Chapter Summaries

Jiang Jie rallied Southshore’s allied forces by reminding them of their victories and pointing out their reinforcements, then organized them to fight back against the Scourge. Arthas redirected his forces to race Jiang Jie in killing the defenders, but a Pandaren blocked his advance.

• Jiang Jie told Southshore’s soldiers that Archimonde had been killed and reinforcements were arriving, including Night Elves, the Fenris People's Army, Pandaren, and elemental allies.
• Jiang Jie’s speech restored the soldiers’ morale, and he ordered the archers, riflemen, champions, and Kirin Tor mages to work together against the undead.
• Arthas learned from Captain Falric that Balnazzar had likely possessed Renault and escaped, leaving no one able to challenge Jiang Jie in the sky.
• Arthas ordered the Gargoyles and Frost Wyrms to ignore Jiang Jie and attack the allied forces while he led the Death Knights in a charge.
• A Pandaren stood in Arthas’s way.

Jiang Jie and his allies disrupted the Scourge’s assault on Southshore, killing key commanders and destroying much of its aerial force. Arthas retreated after Dalaran’s reinforcements arrived, while Jiang Jie anticipated a later showdown.

• Jiang Jie flew to the southern shore and killed Heigan, stopping the necromancers’ teleportation operation temporarily.
• Anveena shielded Jiang Jie from a barrage of spells, and he used Thori'dal to kill mages, Gargoyles, and a Frost Wyrm.
• Xiao Feng identified weak points in the Scourge’s magical barrier, allowing Jiang Jie to break it and kill seventeen necromancers and a Lich.
• Wugou and the other Elemental Spirits killed Anub'Rekhan, while Old Chen fought Arthas to a stalemate.
• Jiang Jie killed four Frost Wyrms and more than fifty Gargoyles as Archmage Ansirem and over a hundred Kirin Tor mages arrived.
• Arthas ordered a retreat, teleporting away with surviving Liches, necromancers, Captain Falric, and some Death Knights.

Jiang Jie feared that Balnazzar had taken Renault’s place and rushed to warn Tirisfal Monastery. There, Old Mograine welcomed the impostor as his son, only to be stabbed with a poisoned dagger.

• After the battle at Southshore, Jiang Jie worried that the missing Renault had been replaced by Balnazzar and that the Dreadlord would target Old Mograine.
• Jiang Jie asked a Dalaran Archmage to contact Arcanist Doan, who set out to warn Old Mograine at Tirisfal Monastery.
• Old Mograine considered arranging a marriage between Renault and Sally Whitemane.
• A figure posing as Renault arrived at Tirisfal Monastery, and Old Mograine embraced him.
• The impostor stabbed Old Mograine beneath the left ribs with a poisoned dagger.

Old Mograine resisted Balnazzar’s corruption, gained a surge of Holy Light, and drove the wounded Dreadlord away. After learning that Renault was dead, he arranged his son’s funeral and prepared to attend Darion’s ennoblement ceremony.

• Balnazzar revealed himself after killing Renault and tried to turn Old Mograine against the Holy Light by exploiting his resentments.
• Old Mograine rejected Balnazzar’s temptation, drew on his anger, and received renewed favor from the Holy Light.
• Old Mograine’s Sword of Holy Light burned Balnazzar’s weapon, and a Hammer of Wrath wounded him as he fled in bat form.
• Doan delivered Nicholas’s news from Southshore and told Old Mograine that Darion was well and would be honored at an ennoblement ceremony.
• Old Mograine confirmed Renault’s death, ordered Fairbanks to arrange his funeral and summon Maxwell, and told him to tell Sally the truth.

Jiang Jie returned to Lordaeron and reported the victories and losses from his expedition, prompting Queen Calia to prepare a public ennoblement ceremony. At the ceremony, rewards began without him, leaving the crowd wondering where Earl Nicholas had gone.

• Jiang Jie told Queen Calia about the expedition's victory over Archimonde, the founding of Theramore, and the heavy losses, including the events at Southshore.
• Queen Calia summoned Marquis Lawrence and arranged an ennoblement ceremony to reward the Fenris People's Army and reassure the people.
• Old Mograine heard rumors about Renault and his family's reputation, then secretly made a decision as he rode to the palace.
• Darion, Sven, Ivan, and the Fenris People's Army marched through Lordaeron as the townspeople cheered them.
• Queen Calia opened the ceremony with remembrance for the fallen and began the ennoblements, but Jiang Jie was nowhere to be found.

Jiang Jie met Alonsus Faol and proposed that he establish a secret order to help Undead escape the Lich King's control. Faol agreed to consider the plan and waited for Jiang Jie to bring news about Queen Calia.

