Chapter Summaries

Jiang Jie and his companions entered Medivh’s chess hall, where an echo of Medivh assigned them roles and transported Jiang Jie into the First War as Lothar. Reginald Windsor told him that Medivh and King Llane were dead and Stormwind City faced an all-out Orc assault.

• Jiang Jie saw echoes of figures from the First War, including Lothar, Llane, Blackhand, and Gul'dan, while Garona trembled at the sight of Gul'dan.
• An echo of Medivh told the group to choose roles, then chose for them and sent them from the chess hall to First War-era Stormwind City.
• Jiang Jie found himself on the city wall in Lothar’s golden armor, able to use Strom'kar but unable to access his other powers and equipment.
• Reginald Windsor identified himself as Lothar’s guard captain and said they had just killed Medivh and returned from Karazhan.
• Reginald told Jiang Jie that the Elwynn defensive line and Northshire Abbey had fallen, King Llane had been killed by Garona, and Orcs were assaulting Stormwind City.

Jiang Jie discovered that Stormwind City was surrounded by the Orcs under Orgrim Doomhammer, while the Chess Hall had placed him in Lothar’s role alongside Meryl, Anveena, and Med’an. After learning that death in the illusion was real, he decided to abandon the city and focus on killing Orgrim to complete his mission.

• Jiang Jie realized Llane was dead and that Orgrim had replaced Blackhand as Warchief, making the Orc assault on Stormwind City far more dangerous.
• Jiang Jie identified the young, white-haired mage as Meryl and recognized Anveena and Med’an among those beside him.
• Meryl tried to locate Garona with a spell but failed, leaving Jiang Jie unsure whether she was absent or acting as herself.
• Jiang Jie saw that hundreds of thousands of Orcs surrounded Stormwind City and concluded its defenders could not hold them off.
• Jiang Jie asked Xiao Feng whether the world was real and learned that dying there meant dying for real.
• Jiang Jie rejected evacuating or defending Stormwind City and chose to seek out and kill Orgrim so he could complete the mission.

Jiang Jie sent Reginald to protect Prince Varian while he and his companions launched a second raid to kill Orgrim and disrupt the orc leadership. They teleported into the besieged mountains, where Meryl’s interrogation of captured orc souls revealed the location of the orcs’ main base.

• Jiang Jie ordered Reginald to take Marcus and Gavinrad and secretly protect Prince Varian instead of joining the raid.
• Jiang Jie, Med'an, Meryl, and Anveena teleported to the mountains outside Stormwind City as the orc assault raged.
• Jiang Jie warned Med'an that they could not waste time fighting the overwhelming numbers of orcs and asked Meryl to make them invisible.
• Meryl captured and interrogated the souls of slain orcs, and the group learned where the orcs’ main base was located.

A mysterious white-haired woman entered Karazhan, restored its ruined rooms, and sought out the Shade of Sargeras to destroy a contingency left there seven hundred years earlier. Meanwhile, Jiang Jie and his companions weighed how to confront Orgrim’s elite Orc camp and feared Medivh’s plan had gone wrong.

• A white-haired woman evaded Dalaran’s magical surveillance, broke into Karazhan, and passed through its defenses without resistance.
• She restored Karazhan’s rooms and library as she climbed, then found the Shade of Sargeras in a hidden library and prepared to destroy its contingency.
• Med’an considered attacking the Orc camp but recognized that four weakened companions could not safely face its thousands of elite warriors and Shamans head-on.
• Jiang Jie worried that something had gone wrong and urged Medivh not to fail them.

Jiang Jie disguised his group as orcs to find Orgrim, but discovered that Gul'dan, Grom Hellscream, Kilrogg Deadeye, and Cho'gall had gathered at the war chief's headquarters. Their disguises were exposed, leaving them surrounded by powerful orc leaders.

• Jiang Jie asked Meryl to disguise the group as orcs so they could find Orgrim and kill him.
• Meryl used orc body tissue to disguise them, and the group located Orgrim's headquarters.
• Jiang Jie used Xiao Feng's live feed to see Grom Hellscream, Kilrogg Deadeye, Gul'dan, and Cho'gall gathered with Orgrim.
• Kilrogg's magical eye saw through the group's disguises, and Gul'dan dispelled them.
• Gul'dan identified Lothar and Khadgar and ordered the orc champions to kill them.

Jiang Jie and his companions fought to escape Orgrim’s council hall after Gul’dan exposed their identities, but Grom’s assault left them badly outmatched. Medivh’s echo apologized for the danger caused by Sargeras’s altered chess game and promised that reinforcements would arrive soon.

