Chapter Summaries

After Kul Tiras’s political purge, Rowan and Jaina became engaged and celebrated the New Year with family and friends. At their home, Jaina rebuffed Illucia and Lucille’s teasing about sharing Rowan, but Rowan still thanked both women as fireworks marked the new year.

• More than ten thousand people were imprisoned, and Lord Aldrius arranged Rowan and Jaina’s engagement on New Year’s Day.
• Rowan welcomed Lord Ashvane and other guests to the engagement celebration, while Aldrius and Ashvane discussed retirement and the Family Council.
• Rowan obtained Ellen’s Hangover Potion so he could avoid getting drunk during the evening festivities with Jaina.
• Rowan, Jaina, Illucia, and Lucille prepared dumplings together, and Jaina told Illucia and Lucille to stop thinking about her husband.
• As fireworks welcomed the New Year, Rowan fed Jaina a dumpling and secretly offered one each to Illucia and Lucille.

Eileen’s squad reached the Borean Tundra and copied a village map while gathering reports of worsening winter weather and strange occurrences. In Boralus, the Scourge Plague transformed prisoners into undead, prompting Rowan to kill the captured necromancer Briwood and tighten Kul Tiras’s defenses as Reki struggled against a strange controlling mind.

• Eileen questioned village chief Hathorne about the Borean Tundra and learned that the winter had brought unusually frequent snowfalls.
• Abney used magic to copy Hathorne’s seventy-year-old map, and Eileen gathered more information about strange events in the region.
• Reki realized that his meal had begun turning him undead and urgently summoned Rowan, who found Kulrag showing the same symptoms and ordered the dungeon sealed.
• Rowan traced the plague outbreak to a mind-controlled guard and Briwood, then had Briwood killed and ordered shipping routes sealed and military control of cargo shipments.
• Reki described his changing body and his connection to a strange controlling mind to Archmage Ansirem, who urged him to communicate with it and locate its source.

Eileen’s reconnaissance squad reached the deadly glaciers of Northrend, where Eileen admitted her fears and Bruce confessed his love, only to learn that she still cared for Rhonin. Rhonin followed the squad north with a map, while Rowan’s efforts in Kul Tiras continued and Ansirem helped Reki resist the Lich King’s influence.

• Eileen’s squad traveled through the Borean Tundra, received whale blubber from Tuskarr envoys, and entered the lifeless glaciers of Icecrown.
• Eileen and Bruce discussed turning back, and Bruce confessed his love and asked Eileen to give him a chance.
• Eileen revealed that she had once loved Rhonin and defended him as a good man who had risked himself to protect others.
• Rhonin reached Riplash Shore, learned the squad’s route from Village Chief Hathorne, and took the chief’s family map to follow them.
• Rowan relaxed after a week without undead incidents in Kul Tiras, while Ansirem continued teaching Reki how to resist the Lich King’s will.

Eileen and Bruce discovered a vast undead stronghold in Icecrown Glacier, but their investigation drew the attention of Anub'arak, king of Azjol-Nerub. Rhonin arrived to fight the pursuing Nerubians while Eileen called out her feelings, and Bruce remained buried beneath the ice, facing a choice.

• Bruce showed Eileen a necromantic iron pickaxe, and she decided they would investigate Icecrown Glacier together while the rest of the squad waited at the checkpoint.
• Eileen and Bruce found hundreds of undead carrying materials into a huge floating fortress, then watched Nerubian spider-creatures build a road to it.
• Anub'arak burst through the cavern cliffs and attacked Eileen and Bruce, leaving Eileen wounded before Bruce teleported them away.
• Anub'arak pursued the mages and buried them beneath shattered ice, but Rhonin arrived and blasted part of the creature's head shell.
• Rhonin fought off Anub'arak's scarabs while searching for a chance to rescue Eileen, who shouted that she was not okay; Bruce remained trapped beneath the ice.

