Recaps

Karin prepared potions and supplies, then joined Captain Leguli's trading company aboard the Advance as its mage responsible for restarting the Arcane Boiler. As the ship set sail, Karin watched the Windrunner family's enormous Three Sisters and wondered how powerful a Fireball would need to be to sink it.

• Karin packed potions, bought a Random Teleportation Scroll, and gathered books before leaving for Sunsail Anchorage.
• At Berth 16, Karin met Captain Leguli and was introduced to the trading company’s crew, including Kingsley, Hana, Buck, and Nathanos.
• Captain Leguli showed Karin the Advance’s Arcane Boiler and explained that Karin would restart it when it went out.
• Karin got the boiler running, and the Advance began sailing from Sunsail Anchorage.
• Nathanos told Karin about his wish to learn from an Elf Ranger, then pointed out the Windrunner family's huge ship, the Three Sisters.
• Karin watched the Three Sisters and wondered what level of Fireball could sink it in one shot.

Karin traveled aboard the Advance from Quel'Thalas, studied spells during the voyage, and tested a gunpowder-enhanced Fireball. The ship was then confronted by a fast-moving swarm of Murlocs, and Captain Leguli called for Kingsley to bring something up from the hold.

• Karin left Quel'Thalas aboard the Advance with Nathanos and gradually overcame his seasickness during the voyage.
• Karin studied several First Ring and Second Ring spells while the crew treated him with deference and Nathanos asked him about the Elves.
• Nearly half a month into the voyage, Karin tested a Fireball combined with gunpowder and impressed the All-Knowing Eye with its power.
• The All-Knowing Eye warned Karin that dangerous creatures were approaching, and Nathanos identified them as Murlocs.
• Captain Leguli learned that the Murlocs were too fast to evade, stopped Karin from attacking, and ordered Kingsley to fetch something from the hold.

Karin and the crew of the Advance escaped a Murloc swarm by luring most of them away with rotten fish and shrimp, then drove off the rest with a cannon. After drinking with Captain Leguli, Karin heard him mutter in his sleep that people were the most terrifying creatures on the Great Sea.

• Captain Leguli had the crew dump rotten fish and shrimp overboard, drawing most of the Murlocs away from the Advance.
• Musketeer Buck fired a cannon at the remaining Murlocs, scattering them as the crew cheered.
• Captain Leguli invited Karin to drink rum and told him how he had risen through Lordaeron's cavalry guard before a nobleman's connections forced him out.
• Karin drank a Lion's Strength Potion and helped the drunken Captain Leguli to his quarters.
• Captain Leguli spoke in his sleep, saying that people—not Murlocs, Naga, or deep-sea Hydras—were the most terrifying creatures on the Great Sea.

As the Advance neared Howling Fjord, Karin used his magic to help Nathanos retrieve a goose and experience flight. Nathanos spotted a skull-flagged ship, and Captain Leguli identified the approaching vessel as the infamous North Sea Pirates and prepared the crew for battle.

• Nathanos shot down a goose and asked Karin to use Slow Fall and Levitate to help him retrieve it and return to the deck.
• Karin powered up Levitate to send Nathanos soaring above the mast before lowering him back to the ship.
• Nathanos spotted a ship flying a skull flag and warned Captain Leguli.
• Captain Leguli ordered the crew to arm themselves and identified the ship as belonging to the North Sea Pirates.
• Nathanos explained the pirates' deadly reputation as Karin drank a Lesser Troll's Blood Potion and prepared his spells for battle.

Karin defended the Advance from the North Sea Pirates’ cannon fire with a Magic Shield, then used a barrage of Fireballs to destroy their boarding boat. The surviving pirates struggled in the water as the Advance sailed over them.

• Captain Leguli ordered the crew to fight the pirates, and Karin gathered them together while First Mate Hana took the helm.
• Buck fired the Advance’s cannon as Karin deflected the pirates’ shots with his Magic Shield.
• The pirate captain sent more than thirty pirates toward the Advance in a fast boat.
• Karin drank a Lesser Mana Potion, rose into the air with Levitate, and unleashed fifteen Fireballs on the boat.
• Nathanos and Buck shot at pirates surfacing in the water as Hana steered the Advance over them.

