Chapter Summaries

Dick and Anveena joined their Holy Light to destroy Helya’s Helarjar forces, but their power fused them into a new silver-winged being. The stranger erased the assembled Helarjar Soldiers, while Dick and Anveena remained trapped in an unknown state.

• Dick realized Anveena could unleash his Holy Power in devastating bursts and planned to use her against Helya.
• Anveena channeled Dick’s Holy Light, burning away waves of Helarjar Soldiers as Helya continued to summon them.
• Dick pushed Anveena to increase their exchange until he collapsed, but the gathered Holy Fire vanished and began drawing them together.
• Anveena and Dick merged through a mirror-like plane, and a silver-winged creature appeared as the Shadowlands shook.
• The creature judged the Helarjar necromancers and erased the Helarjar Soldiers with a silver Holy Light Giant.

A silver-winged being overwhelmed Helya and pinned her to the ground before revealing Dick and the unconscious Anveena. Dick told Helya that the Pantheon had been destroyed, and she chose self-destruction after learning the truth about her fate.

• The silver-winged being took up the Aegis of Aggramar and the Fire of Justice, then charged Helya as Gavincente and Anduin warned the others to protect themselves.
• The being fought Helya through the sky, burned her tentacles, and struck her down before she could reach the Dead Sea.
• The being bound Helya with his wings of light and hammered her into the ground, then collapsed as Anveena fell away and Dick returned to normal.
• Dick freed Helya after telling her that the Pantheon had been destroyed and showing her Norgannon's recording.
• Helya wept over what Odyn had done and the fate she had never been told, then destroyed herself in ghostly white flames.

Helya died after refusing to forgive Odyn, ending her rule over the Shadowlands and allowing the realm to return to a natural state. As Dick and his companions sailed home, they encountered the newly arrived dead and a sign that a major war against the undead had begun in the Borean Tundra.

• Helya let the ghostly fire consume her, rejected Odyn's plea to abandon her hatred, and died cursing him and vowing to rebuild her Helarjar in hell.
• Odyn mourned Helya, then ordered Heimdall to lead the Spirit Legion to Northrend when the Halls of Valor were unsealed and to follow Dick's orders.
• Helya's death ended her control over the Shadowlands, and Dick and his companions found a new ship and set sail for home.
• Anduin spotted countless boats carrying the dead, and Dick recognized that the Shadowlands had opened to the deceased.
• Dick noticed a dead Scarlet Crusade paladin among the ghosts and realized that the campaign against the undead in the Borean Tundra had begun.

Thassarian and Darion reconnoitered Ahn'Qiraj and learned from the Tuskarr fisherman Iks about its undead defenses and the floating fortress Naxxanar. Iks gave Thassarian a jeweled box that proved to be a Lich's phylactery, and the scouts set out to find its owner.

• Thassarian and Darion led a reconnaissance mission toward Ahn'Qiraj, where a cavalry squadron had recently disappeared.
• Iks told them that the Nerubians had allied with undead forces and that four Necropolises and Naxxanar guarded the city.
• Iks advised the scouts to investigate the Lament Necropolis and gave Thassarian a jeweled box he had found nearby.
• Thassarian identified the box as a Lich's phylactery and prepared to search for its owner.

Tao Shi, Naisha, the Wardens, and the rogues helped launch a surprise assault on Ahn'Qiraj, while Mograine led the united paladin orders against the city and Naxxanar. Marwyn's retreat was disrupted by attackers, and Dick arrived to confront his old friend.

• Tao Shi revealed herself to Andoras, and Naisha killed him and took the purple scroll.
• The Wardens and rogues killed the leaders of the other two necropolises, plunging Ahn'Qiraj into turmoil.
• Mograine led the Scarlet Crusade, the Silver Hand, and the Argent Dawn through Ahn'Qiraj's walls as gnome engineers bombarded Naxxanar.
• Marwyn ordered a retreat toward Dragonblight, but a high elf archer struck his Saronite Helm and Wardens killed Naxxanar's cursed mages.
• Marwyn raised corpses to fight the intruders, but Dick arrived and challenged him.

Dick received Vaelastrasz at Valiance Keep and learned that Alexstrasza had summoned him to Wyrmrest Temple, where the Dragon Aspects would gather. As Dick traveled there, Alexstrasza prepared to discuss the dragons entering the war against the Scourge and sought his counsel about the Shadowlands.

