Chapter Summaries

Nathanos watched his father Bred get taken away under King Terenas’s wartime conscription decree, then confronted Sylvanas about why she had come to the farm. Sylvanas explained that she wanted him to become a Ranger and said she would visit to keep him from serving a human kingdom; she had to return to Quel'Thalas but asked to eat before leaving.

• Nathanos arrived home with Stephan and found two soldiers ordering Bred to enlist under King Terenas’s decree.
• Bred agreed to go with the soldiers and asked Daphne and Nathanos to take care of each other before he was taken away.
• Nathanos angrily confronted Sylvanas, who admitted she had planned to stop the soldiers if they came for him and recruit him as a Ranger.
• Sylvanas warned that future conscription might reach younger men and said she would visit Nathanos because she would not allow him to serve a human kingdom.
• Nathanos asked when Sylvanas would leave, and she said she had to return to Quel'Thalas but wanted a meal at the farm first.

Nathanos comforted Stephan after learning that his father, Jonathan, had been taken in the kingdom’s conscription, then trained alone while imagining a fight against Grom. Sylvanas joined him and called him special, leaving Nathanos puzzled by her concern for him.

• Stephan showed Nathanos Sally Marius’s letter describing Jonathan’s conscription, and Nathanos admitted that Stephan might never see his father again.
• After Stephan fell asleep, Nathanos discarded his letter to Larein and went outside to train.
• Nathanos imagined fighting Grom and realized he would lose when the Orc’s attacks left him no way to respond.
• Sylvanas found Nathanos training and questioned him about his plans and his blunt answer to Stephan.
• Sylvanas took Nathanos’s hand and told him she treated him that way because he was special.

Sylvanas left Nathanos after urging him to consider Eversong Forest’s defenses, while Khadgar and Turalyon discussed the Alliance’s mounting losses and their doubts about the war. Orgrim, frustrated by a two-month deadlock with the Alliance, summoned Gul'dan.

• Sylvanas gave Stephan a gold coin and arranged for him to live with Sally in Lordaeron while Nathanos stayed to tend the farm.
• Sylvanas asked Nathanos whether he would leave and considered his warning to strengthen Eversong Forest’s defenses before departing with her Rangers.
• Khadgar visited Turalyon, who worried that the Alliance could not win after suffering heavy losses to the Horde and its Death Knights.
• Khadgar and Turalyon discussed Nathanos’s foresight and the possibility that they would meet him again as King Terenas recruited more soldiers.
• Orgrim acknowledged that the Horde had made no progress against the Alliance for two months and ordered Rend to bring Gul'dan to him.

Gul'dan persuaded Orgrim to spare him by promising to complete the Death Knights' transformation with Rune Stones from Quel'Thalas. Orgrim sent Zul'jin to attack the Elves and retrieve a Rune Stone, planning to use Dragon Knights to counter the Wildhammer Dwarves.

• Orgrim confronted Gul'dan over the Death Knights' defeat, and Gul'dan claimed Rune Stones could complete their transformation and make them stronger against Paladins.
• Orgrim ordered Gul'dan to prepare the ritual and revealed to Rend that sparing the warlock was part of his plan.
• Orgrim summoned Zul'jin, who reported that he had gathered Trolls from six tribes and agreed to lead them against the Elves.
• Zul'jin proposed drawing the Wildhammer Dwarves' attention at Aerie Peak while the main force bypassed them to reach Quel'Thalas.
• Orgrim disclosed that five Dragon Knights trained by Zuluhed would help counter the Dwarves' Gryphon Riders, and Zul'jin prepared to depart.

Kurdran Wildhammer spotted an armed band of Orc-like brutes moving through The Hinterlands, while Alleria warned Lothar that the Horde had allied with Forest Trolls and might target Aerie Peak before Quel'Thalas. Lothar prepared the Alliance army to enter the forest and aid the Wildhammer Dwarves.

• Kurdran Wildhammer and Faland saw green-skinned brutes carrying heavy weapons in the forest near Aerie Peak, and Kurdran planned to drive them into the open.
• Alleria reported to Lothar that the Orcs had entered The Hinterlands and that her Rangers had found signs of Forest Trolls among them.
• Alleria warned that the Horde might attack Aerie Peak and then march on Quel'Thalas, prompting Lothar to promise the Alliance would stop them.
• Lothar, Khadgar, and the others concluded that the Horde aimed to remove the Wildhammer Dwarves and discussed the difficulties of fighting in the forest.
• Lothar ordered the Alliance army to prepare to enter the forest and rescue the Dwarves.

