Chapter Summaries

Yu Lin Bloodhawk arranged for Evil Spikes, Evil Fang, and Broken Tooth to return to The Hinterlands, where they would bring a large number of Zul'Aman troll prisoners. He decided to put the prisoners to work in his orchards and began planning how to guard them, leaving the Seaside Plain's officials to prepare for their arrival.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk recalled Evil Spikes, Evil Fang, and Broken Tooth from Quel'Thalas so they could return to The Hinterlands with their gunboats.
• Alleria and Sylvanas agreed to the transfer and ordered the three trolls to escort a large group of Zul'Aman troll prisoners, with more prisoners expected later.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk decided to assign the prisoners to forced labor in the city lord's Orchard Lands but worried that the available Troll Armed Police might join them in a rebellion.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk convened an emergency meeting, told the Seaside Plain's officials about the incoming prisoners, and presented their arrival as a source of workers for food production and public projects.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked his officials to devise a safe plan for managing the Zul'Aman troll prisoners, but they focused on distributing them as laborers and treating them as criminals. When the Vilebranch Troll Armed Police proposed letting suitable prisoners join their group, Yu Lin Bloodhawk worried that the arrangement could be exploited to escape captivity and attack them.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk urged the officials to find a practical way to use and manage the prisoners while protecting the front and the Hinterlands.
• Officials from villages, work sites, and the Troll Armed Police competed for prisoners, while the Quel'Danil high elves refused to supervise them because of their hatred of the Zul'Aman trolls.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk discovered that the officials intended to scatter the prisoners among villages and construction sites and manage them as criminals.
• The Vilebranch troll police chiefs welcomed the chance to confront rioting prisoners and said strong trolls could join their group if accepted.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk warned that prisoners might pretend to join the Vilebranch trolls and then attack them.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk discussed preparations for receiving Zul'Aman Troll prisoners and explained to trusted High Elf officers why Quel'Thalas must frame its war effort around the Orc invasion while ensuring its sacrifices and postwar claims were recognized. He warned that the growing prisoner population would strain supplies and that the Vilebranch Troll Armed Police worried him most.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk questioned the Vilebranch Troll Armed Police leader about how prisoners might join the Vilebranch Trolls, then ordered officials to prepare to receive them responsibly.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Quel'Danil's High Elf Second-Class Standing Burning Legion to return most duties taken from the Troll Armed Police while retaining a few visible High Elf responsibilities.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk revealed that the war against the Zul'Aman Trolls was a decisive fight for their survival and ordered the officers to keep this military secret while publicly emphasizing resistance to the Orc invasion.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk explained that the High Elves needed to highlight their contributions so other races would recognize their sacrifices and respect their claims to postwar benefits.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk warned that a victory could bring enormous numbers of Zul'Aman Troll prisoners, creating serious food and management problems.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk said he feared the Vilebranch Troll Armed Police more than the food shortage, startling the High Elf officers, who asked whether they might revolt.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk worried that a mass influx of Zul'Aman Troll prisoners would overwhelm the Hinterlands and reignite the ancient feud with the High Elves. He planned to send them to Hakkari Island and considered appointing Evil Spikes, Evil Fang, Broken Tooth, and Zuga to manage them.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told the Quel'Danil High Elf officers to hand most duties to the Vilebranch Troll armed police, train and concentrate their troops, and discreetly monitor the police without provoking them.
• After the officers left, Yu Lin Bloodhawk considered how hundreds of thousands of Shadowpine Troll prisoners could overwhelm the Hinterlands and remain hostile to the High Elves.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk judged that Alleria and Sylvanas had little choice but to send the prisoners to the Hinterlands because killing them or transporting them north would create greater problems.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk decided to send the Zul'Aman Troll prisoners to Hakkari Island in Stranglethorn Vale, where they could develop the land and receive supplies from Booty Bay.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk considered appointing Evil Spikes, Evil Fang, Broken Tooth, and Zuga to lead the prisoners, recalling his promise to make them chieftains.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk managed the arrival and distribution of a large group of Zul'Aman troll prisoners while weighing how to settle them on Hakkari Island. After ordering Evil Spikes, Evil Fang, and Broken Tooth to fetch the remaining prisoners, he faced a new problem: the breeding farm was running out of space for hybrid boar piglets.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk considered dividing future Shadowpine troll prisoners among Evil Spikes, Evil Fang, Broken Tooth, Zuga, and the Vilebranch Troll Armed Police, but could not decide how they would establish themselves on Hakkari Island.
