Chapter Summaries

The Obsidian Warship detected Naga sea witches searching for it and began fighting them, but neither side could effectively harm the other. The Naga kept strengthening their tornado while the warship absorbed its energy and fired back.

• The Naga sea witches swept a water mirror across the waterless area and discovered the remains of their giant sea-beast pets.
• The Obsidian Warship detected the water-mirror spell, and its Central Control System identified the Naga as hostiles and reported them to Herad.
• Herad authorized Judgment to handle the threat, but the warship lacked weapons suited to attacking enemies deep underwater.
• The Obsidian Warship rose above sea level and fired energy shells at the Naga, but the underwater witches were unharmed by the explosions.
• The Naga sea witches summoned a massive tornado around the warship, which stayed intact and absorbed the storm's energy before firing it back.

Herad’s Obsidian Warship endured a two-day magical battle with the Naga sea witches, who withdrew before Queen Azshara prepared to lead a larger expedition. As Azshara’s forces advanced through the ocean, Herad attacked their Murloc screen while waiting for the Naga to gather for a decisive strike.

• The Obsidian Warship and the Naga sea witches fought to a stalemate for two days before the sea witches retreated.
• Herad anticipated that the Naga would return and pondered how to stop them.
• Queen Azshara watched the battle footage, then set out in her mobile palace atop a giant dragon turtle with a large escort.
• Herad spotted the Naga’s advance and ordered the Obsidian Warship to bombard the Murlocs swimming near the surface.
• Queen Azshara judged that the Naga were safe just over a hundred meters underwater, while Herad waited for their forces to gather before firing the Heavy Energy Cannon.

Herad’s Heavy Energy Cannon destroyed Queen Azshara’s Naga army, giving the surviving Murlocs a chance to rebel. As Azshara tried to rally her scattered forces, a mysterious black mist gave her a dangerous trump card to awaken against the approaching enemy.

• Herad targeted the Naga’s central forces with the Heavy Energy Cannon, which obliterated Queen Azshara’s spellcasters, royal guards, and most of the army.
• Surviving Murlocs turned on the weakened Naga and returned to their tribes to spread rebellion across the Great Sea.
• Herad continued collecting obsidian while Queen Azshara and several sea witches escaped to her underwater palace.
• Queen Azshara ordered her subordinates to gather the remaining Naga forces before the Murlocs could defeat them piecemeal.
• A black mist visited Queen Azshara and told her to perform a ritual to awaken its trump card, and she decided she had no choice but to comply.

Herad used the Tidestone to revive a stretch of seabed while collecting materials, and Queen Azshara prepared N'Zoth's Giant Mantis Shrimp trump card. As a vast Murloc army advanced on the Naga, Azshara took the creature toward the battlefield to command it herself.

• Herad used the Tidestone to expose the seabed to sunlight, creating a thriving underwater landscape as Alleria and Sylvanas visited.
• Herad collected seabed materials to build a simulated ocean garden inside the Obsidian Warship, then moved the Tidestone to another area.
• Queen Azshara learned that the water-free area was moving toward Nazjatar and prepared a magic circle to summon N'Zoth's weapon.
• N'Zoth used a black-mist tentacle to awaken the Giant Mantis Shrimp and told Queen Azshara its power could turn the tide of battle.
• A Murloc army numbering in the tens of millions marched against the Naga, and Queen Azshara set out with the Giant Mantis Shrimp to command it in battle.

Queen Azshara used N'Zoth's Giant Mantis Shrimp to rout the Murlocs and then turned its lightning against the wall of water protecting the Black Galleon. She breached the barrier and sent seawater flooding into the waterless area, leaving her revenge apparently underway.

• N'Zoth's Giant Mantis Shrimp charged into the Murloc army, shrugging off physical and magical attacks with its powerful shell.
• The Giant Mantis Shrimp unleashed Static Force Field, electrocuting Murlocs within a five-kilometer radius and sending their army fleeing.
• Queen Azshara stayed a thousand meters underwater, out of the Black Galleon's reach, and planned to destroy the wall of water created by the Tidestone.
• Queen Azshara directed the Giant Mantis Shrimp's lightning into a sphere that exploded against the wall of water.
• The blast tore a huge breach in the wall, and seawater surged into the waterless area.

