Recaps

After recovering memories of Azeroth’s future disasters, Herad resolved to train hard and become powerful enough to survive them. He rode to the Moon Temple to begin his pursuit of magic, leaving Lirath fishing behind.

• Herad remembered that the Orc invasion and Arthas’s assault on Silvermoon threatened the high elves, and realized he had at least five years before the first catastrophe.
• Herad gave his enchanted fishing rod to Lirath and declared that he would become an Archmage, while Lirath decided to enter a fishing competition.
• Herad rode his white hawkstrider through Silvermoon Forest toward the Moon Temple, reflecting on the high elves’ lack of discipline and abundant magical energy.
• Herad arrived at the Moon Temple, where an arcane golem let him inside and he found the school quiet, with most instructors and students away.

Herad secretly trained until he advanced to Intermediate Mage while hiding his strength and working on an Arcane Core during class. His instructor noticed the magical traces and quietly recorded Herad’s name, leaving his efforts to keep a low profile at risk.

• Herad meditated in the Moon Temple and resolved to train hard so he could protect the Sunwell from destruction.
• Herad advanced from Apprentice Mage to Intermediate Mage in six months but concealed his strength by skipping tests or holding back.
• Herad attended a spellcraft lesson and secretly etched channels into a magic crystal to create an Arcane Core.
• The instructor noticed that Herad had been etching a magic crystal and added his name to a notebook.

Herad finished an Arcane Core and built his first arcane golem, then began upgrading its intelligence. A Magic Messenger informed him that he had been entered in the annual Spell Tournament, where his advancement to intermediate mage made him an unusually strong contender.

• Herad completed an Arcane Core after restoring his mana across several work sessions.
• Herad shaped a granite body, added armor, and activated his first arcane golem.
• Herad questioned the golem, judged its intelligence to be around that of a kindergarten child, and began modifying its Arcane Core.
• A Dragonhawk hatchling delivered a Magic Messenger scroll to Herad, which told him he had been registered for the Spell Tournament.
• Herad recognized that his status as an intermediate mage made him a major dark horse in the tournament.

Herad took his arcane golem into the forest to test its speed, durability, and combat abilities. When a World Tree attacked the golem, Herad stopped the confrontation and continued his tests, leaving the World Tree unharmed and considering friendship a better choice than fighting it.

• Herad stored the arcane golem in his Runed Bag and rode his white hawkstrider to a forest clearing.
• Herad released the golem and ordered it to charge up a hill, where a World Tree struck it and sent it rolling back down.
• Herad canceled the golem’s charge and had it run on level ground while the World Tree watched without attacking again.
• Herad tested the golem in water and found that it could walk across the riverbed and deliver powerful punches.
• Herad judged the golem to be strong but limited against skilled Warriors, and decided befriending the World Tree was preferable to harming it.

Herad trained for the spellcasting tournament while Lirath sent him predictions showing that bookmakers had not ranked him among the contenders. Seeing a chance to profit, Herad organized his followers to bet on his victories, and they began preparing to secretly exploit the betting pools.

• The World Tree watched Herad repair the clearing, then shared its curiosity about him with the ancient trees and Spirits of Nature.
• Herad spent several days training in his quarters while Lirath and his family sent messages encouraging him to place well in the tournament.
• Lirath sent Herad the bookmakers’ predicted rankings and complained that they had overlooked his talent.
• Herad raised ten thousand gold coins and told his followers to bet on him winning every match while keeping their plans secret.
• Lirath and the other young elves surveyed Silvermoon City’s bookmakers, while Sylvanas watched her brother’s activities without finding a way to discipline him.

At the Silvermoon spell tournament, Sylvanas underestimated Herad’s abilities while he and Lirath quietly pursued a betting scheme. Herad won his first match by outlasting his opponent, leaving him poised to profit from the tournament.

