Westfall

Westfall is a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Stormwind, and was once its breadbasket. Ravaged by the Old Horde during the Second War, this rich lands of rolling pastures and farms were once beautiful and green,World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: The Eastern Kingdoms, pg. 22 until they were afflicted by drought and the mistreatment inflicted by the Defias Brotherhood, an organization of former stonemasons who became bandits under the command of Edwin VanCleef. The grass is yellowed, the fields are infested with ravenous carrion birds and mechanical harvest watchers who have gone rogue, and years of neglect and conflict have not improved the situation.
After years of corruption and internal political conflicts caused by the black dragon Onyxia, Stormwind has been working hard to secure and renovate the region. The Westfall Brigade under the leadership of Marshal Gryan Stoutmantle, formerly known as the People's Militia, erected a bastion of military power in the region at Sentinel Hill from where they issue commands to anyone willing to aid the cause, and thus succeeded in defeating the Defias Brotherhood. Although most of the area's farms have fallen to disrepair, there are still farmers who bravely cling to their holdings.
Following the Cataclysm, discontent roared in Westfall, where many people living became homeless and bankrupt as a result of the costs of the campaign in Northrend. Now inhabited by transients, homeless citizens, and drifters, the Defias Brotherhood made a resurgence under the leadership of Vanessa VanCleef, daughter and successor of Edwin, and attempted to rally the discontented masses in Moonbrook. While they managed to burn Sentinel Hill to the ground, they were once again defeated by the adventurers and the forces of the Stormwind Army.
In the years that followed, the kingdom continued to support the region, waging a war against banditry and the Riverpaw pack gnolls. Following his coronation, King Anduin Wrynn's reforms brought more aid to the region, which extinguished the spark of the revolution. He also gave the royal pardon and reparations to the former Stonemasons and their families hidden in the region, allowing them to end their life of banditry and return to Stormwind City. The Breadbasket Guild was later formed by the farmers to revitalize the region with the support of the kingdom.
==History==
Centuries ago, throughout the Eastern Kingdoms, the disparate human nations flourished, among them the smallest and most isolated of the kingdoms was Stormwind. Over the years, it found prosperity through the farmsteads that dotted the surrounding fertile region, and as its population grew, small towns sprang up in the nearby regions, notably Westfall, which became the breadbasket of the kingdom.
During the reign of King Barathen Wrynn, the gnolls began launching brazen attacks on Stormwind City, but it quickly became clear that these assaults were merely distractions. While soldiers defended the city against a large number of enemies, they could only send a few troops to protect the agricultural lands, and Westfall farmsteads were burned during what was called the Gnoll War. At the end of the war, the gnolls were wiped out following the death of their leader, and the kingdom regained control of its lands which were rebuilt.
Years later, a Gurubashi trolls raiding party slipped through Stormwind's patrol lines and cut a path of destruction through Westfall, burning three towns to the ground. Stormwind's soldiers eventually caught and slew the raiders, but it was too late for dozens of humans, and their deaths were gruesome. This sparked talks among the Stormwind leadership, which then led to the Gurubashi War.
Eventually, during the First War, the Warchief Blackhand ordered raiding parties to cut deep into Stormwind's lands, as he wanted to drive the human populace to panic. Entire villages in Westfall fell to the Old Horde's control, with their inhabitants either killed or forced to flee. Following the Second War, the territories of Stormwind were reclaimed by the Alliance of Lordaeron and the returning Stormwindians, with the help of the Supreme Commander Turalyon who oversaw the efforts to repatriate the kingdom's citizens and to secure Varian Wrynn's place as the next king.