• Xie Ci, Evil Fang, and Broken Tooth brought more than fifteen thousand Zul'Aman troll prisoners to the Hinterlands, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk spent three days arranging their temporary placement.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk monitored the prisoners' assignments, dismissed complaints about their slacking, and issued a decree denying prisoners of war legal protection unless they had a Pardon Permit.
• After the initial placements remained orderly, Yu Lin Bloodhawk ended Evil Spikes, Evil Fang, and Broken Tooth's leave and ordered them to return to Shalandis Isle for the remaining prisoners.
• Archmage Jia De Diwa warned Yu Lin Bloodhawk that hybrid Giant Bloodfang Boar piglets were filling the breeding farm, but Yu Lin Bloodhawk refused to slaughter any because the Ranger Corps would need them after the war.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk agreed to help Jardiva obtain Vereesa’s Iceclaw Bear as breeding stock and arrange for surplus sows to be culled. After Vereesa rejected his request, he recruited Lirath Windrunner to help steal the bear, offering him a reward; Lirath asked for a rare white bear of his own.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk refused to slaughter the hybrid piglets and promised Jardiva that he would arrange to dispose of surplus breeding sows once enough piglets had been raised.
• Jardiva asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk to persuade Vereesa to let the research institute use her Iceclaw Bear as breeding stock, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk agreed to try.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk realized Jardiva and the other Archmages had pressured him into taking responsibility, then cursed their cleverness after they left.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk visited Vereesa two days later, but she refused his request and threw him out.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked Lirath Windrunner to help steal something and promised him a reward; Lirath chose to ask for a rare white bear like Vereesa’s.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk persuaded Lirath Windrunner to help secretly arrange for his third sister’s rare white bear to mate so its cubs could be sent to Quel'Thalas. The plan ended with Lirath proposing they steal chickens to lure the bear out, frustrating Yu Lin Bloodhawk.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk tricked Lirath Windrunner into approaching, grabbed him, and made him promise not to run away again.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked Lirath whether he wanted to help his eldest and second sisters and do something for the High Elves.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk explained that the third sister’s rare white bear could sire cubs that could be sent to Quel'Thalas.
• Lirath agreed to help lure the bear out while his third sister was away, but Yu Lin Bloodhawk said they would have to keep the plan secret.
• Lirath suggested stealing chickens from outside the Temple District to lure the bear, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk reacted with frustration.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk arranged with Lirath Windrunner to secretly take Vereesa’s Iceclaw Bear for breeding research, while promising to find Lirath a rare white feline pet. He explained the plan and its limits to Jia De Diwa, who would oversee the collections without harming the bear or collecting more than once every three days.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk agreed to find Lirath Windrunner a rare white feline pet in exchange for sneaking the Iceclaw Bear out while Vereesa was not looking.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk recalled King Bangalash and Balthara as possible powerful pets, though both lived in dangerous, contested parts of Stranglethorn Vale.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk summoned Jia De Diwa and admitted that Vereesa had rejected his proposal, but said Lirath had agreed to help.
• Jia De Diwa described how Lirath regularly disrupted Sorens’s students and left their assignments unfinished whenever Sorens was away.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Jia De Diwa that Lirath would sneak the Iceclaw Bear out, and instructed him not to injure the bear or collect semen more often than once every three days.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk waited for Lirath Windrunner to earn Vereesa’s trust so he could collect essence from her Iceclaw Bear, while dealing with the growing influx of Zul'Aman prisoners of war. During his stay in Little Windrunner Village, he grew comfortable at his lakeside treehouse and finally managed to make a passable batch of peacebloom tea, leaving the bear operation still pending.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Jia De Diwa to prepare for collecting the Iceclaw Bear’s essence and wait until Lirath Windrunner had eased Vereesa’s suspicions.
