User:Joshmaul/Settra the Imperishable

"'I told you that you would be mine again...is serving me truly that much of a horror that you do not wish to do so again? And look at what you are doing - you fight against those you're told you should be fighting alongside into the greatest fortress of the Scourge. You have doubted the wisdom of this action yourself, Settra...if you know that it will fail, then why do you not join the winning side?'"
 * - The Lich King, to General Settra

Settra of Borealis - also known as Settra the Imperishable, General of the Forsaken - was one of many death knights to have broken away from the rule of the Scourge. A Lordaeron general murdered by Baron Rivendare and raised as one of the walking dead, Settra endured greater trials in his quest to become a death knight. When he was freed from the control of the Scourge, he swore allegiance to Sylvanas Windrunner, the Banshee Queen, and served at her beck and call. During the assault on Icecrown Citadel, faced with his own doubts about the wisdom of an attack against the Lich King's citadel and the constant "side-changing" of Artimus Devaneaux, Settra finally gave in to madness and returned to the cold embrace of death as a member of the Scourge, until he met his demise in the siege of Icecrown Citadel.

(Joshmaul's Note: Credit to Destron for the Ralmanni; I like to give credit where it's due. Plus, I'm a fan of Destron's writing...)

Biography


This is a summary of Settra's life compiled by Stormwind Intelligence and the Lordaeron Deathsworn. As it is merely a summary, the details can be found below:

''Born a decade before the fall of Stormwind, Settra is a descendant of the Ralmanni, a group of dark-skinned wanderers native to the southern Eastern Kingdoms. His father Kahlis was the Royal Magistrate of Borealis - a forested region northeast of Stratholme along Loraderon's northern coast, near the border with Quel'Thalas. His mother Benoria died when Settra was born, and Kahlis was killed while serving in the Alliance Expedition to Draenor when Settra was thirteen. He was raised by his cousin Inar, a refugee from Stormwind, who served as magistrate-regent while Kahlis was away and as Settra's top advisor when the boy became Magistrate after his father's death.''

''Because of its relatively remote location in regards to the rest of northern Lordaeron, Borealis was chosen as a test site for the Scourge's plague, administered by Kel'Thuzad himself. With the death cult becoming a very real threat, Settra ordered the Borealis militia to deal with them while he travelled to Lordaeron City to request support from King Terenas. The ailing King gave Settra the rank of General and ordered him to "be prepared" in the event in came to call in the military. Settra was a regular figure at court after that, watching in disgust as the nobles did nothing; though not fond of mages, the General found himself an ally in the form of the ambassador from Dalaran, who called for some kind of action to be taken against the plague that had gripped Borealis and the northern provinces. He happened to be present during the brief flurry of activity that resulted with the visitation of the mysterious prophet - Medivh, the last Guardian.''

''After Lordaeron fell, Settra led a band of survivors from Borealis and Tirisfal into the eternally-burning city of Stratholme, in an effort to take back at least some ground from the Scourge. While leading his force into a brutal confrontation with an army of abominations, Settra was killed by the death knight Baron Rivendare, the overlord of Stratholme. Recognizing his opponent's strength and skill, Rivendare - with the blessing of the Lich King - raised Settra from the dead and sent him to Naxxramas, where he was trained in the ways of the death knight. He earned his nom de guerre, "the Imperishable", during this period.''

''During the purge of the living in Lordaeron ordered by "King" Arthas following his return from Kalimdor, Settra led the attack against the northern passes. But when victory was theirs, he was rendered unconscious by a sudden jolt of power as his connection to the Lich King was unexpectedly severed - as a result of Illidan Stormrage's attack against Icecrown Glacier. When he awoke, he was inside Sekhesmet's Mausoleum in the graveyard outside of Brill, where he was met by Sylvanas Windrunner. Sylvanas had been freed from the Scourge as well, and had rallied an army of "free" undead in an effort to claim territory of their own. Realizing that this was his chance for revenge, Settra agreed to join the Forsaken and swore eternal fealty to Sylvanas as his Dark Lady, who named him General of the Forsaken. The General's tactical skill, combined with his dark necromantic magic, aided Sylvanas in the battles against the three dreadlords, though he was immediately skeptical of Varimathras when he swore his allegiance to Sylvanas.''

''After Tirisfal was liberated from the dreadlords and the Scourge, Settra went into hiding in Alterac for fear that Rivendare or Kel'Thuzad would come looking for him - though he remained at the beck and call of his Queen at all times, and escorted by a small detachment of Deathstalkers. He eventually came to the aid of the orc known as Joshmaul the Corruptor - who also served Sylvanas - in various matters, including creating a death knight "avatar" of the insane warlock using the body of a slain orcish shaman. Eventually, however, he realized that Joshmaul's ultimate loyalty was to himself and that he was using Sylvanas as a means to an end, and broke his ties to the Corruptor.''