===Rise of the Defias===
After the Stonemasons Guild spent years toiling to rebuild Stormwind City, they were left broke, as their fees and salaries were left unpaid and unspoken for by the city's officials. When the time of the rightful payment came, the nobles of Stormwind couldn't because they ran up a huge debt by expanding the kingdom's military presence through Elwynn and into Stranglethorn, and the massive debt crippled the kingdom's economy.Shaw's Report In the shadow, Lady Katrana Prestor manipulated both sides with the :Drakefire Amulet - her meddling in the rebuilding of Stormwind left the nobility unsatisfied with the craftsmanship of the guild, while the workers were enraged that the nobility despised them and were threatening to withhold payment. When the Guildmaster Edwin VanCleef spoke out, demanding restitution for their works, the House of Nobles ordered the guild disbanded, and it turned into a heated dispute, which resulted in riots that led to the murder of Queen Tiffin Wrynn.World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 10Report on the Defias Brotherhood
In response, King Varian Wrynn vowed to punish those responsible and dealt with the rioters more severely. The Stonemasons, fleeing the city, hid in the rural areas of Westfall to escape prosecution. Knowing Varian's anger would never fade, many were forced to remain in hiding. From the shadows, Onyxia continued to stoke their rage by using her influence to cut off supplies and support to the region. They became the terrorist organization known as the Defias Brotherhood, and under Edwin VanCleef's reign, they turned to banditry and murder to recover the gold owed to them.A Window to the Past While Lady Prestor's political machinations caused chaos in the kingdom, the Defias sowed anarchy and terror in the lands of Stormwind for the next decade.
Consequently, Westfall started to grow fallow after years of conflict and neglect had diminished its harvests. Crops could eventually no longer be cultivated in the fields, and the once-abundant mines were ultimately deserted. Even the former defenders from the Stormwind Guard pulled stake and abandoned the lonely realm when the cost of upkeep became too great. Over the years, the ranks of the Brotherhood grew to include the skilled, the desperate, and the outcast.
===Journey of Brann===
Following the Third War, the dwarf Brann Bronzebeard traveled south from Khaz Modan to survey the lands of Azeroth. When he came to Westfall, he was surprised at finding only abandoned farms and countless acres of abandoned cropland. He later inspected a few of the scattered, lonely farms, and only found a few discarded mementos of the humans who had once toiled ceaselessly over the region. When he arrived at the abandoned mining town named Moonbrook, he fought agents of the Defias Brotherhood and a harvest golem, and left Westfall in the direction of Stranglethorn Vale.Journey of Brann#Westfall
===Bloodsail Buccaneer===
At some point, James Blackridge, Liam, and Bram Woodring went fishing in Westfall. As they had no luck with the fishes, they moved to Westfall Lighthouse, where they discovered the Bloodsail Buccaneers crew led by Jerias Bloodvein. The Bloodsails abducted them and trained them to be pirates. When the pirate crew returned to Westfall after a few months, they marched to Moonbrooke and invaded the Deadmines in hopes to enact vengeance on Edwin VanCleef and the Defias Brotherhood. In order to rescue his parents among the prisoners, James faced and killed in a duel the pirate captain that had captured them. The rescued prisoners were then escorted to Sentinel Hill, and the young man was certain that with Bloodvein dead, the Bloodsails would not return to Westfall.Bloodsail Buccaneer
===World of Warcraft===
Due to this lack of military protection, Westfall was all but destroyed by the rebel Defias Brotherhood. The Brotherhood, composed mainly of thieves and bandits, easily took control of the poorly defended farmlands, driving off many of the good farm folk, and made Westfall their new refuge.The Killing Fields Needing a secure location to oversee the construction of a massive Juggernaught, their weapon to destroy Stormwind City from the sea, Edwin VanCleef chose the Deadmines as his base of operations, an abandoned mining network hidden beneath a barn in Moonbrook.