Kurdran’s Wildhammer Dwarves fought the Orcs and discovered that Forest Trolls were working with them, while an Alliance force approached Aerie Peak. At Marius Farm, Nathanos encountered a huge red, spiked creature with a rider diving toward him.

• Kurdran led Gryphon Riders in an attack that drove an Orc group from the forest, then returned to warn Aerie Peak.
• Lothar, Turalyon, and Khadgar spotted Orcs moving through the forest and prepared to observe them and capture survivors.
• Kurdran learned that Orcs were throwing weapons and using tactics taught by Forest Trolls, and a Dwarf reported losses from a Troll ambush.
• A sentry announced that humans had arrived to help fight the Orcs, and Kurdran rallied the Wildhammers to take to the skies again.
• While shearing sheep at Marius Farm, Nathanos saw a huge red, spiked creature with a rider dive toward him.

Nathanos outwitted Grot Deathstrike and brought down the exhausted red dragon, while Lothar and Turalyon fought an ambush in the Hinterlands with help from a Wildhammer Dwarf. After Grot fell, the dragon took the form of a red-haired elf woman, and Nathanos made clear that he intended to keep both captives alive for now.

• Grot Deathstrike attacked Nathanos from the air on a red dragon, but Nathanos lured the dragon into wasting its strength and dodged its fireballs and claws.
• Lothar and Turalyon charged the Orcs in the Hinterlands, where Turalyon fought off a Troll before another Troll threatened him with a spear.
• A Wildhammer Dwarf riding a gryphon struck down the spear-wielding Troll and helped the Alliance fighters turn the ambush against the Orcs.
• Nathanos knocked Grot unconscious after the Orc begged for mercy.
• The red dragon transformed into an elf woman, and Nathanos told her she was alive because she might be useful to him.

Nathanos captured Grot and drugged ChristaSA, a red dragon in Female Elf form, after she ate at his farmhouse. At Grim Batol, Ner'zhul discovered that Grot and his dragon were missing and feared the disappearance was linked to a greater threat.

• Nathanos kept Grot bound in a grain silo and gave him bread to silence him.
• ChristaSA ate the farmhouse's food, then collapsed after Nathanos revealed he had put a paralyzing herb in it.
• Nathanos told ChristaSA he considered her a prisoner and demanded to hear how the Orcs had forced her to serve them.
• Ner'zhul noticed that Grot was missing and ordered the red dragon riders to bring back the dragon he had taken.
• Zuluhed asked Ner'zhul what had happened, and Ner'zhul admitted he had a bad feeling about Grot's disappearance.

Nathanos questioned ChristaSA about the Horde’s dragons, then learned the Horde was attacking Aerie Peak. As the Wildhammer Dwarves joined the Alliance, Nathanos suspected the Horde’s advance through The Hinterlands was aimed at Quel’Thalas.

• Nathanos learned ChristaSA had been captured near Grim Batol and that the Orcs had eight other Dragon Knights, then gave her a potion that temporarily drained her magic.
• ChristaSA chose to warn her uncaptured kin and told Nathanos that the Horde was attacking Aerie Peak, but he showed little interest in the news.
• At Aerie Peak, Kurdran Wildhammer agreed to join the Alliance after Lothar and Khadgar explained the Horde’s invasion and the attack on Ironforge.
• Kurdran’s question about whether the Orcs might head north alarmed Alleria and the other Alliance leaders.
• Nathanos traced the Horde’s route across a map and suspected it was heading toward Quel’Thalas.

Doomhammer explained that the Horde was crossing the mountains to surprise Quel'Thalas or draw the Alliance into a trap, while the Alliance learned of the threat and split its forces to respond. The chapter ended with Nathanos rushing toward Grot’s prison after fearing that a red dragon might fly into the Elven forest.

• Doomhammer told Rend Blackhand and the other leaders that the Horde was crossing the mountains to conceal its approach and trap the Alliance or conquer Quel'Thalas before it could react.
• Doomhammer ordered Zul'jin to keep the Forest Trolls with the Horde to help the troops climb, while Zul'jin said Quel'Thalas was five days away.
• Alleria reported at Aerie Peak that most of the Horde had gone north, and Lothar sent Turalyon, Khadgar, and half the army with her to warn Quel'Thalas.
• Lothar stayed with Kurdran to clear the remaining Horde forces from The Hinterlands before continuing north.
• At Marius Farm, Nathanos recalled that he had already warned Sylvanas about the Horde and feared a red dragon might enter the Elven forest, so he ran toward the warehouse where Grot was imprisoned.