• Seven days later, Evil Spikes, Evil Fang, and Broken Tooth brought another large batch of Zul'Aman prisoners of war, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk worried about how to manage Zuga and the growing number of captives.
• After Lirath Windrunner reported that Vereesa was growing less suspicious, Yu Lin Bloodhawk went to Little Windrunner Village and began spending time at the lakeside treehouse.
• Vereesa stopped Lirath Windrunner from bringing the Iceclaw Bear to Yu Lin Bloodhawk, so Yu Lin Bloodhawk gradually made himself a familiar presence by fishing and sharing meals.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk resumed experimenting with peacebloom and, after nearly a hundred attempts over ten to fifteen days, produced a passable batch of peacebloom tea.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s peacebloom tea drew Jia De Diwa and the other mages into daily visits, where their research discussions revealed why the Iceclaw Bear mattered to their efforts to breed magically gifted beasts. After Yu Lin Bloodhawk and the mages moved their operation away from his treehouse, their early collections went smoothly, but Vereesa grew suspicious when the bear repeatedly returned listless.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk created honey-scented peacebloom tea, and Jia De Diwa and the other mages became regular visitors who drank tea and discussed their research.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned that the mages hoped the Iceclaw Bear’s frost-resistant genes would help them breed battle pets capable of surviving infused arcane magic.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Lirath Windrunner to take the Iceclaw Bear farther from Little Windrunner Village, and Vereesa eventually allowed the walks while keeping the bear away from the Lakeside Treehouse.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Jia De Diwa’s group moved their operation to woods far from the village and prepared a decoy female bear and other supplies.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk arranged for Lirath Windrunner to take the Iceclaw Bear to the new site, where the first few collections went smoothly.
• After four or five collections, Vereesa noticed that the Iceclaw Bear seemed listless every few days and grew suspicious.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned that the Hinterlands army had captured Durnholde and warned Mez'dra that the position could not be held indefinitely. He ordered the Kingdom of Stormwind Restoration Corps to prepare for a withdrawal and went to tell Sorens to return to Quel'Thalas, hoping to secure a Portal.

• Vereesa failed to discover why her Iceclaw Bear kept growing lethargic, so she limited how often Lirath Windrunner took it out.
• Mez'dra reported that the Hinterlands' Eastern Burning Legion and Western Burning Legion had captured Durnholde and cut off the Orc invasion force's supplies.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Mez'dra that the Hinterlands army should prepare to withdraw if the Orcs attacked from Arathi, and advised deploying Gryphon Riders to monitor the region.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered the Kingdom of Stormwind Restoration Corps to enter Durnholde and take over guarding the bridge while the Eastern Burning Legion guarded against Orcs from Arathi.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk went to Sorens and urged him to return to Quel'Thalas so he could help secure a Portal, but Sorens questioned why he should leave while Quel'Danil was allocating funds to new projects.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk sent Sorens back to Quel'Thalas to secretly retrieve the portal, while Sorens secured support for his hospital and military command academy. After Yu Lin escaped Sorens's attempt to ask for more, he went to the Trade District to look for Willyx.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Sorens to return to Quel'Thalas with his people and secretly dismantle and transport the portal with help from the Windrunner family.
• Sorens agreed to leave quickly after inferring that Quel'Thalas planned to capture the troll heartland, then bargained for his hospital to be an early construction project.
• Sorens secured the military command academy's location in the Temple District and a few positions, while Yu Lin repeatedly insisted that the principal's position was his.
• Sorens called Yu Lin back to ask for something, but Yu Lin fled before Sorens could make his request.
• Yu Lin went to the Trade District to find Willyx and learned that merchants knew the goblin for his ruthless haggling and stinginess.

