Over the years, the Warchief’s Command Board has built up its own internal continuity, which remains true (I hope!) to Blizzard’s official lore, while also weaving additional developments and plotlines around it — many of which continue to influence blog events to this day.

While I try to link back to relevant posts as much as possible, I realize that it can still be a challenge to stay on top of the increasingly lengthy history of the blog’s events. Hopefully, this page will be useful for new readers (and probably some longstanding ones) as a brief overview of some of major events. If you’re not sure what’s going on with some of the characters in the blog, or feel like you’ve walked in on the middle of a movie, these summaries below may prove helpful as a snapshot of what’s come before. (Also check out the “Who Is This?” page for a quick write-up on several of the blog’s characters.)

I’ve listed the major story arcs in roughly chronological order (some of them overlap, so it’s not quite possible to separate them completely). The title of each arc links to a separate page for that storyline, where you can look up a complete list of all posts related to that story, in some cases including early posts that set up some plot points in advance, and some of the aftermath of the main story’s events.

(But hey, if you really want to get up to speed on everything that’s been going on, why not go back to Garrosh’s very first post and read the whole epic tale?)

EARTH ONLINE

Earth Online isn’t really a real story arc, but an ongoing topic that merits an overview for the uninitiated. EO is an MMORPG to which Spazzle introduced Garrosh early in the blog. The game takes place in a strange, post-apolcalyptic fantasy world called Earth, in which humans are the only race still living. Garrosh started playing the game with skepticism, but quickly found himself drawn into the game. (Oh, Garrosh, if only you knew what you were getting yourself into…) Garrosh has gone on to found his own guild, called <Warchief>, where he plays alongside many of familiar faces from the blog.

TROUBLE IN STONETALON

During a series of routine inspection visits, Garrosh uncovers some odd goings-on in Stonetalon Mountains, which leads him to uncover Overlord Krom’gar’s scheme to drop a bomb on the peaceful druids of Thal’darah Grove. This brief storyline gives a Garrosh’s-eye view of the popular Krom’gar questline in Stonetalon, and features the introduction of Dontrag and Utvoch to the blog.

MAGATHA’S TWILIGHT, PART 1: THE PHYLACTERY OF CHO’GALL

Okay, maybe it’s cheating to break this story into two pieces, but it’s a pretty long storyline, and it really does divide fairly neatly into two parts.

When Grimtotem raiders begin attacking ogres in Feralas and Dustwallow Marsh, Garrosh begins an investigation that eventually uncovers a plot to resurrect Cho’gall: the Grimtotem have learned that an ogre relic could be the key to returning Cho’gall to life and have set out to find it before the Twilight’s Hammer, in order to make a deal with the cult. Garrosh and Garona scour Feralas and eventually capture Skarr, a Twlight agent, who reveals that the cult already has the phylactery in its possession. Garrosh seizes on the opportunity to set a trap for Magatha Grimtotem at Alcaz Island – figuring that she could be lured with the prospect of gaining the phylactery – but the plan comes apart when a Twilight attack prevents a Horde detachment from leaving Durotar. Garrosh takes off personally for Alcaz to do what he can, but not before realizing he may have been played.

To be continued in Part 2…

MAGATHA’S TWILIGHT, PART 2: WHERE’S GARROSH?

Picking up where Part 1 left off, Garrosh is missing after leaving for Alcaz Island. In his absence, the Horde appoints Varok Saurfang as acting Warchief; Saurfang takes it upon himself to update the blog in Garrosh’s place. Saurfang’s continued investigation raises the possibility that the Cho’gall ressurection plot may have been initiated by Magatha, and Garona eventually leads the search to the Bastion of Twilight, where the Twilight’s Cult – with Magatha’s aid – are in the process of staging the resurrection ritual. Saurfang leads a strike team to the Bastion to stop the ritual, and recovers the abducted Garrosh – in no small part thanks to everyone’s favorite wyvern.

MOTHER’S DAY

A letter to Garrosh’s mailbag reveals a shocker: Garrosh’s mother, Lakkara,* is alive and well in Nagrand, where she has lived in self-imposed exile until being treated for an especially potent strain of the red pox. Garrosh returns to Nagrand to investigate, and after confirming that it’s true, returns to Orgimmar with his mother and begins introducing her to the orcs’ new home. While bringing Lakkara to Grom’s monument in Demon Fall Canyon, Garrosh is attacked by a revived General Grebo; Lakkara intervenes to protect her son and is killed. Furious and believing the humans to have been behind the attack, Garrosh begins to plan a massive attack on Theramore, including an insidious new potential weapon. Before the attack can take place, though, the truth comes out: the return and death of Lakkara were all a scheme by Magatha Grimtotem to give Garrosh back his mother, only to take her away.

* A quick note: I realize that official lore since this story arc has revealed Garrosh’s mother’s name as Golka. For blog purposes, Garrosh’s mother is still acknowledged as Lakkara — but don’t worry, I’m not just ignoring Blizzard. Bear with me for the time being; it will all mesh together eventually. There is A Plan.™

THE ANTI-PLAGUE OF SOUTHSHORE

While conducting plague experiments in the ruins of Southshore, Sylvanas’ agents trigger some kind of magic that purges Forsaken of their undeath – killing them in the process. Called upon for help, Garrosh discovers that this spreading “anti-plague” effect may have had its origins in Southshore years ago. Garrosh travels to the Caverns of Time and travels ten years into the past, along with Mokvar, Liadrin, Faranell, and Utvoch. There they meet the Knights of the Silver Hand – along with the human Faranell of that time (Edwin) and his brother Patrick, who is destined to die in the Scourge invasion of Silvermoon. Garrosh and the others assist Isilien and Doan of the Silver Hand in creating the anti-plague “bomb,” then collect enough information to neutralize the effect in the future before making their exit. Along the way, though, Faranell secretly engineers events to allow him to switch places with his younger, human self – allowing his human counterpart to travel to the future where he can live his life without falling to undeath.

