Recaps

Aaron returned to Mount Hyjal with Vereesa and told Cenarius that Zaetar had been rescued and was trying to atone for his past. Cenarius agreed to send Druids to help Zaetar, while Aaron began questioning Fandral Staghelm about the Emerald Nightmare.

• Aaron learned that the Tauren of Desolace no longer needed aid from their brethren at Sun Rock Retreat and considered warning the Druids about Xavius and Fandral Staghelm.
• Aaron found Cenarius at Malorne's temple and told him about Zaetar's fate and his plan to restore Desolace.
• Cenarius accepted that Zaetar should atone and took Aaron to ask Fandral Staghelm to send Druids to help.
• Fandral Staghelm agreed to arrange Druids to assist Zaetar, though many Druids were in the Emerald Dream.
• Aaron stopped Fandral Staghelm from entering the Emerald Dream and asked whether he knew about the Emerald Nightmare, startling him and Cenarius.

Aaron told Fandral Staghelm and Cenarius that Xavius had become the Nightmare Lord and caused trouble in Eldre'Thalas, prompting Fandral to take him into the Emerald Dream to report the threat. There, they learned Malfurion Stormrage was investigating a nightmare.

• Aaron explained that Xavius had become the Nightmare Lord and had affected Zaetar and Eldre'Thalas.
• Cenarius warned that Xavius's power was extraordinary, and Fandral Staghelm decided to tell Malfurion and Ysera.
• Fandral Staghelm showed Aaron how Druids entered the Emerald Dream through meditation, and Aaron successfully crossed into it.
• Fandral Staghelm led Aaron out of the cavern and asked an ancient treant where his teacher, Malfurion Stormrage, was.
• The ancient treant said Malfurion was investigating someone's nightmare, so Fandral Staghelm flew toward him as a storm raven and Aaron followed on a griffin.

Aaron and Fandral Staghelm reached Malfurion Stormrage as the Druids fought Xavius and his corrupted creatures. Xavius escaped after Aaron struck a decoy, and Malfurion turned to question Fandral about his condition.

• Aaron followed Fandral Staghelm through the Emerald Dream for more than a day before they reached a valley where Druids had surrounded Xavius and his corrupted forces.
• Aaron recognized Malfurion Stormrage confronting Xavius, while Fandral and Aaron waited outside the Druids’ encirclement.
• Malfurion ordered the Druids to attack, and they destroyed Xavius’s corrupted creatures until only Xavius remained.
• Xavius escaped the encirclement in black smoke and taunted Malfurion before Aaron intercepted him.
• Aaron smashed Xavius’s apparent form with his warhammer, but realized that Xavius had escaped while his vines delayed the pursuing Druids.
• Malfurion told the Druids to search nearby without pursuing too far, then approached Aaron and Fandral and asked what had happened to Fandral.

Aaron purified Fandral Staghelm after Xavius’s Nightmare spell dredged up Fandral’s grief over Va'enstan’s death. Malfurion learned that Xavius’s presence in the Emerald Dream had been exposed, but the Nightmare might also have reached Shaladrassil and the Satyrs imprisoned there.

• Aaron used Holy Light to clear the Nightmare’s influence from Fandral Staghelm, who woke calling for Va'enstan.
• Malfurion comforted Fandral Staghelm and asked Aaron why he had arrived in such a hurry.
• Aaron told Malfurion that Xavius had tried to reach a World Tree in Eldre'Thalas before Prince Tortheldrin’s self-detonation forced Xavius to recover in the Emerald Dream.
• Malfurion explained that the Druids had found Xavius while he was recovering and said they needed to capture him quickly.
• Malfurion told Aaron and Fandral Staghelm that Ysera was investigating Nightmare corruption at Shaladrassil, where imprisoned Satyrs might also be affected.
• Malfurion continued searching for Xavius and instructed Fandral Staghelm to watch for the Nightmare spreading into reality.

Aaron returned from the Emerald Dream after warning the Druids about Xavius’s plan to spread the Nightmare into reality. He and Vereesa went to the Watchers’ headquarters near Illidan’s prison, where hidden guards surrounded them and demanded to know who they were.

