Chapter Summaries

Wrathion met Nathanos at Ravenholdt Manor and asked him to help eliminate black dragons still serving the Old Gods. Nathanos refused to kill Onyxia, his prisoner and a valuable source of intelligence, leaving their proposed alliance at an impasse.

• Wrathion told Nathanos that Jorach Ravenholdt had already abandoned the manor and that he had driven off a Red Dragon by breaking both its legs.
• Wrathion deduced that Nathanos had secretly arranged for the Red Dragons' Lifebinder to survive, while Nathanos refused to explain his plans for the Forsaken.
• Wrathion explained that he had been conscious inside his eggshell, felt imprisoned by the Red Dragons, and intended to strike first against Deathwing's minions.
• Wrathion revealed that he wanted to kill black dragons who had escaped into mortal society to build power, including Onyxia.
• Nathanos slapped away Wrathion's hand and refused to kill Onyxia, whom he held prisoner and valued for her intelligence.

Nathanos considered Wrathion’s offer to exchange Onyxia for help strengthening his body and the Forsaken, then left Ravenholdt Manor without revealing his decision. Meanwhile, Meryl carried out his part of Nathanos’s plan at Wyrmrest Temple, leaving the Guardian Dragons unaware that a spell had covered the spire.

• Wrathion showed Nathanos a hidden island capable of gathering immense energy and revealed that he had inferred Nathanos’s plans from Forsaken spies’ activity at Titan sites.
• Wrathion offered to help Nathanos in exchange for one prisoner, and Nathanos weighed giving him Onyxia as the Cataclysm neared its end.
• Nathanos told Ohan to return to Maraudon, then met Forsaken cavalry at Tarren Mill and boarded a ship prepared for his journey.
• Meryl found the dead Archbishop Benedictus in Wyrmrest Temple’s underground sanctum and recognized him as the Twilight Father.
• Meryl used Atiesh to cast a spell across Wyrmrest Temple, then summoned a portal to return to Maraudon.

As the Dragon Aspects began the ritual to empower the Dragon Soul, Deathwing attacked Wyrmrest Temple with an overwhelming swarm of Twilight Dragons. The defenders struggled to hold the line as the ritual reached its crucial stage, and Afrasastrasz faced an enemy too close to evade.

• Kalecgos stabilized the Dragon Soul, and Alexstrasza ordered Afrasastrasz to protect the Aspects while they performed the ritual.
• Deathwing arrived with Twilight Dragons, and Alexstrasza ordered Afrasastrasz to destroy the corrupted dragons despite their origins.
• The Wyrmrest Accord fought the Twilight Dragons while Malygos used poisonous mist to drive off some attackers and warned that the defenders needed help.
• Afrasastrasz ordered the dragons to protect the Aspects with their lives as Deathwing taunted them and more Twilight Dragons poured in.
• The Aspects and Thrall reached the ritual’s crucial stage, and Malygos warned Afrasastrasz just as a Twilight Dragon rushed directly at him.

Afrasastrasz and the Wyrmrest Accord faced Onyxian, a colossal Twilight Dragon whom Deathwing unleashed as his ultimate creation. Onyxian instead drained the Twilight Dragons’ power and turned against Deathwing, leaving his true intentions unclear.

• Afrasastrasz prepared to sacrifice himself to stop a Twilight Dragon from detonating, but the dragon froze in midair as an unknown force darkened the battlefield.
• Onyxian descended over Wyrmrest Temple, and the dragons recognized the immense power of the Twilight Domain surrounding him.
• Deathwing revealed Onyxian as his ultimate creation and ordered him to destroy the dragons and the mortal alliance.
• Onyxian’s purple lightning struck the battlefield, but the Wyrmrest Accord remained unharmed while the frozen Twilight Dragons began losing their power.
• Onyxian absorbed the Twilight Dragons’ energy, then told Deathwing he was doing what he should be doing.

Onyxian revealed his origins and fought Deathwing while the Guardian Dragons completed their ritual and Thrall fired the Dragon Soul. Deathwing survived and fled toward Deepholm after Onyxian's Mirror Image trick made Thrall miss, leaving the Guardian Dragons with one more chance to sacrifice their power.

• Onyxian fought Deathwing, revealed that Deathwing had tortured him through experiments, and summoned an army of revived dragons.
• Onyxian used the Guardian Dragons' powers to weaken Deathwing with time magic, then defended himself as the Dragon Soul was aimed at the Black Dragon Aspect.
• Thrall fired the Dragon Soul at Deathwing, but the blast struck only part of his armor and shattered a section of his spine before he escaped.
• Nozdormu, Ysera, and Thrall realized the Dragon Soul's beam had changed course, and Onyxian explained that he had used Mirror Image to mislead Thrall.
• Onyxian told the Guardian Dragons that Deathwing was fleeing toward Deepholm and urged them to offer up their power before flying away.

