Chapter Summaries

Aaron and Vereesa met Magran and his Tauren party, who were pursuing Harpies that had abducted members of their village. After Xal'atath translated for them, Aaron helped Magran identify the Harpies' trail, and he and Vereesa decided to follow the Tauren.

• Magran approached Aaron and Vereesa with nearly thirty Tauren, but they struggled to understand each other because of their different languages.
• Xal'atath emerged and translated, explaining that Harpies had abducted several Tauren and Magran's party had come to rescue them.
• Aaron showed Magran the horn taken from the Harpies, and Magran recognized it and asked where Aaron had found it.
• Aaron led Magran to the battlefield and pointed out the direction the remaining Harpies had fled.
• Magran thanked Aaron and led his companions in pursuit, while Aaron and Vereesa decided to follow and help if they could.

Aaron and Vereesa joined Magran’s Tauren on their march to rescue their captured companions, then watched the group get ambushed by Harpies in the woods. As the Tauren’s defense neared collapse, a sudden barrage of lightning struck the Harpies.

• Aaron and Vereesa noticed the Tauren had no obvious ranged weapons and wondered how they planned to fight flying Harpies.
• The group entered a sparse woodland, where dozens of Harpies ambushed them.
• Magran ordered the Tauren to stop and form a defensive circle as Harpy witches attacked with lightning.
• Aaron and Vereesa fought on the perimeter, but more Harpies arrived and threatened to break the Tauren’s line.
• A thunderclap sounded, and a web of lightning spread through the air around the Harpies.

The Tauren used electrically charged totems and Vereesa’s arrows to drive off the Harpies, then prepared to rescue their captured kin. The Bloodfeather Queen arrived, wounded Magran and forced the Tauren to flee, but Aaron healed Magran and flew up to fight her.

• At Magran’s command, the Tauren struck down Harpies paralyzed by lightning from their shamans’ totems, while Vereesa shot those that kept charging.
• The remaining Harpies fled, and Aaron learned from Magran that the Tauren had planned to use the totems before attacking the Harpy nest to rescue their captured kin.
• The Bloodfeather Queen descended with a larger Harpy force, and Magran recognized her as a dangerous enemy from the Charred Vale.
• The Bloodfeather Queen grabbed Magran and dropped him, leaving him badly injured and ordering the Tauren to flee.
• Aaron healed Magran, then flew up to confront the Bloodfeather Queen, beginning an aerial battle.

Aaron killed the Bloodfeather Queen and helped Magran's Tauren reach the Harpy settlement, where they rescued their captured kin and destroyed the Harpies' nests and eggs. After making camp away from the settlement, Magran invited Aaron and Vereesa to Sun Rock Retreat to thank them.

• Aaron fought the Bloodfeather Queen in the air, overcame her attacks, and severed her head with Frostmourne.
• The Harpies fled after their queen died, and Aaron's group continued toward their settlement without further trouble.
• Aaron and Vereesa helped Magran's Tauren reach the settlement, where they found their captured kin bound and injured.
• Magran ordered the Tauren to free their kin and destroy the Harpy nests and eggs, while Aaron and Vereesa surveyed the area.
• The Tauren camped away from the settlement for the night, and Magran invited Aaron and Vereesa to Sun Rock Retreat.

Aaron and Vereesa traveled with Magran’s Tauren to Sun Rock Retreat, where Aaron learned about the Tauren’s hardships and arranged to visit Desolace with Tamra Wildmane. The group crossed Charred Vale safely and entered Desolace, where Tamra lamented the suffering of the land.

• Aaron and Vereesa followed Magran’s party to Sun Rock Retreat, observing the Tauren’s strength and their need to gather food.
• Magran explained that the Tauren sent supplies to their people in Desolace, whose options were limited by the surrounding lands and the Centaurs.
• Aaron asked Magran for help visiting Desolace to investigate its damaged land, and Magran gave him a letter and assigned Tamra Wildmane to accompany him.
• Aaron, Vereesa, and Tamra crossed Charred Vale with little resistance after the Bloodfeather Queen’s death.
• At the edge of Desolace, Vereesa remarked on its desolation, and Tamra said they could hear the land wailing.