• Sylvanas overheard Lirath and his friends planning to bet their pocket money on Herad, then later told Herad that his chances of qualifying were slim.
• Herad met Prince Kael'thas at the opening ceremony and reflected on the dangers facing the kingdom and the limits of his own knowledge.
• The tournament assigned Herad to Group Two, and Sylvanas pointed out that he might be able to beat Kelson Firespeech.
• Herad entered his first match without enchanted equipment and defeated a young girl by outlasting her in a fireball exchange.
• Herad realized that bettors who knew he would win could make easy money from his matches.

Herad faced the heavily favored Kelson Firespeech in their group-stage match after Sylvanas learned Herad was an intermediate mage and wagered over twenty thousand gold coins on him. Herad’s Arcane Missiles overwhelmed Kelson’s defenses, leaving Kelson struggling as the fight turned against him.

• Kelson dominated his early matches with rapid fireballs, while Herad improved his own performance and attracted some gamblers’ attention.
• Sylvanas celebrated two winning bets by picking Herad up and spinning him around, and Kelson saw the scene after finishing his match.
• Herad and his companions reported their betting winnings, and Lirath revealed to Sylvanas that Herad had already become an intermediate mage.
• Sylvanas pooled over twenty thousand gold coins from herself and her subordinates and placed it all on Herad to beat Kelson.
• Kelson opened their match with a Flame Shield, but Herad switched to Arcane Missiles and forced Kelson to spend mana raising a spell shield.

Herad defeated Kelson by managing the match to keep his victory looking like a fluke, while a clash between two title favorites ended with one protected by the academy’s lifesaving device. Watching the favorite’s water elemental support made Herad decide to capture an elemental spirit before the afternoon quarterfinals.

• Kelson ran low on mana, conceded to Herad, and complained that Herad’s arcane missiles had decided the match.
• Herad agreed that he had been lucky, encouraging others to see his victory as a fluke.
• Kelson watched one of the tournament’s leading favorites lose to another in a battle supported by water elementals.
• The losing contestant’s lifesaving device activated a Spell Shield that absorbed an incoming frostbolt.
• Herad decided to capture an elemental spirit to help him in the quarterfinals scheduled for the afternoon.

Herad summoned and bound an ordinary air elemental in a costly puzzle cube, then brought it to the arena for safekeeping with Sylvanas. In his quarterfinal match against a powerful mage, he concealed his strength by matching her fireball casting speed, leaving gamblers to realize he was setting them up again.

• Herad crafted a mithril puzzle cube, summoned an ordinary air elemental into it, and taught the spirit to follow his commands.
• Herad gave the puzzle cube to Sylvanas before his quarterfinal match, and nearby gamblers rushed off to bet on him.
• Herad faced a beautiful mage nearing intermediate rank, who challenged his ability after he defeated Kelson.
• Herad and the mage exchanged fireballs at nearly equal speeds while Herad held back, prompting informed gamblers to suspect he was concealing his strength again.

Herad defeated Carl Deep Shadow in the semifinal by overwhelming her with Arcane Missiles, his air elemental, and a precisely timed Counterspell. Carl’s lifesaving item activated after a final lightning orb struck her, leaving her charred and trembling as Herad advanced toward the championship.

• Carl Deep Shadow taunted Herad and told him to surrender before their match began.
• Herad summoned his electric air elemental and protected himself with Flame Shield as Carl attacked behind Spell Shield.
• Herad’s dense barrage of Arcane Missiles and the elemental’s lightning overwhelmed Carl and forced her to focus on maintaining her shield.
• Herad used Counterspell to disrupt Carl’s next Spell Shield just as his attacks shattered her previous one.
• The air elemental’s final lightning orb struck Carl, triggering her lifesaving item and leaving her charred and trembling inside a protective sphere.

Herad won the spellcasting tournament, gained admission to the Royal Academy of Magic, and celebrated with the Dawnblade family and Silvermoon’s warriors. Hearing about the high elves’ costly wars against trolls, he proposed acquiring stronger animal companions and considered opening a trade route to prepare Quel’Thalas for future threats.

