Recaps

Chromie secured Soridormi’s approval to leave Lordaeron for Silithus, while Chronormu remained distracted from the High Elves’ preparations for war. After nearly half a year of mobilization, Herad’s forces attacked Zul'Aman with a devastating magical surprise strike, leaving the battle against the Forest Trolls to continue.

• Chromie persuaded Soridormi to assign her to Silithus, and Soridormi planned to send a novice to Lordaeron.
• Herad secured arms orders, Goblin engineering support, and engineers as Quel'Thalas prepared for war while Chronormu monitored Lordaeron and Dalaran instead.
• The High Elves completed their mobilization, assembling war machines, autocannon-equipped golems, and artillery before marching south toward Zul'Aman.
• Chronormu watched the army march, unaware of the scale of the impending attack.
• The Sunfury and Eclipse Burning Legion mages jointly cast Flamestrike across Zul'Aman’s slope, engulfing the Troll defenders in fire.
• Herad admired the archmages’ attack and prepared to face Zul'Aman’s Animal Loa, with the other troops set to fight the Forest Trolls.

Herad’s High Elf forces used precision-guided howitzer fire to overwhelm the Troll defenders outside Zul’Aman and bind its five animal deities. The chapter ended with the artillery bombarding the gatehouse to blast a breach through the city wall.

• Herad’s artillery crews bombarded the heights, killing and scattering the Troll defenders while Mage’s Eyes guided their shells.
• Zul’jin and the five animal deities came onto Zul’Aman’s walls to assess the High Elf army.
• Nalorakk, Halazzi, and the serpent god leaped or descended from the walls, while the High Elves bound all five deities in elemental nets.
• Herad ordered the howitzers to open fire on the gatehouse, vaporizing it and many Troll defenders.
• The High Elf artillery crews launched a second bombardment before the smoke from the first had cleared.

The High Elf army destroyed Zul'Aman, killing Zul'jin and the animal gods while suffering no losses. Silvermoon City prepared a victory celebration as the army rested at the Farstriders' camp.

• High Elf artillery shattered Zul'Aman's walls, and Zul'jin was killed by the opening bombardment.
• Arcane golems, battle vehicles, rangers, and warriors stormed the city and overwhelmed the Troll defenders.
• Most surviving Trolls fled through secret passages while the High Elves destroyed the temple cores and killed the animal gods.
• The High Elves plundered Zul'Aman, demolished its buildings and walls, and left the city abandoned to wild beasts.
• Silvermoon City's council received the report of victory and began preparing celebrations while the army rested at the Farstriders' camp.

Herad learned that Troll Hexxers had discovered how to absorb Animal Loa power, raising the possibility that Zul'jin could return as a demigod. He sent the discovery to Silvermoon City and warned Sylvanas and Lor'themar, who feared Zul'jin's revenge.

• Herad examined a Troll Hexxer's book and learned it described research into absorbing Animal Loa mana without changing the user's head.
• A scholar translated the book and revealed that Troll Priests had previously devoured Animal Loa, gaining great power despite being hunted as heretics.
• Herad sent the book and its translation to Silvermoon City, warning that Zul'jin might return with Animal Loa power and become a demigod.
• Sylvanas teased Herad for staring blankly at the sky, and he explained that he had been thinking about the threat posed by Zul'jin.
• Lor'themar feared Zul'jin would target him for revenge, and Sylvanas reproached him for not killing Zul'jin when he had the chance.

Herad studied siphon magic and adapted it to use arcane energy, then tested whether he could use it to concentrate magical energy in Mana Wyrms. By the time the group reached Silvermoon City, he had confirmed that the creatures’ intelligence did not improve as they grew stronger and drained his test subject for its energy.

• Herad adapted the trolls’ siphon magic to arcane energy and siphoned power from a Magic Crystal.
• Sylvanas entered Herad’s room through the window, asked about the spell, and learned that it extracted magical energy.
• The next day, Herad caught Mana Wyrms and used siphon magic to transfer energy into one, while Sylvanas helped catch more.
• Herad tested the strengthened Mana Wyrm on the way to Silvermoon City and found that its intelligence remained unchanged.
• Herad used dozens of siphon threads to drain the Mana Wyrm, which quickly ran out of magical energy.

Herad showed Rommath mana essence made from a Mana Wyrm, then harvested Mana Wyrms across Eversong Woods to fill a large jar. He decided to improve the Arcane Golems by giving them Mana Drain so they could collect the energy for him.