Onyxian returned to Nathanos after completing his mission and learned that the Cataclysm had ended and the age of dragons was over. Nathanos brought him to Maraudon to reveal a gift, while Ohan reported that she had killed nine assassins sent after the captive Onyxia.

• Onyxian found Nathanos on Okaz Island and told him Deathwing had been badly wounded, though Thrall had failed to destroy him with the Dragon Soul.
• Onyxian admitted that Alexstrasza had looked at him with hostility, and Nathanos reassured him that they would have chances to meet again.
• Nathanos told Onyxian that his grandfather lived in Theramore, and the two watched as the Cataclysm ended and the Guardian Dragons became mortal.
• Nathanos and Onyxian embraced, and Nathanos promised his son a grand gift.
• Ohan killed an infiltrating female Blood Elf assassin and reported that she had dealt with all nine assassins who entered Maraudon.
• Nathanos arrived at Maraudon with Onyxian and invited him to see his gift.

Nathanos brought his son Onyxian to meet the imprisoned Onyxia and revealed that he intended her to help make Onyxian a Guardian Dragon. Onyxia rejected the plan, while Onyxian warned that Deathwing’s influence still controlled her.

• Nathanos entered Onyxia’s luxurious cell with Onyxian and introduced the Twilight Dragon as his son.
• Nathanos told Onyxia that Deathwing had fallen, but she doubted him and threatened revenge against him and Ohan.
• Nathanos explained that Onyxian rivaled the Guardian Dragons but lacked something they possessed, making Onyxia realize he meant for them to mate.
• Onyxia refused, and Onyxian told Nathanos that Deathwing’s influence remained on her and she would not comply willingly.
• Nathanos said his people were seeking a way to free black dragons from the Old Gods, and Onyxian assured Onyxia that his father did not expect her to submit in the way she feared.

Kalecgos returned to the Blue Dragonflight with the news that the Wyrmrest Accord had been disbanded. He urged the dragons to accept that their age had passed, and they agreed to hold a farewell ceremony and decide what to do with the Nexus’s treasures.

• Kalecgos arrived at the Nexus and saw that the Blue Dragonflight’s soldiers still trusted him despite his loss of power.
• Kalecgos told the gathered blue dragons that the Wyrmrest Accord had been disbanded, provoking anger and confusion.
• Kalecgos silenced the crowd and explained that the dragons could no longer protect Azeroth as they had before.
• Calygos asked Kalecgos what future remained for the Blue Dragonflight.
• Kalecgos proposed that the dragons accept their new place in the world and seek ways to use their abilities.
• The blue dragons agreed to hold a farewell ceremony on the full moon one month later and decide how to handle the Nexus’s treasures.

Belmont confronted a Forsaken woman who condemned their existence and The Witherer's expansion, then received a top-secret report from a Blade of the Witherer member. He headed to bring the report to his master, declaring that the Forsaken enjoyed the power to decide life and death.

• Belmont encountered a Forsaken woman fishing for rats and argued with her about the Forsaken's lives and The Witherer's rule.
• The woman accused The Witherer of seeking recognition through conquest and warned that his body was close to breaking down after losing an arm.
• Belmont seized the woman by the throat but released her when a Shadowblade member arrived with urgent, top-secret news from Orgrimmar.
• Belmont learned the message was a report from a Blade of the Witherer member and went to find his master.
• Belmont kicked the dying fish back into the water and said the Forsaken enjoyed the power to decide life and death.

Nathanos ordered Orisus and the Sky-Coverers to prepare for a mission in Northrend after learning of an anomaly in the Borean Tundra, while Onyxian offered to steal a treasure from the blue dragons. In Orgrimmar, Baine and Vol'jin worried over Garrosh's rule before Malkorok summoned the faction leaders into Grommash Hold.

• Belmont delivered a secret letter to Nathanos, who questioned him about unusual activity in the Borean Tundra and let him read the letter.
• Nathanos ordered Belmont to send Orisus and the Sky-Coverers to the Borean Tundra, and Onyxian offered to steal the blue dragons' Prism of Focus.
• Baine waited outside Grommash Hold with the other faction leaders and reflected on Garrosh's failure to help Vol'jin reclaim the Echo Isles.
• Baine and Vol'jin worried that Garrosh would announce another harmful strategy, while Baine noticed Gallywix seemed eager for war.
• Malkorok emerged from Grommash Hold and summoned the faction leaders inside.

Grommash announced that the Horde would end its peace with the Alliance and launch a war, beginning with Northwatch Hold and Theramore before attacking the Night Elves. Vol'jin, Baine, and Alleria objected, but Grommash ordered the Horde leaders to prepare for war.