• Tao Shi told Dick that a dragon had come to see him, and Dick greeted Vaelastrasz in the reception room.
• Vaelastrasz invited Dick to Wyrmrest Temple at Alexstrasza’s request and reported seeing mantid near the Obsidian Forest and Grim Batol.
• Dick assured Vaelastrasz that the mantid would not threaten the red dragons, then set out for Wyrmrest Temple while Vaelastrasz stayed to eat.
• Alexstrasza watched the Scourge attack the Ruby Holy Land and decided the dragons must respond to Arthas’s attacks on their kind.
• Alexstrasza waited for the other Dragon Aspects and planned to seek Dick’s opinion about the war and the Shadowlands gates.

Dick met with the Dragon Aspects at Wyrmrest Temple, where Malygos confronted him over his use of magic and the Dark Portal. The dragons agreed to join the war in Dragonblight, and Dick invited them to help reclaim Ulduar; Malygos then left for Azsuna after learning that Senegos and hundreds of blue dragons had survived.

• Malygos accused Dick of causing magical disturbances and threatened to revoke his access to the ley lines, but Dick challenged him over his anger about Sindragosa.
• Alexstrasza stopped their argument and proposed that the dragons fight the undead in Dragonblight to defend the dragons’ remains.
• Dick asked the Dragon Aspects to help reclaim Ulduar after the Northern Expedition War, then summoned Heimdall, Archaedas, Ironaya, and Stellagosa through a portal.
• Malygos learned from Stellagosa that Senegos and nearly eight hundred blue dragons, as well as hundreds of unhatched eggs, remained in Azsuna.
• Malygos apologized to Dick and teleported to Azsuna with Stellagosa, while Nozdormu confronted Dick about the altered number of blue dragons and their eggs.

Marshal Windsor escorted a secret expedition ship carrying a powerful creature and learned that Baron Deyerek would take part in trials tied to a plan against Arthas. After a tremor shattered the surrounding ice, the ship survived a devastating surge, and Windsor saw signs that the Lich King had awakened.

• Marshal Windsor and Ensign Bard Nedrek sailed aboard a secret ship behind a Kul Tiran icebreaker through frozen waters.
• Windsor visited the hold, where Baron Deyerek maintained sleep spells to keep a massive creature subdued.
• Windsor told Baron that the Dragonblight battle was a diversion and that Baron would represent Stormwind in a trial tied to the war and postwar colonies.
• A violent tremor broke the ice, and the Kul Tiran icebreaker sank as waves of shattered ice rushed toward Windsor's ship.
• Baron used holy light to melt the ice fragments, helping the ship survive the collision of the two waves.
• Windsor and Shaw saw an icy-blue beam above Icecrown Glacier, and Windsor declared that Arthas, the Lich King, had awakened.

Arthas awakened as the Lich King after breaking free of the Frozen Throne, then prepared to rebuild the Scourge and wage war against the enemies who had invaded Northrend. He empowered Renault Mograine as his Deathbringer and ordered his forces to revive fallen warriors and gather new armies.

• Arthas shattered the ice around the throne, rejected the chaos power in Kel'Thuzad's remains, and emerged as the awakened Lich King.
• Arthas met the diminished Scourge leadership, including Lady Deathwhisper, Lord Korth'azz, Doctor Putricide, Falric, Bronjahm, Taelan, Dar'Khan, and the captive Renault Mograine.
• Arthas pierced Renault Mograine with Frostmourne and granted him power as the Deathbringer.
• Arthas ordered his followers to prepare a reincarnation ritual and restore his fallen warriors.
• Arthas ordered Anub'arak to gather the nerubians, summoned the vrykul and Drakkari trolls to serve him, and called the Scourge to war.

After Arthas awakened, the Scourge launched coordinated attacks across Northrend, forcing the Alliance and Horde into heavy fighting while Goblins bought Dragonblight’s mines. Dick then arrived in the Storm Peaks with Heimdall and a Spirit Legion, planning to secure key strongholds before attacking Ulduar as Iron Dwarves closed in.

• Arthas’s return coordinated Scourge assaults across Northrend, causing heavy losses at several fronts and nearly costing Valiance Keep and other settlements.
• At Dick’s direction, Warren brokered a deal in which Goblin consortiums bought Dragonblight’s mines and sent mercenaries to protect them.
• Dick entered the Storm Peaks, killed an Iron Dwarf Spy, and summoned five hundred Vrykul Spirits through the Valarjar Gate of the Firmament.
• Dick explained to Heimdall that the Spirit Legion should secure Dun Niffelem, the Temple of Storms, and Ulduar’s barracks before confronting Yogg-Saron.
• Heimdall and Dick prepared to meet an approaching force of Iron Dwarves and Iron Vrykul, and Heimdall led the Spirits into battle.

Dick and the spirits fought off the Iron Burning Legion in the Storm Peaks while the Runemasters completed the Portal. Thorim arrived and battled Dick, but reinforcements poured through the Portal and secured the victory, leaving Dick wounded but alive.