• Herad brought a bottle of mana essence to Rommath, who examined it and requisitioned it.
• Herad attended Silvermoon City's victory feast briefly, then left with his food-loving white Hawkstrider.
• Herad traveled around Eversong Woods and drained mana essence from clusters of Mana Wyrms near magical structures.
• Herad nearly filled a twenty-liter Glass Jar with mana essence and decided to integrate Mana Drain into the Arcane Golems.

Herad created the mithril-bodied Arcane Scavengers to harvest Mana Wyrms and help travelers in Eversong Woods and Silvermoon Forest. In the south, the Horde concealed its growing force in the Black Morass while Stormwind City mistook its raids for banditry, and Herad ordered more surveillance.

• Herad built a giant mithril arcane golem, etched its runes, and named the new model the Arcane Scavenger.
• Arcane Scavengers began clearing Mana Wyrms from Eversong Woods and Silvermoon Forest and aiding travelers.
• Herad learned that the Horde was hiding in the Black Morass and sending raiding parties against Stormwind City's forces.
• A gnome rogue reported that the unnatural fog over the Black Morass was suspicious, but Herad told him to place more recording devices and gather information about the orcs.

King Llane hired a Gnome rogue to explore the mist-shrouded Black Morass using a remote-controlled mechanical marmot. The device reached the outskirts of the Orc-held area before terrain and guards forced it to turn back, and scouts rescued it from a Worg.

• King Llane ordered his intelligence department to pay a Gnome rogue to explore the mist surrounding the Black Morass.
• The Gnome rogue demonstrated a mechanical marmot that transmitted images to a control case, impressing the watching scouts.
• The mechanical marmot crossed into the mist and avoided detection by Orcs, but swamp terrain and a guarded bridge stopped it from going farther.
• The Gnome rogue maneuvered the device back toward the outskirts and said he would need to upgrade it.
• A Worg spotted the mechanical marmot and chased it, but the scouts shot the beast and killed it before its Orc master arrived.

After Medivh's death broke the balance of power, the Orc invasion escalated as black-armored Orc heavy infantry shattered the human defensive line. A Gnome rogue escaped to warn others, while the carriage driver took hope from the Stormwind Brotherhood of the Horse.

• Khadgar uncovered that Medivh was possessed, led an attack on Karazhan, and helped awaken Medivh's soul before killing him and driving the evil demon god back to the Twisting Nether.
• Black-armored Orc heavy infantry charged the human defenses and smashed through heavy infantry, arcane golems, and Steam Tanks.
• The Gnome rogue fled the battlefield, crossed Deadwind Pass, and reached Orchard Town to warn that the defensive line had fallen.
• The Gnome rogue boarded a carriage to Stormwind City as news of the defeat spread through Orchard Town.
• The carriage driver asked whether the kingdom could still resist, and the Gnome rogue reassured him that the Stormwind Brotherhood of the Horse could stop the Orcs.

Herad arranged to rescue the Dalaran Mages trapped in Karazhan while profiting from the Orc invasion by shipping weapons to Stormwind City. As the Orcs advanced toward the kingdom’s heart, King Llane hesitated to buy cannons that could undermine the knightly system.

• Herad sent an airship to evacuate the Dalaran Mages, who had looted Karazhan and taken a dangerous artifact.
• Herad sent merchant ships laden with weapons to Stormwind City, hoping to profit from the war.
• Orcs and Ogre auxiliaries overran Brightwood and the Redridge Mountains, pursuing refugees toward Elwynn Forest.
• The Stormwind Brotherhood of the Horse inflicted heavy losses on the Orcs, but suffered casualties against their vastly larger forces.
• Jindi urged King Llane to buy powerful cannons, but King Llane hesitated because firearms threatened the kingdom’s knightly system.

Jindi returned to his warship after King Llane refused to pay, then used its ironclad artillery to protect Stormwind City when the orcs broke through the gate. Orgrim withdrew after Jindi’s bombardment devastated his forces, but the orcs left the gate burned and the city remained under threat.

• Jindi left King Llane’s palace and went to the harbor, where refugees were gathering to escape Stormwind City.
• News arrived that the Stormwind Brotherhood of the Horse had been routed, and Orgrim captured the city gate as retreating troops crowded into the city.
• Jindi ordered his ironclad warships to bombard the orcs, destroying hundreds of warriors with a single salvo.
• Orgrim ordered his scattered forces to take cover, but Jindi’s gunners continued to kill orcs with heavy artillery as the human defenders resisted.
• Orgrim sounded a retreat to limit his casualties, and his troops withdrew through the gate before burning it down.