• Malfurion sent Aaron back to the druid den on Mount Hyjal, where Vereesa’s eagle, Lightning, watched over him.
• Aaron told Vereesa that he had warned Malfurion about the Nightmare, and Fandral Staghelm said the warning would help the Druids prepare for Xavius’s plan.
• Fandral left to discuss precautions with High Priestess Whisperwind, while Aaron and Vereesa headed for the Watchers’ headquarters.
• Aaron explained to Vereesa that he had learned the location of the Watchers’ headquarters from Fandral while asking about Illidan’s prison.
• Watchers emerged from the shadows, surrounded Aaron and Vereesa, and demanded that they identify themselves.

Aaron and Vereesa were intercepted by the Watchers while trying to approach their patrol area, and their attempt to explain themselves only increased the Watchers’ suspicion. After being escorted away, Aaron realized he might be able to use a toy from his Book of Adventure to become a Watcher and returned toward Nordrassil to prepare.

• More than a dozen Watchers surrounded Aaron and Vereesa, and Vereesa tried to negotiate while concealing their search for Illidan.
• The Watcher leader used a moonlight spell so Aaron could understand her, then questioned him as the Watchers threatened them with poisoned weapons.
• Aaron claimed they were tourists, but the Watchers escorted him and Vereesa out of the area and warned them not to return.
• Aaron and Vereesa discussed how difficult it would be to gain the Watchers’ trust or sneak past them.
• After Vereesa suggested becoming Watchers, Aaron noticed a toy in his Book of Adventure had lit up and decided to return to Nordrassil to prepare.

Aaron prepared to infiltrate the Watchers’ prison to find Illidan, disguising himself as a Watcher with a transformation toy and relying on Xal'atath to speak Kaldorei. After Shandris briefed him on the Watchers, Aaron flew toward their headquarters while Vereesa stayed behind to talk with Shandris.

• Aaron asked Shandris for information about the Watchers, and she guessed he wanted to find Illidan.
• Aaron transformed into a Watcher, and Xal'atath agreed to speak for him in Kaldorei.
• Shandris shared what she knew about the Watchers’ training and organization, warning Aaron that her information might not be perfect.
• Aaron joked that he planned to free all the Watchers’ prisoners, then told Shandris to ask Vereesa about his real objective.
• Aaron summoned a gryphon and flew toward the Watchers’ headquarters while Vereesa remained with Shandris.
• Shandris asked Vereesa to tell her about the Eastern Kingdoms, and Vereesa agreed.

Aaron infiltrated the Watchers’ prison by posing as one of Maiev Shadowsong’s guards and searched its cells for Illidan. After Xal'atath taunted a bound Faceless One, Aaron finally found Illidan confined in a small, rune-lined cell.

• Aaron used Xal'atath’s help to pose as a Watcher and persuaded the guards to let him into the prison.
• Aaron explored the vault, observed its many prisoners, and encountered a chained Faceless One.
• Xal'atath told the Faceless One that C'Thun had been killed, provoking it into furious attempts to escape and insults against Aaron.
• Aaron continued searching the prison and found Illidan blindfolded in an isolated, rune-lined cell.

Aaron visited the imprisoned Illidan to ask how to help elves affected by Fel, and Illidan said they could overcome its effects by strengthening their wills and adapting to it. Aaron was left unsure whether Illidan’s simple solution was serious.

• Aaron found Illidan bound inside a heavily warded cell, with the Warglaives of Azzinoth displayed outside it.
• Illidan recognized Aaron by his scent and explained that he did not rely on his eyes to perceive him.
• Aaron asked whether Illidan could help elves whose bodies and minds had been affected by Fel.
• Aaron told Illidan about Prince Tortheldrin, the imprisoned demon, and Xavius’s death.
• Illidan said Fel affected the soul through the body, and that the elves needed to steel their wills and adapt to Fel until they could use it as a power.

Aaron learned that Illidan’s fel tattoos could weaken Fel’s influence but could not eliminate it, and Illidan said resisting corruption ultimately required willpower. Illidan asked when he would be freed, and Aaron said it would likely be in five or six years; Maiev Shadowsong then returned to the prison.

• Illidan told Aaron that willpower could resist Fel corruption and explained how his tattoos concentrated Fel in the skin, reducing its influence on the soul.
• Illidan asked Aaron how long he had been imprisoned, and Aaron estimated that he would be freed in five or six years.
• Aaron asked why Illidan had accepted imprisonment despite knowing it would last ten thousand years, and Illidan angrily blamed Aaron for not warning him before his capture.
• Illidan warned Aaron that Maiev had returned, and Aaron heard the Watchers approaching Illidan’s cage.