Aaron and Vereesa accompanied Tamra to a struggling tauren village in Desolace, where they learned that most tauren had moved to Mulgore and only a few remained behind. Aaron still needed a way into Maraudon to deal with Theradras, and Tamra suggested he consult Elder Wildmane.

• Tamra prayed to the Earth Mother and learned where her people were, then Aaron and Vereesa chose to travel with her.
• After two days, Tamra and her companions reached a small village and unloaded supplies for the tauren living there.
• Aaron asked why so few tauren remained in Desolace, and Tamra explained that most of their people lived in Mulgore with Chieftain Bloodhoof.
• Aaron realized a centaur tribe had blocked the village’s route to Mulgore and reconsidered relying on the small group of tauren to reach Maraudon.
• Tamra suggested Aaron ask Elder Wildmane, a respected shaman who knew Desolace and Maraudon well.

Aaron met Gurda Wildmane at the Kodo Graveyard, where she advised him to seek Uthek of the Gelkis tribe for help entering Maraudon. As Magram Centaurs attacked, Vereesa and Aaron fought them while Gurda prepared her totems.

• Tamra led Aaron and his companion to Gurda Wildmane, who had been communicating with a Kodo spirit.
• Gurda suggested Aaron ask Uthek, a Gelkis wise man, to help distract the Maraudine tribe and provide a way into Maraudon.
• Gurda explained that the Gelkis were relatively moderate and said Magram Centaur heads would serve as a greeting gift for Uthek.
• A band of Magram Centaurs approached, and Gurda planted several totems as Vereesa began shooting at them.
• Vereesa picked off three Centaurs, and Aaron charged the rest with two longswords.

Aaron and Vereesa sought the Gelkis centaur wise one, Uthek, after defeating Magram centaurs and scouting the heavily guarded Valley of Spears. Uthek agreed to consider friendship with them if Aaron brought him a whistle carried by the Maraudine tribe.

• Aaron used a spinning attack with Frostmourne and Strom'kar to kill or wound several charging Magram centaurs while Vereesa and Gurda's group defeated another.
• Vereesa and Aaron stopped the surviving centaurs from fleeing, and Aaron collected the heads to present to Uthek.
• Aaron and Vereesa scouted the Valley of Spears from the air and saw that its narrow entrance and Maraudon were guarded by many centaurs.
• Aaron and Vereesa reached Uthek, who explained that the Gelkis would not accept the centaur heads alone.
• Uthek asked Aaron to retrieve a whistle from the Maraudine tribe as the next step toward earning the Gelkis tribe's friendship.

Aaron and Vereesa followed Uthek’s new demand to summon Khan Hratha at the Valley of Spears, where Aaron fought off the khan’s followers before facing the powerful ruler. The chapter ended with Hrul'thar gaining the upper hand and driving Aaron toward the edge of the summit.

• Aaron searched the dead Centaurs until he found a mouthpiece, then brought it to Uthek.
• Uthek demanded that Aaron use the mouthpiece to summon Khan Hratha and kill him, and Aaron agreed while planning to enter Maraudon afterward.
• Aaron and Vereesa found the horn on the western cliffs, and Vereesa cleaned its mouthpiece before Aaron blew it.
• A group of Centaurs climbed to the summit, and Aaron fought them in the confined space while Vereesa waited above on her Hippogryph.
• Hrul'thar arrived, attacked Aaron by surprise, then strengthened himself with Avatar and forced Aaron back toward the edge.

Aaron killed Hrul'thar and provoked the Maraudine into attacking the Gelkis, drawing Centaur forces away from Maraudon's entrance. With the defenses weakened, Aaron and Vereesa reached the sealed entrance, where the stone doors opened from within.

• Aaron killed Hrul'thar, threw his head down the cliff, and declared that victory would belong to the Gelkis before escaping on his gryphon.
• Aaron told Uthek that he had made the Maraudine believe a Gelkis warrior killed Hrul'thar, then fled as the furious Uthek raised his axe.
• The Maraudine attacked the Gelkis, and Khan Shaka gathered his people to halt their first assault.
• Aaron reunited with Vereesa and learned the Centaurs guarding Maraudon's entrance had joined the fighting, leaving the way nearly clear.
• Aaron and Vereesa reached Maraudon's imposing stone doors, which opened from within just as Aaron prepared to break them down.

