Kingdom of Gilneas

Gilneas is a large peninsula that juts into the sea south of western Lordaeron. Silverpine Forest lies to the north-east and Kul Tiras awaits across the sea to the south. Gilneas had originally withdrawn from the Grand Alliance following the end of the second war by constructing the Greymane Wall and severing all prior ties. However as of the developments of Deathwing's return and the second shattering, Gilneas has rejoined the Alliance.

History
The kingdom was founded following the splitting of Arathor and besides the peninsula, the kingdom also included the island of Zul'Dare, and formerly held lands in Silverpine Forest including Pyrewood Village and Ambermill.

Its king Genn Greymane never ardently supported the Alliance of Lordaeron in the Second War, sending marginal support and having an ill temper with any of the affairs during this time. Alongside Arathor, Gilneas voted for the utter extermination of the orcs following the end of the war, a vote that was cast aside in favor of internment camps. Thus, after the war, he constructed the Greymane Wall: a massive barrier spanning the entire northern border. The enormous wall barricaded Gilneas from the rest of Lordaeron for around two decades.

Behind the Wall
In the years following, Gilneas would remain relatively untouched by the Third War, only facing against the Scourge on their borders several times via troops that were granted permission to leave the wall and later by the feral Worgen, wolf men summoned by Archmage Arugal and Greymane's request.

Gilneas did however face internal problems, namely from the dissident noble Darius Crowley. Crowley proceeded to not only send aid to the Alliance in the name of the Gilneas Brigade, which would later accompany Lady Jaina Proudmoore in founding Theramore, but also by starting the Northgate Rebellion. Having been the owner of the lands of Pyrewood and Ambermill, which were cut off from the rest of Gilneas, Crowley began a campaign against the crown, pitting Gilneans against one another in a vicious war that would eventually even leave Gilneas City damaged by the end of it. The rebellion dwindled when a key ambush captured Lord Crowley and his lieutenants, locking them away in Stoneward Prison.

Shut out from the world, Gilneas soon faced yet another problem, the Worgen. Having been kept a secret since their initial summoning by Arugal, Worgen had been roaming the countryside of Gilneas in small packs for quite some time following their summoning. King Greymane and some of his most trusted advisors would often hunt down these packs, but after too long the Worgen grew to substantial numbers, eventually besieging Gilneas City.

The Worgen
The 'Worgen Curse' swept mercilessly across the nation, eventually turning nearly all of its inhabitants into savage beasts. Eventually losing the city, most of Gilneas' people were lead to Duskhaven for safety, as well as to experiment on captured Worgen with the hopes of reverting the change. While research was going well under Krennan Aranas, succeeding in re-claiming the minds of these Worgen through herbs and potions, Gilneas soon found its self victim to yet another threat, the Forsaken.

Seeking a suitable location for a port in Lordaeron, Sylvanas invaded Gilneas by sea, and eventually Gilneas was wracked by the Cataclysm, shattering the Greymane Wall. Through a valiant effort, Gilneans held the wall as long as they possibly could against the oncoming Forsaken armies, riflemen tearing down those that headed through the gap in the wall, while newly freed Worgen tore down the undead as they attempted to scale over the wall. Eventually, following a rousing speech from Garrosh Hellscream, the Gilneans did falter and the Wall was lost.

At the same time in Southern Gilneas, the remaining survivors attempted to flee from the invading undead, deterring and even foiling several of the Forsaken's plans along the way. They eventually met up with the forces of Darius Crowley, now a worgen, and his men who had their minds freed by the Night elven rituals in Tal'doren. It was here that Genn Greymane revealed that he too had been afflicted with the worgen curse.

Appalled by the idea of being led by a Worgen, Lord Vincent Godfrey and his accomplices captured King Greymane with the intent to use him as a bargaining chip to end the undead invasion. His plans were eventually foiled, and Godfrey committed suicide by hurling himself off the cliffs of Tempest's Reach. Finally united once again, the Gilnean people liberated the village of Emberstone before finally assaulting the undead within Gilneas City. This attack proved successful, reclaiming the city at the cost of many Gilnean patriots, including Prince Liam Greymane.

Faced with the task of either continuing the fight or saving his people, Genn Greymane chose to leave the remaining military forces of Gilneas behind and evacuate the civilians through the port town of Keel Harbor. With the aid of their new Night elven allies, the Gilneans made a daring assault against the on coming Horde invasion, bombing the Forsaken's troops and destroying their airship. With the way clear, the civilians evacuated to Darnassus, where the Night elves granted them sanctum within the Howling Oak.

At the urging of Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind, Greymane went through the processes, though initially rocky, of Gilneas rejoining the Alliance. Once completed, King Varian Wrynn set his eyes on the tattered nation, sending the 7th legion to help re-secure the land.

Silverpine
While the civilians fled, Lord Darius Crowley led daring raids into the heart of the Forsaken's lands, going as far as to send infiltrators into Tirisfal Glades and the town of Brill. Dubbed the Gilneas Liberation Front, the remaining militant forces fought a brutal battle against the Forsaken across Silverpine. Along the way they secured crucial allies such as the mages of Ambermill, the remaining survivors of Hillsbrad, and the local worgen of the Bloodfang pack for their fight in Silverpine. Despite this alliance, the Forsaken did manage to rout most of the forces out of Silverpine, but at a cost.

Cut off from the southern front, the remaining Forsaken in Silverpine soon found themselves backed into a corner, a strike team barely managing to secure the remains of Godfrey and his accomplices before the 7th Legion arrived in full force and forced the Forsaken out of Gilneas.

With the loss of Gilneas, but the routing of most of the Alliance forces out of Silverpine, the border became a brutal battlefield. The mages of Ambermill were eventually converted into the Undead, the Hillsbrad survivors suffered heavy losses at the hands of the undead, and Pyrewood Village was later destroyed in order to prevent the Alliance from using it as a base.

Ultimately, through the capture of Commander Lorna Crowley, the Gilneans and their allies were defeated in Silverpine and forced to retreat in order to save her. However, this act of mercy appalled the recently revived Vincent Godfrey, causing him to betray Sylvanas Windrunner in the hour of victory. This act actually ended up killing Sylvanas, as Godfrey and his cohorts retreated to Shadowfang Keep to claim it as their own. Sylvanas would later be revived by the sacrifice of her Val'kyr, but this act prevented her from leading another invasion into Gilneas.

Current Status
With the mainland secured, the Horde continue to launch periodic naval assaults against Gilneas, attempting to secure an area on the shore to construct a land base for another invasion of Gilneas, while alliance heroes and the remaining Gilnean forces fight them off. While none of these invasions have proved fruitful, some theorize it is only a matter of time before Gilneas is beset by an even larger invasion.

Within the lands of Gilneas, multiple military forces lay scattered about the land, as well as those attempting to re-settle in the land, despite the hostilities on the coast. Within these lands include orders such as:


 * The Blades of Greymane under Lord Berenal Grayblade, a Gilnean based military regiment that dwells within Stormglen Village with the aims of representing Gilneas in the Alliance forces outside of just the Gilnean front.


 * The Order of the Elder Orchid, under Sir Ferenold Stormshend, an order that has settled in southern Gilneas and constructed a town by the name of Darel'horth with the goals of preserving Gilnean society and culture as well as revitalize the land.