Recaps

Patrick considered the Drakkari Trolls’ strength and history while the Animal Gods deliberated whether to join Quel’Thalas. The gods leaned toward starting a new life there, and Patrick explained the conditions they would have to meet.

• Patrick surveyed Gundrak and reflected on how the Drakkari Trolls’ divisions had left Zul’Drak ruined and weakened their people.
• Patrick told Regba that he had rescued the Animal Gods because of their friendship and would not prevent Regba from leaving when their agreement ended.
• Har’koa said the six Animal Gods were willing to try starting a new life, while Mamtoth asked what treatment they would receive in Quel’Thalas.
• Patrick pointed to Regba’s experience as an example and explained that the gods would be partners, though they would need to earn the Elves’ trust.
• Patrick said the Animal Gods had to cleanse themselves of voodoo and hex magic, though other forms of energy were permitted.

Patrick offered the animal gods a chance to join the Azeroth Arcane Covenant, and Akali agreed to fight for Quel'Thalas if Patrick helped him destroy Galdarah and the blasphemers. Patrick began destroying Gundrak with Arcane Mass Point, turning the frost troll capital into a floating tomb.

• Sseratus explained that the animal gods needed worship to preserve their power, and Patrick offered them potential followers among his allies and vassals.
• Akali asked what would happen if he refused to join, then said he would serve Quel'Thalas if Patrick helped him punish Galdarah and destroy the profaning spells.
• The animal gods warned Patrick that attacking Gundrak would bring heavy losses, but Patrick said he would destroy it without promising Galdarah's fate.
• Patrick formed Arcane Mass Point and used it to tear Gundrak from the ground, pulling its structures, trolls, earth, and water into a great sphere in the sky.

Patrick destroyed Gundrak, freed the Animal Gods from their hexes and voodoo, and gained their allegiance. As the gods recovered, an unknown voice reached Patrick despite Elune’s protection, prompting him to question what could bypass it.

• Patrick dropped a massive ball of earth into the pit, and Sseratus and Mamtoth realized their priests Slad'ran and Moorabi were dead.
• Patrick used Diffusing Riftwaves to destroy Gundrak’s altars and declared their task complete.
• Akali agreed to join Patrick, who gave him an arcane mark that purged his voodoo and hexes.
• Sseratus, Quetz'lun, Rhunok, Mamtoth, and Har'koa accepted Patrick’s arcane marks and began cleansing themselves.
• An unknown voice spoke to Patrick, and Elune explained that only a being surpassing a true god could bypass her protection; Patrick questioned whether Aman'Thul’s facilities could truly suppress the Old Gods.

Patrick regained confidence in Aman'Thul's prison and entered an ice-crystal gate to meet the mysterious being who had contacted him. After Patrick and his allies departed, Frost King Malakk focused on finding surviving Drakkari and swore vengeance on the traitor Drakuru.

• Elune compared Aman'Thul's prison to human-made weapons and cages, restoring Patrick's confidence in the Titan-forged system.
• A mysterious voice summoned Patrick through an ice-crystal gate, and Patrick sent Alleria and the six Animal Gods to wait at Maranor Harbor before entering alone.
• Frost King Malakk and his trolls emerged from a secret escape passage and admitted they were powerless after losing the Animal Gods' protection.
• Malakk ordered his followers to search for surviving Drakkari and vowed that Drakuru would pay for betraying their people.
• The account recalled how Drakuru joined the Scourge, Galdarah seized Akali's power and control of Gundrak, and Patrick killed Galdarah with two Super Arcane Magic spells.

Patrick arrived at Thunderfall and encountered Karde, an immensely powerful being who claimed to have witnessed the universe’s birth and end. Patrick asked Karde to explain the universe, and Karde denied that parallel universes existed.

