NOTE TO THE READER: There are several stories floating around in my head- the one I originally started developing, which takes place largely in the southern province of Duskwood, as well as others centered more in the four or five years since Nikolas joined Ravenholdt (detailed below). In this post and previous others I have tried to provide an abridged account of Nikolas' Tien's life, so that you may better understand who he is and where he comes from.
In addition to the story(s) as I write them, I may occasionally include short snippets or excerpts from Nikolas' life that provide insight into either his character or significant events from his past. Please, feel free to leave comments, critiques, notes, questions and such in comments. I am a fledgling writer and want to do as well as I can, and feedback is a key. Thank you for reading, and enjoy as I try to introduce you to Nikolas Tien.
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Nikolas met up with Myrokos and the pair returned to Quel’Danil. As they traveled, Nikolas told Myrokos what happened with his family, and said he didn’t know what to do next. He really had no desire to keep fighting the trolls, though he said he would if that’s where he was needed. Myrokos offered a suggestion that surprised: become a rogue. The elf revealed that he belonged to a secret guild of rogues and spies, led by a wealthy man living in the mountains northeast of Hillsbrad and Southshore. He told Nikolas the guild had need for good men like him, men of integrity (which Nikolas found amusing coming from a thieves’ group) and cunning. Nikolas was wary, as he found clandestine organizations something to keep at arm’s length. Myrokos offered to introduce the guild’s leader, who would explain what use he had for Nikolas, if he was willing. Nikolas agreed to the meeting, telling himself to tread lightly.
The man turned out to be Jorach Ravenholdt, who revealed that his guild, also called Ravenholdt, got its start as a league of assassins. They still operated in this capacity, but had expanded their operations in the years following the Second War. Following the War, the political climate had become an interesting one. Though the Alliance of Lordaeron existed on paper, the nations that were part of it operated largely autonomous of one another. That meant that things like protection and enforcement were a lot harder to realize without the overarching infrastructure of the Alliance in tact. Jorach realized that great profit could be made by working with these nations in a secret capacity, performing those tasks that were either too difficult or too controversial for the official governments to perform. In particular, groups had formed that threatened the governments on varying levels, groups which after the war the Alliance didn’t have the manpower or resources to combat.
That’s where Jorach and his guild had stepped in. Jorach had personally made offers to those rulers of the Alliance who would grant him audience: Stromgarde, Lordaeron, and Kul Tiras***. To these three kingdoms, Jorach offered the services of his guild in performing those services in which official hands would be tied. He offered a situational agreement, meaning that when they needed something, he would provide, and there would be no obligation whatsoever save monetary payment. If he needed something he would ask the kings, but if they refused he would leave it at that. Jorach was not one to get caught up in favors and obligations. All three rulers told Jorach that if they needed him, they would seek him.
Their tasks for the kings mostly consisted of spying on the other nations- they used his guild to avoid implications should the spies be caught. They paid particular attention to Gilneas and the former kingdom of Alterac. Ravenholdt had little success with the former, as Gilneas had built a massive wall along its borders, making infiltration impossible by land and very difficult by other means. Alterac, however, occupied much of Ravenholdt’s time.
Alterac had betrayed the Alliance in the Second War by aiding the Horde in several instances. Aiden Perenolde, the lord of Alterac, felt the Horde would be victorious, and he and the other nobles agreed that being on the winning side was paramount. Their betrayal was uncovered by the Alliance, and punishment was swift and severe. Alliance forces razed many of the towns and cities in Alterac and drove those nobles who weren’t executed for treason into exile, along with most of the citizens of the nation.
From that time forward, the Alterac exiles were forced to wander from land to land, begging for food and means, often being turned away by those who felt Alterac’s betrayal could have cost the Alliance victory. The exiles started to band together, gathered by those same nobles who had ratified the measures of the former nation’s treason. Many of the nobles had money (which had been hidden away) and influence, which they used to secure their place among the leadership of the exiles’ growing band. They began calling their organization the Syndicate, their goal being to reclaim their former lands and holdings, and regain their former influence. They also sought revenge on those nations who had driven them into exile; they hated Stromgarde, Lordaeron, and Kul Tiras above all others.
Thought they started small, they grew quickly and became strong in a few short years. They struck from the shadows, stealing lands and possessions and resources. They drove farmers and landowners out of their homes and off their farms, claiming those lands for the Syndicate. Most importantly, they reclaimed the razed city of Strahnbrad (Nikolas’ birthplace) and from there ran most of their operations. The Syndicate also claimed the abandoned Durnholde Keep, a ruined fortress that acted as the criminals’ chief outpost. Their power only grew as the nations of the Alliance were forced to deal with the Scourge, so that by the time the Third War ended, the Syndicate was firmly entrenched in their holdings and was able to wreak havoc at will.
Jorach told Nikolas that it was combating the Syndicate which occupied much of Ravenholdt’s time. As the nations of the Alliance struggled to rebuild, they were easy prey for the Syndicate’s assassins and thieves. Jorach had taken the responsibility upon himself and his guild to be the counter to the Syndicate, the Alliance’s sword and shield against the criminals.
To Nikolas he offered work, but Nikolas replied with an expression of discomfort at the thought of being an assassin. Jorach admitted his organization had a stream of assassin’s work, but also said he had something else in mind for Nikolas. Were Nikolas to join the guild, Jorach said, his work would largely be spying, information gathering, and thieving (which Jorach amusedly referred to as “strategic acquisitions”). Jorach was well aware of Nikolas’ skills in combat, and believed he could have been a skilled and formidable assassin. But he was also impressed with Nikolas’ moral core, and knew the lad would never be comfortable with assassination. He gave Nikolas two days to think about it, after which he would require a final answer. But Nikolas returned with an answer after only a few hours. He agreed to join the guild as a rogue, but requested the option of opting out after one year, with a promise to maintain full confidence about the guild and its activities.