Orgrim used Garona to assassinate King Llane, then launched a surprise assault that forced Stormwind’s remaining defenders and refugees to flee north. After taking the city, the Horde halted at the defended bridge and fought the Dark Iron Dwarves in the scorched lands, where the Blackrock Clan’s advance stalled at their main stronghold.

• Under secret magic’s control, Garona stabbed King Llane with his enchanted dagger, then fled in grief when the spell briefly released her.
• After the assassination spread panic and emptied Stormwind, Orgrim sent Orcs in a surprise attack from three sides, and they seized the city except for its harbor.
• The fleet rescued the remaining soldiers and refugees, bombarded the Orcs, and carried its passengers north to Southshore.
• Orgrim hesitated to advance toward the bridge guarded by Stromgarde and the Dwarves, then sent the Blackrock Clan and Firegut Ogres against the Dark Iron Dwarves.
• The Blackrock Orcs captured outlying strongholds but struggled against the Dark Iron Dwarves’ concentrated defenses and fire magic.

The seven human kingdoms formed an Alliance army as the Orcs’ advance stalled at Blackrock Spire. Gul'dan created undead warriors by placing the souls of slain Warlocks into the bodies of human Knights, giving Orgrim a new way to attack the Dark Iron Dwarves.

• Anduin Lothar warned the kings of the six northern human kingdoms about the Orcs, and Terenas Menethil urged the seven kingdoms to unite.
• The seven kingdoms mustered nearly six hundred thousand troops, while the High Elves sent Rangers to support them.
• Orgrim took command of the Horde after killing Blackhand and crushing most of Gul'dan's Warlocks, then ordered Gul'dan to find a way past Blackrock Spire.
• Gul'dan chose to dig up well-preserved human Knights and prepare their bodies for the Warlocks' souls.
• Gul'dan placed Soulstones containing the Warlocks' souls into the Knights' corpses, creating tough undead warriors that he planned to use against Blackrock Spire.

Gul'dan's first-generation Death Knights broke the Dark Iron Dwarves' hold on the Blackrock Spire Surface, while Herad prepared an expeditionary force with a powerful new cannon and lent Alleria a costly Arcane Scavenger. The chapter left Alleria equipped for the coming battle, though Herad kept the cannon's intended targets secret.

• Gul'dan's first-generation Death Knights used their Death Frost Aura and brute strength to defeat the Dark Iron Dwarves, despite wielding Magic Wands as clubs.
• The Blackrock Orcs followed the Death Knights through Blackrock Spire, and the Dark Iron Dwarves retreated into the Lower Area as Orgrim kept the Death Knights in reserve afterward.
• Herad explained that his new Arcane War Machine's 120mm Smoothbore Cannon would have a suitable target, but he refused to tell Alleria what it was.
• Alleria asked Herad for an Arcane Scavenger, and he reluctantly agreed to lend her one while warning that its magical energy could not be replenished in the field.

As the Orcs pushed north, the allied kingdoms trained farmers as musketeers while Herad learned that the Orcs were overcoming Dwarven and Gnomish defenses. Orgrim planned to attack Southshore by sea and made a deal with Goblins to build ships using their waterproof black glue.

• The human kingdoms trained large numbers of farmers as musketeers, and the Dawnedge Armory won the biggest allied army orders.
• Herad watched the Iron Behemoth carry High Elf Rangers toward Southshore while stopping to trade along the way.
• The Orcs used terrain and charges to drive the Dwarves and Gnomes back, but their mountain and underground strongholds repelled repeated assaults.
• Orgrim left nearly half his army to contain the Dwarves and Gnomes, then led the rest through the Wetlands while planning a sea attack on Southshore.
• Orgrim hired Goblins to build ships from timber bonded with their waterproof black glue.

Orgrim sent his hastily built orc fleet across the sea, confident it could defeat the human navy. The Kul Tiras fleet devastated the orcs in battle, but a red dragon then attacked and drove the human ships to scatter.

• Orgrim finished building his fleet and sailed toward Southshore with the orc army.
• The Kingdom of Kul Tiras's fleet intercepted the orcs and circled their slow-turning ships, destroying them with two broadsides.
• Admiral Daelin celebrated the apparent victory until a lookout warned him that a dragon was heading for the fleet.
• The red dragon scorched Kul Tiras warships with dragonfire, and the sailors' weapons failed to harm it.
• Admiral Daelin ordered the fleet to scatter and flee from the dragon.

