Chapter Summaries

Alleria and Sylvanas considered the Orcs’ objectives and decided to slow their advance by destroying a vanguard unit and capturing prisoners. Sylvanas explained a saying about attacking an enemy’s plans, leaving Alleria more convinced that the Orcs’ surprise assault was aimed at Lordaeron and was important enough for Doomhammer to lead in person.

• Sylvanas reasoned that the Orcs had bypassed Farstriders Camp because they were racing to defeat the High Elves or reach Lordaeron, not simply helping the Zul'Aman Trolls capture Silvermoon City.
• Alleria agreed the Orcs’ rapid advance threatened Quel'Thalas and decided to destroy one of their organized units.
• Sylvanas shared her brother-in-law’s saying about attacking an enemy’s plans, army, and cities, then explained its meaning to Alleria.
• Sylvanas said Doomhammer was leading the surprise attack and believed the Orcs’ true target was Lordaeron City.
• Alleria resolved to capture Orc prisoners to verify Doomhammer’s presence and determine the importance of the assault.

Sylvanas and Alleria planned to slow the Orc advance while drawing the Amani Trolls into a prepared battlefield, hoping to split the enemy alliance and eventually strike Zul'Aman. They credited Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s warning and early evacuation preparations with giving Quel'Thalas time to plan, as the outcome now depended on whether the Orcs left the kingdom.

• Sylvanas argued that the Orcs had little time and that Quel'Thalas should determine whether Lordaeron was their true target.
• Sylvanas proposed slowing the Orcs while easing resistance against the Amani Trolls to deepen divisions between the allies.
• Alleria agreed to ambush Orc vanguard units, then focus attacks on the Trolls while the Orcs advanced cautiously.
• Alleria outlined plans to hold the Trolls in Southern Eversong Woods and, if the Orcs withdrew, cut off Zul'Aman by capturing its military strongholds.
• Sylvanas and Alleria credited Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s warning and evacuation preparations with allowing them to plan instead of fighting while civilians fled.

Alleria challenged Sylvanas to devise a plan against the Orc vanguard, but Sylvanas defended reusing an old tactic with Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s advice about protecting capital and waiting for an opening. The chapter ended with Sylvanas explaining that a commander could prevent defeat but could not guarantee victory, which depended on the enemy exposing a weakness.

• Alleria urged Sylvanas to plan an attack on the Orc vanguard, and Sylvanas proposed repeating the tactic used at Loch Danmor.
• Alleria objected to Sylvanas copying Yu Lin Bloodhawk and relying on his business advice, while Sylvanas argued that avoiding a direct fight would protect their forces.
• Alleria demanded to hear how Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s advice applied to war, and Sylvanas hesitated before explaining that commanders should first make themselves impossible to defeat.
• Sylvanas said victory depended on the enemy exposing a weakness, while Alleria dismissed Yu Lin Bloodhawk as a profiteer.

Alleria asked Sylvanas to repeat and explain Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s military strategy, then chose to hear his story before discussing coordination with the other legion commanders. The chapter then shifted to April in Southern Eversong Woods, where an orc vanguard commander was frustrated as he led six hundred cavalry.

• Sylvanas told Alleria that Yu Lin Bloodhawk occasionally recalled military strategies during arguments and stories.
• Alleria reflected on how Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s apparently careless proposals had helped build the Hinterlands with the work of its many inhabitants.
• Alleria asked Sylvanas to repeat the strategy word by word and tell Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s story, postponing discussion of coordination with the legion commanders.
• An orc vanguard commander in Southern Eversong Woods grew frustrated as he marched at the head of six hundred cavalry.

The orc Vanguard struggled through persistent rain and muddy roads while scouting in the Southern Eversong Woods of Quel'Thalas. Its commander stayed warm beneath a dire wolf pelt, a trophy that proved he had hunted the beast alone.

• The orc Vanguard commander led his riders through mud that made their worgs stop frequently to clean their paws.
• The commander pulled his dire wolf pelt cloak tight against the cold and rain.
• The commander wore the pelt as proof that he had hunted and killed a dire wolf alone.
• The account explained that orcs who hunted dire wolves alone earned recognition as warriors, though many young hunters died to the beasts' packs.

An orc vanguard commander led his troops through the rain-soaked Eversong Woods toward the Eastern Sanctum, confident that the high elves would offer little resistance. He also struggled with the death knights assigned to his force, whose limited frost magic and corpse stench made them poor companions on the march.

