Battle for Gilneas City

The Battle for Gilneas City was a crucial battle during the Gilneas-Forsaken War that started to turn the war around in the favor of the Gilneans. After the death of Vincent Godfrey following his betrayal and the final reuniting of the Gilnean people, no matter if they were worgen, human, loyalist, or rebel, the forces of Gilneas marshaled outside of Gilneas City. After a quick excursion to retake the last village still in Forsaken command, Emberstone Village, the Gilneans mounted an assault on the city.

Liam's Speech
Prior to the battle, Crown Prince Liam Greymane, who led the main charge, gave a rousing speech that inspired the Gilnean people.

''The Forsaken think we're weak, a broken people. They think we'll roll over like a scared dog... how wrong they are.''

''We will fight them in the fields until the last trench collapses and the last cannon is silenced. We will fight them on the streets until the last shot is fired, and when there is no more ammunition, we'll crush their skulls with the stones that pave our city!''

We will fight them in the alleys until our knuckles are skinned and bloodied, and our rapiers lay on the ground, shattered!

''And if we find ourselves surrounded and disarmed, wounded and without hope; we will lift our heads in defiance and spit in their faces. But we will never surrender! ''

FOR GILNEAS!

The speech was met with a rousing cheer from the crowd as the Gilneans charged into the first district of the city, the Merchant's Square.

The Battle
The City was infiltrated from several fronts, the Military District, Greymane Court and the Merchant's Square at the same time. Lord Crowley led his worgen into the Military district, King Greymane to Greymane Court, and Prince Liam through the Merchant's Square alongside Lorna Crowley. The duo led the largest army through the Merchant's Square where the Forsaken were over whelmed. Lorna brought forth cannons retrieved from Emberstone Village that the Gilneans then used to blast through the large amount of abominations that were sent to prevent Liam's forces from reuniting with Lord Crowley.

Once Liam's forces united with Lord Crowley's, the group was faced with a large flesh giant by the name of Rotgut who had been constructed in the Stoneward Prison, which had been turned into a makeshift abomination factory. Using the flaming catapults that were left behind by the rapidly retreating Forsaken, the giant was destroyed and the Military District was reclaimed.

Liam and Crowley's forces then charged through the city to meet up with King Greymane's forces who had cornered Lady Sylvanas Windrunner in the Greymane Court. By the time Liam and Crowley arrived with their men, King Greymane had already destroyed most of Sylvanas' forces in the district and charged forward to assault the Banshee Queen herself. Liam was ordered to ensure the Banshee Queen would be unable to retreat while the rest of their forces attacked Sylvanas and her remaining men.

Just when victory was assured, Sylvanas pulled out her trump card, a specially made poison arrow to kill King Greymane. Unwilling to let his father die, Liam abandoned his post and rushed forward, leaping in front of the arrow meant for his father and taking the arrow to the heart, much to Genn's grief and Sylvanas' irritation. In the shock of Liam's sacrifice, Sylvanas was able to escape on horseback to the last remaining district still in Forsaken control, Cathedral Quarter.

Grief stricken, Genn Greymane held Liam in his arms as Liam jovially spoke, saying that they had won, they had taken back their city, before dying in his father's arms. Genn took his boy's body with him into one of the buildings of Gilneas and left the rest of the reclamation to the Crowleys while he mourned. Lorna sent forth several spies into the Cathedral Quarter where they found the Forsaken retreating, though it was with whispers of a dark concoction known as the Plague being deployed, something so vile that even the Orcs opposed it.

Faced with the decision to continue the assault against the Forsaken or to evacuate the civilians of Gilneas, Genn Greymane chose the latter. The Gilneans bombed the oncoming Forsaken forces to buy more time against the insidious plague, retreating through a secret passage under the city to Keel Harbor.

Aftermath
In the wake of the battle, Prince Liam was buried in Aderic's Repose along with many of the fallen Gilnean patriots. Once the Gilneans had arrived in Keel Harbor, they found the Orcs had begun to invade the Headlands, and much of it had already been destroyed. Arriving Night elven reinforcements allowed the Gilneans to repel the Orcish invaders, while Lorna Crowley led a strike team to commandeer the Gunship, Wolfsbane, in order to use it against the Horde. She ended up sending the Gunship to crash into the Forsaken forces, causing an extremely large amount of damage against the Forsaken troops, and allowing the Gilnean civilians to flee the area.

Lord Crowley and his daughter volunteered to remain behind in Gilneas with those willing to hold the Forsaken off, forming the Gilneas Liberation Front. Genn Greymane sailed with his family and the civilians of Gilneas to the Night elven city of Darnassus, where Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage urged King Greymane to join the Alliance once more. After a somewhat bitter process, Gilneas was eventually re-admitted back into the Alliance.

The Battle for Gilneas City was the turning point in the Gilnean-Forsaken War, as the 7th Legion would eventually arrive in Gilneas to reinforce the Gilnean Liberation Front and retake the mainland of Gilneas completely. From there on out, the Forsaken have continued to launch naval assaults against the coast of Gilneas, attempting to re-establish a land base for another invasion.