Orgrim prepared the Horde’s next crossing after Zuluhed promised to ready the Dragonmaw Clan’s Red Dragon Riders within half a month. Meanwhile, Jindi found the secluded Wildhammer Dwarves, and Falstad decided to join the Allied Forces after learning the orcs had attacked Ironforge.

• Orgrim ordered Zuluhed to train the Red Dragon Riders for the Horde’s next sea crossing, and Zuluhed promised they would be ready in half a month.
• The Alliance’s leaders feared the red dragons after the attack on the Kul Tiras fleet, while Herad’s envoy Jindi found the Wildhammer Dwarves in the Hinterlands.
• Jindi showed the Wildhammer Dwarves new technology and prepared a purchasing list as Falstad listened to a radio report about the siege of Ironforge.
• Falstad grew furious at the orcs for attacking Ironforge and added them to his enemies.
• Falstad agreed with Jindi that the Wildhammer Dwarves should join the Allied Forces and began mobilizing for war.

Sir Lothar welcomed the Wildhammer Dwarves and High Elves into the coalition, learning that the dwarves brought hundreds of gryphons and the elves brought advanced weapons and Arcane War Machines. In Southshore, Alleria’s Arcane Scavenger attacked Turalyon, pinned him down, and drained his holy energy.

• Sir Lothar welcomed the Wildhammer Dwarves into the Alliance and learned they had five or six hundred gryphons.
• The Wildhammer envoy promised aerial support, and Sir Lothar grew hopeful that the gryphons could counter the red dragons.
• The High Elf reinforcements arrived aboard the Iron Behemoth with sniper rifles, forty Arcane War Machines, and Alleria’s Arcane Scavenger.
• The Arcane Scavenger suddenly attacked Turalyon, pinning him to the ground despite his struggles.
• The Arcane Scavenger used Mana Drain to absorb the holy energy within Turalyon.

Turalyon repeatedly challenged the Arcane Scavenger and was beaten, while Herad learned it could drain holy energy. Herad then rode Little White from Silvermoon City to the High Elf camp outside Southshore, where the Hawkstrider’s astonishing speed and gliding left the Rangers baffled.

• Turalyon struggled against the Arcane Scavenger, which drained his holy energy and threw him out of camp before Uther restored his strength with Blessing of Might.
• Uther warned Turalyon that the Arcane Scavenger was too clever and powerful to fight, but Turalyon continued pursuing Lady Alleria and provoking it over the following days.
• Herad learned from Alleria that the Arcane Scavenger’s Mana Drain could absorb holy energy.
• Herad woke Little White and took the Hawkstrider through Dalaran, where its extraordinary speed led local farmers to believe they had seen it flying.
• Herad rode Little White to the High Elf camp outside Southshore, where the bewildered Rangers questioned how a Hawkstrider could fly.

Herad tested Turalyon’s holy energy with the Arcane Scavenger and considered how Paladins could power war machines. Meanwhile, the Horde prepared its fleet for another crossing, unaware that Goblin spies were still reporting its movements to the humans.

• Herad arrived and had the Arcane Scavenger bring Turalyon to him, then examined the different kinds of energy stored in the creature.
• Herad added a rule preventing the Arcane Scavenger from absorbing unfamiliar energies and made Turalyon pray so he could measure the holy light’s supply.
• Turalyon agreed to cooperate after seeing Herad’s design for a war machine built around disabled soldiers, and Herad found that Turalyon could not match the Arcane Scavenger’s power.
• Herad considered Uther a far greater potential energy source, while Turalyon remained a reluctant test subject.
• The Horde repaired and improved its warships, relying on Red Dragons controlled by the Dragonmaw Clan to protect the fleet.
• Orgrim reflected on the Dragonmaw Clan’s importance as a Goblin spy watched from the grass and sent the Horde’s intelligence to the human Allied Forces.

Herad learned that Captain Hank had taken the warships away to deliver arms, while Hank hurried to intercept the advancing Orc fleet by arranging for Wildhammer Gryphon Riders to attack it. The Gryphon Riders targeted the Red Dragons’ handlers as Kul Tiras warships engaged the Orc fleet, but the battle remained unresolved.

