Chapter Summaries

Yu Lin Bloodhawk advised Mez'dra to keep his dwarves out of close combat with the powerful orcs and explained why he would not join the war. After returning to Quel'Danil, he found Sylvanas and Alleria studying his map of the coming invasion, then entered as Sylvanas ordered everyone away from the door.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk mocked the troll settlement with Mez'dra and said he would stay in the Hinterlands rather than join the war.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk warned Mez'dra that the orcs were far stronger than trolls and urged the Wildhammer dwarves to rely on gryphon riders and musketeers.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Mez'dra he planned to form a six-hundred-member Household Guard and build a city in the southern hills of the Seaside Plain.
• Two gryphon riders told Yu Lin Bloodhawk that Sylvanas had arrived in Quel'Danil with eleven rangers, so he flew back to meet her.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned that Sylvanas and Alleria had entered his room and were interpreting his map of the orc invasion routes.
• Sylvanas ordered a gryphon rider to clear the area outside the door, leaving Yu Lin Bloodhawk embarrassed.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Alleria that Sylvanas would be killed by Arthas and resurrected as the Banshee Queen, but he did not know how to prevent it. Their discussion turned into a bitter argument over whether Quel'Thalas should retreat or fight, leaving Alleria furious at Yu Lin's prediction of the kingdom's fall.

• Alleria questioned Yu Lin about the war map, and he predicted Stormwind City's fall and discussed the eastern front and Gnomeregan.
• Alleria confronted Yu Lin about Sylvanas's fate, and he confessed that Arthas would kill her and the Lich King would resurrect her as the Banshee Queen.
• Alleria demanded that Yu Lin find a way to save Sylvanas, but he insisted that knowing the future did not mean he could change it.
• Alleria considered replacing Sylvanas on an expedition to Outland, while Yu Lin argued that the elves should retreat if they could not win.
• Yu Lin condemned Alleria and Quel'Thalas's leaders for gambling their people's survival on victory, and Alleria angrily challenged his prediction that the kingdom would fall.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk explained to Sylvanas and Alleria why Quel'Thalas could not defeat the undead or the demons and urged them to conceal the Sunwell's survival. The chapter left his plan at the point where they would move most of the Sunwell's water, stage its destruction, and let the enemy believe it was gone.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk described how the undead could replenish their ranks by raising fallen soldiers, souls, and ancient remains, leaving Sylvanas and Alleria doubtful that the High Elves could win alone.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk warned that the Lich King, Ner'zhul, served the demons Archimonde and Kil'jaeden, and that Archimonde could easily destroy Dalaran despite its Magical Shield.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk explained that the Sunwell attracted the undead and demons, while the High Elves depended on it and would become Wretched without it.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk proposed moving more than three quarters of the Sunwell's water, allowing the undead into Quel'Thalas, and detonating the remaining energy so everyone would believe the Sunwell had been destroyed.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk proposed staging the destruction of the Sunwell to protect Quel'Thalas, but Alleria and Sylvanas suspected he was preparing to flee the Hinterlands. He denied their accusations, then discussed Alleria’s future with Turalyon and said he wanted to stop meddling and live peacefully.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk suggested destroying the real Sunwell and staging the deaths of important figures so Quel'Thalas would be safe and its enemies revealed.
• Sylvanas explained that the king would likely try to control Yu Lin Bloodhawk if he learned how valuable his information was.
• Sylvanas accused Yu Lin Bloodhawk of giving up Quel'Danil and moving to the port so he could escape unnoticed.
• Alleria pressed Yu Lin Bloodhawk about whether he planned to run away, and he fell silent rather than answer.
• Alleria asked about Turalyon, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk said she would meet him soon and had once tried to keep her in Quel'Thalas to help Sylvanas.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk said he no longer wanted to meddle in major affairs and only wanted to live a decent life.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk negotiated with Alleria and Sylvanas over gryphons, troops, and supplies for the expedition against the orcs, while urging them to avoid melee and preserve their secret battle pets. After a deal with Sylvanas, the wine left Alleria dizzy and unconscious, while Sylvanas remained alert.

• Yu Lin refused Alleria’s request for this year’s gryphon quota, saying it was reserved for the Quel'Danil City Guard, and learned that the Farstriders were arranging to bring his ship to Quel'Danil.
• Yu Lin advised Alleria to demand needed goods from the humans and deploy mages, owls, and frostwolves while avoiding direct melee with the orcs and keeping the battle pets secret.
• Alleria bought two hundred owls from Yu Lin and agreed to assign mages to ranger units so they could conjure food if supplies were cut off.
• Sylvanas bought gryphons for the Windrunner Burning Legion with thirty thousand Quel'Thalas gold coins, and Yu Lin celebrated the deal with wine.
