Server:Moon Guard US/Melusin

Melusin Fireblade is a level 80 paladin on the server Moon Guard.

Appearance
Melusin stands just over six feet tall, an average height for males among his people. Once painfully thin, he has developed stronger musculature as a result of his training as a paladin, yet remains overall slender and wiry, still weighing no more than a hundred and forty pounds. He wears his long red hair loose and flowing; a few meticulously arranged strands frame his fine-featured face. His ivory skin is marred by fading dark circles under his eyes, which glow only faintly green, but is otherwise clear and evidently the focus of some care. He has recently grown a carefully sculpted goatee.

He dresses simply, out of financial limitations rather than a disdain for fashion, but his garments appear painstakingly well-maintained, and he's often observed fussing over them.

Personality
Melusin's characteristic solicitous formality predominates in most of his interactions. The descendant of a long line of butlers and scholarly servants, he tends to speak in a stiffly mannerly fashion, given to complex sentence structures and an esoteric vocabulary. He invariably addresses people not well known to him by title, generally "Master" or "Miss" to those not of the nobility, unless specifically instructed otherwise - and then he evidences distinct discomfort at the premature familiarity. Only after lengthy acquaintance and much demonstration that a person may be trusted does he interact with them on any more casual basis. This fastidiousness extends to his attitude toward clothing, hair, and personal presentation, and he is notorious among his friends for primping and extreme concern about his cleanliness and appearance.

Despite his politeness, Melusin possesses a sharp temper, particularly in the face of perceived assaults on his associates or his religion. He has been known to lunge into a physical attack when either have been threatened. He has also shown an inclination to scold others for what he considers rude, misguided, or even heretical behavior; e.g., the ever-increasing number of practitioners of the fel arts (warlocks) whom he has attempted to argue into changing their ways.

Faith in the Light forms the center of his emotional universe, as it has functioned as the sole constant in his life, and his most consistent source of solace.

Those who know Melusin well may come to perceive his fundamental gentleness (his occasionally barbed tongue notwithstanding), his flashes of humor, his perceptiveness, and his capacity for devotion.

His greatest vulnerability is his acute sensitivity to humiliation, a trait that most often serves as a opening for teasing by his friends, but has more than once resulted in grave internal injury.

Background
Melusin Dath'Anar was born and raised in a middle-class neighborhood in western Silvermoon City. He's now in his mid 110's, early 20's in human years. His mother died in a shipwreck when he was a small child, and he doesn't remember her. He was raised instead by his emotionally distant father, who was a scholar of history and law who earned his living as an archivist looking after the private libraries of the nobility, with his younger sister, Merelisse.

Merelisse had a passion for magic and was training as a mage at the time of the Third War. Melusin's father sent him to be tutored by the local priests at an early age, not knowing what else to do with him. Melusin became deeply attached to religion as a refuge from his cold family and social difficulties, and began training as a priest himself once he was old enough.

During the time just before the Scourge invasion, Melusin had the misfortune of falling in love with one Erethelion Fireblade, a Silvermoon City guard. Erethelion led him on at first, and they became lovers privately. However, he later rejected Melusin in a public scene, claiming to have been using him to win the affections of his sister, and that he was tired of Melusin pathetically following him around. Immediately afterwards, Erethelion became one of the first casualties of the war. With this hanging over his head, Melusin was pressed into service as a makeshift healer as wounded started pouring in, but because he wasn't very far advanced in his training, he could do little to help them. While the wounded were somewhat grateful for his attentions, they were also contemptuous of his weakness and some of the things Erethelion said about him, so he received plenty of sniping from them, too.

During this time, Merelisse disappeared to the front to fight. Their father was too depressed about everything to respond at all, or even evacuate. He barricaded himself in their house for the Scourge to come, and died when the house was burned during the siege. Merelisse died in battle a few weeks later.

After the war ended, and Melusin hadn't died, much as he might have wanted to, he was naturally in a bad nervous condition, and he couldn't stand to be in Silvermoon anymore. He left, found an abandoned house in the Ghostlands, and essentially brooded for six years. During this time, he struggled with everything that happened, with only clinging to the faith of his childhood for comfort. After a particularly horrible bout of self-torture over survivor guilt, his inability to do much of anything during the war, and frustration over the actions of Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider and his followers, he went for a walk. On his way, he encountered a Farstrider, who told him about Kael'thas spiriting away the naaru and Lady Liadrin's conversion of the Blood Knights to join forces with the Shattered Sun Offensive, and this was the proverbial bolt of lightning that drove him back to Silvermoon to rededicate himself to the Light and his people. The opportunity to train as a paladin provided him a means to protect others from the forces of the Legion and the Scourge, as he once relied on the protection of others in his weakness.

At first, sincerely believing he did not deserve to live, Melusin entered battle almost hoping that he could sacrifice his life in the defense of his people. Eventually, Melusin re-encountered Erethelion's mother in Shattrath. She told him that her son had actually loved him, that the issue with Melusin's sister was a ruse to protect himself against social stigma, and encouraged him to take Erethelion's name as a way of formally recognizing what their relationship had been. She also said a few things that helped Melusin with some self-esteem and survivor guilt issues. He now still faces the enemy selflessly, but with a renewed desire to live and succeed.

He now serves the Argent Crusade with nearly fanatical devotion, and hopes to see Alliance and Horde alike set aside their differences to focus on the practical matter at hand of eliminating the Scourge threat.

Idiosyncrasies and Facts

 * Currently stationed at Crusaders' Pinnacle in Icecrown. When off-duty (which is rare), most often to be found in Silvermoon City (more due to social obligations than any wish to be there) or Dalaran.


 * Dating a member of the Kirin Tor who is also a noble. This causes him a great deal of ambivalence.


 * Disdains pets on the principle that they require more care and contact with hair and feces than he is willing or able to provide, yet can occasionally be seen with Mandalas, a white cockatiel-like bird he rescued from the arakkoa.


 * Has no scars. At all.  Certainly not across one eye.  He's vain and he's known how to heal himself for a long time; you can bet that learning how to close wounds without leaving a mark was a high priority.


 * Usually recoils from casual physical affection (e.g., hugs) due to his standoffish upbringing.


 * Named his horse Remar after Dath'Remar Sunstrider, founder of Quel'Thalas.


 * Likes: tea, flowers, books, soap, and his hair.


 * Dislikes: demons, bloodthistle, alcohol, and dirt.


 * Occasionally touchy about his lack of wealth or social status.


 * Usually goes by "Mel"; nicknames include "Melon-head" and "the pouty pally."


 * Lived among the Tauren during his early paladin training as a means of escaping from the baggage associated with Silvermoon, and because the Silvermoon Blood Knights considered him unworthy. They now accept him, however awkwardly, as a result of his unexpected ability to complete his training and serve with a moderate degree of competence.


 * Is far more afraid of social awkwardness than anything he might face in battle. Has a history of beating a hasty retreat when conversations turn a bit dodgy.