Nikolas moved his things into a small cottage near Ravenholdt Manor, which he would share with Myrokos, who was to be Nikolas’ chief trainer at the Manor. Nikolas was stunned to learn that Myrokos had been grooming him for recruitment ever since they met, and that everyhing the elf had taught Nikolas had been geared towards Nikolas' development as a rogue. Myrokos said he had seen great potential for an agile and swift warrior from the outset, and that Nikolas had become a sort of “project,” to see if he could develop the skills necessary to a rogue. Thanks to the tutelage of Myrokos and the other elves, Nikolas had those skills in spades. As part of the Ravenholdt guild, though, it would be Myrokos’ job to make those skills even sharper.
***Alterac had been razed because of its betrayal during the Second War; Gilneas had built a massive wall along its border, cutting itself off from the rest of the continent; Dalaran, the wizard city, had no need for such services; and Azeroth had the services of SI:7, their official intelligence agency.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Nikolas' Backstory, Part III
Nikolas and the others made for Hearthglen, one of the few cities of Lordaeron that had remained unscathed by the Scourge’s advance, where they would find what remained of the Darrowshire defenders at Hearthglen. On the journey, Carlin Redpath, one of the defenders and brother to the fallen captain Joseph, brought Nikolas and his companions up to speed on the Scourge and the war to defend Lordaeron. Nikolas realized that his father might suffer a similar fate, and was heartbroken knowing it was too late to return, for the Scourge had overrun the battlefield as they fled.
When he found them in Hearthglen, Nikolas told his mother and sister what had happened to Altus. They were devastated, feeling the same harrowing grief that Nikolas had rode with the entire way. On that ride, Nikolas had decided to try and lessen the pain of Altus’ death for his mother and sister. So he lied, telling them he and the others had managed to drive off the Scourge long enough to retrieve Altus’ body. He told them they had burned the body along the way and scattered the ashes over Darrowmere Lake. Though they felt bad for lying, Myrokos, Dobrin, Carlin and the others went along with the lie, feeling in their hearts they would possibly do the same were the roles reversed.
Naya and Katia remained at Hearthglen, supporting the war effort from there, while Nikolas and Myrokos acted as scouts for the Lordaeron defenders. Some months after the fall of Lordaeron, however, there suddenly came a lull in the Scourge’s advance. The undead advances slowed significantly. Nikolas would later learn that this happened for two reasons: the Scourge and their demon masters had suffered a crushing defeat in Kalimdor at the hands of an unlikely alliance between the Horde, those who had fled Lordaeron, and a race of elves native to the western continent. Because of the defeat, the Burning Legion’s control of the Lich King and the Scourge had waned, causing a complicated civil war. The Lich King wrested control of the Scourge away from the Legion, while some of the Undead created by the Scourge began fighting to claim their independence from the Lich King. The power struggle caused the Scourge to turn its intention inward and away from what remained of the northern nations, allowing the survivors of the war to begin rebuilding.
At this point in time, Nikolas’ relationship with his family began to be strained. In Hearthglen, Naya and Katia- still grieving over Altus- had joined a group called the Scarlet Crusade. This body of zealots, comprised of Lordaeron Survivors, had the singular mission of wiping the Scourge and all other Undead from the face of the land. Their fanaticism in reaching that goal reached extreme measures, to the point of questioning the “living/undead” status of every person not of their ranks. The Scarlet Crusade was merciless in its persecution of the Undead, to the point of labeling anyone who would not join or support the Crusade as a “sympathizer” of the Undead. So bitter was the hatred of Naya and Katia toward the Scourge that they were easily captivated and taken in by the spirited and zealous preaching of the Crusade’s leaders.
Nikolas was less sure about the Scarlet Crusade. While he certainly felt strongly that the Scourge must be fought, he could not share the same extreme views and methods of the Crusade. On one visit to Hearthglen, when he expressed his concern to Naya, he was surprised when she got angry and accused him of not fully understanding the nature of the Scourge. She said Nikolas hadn’t been around when they had started to invade and slaughter Lordaeron, so he couldn’t possibly understand the threat as well as the other survivors. She said he had been too busy playing “troll conqueror” in the woods to pay attention to the world outside the mountains, so he couldn’t ever have the same feeling of justice or grief that the others had. Her purpose (and that of the Scarlet Crusade) was to visit destruction on the Scourge for what they had done to their homes and families; Naya intended to take her revenge on the Undead for the death of her husband.
Nikolas asked her if she shared the sentiment about those who wouldn’t join the Crusade, if she felt he was a “sympathizer.” She told him she knew he wasn’t, but that if he wasn’t going to help the Crusade, he’d be better off leaving, for there were some who wouldn’t like his cool attitude toward the Crusade. He bid Naya farewell, promising to come and visit. She asked what he would do. He told her simply that he would seek to find his place in the world. With a kiss and a hug, Nikolas left his mother in Hearthglen, not to see her for several years.
Katia rode with Nikolas to the edge of Hearthglen. They talked, and Nikolas learned that Katia saw things in much the same way as Naya did. Katia felt it was her duty as a bearer of the Light to destroy that which was unholy and destructive to the Light. Nikolas felt she was betraying the Light in her methods, but kept that to himself for the sake of their relationship. He bid her farewell also, telling her that should she or Naya wish to see him, they should send a message to Quel’Danil- he wouldn’t always be there, he felt, but they would know where to reach him. With that, Nikolas turned away from his family and returned to the Hinterlands, to Aerie Peak and Quel’Danil, the only places which he could call home.