• Alleria became dizzy after drinking, but Sylvanas kept eating and gave her a sweet, tart drink; Alleria then lost consciousness.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk woke beside Alleria and offered her the choice to kill him or become his woman, but she left without answering. After finding blood on the bedsheet, he pursued her to the Harbor and organized a search, fearing for her safety.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk woke with Alleria beside him, dressed in spare clothes, and prepared breakfast while she kept her distance.
• After breakfast, Yu Lin Bloodhawk placed a Runesword before Alleria and told her she could kill him or become his woman.
• Alleria asked why he had avoided her and, after he explained his fear of important people’s fates, grasped the sword but left without taking it or speaking further.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk found a crimson stain on the sheet and rushed after Alleria, learning she had returned to the Harbor through the Magic Teleportation Circle.
• At the Harbor, Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned no ships had left that morning, barred departures, and sent Gryphon Riders and troll soldiers to search for Alleria.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk tried to make Alleria meet him, but she sent him a message and escaped to Quel'Thalas with a teleportation scroll. He resolved to find her someday and turned his attention back to preparations for the coming war.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk sealed the Harbor and publicly urged Alleria to come out and speak with him.
• Eleven Windrunner Burning Legion Rangers delivered Alleria’s message that she needed peace and asked Yu Lin Bloodhawk to help Captain Sylvanas.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned Alleria had used a teleportation scroll to return to Quel'Thalas and sat by the sea in despair.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk regained his spirits beneath the moon and declared that he would find Alleria wherever she went; her Rangers stayed to protect him.
• A Gryphon Rider reported new arrivals, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered recruitment and preparations to gather Worgs and Wild Bears with the Vilebranch Trolls.
• Yilo Dawnwind identified herself as Alleria’s personal bodyguard and asked whether the King had sent people.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk entertained Yiluo Morningwind and the dining hall by singing songs from his former homeland and telling riddles. He left the human soldier stumped with a trick question about Xiao Ming's father.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk reminisced with Yiluo Morningwind about Alleria and agreed to sing a stirring, beautiful song.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk sang Ode to the Motherland, moving the listeners in the dining hall despite the language barrier.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk sang two more songs at the crowd's request, then stopped because he was still hungry.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk joked that pigs died from being dumb and challenged a human soldier with a riddle about what horses ate.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked the human soldier to name Xiao Ming's father in two seconds, and the soldier failed to answer.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk joked with Yiluo Chenfeng and the female Windrunner elves over dinner, teasing them about Alleria and his freedom to stray. The elves kept watch over him under Alleria’s orders, and he ended the evening promising to remain faithful to his wife.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk made the human soldier misunderstand a joke about Xiao Ming and Lao Ming, amusing the elves at the table.
• While the elves laughed over dinner, Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked what Alleria was doing and learned that she often reviewed documents late at night.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk advised the elves to smile and joked that women should make themselves beautiful for the world.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk joked about straying beyond the wall, and Yiluo Chenfeng warned him that she and the other elves would stop him.
• Yiluo Chenfeng said the elves had orders both to guard Yu Lin Bloodhawk and keep watch on him, so he promised to be a faithful husband.

Unable to sleep, Yu Lin Bloodhawk worried about Alleria’s unexplained departure and dreamed of finding her. Alleria secretly watched over him, reflected on her growing feelings, and slipped away after laughing at his sleep-talk.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk lay awake thinking about Alleria and feared she might be going to her death, then promised the moon he would help Sylvanas and hoped Alleria would stay alive.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk rocked in his hammock, sang “Painted Heart,” and fell asleep in tears.
• Alleria appeared beside the hammock, wiped Yu Lin Bloodhawk’s tears, and considered how her attention to him had changed into uncertain affection.
• Alleria listened as Yu Lin Bloodhawk called out names and rambled about a duel in his sleep, then teased him before fleeing when she laughed too loudly.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk woke and wondered whether he had hallucinated, while Alleria returned to her quarters and giggled beneath her blankets.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk planned how to solve the Hinterlands’ food shortage through grain crops, breadfruit grafting, and farm labor, while realizing his boar-breeding project needed artificial insemination. After spending the night drawing tools for the work, he headed to breakfast with plans to visit the breeding grounds.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk worried about Alleria and decided to focus on preparing the Seaside Plain and solving its food problem.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk planned to travel to Quel'Thalas for breadfruit seedlings and branches, then experiment with grafting them onto tong millet or other plants.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk considered planting corn and wheat for immediate supplies and recruiting refugees or local trolls to farm.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk realized giant bloodfang boars and common boars could not mate naturally and concluded that artificial insemination was necessary.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk reasoned that boar scent markings might help attract males and decided to visit the breeding grounds to investigate.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk drew designs and performance requirements for breeding tools through the night, then washed up and went to breakfast.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk discussed boar breeding, his plans to visit Quel'Thalas and join the coming battlefield, and his views on alliances and righteousness with Yiluo Chenfeng and the female Rangers. He argued that the High Elves should demand payment before helping humans fight the Orcs, then set off to speak with Xie Ci, accompanied by the Rangers.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told Yiluo Chenfeng that Bloodfang Boars could not mate naturally with ordinary female boars and learned that other groups faced the same problem.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk said he would visit Quel'Thalas and join the battlefield to keep watch over his claimed wife, Alleria.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk argued that righteousness depended on whose interests were served and that the High Elves should help humans against the Orcs only in exchange for supplies and other payment.
