Chapter Summaries

Jaina wielded Ebonchill to unleash her Frost Domain and help defend Faol while Sylvanas and the Kirin Tor mages fought the Scourge. Faol used the Lich King Armor to amplify his mind and control the Val'kyr Twins, leaving Arthas unable to command them.

• Jaina wielded Ebonchill and used her Frost Domain to kill five Liches while suppressing the rest.
• Modera and the Kirin Tor mages helped protect Faol, while Sylvanas's rangers shot down Scourge flyers and Sylvanas killed a Proto-Dragon.
• Faol used Light's Wrath to try to control the Val'kyr Twins but lacked sufficient mental power.
• Faol put on the Lich King Armor, explaining that he had only the armor and not the helm.
• The armor amplified Faol's mental power enough to control the Val'kyr Twins, and Arthas lost control of them.

Arthas discovered that Faol wore the Lich King's Armor and attacked the Northrend Expedition to seize it. Sindragosa devastated the expedition while Uther fought Arthas, and Old Mograine joined the battle as Jaina and Sylvanas were sent to help against the Frost Wyrm Queen.

• Arthas realized the Lich King's Armor amplified mental power and ordered the undead to attack so he could take it from Faol.
• Uther ordered everyone below Legendary strength to scatter as Sindragosa landed and froze expedition warriors with her Frost Breath.
• Sindragosa and the other Frost Wyrms broke the Northrend Expedition's defensive line and caused its warriors to flee in disarray.
• Arthas charged Faol, but Uther intercepted him and fought him with the Holy Hammer of the Silver Hand.
• Uther struggled against Arthas's strength on Icecrown Glacier, and Old Mograine joined the fight with Ashbringer while directing Jaina and Sylvanas to aid Thrall, Grom, and the others against Sindragosa.

The heroes fought Arthas and Sindragosa as legendary Paladins suppressed Arthas while five fighters broke two of Sindragosa’s legs. When Sindragosa took to the air, Jiang Jie arrived and struck at her with dragons of Holy Light and shadow.

• Tirion Fordring and Old Mograine joined Alexandros Mograine to suppress Arthas with their Holy Light.
• Jaina, Modera, the rangers, Sentinels, Thrall, Druids, and Alliance and Horde champions fought the Scourge’s air and ground forces.
• Grom, Vol'jin, Cairne, Orgrim Doomhammer, and Broll Bearmantle attacked Sindragosa and broke her forelegs.
• Sindragosa began to take flight, leaving Grom and Vol'jin unable to reach her.
• Jiang Jie flew in and unleashed the twentieth form of the Dragon-Subduing Palm, Yin-Yang Union, with dragons of Holy Light and shadow.

Jiang Jie destroyed Sindragosa and pursued Arthas to Acherus: The Ebon Hold, where Arthas escaped and activated the flying fortress’s self-destruct sequence. Trapped by a teleportation-blocking barrier, Jiang Jie prepared to test his strongest defense against the blast.

• Jiang Jie struck Sindragosa with the Light and Shadow Dragon Shears, then beat back the Frost Wyrms that tried to intercept him.
• Jiang Jie smashed Sindragosa’s head, wings, chest, and soul fire, killing her as she crashed into the undead army.
• Arthas vanished from the battlefield after threatening to turn Jiang Jie into a Death Knight, and Jaina sensed that he had teleported to Acherus: The Ebon Hold.
• Jiang Jie flew to Acherus: The Ebon Hold, smashed through its gates, fought through its undead defenders, and found Arthas.
• Arthas teleported away again and triggered Acherus: The Ebon Hold’s self-destruct sequence, while Anveena warned Jiang Jie that a barrier prevented them from escaping.

After Arthas detonated Acherus: The Ebon Hold in an attempt to kill Nicholas, the survivors feared the Grand Duke could not have survived the blast. Nicholas emerged unharmed and transformed into powerful creatures, destroying the undead forces around him as he hovered in the sky.

• Vol'jin, Jaina, Thrall, and the others realized Arthas had activated Acherus: The Ebon Hold's self-destruct, killing many undead and allies in the explosion.
• Broll and Uther admitted they could not have survived a blast of that magnitude, leaving the group to fear Nicholas was dead.
• Sylvanas spotted a giant energy turtle in the explosion, with Nicholas sitting inside its shell.
• Nicholas transformed into an eagle and killed a Vrykul rider and Proto-Dragon before unleashing a vast prison of lightning against the airborne undead.
• Nicholas changed into a Dragonhawk and burned more enemies with heavenly fire, then became human and struck down waves of foes with dragons of Holy Light and shadow.

