The Cabalist ushered in the broken variant of Azeroth our heroes now find themselves in. His mortal form shattered by the Avatar of the Celestials in the Battle of the Veil of the Eternal Blossoms in Pandaria, The Cabalist latched his consciousness onto Chronormu and used the chromatic magics to destabilise the timeline. He removed Azeroth's champions from major events in its history, and brought forth a chaotic new present day where once former adversaries of Azeroth wrestle for control of the battered planet.