After the Advance defeated a pirate ship, Karin and the crew arrived at Valgarde in Howling Fjord, Northrend. Captain Leguli explained the area and assigned Nathanos to protect Karin while the ship traded its cargo.

• The Advance's crew reached Northrend after sailing along its continental shelf and entered Daggercap Bay in Howling Fjord.
• Nathanos told Karin that Valgarde was Northrend's largest port and city, and Karin recognized it as a landing place from his past life.
• Karin saw that Valgarde was a small, busy port with more than a dozen ships unloading cargo.
• Captain Leguli thanked Karin for helping during the voyage and said the crew would spend a week trading before Karin explored Howling Fjord.
• Captain Leguli warned Karin about Trolls in the northern forests and pirates at Scalawag Point, then assigned Nathanos to protect him.

Karin explored the area around Valgarde with Nathanos and learned the history and future of the Vrykul at Utgarde Keep. As they prepared to leave the abandoned castle, they met the explorer Brann Bronzebeard and his gorilla, Grybe.

• Karin bought rare herbs in Valgarde and spotted Utgarde Keep beside Cauldros Lake.
• Karin recalled how the Dragonflayer Clan's King Ymiron put the Vrykul into slumber and how fleeing mothers carried their deformed children south, becoming humanity's ancestors.
• Karin remembered that Arthas would later awaken the Flesh Vrykul and recruit them into the Scourge.
• Nathanos warned Karin that people who entered the abandoned castle never returned, so Karin decided not to go inside.
• Brann Bronzebeard introduced himself and his gorilla, Grybe, and asked Karin and Nathanos if they had come to explore the castle.

Karin joined Bryan Bronzebeard’s expedition into Utgarde Keep after learning who he was, and the group discovered an ancient Titan ruin inside. The chapter left them deep in the keep, where Bryan stopped to investigate a button.

• Karin recognized Bryan Bronzebeard as the founder of the Explorer's League and asked to join his expedition with Nathanos.
• Bryan welcomed Karin and Nathanos, then led them into Utgarde Keep despite Nathanos’s warnings about its dangers.
• Bryan used Karin’s Lion’s Strength Potion and pushed the heavy entrance open with Nathanos.
• The group found a metal hall and Bryan identified its cobalt as evidence that the keep was a Titan ruin.
• Bryan sent Grybe to scout past the Vrykul and Proto-Dragon statues, then stopped to ask what a button did.

After Brann Bronzebeard activated Utgarde Keep’s security system, Karin, Bryan, and Nathanos fled from attacking statues and discovered that the figures on the second floor were living Vrykul and Proto-Dragons asleep under a powerful spell. Bryan found a tablet pointing to the giants’ royal palace and led the group toward the highest floor as the statues broke through the door.

• Brann Bronzebeard pressed a button, activating the keep’s security system and animating the first-floor statues to attack Karin, Bryan, and Nathanos.
• Karin used Fireball to block the pursuers while the group ran to the second floor, shut a door, and barricaded it.
• The All-Knowing Eye told Karin that the second-floor Vrykul and Proto-Dragons were alive and asleep under a tenth-ring spell, and Bryan confirmed they showed signs of life.
• Bryan examined a Titan-script tablet and concluded that the keep’s royal palace could protect them from the giants and dragons.
• The first-floor statues broke through the door, and Bryan led Karin and Nathanos toward the keep’s highest floor, warning them to stay close and touch nothing he had not touched.

Karin reached King Ymiron's hall and absorbed a memory fragment from a scepter beside the sleeping king. Through Ymiron's memories, Karin learned how the Curse of Flesh drove the king to condemn deformed children and eventually put his clan into a long sleep, leaving their fate unresolved.

• Bryan led Karin and Nathanos through Utgarde Keep while they evaded pursuing statues, and the group reached King Ymiron's hall.
• The All-Knowing Eye identified the sleeping king as a legendary creature and reported that he was unlikely to awaken.
• Karin absorbed a memory fragment from the scepter beside Ymiron's throne.
• Ymiron's memories revealed that he blamed the Titan for the Curse of Flesh and ordered deformed Vrykul infants executed.
• Ymiron's wife, Arathi, fled with their deformed child, and the king later found that the curse was affecting him too.
• Ymiron cast a sleep spell over the Dragonflayer Clan, hoping they would awaken after the curse could be broken, and vowed they would serve whoever helped them.

