Chapter Summaries

Rowan returned to King's Bay, rescued Leonard and his family from Lashius, and forced Lashius to surrender coastal defense authority. He arranged for Leonard’s family to settle elsewhere and quietly gave Inee money for Bunian before departing with Lucille.

• Lashius had Leonard beaten and threatened to keep him imprisoned, while Bunian challenged him and Lashius struck the child.
• Rhonin arrived and used a Translocation Spell to remove Lashius from the dungeon, allowing Leonard and his family to escape.
• Rowan confronted Lashius at the prison and ordered William, Ellen, and David to beat him until Lashius agreed to transfer coastal defense authority.
• Rowan left the prison with Leonard’s family and Mather, then discussed arranging work and housing for Inee and Bunian.
• Rowan privately gave Inee money for Bunian, and Lucille appeared behind him as the boat carrying Inee and Bunian sailed away.

Lucille apologized to Rowan over the marriage proposal, but he clarified that he loved Jaina and would not marry her. After Rowan left, Lucille and Jaina talked about their feelings, and Jaina affirmed that she would give everything for Rowan.

• Lucille told Rowan that Arthur had explained the marriage proposal, and Rowan said political marriages between noble families were normal but that he and Lucille could not marry.
• Rowan urged Lucille to look elsewhere and left for town, while Lucille remained at the harbor.
• Jaina joined Lucille, and the two friends teased each other about Rowan and Lucille’s unrequited feelings.
• Lucille asked Jaina whether she had any chance with Rowan, and Jaina suggested he would not divide his love between them.
• After playfully fighting, Jaina told Lucille she would give everything for Rowan and called him another Kul Tiras in her heart.

Rowan rewarded Ellen with an alchemy laboratory and a monthly budget, then went with Jaina to Boralus to make their engagement official after Rhonin urged them to stop delaying marriage and children. In Boralus, Rowan consulted Floyd about a bold postwar economic policy and asked for his opinion.

• Rowan gave Ellen a large alchemy laboratory and a monthly budget of 500 gold coins, while telling him to keep Byron from overspending and to encourage him to find a girlfriend.
• Jaina confronted Rowan after overhearing his teasing, and the two exchanged affectionate banter in front of the factory workers.
• Rhonin said he missed his wife and son, then criticized Rowan and Jaina for dating without marrying or having children.
• Rowan and Jaina traveled to Boralus, where Rowan declared that they were making their relationship official.
• Rowan visited the Norwington Family merchants' guild and asked Floyd for advice on a bold postwar economic policy.

Rowan decided against launching a broad economic war against Kul Tiras’s nobles, but he still sought to profit from their weakened merchants’ guilds without placing the costs on ordinary people. Floyd proposed buying land and building small markets, leaving Rowan impressed by the plan.

• Rowan weighed the risks of challenging Kul Tiras’s nobles and told Floyd he would avoid spearheading reform for now.
• Floyd reviewed the guild reports and explained how rival guilds had resisted Norwington goods while Illucia’s Barov Merchants’ Guild resold them at a markup.
• Rowan realized that the nobles were passing the economic pressure on to ordinary people and expressed concern about the harm to their livelihoods.
• Floyd proposed buying land and building small markets, and Rowan praised the idea.

Rowan approved Floyd’s plan to build small marketplaces across Kul Tiras and promised substantial funding to win over local nobles. After discussing the coming grain delivery, Rowan met with Jaina and Illucia, agreeing to meet Illucia that night to discuss business.

• Floyd explained that the marketplaces would build support among local nobles and create a trade network centered on the Norwington Family.
• Rowan approved the initiative and allocated two hundred million gold coins for buying land and establishing small markets.
• Rowan told Floyd that grain from the Norwington Estate would reach Boralus the next day, and Floyd agreed to give lesser nobles an early taste of the benefits.
• Jaina waited with Rowan as Illucia visited, and she clung to Rowan’s arm while trading pointed remarks with Illucia.
• Illucia arranged to meet Rowan at the Starry Inn that night to discuss business.

Rowan secured Daelin’s approval to marry Jaina and learned Daelin wanted him to consider becoming Kul Tiras’s next Admiral. After celebrating with Jaina’s family, Rowan met Illucia to discuss business, but her drunken confession left him trying to escape.