Nathanos tricked Grot into revealing that the Horde planned to use red dragons to attack Quel'Thalas, then kept him captive. Five days later, Doomhammer led the Horde toward the forest as Zul'jin's Forest Trolls advanced ahead, while Gul'dan summoned Doomhammer to see something that could aid the Horde.

• Nathanos baited Grot into revealing that the Dragonmaw Clan planned to send red dragons against Quel'Thalas, then chained him and left him with food.
• Five days later, Doomhammer and the Horde reached the forest's edge, where Zul'jin revealed that several Forest Troll tribes had joined him.
• Zul'jin led the Trolls into the forest to attack the Elves and draw their attention away from the Horde's main force.
• Doomhammer ordered the Orcs to cut down trees for firewood and to weaken the Elves' defenses.
• Gul'dan arrived with Cho'gall and told Doomhammer that he should come see something that could greatly aid the Horde.

Gul'dan found that Quel'Thalas's Rune Stones could power a Storm Altar to strengthen Death Knights, and Doomhammer allowed him to test it on Ogres. As Nathanos rescued Alleria from Trolls in the forest, he asked her to guess why he had deliberately let one escape.

• Gul'dan showed Doomhammer and Cho'gall a Rune Stone and explained that the stones restricted magic and could fuel a Storm Altar.
• Doomhammer approved Gul'dan's plan to build an altar and experiment on Ogres rather than Orcs.
• Nathanos investigated claw marks while scouting Quel'Thalas's border forest and suspected the Horde was nearby.
• Alleria urged Turalyon's army to hurry, then ran ahead to scout despite Turalyon and Khadgar's warnings about Trolls.
• Six Trolls ambushed Alleria, but Nathanos shot several and let the last one flee.
• Nathanos reunited with Alleria and asked her why he had deliberately let a Troll escape.

Nathanos realized that the Forest Trolls were ambushing the road to Windrunner Tower and sent Alleria ahead while he searched the forest for something hidden. Zul'jin learned that Alleria had returned and ordered his Trolls to race toward Windrunner Tower and attack her family.

• Nathanos explained that the Troll ambush threatened Quel'Thalas, and Alleria recognized the road to Windrunner Tower and ran there.
• Turalyon and Khadgar discussed the approaching Horde and worried that Alleria had gone ahead alone.
• Zul'jin led his Trolls through the forest and ambushed a party of ten Elves, killing them before they could raise an alarm.
• A Troll reported that Alleria had returned and that a hidden enemy had killed five Trolls.
• Zul'jin ordered his warriors to hurry to Windrunner Tower and make Alleria suffer by attacking her family.

Gul'dan used the Storm Altar to transform ogres into loyal two-headed Ogre Mages, then left Cho'gall to continue the ritual. Hidden nearby, Nathanos witnessed the process and concluded that the Horde had gained a dangerous new weapon.

• Gul'dan and Cho'gall arranged five Rune Stone fragments around an ogre and channeled dark energy through them.
• Gul'dan transformed the ogre into a two-headed Ogre Mage, who demonstrated his new ability by setting a leaf on fire and pledged to serve Gul'dan.
• Gul'dan told Cho'gall to teach and name the new Ogre Mage, then left while planning to transform more ogres and create Death Knights.
• Nathanos secretly watched Cho'gall continue the ritual and saw that only six of more than thirty ogres survived.
• Cho'gall ended the ritual when the Rune Stones ran out of power and left with the new Ogre Mages, while Nathanos slipped away into the forest.

Turalyon marched to confront the Horde after Orgrim deliberately set the forest ablaze to draw the Alliance in. Orgrim’s plan rested on a secret bargain with a hooded human, and the chapter ended as Turalyon’s forces charged the Orcs.

• Turalyon learned Alleria had vanished, then ordered his army north to attack the Orcs and contain the forest fire.
• Nathanos found the slaughtered Elves and hurried toward Windrunner Tower despite trying to convince himself to investigate the blaze instead.
• Orgrim ordered the Horde to set fires and prepare for battle, explaining that he wanted the Alliance to find them.
• Rend recalled Orgrim’s secret meeting with a hooded human, who offered the Horde an unguarded passage toward Lordaeron in exchange for sparing his kingdom.
• Orgrim accepted the human’s offer, and Turalyon led the Alliance charge as Orgrim prepared to meet them.

Alleria returned to Quel'Thalas and reunited with Vareesa and Sylvanas as Trolls attacked the Windrunner family’s lands. Nathanos poisoned Zul'jin with an arrow, leaving the Troll leader dying and calling on Bwonsamdi.

