((Yes, it's mostly a "fake" group, consisting only of worgen I've created myself (which, at the moment, numbers two, with a third in the works) but this is the explanation given for why Zherron goes by "Packleader". I had actually written this idea out on my user page on WoWWiki - later on Wowpedia - when the announcement of worgen was made for Cataclysm, and fleshed it out more as I started playing him in December.))
The Shadowhowl pack of worgen traces its origins back to the Northgate rebellion in Gilneas. Sometime after the Alterac crisis, Genn Greymane, King of Gilneas, announced to King Terenas of Lordaeron that he intended to leave the Alliance, believing that belonging to it encroached on Gilnean sovereignty. To solidify his nation's isolation from the rest of the Alliance - and the rest of the world itself, for that matter - Greymane ordered the construction of a colossal wall between Silverpine Forest and the Northgate Woods, a wall that would be sealed forever after it was built. Some Gilnean soldiers decided to defect to Lordaeron and remain with the Alliance; others opposed to the wall remained behind to form the Northgate rebellion under Lord Darius Crowley.
One of those groups of soldiers was a battalion of Gilnean militia commanded by Major Eidan Zherron, who had served the Alliance as a courier during the Second War. Zherron's father, Daril - a respected Gilnean general who had believed in the Alliance - had left him to find a way to change the foolishness from within. Zherron and his lieutenant, Jeremiah August, eagerly joined with Lord Crowley, and most of their men with them. As time went on and Crowley was eventually arrested by Greymane's troops, some of the men, including Lieutenant August, became disenchanted and hid in their homes in Gilneas City and the surrounding towns, but promising to keep the rebellion's secrets. Zherron, however, remained in the hills with his remaining men, committed to bringing down Greymane and opening the gates of Gilneas back to the world.
It was during this period that Greymane coordinated with the sorcerer Arugal to use the dimensional research of Ur to summon a fierce new ally to fight the undead Scourge that was amassing on the Lordaeron side of the wall. After thousands of years of exile in the Emerald Dream, the worgen had returned to Azeroth - and they seemed to fulfill every expectation that Greymane and Arugal had. But once the dead were beaten back, the wolf-men turned on their summoners, killing many of them and running wild throughout the Lordaeronian frontier, ripping apart Silverlaine Keep, now called Shadowfang. Arugal, guilt-ridden and now completely mad, adopted a pack of worgen as his "children", and for years the Sons of Arugal resided within Shadowfang Keep. The worgen eventually swarmed over the Greymane Wall and into Gilneas. Some say a group of night elf druids - the original worgen - tried to form a Wolfcult of sorts within Gilneas, and were responsible for several slayings (the "Starlight Slasher" murders). The truth may never be known.
Once the worgen made it into Gilneas and began terrorizing the capital, King Greymane and his son, Prince Liam, both offered amnesty to the former rebels hiding in the hills. Zherron answered the call to arms, deciding to set aside the feud and fight this new enemy of Gilneas. Greymane also ordered the release of Lord Crowley from Stoneward Prison, where he had languished for years; only his friendship with Greymane in the past prevented his execution, a fact that many Gilneans gave thanks for. Crowley revealed that he had hidden cannons and other heavy weapons in the cellars of loyal supporters, the largest cache being in the house of Josiah Avery. One such cache was hidden in the cellar of Jeremiah August, and Zherron was sent to recover it. There, he found August had already changed, and with a roar, his old lieutenant changed and charged at him, biting deep into Zherron's neck. Zherron, trained in the limited druidic magic of Gilneas, lashed out and killed his former friend with a bolt of nature energy. Zherron eventually succumbed to the curse and became a worgen, rampaging through the streets of Gilneas City and the woods beyond until captured, sedated, and given Krennan Aranas' temporary cure.
The Shadowhowl pack of worgen traces its origins back to the Northgate rebellion in Gilneas. Sometime after the Alterac crisis, Genn Greymane, King of Gilneas, announced to King Terenas of Lordaeron that he intended to leave the Alliance, believing that belonging to it encroached on Gilnean sovereignty. To solidify his nation's isolation from the rest of the Alliance - and the rest of the world itself, for that matter - Greymane ordered the construction of a colossal wall between Silverpine Forest and the Northgate Woods, a wall that would be sealed forever after it was built. Some Gilnean soldiers decided to defect to Lordaeron and remain with the Alliance; others opposed to the wall remained behind to form the Northgate rebellion under Lord Darius Crowley.
One of those groups of soldiers was a battalion of Gilnean militia commanded by Major Eidan Zherron, who had served the Alliance as a courier during the Second War. Zherron's father, Daril - a respected Gilnean general who had believed in the Alliance - had left him to find a way to change the foolishness from within. Zherron and his lieutenant, Jeremiah August, eagerly joined with Lord Crowley, and most of their men with them. As time went on and Crowley was eventually arrested by Greymane's troops, some of the men, including Lieutenant August, became disenchanted and hid in their homes in Gilneas City and the surrounding towns, but promising to keep the rebellion's secrets. Zherron, however, remained in the hills with his remaining men, committed to bringing down Greymane and opening the gates of Gilneas back to the world.
It was during this period that Greymane coordinated with the sorcerer Arugal to use the dimensional research of Ur to summon a fierce new ally to fight the undead Scourge that was amassing on the Lordaeron side of the wall. After thousands of years of exile in the Emerald Dream, the worgen had returned to Azeroth - and they seemed to fulfill every expectation that Greymane and Arugal had. But once the dead were beaten back, the wolf-men turned on their summoners, killing many of them and running wild throughout the Lordaeronian frontier, ripping apart Silverlaine Keep, now called Shadowfang. Arugal, guilt-ridden and now completely mad, adopted a pack of worgen as his "children", and for years the Sons of Arugal resided within Shadowfang Keep. The worgen eventually swarmed over the Greymane Wall and into Gilneas. Some say a group of night elf druids - the original worgen - tried to form a Wolfcult of sorts within Gilneas, and were responsible for several slayings (the "Starlight Slasher" murders). The truth may never be known.
Once the worgen made it into Gilneas and began terrorizing the capital, King Greymane and his son, Prince Liam, both offered amnesty to the former rebels hiding in the hills. Zherron answered the call to arms, deciding to set aside the feud and fight this new enemy of Gilneas. Greymane also ordered the release of Lord Crowley from Stoneward Prison, where he had languished for years; only his friendship with Greymane in the past prevented his execution, a fact that many Gilneans gave thanks for. Crowley revealed that he had hidden cannons and other heavy weapons in the cellars of loyal supporters, the largest cache being in the house of Josiah Avery. One such cache was hidden in the cellar of Jeremiah August, and Zherron was sent to recover it. There, he found August had already changed, and with a roar, his old lieutenant changed and charged at him, biting deep into Zherron's neck. Zherron, trained in the limited druidic magic of Gilneas, lashed out and killed his former friend with a bolt of nature energy. Zherron eventually succumbed to the curse and became a worgen, rampaging through the streets of Gilneas City and the woods beyond until captured, sedated, and given Krennan Aranas' temporary cure.