• Patrick stepped through the Ice Crystal Gate and found himself in the snowy region of Thunderfall.
• Karde appeared before Patrick, and Elune warned that she could not detect or assess him.
• Karde identified himself as the Ancient Ice Spirit, a projection of his true form, and described himself as a being from beyond the universe.
• Patrick asked Karde to explain the universe or its parallel universes.
• Karde said parallel universes did not exist and described how time-controlling Dragonflights could show someone a world resembling their own.

Karde explained that parallel universes were branches of a single river of time and revealed that his power was space, not frost. He discovered Patrick’s soul was only about twenty-three percent complete, and Elune explained that spatial turbulence had torn it apart while she carried him between Earth and Azeroth, leaving his memories intact for reasons she could not explain.

• Karde told Patrick that alternate histories eventually returned to the universe’s main timeline and that different universes had different rules and powers.
• Karde revealed that he was born in the gaps between universes, and Elune explained that his frost-like ability was actually an expression of spatial power.
• Karde noticed Patrick’s soul was incomplete and estimated it was less than a quarter of its original whole.
• Elune admitted that spatial turbulence had torn Patrick’s soul into fragments while she traveled between Earth and Azeroth, and that she had restored its functions without replacing the missing pieces.
• Patrick confronted Elune for keeping the truth from him, and Karde questioned how she had preserved Patrick’s memories despite the soul’s fragmentation.
• Elune said she did not know why Patrick’s memories had remained intact after she restored his soul’s functions.

After learning that his soul had shattered into fragments, Patrick was left to recover them himself, while Anub'serhan returned to find Azjol-Nerub destroyed by the Scourge. In Quel'Thalas, Patterson-Cabrolon and his allies investigated a growing number of elves and other beings falling into unexplained deep sleeps.

• Patrick angrily confronted Elune over his lost memories and learned that his soul had broken into fragments he would need to recover.
• Karde gave Patrick his Frost Shard, then departed after discussing time, space, and the Bronze Dragons' role in guarding timelines.
• Anub'serhan returned to Azjol-Nerub and discovered that the Scourge had overrun the kingdom, killed many nerubians, and turned Anub'arak and most of the soldiers into the Lich King's minions.
• Patterson-Cabrolon learned that sixteen elves had fallen into deep sleeps and ordered the Magisters' Legion, the Dawn's Edge Burning Legion, and the Dark Curse Burning Legion to investigate.
• Malande and Sailervor reported similar cases across other lands and among naga, so the council agreed to alert the Alliance and Horde and check whether they had been affected.

Varian investigated the growing number of people across Azeroth who had fallen asleep and could not be awakened, while the Cenarion Circle suspected the missing Druids had vanished from the Emerald Dream. Broll Bearmantle and Hamuul Runetotem hurried to a meeting called by Fandral Staghelm, and Broll hoped Fandral had found a way to save Malfurion.

• Varian learned that Stormwind's sleeping residents showed no signs of plague, poison, or magic, and placed Earl Remington Ridgewell in charge of the investigation.
• The Alliance and the Horde received word that the same unexplained sleep was affecting the Arcane Pact and residents throughout Azeroth.
• The Cenarion Circle recognized that Druids unable to wake seemed to have disappeared from the Emerald Dream and began searching for the cause.
• Hamuul Runetotem met Broll Bearmantle and told him that Fandral Staghelm had called a meeting near the Great Gate.
• Broll hurried with Hamuul to the meeting, believing Fandral might have found a way to save Malfurion.

Patrick returned to Sunlight City with Alleria and the animal gods, then discussed the Scourge war and the threat posed by Yogg-Saron with his allies. He left the group planning to wait for the right moment to confront the Kirin Tor and to let others make the first attacks against Yogg-Saron.

