User:Bellerond/Jarodal

= General = Appearance yet to be decribed.

= Background =

Childhood
Jarodal's exact date of birth and his early childhood remain pretty clouded, he was born around 13 bDP (before Dark Portal) in the Kingdom of Azeroth. His father was a small merchant at Stormwind. When the orcish troops broke into the city and started raiding it, his father was one of the many badly equipped militias who took it upon them to defend the burning city until all ships had departed. Jarodal promised his father to take good care of his mother. However, his mother became sick while the ships were at sea, fleeing north to Southshore. It must have been a serious disease or wound, as she died one day after arriving at the coast of Lordaeron. Deeply ashamed Jarodal waited for his father to arrive, but when time ran by and no ships with the last defenders of Azeroth arrived, he realised that he had not only failed his oath to protect his mother, but also lost his father.

Swords and Roses
Jarodal saw only one way to redeem himself and at least avenge the death of his parents caused by the Horde. He decided to enlist in the Alliance military and fight to punish all orcs for their deeds. While standing in the rows to enlist, he was spotted by a knight with the name of Varios, a lesser nobleman from the kingdom of Stromgarde, whose line descended from a bastard of the royal family of Arathor. Varios stepped in and pulled the young man out of the rows, where he would have likely become one of the many dying soldiers of the Second War. He took care over the young refugee from Azeroth and promised to train him properly in the arts of war. Varios' own son being felt as a disgrace to the proud warrior - as the boy dreamed of taking up the path of a mage - planned on taking the orphaned Jarodal as his own and tought him everything he knew in the martial craft. Varios was one of the brave warriors called into the Order of the Silver Hand.

Jarodal was keen to learn as much as he could from his new master and still wished to redeem himself with blood, being it the Horde's or his own. But things toroughly changed when he met Varios' daughter Enára. Varios had returned to his home at Northfold Manor for the summer as the Alliance was not able to strike yet and brought Jarodal with him. To Jarodal Enára was the most beautiful being he ever encountered. He was immediatly struck by the smiling, shy girl's appearance when she came out to greet her father and realised he had not come alone. Within weeks a romance started to blossom, kept secret by the two teenagers towards every other. But the joys of summer and love came to an abrupt halt, when fourteen year old Enára realised she had become pregnant.

Both of them stepped up to Varios and told them of their feelings for each other. Enáras father was furious and was close to slaining the young man he had wished to become his new son. It were the newly learned teachings of the Holy Light that calmed him down over the evening. He told Jarodal that he felt deeply belied and that Jarodal should at least have the decency to marry Enára. The teenagers happily complied had they feared much more wrath from Varios who had shortly before chased away his son when he got knowledge that his son Thalon had run from the monastary where he should have become at least a priest "if he was not fit for a real man's profession" and started learning at Dalaran to become a mage. If Jarodal would not become son of Varios he would at least be son-in-law.

The Second War
Enára gave birth to a healthy boy named Fintalas. Soon after, both husband and father departed for the war against the Horde. While Jarodal was sent to hold the Thandol Span with other soldiers from Stromgarde did Varios join the battles of the Knights of the Silver Hand all over Lordaeron. Finally, after hundreds of battles and skirmishes and by treachery on the Horde's side was the Alliance able to end the war in the north and press south. Varios died in the attempts of taking Khaz Modan, covering a retreat for which he was honored with the titel "the Stormshielder", as he and his companions managed to hold off the orcish troops long enough for the rest to retreat to safety.

Time Between Wars
Jarodal and Enára settled down in the area of Stormwind and helped guarding the city while its rebuilding. Over the years they got often visited by Enára's brother Thalon, who studied at Dalaran at that time. Thalon told the young boy many stories about the power of magic and romanticized the beautiful and powerful High elves. Jarodal's service in the military promoted him over time to the rank of a Captain. He commanded one shift at the main gate of Stormwind.

The third war broke out. Rumors of a deadly plague and of the horde being on the move again came up in Stormwind. Jarodal not knowing what awaited him had chosen that year to travel north to his mother's grave at Southshore. He became trapped when Southshore held it's ships back, fearing that they might have to evacuate. Unknown to his wife and son and without any hope to return on time, Jarodal joined the ranks of Jaina Proudmoore and her Kalimdor Expedition, hoping to return once the settlements were established or being followed if Stormwind should fall to the Undead. Jarodal risked his life in numerous battles on Kalimdor fighting Horde and Burning Legion only to fall and disappear in the last crucial Battle of Mount Hyjal.

When news of the victory at Hyal arrived in Stormwind, talking about an alliance with the Horde everybody was joyful and baffled at the same time. A few weeks later Enára and Fintalas got message of Jarodal having died heroicly in the crucial battle only leaving his journal behind. While Enára turned to the services of the Holy Light - as she had done before being a novice in her childhood - to calm her broken heart, did Fintalas lose most of his faith into the power that had done nothing to prevent his father from dieing at the defense against evil. He spent most of his time reading his father's journal over and over again, in the end knowing it by heart.

Service to the Lich King
But unknown to his comrades Jarodal had never properly died at the Battle of Mount Hyjal. Arthas Menethil, Champion to the Lich King, had kept his most valuable servants a little bit behind the real battle as he hoped for the Burning Legion to fail. It was one of those servant, a death knight that took some joy in invading the deadly wounded soldier's mind and laughing at his broken dreams. It was then that Jarodal in an last attempt to save himself and to return to his family swore himself to the Lich King. Ner'zhul recognizing the trap set for Archimonde at last second was amused by the Human captain's desperation and allowed him to join his ranks as a Death Knight. Together with Arthas did Jarodal return to the Eastern Kingdoms soon put into service at blocking the pathways into the Alterac mountains and luring desperate villagers, women and children into death when they thought themselves finally escaped from the slaughtering in the fallen Kingdom of Lordaeron.

Present Day
Recently, Jarodal has returned home to Stormwind. His return caused a great shock to Enára and disbelief from both his son and his wife. While Enára finally accepted her husbands fate and found some wounds in her heart to heal from the unholy Death Knights remaining personality, the once funny and loving Human Jarodal, his son Fintalas has shown a lot of dismay towards his father's choice and fuelled Fintalas' hatred against the Scourge even more. Fintalas may have come to accept that Undead and Necromancers fight in Northrend at the Alliance side, but he has not been able to cope with the transformation of his heroic dead father into one of the very creatures he loathes. Ironically has Fintalas faith into the Holy Light since then become stronger again.