With Westfall under his control, Edwin VanCleef took advantage of the resources at his disposal and used his considerable manpower to run many of the farmers off, and took over the handful of gold mines. He made a deal with the Riverpaw pack gnolls, hiring them as thugs and stationing them throughout Westfall.The Collector (Classic) In order to further hurt the people of Westfall, they also began burning the farmers' fields and salting the earth to prevent them from growing crops.Dark Riders With the addition of goblins to the Brotherhood's ranks, their armaments grew to include harvest golems, which they programmed to hunt down and terminate the human inhabitants of Westfall. These mechanical monstrosities did their job well, as they elicited terror in anyone foolish enough to roam the fallow fields of Westfall alone.The World of Warcraft Bestiary
Only the People's Militia rose up to stand in their way. Considering that Stormwind had abandoned their cause, Gryan Stoutmantle founded this volunteer military organization in order to keep the land free from corruption.Report to Gryan Stoutmantle In his efforts to defend the people of Westfall, he recruited the young heroes of the Alliance and sent them to eliminate large numbers of Defias spotted by his scouts across the region.The People's Militia (quest)The People's Militia (2) In order to help, Mathias Shaw also directed SI:7 reconnaissance operations on the Brotherhood activities, and later sent Agent Kearnen in Westfall to spy on Klaven's Tower.Mathias and the Defias Once they found that the leaders of the Defias Brotherhood were hiding in the Deadmines beneath Moonbrook, Stoutmantle called upon the heroes of the Alliance to destroy the Brotherhood and Edwin at their head.The Defias Brotherhood (7) With support from Stoutmantle's soldiers, the heroes succeeded and Westfall was safe once again.World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: The Eastern Kingdoms, pg. 22
===Wrath of the Lich King===
At the time of the Scourgewar, the People's Militia renamed themselves the Westfall Brigade and joined the Valiance Expedition in Northrend. Following the fall of the Lich King and their tour of duty, the Brigade returned home to Westfall, where they found that the cost of the war had left thousands homeless, who then migrated to Westfall to squat on many of the abandoned properties.Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 34
During the war against the Lich King, Li Li Stormstout and Strongbo came to Westfall on their journey to find Chen Stormstout.Pearl of Pandaria
===Dark Riders===
Prior to the Cataclysm, the People's Militia forces who remained in Westfall were mobilized to bring order and defeat the last remaining Defias. According to one of their officer, morale was rather low among the troops, consisting mostly of militiamen and not soldiers, which sometimes led to conflicts for food.
The mage Karlain and the priest Revil Kost teamed up in a camp of the People's Militia, and together they traveled to Gold Coast Quarry to find Tannos. A group of the Defias Brotherhood was patrolling the area, and soon they ambushed Tannos and the others. The presence of Tannos' artifact drew the attention of the Dark Riders into Westwall as well, so when the Defias were defeated, the Dark Riders suddenly appeared, killed Tannos, and took the Hand of Azora. Revil then proceeded to track them to Duskwood.
===Cataclysm===
After the campaign in Northrend, Westfall reported tidal waves and storms.The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, chapter 32 Many people living in Westfall became homeless and bankrupt, and those who weren't in a military occupation faced especially hard times.Farmer Saldean#Quotes Westfall is now inhabited by transients, homeless Stormwind citizens, and drifters. The farmlands are still reeling from years of neglect and desolation. The Westfall Brigade, having returned from the war in Northrend, fortified Sentinel Hill and started working on cleaning up the mess left behind by the Defias Brotherhood, expanding the reach of the Alliance and maintaining order with the full support of King Varian Wrynn.The Westfall Brigade (quest)
The Cataclysm created a large sinkhole named the Raging Chasm, located in the western part of Westfall, between the Molsen Farm and the Alexston Farmstead who were partially devoured by the disaster. Consequently, many farmers under Thurman Grant left Westfall in order to try and resettle the newly cleansed lands in the Western Plaguelands.A Mighty Hunger The kingdom later sent supplies, troops, and siege engines in hopes of rebuilding the former breadbasket of the kingdom, and to house the citizens of Stormwind whose homes were destroyed by the Cataclysm. While they sought to secure the region and restore it to its former glory; the resurgence of an old and familiar enemy hinder their efforts.