• Patrick returned to Sunlight City with Alleria and the animal gods, carrying Karde's Frost Shard and considering how to recover his other Soul Shards.
• Kael'thas told Patrick that the Iron Dwarves had attacked near Dragonblight, Tirion Fordring had established a base in Echoing Valley, and the Alliance and Horde were pressing for Patrick's return.
• Patrick said they should wait for trouble within the Kirin Tor before acting against Dalaran, and Kael'thas agreed to watch for the effects of Patrick's preparations.
• Patrick warned Alleria, Kael'thas, and Illidan that Yogg-Saron had corrupted Ursoc and the Titan Keepers, and might have seized control of the Titan facilities in the Storm Peaks.
• Patrick rejected an immediate assault on Yogg-Saron and proposed letting the first attacks be repelled before his forces advanced into Ulduar.

Patrick explained that the Arcane Pact needed to preserve its human and dwarf members as bridges to future vassal races, then criticized Quel'Thalas’s elite-controlled mage schools and proposed education reform. He sent his plan to the Silvermoon Council for review and called for Onyxia to meet him.

• Patrick urged the Alliance, the Horde, and Lordaeron to accelerate the Northern Expedition and said the Ulduar crisis required a united response.
• Patrick argued that Stromgarde, Aerie Peak, and other member states were vital buffers and bridges for bringing vassal races into the Arcane Pact.
• Patrick described how wealth, noble status, donations, and private training gave privileged families access to Quel'Thalas’s two leading mage schools.
• Patrick questioned the existing higher-education system and declared that education should raise social standing rather than divide classes.
• Patrick summoned Yanida, gave him his Education Reform Plan for the Silvermoon Council to review, and asked that Onyxia come see him.

Patrick planned to spread Eldre'Dani's specialist-led administrative model across Quel'Thalas, while preparations continued for a decisive advance against the Scourge. Onyxia arranged security at the Obsidian Sanctum and reported troubling clues about an attack on the Ruby Sanctum as the forces prepared to march from the Wrathgate toward Icecrown Glacier.

• Kael'thas agreed to introduce examinations and appointments for public offices gradually, while keeping the Silvermoon Council's structure and arcane foundation intact.
• Patrick argued that Quel'Thalas needed more specialized officials and proposed applying Eldre'Dani's efficient administrative model throughout the kingdom.
• Onyxia reported that the green dragons remained uninvolved, the red dragons and Dalaran had repelled iron dwarves, and the Obsidian Sanctum remained secure.
• Serinar told Onyxia that attackers at the Ruby Sanctum had left a strong black dragon aura resembling that of Illidan's void dragons, and Onyxia ordered extra precautions at the Obsidian Sanctum.
• Patrick ordered the armies to leave forces at the Wrathgate and advance through Crystalsong Forest into Icecrown Glacier, while Illidan offered his troops and demanded a chance to face the Lich King.

Patrick arranged the forces and allies who would remain behind while the main army advanced into Icecrown Glacier to destroy the Scourge. He tasked the six animal gods with helping defend the Wrathgate and Obsidian Sanctum, and they considered recruiting the wolvar as their followers.

• Patrick decided that Kael'thas, Vashj, and Illidan would join the main army, while Sylvanas and Jaina would face the Lich King in person.
• Patrick told the animal gods that their races could remain in suitable Northrend territories and use permanent portals to reach the Arcane Pact's other lands.
• Regba urged the animal gods to abandon their troll marks and voodoo ornaments so they could build ties with the High Elves.
• Patrick assigned the animal gods to help defend the area below the floating city while his troops held the Wrathgate; Alleria promised each god a dedicated attendant.
• Mamtoth asked to command local wolvar, and Patrick considered the Frenzyheart Clan a promising vassal race.

Patrick set strict terms for the Six Animal Gods and told them to handle the Wolvar while obeying the Arcane Pact’s laws. As the group prepared to defend the camp against the Scourge, Malygos arrived to fight alongside them and guard their rear lines.

