Chapter Summaries

Alleria, Lothar, and Uther led the Alliance’s three-pronged campaign to retake Arathi, with Alleria advancing cautiously while Uther bore the Orcs’ desperate assault at the Strait of Hormuz. After more than two months of fighting, the Alliance crushed the trapped Orc army and secured victory in Arathi, though Uther’s western army suffered heavy losses.

• Alleria left Lor'themar after promising to send supplies, while Lothar convened a meeting and assigned attacks on the Farm, Mine, and Lumber Mill.
• After three days of preparation, Lothar and Uther quickly captured the Farm and Mine, while Alleria advanced slowly toward the Lumber Mill and discovered its elite Orc garrison belonged to clans loyal to Gul'dan.
• Uther reached the Strait of Hormuz and blocked the Orcs’ southern retreat, but their frenzied attacks nearly broke his lines until Admiral Daelin Proudmoore arrived with reinforcements.
• Lothar’s army retook Stromgarde as Alleria’s army captured the Beast Pens, and both forces moved toward the Strait to complete their encirclement of the Orcs.
• After Alleria and Lothar joined Uther, the Alliance fought the trapped Orc army for more than two months until most surrendered and the last six hundred elite Orcs were destroyed.
• The Arathi campaign ended in an Alliance victory, with Uther’s western army suffering the heaviest losses and Alleria’s eastern army the fewest.

After the Alliance crossed into the Searing Lands, Lothar ordered an assault on Doomhammer’s fortified border, and Alleria’s eastern army advanced methodically behind its ballistae and Wildhammer Dwarf cannons. The chapter ended with the eastern army’s shield warriors forming a defensive line as high elf spellcasters prepared to attack.

• After the Battle of the Strait of Hormuz, Alleria requested that Allied Command give the high elves all captured Soul Shards, then sent her exhausted troops back to The Hinterlands to rest.
• Lothar’s three Allied Army columns crossed the Strait of Hormuz, advanced through Loch Danmor, and joined forces with the Bronzebeard Dwarves and gnomes as the orcs withdrew from Dun Morogh.
• Doomhammer’s forces stopped the Alliance at the Searing Lands, where both armies faced one another for more than a month before Lothar ordered an all-out assault.
• The Allied Army used cannons and ballistae to break through the orcs’ hastily built defenses, then sent cavalry and infantry into the breaches.
• Alleria ordered Mez'dra to target the log fences with cannons and the watchtowers with explosive ballista ammunition, then advanced her eastern army within spellcasting range.
• Alleria’s Wildhammer Dwarf shield warriors formed a line as the high elf spellcasters began chanting attack spells, guarded by high elf rangers.

Alleria's Eastern Route Allied Army breached the orc camp and fought off fierce counterattacks with help from High Elf magic and Wildhammer Gryphon Riders. After destroying the orc catapults, the allies forced the orcs to retreat behind their rear fortifications, while Alleria continued her cautious advance rather than risk a costly frontal assault.

• Alleria's forces used bombardment and massed area spells to drive the orcs from their forward positions, then sent the Hinterlands Eastern and Western Corps and High Elf Rangers through the breach in the palisade.
• The orcs counterattacked, but Earthbind Totems, Rangers, trolls, and Wildhammer shield infantry slowed them until the High Elf Spellcaster Corps entered the camp and drove them back.
• Orc catapults began bombarding the allied troops, and Alleria ordered the Wildhammer Gryphon Riders to find and destroy their position.
• The Gryphon Riders located the catapults and attacked them with incendiary bombs while the orcs launched another counterattack and their stones struck both sides.
• After the catapult bombardment stopped, three wingblade carts joined the battle, and the Eastern Route Army wiped out the isolated orcs at the front and forced the survivors to retreat behind the rear fortifications.
• Alleria kept her army's advance cautious, recognizing that its close-combat forces could not safely imitate the head-on assaults of Lothar's and Uther's armies.

Alleria kept her eastern Allied Army’s advance cautious, relying on ranged attacks to limit casualties while the orcs adapted their defenses with fog and trenches. By noon, the fog cleared and Alleria resumed her bombardment, while Lothar and Uther’s armies remained locked in brutal fighting with the orcs.

• Alleria learned that the orcs’ nighttime counterattacks had pushed back Lothar and Uther’s armies, while her own forces had repelled an attack with flares, magic, and ranged fire.
• The orcs covered their positions in Fog of War, so Alleria halted her advance rather than risk sending mages close enough to disperse it.
• Lothar and Uther’s armies attacked through the fog, but their cavalry encountered newly dug trenches and horse traps and became surrounded until infantry arrived.
• At noon, the sunlight dispersed the fog, and the central and western armies continued their fierce battle against the orcs.
• Alleria resumed her advance with cannon, ballista, and magical bombardments, while Wildhammer Gryphon Riders bombed the orc positions and reported what they saw.

