Chapter Summaries

Yu Lin Bloodhawk helped Lirath Windrunner hide from Aunt Puna after the boy caused a mess and stole a chicken, but Aunt Puna found and beat him. Back at Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s quarters, Lirath ate most of the spicy chicken Yu Lin cooked and asked to eat there from then on.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk warned Aunt Puna that Lirath Windrunner was inside and helped him hide in a pile of kindling.
• Aunt Puna searched the yard, then found Lirath after Yu Lin Bloodhawk and the Gryphon Rider Bodyguards left and gave him a beating.
• Lirath Windrunner returned to Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s quarters, complained about the beating, and threatened to steal another chicken from Aunt Puna.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk cooked the stolen chicken as spicy chicken and invited Lirath and the two Gryphon Rider Bodyguards to eat.
• Lirath struggled with chopsticks, ate nearly half the chicken with his hands, and asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk if he could eat there from then on.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk persuaded Lirath Windrunner to seek training from Thirteen in Stealth and Sprint by promising him delicious meals and a place in the Eaglewing Regiment. Lirath agreed, eager to steal chickens from Auntie Puna without getting caught, while Yu Lin worried about how the Windrunner family would react to his plan.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Lirath Windrunner he would cook for him if he stole a chicken from Auntie Puna, and teased him about being a clumsy thief.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk offered to have Thirteen teach Lirath Stealth and Sprint, with the Gryphon Rider Bodyguards taking him to meet the Rogue.
• Lirath Windrunner agreed to endure the training in exchange for meals and a place in the Eaglewing Regiment, while accusing grown-ups of loving to lie.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk promised to cook fish Lirath caught and meals from chickens stolen only from Auntie Puna, and warned him not to quit training.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk instructed the Gryphon Rider Bodyguards to take Lirath to Thirteen, then worried the Windrunner family would discover he was encouraging the boy to steal chickens.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk kept Lirath Windrunner occupied with training in Stealth and Sprint while secretly protecting him from danger. As Yu Lin waited for the fleet to return, Alleria and Sylvanas reported that Orcs had appeared in southern Eversong Woods, having reached Zul'Aman territory undetected.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk arranged for two Gryphon Rider Bodyguards to watch Lirath Windrunner while Thirteen taught him Stealth and Sprint.
• Lirath repeatedly tried to steal Aunt Puna's chickens, and Yu Lin secretly arranged for Rangers to help catch him after he succeeded twice.
• Lirath accompanied Thirteen on a ship to The Hinterlands, and Yu Lin waited for the fleet's return to see him.
• Alleria and Sylvanas told Yu Lin that small groups of Orcs had appeared in Zul'Aman troll territory in southern Eversong Woods.
• Yu Lin returned to the office with Alleria and Sylvanas, wondering how the Orcs had reached the area without being detected.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk urged Sylvanas to evacuate Quel'Thalas's southern civilians, but she and Alleria explained that they lacked authorization and could only prepare routes and gathering places while waiting for war. Alleria reported that Shidewa and Xingluoge had absorbed the Dragon Soul's energy but needed time to master their new power, and Yu Lin summoned them to Shalandis Isle to guard Lirath Windrunner.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked whether Silvermoon City had replied, and Alleria said three days had passed without an answer.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk urged Sylvanas to move the southern civilians north, but Sylvanas refused to order an evacuation without an attack or authorization from Silvermoon City.
• Sylvanas and Alleria explained that evacuating so many civilians without the king and council's approval could cause hardship and damage the Windrunner family's reputation.
• Sylvanas said they would prepare emergency evacuation routes and temporary gathering places while they waited.
• Alleria told Yu Lin Bloodhawk that Shidewa and Xingluoge had absorbed the Dragon Soul's energy but needed time to master their power before reaching the legendary rank.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Alleria to bring Shidewa and Xingluoge to Shalandis Isle with two Gryphon Rider Bodyguards to protect Lirath Windrunner.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Sylvanas, and Alleria assessed the elves’ defenses and supplies as they prepared for the orc invasion of Southern Eversong Woods. Yu Lin asked Sylvanas about their battle pets and began to explain a new idea inspired by a story he had told before.