Aaron and Vereesa entered Maraudon in search of its deepest reaches, encountering centaur spirits and priests as they followed a strong power of nature. They found a dryad who attacked Aaron, then stopped when she realized he was real.

• Aaron killed a female centaur who emerged from Maraudon’s stone door, then entered the underground passage with Vereesa and closed the door behind them.
• Aaron and Vereesa encountered a peaceful centaur spirit that passed through the stone door, along with wandering spirits and female centaur priests deeper inside Maraudon.
• Aaron followed the growing moisture through the tunnels and sensed a familiar power of nature ahead.
• Aaron and Vereesa found a dryad standing in a rocky pool, and she attacked Aaron while accusing him of having returned.
• Aaron stopped resisting and let the dryad strike him, and she halted in surprise, wondering whether she was dreaming.

Aaron and Vereesa met Cavindra, Remulos's daughter, who had survived alone in Maraudon for hundreds of years. After persuading her to guide them, they entered the deeper caverns to find her siblings and confront the dangers there.

• Cavindra identified herself as Remulos's daughter and explained that she was the only sibling to escape Maraudon's depths.
• Aaron told Cavindra that Cenarius and Remulos had sent him to address Princess Theradras's problems, and he persuaded her that he could handle the dangers ahead.
• Cavindra first refused to enter and tried to draw a map, but she changed her mind because her siblings were still trapped inside.
• Aaron, Vereesa, and Cavindra proceeded through Maraudon, fighting foul-smelling slimes and lashers as Cavindra grew more confident.
• The trio reached a relatively safe place to rest, where an unforeseen attack gave Aaron a new sense of Maraudon's dangers.

Aaron, Vereesa, and Cavindra fought Noxxion, a poisonous Water Elemental created by the Satyr Vyletongue, and discovered a broken piece of Celebras's staff inside it. They continued deeper into Maraudon, where they encountered corrupted Dryads and Satyrs, including the dangerous Vyletongue.

• Aaron woke Vereesa and Cavindra when a rotten-smelling mist spread through their resting place, and Cavindra struggled to wake from a nightmare.
• Cavindra identified the approaching Water Elemental as Noxxion and explained that Vyletongue had created it and corrupted her kin.
• Vereesa and Aaron froze and defeated Noxxion, then found a healing gem and a broken half of Celebras's staff inside it.
• Aaron, Vereesa, and Cavindra continued through Maraudon and encountered more creatures and corrupted Dryads; Xal'atath restored the Dryads' sanity, and Aaron left them in a safer place.
• The group faced several hostile Satyrs and discovered that Vyletongue was the most troublesome among them.

Vilebranch investigated Noxxion’s death and attacked Aaron, Vereesa, and Cavindra, but Aaron saw through his Stealth and killed him. With the culprit dead, Aaron suggested they check on Celebras.

• After learning Noxxion had been killed, Vilebranch sent Satyrs to investigate the intruders, but they never returned.
• Vilebranch confronted Aaron, Vereesa, and Cavindra, then used smoke to enter Stealth and chose Aaron as his first target.
• Aaron turned around and struck Vilebranch with Frostmourne, forcing the wounded Satyr to retreat.
• Vereesa and Cavindra attacked Vilebranch with lightning arrows and constricting vines as Aaron advanced with his warhammer.
• Aaron smashed Vilebranch’s chest and destroyed him with holy light, then suggested the group check on Celebras.

Aaron and his companions defeated Vilebranch and restored Celebras's senses, learning that his assembled staff could help heal the land after Theradras was slain. With Celebras preparing to teleport them toward Theradras, Aaron rested before the coming battle.

• Aaron returned to Earth Song Falls with Cavindra and Vereesa, but the corrupted Celebras attacked them.
• Cavindra found the gem Vilebranch had taken and joined it with the half-staff from Noxxion to reassemble Celebras's staff.
• After Aaron complained that Celebras had not recovered, Xal'atath helped restore the Keeper's senses.
• Celebras learned what had happened and explained that his staff could return the life force Theradras had stolen from the land.
• Celebras began preparing to use the staff to teleport the group toward Theradras, and Aaron fell asleep while they waited.

