Between the Wars #2: Day of the Dragon

August 31, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Between the Wars" series — Between the Wars #2. The years between the end of Draenor and Warcraft III, from the internment camps to the rebirth of the Horde. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.

The novel Day of the Dragon, by Richard A. Knaak, tells how the red dragonflight was freed from Grim Batol. The story takes place around year 10, a few years after the fall of Draenor. While the orcs rotted in the camps, a disgraced mage, an elven ranger and a dwarf on a gryphon faced the Dragonmaw and a much worse enemy: Deathwing.

The Grim Batol problem

Since the Second War, Queen Alexstrasza had been a prisoner in Grim Batol. The warlock Nekros Skullcrusher, of the Dragonmaw clan, controlled her with the Demon Soul. He forced her to lay eggs, and the hatchlings became war mounts.

The queen was growing weaker and weaker. And Nekros was building a secret army to raise the Horde again.

Krasus, the dragon on the Council

In Dalaran, one of the members of the Council of Six was an elf named Krasus. Almost no one knew the truth: Krasus was Korialstrasz, Alexstrasza's prime consort, in disguise.

Korialstrasz knew that Deathwing wanted the queen too. He asked the other Aspects, Malygos, Ysera and Nozdormu, for help, but their answers brought little hope. So he decided to act with mortal help.

Rhonin, the mage on probation

Rhonin was a talented mage of the Kirin Tor, but he had a stain on his past. On a Second War mission, one of his reckless spells killed all of his companions. Since then he had been on probation.

His chance at redemption came with a dangerous mission in Khaz Modan. Officially, he was only there to observe. In truth, Krasus wanted him to reach Grim Batol.

Vereesa, Falstad and Duncan

To guide Rhonin to the port of Hasic, the job went to Vereesa Windrunner, a ranger of Quel'Thalas and the younger sister of Alleria and Sylvanas. She soon suspected the mission was bigger than it looked.

The two were attacked by a Dragonmaw patrol. They were saved by the Wildhammer gryphon riders, led by Falstad. In the book he appears as Falstad Dragonreaver; years later, he becomes the leader Falstad Wildhammer.

The group also gained Duncan Senturus, a knight of the Silver Hand. During a Dragonmaw air raid, Duncan leaped onto a dragon, killed the beast and died in the fall.

Lord Prestor, the false king

Meanwhile, at the court of Lordaeron, a nobleman named Lord Daval Prestor was rising. He claimed to be a distant relative of Aiden Perenolde, the traitor king of Alterac.

Prestor was Deathwing in human form. With mind control, he bent King Terenas to his will. Terenas agreed to take Alterac from the Perenoldes and named Prestor the new king of Alterac. He even thought about marrying him to Princess Calia.

Deathwing's plan was to destroy the Alliance from within. He turned Lordaeron, Stromgarde, Gilneas and Kul Tiras against the Kirin Tor.

Krasus tried to spy on Prestor's house with magic. He fell into a trap called the Endless Hunger and lost the last two fingers of his left hand. But he found out who Prestor was.

The battle of Grim Batol

Deathwing even helped Rhonin's group at some points. It was an act: what he wanted were the red dragonflight's eggs.

In the final battle, the Aspects attacked Deathwing in the sky, while Rhonin, Vereesa, Falstad and the dwarven resistance dealt with the orcs. In the middle of the fight, Alexstrasza broke her chains. Before Nekros could kill her with the Demon Soul, the queen swallowed him whole.

Rhonin found a flaw in the artifact. Using a stone made from one of Deathwing's scales, he destroyed the Demon Soul. The power trapped inside it returned to the Aspects. With their strength back, they badly wounded Deathwing, and the black dragon fled. He would only show up again many years later.

What was left

Lord Prestor suddenly vanished. His house was left empty, his servants disappeared and his hold over the nobles was gone.
The Dragonmaw were almost wiped out. The survivors were locked in the internment camps, and some fled to the Twilight Highlands.
Rhonin and Vereesa fell in love during the mission. They later married and had twin sons, Giramar and Galadin.

What this changes in the story

Grim Batol takes from the Horde the last big weapon it still had in Azeroth. Without the dragons, no orc group is left that can threaten the Alliance. From here on, the future of the orcs will depend on the camps, not on a new war.

The book also plants many seeds for WoW. Rhonin becomes the leader of the Kirin Tor. Krasus and Alexstrasza stay at the center of the dragons' story. And Deathwing, wounded but alive, will prepare the Cataclysm.

Episode timeline

Krasus asks the Aspects for help and recruits Rhonin.
Vereesa guides Rhonin, and Falstad saves them from the Dragonmaw.
Deathwing, as Lord Prestor, becomes king of Alterac.
Krasus discovers Prestor's identity.
Alexstrasza swallows Nekros, and Rhonin destroys the Demon Soul.
Deathwing flees, and Prestor disappears.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Rhonin | Kirin Tor mage who destroyed the Demon Soul. | | Vereesa Windrunner | Ranger of Quel'Thalas, later Rhonin's wife. | | Falstad | Wildhammer gryphon rider, later leader of the clan. | | Krasus / Korialstrasz | Red dragon in disguise on the Council of Dalaran. | | Lord Daval Prestor | Deathwing's human disguise. | | Nekros Skullcrusher | The Dragonmaw warlock who held Alexstrasza captive. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Dalaran (Northrend): Rhonin leads the Kirin Tor in the Violet Citadel, and Vereesa commands the Silver Covenant.
Dragonblight: Alexstrasza and Krasus are at Wyrmrest Temple.
Wetlands: the gates of Grim Batol and the Dragonmaw at Angerfang Encampment.
The Hinterlands: Aerie Peak, home of Falstad's Wildhammer.