• Sylvanas warned that the elves lacked information about the orcs and could not count on Alliance reinforcements, while Alleria feared the troops could not hold the front or evacuate civilians in time.
• Sylvanas reported that four legions and thirty thousand rangers were deployed across Southern Eversong Woods, with the Tranquillien Burning Legion serving as reserve and logistics.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk reviewed the elves’ preparations and urged Alleria and Sylvanas to ensure they had enough potions, poison needles, and caltrops.
• Yu Lin handed the sisters an inventory of war supplies and asked them to secure reimbursement for the Hinterlands’ months of production after the war.
• Yu Lin asked Sylvanas whether all five legions had their full complement of battle pets, then said he had an idea and began recalling a story.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk proposed adapting the Volunteer Army’s tactics by targeting the Zul'Aman trolls while drawing the Orcs Main Force deep into Quel'Thalas, but Alleria warned that protecting civilians and slowing the orcs were essential. Alleria sent Sylvanas to coordinate supplies and revise the battle plans, while she and Yu Lin Bloodhawk prepared to handle Dragon Soul materials and transport them to New Xinglan.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Sylvanas how the Volunteer Army targeted a weaker auxiliary force and isolated the enemy’s elite troops.
• Sylvanas proposed concentrating on the Zul'Aman trolls and letting the Orcs Main Force advance into Quel'Thalas before dividing and defeating it in smaller groups.
• Alleria cautioned that the plan risked civilian lives and said they needed to evacuate civilians and slow the orcs’ advance.
• Sylvanas agreed to consult the frontline legions about poison needle traps and revise the battle plans, then Alleria gave her an invoice to collect and distribute supplies.
• Alleria said she would visit the Stars Family to seek bows, and told Yu Lin Bloodhawk to accompany her to Windrunner Spire before returning Dragon Soul materials to Shalandis Isle and arranging their transport to New Xinglan.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk assigned Shidewa and Xingluoge to train troops on Shalandis Isle and prepare for war in Quel'Thalas. He then joined Alleria, who had gathered the Dragon Soul's metal fragments and arranged for them to be forged into weapons.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk sent Shidewa and Xingluoge to command troops and train them on Shalandis Isle, telling them to protect Lirath Windrunner while he was away.
• Alleria explained that the Dragon Soul had split into crescent-shaped moonblades after Shidewa and Xingluoge absorbed its power.
• Alleria said she would take a crate of moonblades to the Stars Family to have three bows forged and ordered Yu Lin Bloodhawk to transport the rest to the Hinterlands for Wildhammer Dwarves to examine.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk arranged to trade precious bowmaking materials for military longbows and decided to return to the Hinterlands with Lirath Windrunner. Alleria ordered him to stay there through the war, where he could protect Lirath and strengthen the Hinterlands by settling the arriving elven civilians.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Alleria agreed to send some materials to the Stars Family and trade the rest for Quel'Thalas Golden Bows or other military longbows.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk decided to escort the materials to the Hinterlands and bring Lirath Windrunner with him.
• After Yu Lin Bloodhawk hinted at Lirath's danger during the war, Alleria insisted that Lirath stay in the Hinterlands until the war ended.
• Alleria urged Yu Lin Bloodhawk to settle the elven civilians and reorganize the City Guard, and he recognized the chance to strengthen the Hinterlands.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked Alleria to be careful and proposed that they discuss what he knew about the war.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Alleria about the coming war and explained how he planned to train Lirath Windrunner and the Eaglewing Regiment. He revealed that captured Burning Blade Clan orc blademasters were teaching swordsmanship in the Hinterlands, leaving Alleria startled by their grand title.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk warned Alleria that the war would devastate southern Eversong Woods and kill many Windrunners, then said he planned to take Lirath Windrunner to the Hinterlands.
• Alleria asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk to protect Lirath, but he insisted Lirath would have to earn his place in the Eaglewing Regiment himself.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Alleria that his soldiers were learning two-handed swordsmanship from captured orcs.
• Alleria guessed that the instructors were captured orc class practitioners, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk confirmed they were blademasters from the Burning Blade Clan.
• Alleria heard the name blademaster for the first time and thought it sounded arrogant.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk explained his plan to combine Blademaster and Ranger training into a new High Elf troop type, while Alleria warned that mastering both disciplines might be unrealistic. Yu Lin reconsidered the limits of his plan and the differences between human and High Elf talent, but the chapter left him still pondering what might make the combination work.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Alleria that Blademaster training could strengthen Rangers in close combat and that Shitewa and Xinluoge might become the first High Elf Blademasters.
• Alleria questioned whether Rangers could master both ranged and close-combat disciplines, recalling Quel'Thalas's earlier attempt to make Rangers excel at both.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk recognized that his own exceptional training resources had not let him master many disciplines before absorbing the Dragon Source Power.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk considered how Rangers and Paladins balanced magic with martial combat, and how human Outliers such as Jaina, Arthas, Turalyon, Uther, and Aegwynn differed from High Elves.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk worked out how to train Rangers by matching their magical studies to their aptitude and emphasizing physical skills. He planned distinct approaches for different Rangers while keeping their ranged combat at the center of the class.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk reflected on how magical aptitude and access to magical resources shaped a person's potential.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk realized that Rangers with limited magical aptitude should focus on physical skills and learn only useful basic spells.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk decided Rangers with middling aptitude could add some restraining magic but should still prioritize physical training.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk concluded that Rangers should avoid duplicating Blademaster skills and should not abandon their role as ranged fighters.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk noted that combining Nightstalkers with Rogues had already produced excellent results in combat.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk finalized plans for developing three Ranger specializations in The Hinterlands and left Quel'Thalas with the Windrunner family members at Shalandis Isle. Alleria remained behind to arrange a Dragon Soul fragments deal and planned to retrieve Sylvanas’s Memory Crystal with Lireesa Windrunner to persuade her to evacuate the southern civilians.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk explained to Alleria how Blademaster techniques could shape Steel Torrent and Bear Iron Fist, and proposed finalizing training paths for the Rangers of The Hinterlands.
• Alleria said Lireesa Windrunner had to remain in Quel'Thalas as a soldier, but ordered Yu Lin Bloodhawk to take the rest of the Windrunner family, including Vereesa, to The Hinterlands.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk spent the night with Alleria, then boarded Thirteen's gunship with the Windrunner family members and their City Lord Guard and departed for The Hinterlands.
• Alleria sent a crate of Dragon Soul fragments to the Stars Family, then flew toward Silvermoon City carrying a Moonblade fragment.
• Alleria went to Lireesa Windrunner's residence, intending to retrieve Sylvanas’s Memory Crystal with her mother and use it to encourage the evacuation of the southern civilians.

