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Hello everyone!
The early years of Genn Greymane’s story are not explained in great detail.
We know that his father king Archibald Greymane ruled their kingdom of gilneas into a prosperous
time, but with the mindset of never asking aid from others.
‘Never take a man’s hand, Son.
Tis always better to stand tall on your own.
It is what separates the great from the meek.”
A lesson that his son Genn took to heart as his father eventually passed away and the
prince grew into a king.
A king with a loving family.
His wife Mia who he first met at the Royal Aderic Banquet, she gave birth to two children,
a son named Liam and a daughter named Tess, but her birth didn’t come without complications.
She might have died soon after being born but with the aid of Krennan Aranas, the royal
alchemist who made her a potion, she survived.
Although he hardly ever said the words, the king loved his children, his family dearly
as well as his people who meant everything to him.
Yet this is Warcraft and keeping the things you love safe is never easy.
The Dark Portal opened, the Horde invaded the world and Stormwind fell.
It’s survivors, lead by Anduin Lothar fled across the sea to the lands of Lordaeron.
As they fled, word of the city’s destruction spread to other nations.
Lordaeron’s ruler, King Terenas Menethil the second was deeply shaken by the news.
It had been difficult to seperate fact from rumor.
At first, the king had not even believed that the orcs were real.
Now he knew they were a grave threat.
When Stormwind’s survivors finally arrived in Lordaeron, Lothar told Terenas of the Horde’s
true might.
He urged the king to gather the other human nations immediately.
Without unity, the Horde would have no difficulty picking off each kingdom one by one.
In time, the leaders of all the human nations gathered in Lordaeron’s Capital City.
Joining Lothar and Terenas were Lord Admiral Daelin Proudmoore of Kul Tiras, Archmage Antonidas
of Dalaran, King Thoras Trollbane of Stromgarde, King Aiden Perenolde of Alterac and of course
King Genn Greymane of Gilneas.
This moment was called the Council of Seven Nations with the idea of uniting against this
threat, but it seemed to be a distant dream.
Working together like that was interesting to some, but people like Perenolde and Greymane
were not so easily convinced.
Genn was hesitant to place his people in the line of war, where as Perenolde was simply
a sly coward.
They openly expressed suspicion about whether creatures from another world had invaded at
all, believing that there must be some other explanation.
As they discussed and debated, the Horde didn’t sit still and moved out to conquer more of
the world.
Soon enough, gnome and dwarf refugees arrivied in Lordaeron with dire news.
Khaz Modan had been conquered and this turn of events shocked the human leaders.
The dwarves and the gnomes were mighty and the speed with which their territories had
fallen defied understanding.
What was worse, the Horde was now encroaching north, yet still Greymane and Perenolde stubbornly
resisted calls for creating the Alliance.
They feared that by unifying, they would lose some of their regional power.
Divisions widened between the gathered leaders, their arguments grew so fierce that Gilneas
and Alterac threatened to abandon the council.
Now in the chronicles it’s the priest Turalyon that steps up, gives a speech and motivates
them while Genn’s short story actually explains a little bit more about what happened during
the discussions.
With Genn came several of the most influential Gilnean Nobles and mere hours after learning
of the orcish Horde conquering Stormwind, they discussed what to do next.
Lord Darius Crowley believed that they should join the Alliance and do what they can before
the monsters tear through the other kingdoms’ lands and into their own.
He was a smart man, younger than Genn and a bit less polished in the finer points of
politics, but many believed he was a noble with a bright future.
Greymane understood his fears, but wasn’t too sure if that plan was the right all.
The orc had not come near their lands, not a drop of Gilnean blood had been shed.
His heart was heavy for what happened to Stormwind and Varian, but should they commit their people
to a similar fate?
Is even one Gilnean life worth sacrificing for a cause that does not affect them?
Perhaps his industrious people would be able to do this by themselves, the orcs were just
brutes after all.
Demi-beings.
Monsters.
His father never thought that the future of their people was bound to which way Lordaeron,
Stromgarde and Alterac leaned.
Some are strong and some are weak.
It is the way of things and the Gilneans are strong.
They had to watch over their own pack first and foremost, but then a measured voice arose
from the back.
Lord Godfrey, a man less sympathetic then crowley and more about politics believed they
should stay in good graces of their sister kingdoms, ensuring that future trades remain
stable.
A small token force would show them what even the slightest addition of the Gilnean military
can do and wouldn’t you know it, he was the commander of that force.
