Oakwood

**Oakwood** is a town situated in the south western regions of the Ashen Coast. It is currently led by the House of Lockewood under Lord Daryl Lockewood, who was granted the land by Lord Derrik Greyfield after Lilurah became an absentee. As with most of the Ashen Coast, the people of the area are pledged to the Blades of Greymane. It was later destroyed following the resurgence of Oliver Gregor and Simeon Houndsbane.

## History

As a village, Oakwood is rather small. The barony encompasses the small walled off town and the nearby lumberyard that reaches into the woods of The Reach. It is here that small village makes most of its profit, as it was created to meet the rising lumber need of the Ashen Coast during the Second War.

After the war had ended and Gilneas had isolated it's self from the rest of Azeroth, Oakwood supplied much of the lumber that was exported from The Reach, and the Oakenhale family ran the Barony smoothly. The town was largely unremarkable, though its syrup was a highly praised commodity within the town, but was hardly its largest money maker. Due to the unremarkable nature of the town, it was often left off larger maps of Gilneas; due to travel to the area being rare. As such, the town enjoyed a peaceful solace, with its people often setting off into the woods to hunt for game or to ply their trade with wood cutting.

The Oakenhales pledged their fealty to the House of Greyfield, which was the dominant house in the region. The Oakenhale's themselves were infact a cadet branch of the Greyfield family, and though their lines had been separated for quite some years, they could trace themselves back to one of the many Greyfields.

### Trouble behind the Wall

Oakwood was one of several towns harassed by the Seventh Skull legion when they had arrived in the Ashen Coast. For a month after their arrival, the town was unable to access their lumber yard due to occupation by the legion, and the men would often harass the villagers. Reports of daughters going missing or coming back beaten and traumatized by the legion were common, and the militia in the area were not well equipped enough to fight off the superior trained and armed force.

When Bannhurst was burnt to the ground, the people of Oakwood were both relieved and saddened. The heavy losses in the area was a tragedy, but many breathed a sigh of relief as they no longer had to worry about their families being harassed by the marauding Lordaeronians. Following Bannhurst's destruction, the House of Darkoak contracted the town to supply a large amount of lumber that would later go towards the renovation of Cobal's Hold. This order was met with controversy, as many believed it would be put towards the rebuilding of the city of Bannhurst; though these complaints hardly stopped the production of the order.

As the Ashen Coast slowly fell into more and more squalor in the years to pass, Oakwood remained relatively unscathed by the failing economy of the area, as lumber was always a well trading commodity across Gilneas. The village suffered little during the outbreak of the Worgen due to its isolation, and it was not until the arrival of the Orcish Horde that Oakwood truly experienced severe suffering once again.

When the Horde invaded the Ashen Coast, the village fell relatively quickly. Its wood walls were burnt and its cabins put to the torch with the families inside of them. Many were able to escape the village before the arrival of the Horde, leaving it little more than a few empty shacks, but the Oakenhale family refused to abandon their town.

After a short raid, most of the family was killed aside from the youngest son who had ran away when word had reached them of the Orcs arrival. He fled to Keel Harbor and evacuated with the rest of Gilneas' civilian population, and was not heard of in the region again. It was later discovered he sought out asylum under Lady Jaina Proudmoore in Theramore, and was killed when the Mana bomb destroyed the island city.

### Revitalization

Under Marcher Lord Berenal Grayblade's orders, The Ashen Coast underwent a large scale revitalization effort in order to begin rebuilding the Kingdom of Gilneas. Though not one of the towns on the list, Lady Sieglinde Greyfield personally over saw the rebuilding of Oakwood. It was discovered that half of the village was still standing, and though there was minor fire damage, the lumber yards had been left untouched and it would take little to repair the village.

While the town of Brandon's Stead was rebuilding, excess funds were used to also fund Oakwood's rebuilding as well. Shortly after the completion of the town, Oakwood too was finished and passed off to a new leader. Chosen as her steward, Lady Greyfield handed off the small lumber town to Lady Lilurah Lockewood as a token of her new position. The town was ordered to begin lumber production once again as soon as possible to aid with the revitalization efforts and was repopulated fairly quickly.

### New Leadership

After Lilurah started becoming an absentee, the new lord of House Greyfield, Lord Derrik Greyfield, made Daryl Lockewood the new leader of House Lockewood and Baron of the Oak after demoting it from a vicounty to a Barony in the wake of Oakwood's destruction during the Second Range Rebellion.

## Culture

The village of Oakwood is fairly similar to that of Brandon's Stead, as many of those who live there moved from the region as homesteaders. As such, they share the strong sense of pride of their heritage as well as bulky physique; and many of their people can be found with black or red hair as a common trait.