• An archmage restrained Carl’s rampaging water elemental, and Herad’s opponent forfeited the final rather than face him.
• Herad won the tournament and accepted Grand Archmage Rommath’s invitation to study at the Royal Academy of Magic in Silvermoon City.
• Theros Dawnblade hosted a victory banquet, where Herad used a modified healing spell to expel alcohol and keep drinking without getting drunk.
• The banquet guests described the trolls’ strength, rapid healing, and large numbers, as well as the high elves’ losses in years of fighting them.
• Herad suggested obtaining grizzly bears from the dwarves or taming Forest Troll war bears, and he considered spending his tournament winnings to open a trade route.

Herad traveled from Silvermoon City to Dalaran to make contact with dwarves and gnomes, hoping to find useful engineering creations. At the Golden Flute Magic Shop, he paid Jindi to show him weapons and devices capable of causing damage.

• Herad used the Portal in Sunfury Spire to travel to Dalaran, paying the high cost of instant teleportation.
• Herad surveyed Dalaran’s commercial district and searched for dwarves and gnomes.
• Herad found the gnome mage Jindi’s Golden Flute Magic Shop, which sold enchanted toys, engineering trinkets, and alchemical potions.
• Herad asked Jindi to show him engineering creations that could explode or otherwise cause damage.
• Herad put gold coins on the counter, and Jindi invited him to inspect the goods.

Jindi took Herad to his underground black-market shop, where Herad tested a dwarven rifle and decided guns could help arm high elf civilians. The rifle proved powerful enough to break a target, and Jindi explained that dwarven Mountaineers used it against Trolls.

• Jindi led Herad into his underground shop and asked his employee to bring out the biggest item.
• Herad inspected the shop’s weapons and chose a long-barreled rifle to test.
• Jindi took Herad to the firing range, where Herad struggled to hit a target before breaking it with a shot.
• Herad praised the rifle’s power, and Jindi said dwarven Mountaineers used it to fight Trolls.

Herad bought a thousand long-barreled guns from Jindi and asked him to find superior Bear cubs from the Dwarf Mountaineer Corps. After testing an Aircraft Cannon mounted in the arcane golem’s grip, Herad decided to recruit Gnomes to build weapons factories on islands off Quel’Thalas.

• Herad ordered a thousand long-barreled guns and asked Jindi to acquire promising Bear cubs from the Dwarf allies.
• Herad helped a Gnome move an Aircraft Cannon and used his arcane golem to hold it steady.
• Herad fired the Aircraft Cannon at wooden targets, destroying them with ease.
• Herad reflected on Gnomes’ history of using technology to overcome their physical weakness and resist stronger enemies.
• Herad decided to recruit Gnomes to establish weapons factories on uninhabited islands off Quel’Thalas.

Herad introduced long-barreled firearms to Sylvanas and the High Elf Rangers, who tested them and approved their wider use despite the noise. He proposed that Gnome engineers develop suppressors and more powerful weapons, leaving the Rangers ready to prove firearms’ worth at the border.

• Herad rode to Sylvanas’s Ranger training camp near Silvermoon City with long-barreled firearms.
• Sylvanas tried firing one but disliked its noise, while Lor'themar Theron praised the weapon and the Rangers tested it.
• The Rangers found firearms easy to learn and appreciated how many bullets they could carry compared with arrows.
• Herad assured the Rangers that Gnome engineers could solve the noise problem with suppressors.
• Sylvanas approved the Rangers practicing with firearms and taking them to the border to demonstrate their effectiveness.
• Herad proposed developing machine guns and automatic rifles to increase the High Elves’ firepower.

Herad continued strengthening Quel'Thalas through muskets and factory construction while studying Rommath’s research into new golem power sources, but feared that major political changes could draw the bronze dragons’ attention. An unseen bronze dragon reviewed Herad’s past, found nothing unusual, and decided to stop watching him.