• Lilian brought Alonsus Faol to meet Jiang Jie on Lake Lordamere.
• Faol revealed his intention to form a secret order that would fight the Scourge and spread the Holy Light.
• Jiang Jie proposed recruiting Undead who had resisted the Lich King's control, including Thassarian and Koltira, and gaining help from Alex Barov's organization.
• Jiang Jie explained that the Barov Family was serving him and could support Faol's order as part of the Awakening Plan, also called the Forsaken Plan.
• Jiang Jie suggested that Faol teach Queen Calia to become a priest, and Faol asked whether Jiang Jie could persuade her.
• Jiang Jie asked Faol to wait while he tried to bring news about Calia by that night.

Jiang Jie arrived at the ennoblement ceremony, where Queen Calia honored the Fenris People's Army for its sacrifices and granted him the unprecedented rank of marquis and the title Highlord of Lordamere. The public ceremony ended in cheers, while a more important meeting began inside the throne room.

• Jiang Jie scaled Lordaeron's city wall and reached the palace square as the ennoblement ceremony approached its most important moment.
• Queen Calia announced that the Alliance Expedition would remain in Kalimdor and that Jaina would rule Theramore with authority to grant lower noble titles.
• Calia honored the Fenris People's Army for defending Southshore and mourned the thirteen soldiers who had died in battle.
• Calia made all Fenris People's Army members knights, granted Ivan Coleman and Sven Hobson knighthoods and hometown fiefs, and named Darion Mograine a baron with an island fief.
• Darion saw Jiang Jie's approval and his father Old Mograine's smile as he accepted his new title.
• Calia named Nicholas Jiang a marquis and Highlord of Lordamere, granting him Lake Lordamere as his fief.

The leaders of Lordaeron arranged new defenses and debated where to plant the seed of G'Hanir the Mother Tree. Jiang Jie chose the Fenris Isles and then offered Calia a meeting with the Priest teacher he had found for her.

• Marquis Lawrence urged Calia to recall Uther to protect Lordaeron, and Jiang Jie proposed that a Lordaeron leader replace him at Southshore.
• Old Mograine volunteered to command Southshore, seeking vengeance for Renault, while Baron Maxwell Tyrosus would oversee Tirisfal Monastery.
• Jiang Jie revealed the seed of G'Hanir and explained how a World Tree could cleanse the plague and help relieve Lordaeron's refugee and food crises.
• Old Mograine and Marquis Lawrence argued over where to plant the tree, but Jiang Jie chose the Ley Line-rich Fenris Isles, and Calia assigned him responsibility for the project.
• Jiang Jie stayed behind after the meeting and asked Calia whether she would meet the Priest teacher he had found, who was waiting on a fishing boat on Lake Lordamere.

Jiang Jie began preparations to establish the Forsaken and chose the center of Lake Lordamere as the site for planting the World Tree. The chapter ended with Lordaeron's leaders and citizens gathered to witness the planting begin.

• Princess Calia met Archbishop Faol with Jiang Jie and Arcanist Doan, and Faol agreed to live secretly in Lordaeron and teach her.
• Jiang Jie brought Faol to meet Patriarch Alexei, who reluctantly agreed to cooperate and reported that Gunther Arcanus had joined them.
• Jiang Jie gave Patriarch Alexei the Frenzy Shackles and the Chronicle of Dark Secrets, then ordered the undead to leave Lake Lordamere and focus on Gilneas and Deatholme.
• Jiang Jie and Broll Bearmantle chose the center of Lake Lordamere for the World Tree, and Broll explained that its roots and canopy would spread across the lake.
• Jiang Jie and Broll gathered a crowd on Fenris Isle the next morning, and Jiang Jie announced the start of the planting.

Jiang Jie and the Druids used a blessed banyan seed to grow a World Tree in Lake Lordamere. After it stopped growing, Jiang Jie named it Teldrassil and considered building a city on its crown.

• Jiang Jie tossed the seed into Lake Lordamere as Broll Bearmantle and four other Druids chanted and cast spells to help it grow.
• The seed rapidly became a vast tree, drawing energy from the lake, Ley Lines, and the Emerald Dream.
• The World Tree spread across the lake and grew taller than the surrounding mountains before finally stopping.
• Broll explained that depleted Ley Line energy and a lack of Druids would limit the tree’s future growth, and Jiang Jie accepted that its size was sufficient.
• Jiang Jie asked whether he could build a city on the tree, and Broll said it was possible.
• Jiang Jie named the World Tree Teldrassil, meaning Crown of the Earth.