When he found them in Hearthglen, Nikolas told his mother and sister what had happened to Altus. They were devastated, feeling the same harrowing grief that Nikolas had rode with the entire way. On that ride, Nikolas had decided to try and lessen the pain of Altus’ death for his mother and sister. So he lied, telling them he and the others had managed to drive off the Scourge long enough to retrieve Altus’ body. He told them they had burned the body along the way and scattered the ashes over Darrowmere Lake. Though they felt bad for lying, Myrokos, Dobrin, Carlin and the others went along with the lie, feeling in their hearts they would possibly do the same were the roles reversed.
Naya and Katia remained at Hearthglen, supporting the war effort from there, while Nikolas and Myrokos acted as scouts for the Lordaeron defenders. Some months after the fall of Lordaeron, however, there suddenly came a lull in the Scourge’s advance. The undead advances slowed significantly. Nikolas would later learn that this happened for two reasons: the Scourge and their demon masters had suffered a crushing defeat in Kalimdor at the hands of an unlikely alliance between the Horde, those who had fled Lordaeron, and a race of elves native to the western continent. Because of the defeat, the Burning Legion’s control of the Lich King and the Scourge had waned, causing a complicated civil war. The Lich King wrested control of the Scourge away from the Legion, while some of the Undead created by the Scourge began fighting to claim their independence from the Lich King. The power struggle caused the Scourge to turn its intention inward and away from what remained of the northern nations, allowing the survivors of the war to begin rebuilding.
At this point in time, Nikolas’ relationship with his family began to be strained. In Hearthglen, Naya and Katia- still grieving over Altus- had joined a group called the Scarlet Crusade. This body of zealots, comprised of Lordaeron Survivors, had the singular mission of wiping the Scourge and all other Undead from the face of the land. Their fanaticism in reaching that goal reached extreme measures, to the point of questioning the “living/undead” status of every person not of their ranks. The Scarlet Crusade was merciless in its persecution of the Undead, to the point of labeling anyone who would not join or support the Crusade as a “sympathizer” of the Undead. So bitter was the hatred of Naya and Katia toward the Scourge that they were easily captivated and taken in by the spirited and zealous preaching of the Crusade’s leaders.
Nikolas was less sure about the Scarlet Crusade. While he certainly felt strongly that the Scourge must be fought, he could not share the same extreme views and methods of the Crusade. On one visit to Hearthglen, when he expressed his concern to Naya, he was surprised when she got angry and accused him of not fully understanding the nature of the Scourge. She said Nikolas hadn’t been around when they had started to invade and slaughter Lordaeron, so he couldn’t possibly understand the threat as well as the other survivors. She said he had been too busy playing “troll conqueror” in the woods to pay attention to the world outside the mountains, so he couldn’t ever have the same feeling of justice or grief that the others had. Her purpose (and that of the Scarlet Crusade) was to visit destruction on the Scourge for what they had done to their homes and families; Naya intended to take her revenge on the Undead for the death of her husband.
Nikolas asked her if she shared the sentiment about those who wouldn’t join the Crusade, if she felt he was a “sympathizer.” She told him she knew he wasn’t, but that if he wasn’t going to help the Crusade, he’d be better off leaving, for there were some who wouldn’t like his cool attitude toward the Crusade. He bid Naya farewell, promising to come and visit. She asked what he would do. He told her simply that he would seek to find his place in the world. With a kiss and a hug, Nikolas left his mother in Hearthglen, not to see her for several years.
Katia rode with Nikolas to the edge of Hearthglen. They talked, and Nikolas learned that Katia saw things in much the same way as Naya did. Katia felt it was her duty as a bearer of the Light to destroy that which was unholy and destructive to the Light. Nikolas felt she was betraying the Light in her methods, but kept that to himself for the sake of their relationship. He bid her farewell also, telling her that should she or Naya wish to see him, they should send a message to Quel’Danil- he wouldn’t always be there, he felt, but they would know where to reach him. With that, Nikolas turned away from his family and returned to the Hinterlands, to Aerie Peak and Quel’Danil, the only places which he could call home.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Nikolas' Backstory, Part II
Nikolas also trained with the Wildhammer dwarves of Aerie Peak, becoming a skilled gryphon rider, though his ability would never match that of the dwarves. Nikolas gained a gryphon as a pet and mount when he rescued a griffit (baby gryphon) from predators who had killed its parents. The animal attached itself to Nikolas, who raised it and cared for it into maturity. The two have become close friends and share a bond as strong as those of the Wildhammer riders and their mounts. He named the gryphon Skora. Nikolas’ roles in tracking and hunting mean he only rides Skora when scouting from the air or traveling long distances (Nikolas began to visit his family more frequently thanks to the reduced travel time).
War came into the Tiens’ life for the third time in Nikolas’ 27th year. At the time, Nikolas had spent nine years training with the elves of Quel’Danil and fighting forest trolls in the Hinterlands. When his family came to visit in the summers, Altus would speak more and more of dark rumors beginning to spread across Lordaeron. He advised Nikolas to keep his eyes and ears open for something called the Cult of the Damned, a mysterious group rumored to be involved in sinister and demonic works. Very little was known about the cult until the year 25 (counting from the year the Horde appeared). It was then that the Cult made its dark designs known to the world by releasing a plague upon the cities and citizens of Lordaeron.