• Herad sold the muskets to the rangers at cost, arranged a combat test with Sylvanas, and returned to his classes at the Royal Academy of Magic.
• Herad learned from Rommath that arcane golems needed a power source usable beyond Quel'Thalas, but the Sunwell’s water was inaccessible for experiments.
• Herad concluded that the High Elf Council’s factional politics could not be changed without disastrous losses to the slow-growing high elf population.
• Herad kept testing the bronze dragons’ response through reasonable efforts such as muskets and a factory built with gnomish engineers, while avoiding more radical changes.
• A bronze dragon examined more than two hundred years of Herad’s past, found nothing unusual, and stopped monitoring him.

Herad’s factory began producing firearms, and the Council approved Sylvanas’s plan to clear trolls from the border. Herad rode to join the expedition as Sylvanas’s rangers headed toward the long-running conflict with the Forest Trolls.

• Herad inspected the factory’s new rifle and approved its sound and design, while discussing the gnomes’ plans for more portable computers.
• The Council approved Sylvanas’s proposal to clear out the border, prompting Herad to celebrate the chance to test the weapons in combat.
• Herad fed Sylvanas’s owl a dried fish, then left Silvermoon City at dawn for the Ranger Training Camp.
• Herad reached the camp as Sylvanas’s rangers rode south toward the border and the Forest Troll capital of Zul'Aman.
• The chapter described how Forest Troll voodoo could breach the Sunwell-powered barrier and how the trolls’ moss-covered skin helped them hide in the borderland.

Sylvanas led a growing Ranger force toward Zul'Aman, where Alleria joined her and approved of the offensive after seeing Herad's cannon-equipped arcane golems. The mages of the Dawnstar Spire brought nearly forty golems along to test the cannons, and the army reached the city gates.

• The Ranger force grew as border garrisons joined it, and it reached the Dawnstar Spire by noon.
• Alleria arrived to urge Sylvanas to limit the campaign, but the cannon-equipped arcane golems convinced her that the Rangers could safely attack the Forest Trolls.
• Herad demonstrated how his golems fired cannons and shared their shooting program with the Morningstar mages, who declined to buy cannons until they saw them in combat.
• Nearly forty arcane golems joined the army, and the Forest Trolls fled at the sight of the approaching force.
• The army opened a passage through the Magic Defense Barrier and crossed to Zul'Aman's doorstep.

The high elves attacked Zul'Aman's defenders with firearms, whose accurate volleys devastated the trolls and pinned them behind cover. The Amani War Bears entered the battle in magically reinforced armor that resisted bullets and spells, and Herad welcomed the elite troops he had been waiting for.

• The forest trolls defended the narrow mountain path, expecting the high elves to fight a familiar battle of attrition.
• The high elf rangers fired muskets from more than five hundred meters away, killing and wounding troll defenders with coordinated volleys.
• Herad cheered as the rangers' firearms shocked the troll defenders, and Alleria and her sister watched in astonishment.
• The high elf mages sent arcane golems forward while rangers and warriors advanced behind them, forcing the trolls to stay under cover.
• The troll warlord sent more than a hundred Amani War Bears against the advancing golems, and their reinforced wooden armor withstood bullets and fireballs.
• Herad watched the Amani War Bears enter the battle and said they were the elite troops he had been waiting for.

Alleria and Sylvanas helped the High Elves rout the Forest Troll defenders on the mountain path, and the enraged bear god Nalorakk pursued them. He halted at the Magic Defense Barrier’s entrance and retreated rather than attack the High Elves inside.

• Alleria and Sylvanas killed the Troll beast tamers and their Amani War Bears with arrows charged with wind elemental energy.
• Alleria shot the Troll Warlord dead as the Arcane Golems and High Elf warriors crushed the defenders and took the mountain path.
• The Forest Troll leaders learned their forces had collapsed, and Nalorakk rushed out to confront the High Elves after hearing his Amani War Bears had been wiped out.
• Nalorakk rolled down the cliff and charged after the retreating High Elves, enduring autocannon fire and wind-charged arrows by transforming into a giant grizzly.
• Nalorakk stopped when the Magic Defense Barrier opened and retreated rather than pursue the High Elves inside.