• Yiluo Chenfeng and another Ranger challenged Yu Lin Bloodhawk's views, but he defended his position with an analogy about children fighting over an apple.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk said he was going to speak with Xie Ci on the First Level, and Yiluo Chenfeng and the other female Rangers joined him.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk hired Vilebranch Trolls to clear land and plant Tong Millet, promising them a better future if they worked peacefully. As he traveled with Yiluo Chenfeng and the Rangers, he explained that Elves descended from Dark Trolls and joked about human ancestry, leaving Yiluo Chenfeng embarrassed and annoyed.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked Evil Spikes to recruit Vilebranch Trolls to clear trees and plant Tong Millet saplings for millet wages.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk promised the Trolls settlements and urged them to abandon violence and harmful customs, inspiring Evil Spikes and his soldiers.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk explained to Yiluo Chenfeng and the Rangers that Dark Trolls near the Well of Eternity became the ancestors of Elves, naga, and Satyrs.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk described the Night Elves' nobles becoming the Highborne and said humans descended from monkeys or gorillas.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk joked that a monkey might steal their commander away, and Yiluo Chenfeng blushed and snapped at him.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk worked with mages and rangers to plan artificial boar breeding and teach them basic biology, then proposed a secret research institute to develop better boars for Quel'Thalas. After the group imposed strict confidentiality, Yiluo Chenfeng offered to disguise him as a Windrunner soldier so he could secretly return to Quel'Thalas.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk showed the mages his blueprints, arranged for gryphon riders to collect ooze skins, and discussed building an artificial female bloodfang boar.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk spent several days teaching the mages and rangers biology, then outlined a crossbreeding program to develop stronger, more productive boars for Quel'Thalas.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk warned that dangerous people could misuse biological research, prompting Yiluo Chenfeng to forbid attendees from leaving the Hinterlands or sharing what they had learned.
• Gaddediwa Farstrider introduced himself as the Farstriders' archmage and asked to send a guard squad, while Yiluo Chenfeng confirmed her authority to represent the Windrunner Burning Legion.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk proposed establishing a Secret Research Institute and asked how he could return to Quel'Thalas despite being forbidden to enter.
• Yiluo Chenfeng offered to disguise Yu Lin Bloodhawk as one of her soldiers and take him into Quel'Thalas, while the guards stayed behind to discuss confidentiality and the institute's location.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk inspected the pig farm and planned a new, better-situated farm and garrison, but learned that the Household Guard was difficult to recruit. Yiluo Chenfeng revealed that his old squadrons and hundreds of troll followers still awaited him on Shalandis Isle, while Gaddediwa urged moving the farm away from the harbor for secrecy.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk inspected the pig farm, counted its boars, and decided to establish a dedicated guard unit while addressing waste and drainage problems.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk marked a high, defensible site on the map for a new boar farm and two watchtowers, then learned that factional recruits complicated staffing the Household Guard.
• Yiluo Chenfeng told Yu Lin Bloodhawk that his Snow Leopard and Dire Wolf squadrons remained on Shalandis Isle under Sylvanas, along with more than six hundred troll followers led by Zuga.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk said he would visit Shalandis Isle, while Yiluo Chenfeng teased him about Vashj and his relationships.
• Gaddediwa advised Yu Lin Bloodhawk to move the pig farm at least ten kilometers from the harbor to protect the nearby research institute's secrecy.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk planned a harbor outpost and a breeding program to build a battle-pet force, then learned that a fleet of human refugees from the Kingdom of Stormwind had arrived. He arranged for the ships to enter and sent a message to Sylvanas, planning to meet her in Tarren Mill while the refugees were settled.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Gaddediwa, and Yiluo Chenfeng agreed on plans for an outpost, harbor defenses, and training troops with Bloodfang Boars.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk agreed to assign one hundred and fifty boars to the Windrunners and one hundred and twenty to the Farstriders, aiming to build a true Steel Torrent over the coming years.
