Recaps

Herad watched Deathwing kill Gruul while the Small Arcane Golem secured the Gronn king’s soul and escaped. As Elune manifested over Nagrand, the story left Herad facing the moon goddess’s arrival.

• Deathwing gradually overpowered Gruul in the Blade’s Edge Mountains while Herad watched from Nagrand and chose not to intervene.
• Elune’s orbital cannon had annihilated the Warsong Orcs in Nagrand, and Herad reflected on her plans for the Shadowlands.
• Deathwing pinned Gruul down and killed him after failing to break his exceptionally hard neck bones with his bite.
• The Small Arcane Golem captured Gruul’s soul with the artifact scythe and fled as Deathwing pursued it.
• Deathwing lost sight of the Small Arcane Golem and burned a swath of primeval forest with Shadowflame.
• As the Small Arcane Golem flew southwest from Gorgrond, a brilliant shaft of moonlight shone over Herad and Elune manifested.

Elune tasked Herad with investigating the Shadowlands and finding evidence of Sire Denathrius's crimes, giving him a keystone and divine power to help him survive. After discovering Ulthalesh was a flawed soul artifact, she taught Herad a method to cultivate souls before departing.

• Elune appeared before Herad and asked him to plan an investigation into where souls were going in the Shadowlands.
• Elune gave Herad a keystone that let him enter and leave the Shadowlands, along with a portion of her divine power for protection.
• Elune saw that Herad's Ulthalesh could not properly fuse the souls it contained and recognized that it was a crude, defective artifact.
• Elune passed Herad knowledge of a soul-cultivation method, then vanished.

Herad treated the Allied Forces to a Clefthoof feast, warned them away from the northern pass, and returned to Karazhan to deal with Ulthalesh. He used the Forge of Souls to torment and mentally break the scythe’s primary soul, leaving Ulthalesh too witless to betray him.

• Herad hunted Clefthoofs and treated the Allied Forces to a feast, then warned them not to approach the pass north of the Blasted Lands.
• Herad teleported to Karazhan’s Mage Tower, where the Small Arcane Golem guarded the rooftop and killed demons drawn by lingering arcane energy.
• Herad decided Ulthalesh’s weak soul and loyalty to Sire Denathrius made him a potential threat, and chose to subdue him with a soul spell.
• Herad used the Forge of Souls, strengthened by special arcane energy, to stretch and torment Ulthalesh’s soul while he struggled to suppress the Gronn souls.
• Herad left Ulthalesh witless but loyal, ensuring the artifact scythe could no longer turn against its wielder.

Herad strengthened Ulthalesh and prepared to enter the Shadowlands to investigate souls and fulfill Elune’s task. With K'ure’s advice and a Blessing Mark, he traveled through a temporary portal to the Ember Ward in Revendreth.

• Herad repeatedly enhanced Ulthalesh, greatly increasing the artifact scythe’s combat power while reflecting on its absolute loyalty to Sire Denathrius.
• Herad decided to seek soul metal in the Shadowlands to improve Ulthalesh and went to Shadowmoon Valley to ask K'ure for information.
• Herad found K'ure trying to communicate with K'ara, the Dark Star, and learned that restoring K'ara would require a great amount of holy energy delivered at once.
• K'ure gave Herad a golden Blessing Mark and recommended that he begin his Shadowlands journey in the relatively safe Ember Ward.
• Herad used Elune’s Shadowlands Keystone to open a Temporary Portal and crossed into the Ember Ward with the Small Arcane Golem.

Herad explored the Ember Ward, where Venthyr refugees and ghouls struggled to survive the Holy Light, and his Small Arcane Golem cut down anyone who threatened them. As Herad headed for a northern tower, he hunted a stoneborn so he could study how the living stone construct worked.

