User:Joshmaul/Eliphas Aximand

"Nothing more dangerous than a Forsaken sailor-turned-death knight at the helm of a warship packed with guns. This guy is nuts...how better to fight insanity than with one who is insane?"
 * - Baron Artimus Devaneaux

Eliphas Aximand is the captain of Artimus Devaneaux's Bloodsail flagship, the Sword of Acherus. Hand-picked by Artimus at the behest of Highlord Darion Mograine, Aximand is as ruthless and as dedicated to service as his new master.

Biography
Aximand was born in Southshore, the son of a merchant captain. By the time he was in his teens, he was well-versed in the handling of a ship, and by twenty he captained a small vessel in his now-successful father's growing fleet. The following year, he joined the army of Lordaeron at the behest of Prince Arthas, who sought to find recruits for what would be the beginning of his downfall: The defense of Strahnbrad. After the fall of Lordaeron, Corporal Aximand and what remained of his regiment joined with General Vorian Tanis, leading a small army near the plagued ghost town of Andorhal. While facing off against the now-corrupted Prince Arthas and his minions, Aximand put up enough of a fight to gain the attention of the Scourged prince, who resurrected him (along with Tanis) to be part of the Scourge army. While Tanis remained "in reserve", Aximand was put on the front line, and was liberated a year later by Sylvanas Windrunner to become one of the Forsaken - only to be slain again during the first Scourge invasion, marking the return of Naxxramas to Lordaeron.

Aximand officially joined the Scourge as a death knight shortly before the war against the Scarlet Enclave, and he was one of those who later became a Knight of the Ebon Blade. But Aximand, being a sailor at heart, itched for the open waters again. It was at this point that he came to the attention of Highlord Mograine, who had received a rather unusual request...

Artimus' Infiltration
Baron Artimus Devaneaux, leader of the Ebon Blade's Council of Deathlords - a group of death knights that served as emissaries to the various regions they were assigned to - had been approached by Lordaeron Regent Saavedro of Stratholme with a proposition. Saavedro and Artimus' mutual enemy, the orc warlock Joshmaul the Corruptor, had been a member of the Bloodsail Buccaneers and held the rank of Admiral in their fleet. In order to find out the warlock's plans and locate his flagship, Saavedro proposed to both Artimus and Highlord Mograine that Artimus be sent to join the Bloodsail, with a little help from within the Ebon Blade - the crew of his ship must be comprised of either death knights with sailing experience, agents of the Regent within the Alliance naval forces, or a combination of both. Mograine agreed and sent two death knights to aid Artimus in this plan; once Artimus and his compatriots became Bloodsail Admirals, Aximand was to be sent as the captain of Artimus' flagship, at the request of Artimus himself.

Aximand relished the chance to sail again and agreed to be Artimus' flag captain. Artimus and his Bloodsail crew landed at the abandoned King's Harbor on the shores of the ruined Scarlet Enclave, where Aximand and his crew of death knights and Alliance sailors waited. Taking the Bloodsail completely by surprise, the death knights slaughtered the Bloodsail crew, took their uniforms, and boarded the ship, which immediately set sail for Northrend. Through an agreement made between Saavedro, General Arlos (the two men had a mutual feeling of respect for one another and grudging admiration for the valor of the death knights fighting against the Scourge) and Vice Admiral Keller (with Saavedro's hammer poised to crush Keller's skull like a ripe melon, the paladin having grown tired of the man's blatant ineptitude), the Sword of Acherus - as the ship became known - was allowed to make port at Valiance Keep in the Borean Tundra and Valgarde in the Howling Fjord, the Alliance's two major entry points into Northrend.

If the Council were to split, as prophecied by the draenei seer Jaeden'laek, it is likely that Aximand would remain with Artimus.