Recaps

Dick met Marshal Windsor in a hidden room and learned that Windsor’s capture began after he found an encrypted letter on a black dragon, which the Dark Iron Dwarves took. Windsor also explained why he distrusted Katrana Prestor, but his faith in Archbishop Benedictus blocked Dick’s attempt to expose her; Dick decided to retrieve Princess Bronzebeard and take everyone home.

• Namara led Windsor underground, where he met Dick, Liadrin, and Kanrethad, and Demitier emerged from camouflage after Windsor tossed him a dagger.
• Dick asked why Windsor had come despite knowing he might die, and Windsor said he wanted to meet his fate fighting on a battlefield.
• Windsor explained that he found an encrypted Draconic letter on a black dragon, then returned to discover Morgan’s Vigil occupied and the letter missing; he believed the Dark Iron Dwarves had taken it.
• Kanrethad said the Dark Iron Dwarves’ hostility toward black dragons meant they might keep the letter from Nefarian, while Dick lamented that recovering it would be difficult.
• Windsor blamed Katrana Prestor for Stormwind’s decline but said Archbishop Benedictus had verified her as human, leaving Dick unable to persuade him of the truth.
• Dick told Liadrin to gather the knights and announced that he would retrieve Princess Bronzebeard and then send everyone home.

Dick secretly entered Shadowforge City to obtain a Flame Crown for Jaina, while Emperor Thaurissan considered a desperate alliance with the Twilight's Hammer to free the Dark Iron Dwarves from the Firelord. The chapter ended when Dick exposed the cult's allegiance to the Firelord before Thaurissan and his pregnant wife, Rhaella.

• Dick slipped out of the Grim Guzzler, killed a Fire Elemental in a hidden cave, and took its Flame Crown for Jaina.
• Dick destroyed the Fire Elemental's remains with Holy Light and order power, then continued toward the Dark Iron Palace.
• Gest promised Emperor Thaurissan that the Twilight's Hammer would help defeat the Fire Elementals in exchange for access to the Molten Core.
• Thaurissan told Rhaella that he planned to fight the Firelord to protect their unborn child and the future of the Dark Iron Dwarves.
• Dick appeared before Thaurissan and Rhaella, threw down a bloody head, and warned them that the Twilight's Hammer served the Firelord.

Dick confronted Thaurissan about the Twilight’s Hammer and the Firelord, then negotiated a plan to protect Rhaella and the Dark Iron kingdom. Thaurissan agreed to let Dick take Rhaella to Ironforge in exchange for Dick’s Pendant as collateral for the forging plans.

• Dick appeared before Thaurissan and explained that the Twilight’s Hammer served the Old Gods, making the Firelord a dangerous ally for the Dark Iron kingdom.
• Rhaella recognized the book Dick cited and urged Thaurissan to hear him out; she then read Magni’s letter and withdrew to the inner chambers.
• Dick warned that the Firelord might discover Thaurissan’s plans and insisted that Rhaella return to Ironforge for her safety and their unborn child’s.
• Dick proposed turning the Firelord against the Twilight’s Hammer and seeking help from the air and water Elemental Lords to drive the Firelord out.
• Thaurissan offered Dark Iron forging plans as collateral for Dick’s Pendant, and Dick accepted the exchange.

Dick discovered that Thaurissan’s blueprint could let him forge Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros, and escaped Blackrock Mountain with Windsor after receiving a letter that exposed the Black Dragon plot. At Morgan’s Vigil, Dick decided to take Windsor to Theramore, while Windsor recovered his resolve to protect the Kingdom of Stormwind.

• Dick found the complete blueprint for Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros and suspected Thaurissan had secretly been behind the Thorium Brotherhood.
• Dick and Windsor left Blackrock Mountain disguised among Dark Iron prisoners, and Dick gave Windsor a decoded letter from Nefarian.
• Windsor read that Katrana was cooperating with the Twilight Prophet, that Nefarian planned to deal with him, and that a powerful voice was calling from the Northlands; he collapsed in despair.
• Dick and Liadrin reached Morgan’s Vigil with the surviving militia and decided to take Windsor to Theramore rather than risk returning to Stormwind City.
• Dick told Liadrin about the stone tablets that could dispel illusions, unaware that Windsor overheard them from his room.
• Windsor took Marshal Lothar’s medal, remembered his oath, and vowed to protect Stormwind and the Kingdom of Stormwind.