Alleria brought Lireesa Windrunner a Dragon Soul fragment and asked her to trade it for bows for Quel'Danil. She defended her love for Yu Lin Bloodhawk and said she would live in The Hinterlands after the war, while Lireesa planned to send him bows and use other materials for the trade.

• Alleria showed Lireesa Windrunner a metal fragment, and Lireesa discovered it absorbed magic power.
• Alleria claimed the fragment came from the Dragon Soul and explained that Yu Lin Bloodhawk wanted to trade such fragments for Quel'Thalas Golden Bows and military bows and arrows.
• Lireesa asked whether Alleria had decided to marry Yu Lin Bloodhawk, and Alleria said he treated her well and cared about the Windrunner family.
• Alleria said she had thought carefully about her choice and would live in The Hinterlands after the war.
• Lireesa agreed to find a way to send Yu Lin the bows, then learned Alleria had another chest of fragments at Windrunner Spire and proposed using different materials from the Family Treasury for the trade.

Alleria and Lireesa retrieved a Memory Crystal Sylvanas had secretly deposited years earlier and watched its recording in a private room at the Silvermoon City bank. The recording showed Sylvanas in her former Unit Commander uniform, and Lireesa grew serious as she watched.

• Alleria asked Lireesa to offer artifact fragments to the Silvermoon Council for the Military Department rather than the King's treasury.
• Alleria told Lireesa that Sylvanas had instructed her to retrieve a Memory Crystal from the Silvermoon City bank and watch it with her.
• Alleria and Lireesa collected the crystal, confirmed it had not been taken out before, and examined it in a private room.
• Alleria activated the Memory Crystal, revealing a recording of Sylvanas from several years earlier.
• Lireesa's expression grew serious as she watched the recording.

After hearing Sylvanas's accurate predictions of Quel'Thalas's coming suffering, Lireesa learned that Sylvanas had secretly tested High Elves for arcane addiction with Alleria's help. Alleria then revealed that the war would devastate southern Quel'Thalas and kill Lireesa and many Windrunner relatives.

• Lireesa and Alleria listened to Sylvanas's recording accurately describe past events and the coming danger to Quel'Thalas.
• Lireesa asked about the Wretched at the Falthrien Academy, and Alleria confirmed that every High Elf suffered from arcane addiction.
• Alleria revealed that Sylvanas and the Falthrien Academy had tested prisoners on Shalandis Isle, with Alleria's help.
• Alleria defended Sylvanas's decision as a risk taken for Quel'Thalas and admitted that she was still keeping some secrets from Lireesa.
• Alleria warned Lireesa that the war would devastate southern Quel'Thalas and kill Lireesa and more than twenty other Windrunner family members.