• Dick and the spirits held their line against waves of Iron Dwarves, Iron Vrykul, and Frost Giants as the Runemasters worked on the Portal.
• Thorim appeared in a lightning strike, killed a Runemaster, and attacked the Portal before Dick drove him back.
• Dick caught Thorim's lightning and wounded him with Windfury, then clashed with him in the sky.
• Heimdall ordered the Runemasters to activate the Portal as Jianxi, Taixi, the Mogu Burning Legion, and other reinforcements joined the fight.
• Dick returned to the Portal injured and told his allies that he had wounded Thorim as their forces won the battle.

Brigadier General Matthew, Brigadier General Taylor, and Nazgrim led their ships through the North Sea to find landing sites for the Alliance Forces’ planned operations near Icecrown Glacier. After Taylor and Nazgrim fought off a sea monster, the fleet reached an abandoned dock on the glacier, leaving the commanders with a possible forward base near the Lich King.

• Brigadier General Matthew, Brigadier General Taylor, and Nazgrim sailed into the stormy North Sea and established Enterprise Island as a temporary logistical base.
• Matthew ordered the fleet onward to search for a second landing site on Icecrown Glacier while a small crew began building a fortress on the island.
• A sea monster attacked the Warchief's Fist, and Nazgrim leaped onto it to strike its eye and head.
• Taylor leaped onto the monster, wounded it with a burning harpoon, and caught Nazgrim as he fell; both generals escaped onto nearby ice.
• The Enterprise's cannons killed the sea monster, and the fleet later spotted Icecrown Glacier and the ruins of an abandoned dock.

Dick considered how to use his five spare artifacts while preparing for the coming war against Ulduar and weighing a secret letter about the Northrend campaign. In Northshire, Sir Maximillian decided to send his restless grandson to the Borean Tundra, while Rexxar sensed a familiar visitor approaching in Desolace.

• Dick reviewed his campaign against Ulduar, inspected the Strike of the Titans, and considered giving his five spare artifacts to worthy wielders.
• After reading Mograine's letter about the planned Northrend operation, Dick devised a bold idea involving the artifacts.
• Sir Maximillian read a letter bearing the seals of many kingdoms and organizations and learned that his grandson had been causing trouble while pursuing imagined quests.
• Sir Maximillian decided to send the Second to the Borean Tundra so he could experience war and become a true knight.
• Rexxar relaxed in Desolace with Misha, Huffer, and Sparky until he sensed a familiar visitor approaching.

Nathanos Marris recruited Rexxar and Hemet Nesingwary for a mission to fight the Lich King, while Garrosh Hellscream and his friends were ordered to compete in the Azeroth Silver Trial. Garrosh agreed to go to Wyrmrest Tower, hoping to prove himself and perhaps meet L Varian again.

• Nathanos Marris showed Rexxar Thrall's sealed letter and asked him to join the fight against the Lich King alongside Hemet Nesingwary.
• Rexxar agreed to join after dealing with a hidden Dreadlord in Desolace.
• Garrosh Hellscream remembered learning about his father Grom's redemption and promised L Varian not to use Gorehowl dishonorably.
• Dranosh Saurfang told Garrosh that he, Garrosh, and Jorin Deadeye had been ordered to represent Orgrimmar in the Azeroth Silver Trial.
• Garrosh agreed to attend the tournament with Dranosh and Jorin, and the three friends began playfully arguing.

The Orc Expedition Force fought to capture Ymiron, the Dragonflayer Clan’s stronghold in Howling Bay, so it could advance into Dragonblight. Garrosh, Dranosh, and Jorin killed the Vrykul champion Skovald Ingvar and seized the platform, while Overlord Saurfang prepared to lead the next assault.

• Garrosh Hellscream ordered Jorin Deadeye to take the Orc Wolf Riders around the flank as he and Dranosh Saurfang led the frontal assault on Ymiron's great platform.
• Skovald Ingvar broke through Dranosh's infantry line and forced Dranosh to block his attack head-on.
• Garrosh intervened to protect Dranosh, and the brothers worked together to drive Ingvar back.
• Jorin stripped Ingvar's defenses with fel energy, allowing Garrosh to kill him and cut off his head.
• The Vrykul lost their morale and retreated as Garrosh and Dranosh led the Horde onto the platform, capturing Ymiron's first district.
• Overlord Saurfang took up his Spine War Axe and declared that he would lead the next fight against the evil gaze watching from Ymiron's tower.

Saurfang led the Kor'kron through Ymiron's defenses and fought Sylvana, a Val'kyr who was infusing souls into corpses. After Saurfang defeated her, he ordered his warriors to capture her and announced that the road to Dragonblight was open.