Dick learned that Marshal Windsor had escaped with the tablets and was heading back to Stormwind City, so he raced after him while Liadrin prepared the knights to follow. In Goldshire, Windsor gathered support from Sheriff Duhan and the townspeople and rode toward Stormwind City, determined to confront the city’s rulers.

• Dave told Dick that Windsor had attacked him during the night and taken the tablets, prompting Dick to fly toward Stormwind City on Astral Steed.
• Dick told Liadrin to lead the knights to Lakeshire and follow by gryphon, and warned her to retreat to Stranglethorn Vale if she heard bad news.
• Windsor arrived in Goldshire, asked Sheriff Duhan for armor, a weapon, and a horse, and said he was returning to Stormwind City.
• Duhan told Windsor that Stormwind’s leaders had neglected the kingdom as trouble spread through nearby regions.
• Goldshire’s residents cheered Windsor and urged to join him, but he told them to stay and promised to restore Stormwind City’s light.
• Duhan mounted up beside Windsor, and the two rode toward Stormwind City.

Marshal Windsor returned to Stormwind City with a band of veterans to confront the plot he believed was behind the city's disorder, while Katrana and Bolvar ordered his arrest. Dick arrived in time to rescue Prince Anduin from disguised drakonids, leaving the prince face to face with him and Astral Steed.

• Windsor reached Stormwind's gates with more than a dozen veterans, and Corporal Henry chose to escort him into the city.
• Windsor rallied the soldiers beneath the heroes' statues and announced that he had come to deliver righteous judgment.
• Katrana ordered the Royal Guard to seize Windsor, and Bolvar ordered the Defense Commander to arrest him.
• Mathias Shawn mobilized SI:7 to clear the road to Stormwind Keep and protect Windsor's advance.
• Prince Anduin tried to leave his confinement to find Windsor, but guards threw him to the ground.
• Dick arrived on Astral Steed, killed the disguised drakonids attacking Anduin, and recognized the prince.

Marshal Reginald Windsor rallied soldiers and citizens in Stormwind City, exposed the drakonids hiding among the guards, and reached Stormwind Keep. There, King Varian Wrynn ordered the guards to stand down and told Windsor to begin, while two bodies and Varian’s wound hinted that the king had already acted against his enemies.

• General Marcus Jonathan initially blocked Windsor’s path, but Sergeant Parker and other soldiers joined Windsor, and Jonathan eventually let him pass.
• Shawn and SI:7 rogues killed disguised drakonids who tried to ambush Windsor, while retired soldiers helped clear his route through Old Town.
• At Stormwind Keep, rogues exposed more drakonids, and Windsor calmed the angry soldiers before entering the palace alone.
• Bolvar regained control of himself and ordered the guards away from Windsor, then Varian Wrynn emerged from his chambers and told Windsor to begin.

Windsor confronted Katrana in the Council Chamber and used the Dark Iron Dwarves’ royal Demon-Banishment Tablets as Varian and Bolvar began resisting her control. Outside, Anduin arrived with Dick, and the soldiers stormed the keep to rescue the King as the tablets unleashed a dragon’s roar.

• Katrana tried to have Windsor arrested and killed, but Windsor revealed the Demon-Banishment Tablets, alarming her.
• Anduin arrived at Stormwind Keep with Dick and told Shawn that Katrana and Bolvar had imprisoned him and Varian.
• Duhan and the soldiers charged into the keep to rescue the King, while Dick surged ahead in battle armor and Anduin followed with his sword.
• Varian called out, Bolvar broke through Katrana’s control long enough to protect Windsor, and Windsor completed the tablets’ chant.
• A black light spread through the Council Chamber, followed by a roar that sounded like a dragon’s.