• Jiang Jie led his companions toward the exit as orcs charged them, while Meryl used Flame Wreath to blast back and kill or wound many attackers.
• Meryl cast Blizzard and Anveena called on Elune to drive back more orcs, while Med’an struggled to contribute without the Keeper’s power.
• Grom joined the fight and knocked Jiang Jie down with Gorehowl, leaving him unable to match the legendary warrior without his chi.
• Jiang Jie furiously called for Medivh and demanded to know why he had led them into danger.
• Medivh’s echo said Sargeras had changed the game in a way he had not anticipated, then told Jiang Jie that reinforcements were coming and urged him to hold on.

Jiang Jie demanded Mak'gora to stop the orcs from interfering, but Gul'dan redirected the challenge to Grom, forcing Jiang Jie to duel while he waited for the gaming pod to crack the chess illusion. As Grom unleashed Gorehowl's power, Jiang Jie called on Pyralis and prepared to fight at full strength.

• Jiang Jie demanded Mak'gora, and the orcs stopped fighting to witness the duel.
• Gul'dan declared that Grom would fight Jiang Jie first, and Orgrim accepted the ruling.
• Jiang Jie accepted Grom's challenge and used his swordsmanship to evade Gorehowl and wound Grom while buying time.
• Grom drew on Gorehowl's power, and Jiang Jie summoned Pyralis, the power of the phoenix.

Chromie arrived at Karazhan and found Jiang Jie’s soulless body and the others under attack by flesh beasts. After learning that Sargeras’s forces threatened them, she agreed to open a space-time passage to send their bodies into the chessboard world.

• Chromie entered Karazhan, got lost in its distorted corridors, and reached the chess hall.
• Chromie found Jiang Jie and several others lying there without souls while the Maiden of Virtue guarded them from attacking flesh beasts.
• The Echo of Medivh explained that Sargeras had altered the chess game and that an Eredar warlock was sending flesh beasts to destroy the bodies.
• The Echo of Medivh asked Chromie to send the bodies into the chessboard world rather than fight inside it.
• Chromie agreed to open a space-time passage, and the Echo of Medivh said an unknown power kept Nicholas hidden from Sargeras’s sight.

Jiang Jie endured Grom’s overwhelming assault until his original body and power returned, allowing him to defeat Grom in their Mak’gora. He left Grom alive and challenged the other Orcs to face him.

• Grom’s Gorehowl-enhanced attacks repeatedly sent Jiang Jie flying, but Jiang Jie kept charging until the Orcs began to respect his courage.
• Grom launched a decisive overhead strike, and Jiang Jie’s original body arrived from the Chess Hall, restoring his Chi and strength.
• Jiang Jie blocked Grom’s blow without retreating, then countered with a powerful strike that sent Grom and Gorehowl backward.
• Jiang Jie used Execute to knock Gorehowl from Grom’s hands and struck him unconscious with the flat of his sword.
• Jiang Jie spared Grom and challenged the surrounding Orcs by asking who would fight next.

Jiang Jie challenged Orgrim to Mak'gora after Gul'dan tried to kill him, and the orcs' demands forced their Warchief to accept. The chapter ended as Orgrim charged at Jiang Jie with Doomhammer.

• Gul'dan attacked Jiang Jie with fel energy, but Meryl shielded him as Meryl, Med'an, and Anveena regained their powers.
• Jiang Jie declared that he was not Lothar and challenged Orgrim to Mak'gora, while Strom'kar and Gorehowl resonated with Doomhammer.
• Gul'dan urged Orgrim to kill Jiang Jie and his companions, but Jiang Jie publicly called Orgrim out and Meryl amplified his words for the orcs.
• The orcs roared for Orgrim to accept, and Orgrim realized that refusing would undermine his authority and leave him vulnerable to rivals.
• Orgrim accepted Jiang Jie's Mak'gora and charged at him with Doomhammer.

Aegwynn reached the chess hall after defeating Sargeras’s powerful temporal echo and learned that Jiang Jie was stalling against Orgrim while waiting for help. When the High-tier Legendary Eredar warlock Malchezaar broke free, Aegwynn rushed to confront him to protect her grandson.