• Rowan asked Daelin for Jaina’s hand, and Daelin approved but said their parents should meet to formalize the engagement.
• Daelin hinted that he wanted Rowan to succeed him as Admiral and warned him to treat Jaina well.
• Rowan called Daelin Father before Daelin fell asleep after drinking with the family.
• Rowan met Illucia at the Starry Inn, where she drank wine while he drank tea.
• Illucia told Rowan she hated him, then admitted she wanted to talk about something besides business and embraced him.
• Rowan pulled away and tried to leave, but Illucia stopped him, saying she had something to tell him.

Illucia confessed her loneliness and feelings to Rowan, who spent the night at the inn without taking advantage of her. The next day, Rowan organized the Outer Sea’s resources and appointed Hammer to oversee Morris Energy before learning that Brannon wanted to see him.

• Illucia told Rowan she was waiting for someone to save her, then drunkenly murmured about her father and finding him; Rowan tied her up and slept on the rug beside her bed.
• Illucia ate breakfast with Rowan and watched him leave the inn reluctantly.
• At the merchants’ meeting, Rowan assigned Earl Terry to consolidate Outer Sea resources, Kande to restructure factories, Floyd to oversee Norwington’s finances and trade, and Hammer to manage Morris Energy.
• Hammer tried to refuse the position, but Rowan explained that he valued clean management and steady supply, then encouraged Hammer to court Jasmine.
• Rowan stayed in Boralus, where Valeera arrived and reported that Brannon wanted to see him.

Brannon persuaded Rowan to lend him a warship so he could search for Faye, offering his father’s Seabreeze staff in return. Meanwhile, Faye recovered on a remote island, where she learned that Sataia had been rescued and raised by the orc Drak'Sool; Drak'Sool sent them south toward Kul Tiras, and they left together on a raft.

• Brannon asked Rowan for a warship to search for Faye and offered him the Seabreeze staff, and Rowan agreed to send a ship that afternoon.
• Faye woke in Sataia’s hut and learned that she had been stranded on an island in the Great Sea for about ten years.
• Faye reacted with hostility when Drak'Sool arrived, but Sataia explained that he had rescued her and was a good person.
• Drak'Sool warned Faye to avoid the power Gul'dan had sought and gave her a route back to Kul Tiras.
• Drak'Sool urged Sataia to leave with Faye, and they departed southeast on a raft as he watched them go.

At the Zanchul Defense Conference, King Rastakhan directed Zandalar to treat Kul Tiras as its hypothetical enemy, and Zuluhed privately argued that Zandalar should help revive the Horde instead of fighting Kul Tiras alone. Rastakhan remained wary but considered Zuluhed’s proposal as the chapter ended with the orc adviser asserting the Horde’s strength.

• After recalling the disastrous Blood Troll war, King Rastakhan convened the Zanchul Defense Conference, where Talanji and the council considered the threat from Kul Tiras.
• King Rastakhan ordered Iroti to change the empire’s hypothetical enemy to Kul Tiras, and the assembled councilors and religious leaders supported the decision.
• After the conference, Zuluhed told Rastakhan that Zandalar had no chance of victory against Kul Tiras and proposed changing the course of the war.
• Rastakhan questioned whether Zuluhed truly supported Talanji and challenged his claims about the orcs’ former honor.
• Zuluhed argued that helping the Horde would serve Zandalar’s interests, and Rastakhan asked why he should believe the Horde could become powerful.
• Zuluhed insisted that the Horde had the strength to revive once the internment camps were liberated.

Rowan negotiated with Illucia for the Barov Merchants' Guild to supply grain for his plan to undercut Kul Tiras's merchants, agreeing to spend one evening a week keeping her company. After Jaina's engagement brought him ten thousand emotion points, Rowan spent them through the system on Engineering and a Modern Internal Combustion Engine.

• Floyd urged Rowan to secure a grain order from the Barov Merchants' Guild, and Rowan visited Illucia at the Starry Inn.
• Illucia rushed to meet Rowan after his long wait, and he teased her about her sheer dress before they turned to business.
• Rowan explained that he wanted to sell grain cheaply to weaken rival merchants' guilds, and he threatened to give away the Norwington Estate's grain rather than lose a price war.
• Illucia agreed to the grain deal in exchange for Rowan spending one evening a week chatting with her, and she asked him to bring President Floyd to sign the agreement.
• Rowan used 9,999 emotion points to buy Engineering and 2,333 points to purchase a Modern Internal Combustion Engine.

Moss learned of Jaina and Rowan’s engagement, then took on work reforming the Third Fleet as Lord Ashvane urged the family to adapt to Rowan’s growing power. Meanwhile, Byron left the farm for Boralus and reunited with Rowan, whose drunken wedding talk ended with Jaina pinching him.