Aaron avoided Maiev Shadowsong by following Illidan’s directions through a passage from the Watchers’ prison to the Druids’ cavern, then returned to Vereesa with a solution from Illidan. Shandris remained wary of the solution because of her past experience with fel.

• Aaron hid from Maiev Shadowsong and followed Illidan’s directions to escape the Watchers’ underground prison.
• Aaron discovered that the passage led into the cavern where the Druids slept and asked Xal'atath to remember Illidan’s method.
• Aaron returned to Nordrassil and found Vereesa chatting with Shandris.
• Vereesa was pleased that Aaron had obtained a solution from Illidan, while Shandris had misgivings about it.

Shandris learned that Aaron’s actions had changed her understanding of Illidan’s history, then discussed her concerns about the Night Elves’ isolation with him. She decided to propose establishing Sentinel outposts beyond Night Elf territory, beginning in Desolace.

• Aaron told Shandris that the Shen'dralar affected by fel would become demons rather than Satyrs, though he kept that detail to himself.
• Shandris was surprised to hear Aaron say Illidan had nearly killed Jarod, and Aaron realized their accounts of who stopped Illidan from recreating the Well of Eternity differed.
• Vereesa and Aaron agreed to stay in Nordrassil overnight after Shandris invited them to rest at the inn.
• Shandris explained that Nordrassil protected the Night Elves but had also encouraged them to become conservative and uninformed about nearby dangers.
• Shandris told Aaron she planned to send Sentinels to establish an outpost in Desolace, with the aim of eventually creating outposts across Kalimdor beyond Night Elf control.
• Aaron wished Shandris success, and she went to find Tyrande to discuss her plan.

Aaron and Vereesa left Nordrassil, and Aaron returned to Eldre'Thalas with a way to ease the Shen'dralar warlocks' Fel problems. After the Shen'dralar Ancients stabilized the warlocks, Azeroth asked Aaron to bring her the Tidestone in Silithus.

• Shandris told Aaron and Vereesa that the sentinels had complained about her plans to establish outposts, then wished them a safe journey.
• Aaron and Vereesa departed Nordrassil, and Aaron reflected that the tree might burn during the Burning Legion's invasion.
• Aaron returned to Eldre'Thalas with Vereesa and explained Illidan's methods for addressing the warlocks' loss of control to Mordent.
• The Shen'dralar Ancients learned to create Fel tattoos, easing the warlocks' symptoms, and Mordent planned to rebuild Eldre'Thalas.
• Azeroth asked Aaron through Xal'atath to bring her the Tidestone in Silithus, so Aaron chose to return there.

Aaron’s journey to Silithus was interrupted when ogres ambushed the Dreadwake, and he landed to fight them. Garona attacked him from stealth, and the chapter ended as she struck at him again amid the ogres’ renewed assault.

• The Dreadwake shook near the Feralas-Silithus border, and Aaron spotted ogres hiding in the jungle below.
• The ogres attacked Aaron with spells, and he landed among them to fight with Frostmourne and Holy Light.
• Garona appeared behind Aaron and stabbed him, forcing him to heal himself and raise a Divine Shield.
• Aaron exposed Garona with Truthguard’s radiance, but she escaped behind a tree as the ogres and Ogre Mages closed in.
• Aaron’s Divine Shield burst under the ogres’ attacks, and Garona appeared behind him again with her dagger poised to strike.

Aaron captured Garona during Yegoda's ambush and learned that Xal'atath could take control of the spell influencing her. After the ogres fled and Yegoda was captured, Xal'atath revealed that Cho'gall seemed to have opened a hole in the Scarab Wall.

• Aaron caught Garona's dagger, seized her, and restrained her after she attacked him under Gul'dan's control.
• Xal'atath examined Garona and bound her to a tree with Holy Light shackles while Aaron faced the approaching ogres.
• Aaron's advance frightened the ogres into fleeing, and he blocked Yegoda's escape with Frostmourne.
• Xal'atath questioned Yegoda and learned that she could trigger Garona's control spell, but Aaron told Xal'atath to find another way to free Garona.
• Xal'atath told Aaron that Cho'gall seemed to have opened a hole in the Scarab Wall, and Aaron nearly lost control of the Dreadwake at the news.