Queen Azshara repeatedly attacked the water wall protecting Herad’s obsidian mining, while the Obsidian Warship intercepted her Ball Lightning. She then used a magical Water Blade to overwhelm the Tidestone’s repairs, and Herad realized Queen Azshara was behind the assault.

• Herad saw Ball Lightning blasts tear holes in the water wall, and the Tidestone repaired the damage.
• Herad ordered Judgment to intercept Queen Azshara’s Ball Lightning, and the Obsidian Warship detonated each sphere before it could strike effectively.
• Queen Azshara sent a Giant Mantis Shrimp to create a Static Force Field that interfered with the Tidestone, then moved beyond its influence.
• Queen Azshara opened another gap and swept a concentrated magical Water Blade through the water wall, cutting it faster than the Tidestone could repair it.
• Herad identified Queen Azshara as the attacker and resented her for interfering with his obsidian mining.

Herad used the Tidestone and the Obsidian Warship to bombard Nazjatar after Queen Azshara’s damage to the water wall disrupted his obsidian mining. Azshara escaped, but her palace and the naga capital were destroyed, while the Titan Prison beneath the Abyss remained untouched.

• Queen Azshara’s damage to the water wall caused seawater to flood Herad’s mining area and interrupted his obsidian collection.
• Herad sent the Obsidian Warship to survey the seabed and locate the naga’s lair while the Tidestone recovered.
• N’Zoth warned Queen Azshara that the warship was dangerous, but she dismissed the threat.
• Herad used the Tidestone to push aside the seawater and unleash a devastating bombardment on Nazjatar.
• Queen Azshara fled beyond the water wall, while the bombardment destroyed her palace and the naga capital but spared the Titan Prison beneath the Abyss.

As Queen Azshara’s Naga forces suffered heavy losses, Herad decided to expose N'Zoth’s prison and lifted its enormous stone block from the abyss. N'Zoth attacked the Obsidian Warship, and Herad judged his power to be nearly equal to the Heavy Energy Cannon.

• Queen Azshara repeatedly escaped Herad, Xal'atath, and Ulthalesh while her Naga forces were cut down.
• Herad chose to excavate the Titan prison beneath Nazjatar, relying on Xal'atath’s assessment that N'Zoth was a weak fighter by Old God standards.
• Herad used the Power of the Earth to fill the abyss and lift out a massive, square block of stone containing N'Zoth’s prison.
• Queen Azshara stopped attacking in shock as Herad unearthed the prison, while N'Zoth threatened him from inside.
• N'Zoth fired a black beam at the Obsidian Warship, and Herad found that its force nearly matched the Heavy Energy Cannon.

Herad’s Obsidian Warship bombarded N'Zoth inside the Titan Prison until the Old God begged for a ceasefire. After bargaining, the warship left Nazjatar, and N'Zoth warned Queen Azshara not to provoke Herad again while promising to resurrect the dead Naga.

• The Obsidian Warship absorbed N'Zoth's attacks and returned the energy as cannon fire, roasting him inside the Titan Prison.
• N'Zoth shouted for Herad to stop firing and negotiate, startling Herad and Queen Azshara.
• Herad agreed to spare N'Zoth after bargaining over a ceasefire, and the Obsidian Warship departed Nazjatar.
• The excavated Titan Prison remained above the sea as a square island after the seawater returned.
• Queen Azshara confronted N'Zoth about Herad's attack, and N'Zoth told her not to provoke Herad and promised to resurrect the dead Naga.

Herad continued mining obsidian while Queen Azshara watched helplessly, constrained by N'Zoth's role as a hostage. Herad had gathered close to a hundred million tonnes, but deposits dwindled farther from the Maelstrom, threatening his goal of building a vastly more powerful Obsidian Warship.

• N'Zoth resurrected Naga in unstable, varied forms, and Queen Azshara accepted the misshapen troops as Nazjatar began rebuilding.
• Queen Azshara refrained from attacking Herad's resource gathering because N'Zoth's prison could not be moved safely, and Herad used N'Zoth as a deterrent against Naga interference.
• Herad gathered obsidian from undersea volcanoes and secretly processed it, aiming to build an Obsidian Warship powerful enough to face Argus the Unmaker.
• Herad's obsidian stores approached a hundred million tonnes, but deposits thinned as he moved farther from the Maelstrom, leaving his three-hundred-million-tonne goal in doubt.