This plague was more than a simple disease- it killed those whom it infected, but then raised them into a state of undeath- the plague’s victims became mindless undead minions of him whom the Cult of the Damned served, the Lich King. The Lich King, in turn, served a massive army of demons and demon lords called the Burning Legion. The Legion’s singular goal was to wipe Azeroth of all life and conquer the world for its own. The plague would be the means to this end, and the Scourge, the undead army raised by the Lich King and his servants, would be the instrument for delivering the plague.
Rumors of the plague began spreading in the northern areas of Lordaeron, but the Cult of the Damned was revealed to Lordaeron at large thanks to the efforts of Uther Lightbringer, the leader of the Knights of the Silver Hand, and his protégé, the crown prince himself, Arthas Menethil. The two paladins, with their army, arrived at Andorhal, the town where Nikolas’ family lived, only to discover that grain, tainted with the plague, was being sent out to all reaches of the kingdom. They moved swiftly westward to Brill, but were too late: the grain had been shipped. Arthas, Uther and their comrades swiftly moved to try and stop the spread of the plague, but they were too late. The machinations of the Scourge had ensured the plagues widespread distribution via tainted grain, carried and delivered throughout Lordaeron.
Lordaeron was ravaged by the effects of the plague and the growing undead armies. Most demoralizing of all was that thousands upon thousands of Lordaeron citizens saw their loved ones and friends fall fighting the Scourge, only to see them rise up again to join the Scourge. Fight as they may, the armies of Lordaeron could not stop the growing threat. Many fled westward to the continent of Kalimdor at the behest of a mysterious prophet. But the darkest hours for the kingdom came when Arthas, driven to the brink of madness by his losses and the thought of his homeland falling into darkness, started down a dark path of destruction that would ultimately turn him into the very thing he sought to destroy: the Lich King himself.
Nikolas’ family, though residing in Andorhal at the time, was spared from the plague. Afraid for their safety because of the darks deeds of the Cult, Altus sent Naya and Katia south early in the spring. They lived with Dobrin while Altus and other Knights investigated the Cult. When the Scourge was revealed, Altus was among the Knights who remained with Uther in Lordaeron, even as much of the nation’s population fled to Kalimdor. Though the Silver Hand knew it would be a next-to-impossible task, they felt it was their duty to use the Light they wielded in combating the forces of darkness. When Arthas disbanded the Knights of the Silver Hand after Uther questioned the prince’s decision to kill the residents of the city of Stratholme rather than see them fall to the plague, Altus went with the Lightbringer to defend their home while maintaining their obedience to the tenets of the Light, which Arthas had forsaken. Uther and the other Knights decided to spread out and help defend as many towns and cities as their numbers would allow. Uther assigned Altus to help lead the defense forces of Darrowshire. The relief force was bolstered by several magi from Dalaran and other soldiers who had not fled to Kalimdor. Despite Altus’ protests, Naya and Katia both decided to stay with him- Naya joined the magi and Katia agreed to support the army by healing and tending to the wounded.
Altus notified Nikolas, by courier, where he and the family were headed and what their mission was. Nikolas decided to join them at Darrowshire. Myrokos went along voluntarily, and Nikolas managed to convince Dobrin and a few other dwarves to go as well, but most of the Wildhammers and Quel’Danil elves chose to stay away from the conflict.
The relief force led by the Silver Hand arrived mere days before the Scourge hit Darrowshire. The Knights, led by a paladin named Davil Lightfire, interspersed themselves among the troops to maximize their abilities. Naya and the magi positioned themselves on buildings and elevated terrain to allow them clear line of sight to cast their arcane powers against the Undead. Katia remained in the back, ready to aid those who fell or were hurt.
Nikolas, Myrokos, Dobrin and the others arrived by gryphon mere hours before the battle began. They sent their mounts away to safety; then Nikolas and Myrokos and a few Darrowshire citizens went out ahead to scout the Scourge position. Their reports were grim: the Darrowshire forces were grossly outnumbered. But they chose to stand and defend their homes.
In short, it was a massacre. The Scourge, led by the death knight Marduk the Black, tore into the defenders and slaughtered all in their path. Small victories were won on small levels, but the living never had a real chance against the Undead. Davil managed to kill Horgus the Ravager, one of the Scourge’s captains, but suffered a mortal wound in the effort and died shortly thereafter. At the height of battle, Marduk came to the captain of the Darrowshire militia, Joseph Redpath, and tore him apart. He twisted Redpath’s soul into a corrupted version of itself; Redpath the Corrupt then began twisting and befouling the souls of his former comrades, turning them on their fellows. The fighting didn’t last long after that. Altus gave the order to retreat and flee to those few who remained. His family had been spared, and they began to flee. Altus, Nikolas, Myrokos, Dobrin and a few others stayed behind to try and slow any Scourge pursuers. They managed for a little while, until an Abomination (a massive twisted monster made up of the parts of corpses) joined the fray. Altus challenged the creature as Nikolas and Myrokos peppered it with arrows, but to no avail: the Abomination grabbed Altus, and, with the Knight hacking at its arm to escape, crushed him. Nikolas and the others failed to bring the Abomination down, and were forced to flee after the others. As they ran toward the cover of forests, Nikolas stole one last look back at his father’s broken body. Altus was dead, murdered at the hand of the Scourge.
War came into the Tiens’ life for the third time in Nikolas’ 27th year. At the time, Nikolas had spent nine years training with the elves of Quel’Danil and fighting forest trolls in the Hinterlands. When his family came to visit in the summers, Altus would speak more and more of dark rumors beginning to spread across Lordaeron. He advised Nikolas to keep his eyes and ears open for something called the Cult of the Damned, a mysterious group rumored to be involved in sinister and demonic works. Very little was known about the cult until the year 25 (counting from the year the Horde appeared). It was then that the Cult made its dark designs known to the world by releasing a plague upon the cities and citizens of Lordaeron.