Jiang Jie welcomed the Worgen to the Fenris Isles and continued building Sky City beneath the World Tree while cultivating until he reached the Xiantian Fifth Layer. His quiet period ended when Cenarius summoned him to help Maiev against Illidan and Kael'thas in Northrend.

• Velinde admired the World Tree, and Jiang Jie told her the Worgen would make Wolf Island their home and plant Nightbane there.
• Jiang Jie oversaw Anveena and the four Elemental Spirits as they began moving the Fenris Isles into the canopy to build Sky City.
• Jiang Jie spent half a month cultivating beneath the World Tree and reached the Xiantian Fifth Layer.
• Cenarius told Jiang Jie that Illidan and Kael'thas were bombarding Northrend from the Isle of Quel'Danas and that Maiev needed his help.

Jiang Jie took Old Chen to Silvermoon City to reach Quel'Danas and stop Illidan from overusing the Eye of Sargeras. Meanwhile, the Lich King's waning power drove Arthas to prepare an expedition to Northrend.

• Jiang Jie decided Illidan had to be stopped before the Eye of Sargeras damaged Northrend and released Yogg-Saron, and recruited Old Chen to help.
• Jiang Jie and Old Chen traveled through the portal to Silvermoon City, where a mage told Jiang Jie that no portal to Quel'Danas was available because of arcane turbulence and undead.
• Jiang Jie requested two dragonhawks to fly to Quel'Danas, while the mage decided to inform the Queen Regent about his visit.
• Arthas felt his power and control over the undead weakening, and the Lich King warned him that Illidan was attacking the Frozen Throne.
• Arthas ordered Falric to assemble the strongest troops and all warships for a journey to Northrend, leaving Kel'Thuzad in charge of Gilneas.

Kael'thas helped Illidan and the Naga sustain a dangerous ritual with the Eye of Sargeras at Sunwell Plateau while hoping to plant an Arcan'dor seed afterward. Maiev attacked the ritual site, and Kael'thas's trap failed to stop her from pursuing Illidan.

• Kael'thas reflected on obtaining an Arcan'dor seed and planned to plant it after the ritual was finished.
• Kael'thas watched Illidan use the Eye of Sargeras in a ritual powered by the High Elves' and Naga witches' ley-line array.
• Kael'thas guarded the ritual as Maiev killed three High Elf mages and several Naga, while the Eye warped the surrounding space.
• Maiev threw her moon glaive and killed another High Elf mage, triggering Kael'thas's Phoenix Flame trap.
• Maiev emerged unharmed beneath a nearby tree, still intent on hunting Illidan.

As the Lich King's weakening grip gave Thassarian and Koltira a chance to recruit other freed undead, Illidan's ritual shook Northrend and drew Maiev's attacks. Kael'thas faced a new assault on the ritual, where Tyrande and Lady Vashj confronted each other.

• Thassarian and Koltira began secretly searching for undead who had escaped the Lich King's control, hoping to build the Forsaken's ranks while Arthas prepared to leave Gilneas.
• Illidan's ritual caused tremors across Northrend and northern Lordaeron, worrying Sylvanas as she learned Kael'thas was on the Isle of Quel'Danas.
• Kael'thas ordered the High Elf mages to defend the ritual and sent Al'ar to attack, but Maiev vanished before he could find her.
• Tyrande arrived on a Storm Crow and fired arrows at the Naga witches maintaining the ritual.
• Lady Vashj destroyed Tyrande's arrows with lightning and confronted her, declaring that Tyrande deserved to die.

Tyrande and Malfurion tried to stop Illidan’s ritual while Vashj and the Naga attacked them, and Kael’thas protected Illidan from Maiev. Just as Illidan neared completion, Jiang Jie found a flaw in the High Elf barrier and fired an arrow to break it.

• Tyrande attacked Vashj, who dodged her moonlight and fought back with arrows while Malfurion arrived and confronted Illidan.
• Illidan continued the ritual, and Kael’thas chose to defend him as Vashj sent the Naga against Malfurion and Tyrande.
• Kael’thas caught Maiev in a gravity spell, but she vanished before he could kill her.
• Jiang Jie arrived above the battlefield, identified a flaw in the High Elf barrier, and fired Thori'dal at it to break through.

Jiang Jie and Maiev disrupted Illidan’s ritual, causing the Eye of Sargeras to explode and damage the Frozen Throne, while the blast awakened Yogg-Saron. Illidan attacked Jiang Jie, and the battle escalated as Old Chen, Maiev, Tyrande, and Vashj intervened.