After Nalorakk withdrew from the barrier, Herad focused on arming the High Elves with autocannons, which the mages eagerly ordered for their Arcane Golems. When Alleria and Sylvanas competed to receive the weapons first, Herad pointed out that Rangers could not safely fire them, and the sisters joined forces to demand a solution.

• Nalorakk left the Magic Defense Barrier, and Herad reflected on the threat posed by Zul'Aman's animal deities and the Sunwell.
• High Elf mages ordered autocannons for their Arcane Golems, and Herad promised to prepare the first batch that week.
• Alleria and Sylvanas silently competed over which of their forces would get the weapons first.
• Herad explained that humanoids could not handle an autocannon's weight and recoil as an Arcane Golem could.
• Alleria and Sylvanas teamed up, pinned Herad between them, and pressured him to find a way for Rangers to use the weapons.

Herad designed and built a six-legged, stripped-down Arcane Golem to carry an autocannon alongside ranger troops. After half a month of development, he tested the prototype successfully, though the chapter ended with an author’s note that he had tested positive for COVID.

• Herad rejected Alleria’s suggestion to mount an autocannon on a ballista chassis and explained that he would adapt the gnomes’ multi-legged robots into a simplified Arcane Golem.
• Herad sketched a six-legged vehicle designed to carry an autocannon and follow ranger troops, then spent half a month refining its magical components.
• Herad activated the prototype, climbed inside, and tested its movement and magical targeting screens.
• Herad drove the prototype around the testing grounds and destroyed every target with accurate autocannon fire, confirming that it had passed its tests.

Herad completed six Arcane War Machines and delivered three to Sylvanas before riding to Alleria’s camp. Along the way, Sylvanas and the rangers noticed that Herad’s white Hawkstrider had become extraordinarily fast, though Herad did not know why.

• Herad named his new arcane golems Arcane War Machines, built five more, and gave three to Sylvanas.
• Sylvanas kissed Herad goodbye, then watched his white Hawkstrider race away much faster than before.
• Herad rested by a river while the Hawkstrider caught and ate fish, then continued toward Silvermoon Forest.
• The white Hawkstrider dropped Herad at the Farstriders Camp and raced into the forest as the watching rangers remarked on its speed.
• Alleria and the rangers asked Herad why the Hawkstrider had grown faster, and the rangers used Eagle Eye to investigate it.

Rangers tracked Herad’s white Hawkstrider to a World Tree and concluded it was receiving nature’s gift. Herad then demonstrated an Arcane War Machine to Alleria, while Lor'themar triggered its electric defenses, and Alleria submitted a purchase request to the Silvermoon City Council.

• The Rangers followed the white Hawkstrider to a World Tree near the Moon Temple and observed it resting beneath the tree.
• The Rangers concluded that the World Tree favored the Hawkstrider and was granting it nature’s gift, then congratulated Herad.
• Lor'themar approached Herad’s Arcane War Machine and triggered its automatic defenses, which shocked him in punishment mode.
• Herad explained the Arcane War Machine’s controls, and Alleria practiced driving it until she could operate it competently.
• Alleria submitted a request to the Silvermoon City Council to purchase the Arcane War Machines, though approval was expected to take months.

Chromie grew uneasy as the High Elves prepared for an all-out war against Zul'Aman and feared the trolls would be destroyed. She fled Quel'Thalas for the Caverns of Time to report in and avoid being blamed for the changing events.

• King Anasterian Sunstrider announced the Silvermoon City Council’s overwhelming support for the campaign and praised firearms as a way to defeat Zul'Aman.
• Chromie concluded that the High Elves might wipe out Zul'Aman and decided to leave before war broke out.
• Chromie teleported to Tanaris, bathed in the desert sand, and flew toward the Caverns of Time.
• Chromie entered the Caverns of Time in Gnome form, greeted the dragonkin guards, and headed to the Bronze Dragons’ headquarters to report in.