Gilneas

Gilneas (pronounced Gil-neigh-uhs) is a human nation and kingdom located in the peninsula that lies to the southwest of Silverpine Forest on the continent of Lordaeron. The kingdom was founded following the splitting of Arathor and is ruled by the House of Greymane. Besides the peninsula, the kingdom also included the island of Zul'Dare.

Gilneas is a large peninsula that juts into the sea south of western Lordaeron. Silverpine Forest lies to the northeast and Kul Tiras awaits across the sea to the south. Lord Genn Greymane never supported the Lordaeron Alliance in the Second War. Thus, after the war, he constructed the Greymane Wall: a massive barrier spanning the entire northern border. The enormous wall barricades Gilneas from Lordaeron. Gilneas does not allow anyone in or out, and because of this no one knows what has been transpiring there since the end of the Second War.

It was later found that the Worgen curse swept mercilessly across the nation, turning many of its inhabitants into savage beasts. However, they were able to get their humanity back and rebuild the land. Following the Cataclysm and an invasion by the Forsaken, Gilneas rejoined the Alliance.

Culture
A person from Gilneas is referred to as Gilnean. Like their leader, Gilnean people are often burly and gruff. Extremely isolationist, they supported the Greymane Wall's construction. They speak common, and have their faith in the Holy Light. Their resources are unknown.[2] Moreover, their costumes, weapons, architecture, and accents have Regency connotations; along with the cold and rainy weather of the peninsula, it gives the feeling of being in the London of the early nineteenth century. Lord Genn Greymane, a brawny warrior who is in his seventies, has ruled Gilneas for decades.

"The Old Ways"
It is unclear how the Gilneans came to possess their druidic powers. Some believe that the night elves taught them, yet this must have been before the Greymane Wall was sealed, as the Gilnean druids were instrumental in saving their population during a famine after the Wall was closed and before the night elves arrived during the Cataclysm.

There is sufficient proof and reason to believe that the practices of primitive druidism or "the old ways" were once alive and well within or around Gilnean society before the sealing of the Wall. It is likely that that the people of Gilneas would have once practiced or acknowledged (in varying degrees) the traditions and reverences of nature worship.

In time though (before the Greymane Wall was erected) the followers of the Holy Light must have spread their teachings to Gilneas and succeeded in converting many of it's people, causing druidism to slowly fade into the past and become mostly forgotten.

When starting a Worgen Druid the quest text from Celestine of the Harvest does seem to support these assumptions. During Hallow's End the Faction Commoners and Celestine of the Harvest also have quest text supporting these assumptions, connecting Gilneas, druidism, and the traditions of Hallow's End.

In the early days of humanity and its civilization, many tribes of humans had primitive belief systems that incorporated simple nature magic. However, the rise of organized religion such as the Holy Light and the potent arcane magics introduced by the high elves quickly supplanted such traditions. Gilneas, due to its relative isolation, has retained a degree of their ancient culture in the contemporary era. The religious leaders of what was in Gilneas referred to as the “old ways” eventually became “harvest-witches”; those who used their nature powers to augment Gilneas’ agricultural output during and following its period of industrialization. Due to the presence of harvest-witches in their culture, when Gilneans learned about night elf druids (albeit through second, third and even fourth-hand sources) they became fascinated by them and their exotic connotations, to the point where many started referring to harvest witches as “druids”, though this was quite far from the truth, as few Gilneans had any idea what a druid actually was! Harvest-witches have a limited control over nature, especially plant life, and the powers of harvest witches bear a coincidental resemblance to the low-level abilities of actual druids. Harvest witches who contracted the worgen curse (which was druidic in origin) found that their powers were somewhat amplified, and after making first contact with the night elves cursed harvest witches were offered induction into the Cenarion Circle for both study and training.

Campaigns in Gilneas: Campaigns in Gilneas revolves around the invasion of the Worgen during the Third War, and how the Gilneans deal with the threat. Since the land has been expanded to be about as big as the United Kingdom (Scotland and England), the Worgen curse spreads slower than normal. The heroic Greymane Worgen left, however, find themselves questing to help the people of Gilneas, both human and worgen, in light of the Forsaken's military advance. Other heroic Greymane Worgen escape to Darnassus and to other places to aid the Alliance.