The Alliance had now split into three factions. One was led by the Alliance High King, Varian Wrynn, and included Tyrande Whisperwind, the Night Warrior controlled by the Sha of Hatred; Jaina Proudmoore, controlled by the Sha of Despair; and Moira Thaurissan, controlled by the Sha of Doubt.
They had gathered their elite forces within Stormwind, intending to rely on the city's defenses to resurrect Y'Shaarj, the seven-headed Old God.
The second faction was the Alliance Resistance, led by Stormwind's prince, Anduin Wrynn. They refused to pledge loyalty to Varian Wrynn, the Alliance High King who had fallen under the Sha's control.
With Lakeshire in the Redridge Mountains as their base, the Alliance Resistance had been constantly recruiting troops while calling on Alliance allies to join them. Malfurion Runetotem, the Night Elf Archdruid, was the first to join the Alliance Resistance, seeking to save his wife, Tyrande Whisperwind, from the Sha's control.
Yet Ironforge, which lay close to both the Redridge Mountains and Elwynn Forest and was said to share humanity's deepest friendship, had remained silent.
In truth, not long ago, Moira Thaurissan's Dark Iron Dwarves, controlled by the Sha of Doubt, had coordinated with Alliance forces attacking through the Stormwind subway in an attempt to overthrow Ironforge's rule and pull Ironforge over to Stormwind's side.
Faced with the sudden assault launched directly inside Ironforge by the Dark Iron Dwarves and humans, Ironforge had nearly fallen. The fighting had even reached Magni Bronzebeard's throne.
But at that moment, Muradin Bronzebeard returned in time. The three Bronzebeard brothers fought side by side once more and held back the Dark Iron Dwarves and humans. Soon afterward, the Gnome High Tinker Mekkatorque also led Gnome forces to aid Ironforge's Dwarves. After all, when the Gnomes had nearly been wiped out, it was the