Rhonin rescued Eileen from Icecrown Glacier, but Bruce revealed himself as a member of the Cult of the Damned and mortally wounded her before Rhonin could escape. After Eileen died in his arms, Rowan reorganized Kul Tiras’s economy and began planning academies and a heavily armed sky fortress.

• Rhonin fought Anub'arak and the scarabs, then chose to rescue Eileen rather than stay and battle the nerubian leader.
• Rhonin freed Eileen and Bruce from the ice, but Bruce attacked Eileen and revealed he had joined the Cult of the Damned; Rhonin killed him and teleported away with Eileen.
• Rhonin tried to heal Eileen, but an undead curse made her death inevitable, and she confessed her feelings before dying in his arms.
• Rowan transferred the Noble Group’s factories and merchants’ guilds to the Family Council and planned seven specialist schools for the Morris Inland Sea industrial district.
• Rowan showed Ansirem plans for a steel Sky Fortress armed with Mage Hunter Cannons and explained that he wanted it for defense against threats such as the Burning Legion.

Rowan discovered that coal pollution was harming workers in the Morris Industries District and went to seek solutions, while Talanji gathered intelligence on his growing power. Rhonin brought the newly undead Eileen away from Icecrown, where they spotted Talanji and Zul but chose not to confront them.

• Rowan noticed smog and coal ash causing coughing among workers, recognized the industrial district's pollution crisis, and headed to the research institute to find ways to reduce emissions.
• Talanji and Zul secured Zul'jin's agreement to join the Troll World Council, then kidnapped Dulus to question him about Rowan's influence in Kul Tiras.
• Talanji learned that Rowan controlled Kul Tiras's economy and had married Jaina; after Zul killed Dulus to protect the council's secrecy, Talanji threw the stolen coin purse into the water.
• Rhonin watched Eileen become undead, urged her to come with him, and took her toward Boralus while trying to preserve her consciousness against the Domination Will.
• Rhonin and Eileen spotted Talanji and Zul at Riplash Shore, but Rhonin declined to capture them because Eileen remained vulnerable to the will controlling her.

Illucia returned to Southshore and reported to Lord Alex, who welcomed the Norwington Family’s rise as a chance to challenge the Menethil Royal Court. After learning undead had appeared in Boralus, Alex secretly confronted Kel'Thuzad, who proposed using the incident to advance their plans against Lordaeron.

• Sackhoff worried that the Norwington Merchants' Guild's growing share of the grain trade threatened the Barov Merchants' Guild.
• Illucia recounted her recent dealings to Lord Alex, who approved of her support for the Norwington Family and told her she could pursue what she wanted.
• Illucia told Alex that undead creatures had appeared in Boralus, and his startled reaction left her wondering what he knew.
• Alex met Kel'Thuzad in an abandoned residence and accused him of violating their agreement by causing trouble in Boralus.
• Kel'Thuzad explained that Briwood's failed attempt to spread the plague had exposed the undead threat, then suggested using the news while keeping Lordaeron as their target.

Rowan pursued plans to develop the Liberator Type-A Fighter, prepared for the Alliance leadership meeting, and explained his vision of making extraordinary power accessible to ordinary people. Meanwhile, Talanji and Zul reached Gundrak, where the Drakkari offered to consider joining the troll World Council if Zandalar helped repel an undead invasion.

• Rowan showed Clark and Sataia the fighter blueprints, asked them to help at the academy, and invited Sataia to accompany him to Lordaeron.
• Rowan sent Byron to deliver grain to the Barov Family and scout ahead for his upcoming Alliance leadership meeting.
• Jaina questioned Rowan's plans to invest in high-speed aircraft, and Rowan said he wanted technology and magic to let ordinary people wield extraordinary power.
• Talanji and Zul reached Gundrak, where High Prophet Galdarah and the other high prophets described the undead invasion devastating Zul'Drak.
• Galdarah said the Drakkari would consider joining Talanji's World Council if Zandalar helped defeat the undead army.