Karin learned that Ymiron and the Dragonflayer Clan had been put into deep sleep to contain the curse of flesh, and he sought to change their future allegiance to the Lich King. He warned Ymiron that Yogg-Saron was the root of the curse and left the king prepared to join him if he could one day end it.

• Karin reviewed Ymiron's memories and realized that the Lich King would later recruit the Dragonflayer Clan into the Scourge.
• The All-Knowing Eye explained that Ymiron was legendary but had little combat strength compared with powerful mages.
• Karin picked up the scepter beside Ymiron's throne and awakened a mental connection with the king.
• Karin told Ymiron that Yogg-Saron's power had spread from his prison after an ancient World Tree's roots reached it, and that Loken had been corrupted.
• Karin warned Ymiron that Yogg-Saron's servants might try to deceive him, and Ymiron vowed that his clan would serve Karin if he could eliminate the curse's root.

Karin, Bryan, and Nathanos escaped Utgarde Keep with a random teleportation scroll, landing in Cauldros Lake before Gryphadin carried them toward Valgarde. Karin declined to keep adventuring with Bryan and spent the next month meditating aboard The Advance, seeking a breakthrough from the First Ring to the Second Ring, before returning to Sunsail Anchorage.

• Bryan discovered inscriptions suggesting the giants had exiled deformed children south, and he speculated that humans might descend from them.
• Karin used a Random Teleportation Scroll to escape Utgarde Keep with Bryan, Nathanos, and Grybe, teleporting them into Cauldros Lake.
• Bryan summoned Gryphadin, who carried the group south toward Valgarde.
• Karin declined Bryan's invitation to continue adventuring and meditated aboard The Advance to improve his control of magic and break through to the Second Ring.
• A month later, The Advance returned to Sunsail Anchorage, where Captain Leguli thanked Karin and Nathanos tearfully said goodbye to him.

Karin returned to Sunfury Spire, where Tiffany discovered he had advanced to the second ring and told him he had been conscripted for a coming war against the Trolls. He then visited Oliver in Fairbreeze Village, helped him with meditation, and learned that a letter might have arrived for him.

• Karin returned to Sunfury Spire and learned that Tiffany wanted him to return sixteen overdue books.
• Tiffany noticed Karin had reached the second ring and advised him to seek instruction in protection and evocation after reaching the third ring.
• Tiffany gave Karin a Silvermoon Council conscription roster and explained that Instructor Kane had assigned him to join the war against the Trolls.
• Karin signed the roster but worried that the Trolls were stronger than the High Elf leadership believed.
• Karin returned to Fairbreeze Village, answered Oliver Sunfury's questions about meditation, and heard that a carrier pigeon might have brought him a letter.

Karin received a letter from Liadrin, learned she was heading to Tranquillien to treat wounded rangers, and wrote back about his adventures in Northrend. In Tranquillien, Sylvanas prepared for escalating clashes with the trolls while waiting for promised mage support.

• Karin found Liadrin’s letter in the mailbox and read about her life at the Sun Temple, her Divine Hymn, and her upcoming assignment in Tranquillien.
• Karin wrote Liadrin a reply describing his recent journey to Northrend and the people he met there.
• Sylvanas learned that ranger detachments had clashed with troll scouts and summoned Lor'themar Thalorian.
• Lor'themar escorted Sun Temple priests to Tranquillien, and Sylvanas welcomed them to care for the wounded rangers.
• Sylvanas asked about the Council’s mage forces and learned they had not arrived, though most instructor mages had joined their assigned Ranger Squads.

Karin traveled to the Ghostlands to join his assigned Ranger Squad after studying Antonidas's paper on reversing abjuration spells. He arrived nearly a month late and recognized the squad captain who greeted him from a tent.

• Karin read Antonidas's paper explaining how reverse abjuration could restrain enemies, and the All-Knowing Eye praised the author's talent.
• Karin reached the Ghostlands and met the Ranger Halduron Brightwing, who warned him that his squad captain was not someone to trifle with.
• Halduron led Karin to Ranger Squad 4396's camp and announced the instructor's arrival before hurrying away.
• A familiar voice called Karin out for arriving almost a month late, and Karin recognized the speaker.

