Chapter Summaries

Karin arrived at Nethergarde Keep with reinforcements and found Khadgar alive after a desperate battle against the Horde. Khadgar revealed his research on using a rare material from the Dark Portal to build stable, low-energy portals, while Alliance armies and Alleria’s expedition advanced toward the Blasted Lands.

• Danath Trollbane led the surviving defenders of Nethergarde Keep in a counterattack after gryphon riders bombarded the Horde forces.
• Karin arrived with dwarven musketeers and Wildhammer gryphon riders, and Khadgar greeted him after the fighting.
• Khadgar nearly collapsed from the strain of casting an eighth-ring spell, so Karin helped him back to his room.
• Karin read Khadgar’s research showing that material extracted from the Dark Portal could enable stable portals with low energy consumption.
• Marshal Reginald Windsor led Stormwind cavalry toward Nethergarde Keep, while Marshal Meralas Turalyon marched Lordaeron troops toward the Blasted Lands.
• Alleria Windrunner led the Farstrider expedition south despite its lack of approval and declared that the High Elves would take revenge on the Horde.

After the Alliance air force routed the Horde at Nethergarde Keep, Deathwing arrived at the Horde camp and offered Ner'zhul an alliance. The chapter ended with Ner'zhul considering Deathwing's offer of military aid in exchange for safe passage through the Dark Portal and help transporting cargo to Draenor.

• The Alliance air force massacred the orcs at Nethergarde Keep, severely wounding Grommash Hellscream and forcing the survivors to flee toward the Dark Portal.
• Ner'zhul learned from Hakkarim Deadeye that the Horde had been defeated and feared the Dark Portal would fall, but Hakkarim and Dentha persuaded him that the Horde could still fight.
• That night, Deathwing entered the Horde camp and easily threw aside Halkan Skullsplitter when he attacked.
• Deathwing revealed his identity and rebuked Hakkarim for calling him a traitor, saying he had never belonged to the Horde.
• Deathwing offered to have his descendants aid the Horde in exchange for safe passage through the Dark Portal and help transporting cargo to Draenor, and Ner'zhul asked what the deal required.

Deathwing sent Onyxia and Nefarian to carry out two tasks while the Alliance marched toward the Blasted Lands. Onyxia’s attempt to divert Marshal Windsor’s forces failed when he recognized her from a vision and exposed her as a Black Dragon.

• Deathwing told Onyxia and Nefarian that the world beyond the Dark Portal would soon be theirs and assigned them two tasks.
• Lord Victor Nefarius persuaded Turalyon to turn the Alliance army away from the Blasted Lands and toward Blackrock Mountain.
• Countess Katrana Prestor stopped Windsor’s column and tried to persuade the Knights to escort her to Stormwind City.
• Windsor recognized Katrana from his vision in Karazhan and spoke in Draconic, forcing her to transform into Onyxia.
• Onyxia ordered her Dragonkin to attack, and Windsor rallied the Knights to fight.

Gul'dan and his Death Knights infiltrated Stormwind Keep to steal the Book of Medivh, but found that Karin Sunfury had already taken it. Discovered and surrounded by Alliance forces, Gul'dan ordered the survivors to escape by sea.

• Bolvar received Karin Sunfury's warning that Horde assassins might target the Book of Medivh.
• Gul'dan led ten Death Knights into Stormwind Library, where they killed two guards and found a note saying Karin had taken the book.
• After Alliance guards discovered the intruders, Gul'dan ordered the Death Knights to fight their way out.
• Bolvar led the defense, killing one Death Knight as the others escaped through a window and summoned Infernals into the keep's garden.
• Jazba found that only he, Gul'dan, and two Death Knights remained, and Gul'dan ordered them to seize a ship at the harbor.

Danath Trollbane waited anxiously for Alliance reinforcements while Nethergarde Keep remained undermanned and the Horde fortified its position. Alleria Windrunner arrived with Quel'dorei rangers, and after an awkward reunion with Karin, she asked for a briefing on the fortress's situation.

• Danath Trollbane complained that reinforcements from Lordaeron and Stormwind City had still not arrived, while his depleted force could only focus on defending Nethergarde Keep.
• Kurdran Wildhammer and Brann Bronzebeard listened as Karin and Khadgar argued about teleportation principles and the Heavenly Book.
• A soldier announced that reinforcements had arrived, prompting Danath, Kurdran, and Brann to celebrate.
• Alleria Windrunner arrived with nearly a thousand high elf rangers and noticed how few Alliance warriors remained at the fortress.
• Danath welcomed Alleria, who recognized Karin, and Kurdran's jokes eased the awkward reunion.
• Alleria asked Danath and Khadgar to explain Nethergarde Keep's situation, and Danath spread a map across the table.

