User:Tacitus666/Hellbender

=History= Hellbender, born Carsan Gauer, was and still is a citizen of the mega-prosperous nation-state of Atala, located on a world not unsimilar to Azeroth in terms of environment. His life was a fairly rigorous one - he took up a job in the military at an early age and trained to become a ranged specialist. However, an incident occurred when, during training, a stray round became lodged in his right eye, subsequently hospitalizing the ranged-specialist-in-training.

Thanks entirely to the excellent service provided at the medical center, an artificial eye was grafted into his skull. Somewhat understandably, the accident left the once eager cadet twitchy about returning to training as a ranged specialist. Gauer consequently left the institute and began work at another, this time travelling the path of a Warmage.

Just as his innate skill with a gun was horrifically efficient, Gauer's innate ability with warmagic was surprisingly potent. After three days bored in novice training, his instructors were given specific orders to provide solitary lessons that were normally reserved for those who had spent the better part of five years at the institute. Still, he flourished. Those more experienced students he trained along with began to question whether he earned his skill - and worse yet, whether he was capable of controlling his power, which was starting to grow at a rate not recorded in at least 30 years. After two more weeks, his level of progression was so high that the Atalean Government abruptly took notice. Gauer was not at first pleased to discover both Government Agents and Templar Clerics watching him - apparently, both groups were unaware that the other were interested in this prospective new Warmage who also loved his privacy.

Soon, the Government and the Atalean deity of war, Malanor, jointly declared war on the massively-numbered followers of a foreign god of light, who were zealously battling inside the neighbouring nations of Mathayus and Arrianos, both of whom are allied with Atala, to end what they themselves see as "a perpetual darkness that stains this very world we walk upon". Much to the relief of these two countries, Atalean military units composed of riflemen, conjurers and portalwakers were dispatched by Nidhogg carriers not to reinforce the nations' indigenous armies, but rather to act as armies in their own right and establish beachheads before summoning the greater bulk of the Atalean Army into their lands. With the assistance of Arrianos' grand military of light-driven soldiers and Mathayus' vast legions of shadowy warriors, the overzealous followers of a normally benevolent god of light were driven back across the borders. The reason for their ill-fated attempt at invasion was soon discovered: bands of cultists loyal to a dark god who was archnemesis to the zealots' own god of light were setting up camp within the borders of Mathayus and Arrianos, but were unable to penetrate the simply impenetrable border of Atala itself. For this reason, the zealots had foolishly assumed that these nations were allied with these dark warmongers and sought to cleanse the lands with holy steel. And at the forefront of it all was Gauer, known as the Hellbender by both the warriors of Atala and the opposing zealots, for his natural prowess with flame and frost.

After the war was swiftly ended by Atalean maneuverings, Gauer returned home to the town of Akinos, near Lake Jormunn. It was at this time that Gauer found a notice on his door, informing him to contact the nearest office of the Saffron Templar A.S.A.P..

The Atalean Government had declared zealotry to be heretical against their ideals of freedom and liberty for all. However, the Saffron Templar were known to house particularly zealous Agents of the nation, and if it were not for their deemed usefulness by the Execudaema themselves, the organization would have been forced to dissipate long ago. The Templar had found Gauer to be extremely useful for their efforts in other areas to spread the word of the Absolution, the word used to describe the ideals of the Atalean way of life, that is, to accept that people have a right to live as they please without stopping others from doing so, and if they take the lives of those who refuse to conform to a given standard, then their own blood will be shed to serve as avengement.

The sheer power of the Saffron Energies not only restored his original eye, but caused both eyes to glow a constant green. His skin and hair also became an unbelievable white, and his hair raised up. Taking on the callsign Hellbender, the fresh Cleric took up his new job with delight. He was generally encouraged to be as unwavering in his faith as possible, even in moments of great stress and/or danger. He was also encouraged to seek out the best way to accomplish a given goal, not just to rush in and be killed by his own actions.

Unfortunately, while investigating a suspicious anomaly in the heart of Mathayus, Hellbender vanished without a trace, despite being surrounded by other Clerics. Members of his squad report him literally vanishing into thin air as if by magic, and the Government immediately suspected it to be a rift. The area was consequently evacuated and closed off by the Mathayan Ruling Council.

Hellbender has awoken to find himself in a land of lush autumn greenery. He suspects that he was sent here by the mysterious power behind the Saffron Templar to recruit others on this world he now knows as Azeroth into the Absolution.

=Known Enemies= In Atala, Hellbender was the only known surviving arch-nemesis of the fearsome being of shadow known only as the Dread. Up until his unexpected arrival into the world he knows as Azeroth, the two would engage in a great many battles, each combatant unable to triumph over the other. The Government had charged Hellbender with the "assassination" of the Dread, which has survived to this day, though Hellbender's assaults are starting to wear its corporeal form down.

Hellbender has met with the Scarlet Crusade, and has deemed them himself to be heretical.