• Herad tested the Ember Ward’s air, put away his oxygen equipment, and began surveying the sun-scorched wasteland.
• Venthyr refugees tried to rob Herad and the Small Arcane Golem for the anima on Ulthalesh, but the golem killed the attackers and the survivors took anima from the corpses before retreating.
• Herad left the refugees alone and continued through the Ember Ward, where the Small Arcane Golem killed ghouls that charged at them.
• Herad learned that the Ember Ward served as an execution ground for Venthyr exiled or condemned by Sire Denathrius.
• As Herad traveled toward a northern tower, the Small Arcane Golem killed a passing stoneborn and nearby witnesses, then hid the stoneborn’s body for Herad to study.

Herad dissected a Stoneborn corpse in the Ember Ward and surveyed Revendreth while considering how to gather intelligence without provoking a large conflict. He recorded the locations of Naaru fragments and reflected on the strength of his growing army, but he had no intention of invading Revendreth yet.

• Herad killed a Venthyr refugee, dissected a Stoneborn corpse, and buried its remains after studying how anima let it shift between organic and inorganic states.
• Herad left the ruined house and considered the defenses around the Hall of Atonement, deciding that confronting its garrison would be unwise while he was gathering information.
• Herad recorded the locations of scattered Naaru fragments so he could retrieve them later with suitable manpower.
• Herad considered how the Shadowlands Keystone’s slow cooldown limited his army’s deployment, despite the strength of his upgraded Arcane Golems and armored Withered Berserkers.
• Herad concluded that his elite army could overwhelm weaker factions, but he had no intention of unleashing it on Revendreth’s jailers.

Herad infiltrated Sinfall but found no useful information about Sire Denathrius’s conspiracy or the rebellion. He left for a mining area in The Ember Ward to acquire materials for Ulthalesh, where a Dredger supervisor eagerly welcomed him.

• Herad entered Sinfall while its guards and residents watched executions at the Tower of Sin.
• Herad searched the city and questioned well-informed Venthyr but found no useful information, as the Accuser and future rebellion leaders were not yet acting against Sire Denathrius.
• Herad left Sinfall and headed toward a mining area in The Ember Ward to find suitable metals for Ulthalesh.
• A Dredger supervisor greeted Herad by licking the dust from his boots and led him to see the mining harvest.

Herad collected the scarce Sinvane ore from a Revendreth mine and returned to Karazhan, where he began forging it into a rapier. After clearing a ruined village of its inhabitants, he left the Shadowlands and chose a weapon suited to posing as a high-ranking Venthyr noble.

• Herad learned that Sinvane ore was exceptionally rare in Revendreth and took all six pieces from the mine warehouse.
• Herad tipped the dredger overseer with Anima before leaving the mine with the ore.
• Herad and the Small Arcane Golem killed the intelligent beings near a ruined village, then Herad used the Shadowlands Keystone to return to Karazhan.
• Herad melted the Sinvane ore in the forging area and decided there was enough to make a rapier.

Herad forged a Sinvane Rapier and tested how effectively his Mage Hand could wield it as a bootleg sword-flying technique. He planned to use the weapon mainly to pose as Venthyr upper nobility while gathering information, and later to modify Ulthalesh if he found more Sinvane Ore.

• Herad forged a dark-red Sinvane Rapier and fitted it with a vine-decorated cruciform guard and pommel.
• Herad used Mage Hand to hurl the rapier into an anvil, pierce a scrapped artillery barrel, and cut the barrel in half.
• Herad tested his ability to control multiple weapons and found he could barely manipulate five, fewer than Prince Kael'thas's seven.
• Herad caught the rapier, made a scabbard for it, and decided it would mainly help him pose as Venthyr upper nobility while gathering information.
• Herad considered using more Sinvane Ore to modify Ulthalesh.

Herad found that the Shadowlands Keystone had finished charging in Azeroth and tested how much he could bring through a temporary portal. He entered The Ember Ward with the Arcane Scavenger, which began collecting Naaru Shards as he continued south.