Gul'dan raised the Tomb of Sargeras from the depths of the Great Sea and reached its ancient temple. He sought the Scepter of Sargeras, intending to claim its power, and opened the temple's enormous iron door.

• Gul'dan led four Death Knights aboard a stolen Stormwind boat to a remote stretch of ocean and sensed an ancient temple beneath the sea.
• Gul'dan used powerful magic to raise the submerged island and its temple from the seabed.
• Gul'dan led the Death Knights to the ruined temple and explained that Sargeras's body and scepter had been left there by Aegwynn.
• Gul'dan revealed that he intended to take the Scepter of Sargeras rather than release Sargeras's body, then opened the temple's enormous iron door.

Gul'dan fought through the Shadow Demons and seized new bodies from his Death Knight companions before claiming the Scepter of Sargeras. With his servants dead and the Eye of Sargeras still deeper in the temple, he left vowing to return and take it.

• Gul'dan destroyed his body to escape the Shadow Demons, then devoured them with Fel Flame and possessed Jazba Soulrender.
• Gul'dan used the same tactic to overcome another group of Shadow Demons, took another Death Knight's body, and left Drak'Sool as his last companion.
• Gul'dan entered a great hall and confronted a demon guarding the Scepter of Sargeras.
• Gul'dan blasted the demon apart, took Drak'Sool's body, and claimed the scepter.
• Gul'dan decided not to pursue the Eye of Sargeras without any servants left and vowed to return for it.

The Alliance commanders at Nethergarde Keep struggled to discover the Horde’s plans, while Karin warned Khadgar they might need to cross the Dark Portal. Gul'dan returned with the Scepter of Sargeras and discovered that Deathwing had entrusted the Horde with wagons full of black dragon eggs.

• Danath Trollbane, Alleria Windrunner, and Kurdran Wildhammer reported that the Horde had blocked their scouts and prevented them from approaching the Dark Portal.
• Karin told Khadgar that she suspected they would have to prepare to cross the Dark Portal.
• Gul'dan returned to the Horde with the Scepter of Sargeras, explaining to Hakkarim Deadeye that the Book of Medivh and the Eye of Dalaran were unavailable.
• Hakkarim told Gul'dan that Deathwing had entrusted covered wagons to the Horde in exchange for helping hold off the Alliance's reinforcements.
• Gul'dan approached the wagons, and a black dragon attacked him before the Scepter of Sargeras wounded it.
• Gul'dan realized that the wagons contained black dragon eggs.

A messenger brought Nethergarde Keep a plea for aid after black dragons attacked Stormwind City's reinforcements. Karin and Kurdran set out to help Windsor, whose cavalry was cornered by Onyxia until Wildhammer gryphon riders arrived and he struck her with draconic magic.

• A wounded Stormwind knight delivered Windsor's letter to Nethergarde Keep, reporting that black dragons, dragonkin, and orcs had devastated the reinforcements.
• Danath, Khadgar, and Karin discussed the attack, and Karin and Kurdran volunteered to help while Danath stayed to guard Nethergarde Keep.
• Windsor led scattered cavalrymen through the Black Morass, where Onyxia confronted them after the dragons had inflicted terrible losses.
• Wildhammer gryphon riders arrived in an aerial fortress and destroyed a black dragon with explosives, prompting Onyxia to flee.
• Windsor cast draconic magic at Onyxia as she tried to escape, and she turned on him in pain.

Kurdran's gryphon riders routed the black dragons, while Karin and Khadgar helped Reginald Windsor capture Onyxia. Onyxia awoke chained in a hidden chamber, where Karin revealed his intentions by beginning to torture her.

• Kurdran led the Wildhammer gryphon riders in surrounding and defeating the black dragons, while the survivors fled under pursuit.
• Karin and Khadgar spotted Onyxia fighting Reginald Windsor and flew to intervene.
• Karin imprisoned Onyxia with magic, and Khadgar encased her in ice as Windsor continued chanting his Draconic Magic.
• Onyxia was captured, forced back into human form, and later awoke bound in a hidden chamber.
• Karin identified Onyxia, warned her that escape and rescue were impossible, and dismissed her offer to reveal her father's plans.
• Karin ordered Onyxia to raise her dragon claw and tore open her sleeve, causing her to scream.