After the Allied Army drove the orcs into the Burning Steppes, both sides prepared cautiously for a decisive battle. Meanwhile, Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s fleet neared Ratchet after nearly half a year at sea, leaving Willyx eager to claim a gold coin if they arrived that night.

• The orcs abandoned the Searing Lands and retreated to Doomhammer’s headquarters in the Burning Steppes, where Lothar prepared the Allied Army for a decisive battle.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked Willyx how long the fleet would take to reach Kalimdor, while Sylvanas teased the goblin about his repeated promises that they were nearly there.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk complained about the tedious voyage and joked with Sylvanas about sailing back to Quel’Thalas.
• Willyx calculated the fleet’s position and announced that they would reach Ratchet by that night.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk offered Willyx a gold coin if the fleet reached Ratchet, and Willyx watched it anxiously.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk ate with Sylvanas, Old Charlatan, and Jerick aboard the aircraft carrier, where a discussion of dark ranger research sparked Sylvanas’s suspicions about a woman in the World of the Dead. The mess hall began gossiping about Yu Lin’s supposed relationships, and Sylvanas ordered Jerick to explain what had happened later.

• Willyx guarded his promised gold coin on the deck and refused to leave it, so Yu Lin arranged to have lunch brought to him.
• Old Charlatan told Yu Lin that their dark ranger method needed a test subject and suggested high elf rangers or night elf hunters might become dark rangers after dying in the World of the Dead.
• Old Charlatan hinted that Yu Lin could use his connection to a woman in the World of the Dead, and Sylvanas pinched him while accusing him of pursuing women behind her sister’s back.
• Sylvanas confronted Yu Lin about naming the succubus captive Amelia, prompting sailors in the mess hall to speculate about his relationships.
• Sylvanas questioned Jerick about Yu Lin’s encounter in the World of the Dead and ordered him to tell her the full story in the meeting room later.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas responded to the disappearance of two gryphon rider patrols from the fleet. With twenty riders missing and no reports from the search squad, they prepared an emergency search and received a possible magical disturbance southwest of the fleet.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned from Willyx that the first gryphon rider patrol had not returned and waited another half hour before deciding to send a search squad.
• Sylvanas met Yu Lin Bloodhawk, ordered a fleetwide level-one alert, and directed owl rangers to scout while gryphon riders prepared for takeoff.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned that a second squad sent to find the first had also been missing for more than twenty minutes.
• Sylvanas set a five-minute deadline for owl reports and ordered all gryphon riders to launch toward the second squad's route if no information emerged.
• An owl ranger reported possibly detecting faint, abnormal magical fluctuations southwest of the fleet.

Sylvanas prepared to investigate why two gryphon squads had not returned, and persuaded Yu Lin Bloodhawk to accompany her by suggesting the danger might help him reach Legendary rank. The chapter left them heading for the gryphons, with Yu Lin Bloodhawk retrieving the powerful bow Baiteng for the mission.

• Sylvanas decided to fly out with Yu Lin Bloodhawk and another person to investigate the missing gryphon squads and magical fluctuations.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk hesitated to join, but agreed after Sylvanas said the mission might give him a chance to break through to Legendary.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk went to his room to retrieve Baiteng, the high-quality bow Alleria had given him before the fleet sailed.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk recalled that Baiteng and Alleria's matching bow, Xinsite, were made with Dragon Soul fragments and came with three powerful special arrows each.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk joined Sylvanas, still privately criticizing the bows' names as they headed to the gryphon mounts.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk joined Sylvanas and their Gryphon Riders to investigate powerful Arcane Magic fluctuations, where they discovered an adult black dragon pursuing another group. As Sylvanas sent two riders to warn the fleet and prepared to fight, Yu Lin readied a rare special arrow and tried to keep out of the dragon’s attention.

