Worgen

Behind the formidable Greymane Wall, a terrible curse has spread throughout the isolated human nation of Gilneas, transforming many of its stalwart citizens into nightmarish beasts known as worgen. The origins of this curse have been fiercely debated, but only recently has the startling truth come to light.

Long ago, amid a brutal war between the night elves and the demonic satyrs in Kalimdor, a group of druids practiced a powerful yet unwieldy form that embodied the fury of the wolf Ancient, Goldrinn. Taught by Ralaar Fangfire, these Druids of the Pack sought to temper the uncontrollable rage inherent in their chosen form. To do so, they willingly submitted to the energies of the Scythe of Elune, a mystical artifact created from Goldrinn’s fang and the staff of Elune.

Rather than abate the druids’ fury, however, the weapon transformed Ralaar and his followers into worgen: bestial humanoids enslaved by their own primal instincts. Blinded by all-consuming rage, Ralaar’s druids tore through friend and foe alike during battle with the satyrs. Night elves wounded by the unruly beasts contracted a virulent curse that turned them into worgen as well. Desperate to stanch the affliction’s spread, Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage mournfully banished the worgen to a pocket dimension of the Emerald Dream, where they would be in peaceful slumber for all eternity.

The worgen threat was contained for millennia, until Archmage Arugal managed to pull the wolf-beasts from the Dream. Summoned by order of King Genn Greymane, the worgen were used to battle Scourge forces encroaching on the kingdom of Gilneas. Yet the feral creatures soon spread their curse throughout the human population of Silverpine Forest, infecting Gilnean soldiers stationed beyond the Greymane Wall. Before long the affliction had advanced through the legendary barrier and was gradually eating away at Gilneas’s humanity. As reports of strange attacks and disappearances rose, fear took root in the hearts of Genn’s people.

Not long ago the curse’s spread was stifled, but the victory proved short-lived. Now, at a time when Gilneas is still recovering from a civil war, the curse has returned with renewed fervor. To compound the worgen threat, the Forsaken are battering at the nation’s gates in a bid to conquer Gilneas. Unbeknownst to many of the kingdom’s citizens, a war between beast and man is also raging within the worgen themselves. Whether or not balance can be restored to these cursed Gilneans before the entirety of Genn’s kingdom loses its humanity is uncertain.