Chapter Summaries

Aaron and Vereesa discovered that naga had joined the quilboar in an attack aimed at the night elves, then met Gazlowe among Ratchet’s ruins. After Gazlowe warned them about the quilboar’s mental attacks, he summoned a large group of surviving goblins and resolved to rebuild Ratchet.

• Vereesa found a naga scale in Ratchet’s ruins, and Aaron concluded Xavius had allied with the naga to attack Kalimdor’s dominant power.
• Vereesa exposed a goblin rogue hiding nearby, and Aaron calmed him with holy light instead of attacking.
• The goblin warned Aaron and Vereesa that the quilboar could use mental attacks and identified himself as Gazlowe.
• Aaron told Gazlowe that the quilboar and naga were targeting the night elves, and Gazlowe realized they could handle the threat.
• Gazlowe decided to rebuild Ratchet and blew a whistle, summoning many surviving goblins from the surrounding hills.

Aaron and Vereesa left the ruined Ratchet after Gazlowe mistook Aaron for a Kul Tiras intelligence agent. As they hurried to warn the Night Elves about Xavius’s huge Quilboar and Naga army, they reached Astranaar and found Shandris there.

• Gazlowe accused Aaron of gathering intelligence for Kul Tiras, and Aaron departed Ratchet with Vereesa.
• Vereesa estimated that Xavius had assembled more than ten thousand Quilboar and possibly even more Naga to attack the Night Elves.
• Aaron argued that Druids and other Night Elf forces could help counter the enemy, though many Druids might be in the Emerald Dream.
• Aaron and Vereesa flew toward Ashenvale to deliver an early warning, but found no sign of the enemy along the way.
• Aaron reached Astranaar and found Shandris there, ready to receive the warning.

Aaron warned Shandris that Xavius might use Nightmare-controlled Quilboar and Naga to attack Ashenvale, possibly targeting Nordrassil. Shandris and Cenarius prepared a defense, and the enemy arrived as the chapter ended with Shandris ordering the Sentinels to fire.

• Aaron told Shandris that Xavius could be directing a large Quilboar and Naga force toward Ashenvale, and Shandris summoned Cenarius and requested reinforcements from Mount Hyjal.
• Aaron argued that Xavius might target Nordrassil to spread the Nightmare through the Emerald Dream, though Shandris prioritized defending Ashenvale.
• A Night Elf messenger reported that Quilboar and Naga had come ashore from the Southfury River and were heading toward Ashenvale.
• Shandris and Cenarius established a defensive line at the junction linking Astranaar, Azshara, and Mount Hyjal.
• The combined army arrived with Nightmare-controlled birds of prey overhead, and Shandris ordered the Sentinels to fire.

Shandris and the Night Elf forces held back the allied Quilboar and Naga army with arrows before Cenarius’s nature forces joined the battle. As Nightmare corruption began turning Mountain Giants against their allies, Aaron intervened, but more giants started to fall to the corruption.

• Shandris’s Sentinels rained arrows on the advancing Quilboar and Naga, then switched to precision shots against the armored Naga brutes.
• Shandris shot an elite Naga in the throat, and an unknown archer’s lightning-charged arrow struck the same target and killed him.
• When the Naga brutes reached the Night Elf lines, Cenarius sent Mountain Giants and other nature creatures forward to form a defensive barrier.
• The Mountain Giants fought off the charging Naga and Quilboar while the Sentinels and nature allies supported them with arrows and magic.
• Nightmare corruption spread across a Mountain Giant, who attacked his companions, and Aaron stopped him with Holy Light.
• A second and then a third Mountain Giant began to succumb to the corruption.

Cenarius and Shandris withdrew after Nightmare corruption weakened the Night Elf front line, while Shandris's forces continued harassing Xavius's army as it advanced toward Mount Hyjal. Shandris considered trying to kill Xavius with an arrow, but Vereesa warned that even an artifact-powered shot could not destroy him, so they headed back.

• Nightmare corruption spread among the Mountain Giants, but Cenarius bound them with roots and used nature magic to cleanse them.
• Cenarius warned Shandris that his troops could not hold the line, and Shandris ordered an organized retreat as the Naga attacked.
• The Night Elves and their allies escaped through the forest, where Xavius's forces struggled to pursue them.
• Shandris's forces repeatedly ambushed Xavius's army as it marched toward Mount Hyjal, slowing its advance.
• Shandris asked whether she could kill Xavius with an arrow, but Vereesa said even an artifact-powered shot could not destroy him, and Shandris called off the harassment.