Willyx eagerly accepted Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s offer to handle thousands of sows, while the war’s shifting fronts left The Hinterlands facing a potentially disastrous orc advance toward Durnholde. The chapter ended with Yu Lin Bloodhawk realizing that the two Hinterlands legions and the newly formed restoration corps might be unable to stop the orcs without exposing Aerie Peak.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Willyx he could sell or otherwise dispose of four or five thousand sows, and Willyx rushed off before receiving a written order.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk sent a guard to Little Windrunner Village to tell Archmage Jia De Diwa that Willyx would handle the sows and needed his assistance.
• Lothar’s counteroffensive forced the supply-starved orc main force to retreat on the northern front, while the orcs sent a combat legion from Arathi toward the Durnholde Region.
• Alleria and Sylvanas worried that Doomhammer’s early departure from Quel'Thalas had disrupted their plan to draw the Zul'Aman trolls into a decisive battle.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk focused on Mez'dra’s report and feared the orc legion could destroy The Hinterlands’ eastern and western legions, leaving Aerie Peak and the region exposed.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk and the Hinterlands Alliance struggled to hold the Durnholde Region against the orcs, whose brutal assault nearly crippled Mez'dra's Western Burning Legion and Turalyon's Kingdom of Stormwind Restoration Corps. After buying the Allied Army ten days, the defenders shifted toward guerrilla warfare, and Yu Lin urged Mez'dra to withdraw and combine the Hinterlands legions for coordinated strikes.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk chose to destroy the bridge and burn nearby woods, then called a meeting to decide whether the Hinterlands should defend Durnholde.
• The Hinterlands Alliance agreed to send its Eastern Burning Legion back to Aerie Peak while Mez'dra's Western Burning Legion and the Kingdom of Stormwind Restoration Corps stayed in Durnholde.
• Mez'dra and Turalyon's forces fought the orcs' Main Combat Burning Legion; the Eastern Burning Legion struck the orcs' grain convoy, helping halt their advance but leaving the defending forces badly battered.
• Lothar accepted Turalyon's proposal to replace a fixed defense with guerrilla harassment, recognizing that the battle had bought the main Allied Army at least ten days.
• Yu Lin urged Mez'dra to return and unite the Hinterlands legions near the border, where they could strike the orcs while Turalyon and Lieutenant Blair's resistance forces harassed them.

Mez'dra and Turalyon adopted Yu Lin Bloodhawk's plan, but the war shifted when Doomhammer's orcs surrounded Lordaeron City and another orc force threatened Arathi. Yu Lin weighed how to exploit Lordaeron's crisis while managing the strength of the Vilebranch Troll Armed Police, and considered approaching King Terenas before sending troops.

• Mez'dra withdrew the Western Burning Legion to join the Eastern Burning Legion, while Turalyon scattered the Kingdom of Stormwind Restoration Corps among Durnholde's resistance groups.
• The orcs pushed through Durnholde but were delayed at the destroyed bridge, where resistance attacks and Dwarf Gryphon Riders disrupted their supply lines.
• Lothar received urgent reports that Doomhammer had surrounded Lordaeron City and that another orc army was marching toward Arathi, prompting him to call an emergency meeting.
• Yu Lin learned that Doomhammer had reached Lordaeron and read Alleria's account of the Shadowpine Trolls occupying much of southern Quel'Thalas.
• Yu Lin considered sending forces to aid Lordaeron, but decided he could not recklessly weaken his high elf legion or sacrifice the Vilebranch Troll Armed Police.
• Yu Lin considered sending a Gryphon Bodyguard to Lordaeron with a letter to King Terenas, hoping to secure an invitation before committing troops.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk warned King Terenas about Orc activity while limiting Quel'Danil's promised support, then spent the day with Lirath Windrunner and Jia De Diwa's fishing party. The chapter ended with Yu Lin Bloodhawk frying tiny fish for lunch as Lirath secretly ate every batch.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk sent King Terenas a letter warning of Orc activity in Tirisfal Glades and offering only limited military support because Quel'Danil faced two fronts and supplied the Allied Army.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk discovered that Lirath Windrunner had borrowed his fishing gear and tea set, then told him to bring back the catch and tea leaves.
