Chapter Summaries

Khadgar discovered that Ner'zhul was waiting for three constellations to align before casting his spell, and Turalyon learned the ritual would begin in ten days. Ner'zhul prepared to perform it at Shadowmoon Temple, leaving Kargath and the Shattered Hand Clan to hold off the Alliance at Hellfire Citadel.

• Turalyon received word that supplies and reinforcements were delayed by the Horde's attacks near the Dark Portal, but he still led the expedition to capture an Orc fortress and establish Honor Hold.
• Khadgar recognized that the constellations corresponded to Ner'zhul's artifacts and told Turalyon and the other commanders that the alignment would occur in ten days and last three days.
• Ner'zhul finished preparing his spell and decided to perform the ritual at Shadowmoon Temple, with Kilrogg and Blood Maw accompanying him.
• Ner'zhul excluded Grommash Hellscream from his plan and ordered Kargath to keep the Alliance occupied at Hellfire Citadel with the Shattered Hand Clan.
• Ner'zhul, Kilrogg, and Blood Maw departed for Shadowmoon Temple while Kargath and his warriors remained at Hellfire Citadel.

Turalyon’s forces captured Hellfire Citadel and pursued Ner'zhul, while Danas defeated Kilrogg Deadeye in a delaying battle. In Blade's Edge Mountains, Khadgar drove Deathwing away and recovered the Skull of Gul'dan, leaving Medivh's Book and stopping Ner'zhul as the remaining objectives.

• Turalyon and Khadgar planned a coordinated assault on Hellfire Citadel, and the Alliance captured the fortress after Danas drew out the Horde forces.
• Khadgar traced the Skull of Gul'dan north and the Eye of Dalaran and Medivh's Book southwest, so Turalyon sent Danas and Kurdran after Ner'zhul while he pursued the skull.
• Kilrogg Deadeye stayed behind to delay the Alliance, but Danas killed him after Kilrogg revealed Ner'zhul had already gone to the Black Temple.
• Turalyon and Khadgar encountered Gruul and Deathwing in Blade's Edge Mountains, where Khadgar's spell disrupted Deathwing's armor and forced him to retreat, dropping the Skull of Gul'dan.
• Khadgar retrieved the skull, and Turalyon led the Alliance out of the mountains as they prepared to pursue Medivh's Book and stop Ner'zhul.

Ner'zhul opened rifts across Draenor and escaped through one, leaving the world on the brink of collapse; Khadgar raced to close the Dark Portal while Turalyon prepared to evacuate. Khadgar's spell destroyed the portal, trapping Grommash and Rexxar in Azeroth as Nathanos and Alleria discovered the Eye of Dalaran among the survivors.

• Nathanos and Alleria witnessed a dragon burst through the Dark Portal and devastate the Alliance camp.
• Kurdran rejoined Turalyon and Khadgar, and the Alliance force marched on Shadowmoon Temple to stop Ner'zhul's ritual.
• Turalyon fought Talon Bloodmaw while Khadgar reached Ner'zhul, but Ner'zhul opened many rifts, killed a dissenting Orc, and escaped through one with Sargeras's Staff.
• Khadgar realized Draenor's rifts threatened Azeroth and flew with Kurdran toward the Dark Portal to close it, while Turalyon gathered the soldiers.
• Grommash's forces attacked the Alliance at the Dark Portal, and Rexxar killed a warlock who drained the life of his companion Hals.
• Khadgar closed the Dark Portal, which collapsed; Nathanos and Alleria survived the destruction and found the Eye of Dalaran among the fallen Gryphon Rider's bundles.

After the Dark Portal closed, Nathanos and Alleria learned that Orgrim had escaped, and Alleria sought comfort with Nathanos before they traveled to Lordaeron. There, Nathanos met Prince Arthas and sensed a chilling destiny in their handshake.

• Khadgar destroyed the Dark Portal from the other side, leaving the Horde stranded on Azeroth as Grommash gathered the Orcs and led them north.
• A Wildhammer Dwarf told Nathanos and Alleria that the expedition beyond the portal might have died, and the survivors prepared to leave Honor Hold.
• Verina told Alleria that Orgrim had escaped, so Alleria sent Nathanos away before returning to his tent that night for comfort.
• Alleria told Nathanos that Orgrim had escaped from captivity and that Terenas had concealed the news; they then traveled together to Lordaeron.
• Uther introduced Nathanos and Alleria to the young Prince Arthas, and Nathanos sensed a cold, inescapable destiny when he shook the boy’s hand.

Vareesa Windrunner waited impatiently with the silent Marius for a late mage to join their escort mission. The chapter shifted to Nathanos Maris recalling how Muradin Bronzebeard agreed to train Prince Arthas in swordsmanship.

