Chapter Summaries

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.