• Aegwynn defeated Sargeras’s temporal echo in Karazhan’s private library and cursed the Kirin Tor for giving Aluneth to the blue dragons.
• Aegwynn reached the chess hall, where Chromie struggled to maintain the temporal passage and Medivh urged her to hurry.
• Medivh showed Aegwynn that Jiang Jie was balancing his duel with Orgrim to stall until reinforcements arrived, while Gul’dan took Orgrim’s place on the chessboard.
• Malchezaar broke through the magical barrier after Sargeras’s fel explosion had connected Karazhan to the Twisting Nether.
• Aegwynn learned that Malchezaar was a High-tier Legendary and ran toward the tower’s top to stop him before he could destroy the chessboard world.

Jiang Jie blinded Orgrim in Mak'gora and challenged Kilrogg, but Garona attacked him under Gul'dan's control. Jiang Jie repelled her and condemned the Orcs for violating their sacred duel, prompting them to demand justice and uphold their traditions.

• Medivh told Jiang Jie that Malchezaar had appeared, Aegwynn was fighting him, and Jiang Jie had to kill Gul'dan to escape the chessboard world.
• Jiang Jie increased his power and covered Orgrim with sword strikes, blinding him while keeping him alive to stall for time.
• Jiang Jie challenged Kilrogg, but Garona ambushed him with the Kingslayers before he could continue Mak'gora.
• Jiang Jie forced the toxin from his wound and blocked Garona's attacks until she vanished again.
• Jiang Jie denounced the Orcs for allowing Garona to interfere, and Orcs demanded that Gul'dan answer for the violation and that the duel's survivors be allowed to leave.

Jiang Jie broke Medivh’s chessboard world from within, saving the real people trapped inside and ending the conflict with Gul'dan. The survivors returned to the Chess Hall, where Medivh’s echo left Jiang Jie a reward before fading, and Aegwynn reunited with her grandson Med'an.

• Garona killed Orgrim, while Gul'dan killed Kilrogg and claimed the Warchief’s authority before ordering the humans attacked.
• Jiang Jie realized the chessboard’s flaws could be used to destroy it from within without harming those who were real.
• Meryl and Med'an held off Gul'dan and Cho'gall as Jiang Jie destroyed six spell nodes with Phoenix Arrows.
• The chessboard world collapsed, leaving Jiang Jie, Garona, Med'an, Meryl, and the others intact in the ruined Chess Hall.
• Medivh’s echo gave Jiang Jie a chest as compensation, then faded after looking at Garona and Med'an.
• Aegwynn returned after defeating an Eredar lord and hurried to greet Med'an, criticizing Meryl’s training.

Aegwynn took charge of Med'an's inheritance and agreed to recover the Chicken Leg Staff's head from Kel'Thuzad, while Jiang Jie collected Medivh's treasure and looted Prince Malchezaar. The chapter left Aegwynn setting out to contact the blue dragons and Jiang Jie sorting through his rewards.

• Aegwynn claimed the Chicken Leg Staff for Med'an and said the Keeper's responsibilities could be decided later.
• Jiang Jie told Aegwynn that Kel'Thuzad held the staff's head and the Book of Medivh, and she promised to kill him and reclaim Aluneth.
• Aegwynn opened a portal to Wyrmrest Temple to contact the dragons, while Meryl asked her to remove the Shadow Council's magic from Garona.
• Chromie returned to the Caverns of Time after lingering for two days, and Jiang Jie opened Medivh's chest, finding more than a dozen epic items, including the King's Defender saber.
• Jiang Jie had Anveena purify Prince Malchezaar's charred corpse and recovered an epic ring, an epic dagger, and a Nether Teleportation Stone.

Jiang Jie left Karazhan after helping arrange its restoration and returned to Lordaeron when Queen Calia summoned him over the Syndicate’s seizure of vital grain shipments. The chapter ended with him agreeing to handle the crisis threatening Lordaeron’s food supply.

• Aegwynn drove Archmage Ansirem and the Dalaran mages away from Karazhan, while she and Medivh decided to give the tower to Jiang Jie.
• Meryl studied Karazhan’s telescope, and more than a hundred Earthen arrived from Uldaman to begin restoring the tower.
• Jiang Jie received a message from Arcanist Doan and left Karazhan after failing to locate the Milky Way through the telescope.
• The Syndicate attacked Hillsbrad farms during the harvest, killed Silver Hand recruits and others, and stole at least half the grain.
• Baron Maxwell’s forces struggled to retake the Syndicate’s strongholds, leaving Lordaeron unable to recover the grain it urgently needed.
• Queen Calia summoned Jiang Jie, and he agreed to deal with the crisis.