It was a smart political play and Godfrey counsel was trusted by Greymane, but he was
always suspicious about his ambitions.
Baron Ashbury, one of Gen’s most trusted friends.
They had grown up together and his father Lord Ashbury the first had helped Gen’s
father with building the nation up, he backed Godfrey’s plan and so it was that Gilneas
did indeed join the Alliance of Lordaeron but only send out a token force.
Gilneas first and foremost, but they did stand with the Alliance unlike Aiden Perenolde of
Alterac who betrayed them all and bargained with the Horde.
This nearly cost them the war, but the Horde also had betrayals from within which lead
to the Alliance of Lordaeron winning the war and kicking the horde back all the way to
the dark portal.
Khadgar and the Kirin Tor shut the portal down, but they were unable to completely close
the rift between their worlds.
There was a chance that the Horde would come back so they decided to build Nethergarde
keep to keep an eye on the area.
The orcs that surrendered were a bit of a problem and a subject of bitter debate.
Gilneas and Stormgarde argued for the execution of the prisoners, yet Lordaeron was against
putting the orcs to the blade.
The capacity for mercy proved that the Alliance was more civilized and honorable than the
horde.
Rather than execute the orcs, Lordaeron wanted to lock them in internment camps to be funded
by members of the Alliance.
Dalaran’s Kirin Tor also lobbied for imprisonment.
The Kirin Tor argued that by better understanding the orcs’ strengths and weaknesses, they
could defeat them if war ever broke out again.
They eventually came to an agreement where the member of the Alliance would fund the
construction of internment camps, which would house the orcs.
One of Stromgarde’s most celebrated soldiers, Danath Trollbane, would oversee these crude
prisons.
If order could be maintained, the camps would remain.
If not, the Alliance would revisit executing the orcs.
The camps did prove successful, but bitterness remained over their existence.
Gilneas thought the prisons were a pointless burden on the Alliance.
They were already spending a fortune rebuilding Stormwind, the construction of Nethergarde
Keep and now more coin was being siphoned into keeping their enemies alive.
Greymane was not quiet about this either, openly complaining to young Varian Wrynn and
the other leaders as they inspected the keep, but what price do you place on the safety
of your people.
It’s a good thing that they invested in this since the Horde would return for a second
invasion, but Gilneas didn’t play a major part in it.
Heroes sacrificed it all to make sure that Azeroth remained safe, but politics and times
of relative peace caused fractures within the Alliance.
A big point of debate was Alterac who had betrayed the alliance and was placed under
martial law.
With the war behind them it was time to decide what to do with Stromgarde believing they
had rights to it for their sacrifices and valor during the war.
King Terenas didn’t see it that way, was still considering adding it to its own kingdom
or place someone new on its throne, someone with a sympathetic ear for Lordaerons causes.
Gilneas didn’t really have such ties to the lands involved, but still skillfully manouvered
itself into the discussion, not only to raise their own prestige but to perhaps further
their own dreams of expansion.
Isiden, One of Lord Perenolde’s nephews had fled to Gilneas after the treachery, and
rumor had it that Greymane supported his claim as successor.
A base in Alterac would give Gilneas access to resources the southern kingdom did not
have, and an excuse to send its mighty ships across the Great Sea.
That, in turn, would draw Kul Tiras into the equation, the maritime nation being very protective
of its naval sovereignty.
This had the potential to tear the alliance apart not to mention that the black dragon
aspect Deathwing had also showed up to weaken the alliance, pretending to be Lord Prestor,
a young noble hailing from the most mountainous, most obscure region of Lordaeron.
He claimed to have bloodlines in the royal house of Alterac as well, claims easily supported
by using his powers and turning the rulers of the alliance into his willing puppets.
He convinced Terenas to suggest him as the next ruler of alterac with the other leaders
soon enough backing him up, he even figured to strengthen his hold by marrying Calia Menethil
but thankfully others made sure to defeat Deathwing and the plans he had as Lord Prestor
disappeared.
Sadly the cracks amongst the Alliance did not vanish so easily, in fact Greymane decided
that he had enough.
His advisors had assured him that joining the alliance would be a boon to their people,
but all they had to show for was dead gilneans, families torn apart by the orcs and now the
Alliance just kept demanding more and more.
Gold for Nethergarde, gold for the camps, gold for Stormwind, they gave the alliance
their support and as a nation they are poorer, while it reaps the benefits of their contributions.
