Chapter Summaries

Nathanos ordered Belmont to find Muradin and redirect Forsaken forces from Northrend while keeping their Kalimdor stronghold secret. In Stormwind, Varian learned that the Argent Crusade had declared the Forsaken allies and that they had revealed Muradin was alive, complicating any Alliance response.

• Nathanos ordered Belmont to find Muradin, recall Veronalara’s Dark Rangers, and draw Alliance and Horde spies toward the Forsaken’s northern Eastern Kingdoms base.
• Varian met with Mathias Shaw and Jaina to hear intelligence about the Lich Gate and the Forsaken.
• Shaw told Varian that the Forsaken base was in northern Alterac and at Shadowfang Keep, but warned him against marching north.
• Shaw revealed that Tirion Fordring had declared the Forsaken allies of the Argent Crusade after one of them saved a plague-infected Crusader.
• Jaina explained that Arthas had orchestrated the Lich Gate massacre to destroy the rebel Forsaken, and Shaw added that they had informed Magni Bronzebeard that Muradin was alive.

Nathanos accepted cooperation with Tirion Fordring, while Darian Mograine secretly tested his views and proposed forging a dark weapon to challenge Frostmourne. Nathanos agreed to consider helping, setting a meeting for sunset three days later.

• Nathanos and Darian Mograine discussed the Argent Crusade’s costly assault on Scourge City and Tirion’s refusal to use artillery against resurrected Crusaders.
• Darian had three Death Knights deal with nearby SI:7 spies, then told Nathanos he intended to forge a weapon capable of rivaling Frostmourne.
• Darian asked Nathanos for the warhammer he had obtained in Frostmourne Cavern, calling it the finest tool for forging the weapon.
• Nathanos agreed to send someone he trusted to meet Darian at the gorge in three days, and reminded him that the weapon had to contend with Frostmourne.

Brann Bronzebeard explored Ulduar and discovered that the Old God Yogg-Saron had turned a Titan construct against intruders. After escaping the collapsing ruins, he flew toward Dalaran to seek Rhonin's help.

• Brann explored Ulduar, documented a strange Titan device, and opened a door leading to a vast hall divided by a bottomless pit.
• A giant Titan construct rose from the pit, called Brann an intruder, and declared that all flesh had to be purged for Yogg-Saron.
• Brann realized Yogg-Saron was present and fled through the collapsing corridors while the construct attacked him with beams from its eyes.
• Brann escaped Ulduar as its entrance collapsed, then mounted his Gryphon, Gryphidin.
• Brann directed Gryphidin toward Dalaran to ask Rhonin for help.

Nathanos planned a Forsaken assault on Naxxramas while the Alliance and Horde unexpectedly withdrew troops from the Dragonblight front. In Icecrown, he followed a mysterious presence and found a golden-haired soul who claimed he could still help Nathanos probe Arthas's heart.

• Meryl learned that the Alliance and Horde were regrouping and shifting to a defensive posture, and Nathanos decided to send the Forsaken against Naxxramas with Meryl and Nathos.
• Nathanos reviewed his plans for Icecrown and told Belmont to meet the Alliance and Horde envoys while concealing Nathanos's identity and promising evidence about The Lich Gate incident.
• Nathanos sensed someone watching him, slipped past Argent Crusade guards, and made his way toward Scourge City.
• A soul in a blue vest appeared behind Nathanos and said Arthas had pulled him out of Frostmourne after abandoning him.
• The soul told Nathanos that if he were truly dead, Nathanos could no longer probe Arthas's heart.

Nathanos followed the ghostly child’s directions to a hidden cavern beneath Icecrown Citadel and discovered Arthas’s discarded heart sealed beneath a lake. The child warned him that the Lich King knew the heart had been found and urged Nathanos to confront whether he could truly kill Arthas when they met again.

• Nathanos entered the cavern beneath Icecrown Citadel and plunged into a lake after finding no ice on its surface.
• Nathanos discovered a heart encased in ice underwater and suffered intense pain when he nearly touched it.
• The ghostly child told Nathanos that Arthas had discarded his heart because he believed it made him weak.
• The child warned Nathanos that Arthas knew someone had found the heart and would soon arrive, then opened a portal for Nathanos to escape.
• The child asked whether Nathanos would kill the Lich King without hesitation and said their meeting would happen again.