Byron and Leonard secured grain shipments in Southshore against the Cult of the Damned’s plague, while Rhonin warned Rowan that a vast Scourge army in Northrend obeyed a single controlling will. The chapter ended with Rowan considering the threat of the Scourge’s flying citadels and the possible use of his flying carrier.

• Byron and Leonard sealed Southshore’s harbor, explained the plague threat to Mayor Maleb, and oversaw the unloading and inspection of grain, though a glowing anchor point remained hidden among the sacks.
• Rhonin brought Eileen, now undead, to meet Rowan and Jaina, and Rowan teased Rhonin about the way he and Eileen looked at each other.
• Rhonin told Rowan that the Scourge had gathered in great numbers at Icecrown Glacier and that a powerful will could summon and control undead, including Eileen.
• Rhonin said he had temporarily severed Eileen’s connection to the dark will and planned to take her to the Council of Tirisfal.
• Rhonin described the Scourge’s flying citadels, and Rowan wondered whether the flying carrier under development could help meet that threat.

Thrall discovered that the guards at an internment camp had mysteriously turned undead after he and Theresa delivered bread, while Rowan attended the Alliance conference in Tarren Mill and navigated a possible marriage alliance with Illucia. The chapter ended with Rowan and Illucia attracting attention in town as merchants reconsidered challenging him.

• Thrall grew troubled by the orcs’ distrust of him and told Theresa he was not ready to marry her, though he cared for her.
• Thrall and Theresa delivered bread to an internment camp, where the guards suddenly died and rose as undead with their own minds intact.
• Rowan visited Lord Alex with Illucia, discussed trade between their families, and deflected Alex’s questions about marrying Illucia.
• After dinner, Rowan tied Illucia up and slept; the next morning, he took her for a walk despite her teasing him about Jaina.
• Alliance merchants saw Rowan and Illucia together, and most of their would-be rivals dropped their hostility after learning who Rowan was.

Talanji and Zul helped defend Drak'Tharon Keep against the Scourge, where the Drakkari Loa Akali joined the battle before undead knights arrived. The chapter then shifted to a conference in Lordaeron, where Rowan met Varian Wrynn and asked to speak privately with Mathias Shaw.

• Talanji decided to keep trying to win over the Drakkari and build her authority among their tribes.
• Galdarah rallied the High Oracle Order to defend Drak'Tharon Keep, and Talanji and Zul joined the preparations.
• The Scourge attacked the keep, and Talanji and Zul fought as undead overwhelmed the walls.
• Akali emerged from underground and helped the Drakkari hold back the Scourge, while Zul realized Galdarah had stripped the Loa of its essence.
• Anub'Rekhan deployed ironclad undead knights against the Drakkari, and the battle continued.
• At a Lordaeron conference, Rowan met Varian Wrynn and asked to speak privately with Varian's bodyguard, Shaw.

A plague carried in grain turned hundreds of orcs and humans undead, then spread to villages near Southshore, where the Norwington Merchants' Guild was blamed. Rowan faced Terenas at the Alliance meeting while Tirion released Byron from prison and brought him to meet Rowan.

• Thrall sealed the internment camp after contaminated grain turned its inhabitants undead, and Blackmoore ordered the granaries closed and the infected grain destroyed.
• Thrall and Drak set out to investigate the grain supply, but the plague erupted in two villages, and Mayor Maleb traced the shipment to the Norwington Merchants' Guild.
• Byron prepared to burn the warehouse grain, but Illucia stopped him and urged him to preserve evidence; she then returned to Tarren Mill while Leonard went to protect Rowan.
• At the Alliance meeting, Tirion reported that nearly ten thousand people had been infected and that reports implicated Norwington grain; Rowan demanded an evidence-based investigation as Terenas suspended the meeting.
• Tirion met Byron after his release from Southshore's dungeon, assured him that he did not believe Byron was responsible, and escorted him to Rowan.

At Drak'Tharon Keep, the Drakkari fought the Scourge as their high oracles used the Loa’s stolen power, while Rowan investigated contaminated grain with Illucia in Southshore. The chapter ended with Rowan recognizing the name North and asking Illucia if she would stay by his side.