• Herad meditated beside the Arcan'dor and reflected on the Burning Legion, the ancient Night Elf Mages, and Elune's indifference to mortal suffering.
• Herad discovered that the Shadowlands Keystone had fully charged, then tested the temporary portal and confirmed that only one Arcane Scavenger could pass through with him.
• Herad and the disguised Arcane Scavenger arrived in The Ember Ward, where the Small Arcane Golem joined them before the group headed south.
• The Arcane Scavenger dug up Naaru Shards along the paths through The Ember Ward while the Stoneborn left it alone, assuming it was a valuable construct doing useful work.
• When Ghouls tried to steal the shards, the Arcane Scavenger smashed them aside with its shovel, frightening nearby Venthyr outcasts and Stoneborn.

Herad had the Arcane Scavenger evade ghouls with Naaru Shards, then build a handcart while trying to collect enough shards to reassemble a Naaru. After the Stoneborn offered materials and shards in exchange for crafted weapons and equipment, the abandoned blacksmith shop became a busy workshop, leaving Herad with what felt like an armory in the Shadowlands.

• Herad used Naaru Shards hung on the Arcane Scavenger to drive off the ghouls and searched for a way to reassemble a Naaru from the fragments.
• The Arcane Scavenger sorted the shards and found that they came from twenty-seven Naaru, then began building a handcart to gather more.
• The Arcane Scavenger gathered timber and Ghan'tong, restored a blacksmith shop, and forged a sturdy handcart.
• The Stoneborn watched the Arcane Scavenger work and proposed providing raw materials and Naaru Shards in exchange for weapons and equipment.
• The Stoneborn brought ore and collected shards while the Arcane Scavenger turned the abandoned blacksmith shop into a Naaru Shard recycling station and focused on forging gear.

Herad entered the Forest of Misfortune to investigate a Sinvane Ore mine, while the Stoneborn guards warned him about its dangers. After Ulthalesh took dozens of strikes to kill a powerful undead spider, Herad resolved to secure the mine so he could improve the weapon’s strength.

• Stoneborn guards welcomed Herad and warned him about the ghosts and soul aberrations in the Forest of Misfortune.
• Herad entered the forest to investigate its open-pit Sinvane Ore mine rather than to hunt.
• Herad collected ghosts with the Soul-Snatching Bell and used the Small Arcane Golem to cut down undead monsters.
• An undead spider killed a Venthyr noble’s hounds and resisted the noble’s Stygian Iron longsword.
• Herad stopped the spider with a soul shock, and the Small Arcane Golem hacked it apart with Ulthalesh.
• Herad decided to secure the mine after Ulthalesh needed more than forty strikes to kill the spider.

Herad massacred a mining town to hide his identity after its Dredger supervisor grew suspicious of him. He then headed to the Dreadfall Ruins to ambush the tax collector's caravan, where several merchant groups had joined together.

• Herad entered a mining town and found that it was populated by Venthyr hunters and Dredger miners and merchants.
• When the Dredger supervisor grew suspicious of him, Herad cast Psychic Scream across the town and sent his Small Arcane Golems to kill its residents.
• Herad left the ruined town, reasoning that the tax collector had nearly finished collecting taxes and that attacking another settlement would only cause needless slaughter.
• Herad rode toward the Dreadfall Ruins, planning to kill and loot the tax collector's caravan there and blame the deaths on the undead monsters.
• Herad spotted the tax collector's caravan near the ruins and saw that several merchant groups had joined it for safety.

Herad ambushed a tax caravan in the Shadowlands, took its best cargo, and returned to Karazhan. After he persuaded Alleria to abandon a planned attack on the Jungle Trolls, she prepared to target orc deserters in Westfall and tried his Sinvane Rapier.

• Herad used Psychic Scream and a Small Arcane Golem to slaughter the Venthyr caravan, then stored the best goods in his Magic Pouch and left.
• The abandoned caravan drew undead monsters, sparking a battle with Venthyr forces that erased evidence of the attack.
• Herad returned to Karazhan, where the Small Arcane Golem relayed Alleria's news that the orcs of Brightwood had been wiped out and she planned to target the Jungle Trolls.
• Herad warned Alleria about the Gurubashi Empire and the Zandalari Trolls, so she changed plans and chose to pursue orc deserters in Westfall.
• Alleria and her Rangers arrived through Herad's Temporary Portal, and Herad lent her his Sinvane Rapier to examine.