Onyxia revealed herself and attacked Stormwind Keep, escaping with Varian and Anduin as the city burned. Dick helped Shaw rescue Anduin, but Onyxia turned her Shadowflame on Dick and Varian.

• Onyxia transformed into her black dragon form and attacked Windsor, but Dick blocked her claw and fought her alongside Windsor and Bolvar.
• Onyxia seized Varian and Anduin, then smashed through the Council Chamber roof and flew from Stormwind Keep.
• Dick hooked himself to Onyxia’s claw while Windsor and Bolvar threw their weapons to aid him; Onyxia’s Shadowflame set Stormwind Keep ablaze.
• Archbishop Benedictus struck Onyxia with Holy Light, which wounded her but also healed her bleeding injury as she carried the captives away.
• At Varian’s order, Dick and Shaw freed Anduin, and Shaw escaped with the prince after Dick severed one of Onyxia’s claw digits.
• Onyxia attacked Dick and Varian with black fire as they remained in the air.

After Onyxia knocked Dick into the sea, pirates rescued him and imprisoned him on Champion Island, where he learned that his injuries had caused the Bloody Oak to drain Captain Senxia’s crew. Dick persuaded the enslaved goblin Lauren Rustclamp to seek help, and Lauren set out toward Kalimdor with Dick’s Owl Pendant.

• Captain Senxia’s battered ship reached the waters near Kalimdor, where Onyxia struck Dick from the sky into the sea.
• Dick woke in a cell on Champion Island, and Senxia accused him of draining the ship’s crew while he was gravely wounded.
• Lauren Rustclamp brought Dick moldy bread and explained how he had lost his savings and become a slave aboard the Ashen.
• Dick urged Lauren to reach the Kalimdor coast and tell the guards that Dick Tang was trapped on Champion Island, then gave him the Owl Pendant Senxia had tossed over.
• Lauren jumped into the sea and headed toward Kalimdor to seek revenge and help Dick.

Jaina learned that Dick was trapped at Champion Island and teleported to the Northern Fortress, where Naisha and Herod’s force went to rescue him. After Naisha freed him and the pirates were defeated, Dick ordered the survivors sent to the Ghostlands and claimed the island as a forward base.

• Naisha told Jaina that Dick was imprisoned at a pirate outpost on Champion Island, and Jaina teleported with her to the Northern Fortress.
• Pirates dragged Dick from his cell to face Boss Ashes and two other leaders, who demanded the incantation for opening his Storage Backpack.
• Dick taunted the pirate leaders and used Bloody Oak to restrain the one-eyed middle-aged man as Naisha arrived and cut the captives’ shackles.
• Herod and the Paladins entered, while Northern Fortress recruits subdued the remaining pirates and Theramore’s ships secured the harbor.
• Dick ordered the pirates sent to the Ghostlands and designated Champion Island as a forward base.

Dick led a mission into Dustwallow Marsh to obtain the token needed to enter Onyxia’s lair and rescue King Varian. He secured unfinished Drakefire Amulets and arranged for Windsor to acquire Drakkisath’s blood before a battle planned for three days later.

• Caliea ordered Dick to use Theramore’s forces to bring Varian back, while Aegwynn explained that the lair could only be opened with a token and that blasting its defenses would collapse the mountain.
• Dick asked Jaina to teleport them into the Scorched Lands, then sent Maiev to assemble the Wardens and deliver a letter to Thrall.
• Jaina defeated the Black Dragon Drakonid guarding their arrival, and Dick led her and the Wardens to Ebyssian’s cave.
• Naisha and the Wardens subdued Ebyssian and recovered several unfinished Drakefire Amulets without killing him.
• Dick contacted Windsor, asked SI:7 to kill Drakkisath and deliver his corpse within two days, and requested fighters for the assault on Onyxia’s lair in three days.