Karin joined Vereesa Windrunner’s Ranger Squad as its instructional mage, surprising her with how much he had advanced since their last meeting. After settling their past disagreement, he met the squad and drew the anger of two Rangers who defended Vereesa.

• Vereesa recognized Karin as the Sunfury mage from the Midsummer Festival and questioned why he had come to her squad.
• Karin learned from the All-Knowing Eye that he had a 31.1% chance of surviving a fight to the death with Vereesa.
• Karin and Vereesa agreed to leave their past behind and not use their positions to settle personal grudges.
• Vereesa introduced Karin to the Ranger Squad, where Brew and Morgan confronted him over his past insult to her.
• Vereesa ordered Brew and Morgan to show Karin the common room and give him a tour.

Karin followed Morgan and Brew into the Men's Lounge, where they attacked him over his earlier insult to Vereesa. He subdued them with binding spells, then released them after Vereesa lowered her bow, leaving the two at odds over his demand to be left alone.

• The All-Knowing Eye warned Karin that Morgan and Brew remained hostile and were much weaker than the female Ranger he had faced earlier.
• Morgan and Brew cornered Karin in the lounge and attacked him, claiming they wanted to punish him for insulting Vereesa.
• Karin repelled the Rangers, trapped Morgan in a Binding Spell, then blasted Brew with a Fireball and bound him too.
• Vereesa kicked open the door and aimed her longbow at Karin, demanding that he release Morgan and Brew.
• Karin threatened to kill the two Rangers if Vereesa attacked, and they agreed to lower their weapons and release the bindings at the same time.
• Vereesa promised to keep Morgan and Brew from troubling Karin again, while Karin insisted he would not tolerate being provoked.

Karin taught the Rangers simple spells, especially Melf's Acid Arrow, which could counter Troll regeneration and be learned by less experienced casters. He joined their demanding training for over a month, leaving Orisha impressed by his potential as a Ranger while Karin reflected on his ideal life as a mage.

• Karin began teaching spells to the Rangers, though Morgan, Brew, and Vereesa kept their distance.
• Several Rangers eagerly learned Melf's Acid Arrow, but many struggled because they had forgotten the fundamentals of spellcasting.
• Karin joined the Rangers' daily training and continued for more than a month, surprising Vereesa and the others.
• Orisha asked Karin why he trained so hard, and he said he wanted to strengthen his naturally frail body.
• Orisha told Karin he could have become an outstanding Ranger Lord or Ranger-General, while Karin considered the kind of mage he wanted to be.

Karin learned that his spell control had become proficient enough for him to attempt the third ring, though the All-Knowing Eye warned that reaching it required rare inspiration. He joined Vereesa's Ranger Squad to escort Myra Dawnblade's caravan through the Ghostlands, and sensed something strange about the group.

• The All-Knowing Eye told Karin that his spell control had reached the proficient stage and explained that inspiration was needed to advance from the second ring to the third.
• Orissa summoned Karin to a meeting where Vereesa announced that the squad had orders to escort a caravan to Quel'lithien through the Ghostlands.
• Karin agreed to accompany the Rangers rather than remain alone at camp.
• The squad met Myra Dawnblade and his diverse caravan at a way station in the southern Eversong Woods.
• Orissa told Karin that the Dawnblade Family was powerful in Silvermoon City, and Karin recognized Solarian's name.
• Karin followed Vereesa and the Rangers toward the caravan and felt that something about it was strange.

Karin joined Myra Dawnblade’s caravan and grew suspicious of its unusually large crew and powerful escorts. After getting Myra drunk, Karin learned the cargo belonged to a Goblin merchant named Mrs. Hoffman, and he left the tent with a plan forming.

• Karin used Troll Detection on Myra Dawnblade and his escorts, but the spell showed nothing unusual.
• The All-Knowing Eye estimated Karin’s chance of encountering danger was more than five times normal and identified Myra as a Mage Apprentice while judging his escorts capable fighters.
• At the caravan’s night camp, Karin entered Myra’s tent and used Touch of Fatigue while drinking with him.
• Karin questioned the drunken Myra and learned that Mrs. Hoffman, a wealthy Goblin merchant in Stratholme, owned the cargo and had assigned the two escorts to him.
• Myra revealed that his trips between Stratholme and Silvermoon City had earned him more than three hundred gold coins in six months, and Karin left the tent with a plan.