• Lirath Windrunner returned with Jia De Diwa and the other old men, who had caught a bucket of small fish and loaches.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk decided to fry the loaches, and Lirath Windrunner helped tend the fire in the kitchen.
• Lirath Windrunner ate each plate of fried loaches as Yu Lin Bloodhawk cooked, leaving none for the others.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk shared a meal with Lirath Windrunner and the old mages, then discussed breeding projects and prepared fish balls before meeting the leaders of the Vilebranch Troll Armed Police. The two leaders arrived tense and deferential, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk began to receive them without yet revealing why he had summoned them.

• Lirath Windrunner ate the fried loaches meant for Jia De Diwa and the other old men, then took a large bag of loaches home for Vereesa.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk discussed the Giant Bloodfang Boar breeding program and his separate plan to develop meat pigs with Jia De Diwa and the other mages.
• Jia De Diwa and the mages told Yu Lin Bloodhawk they had gathered enough Iceclaw Bear semen to improve the wild bear population and planned to store extra for next year.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk began preparing fish balls and fish cakes while waiting for the Vilebranch Troll Armed Police leaders.
• The chief and deputy chief of the Vilebranch Troll Armed Police arrived and nervously greeted Yu Lin Bloodhawk as their master.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Heller and Laz that Lordaeron might soon request military aid and ordered them to form a 1,200-man field regiment from the Vilebranch Troll Armed Police. He offered the chiefs command positions and hinted that future troll prisoners of war could help them establish their own tribes elsewhere.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk welcomed Heller and Laz with watermelon juice before explaining the worsening war situation and the possible call for aid from King Terenas.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk said the Burning Legions and other forces could not be redeployed, so he asked Heller and Laz to select 1,200 elite armed police for a field regiment that would join his City Lord Guard.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk explained that the remaining 1,800 armed police would continue handling local security, while the Quel'Danil legion would take over some of their duties.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk offered Heller and Laz the chance to command the new regiment and said they might later find followers among troll prisoners of war and become chieftains elsewhere.
• Heller and Laz agreed to select the elite troops and were told they could decide later whether to join the expeditionary force or remain with the armed police.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk hid Lirath Windrunner from an angry Vereesa while meeting with two Vilebranch Troll Armed Police leaders. Vereesa later announced she wanted to return to Quel'Thalas to fight in the war, leaving Yu Lin to look after Lirath.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told the two Vilebranch Troll Armed Police leaders that the plan to make them and others troll tribe chieftains was confidential.
• Lirath Windrunner rushed into the Treehouse to hide from Vereesa, and Yu Lin agreed to cover for him.
• Vereesa searched for Lirath, but Yu Lin and the two leaders denied seeing him, so she left without finding him.
• Lirath came downstairs after Vereesa left, then fled upstairs again when she returned.
• Vereesa told Yu Lin she wanted to return to Quel'Thalas and fight in the war, and said he could look after Lirath.

Vereesa prepared to return to Quel'Thalas for the war, while Lirath Windrunner decided to join the Eaglewing Regiment after she left. Yu Lin Bloodhawk saw Vereesa off, enrolled Lirath, and continued hosting Jia De Diwa and the other old men at his Lakeside Treehouse.

• Vereesa asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk to arrange her return to Quel'Thalas and promised to serve with the Windrunner Burning Legion; he warned her to stay close to her sisters and agreed to arrange a ship.
• Lirath Windrunner told Yu Lin Bloodhawk he missed home and wanted to join the Eaglewing Regiment after Vereesa departed.
• Alleria and Sylvanas approved Vereesa's return, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk arranged her voyage with Evil Spikes, Evil Fang, Broken Tooth, and the others.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Lirath watched Vereesa's fleet sail away, then traveled to Quel'Danil City, where Yu Lin enrolled Lirath in the Eaglewing Regiment without special treatment.
• Jia De Diwa and the other old men continued visiting Yu Lin's Lakeside Treehouse, claiming they were monitoring the female bears inseminated with Iceclaw Bear's essence.