Aaron brought Garona and the others toward Silithus after learning that the Scarab Wall and the Qiraji posed a serious threat, while Archaedas and Mimiron went to scout. At the Mechagnome base near the Chamber of Heart, Garona detected approaching enemies and entered Stealth.

• Vereesa scolded Aaron after the Dreadwake jolted during its descent, and Aaron explained that he had encountered the Scarab Wall.
• Xal'atath temporarily removed the spell controlling Garona, and Garona killed Yegoda after confronting her.
• Garona joined Aaron's group, and Aaron warned Archaedas about the Scarab Wall and the Twilight's Hammer.
• Mimiron and Archaedas set out to scout, while Aaron steered the Dreadwake to the Mechagnome base near the Chamber of Heart.
• Aaron saw that Mimiron's subordinates had turned the base into a weapons factory and were testing explosives when Garona sensed enemies approaching and entered Stealth.

Aaron and Vereesa’s camp came under attack from elementals, while Garona identified Twilight's Hammer as the force directing them. The Mechagnomes defeated the probe, and the attackers withdrew without revealing themselves.

• Garona engaged an earth elemental that had emerged near the camp, and Aaron and Vereesa discovered holes opening around them.
• More than a dozen earth, fire, and air elementals emerged and attacked the camp, while the Mechagnomes’ ranged weapons began to malfunction.
• The Mechagnomes charged out in metal vehicles, mechs, and robots and fought the elementals outside the camp.
• Garona warned Aaron and Vereesa that Twilight's Hammer was directing the elementals from the rear and likely testing the camp’s strength.
• The Mechagnomes wiped out the elemental wave, and no further enemies appeared as the holes were filled in.

After scouting the Scarab Wall, Archaedas and Mimiron found that Twilight's Hammer's breach threatened its barriers, but Aaron agreed to postpone dealing with C'Thun until they could address Yogg-Saron's lingering influence. Before they could attack Twilight's Hammer, Cho'gall led an assault on the camp under the Old Gods' orders.

• The Mechagnomes collected elemental remains after Twilight's Hammer's probe ended, and Garona thought the cult would leave them alone.
• Archaedas and Mimiron reported cracks in the Scarab Wall and damage to its barriers caused by Twilight's Hammer's breach.
• Aaron proposed tearing down the wall and killing C'Thun, but Archaedas argued they should first deal with Yogg-Saron's lingering threats in Northrend.
• Archaedas and the others found Twilight's Hammer gathered near the breach, so Aaron concluded they would have to defeat the cult before repairing the wall.
• Twilight's Hammer attacked the camp, surprising Garona, who had believed Cho'gall would not act impulsively.
• Cho'gall ordered his followers to ambush the Mechagnomes from behind, obeying the will of the Old Gods despite his reluctance.

Cho'gall led the Twilight's Hammer in a full-scale attack on the Mechagnomes' camp, following the Old Gods' order despite not understanding it. As he fought Garona, a sense of danger unsettled him, and a golden-lit human appeared above him with a sword.

• The Old Gods ordered the Twilight's Hammer to destroy a Mechagnome camp and capture its inhabitants, so Cho'gall mobilized the entire force.
• Cho'gall led the attack by striking the camp's perimeter wall with his warhammer, and the cultists and elementals charged in.
• Cho'gall spotted Garona cutting through his followers and launched a Shadow Bolt at her.
• Cho'gall sensed danger, cast Shadowflame around himself, and found no hidden assassin, while Garona watched him with amusement.
• A golden-lit human shouted to Cho'gall and brought a longsword down toward him.

Aaron and Garona lured Cho'gall into a trap and pressured him while Archaedas and Mimiron turned the battle against Twilight's Hammer. After Garona wounded him, Cho'gall transformed with dark runes and black mist, greatly increasing his power.

• Garona warned Aaron that Cho'gall would escape if he felt too threatened, so they planned to lure him onto the front lines and attack from the air.
• Aaron forced Cho'gall back with Frostmourne while Archaedas and Mimiron led the Mechagnomes into battle.
• Aaron feigned an opening, letting Garona stab Cho'gall in the lower back and then wound him again.
• Cho'gall summoned black-and-purple runes and transformed as spikes, fissures, and sinister eyes appeared across his body.
• Cho'gall stomped the ground, making it ripple and tremble as his strength surged.

