Server:Moon Guard US/Erich

Dr. Erich Lexington is an Undead Warlock on the Moon Guard server. His work in Felmancy, ancient relics, defending Lordaeron and his interest in the Horde's continued successes have earned him a fair share of quiet allegiances and hushed rivalries. An ambitious Forsaken, he alternates between reserved caution and alarming recklessness, as the situation suits his work. Though undeath suggests transcendence, he proudly harbors human emotion alongside Forsaken philosophy, seeing himself and his countrymen as closer to the ideal of humanity now that the shackles of living needs are cast aside despite the contradictions between both outlooks.

Living Background
Erich Maynard Lexington was born twenty eight years ago to Michael and Doriane, a well-off human couple who plied their trades within Lordaeron City. Between his father, an arcanist, and his mother, a soldier and armorsmith, he grew to respect history, magic and the sacrifices of hard work. Forced to bury his nose in books from an early age, he eventually found himself in Dalaran for four years, ending his education in Quel'Thalas. Ultimately, he returned to Lordaeron shortly after, finding love in an Andorhal soldier - Moriana Theynselm.

The two had wed, but both were taken for the frontlines during the onset of the Third War. Their's was a blissful love, but one that would ultimately be cut short in its prime. As the Scourge had set out, battle parted them.

Undead Background
Erich was faced with an ultimatum upon encountering the fledgling Cult of the Damned; Join them in immortality, or be scoured with the rest. Seeing as either situation ended in his demise, he opted for the former, hoping that he would encounter Moriana again. He rose among the ranks of acolytes to stand shoulder to shoulder with Necromancers, his past life as a Mage discarded for the mantle of Necromancy. Two years in the Scholomance had honed this dark art to a keen edge, and he set out to spread the blessing of unlife to his kinsmen.

It wasn't long before Erich's work yielded startling results, hailed as a doctor for reassembling dead flesh into soldiers and mending those that fell in battle. Together, with twelve other like-skilled individuals, an institution was formed - The Hermetical Brotherhood of the Ebon Caduceus. Time would tell of their strength, working behind the frontlines and under the Shadow's veil to bolster the already mighty Scourge. He was dispatched to Darrowshire amidst the insatiable throngs of undead, and it was here that he met his death at the end of a soldier's blade. During the fight, however, a nightmare would haunt his soul's wandering - It was his skeletal swordsmen that slaughtered his wife in Lordaeron's defensive campaign. He saw her tortured face as steel bit through his ribs.

By the unlikely act of his imp, Laztai, his corpse was pulled to Deathknell and reunited with the Caduceus years later. The artifact restored his decayed form to its previous state upon death, and Erich found his mind free from the oppressive whispers from both his Legion masters and the Lich King. Free-willed as the other Forsaken, he stepped from the crypt with Lordaeron's blood on his hands. Instead of the Scourge's cold, he found a raging inferno of intention in his heart and mind thereafter.

The Ebon Caduceus
The Doctors of the Hermetical Brotherhood were quietly reknowned for their talents in Alchemy, Necromancy and Fel Arcana. As time went on, the organization sought to forge a device that would bolster their shadowy powers; an ambition that would ultimately spell the Brotherhood's demise. At the apex of Lordaeron's fall, a lingering squabble soon broke into a bloody conflict within the cabal over who possessed the relic, leaving Erich the sole survivor and bearer of an incomplete wand-like utensil.

The Caduceus itself retains slivers of disembodied souls, using the energies within to act as an all-purpose Warlock's toolkit. Beyond functioning as a soulstone and a healthstone for the fallen, the wand's full potential remains a mystery, yet Lexington still coddles the device in hopes of one day completing it in order to find out.

The rod is barely a foot in length, carved from ebony into a jagged staff with twin, bat-winged serpents coiling up its length, their open mouths flanking the wand's empty cap. The artifact is traced with all manner of gnarled runeworks, resting in a lacquered case at Erich's side.

Fleshweaving to Felmancy
Throughout his life and unlife, Erich encountered many forms of magic, but only sought to practice three. After his time in the Scholomance, Lexington became bored with stitching fleshly horrors together and sought a more primal, alien venue. He knew that the Burning Legion was the source of the Scourge, striving to meld this newfound love for Shadow and Hellfire with his growing mastery of Necromancy. He died before reaching that point, but among the Forsaken, the Horde and his own desire for redemption, he discarded Necromancy entirely for the Warlock's path.

Present Goals
In a spectrum of Light and Darkness, Erich lingers in the grayed Shadow, well-aware of his past actions and current practices. The end justifies the means to him, fighting on to see the destruction of both the Scourge and the Burning Legion. He seeks a sort of rebirth in Lordaeron, finding his kingdom and countrymen rising up to a glory that far surpasses its former self.

Beyond these, his goals seem base. More power to gain knowledge, more knowledge to gain power, and the joy found in witnessing such things released on his enemies. Recently, however, he's invested time in researching the Old Gods and the powers used by their cultists. The reason why is uncertain, even to him.