• The orc vanguard commander watched his warriors maintain high morale as they marched through seven days of cold drizzle in Quel'Thalas.
• He recalled that high elf troops had offered only scattered resistance, while poison needles and land mines caused minor injuries that shamans treated.
• Burning Legion headquarters sent death knights to deal with the high elves' traps, but the orcs disliked their corpse stench and unsettling behavior.
• The commander considered using the death knights' Path of Frost to ease the march, but found its effects too limited to cover the column without distributing them among the troops.
• The commander concluded that the death knights ignored his orders and behaved like pampered lords who regarded ordinary people as material.

The orc vanguard commander led his troops through Quel'Thalas, where abandoned settlements and constant high elf surveillance made him doubt the invasion's prospects. He interpreted the corps' orders as a demand to keep morale high while staying close enough to the main force for support.

• The Death Knights continued marching separately from the vanguard, while their summoned demons helped clear high elf traps and kept the column moving quickly.
• The commander spotted a black owl and realized high elf scouts were still watching the orc forces.
• The vanguard found deserted settlements with supplies removed and wells filled, suggesting the high elves had prepared for the invasion well in advance.
• The commander questioned whether the raid on Quel'Thalas could succeed because the high elves seemed ready for the combined army.
• He understood that the corps' stirring order was meant to maintain troop morale, while the order to preserve distance from the center ensured the main force could support the vanguard.

Sylvanas learned that the orc vanguard’s new scouting squad was staying five hundred meters from the main force and ordered her scouts to drive it closer despite the risk of reinforcements. The High Elf scouts prepared to ambush the squad, but the orc cavalry’s speed made a clean, silent attack difficult.

• The orc vanguard commander ordered a ten-man scouting squad to stay within five hundred meters of the main force and told his troops to remain alert.
• A female Ranger reported to Sylvanas that the orc vanguard had reached Area Six and its scouts were moving cautiously.
• Sylvanas recalled that High Elf scouts had already eliminated seven or eight orc scouting squads, killing seventy or eighty Wolf Riders.
• Sylvanas ordered her scouts to eliminate the scouting squads of the vanguard and both wings, pushing them to within two hundred meters of their main forces.
• The female Ranger reported that five Owl Rangers and thirty Mountain Lion Nightstalkers were available, while forty more Nightstalkers had been sent to the enemy’s left wing.
• Sylvanas considered how the scouts could defeat the ten armored Wolf Riders before nearby cavalry reinforcements arrived.

Sylvanas ordered a fast strike against the Orc scouting squads and planned to ambush the Orc vanguard in Southern Eversong Woods. A third Orc squad’s Worgs sensed danger, and its leader sent two riders ahead to investigate.

• Sylvanas ordered ten Frostwolf Rangers and ten gorilla Rangers to strike the Orc scouts and withdraw without engaging the main force.
• Sylvanas planned to ambush the Orc vanguard in the rain-soaked Southern Eversong Woods, less than thirty kilometers away.
• A ten-rider Orc scouting squad cautiously rode ahead of the vanguard, after two earlier squads had vanished.
• The Worgs stopped and growled, putting the Orc riders on alert as the forest fell silent.
• The Orc squad leader sent two Wolf Riders ahead to investigate the woods where the road curved.

An orc scouting squad discovered ten members of the Windrunner Burning Legion's Frostwolf Clan Regiment blocking the road, and its leader weighed the risk of confronting them. The chapter ended with him still uncertain whether the ten High Elves were baiting a trap or simply daring his squad to advance.

• The orc scouting squad's leader sent two Orc Wolf Riders ahead to investigate what had alarmed the worgs.
• The two Wolf Riders returned and reported seeing High Elves riding white worgs beyond the bend.
• The orc scouting squad's leader recognized them as the feared Frostwolf Clan Regiment of the Windrunner Burning Legion, an elite unit known from past battles and reports.
• The Wolf Riders said that only ten High Elves were blocking the road, with no other enemies in sight.
• The orc scouting squad's leader debated whether to confront the ten High Elves, fearing both a trap and the shame of retreating.

An Orc scout squad chose to face ten High Elf riders in an ace-against-ace contest rather than call for support, unaware that the riders were all High Rangers. A hidden Owl Ranger reported the Orcs’ challenge to a Mountain Lion Nightstalker captain, who went to tell the Frostwolf Clan Regiment.

