User:Blackbane

About the Author
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Blackbane the Blightbringer
Blackbane is a World of Warcraft role-playing persona that was originally created on the Cenarion Circle US RP-PVE server in November of 2004. His persona is based on that of a first generation Death Knight from the era of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. To my knowledge, he was the first Old Horde Death Knight role-playing persona to appear online. He was originally created as an Affliction Warlock (for lack of a better character class / talent tree) but the final incarnation of this persona is a Death Knight hero class character on the Moon Guard US RP-PVE server. This page is also linked on his Flag RSP Profile.

Biography
The Early Years

Blackbane was born fifty eight years before the First War between orcs and men. His birth name was Kilgor, and he was the only son of Murok Earthrage, a powerful elementalist of the Shadowmoon Clan. Murok bestowed upon his boy a deep seeded spiritual upbringing that helped to forge the foundation of Kilgor's future role as a Shaman. Kilgor was an orc driven by his passions and while he respected shamanistic tradition, he was an idealistic individual who sought a greater knowledge of life, creation, and all of the world's awe inspiring wonders. He also sought to improve many aspects of orcish society and expressed a deep interest in the wisdom of clan politics from an early age. He pursued this interest even if it occasionally lead him astray from his study of the old ways. With these interests and a prominent understanding of shamanism, he would later grow to become a respected adviser by his spiritual peers. Despite his wisdom, Kilgor felt there was more to the world then met the eye and he wished to discover its endless secrets. One day when the suns shown bright on the distant horizon, he went into the light and gazed out over Shadowmoon Valley. He took a deep breath and filled his lungs with the morning air, and then began his pilgrimage into the wild. He walked the earth and spoke to the spirits in an effort to better understand his place and path in the world. Kilgor traversed the world for several years and during during these travels, he encountered another orc near the ancient cavernous mountain of Oshu'gun, a sacred place of spiritual power located deep in the heart of Nagrand. At the mouth of the great mountain, he met the apprentice of Ner'zhul, the renown shaman, Gul'dan. They spoke at length about orcish society and was given disturbing news of a Draenei conceived plot to destroy their beloved people. They discussed a great many things about the changing of the world and the shedding of the old ways so that their people would prosper through progress and not be bound in the stagnant waters of spiritual stalemate. He became seduced by Gul'dan's charisma, and became intrigued by his prospects of a great new age where the orcs would rise to power. He was awed by Gul'dan's visions of strange new worlds beyond their own and yearned to travel the cosmos to explore the wondrous places he had described. He felt Gul'dan's insights were a gift from the spirits, and that his visions of orcish superiority should be realized. Without hesitation, Kilgor pledged himself to the tutelage of this seemingly like minded orc and thus began his travels with Gul'dan. His passion for change and the prospect of a greater future for his people was what would inevitably begin his descent into darkness.

The Descent into Darkness

It was his passion for politics that ultimately lead him to embrace the unorthodox ideals of Gul'dan. In subsequent years, they traveled the world together and recruited many more like minded orcs into their company. Many powerful shamans became swayed by the prospects of his mentor and were seduced by his promises of power. Gul'dan's power and influence became as far reaching as the stars that shown in the night sky and he and his followers founded a secret society known as the Shadow Council. This clandestine council rallied the clans and outlawed the practice of shamanistic magic. They introduced Warlock magic to the clans and all of the prominent spell casters in the land came to embrace the eldritch practice of demonic sorcery. This fel magic, in conjunction with the ingested blood of the Pit Lord, Mannoroth, ultimately twisted the council into the perfect pawns of evil. Kilgor's mastery of the dark arts quickly became evident, and Gul'dan eventually bestowed upon him a terrifying new surname in honor of this acomplishment. Kilgor Blackbane. Kilgor assisted Gul'dan in his task to reshape the orcs into an unstoppable engine of destruction that would be used to preemptively annihilate any threat of Draenei incursion. With the aid of the Shadow Council, the scattered clans were unified into the Horde. The ensuing slaughter of the Draenei would later become the greatest massacre in the history of Draenor. Following this event, Gul'dan and the council continued to coerce the Horde into action and their machinations ultimately led to the events of the first war. When the first invasion of Azeroth came to pass, Kilgor, and his fellow council members continued to assist Gul'dan with his insidious schemes to maintain control over the frenzied clans. Everything went according to plan and the Horde proved itself to be a raging force with which to be reckoned throughout the course of their invasion. However, during the end of the war, word of this secret society and their schemes had reached the ears of Orgrim Doomhammer, Lieutenant of Blackhand the Destroyer, Chieftain of the Blackrock Clan. Enraged by the Gul'dan's manipulation of his Chieftain, Orgrim waged war on the unsuspecting council and murdered all but the traitor, Gul'dan. Orgrim allowed him to live and in exchange, Gul'dan would create him an indestructible army of warriors that would turn the tide of the war in favor of the Horde.