Jiang Jie survived Acherus: The Ebon Hold’s destruction, and Uther ordered the Northrend Expedition to regroup and attack the Wrathgate. As the decisive battle began, Jiang Jie reclaimed the Lich King’s Armor and discussed the dangers of choosing a new Lich King and destroying Frostmourne.

• Jiang Jie endured Acherus: The Ebon Hold’s self-destruction by using Tortolla’s True Form, then resumed attacking the Scourge’s flying forces.
• Archmage Modera confirmed that Acherus: The Ebon Hold’s destruction had ended the teleportation barrier, and Uther ordered the expedition to retreat south and attack the Wrathgate.
• Uther requested support from Dalaran, the Red Dragonflight, and Naxxramas, while Faol revealed that he and Nicholas had chosen Thoradin as the new Lich King candidate.
• Arthas withdrew his forces toward Icecrown Citadel and the Wrathgate as the expedition used portals to regroup for the decisive battle.
• Faol returned the Lich King’s Armor to Jiang Jie, who warned that a new Lich King could not control Arthas’s undead and said Frostmourne should be destroyed after Arthas was defeated.

Jiang Jie presented the reforged Lich King Armor and established rules to prevent any one ruler from controlling the Forsaken forever. The leaders accepted a system of limited terms and divided authority as Naxxramas approached the assembled forces at the Wrathgate.

• The Scourge, Nerubian forces, red dragons, gryphon riders, and nearly twenty thousand elite troops gathered around the Wrathgate as Dalaran stopped above it.
• Jiang Jie brought the Lich King Armor before Thoradin and the Forsaken leaders, declaring that the armor belonged to the Forsaken rather than any individual.
• Jiang Jie set a maximum thirty-year term for each Lich King and declared that Faol and Meryl would never wear the armor.
• Jiang Jie made Faol and Meryl overseers of the Lich King and restricted Forsaken expansion to Icecrown Glacier, Wintergrasp, and Crystalsong Forest.
• Jiang Jie assigned the Val'kyr and Soul Ferrymen to Faol and Meryl, respectively, while Death Knights were placed under both Meryl and the Lich King.

King Thoradin became the first Lich King and tested the vast mental power granted by the Lich King Armor. After encountering powerful beings across Northrend, he realized the Forsaken had few safe places to expand.

• Jiang Jie named King Thoradin the first Lich King, warned him to resist the armor’s power, and Thoradin put it on.
• Thoradin’s mental power spread across Northrend, and he discovered it could reach farther if he formed a thread, though he could not encompass all of Azeroth.
• Thoradin sensed Krasus and the Red Dragon Queen, Alexstrasza, and quickly withdrew after Alexstrasza’s aura nearly crushed his mind.
• Thoradin probed Coldarra, encountered the King of the Blue Dragons, and retreated after nearly losing his mind.
• Thoradin sensed two powerful bears in Grizzly Hills and multiple demigod-level presences in the Storm Peaks, then vowed to avoid both regions.
• Thoradin reviewed the dangers of Northrend and worried that only a few territories allotted to the Forsaken were safe to occupy.

Thoradin scanned Azeroth and found powerful beings across nearly every region, then accepted that he should focus on being the Lich King and guard his kingdom. Jiang Jie sent Thoradin and Meryl to resurrect Sindragosa as Naxxramas continued toward the Wrathgate, where the final battle was about to begin.

• Thoradin scanned Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms, and the Great Sea, repeatedly withdrawing after encountering beings far more powerful than himself.
• A female naga shattered Thoradin’s mental projection in the Abyssal Maw, forcing him back to Naxxramas.
• Thoradin told Jiang Jie he would properly serve as the Lich King, and Jiang Jie warned him not to seek expansion.
• Jiang Jie ordered Meryl to take Thoradin to resurrect Sindragosa before returning to the Wrathgate.
• Faol asked whether Thoradin might harbor ambitions, and Jiang Jie said his reckless scan had likely crushed them.

The Northrend Expedition was overwhelmed at the Wrathgate until Grand Duke Nicholas ordered everyone to retreat, positioning a captured flying fortress above the gate. The chapter ended as the fortress came crashing down toward the Wrathgate.

• The new Lich King resurrected Sindragosa, and Thoradin and Meryl left for Icecrown Citadel on her back.
• The Red Dragonflight and Dalaran overwhelmed the Scourge's weakened aerial defenses, but the allied ground forces could not breach the Wrathgate.
• Uther asked Modera how many mages Dalaran would need to break through, and she said the Scourge's counterspells made it impossible.
• Nicholas arrived and directed a flying fortress over the Wrathgate, then sent Uther a message ordering everyone to retreat at least a thousand meters.
• Jaina, Sylvanas, Thrall, and the other leaders ordered their forces to withdraw, and Uther eventually sent the Order of the Silver Hand after them.
• After the Northrend Expedition had retreated, the flying fortress came crashing down above the Wrathgate.