This plague was more than a simple disease- it killed those whom it infected, but then raised them into a state of undeath- the plague’s victims became mindless undead minions of him whom the Cult of the Damned served, the Lich King. The Lich King, in turn, served a massive army of demons and demon lords called the Burning Legion. The Legion’s singular goal was to wipe Azeroth of all life and conquer the world for its own. The plague would be the means to this end, and the Scourge, the undead army raised by the Lich King and his servants, would be the instrument for delivering the plague.
Rumors of the plague began spreading in the northern areas of Lordaeron, but the Cult of the Damned was revealed to Lordaeron at large thanks to the efforts of Uther Lightbringer, the leader of the Knights of the Silver Hand, and his protégé, the crown prince himself, Arthas Menethil. The two paladins, with their army, arrived at Andorhal, the town where Nikolas’ family lived, only to discover that grain, tainted with the plague, was being sent out to all reaches of the kingdom. They moved swiftly westward to Brill, but were too late: the grain had been shipped. Arthas, Uther and their comrades swiftly moved to try and stop the spread of the plague, but they were too late. The machinations of the Scourge had ensured the plagues widespread distribution via tainted grain, carried and delivered throughout Lordaeron.
Lordaeron was ravaged by the effects of the plague and the growing undead armies. Most demoralizing of all was that thousands upon thousands of Lordaeron citizens saw their loved ones and friends fall fighting the Scourge, only to see them rise up again to join the Scourge. Fight as they may, the armies of Lordaeron could not stop the growing threat. Many fled westward to the continent of Kalimdor at the behest of a mysterious prophet. But the darkest hours for the kingdom came when Arthas, driven to the brink of madness by his losses and the thought of his homeland falling into darkness, started down a dark path of destruction that would ultimately turn him into the very thing he sought to destroy: the Lich King himself.
Nikolas’ family, though residing in Andorhal at the time, was spared from the plague. Afraid for their safety because of the darks deeds of the Cult, Altus sent Naya and Katia south early in the spring. They lived with Dobrin while Altus and other Knights investigated the Cult. When the Scourge was revealed, Altus was among the Knights who remained with Uther in Lordaeron, even as much of the nation’s population fled to Kalimdor. Though the Silver Hand knew it would be a next-to-impossible task, they felt it was their duty to use the Light they wielded in combating the forces of darkness. When Arthas disbanded the Knights of the Silver Hand after Uther questioned the prince’s decision to kill the residents of the city of Stratholme rather than see them fall to the plague, Altus went with the Lightbringer to defend their home while maintaining their obedience to the tenets of the Light, which Arthas had forsaken. Uther and the other Knights decided to spread out and help defend as many towns and cities as their numbers would allow. Uther assigned Altus to help lead the defense forces of Darrowshire. The relief force was bolstered by several magi from Dalaran and other soldiers who had not fled to Kalimdor. Despite Altus’ protests, Naya and Katia both decided to stay with him- Naya joined the magi and Katia agreed to support the army by healing and tending to the wounded.
Altus notified Nikolas, by courier, where he and the family were headed and what their mission was. Nikolas decided to join them at Darrowshire. Myrokos went along voluntarily, and Nikolas managed to convince Dobrin and a few other dwarves to go as well, but most of the Wildhammers and Quel’Danil elves chose to stay away from the conflict.
The relief force led by the Silver Hand arrived mere days before the Scourge hit Darrowshire. The Knights, led by a paladin named Davil Lightfire, interspersed themselves among the troops to maximize their abilities. Naya and the magi positioned themselves on buildings and elevated terrain to allow them clear line of sight to cast their arcane powers against the Undead. Katia remained in the back, ready to aid those who fell or were hurt.
Nikolas, Myrokos, Dobrin and the others arrived by gryphon mere hours before the battle began. They sent their mounts away to safety; then Nikolas and Myrokos and a few Darrowshire citizens went out ahead to scout the Scourge position. Their reports were grim: the Darrowshire forces were grossly outnumbered. But they chose to stand and defend their homes.
In short, it was a massacre. The Scourge, led by the death knight Marduk the Black, tore into the defenders and slaughtered all in their path. Small victories were won on small levels, but the living never had a real chance against the Undead. Davil managed to kill Horgus the Ravager, one of the Scourge’s captains, but suffered a mortal wound in the effort and died shortly thereafter. At the height of battle, Marduk came to the captain of the Darrowshire militia, Joseph Redpath, and tore him apart. He twisted Redpath’s soul into a corrupted version of itself; Redpath the Corrupt then began twisting and befouling the souls of his former comrades, turning them on their fellows. The fighting didn’t last long after that. Altus gave the order to retreat and flee to those few who remained. His family had been spared, and they began to flee. Altus, Nikolas, Myrokos, Dobrin and a few others stayed behind to try and slow any Scourge pursuers. They managed for a little while, until an Abomination (a massive twisted monster made up of the parts of corpses) joined the fray. Altus challenged the creature as Nikolas and Myrokos peppered it with arrows, but to no avail: the Abomination grabbed Altus, and, with the Knight hacking at its arm to escape, crushed him. Nikolas and the others failed to bring the Abomination down, and were forced to flee after the others. As they ran toward the cover of forests, Nikolas stole one last look back at his father’s broken body. Altus was dead, murdered at the hand of the Scourge.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Nikolas' Backstory, Part I
Two years before the Horde first appeared in the Black Morass and ravaged the lands of Azeroth, Nikolas Altus Tien was born on his father’s sheep farm near Northshire Valley. Altus Galor Tien was a priest of the Clerics of Northshire, a body of holy men who devoted themselves to study of the Light and its power. His wife, Naya, spun the sheep’s wool into threads and sold them to tailors in Northshire and Stormwind. Naya, daughter of a noble of Alterac, had been magically trained as a child in the wizard city of Dalaran. She met Altus when his mentor was assigned as an advisor to a diplomatic envoy from Stormwind to Dalaran. During the year-long assignment, they fell in love, and when it came time for Altus to leave, Naya- despite the disapproval of her nobility-obsessed parents, decided to leave her training and join him. They were married shortly after their return to Northshire. Altus built the sheep farm and tended to his flocks while continuing study at Northshire Abbey.