• Patrick told the Six Animal Gods that they could recruit the Wolvar and Tuskarr but could not build an independent power or let religious authority interfere in the Arcane Pact’s politics.
• Patrick explained that the Arcane Pact punished anyone who broke its rules, regardless of their race or status.
• Alleria told the Six Animal Gods to manage the Wolvar and learn about the Covenant, while Rhunok agreed to pay attention to Patrick’s concerns.
• Sseratus worried that they could not withstand the Scourge, and Alleria ordered the group to hold the camp and retreat to the Floating City if necessary.
• Patrick announced a powerful ally’s arrival, and Malygos thanked Patrick for helping him break free of evil.
• Patrick asked Malygos to protect the rear lines during the battle.

Patrick confirmed that Coldarra and Sunlight City were secure, then prepared the Azeroth Arcane Covenant's forces to join the final siege of Icecrown Citadel. The army departed while trusted leaders and defenders remained behind to govern and guard Quel'Thalas and the floating city.

• Malygos told Patrick that he had eliminated the outside threats in Coldarra and secured its ley line nodes, and he vowed to avenge Sindragosa by helping destroy the Lich King.
• Patrick warned Malygos to watch for the Scourge's floating fortresses and felt reassured that the Aspect of the Blue would defend the rear.
• Yanida reported that the Alliance and Horde had sent small forces, while the Ashen Judgement Army, Dalaran, and the red dragons prepared to enter Icecrown Glacier.
• Patrick delegated supreme administrative authority to the councilors and Silvermoon Council while he, Kael'thas, Illidan, and Vashj were away.
• The Covenant's assembled forces, including naga, fel orcs, Demon Hunters, Highborne, humans, Wildhammer Dwarves, and high elves, marched out toward Icecrown.
• Regba stayed in Sunlight City to monitor the six animal gods, while Malygos and the animal gods helped defend the Obsidian Sanctum and floating city.

Patrick and the Arcane Pact joined the Alliance, Horde, and Ashen Verdict as they struggled to breach the spider-held pass into Scourge City. After the leaders rejected one plan after another, Onyxia offered a suggestion and asked Lord Kabolon to hear her out.

• Patrick led the Arcane Pact through the Crystal Vice and Forest of Despair to join Tirion Fordring's forces outside Echo Valley.
• Tirion Fordring explained that spider attacks had stalled the Coalition Forces and caused heavy casualties.
• Patrick proposed using Arcane Mass Point, but Illidan warned it would destroy the only pass and block their route.
• The leaders debated alternatives for hours but reached no agreement on how to cross the spider-held pass.
• Onyxia offered a suggestion and asked Lord Kabolon what he thought.

Patrick accepted Onyxia’s plan to widen the pass by melting the cliffs with lava and directing it toward Scourge City. Onyxia opened the route while Patrick shielded the Coalition Forces from the lava, leaving the army ready to advance.

• Onyxia proposed turning the cliffs around the pass into lava to widen the route and burn away Scourge City’s plague and spiders.
• Patrick asked the assembled leaders whether the plan would work, and Tirion supported it as a way to take Scourge City and target Mord'rethar: The Death Gate.
• Patrick and Onyxia approached the breach, where Patrick used his arcane domain to burn spiders that attacked them.
• Onyxia used arcane marks to conceal her earth magic as she melted the cliffs and widened the pass with lava.
• Patrick formed an arcane disc to block the lava from flowing toward the Coalition Forces, prompting the High Elves to cheer.

Patrick’s coalition forces used explosions and dragon breath to clear a path through the lava and quickly captured Scourge City. As the army prepared to advance toward the Broken Plains and investigate Sindragosa’s Fall, two airships arrived with reinforcements.

• Patrick’s forces blasted magma away from Scourge City, and the Blue Dragons froze it into a passable road.
• Salorian Dawnseeker, Kargath Bladefist, Kor'fax, and the other coalition leaders led their troops in a swift assault that captured Scourge City.
• Illidan ordered preparations to clear the Broken Plains after noting that the absence of Crypt Fiends would ease the coalition’s aerial forces.
• Valithria identified Sindragosa’s Fall as the resting place of the dragon mother, and Patrick agreed that troops should eliminate the Scourge there.
• Kor'fax spotted two approaching airships, and the Skybreaker and Orgrim's Hammer landed together to bring the Northern Expedition army much-needed air support.