• Scourge runic blades turned wounded Drakkari soldiers into undead, and Galdarah enlarged Akali in Rhino Form to attack the undead knights.
• Xilitus joined the defense, and Talanji realized the high oracles had stripped the Loa of their power and that Slad'ran was using Xilitus’s body.
• Iron-shelled scarabs attacked Talanji, Akali, and Xilitus; Zul protected Talanji, and a mammoth drove scarabs off the Loa, while Xilitus’s poison killed allies as well as undead.
• Rowan asked Illucia whether the Barov Family had hired new mages, and she revealed that her father had hired an archmage named North shortly before the grain trade began.
• Rowan recognized North as possibly the Plaguebringer and asked Illucia whether she would trust him and stay by his side; she blushed and avoided answering directly.

Rowan countered Terenas’s attempt to blame the Norwington Merchants’ Guild for the plague, and the Alliance leaders left their meeting without an agreement. Later, Rowan, Modera, and Rhonin discussed the Cult of the Damned’s rapid-acting plague and the Scourge threat, while Modera agreed only to take Rowan’s concerns back to the Council of Six.

• Modera reported that none of 273 samples from the Norwington Merchants’ Guild’s warehouses showed abnormal energy, while 27 of 234 samples from the Barov Family’s warehouses did.
• Terenas called for military protection of grain trade, implying that mishandled shipments had enabled the plague, and Rowan answered by blaming the Cult of the Damned and offering a 30% price cut on goods from Boralus.
• Greymane supported Rowan’s focus on containing the plague, and the Alliance leadership meeting ended without a consensus.
• Illucia asked Rowan to visit Barov Manor that night, while Jaina warned him not to go; Rhonin secretly found an invisible Teleportation Anchor in the Barov Merchants’ Guild’s granary.
• Rowan told Modera and Rhonin that the plague could turn people into undead in under an hour and warned that the Scourge was preparing to conquer Northrend.
• Rhonin urged the Kirin Tor to lead the Alliance against the undead, but Modera said she would bring Rowan’s views to the Council of Six.

The Scourge’s assault on Zul'Drak exposed the High Oracle Order’s deception and brought Galdarah and Moorabi into battle with Anub'Rekhan. Meanwhile, Rowan investigated the Barov Family’s possible ties to the Cult of the Damned and warned Illucia that he would hold her father accountable if the accusations were true.

• Anub'Rekhan ordered the Scourge to conquer Zul'Drak, then pulled his forces back when the Drakkari prophets used the Loa’s power against them.
• The Scourge’s necromantic spell revealed Galdarah and Moorabi inside Akali and Mathos, exposing that the High Oracle Order had killed the Loa and taken their power.
• Galdarah used Akali’s senses to locate Anub'Rekhan underground, and he and Moorabi attacked the Crypt Lord after collapsing much of Drak'Tharon Keep.
• Talanji asked Zul about their chances of victory, and Zul estimated them at fifty percent.
• Rowan considered whether Alex had allied with the Cult of the Damned and the Norwington Family, then sent Number Zero to watch Sataia and went to meet Illucia.
• Rowan told Illucia he would not protect Alex if he had colluded with the Cult of the Damned, and Illucia wondered why her father had chosen power over everything else.

Illucia learned that her father, Alex, had colluded with the Cult of the Damned, then followed him to the hidden manor on North Mountain. There, Kel'Thuzad revealed the alliance was breaking down over the plague’s spread and used Illucia’s presence to pressure Alex, while ordering Putress to find Prince Arthas.

• Rowan comforted Illucia after she confirmed that Alex had supported the Cult of the Damned, and she asked him to hold her before he left.
• Illucia followed Alex into the woods on North Mountain, passed through a Mirror Image illusion, and found a hidden manor where she lit a fire against the cold.
• Alex visited Kel'Thuzad’s manor and demanded to know why the plague had not yet been reported in Stratholme.
• Kel'Thuzad told Alex that the House of Menethil had suppressed reports of infected villages and that the Cult intended to spread the plague through Lordaeron.
• Alex tried to end the Barov Family’s partnership with the Cult, but Kel'Thuzad revealed that Illucia knew about their deal and warned Alex to preserve the status quo.
• After Alex left in anger, Kel'Thuzad told Putress to go to The Sepulcher and find Prince Arthas.

