Blackwald
- For the Hearthstone expansion, see Hearthstone: The Witchwood.
The Blackwald is a forest in southern Gilneas, located south of Gilneas City and north of Stormglen Village. According to Belysra Starbreeze, these woods were long ago the home of the Druids of the Scythe, who advocated the use of the Pack Form during the War of the Satyr and eventually became the original worgen.[1] Tal'doren - a tree identical to the one where they were imprisoned in the Emerald Dream - is in the forest's eastern section. The Woods' End Cabin can be found in the western part of the forest, while Bradshaw Mill and Rygna's Lair are in the south, near Stormglen Village.
History
Lord of His Pack
Following the Northgate Rebellion, reports of strange attacks and disappearances rose, while the worgen curse continued to spread through the Wolf Cult. In order to counter the threat, King Genn Greymane and his nobles, including Lord Vincent Godfrey, Baron Ashbury, and Lord Marley, would secretly hold hunting parties during the full moons into the Blackwald, where they tracked down and shoot any feral worgen they came across. During one of these trips, Greymane went ahead by himself in pursuit of a worgen but it ambushed him, biting him in the shoulder before he could shoot it and infecting him with the curse. Knowing that the nobles would shoot him as well if they saw the bite, something he would do himself and would expect no less of them, Greymane panicked. His jacket apparently not damaged, he wiped the blood from his shoulder, ripped off a piece of his satchel to stuff under the shoulder lining, and pulled up the collar as high as it would go. As he hoped, his deception would prove successful.[2]
Curse of the Worgen (1st part)
Four days before the worgen attack on Gilneas City, the detective Halford Ramsey pursued fleeing suspects on his horse through the streets of the Military District, until they led him out of the capital in the direction of the Blackwald where he was attacked by a worgen. He later woke up in a manor that was abandoned following the Northgate Rebellion, and which served as the Wolf Cult's base of operations in the middle of the woods. His partner, Cox, later went to the Greymane Manor to inform King Genn Greymane, Queen Mia and Lord Vincent Godfrey that Halford had been killed by a "wild beast" in the Blackwald. Consequently, the king ordered Lord Godfrey to send a group of men to search the woods and to alert the nearby villages about the "beast".[3]
Two days before the attack, Halford managed to escape the manor and wandered through the Blackwald. Without realizing it, he found the old home of his sister Ana Ramsey, and overwhelmed by memories of her suicide, he transformed into a worgen for the first time.[4] One day before the attack, Halford moved through the woods using his new senses and abilities as a wild beast. At some point, he was naturally drawn to Tal'doren and observed from a distance two night elves investigating under the tree, but immediately left in the direction of Stormglen Village after smelling blood in the air. Later that night in the woods, while reading the Purity of Essence to understand the codes of the Wolf Cult, Halford returned to Tal'doren in order to regain the sense of calm and clarity he had felt before. There, he came to understand that Alpha Prime and his cultists were assassins who didn't follow their own rules, and that their next target would be to infect the people of Gilneas City with the worgen curse.[5]
Days after the attack on Gilneas City, the Blackwald once again experienced the tremors of the Cataclysm. Many night elves were now present in the woods. Years ago, they had sensed Archmage Arugal's spell pulling the wolf-beasts from the Emerald Dream, and felt it was their responsibility to help the human nation.[6] They were soon joined by Talran of the Wild and Valorn Stillbough with the Scythe of Elune, liberated from Duskwood a few days ago.[7]
Cataclysm
During the invasion of Gilneas, the Vilebrood spiders came out of the Blackwald and invaded half of Stormglen Village.[8] Since they kept coming in alarming numbers, Mayor Gwen Armstead sent the worgen adventurer to kill Rygna in her lair, ending the threat on the Gilnean refugees.[9] At some point, Bradshaw, an old man from Stormglen, was last noted as going into the Blackwald when he noticed that the worgen attacks stopped all of a sudden, but he was never found. When the adventurer investigated Bradshaw Mill in the woods, they found Belysra Starbreeze waiting for them.[10] However, before she could take them to Tal'doren, she tasked them with eliminating one of Sylvanas Windrunner's dark rangers who had been stalking them for some time.[11]
Meanwhile, the Blackwald was full of Howling Banshees looking for the Scythe of Elune. On the orders of Lord Darius Crowley, the worgen adventurer was sent to reduce their number.[12] Since the artifact is capable of uncontrollably spreading the worgen curse to all humanity, it had been moved to many locations by the Gilneans and the night elves, but was eventually found by Forsaken dark rangers at Woods' End Cabin. With the help of Tobias Mistmantle and his worgen, the adventurer was eventually able to retrieve the scythe and returned it safely to Tal'doren.[13] After the worgen adventurer managed to accomplish the Ritual of Balance, Lorna Crowley entered the Blackwald and came to meet her father, followed by Lord Vincent Godfrey who ordered all of the night elves and Gilnean worgen present to support the king's army against the Forsaken invaders. King Genn Greymane was the last to arrive, and faced with the distrust of his old friend, revealed that he too had been infected by the worgen curse. This discovery dismayed Godfrey, but also brought peace to Gilneas's divided population, as rebels and royals were now united in the curse against the undead invader.[14]
Lord Darius Crowley later sent the adventurer to tell the Stormglen refugees that they must evacuate east, through the Blackwald where he and his worgen would protect them from the Forsaken, and into the mountains to Tempest's Reach.[15]
Curse of the Worgen (2nd part)
Following the departure of the worgen adventurer to Stormglen Village, Alpha Prime and his Wolf Cult confronted the night elves led by Belysra Starbreeze, alongside the Gilnean worgen led by Darius Crowley. After confronting Alpha Prime about the horrors he and the Druids of the Scythe had committed at the time of the War of the Satyr, Belysra attempted to seal the Wolf Cult worgen once again beneath Daral'nir in the Emerald Dream, but before she could do so, a dark ranger shot her in the arm. After she dropped the scythe, Alpha Prime signaled for the army of Forsaken to surround them.