Jiang Jie reviewed intelligence on the Syndicate and suspected its recent attacks were linked to Duke Falconcrest and demonic activity in Stromgarde. He decided to investigate Stromgarde himself and seek a powerful ally, intending to help the Assassins’ League rather than hire it.

• Miles presented Jiang Jie with the Assassins’ Order’s extensive files on the Syndicate and its limited intelligence on the Assassins’ League.
• Miles reported that Carlos had found signs of demons near Thoradin’s Wall and gone to Stromgarde to investigate a possible Dreadlord.
• Jiang Jie reasoned that the Syndicate’s attacks on Lordaeron’s farms were out of character and might be connected to Duke Falconcrest’s recent visit to Stromgarde.
• Jiang Jie announced he would travel to Stromgarde and find a powerful, reliable ally; he sent Ivan to train with Darion and took Lilian with him.
• Miles offered Jiang Jie Master Onias’s Ravenholdt insignia, but Jiang Jie said he planned to help the Assassins’ League, not ask it for help.

Jiang Jie brought Lilian to Ravenholdt Manor and tested her by having her find and enter the Assassins' League without his help. After she evaded the manor's guards and traps, she was detected at the tunnel exit but earned the right to meet Duke Ravenholdt.

• Jiang Jie gave Lilian Patriarch Alexei's map and told her that joining the Assassins' League would be her test.
• Lilian used Stealth to follow the map through the mountains while Jiang Jie quietly followed her and avoided the guards and traps.
• A hidden spell trap detected Lilian, allowing a high-rank rogue to track her with a magical crystal ball and record her performance.
• Lilian passed Ravenholdt's sentries and entered the tunnel, earning nearly perfect marks from the observing rogue.
• A spell trap detected Lilian at the tunnel exit, where two Ravenholdt sentries blocked her way.
• The high-rank rogue gave Lilian a score of ninety and escorted her to meet Duke Ravenholdt.

Jiang Jie infiltrated Ravenholdt Manor to find Farad, the Assassins' League's Grandmaster rogue and a powerful black dragon, but Farad's perception exposed the danger of confronting him. Unable to merge with Anveena, who was being trained by Aegwynn, Jiang Jie abandoned the plan to kill Farad outright and resolved to try to force him into revealing his true form.

• Jiang Jie surveyed Ravenholdt Manor and noted the Assassins' League's lavish equipment and elite membership.
• Jiang Jie located Farad, a Legendary rogue who was secretly a black dragon and ranked second to Duke Jorach.
• Farad sensed Jiang Jie watching from a great distance, forcing Jiang Jie to hide and reconsider his plan.
• Jiang Jie recalled that Aegwynn had taken Anveena to the Hall of the Keeper, severing their connection and preventing him from merging with her.
• Jiang Jie decided to confront Farad anyway, aiming to force him to reveal his true form if he could not kill him.

Jiang Jie disguised himself and attacked Farad beneath Ravenholdt Castle to expose the black dragon hidden within the Assassins' League. After Farad and other assassins wounded and pursued him, Jiang Jie sprang his counterattack in the valley.

• Jiang Jie disguised himself with mismatched epic equipment and summoned the bone dragon Nightbane before approaching Ravenholdt Castle in Stealth.
• Jiang Jie attacked Farad through the wooden terrace, but Farad dodged and struck back with poisoned daggers.
• Jiang Jie fled while Farad, Kuhn, a high elf rogue, and other Assassins' League members pursued him.
• Jiang Jie used Gnomeregan bombs to hinder the pursuing rogues, but Farad kept pace and wounded him repeatedly.
• Jiang Jie lured Farad into a valley, where Nightbane breathed fire and Jiang Jie summoned a five-meter-tall nether abyssal to block Farad's daggers.

Jiang Jie used Nightbane, the Void Abyssal, bombs, and an array of gnomish crossbow bolts to keep Farad from escaping. Poisoned and trapped under relentless attacks, Farad returned to his true black dragon form.

• Nightbane and the Void Abyssal blocked Farad while Jiang Jie bombarded him, repeatedly exposing him when he tried to use Stealth.
• Jiang Jie used a gnomish crossbow to fire explosive and splitting bolts, injuring Farad and forcing him to stop running.
• Jiang Jie fired frost bolts that formed an ice wall and blocked Farad’s path.
• Jiang Jie shot a bolt that released a mithril net coated in spider venom, and Farad was poisoned and partially paralyzed as he cut himself free.
• With another bolt flying toward him and no way to escape, Farad returned to his true black dragon form.