It was, strangely, like Thrall: a mortal who had transcended the bounds of flesh. The unknown being patrolled the ancient earth of the region as if it was keeping a silent vigil over the land. It spoke in a dwarves accent that echoed across Azeroth. “For behold, we are earthen, o’ the land, and its soul is ours, its pain is ours, its heartbeat is ours…” Thrall also saw that the deep places of the world were riddled with molten lesions and other wounds. What gave him the most pause was immense caverns, cold and unnatural, scattered throughout the globe. They were pockets of lifelessness that even the earth elementals were hesitant to approach.
One of the voids sat far belowMountHyjal. Thrall directed his spirit toward the subterranean hollow. Unlike the rest of Azeroth, what lay inside the cavern was hidden from his sight. As he moved closer, a single voice surged out from within the chamber, bristling with unfathomable power. Thrall was drawn toward the source, compelled to seek it out. His essence circled the outside of the chamber until he found an opening in the cavern’s seemingly impenetrable walls. As he pushed his spirit into the void, rocks and soil entered with him. The debris coalesced into legs, a torso, arms, and a head; two multifaceted crystals served as his eyes. His new form resembled his true physical body save that it was made of earth.
“Who are you?” Thrall called out in a sharp clatter that sounded more like stones grinding together than a coherent language. Pools of roiling magma offered the room’s only illumination. The walls and floor were coated in a rough crystalline substance so black that it appeared to consume all light around it. “Here lies the truth of this world.” Thrall lumbered deeper into the chamber, enticed by the authority of the words. His connection with the rest of Azeroth and his body on Hyjal grew thinner with each step he took. In the middle of the cavern stood a humanoid figure, its features shrouded in a strange, almost tangible darkness. He plodded closer until two eyes opened on the statuesque being, burning the color of molten rock.