Herad used the Scepter of Sargeras to probe through the mantle beneath the Maelstrom and reached Deepholm, where he wanted to gather obsidian. He arrived aboard the Obsidian Warship and recruited the local earth elemental creatures to collect it.

• Herad found that obsidian became scarce away from the Maelstrom and concluded it was connected to the Well of Eternity and Deepholm.
• Herad probed beneath the Maelstrom, discovered the mantle blocked the way, and used spatial magic to search deeper.
• Herad reached Deepholm, an immense and hostile underground world roughly two hundred kilometers into the mantle.
• Herad brought the Obsidian Warship through a gateway into Deepholm and descended toward the ground.
• Herad commanded the earth elemental creatures to gather energy-absorbing black stones, and the Rock Stone Giants willingly pulled obsidian from their bodies for him.

Herad rewarded earth elemental creatures with trips to the prime material plane in exchange for valuable ores and obsidian, turning them into eager miners. Therazane, Deepholm’s ruler, arrived with her rock stone giant guards to ask Herad for a trip, and he prepared to explain his fees and precautions.

• Herad accepted elementium ore and other treasures from earth elemental creatures and offered them visits to deserted areas of the prime material plane.
• Earth elemental creatures who lacked treasures began mining obsidian to earn their own visits, while Herad later stripped returning visitors of their wealth and sent them back to work.
• Therazane heard that Herad could open a portal to the prime material plane and traveled to the Obsidian Warship with her personal guard.
• Herad greeted Therazane as a friend, and she asked him directly whether he could send her and her followers to the prime material plane.
• Herad agreed and prepared to explain the fees and precautions for their visit.

Therazane traveled to Desolace, where the centaurs’ earth affinity revealed a possible connection to her family and a night elf druid recognized her. Herad left her visit to unfold while turning his attention to improving Deepholm’s inefficient obsidian transport network.

• Therazane chose a trip to the surface, and Herad sent her through a portal to Desolace instead of Silithus.
• Centaurs in the Valley of Spears raised an alarm when Therazane arrived, but held back when they realized how powerful she was.
• Therazane sensed an earth-related bloodline connection to the centaurs and remembered that her daughter, Princess Maraudon, lived in the prime material plane.
• Some centaurs sought help from nearby night elf druids, and an ancient druid recognized Therazane and guided her through Desolace.
• Herad stopped watching Therazane’s visit and focused on reorganizing Deepholm’s transportation network to improve obsidian collection.

Herad reorganized Deepholm’s earth elemental workforce to collect obsidian and planned a gigantic flying super energy cannon with the material. The cannon’s construction began as workers waited nearby for trips to the Prime Material Plane.

• Herad built straight roads and collection stations across Deepholm, where earth elemental creatures exchanged obsidian for points and travel to the Prime Material Plane.
• Herad envisioned gathering enough obsidian to build a massive Obsidian Warship capable of destroying Argus the Unmaker.
• Alleria and Sylvanas questioned Herad’s plan to make a cannon the core of a flying weapon, but he defended the design.
• After calculating his reserves, Herad allocated two hundred million tons of obsidian for a ten-thousand-meter-long, two-hundred-meter-wide super energy cannon.
• Herad began construction while earth elemental creatures waiting for their trips watched the enormous cannon take shape.

Herad completed the Planet-Buster-Class Main Cannon, repurposed the Obsidian Warship’s modules, and built a crude hull around the weapon. After setting up a Permanent Portal for the earth elemental creatures, he prepared to head to Argus.

• Herad and the arcane golems, assisted by earth elemental creatures, finished the Planet-Buster-Class Main Cannon after two months of work.
• Herad dismantled the Obsidian Warship and distributed its modules across the cannon, giving it enough power and propulsion to operate.
• Herad built a thin obsidian hull around the cannon, and the resulting rod-shaped Obsidian Warship rose into the air for testing.
• Herad sent the earth elemental creatures through a portal to the Prime Material Plane and decided to build them a Permanent Portal.
• Herad constructed a giant archway and entrusted its management to Therazane the Stonemother, who stationed guards there in exchange for regular trips to Desolace.
• With the Permanent Portal in place, Herad prepared to travel to Argus.

