A Light In Dark Places

PREFACE

After the humans returned to the ruins of Stormwind, the remaining nobles commissioned the greatest architects and engineers of the land to rebuild it. These men were part of the Stonemasons' Guild, a union of builders and planners who took to the task with great devotion. The Stormwind City they created was filled with marvelous works of art and feats of construction. Every brick was placed with care, and no corner of the city was not touched by their influence.

When finally their work was complete, they gathered outside the House of Nobles to receive their payment, only to find that the nobles had never intended to pay them, and that they had thought the Stonemasons' work was out of charity. The leader of the Stonemasons, Edwin VanCleef, demanded that the Guild be paid for its work, but the nobles flatly refused. Outraged, VanCleef riled the Stonemasons into a frenzy, and soon riots broke out that spread throughout the whole city, the Stonemasons vandalizing the very buildings they had just finished. Soon the chaos got out of hand, and a stray stone struck the queen of Stormwind, Tiffin Wrynn, on the head, killing her instantly.

The Stonemasons were eventually rounded up and marched outside the city. What ringleaders they could find were thrown into the Stockades, while the rest were banished from Stormwind. Edwin VanCleef had escaped the city guards, however, and he met the exiles outside the city gates, offering them the chance to make back their pay. The Defias Brotherhood had been born.

The Stonemasons took to banditry, stalking the wilderness of the kingdom and preying upon any unsuspecting travelers. While at first they were merely a nuisance to poorly guarded caravans, over the years these grew into organized raids. They took several holdings in Elwynn Forest but they soon established a base of operations in Westfall, where they drove the local farmers off their lands and soon had control over the entire region, driving the citizens from even the relatively large town of Moonbrook.

The people of Westfall appealed to Stormwind City for aid, but the nobles offered mere vestiges of assistance which made no difference. Gyran Stoutmantle rallied the survivors and fortified the outpost of Sentinel Hill, where the remaining farmers trained themselves into a fighting force they called the Peoples' Militia, and prepared to take back their homes. But they could not do it alone. Stoutmantle put the word out that the Militia would pay adventurers whatever they could spare for any aid in taking the Defias down once and for all.

A Light In Dark Places

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