• Vareesa Windrunner complained that she had waited three days and vowed to leave if the mage did not arrive within another hour.
• Nathanos Maris escorted Muradin Bronzebeard through the palace to meet Prince Arthas.
• Arthas accidentally sent a wooden sword flying while pretending to fight an Orc, and Nathanos caught it before it hit Muradin.
• Muradin offered to teach Arthas swordsmanship, warning that he would punish him if he failed to meet his demands.
• Arthas asked Nathanos to keep his embarrassing imaginary battle secret, but Nathanos teased him about his poor sword swing.

Arthas complained that Nathanos would not teach him swordsmanship, but Nathanos reminded him that he was still young and cautioned him about secretly riding his untrained foal, Invincible. After Arthas attended a prayer ceremony at the palace chapel, Nathanos and Arthas prepared to travel to Durnholde Keep and noticed a mysterious girl with Princess Calia.

• Arthas argued with Nathanos about learning to wield a sword and admitted he wanted to prove himself like Varian.
• Nathanos rebuked Arthas for secretly riding Invincible and convinced him to be patient.
• Arthas attended the palace prayer ceremony while Nathanos waited outside the chapel.
• Nathanos discovered a golden-haired girl hiding by a tree; she said she was waiting for Sister Calia.
• After the ceremony, Nathanos told Arthas they should prepare to go to Durnholde Keep, and Arthas watched Calia leave with the girl.

Arthas and Nathanos set out for Durnholde Keep, but Terenas tasked them with escorting Jaina Proudmoore to Dalaran along the way. On their first night camping in the Hillsbrad Foothills, Nathanos noticed Jaina using magic to conjure food and water, then left to investigate.

• Nathanos persuaded Terenas that Arthas could inspect Durnholde Keep while attending its duel exhibition, and Terenas agreed to let them travel for ten days.
• Terenas introduced Jaina Proudmoore and assigned Arthas and Nathanos to escort her to Dalaran.
• The party departed late and continued traveling despite the servants' suggestion to spend the night in Ambermill.
• Nathanos surveyed the Hillsbrad Foothills and spotted a prisoner-of-war camp south of Dalaran.
• Arthas gave Nathanos Magic Bread made by Jaina, and Nathanos left after learning she had conjured food and water.

Jaina secretly visited an Orc prisoner-of-war camp with Nathanos and felt pity for the imprisoned Orcs, while Nathanos questioned his own views of them. The party reached Dalaran, where Jaina parted from Nathanos and Arthas before they continued toward Durnholde Keep.

• Nathanos brought rabbits for the party's dinner, and Jaina slipped out after everyone went to sleep.
• Jaina asked Nathanos to take her to the nearby Orc camp, and he guided her past the lax guards to look through the wooden wall.
• Jaina saw Orcs, including a mother and baby, and said they looked sorrowful and did not seem to deserve imprisonment.
• Nathanos protected Jaina when a watchtower guard looked toward them, and the two returned safely to the tents.
• The party reached Dalaran, where Jaina expressed her hope of seeing Nathanos and Arthas again before they continued toward Durnholde Keep.
• Nathanos asked Arthas what he thought of Orcs, and Arthas called them monsters while Nathanos reflected on their feelings and children.

During Arthas’s visit to Durnholde Castle, he watched Thrall fight in Blackmoore’s arena and learned that the royal treasury profited from the matches. Nathanos protected Taelan Foxglove from Blackmoore’s coercion, then went to Arthas for help after the prince gave him a letter.

• Arthas and Nathanos inspected Durnholde Castle with Lieutenant General Edras Blackmoore, who promised to arrange a match for Thrall.
• Blackmoore introduced his maidservant, Taelan Foxglove, while touching her arm, and Arthas and Nathanos noticed her distress.
• At the arena, Thrall killed a charging bear and defeated three human gladiators without killing or injuring them.
• Taelan came to Nathanos’s room at Blackmoore’s command, and Nathanos saw bruises on her wrists and throat before letting her stay safely in his room.
• Nathanos climbed through Arthas’s window to ask for help, but Arthas first handed him a letter to read.

Tobias recruited Stephan, Larein, and Bigal to find his brother Staven, whose diary revealed an obsession with Tiroya and a threat against her. They discovered Staven dead, and Stephan recognized the arrow that killed him; two days later, Tobias met The Witherer at Tiroya’s grave, where the undead revealed that he had killed Staven and planned to leave for Pandaria.