''After Naxxramas returned to Northrend, Settra met an old acquaintance - Artimus Devaneaux, now a death knight himself. Artimus and his two draenei companions, Velenkayn and Koschei, revealed that they were part of a group called the Knights of the Ebon Blade, an order of death knights that opposed the Lich King. Intrigued by this, the General accompanied Artimus to Acherus and met with Darion Mograine, the son of the Ashbringer and master of the Ebon Blade, who offered him a place in their ranks. This, Settra realized, was what he wanted - a place where no one looked at him the wrong way because he was a death knight like Arthas.'' Settra the Imperishable, General of the Forsaken, had found his place in the world - and he would kill anyone who stood in his path in order to keep it.

Early Life
Settra was born in Borealis, a forested territory in the area known as North Lordaeron, "between" the regions now known as the Plaguelands. This is also believed to be the region where the priest Sekhesmet hails from.

Settra's mother, Benoria, died shortly after he was born. His father, Kahlis, was the Lord Magistrate of Borealis when Stormwind fell, and offered sanctuary to Stormwind refugees. An experienced fighter, Kahlis led the Borealis Militia during the Second War and was killed three years later during the Battle of Hellfire Peninsula on Draenor. At thirteen, Settra was named Lord Magistrate of Borealis, the day after reaching the Age of Ascension. He ruled Borealis for thirteen years afterwards. At sixteen, Settra became a member of the Borealis Militia himself, learning the basics of combat and leadership. He eventually would rise to lead the Militia in battles against bands of forest trolls from Quel'Thalas.

When his territory fell to the influence of the Cult of the Damned, Settra fled to the Capital City and explained the situation to King Terenas, High Priest Sehesmet, and Tirisfal Magistrate Artimus Devaneaux. Terenas named him a general in the Alliance army with the intention of taking the battle to the death cult. However, Settra was worried; he despaired at King Terenas' increasing age and senility and lack of concern for the plague that had arisen in northern Lordaeron. He fell in battle in the ruins of Stratholme, battling the corrupted Baron Rivendare, one of the greatest of the Lich King's death knights. In a cruel gesture of his power, the Baron resurrected Settra as one of the Lich King's minions. Rivendare sensed great power within the now-undead warrior, and sent him to the death knight's "training camp": Necropolis Naxxramas, the citadel of Kel'Thuzad. While in Naxxramas, he became known as Settra the Imperishable - Kel'Thuzad was of the opinion that such warriors needed an "impressive" nom de guerre - and was sent back to Rivendare as a fully-trained death knight to serve the Scourge. Settra's instructor was Gothik the Harvester, a powerful necromancer who taught him how to raise and command the dead.

Settra gained great power in his new path and served in the Scourge army in Lordaeron, led by Kel'Thuzad himself until Prince Arthas returned from Kalimdor after the Battle of Mount Hyjal. But when the Lich King's telepathic domination was interrupted by an attack launched by the half-demon night elf Illidan Stormrage, Settra - along with a host of other undead, led by Sylvanas Windrunner - felt his will return to him. Repulsed at what he had become physically, but impressed with the skill he had gained, Settra swore fealty to Sylvanas as his Queen, one of few Scourge death knights to do so before the rise of the Ebon Blade. But he knew that the Scourge - particularly Kel'Thuzad and the Baron - would hunt for him, and so he told Sylvanas he had to go into hiding, where he has remained for almost seven years since. It was during this period that he was approached by a potential new master...who had an appreciation, and a use, for his talents.

The Corruptor's Offer
Joshmaul the Corruptor - formerly Urgan of the Bleeding Hollow, an orcish shaman whose body was stolen by the soul of a dead human warlock - had wandered the world of Azeroth and had even ventured into the remnants of his homeworld of Draenor, gaining immense power as he did so. He much preferred the ways of the Forsaken, who practiced shadow magic openly and without care. During his travels, Joshmaul encountered Settra, living in the mountains of Alterac east of Dalaran. Bidding the warlock welcome - as he had kept abreast of the Forsaken's political leanings and the goings-on in this world and elsewhere, even though he was technically incommunicado - Settra explained his story to the warlock, and expressed his belief that while the Legion and Illidan were indeed a great threat, it seemed that the mortal races had all but forgotten that the Lich King was still out there, and that the Scourge was a far greater threat than even the Legion as it stood now.