The Alliance, Horde, and Blue Dragonflight prepared to clear Scourge forces from the area around Sindragosa's Fall. At Malykriss, the Death Knights plotted to exploit the mortals' assault on the Cult of the Damned and expand their own territory.

• Justin Barrett and Korm Blackscar arrived with the Skybreaker and Orgrim's Hammer to reinforce Bolvar and Dranosh.
• Dranosh learned that Garrosh would soon reach the front after Kel'Thuzad ambushed him in the Borean Tundra.
• Tirion Fordring called for the allies to clear Scourge forces from their rear and secure Sindragosa's Fall, while Saragoss promised the Blue Dragonflight's help.
• Rokir, Saff, and Belok discussed how the Death Knights could exploit a mortal attack on Mord'rethar: The Death Gate and the Cult of the Damned's internal rivalry.
• Rokir proposed waiting for the mortals to destroy Aldur'thar, then using that as a pretext to expand the Masters of Suffering into Lost Hope Valley and the Valley of Fallen Heroes.

Rokir and the other Death Knights planned to exploit the mortals’ assault on the Ironwall Rampart to crush them, while the chapter outlined the Cult of the Damned’s four branches and its declining influence. It left the Scourge’s internal rivalry between Kel'Thuzad and Lady Deathwhisper unresolved.

• Rokir proposed using the mortals’ breach of the Ironwall Rampart to trap and destroy them with Layshan’s forces.
• Rokir ordered the Death Knights in the Valley of Fallen Heroes and Malykriss to gather at Gezi and the Court of Bones, while Saff warned that construction of the floating city would be delayed.
• Rokir told Saff to assign the work to skeletons so the Lich King’s plans would stay on schedule, while insisting that the Cult of the Damned be suppressed.
• The chapter described the Shadow Envoy, Hand of Death, Lich the Council, and Resurrection Hall as the Cult of the Damned’s four organizations and explained their roles.
• The chapter noted that the Cult of the Damned had weakened after Patrick destroyed Scholomance and its Eastern Plaguelands influence faded, while Kel'Thuzad and Lady Deathwhisper continued to compete for power.

The Coalition Forces cleared the Broken Plains and Mord'rethar, with the Sunfury Legion proving its exceptional strength. As the army prepared to enter Lost Hope Valley, Illidan reflected on his defeat by the Lich King and the changes that had made him a more cautious leader with allies and a kingdom behind him.

• Kel'Thuzad and Lady Deathwhisper competed for influence, while the Death Knights saw their rivalry as a chance to gain greater authority.
• The Coalition Forces cleared the Broken Plains and Mord'rethar after several days of fighting.
• The Sunfury Legion distinguished itself in battle, impressing Patrick and drawing praise from Tirion.
• Patrick warned that the Scourge's main forces awaited in Lost Hope Valley, and Illidan agreed that the coming battles mattered most.
• Illidan recalled how his defeat at the Frozen Throne had changed his beliefs and resolved to fight this time with allies and subjects at his side.

Patrick and the Coalition Forces advanced into Lost Hope Valley to attack the Scourge at Aldur'thar, using their aerial forces and magic to counter the plague and enemy troops. The Coalition destroyed the plague wagons and freed enslaved souls, then charged into the disrupted Undead army.

• Patrick reassured Tirion and the Coalition leaders that their air forces, Spellbreakers, Paladins, and Priests could counter the Scourge's threats.
• Patrick ordered aerial units to carry supplies and fire Mages and Paladins to cleanse plague-contaminated areas as the army advanced into Lost Hope Valley.
• Foremen Shackle, Faedis, Viraen, and Shavier sent Undead troops and plague wagons through the Gates of Desolation: Aldur'thar to attack the Coalition Forces.
• Orgrimmar's Hammer and the Skybreaker led aerial riders in bombing the Scourge's plague wagons, destroying most of them.
• Patrick prompted Nochong to free the souls enslaved by the Scourge, and Nochong used mass control magic to break their shackles.
• The freed souls attacked the Scourge, and the Coalition Forces charged in to slaughter the disrupted Undead army.