Jiang Jie used the four Nerubian flying fortresses to destroy the Wrathgate and Icecrown Citadel, killing about a hundred thousand undead and securing the Forsaken’s claim to Icecrown Glacier, Wintergrasp, and Crystalsong Forest. As the allied armies withdrew to watch the Forsaken honor their agreement, King Thoradin began awakening the region’s remaining undead into Forsaken citizens.

• Jiang Jie and Meryl crashed a Nerubian flying fortress into the Wrathgate, destroying much of the wall and more than half the undead gathered there.
• Jiang Jie and Meryl took control of the other three flying fortresses and dropped them on Icecrown Citadel, burying more undead and bringing the total destroyed to about a hundred thousand.
• Uther ordered the Order of the Silver Hand to retreat and form a defensive line, while Jaina, Sylvanas, and other commanders issued matching orders for their forces.
• The allied leaders held their armies back as Forsaken territory, including Icecrown Glacier, Wintergrasp, and Crystalsong Forest, came under the Forsaken’s control.
• Meryl told King Thoradin that the Northrend Expedition had honored the agreement, and Thoradin began awakening the undead who still had souls so they could join the Forsaken nation.

Arthas realized the Scourge had fallen under King Thoradin’s control and challenged Jiang Jie to a final duel. Jiang Jie defeated him and broke Frostmourne, releasing the souls trapped inside it.

• Arthas sensed King Thoradin taking control of most of the undead across Icecrown Glacier as his own forces dwindled.
• Arthas rejected Yogg-Saron’s whispers and summoned Jiang Jie to fight him rather than flee or submit.
• Jiang Jie arrived, and Arthas learned that he and Calia were expecting a son named Thoradin Menethil.
• Jiang Jie and Arthas clashed with their swords, and Jiang Jie broke Frostmourne.
• The released souls poured into Arthas, who accepted their punishment and welcomed his release.

After Arthas’s death, Jiang Jie returned from Northrend to acclaim, while the Forsaken began establishing their own nation. He devoted himself to cultivation as Fenna and Calia’s births approached, until Duke Jorach arrived with news.

• Arthas died, his freed younger self thanked Jiang Jie and merged with his soul, and Jiang Jie resisted Frostmourne before taking the blade.
• Jiang Jie left the Forsaken to unite their people and prepare for a future fight against Loken and Yogg-Saron, then returned to Fenna and his unborn child.
• The Northrend Expedition returned in triumph, and Jiang Jie received widespread acclaim for killing Arthas and helping defeat the Scourge.
• As rumors about Jiang Jie and Calia spread, Fenna chose not to confront him, while Jiang Jie grew anxious about the two approaching births and immersed himself in cultivation.
• Jiang Jie advanced his animal forms and raised his true essence to six drops, then Duke Jorach visited in December with news.

Jiang Jie learned that Onyxia had seized control of Stormwind City and that the other half of Varian, known as Lo'Gosh, was fighting in Dire Maul Arena. He left to help Varian, while Fenna secretly traveled to Lordaeron to meet maid Daphne.

• Duke Jorach told Jiang Jie that Onyxia ruled Stormwind City and that Lo'Gosh had become one of Rehgar Earthfury's gladiators.
• Jiang Jie agreed to go help Varian after Fenna urged him to leave, and he entrusted Strom'kar to her before teleporting to Dalaran with Duke Jorach.
• After Jiang Jie departed, Fenna summoned Angela and ordered her to open a portal to Lordaeron.
• Fenna traveled to Lordaeron with Strom'kar and paid the portal mage to keep her arrival secret, then ordered the mage to take her to maid Daphne.

Jiang Jie visited Dire Maul and learned how the High Elves had developed its arena while keeping the peace with the Night Elves. He discovered that Lo'Gosh was competing in the 3v3 championship with Valeera and Rehgar, and decided to meet the team.

• Jiang Jie surveyed Dire Maul, which the High Elves had reclaimed as Eldre'Thalas and developed into their second city.
• Duke Jorach explained that the High Elves had agreed to protect Feralas's environment and allowed Feathermoon Sentinels and Druids to help oversee Dire Maul.
• Duke Jorach described the arena's growing popularity, its many visiting factions, and the demons the High Elves made fight for a chance at freedom.
• Jiang Jie asked about Lo'Gosh's championship bid, and Duke Jorach said Rehgar had formed a 3v3 team with Valeera and himself.
• Jiang Jie asked to meet Rehgar, the former gladiator champion.

