War of Silverpine

The **War of Silverpine** was a massive war that spanned the regions of the Silverpine Forest, Gilneas, the Hillsbrad Foothills and for a small time the Alterac Mountains. It was one of the first major wars between the northern kingdoms and is one of the bloodiest recorded wars in history. The war was between the Kingdom of Gilneas and Kingdom of Lordaeron initially, but the two made alliances with the other northern kingdoms turning it into a war of five kingdoms. In the end, Lordaeron and Kul Tiras were able to successfully defeat the forces of Gilneas and Strom after Alterac went back on its promise after being faced with elimination by the armies of Lordaeron.

It was named the War of Silverpine after the area where the tension first arose.

## The War

As Gilneas continued to expand it's borders in the decades after their independence from Strom, tensions began to revive with their neighbor of Lordaeron. Lordaeron had branched out far across the east, dominating most of the mountains north of the Hinterlands and Alterac, claiming the lush fertile greenland as their own. Now bordering with the elves of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas, Lordaeron had run out of areas to expand. Once more they set their eyes on the lands of Gilneas, as well as the unused lands of Hillsbrad. During the thirty years of peace between their nations, Lordaeron had been amassing a large army of well trained soldiers in some of the finest weapons and armor that could be crafted at the time, the Empire of Arathor had fallen apart and the Seven Kingdoms now stood in its place. Once Lordaeron had reached its border limits, it wasn't long before they invaded the nation of Gilneas for the second time.

War broke out between the two nations when King Aderic was in his sixties, the aged king was caught off guard when the armies of Lordaeron marched into northern Silverpine and occupied large settlements across the border. Gilneas' army was large, but the armies of Lordaeron were larger. Eager to avenge her father, Terenas Menethil I, and her fallen brothers; Dalia Menethil I led massive raids across Gilnean silverpine. The Gilneans were slaughtered as the armies of Lordaeron butchered their way through Northern Silverpine into the south, the once brave Keepers had dwindled in the thirty years of peace and the order was unable to provide the massive boon it once did. The hounds of the armies were fierce but unable to turn the tides of the over whelming numbers of Lordaeron, even with soldiers fighting beside them. Gilneas was losing.

King Aderic, having no other option, turned to Strom who offered military aid. By the time the armies of Lordaeron had reached Central Silverpine, the armies of Strom had arrived to reinforce the Gilneans and the tides seemed turned. However, Lordaeron had allies of their own, the Kingdom of Kul Tiras had allied with Lordaeron in this time, resulting in a war of alliances. A close friend of Queen Dalia, Lord Admiral Arthur Proudmoore I sought to make a name for himself by besting King Aderic and his allies such as the venerated King Verin Trollbane I. King Aderic focused mainly on the war with Lordaeron, as the rocky reefs of Gilneas protected them from naval invasions by Kul Tiras. However, the merchant nation provided a great boon in supplies to Lordaeron, allowing them to survive protracted sieges by the Gilneas-Strom alliance. Kul Tiras also began to run harassment on the shores of Gilneas and Strom, preventing naval trade as well as establishing one of the first foot holds of the Lordaeron-Kul tiras alliance in the plains of Hillsbrad. During this time, Arthur clashed with Verin's forces in Hillsbrad, creating the second great front in the war.

During this time, Arathor and Gilneas secured the allegiance of the Kingdom of Alterac who swore to maintain the passes in the Alterac Mountains to prevent invasion by way of the Lordaeron heartlands and to send men to the two fronts. Led by King Nicholas Perenolde I, the Gilneas-Strom-Alterac alliance seemed to have gained the upper hand. Armed with weapons and supplies by their new allies, Alterac set off to keep these areas secure. Both sides attempted to secure the allegiance of the Magocracy of Dalaran to no avail, as the mages refused to aid either side of the conflict, and neither side dared attempt at threatening the mages lest they tempt their hand.

While the Gilnean led alliance was able to successfully begin to repel the Lordaeronian invaders from Silverpine, Lordaeron had one final trick up it's sleeve. As Gilneas prepared to rampage through Tirisfal Glades, Queen Dalia withdrew half of her army from the area, sending missive to Arthur to distract the Stromgardians and keep the southern pass clear. As a result, Kul Tiras' land forces began to poke into the southern Gilnean border to ensure Southpoint would be secure while focusing major offensives against Stromgarde with intend of being reinforced by the arrival of Lordaeron. Lordaeron moved its army through the north eastern portions of the continent along with gathered militia forces to move through the Alterac Mountains. There, Lordaeron met with Alteraci forces who were sworn to keep Lordaeron from passing, poised to demolish the Alteraci. The Alteracis were well equipped, but terribly outnumbered, resulting in King Nicholas riding out to meet with Dalia himself. Nicholas was then presented with an ultimatum, allow Lordaeron to pass through the mountains into Hillsbrad undisturbed and be left alone, or be destroyed. Alterac broke it's oath to Gilneas and Stromgarde and allowed Lordaeron through without disruption, sealing Lordaeronian victory.

Now free to attack Hillsbrad, the Lordaeronians met up with the Tirassians who had set up along the shores of Hillsbrad and along Thoradin's Wall. Lordaeron began to rampage and harass across the foothills, preventing Stromgarde from sending any more reinforcements to Gilneas by taking control of Thoradin's Wall, and then marching through the mountains of Southpoint. It was here that the war neared its end. Taken by surprise by the sudden arrival of Lordaeronians in the south, Gilneas' peninsula was swarmed with soldiers while their armies were away in the northern reaches of Silverpine.

Word was sent out but the armies had arrived too late, as Lordaeron occupied most of the southern portion of Gilneas. During the siege, Aderic's twin sons, Randolph and Krennan, attempted to mount a defense. They were said to have been personally slain by Queen Dalia before their defenses shattered. Gilneas and Stromgarde had lost.

## Aftermath

Unable to stop the Lordaeronian and Tirassian forces from rampaging across Gilneas, Aderic surrendered to the two nations and peace was brought about at a hefty price. Silverpine Forest and a portion of the Hillsbrad Foothills were annexed into the Kingdom of Lordaeron, and Gilneas was left with the peninsula. Many were outraged by this, refusing to leave their lands and remained within the now Lordaeronian controlled Silverpine, causing a clash of Lordaeronian and Gilnean culture in the area.

Gilnean and Alteraci relations soured following the war after it was revealed that Alterac was not defeated as originally believed, but that they had allowed them to pass. Though in time these relations healed, they began tension between the two kingdoms. This was also seen against Stromgarde, who had been surprised by Alterac's betrayal despite the latter having been once a strong supporter of the empire. King Verin would hold a grudge to Alterac until his dying days, cursing them even on his death bed some ten years later.