This expansion is only possible...because we killed Deathwing.

[Miatog]

When I first saw the trailer, I didn't really get what was going on, it left me really confused. Then I watched the first panel and I got it a little better, it's not our past it's a separate past. Still didn't get how a dragon suddenly gained the power to travel to a parallel universe though. Then while reading blue posts I finally got it.

Garrosh isn't going into another universe, he's going to the past, and it's creating a splinter timeline. Still not effecting us, but the timeline is being split. What does this have to do with Deathwing you ask? Everything. This split is only possible, because the bronze dragons lost their powers. When we killed Deathwing, the Aspects 'great purpose' was fulfilled and apparently the Titans put in a remove powers clause on them. One of Nozdormu's jobs was to kill off non-alpha timelines. Basically he kept time clean, any time there was a split in the timeline, the 'dead' one was removed and it kept Azeroth safe. Safe from things like someone going back in time, creating the Iron Horde, and bringing it to attack the present.

So if we hadn't killed Deathwing, if we had just beat him but let him live, then Nozdormu might still have his powers. And if he had his powers, this off shoot timeline wouldn't be possible. There for, this entire expansion, is our fault.

[Florena]

Yeah we should have just let deathwing destroy the world. All our fault.

[PetersenIII]

Yeah, we should've just let death wing blow up the world to prevent Garrosh from conquering it with his Iron Horde we're going to defeat. That totally makes sense. =P

[Mercos]

Good theory, and probably true. The unintended consequences of destroying Deathwing were the end of the Age of Dragons and the weakening of timeline protections. This opens up a lot of new possibilities for Blizzard. World of Warcraft: Sliders?

[Miatog]

Not saying that at all. I know we didn't have much of a choice. Just pointing out, only possible because of what we the players have done. Which, I kinda like. We've been running around killing anything that looks at us funny. No thoughts for what damage it might cause, and now we have an entire expansion that's only possible because of actions we've taken. Maybe we'll see some bad effects from killing off the old gods as well.

Maybe next time we run into a god like enemy, we should think twice about killing it and look for other solutions, like sealing it away.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

I thought the dragon flights put their powers/immortality into the dragon soul to protect azeroth. I didn't think killing deathwing actually took their powers. Please correct me if I am dumb and wrong.. posting some info would be great, as I am very interested and curious.

[Deleted]

Maybe next time we run into a god like enemy, we should think twice about killing it and look for other solutions, like sealing it away.

Because that worked out so well for the titans *cough old gods cough*

[Spl4sh3r]

I thought the dragon flights put their powers/immortality into the dragon soul to protect azeroth. I didn't think killing deathwing actually took their powers. Please correct me if I am dumb and wrong.. posting some info would be great, as I am very interested and curious.

I agree with this, I mean why aren't they just taking back their powers from the Dragon Soul. Didn't they get back their powers in the book when XXX...

[Gheld]

Yeah we should have just let deathwing destroy the world. All our fault.

Muzorond warned us that the hour of twilight was a gift compared to what could be if we prevented it.

Now we know why; it leads to a plot that sounds like it was written by a 15 year old who just finished watching a
b budget sci fi marathon on Netflix.

[WorldofWorkcraft]

I thought the dragon flights put their powers/immortality into the dragon soul to protect azeroth. I didn't think killing deathwing actually took their powers. Please correct me if I am dumb and wrong.. posting some info would be great, as I am very interested and curious.

I don't know the specifics, but it seemed like they willingly gave all of their power to the cause of defeating Deathwing and it was not as OP said. I doubt there was a 'remove powers' clause because the Aspects have been working to preserve Azeroth for a long time, and have 'saved' it before I'd suspect. I don't know if there was ever a time they all worked together at such great length and with such fortitude, but I doubt it has to do with the Titan's having some kind of clause on them.

Regardless of why it happened, it did, and the Dragon Aspects are no longer the ones we knew. That's not to say the Titans couldn't just give them power back, I guess, but that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. Maybe the power didn't dissipate and got spread elsewhere, or something. Nothing is really clear except that the aspects are no longer powerful as they were.

[Miatog]

I got the impression they lost their powers because their great purpose was fulfilled. Maybe they just drained all their powers into the Dragon/Demon soul to kill Deathwing. That specific doesn't matter a whole lot to this talk. The point is that if they hadn't lost their powers this expansion wouldn't be happening.

[FunkyRaccoon]

When I first saw the trailer, I didn't really get what was going on, it left me really confused. Then I watched the first panel and I got it a little better, it's not our past it's a separate past. Still didn't get how a dragon suddenly gained the power to travel to a parallel universe though. Then while reading blue posts I finally got it.

Garrosh isn't going into another universe, he's going to the past, and it's creating a splinter timeline. Still not effecting us, but the timeline is being split. What does this have to do with Deathwing you ask? Everything. This split is only possible, because the bronze dragons lost their powers. When we killed Deathwing, the Aspects 'great purpose' was fulfilled and apparently the Titans put in a remove powers clause on them. One of Nozdormu's jobs was to kill off non-alpha timelines. Basically he kept time clean, any time there was a split in the timeline, the 'dead' one was removed and it kept Azeroth safe. Safe from things like someone going back in time, creating the Iron Horde, and bringing it to attack the present.

So if we hadn't killed Deathwing, if we had just beat him but let him live, then Nozdormu might still have his powers. And if he had his powers, this off shoot timeline wouldn't be possible. There for, this entire expansion, is our fault.