Karin and the commanders at Nethergarde Keep learned that the weakened Horde planned to use the Scepter of Sargeras to open a portal to another world. They agreed to assemble an expeditionary force and pursue the Horde before it could recover or escape through the portal.

• Khadgar teased Karin about the black dragon and reported that Danath had called him to a meeting.
• Danath told the commanders that the black dragons had allied with the orcs, who planned to move their eggs through the Dark Portal and use the Scepter of Sargeras to open a portal to another world.
• The commanders debated whether to let the orcs leave, but Karin argued that they could return to Azeroth stronger after recovering in the other world.
• Windsor, Bryan, Khadgar, Kurdran, and Danath supported pursuing the Horde, while Alleria quietly backed Karin.
• Danath proposed assembling an elite force of more than ten thousand, and Windsor promised Stormwind City's supplies.
• Karin urged the commanders to prepare immediately, and no one objected.

As the Alliance prepared to cross the Dark Portal, Khadgar and Karin discussed visions of future disasters, while soldiers and leaders prepared for the possibility of never returning. At the portal, Grommash Hellscream and Rexxar prepared to delay the Alliance and escape with a device from Ner'zhul.

• Khadgar told Karin that visions at Karazhan had shown him leading Alliance soldiers through the Dark Portal, while Karin revealed visions of the Scourge, Deathwing, and the Old Gods.
• Karin admitted that he wanted to go through the Dark Portal to deal with Deathwing, and Khadgar agreed to handle the Horde.
• Brann Bronzebeard, Kurdran Wildhammer, and Bryan worried about returning from Outland, and Bryan and Kurdran went to write letters to their kin.
• Alleria asked Verena to deliver necklaces and a farewell message to Sylvanas and Vereesa if she failed to return from the expedition.
• Grommash told Rexxar that the Horde had withdrawn and planned to hold off the Alliance, while Rexxar revealed a device from Ner'zhul that could let them escape to Draenor.

Danath led the Alliance assault on the Dark Portal, where Grommash Hellscream and the Warsong Clan were overwhelmed. Khadgar prevented Ner'zhul's bomb from destroying the portal, but the explosion devastated the Horde camp, leaving Grommash and the surviving orcs to flee west and seek justice against Ner'zhul.

• Danath led the Alliance charge and challenged Grommash, but Bryan's gorilla and Alleria's arrow saved him from the orc chieftain's killing blow.
• Grommash learned from Rexxar that the Alliance was winning and ordered him to use the device Ner'zhul had supplied so the Warsong Clan could withdraw.
• Khadgar realized the goblin was preparing a bomb, seized the ticking device, and hurled it away from the Dark Portal before teleporting back to the Khardros.
• The bomb exploded in the Horde camp, killing or wounding many Warsong warriors, while Grommash and the remaining fighters survived.
• Grommash realized Ner'zhul had betrayed the Warsong Clan and ordered the survivors to break west instead of trying to pass through the portal.
• Grommash confronted Rexxar, then concluded Ner'zhul was responsible and vowed that they had to survive so someone could make him pay.

The Alliance Expeditionary Force entered Draenor and began preparing to establish a fortress while Ner'zhul and Gul'dan argued over their next move. Ner'zhul ordered Dentha to defend Hellfire Citadel as Gul'dan set out for Karabor to open a portal to another world.

• Danath Trollbane led the Alliance Expeditionary Force through the Dark Portal into Draenor, where they found a barren land abandoned by the Horde.
• Ner'zhul sat on Blackhand's former throne in Hellfire Citadel and greeted Gul'dan, who carried the Scepter of Sargeras.
• Gul'dan said he needed to reach Karabor, Draenor's largest ley line nexus, to open a portal to a new world.
• Ner'zhul ordered Dentha to remain at Hellfire Citadel with the Bonechewer, Bloodcave, and Laughing Skull Clans to delay the Alliance.
• Dentha accepted the order, and Ner'zhul said black dragons would help defend the citadel as Gul'dan urged his followers to leave for Karabor.

Ner'zhul left Hellfire Citadel with Horde forces while the Alliance pressed its attack on the fortress. Karin sensed the black dragons were departing and set out with Kurdran and the Floating City to pursue them, leaving Khadgar to face the Horde.