• The Orc scout leader sent one Wolf Rider to report to the vanguard commander and ordered two others to stay behind with the Signal Launcher.
• The remaining Orc Wolf Riders volunteered to accompany their leader and confront the ten High Elves, agreeing to signal for help only if they discovered an ambush.
• The Orcs declared themselves the real aces and prepared to meet the High Elf riders in a fair contest.
• A black owl circled above the Orcs before flying toward the woods, and the hidden Owl Ranger withdrew her Beast's Eye.
• The Owl Ranger told the Mountain Lion Nightstalker captain that the Orcs wanted an ace-against-ace duel with the Frostwolf Clan Regiment’s ten High Rangers.
• The captain went to tell the Frostwolf Rangers about the challenge while the ten High Rangers waited in the drizzle.

The Frostwolf Rangers accepted the Orc Wolf Riders’ challenge to pit their best fighters against one another, while secretly keeping the Orc scouting squad under close watch. The Orcs reached the ten Rangers and threw them the message that had announced the challenge.

• A Nightstalker told a Frostwolf Ranger that seven Orcs had challenged the ten Rangers, and she accepted on their behalf.
• The Frostwolf Ranger said they would draw the Orcs farther from their main force, or overwhelm them if they refused to fight fairly.
• An owl dropped a cloth reading “aces against aces” for the Orc scouting squad leader, who realized the High Elves were monitoring his squad.
• The Orc scouting squad leader led his six Wolf Riders around the bend and found ten Frostwolf Rangers blocking the road.
• The Orc scouting squad leader stopped his Wolf Riders in front of the Rangers and threw them the linen cloth.

An Orc Pathfinder Squad Leader accepted a duel with ten High Elf Frostwolf Rangers and followed them away from the main force. After learning about the encounter, the Orcs Vanguard Commander realized the squad might be falling for the High Elves’ tactics and sent a company to investigate.

• The Orcs Pathfinder Squad Leader agreed to an ace-against-ace fight and followed the High Elf Frostwolf Rangers into the forest with six Wolf Riders.
• The Mountain Lion Nightstalker leader warned the allied Rangers against duels and argued they should strike the Orcs by ambush instead.
• An Owl Ranger pointed out that two Orc Wolf Riders remained behind to raise a warning signal, and the Nightstalker leader decided they should attack anyway.
• A returning Orc Wolf Rider told the Orcs Vanguard Commander that ten High Elf Rangers on white Worgs had confronted the Pathfinder Squad.
• The Orcs Vanguard Commander suspected the Pathfinder Squad Leader had chased the High Elves into a trap and ordered a Wolf Rider Company Commander to investigate.

The Mountain Lion Nightstalker Leader tried to delay the Orcs Vanguard Main Force while sending a team after the Frostwolf Rangers, who had lured orcs into a trap. An Orc Wolf Rider squadron reached two scouts but learned they had lost sight of their captain, so its commander rushed toward the bend to find out what had happened.

• The Orcs Vanguard Commander ordered a Wolf Rider squadron to reinforce the scouts and told his main force to prepare for battle and pick up the pace.
• The Mountain Lion Nightstalker Leader decided to retreat, scatter caltrops, and slow the advancing orcs while the Frostwolf Rangers led their pursuers farther away.
• The Mountain Lion Nightstalker Leader persuaded the Deputy Leader to take ten Mountain Division Nightstalkers and an Owl Ranger after the Frostwolf Rangers, claiming Burning Legion Commander Sylvanas had ordered it.
• The Mountain Lion Nightstalker Leader sent the remaining High Elf Rangers to scatter caltrops along the road and in the woods.
• The Orc Wolf Rider Squadron commander found two scouts waiting on the road and learned they did not know whether their captain was still at the bend.
• The Orc Wolf Rider Squadron commander rebuked the scouts for waiting where they could not see the bend and ordered them to follow him.

The Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander led a hundred riders toward the bend, where poisoned caltrops brought down their lead mounts and killed several riders. He blamed the scouts for failing to notice the trap, but they insisted nothing had been there when they passed.

• The Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander hurried his company toward the bend, trusting that the route was safe because scouts and an earlier group had passed through.
• Poisoned caltrops made the five Worgs at the front stumble, throwing their riders onto the road as the rest of the company stopped in time.
• The Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander called for a Shaman, but learned none had come with them, and the wounded riders died without treatment.
• The Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander grabbed a scout and demanded to know why the road was covered in caltrops.
• The scout insisted that he and his fellow watcher had seen no one approach and that the road had been clear when they passed.
• The Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander looked at the poisoned caltrops lodged in the Worgs' swollen paws as their breaths faded.

