Defias Brotherhood

The Defias Brotherhood is an evil group of assassins, thieves, and pirates that are hostile to the Alliance. They dwell in the rural areas of the Kingdom of Stormwind, mostly that of Elwynn Forest and Westfall — both of these are areas not easily protected by the Stormwind Army.

Razed by the Horde in the First War, Stormwind City required a small army of engineers and artisans in order to begin a massive program of reconstruction. After restoring the city to its former glory, the workers gathered outside Stormwind Keep to collect payment for their services. This came as a surprise to the nobility of the city, who had assumed that the work was being done as a matter of civic pride. Whether they were unable or simply unwilling to proffer payment, they immediately ordered the workers exiled from the city. With only the tools in their hands and the clothes on their backs, the workers were forced out of Stormwind and into Elwynn Forest.

The shocked and forlorn workers were rallied by engineer Edwin VanCleef and became bandits, collecting their payment one traveler at a time. Marking themselves with a tattoo of a cog on their right hand, the bandits declared that “the machine will not run smoothly if the parts go renegade” to each waylaid traveler. Banditry and thievery quickly became a way of life for the exiles, banding together under VanCleef’s leadership as the Defias Brotherhood. Over the years, the ranks of the Brotherhood have been bolstered by the skilled, the desperate, and the outcast — and now those marked with the cog tattoo signifying membership number in the hundreds. In Elwynn Forest, and the area around Stormwind, the Brotherhood has mastered the art of the ambush, and despite protection by the Stormwind City Guard, few caravans get through the woods unhindered. The Guard’s inability and unwillingness to pursue the Brotherhood into Westfall has led the farmers and villagers in the area to form The People's Militia in an attempt to stave off the Brotherhood’s constant looting.

Lacking any formal military training, the outcasts who formed the Defias Brotherhood might have been forcibly disbanded long ago were it not for the skilled craftsmen and tinkers who made up its founding membership. These founders have worked together to give members of the Brotherhood access to an array of mechanical devices and weapons ranging from climbing equipment and smoke bombs to automatic crossbows and wagon traps (clamps buried in the ground that seize heavy wheels passing overhead and stop wagons on the spot). When the Defias Brotherhood advanced into Westfall, the goblins of the area were upset both by the Brotherhood’s raids on the merchant trains that supplied their shops and by the Brotherhood’s refusal to sell their inventions at goblin merchant outposts. After repeated attempts by the goblins at negotiation were met by increased attacks on their suppliers by the Brotherhood, the merchants hired a group of mercenaries to hunt the bandits. This hunt resulted in the only major battle fought by the Brotherhood — and led to the capture of all goblins in Westfall by the renegade bandits. Chained together, they were marched south into the Deadmines and put under the command of Edwin VanCleef. What has happened to them since is unknown.[2] According to an in-game resource there is a large underground tunnel from The Deadmines to Stormwind Keep, which was created by goblins, gnolls, and other races of the Defias Brotherhood.

History
The Alliance recaptured Stormwind after the Second War, finding the city in ruins. King Terenas ordered a massive reconstruction of the city with the assistance of the Alliance human nations and member races. Many of the exiles and refugees from the first war started to return to their old homeland.

The construction was overseen by the House of Nobles, who accepted the help of many artisans and specialists from across the Eastern Kingdoms. The spirit of rebuilding, hope, and prosperity struck many who decided to volunteer for the great work. However, other less altruistic laborers considered the opportunity of rebuilding as a lucrative government contract; a chance to prove their craftsmanship and start anew. Eager to forge new lives, these craftsmen traveled to Stormwind, many bringing their families at great expense.

When the rebuilding was completed, many craftsmen demanded payment for their labor. Engineers, laborers, stonewrights, and blacksmiths marched together to the new keep to request payment for their services. But there was nothing left to pay with, the remainder of the funds having been spent in order to expand Stormwind's military presence into the surrounding regions. To "solve" the problem, the nobles expelled the laborers and artisans from the rebuilt kingdom. The nobles had their new city — and those that built it were left broken and empty-handed.

Alone, feeling betrayed, and disillusioned with the Alliance, the group turned to the head of the Stonemasons, Edwin VanCleef, for leadership. VanCleef — master engineer and former assassin under Master Mathias Shaw — then founded the "Defias Brotherhood." Ostensibly standing for freedom and justice, they built a base of operations in the Deadmines of Westfall — and VanCleef began plotting his revenge against the kingdom that had betrayed him.