• Ner'zhul rode out of Hellfire Citadel with Hakkarim Deadeye, warriors, warlocks, and shamans, while Gul'dan followed at the rear.
• At Honor Hold, Khadgar and Karin discussed the Alliance's progress against the Horde, and Karin sensed through the Dragon Soul that the black dragons were preparing to leave.
• Karin decided to pursue the black dragons with Kurdran and the Floating City, and he left Khadgar in charge of dealing with the Horde.
• Warmaster Blackhorn arrived at Hellfire Citadel and demanded the orcs who transported Deathwing's cargo, threatening Dentha when he objected.
• Blackhorn took several thousand orcs and the cargo carts north toward Gorgrond, while Dentha ordered the remaining Horde to defend Hellfire Citadel.

Kurdran Wildhammer prepared the gryphon riders aboard the Khardros for a battle against the black dragons and Deathwing. In secret, Karin drained Onyxia's blood into the Dragon Soul, strengthening its power against black dragons as he prepared to confront Deathwing.

• Kurdran Wildhammer ordered the Wildhammer soldiers to prepare for battle and hoped they would all return safely.
• Karin entered the Khardros's sealed chamber, where Onyxia was imprisoned and weakened.
• Karin cut Onyxia's wrist and used her blood to strengthen the Dragon Soul while she threatened him and pleaded for him to stop.
• Karin retrieved the Dragon Soul and concluded that it could now affect Deathwing, giving him a better chance to stop Deathwing from being corrupted by the Old Gods.

The Floating City Khardros reached a mountain range and fought Warmaster Blackhorn’s black dragons, with Karin using the Dragon Soul to weaken them. After the victory, giant ogres attacked the orcs and seized the dragon eggs before fleeing in fear of Gruul.

• Kurdran Wildhammer spotted the black dragons approaching Khardros and ordered more than three hundred Gryphon Riders to attack.
• Karin used the Dragon Soul and an Ancient Spell to weaken Blackhorn, Grionna, and the other black dragons.
• Kurdran killed Blackhorn with the Stormhammer, while Skare killed Grionna, and the dwarves defeated the black dragons.
• Giant ogres emerged from caves and stone forests, trampled dragonkin, scattered the orcs, and cracked open the dragon eggs they found.
• The giant ogres heard a roar, became afraid, and repeatedly called out Gruul’s name.

Gruul and the Gronn slaughtered the Black Dragon eggs and wyrmlings in the Blade's Edge Mountains. Neltharion returned, revealed himself as Deathwing, and charged at Gruul as the battle began.

• Gruul ordered the Gronn to attack the Black Dragon wyrmlings, and they killed and devoured them.
• Wildhammer Dwarves slaughtered the Black Dragons guarding the eggs under the Dragon Soul's influence.
• Neltharion returned to find his children dead and vowed revenge on the Gronn.
• Gruul identified himself as king of the Gronn and challenged the Black Dragon.
• Neltharion declared, “My name is Deathwing!” and lunged at Gruul as black flames engulfed the mountains.

The Alliance captured Hellfire Citadel after breaking through its defenses, but Khadgar learned that the Orcs' Warchief had already left to perform a ritual. Khadgar defeated the ogre mage Dentha, who died without revealing where his master had gone.

• Danath Trollbane, Reginald Windsor, and Khadgar led the Alliance assault through the breach in the Infernal Ramparts.
• Alleria Windrunner reported that the high elf rangers had cleared the fortress's northern area, and Khadgar led soldiers to surround the Orcs' Core Stronghold.
• Khadgar found the ogre mage Dentha in the stronghold and learned that the Orcs' Warchief had already left to perform a ritual.
• Khadgar defeated Dentha and demanded the Warchief's whereabouts, but Dentha charged at him and fatally struck the bone chair.

Khadgar concluded that the Horde had fled south and organized an Alliance pursuit, while Alleria attacked him to learn where Karin had gone to face Deathwing. The Horde’s exhausted retreat through Terokkar Forest was discovered by Alliance gryphon scouts, and Ner’zhul asked Gul’dan for a plan.

• Khadgar told Reginald Windsor and Danath Trollbane that the Horde had fled south, and Danath prepared gryphons and rangers to scout ahead.
• Khadgar mourned the dead ogre mage Dentha, while Alleria demanded to know where Karin had gone with the Wildhammer dwarves.
• Alleria pinned Khadgar down and seized his throat, insisting that he tell her which way the group had gone so she would not regret staying behind.
• Hakkarim Deadeye warned Ner’zhul that the Alliance was catching up, but said the Bloodmaul warriors could not travel faster without collapsing.
• A Bloodmaul warrior reported that Alliance gryphons had found the Horde’s tracks, and Gul’dan remarked that Dentha had failed to delay them.
• Ner’zhul asked Gul’dan for a plan.