The Shadow of a Shaman

Kilgor’s spirit, along with many other council members, were summoned back from the nether by Gul'dan and they were magically instilled into the reanimated corpses of human knights who fell in battle while defending the kingdom of Stormwind. These once living warlocks were further empowered with magical energies culled from the slain Necrolytes, allowing them to wield an arsenal of necromantic and elemental spells that could mete out all but certain death to the enemies of the Horde. With his spiritual essence now bound within a revenant husk, Kilgor came to know the perversion of undeath. Having no concept of fear or injury, he became a twisted shadow of his former self and rose to serve his master once again. Gul'dan christened him 'The Blightbringer', a title befitting the fact that his mere presence seemed to radiate an aura of death and decay that withered away the ground beneath his feet. Kilgor continued to be a prominent member of the Shadow Council and was eventually unleashed to sow terror on the field of battle during the Second War. Despite Gul'dan's eventual desertion and death, Kilgor remained loyal to the Horde and continued his insatiable onslaught along side Gul'dan's lieutenant, Teron Gorefiend. When the Horde was ultimately defeated, Kilgor and many other Death Knights retreated through the dark portal to Draenor under the direction of Gorefiend, who had pledged his forces to Ner'zhul, Chieftain of the Shadowmoon Clan. Ner’zhul led a contingent of the Horde's remaining forces to safety while pursuing Azerothian interlopers set up a base of operations on the outskirts of the Hellfire Peninsula. Ner'zhul opened numerous dark portals in order to escape the human army amassed against his forces but the magical energies used the incantations nearly tore the planet apart in the process. Amidst the chaos, Kilgor was separated from his fellow Death Knights during Ner'zhul's portal escape, and when the planet exploded, was presumed to have been destroyed.

The Path of Redemption

However, Kilgor survived the explosion that tore the red planet apart. He went underground and watched the world change from the dark recesses of an eldritch Grombolar; a great subterranean temple constructed from the remains of an ancient Mountain Gronn. He remained in these catacombs and continued his studies into the occult for several years unbeknownst to the denizens of the world above. During this time, the blood pact between the Orcs and Legion was broken by the legendary Blademaster, Grom Hellscream, and the fire that once burned within him like rivers of molten steel began to fade into the depths of obscurity. Kilgor's free will was restored but the memories of his malevolent machinations and the crimes he helped to commit against his own people began to torment him to the very core of his being. He came to realize the deception of Gul'dan and swore a grim oath to take up arms against the Burning Legion. Kilgor abandoned his grombolar and returned to the surface world to start his unlife anew. He sought to atone for his misdeeds and began to wander the world in search of redemption. He longed to rediscover his shamanistic roots and to restore his honor in the eyes of the ancestors he once revered and communed. To this end, Kilgor aligned his interests with the new Horde of Kalimdor and assisted their leader, Thrall, son of Durotan, to reestablish an orcish foot hold in Outland. Presently, Kilgor remains an active ally of the Horde and has since traveled to the frozen wastelands of Northrend to assist them in their efforts to destroy the malevolent Lich King of Icecrown. Kilgor presently continues his attempts to appease the spirits in the hopes to one day restore his honor.

Physical Appearance

Kilgor is essentially the spirit of an orc instilled into the reanimated corpse of a Human Knight of Stormwind (First War). He stands about 6 feet tall when erect but generally stoops to about 5 foot 7 inches on average. Kilgor still wears the same armor that his host body wore upon its death. This armor consists of ornate polished steel plate mail and a blue (now weathered black) and gold lion crested tabard representing Stormwind's Brotherhood of the Horse (Which would later become the Knights of the Silver Hand). However, he has since replaced the plate helmet worn by his host body with a make-shift hooded shroud and a cloak crafted from the tattered remnants of the fallen knight's once flowing cape. Likewise, he has discarded the morning star previously wielded by his host body and replaced it with the crude magical truncheon crafted from the remains of a ritually sacrificed Necrolyte; the very same weapon that empowered him to possess the corpse in which his spirit now resides. Most of Kilgor's host's features are lost to the ravage of time and decay. He's a bare boned skeletal frame wearing a hooded shroud and heavy plate armor and his mere presence appears to slowly wither surrounding flora and fauna in close proximity to his person.

Personality

Despite Kilgor's horrific appearance, he is an honorable orc with a sense of pride in his heritage. However, he carries a burden of guilt and remorse for the crimes he committed upon his people whilst under the control of the Burning Legion. He is a free willed Death Knight who abides a chaotic good alignment. Kilgor supports the new Horde of Kalimdor and believes that through Thrall's new age teachings; he can rediscover his shamanistic roots and atone for his past crimes. Kilgor is an extremely intelligent being with a natural affinity for magic. His continued interest and education in political affairs would make him an ideal adviser in any storyline involving political conflict, matters of diplomacy and if necessary, 'aggressive negotiations'. He is reclusive sort who tends to travel alone and usually prefers to do so under the cover of darkness. He speaks with a voice both harsh and shrill, like the grinding of an axe upon stone. This guttural speak is also accompanied by an ominous echo, an effect similar to the voice of a banshee.

About the Author

Hello and thank you for checking out my user page. My name is Jonathan and I've been a hardcore fan of the Warcraft franchise since 1994. I'm 30 years old and my wife and I both play Warcraft on the Moon Guard role-playing server. The personae I actively role-play are Blademaster Kaggrum Bloodcraze of the Burning Blade, Blackbane the Blightbringer, Ambassador Shakazanu of Zuldazar, Captain Galfred T. Watergrave, and Soulbreaker Dakrum Felgaze of the Shadow Council. I welcome, and encourage random role-play, so please do not hesitate to establish contact at any time.