While Nikolas was still a child, Altus was called to fight with the armies of Stormwind against the invading Horde. Though trained in basic combat, Altus acted more in a supporting role, healing and caring for wounded soldiers. His family (which had increased with the birth of Nikolas’ sister eight months before the war) was kept safe in the confines of the Abbey, though they moved to Stormwind City when the Abbey was sacked.
In the waning days of the war, Altus returned home to his family, telling them they had to leave, for the Horde was on its way to Stormwind. Taking refuge in the mountains west of the great city, they linked up with many other refugees fleeing the cities destruction. When Anduin Lothar, champion of Azeroth, decided to flee to the far northern lands of Lordaeron, where they would seek shelter from their kindred human kingdoms, Altus took his family across the sea with the remnants of Azeroth’s once proud populace.
Upon arrival in Southshore, a major port of Lordaeron, Naya suggested they move up north to Alterac, where she would entreat her parents for shelter and aid. They arrived in Strahnbrad, where her father, Lord Caiberd Layette and his wife and daughter, Naya’s sister. But Caiberd, still bitter at what he saw as Naya’s spiteful decision to marry against her father’s will, cruelly turned his refugee daughter and her family away. As they left, Naya’s proud but gentler mother secretly gave Naya some money, saying it was a portion of her inheritance. But Naya’s jealous sister found out and told Caiberd, who had the Tiens brought back. Caiberd accused his daughter and her family of being thieves and beggars. He had Altus restrained, and proceeded to beat Naya in front of her family. Caiberd then cast the Tiens out, exiling them from the family’s lands and holdings, and essentially from Alterac as a whole.
The Tiens returned to Southshore, where Altus was sought out by Sammuel, a fellow cleric from Northshire, who said that a new order of soldiers was being formed. Archbishop Alonsus Faol, the leader of the Church of Light, had decided to train priests and clerics in martial skills, making a new order of holy warriors to fight with the newly formed Alliance of Lordaeron (the combined might of the seven human kingdoms, the elves of Quel’Thalas, and the dwarves of Aerie Peak and Khaz Modan) against the Horde threat. The order was to be called the Knights of the Silver Hand, and its members were to be called paladins. They would wield the power of the Light against the dark magic of the Horde’s warlocks, while retaining their devotion and piety to the Light and its teachings. Altus agreed to train as a paladin, a difficult decision which meant he would leave his family for war once again.
As the Alliance marched to counter the Horde’s advances, Naya took her children and sought refuge at the monastery in the northern glades of Tirisfal. Here she raised her children for the next eighteen months, teaching them the ways of the Light, as well as some of what she remembered of magic from her days at Dalaran. Katia showed more interest in the Light and its power, while Nikolas seemed to be more adept at magic.
The war ended, and Altus came to find his family at the Monastery. He was assigned to join the Silver Hand’s paladins at Andorhal. There he settled his family for what he hoped was the last time. Every year during the warm summer months, Altus and his family would travel south to the Hinterlands to Aerie Peak, where resided Altus’ friend Dobrin Wildhammer, a warrior and blacksmith he had met during the war. Altus and Dobrin had fought in many of the same battles and had become close friends; further, Dobrin felt indebted to Altus because the latter had saved his life three times in the campaign to retake Grim Batol. The dwarves welcomed the Tiens and taught them much about their ways, even about the mighty gryphons for which Aerie Peak was legendary. The children learned to groom and care for gryphons young and old, and even learned to ride them. Altus learned to ride the mighty creatures, too, but Naya’s fear of heights kept her firmly on the ground. The Tiens’ time at Aerie Peak would often stretch into the autumn months, when they would return north to Andorhal ahead of the harsh Hinterlands winters.
In their time in the Hinterlands, the Tiens also came to know many of the high elves who dwelt at the Quel’Danil hunting lodge east of Aerie Peak. Nikolas, in particular, was fascinated by the elves and their ways. While Katia was a devoted student of the Light and its ways throughout her adolescence, Nikolas spent many of his days learning to hunt and track and fish in the wild forests, skills for which Nikolas showed a natural affinity and aptitude (Altus always hoped Nikolas would become a paladin like him, but had great pride in his son’s talents; Katia would follow in her father’s footsteps in becoming a paladin). One elf in particular, a tracker named Myrokos Silentform, took a liking to Nikolas and became very close to the Tien family. With Altus’ and Naya’s approval, when Nikolas was sixteen, Myrokos took Nikolas as a kind of apprentice- he began living at Quel’Danil year round. He would see his family in the summers when they came to visit Aerie Peak.