• A gryphon rider reported that around fifty human ships carrying refugees from the Kingdom of Stormwind were approaching the harbor, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered the guards to receive them and summon Tom.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk decided to seek help from Sylvanas with refugee costs and learned that she was headed to Lordaeron for negotiations.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk sent an owl-borne message to Thirteen at Southshore, asking him to alert Sylvanas that Yu Lin Bloodhawk would wait for her in Tarren Mill.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk revised his plans to receive Stormwind refugees, assigning them work reclaiming the Seaside Plain while arranging funding, supplies, and security. He prepared to transfer Quel'Danil City to its new council and guard, keeping refugees separate from the elves and leaving Evil Spikes and his trolls to manage work on the First Level.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk estimated that tens of thousands of Stormwind refugees could arrive and redrew the Seaside Plain into road-connected settlement and farming areas.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk planned to divide refugees into villages of a thousand, have them reclaim farmland and build roads, and charge them a share of their harvest as tax.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk assigned Thirteen's soldiers to manage the refugees, trolls to security, and the Snow Leopard and Dire Wolf units as emergency forces, while requesting military tents and funding for construction.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned that Quel'Danil's council had been selected and its City Guard was at full strength, then ordered the council to meet him and the city's ballistas moved to the harbor.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered the military supply warehouses sealed and the refugees housed separately from the elves as the new council and City Guard took over Quel'Danil.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk decided Evil Spikes and his men would remain on the First Level to manage the Vilebranch Trolls, with any willing workers later sent to mine on the Fourth Level.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk organized the creation of an elven council and planned to move the City Guard and more elven civilians to Quel'Danil City amid an influx of human refugees. The council began planning the city’s economy around weapons and armor made from its alloy ore, while Yu Lin prepared to develop food production at the harbor.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk summoned six elected elven councilors and told them that thousands of refugees from the Kingdom of Stormwind had arrived, with many more possibly to come.
• Yu Lin established the council immediately and tasked the councilors with planning Quel'Danil City, moving the City Guard there, and considering whether elven civilians should relocate.
• Yu Lin proposed using Quel'Danil’s lumber, hunting resources, and alloy vein to develop local industries, and the Tinker Town representative suggested forging weapons and armor.
• Yiluo Chenfeng and Gaddediwa offered orders for 2,400 sets of excellent-quality standard-issue equipment for the Windrunner Burning Legion and the Farstriders.
• The councilors discussed magical goods and potions, but lacked shipbuilding craftsmen and suitable timber near the harbor.
• Yu Lin offered to let Quel'Danil use the mines’ income for its first three years of construction and planned to build a Food Production Base at the harbor.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk negotiated development funding for the city by arranging a gold-mine partnership with the Windrunner family, then joked about the cost of seeing his wife. The chapter ended with a human soldier reporting that the innkeeper from Westfall had arrived.

• Yu Lin Bloodhawk told the councilors they could organize the city but had to fund development themselves, then agreed to provide terms for an initial loan.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk proposed a three-year gold-mine partnership requiring a one-hundred-thousand-gold-coin deposit, and Yiluo Chenfeng revealed that the Windrunner family had already accepted.
• Yiluo Chenfeng presented a contract bearing Alleria Windrunner's seal, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk agreed that the Windrunner family would supply the miners and receive the mine's proceeds.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk instructed Yiluo Chenfeng to deliver the deposit in cash to the Quel'Danil Council, while the councilors left regretting the deal they had missed.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk joked with Yiluo Chenfeng and the elves about spending hundreds of thousands of gold coins to see his wife.
• A human soldier reported that the innkeeper from Westfall had arrived, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered him brought in.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned how Tom and nearly ten thousand human refugees had fled the war and endured starvation at sea. He arranged food, shelter, and soldiers to protect them, then led Yiluo Chenfeng and the other Elves to see the refugees as they arrived.

• Tom told Yu Lin Bloodhawk that refugees had fled across Westfall and sailed from port to port after being denied refuge, with many dying along the way.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk learned that nearly ten thousand refugees remained and gave the starving Tom bread and water.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk ordered soldiers to distribute small portions of porridge, guard the refugees, and prepare tents and temporary shelters.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk assigned human soldiers and the City Guard to maintain order and prevent clashes between the refugees and Elves.
• Yiluo Chenfeng tried Yu Lin Bloodhawk's conjured bread, and he explained why he wanted every soldier to learn Conjure Bread and Conjure Water.
• Yu Lin Bloodhawk led Yiluo Chenfeng and the other Elves to the watchtower, where they saw the emaciated refugees gathering at the temporary shelter.