An Orc Wolf Rider company was stalled by poisoned caltrops and traps in the woods, while the High Elf Mountain Lion Nightstalkers prepared to delay the Orcs further. The Nightstalkers waited for the deputy leader’s forces to reach the Frostwolf Rangers and worried that Orc Death Knights would use Voidwalkers to clear the road.

• The Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander sent messengers for Shamans and Death Knights and ordered scouts to seek a way through the woods.
• The Orc Wolf Riders recovered and secretly buried their poisoned comrades to keep Death Knights from taking their souls.
• The Wolf Riders sent into the woods returned with casualties and reported poison needles and caltrops among the trees.
• An Owl Ranger used Beast’s Eye to tell the leader of the Mountain Lion Nightstalkers that the Orc reinforcements had stopped at the trapped bend.
• The Mountain Lion Nightstalkers’ leader ordered the deputy leader’s people to hurry to the Frostwolf Rangers and took the others to lay more road traps.

The Mountain Lion Nightstalker leader prepared to test Lord Bloodhawk’s trap-based method against the Orcs’ large rocks, while the Orc Wolf Rider commander received death knight reinforcements to help move logs. The death knights began summoning Voidwalkers as the Wolf Riders readied chains and logs.

• The Mountain Lion Nightstalker leader told the Owl Ranger that Lord Bloodhawk had suggested a method for the legion commanders and decided to try it with traps and the big toys Legion Commander Sylvanas had supplied.
• The Orc Wolf Rider Squadron commander received five shamans and five death knights, who healed the scouts and their mounts and listened to his request for help moving large logs.
• The Orc commander resented the death knights’ contemptuous manner and their interest in the place where the dead Wolf Riders had been buried, but tolerated them because they were needed.
• The five death knights took out Soul Shards and began summoning Voidwalkers with dark purple magic circles.
• As black fog gathered above the circles, the Orc commander ordered his Wolf Riders to attach iron chains to the ends of the logs.

An orc Wolf Rider Company Commander used five summoned Voidwalkers to crush poisoned caltrops and smooth the muddy road. When his squadron reached the bend, the scouts and High Elves were nowhere in sight, leaving him to follow their tracks into the drizzle.

• Five Voidwalkers emerged from summoning circles, and the orc Wolf Rider Company Commander ordered riders to chain them to barrel-thick logs.
• The Voidwalkers dragged the logs along the road, crushing or pushing aside the High Elves’ poisoned caltrops and flattening the mud.
• The Company Commander urged his Wolf Riders onward while the five Death Knights moved onto the grass and followed behind the squadron.
• The Wolf Rider Squadron reached the bend and found no scouts, Worgs, or High Elves, only tracks disappearing into the drizzle.

An Orc Wolf Rider squadron commander followed the tracks of seven scouts through Quel'Thalas's Singing Forest while the Voidwalkers cleared the road. After considering the failed invasion and his resentment toward the Zul'Aman Trolls, he noticed a change in the tracks and stopped to investigate.

• The squadron commander read the orderly Worg tracks and concluded that the seven Orc Wolf Riders had passed the bend without fighting.
• He let the five Voidwalkers continue clearing the road, believing the scouts were likely dead and that pursuing them would risk more Orcs.
• He resented Warchief Doomhammer's decision to keep attacking Quel'Thalas rather than turn toward Lordaeron, and blamed the Zul'Aman Trolls for offering little military value.
• He recalled that Orcs despised the Trolls for eating their own fallen warriors and refused to fight alongside them.
• The squadron commander spotted a change in the Worg tracks, halted the five Voidwalkers, and rode forward alone to inspect it.

The Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander examined the tracks and realized the scouting Orc Wolf Riders had followed the High Elves, while a hidden trap had been laid nearby. He ordered the pursuit to continue and summoned the five Death Knights to the front of the column.

• The Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander studied the Worg tracks and inferred that seven Orc Wolf Riders had met ten High Elf Rangers, then followed them away.
• The Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander found a faint human footprint and concluded that hidden High Elf forces had laid the caltrop trap.
• The Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander ordered five Voidwalkers to follow the Worg tracks and bring the High Elves back alive or dead.
• The Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander stopped a Wolf Rider and ordered him to bring the five Death Knights from the rear to the front.
• The five Death Knights arrived, puzzled that the Orc Wolf Rider Company Commander had summoned them while the column marched into the wind.