The upgraded Obsidian Warship ambushed Argus and used Argus the Unmaker’s attacks to charge its main cannon. It gravely wounded the colossal Titan, leaving Kil’jaeden and the Burning Legion facing disaster as the warship warped away.

• The Obsidian Warship attacked planets around Argus, while Kil’jaeden summoned Argus the Unmaker to repel it.
• Argus the Unmaker shielded himself and nearby Eredath, then hurled black spheres at the warship, which absorbed them to build up energy.
• Herad made the Obsidian Warship retreat behind a planet, leading Argus the Unmaker and Kil’jaeden to believe the attack had ended.
• The Obsidian Warship emerged and fired its charged main cannon into Argus the Unmaker’s face, blasting away half his head and bringing him crashing down onto Argus.
• Kil’jaeden saw Argus the Unmaker incapacitated, but the Obsidian Warship warped away without firing again.

Herad repaired the Obsidian Warship's damaged main cannon by reinforcing its mithril energy runes with arcane crystals. He summoned more than a hundred Withered secret mages to finish the work, preparing to bombard Argus the Unmaker again.

• Herad found that the main cannon's mithril energy conductors were partially molten and could not withstand another shot.
• Herad used arcane crystals to fuse them with the mithril, turning the conductors into arcanite.
• Herad resolved to keep all his arcane crystals for strategic use and deny them to wealthy warriors seeking arcanite weapons.
• Herad summoned over a hundred Withered secret mages to help reinforce the cannon's energy runes.
• The Withered secret mages began working, and Herad expected them to finish in a few days before he attacked Argus the Unmaker again.

Herad monitored Kil'jaeden's effort to bury Argus the Unmaker before the enemy warship returned. With Sargeras's influence driving the demons, the Mo'arg Engineers developed and began mass-producing Open-Top Tractors to speed up the excavation.

• Herad's Satellites observed Kil'jaeden mobilizing a hundred billion demons to bury Argus the Unmaker.
• After the demons buried Argus the Unmaker more than three hundred meters in one day, Kil'jaeden ordered his spellcasters and engineers to finish the task within three months.
• Sargeras's phantom appeared behind Kil'jaeden, and the demons obeyed his order without protest.
• The Mo'arg Engineers studied captured Four-Wheeled War Chariots and built an unarmed, unarmored prototype called an Open-Top Tractor.
• The Mo'arg Engineers began mass-producing Open-Top Tractors that could carry up to ten Felguards and free more demons to dig.

The Mo'arg Engineers fused demons with tractors through dark magic, creating true mechanical demons whose strength came at the cost of losing their chance to resurrect as normal demons. Herad dismissed their steel bodies as vulnerable and prepared to repair the Obsidian Warship's main cannon, while Sargeras struggled to decide whether to turn back toward Argus.

• The Mo'arg Engineers used dark magic to fuse demon drivers with tractors, turning them into mechanical tool demons despite the grim price of mechanical ascension.
• Herad watched the mechanical demons haul earth and rocks, and considered ways to destroy them with mines or the Obsidian Warship's main cannon.
• Herad stopped watching the broadcast and continued repairing the main cannon's energy pathways, convinced Argus the Unmaker could not escape its fate.
• Sargeras realized Argus was in danger but faced a two- or three-year journey to return, since he could not use spatial magic like Aman'Thul.
• Sargeras continued onward with the Burning Crusade, hoping the enemy would not discover his creation.

Herad returned to Argus aboard the upgraded Obsidian Warship to face the Burning Legion after it finished charging on a Fel Planet. Kil'jaeden fled through a portal as Sargeras deployed his powerful energy clone, while an attack struck Argus's concealed burial site.

• Herad delayed attacking while the demons buried Argus the Unmaker, and he reshaped the Obsidian Warship into a longsword-like vessel.
• The demons completed Argus's burial and moved Eredath away to disguise the burial mound as a mountain range.
• Herad sent the Obsidian Warship into a Fel Volcano, where it absorbed fel and increased its tonnage to nearly seven hundred million tons.
• The Obsidian Warship warped into orbit around Argus, prompting Kil'jaeden to order the defensive barrier activated and contact Sargeras.
• Sargeras manifested an energy clone above the statue and promised to protect Eredath, while Kil'jaeden withdrew toward a Burning Legion Portal.
• Kil'jaeden spotted a brilliant blast above Argus's burial site, suspected a traitor had revealed it, and escaped through the portal.