Arthas defied his assignment to patrol The Sepulcher only after Uther refused to let him leave for Stratholme, and he encountered Putress while out with Faria. Meanwhile, Anub'Rekhan unleashed the Lich King's Undead Storm against the Drakkari, leaving Talanji and Zul trying to protect their soldiers.

• Arthas ordered Faria to prepare for Stratholme, but Uther insisted that Arthas fulfill his duty guarding The Sepulcher.
• Arthas and Faria noticed a sudden chill while walking toward the northern crossroads and encountered Putress.
• Arthas wounded Putress with Holy Light, while Putress's Ice Spike injured Faria and spread cold energy through his body.
• Arthas used Lay on Hands to save Faria, allowing Putress to escape toward the patrol post.
• Anub'Rekhan activated the Death Formation and unleashed the Undead Storm across the battlefield.
• Talanji spread Torga's Mist and called the afflicted Drakkari soldiers to gather around her.

Talanji escaped the Death Storm through a passage dug by Dak'uru, while Arthas survived Putress's plague attack and learned that the Cult of the Damned had an outpost in Tarren Mill. Rowan questioned Mathias Shaw about his visit to Boralus and discovered evidence that a Boralus operative had secretly incapacitated him.

• Talanji and Zul found their escape route blocked, but Dak'uru opened a passage beneath the rubble and led them toward the city exit.
• Arthas used his shattered Holy Pact to survive Putress's plague, then fought the infected Paladins alongside Faria.
• Arthas defeated Putress, learned that the Cult of the Damned had an outpost in Tarren Mill, and set off to report to Lord Uther.
• Rowan questioned Mathias Shaw about his Boralus visit, and Shaw recalled being watched by a female Stealth User and losing awareness after being struck with Sap.
• Rowan concluded that a Boralus operative working for the Old Gods had been acting as a mole.

Arthas investigated the Barov Family and confronted Lord Alex, who admitted to Illucia that he was pursuing vengeance through his alliance with the Cult of the Damned. Illucia tried to protect her father, and Rowan struck her before offering Alex one chance to change course.

• Arthas broke with Uther and searched Barov Manor, but found no evidence of the Cult of the Damned; Lord Alex challenged his accusations and agreed to bring Illucia to him.
• Alex found Illucia near North Mountain Manor and confessed that he had allied with the Cult of the Damned to take revenge on the House of Menethil, despite knowing innocent people would suffer.
• Illucia returned to Tarren Mill and answered Arthas's questions truthfully, while concealing her father's involvement.
• Illucia went to Rowan and asked him to spare Alex, then offered to take her father's place as the suspect; Rowan slapped her and said he would give Alex one chance.

After fleeing Drak'Tharon Keep, Talanji led the surviving Drakkari through Grizzly Hills and secured passage from the Snow Spring Tribe, while learning of a wounded Loa at Rock Spring. Meanwhile, Rowan kept Illucia and Jaina confined as he prepared to set a trap for Lord Alex.

• Dak'uru guided Talanji and the Drakkari south through Grizzly Hills after the fall of Drak'Tharon Keep.
• Talanji and Dak'uru entered the Snow Spring Tribe's village, where Talanji spoke with the chieftain in Common.
• Talanji told the Snow Spring Chieftain about the Scourge and invited his people to flee with the Drakkari, but he chose to hide in the southern mountains.
• The Snow Spring Chieftain granted the Drakkari passage and told Talanji that a wounded Loa was recovering at Rock Spring; Talanji accepted the task.
• Rowan ordered Illucia and Jaina to stay put so they could not warn Lord Alex, then prepared to set a trap for him.