• Zul'jin learned that the Windrunner family was absent from Windrunner Tower, but ordered his Trolls to attack anyway.
• Alleria met Vareesa in the forest, learned Lirath was missing, and fought off Trolls pursuing them to the riverbank.
• Sylvanas and her Rangers killed the Trolls chasing Alleria and Vareesa, and Alleria said she needed to confront the council about the attack.
• The Trolls attacked and burned Windrunner Tower, but Zul'jin ordered a retreat after learning the Horde’s main force was withdrawing.
• Nathanos shot Zul'jin with a poisoned arrow and escaped, while the dying Zul'jin whispered Bwonsamdi’s name.

Alleria warned Anasterian that the Horde had invaded Quel'Thalas, and he ordered the kingdom’s warriors to fight back. At the border, Turalyon’s forces battled Orcs and Trolls until Elven reinforcements arrived and Nathanos brought down a two-headed Ogre Mage; Sylvanas then left in anger after Nathanos mistook her for Alleria.

• Alleria told Anasterian and the Silvermoon Council that Trolls had entered Quel'Thalas, Orcs were burning Eversong Forest, and the Horde threatened their homeland, so Anasterian ordered the warriors and Rangers to assemble.
• At the Quel'Thalas border, Turalyon fought Orcs while Khadgar prepared a rainstorm, and Nathanos arrived after shooting a Troll leader and drawing more Trolls into the battle.
• Orgrim ordered the Horde troops to withdraw while leaving warriors behind to hold the Alliance forces back, and he departed as its trump card approached.
• A two-headed Ogre Mage attacked the battlefield and set Alliance soldiers ablaze, but Nathanos killed it by throwing a spear through its second head.
• Alleria led Elven reinforcements into the fight, and Nathanos called Sylvanas by her sister’s name, prompting her to stalk off and hunt Trolls.

Gryphon Riders joined the Alliance battle, but Red Dragons arrived and unleashed devastating fire on the battlefield. As the Horde withdrew, Gul'dan and Cho'gall secretly prepared to leave, while Nathanos rushed to help Sylvanas escape the dragons' flames.

• Kurdran led the Gryphon Riders in attacks that helped the humans and Elves push back the Orcs.
• Nathanos and Kurdran spotted enormous creatures approaching, and Kurdran recognized them as Red Dragons.
• Doomhammer ordered the Horde to march toward Lordaeron, left Zuluhed to command the Dragonmaw forces, and told him to watch Gul'dan.
• After Doomhammer's army departed, Gul'dan and Cho'gall prepared to slip away toward the coast with their warriors.
• A Red Dragon swept the battlefield with fire, and Nathanos tackled Sylvanas to shield her before charging toward the fighting.

Nathanos and the Alliance fled as red dragons burned Quel'Thalas, while Sylvanas feared for her family and swore vengeance. At sea, Bradok discovered Gul'dan's ships were leaving and was killed by the warlock, but Torgus witnessed the betrayal and flew to warn Orgrim.

• ChristaSA attacked the Dragon Knights' red dragons, giving Turalyon time to order the Alliance to retreat from the burning forest.
• Nathanos persuaded Sylvanas to flee with him, and Khadgar reassured her that Silvermoon City's mages and the Sunwell could protect her family.
• Sylvanas accepted that she could not save her homeland and vowed that the Horde would pay for its destruction.
• Bradok spotted Gul'dan aboard ships leaving the coast and was killed when the warlock struck him with a green beam.
• Torgus witnessed Gul'dan kill Bradok and flew toward Lordaeron to tell Orgrim about the betrayal.

After the Horde’s attack devastated Quel'Thalas, Sylvanas and Lor'themar joined the Alliance, while Nathanos found the wounded ChristaSA and carried her to safety. In Alterac, Perenolde told his commanders he had made a deal with the Horde and ordered them to obey his decision to abandon the Alliance.

• Alleria reunited with Sylvanas, and Kurdran reported the Gryphon Riders’ losses as the Alliance regrouped after the red dragons’ attack.
• Sylvanas welcomed Lor'themar Theron and the Quel'Thalas forces into the Alliance, and Turalyon accepted their offer of aid.
• After Kurdran revealed that Nathanos had run toward a red dragon, Alleria went after him despite Sylvanas offering to go instead.
• Nathanos found the badly wounded ChristaSA, helped her take Elf form, and carried her away as Alleria arrived and urged them to leave.
• Perenolde told General Hasse and Alterac’s commanders that the Horde was approaching and that he had agreed to let it pass through the mountains in exchange for sparing Alterac.
• Perenolde declared that Alterac would leave the Alliance, defended the pact as necessary for survival, and ordered his commanders to obey.