Nathanos watched an illusion of Arthas slaughtering the starving soldiers who had waited for him in the Valley of Lost Hope, learning how readily the Prince discarded his own followers. The ghostly boy then took Nathanos toward Sindragosa's Fall, hoping they would finish their journey before Arthas found them.

• Valenforth and the soldiers endured weeks of storms and starvation while Farek and Saurfang searched for the missing Prince.
• Arthas returned to camp with Farek and Saurfang, and Marvin greeted him with relief.
• Arthas asked Marvin whether he would follow him forever, then stabbed him with Frostmourne and killed the camp's soldiers, including Valenforth.
• Nathanos stopped the illusion, and the ghostly boy warned that Arthas's willingness to betray his own people made him dangerous.
• The ghostly boy led Nathanos toward Sindragosa's Fall and hoped they would arrive before Arthas came for them.

Nathanos visited Sindragosa’s Fall and the Garden of Bones with the boy’s soul, witnessing how Arthas raised Sindragosa and reliving Arthas’s near-fatal battle with Illidan. After learning that Arthas abandoned his heart and that Arthas had noticed someone found it, Nathanos hurried back to Fordring to seek help recovering it.

• Nathanos and the boy reached Sindragosa’s Fall, where Nathanos saw a vision of Arthas raising Sindragosa and commanding the Frostbrood Dragons.
• Nathanos and the boy traveled to the Garden of Bones, where the boy used magic to make Nathanos experience Arthas’s battle against Illidan.
• Nathanos, inhabiting Arthas’s body, endured Illidan’s attacks before Arthas countered and wounded him with Frostmourne.
• The boy explained that Arthas abandoned his heart after the battle because he believed his humanity was holding him back.
• The boy warned Nathanos that Arthas had noticed someone had discovered his heart, then vanished, and Nathanos rushed back to Fordring for help.

Tirion Fordring and the Argent Crusade joined Nathanos’s covert plan to destroy Arthas’s frozen heart, but the operation became a battle in the Dark Cathedral. Tirion shattered the heart and grievously wounded Arthas before Nathanos and Darion rescued the survivors, leaving the Lich King alone amid his defeat.

• After Naxxramas fell, Belmont told Nathanos that only four Forsaken soldiers survived and brought him Putress’s plague; Nathanos sent Putress to Dalaran for the Alliance and Horde to judge.
• Nathanos revealed that Arthas’s frozen heart was in the Dark Cathedral, and Belmont persuaded Tirion Fordring and the Argent Crusade to join a covert operation.
• Tirion and three companions infiltrated the cathedral, where Arthas exposed them and confronted Tirion beside the frozen heart.
• Tirion declared Arthas beyond redemption and smashed the frozen heart with Ashbringer, causing Arthas immense pain and leaving him vulnerable.
• Nathanos arrived with the Terror Guards as Darion Mograine opened a portal, and they evacuated Tirion and the Crusade soldiers while Arthas prepared a deadly spell.

Thrall argued with Garrosh over the Horde’s participation in the Silver Tournament, rebuking him for dismissing the danger of the beasts and challenging the Chief’s judgment. At the Silver Arena, Varian, Jaina Proudmoore, and Sylvanas learned that Theramore could also send champions.

• Garrosh objected to the Horde joining the Silver Tournament and argued that Thrall should focus on the Alliance instead of sending warriors to fight beasts.
• Varok Saurfang warned Garrosh not to clash directly with the Alliance, and Thrall explained that the arena’s monsters were extremely dangerous.
• Garrosh accused Thrall of misjudging the situation and leading the Horde poorly, but Thrall told him that he was disappointed in him.
• Kolfax welcomed Varian and his companions to the Silver Arena, where Varian compared it to Durnholde Castle.
• Sylvanas asked whether Theramore could enter champions, and Kolfax confirmed that any invited force could participate.

At the Silver Arena, Sylvanas and Jaina considered the dangers of the tournament and the growing tensions between the Alliance, Horde, and Forsaken. Nathanos inspected the Forsaken rookies competing and explained that the tournament would select an elite vanguard for the assault on Icecrown Citadel, then arranged to travel with them despite the passenger limit.

• Sylvanas warned Jaina that withdrawing from the tournament would make Theramore look weak, while Jaina worried about conflict with the Horde and Forsaken.
• Sylvanas judged the Forsaken more powerful than others realized after they captured Naxxramas, and she questioned whether the tournament would worsen faction tensions.
• Nathanos heard a whisper in his own voice, rejected it, and went with Belmont to inspect the Forsaken champions gathered at Moa'ki Harbor.
• Nathanos questioned Viseri and Keps, then told the assembled Forsaken that the tournament would choose an elite force to spearhead the assault on Icecrown Citadel.
• Nathanos learned that Veronalara would lead the champions and paid the Tuskarr dockmaster to make room for him aboard the sea turtle.

