Chapter Summaries

At the Sun Temple, Vondelor upset Liadrin by urging her to find a companion, and Biluo Hua comforted her. A report about a young mage’s troll-killing spell stunned Vondelor when he heard the name Karin.

• Liadrin returned to the Sun Temple and told Vondelor that she had let two lynxes go and had been escorted by Lor'themar.
• Vondelor urged Liadrin to settle down, and she ran from him in tears.
• Biluo Hua comforted Liadrin, then asked Vondelor what he had said to upset her.
• Biluo Hua told Vondelor that a youngster named Karin had developed a second-circle spell effective against troll Regeneration.
• A cup shattered beside the fireplace when Vondelor heard Karin’s name.

Karin accepted a Third Ring mage’s staff from Tiffany and went to the Sunfury Spire’s training room to study alchemy. While reading a book of practical formulas, he found the recipe for black powder and began considering a bold idea.

• Karin thanked Tiffany, who gave him Duen’s abandoned staff and warned him not to spread his studies too widely.
• Karin reserved an apprentice mage’s training room equipped with basic alchemy instruments and supplies.
• Karin opened the book The Ouroboros Ring and read its explanation of alchemy and practical formulas.
• Karin found the black powder formula on page 86 and formed a bold idea.

Karin left Sunfury Spire after brewing a Lion's Strength Potion and telling Chief Tiffany he wanted to adapt to the outside world. In the Ghostlands, Vereesa Windrunner received General Sylvanas's order requiring rangers to learn Melf's Acid Arrow and announcing that mage instructors would soon be assigned to every Ranger Squad.

• Karin reflected on the cost of brewing a Lion's Strength Potion, sealed the finished vial, and left the training grounds.
• Karin met Chief Tiffany, who asked about an earlier explosion and why he was leaving Sunfury Spire.
• A ranger at Vereesa Windrunner's camp delivered an urgent letter from General Sylvanas.
• Vereesa told her squad that all rangers had six months to learn Melf's Acid Arrow and that mage instructors would soon be assigned to every Ranger Squad.

Karin discussed his alchemy studies and future magical specialties with the All-Knowing Eye while traveling toward Fairbreeze Village. He chose evocation and proposed using increasingly powerful alchemical products to amplify Fireball, ending with the All-Knowing Eye warning that such a spell could slay a god.

• Karin told the All-Knowing Eye that he was studying alchemy and hoped to brew clarity potions to help elves avoid magic addiction.
• The All-Knowing Eye recommended abjuration and conjuration as Karin's specialties, but Karin chose evocation instead.
• Karin proposed using black powder to increase the fire elements available for Fireball, and the All-Knowing Eye estimated it would boost the spell's power by 20–30% at his current level.
• Karin asked what would happen if an alchemical product were tens or hundreds of millions of times more powerful than black powder, and the All-Knowing Eye said the resulting Fireball could slay a god.

Karin accepted a ten-gold-coin job operating a merchant caravan’s Arcane-Powered Cargo Ship on a trip to Northrend. He was due to leave Sunsail Anchorage in three days, giving him time to prepare for the journey.

• Karin dismissed a human merchant and a dwarf who approached him near Fairbreeze Village, then stopped when they offered him ten gold coins for his help.
• The merchants explained that plague in Stratholme had forced their caravan to ship its goods through the Ghostlands, and their mage had fallen ill at Sunsail Anchorage.
• Karin learned that the caravan was bound for Howling Fjord and decided the trip offered a chance to scout Northrend.
• Karin reviewed and signed the merchants’ contract after agreeing to operate their Arcane-Powered Cargo Ship.
• The human merchant told Karin to meet the caravan at berth sixteen in three days.

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.