The Shattering : Prelude to Cataclysm The Shattering : Prelude to Cataclysm is the name of a " World of Warcraft " novel by Christie Golden . Like her previous work , " " , had done for " " , the story will lead into the upcoming " World of Warcraft " expansion , " " . In an excerpt released , Thrall is forced to threaten and dominate unruly elemental manifestations of the Spirit of Fire to prevent them from harming his people and their settlements . He laments the need to resort to such methods , and contemplates what could be behind the disturbing trend of rebellious and uncooperative elements . Description . Thrall , wise shaman and the warchief of the Horde , has sensed a disturbing change . . . Long ago , Azeroth ' s destructive native elemental s raged across the world until the benevolent titan s imprisoned them within the Elemental Plane . Despite the titans ' intervention , many elementals have ended up back on Azeroth . Over the ages , shaman like Thrall have communed with these spirits and , through patience and dedication , learned to soothe roaring infernos , bring rain to sun - scorched lands , and otherwise temper the elementals ' ruinous influence on the world of Azeroth . Now Thrall has discovered that the elementals no longer heed the shaman ' s call . The link shared with these spirits has grown thin and frayed , as if Azeroth itself were under great duress . While Thrall seeks answers to what ails the confused elements , he also wrestles with the orcs ' precarious future as his people face dwindling supplies and growing hostility with their night elf neighbors . Meanwhile , Varian Wrynn of Stormwind is considering violent action in response to mounting tensions between the Alliance and the Horde , a hard - line approach that threatens to alienate those closest to him , including his son , Anduin . The conflicted young prince has set out to find his own path , but in doing so , he risks becoming entangled in political instability that is setting the world on edge . The fate of Azeroth ' s great races is shrouded in a fog of uncertainty , and the erratic behavior of the elemental spirits , troubling though it is , may only be the first ominous warning sign of the cataclysm to come . Characters . Minor Characters . " Note : These characters were only mentioned or had little to no role during the story " Plot . The story begins with Drek ' Thar having a nightmare ( which eventually becomes true ) that the world is suffering a great cataclysm . The nightmare also has the sentence " The land will sweep , and the world will break . Drek ' Thar is starting to show signs of his age , so Palkar isn ' t as trusting in the elder orc ' s visions as he once was . Afterwards we meet Cairne Bloodhoof , who is leading a small expedition who is going to help the Horde Expedition back home from their war against the Lich King . Only a few , including Varok Saurfang , who is tired of Garrosh Hellscream , remain in Northrend . After they have packed up and a battle against a group of Kvaldir , the Horde returns to Orgrimmar . However , all is not well in Orgrimmar . Thrall is starting to feel that he isn ' t the kind of Warchief that the Horde wants , and that he should give his position to someone else . Worse yet , the elements seem to suffer , and Thrall grudgingly uses the harsh method to end the fire attacking Orgrimmmar . Meanwhile , in Stormwind , some problems are rising too . Varian Wrynn starts feeling that his son is not so fit for battle , and decides that he must go to Ironforge and get hospitality by Magni bronzebeard , king of Ironforge . Jaina is a bit against the way Varian is towards Anduin , and has also took him to Theramore with herself some times . But in Ironforge , Anduin is greeted warmly by Magni , who seems overjoyed to have Anduin visiting him . He gets a lot of battle training , riding trips , and also practices his skills as a priest . As the situation in Orgrimmar grows more and more intense , Thrall decides to visit Nagrand once again to seek help from his greatmother Geyah . As Thrall leaves , he grudgingly makes Garrosh leader for a time , only because he couldn ' t choose Saurfang the Younger , since he is dead , and both Eitrigg , Cairne and Varok are too old . However , Cairne is fiercely against it , and says that Garrosh will ruin all that he and Thrall had made it into . But Thrall doesn ' t change his mind , and chooses to leave with the decision unchanged . Cairne goes to his old friend , Hamuul Runetotem , to seek advice about how to handle the situation . Hamuul is also against Thrall ' s decision , but they decide to let it be so . In Ironforge , Anduin also befriends other dwarves , such as Aerin and Rohan , who are both priests , and they teach the young prince a lot in