Invasion of Gilneas

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The Invasion of Gilneas is the first battle between the worgen of Gilneas and the Horde. The outcome of this invasion is revealed in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

Causes of the invasion

The Cataclysm has caused the gates of the Greymane Wall to shatter, which marked the end of Gilneas's isolationism from the rest of Azeroth. Due to the events of Angrathar the Wrathgate, the Forsaken are "in the dog house" with the rest of the Horde and the Horde leadership, now controlled by Garrosh Hellscream, has ordered the Dark Lady to claim Gilneas so the Horde can have a port in southern Lordaeron.

Chronology

Ships of the Forsaken Navy commenced a bombardment of the coastal town of Duskhaven and its surrounding farmsteads while landing footsoldiers. Newly-cured worgen, acting under the command of Prince Liam Greymane, moved into action, catapulting onto the ships and slaying their captains, and then leashing a pack of mastiffs on the area commander, Dark Ranger Thyala. But even with this victory, there came a price. The earth, already weakened from the bombardment, began to fragment and collapse as the Cataclysm continued, and an evacuation of Duskhaven was put together before the town was completely consumed. The survivors fled to Greymane Manor, and then further inland - into the Blackwald.

Origins of the Curse

Within this dark forest, the Gilneans met the night elves, who told them of the origins of the worgen curse - that long ago, the Druids of the Scythe had abandoned the balance and allowed the beast within to consume them. They had been banished to the Emerald Dream to sleep for eternity under Tal'doren, the wild tree in the Blackwald...but not before their curse had spread. Lord Darius Crowley, who had also been transformed into a worgen and had managed to regain the balance between man and beast, revealed that the Forsaken were not only after the lands of Gilneas, they were after something that could bring the worgen under their control - the Scythe of Elune. Aided by Tobias Mistmantle and his trackers, the worgen killed Sylvanas' dark rangers and reclaimed the precious artifact. Knowing that the alchemy that had returned their minds to them would not last long, the worgen drank of the waters of Tal'doren, and restored the balance between human and beast. King Genn Greymane himself came to the Blackwald and revealed that he too had been affected by the curse, and joined with all of his people to drive the Forsaken from their lands.

Godfrey's Treason

Lord Godfrey was an unaffected nobleman who condemned the transformed Gilneans as monsters. Upon learning that Greymane himself had been cursed, Godfrey put a plan into motion that he believed would save Gilneas. Joined by two eastern lords, Baron Ashbury and Lord Walden, Godfrey captured Greymane and held him prisoner. He hoped that by turning the king over to the Forsaken, Gilneas would be spared.

The Gilnean worgen struck back, tracking down and assassinating both Ashbury and Walden, and cornered Godfrey at Tempest's Reach. With his support gone and his plan defeated, Godfrey committed suicide rather than acknowledge a worgen as his king.

The Battle for Gilneas City

With the dissent from within crushed, Greymane sent his loyal supporters to aid in liberating the mining town of Emberstone from Forsaken control. Prince Liam and Lorna Crowley, the daughter of Lord Darius, led the troop, making headquarters in the livery stables. After freeing the enslaved Gilneans, they aimed at the Forsaken leader, Executor Cornell, known for his unbound ruthlessness, and Valnov the Mad, the so-called scientist who carried out inhuman experiments on the villagers too old to work the mines.

Having assembled an army composed of every available Gilnean, the army was split around Gilneas City, Liam heading the assault from this gate, while King Greymane and Lord Crowley handled the assault on the other districts.

Around Stoneward Prison, the flesh beast known as Gorerot appeared and threatened the whole operation, but powder cannons brought by the villagers of Emberstone saved the situation.

Liam caught Sylvanas' forces at Greymane Court, while his father met them on the other side. As the tide was turning against Sylvanas, she used her dark powers to stun every one in the immediate area and aimed a poisoned arrow at Genn Greymane. Liam jumped in front of the bowshot, saving his father from certain doom. As Sylvanas fled the scene, Liam died with the knowledge that the city had been freed from Forsaken control.

Escape from Gilneas: The Endgame

Later on, Sylvanas met with General Warhowl, envoy of Warchief Garrosh Hellscream, telling him that Gilneas was under control and agreeing not to use the Forsaken Blight, as its development had been banned after the incident at the Wrathgate. As the emissary left, Sylvanas told High Executor Crenshaw to deploy the new plague as planned, despite Garrosh's command.

At the dawn of the next day, despite the wishes of Garrosh Hellscream, the Forsaken used their Blight on Gilneas, killing most of its inhabitants. Greymane organized the retreat of all citizens he could find to Aderic's Repose, while adventurers distracted the Forsaken with their own bombing bats.

The night elves, led by the priestess of the moon Belrysa Starbreeze, made good on their promise and brought ships at Keel Harbor, as well as an offer of sanctuary in their lands. Unfortunately, the Forsaken's allies, the Horde, arrived as well. An orcish gunship, similar to Orgrim's Hammer, which had fought in Northrend, entered the field, preventing the transport ships from taking the Gilneans to safety. While the druids were holding the enemy back, the siege weapons carried by the elven ships were deployed and met their enemy head-on.

A hippogryph-mounted party boarded the gunship to place explosives in the engineering room below deck. As they proceeded, the gunship's captain, Korm Bonegrind, appeared and the party fled on wyverns roosting on the lower deck. With its engines destroyed, the explosives detonated, destroying the gunship at the Greymane Wall.

Aftermath

Gilneas was left in ruins, both by the Forsaken invasion and by the very land ripping itself apart. The surviving Gilneans fled to Teldrassil and other Alliance strongholds, where they offered their services to the Alliance. With his homeland gone and his heir slain, Genn Greymane journeyed to Stormwind, political and military capital of the Alliance, where he stands at the side of Stormwind's master, King Varian Wrynn.

The peninsula and the Gilneas City, capital of the fallen kingdom, remains contested between the Alliance and the Horde. There is still a significant Gilnean activity in the form of the Gilneas Liberation Front, operating out of Pyrewood Village in southern Silverpine Forest and backed by the 7th Legion in their war against the invading Forsaken.