In year 20 of the Dark Portal, Arthas, the fallen prince of Lordaeron, unleashed an Undead Scourge in his own country that shook the entire world. Lordaeron, the strongest of the Seven Human Kingdoms, was brought to the brink of destruction overnight, and even the magical kingdom of Dalaran was destroyed in its wake.
At the height of the Undead Scourge's rampage, two-thirds of the vast Northern Frontier had fallen. Yet Lordaeron's surviving people, led by their leader, Caliea Menethil, the last descendant of the House of Menethil, never submitted to that terrible darkness. After five long years, they finally drove the deep darkness from that ancient land, and the ancient nation of Lordaeron shone with new life upon its former foundations.
But not all the northern kingdoms were as fortunate as Lordaeron.
Leaving Dalaran aside for the moment, even the Dalaran Plains where that tiny nation had stood had been utterly destroyed. Apart from the rebuilt city of Dalaran, currently floating above Crystalsong Forest in Northrend to study the composition of the ley lines, the nation existed in name only. Yet another country bordering it was hardly any better off.
Gilneas, the country that had chosen to cut itself off completely from the outside world with a sturdy wall during the undead disaster, was one of only three surviving members of the Seven Kingdoms of Men Alliance. Called "traitors" by the people of the rebuilt Kingdom of Lordaeron, this northern country-the only nation that had chosen to look after itself rather than join the continent's counterattack against the Undead Scourge-had also reached the brink of destruction.
This nation's rulers had once believed they had made the right choice. But six years later, it was clear that they had not escaped the threat of annihilation. That threat simply came not