Ignoring the fact that the united alliance was able to protect their world, or perhaps
believing they could do it on their own, Genn decided to build a wall, close their borders
and end trade with the rest of the Alliance.
Insert building a wall and making others pay for it joke here.
Godfrey was one of the first that Greymane told about his plans and he was able to turn,
as they say near *** Bay, lemons into lemonade.
The wall would have to cut through a noble’s land and by using the mountainous region they
could create a secure natural barrier which would make his realm the most strategically
valuable, as it would be nearest to the wall and their buffer to the outside.
Despite the political motives, the plan was solid yet by building it like this, the wall
would have cut through some of Crowleys land, something he might not take lightly.
They’d simply have to make him see reason, that this was the best for Gilneas.
Anyone can see that it would make an impenetrable barrier, just imagine how bright their future
will be without any interference...
There was a future alright, just not one as bright as Greymane envisioned it since outside
their borders the events of Warcraft 3 played out with the plague spreading across the lands
of Lordaeron.
Lordaeron asked Gilneas for aid, begged them to help, but Genn wasn’t having it.
A heated argument with his son liam followed, now a teenager, but not afraid to voice his
opinion.
He was scared and angry and flat-disagreed with his father.
What if the plague will reach them, what if those undead creatures get through their wall,
what if they could have done something to stop it beforehand?
Lordaeron is pleading here, only asking for aid in a most desperate time.
They are dying by the moment and don’t request for simple trade, but aid for their people!
They are requests of weakness, Genn said.
I will not risk the life of my son or any son of Gilneas.
My father would not have and neither will his son!
Always with Grandfather, Always.
It’s as if you yourself are not king, just some steward keeping the chair warm until
he returns.
When I was your age, gen replied, all I wanted was to be like my father.
That is a prince’s duty, but Liam thought that a prince’s duty was to be a greay king.
He knew this argument was lost; his father would do as he always did and he was right.
Genn believed that the wall would protect them, the wall would hold and Gilneas will
always be great... always!
The people of Lordaeron begged them for aid and Gilneas kept its doors shut.
Weeks later wave after wave of scourge, a sea of shambling undead bodies, countless
arachnid creatures and massive monstrosities whose bodies seemed to be stitched together
from the skins of rotted corpses assaulted their great wall.
Their moans echoes up while Gilnean soldiers outside the wall tried to hold the line.
There were just too many of them, even their grey wall will give against countless numbers.
Father...you should have....you should have listened to me Liam spoke out, but now was
not the time.
Genn had to show leadership, no matter what.
He had to be the lord of his pack, Gilneas’s beating heart as he wondered what his father
would done at a time like this.
There had to be a solution and one was offered by Archmage Arugal.
He had researched the studies of a mage called Ur, studies on the Worgen and their world.
He describes it as a dark place, a place of nightmare.
The worgen, ferocius and wicked.
It is his hope that no Dalaran wizard seeks out the Worgen for no pact may be struck,
no secrets may be learned, no good can come from these beasts.
They are best left to their world for if found in ours and not destroyed, our peril will
be dire.
The warnings were there, yet all the same Genn gave Arugal permission to go ahead and
unleash the Worgen against the Scourge.
At first it seemed like their plan was working.
They were a force unlike any they had ever seen; vicious, unyielding and exactly the
beasts they needed to fight the monsters at their gates.
But these beasts turned out to be near impossible to control and when the scourge was in retreat,
the Worgen turned their fury against the gilneans.
That was the day Greymane closed the gates of Gilneas and never opened them again.
Only afterward did they discover that the wounded soldiers brought inside the gates
were actually cursed.
The bite of the worgen would slowly but surely take away their humanity and turn them into
worgen as well.
It had come into their protective walls, they were his countrymen and he was forced to order
their deaths.
You don’t know pain until you’ve made a decision like that.
But no matter how many infected they put down, still enough of them had escaped.
Every full moon, Genn together with Godfrey, Ashbury, Walden, Marley and a few other nobles
hunted in the blackwald, armed to the teeth, searching for creatures most of their people
believed to be myth.
The nobles would hunt them for sport and for vengeance – exterminating the pests that
had infiltrated their lands.
It was during one of those hunts that Genn got bitten before taking down his prey, but
he can’t tell the others knowing full well what they would do, what he would if he was
in their shoes, they’d shoot him and prevent the curse from spreading further.
So it was that the king of gilneas kept the worgen curse a secret from all those around
him, but this was just the beginning of the trouble for his beloved kingdom.