In the shadow, the Defias Brotherhood made a resurgence, primarily due to growing resentment of Stormwind's leadership among the people of Westfall, the cause of which was poverty among the people and a perceived indifference to this poverty by the king. Edwin VanCleef's daughter, Vanessa, took the leadership of the Defias and had been encouraging the anti-Stormwind sentiment among the people of Westfall, recruiting new allies to aid her in their vengeance against the kingdom. The Brotherhood then mounted a surprise attack on Sentinel Hill and burned it virtually to the ground.Rise of the Brotherhood Following a large conflict between the Stormwind Army and the Brotherhood, a force of Alliance heroes entered once again the Deadmines, where they wiped out all the new Defias leadership. Eventually, they confronted Vanessa herself atop the rebuilt Juggernaught, and faced with defeat, she detonated a series of explosions which essentially blow up her and the ship, ending her plans and the activities of the Brotherhood in Westfall.Vanessa VanCleef (tactics)
===Legion and aftermath===
During the third invasion of the Burning Legion, the Legion targeted Westfall as one of their invasion points, ravaging the region with their armies of demons, while some nathrezim enslaved its inhabitants. Under the leadership of Gryan Stoutmantle, Westfall was successfully defended by the Stormwind Army with the help of the adventurers of the Alliance and Horde, and the Illidari, the latter having temporarily installed one of their camps before leaving once the assaults and demons repelled. Among the defenders, some farmhands acted like militias, they took up weapons to defend themselves and repel demons, thus indicating that farmers are still present to work in Westfall. At this time, all members of the Defias Brotherhood had left the region, and the Deadmines fell silent.
During his exploration of the Eastern Kingdoms, the Spymaster Mathias Shaw reported that the transients who arrived here after the Cataclysm continued to come and go, this time unsettled by a massive war, not a world's breaking. However, Shaw noted that they provide a rich source of rumors for SI:7 to investigate. While Sentinel Hill was being rebuilt and fortified, the Westfall Brigade worked with the SI:7 to maintain order in the region, stop troublemakers, and keep at bay the packs of disordered gnolls since Hogger's death.World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: The Eastern Kingdoms, pg. 23 The Raging Chasm was also reported to be still present and active in the region.Shadows Rising, Prologue
===Dragonflight===
In the years that followed the Burning Legion's defeat, Vanessa VanCleef had an agreement with Mathias Shaw, while she kept the Defias Brotherhood on a short leash, the SI:7 wouldn't come after them for their crimes.An Urgent Matter Though she tried to reign in their banditry to focus on aiding the people of Westfall, King Anduin Wrynn's reforms allowed more aid and resources to arrive at Westfall, which caused the spark of revolution to fade.Betrayal of the Brotherhood The young king also offered pardons and reparations for former Stonemasons and their families, who therefore left their life of banditry and returned to Stormwind City as citizens, leaving the Brotherhood with only the thieves and bullies with no qualms about targeting innocents.The New Clessington Estate
Some time after the discovery of the Dragon Isles, a disgraced noble named Count Clessington convinced the remaining Defias in Westfall to turn against Vanessa. He ordered them to steal the :Drakefire Amulet from Stormwind Keep, and sent a few of his attendants to Moonbrook, in order to get rid of those who would get in his way.Misdeeds in Moonbrook In the Deadmines, Count Clessington and Duncon Ratsbon used the artifact's powers to convince the Defias to turn against Vanessa and march on Northshire Abbey, with the aim of using it as a staging ground to pillage Stormwind City itself.A Hungry Heritage Seeing how easily a corrupted noble turned the Brotherhood against her, Vanessa realized that she was no longer one of them.Betrayal of the Brotherhood She left the ranks of the Brotherhood, and told her remaining loyal Defias to return home to their families, as this fight was no longer theirs, and that they should help the people of Westfall in other ways.To Northshire
Later, the Breadbasket Guild was created by a gathering of Westfall farmers, former Defias members, and war refugees, who sought to help Westfall and its inhabitants. They are good people trying to do right by each other, notably by working the farms again and to get proper homes built for folks. With the help and support of Countess Cecilia Clessington in the House of Nobles, their organization was formalized to request support from the kingdom.Cecilia Clessington#QuotesFarmer Saldean#QuotesVanessa VanCleef#Dragonflight 2
==Geography==
Once a proud land of farmers and herders, Westfall became a wasteland largely because of the thieves who usurped it. Weeds and seedling trees mark the rich land, and the wind cries over the fields. The Defias Brotherhood were the greatest threat to farmers and travelers, but after their defeat, it is now mainly the gnolls and the slouching harvest golems that threaten the region.