Nathanos secretly arrived at the Silver Arena and struggled with a mysterious voice in his mind. As snow approached, a young Argent Crusade acolyte persuaded him to visit High Priestess Parsis’s church, leaving him curious about whether her sermon could ease his doubts.

• Nathanos hid in a crate aboard a Tuskarr merchant cart and entered the arena grounds with a badge to disguise his identity.
• Nathanos surveyed the Silver Arena and worried that Sylvanas would recognize his distinctive scarlet eyes.
• A voice in Nathanos’s mind warned him, “Above,” but he found no source and resisted the idea that anyone could control him.
• A young Argent Crusade acolyte invited Nathanos to hear High Priestess Parsis’s sermon as heavy snow approached.
• Nathanos reconsidered his refusal and decided to see whether the priestess’s words might soothe his heart.

Garrosh accompanied Thrall to the Silver Arena, where he clashed with Tirion Fordring over the Horde’s approach to the Scourge. Meanwhile, Sylvanas confronted Veronalara in a tavern and left her convinced that Sylvanas had uncovered the identity of her master.

• Garrosh resented Thrall for keeping him close and leaving Saurfang in command of Warsong Fortress as they entered the Argent Crusade’s territory.
• Garrosh threatened Tirion Fordring and dismissed the need for the Alliance, but Thrall stopped him and Tirion escorted them onward.
• Veronalara drank in a Taunka tavern until Sylvanas arrived and questioned her about Nathanos and the Forsaken leader known as The Witherer.
• Sylvanas trapped Veronalara with frost and a dagger, then asked whether her master was Nathanos.
• Veronalara denied it, but Sylvanas withdrew her dagger and pointed out that Veronalara’s hesitation had given her away.

Sylvanas learned from Veronalara about Nathanos and the Forsaken, then resolved to wait until he revealed himself. At a sermon, Nathanos challenged Priestess Paltress to explain how the Holy Light and the living would treat the Forsaken, leaving her unable to answer his fears about their future.

• Sylvanas asked Veronalara where Nathanos was, and Veronalara refused to disclose his location while assuring her he would not seek revenge against Quel'Thalas.
• Veronalara recounted the Forsaken's history and secrets to Sylvanas, who promised not to reveal Nathanos's identity and chose to wait for him.
• Nathanos attended Priestess Paltress's sermon in the chapel and heard a warning voice in his mind tell him, "Above!"
• After observing Paltress comfort listeners through conversation, Nathanos asked her whether the Holy Light could comfort the Undead and whether she could accept a Forsaken family member.
• Nathanos asked how the living would treat the Forsaken after the Lich King's defeat, and Paltress could not answer his fears that they might be imprisoned or destroyed.

After the first tournament match ended in deadly violence, Tirion Fordring abandoned the arena and discussed the growing Alliance-Horde conflict with Nathanos the Witherer. Tirion proposed that the Forsaken enter the next match, and Nathanos agreed to help if Tirion first invited the Alliance and Horde leaders.

• A champion from Stormwind City and a champion from Orgrimmar killed each other, and the crowd surged into the dueling grounds as the Argent Crusade struggled to restore order.
• Tirion Fordring left the chaotic arena and remembered the tournaments and Taelan he had known in Lordaeron.
• Nathanos the Witherer met Tirion and argued that the living's hatred made bloodshed unavoidable and diplomacy difficult.
• Tirion and Nathanos discussed the need to unite against Arthas, despite the Alliance-Horde conflict.
• Tirion asked the Forsaken to take part in the next match, and Nathanos told him to invite the Alliance and Horde leaders first.

Tirion arranged a match between the Argent Crusade and the Forsaken to demonstrate cooperation, while Nathanos discovered Scourge infiltrators near the tournament grounds. The Argent Crusade won a bloodless contest, but Nathanos had spotted a hidden Death Knight poised to attack.

• Tirion announced that the Argent Crusade and the Forsaken would compete instead of the Alliance and Horde.
• Sylvanas was surprised to see Undead among the Argent Crusade's competitors as the two teams entered on foot.
• Nathanos suffered a sudden bout of pain and followed a whisper's instructions to watch the sky above the grounds.
• Nathanos spotted an Undead gryphon and a Death Knight hiding beneath an Argent Crusade banner, then took position atop a granary and prepared a Shadowflame Shot.
• The Argent Crusade defeated the Forsaken, and the teams left the arena without a single death after a fierce, fair match.