• Yu Lin replaced his old War Bow with the Baiteng Longbow, took three special arrows, and joined Sylvanas on the carrier’s flight deck.
• Sylvanas and Yu Lin led ten Gryphon Riders southwest in three attack teams and followed powerful Arcane Magic fluctuations to a distant aerial battle.
• The riders spotted an adult black dragon, and Sylvanas sent two guards back to warn the fleet and summon Gryphon Riders armed with magic-piercing arrows.
• The black dragon broke away from the smaller fliers and rapidly approached the riders, apparently trying to intercept the messengers.
• Sylvanas ordered Yu Lin to coordinate with her while the other riders intercepted the dragon, and Yu Lin readied a Dragon Soul-fragment arrow before discreetly moving away from Sylvanas.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas confronted a powerful female black dragon, who escaped without injuring the high elves. The fleet resumed its voyage toward Ratchet on high alert, while Willyx admitted he had secretly taken the gold coin to protect it during the gryphons’ takeoff.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk recognized that the black dragon was no ordinary foe but felt relieved she was not Deathwing the Neltharion.
• Sylvanas questioned the black dragon about attacking the high elves, and the dragon said she had only been curious and wanted to play.
• The black dragon broke through the Gryphon Riders’ encirclement and flew away, while Sylvanas chose not to shoot her.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and the Gryphon Riders returned to the fleet, whose commanders raised the alert level before continuing toward Ratchet.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk found Willyx still fixated on the gold coin, and Willyx confessed he had secretly taken it to keep it from being blown into the sea.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas discussed the Black Dragon Princess Onyxia while the fleet sailed toward Kalimdor, and Yu Lin weighed where to establish a High Elf base. He woke to see land on the horizon, with Willyx declaring that Ratchet was nearby.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk rewarded Willyx with a gold coin, and Willyx promised the fleet would reach Ratchet that day.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk identified the black dragon as Onyxia and warned Sylvanas about her deadly abilities, while Sylvanas teased him about knowing her so well.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk considered whether to sail to Feralas or claim a base near Ratchet or Dire Maul, then fell asleep without deciding where to place the Portal.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk awoke to the crew cheering and saw land on the horizon as the fleet sailed at full speed.
• Willyx assured Yu Lin Bloodhawk that Ratchet was nearby, and Yu Lin eagerly agreed.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s fleet reached Ratchet, where he planned to establish a High Elf base in the Valley of Trials before traveling to Feralas. After scouting the valley with Sylvanas, Sorens, and Gryphon Riders, he found it inhabited by hostile Centaurs and Quilboar.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas sighted Kalimdor, and Willyx confirmed their destination as the fleet approached Ratchet.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk sent Willyx to buy supplies, and the fleet rested in Ratchet for a week.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk proposed securing the Valley of Trials and installing a Portal before going to Feralas, eventually persuading Sylvanas and Sorens to scout the valley first.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Sylvanas, Sorens, and more than fifty Gryphon Riders surveyed the Valley of Trials for a week and mapped its terrain.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and the High Elves observed a battle between Quilboar and Centaurs, whose Shamans and Thunder Mages fought alongside their warriors.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk found a difficult mountain trail that bypassed the centaurs and quilboar guarding the Valley of Trials, then persuaded Sylvanas and Sorens to approve his plan to enter it with light equipment and deliver supplies by gryphon. The fleet landed the troops east of the valley, and the campaign began as they prepared to cross the rugged range.

• Sylvanas and Sorens challenged Yu Lin Bloodhawk to find a route into the Valley of Trials that avoided the centaurs and quilboar, or abandon his plan to seize it.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk scouted the western mountains with gryphon riders and discovered a narrow, hazardous trail into the valley.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk planned to send the City Lord's Household Guard and Frostwolf Clan Regiment through the trail with light equipment, then airlift supplies and portal materials by gryphon.
• Sylvanas and Sorens approved the plan, and the fleet tested how gryphons could carry crates before preparing for the expedition.
• The fleet sailed to the Southfury River, ferried eighteen hundred troops to the eastern bank, and continued toward the mountains to support their passage into the valley.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk's troops entered the harsh landscape of Eastern The Barrens, where mottled boars and enormous venomtail scorpids threatened travelers.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk prepared to seize a quilboar-occupied cave with a clean spring and establish a defensible base in the Valley of Trials, while watching for a possible Kolkar centaur attack. The high elf and Frostwolf forces entered the valley and rested as they awaited supplies.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk identified the cave's spring as a vital water source and planned to place a Portal inside it.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and the Gryphon Riders monitored the quilboar and Kolkar centaurs, but detected no unusual centaur movements.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk worried that his forces lacked cavalry and that he could not rely on Sylvanas's Frostwolf Clan Regiment permanently.
• Six hundred members of the City Lord Guard and eighteen hundred Frostwolf Rangers entered the Valley of Trials without encountering centaurs.
• The high elf and Frostwolf troops rested in a forest at the mountain's foot while waiting for Gryphon Riders to bring combat supplies.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas led their forces through the Valley of Trials toward a quilboar cave, using Gryphon Riders to deliver the supplies needed for the assault. After capturing and questioning quilboar scouts, they learned the tribe numbered fewer than two thousand, while Sylvanas announced that her troops would only guard the entrance and leave the cave fighting to Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s City Lord’s Household Guard.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas waited in the Valley of Trials while two hundred Gryphon Riders ferried arrows, dried meat, and other supplies to the troops.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas inventoried the delivery, found enough supplies for three and a half days of fighting, and rested before continuing their march.
• The High Elves reached the northern cave and captured quilboar scouts with nets so they could not warn the tribe.
• Willyx translated as Yu Lin Bloodhawk questioned the prisoners and learned that fewer than two thousand quilboar lived in the cave.
• Sylvanas told Yu Lin Bloodhawk that her forces would guard the cave entrance while his City Lord’s Household Guard fought inside, then teased him about being a bandit.