The Coalition Forces reached Aldur'thar, where Patrick sent Leotheras to eliminate the Scourge commanders defending it. After Leotheras killed them, the army advanced into the Valley of Fallen Heroes, nearing the Court of Bones and the Gates of Terror: Korialstrasz.

• Ascendant Orumai and Garmek appeared on Aldur'thar's walls and rebuked the four overseers for letting the Coalition Forces advance.
• Garmek attacked Patrick with Shadow Bolts, but Patrick blocked them with his Arcane Shield.
• Leotheras transformed, flew to the wall, and killed three of the six Scourge leaders with a fel blast.
• Leotheras cut down the three surviving Scourge leaders, including Garmek, leaving the undead below without their controllers.
• Patrick and the Coalition Forces advanced through the Valley of Fallen Heroes toward the Court of Bones and the Gates of Terror: Korialstrasz.

The coalition planned how to approach Icecrown Citadel while dealing with Scourge forces threatening their flanks. Kaobokla prepared Orgrim's Hammer for its first solo strike on the Stitching Grounds.

• Patrick proposed that Darion send Ebon Blade knights to the Shadow Vault to persuade the Lich King's death knights to defect.
• Korm Blackscar reported that the Stitching Grounds threatened the coalition from the southwest and could attack them from behind.
• Patrick suggested an aerial bombardment, and Korm Blackscar volunteered Orgrim's Hammer for the mission.
• Patrick warned the crew to avoid a ground battle and focus on damaging the Scourge camp.
• Kaobokla revealed that he had prepared an enormous bomb for Orgrim's Hammer's first battle and hoped to impress Patrick.

The Northern Expedition rested near the Gates of Terror while Kaobokla promised a possible single-strike solution for the Stitching Grounds. Tirion Fordring then sought to bring Lordaeron into the Arcane Pact, and its leaders declared they were willing to accept the political consequences of opposing Dalaran and the Alliance.

• Patrick asked Kaobokla how long it would take to deal with the Stitching Grounds, and Kaobokla said a single strike might suffice.
• Tirion ordered the troops to rest and called for the contaminated land to be cleansed, while Patrick suggested the red dragons help.
• The Northern Expedition halted near the Gates of Terror as Scourge forces gathered in the distance, and Kael'thas prepared to settle his people's debts against the Scourge.
• Tirion Fordring and other Lordaeron leaders met with the Arcane Pact's leaders to discuss joining the Covenant.
• Kael'thas and Patrick warned that joining would mean hostility with Dalaran and the Alliance, but Tirion and Angela Dusatus affirmed Lordaeron's support for its high elf allies.

Patrick explained the Arcane Pact’s purpose and governing councils to the people of Lordaeron, while recalling Quel'Thalas’s aid and criticizing Dalaran’s treatment of Kael'thas. He warned that joining the Pact would limit Lordaeron’s independence and asked whether they had considered the consequences.

• Patrick said he had supported the people of Lordaeron since the Scourge outbreak because he remembered Terenas’s help and valued old ties.
• Taelan recalled Patrick’s efforts to help his family and the people of Lordaeron, while Demetria and Kael'thas discussed how Dalaran’s leaders had ostracized Kael'thas.
• Patrick outlined the Arcane Pact’s Supreme Council and its defense, administrative, foreign affairs, and legal bodies, describing their responsibilities and member-state representation.
• Patrick warned that joining the Arcane Pact would affect the Kingdom of Lordaeron’s independence and leave it bound by many Pact resolutions.
• Patrick asked whether the people of Lordaeron had thought through the decision to join.