• Grommash summoned the Horde leaders and declared that the Alliance was a threat the Horde would destroy.
• Vol'jin challenged Grommash's plan to drive the Alliance from Kalimdor and recalled the Horde's own provocations.
• Baine warned that the Horde needed time to recover from the Cataclysm and questioned the consequences of war.
• Gallywix asked for a practical plan, and Grommash named Northwatch Hold and Theramore as the first targets.
• Vol'jin defended Jaina and her efforts to preserve peace, but Grommash dismissed Thrall's legacy.
• Alleria warned that attacking Theramore could draw Alliance reinforcements and leave Orgrimmar exposed, but Grommash ordered the leaders to obey and prepare for war.

Nathanos prepared an ambush in Northrend while Kalecgos arranged for the Blue Dragonflight to hide the Prism of Focus beneath the Frozen Sea. The chosen dragons accepted the mission and set out to protect the artifact after the flight’s dissolution.

• Nathanos carved the Windrunner crest into the snow, then ordered Orisus to kill everyone who appeared at the ambush site.
• Kalecgos summoned departing blue dragons to discuss the danger of the Prism of Focus being stolen after the Blue Dragonflight disbanded.
• Kalecgos explained that Rhonin had refused to take the artifact and proposed hiding it beneath the Frozen Sea north of Northrend.
• Telegrasa, Urolagoss, Luragoss, Luragosa, and the hesitant Lulugoss agreed to escort the Prism of Focus and conceal it.

A Horde ambush killed Tethys and the Blue Dragonflight escort and stole the Prism of Focus. Later, Flandis Fare delivered Sylvanas a warning from her old friend, telling her and Jaina that war was coming.

• Tethys persuaded the Blue Dragonflight party to travel in mortal forms to avoid drawing attention to their route.
• In Savage Vine Valley, Dragonmaw Clan Orcs ambushed the party, killed Urolagoss, Luragosa, Luragoss, and Tethys, and seized the Prism of Focus.
• On Icecrown Glacier, the Lich King recalled Alleria and ordered an attack on an approaching armored crowd to obtain something they carried.
• Baine told Sylvanas that an unusual prisoner had arrived with a message for her, and Sylvanas hurried to Jaina's Mage Tower.
• Flandis Fare gave Sylvanas a letter from her old friend and warned Jaina that war was coming.

Garrosh ordered a replacement weapon and threatened Northwatch Hold after the Prism of Focus was lost, while Jaina prepared Theramore for a possible Horde attack based on Sylvanas's warning. Nathanos kept the wounded Tethys captive in Maraudon and moved to hide the Prism as Meryl warned that Kalimdor was heading toward war.

• Malkorok reported that the Horde strike team had been killed and the Prism of Focus stolen, and Garrosh ordered a city-destroying bomb and threatened to flatten Northwatch Hold.
• Sylvanas urged Jaina to believe a warning of an imminent Horde attack, and Jaina sent scouts to monitor Horde outposts and a messenger to Northwatch Hold.
• A guard told Jaina that a captured Sin'dorei mage had asked to see Sylvanas, and Jaina discreetly ordered him brought in.
• Onyxian admitted he had rescued the wounded Tethys, and Nathanos ordered him to keep her confined in Maraudon until the plan was complete.
• Nathanos decided to hide the Prism of Focus where the Blue Dragonflight would conceal it and ordered an anti-magic barrier around Tethys's room.
• Meryl told Nathanos that Kalimdor reeked of war, and Nathanos dismissed the conflict as unrelated to the Forsaken.

Tobias struggled to hide his Worgen transformation in Gilneas, where he encountered the Forsaken Veronalara and later joined the resistance after the capital fell. As war and distrust divided the survivors, his brother Staven planned to escape Gilneas by sea, while Tobias fought his own urge to transform and remembered the Worgen’s past brutality.

• Meryl showed Nathanos a mist-shrouded continent inhabited by Pandaren, and Nathanos said he would prepare to travel there after handling another matter.
• Tobias, newly transformed into a Worgen, crossed Gilneas at night and was intercepted by Veronalara, who identified herself as one of the Forsaken and predicted changes for the kingdom.
• After the Horde occupied the capital, Tobias discussed Ivar Bloodfang’s plan to retake Greymane Manor with Lord Darius Crowley, who revealed that Ivar had already departed.
• Staven told Tobias he planned to stow away on a fishing boat, and Tobias objected while defending King Genn Greymane and the Worgen’s role in resisting the Scourge.
• After Staven left, Tobias struggled to control his transformation and remembered the Worgen’s violence from the war twenty years earlier.