Dick brought Rexxar in to extract blood essence from the captured black dragon and coordinated preparations to rescue King Varian from Dustwallow Marsh. In the dragon’s lair, Katrana confessed to murdering Tiffin and began using magic to split Varian’s soul as the rescue forces prepared to move.

• Dick introduced Rexxar to the Stormwind delegation, whose members drew their weapons until Dick persuaded them to accept the orc’s help.
• Nathanos Marris endorsed Rexxar’s hunting skills, then joined him in processing the frozen black drakonid corpse.
• Dick showed the delegation a map of Varian’s location and discussed how to kill the she-dragon without endangering the king.
• Katrana taunted the chained Varian, admitted she had strangled Tiffin, and said she had turned to Bolvar after Varian remained devoted to his wife.
• Katrana activated magic on the lair’s rock wall that could split Varian’s soul in two.

The alliance broke into Onyxia’s lair, where Duke Bolvar and the Wardens fought the Black Dragon Princess while the others pushed through to rescue King Varian. Dick and Jaina stopped Erigor from touching Varian after spotting a curse on the wall, and an elegant voice warned that interfering could split their souls in two.

• The Argent Dawn and Theramore forces defeated the drakonids outside the lair, and the goblins of Mudchain Village prepared to buy the spoils.
• Duke Bolvar used the Dragonblood Amulet to open the lair’s sealed gate and led the assault with five Holy Light auras.
• Bolvar charged Onyxia through her Shadowflame, wounded her, and severed one of her horns as the Wardens joined the fight.
• Windsor and Shawn held off elite drakonids while the rogues destroyed the hatching dragon eggs.
• Dick, Jaina, and Erigor reached King Varian, but Dick and Jaina stopped Erigor from touching him because a curse covered the stone wall.
• An elegant voice warned them that touching Varian could split their souls in two.

Nefarian appeared in Onyxia’s lair, split Varian’s soul, and took Dick and the black-haired half through a portal. Before leaving, he dropped compressed dragonfire on Onyxia’s nest, collapsing the mountain and leaving the battle’s survivors facing a devastated battlefield.

• Nefarian stopped Erigor’s sword, split a black-haired half from Varian, and took the half and Dick through a portal.
• Jaina and Erigor freed the white-haired Varian and withdrew with him as Jaina returned to the battle.
• Nefarian threw a ball of compressed dragonfire into Onyxia’s nest, causing the mountain to collapse.
• The Wardens, Marris, and soldiers escaped the destruction, while Bolvar remained beneath the falling rocks and fought Onyxia.
• Windsor and the others found Onyxia pinned and Bolvar gravely wounded, and Bolvar told Windsor that he had not disgraced the heroes.

Dick endured the dragons’ insults while his powers remained sealed, then watched Goralash prepare to leave Blackwing Lair despite denying that he was Varian’s warrior half. Seeking a way to help him, Dick approached the disguised red dragon Vaelastrasz and urged him to uncover Nefarian’s secret with Dick’s help.

• Ebonroc and Flamegor mocked Dick and Goralash during a feast, but Nefarian’s orders kept the dragons from harming them.
• Goralash rejected Dick’s warning, insisted he was a warrior rather than King Varian, and promised to return and save Dick after leaving the lair.
• Dick recalled that Nefarian had split Varian into two halves and feared Goralash would be sent away to endure a painful ordeal before recovering his memories.
• Dick entered the storage room and confronted Vaelastrasz, a red dragon disguised as a drakonid, who rejected his offer of cooperation.
• Dick taunted Vaelastrasz about living in Korialstrasz’s shadow and urged him to retrieve the black dragons’ secret; Vaelastrasz gave no answer as Dick proposed meeting at the laboratory entrance at midnight.

Dick watched Rehgar take L Varian from Blackwing Lair and gave him Gorehowl, instructing him to deliver it to Grommash Hellscream if he proved worthy. As Rehgar’s caravan traveled toward Draenor, a mysterious orc seized L Varian and carried him away, with Rehgar allowing them one week to return.