Xavius led the Nightmare coalition toward Nordrassil, where Shandris had prepared the Night Elves to meet them. The battle began with Glaive Throwers and Sentinels striking the advancing Quilboar.

• Xavius noticed that the Night Elves’ harassment had stopped as his army struggled across Mount Hyjal’s rugged terrain.
• Shandris deployed Druids of the Claw, Sentinels, Priests, Glaive Throwers, and Hippogryph riders on open ground near Nordrassil.
• Aaron asked Shandris why the Night Elves had not ambushed the coalition earlier, and she explained that the mountain road offered no suitable place to do so.
• Shandris spotted the approaching Quilboar and ordered the Night Elf forces to prepare for battle.
• The Glaive Throwers opened fire, killing several Quilboar at a time, while Sentinel archers attacked as the war machines reloaded.

Shandris used the mountain pass to offset the Night Elves’ numerical disadvantage, but the battle settled into a stalemate as the Naga and Quilboar formed ranks. The appearance of Agamaggan threatened to turn the fight against them, leaving Aaron preparing to intervene.

• Shandris ordered the Druids of the Claw to charge, and their surprise attack drove the Naga brutes back into the mountain pass.
• Shandris halted the advance and explained to Fandral Staghelm that the Night Elves needed to fight where the narrow terrain limited the enemy’s numbers.
• Xavius’s forces returned with witches who used spells to keep the Night Elves from disrupting their formation, and the two armies began fighting head-on.
• The Night Elves held their formation and inflicted heavy casualties, but the battle became a stalemate as they too began to suffer losses.
• Agamaggan appeared behind the enemy ranks, and Aaron sighed that he might have to use Avatar to hold off the boar demigod.

Aaron confronted the Nightmare-corrupted Agamaggan to keep him from reaching the Night Elves’ defensive line, but Xavius joined the fight and attacked Aaron with Nightmare magic. With his Avatar nearing its end, Aaron watched for an opening to deal with both opponents.

• Agamaggan’s arrival rallied the Quilboar and shook the Night Elves’ resolve as he charged toward their defensive line.
• Aaron transformed into a towering stone giant and intercepted Agamaggan, drawing his attacks away from the Night Elves.
• Aaron blocked Agamaggan’s charge with his shield and drew Frostmourne, but Agamaggan reared up to evade the strike.
• Xavius appeared on Agamaggan’s back and controlled the boar while attacking Aaron with a Nightmare spell.
• Aaron resisted Xavius’s spell before Agamaggan could impale him and began watching for an opening as his Avatar neared its end.

Aaron fought Xavius, who transformed into Nightmare smoke and empowered Agamaggan before disappearing. Vereesa rescued Aaron, while Malfurion Stormrage bound Agamaggan with vines.

• Xavius searched for Aaron and taunted him, but Aaron emerged from beneath Agamaggan and attacked with his warhammer.
• Aaron interrupted Xavius's Nightmare spell, wounded him, and cut off his head, but Xavius's body dissolved into two clouds of black smoke.
• Aaron used Divine Shield and Holy Light to repel the Nightmare smoke, while Agamaggan swallowed the other cloud and grew larger and more dangerous.
• Vereesa shot the Naga closing in on Aaron, then helped him escape on a summoned griffin.
• Aaron saw vines binding Agamaggan and recognized the Night Elf controlling them as Malfurion Stormrage.

Malfurion defeated the corrupted Agamaggan and discovered that the Wild God had not fully resurrected, then joined Aaron to end the battle against the Quilboar and Naga. Agamaggan returned to the Emerald Dream, while Malfurion’s overwhelming power left Aaron, Vereesa, and the Night Elves stunned.

• Aaron stopped worrying when Malfurion arrived and watched as Malfurion restrained Agamaggan with layers of vines.
• Malfurion used nature magic to purge the Nightmare corruption from Agamaggan, but Agamaggan’s body began to disintegrate.
• Aaron realized Agamaggan had not fully resurrected, and Malfurion continued purifying him until only his spectral soul remained.
• Agamaggan surveyed the battlefield sadly, growled at Malfurion, and vanished, apparently returning to the Emerald Dream.
• Malfurion restored Aaron’s strength and asked him to help end the battle and address the corruption afflicting Agamaggan’s offspring.
• Malfurion summoned vines that bound the Quilboar and many of the Naga, astonishing Aaron, Vereesa, and the Night Elves.

