When Stormwind City had been rebuilt years ago, its nobles had failed to pay according to the contract, leading to a falling-out between them and the city's Mason Guild, led by VanCleef.
Because of Onyxia's meddling, VanCleef had led his men in demonstrations, blockading the gates of Stormwind City's royal palace and publicizing the nobles' many misdeeds. They disrupted public order, seriously threatened the rulers' hold on power, and undermined their prestige and authority.
Conflict had thus become inevitable.
At the time, King Varian's kindhearted wife, Queen Tiffin, had stepped forward to mediate, only to be struck dead with a brick by an enraged member of the Mason Guild. The situation had spiraled out of control.
Varian Wrynn had flown into a rage. The Mason Guild had been driven out of Stormwind City, and the craftsman who had killed Queen Tiffin had been executed on the spot.
Grief, helplessness, anger... the hatred between Varian and VanCleef could not be resolved. In his fury, VanCleef had transformed the Mason Guild into the Defias Brotherhood. From then on, his entire life and sole purpose had been devoted to destroying Stormwind City.
Although various circumstances had left Varian Wrynn no time to eliminate VanCleef and the Defias Brotherhood, asking him to employ VanCleef again would elicit only one answer:
"Impossible!"
The hot-tempered Varian Wrynn sprang to his feet the moment he heard Shawn's words. "Absolutely not!" he shouted. "That shameless scoundrel VanCleef and those damned mobs in the Defias Brotherhood killed my queen! I will never forgive him!"
Shawn said solemnly, "Your Majesty, you must have heard by now... Queen Tiffin's death grieved us all, but the true culprit was not the Defias Brotherhood, nor those diligent stonemasons who contributed so much to Stormwind City. It was Onyxia. All these sins began with