Chapter Summaries

Dath'Remar struggled with headaches and sudden anger while overseeing the Highborne’s preparations, and Jarod kept the Hand of the Bright Moon from eating before their departure. Snyder learned that Dath'Remar had been affected by Zakajz’s lingering power, and the Will of Azeroth said there was only one way to save him.

• Dath'Remar lost his temper at Theron while overseeing the Highborne, then apologized and went with him to check the barracks.
• Jarod told the Hand of the Bright Moon to refuse lunch, then accepted the Highborne representative’s offer to pack the food as rations.
• Jarod wondered when he should give Faledor’s leaf to Naisha.
• Snyder met the Will of Azeroth, which detected the stench of the Old Gods on him.
• Snyder explained what had happened with Jarod and Dath'Remar, and the Will of Azeroth concluded that Zakajz’s remaining power had taken revenge after Tyr’s power dissipated.
• Snyder asked how to save Dath'Remar, and the Will of Azeroth said there was only one way.

The Will of Azeroth told Snyder to use the Silver Blade to purify Dath'Remar when the black qi reached its peak, while secretly intending for the process to leave Dath'Remar permanently asleep. Snyder consulted Jarod, and they agreed to try the plan as Dath'Remar and the Highborne prepared to migrate.

• The Will of Azeroth told Snyder to wait until the black qi was strongest, then use the Silver Blade's purifying light to drive it out of Dath'Remar.
• After leaving Snyder's soul, the Will of Azeroth revealed that the purification would tear part of Dath'Remar's will away and leave him asleep, allowing Snyder to take the Highborne into his service.
• Snyder decided to wait until Dath'Remar showed signs of trouble twice before having Jarod use the Silver Blade, then summoned Jarod.
• Jarod came to Snyder, who explained the Will of Azeroth's method and his own plan to save Dath'Remar.
• Snyder and Jarod agreed to try the method, while Dath'Remar and the Highborne prepared to migrate together.

Dath'Remar organized the Highborne's migration, assigning troops to protect civilians and setting a two-month deadline because of limited magic crystals and the Troll threat. After the leaders departed to prepare, Snyder and Jarod warned Dath'Remar to rest, leaving him to suspect they had discovered something about him.

• Dath'Remar gathered Snyder, Jarod, and the Highborne leadership to coordinate the migration and assigned nobles and generals to lead and protect the civilians.
• When a young general objected to guarding civilians, Dath'Remar reminded the leaders that their people sustained them, and the general promised to protect them.
• Dath'Remar outlined the vanguard, rear guard, and reserve forces, then announced that the Highborne had to reach their destination within two months because their magic crystals would last only three months.
• Dath'Remar presented a map based on Snyder's elemental map and instructed the vanguard to scout for water sources along the route.
• After the other leaders left to prepare, Snyder and Jarod urged Dath'Remar to rest and departed, and Dath'Remar suspected they had discovered something.

Corrupted Dath'Remar led the Highborne toward Forest Troll territory, intending to provoke a war while hiding his possession from Jarod and Snyder. As the elves reached the forest, Shadra ordered his army to attack them, beginning the conflict.

• The black energy possessing Dath'Remar planned to start a war with the Forest Trolls and fulfill the Old Gods' command.
• Snyder and Jarod prepared the Highborne army to travel, while Jarod stayed close to Dath'Remar in case he could purify him.
• The elves advanced toward the forest, and corrupted Dath'Remar felt safer after believing Jarod had been sent away from him.
• Snyder secretly told Jarod to strike and purify Dath'Remar the moment the possession showed itself.
• Forest Troll scouts reported the elves' approach to Shadra, who ordered his army to kill them.

Shadra, the Forest Troll warlord, learned that Night Elves had come near his people’s home and summoned the Forest Troll tribes to prepare for war. He rallied his people for a battle of vengeance as messengers went to gather the other clans.

• Shadra ordered messengers to summon the other Forest Troll clans after learning that Elves had entered their territory.
• Shadra sent a headhunter to gather the tribespeople in the city square.
• Shadra armed himself with Galodis the Beheader and addressed the assembled Forest Trolls.
• Shadra told the crowd that the Night Elves had come close to their home, prompting the Trolls to call for their destruction.
• Shadra announced that the clans would unite against the Elves and ordered his people to rest and prepare for battle.

Shadra prepared the Forest Trolls to attack the Highborne and summoned the clans to unite against the Night Elves. As Snyder’s force rested near a water source, the troll chieftains agreed to join Shadra’s war.