Malfurion restrained the Quilboar and used Aaron as a conduit for the Tear of Elune’s power to purify their Nightmare corruption. After Aaron learned Xavius might still be alive and the Satyrs had been released, Ysera urgently summoned Malfurion and Aaron to the Emerald Dream.

• Malfurion bound most of the Quilboar with vines, and the Night Elves restrained them while killing the Naga.
• Malfurion drew on the Tear of Elune through Aaron and spread a rain of light that purified the Nightmare corruption from the Quilboar.
• Vereesa caught Aaron when his strength nearly failed, while Malfurion told Shandris and Fandral Staghelm that they must decide how to handle what came next.
• Malfurion told Fandral that Xavius had been killed beneath Shaladrassil but might have survived as a projection, and warned that he could cause trouble in the waking world.
• Aaron told Malfurion that a Green Dragonflight member had reported the Satyrs were already released, and Malfurion realized the Green Dragonflight had not contacted them.
• A Storm Crow delivered Ysera’s urgent summons for Malfurion to return to the Emerald Dream and asked Aaron to find her there.

After Ysera warned that the Emerald Dream was in danger, Malfurion and Aaron entered the Dream with the Druids to help. Cenarius organized teams to cleanse scattered Nightmare outbreaks and took Aaron with him to confront Xavius, whose Nightmare could exploit the Wild Gods’ close connection to the Dream.

• A messenger told Malfurion that Shaladrassil and many ancient souls had been corrupted, so Malfurion decided to return to the Emerald Dream with most of the Druids.
• Tyrande sent reserve troops to protect the Night Elves, and Aaron said goodbye to Vereesa before joining the Druids in the Emerald Dream.
• Aaron felt an unexplained irritation in the Dream, and Malfurion explained that its corruption was affecting Aaron through his connection to it.
• Cenarius arrived and showed Malfurion and Aaron a model marking Nightmare outbreaks across Azeroth, then helped assign Druids to cleanse them.
• Cenarius told Aaron to join him and Malfurion against Xavius because Aaron could resist the Nightmare’s mental attacks better than the other Wild Gods.

Aaron, Malfurion, and Cenarius traveled to Shaladrassil’s projection in the Emerald Dream to stop the Nightmare from corrupting it. A Nightmare dragon attacked them, and Cenarius identified her as Nythendra and trapped her as the fight began.

• Malfurion, Aaron, and Cenarius traveled for three days toward Shaladrassil’s projection in the Emerald Dream.
• Aaron and Malfurion discussed how the tree’s corruption could open a passage between the Nightmare and reality.
• Malfurion spotted an enemy and warned Aaron as a black-scaled Dragon of Nightmare pursued them.
• The group landed and began fighting the dragon, who revealed herself as Nythendra.
• Cenarius called out to Nythendra and ensnared her hind legs with a thick vine when she tried to flee.

Aaron and Cenarius helped Malfurion cleanse Nythendra of the Nightmare’s corruption, then hurried to the battle at Shaladrassil. When Aaron reached Freya, she asked him for the Tidestone, but he said he did not have it with him.

• Cenarius and Malfurion bound Nythendra while Aaron guarded them and watched as they cleansed her corruption.
• Nythendra awoke, learned that thousands of years had passed and Shaladrassil had been corrupted, then offered to carry Cenarius, Malfurion, and Aaron to the battle.
• Nythendra flew ahead with Cenarius and Malfurion, leaving Aaron behind as the others reached the battlefield first.
• Aaron arrived at the battle, where Ysera, Freya, the Wild Gods, and green dragons fought Nightmare monsters pouring from Shaladrassil’s hollow.
• Freya asked Aaron for the Tidestone, and Aaron told her he did not have it with him, startling her and the nearby Wild Gods.

Aaron arrived to help Freya and the Wild Gods fight the Nightmare army, but he initially lacked the Tidestone they needed. After Xal'atath supplied it, Freya used its power to cleanse Shaladrassil, only for Xavius to emerge from the tree and reveal a branch wrapped in Nightmare power.

• Ursol questioned Aaron after learning he had not brought the Tidestone, and Freya explained that its absence forced her to reconsider the battle plan.
• Xal'atath gave Aaron the Tidestone, which he passed to Freya.
• Freya unleashed a flood from the Tidestone that purified the Nightmare's corruption around Shaladrassil.
• Freya sensed Nightmare power remained in Shaladrassil's roots, then watched the flood surge back as Xavius emerged from the hollow.
• Malfurion threatened Xavius, who mocked him and displayed a branch covered in Nightmare power.

