Greymane Wall

File:Greymane Wall Cataclysm.JPG

The Greymane Wall as it appears in the official trailer of Cataclysm.

File:Greymane Wall2.JPG

The wall seen from Gilneas.

The Greymane Wall was erected after the Second War, by Genn Greymane, as the kingdom of Gilneas isolated itself from the Alliance due to a dispute surrounding the internment camps for the orcs. It is a large wall with a portcullis, located at the southern edge of the Silverpine Forest (near Pyrewood Village) and the northern edge of the Gilnean peninsula.

Those on the other side in Gilneas have been spared from the Plague, though the worgen curse has taken affect instead. Many refugees that have escaped the Plague have made camp outside of the wall, but its gates have yet to open, presumably because the Gilneans are also suffering a devastation.

The controversial Greymane Wall sowed civil discord in Gilneas, eventually leading to the Northgate Rebellion, a devastating civil war that nearly destroyed the kingdom. Though King Genn Greymane was able to put down the dissenters with the apprehension of the rebellion's leader, Darius Crowley, the kingdom began to experience other troubles.

History

Third War

Following the defeat of the Old Horde at the end of the Second War, the orcs that remained behind after the Dark Portal closed found themselves prisoners. While some wanted to execute them outright, Terenas Menethil showed them mercy and began building internment camps for them. This bill however, coupled with the expenses that led to rebuild Stormwind, led to disagreements between the kings. This ultimate decision would see the Alliance of Lordaeron itself crumble as leaders such as Genn Greymane, decided to leave the union after Thrall liberated the orcs from internment camps, proving Lordaeron's incompetence.

With the money invested in building the camps being wasted, Gilneas cut off all military pacts with the Alliance. In order to stop the Horde or any other enemies from threatening his kingdom ever again, he decided to leave the world behind. Greymane built a wall which split his kingdom off from the rest. Judging the landscape, the wall would have to be built with some land being cut off. With Vincent Godfrey at his side, they agreed to cut off Crowley's lands located at Silverpine Forest, which led to the unfortunate civil war.

In Curse of the Worgen.

Despite being victorious, Genn had other worries on his mind. The Scourging of Lordaeron had devastated Gilneas' neighbors and not long after, the Undead Scourge were outside the wall, while Gilnean soldiers slowly dwindled. To combat this, he ordered Archmage Arugal to summon the worgen. At first, everything went according to plan until the Scourge were driven off. With no more enemies left to fight, the beasts turned on the civilians and Gilnean soldiers stationed beyond the Greymane Wall, spreading the worgen curse to his kingdom, gradually eating away at Gilneas' humanity.

World of Warcraft

This section concerns content related to the original World of Warcraft.

Haggard and sickly refugees from the rest of Lordaeron were stopped from going into Gilneas due to the wall. Dalin Forgewright had dedicated himself to the care of the refugees, and Valdred Moray was trying to flee into Gilneas after murdering Deliah Andrean. Wallace the Blind was also there, as well as Stewvul who was hiding in a crate.

The shattered Greymane Wall.

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

To compound the worgen threat, the Forsaken started battering at the nation's gates in a bid to conquer Gilneas. The gates of the Greymane Wall were eventually shattered by the Cataclysm, finally revealing what had happened to the kingdom and its citizens, and allowing the Forsaken war machine to invade the once mighty nation. With the worgen curse taken hold, the Gilneans found a partial cure, allowing them to retain their human minds even when transformed, and allowing them to transform at will. As the Forsaken invaded the land, the worgen Ralaar Fangfire, the Alpha Prime, also infiltrated the land by using tunnels hidden underneath the Greymane Wall. Allying with the undead, he wanted to get the Scythe of Elune.

Some time after the Gilneans evacuated from Gilneas and joined the Alliance, Darius Crowley led a counter attack against the Forsaken in Gilneas and Silverpine Forest. The worgen managed to push the undead out of Gilneas. The Gilneas Liberation Front and 7th Legion made camps just beneath the shadow of the Wall: Gilneas Liberation Front Base Camp and 7th Legion Base Camp. The Forsaken, however, managed to capture Lorna Crowley. Sylvanas Windrunner used her to bargain a surrender with Darius Crowley in front of the Wall's gate. After Darius and Lorna retreated back to Gilneas, Sylvanas was then killed by Vincent Godfrey but was soon resurrected by her loyal Val'kyr. After that, battles in the area ceased.

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Greymane Wall is the only evident site in Gilneas. This enormous gray wall marks the boundary between Gilneas and Lordaeron. No guards stand at its battlements or man its gates — the wall seems dead. Nevertheless, refugees from the north camp in the wall's shadow, hope for succor. These unfortunates never see any Gilnean and are easy prey for the worgen that occasionally stray this far south from Shadowfang Keep. Some refugees were sent to Hillsbrad by Brann Bronzebeard when he passed near the wall.

Notes

• A portion of the Wall can be seen in the Battle for Gilneas with the Waterworks nearby. It has a double rainbow over it.

Gallery

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  The Greymane Wall in World of Warcraft as seen prior to patch 4.0.3a

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  Worgen about to attack Gilnean soldiers stationed in front of the gate.

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  In the Battle for Gilneas.

• BattleforGilneasWaterworksGreymaneWall.jpg

  Closer look.

Patch changes

• Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Model updated to use Gilnean architecture. Previously, it reused the Thoradin's Wall model.