Aderic Greymane III

King Aderic Greymane III was a ruler of the Kingdom of Gilneas. Born to Beren the Great and Valerie Greymane, he succeeded his father as king in 473 F.A., after King Beren's death. His first act as king was the proliferation of reading and writing in his country, first started by his father. However, the process was extremely slow due to the exceptionally literacy rate in Gilneas' more rural areas. He later began to colonize the fringes of Gilneas, primarily the islands that dot around it due to the issues of the Zul'Dare War, resulting in the Reefs of Gilneas being mapped out, allowing easier travel through the seas for Gilnean sailors.

In his forties, Aderic was beset by odd men and women who were dressed in all black and attempted to assassinate him. They failed, and it was discovered that the eastern shores were controlled by a group known as the Sanguine Gavel, whom began to attack the outskirts of their territories, kidnapping and murdering and feasting upon their victims' blood. The Sanguine Gavel expanded into the kingdoms of Gilneas, Lordaeron and Alterac, infiltrating their courts and nobility, and they later captured King Arthur Perenolde I after he refused to join them, believing them to be insane. Though he was drained of his blood, an unlikely savior showed himself in Aderic and some of his own nobles. Looking past old hatreds, the remaining loyal nobles of Alterac and Gilneas banded to form the Order of the Silver Stake to end the Gavel's reign of terror.

For the next few years, the Silver Stake cracked down on the Sanguine Gavel, rooting them out of Alterac first. Though the leaders of the Order attempted to get Lordaeron to join, their offers were rebuffed due to the Menethils leading their own purges. The headquarters of the Gavel was later discovered to be Eastpoint Keep, and their leader none other than Earl Reginald Cratizen, who was captured during the Zul'Dare War. Having been revealed to have barely survived in Alteraci hands, Cratizen turned to blood magic as a way of sustaining himself. The Silver Stake assaulted Eastpoint during the night, killing many of the nobles during a "Blood Feast". However, Cratizen himself was nowhere to be found.

Believing the Gavel to be destroyed, Aderic returned to Gilneas, where he was attacked and nearly killed in his own home by his wife, Jesamine Greymane. Cratizen was revealed to have been hiding within the Greymane home and had taken control of the queen through magic. Before his plans could be completed, seven year old Prince Veric Greymane shot and killed Cratizen with a crossbow.

Aderic was forced into medical care while his wife was taken captive to be cured of her mind control. Within a few years' time, Aderic recovered from the attack, and later led his people to increasing production from the centralized areas of Gilneas, eventually shifting the main production of areas such as Nambitus into production focused areas, rather than luxuries or farming. He passed away shortly after this, his son Veric taking the throne.