Xavius used a branch of G'Hanir to threaten Ysera, demanding safe passage for his followers into the Emerald Dream. Aaron agreed to the terms while planning to use the arrangement to strike at Xavius's forces, though he suspected Xavius had another scheme.

• Xavius revealed that he held a branch of G'Hanir and threatened to corrupt it unless Ysera let him and his followers enter the Emerald Dream and leave safely.
• Aviana recognized the branch and grew furious, while Ysera refused Xavius's initial demand to let him carry out his plan in the Dream.
• Aaron arrived and consulted with Ysera and Freya, who explained the dangers of losing or corrupting the branch.
• Aaron proposed accepting Xavius's terms as a chance to wipe out his forces, while suspecting Xavius had a hidden plan.
• Xavius began to corrupt the branch, forcing Ysera to accept his terms.

Xavius used G'Hanir's branch to trap Ysera with Nightmare-infused vines, then led his Satyrs against the Wild Gods. Ysera resisted corruption and sent Freya to stop him, leaving Xavius facing the Wild Gods as he attacked Goldrinn.

• Xavius summoned thousands of Satyrs imprisoned beneath Shaladrassil and led them into the Emerald Dream.
• Xavius tossed G'Hanir's branch to Ysera, and vines from it bound her as Nightmare power began seeping into her.
• Ysera resisted the corruption and told the others not to let Xavius escape.
• Freya rallied the Wild Gods and surrounded Xavius and his Satyr followers.
• Xavius ordered his Satyrs to attack and challenged Goldrinn, who met him head-on.

Aaron joined the Wild Gods' battle against Xavius's Satyrs and helped them regain room to maneuver. He and Goldrinn overwhelmed Xavius, and Aaron beheaded the Nightmare Lord.

• Aaron left Freya and Ysera's side to help the Wild Gods, freeing the black panther and several other demigods from the Satyrs.
• Aaron activated Avatar and attacked Xavius while he fought Goldrinn.
• Aaron shielded Goldrinn from Xavius's attempt to trade blows and fought alongside the wolf god.
• Aaron shattered Xavius's shoulder with the Silver Hand Warhammer as Goldrinn tore off one of his legs.
• Aaron drew Frostmourne and cut off Xavius's head.

After Xavius’s apparent defeat, Ysera and the Green Dragonflight destroyed the fleeing Satyrs, while Aaron and Malfurion investigated Xavius’s remains. They confirmed the corpse belonged to Xavius, but Aaron remained suspicious of his fate as they turned to cleansing Shaladrassil.

• The exhausted Wild Gods failed to stop several thousand Satyrs from fleeing toward Shaladrassil, but Ysera and the Green Dragonflight caught up and blasted them with dragon breath.
• Aaron examined Xavius’s shrinking corpse and questioned how Xavius could have a body after entering the Emerald Dream as a soul.
• Malfurion examined Xavius’s head and used nature magic to reveal its original Night Elf appearance, confirming it belonged to Xavius.
• Malfurion recalled that Xavius’s sealed oak tree had died and suspected Xavius had taken his corpse from it.
• Aaron purified Xavius’s corpse while wondering what Xavius had hoped to gain, and Ysera said the Nightmare would be no threat if its corruption was eliminated.
• Aaron accepted Ysera’s plan to deal with the Nightmare corruption in Shaladrassil, though he still suspected Xavius was alive and plotting.

After Xavius’s defeat, Ysera organized patrols to contain the Nightmare and asked Aaron to stay while she and Freya used the Tidestone to purify Shaladrassil. While Aaron waited, a familiar enemy ambushed him beneath the World Tree.

• Ysera assigned green dragons and Wild Gods to patrol the Emerald Dream for signs of the Nightmare.
• Ysera told Aaron that she and Freya needed the Tidestone to address Shaladrassil’s corruption, and Aaron agreed to wait before taking the stone back.
• Malfurion warned Aaron that entering the portal to the corrupted Shaladrassil in spirit form was dangerous, so Aaron stayed behind as Ysera and Freya departed.
• Aaron explored Shaladrassil’s dark hollow and sensed the tree trembling.
• A vine seized Aaron, dragged him outside, and hung him upside down before a familiar wooden face appeared; Aaron exclaimed, “How are you alive again?!”