The Hinterlands can be dangerous to those who are careless or untrained; thus it was at age 19 that Nikolas began honing his skills in real combat. The dwarves and elves had long been at odds with the three tribes found in the Hinterlands: the Witherbark, the Revantusk, and Vilebranch. All three had fought alongside the Horde in the Second War. After the Horde’s defeat, the Vilebranch and Witherbark tribes, bitter at the Horde’s failure, broke off and became independent again. Only the Revantusks remained loyal to the Horde; the Vilebranch and Witherbark tribes began hunting and fighting with the Revantusks, even sacrificing the Revantusks for their own dark purposes. But despite the inter-tribe quarrels, all three remained bitter enemies of the Wildhammer dwarves and the elves of Quel’Danil.
Nikolas, his youth notwithstanding, showed himself very capable of fighting trolls. He displayed a natural quickness and agility, made more effective by his opting to use smaller blades. His melee weapons of choice became two long knives, each about two feet long. With training, Nikolas also developed a keen marksman’s eye, shooting with accuracy to rival many of Quel’Danil’s best bowmen. In short, Myrokos’ training, coupled with Nikolas’ natural aptitude, enabled the lad to become one of the best hunters and trackers in the Hinterlands. It was this training and this development that would set Nikolas on the path which his life has followed.
While Nikolas was still a child, Altus was called to fight with the armies of Stormwind against the invading Horde. Though trained in basic combat, Altus acted more in a supporting role, healing and caring for wounded soldiers. His family (which had increased with the birth of Nikolas’ sister eight months before the war) was kept safe in the confines of the Abbey, though they moved to Stormwind City when the Abbey was sacked.
In the waning days of the war, Altus returned home to his family, telling them they had to leave, for the Horde was on its way to Stormwind. Taking refuge in the mountains west of the great city, they linked up with many other refugees fleeing the cities destruction. When Anduin Lothar, champion of Azeroth, decided to flee to the far northern lands of Lordaeron, where they would seek shelter from their kindred human kingdoms, Altus took his family across the sea with the remnants of Azeroth’s once proud populace.
Upon arrival in Southshore, a major port of Lordaeron, Naya suggested they move up north to Alterac, where she would entreat her parents for shelter and aid. They arrived in Strahnbrad, where her father, Lord Caiberd Layette and his wife and daughter, Naya’s sister. But Caiberd, still bitter at what he saw as Naya’s spiteful decision to marry against her father’s will, cruelly turned his refugee daughter and her family away. As they left, Naya’s proud but gentler mother secretly gave Naya some money, saying it was a portion of her inheritance. But Naya’s jealous sister found out and told Caiberd, who had the Tiens brought back. Caiberd accused his daughter and her family of being thieves and beggars. He had Altus restrained, and proceeded to beat Naya in front of her family. Caiberd then cast the Tiens out, exiling them from the family’s lands and holdings, and essentially from Alterac as a whole.
The Tiens returned to Southshore, where Altus was sought out by Sammuel, a fellow cleric from Northshire, who said that a new order of soldiers was being formed. Archbishop Alonsus Faol, the leader of the Church of Light, had decided to train priests and clerics in martial skills, making a new order of holy warriors to fight with the newly formed Alliance of Lordaeron (the combined might of the seven human kingdoms, the elves of Quel’Thalas, and the dwarves of Aerie Peak and Khaz Modan) against the Horde threat. The order was to be called the Knights of the Silver Hand, and its members were to be called paladins. They would wield the power of the Light against the dark magic of the Horde’s warlocks, while retaining their devotion and piety to the Light and its teachings. Altus agreed to train as a paladin, a difficult decision which meant he would leave his family for war once again.
As the Alliance marched to counter the Horde’s advances, Naya took her children and sought refuge at the monastery in the northern glades of Tirisfal. Here she raised her children for the next eighteen months, teaching them the ways of the Light, as well as some of what she remembered of magic from her days at Dalaran. Katia showed more interest in the Light and its power, while Nikolas seemed to be more adept at magic.
The war ended, and Altus came to find his family at the Monastery. He was assigned to join the Silver Hand’s paladins at Andorhal. There he settled his family for what he hoped was the last time. Every year during the warm summer months, Altus and his family would travel south to the Hinterlands to Aerie Peak, where resided Altus’ friend Dobrin Wildhammer, a warrior and blacksmith he had met during the war. Altus and Dobrin had fought in many of the same battles and had become close friends; further, Dobrin felt indebted to Altus because the latter had saved his life three times in the campaign to retake Grim Batol. The dwarves welcomed the Tiens and taught them much about their ways, even about the mighty gryphons for which Aerie Peak was legendary. The children learned to groom and care for gryphons young and old, and even learned to ride them. Altus learned to ride the mighty creatures, too, but Naya’s fear of heights kept her firmly on the ground. The Tiens’ time at Aerie Peak would often stretch into the autumn months, when they would return north to Andorhal ahead of the harsh Hinterlands winters.
In their time in the Hinterlands, the Tiens also came to know many of the high elves who dwelt at the Quel’Danil hunting lodge east of Aerie Peak. Nikolas, in particular, was fascinated by the elves and their ways. While Katia was a devoted student of the Light and its ways throughout her adolescence, Nikolas spent many of his days learning to hunt and track and fish in the wild forests, skills for which Nikolas showed a natural affinity and aptitude (Altus always hoped Nikolas would become a paladin like him, but had great pride in his son’s talents; Katia would follow in her father’s footsteps in becoming a paladin). One elf in particular, a tracker named Myrokos Silentform, took a liking to Nikolas and became very close to the Tien family. With Altus’ and Naya’s approval, when Nikolas was sixteen, Myrokos took Nikolas as a kind of apprentice- he began living at Quel’Danil year round. He would see his family in the summers when they came to visit Aerie Peak.