Jiang Jie and Duke Jorach visited Dire Maul during the gladiatorial tournament finals to meet Rehgar, a powerful orc shaman-warrior whose team had reached the semifinals. Jiang Jie asked to buy Lo'Gosh and Valeera from Rehgar, leaving their fate undecided.

• Jiang Jie entered Dire Maul and sensed that the city and its packed arena were guarded by formidable magical defenses and numerous legendary powerhouses.
• Duke Jorach brought Jiang Jie to meet the Assassins' League, where Lazzo Twinklefingers said the League's team had reached the semifinals.
• Lazzo told Duke Jorach that Rehgar's team was a favorite to win the 3v3 championship and led them to Rehgar's quarters.
• Jiang Jie met Rehgar, a calm orc gladiator with strong elemental energy and many powerful subordinates.
• Jiang Jie asked Rehgar to name a price for Lo'Gosh and Valeera.

Jiang Jie and Duke Jorach tried to persuade Rehgar to give up two gladiators, but Rehgar refused because he wanted to win the championship. Their discussion revealed that Rehgar faced formidable rivals, and the first 3v3 semifinal began.

• Jiang Jie asked Rehgar for two gladiators, but Rehgar refused to surrender his chance at the championship.
• Duke Jorach warned Rehgar that Tide King Rrurgaz's team and the High Elves' demon team were serious contenders.
• Jiang Jie recognized Tide King Rrurgaz as the master of Alcaz Island and considered why he had entered the tournament.
• Fireworks announced the 3v3 semifinal, showing Rrurgaz's all-Naga team facing Rehgar's team of a human warrior and a High Elf assassin.

Jiang Jie watched Rehgar’s team enter the semifinals against Tide King Rrurgaz’s Naga, while sensing hidden powers within Lo'Gosh and Valeera. As the match turned against Rehgar’s team, Jiang Jie recognized the Gorgon as Vashj, Queen Azshara’s handmaiden, and realized the tournament concealed more than it seemed.

• Jiang Jie sensed Goldrinn’s legendary blessing merging with Lo'Gosh and detected the sealed Dreadlord Kathra'natir within Valeera.
• Jiang Jie and Duke Jorach watched Rehgar, Lo'Gosh, and Valeera face Tide King Rrurgaz’s Naga team in the semifinals.
• Valeera entered Stealth while Lo'Gosh and Rehgar attacked from opposite sides, but the Gorgon’s arrows exposed Valeera and wounded both warriors.
• Jiang Jie recognized the Gorgon as Vashj, Queen Azshara’s handmaiden, and told Duke Jorach she was hiding her true strength.

Jiang Jie suspected Vashj had joined forces with Onyxia to kill Lo'Gosh and threaten Dire Maul, then watched Vashj overwhelm Lo'Gosh's team in the arena. He prepared to summon Meryl and Aegwynn but believed Lo'Gosh, Valeera, and Rehgar could still reveal hidden strength.

• Jiang Jie realized Vashj's arrival in Dire Maul might be part of a plot involving the Naga, Onyxia, and an attack on Lo'Gosh.
• Jiang Jie asked Anveena to contact Master Meryl and Lady Aegwynn for help.
• Vashj used powerful magical archery and lightning to suppress Valeera and put Lo'Gosh's team under severe pressure.
• Duke Jorach warned Jiang Jie that he might need to intervene to keep Lo'Gosh alive.
• Jiang Jie decided to wait, believing Lo'Gosh, Valeera, and Rehgar could unlock their hidden strength in the fight.

Lo'Gosh, Valeera, and Rehgar struggled against Vashj and the King of the Tides until Valeera nearly released the creature sealed within her to save Lo'Gosh. A wolf spirit appeared over Lo'Gosh, awakening his true Ghost Wolf power and turning the battle in his favor.

• The Naga Siren broke Lo'Gosh's swords and forced him to flee while the King of the Tides overwhelmed Rehgar and Vashj kept Valeera at bay.
• A voice in Valeera's mind tempted her to release the sealed creature, and she decided to do so rather than let Lo'Gosh die.
• A spectral blue-white wolf appeared over Lo'Gosh, and he suddenly dodged the Naga Siren's attacks and crippled one of her arms with a punch.
• Rehgar recognized Lo'Gosh as a true Ghost Wolf chosen by the Wolf God and resolved to finish the last two matches with Lo'Gosh and Valeera.