• Garrosh withdrew from the blocked stairs while Saurfang prepared to lead the Kor'kron against the Vrykul defenders.
• Saurfang broke through the Vrykul formation, killed their officer, and opened the way to Ymiron's highest level.
• Saurfang found Sylvana infusing souls into corpses and attacked her after she refused to leave.
• Garrosh, Dranosh, and Jorin rushed to help Saurfang, but Sylvana was blasted out of the fight and knocked them down.
• Saurfang told them to capture Sylvana, trade her to the paladins, and tell the warriors they had won.
• Saurfang announced that the road to Dragonblight was open and that they would set out for Angrathar Camp the next morning.

Major Bard led Senxia and a company of Treasure Hunters across Dragonblight to find a hidden cave, with the troll guide Griftah warning that it held a deadly curse. Senxia agreed to enter with Bard and Griftah, while the mysterious employer’s power remained unclear.

• Senxia caught Griftah trying to escape and forced Bard to explain why the troll was on the expedition.
• Bard and Eldara revealed that Griftah had been recruited for a dangerous mission backed by a powerful employer, and Bard promised him a reward for cooperating.
• After the blizzard eased, Griftah consulted his dice and led the party northeast through the mountains, where Senxia and Gibbs fought off giant ice worms.
• The party found a cave beneath the ice, and Griftah warned that it contained a curse and an indescribable death.
• Griftah demanded that Senxia enter the cave with him and Bard, and Senxia agreed while threatening them if they obstructed his master's business.

Senxia, Bard, and Griftah entered Chillfrost Cave to retrieve a warhammer tied to Arthas, discovering it was a Legendary Weapon Prototype with the potential to oppose Frostmourne. Bard and Griftah escaped with the hammer as the cave collapsed around Senxia, while Gibbs sealed it in a Crimson Wooden Box and led them away.

• Griftah used incense to reveal death manifestations guarding the warhammer, and Senxia identified it as a Legendary Weapon Prototype once wielded by Arthas.
• Senxia explained the hammer's significance and ordered Bard and Griftah to take it while he held off the largest death manifestation.
• Senxia fought the creature with his enchanted rapier and shield as Bard and Griftah seized the warhammer and ran for the exit.
• Griftah heard Arthas's voice affecting his mind, but Senxia told him to keep moving and take the hammer to Gibbs.
• Bard and Griftah escaped just before the cave collapsed, and Gibbs secured the warhammer in a Crimson Wooden Box.
• Gibbs urged Bard and Griftah to flee the shaking snowfield, insisting Senxia would be fine.

Senxia returned from the Shadowlands and received Dick’s orders to travel to Outland, while Dick began preparing to forge Shadowmourne to counter Arthas’s ability to resurrect his undead. In the Borean Tundra, Mograine and Tirion Fordring planned to use draenei reinforcements to catch up with the orcs at Angrathar.

• Senxia led Bard, Griftah, and the others aboard the Black Demon King after the Kul Tiras navy held off the pursuing undead, then revealed that he had returned from the Shadowlands by using a seed of the Bloody Oak.
• Dick ordered Senxia to collect potions, pick up a guest at Sunsail Anchorage, travel to Outland, and find three demons before returning within a month; he also told Senxia to visit Pandaria for an enhancement.
• Dick opened the wooden box and found Arthas’s warhammer, Holy Light's Vengeance, then decided to forge Shadowmourne to prevent Frostmourne-bound undead from returning after death.
• Dick used C'Thun stomach acid and Storm Peaks saronite as materials for the planned weapon, confident after forging his first epic item, the Lionheart Executioner.
• Mograine and Tirion Fordring worried that the orcs had reached Dragonblight ahead of them and agreed to send the draenei reinforcements into battle.
• Tirion Fordring questioned the orc val'kyr and its connection to Arthas, while Mograine said the matter belonged to Dick.

Anub'arak led the Nerubians against the Alliance Forces, but Maraad and the Draenei Vindicators unleashed a devastating elekk charge that shattered the defensive line. Anub'arak withdrew into the northern permafrost as Maraad looked over the battlefield, glad the Draenei had finally stopped fleeing and begun to fight.

• Anub'arak attacked the Alliance Forces, using his burrowing and strength to disrupt their formations while Mograine and Tirion Fordring challenged him.
• A Draenei standard-bearer raised a purple banner, and Maraad led the Vindicators on armored elekks into the open space in the Alliance line.
• Maraad's Draenei paladins formed a Holy Light Barrier and charged through the Nerubian army, crushing its warriors, spellcasters, brutes, and defensive walls in repeated passes.
• Anub'arak fled with his surviving elite Nerubians after seeing the Draenei reform for another charge.
• Maraad watched Anub'arak disappear into the northern permafrost and felt at peace with the Draenei's decision to fight rather than flee.