to gather the officers and provide transport ships, and Sylvanas reminded him that the fleet would need to return quickly for the fighting.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk assembled the officers aboard an aircraft carrier, and Sylvanas presided over the meeting and issued orders.
• Watching Sylvanas command the officers, Yu Lin Bloodhawk reflected on her resemblance to Alleria and wondered if she was a queen in the making.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk worried that Sylvanas would suffer her original fate and began thinking about finding powerful weapons for her and Alleria. The meeting ended with Sylvanas’s evacuation orders set for that night while Yu Lin Bloodhawk considered which bows could rival Frostmourne.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk reflected on his closeness with Sylvanas and vowed not to let her endure the fate of the Undead Queen.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk considered how the Dragon Aspects’ source power absorbed by him, Sylvanas, and Alleria might alter history.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk decided that Sylvanas and Alleria both needed powerful weapons to face future threats.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk fell into thought during the meeting, and Sylvanas quietly led the officers out before returning to watch him.
• Sylvanas prepared to evacuate the elven civilians in southern Eversong Woods that night while Yu Lin Bloodhawk wondered where to find better bows than Thori'dal or the Quel'Thalas Golden Bow.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked Sylvanas about the legendary bow Thas'dorah, hoping to obtain it for her. Alleria arrived with Thori'dal, the Stars' Fury, and offered the Windrunner heirloom to Sylvanas.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk wondered where Kael'thas's Thas'dorah was and decided to ask Sylvanas or Alleria about it.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Sylvanas that Thas'dorah was a legendary orange-tier bow and that he wanted to get it for her.
• Alleria entered and revealed that she had Thori'dal, the Stars' Fury, startling Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas.
• Sylvanas excitedly examined Thori'dal, and Alleria offered to let her keep the Windrunner family heirloom.

Alleria offered Thori'dal to Sylvanas, who refused it and urged Alleria to keep it while Yu Lin Bloodhawk searched for Thas'dorah. Yu Lin proposed using the Dragon Soul to obtain legendary longbows, and the group decided they must first absorb the Bronze Dragon Aspect's source power before trading the remaining materials.

• Alleria offered Thori'dal to Sylvanas, but Sylvanas returned it and told Alleria to keep either the bow or her place as the Windrunner family's first heir.
• Alleria revealed that Thas'dorah might be in the king's treasury and asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk to help find it.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk realized the Dragon Soul's materials might be used to forge legendary longbows.
• Sylvanas and Alleria rejected trading away the Bronze Dragon Aspect's source power and said they should absorb it before using the depleted Dragon Soul's materials.
• Sylvanas suggested offering bowyers enough Dragon Soul material in exchange for two or three legendary bows, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk wondered whether they would agree.

Alleria, Sylvanas, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk planned to drain the Bronze Dragon Aspect's source power from the Dragon Soul before war threatened Windrunner Spire. They chose Shidewa and Xingluoge to absorb it and prepared to move the artifact and its materials, leaving the group resolved to prepare for war and protect Lireesa.

• Alleria said they needed to drain the Dragon Soul's power and move it before war made Windrunner Spire unsafe.
• Sylvanas chose Shidewa and Xingluoge to absorb the Bronze Dragon Aspect's power so they could defend the Hinterlands.
• Sylvanas rejected having Lireesa absorb the power because she feared Lireesa would keep the Dragon Soul in Quel'Thalas.
• Sylvanas planned to dismantle the Dragon Soul and ask Christine Stars's family to craft bows from its materials, with the rest sent to the Hinterlands.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned Shidewa and Xingluoge were on Shalandis Isle, and Alleria and Sylvanas insisted Lireesa would face the war with them.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk agreed that they had to prepare for war and minimize their losses.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk managed supplies and troops on Shalandis Isle as the relocation of southern Eversong Woods’ elven civilians neared completion and preparations for war intensified. He grew fond of Lirath Windrunner, who asked to join Yu Lin’s Eaglewing Regiment, but Yu Lin refused because Lirath was too young.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk spent a month coordinating war supplies and keeping his troops on Shalandis Isle while ships carried supplies and elven civilians between the island and The Hinterlands.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk met Vereesa and watched Lirath Windrunner cause harmless mischief around Shalandis Isle.
• A Gryphon Rider Bodyguard brought Lirath Windrunner to Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s office after Lirath asked to see him.
• Lirath Windrunner asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk to let him join the Eaglewing Regiment so he could become a general like his sisters.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk refused, telling Lirath Windrunner he was too young, and Lirath pointed out that the regiment accepted children.

Lirath Windrunner asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk to let him join the Eaglewing Regiment, and Yu Lin agreed to consider it while deciding he would keep the boy close to protect him. Yu Lin challenged Lirath to prove himself as an ordinary soldier before seeking command, leaving Lirath with a difficult path to becoming a general.

• Lirath Windrunner asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk to let him join the Eaglewing Regiment, and Yu Lin said he would need permission from Lirath's eldest or second sister.
• Lirath insisted that he wanted to make his own decision, and Yu Lin considered agreeing because he feared Lirath might die in the war if left unguarded.
• Yu Lin warned Lirath that soldiers had to obey orders and that commanders had to earn their soldiers' trust by sharing their hardships.
• Yu Lin told Lirath to join as an ordinary soldier without revealing he belonged to the Windrunner family and to earn his way to Regiment Commander.
• Lirath said he wanted to become a general, while Yu Lin explained that the Eaglewing Regiment would have to accept him as its leader for him to be a good commander.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk agreed to test Lirath Windrunner for three months before allowing him to join the Eaglewing Regiment, while secretly arranging for bodyguards to protect the boy. Lirath began working as Yu Lin’s orderly and joined him on a trip to find a special meal.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Lirath Windrunner he had to pass a three-month test before joining the Eaglewing Regiment, and the two made a bet about whether Lirath would endure it.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk assigned two Gryphon Rider bodyguards to keep Lirath safe throughout the war and told them to treat him like a new recruit.
• Lirath arrived the next morning and stayed beside Yu Lin Bloodhawk as he allocated supplies in the warehouse.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk took Lirath and the two bodyguards to find ingredients for a tasty meal, suggesting they sneak off for something better to eat.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk let Lirath Windrunner lead him to Aunt Puna’s courtyard, where the boy planned to steal chickens. Yu Lin arranged for Aunt Puna to catch and discipline Lirath, but the boy kept hunting chickens while Yu Lin waited outside.

• Lirath Windrunner led Yu Lin Bloodhawk and two Gryphon Rider Bodyguards to Aunt Puna’s home, intending to steal chickens.
• Yu Lin learned Lirath had stolen chickens before to feed his third sister’s white bear, then sent the boy into the courtyard to catch two roosters.
• Yu Lin gave the Gryphon Rider Bodyguards money and instructed them to tell Aunt Puna to catch and spank Lirath whenever he tried to steal chickens.
• Lirath caught one chicken and handed it to Yu Lin, then returned to the courtyard to chase another.
• Lirath asked if they could eat just one chicken, but Yu Lin said it would not be enough, so Lirath continued trying to catch another.