A Prince of Lordaeron

Arthas was born to King Terenas four years before the First War. He grew up as the heir to Lordaeron, learning swordsmanship from Muradin Bronzebeard. His early life also brought him into the company of Jaina Proudmoore, long before the plague would divide them.

An Apprentice in Dalaran

Long before she governed a city, Jaina Proudmoore studied in Dalaran. Her training under Antonidas placed her within the kingdom’s center of magical learning and gave her responsibilities beyond the classroom.

When the plague spread, the archmage entrusted her with investigating it. His journal records both his confidence in her abilities and his own efforts to convince the kingdom to respond. Jaina entered the crisis as a mage charged with finding answers, not as a ruler commanding a nation.

That beginning matters to the decisions that followed. The disaster would force her to act beyond the authority of her teacher and the expectations of the people she had known.

A Paladin and a Prince

At nineteen, Arthas entered the Silver Hand. Uther served as his paladin mentor, adding another duty to the prince’s future kingship. His relationship with Jaina also deepened in these years. These personal ties would be tested by the choices he made in his kingdom’s defense.

The Plague of Undeath

A plague spread through Lordaeron, turning its victims into undead. Arthas and Jaina investigated its source and confronted Kel’Thuzad. The crisis was larger than a local outbreak: the Scourge was undermining the kingdom from within, confronting the prince with an enemy that grew with every death.

The Culling of Stratholme

At Stratholme, Arthas learned that infected grain had already reached the population. He ordered the city purged before its people could rise as undead. Uther refused, and Jaina left him. Arthas continued without them, making the destruction of Mal’Ganis his overriding purpose.

A Way Out of Lordaeron

After leaving Arthas at Stratholme, Jaina faced the collapse of the country around her. Remaining in Lordaeron offered no clear way to protect the people who had survived. The prophet’s warning proposed something the established leaders had refused: cross the sea to Kalimdor.

Jaina gathered survivors and followed that advice. Antonidas did not make the same choice. Their separation marked the end of a relationship in which she could depend on her teacher to determine the course ahead.

The stranger who had urged the journey was Medivh. His guidance would bring the refugees into contact with other peoples resisting the Legion. The departure gave Jaina a responsibility that would outlast the war: finding a future for the people who had followed her.

The Last Debt to Mannoroth

Grom could not master the returning bloodlust as the Legion drew near. Sent to establish a settlement, the Warsong clashed with the defenders of the forest. He drank Mannoroth’s blood again to gain the strength to kill Cenarius, binding his followers to the demon once more.

Thrall learned what had happened while meeting Jaina at the oracle’s summons. Their peoples had fought for years, but neither could defeat the invasion alone. Together they subdued Grom and freed him from the immediate grip of the corruption.

Thrall and Grom then confronted Mannoroth. The pit lord expected the old bargain to decide the encounter, but Grom struck him down. The blast killed Grom too. His last act broke the blood curse, giving the orcs a freedom that opening the prison camps had not been able to provide.

The Battle of Mount Hyjal

At Mount Hyjal, Thrall’s Horde and Jaina’s survivors joined the night elf defense led by Malfurion and Tyrande. Their armies could not simply overpower Archimonde. They had to delay his advance long enough for Malfurion’s preparations to succeed.

The defenders gave ground while the trap around Nordrassil was readied. When Archimonde reached the World Tree, the assembled spirits destroyed him. The victory cost the night elves the immortality bound to that tree, but stopped the Legion’s invasion.

Cooperation had saved the world without repairing every wound in it. Lordaeron remained devastated, and the allies still had to find a way to live beside one another after their common enemy was gone.

A Home Worth Defending

After Hyjal, Thrall settled his people in Durotar, naming the land for his father and Orgrimmar for Orgrim. Establishing a homeland demanded labor and resources as well as victory. The harsh country did not make its inhabitants safe from the wars they had left behind.

Rexxar became involved in defending the settlement and discovered human attacks that threatened the new nation. Daelin Proudmoore had arrived at Theramore and would not accept Jaina’s belief that this Horde was different. To him, its past made another war inevitable.

Jaina stepped aside rather than support his offensive, asking the Horde to spare her people. Rexxar led the campaign that defeated Daelin. Thrall withdrew afterward, leaving Jaina to mourn her father. Peace survived as an agreement between wounded allies, not as proof that the old losses had been forgotten.

A Peace Worth Keeping

The peace between Theramore and Durotar depended on leaders whose people still distrusted one another. Incidents that might have remained disputes became evidence for those expecting another war. Jaina and Thrall had to discover what was driving the escalation.

Jaina’s encounter with Aegwynn revealed a demonic conspiracy. Zmodlor had gained influence through followers on both sides. Their work turned existing suspicion into a weapon, making each community see only the apparent guilt of the other.

Jaina and Aegwynn confronted the demon, while the conspirators within the two camps were exposed. With Zmodlor banished, the leaders sought a more durable agreement. The crisis had shown that defeating a common enemy once did not remove the work of maintaining peace afterward.