“Lead by their indomitable king gen greymane, the proud citizens of Gilneas once stood with
the alliance against the vile orcish horde that sought to conquer all of Lordaeron.
Gilneas survived but in the chaotic years following the second war, the mighty kingdom
drew ever inward.
Distrustful of their former allies, the gilneans erected a mighty wall at the borders of their
land.
Closing off their nation and their hearts from an ever darkening world.
Now many years later as the seemingly unstoppable undead scourge marches across Lordaeron, human
civilization once again teeters on the brink of destruction.
As war and terror close in all around them, the citizens of gilneas are faced with one
terrible truth.
Their mighty wall cannot hold back the dead for much longer and worse, rumors of a new
threat have arisen within the kingdoms borders.
Of feral nightmare creatures that walk upright as men but hunt and howl as wolves.“
“We protected Gilneas from the Scourge.
We protected Gilneas during the Northgate rebellion.
We will protect Gilneas from whatever this new threat may be.”
Turns out multiple threats at the same time.
This is around the cataclysm period, a bit before the actual cataclysm shook the world.
Outside their walls we have the Forsaken trying to make their way in and as we can see, the
worgen roam the streets of Gilneas but not everyone is aware of their existence.
The northgate rebellion Liam was talking about was a rebellion lead by Darius Crowley who
had not taken the wall with grace.
He had defied Greymane and had even aided the Alliance during the Third War by sending
the ‘Gilneas Brigade’ to Jaina Proudmoore.
Crowley believed Greymane had abandoned his people while Genn had tried to reason with
the prideful noble.
Had tried to make it clear that this wall was the way forward.
He had tried to explain why assisting the Alliance was so wrong, even if his own son
disagreed with him.
But Crowley didn’t see the truth of it, insisted that he was doing what was best for
the future of Gilneas and that he would end Genn’s Tyranny.
Civil war gripped the nation, but Genn was able to hold control and placed Crowley and
his men in prison.
Meanwhile night elves traveled to Gilneas amongst them priestess Belysra Starbreeze
sensing the wrongness involving the worgen.
She’s been kept a secret from everyone by Genn, hiding out in his observatory, not even
his beloved wife knows.
She uses the powers of Elune to help Greymane keep the animal inside under control, but
this method won’t contain the beast forever.
There is a ritual he could go through, but now is not the time for it, instead he has
spoken to master alchemist Krennan Aranas about seeking a solution through some sort
of potion.
Starbreeze will offer any aid possible with creating it, while the Forsaken outside the
wall have risen to a number beyond reckoning.
There’s *** in the streets, livestock’s gone missing, while Godfrey reminds them of
the worgen threat.
It’s been too long since greymane joined them on a hunt.
Things have gone hard these past few years.
‘Could be that you’ve grown tired, majesty, could be that the years and the war and the
endless siege have dulled your edge a bit.
None of us would think less of you for taking a brief respite...for leaving the decision
making to someone else for a time.’
‘Someone like you, godfrey?
If I didn’t need every capable leader right about now, i’d have your treasonous ***
chained to a dungeon wall!
Now get out of my sight!’
Treasonous, you say?
I shed more rebel blood during the war than you would care to imagine, majesty!
And unlike you I didn’t call the leader of those treacherous *** my friend before
doing so!’
Get out Genn tells him as he nearly loses control and transforms.
Starbreeze is able to help him out and lets him know that her fears of who’s behind
these recent events, those fears mean that he needs allies.
Greymane has considered to set the events of the war aside and reaching out to crowley,
granting amnesty to his one time friend.
Perhaps he and his rebels would be able to help them out, but what if they can’t let
bygones be bygones?
Those worries are a luxury on the day of the attack, the day the worgen strike out in mass
against Gilneas.
Greymane tells his son Liam to place the city under lockdown, establish a base in merchant
square and that’s where our worgen starting area begins, right in the middle of the attack.
Liam is unable to hold the square against such numbers and orders an evacuation to the
prison district where his father’s army will be able to protect the civilians.
It’s time to call in any aid that we can and while Lord Darius Crowley has been called
many things.
Rebel.
Traitor.
Terrorist.
Before the civil war he was called a friend.
Greymane never blamed him for leading an insurrection against him.
His land and people were separated from Gilneas by a stone wall....but he believes that they
had no choice.
Regardless...Crowley is exactly the type of person we need right now so we’re ordered
to go to Stoneward Prison and recruit Crowley’s aid.