Aaron fought Cho'gall as the ogre's body mutated under the influence of shadow power. Aaron overwhelmed him with Holy Light and burned him to ashes, while Garona remained incapacitated by Cho'gall's attack.

• Cho'gall's mutations intensified, but Aaron continued attacking and discovered that his strength had not increased much.
• Cho'gall's shadow power paralyzed Garona, and Aaron rescued her while blocking the ogre's attacks.
• Vereesa shot Cho'gall's claw and forced him to release Aaron, who transformed into a towering stone giant.
• Cho'gall's abdomen opened into a toothed maw, but Aaron dodged its tongue, froze it with Frostmourne, and cut it off.
• Aaron smashed Cho'gall into the ground and filled him with Holy Light, burning the ogre and his tentacles to ashes.

After Cho'gall's defeat, Aaron and Vereesa inspected the damaged Scarab Wall and discovered a breach into Ahn'Qiraj. With the barrier failing and C'Thun's influence threatening a breakout, Aaron agreed to seek help from the Bronze Dragonflight.

• The Twilight's Hammer cultists lost morale after Cho'gall died, and the Mechagnomes defeated most of them while Garona left to hunt down the survivors.
• Aaron and Vereesa followed Archaedas to the Scarab Wall and saw cracks and erosion across its surface.
• Archaedas revealed the breach he had plugged with a stone, and an orange beetle lunged at Aaron before Vereesa killed it with an arrow.
• Aaron replaced the stone and packed sand into the breach, then warned that the damaged barrier would eventually let the Aqir escape.
• Archaedas said the Red and Green Dragonflights had directed them to the Bronze Dragonflight, so Aaron volunteered to find the bronze dragons.

Aaron and Vereesa reached the Caverns of Time and met Anachronos, who agreed to help repair the Scarab Wall after Cho'gall damaged it. Anachronos took them through a portal to meet an old friend, who reacted with shock at seeing Aaron.

• Aaron and Vereesa crossed Tanaris and entered the Caverns of Time, where the bronze dragons let them pass without question.
• Aaron and Vereesa explored the busy central hall and examined its enormous hourglass.
• Anachronos approached Aaron and Vereesa, introduced himself, and asked Aaron to explain why he had come.
• Aaron told Anachronos that Cho'gall had punched a hole in the Scarab Wall and asked him to help repair it.
• Anachronos led Aaron and Vereesa through a portal to a crystal-filled cave, where someone greeted him and then reacted with shock at seeing Aaron.

Aaron and Anachronos brought Azuregos to repair the breach in the Scarab Wall, but Azuregos’s lost Scepter of the Shifting Sands fragment raised doubts about his reliability. The group reached the wall and headed for the breach, leaving Azuregos poised to begin the repair.

• Azuregos recognized Aaron as someone he had believed dead and reacted with shock when Aaron arrived with Anachronos.
• Anachronos explained that he needed Azuregos’s expertise to repair the Scarab Wall, and Azuregos accidentally revealed that he had lost his Scepter of the Shifting Sands fragment.
• Azuregos opened a portal to the Scarab Wall, and Anachronos urged him to recover the fragment he had lost to a shark.
• Anachronos explained that the Scepter of the Shifting Sands could not be recreated because it was made to fit the Scarab Wall like a key in a lock.
• Azuregos asked how the wall had been breached, and Aaron and Anachronos both shouted at him to shut up.

Azuregos and Anachronos repaired the Scarab Wall, though they could only delay its eventual collapse. Aaron followed Azuregos to his lair and learned that a mysterious human woman had stolen his journal, whose strange power seemed similar to that of the green dragons.

• Azuregos repaired the Scarab Wall, and Anachronos sealed the breach with dragon breath.
• Anachronos explained that the repairs would last about thirty years before failing, with the bugs emerging again centuries later.
• Azuregos rushed back to his lair after revealing that a troublesome woman had taken an interest in his belongings.
• Aaron and Vereesa followed Azuregos through his portal and found his lair ransacked and his journal missing.
• Azuregos told Aaron that the thief was a powerful human woman whose strange power reminded him of the green dragons.