• Shadra ordered his guards to monitor the elves and keep hunting parties away from them while the Forest Trolls prepared for war.
• Snyder ordered the elves to ready their weapons, and Dath'Remar secured the Highborne’s obedience by repeating the order.
• The elven force advanced into the forest and, three days later, rested at a water source while Snyder deployed sentries.
• Shadra gathered the Forest Troll chieftains and revealed that the Night Elves were nearby, calling for all their clans to unite against them.
• Ennoka Fenlie pledged the Smolderthorn Clan, and Krongsai Tengji agreed for the Mossflayer Clan after Shadra promised food; the other chieftains then joined the war.

Shadra fed and rallied the Forest Troll clans before laying out a plan to lure the Night Elves into an ambush in the forest. He then privately asked the four Amani Loa for help, revealing that he had misled the other chiefs so he could use the war to unite the clans and rebuild the Forest Troll Empire.

• The Amani Clan fed the allied Forest Trolls, and Shadra told the chiefs their troops would have to earn the food by fighting the elves.
• Shadra shared scout reports and assigned the clans roles in a plan to draw the Night Elves into the forest and attack their pursuing force.
• Shadra warned the chiefs to target elven spellcasters and said four Amani Loa would empower their strongest priests.
• The Troll chiefs returned to their clans and ordered their people to rest and prepare for battle.
• Shadra visited the Amani shrine and asked Nalorakk, Akil'zon, Jan'alai, and Halazzi for help against the Night Elves.
• Shadra revealed that he had deceived the other chiefs about the Loa's aid to bind the clans to the Amani and rebuild the Forest Troll Empire.

Shadra persuaded the four Loa to infuse divine power into selected priests, arguing that it would strengthen the Trolls and bring the Loa more followers. The Loa agreed under strict limits, leaving Shadra with a way to empower his tribe for the coming war.

• Jan'alai, Halazzi, Akil'zon, and Nalorakk questioned Shadra's ambition but asked how they could help him.
• Shadra explained his long-held plan to seal the Loa's power inside Troll priests and described how he had become chieftain to pursue his ambitions.
• The four Loa objected that the plan could reduce mortals' reverence for them and risk giving Trolls control over their power.
• Shadra argued that empowered Troll warriors would display the Loa's strength and bring them more followers and faith.
• The four Loa agreed to empower one corresponding, most-devout priest each for three days, and Shadra accepted their conditions.

Shadra met privately with his confidants to devise a plan to destroy the elves and bring the other Forest Troll clans under Amani rule. The meeting ended with Shadra rejecting Bandersson’s proposal to control the other chieftains with voodoo.

• Shadra summoned his trusted adviser Bandersson Viletooth, general Kaostin the Fierce Cutter One-Eye, and other allies, then ordered a guard to watch the other clans.
• Shadra showed his confidants a detailed map and revealed that his plan shared with the other chieftains was only a deception meant to lure and destroy the elves.
• Kaostin warned that the original plan would leave the other clans strong and make absorbing them costly, while Shadra said they needed to join the Amani Horde willingly.
• Bandersson proposed using voodoo to control the other chieftains and force their clans to join Amani, but Kakaxiya and Okaostin objected that the Loa would disapprove.
• Shadra rejected Bandersson’s plan, and when Bandersson pressed him to reconsider, Shadra ordered him to stop talking.

Shadra rejected Bandersson’s plan to use magic to control the other Forest Troll clans and asked Kaostin to devise a strategy. Kaostin laid out a scheme to weaken the elves and rival clans, leaving Shadra’s Amani Clan positioned to unite the Forest Trolls.

• Shadra rejected Bandersson’s plan, saying the Amani Clan was strong enough to unite the Forest Trolls without a magical fake.
• Shadra invited Kaostin to study the elves’ defenses and propose a new strategy.
• Kaostin proposed having Shadow Hunters sabotage the elven camp, kill captured soldiers, and draw an elven pursuit force toward a bait unit and an ambush.
• Kaostin planned to use the battle to weaken the Smolderthorn, Mossflayer, and Firetree clans, killing Ennoka and potentially challenging Zakas to a duel.
• Kaostin proposed using aid and promises of food to bring smaller clans and the Witherbark, Vilebranch, and Drybark clans under Shadra’s control.

Shadra’s forces finalized a plan to unite the Forest Trolls and launch a coordinated attack on the elves. The Troll armies took their positions, and Kaostin’s decoy force charged the alerted elven camp.