• Moss accepted Jaina’s engagement and prepared to serve in the fleet, while Lord Ashvane tasked him with helping reform the Third Fleet.
• Lord Ashvane warned Priscilla that the Ashvane Family needed to realign itself with Rowan, and she acknowledged the consequences of her past actions.
• After recovering at Broll’s farm, Byron boarded a grain ship to Boralus with Ellen and Valeera, but neither would lend him money.
• Rowan welcomed Byron at Hook Point, and the group later gathered for dinner at the guild’s reception hall.
• Byron asked when Rowan and Jaina would marry, and a drunken Rowan teased his friends about courting before Jaina pinched him.

Byron submitted Lashius’s battle reports to the Military Tribunal, then traveled to Brendanna to oversee the Norwington Family’s grain sales. When House Stormsong’s deputy branch head, Tony Ma, tried to pressure the guild, Byron bluffed him with escalating offers and left him wavering.

• Byron delivered the Battle Reports to the Trial Office, where Eric reacted with shock after reading them.
• Byron traveled to Brendanna and helped Adrian unload the first shipment of grain into the guild’s warehouses.
• Byron instructed Adrian to sell grain to local small guilds as arranged by Guildmaster Floyd.
• Tony Ma confronted Byron and Adrian, demanding half the grain for House Stormsong’s branch.
• Byron pretended to offer Tony Ma five times his current pay, then laughed and admitted he was kidding.

Rowan sailed to Southshore to expand trade and let tensions over the Norwington Family's grain monopoly cool, while his Iron Battleships deterred pirates along the way. In Southshore, Mayor Maleb introduced him to Lieutenant General Blackmoore, who invited Rowan to visit Durnholde.

• Rowan paid Rhonin's three recruited Level Four mages for their work on steam engines and mechanical research in Morris Town.
• Rowan sailed toward Southshore aboard four Iron Battleships with Jaina, Lucille, and Illucia, who kept one another from spending time alone with him.
• Rowan asked Valeera Sanguinar to introduce him to Baron Sanguinar so he could pursue trade in magical materials, and Valeera agreed to go.
• Rowan's party arrived in Southshore, where Mayor Maleb introduced him to Lieutenant General Blackmoore, commander of Durnholde.
• Blackmoore praised Rowan's role in the Iron Tide Naval Battle and invited him to visit the castle.

Byron and Adrian refused Tony Ma’s attempt to block Norwington’s cheap grain sales and resolved to build their own distribution network. In Southshore, Rowan sent Valeera away, found Lucille a role gathering intelligence, and spotted a striking young paladin outside the Council Hall.

• Tony Ma threatened a boycott of Norwington’s grain trade, but Byron and Adrian chose to find new ways to reach Stormsong Valley’s people.
• Tony Ma left after Adrian accused him of exploiting the common people, and Byron vowed to create sales channels despite the boycott.
• Rowan gave Valeera travel money and sent her by ship, asking her to recruit mages if possible.
• Rowan offered Lucille work gathering information as a journalist, and she accepted despite his refusal to pay her a salary.
• Rowan noticed a handsome young paladin leading a squad of knights outside Southshore’s Council Hall.

Arthas inspected Durnholde Keep’s overcrowded orc camps and discussed their failing management with Blackmoore, while Rowan pursued business deals and teased Illucia about marriage. Jaina warned Rowan that Arthas had arrived, fearing Lordaeron might pressure her father into a political marriage.

• Arthas toured Durnholde Keep’s orc camps with Lieutenant Drak and saw their growing population and neglected conditions.
• Blackmoore told Arthas that the camps were short on supplies and that his plan to make Thrall lead the orcs had failed.
• Arthas agreed with Uther and Tirion’s proposal to exile the orcs and considered asking Kul Tiras to contribute more funding.
• Rowan’s envoy departed for Silverpine Forest with his proposal to build factories with the Agamand family, while Illucia argued against his business plans.
• Rowan suggested a marriage arrangement to Illucia, then clarified he meant their children might marry, prompting her to punch him and storm off.
• Jaina warned Rowan that Arthas had arrived and feared Lordaeron’s court would pressure her father into a political marriage, but Rowan reassured her.

Rowan discussed the orc internment camps with Arthas, arguing that the Alliance had to resolve the burden of holding the prisoners rather than leave the issue to Lordaeron. He began proposing a solution, but the chapter ended before he explained it.

