World of Warcraft: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm Page 0,100

the lake, and their feet now trod upon marshy soil.

And suddenly, there they were.

Four mammoth beings, resembling the smaller incarnations of the elements with which Thrall had worked for so long, moved slowly about. They were tempestuous, wild, and powerful. Even at a distance he could sense their tremendous strength. No, these beings certainly did not have to be concerned if anyone irritated them.

Speaking in a soft, reverent voice, Aggra identified each one. “Gordawg, Fury of Earth. Aborius, Fury of Water. Incineratus, Fury of Fire. And Kalandrios, Fury of Air. If anyone or anything in this land can help you, Go’el,” said Aggra, her voice quietly sincere, “it is these beings. Go. Introduce yourself. Ask them your questions.”

For a moment Thrall was catapulted back in time to his first encounter with the elements. One by one, the spirits of each element had come to him, spoken in his mind and heart. Now, in a similar fashion, they might do so again. Which to approach first? He chose Kalandrios, Fury of Air, and began moving forward.

Almost immediately he felt that being’s power buffet him. He stumbled, the intense wind nearly knocking him off his feet, but pressed onward, lowering his head against the whirling air.

The great Fury looked to him like a living cyclone with strong arms and glowing red eyes. At first Kalandrios ignored him, and then Thrall planted himself against the wind, heavy with sand and leaves that threatened to scour his skin, closed his eyes, and reached out with his mind, as he had been taught.

Kalandrios, Fury of Air … I have come a long way to ask your aid. I come from a land that is deeply troubled, but I know not why it suffers. I ask for its aid, and it does not reply to me. On my vision quest, I saw myself unable to save my land. You, who hear the cries of Air here in Outland—can you aid me? Is this vision true and unalterable?

Kalandrios turned his red eyes upon him, and Thrall felt the power of that direct gaze. He spoke, but in Thrall’s mind.

What care I for the trials of Air in another land? My own essences suffer here. Air rules the power of thought, Go’el, known as Thrall, son of Durotan and Draka. You are a powerful shaman, for me to even hear your plea. The best I can offer you is to think, and listen. Think on what you saw on your quest. More, I cannot give.

And Kalandrios moved off again, unable to give him any insight. Thrall felt disappointment well up inside him but tamped it down. It would not serve him to grow angry at the Furies. If Kalandrios could have helped, Thrall believed that he would have. Still, he could not shake the notion that there was a flaw in Kalandrios’s argument.

He glanced back over at Aggra and shook his head. The Furies were speaking only in his heart; she had not heard Kalandrios. Once, she would have smirked at his failure, he knew. Now he saw her strong face fill with consternation. He moved on to the next Fury.

This was Incineratus, Fury of Fire, and as Thrall approached, the heat roiled off the mighty being with such intensity that Thrall was forced to turn his head and shield his face with his arms. How was he to approach such a being, if doing so would burn the flesh from his bones?

The knowledge came to him gently. Ignoring the painful heat of the Fury’s fire, he reached for calmness within himself—from the element of the Spirit of Life he carried inside. He calmed himself, soothed his roiling thoughts, and visualized his skin whole, cool, able to withstand even the mighty Fury’s heat. He turned around to face Incineratus, opened his eyes … and the heat abated. Now Thrall could move forward and did so, kneeling before the Fury of Fire and repeating his request.

Incineratus turned his full attention upon the orc, and even with his newfound stability, Thrall was forced to close his eyes against the heat the being radiated as he moved to but a few feet in front of him. His throat felt seared as he inhaled, but he did not move away. He was strong enough to speak with this being; he would not be harmed.

I am angry for what you say to me, the Fury of Fire said in his mind. I am angry that my own kindlings suffer here, and I regret