There is one instanced dungeon - the Deadmines, that can be found in Westfall. No other dungeons or battlegrounds can be found here.
===Maps and subregions===
Topographic map of Westfall
*Alexston Farmstead
*The Dagger Hills
*The Dead Acre
*Demont's Place
*The Dust Plains
**Mortwake's Tower/
*Furlbrow's Pumpkin Patch
*Gold Coast Quarry
*The Great Sea
*Jangolode Mine
*The Jansen Stead
*Longshore
**Westfall Lighthouse
*The Molsen Farm
*Moonbrook
**
**Defias Hideout
***The Deadmines
**
*The Raging Chasm
*Saldean's Farm
*Sentinel Hill
**Sentinel Tower
*Stendel's Pond
----
;Undisplayed locations
*Nazferiti river
*Old Coast Road
===Instances===
Dungeon Name	Level Range	Group Size	Approximate Run Time
 	15-21 	5-man 	30-40 minutes (at appropriate level)
===Travel hubs===
; Flight paths from Furlbrow's Pumpkin Patch
*Stormwind, Elwynn Forest
*Sentinel Hill, Westfall
; Flight paths from Sentinel Hill
*Stormwind, Elwynn Forest
*Furlbrow's Pumpkin Patch, Westfall
*Moonbrook, Westfall
*Lakeshire, Redridge Mountains
*Darkshire, Duskwood
*Raven Hill, Duskwood
*Rebel Camp, Northern Stranglethorn
*Booty Bay, Cape of Stranglethorn
; Flight path from Moonbrook
*Sentinel Hill, Westfall
===Adjacent regions===
Zone Name 	Faction	Level Range	Direction	Access 	Access
Duskwood 	 	20 - 60 	East 	By foot east; from Sentinel Hill to Darkshire or Raven Hill 	By foot east
Elwynn Forest 	 	1 - 20 	Northeast	By foot northeast; from Furlbrow's Pumpkin Patch or Sentinel Hill to Stormwind City	By foot northeast
Northern Stranglethorn	 	25 - 60 	Southeast	from Sentinel Hill to Rebel Camp 	Swimming southeast
==Notable characters==
Westfall is home to several humans of note. Queen Tiffin Wrynn belonged to the Ellerian noble family of Stormwind, a small house that only had a small chunk of land in Westfall.
At Sentinel Hill, a paladin of the Silver Hand named Gryan Stoutmantle leads the Westfall Brigade and sends promising adventurers of the Alliance to rid the land of any threat. He is assisted in his efforts by Captain Danuvin, who also seeks to rid Westfall of the vile Riverpaw gnolls. 
The Deadmines were once the headquarters of the Defias Brotherhood led by Edwin VanCleef, the former guildmaster of the Stonemasons Guild. He was killed at the hands of adventurers sent by Gryan Stoutmantle, and years later, was replaced by his daughter Vanessa VanCleef. She was also defeated by the heroes, but managed to escape by faking her death with hallucinogens and explosives.
At the Westfall Lighthouse, the ghostly Captain Grayson recruits adventurers to make Longshore a safer place to venture.
==Quests==
==Resources==
Dropped items in this area and their purpose:
*Oil: Used for the Lighthouse quest just offshore from the southwest tip of Westfall;
*Hops: Used for a brewing quest available south of Moonbrook in the Dagger Hills;
*Goretusk Snout, Murloc Eye, Stringy Vulture Meat: Used for Westfall Stew recipe at Saldean's Farm.
*Okra: Needed for Westfall Stew quest, but not an actual ingredient in Westfall Stew.