• Jaina recalled rejecting Arthas years earlier and choosing Rowan, then arrived with Rowan and Illucia for a meeting with the prince.
• Rowan and Arthas exchanged praise before Arthas raised Lordaeron’s burden of maintaining the orc internment camps.
• Rowan argued that the Alliance had collectively adopted the detention policy and that its members had to address the consequences.
• Rowan said he personally favored exterminating the orcs, then argued that exile was the most viable civilizational solution.
• Arthas questioned Rowan about what he meant, and Rowan raised two fingers to continue his proposal.

Rowan advised Arthas to either eliminate the orc prisoners or use the Horde’s infighting to make them potential allies against greater threats, while Jaina and Illucia clashed over Rowan. In Alterac Valley, Zuluhed met Drek'Thar and revealed news that left him stunned: a member of the Warsong Clan was still alive.

• Rowan outlined two ways to handle the orc prisoners, and Arthas rejected mass killing as contrary to his faith before considering Rowan’s strategy of exploiting orc infighting.
• Arthas learned that Rowan and Jaina planned to get engaged, declined Illucia’s attempt to arrange time alone with Jaina, and watched Jaina pull Illucia from the water after she fell in.
• Zuluhed led Zandalari trolls through Alterac Valley to find the Frostwolf Clan, whose warriors surrounded him before Kargesh escorted him to Drek'Thar.
• Zuluhed told Drek'Thar that a partner in Lordaeron had provided crucial information and presented him with a letter.
• Drek'Thar burned the letter and reacted in shock when he learned that someone from the Warsong Clan was still alive.

Zuluhed and Zul led the Zandalari Golden Guard in an assault on Internment Camps Seven to free the Warsong Clan. Zuluhed reached the dungeon and confronted Grom Hellscream, who seized him by the throat and demanded to know what he wanted.

• Lieutenant Aymark checked the camp and taunted the imprisoned Grom Hellscream, recalling how Grom had nearly destroyed his unit during the war.
• Zuluhed accepted a potion from Zul, then led the Golden Guard through the storm toward the camp while Zul arranged for the Pa'ku squad to drop a bomb.
• Zuluhed attacked the watchtowers and blasted open the camp gate as the trolls fought the defenders; the bomb's black mist swallowed the soldiers' signal flares.
• Zuluhed summoned an earth elemental to distract Aymark, then transformed into a Ghost Wolf and raced toward the dungeon while Zul fought Aymark.
• Priest Liana rescued Aymark with the Holy Light and urged him to retreat, but he refused to let the attackers reach the nearby villages and towns.
• Zuluhed freed Grom from his iron cage, denied betraying the orcs, and argued with him before Grom grabbed him by the throat and demanded to know his intentions.

Grom Hellscream confronted Zuluhed, accepted his call to rebuild the Horde, and restored his strength before helping the Warsong Clan escape the internment camp without killing its defenders. In Southshore, Rowan learned that Zuluhed and the Golden Guard had led the raids, while Grom had deliberately spared Lieutenant Aymark and his soldiers.

• Grom rejected Zuluhed's persuasion at first, but Zuluhed convinced him to take responsibility for the Horde's past and help restore its honor.
• Grom drank Zuluhed's gift from Krag'wa, regained his strength, and fought Aymark before ordering the orcs and Golden Guard to leave the camp.
• Grom released Aymark and disabled the soldiers who attacked him without killing them, then escaped to rejoin his forces.
• Rowan arranged medical supplies and met the wounded Aymark, questioning him about the raids on the internment camps.
• Aymark described blue-skinned trolls with golden armor and weapons, and confirmed that Grom had spared him and his soldiers after freeing the Warsong Clan.

Rowan stayed in Southshore and prepared his Iron Battleships to intercept the escaped orcs, while suspecting Zandalar had engineered the prison breaks and planted a traitor in the military. The chapter ended with Jaina waiting for Rowan as she discussed Archmage Ansirem’s failed levitation experiment with him.

• Rowan reassured Floyd that the Iron Battleships could profit from the turmoil and revealed that he planned to stop the escaped orcs from reaching the sea.
• Floyd urged Rowan to stay out of the fighting, but Rowan sent him back to Boralus after Floyd failed to change his mind.
• Rowan concluded that Zandalar was using the orc uprising to challenge the Alliance on land and suspected a high-ranking Southshore military traitor had helped the raid on the Seventh Internment Camp.
• Jaina waited for Rowan with Master Ansirem and asked about his failed experiment to develop a Levitation Spell.
• Ansirem explained that the magic he channeled could have lifted all of Dalaran, and Jaina imagined the city floating in the sky as the hall door opened.