Nathanos confronted the Black Knight, a Scourge agent who transformed his soul into a bomb, and survived the blast by returning to his corporeal form. After warning Tirion Fordring that the Lich King was targeting the Silver Arena, Nathanos was struck by mysterious pain and asked what lay beneath it.

• Nathanos found the dead infiltrator in the arena and was ambushed by the ghostly Black Knight.
• Nathanos transformed into a dark soul form and injured the Black Knight, who revealed his name and marked Nathanos with magic.
• The Black Knight turned his soul into a bomb, and Nathanos returned to his body to survive the explosion.
• Tirion Fordring ordered stronger guards after a soldier reported the blast and a Death Knight's corpse.
• Nathanos told Tirion that the Lich King was watching the arena, then collapsed in pain and asked what was beneath it.

Nathanos learned that the Knights of the Ebon Blade had been tracking him and met Darian Mograine at the Shadow Vault. Darian revealed his plan to forge Shadowmourne and asked Nathanos to take on its most dangerous part, involving the Lich King.

• Nathanos worried that the voice warning him about the arena might have been hinting at another danger, then agreed to meet Darian at the Shadow Vault.
• Darian summoned Nathanos to the Shadow Vault, where Nathanos warned him that the Lich King's spies had infiltrated the Argent Tournament Grounds.
• Darian explained that the Lich King's power kept growing and showed Nathanos plans for Shadowmourne, a weapon forged from Saronite and Light's Vengeance.
• Darian said Shadowmourne would be empowered by the souls of the Lich King's servants and a fragment of the Frozen Throne, and Nathanos questioned how they could obtain the materials.
• Darian revealed that his dangerous plan would secure both the Saronite and the Frozen Throne fragment, with Nathanos facing the Lich King himself.
• Nathanos agreed to hear Darian's plan in a quiet place.

Darian Mograine summoned Korok, Illyria, and Zolbi to select representatives for Tirion's Silver Arena tournament, while the Witherer discussed plans with him. A message revealed that the Lich King had attacked the Argent Dawn tournament grounds, leaving the arena a massive crater.

• Korok, Illyria, and Zolbi waited a day in the Shadow Vault for Darian and the Witherer to meet them.
• Darian introduced the three Death Knights to the Witherer and announced that they would represent Acherus in the Silver Arena.
• Korok challenged Darian over the delay, then accepted his order to send representatives to the tournament.
• Duke Rancor delivered news from Tirion, and Darian told the Witherer that the Lich King had attacked the Argent Dawn tournament grounds and turned the arena into a crater.

Tirion Fordring reflected on the tournament’s disastrous losses before Nathanos the Witherer proposed a strategy for attacking Icecrown Citadel. Tirion agreed to launch the assault in half a month, while the Death Knights helped rebuild the arena.

• Tirion recalled Wilfred Fizzlebang’s death, the arena’s destruction, and the defeat of Anub'arak in the ruins beneath it.
• Nathanos arrived with Korok the Death-Slayer and two other Death Knights, and Korok greeted Tirion before the group left the leaders alone.
• Nathanos explained that Darion was sending a message of unity by choosing an Orc champion, and Tirion worried that the Death Knights were provoking his tournament.
• Nathanos proposed having the Alliance provide siege weapons and the Horde raid Icecrown Citadel by airship, while Tirion’s trained warriors delivered the final blow to the Lich King.
• Nathanos offered to help rebuild the arena, and Tirion set the attack on Icecrown Citadel for half a month later.

Veronalara struggled to recruit adventurers in Dalaran for Nathanos’s planned raid on Icecrown Citadel, where he hoped to find a way to defeat the Lich King. After reconnecting with Sylvanas, she told her about the mission, and Sylvanas promised to send people to help.

• Veronalara failed to recruit any adventurers in Dalaran for Nathanos’s mission.
• Sylvanas, Alleria, Vareesa, and Belorell encountered Veronalara, and Sylvanas invited her to the Silver Covenant Temple.
• Veronalara explained that Nathanos planned to lead a raid on the Soul Forge beside Icecrown Citadel during Tirion Fordring’s final assault on the Lich King.
• Sylvanas promised to send people to help Nathanos.