• Herad discovered that Captain Hank had taken the Tank Landing Ship and Ironclad from Southshore and warned that he would punish Hank if he missed the battle.
• After learning that the Orc fleet had set sail, Hank asked Jindi to secure Falstad’s help in sending Gryphon Riders to scout and attack it.
• Falstad led two teams of Gryphon Riders against the Orc fleet, but their Magic Hammers proved ineffective against the Red Dragons’ scales and magical resistance.
• Falstad killed a Red Dragon’s Orc handler, and the other Gryphon Riders began attacking handlers to deprive the Red Dragons of control.
• Kul Tiras warships charged the Orc fleet and fired broadside cannons, damaging its wooden ships despite the cannons’ poor accuracy.

The Orcs Fleet withdrew after another defeat, while the Kul Tiras forces returned to Southshore with dragon scales for Herad to test. Back in the Wetlands, Orgrim suggested assigning multiple accelerated Red Dragons to each handler, and Zuluhed agreed to bring in more dragons and handlers.

• The Orcs Fleet endured cannon fire until Kul Tiras ran out of ammunition, then retreated as the Gryphon Riders and Red Dragons ended their aerial fight.
• The Kul Tiras warships and Gryphon Riders returned to Southshore, where Herad tested a Red Dragon scale and found that only a thorium armor-piercing antiaircraft shell could shatter it.
• The Orcs Fleet reached the harbor in the Wetlands, where Zuluhed mourned the loss of all six Red Dragon handlers despite the dragons surviving.
• Orgrim suggested that Zuluhed assign several Red Dragons to protect each handler, and Zuluhed agreed to send for more dragons and handlers.

Herad revealed that the Allied Forces could counter the Dragonmaw Clan’s Red Dragon Riders with Arcane War Machines and their cannon fire. The commanders saw the machines hit flying targets, though their limited magical energy left the number of Red Dragons they could defeat uncertain.

• Herad’s intelligence agents reported that the Dragonmaw Clan had adopted protective formations with rapidly matured Red Dragons, and Herad ordered his agents to locate the clan.
• Falstad warned the Allied Forces’ commanders that the Red Dragon Riders’ tactics could let dragons attack ground troops, frightening the gathered leaders.
• Herad showed shattered Red Dragon scales, and Sir Lothar concluded that cannon fire had destroyed them.
• Herad projected footage of an Arcane War Machine accurately shooting down flying target drones, impressing the commanders.
• Herad dismissed concerns about the machines’ limited magical endurance, but the Allies still did not know how many Red Dragons the Dragonmaw Clan could field.

Herad prepared Piercing Explosive Lances to counter the Orcs’ growing force of Red Dragons as Orgrim’s fleet attacked Southshore. The Gryphon Riders engaged the dragons in the fog and proved the new weapons could pierce their scales.

• Orgrim led the Orcs Fleet toward Southshore with twenty-four Red Dragons, confident that the Horde would land successfully.
• Herad equipped Gryphon Riders and Knights with Piercing Explosive Lances, which Falstad tested by piercing a thick steel target.
• Orgrim brought the fleet toward Southshore under cover of morning fog, but High Elf Rangers detected the ships and sounded the alarm.
• Gryphon Riders rose above the fog and kept the Red Dragons at bay with Magic Hammers while targeting their Orc handlers.
• Several Gryphon Riders dodged dragonfire and struck the Red Dragons with Piercing Explosive Lances, burning through their scales.

The Allied Forces fought off the Orcs Fleet’s harbor assault while Gryphon Riders used Piercing Explosive Lances to torment the Red Dragons and keep them from joining the ground battle. Herad’s forces held the line behind the First-Generation Paladins, with Uther’s Divine Storms helping them endure until the morning mist cleared.

• Gryphon Riders repeatedly struck the Red Dragons with Piercing Explosive Lances, leaving them badly wounded and focused on their aerial attackers.
• Herad watched the aerial battle through the Mage's Eye and recognized that his backup plan had prevented a dangerous surprise attack.
• The Orcs Fleet landed at the harbor under cover of the morning mist, and Orc Warriors crashed into the Allied Forces’ melee troops.
• Human infantry suffered heavy casualties as demon-blood-frenzied Orcs charged their defensive line, while High Elf Rangers continued firing through the mist.
• The five First-Generation Paladins reinforced the line, and Uther used repeated Divine Storms to destroy the Orcs with holy energy.
• The Paladins held the defense until the mist could clear and the Allied Forces’ musketeers and artillery could attack.