>Varian and Vol'jin are missing, presumed dead

>Anduin is forced to lead and is unsure of his ability to do so, recalls Wrathion's words that he would not be a capable king

>Sylvanas makes an aggressive bid for Warchief but the Horde is unable to agree, Baine and Thrall are the voices of reason that the Horde differs to, Sylvanas is denied

>Malfurion is captured and tortured by the Legion in his campaign against Xavius during the Emerald Nightmare raid

>Cenarius is lost to the Nightmare and must be killed

>The Nightmare is ultimately pushed back, but Malfurion is lost to the Legion, but not killed

>Horde and Alliance are successful in beating the Nightborne in Suramar Palace (raid) and acquiring the Pillar of Creation

>Gul'dan is completely demonic at the end of Suramar Palace, it is hinted he can no longer die and can only be sent back to the Nether, a la the rest of the demons / Demon Hunters

>Before the Alliance and Horde can use the Pillar of Creation to help defeat the Legion, Tyrande gives the Legion the Pillar of Creation to trade for Malfurion

>Malfurion isn't given back regardless of the trade

>Anduin feels responsible for Tyrande's actions and technical betrayal of her allies' trust

>Horde doesn't agree with the trade and gets angry, Sylvanas gains traction and more support towards her bid as Warchief

>During the constant commotion of the Broken isles campaign, Nathanos Blightcaller is targeted by Greymane and assassinated during what was intended to be a joint Horde-Alliance mission against the Legion

>The Horde views this as dishonorable and Sylvanas seizes control of the Horde uncontested and reluctantly yet fully supported

>Anduin begins to lose faith in himself as he is seemingly unable to control his subjects. Tyrande and now Greymane have been directly insubordinate. He fears Wrathion was right about his inability to do what is necessary for survival and to lead

>Velen offers Anduin support and to trust in the light, Anduin is not sure "the light" is who he is anymore

>Sylvanas launches a campaign to avenge Nathanos Blightcaller, rather odd allusions to Nathanos and Sylvanas being lovers when they were alive (What is it with Windrunners banging human dudes?)

>Things begin to fall apart as the Horde and Alliance continue to bicker and fight one another in increasingly extreme cases

>Nobody is listening to Anduin and Sylvanas is on a rampage

>Sylvanas is successful in hunting down Greymane

>Greymane reveals himself as Varimathras, the real Greymane has been missing since the invasion of the Broken Isles began

>The fight is brought to the Undercity, paralleling the Wrath Gate event, and Sylvanas sacrifices herself to use her final Val'kyr to resurrect the player character and Khadgar, the prior of which is killed by an imp (Killrog's vision?)

>It is revealed Sylvanas has struck a deal with Helya: Sylvanas would be saved if she manages to redeem herself, saving the player character and Khadgar over herself was that redeeming act

>Sylvanas is resurrected by Helya

>Sylvanas, now realizing Varimathras wanted to ruin Horde and Alliance relations to assure a Legion victory, goes to Stormwind to rally Anduin into a cease-fire

>The Horde and Alliance band together for a final push into the Tomb of Sargeras

>Portals in the Tomb of Sargeras are ripping at Azeroth during the player's raid

>Kil'jaeden appears to be forcing his way into Azeroth through a massive portal in the Tomb

>Old God forces and Naga attack the tomb and raid near the end of the instance, and are more successful than the Alliance and Horde / players at stopping the demons

>Alliance and Horde / players were losing before the Old Ones and Naga showed up

>Old Ones are closing the portals and consuming their immense power and energy

>The Legion's advance is almost completely shut down by the Naga and Old Ones

>Kil'jaeden's massive portal and possible Kil'jaeden are consumed by a gigantic Faceless beast

>Horde and Alliance are trapped in the middle and poorly outmatched

>Players must escape the collapsing tomb a la Maiev in Warcraft III, sacrificing their artifact weapons' power along the way to feed to Old Ones / distract the Old Ones (has no effect on game play, it is assumed this is to explain away the artifacts in the following expansion)

>Old Ones and Naga are successful at harvesting the demons and their portals

>Nzoth has accumulated enough energy from eating L'Ghorek during Cataclysm, siphoning energy out of the Emerald Dream via the Nightmare, and now consuming demons and their immensely energy-rich portals to break free of its torpor and prison

>The Legion is halted once again, but Nzoth has played everyone perfectly. It implied Nzoth could tell the future because of corrupted/Infinite Nozdormu, and proceeded to use Kairoz to get Gul'dan to Azeroth to provide the necessary energy remaining to free itself.