Darius lets his fellow rebels known that the beasts are back.
They don’t care about the war or their squabbles.
The nobles and their cronies have cursed the name of Darius Crowley for far too long.
Your names too, Tobias Mistmantle, vincent hersham.
There’s a good chance we’ll not live to see the next sunrise...but if we die here
today, let our names be remembered for different reasons....Let us be written of and spoken
of not as warmongers, but as guardians, protectors, saviors even.
We wipe the slate clean and do what ever it takes to preserve life, rebels or royal, and
put down as many of them damned mongrels as we can.
FOR GILNEAS!
We bring the good news back to the king and locate the artillery the rebels have been
able to sneak into the city.
Josiah Avery was supposed to be our contact but the man wants to be left alone, don’t
look at him but it’s already too late.
He too has been taken by the worgen curse and like Genn, we’ve also been bitten.
It’s probably nothing, but it sure stings a little.
Nothing to worry about I’m sure as Darius’ daughter Lorna puts the worgen down.
We inform Greymane that her father’s arsenal is at his disposal.
All these years after the war and Crowley was still hiding enough firepower in that
cellar to level half of the district.
It might have to come to that, but we can’t open fire just yet.
Not while there are still civilians trapped on the other side of the prison.
Not just any civilian either, Alchemist Krennan Aranas is amongst them so we take Greymane’s
horse and rescue him.
“Help!
Up here!”
“Thank you.
I owe you my life.”
“We’ve got Aranas.
Fire at will!”
The streets were overrun with worgen but our canon fire quickly takes care of them.
The bite wound we suffered is getting worse, we’re not feeling too good but worries for
later.
More and more of the people are turned into the feral worgen and we’re left with very
few choices.
What we do next will be a critical decision.
“If we can make it past the gates into Duskhaven we’ll be safe.
The eastern mountains are virtually impassable.”
“We need to keep the worgen’s attention in the city, Genn.
It’s the only shot we have for the survivors to make it to Duskhaven.”
“I’ll stay behind with the Royal Guard, father.
It is my duty to Gilneas.”
“Not a chance, boy.
Gilneas is going to need its king’s undivided attention.
Can’t have your father wondering whether his child is alive or not.
My men and I will hole up inside the Light’s Dawn Cathedral.
I’ve already given the order and the cannons are on their way.
Lead our people well, Genn.”
“We were fools to take up arms against each other, Darius.
The worgen would’ve never stood a chance.”
As Genn, Liam and the rest of their people evacuate to Duskhaven, Crowley and his rebellion
draw the attention of the worgen and make a stand at Light’s Dawn Cathedral.
Lorna is informed by Liam what has happened and she’s ready to blow Genn’s brains
out.
You gave him a taste of freedom only to turn around and feed him to those...things!
How could you?
Was it not enough to lock him away?
Seperay him from his family?
Is this your final revenge then?
But genn never meant for this to happen, his heart breaks for his old friend while we help
out Crowley with his suicide mission.
“Lets round up as many of them as we can.
Every worgen chasing us is one less worgen chasing the survivors!”
“You’ll never catch us, you blasted mongrels!”
We had enough ammunition to carry on the civil war for another month, yet the worgen numbers
are such that we’re nearly spent.
We don’t want to be caught out here in the open when that happens.
It’s time to fall back inside the cathedral use the chokepoint and kill any mutt that
comes for us.
In the meantime our wound has gotten quite hideous.
The skin around it is black and blue, there also appears to be thick hair growing around
the edge of it.
After taking out a fair few of them inside, they simply stop coming and no....that’s
not a good thing.
CInematic: Bark bark, roaaaaaar.
AAA aaaaaaa.
Awoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Parapampammmmm Ow helly Godfrey.
Bit rainy aint it?
Grrrrowl.
“Look at what you’ve become.
Those cursed beassts.... they’ve left you nothing more than just another wretched mongrel.”
“Do you even remember what you did to your friends?”
“Your kind....haunting the wilds unchecked until we found you.”
“They’ve kept you alive, because they still believe you can be saved.”
“To which...I must ask...
Is there even a shred of humanity left within you?”
“Perhaps.
We will find out...soon enough.”
We shall find out next week as that’s when we’re going to continue the story, find
out the history of the worgen curse, the connection to the night elves, rediscovering our humanity
and so much more.
For now thank you very much for watching everyone!
Subscribe if you like my videos, leave a like if you enjoyed this one....and until next
time guys....see ya!