As the battle raged across the Blackwald, Alpha Prime took possession of the scythe, but just as he was about to finish Belysra off with it, the spirit wolf of Belysra's old lover — Arvell — killed Alpha Prime. With the death of their leader, the Wolf Cult scattered; leaving the Forsaken without their lupine allies and open to attack from the night elves and Gilneans. After defeating the Forsaken, the Gilnean worgen left Tal'doren and the Blackwald, and traveled to Livery Outpost where they attended the speech of King Genn Greymane in anticipation of the battle for Gilneas City.[16]
Following the exodus of the Gilnean population to Darnassus, and the end of the conflicts between the Alliance and the Horde across the realm, the woods were left abandoned like the rest of the kingdom.
Battle for Azeroth
During the Fourth War, Princess Tess Greymane was sent by Goldrinn on a spiritual journey into the Emerald Dream's version of Gilneas City, in order to learn more about the worgen curse.[17] As she and the Gilnean champion relived the battle for Gilneas City, Daral'nir could be seen, towering over all other trees in this version of the Blackwald, precisely where Tal'doren should have been present.[18]
Dragonflight
Following the Reclamation of Gilneas, Celestine of the Harvest and Talran of the Wild returned to Tal'doren in the Blackwald. Celestine mentioned that it had been a long time since she had been in these woods, that Tal'doren had survived as best as it could, and that she intended to keep it thriving.[19] The Vilebrood Skitterers also made their return across the woods after being pushed out of Stormglen Village.[20]
NPCs
- After the Reclamation of Gilneas
- During the worgen starting area
Hearthstone
The Blackwald is the main setting for the eighth expansion for Hearthstone: The Witchwood. In the expansion, the evil witch Hagatha has put a vile curse on the forest surrounding the city of Gilneas, twisting the woods into a terrifying place of eerie spectres, bizarre manifestations, and mysterious disappearances. The curse has begun to encroach on the city itself—strange shapes can be seen haunting its foggy streets in the dead of night.[21] Deep within the woods, an evil presence stirs. A curse has fallen on the Witchwood. You can venture into the forest and root out this foul darkness once and for all. But, beware; strange howls pierce the moonlit night, and fearsome creatures prowl the gloom among the ancient trees and gnarled firs. Hold fast, and let courage see you through this night![22] The Blackwald has now become very dangerous, and the Gilneans have taken to calling it "The Witchwood".
The Witchwood’s unsettling effects have touched both material beings and spells alike. Some will Echo, creating phantasmal duplicates of themselves. The Witchwood’s curse can fill even the calmest heart with an unquenchable rage. Those affected by its unnatural vigor will barrel toward foes with terrifying speed.[23]
Notes and trivia
[Moonleaf] only grows near Tal'doren, in the Blackwald.[24]- Ana Ramsey's house is located somewhere in the Blackwald. Her two sons are buried there.[4]
- Belysra Starbreeze claim the Druids of the Scythe called Tal'doren home in ancient Gilneas, however, this is incompatible with the rest of current lore (see Tal'doren#Discrepancies).
- In the early alpha, the Blackwald was home of the Wolfheart clan of worgen.[25]
- "Blackwald" is a combination of the word "black" and the German word "wald", meaning forest - hence, "black forest". This is likely a reference to the Black Forest (Schwarzwald in German) in southern Germany.
Speculation
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This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.
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- Much of the forest is covered in a reddish grass, and massive red thorns twist around the forest's trees, including Tal'doren. The southern and western sections though, (including Stormglen Village) show less of these signs but are still present. These traits seem to indicate the forest has been corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare to some extent. Since Tal'doren is connected to the Emerald Dream, this seems to be the case. Even though, the red color wasn't specifically used as Nightmare corruption until some years later. Albeit, it might be possible the Blackwald was used as inspiration to the corruption.
Gallery
The Blackwald.
The Blackwald as seen from above.
Daral'nir and the Blackwald as seen in the Emerald Dream.
The Blackwald in Curse of the Worgen.
Ana Ramsey's ruined home in the woods.
The Wolf Cult's manor in the woods.
Blackwald artwork by Mark Gibbons.
The "Torn Forest" art from the Cataclysm credits sequence.
Patch changes
- Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Added.
References
- ^
[1-30] Tal'doren, the Wild Home
- ^ Lord of His Pack
- ^ Curse of the Worgen Issue 1
- ^ a b Curse of the Worgen Issue 2
- ^ Curse of the Worgen Issue 3
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 201
- ^ Curse of the Worgen Issue 4
- ^ [1-30] Pest Control
- ^ [1-30] Queen-Sized Troubles
- ^ [1-30] The Blackwald
- ^ [1-30] Losing Your Tail
- ^ [1-30] At Our Doorstep
- ^ [1-30] Take Back What's Ours
- ^ [1-30] Neither Human Nor Beast
- ^ [1-30] Return to Stormglen
- ^ Curse of the Worgen Issue 5
- ^ Heritage of Gilneas description
- ^ [50-70] Let Sleeping Wolves Lie
- ^ Celestine of the Harvest's quotes in Tal'doren
- ^ Cynthia Hammond's dialogue in Stormglen Village.
- ^
Ben Brode 2018-03-12. Ben Brode: Shaman Hero Card Is The Only One In This Set. Reddit. Retrieved on 2018-03-13.
- ^ The Witchwood Adventure on Battle.net
- ^ Enter The Witchwood Now!
- ^ [1-30] Preparations
- ^ [1] (DEPRECATED)
External links
| Gilneas | Ruins of Gilneas |
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