Nightbane pack

The Nightbane pack (or simply the Nightbane) are a pack of worgen in Duskwood. Their most prominent presence is in Brightwood Grove, west of Darkshire, but they are said to have come from Roland's Doom, a cave to the south. There, Jitters found a mysterious scythe jutting from the cave wall. When he pulled it free, the worgen spontaneously began to appear, and have since grown in number.

The Nightbane consists of both former humans and cursed night elves.

Nightbane territory also includes the Rotting Orchard. Each area is lit by torches, campfires, or bonfires, and contains camps, tents, huts, or stolen goods. In Brightwood Grove, Nightbane worgen fight over ravaged dire wolves, while Nightbane Dark Runners patrol the area, and Fenros walks from camp to camp. At Roland's Doom, packs of Nightbane Vile Fang and Nightbane Tainted Ones fight outside, while the latter and the den mother Nefaru can be found inside. In the Rotting Orchard, Nightbane Shadow Weavers practice magic and occupy the buildings and camps, while Nightbane Stalkers keep watch from the shadows, and the pack leader Marus patrols between its camps and his den. Nightbane worgen have also been seen as far as Raven Hill when captured,<ref name="Bane" / as well as Manor Mistmantle and Deadwind Pass when seeking the Scythe of Elune.

History
The night elf Velinde Starsong traveled from Kalimdor to find the Archmage Arugal, having heard he too had summoned worgen into Azeroth and hoping he could help her with her troubles concerning the Scythe of Elune. During her journey, she passed through Duskwood and was killed in Roland's Doom by Varkas. The scythe laid within the abandoned mine for some time until a man known as Jitters unearthed it from its resting place inside of the cave. In doing so he unwittingly summoned a large amount of worgen from the Emerald Dream.

The worgen summoned in the cave cut down Jitters' companions (he himself was able to flee and escape) and began to terrorize the woods. Eventually coming to be known as the Nightbane Pack, these worgen slowly but surely began to take over the woods, which had been corrupted steadily by fel energy unleashed in Karazhan in the years following the death of Medivh. Various farmholds and areas such as the Brightwood Grove were taken over, their occupants either turned or killed, the lucky ones barely escaping with their lives. The Nightbane hunted Jitters until he had abandoned the Scythe within the woods, their appearance had for some reason called upon a mysterious band of extremely powerful riders known only as the Dark Riders, who proceeded to wipe out the town of Raven Hill in search of Jitters and the scythe.

With the appearance of the Nightbane worgen, the woods of Duskwood were not only corrupted but made extremely dangerous to traverse, as travelers were faced with the threat of a worgen attack at any moment. Along with the worgen, several other shadowy forces began to root themselves within the forest, such as necromancers and warlocks who ended up causing the graveyards of Duskwood to be filled with undead. This left the humans of the area restricted to one safe location in the woods, the town of Darkshire, where the militia known as the Night Watch keep a vigil to repel the worgen and other shadowy forces.

Cataclysm
Following the Cataclysm and the return of Gilneas into the Alliance fold, the Nightbane came under the eyes of the Gilnean worgen. The afflicted Gilneans occupied the once-abandoned town of Raven Hill, seeking to find worgen among the Nightbane who were not too far gone to the mindless state and could be saved as they were.

Sven Yorgen become afflicted by the worgen curse and was brought into the Nightbane pack. He was later saved thanks to the efforts of the Gilneans and adventurers, becoming one of the first worgen from Duskwood to be successfully brought back from a feral state, second to Mardigan. This gave Oliver Harris, the lead apothecary attempting to cure the Nightbane, renewed hope.

Legion
When Valorn and Belysra returned the Scythe of Elune to Duskwood with the intention of giving it to a druid adventurer, it was stolen by Ariden, leader of the Dark Riders. The Nightbane pack, drawn to the Scythe and seeking the power of Goldrinn, followed Ariden to his base in Karazhan. They attacked the adventurer who was also seeking the Scythe of Elune and were promptly defeated.

According to Revil Kost, they were driven mad by the Scythe.

Battle for Azeroth
The residents of Raven Hill had captured members of the Nightbane pack for alchemical testing, and were then plagued by a particularly ferocious member named Bloodeyes. Vassandra Stormclaw asked a Gilnean champion to subdue her in order to test cures on as well.

Named

 * , found in Brightwood Grove.
 * , deceased - once found in Roland's Doom.
 * , found in the Rotting Orchard.
 * , found in Roland's Doom.
 * , temporarily - later found in Raven Hill.
 * , captured - later found in Raven Hill.

Unnamed

 * Nightbane Stalker
 * Captured Nightbane
 * Feral Nightbane
 * Nightbane Stalker
 * Captured Nightbane
 * Feral Nightbane
 * Captured Nightbane
 * Feral Nightbane

Quests

 * Worgen in the Woods

Notes and trivia

 * A Nightbane Worgen can be found kneeling by a lone tombstone in the middle eastern side of Brightwood Grove. The tombstone was there in vanilla, while the worgen was added in Cataclysm.
 * While the last two worgen leaders in Duskwood - Gutspill and Gervase - were in Roland's Doom, the current leader Marus can be found in a smaller, private, and well-protected cave.
 * In the Legion alpha, Feral Nightbane spoke during the quest The Deadwind Hunt, saying
 * yell
 * yell

Speculation
The Nightbane pack are likely members of the Wolf Cult seen in Dark Riders.


 * Both seek the Scythe of Elune.
 * Both recruit humans and are hunted by Revil Kost.
 * Both inhabit Roland's Doom and are seen in Manor Mistmantle.
 * Althea Ebonlocke suspected the Wolf Cult was connected to the worgen in Duskwood, and her suspicions were later confirmed.