Joshmaul was impressed with the renegade death knight's knowledge; while he was the stronger of the two, the warlock knew that necromancy was out of even his reach, and he would need someone skilled in that field to become one of his lieutenants. He offered Settra his protection and access to powerful artifacts in exchange for his obedience. The war would soon be coming to Northrend, the Corruptor explained, and that the best place to gain his revenge would be there, right on the front line with the Lich King's legions. Swayed by the warlock's logic, Settra agreed and returned with him to Undercity, where they committed acts of unspeakable horror - the killing of Noggra and raising him as the Avatar of Joshmaul, the corruption of Velenkayn, and the plan to usurp the Lich King and assume control of the Scourge.

The Borean Revelation
But Settra came to realize - as Sylvanas herself already knew - that Joshmaul did not serve the Forsaken loyally, but instead used them as a means to an end. Shortly before the Battle of Angrathar the Wrathgate, Settra - on a mission to assassinate Prince Valanar - encountered Ordevaas Portalseeker, his father Lord Kel'theris Decibelius, and fellow Ralmanni Forsaken Sekhesmet of Stratholme near the Temple City of En'kilah in the Borean Tundra. Joshmaul had previously commanded the Forsaken General to assassinate them for betraying the Corruptor, but Settra had had his qualms; Sekhesmet was a fellow Forsaken, and Ordevaas and Kel'theris hailed from his Dark Lady's homeland. Ordevaas challenged Settra, with his comrades' support, and defeated him. But rather than slay the beaten General on the spot - his memories of Arthas still fresh in his mind, Ordevaas had a renowned fanatical hatred of death knights - the Blood Knight Master allowed Settra to live to truly prove himself to Sylvanas.

Settra realized that Ordevaas was right in opposing Joshmaul, and as a result recinded his loyalties to the Corruptor. Aided by Ordevaas and the human paladin Saavedro, Settra completed his task and slew Prince Valanar in his fortress of Naxxanar. Eventually, Settra met up with Artimus Devaneaux, now a death knight himself, who told him of the Knights of the Ebon Blade and the Council of Deathlords. At that time, the Council had no representative to the Horde, as both of Artimus' lieutenants - Velenkayn and Koschei - were draenei, and thus linked to the Alliance.

Intrigued, Settra accompanied Artimus to Acherus: The Ebon Hold, the necropolis commandeered by the Ebon Blade after the Battle for Light's Hope Chapel, where he met Darion Mograine. Realizing that this, perhaps, was his opportunity to carry out his Dark Lady's bidding among brother death knights, Settra pledged himself to the Ebon Blade. Artimus began to instruct him in the art of dual-blade combat as well as the refined art of the runeblade. Artimus also presented him with an axe of the Ebon Blade as well as a deathcharger of Acherus, which Settra named Calas - a Commonization of the name of his father, Kahlis.

Return to Insanity
With the Argent Tournament all but complete and champions prepared to finally bring the fight to the Lich King, Settra accompanied Sylvanas to the Citadel and stubbornly came to oppose any non-Forsaken who dared to "infringe on the superior rights of the Forsaken to their vengeance against Arthas". In a battle against Saavedro, Artimus (whom Settra accused of treason in light of his constant "shift of loyalties" - from Saavedro, to Joshmaul, then to Saavedro again) and Taeril'hane Ketiron, Settra's twin weapons, a gift from Deathlord Seekthreed of Orgrimmar, were shattered by a forceful impact with Saavedro's rune-inscribed shield, a Titan artifact he had taken from Ulduar. His armor had been smashed from an impact from Artimus' runic hammer, Crimsonblight, and Settra was forced to retreat. As he did, he heard once again the whispers of the Lich King. The master of the Scourge fed on Settra's doubts, his growing hatred for the Ebon Blade, for Artimus, and for the living....and finally cracked the free will that Settra had zealously defended for nearly a decade.

Final Demise
During the siege of Icecrown Citadel, Settra was confronted by his cousin Inar, now a powerful mage, at the Deathbringer's Rise after the defeat of the corrupted Dranosh Saurfang. Not holding anything back, Inar and Settra unleashed their incredible powers back and forth at one another, until finally Inar struck a staggering blow that sent Settra off the edge of the platform, where his body was broken into several pieces on the ramparts below. Returning to the lower levels using the Scourge teleporters, Inar recovered Settra's shattered remains and left the Citadel, departing for the shattered ruins of Borealis. There, outside the city that he had called home, Settra was cremated on a funeral pyre, his ashes scattered by the winds.

After his return to the Scourge and his eventual death, Settra was replaced as a general in the Forsaken armies by Varan Metheius, a former Scourge death knight who rallied to Sylvanas' banner after Light's Hope.