the ways of a priest . However , in a visit to Kharanos , an earthquake erupts , and Aerin gets killed by the shattered rocks . Magni receives some ancient tablets from ulduar by his younger brother Brann , to try communicate with the elements and find out what has disturbed them . However , it doesn ' t go well , and Magni gets transformed into diamond during the ritual . Many leaders and representatives from both the Horde and Alliance come to witness what had happened . In Nagrand , Thrall once again meets his grandmother , though he gets another teacher , one named Aggra . Aggra seems to dislike Thrall for keeping the name Blackmoore gave him , and does little to hide it . In the beginning , it doesn ' t turn out well , but Aggra begins to gain more respect for Thrall . After some long tutoring and guidance , Thrall prepares himself for a true vision quest to see what a true shaman is . He witnesses all the four elements and what emotion they represents . However , none of them are able to help , except for the stone element , who sees the stone Thrall gives him from Azeroth . Meanwhile in Ashenvale , Hamuul and the other night elf druids gather for a peace ritual , but are disrupted when a group of orcs attack them all and kill every single one of them , except for Hamuul , who gets buried in the sand . When he digs himself up , he believes the orc to be sent by Garrosh . However , the orc says he ' s a member from the Twilight ' s Hammer . But Hamuul remains unconvinced , and tells Cairne about what had happened . Furiously , Cairne challenges Garrosh to a Mak ' gora , and Garrosh accepts . But what Cairne doesn ' t know is that Magatha had deceived Garrosh by saying that she would give him a blessing to Gorehowl , which in truth was a poison to kill Cairne quickly . In the arena , Cairne seems to gain the upper hand : But Garrosh suddenly manages to shatter the Runespear . Cairne , surprisingly weakened , tries to stab Garrosh . Only too late does he realize exactly what had happened : Magatha was behind it all . He watches mutely as Garrosh cuts his throat with Gorehowl . After Cairne ' s death , Magatha and the Grimtotems hurry to Thunder Bluff and slaughter every single sleeping person in the city , while a few escapes . They also manage to take Freewind Post , Camp Taurajo , Sun Rock Retreat and camp Mojache . But one of the grimtotems , named Jevan , gets sick of Magatha ' s ways , and saves Baine , Cairne ' s son , from death and helps him get to safety . Things also look grim in Ironforge . After Magni ' s death , Moira has returned to claim the throne and keeps all transport sealed , and all magi held hostage . Anduin longs for home , but Moira and her Dark Iron Dwarves keep him on a short leash . However , he remembers the hearthstone Jaina had given him , and uses it to transport himself to Theramore , and he brings the weapon Magni had given him with him . Sadly , his timing isn ' t good , as he arrives just as Baine has come too , seeking refugee from the Grimtotems . At first , tensions are high , but eventually they grow to respect each other . Baine and Anduin tell each other of the tragedies that have happened . Then Anduin manages to get a message through to Stormwind . In Alterac Valley , messengers come and inform the Frostwolf clan of Cairne ' s demise . Drek ' Thar realizes that his earlier nightmare was true and Palkar regains his respect for Drek ' Thar . Baine and Jevan Grimtotem ask Gazlowe to help them build weapons , since they plan to attack Thunder Bluff and punish Magatha . But Baine is not the only one furious . Garrosh feels ashamed about what had happened , and had sent Magatha a death threat after Eitrigg told him about the poison on Gorehowl . Eventually , Baine is victorious and Thunder Bluff retaken . After Thrall is finished with his training , he is prepared to leave Nagrand again and return , but Geyah informs him of the grim news concerning Cairne . Thrall returns to mourn his old friend ' s death , and is feeling guilt that their last conversation has ended in a disaster . Meanwhile , in Stormwind , Varian is furious at what Moira had done to his son , and gathers the SI : 7 agency to help him assasinate the Dark Iron dwarves . Meanwhile , Anduin realizes that Varian is gonna kill Moira , something that Anduin feels is wrong . He returns to Ironforge , much to the dismay of Jaina Proudmoore , to stop Varian from killing Moria . Varian already had stormed Moria ' s room and held his blade at her throat but decides to give her a last chance . Varian decides that she needs guidance , so he convinces Muradin Bronzebeard and Falstad Wildhammer to , along with Moira , form the Council of Three Hammers . The text ends with Thrall and Aggra ready to sail off to the Maelstrom .