The Hinterlands can be dangerous to those who are careless or untrained; thus it was at age 19 that Nikolas began honing his skills in real combat. The dwarves and elves had long been at odds with the three tribes found in the Hinterlands: the Witherbark, the Revantusk, and Vilebranch. All three had fought alongside the Horde in the Second War. After the Horde’s defeat, the Vilebranch and Witherbark tribes, bitter at the Horde’s failure, broke off and became independent again. Only the Revantusks remained loyal to the Horde; the Vilebranch and Witherbark tribes began hunting and fighting with the Revantusks, even sacrificing the Revantusks for their own dark purposes. But despite the inter-tribe quarrels, all three remained bitter enemies of the Wildhammer dwarves and the elves of Quel’Danil.
Nikolas, his youth notwithstanding, showed himself very capable of fighting trolls. He displayed a natural quickness and agility, made more effective by his opting to use smaller blades. His melee weapons of choice became two long knives, each about two feet long. With training, Nikolas also developed a keen marksman’s eye, shooting with accuracy to rival many of Quel’Danil’s best bowmen. In short, Myrokos’ training, coupled with Nikolas’ natural aptitude, enabled the lad to become one of the best hunters and trackers in the Hinterlands. It was this training and this development that would set Nikolas on the path which his life has followed.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Reboot
Sorry, I'm changing some of Nikolas' backstory, especially as regards his parents and birthplace. I'll post a basic timeline of his life soon.
And I've changed his father's name to Altus Galor Tien.
Okay, that's all for now.
And I've changed his father's name to Altus Galor Tien.
Okay, that's all for now.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Down to One
So if you haven't noticed, I've been focusing a lot on Nikolas. He's definitely the main character, and honestly I don't even give much thought to Keina, who was to be the other main character. She (or another version/persona) might still factor in, but that's a ways off. I'm still working on and kneading and folding and shaping and molding Nikolas into the character I want him to be.
Everything else is just peanuts for now.
Stay tuned.
Everything else is just peanuts for now.
Stay tuned.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Main Man
This is an aid to creating a character, courtesy of Dramatis Personae. I decided to use it to help flesh out the main character of the story.
Name: Nikolas Tien
Hair Color: Brown to dark brown; has facial hair- not too groomed, but not really scruffy.
Eye Color: Brown
Height/Weight: 6 feet tall, about 220. Very strong, defined, athletic, healthy.
Age: 31. He was born a year before the Horde first invaded Azeroth (according to the following timeline).
Social Status: His family is part of the lesser nobility in Alterac. Long story short- Alterac was a nobility-based kingdom that turned on the other human kingdoms during the Second War(Warcraft II). The Alliance found out, got pissed, labeled the Alterac rulers as traitors, and kicked them out of their own kingdom.
Family: Nikolas' mother, Merika, is the daughter of a higher Alterac noble (name and particulars to be fleshed out later), one of the prestigious and haughty kind. She showed magical potential and studied at Dalaran (big city for wizards and Dumbledores-in-training). During an extended stay at home, she began to be courted by a man named Galor Tien, a sort-of lesser noble (kind of a middle class: well educated but not as rich as the snobby nobles, and often craftsmen and tradesman by profession but not as poor as peasants and many farmers). The class difference pissed her father off, but she married Galor anyway and they had Nikolas. He has a younger sister, Katia (her details to be fleshed out later). Nikolas is currently single.
Hometown: Nicholas was born in the Alterac capital, Strahnbrad, where his family lived until Nikolas was 9. His father, who had fought in both wars against the Horde, had befriended a number of dwarves and elves in battle. One of Galor's best friends, Uri Thundermantle, invited Galor and his family to live in the foothills near Aerie Peak, home to the Wildhammer dwarven clans.
Concept (a 2-5 word description of how you envision your character): honest but uncertain do-gooder.
Name: Nikolas Tien
Hair Color: Brown to dark brown; has facial hair- not too groomed, but not really scruffy.
Eye Color: Brown
Height/Weight: 6 feet tall, about 220. Very strong, defined, athletic, healthy.
Age: 31. He was born a year before the Horde first invaded Azeroth (according to the following timeline).
Social Status: His family is part of the lesser nobility in Alterac. Long story short- Alterac was a nobility-based kingdom that turned on the other human kingdoms during the Second War(Warcraft II). The Alliance found out, got pissed, labeled the Alterac rulers as traitors, and kicked them out of their own kingdom.
Family: Nikolas' mother, Merika, is the daughter of a higher Alterac noble (name and particulars to be fleshed out later), one of the prestigious and haughty kind. She showed magical potential and studied at Dalaran (big city for wizards and Dumbledores-in-training). During an extended stay at home, she began to be courted by a man named Galor Tien, a sort-of lesser noble (kind of a middle class: well educated but not as rich as the snobby nobles, and often craftsmen and tradesman by profession but not as poor as peasants and many farmers). The class difference pissed her father off, but she married Galor anyway and they had Nikolas. He has a younger sister, Katia (her details to be fleshed out later). Nikolas is currently single.
Hometown: Nicholas was born in the Alterac capital, Strahnbrad, where his family lived until Nikolas was 9. His father, who had fought in both wars against the Horde, had befriended a number of dwarves and elves in battle. One of Galor's best friends, Uri Thundermantle, invited Galor and his family to live in the foothills near Aerie Peak, home to the Wildhammer dwarven clans.
Concept (a 2-5 word description of how you envision your character): honest but uncertain do-gooder.
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