Other resources:
*Cloth
**Linen Cloth
**Wool Cloth
*Herbs
**Peacebloom
**Silverleaf
**Earthroot
**Mageroyal
**Swiftthistle
**Briarthorn
**Stranglekelp
**Bruiseweed
*Leather
**Ruined Leather Scraps
**Light Leather
*Ore
**Copper Vein
==Wild creatures==
==Battle pets==
==In the RPG==
The peaceful inhabitants of Westfall find it a frightening place to live after recent events. While the Defias Brotherhood hatches its schemes to hurt Stormwind, the Alliance and all beholden to it, Westfall's simple folk just try to live from day to day with thieves, bandits, and gnolls threatening them. The thieves and bandits find it a large area in which they can plan their attacks without much bother. Little fun and celebration occur among Westfall's inhabitants, as they have poor community support and hardly any aid from Stormwind. The garrison at Sentinel Hill is nothing more than a Stormwind figurehead.
The thieves of the Brotherhood, on the other hand, apparently live a fine life. Only a few Brotherhood members live in Moonbrook, presumably acting as sentries. The bulk of the population occupies the Dead Mines, which the Brotherhood has converted into an underground fortress.Lands of Conflict, pg. 61
All other Azeroth territories taken out of Alliance control had the Horde, the undead, or the demons behind them. Westfall fell to bitter humans soon after the Second War. The Defias Brotherhood, led by Edwin VanCleef, attempted to take Elwynn Forest but failed. Its members chose Westfall as their new home, and the farmers, still shaken from the Horde attacks, put up little resistance. The Brotherhood found that the time to steal land from their own accepted ruler was when he was too concerned with orcs, undead and demons to realize that a good chunk of the continent was gone. The rulers at Stormwind, even with knowledge of the Brotherhood's actions, considered other threats to be higher priorities and figured they'd get to Westfall eventually. They do not know the true threat Westfall presents — or even how much the city would miss the agricultural tributes the farmers made.Lands of Conflict, pg. 62
==Film universe==
Westfall is depicted close to its World of Warcraft incarnation. Many of its citizens are captured by the . Harvest golems can be seen there.
==Notes and trivia==
*The House Tremaind of the House of Nobles once had a hand in the farmlands of Westfall.Lord Joran Tremaind#Quotes
*Westfall Stew has been a staple dish for the people of Westfall and has been made in many different ways to adapt to the availability of ingredients.World of Warcraft: The Official Cookbook
*The area was originally called "Westwood" in early World of Warcraft maps and development.:File:WoWCE - Elwynn Forest.jpg The majority of Westfall's environment textures folder is still named "Westwood".
*While designing World of Warcraft, Westfall was the zone where developers tested many of the game's boss encounters. Before finishing the design of an instance, Blizzard staff would spawn bosses outside of Sentinel Tower in order to play through the encounters, as per the game's original 3D level designer, John Staats.
==Gallery==
File:Alexston Farmstead (Cataclysm).jpg|Alexston Farmstead
File:Molsen Farm.jpg|Molsen Farm
File:The Jansen Stead.jpg|Jansen Stead
File:The Dead Acre.jpg|Dead Acre
File:Mortwake's Tower.jpg|Mortwake's Tower
File:Raging Chasm.jpg|Raging Chasm
WoW Town Hall Westfall 1.jpg|Westfall as seen in the Journal of Brann.
File:Westfall - Invasion - Felship.jpg|A Legion ship in Westfall during the invasions.
File:Westfall camp1.jpg|An Illidari camp in Westfall during the invasions.
File:WoW Town Hall Westfall concept art 1.jpg|Westfall concept art.
File:ECTS 2001 - Westfall01.jpg|Early version of Westfall during the classic alpha in late 2001.
;Fan art
The Painter's Journey - Westfall.jpg|"The Painter's Journey : Westfall" by Lionel Schramm.
Westfall Abbey.jpg|"Westfall Abbey" by Alex Iveroth.
Fanart - Westfall by Jorge Jacinto.jpg|"Westfall" by Jorge Jacinto.
==Videos==
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==Patch changes==
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==References==
==External links==
 
Category:Flats
Category:Grasslands
Category:Human territories
Category:Lands of Conflict
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