• Kaostin presented his plan, and Shadra assigned him to lead the force that would draw in the elves while Bandersson led a harassment force armed with a new poison.
• Shadra sent the four priest apprentices to continue training and dismissed his followers to prepare and rest.
• At dawn, Shadra organized the Forest Troll forces, left a fallback defense in Amani territory, and led the Amani elites toward their assigned positions.
• An Amani Shadow Hunter reported that the Night Elves were already alert to Kaostin’s movements.
• Kaostin ordered his fleet decoy force to attack the elven camp.

The Forest Trolls attacked the Highborne camp while Shadow Hunters infiltrated it to destroy supplies, and Dath'Remar worked to deepen the conflict between the elves and Trolls. Kaostin withdrew when Snyder brought the Hand of the Bright Moon to reinforce the Highborne, leaving the elves to tend their wounded and prepare for another attack.

• Dath'Remar recognized that the disturbance in the jungle came from Trolls and assembled the Highborne, while Snyder led the Hand of the Bright Moon toward their camp.
• Kaostin ordered his Shadow Hunters to infiltrate the Highborne camp and destroy its supplies as he led the Amani troops into battle.
• The Forest Trolls and Highborne clashed, while Shadow Hunters planted Bandersson's incendiary compound at supply depots, causing explosions and fires.
• Dath'Remar took command of the panicked civilians and chose to let the battle continue to inflame hostility between the Highborne and Trolls.
• Kaostin ordered a retreat when Snyder arrived with reinforcements, and Allen Theron stopped the Highborne from pursuing and directed them to care for the wounded.

After sabotaging the highborne supplies, Kaostin led five Amani Shadow Hunters in an attempt to assassinate the elves’ leadership, while the rest withdrew. On the front line, Daren Theron prepared the highborne defenses for another Forest Troll assault, and Kaostin charged toward him as the battle resumed.

• Kaostin split the Shadow Hunters, leading five to hunt highborne leaders while the others retreated.
• A Shadow Hunter slipped into a tent and killed the elderly noble representative appointed by Dath'Remar.
• Allen Theron stopped the highborne from pursuing the Forest Trolls and ordered them to rest and build defenses.
• Kaostin led the Forest Trolls back for another attack, and Daren Theron readied the highborne for their return.
• Berserk Forest Trolls charged the defenses as highborne mages and warriors fought to hold the line.
• Kaostin targeted the elf general in armor and charged Daren Theron.

The highborne and Forest Trolls fought a bloody battle until the Trolls retreated, while a Shadow Hunter squad pursued Dath'Remar and launched an assassination attempt. Dath'Remar survived behind an Arcane Shield and alerted nearby soldiers, leaving the assassins' fate unresolved.

• Kaostin and Daren Theron fought evenly until the Hand of the Bright Moon's arrival shifted the battle toward the highborne.
• Kaostin stopped his adjutant from interfering in his duel with Daren Theron, then withdrew with the Forest Trolls when their retreat horn sounded.
• A Shadow Hunter squad identified Dath'Remar as a target and followed him back to his command post after he reassured the civilians.
• Dath'Remar ordered his adjutant to address the camp fire and supplies, then remained alone in the command post as the Shadow Hunters approached.
• The Shadow Hunters attacked Dath'Remar, but his Arcane Shield blocked their weapons; he cast a fireball to draw nearby soldiers to the command post.

Dath'Remar killed the Shadow Hunter captain but was poisoned in the fight, and his adjutant arrived with Highborne reinforcements before the other Shadow Hunters could finish him. The Shadow Hunters were killed, but the antidote was missing, and the young Shadow Hunter escaped to report back to the general.

• The Shadow Hunters attacked Dath'Remar together, while their captain hid in the shadows and waited for a chance to strike.
• The captain wounded Dath'Remar with a poisoned blade, but Dath'Remar ran him through with Flamestrike and then collapsed as the poison took effect.
• Dath'Remar's adjutant arrived with Highborne troops and stopped the Shadow Hunters from killing him.
• The Shadow Hunter captain's group sent the young Shadow Hunter away to report to the general, then fought the Highborne and were killed.
• Dath'Remar's adjutant searched the Shadow Hunters but found no antidote.

Dath'Remar survived a Forest Troll poison attack by having his left arm severed, while black energy manipulated his anger to inflame the war. His adjutant led ten thousand Highborne troops to the front, where Daren Theron and Snyder reported that the Trolls had retreated.