Sylvanas and Yu Lin Bloodhawk advanced toward the Quilboar cave, while Sylvanas kept her reason for guarding the sky and their surroundings to herself. The forces split into three groups and Yu Lin Bloodhawk led the City Lord's Household Guard toward the cave, hoping to draw out the Quilboar main force.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk questioned Sylvanas about bringing so many troops, but she refused to explain what she had noticed in the sky or why she was keeping guards outside.
• After the vanguard reached the area near the cave, Gryphon Riders reported a few hundred Quilboar along the other two approaches, and Sylvanas ordered three groups to close in from separate directions.
• Sylvanas sent six hundred mounted Frostwolf Rangers down each flank and assigned Yu Lin Bloodhawk's City Lord's Household Guard to the center.
• Sylvanas stayed beside Yu Lin Bloodhawk as he ordered the Household Guard to advance in formation toward the cave.
• The Household Guard's advance frightened scattered Quilboar into fleeing, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk let them go in hopes they would alert the main force inside the cave.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk led three disciplined High Elf armies toward the cave, where their imposing advance unnerved the disorganized Quilboar. After his confusing “charge-a-roo” halted the troops, he ordered them forward steadily, leaving over a thousand Quilboar squeezed into a tight mass at the entrance.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk saw a chaotic crowd of Quilboar emerge from the cave as the three High Elf armies approached.
• The gleaming armor and orderly formations of the High Elves made the Quilboar retreat in fear.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk shouted “charge-a-roo,” causing the High Elf troops to halt because they did not understand his command.
• Sylvanas rebuked Yu Lin Bloodhawk, who claimed he had meant for the troops to stop advancing.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered the armies to maintain formation and advance steadily, compressing the Quilboar into a narrow, crowded patch at the cave entrance.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Sylvanas demanded the quilboar surrender, but the quilboar refused and charged after two ballista shots enraged them. High elf rangers launched their first volley as the attack began.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered Willyx to demand the quilboar's surrender while the soldiers brought forward two ballistas.
• Sylvanas gave the quilboar ten minutes to surrender or die, and Willyx relayed the ultimatum.
• Willyx reported that the quilboar chose to fight, so Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered the ballistas to fire.
• The ballista blasts killed and wounded many quilboar, but the survivors charged the high elf forces.
• The commanders of the three high elf ranger contingents ordered an arcing volley, and the rangers loosed arrows at the charging quilboar.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk watched the Quilboar charge through devastating High Elf volleys and ordered his forces to capture them rather than kill them. Sylvanas backed his command as the Rangers prepared to meet the advancing attackers.

• The High Elf Rangers fired two lofted volleys, killing or wounding many Quilboar, but the survivors kept charging.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk questioned why the Quilboar showed no fear, and Sylvanas explained that retreat during a charge could trigger a rout.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk reflected on how primitive shamanism doctrine had given the Quilboar their fearless resolve.
• As the Rangers readied another volley and their battle pets prepared to attack, Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered them to take the Quilboar alive if possible.
• Sylvanas repeated the order, making it clear that the troops were to capture the charging Quilboar.

Sylvanas ordered the High Elf Rangers to capture the Quilboar alive, and they changed their tactics to obey Yu Lin Bloodhawk's command. The Rangers and their armored battle pets overwhelmed the charging Quilboar while advancing around the cave.

• Sylvanas decided that the High Elf forces would follow Yu Lin Bloodhawk's order to take the Quilboar alive and hoped he would learn to command without being questioned.
• The High Elf Ranger commanders ordered their troops to use direct and nonlethal shots, nets, and battle pets against the Quilboar.
• More than a thousand armored frost wolves and dire wolves met the charging Quilboar in organized formations.
• The battle pets stopped the Quilboar charge and inflicted heavy wounds on the poorly equipped warriors.
• The High Elf Rangers advanced in formation and fired arrows to support their pets, targeting nonlethal areas when possible.