Chapter Summaries

Karin stayed behind to confront Deathwing after the dwarves retreated, then used the Dragon Soul and an Unlock spell to break the armor holding the black dragon together. As Deathwing tried to flee toward the Dark Portal, Alexstrasza appeared behind him.

• Kurdran Wildhammer led the dwarves away while Gruul charged Deathwing, who killed him and burned all the gronn to ash.
• Karin revealed the Dragon Soul and trapped Deathwing with its golden light, drawing power from Onyxia's bloodline.
• Karin cast Unlock on the joints of Deathwing's Elementium Armor, then escaped with Khadgar's Teleportation Stone.
• Deathwing's armor buckled and magma burst from his wounds, so he tried to fly toward the Dark Portal and return to Azeroth.
• Alexstrasza appeared behind Deathwing and told him to stay.

Karin’s plan left Deathwing gravely weakened and facing Alexstrasza, while Onyxia escaped from the dwarves’ airship. After a day and night of fighting, Alexstrasza defeated Deathwing, whose remains were hung upon the Blade’s Edge Mountains.

• Alexstrasza confronted the wounded Deathwing, declaring that killing him was her duty.
• Karin teleported away from the battlefield and headed south to find Kurdran and the Floating City Khardros.
• Onyxia absorbed a sliver of Deathwing’s fading earth-warder power, broke free of her chains, and escaped toward the Dark Portal.
• Alexstrasza fought Deathwing for a day and a night until his power vanished and he was defeated.
• The enormous black dragon’s remains were hung upon the Blade’s Edge Mountains.

Ner'zhul resisted Gul'dan's attempt to sacrifice part of the Horde and used Ascendance to destroy the Alliance's aerial scouts. Gul'dan proposed traveling through Auchindoun, and Ner'zhul ordered the Horde to follow him despite Hakarin's fearful objections.

• Gul'dan urged Ner'zhul to leave someone behind to hold off the Alliance, while Hakarin accused him of wanting the Alliance to kill them.
• Ner'zhul remembered how Gul'dan had once tempted him to work with demons and resolved not to repeat that mistake.
• Ner'zhul used Ascendance to unleash the elements, killing pursuing Wildhammer dwarves and their gryphons.
• Ner'zhul declared that the Alliance had lost sight of the Horde and demanded Gul'dan explain his plan.
• Gul'dan proposed going through Auchindoun, but Hakarin pleaded with Ner'zhul not to enter the ruin.
• Ner'zhul dismissed Hakarin's fears and ordered Gul'dan to lead the Horde toward Auchindoun.

Khadgar and Danath met Nimreyan, a Draenei priest who offered to help them pursue the orcs. Nimreyan discovered that the orcs were headed for Karabor, and led the Expeditionary Force toward a secret route near Auchindoun.

• Danath and Khadgar found two dead Wildhammer Dwarves and their gryphons, and Khadgar burned their remains.
• Danath stopped soldiers from fighting Nimreyan, a Draenei who asked whether they were enemies of the orcs.
• Khadgar and Danath explained that the orcs had invaded Azeroth, and Nimreyan agreed to help them destroy the Horde.
• Nimreyan learned from his map that the orcs were heading to Karabor, now called the Black Temple, and offered to lead the humans there by an unknown route.
• Nimreyan led the Expeditionary Force across a wasteland to ruins near Auchindoun and pointed out a stone slab.

Alleria Windrunner encountered the arakkoa Grizzik, learned that black dragons were in the Blade's Edge Mountains, and hurried toward them hoping to find the elf mage. She watched a black dragon and a red dragon fight, then fell into the void when the land collapsed.

• Alleria Windrunner confronted Grizzik in the brush and learned he was an arakkoa who feared the Horde.
• Grizzik told Alleria that the Horde had brought black dragons to the Blade's Edge Mountains and killed Gruul, so she asked where the dragons were.
• Alleria traveled north without resting and spotted black specks in the sky.
• Alleria saw a black dragon fighting a red dragon and could not find the elf mage, leading her to fear he was dead.
• The black dragon unleashed a final attack as the land collapsed, and Alleria fell into the void, losing Thas'dorah along the way.

After waking aboard the Khardros, Karin confirmed Deathwing had died in his battle with Alexstrasza and arranged to have the dragon’s body taken to Naxxramas. He rescued the wounded Alexstrasza and then set the Floating City southeast toward the Black Temple for the decisive battle against the Horde.

• Karin woke aboard the Khardros and learned that Onyxia had escaped while Deathwing and Alexstrasza fought.
• Karin and Kurdran found Deathwing’s body among shattered floating islands, and Karin ordered Kurdran to transport it to Naxxramas for Archmage Kel'Thuzad.
• Karin found the gravely wounded Alexstrasza and carried her back to the Floating City after the gryphons refused to approach her.
• Kurdran found an elven longbow on the ground and followed Karin back to the Floating City.
• Karin ordered the Floating City southeast toward the Black Temple for the decisive battle against the Horde.

The Alliance tracked the Horde to Auchindoun and launched a surprise attack inside the ruins. Ner'zhul left Hakkarim Deadeye to hold off the Alliance while he and Gul'dan escaped toward the Black Temple.

• Ner'zhul led the dwindling Horde into the ruined temple, uneasy about a sense of danger.
• Nimreyan summoned the ghosts of Draenei, who revealed the Horde's movements and guided the Alliance toward them.
• Khadgar blasted open a stone door, and Danath led the Alliance attack on the gathered orcs.
• Ner'zhul ordered Hakkarim Deadeye to hold Auchindoun while he, Gul'dan, and the remaining warlocks and shamans fled through a secret passage.
• Ner'zhul's group headed east toward Shadowmoon Valley and the Black Temple.

Ner'zhul opened a portal at the Black Temple, but Gul'dan's betrayal left it leading into the void and caused the magic to fail. As the Alliance reached the temple and Orcs screamed nearby, the Khardros arrived in a Floating City.

• Khadgar learned Ner'zhul had escaped toward the Black Temple and ordered Danath Trollbane to pursue the remaining Horde through the night.
• Ner'zhul and Gul'dan used the Scepter of Sargeras and the blood of Draenei slaves to prepare a spell at the Black Temple.
• Ner'zhul tore open the veils between worlds, intending to send the Horde through a new portal and destroy Draenor.
• Gul'dan revealed his plan, and Ner'zhul lost control of the scepter when he saw only void beyond the portal.
• Khadgar sensed the spell's power stop as Orcs screamed, then saw the Khardros arrive in a Floating City.