• Dath'Remar ordered his adjutant to cut off his poisoned arm, then pretended to faint as the Highborne soldiers grew furious at the Forest Trolls.
• The black energy controlling Dath'Remar recognized that he sometimes resisted its influence but resolved to intensify the hatred between the two races.
• Dath'Remar's adjutant restored order in the camp, assembled troops, and sent word to General Daren Theron that Dath'Remar had been wounded.
• After learning that the Forest Troll army was attacking the front, Dath'Remar's adjutant selected ten thousand Highborne troops and marched to join the battle.
• At the front, Daren Theron and Snyder told Dath'Remar's adjutant that the Trolls had retreated, and he described how their raiders had burned supplies and wounded Dath'Remar with a poisoned weapon.

Daren Theron took command of the Highborne defenses, restrained Dath'Remar's adjutant from launching a rash attack, and sent the Hand of the Bright Moon to rest. After the Shadow Hunter reported the Forest Trolls' successful strike and his teammates' deaths to Kaostin, Kaostin inspected the captured elf's head and began forming a plan.

• Dath'Remar's adjutant arrived with ten thousand Highborne troops and handed command to Daren Theron, who ordered the soldiers to hold their position and scout the Forest Trolls.
• Daren Theron agreed that the Highborne would retaliate if the Forest Trolls attacked again, then ordered Dath'Remar's adjutant to relieve the Hand of the Bright Moon.
• Snyder Rain withdrew the Hand of the Bright Moon to rest, and Daren Theron continued directing repairs to the defenses.
• The Shadow Hunter found Kaostin and reported that his squad had destroyed the elves' supplies, killed one Highborne leader, and poisoned another, but that his teammates and captain had been killed.
• Kaostin urged the grieving Shadow Hunter to learn from the loss, then examined the captured elf's head and began devising a plan.

Kaostin sent an elf official’s head to taunt the elves while Daren Theron sent Snyder and the Hand of the Bright Moon back to protect the camp. After a Highborne sentinel discovered the head and brought it to Daren Theron, the Forest Trolls attacked again, leaving the adjutant to report that the line was holding.

• Kaostin ordered a guard to hang the elf official’s head near the elven camp and make it frightening to enrage the elves.
• Daren Theron persuaded Snyder to take the Hand of the Bright Moon back to the camp, and Snyder departed with the force.
• A Highborne sentinel found the head hanging from a tree, took it down, and reported it to Daren Theron.
• Daren Theron identified the head as the logistics chief chosen by Lord Dath'Remar, just as Dath'Remar's adjutant announced a Forest Troll attack.
• Dath'Remar's adjutant said the defensive line had stabilized and the elves were counterattacking, then noticed the head on the table.

After Forest Trolls displayed an elf noble’s severed head, Daren Theron stopped Dath'Remar's adjutant from charging out in anger, and the two led their guards into battle. Daren faced Kaostin while a Troll Witch Doctor disrupted the Highborne formation, until Highborne spellcasters answered with a Flamestrike.

• A Highborne sentinel brought Daren Theron the severed head of the old noble who had allocated supplies, which Daren said the Forest Trolls had displayed near camp.
• Dath'Remar's adjutant vowed to gather troops and retaliate, but Daren Theron restrained him and urged him to stay calm.
• Daren Theron and Dath'Remar's adjutant took their guards to the battlefield, where Daren blocked Kaostin's attack and began their unfinished duel.
• Dath'Remar's adjutant rallied nearby Highborne soldiers, tipping the battle in their favor as they killed Forest Trolls.
• A Troll Witch Doctor summoned spectral cobras that fired energy beams, shattered the Highborne formation, and restored the battle's balance.
• Highborne spellcasters began casting, and a Flamestrike struck the battlefield.

The Forest Trolls attacked the highborne, then retreated after a shadowy hunter killed many elves. Convinced the Trolls had to be destroyed, Dath'Remar's adjutant recruited soldiers for an attack while Daren Theron stayed behind to defend the position.

• A hidden hunter killed highborne soldiers around Dath'Remar's adjutant, who flew into a rage and killed the Forest Trolls that charged him.
• Kaostin sounded the retreat, and Dath'Remar's adjutant pursued the withdrawing Trolls until soldiers managed to bring him partly to his senses.
• Daren Theron ordered the highborne to hold their position, suspecting the Trolls were trying to lure them out.
• Dath'Remar's adjutant argued that the highborne should wipe out the Trolls, but Daren Theron refused to join an offensive.
• Daren Theron allowed Dath'Remar's adjutant to recruit willing soldiers, and the adjutant began preparing an attack.