• Nefarian introduced Rehgar Earthfury, who agreed to take L Varian as a gladiator and told Dick that routes between Azeroth and Draenor still existed.
• Dick gave L Varian Gorehowl and told him to deliver it to Grommash Hellscream only if Grommash passed his test.
• Rehgar led L Varian out of Blackwing Lair, while Dick anticipated the Twilight Prophet’s arrival and prepared for a deadly confrontation with Nefarian’s enemies.
• On the road toward the Blasted Lands, L Varian defeated orcs who tried to take his axe and impressed Rehgar with his fighting ability.
• L Varian confronted a mysterious orc who had been following him, but the orc seized him and rushed away; Rehgar let them go and gave L Varian one week to meet him in the Blasted Lands.

Dick reconsidered how paladins understood the Holy Light before an uprising by Nefarian’s experimental whelps plunged Blackwing Lair into chaos. He helped Vaelastrasz uncover Chromaggus, leaving the red dragon to confront the horror while Dick remained behind with a crystal payment.

• Dick studied The Tenets of the Holy Light and concluded that paladins developed different understandings of their power.
• Nefarian’s experimental whelps escaped, killed their caretakers, and spread chaos through Blackwing Lair and Blackrock Spire.
• Dick found Vaelastrasz fighting Flamegor and led the red dragon to a hidden room behind a secret mechanism.
• Vaelastrasz revealed that L Varian had gone to the forest outside Stormwind City instead of entering the city.
• Dick and Vaelastrasz discovered Chromaggus, and Vaelastrasz gave Dick a fiery-red crystal before preparing to face the black dragons’ crimes.

Nefarian revealed that he had kept Dick comfortable only to deliver him to the Twilight Prophet’s envoy, then arranged a farewell banquet in the Blackrock Spire arena. Dick discovered that the banquet meant forcing him to face six exhausted prisoners, and he clenched his fists as they entered without knowing what awaited them.

• Nefarian confronted Dick over the attack on his Palace, used magic to unsettle him, and destroyed his staff when Dick resisted.
• Nefarian told Dick that the Twilight Prophet’s envoy would arrive soon and warned him to prepare to move.
• After a Drakonid brought Nefarian news, Nefarian invited Dick to a farewell banquet and promised it would be unforgettable.
• Dick followed Ebonroc through Blackrock Spire and realized they were heading to the arena, where he feared Nefarian had arranged a cruel spectacle.
• Nefarian and Rend welcomed Dick to the arena and revealed that six exhausted fighters had been brought in as the banquet’s guests.

Nefarian forced Dick’s companions to fight in an arena while keeping Dick bound as their prize, and Dick began absorbing red dragon essence as they fought. As his power surged, an unseen voice offered him strength.

• Nefarian revealed Dick to Jaina, Liadrin, Velinde, Das, Demitier, and Kanrethad, then threatened to kill Dick if they lost the arena fight.
• Das and Demitier defeated ten Blackrock Warriors, but Nefarian sent twenty more Warriors and two Black Dragon Drakonids into the arena.
• Liadrin blessed the group and joined Jaina and Kanrethad in fighting the Orcs while Das and Demitier faced the Drakonids.
• Dick absorbed red dragon essence as he watched his companions fight, and his attributes reached the required ranks.
• Dick experienced a vision of the battle and heard a warm voice invite him to convince it to grant him strength.

Demitier and the others endured another brutal arena round under Nefarian, who punished Demitier for transforming and sent increasingly dangerous enemies against them. Velinde finally embraced her Worgen power to protect her companions, while Dick broke free and summoned a mysterious opponent for Nefarian.

• Demitier transformed into a Dragon to help the group defeat the Drakonid, but Nefarian branded him with crimson flames and hurled him into a wall for breaking the rules.
• The next wave overwhelmed the wounded fighters, and Velinde caught a Drakonid's blade with her bare hands to save Liadrin.
• After seeing Das, Jaina, and Kanrethad pushed to their limits, Velinde embraced her suppressed power and transformed into a Greater Worgen.
• Velinde led the Dire Wolves into battle and summoned Haleycon and Kix'raz, whose attack threw the Blackrock Orcs into chaos.
• Nefarian ordered Rend to deal with the disruption, but Dick broke free, challenged Nefarian, and told Kanrethad to release his promised opponent.