Tobias fought the Scourge at Gilneas’s walls, later battled Kor'kron Orcs in Black Mire Forest, and struggled with fear of his Worgen curse amid growing unrest in the city. After Faelandra received alarming news, she sent him to bring Genn Greymane to her for urgent help.

• Tobias watched the Scourge overwhelm Gilneas’s defenders until Arugal left Genn Greymane to carry out their plan, and wolves began howling across the battlefield.
• Tobias and the Worgen ambushed a Kor'kron patrol in Black Mire Forest and defeated the Orcs.
• After a bloodied corpse was found in Gilneas, Tobias feared the city would blame the Worgen and punish them, while Gwen Amster warned that hostility could provoke worse violence.
• Tobias visited Faelandra Stormclaw, who was treating a captured Worgen, and discussed Gilneas’s troubles with her.
• A Night Elf scout brought Faelandra news about Genn Greymane, and Faelandra urgently ordered Tobias to bring the King to her for help.
• Tobias ran back toward Gilneas in fear, realizing the Worgen curse had deeply affected the King.

Genn Greymane fled Gilneas after Tobias revealed he knew about Genn’s Worgen wound and led him toward Night Elf help. Tobias stayed behind to fight the rebels, but Veronalara and her Dark Rangers rescued him and offered him a deal on behalf of their leader.

• Genn Greymane discovered that his Worgen wound was worsening, then left his room after seeing the cathedral burning and followed Tobias Mistermantho into hiding.
• Tobias told Genn that he knew about the wound and promised that Night Elves could help him control the Worgen’s power.
• Prince Liam watched Gilneas descend into riots as Crowley’s Northgate Rebels exploited Genn’s disappearance.
• Tobias sent Genn deeper into the woods, then fought off the rebels pursuing them while refusing to reveal his Worgen form.
• Veronalara and her Dark Rangers killed the remaining rebels and rescued Tobias.
• Veronalara told Tobias that her leader needed his help and that he had no choice but to accept the deal.

Baine and Vol'jin led the Tauren and Trolls in a surprise assault that captured Northwatch Hold, while trying to restrain the slaughter of fleeing Alliance soldiers. After learning that Garrosh was assembling a gigantic bomb for his attack on Theramore, Baine began to question his leadership and summoned Hamuul.

• Baine and Vol'jin discussed their misgivings about the Horde's attack as they approached Northwatch Hold.
• Baine and Vol'jin launched a surprise assault, and their forces broke through the gates and overwhelmed the defenders.
• Vol'jin ordered his warriors to stop killing fleeing Alliance soldiers and to treat the dead with respect, but many celebrated the victory bloodily.
• Vol'jin warned Baine that Garrosh was preparing to march on Theramore and revealed that Lok'han had found a gigantic bomb being assembled in Stoneclaw Mountain.
• Baine questioned Garrosh's leadership and ordered someone to bring Hamuul to him.

After Northwatch Hold fell, Jaina and her allies prepared Theramore for Grommash’s approaching invasion and learned that he planned to use a powerful bomb. Nathanos set out for Theramore while Jaina decided to seek Dalaran’s help to stop the attack from the air.

• A messenger reported that Northwatch Hold had been reduced to ruins, and Sylvanas organized defenses, intelligence gathering, and preparations to evacuate civilians if necessary.
• Hamuul Runetotem arrived to warn Jaina that Grommash’s army would reach Theramore within three days and that he had prepared a devastating bomb, while concealing Baine’s role in the warning.
• Nathanos refused to warn Theramore about the bomb, said Garrosh would find another weapon if needed, and prepared to travel there himself.
• Jaina, Sylvanas, Baine, and Tervosh debated evacuation and defense, then concluded that the bomb would likely arrive by Goblin airship.
• Jaina decided to ask Dalaran’s mages for help creating a magical barrier, while Sylvanas urged Theramore to commit everyone available to its defense.

As the Horde amassed outside Theramore, Sylvanas met Nathanos in the lair of Onyxia and learned why he had come to help. Nathanos warned that Theramore was doomed to fall and began explaining a risky evacuation plan.

• Jaina surveyed the Horde encampment with Baine and Tervosh, then sent Baine to help Sylvanas defend the city while she and Tervosh sought Rhonin's support.
• Garrosh ordered Malkorok to keep the Horde from attacking until he gave the signal, and dismissed concerns about the approaching Alliance reinforcements.
• Sylvanas retreated to Onyxia's lair, where she reflected on her love for Nathanos and their painful shared past.
• Nathanos arrived and told Sylvanas he had come because his father, Jaina, and she were in Theramore.
• Nathanos explained that Garrosh had concealed his bomb from the Horde and wanted to use victory to strengthen his rule, then warned Sylvanas that Theramore would fall.
• Nathanos offered Sylvanas a risky plan to evacuate Theramore and minimize the losses.