Aaron and his companions were teleported to a crystal cavern in Maraudon, where the Mountain Giant Landslide attacked them to keep them away from Princess Theradras. After recognizing Aaron’s Silver Hand and hearing about Desolace, Landslide agreed to lead them to Theradras so they could discover whether she was responsible.

• Aaron fell asleep while Celebras finished preparing a nature-based portal, then woke to find it ready.
• Aaron, Celebras, Cavindra, and Vereesa emerged among white crystals and realized they had not arrived at Zaetar’s tomb.
• The Mountain Giant Landslide charged at the group and attacked Aaron, declaring that he would not let them approach Princess Theradras.
• Landslide recognized Aaron’s Silver Hand and asked about his connection to Lord Tyr, so Aaron explained his mission and Desolace’s condition.
• Landslide agreed to guide Aaron and his companions to Theradras, though he remained uncertain that she was the culprit.

Aaron’s group traveled with Landslide through Maraudon’s flourishing underground ecosystem and learned how Theradras’s presence had transformed the caverns. They reached the stone bridge to her island, with Landslide deciding to accompany them despite his uncertainty about facing her.

• Landslide explained that Zaetar’s ability to nurture plants had enriched the caverns, while his account suggested Theradras’s arrival had brought even more life underground.
• Landslide recalled Zaetar and Theradras arguing over their aggressive Centaur children and admitted he had once developed feelings for Theradras.
• Aaron’s group encountered stone giants blocking the only path, and Aaron threw them into an underground lake rather than kill them.
• Landslide explained that Theradras’s influence had altered the nearby Mountain Giants and nearly changed him as well.
• Landslide decided to accompany Aaron across the stone bridge toward Theradras’s island, and Aaron sensed the mission might not end with simply killing her.

Aaron confronted Theradras beneath Maraudon and fought her after she refused to return the life force she had drained from Desolace. As Aaron prepared a decisive blow, a vine tripped him and shattered part of the island, revealing an unknown attacker.

• Aaron and his companions reached Zaetar's grave, where Theradras confronted them and demanded to know why Landslide had brought outsiders.
• Aaron asked Theradras to return Desolace's life force, but she refused and hurled a boulder at him; Landslide knocked it away.
• Aaron transformed into a stone giant and charged Theradras, while her earthquakes left Vereesa, Celebras, and Cavindra struggling near the island's edge.
• Aaron and Theradras fought with weapons and spells until Aaron abandoned his shield and raised his enlarged warhammer for a powerful strike.
• A vine caught Aaron's ankle and made his hammer smash the island's edge, causing nearly half the island to fall into the underground lake as Aaron searched for the hidden attacker.

Zaetar persuaded Theradras to stop draining Desolace’s life force and accept that he could not return to the world. When Theradras chose to go to Deepholm, Aaron arranged for Archaedas to help send her there, leaving Zaetar to begin restoring the land.

• Zaetar appeared and asked Aaron to spare Theradras, offering to take responsibility for her actions.
• Zaetar convinced Theradras to stop draining Desolace’s life force, and she offered to give up her power to restore the land.
• Zaetar explained that he could live in the Emerald Dream but could not return to reality, so Theradras decided to go to Deepholm.
• Theradras failed to open a passage to Deepholm, and Aaron contacted Archaedas to help her enter.
• Archaedas arrived in Maraudon a week later, and Zaetar calmed Theradras so Archaedas could begin opening the passage.

After Theradras and Landslide entered the portal to Deepholm, Zaetar began rebuilding Desolace and leading the Centaurs who wished to follow him. As Zaetar prepared to share a troubling discovery with Aaron, he warned that it might concern the Emerald Dream.

• Archaedas opened a portal to Deepholm, and Theradras entered it after saying goodbye to Zaetar.
• Landslide followed Theradras through the portal, and Aaron watched as Archaedas closed it.
• Zaetar told Aaron that he planned to gather his less violent descendants and let them help restore Desolace; he also explained why he had been unable to communicate from his tomb.
• Zaetar announced himself to the Maraudine Centaurs and led several hundred of them out of the Valley of Spears, despite most of them reacting coldly.
• Zaetar restored a patch of grassland north of the Kodo Graveyard, but stopped when the effort strained his soul.
• Zaetar asked Aaron to tell his father and Queen Ysera about something he had remembered, warning that it might be connected to the Emerald Dream.