• Tobias showed Stephan, Larein, and Bigal his brother Staven’s letters and diary, which described Staven’s infatuation with Tiroya and his intent to make her pay in blood.
• Tobias admitted that he had already found Staven’s whereabouts and led the group to a ruined house outside Duskwood Town.
• The group found Staven’s undead corpse with an arrow through its forehead, and Stephan recognized the arrow’s inscription as a reference to a painful memory involving Alleria.
• Stephan ran toward Stormwind City to tell others what he had found, while Tobias later met a cloaked undead at Tiroya’s grave.
• The Witherer confessed that he had tortured and killed Staven, named the flower at Tiroya’s grave Tiroya’s Tears, and said he was leaving for Pandaria.

Nathanos, Vareesa, and the late-arriving Rhonin traveled toward Hask Port, where a Dragon and Gryphon Riders crossed their path. The three continued through the forest, but six armored knights suddenly surrounded them.

• Nathanos met Rhonin at the rendezvous point and explained that he had prepared a faster, safer route to Hask Port.
• Vareesa agreed to leave her horse at an inn, and the three traveled together for four days toward the port.
• Nathanos spotted Gryphon Riders attacking a Red Dragon and judged that the Dragon was as good as dead.
• Rhonin questioned why the Dragon had appeared, while Nathanos suspected Orcs from Grim Batol might be involved.
• Six knights in silver armor appeared among the trees and surrounded Nathanos, Vareesa, and Rhonin.

Rhonin and Nathanos were brought to a Silver Hand camp by Duncan Centaurus, whose paladins treated Vareesa warmly but treated Rhonin and Nathanos as outsiders. Nathanos challenged Centaurus over the unequal treatment and later interrupted his anti-mage tirade, leaving the conflict unresolved.

• Duncan Centaurus and his paladins escorted Vareesa, Rhonin, and Nathanos to their camp, where Centaurus offered to lead Vareesa to Hask Harbor the next day.
• Rhonin objected to the detour and to being assigned separate quarters, so Nathanos stopped Max and warned Centaurus before secretly placing something in his hand.
• Rhonin and Nathanos settled into plain quarters, and Rhonin thanked Nathanos for not treating him as an outsider.
• At dinner, Nathanos mocked Centaurus for serving wine despite the paladins' code, then left while Rhonin listened to Centaurus describe dragon attacks and the campaign against the Orcs.
• Centaurus disparaged mages and vowed to defeat the dragons, but Nathanos returned and threw a log onto the table before him and Vareesa, demanding that he remember the earlier warning.

Nathanos offered Ronin a way to leave the paladins and escort him to Hask Port after tensions with Senturus and Vareesa. In a flashback, Nathanos suspected the seemingly perfect Lord Prysto was using magic to win political influence, and the chapter ended with Sylvanas arriving to speak with him about personal and business matters.

• Nathanos clashed with Senturus, defended Ronin, and warned that the paladin would be disappointed by the results of an identity check.
• Ronin told Nathanos that Vareesa had neglected her role as his guide, and Nathanos offered to take him to Hask Port without her.
• A week earlier, Nathanos and Arthas watched King Terenas discuss Lord Prysto, whose counsel had helped Terenas secure support for taking control of Alterac.
• Nathanos suspected Prysto had used magic to persuade the Alliance kingdoms, while Terenas considered making him king of Alterac and marrying him to Cari.
• Sylvanas surprised Nathanos at Barnir Farm and told him they had both business and personal matters to discuss.

Sylvanas met Nathanos privately to discuss a secret matter involving Vareesa Windrunner. In Lordaeron, Prysto arrived to mediate a tense meeting of Alliance rulers about the Alterac issue, and the talks became more cooperative.

• Sylvanas sat with Nathanos and asked whether he had received Alleria's letter.
• Nathanos said Prince Arthas had delivered the letter, which said Sylvanas would visit him.
• Sylvanas revealed that her secret business concerned Vareesa Windrunner, her and Alleria's younger sister.
• Genn Greymane complained as King Terenas waited for Prysto to arrive at the Alliance meeting in Lordaeron.
• Genn Greymane and Daelin Proudmoore traded threats, while Terenas worried about divisions within the Alliance.
• Prysto entered, calmed the kings, and guided the discussion toward greater cooperation.

Prysto used magic to manipulate Terenas into supporting his rise as King of Alterac and suppressing the mages’ objections, while Sylvanas persuaded Nathanos to stay with her before he escaped with Rhonin. At Grim Batol, Ner’zhul confronted the failing Dragon Egg production and learned that someone planned to rescue Alexstrasza, a revelation that delighted him.

• Prysto told Terenas that he had promised Alterac’s lands to Greymane, Sorath, and Admiral Proudmoore, then magically made the king forget the details and accept Prysto as the future King of Alterac.
• Sylvanas asked Nathanos to stay with her, and he agreed despite thinking he should return to Arthas.
• Nathanos and Rhonin slipped away from Senturus’s camp, leaving Vareesa behind, while a returning soldier reported that Lord Uther had confirmed Nathanos’s identity.
• An explosion collapsed a city wall near Senturus, killing several paladins on duty.
• Ner’zhul found only five increasingly weak Dragon Eggs and threatened Alexstrasza with the Demon Soul before Zuluhed summoned him.
• A Goblin warned Zuluhed that someone intended to rescue Alexstrasza, and Ner’zhul laughed with triumph at the news.

