Server:Scarshield Legion Europe/Maleth Del'mir

The Crimson Eagle History Many years ago, while the city of Stormwind prospered but the Great Wars still hung heavy in many minds, one young man followed the Order of the Silver Hand, wandering the plains, forests and mountains of the Eastern Continent with the way of the light coursing through his veins. This man grew powerful in his warrior ways and became a powerful paladin in his own right, fighting in many a battle valiantly as part of the renowned order. Eventually, as history dictates, the order dissolved and scattered, and the man was left without a cause.

However, the man's talent was not lost, and his work did well to catch the attention of one particular figure. Realizing the true potential and prowess of the paladin, this figure invited him to take pride of place amongst a highly powerful and honored group. The offer was too good to refuse, and so the paladin stepped forward to accept. From that day forward, he was to be known as Meldor Del’Mir, proud member of King Varian Wrynn’s Honor Guards. Thanks to his experience in battle and natural affinity for learning and adapting, Meldor quickly rose through the ranks of the Honor Guards and became arguably the most prolific leader the squad had ever seen in its history. Because of this, it wasn’t long before he grew a particularly strong relationship with the King.

When they were apart, Meldor and King Varian grew into the habit of sending each other messages, keeping each other informed of goings on in their lives: both business and personal developments. Before long, they decided to take this information exchange a step further and began to devise a way of manipulating it in cases of emergency. To achieve this, they sought the abilities of powerful scholars of magic to help guide their ideas and grant them life.

Using the powers of a revered Priest and an authoritative Mage, they blessed an eagle with the arcane and imbued it with strength and magic. Making it larger, faster and sturdier, the eagle became was entrusted with the delivery of such important messages. To mark the guardians of the Eagle of Stormwind, both Meldor and King Varian were branded with small eagle tattoos, laced with hidden magic, symbolizing their plight. Such magic was intended never to be broken.

One day, several years later, the Stormwind dawn cracked like any other and the city stirred sleepily, relaxing. The restful state did not last long that day, as silence was eventually shattered by the screeching call of an Eagle soaring high above the streets, heading for the keep.

The Eagle found Meldor, and delivered its message as it always had done. Meldor read and learned of the King leaving on a particularly important mission, and had to make haste departing without the company or protection of Meldor and the Honor Guards. Without a second thought, the captain gathered his men and set out to pursue the traveling King. With an inexplicable feeling of discomfort swirling within him, Meldor decided to bring a significant majority of the force he commanded, and lead them all out of the city guided by the Eagle of Stormwind. Of the few individuals he left behind, Meldor kept his young son Maleth behind due to his incomplete training. The boy showed a lot of potential, and had the same penchant for learning and ability that his father had, but he was simply too young and unskilled for such a journey…

A few days later, Maleth awoke with a tattoo of an Eagle branded on his neck. Such a symbol on him could only mean one thing: his father had fallen. Quickly composing himself, the young Del’Mir made his way towards the keep of Stormwind and told his story to the officers stationed there. Unfortunately, his pleas for aid fell upon deaf ears and he was cast aside as foolish. He tried repeatedly to persuade the forces of the city that the King was in danger and the honor guard had fallen, but nothing was done.

Several days more, and Maleth encountered the Eagle of Stormwind. It was beaten ragged, and was littered with scars, bruises and torn feathers, coated crimson in its own blood. Dying as it glided, it landed by Maleth’s side and feebly presented him with a message, written in the Kings hand. He read frantically, coming to realize that the message he had received was actually his own fathers passing words…

Meldor’s dying wish was to have Maleth know how proud he had made his father right to the end, and that he wanted Maleth to carry the Eagle onwards, guiding the Honor Guard onwards to continue protecting the king until the end. The bloodied Eagle carried the legacy of Meldor Del’Mir and the fate of Stormwind’s King, and all was left in the hands of the young Maleth.

Maleth took it upon himself to heal the Eagle, nursing its wounds and seeking out aid from wherever he could find it within the city walls. With the Eagle recovering, Maleth took to the streets and the Keep once more to tell his story one last time. With the Eagle by his side, Stormwind finally listened to the new Captain of the Honor Guards and sent a search party out to seek King Varian. However, despite their initial enthusiasm, the search was called off, after a mere week, with the official message resounding that the King had fallen. Maleth was infuriated by this, knowing that the King was still alive, and his city was willing to fail him. With this, he vowed to take it upon himself to rescue the king and finish his fathers work.

In secret, Maleth founded the ‘Crimson Eagles’, named in honor of the Eagle that fought death to deliver the last words heard from Meldor Del’Mir and King Varian Wrynn. Honoring the bravery and courage the Eagle came to symbolize, he sought to form a team of the most able individuals around to aid him in his search for the King. Thanks to particular connections within the city, Maleth was able to keep the true aim of the Eagle hidden from everyone; even those he recruited for some time. However, eventually, the true intentions of the Crimson Eagles began to leak out into the public…

Less than a year later and The Crimson Eagles were flourishing, strengthened through their training and quickly becoming famed for their prowess and skill in battle. They were steadily becoming revered and knowledge of them spread throughout the lands of Azeroth and Kalimdor. The symbol of the Eagle was either being cheered or feared by ally and enemy respectively.

Soon, notes began to surface, circulating through the mail of Stormwind outlining Maleth’s heritage and the true intentions of the Eagles. These notes were designed to secretly bring down the force he had created, but thanks to the aid of SI:XXV; Stormwind Intelligence, the messages were quickly stopped before the information became too widespread. However, the messages had reached further than Maleth had known.

A few weeks on, and Maleth received a message adorned with the seal of Stormwind. A letter penned by Lord Bolvar from the Keep requested that Maleth bring himself and the Officers of the Crimson Eagle to attend an audience. The secret of the Eagles was out, and Maleth made his way to the Keep with his Officers in tow, awaiting their punishment for acting without the explicit authority of the new King.

Arriving and kneeling before Lord Bolvar, they held their heads low expecting the worst. Bolvar stepped forward and rested his hand on Maleth’s shoulder. Instructing the Eagles to rise, he smiled and without a word, presented their captain with a new tabard, finely woven with the symbol of the Eagle emblazoned on the front.

Lord Bolvar instructed Maleth and the Eagles to step forward with their true intentions, and announce their role to the whole of Stormwind. Now with official support, Maleth came a step closer to fulfilling his fathers legacy and returning the rightful ruler of Stormwind to his pride of place. Under Lord Bolvar’s, the Crimson Eagle announced their mission to the city of Stormwind and the armies of the Eastern Kingdom. Claiming their place as Stormwind’s Special Forces, the Eagles were reborn. They were there to answer to the most direst of circumstances, most desperate of pleas and the most dangerous of situations, the Crimson Eagles act as Stormwind’s Elites. To this day, they are but a breath away from finding the whereabouts of King Varian Wrynn and fulfilling the dying wishes of Meldor Del’Mir, the Captain of Stormwind’s Honor Guards...