• Jiang Jie opened the High Elf barrier with an enchanted arrow, and Maiev killed four Naga witches and scratched the Eye of Sargeras, destabilizing Illidan’s ritual.
• The Eye of Sargeras exploded, sending a beam to the Frozen Throne that worsened its cracks and weakened the Lich King.
• The disturbance loosened Yogg-Saron’s prison, and the Old God awakened Vezax, Volazj, and other servants.
• Illidan blamed Jiang Jie for stopping his plan and repeatedly punched him, but Old Chen blocked Illidan and struck him back.
• Maiev attacked Illidan, but Jiang Jie’s arrow deflected her moon wheel while Tyrande and Vashj joined the fight.
• As Illidan faced Maiev and Old Chen, someone called for Uncle Chen to stop.

Jiang Jie stopped the fighting and explained why Illidan’s bombardment of the Frozen Throne could endanger far more than Northrend. He warned that it might damage the Nexus or Ulduar’s prison and release the Old God Yogg-Saron.

• Jiang Jie stopped Old Chen from attacking Illidan, then ordered Vashj and Tyrande to end their fight.
• Vashj called off the Naga, and the others gathered around Jiang Jie, waiting for an explanation.
• Jiang Jie challenged Illidan over his plan to bombard the Frozen Throne and warned that continuing could cause greater harm than good.
• Tyrande realized Illidan was targeting the Lich King, but Malfurion and Kael'thas questioned the dangers and consequences of the ritual.
• Jiang Jie warned that the bombardment could disrupt the Nexus or damage Ulduar’s prison, releasing Yogg-Saron and threatening the world.

Jiang Jie revealed that Illidan’s bombardment had further weakened Yogg-Saron’s Titan prison and warned that the Lich King was preparing to unite with Arthas. The group disagreed over when to launch a northern expedition, with Jiang Jie insisting they act before the Lich King gained his freedom.

• Kael'thas explained the legends of the Old Gods to Illidan, while Malfurion recalled that Northrend’s ancient trees had warned him about Yogg-Saron.
• Jiang Jie told Malfurion that Vordrassil’s roots had reached Yogg-Saron’s prison, leading the Druids to destroy the World Tree after Alexstrasza and Ysera warned them.
• Malfurion confirmed that the Dragon Aspects had revealed Yogg-Saron’s existence, and Jiang Jie said the Old God’s power had seeped out through several events, including Illidan’s bombardment.
• Jiang Jie warned that the bombardment had shortened the time before Yogg-Saron’s prison failed, while Illidan stayed silent rather than disclose his plan involving Kil'jaeden, the Burning Legion, and Sargeras.
• Kael'thas argued that the group should wait for the Lich King to weaken and gather more allies, but Jiang Jie urged them to go to Northrend immediately.
• Jiang Jie revealed that the Lich King was summoning Arthas so they could become one, warning that a free Lich King would be far more dangerous.

Illidan and his allies set out for Northrend to destroy the Frozen Throne before Arthas could reach it, while Arthas sought a shortcut to Icecrown Glacier. The chapter ended with Anub'arak offering to lead Arthas and Kel'Thuzad through the underground kingdom of Azjol-Nerub.

• Illidan agreed to lead an assault on the Frozen Throne, and Malfurion, Tyrande, Kael'thas, Jiang Jie, and Old Chen joined him.
• Jiang Jie objected to Vashj and the Naga, but Illidan kept them as allies because he needed their help.
• Vashj and the Naga joined High Elf mages in weaving a teleportation array, and the group teleported to Northrend.
• Arthas arrived in western Dragonblight with Kel'Thuzad and learned that the Lich King's power was draining as they approached Icecrown Glacier.
• Anub'arak appeared and offered to guide Arthas and Kel'Thuzad through Azjol-Nerub to reach Icecrown Glacier directly.

Kael'thas's group teleported to Dragonblight and met Krasus, who warned them that the Lich King's uncontrolled power was driving the Frost Wyrms into a fiercer assault. With the red dragon mage leaving to defend Wyrmrest Temple, Jiang Jie and the others set out for Icecrown Glacier on their own.

• Kael'thas opened a large teleportation array that brought the group to a wasteland north of Wyrmrest Temple.
• Anveena greeted Krasus, who praised her growth and warned Jiang Jie to protect the new World Tree from becoming another Vordrassil.
• Malfurion asked to see Alexstrasza, but Krasus said she was recovering and did not want to meet them.
• Kael'thas challenged Krasus over the red dragons' failure to act against the undead, and Krasus explained that the Dragon Aspects avoided intervening in mortal affairs.
• Krasus saw hundreds of Frost Wyrms gathering overhead, transformed into a red dragon, and flew off to join the battle.
• Jiang Jie urged the group to hurry toward Icecrown Glacier without Krasus's help.