Dick and his companions escaped Blackrock Spire while Kaz'rogal fought Nefarian, then found shelter deep in Blackrock Mountain. As they recovered, Jaina and Liadrin explained how they had been captured, and Dick prepared to lead everyone toward the Dark Iron Dwarves' territory.

• Kanrethad released Kaz'rogal by sacrificing blood and severing their soul contract, forcing Nefarian to fight the Doom Lord while Dick and his companions fled.
• Dick, Velinde, and the others fought through the orcs and reached a safe cave in the deepest part of Blackrock Mountain.
• Kanrethad regained consciousness, and Dick promised him four high-ranking demons in repayment for his help.
• Jaina told Dick that Varian had been rescued but woke behaving strangely and trusted only Anduin and Caliea.
• Liadrin explained that Marshal Windsor's raid had been ambushed by black dragons and drakonids, while ogres had betrayed their group.
• Dick said the cave route led toward the Dark Iron Dwarves' territory and planned to leave after everyone rested for thirty minutes.

Dick faced the Holy Light and explained that he sought power to help others and change the suffering he knew was coming to Azeroth. The Holy Light named him its Chosen One and sent him back into the battle, where he landed before the Black Dragon Prince.

• Dick saw the Holy Light and was asked to explain why he wanted its power.
• Dick recounted how he came to love Azeroth and described his desire to protect his companions and change the world's fate.
• Dick vowed in the name of the Holy Light to keep helping others.
• The Holy Light made Dick its Chosen One, granted him the name Order, and clothed him in radiant power.
• Dick returned to his body, broke free of the shadowy chains, and landed before the Black Dragon Prince.

After Upper Blackrock Spire fell, Dick waited for Vaelastrasz while developing a powerful new form of Holy Light called Silver Holy Fire. Vaelastrasz reported that the Red Dragonflight had imprisoned the black dragons they captured, and Dick hinted that Nefarian might still be hiding near a far greater secret.

• The Dark Iron Dwarves drove the surviving Blackrock Orcs, Bramblethorn Trolls, and ogres from Upper Blackrock Spire, but stopped when nearly four thousand demons occupied part of the ruins.
• Dick sent Das, Demitier, and Liadrin back to Theramore while Jaina stayed with him, and he resolved to destroy Nefarian and the black dragons around Blackrock Mountain.
• Dick discovered that the Fist of Tyr let him combine order power with Holy Light to create Silver Holy Fire, which could attack and purify but lasted only ten to fifteen minutes.
• Vaelastrasz arrived at the Grim Guzzler injured and told Dick that the Red Dragonflight had captured the fleeing black dragons and imprisoned them, though Nefarian had escaped.
• Dick questioned whether Nefarian had truly fled and warned Vaelastrasz that the stitched dragon might become an invincible creature if its flaws were fixed, then offered to share a secret from Blackwing Lair.

Dick led the Dragon Aspects to Nefarian’s ruined palace and revealed the hidden entrance to Blackwing Descent. Malygos blasted open the black dragons’ stronghold and appeared in his true form as the Dragonflights prepared to attack.

• Dick purified the human bones in Upper Blackrock Spire, freeing the lost souls as Jaina and the Dragon Aspects watched.
• Dick pretended to search the wall behind Nefarian’s broken throne, then told Vaelastrasz where to break through.
• Vaelastrasz and Eisdeor failed to breach the obsidian wall, so Malygos used magic to shatter it and the hidden entrance to Blackwing Descent.
• Malygos’s blast shook Blackrock Mountain and awakened the Firelord’s avatar, whose roar Ysera and Nozdormu helped suppress.
• Malygos revealed himself in his true dragon form above the black dragons’ stronghold and declared that Neltharion’s offspring would meet their doom.