Most of Pandaria (minus the Mogu and trolls) were our fault, but ultimate blame for that lies on Deathwing's head. If he hadn't busted up the planet, the mists wouldn't have risen, the sha wouldn't have been able to return, and the Zandalar home island wouldn't be sinking. Dunno about the Mogu. I guess they just would have remained a bunch of creepy pottery statues lying about.

[Eurydemus]

Didn't Blizzard say there's someone else behind the whole scheme? The new super villain might have the ability to do this fancy time/dimension warping without the need for bronze dragon magic. Or maybe he/she might have to recruit a bronze dragon because the dragons still have (weak) remnants of their powers.

[Last Starfighter]

Not saying that at all. I know we didn't have much of a choice. Just pointing out, only possible because of what we the players have done. Which, I kinda like. We've been running around killing anything that looks at us funny. No thoughts for what damage it might cause, and now we have an entire expansion that's only possible because of actions we've taken. Maybe we'll see some bad effects from killing off the old gods as well.

Maybe next time we run into a god like enemy, we should think twice about killing it and look for other solutions, like sealing it away.

"Deathwing, if you wouldn't mind, could you step through this portal plox?"

[shadowmatrix]

Interesting theory but the problem is that the problem is that the Bronze Dragonflight didn't have the power to destroy timelines. Their job was to monitor and police the timelines preventing forces from their timelines from corrupting them as well as restoring them to their original state once the infection had been dealt with. Neither the Bronze dragons not the Titans have the power to destroy a timeline.

[Last Starfighter]

When I first saw the trailer, I didn't really get what was going on, it left me really confused. Then I watched the first panel and I got it a little better, it's not our past it's a separate past. Still didn't get how a dragon suddenly gained the power to travel to a parallel universe though. Then while reading blue posts I finally got it.

Garrosh isn't going into another universe, he's going to the past, and it's creating a splinter timeline. Still not effecting us, but the timeline is being split. What does this have to do with Deathwing you ask? Everything. This split is only possible, because the bronze dragons lost their powers. When we killed Deathwing, the Aspects 'great purpose' was fulfilled and apparently the Titans put in a remove powers clause on them. One of Nozdormu's jobs was to kill off non-alpha timelines. Basically he kept time clean, any time there was a split in the timeline, the 'dead' one was removed and it kept Azeroth safe. Safe from things like someone going back in time, creating the Iron Horde, and bringing it to attack the present.

So if we hadn't killed Deathwing, if we had just beat him but let him live, then Nozdormu might still have his powers. And if he had his powers, this off shoot timeline wouldn't be possible. There for, this entire expansion, is our fault.

Nozdormu didn't lose his powers. Just like the other Aspects didn't lose their powers. They lost their IMMORTALITY. They are still extremely powerful.

[Miatog]

Most of Pandaria (minus the Mogu and trolls) were our fault, but ultimate blame for that lies on Deathwing's head. If he hadn't busted up the planet, the mists wouldn't have risen, the sha wouldn't have been able to return, and the Zandalar home island wouldn't be sinking. Dunno about the Mogu. I guess they just would have remained a bunch of creepy pottery statues lying about.

I don't think Deathwing had anything to do the mists rising. Shouhou used the Sha of Pride to make the mist when he protected his land. When we learned that, I figured the mists rose because the Pandarian's starved the Sha so much the mists couldn't hold any more.

"Deathwing, if you wouldn't mind, could you step through this portal plox?"

"Certainly, I just need a good hard push from all 25 of you!"

[Last Starfighter]

Didn't Blizzard say there's someone else behind the whole scheme? The new super villain might have the ability to do this fancy time/dimension warping without the need for bronze dragon magic. Or maybe he/she might have to recruit a bronze dragon because the dragons still have (weak) remnants of their powers.

Yeah. The bronze dragon from Timeless Isle. Kairoz or whatever his name is.

[Fahrenheit]

True, but Varian should have just let Thrall crush Garrosh's skull. We'd be all neck deep in naga tits and old god tentacles by now. Instead, we're packing for our trip to the orc sausage factory of ye olde Dreanor.

This is all fucking Varian's fault for his asinine decision to let the haplessly retarded Pandafolk get a say in the matter.

[WorldofWorkcraft]

Nozdormu didn't lose his powers. Just like the other Aspects didn't lose their powers. They lost their IMMORTALITY. They are still extremely powerful.

Pretty they lost both. Cinematic. Nozdormu's pauldrons crack, eye glow gone, etc.

I got the impression they lost their powers because their great purpose was fulfilled. Maybe they just drained all their powers into the Dragon/Demon soul to kill Deathwing. That specific doesn't matter a whole lot to this talk. The point is that if they hadn't lost their powers this expansion wouldn't be happening.

Yeah, not sure, but it seems you're right about them losing their powers. Which also means...if this first part of the expansion is based off of the fact that Nozdormu can't protect the timelines anymore...what if the next parts involve the other aspects? As in...the other aspects, since they are no longer doing their job, have allowed for easier disruption of what they once guarded. We can rule out Alexstraza since she was the guardian of life, and things died all the time. She was bad at her job. With Kalecgos, we can anticipate spells to shift and alter (Devs even said spells are going to alter as you level from 90-100 SIGNIFICANTLY, further backing up this theory).

However, the most interesting one to take note of is Ysera. Who is actively guarding the Emerald Dream now? What are some other things that could happen such as this first part of the expansion? Could the connection actually reside in the fact OP describes, meaning this may actually introduce the Emerald Dream because of the mentioned connection? Doubtful, but the logic, as stated by OP with Nozdormu, is sound.