Herad reforged Ulthalesh with Sinvane Ore into an enormous greatsword and tested its devastating power against undead in the Dreadfall Ruins. He left the ruins with the Small Arcane Golem carrying the weapon as nearby Venthyr hunters watched in awe.

• Herad used forty kilograms of Sinvane Ore to reforge Ulthalesh as a massive greatsword, with an Arcane Golem helping him shape it.
• After the weapon cooled, Herad felt Ulthalesh’s powerful soul pressure coursing through the Sinvane Alloy.
• Herad tested Ulthalesh in the Dreadfall Ruins, where it swiftly slew undead monsters with single strikes.
• Herad considered using a Small Arcane Golem to accelerate Ulthalesh to supersonic speeds, then dismissed the idea because Sire Denathrius could withstand physical attacks.
• Herad gave Ulthalesh to the Small Arcane Golem, and Venthyr hunters watched the pair effortlessly slaughter undead as they traveled through the ruins.

Herad met with the Stonewright in Darkhaven and secured her help investigating the anima shortage by offering weapons and equipment for the Stonelords. She remained convinced that Sire Denathrius was a selfless ruler, but agreed to trace the anima supply to clear him of suspicion.

• Herad avoided investigating Revendreth’s powerful cities and instead operated in Darkhaven, where he supplied Stoneborn with Stygian Iron javelins.
• The Stonewright came to Darkhaven after learning that Herad could provide weapons and equipment for her Stonelords.
• The Stonewright sensed Elune’s divine power in Herad and asked whether the Moon Goddess had sent him.
• Herad claimed that Elune was concerned about the Stoneborn and persuaded the Stonewright to travel with him to the production base.
• The Stonewright saw Herad’s Arcane Gos forging weapons efficiently and agreed to investigate the anima shortage, though she believed Sire Denathrius was innocent.

Herad watched the Stoneborn test newly forged battle axes and heard the Stonewright recount how she used the Night Warrior’s power to kill an Old God at the cost of her life. The story left the Stonewright horrified when Herad revealed that his world had once held five Old Gods.

• The Stoneborn chose heavy battle axes, and the Arcane Golem forged them with ghan'tong and stygian iron.
• The Stoneborn fitted handles to the axes and tested their chopping and throwing power, while General Draeven went to claim claw gauntlets.
• Herad asked the Stonewright about her battle against the Old Gods, and she described the Night Warrior’s immense strength and its fatal backlash.
• Herad asked whether her world had only one Old God, then told her that his world had five and one had died in their infighting.
• The Stonewright felt her scalp prickle as she realized how dangerous Herad’s world had been.

Herad's effort to investigate Revendreth's anima income advanced when the Stonewright ordered the Stoneborn to tally collections, creating a threat that Sire Denathrius could not openly obstruct without exposing himself. Herad then examined the collected Naaru Shards but remained unable to reconstruct a single Naaru.

• The Stonewright shared advice from her experience fighting an Old God with Herad before leaving the Dreadfall Ruins.
• The Stonewright ordered General Draeven to investigate anima collection, and the Stoneborn across Revendreth began recording and reporting daily totals.
• Herad learned that the anima tally was progressing smoothly and expected the figures to expose any withholding by Sire Denathrius.
• Sire Denathrius felt an ominous premonition and sent his subordinates to investigate recent major events.
• Herad inspected the Naaru Shards warehouse in the Ember Ward but could not reconstruct a complete Naaru from the collected fragments.
• Herad suspected that Sire Denathrius had destroyed essential shards to prevent revival, but he retained hope that the remaining uncollected shards might allow at least one Naaru to be saved.