Karin exposed the caravan as bait for a Troll ambush and helped trigger an encirclement by elite Rangers. The Trolls were defeated, and the missing bodyguards were revealed as traitors, one dead and the other captured.

• Karin learned that 350 to 500 humanoids were hiding ahead and warned Myra to prepare for an attack.
• Karin discovered that the wagons contained granite rather than magical gems and explained that the caravan’s people were the real bait for the Trolls.
• Orissa’s arrow drew 413 Trolls from the forest, and Vereesa fired a signal flare to summon elite Rangers who surrounded them.
• The Rangers defeated the Trolls, killing or capturing nearly all of them.
• A female Elf emerged with Myra’s Dwarf bodyguard, who carried the dead human bodyguard, and she praised Vereesa.

Karin and the Rangers uncovered and defeated Mrs. Hoffman’s plan to sell the caravan’s people to the Trolls, then traveled to Tranquillien. There, Karin recorded his observations about the Forest Trolls before Vereesa introduced him to Sylvanas Windrunner.

• Karin learned that Mrs. Hoffman had arranged for Trolls to ambush the caravan and that Myra Dawnblade had helped her plan.
• Karin’s warning to Vereesa brought Rangers from Tranquillien, who turned the ambush against the Trolls and won a decisive victory.
• Myra directed the caravan to unload its granite, and the caravan members followed the Rangers to their camp in Tranquillien.
• Karin wrote notes about Forest Trolls and questioned why they still posed a threat to the High Elves.
• Vereesa entered Karin’s cabin with the Elf who had captured the caravan’s bodyguards, and the Elf introduced herself as Sylvanas Windrunner.

Sylvanas confronted Karin over his relationship with Vereesa, then assigned him to the Farstriders at Quel'lithien. A day later, Karin departed Tranquillien by dragonhawk with Halduron Brightwing, who revealed that the outpost near Zul'Aman had a high casualty rate.

• Sylvanas accused Karin of pursuing Vereesa and ordered Vereesa to fetch Lor'themar.
• Sylvanas promoted Karin to the Farstriders and ordered him to report to Quel'lithien within two days, while warning he could desert if he wished.
• Karin accepted the assignment and resumed recording his observations of troll habits.
• The next day, Karin boarded a dragonhawk in Tranquillien and discovered Halduron Brightwing was traveling to Quel'lithien too.
• Halduron told Karin that Quel'lithien was the Quel'dorei outpost closest to Zul'Aman and that its Farstrider detachment suffered a high casualty rate.

While flying over the Ghostlands, Karin learned from the All-Knowing Eye about the Twisting Nether and the barrier protecting Azeroth. A demon tried to tempt him into joining the Burning Legion, and Karin replied with an insult.

• Karin teased Halduron as the Dragonhawk flew high over the Ghostlands, while Halduron trembled from his fear of heights.
• The All-Knowing Eye explained that the Twisting Nether connected worlds and that a powerful barrier prevented outsiders from entering Azeroth freely.
• Karin learned that weak demons could slip through cracks in the barrier, while powerful demons needed someone inside to widen a breach.
• A demon projected its will into the void and tried to recruit Karin by promising power and authority.
• Karin told the demon, "Eat shit, you bastard!"

Halduron Brightwing and Karin arrived at Quel'lithien and met its leaders, Hawkspear and Aurora. Hawkspear explained the outpost’s strategic role near Zul'Aman and assigned Halduron to a vacant post, while Aurora took Karin to assist her.

• A dragonhawk rider dropped Halduron Brightwing and Karin at Quel'lithien, where Aurora welcomed them and led them to meet Hawkspear.
• Halduron excitedly praised Hawkspear and Aurora, while Karin recalled that the leaders and their Farstriders would eventually become Wretched.
• Hawkspear greeted Karin and Halduron, then showed them Quel'lithien's defenses and explained how the outpost threatened Zul'Aman and protected Tranquillien.
• Hawkspear assigned Halduron to Quinn's vacant post and said Quinn had been killed by a troll headhunter's spear during an ambush.
• Aurora asked Karin to accompany her because she needed his help.