Vareesa questioned Duncan Centaurus’s accusations against Rhonin and Marius as the search party pursued them toward Hask. Meanwhile, Nathanos and Rhonin reached the harbor, learned that dragons had destroyed its ships, and asked Falkor Wildhammer for help.

• Duncan Centaurus insisted that Rhonin and Marius were responsible for the killings and led the search toward Hask.
• Vareesa asked Centaurus to hear the two men’s explanation before judging them, and he agreed they would have a chance to defend themselves.
• Nathanos and Rhonin approached Hask cautiously and encountered three Gryphon Riders led by Falkor Wildhammer.
• Falkor told Nathanos that two dragons had attacked Hask and that the harbor’s ships had been destroyed.
• Rhonin asked Falkor to help them find a way across the sea.

Ner'zhul and Zuluhed prepared a special mission as Rhonin and Nathanos flew toward Kaz'Modan with Wildhammer Dwarves. After battling two Orc Dragon Knights and killing one Red Dragon, Nathanos fell from the sky but was caught by a mysterious voice that demanded a talk about their cooperation.

• Ner'zhul urged Zuluhed to try his plan with the Demon Soul, and Zuluhed summoned two trusted Dragon Knights for a special mission.
• Thastad agreed to fly Rhonin to Kaz'Modan only if Nathanos accompanied him, despite Rhonin's objections.
• Two Orc Dragon Knights attacked the Gryphon riders, and Rhonin struck one pursuing Red Dragon with lightning.
• Nathanos jumped onto the other Red Dragon, killed its Orc rider, and stabbed the dragon near its skull, causing it to fall.
• Nathanos fell toward the sea with the dying dragon, but a mysterious voice caught him and called for a talk about their upcoming cooperation.

Deathwing appeared over the battlefield, defeated the Red Dragon, and flew toward Kaz'Modan with Nathanos held in his claw. Rhonin believed Nathanos was still alive, while Vareesa searched the devastated harbor at Hask without finding him or Rhonin.

• Deathwing descended into the battle carrying Nathanos, and Rhonin recognized him as the black dragon.
• Deathwing fought the Red Dragon while keeping his left claw tucked against his chest, leading Rhonin to believe Nathanos was alive.
• Thastad ordered the Gryphons to flee, and they watched Deathwing kill the Red Dragon before flying toward Kaz'Modan.
• Rhonin urged Thastad to follow Deathwing to Kaz'Modan, but Thastad refused and Rhonin wondered why Deathwing had taken Nathanos.
• Vareesa searched the ruined harbor at Hask while Duncan Centaurus and his paladins helped survivors, but she found no clues about Nathanos or Rhonin.

At Hask, Rhonin and Vareesa argued with Senturus and Th aastad over the mission and Marius’s capture, while Sylvanas arrived to inspect Vareesa’s progress and asked where Nathanos was. Nathanos awoke in Grim Batol, where Deathwing revealed himself and planned to use him as a prisoner in a scheme to free Alexstrasza.

• Rhonin explained that Marius had been captured, but his account sparked another argument with Senturus and Th aastad.
• Sylvanas arrived at Hask and confirmed that Vareesa had completed her task of bringing Rhonin there.
• Sylvanas asked where Nathanos was, while Nathanos awoke in Grim Batol and recognized Deathwing in human form.
• Deathwing told Nathanos that Alexstrasza was imprisoned at Grim Batol and claimed he would help him free her.
• Deathwing ordered Orcs to take Nathanos to Ner’zhul, but the old Orc said they had to prepare the human first.

Vareesa returned to Quel'Thalas after Sylvanas ended her mission, while Nathanos was imprisoned with the dragon Alexstrasza at Grim Batol. Sylvanas searched the darkness of Kaz'Modan for Nathanos and, unable to sleep, set out to scout the nearby hills.

• Sylvanas ordered Vareesa to return to Eversong Forest with a letter for Alleria, and Vareesa worried about Nathanos after learning who he was.
• Nathanos found Alexstrasza imprisoned beside him at Grim Batol, and she asked him to save her children before magically putting him to sleep.
• Sylvanas continued pursuing Deathwing through Kaz'Modan but found no trace of him as her exhausted Dragonhawk could no longer fly.
• Sylvanas rested in the hills, fed herself and her Dragonhawk, and worried about Nathanos's fate.
• Unable to sleep amid the dark and quiet wilderness, Sylvanas rose to scout the surrounding hills and woodland.