Alleria persuaded Lireesa Windrunner to relocate civilians from southern Eversong Woods while keeping knowledge of the future from the Silvermoon Council. Yu Lin Bloodhawk returned to Hinterlands with the Windrunner family and Dragon Soul fragments, then arranged housing for the newcomers in Quel'Danil Mountain Valley.

• Alleria told Lireesa Windrunner that Sylvanas wanted southern Eversong Woods civilians relocated, and Lireesa agreed to take the Memory Crystal and issue the order.
• Alleria explained that the Silvermoon Council should not learn about the future yet, partly because of Dar'Khan, and said she would tell Lireesa what she could.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk returned to Hinterlands with the City Lord Guard, the Windrunner relatives, and the Dragon Soul fragments, then sealed the fragments in a warehouse.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered officials to reserve a village in Quel'Danil Mountain Valley for the Windrunner family.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk supported keeping human refugees on the Seaside Plain rather than moving them into the high elves' vacant treehouse villages.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk arranged a home in Quel'Danil City for the Windrunner family and tried to make Lirath Windrunner leave the ship. Lirath refused until Yu Lin agreed to let him learn one more skill from Thirteen, choosing sap so he could knock out anyone who challenged him in the Eaglewing Regiment.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk assigned the Windrunner family a treehouse village and went to bring Lirath Windrunner ashore.
• Lirath refused to leave Thirteen, explaining that he had already learned Sprint and Stealth and wanted to keep learning from his teacher.
• Yu Lin offered Lirath an early place in the Eaglewing Regiment, but Lirath said Thirteen taught him more practical tricks.
• Yu Lin told Lirath that Thirteen had to sail to Shalandis Isle and promised to arrange lessons after Thirteen returned.
• Lirath asked to learn one more skill before leaving the ship and chose Sap so he could knock out anyone who bullied him in the Eaglewing Regiment.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk tried to stop Lirath Windrunner from sneaking back to Quel'Thalas aboard Thirteen's ship. After realizing Lirath had stolen food to prepare for hiding on the galleon, Yu Lin and Thirteen went to search for him.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk struck Lirath Windrunner and sent him off the ship, then ordered Thirteen to search the fleet and make sure Lirath was at the harbor before departure.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk reviewed reports on the orderly settlement of High Elves in The Hinterlands.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk searched for Lirath Windrunner but could not find him in Thirteen's quarters.
• Thirteen told Yu Lin Bloodhawk that Lirath had stolen food, and they concluded he was hiding aboard Thirteen's ship to sneak to Quel'Thalas.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Thirteen headed to the galleon to find Lirath Windrunner.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk found Lirath Windrunner asleep in Thirteen’s cabin and carried him back to his quarters. The next morning, Lirath woke confused about how he had gotten there and hurried to see Thirteen off with Yu Lin Bloodhawk.

• Thirteen learned from the ship’s guard that Lirath Windrunner had visited the ship and guessed he was hiding in the captain’s cabin.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Thirteen found Lirath asleep on the bed beside uneaten food, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk carried him back without waking him.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk put Lirath to bed in his own quarters, then made himself a late meal after searching for the boy.
• The next morning, Yu Lin Bloodhawk woke Lirath and told him to hurry if he wanted to see Thirteen off.
• After breakfast, Yu Lin Bloodhawk accompanied Lirath to the harbor because he feared the boy would sneak aboard Thirteen’s ship again.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk stopped Lirath Windrunner from sneaking aboard Thirteen's departing ship and took him to Quel'Danil City to visit his family. The chapter ended as Yu Lin Bloodhawk led Lirath to Sorens in the Temple District.

• Lirath Windrunner begged Thirteen to take him along, but Yu Lin Bloodhawk insisted he stay in the Hinterlands for two or three years.
• Lirath used Stealth to sneak after Thirteen, but Yu Lin Bloodhawk caught him and held him by the collar until Lirath bit his arm.
• Lirath watched Thirteen's fleet sail away, then ran back to their quarters with tears in his eyes.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk coaxed Lirath into going to Quel'Danil City by telling him that his family and Auntie Puna were there.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk took Lirath through a teleportation circle to Quel'Danil City and led him to find Sorens in the Temple District.