While this story can stand on its own, Faranell’s plan eventually sets in motion the events that will lead to the Timequake storyline a few weeks later.

OPERATION: CRITTERGEDDON

During a fishing trip with Gurtash, Garrosh discovers an odd phenomenon: animals in the Barrens seem to be carrying, inexplicably, armor and weapons. Further investigation in other zones reveals similar results – including a pocket of armed critters in Mulgore. Garrosh follows the trail of clues from the D.E.H.T.A camp in the Borean Tundra to Stranglethorn Vale, where he finds the culprit responsible for arming the animals: Tembw’bam, an unhinged troll druid who views himself as a liberator of oppressed animals everywhere. The search culminates in a showdown with Tembw’bam in Zul’Gurub, where the shapeshifting nutjob and part-time herbalist is finally captured.

TIMEQUAKE

A few weeks after returning from old Southshore, human!Faranell reports experiencing strange flashbacks and flashforwards to other points in Faranell’s original timeline. At the same time, Garrosh begins to experience shifts into an alternate reality where a still-living Dranosh Saurfang is Warchief. Nozdormu explains that Faranell has become unstuck in time because he’s been pulled out of his own time period; Soridormi further reveals that Faranell’s shifts in time are causing an alternate timeline to bleed into ours – one in which the survival of his brother Patrick has led to a world in which Arthas has survived and the Burning Legion is fast overrunning Azeroth. Garrosh leads a mission to Northrend to recover the Focusing Iris – a source of magic power needed to return to old Southshore, where the problem began – and convinces Faranell to help restore events to normal. Garrosh and Faranell return to old Southshore, where Faranell resets the timeline, but not without a heavy cost to the Warchief.

TIDES OF WAR

Obviously, this story isn’t mine at all, but the blog’s account of the events of the novel Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War by Christie Golden. There’s considerable overlap between these events and those of the Timequake story arc, and in fact the final payoff of Timequake plays a fairly major role in motivating Garrosh’s behavior toward the end of Tides of War. That said – Garrosh marshals a Horde army against the Alliance, beginning with Northwatch Hold. After a long wait, Garrosh leads his troops against Theramore; after the initial siege fails, Garrosh destroys the city with a mana bomb powered by the Focusing Iris. Orgrimmar’s victory celebrations are interrupted when the outraged Alliance moves on Durotar with a naval fleet; while the naval battle effectively ends as a draw, the Alliance succeed in retaking Northwatch Hold. An outraged Garrosh vows to escalate the war against the Alliance.

KARAZHAN CURTAIN CALL

In the aftermath of the Timequake storyline, Garrosh decides that Prince Malchezaar, still trapped in his Netherspace time loop, needs to be dealt with. He gathers a group to join him for a journey to Karazhan, where their search for a way to draw Malchezaar out of his hiding place leads them to the Opera House. Barnes the stage manager promises his aid, but only after the night’s performances are done…which forces Garrosh, Mokvar, Liadrin, Faranell, Garona, Dontrag, and Utvoch — much to their chagrin — into a series of musicals. Eventually, the final performance unveils the summoning magic the group was looking for, and the Malchezaar problem is finally dealt with once and for all.

WE ALL HAVE OUR DEMONS

Shortly before Garrosh leaves for Pandaria, Mokvar is attacked by parties unknown. Eventually, Mokvar fills in the story: his attackers were spectral assassins sent by the lingering spirit of Lord Valthalak, a drakonid whom Mokvar had angered in his mercenary days by stealing a powerful warlock relic called the Nether Prism. Reunited with Deliana, a fellow former mercenary, Mokvar tracks Nether Prism to a warlock coven called the Council of the Black Harvest, but his seemingly erratic behavior leads to his banishment from the Horde. Finding the Council in Outland, Mokvar wins the favor of its leader, Kanrethad Ebonlocke, and resume his own studies as a warlock, but eventually is forced to confront Kanrethad when his quest for power threatens the world. Mokvar makes a dramatic return and assuages Garrosh’s anger with a prospect the Warchief can’t refuse: the Nether Prism and its potential power over the sha.

THE DIVINE BELL

The blog version of the Domination Point questline of pach 5.1 and surrounding events. Garrosh marshals his forces and departs for the new land to lead the war effort personally. After establishing a base at Domination Point and “disposing” of the ever-critical Vol’jin, Garrosh learns of a relic called the Divine Bell, which the mogu had used centuries ago to help forge their empire. After a lengthy search, Garrosh’s forces locate the Divine Bell, only to be beaten to the punch by the Alliance — but a blood elf stealth operation into Darnassus recovers the Bell for the Horde. Garrosh attempts to tap into the power of the Divine Bell, but the resulting sha manifestations prove too powerful for the Warchief’s agents to control.

KRASARANG UNDERGROUND

When the DPS trainees are lost and presumed dead after an Alliance victory at the Temple of the Red Crane, Garrosh heads off in search of clues to their ultimate fate. Garrosh stumbles into an underground system of caves in which he finds the trainees, (mostly) alive and trapped underground. Within the caves, the Warchief and his trainees encounter a range of foes — saurok, sha, even a surprise encounter with a likewise-trapped Varian Wrynn. Eventually, they manage to make their escape from the caverns, but not before a mysterious light leaves Gurtash with troubling visions of events yet to come.