User:WoWWiki-Efreeti/Rathiel

Warning: Work in progress! I will be adding to this story continously. The newest parts will always be in bold text.

Rathiel was the son of warriors...
His lineage was told to go back several thousands of years, to the time the Highborne first settled in Lordaeron. One of his ancestors was even rumored to have served under Dath'Remar Sunstrider himself during the founding of Quel'Thalas when he was young, acting as a military leader in the wars against the trolls. His father, Mieldor, a noble of Silvermoon and a general of the High Elf army, was no different. Rathiel's mother was also nobility, yet of the more aristocratic sort. He was a soldier, she was a politician, and though the marriage between them weren't as much out of love as for mutual benefit for their families. They were an effective team, rising high in the ranks of Silvermoon nobility, even as far as to dine at the table of King Anasterian Sunstrider himself.

Growing up a Noble (16 to 106 years of age):
At an early age though, Rathiel had not always followed suit. At a young age, he showed more magical prowess than physical. Quickly surpassing his fellow students of magic at the schools for young wizards in Silvermoon, he was sent to the human Academy of the Kirin Tor in Dalaran, where he both learned and, after a while, even taught the art of magic. He even had a short rivalry with a young Prince Kael'thas at the time before the first war.

Rathiel was well-liked and welcomed wherever he went. He dressed in flowing red robes, acted with dignity and nobility, as was expected of him. Yet, he was unlike most other wizards in one aspect; where most mages tend to try to reach the peak of their potential as soon as possible, Rathiel studied even the smallest cantrips again and again, until they were nearly second nature. He spent nearly all his time in the libraries of Dalaran and Silvermoon, studying every piece of knowledge and history he could find.

Signs of Change (107 to 114 years of age):
When the orcs invaded Azeroth the first time, Rathiel was nearly an adult. He was called back to Silvermoon to be trained in combative and military arts by the Court of Nobles. His father served at that time as one of the highest commanders in defense of the High Elven lands, his forces fighting alongside the rangers... When it became clear that the kingdom of Quel'Thalas was under little threat, Rathiel was released from service. He did not go back to Dalaran at first, but settled down with another student at the noble military school, which he had became close to at the time. During the following years, he and Narilya Dawnstar, a young and promising ranger officer, married and had two children, one boy and one girl.

The Second War (115 to 134 years of age):
Again, the orcs attacked, and this time they had employed goblins, ogres, and even trolls into their service. When it was clear that this war would not pass by as silently for the High Elves as the past war did, Rathiel and Narilya were called to service by their superiors. Narilya took her place in the defence of Quel'Thalas, but Rathiel was not set to serve under his father. Being a master mage at the time, Rathiel was given the rank of Lieutenant General and given command of a large regiment of elven wizards and a few warriors, and sent to aid the humans at the front lines in the south. However, when traversing the Alterac Valley, the regiment was assaulted by an vast legion of trolls, many hundreds of them, which had allied themselves with the attacking horde. There were few survivors.

Ravaged by the onslaught, the only ones that got away were Rathiel and two younger wizards. They tried to set a course for the relative safety of Dalaran, where Rathiel knew they could get food and shelter, and send word back to Silvermoon of what happened to the regiment. But alas, the mountains of Alterac is no hospitable place. Even the magics of the group could not provide food and nourishment. After a week, one of the younger wizards died from the hunger and cold. A few days later Rathiel and the other young wizard, Aeran, was assaulted by a pack of great wolves. Weakened by the harsh enviroment and long journey, it proved a much tougher fight than it should, and in the end, Aeran had been gutted and mauled by the wolves by the time Rathiel was finished killing the ones that had occupied him... Almost driven mad by the struggles of not reaching inhabited lands, and having to survive in the harsh mountains, he threw down his weapons and lunged at the last two wolves, nearly ripping them both apart with but his own hands and teeth. When he came to his senses and saw what he had done, he half believed he had slain Aeran himself... exhausted, grief-stricken and despaired, his mind lapsed and he collapsed on the mountainside...

When he came to, the first thing he sensed was the smell of burning meat. He rose up to find that he was lying on a blanket in a small round tent with a fire in the middle. Looking around, he saw nothing but another blanket and some undiscernable equipment, as well as some flanks of meat roasting over the fire. When he got up to examine the equipment closer, he was startled by a gruff but hearty voice from the outside of the tent saying "Ah, so ye aren't dead yet?". Into the tent entered a short and stocky figure, half-covered in snow. The figure dusted off himself and went to look after the meat on the fire. "Dwarf..." was the only thing Rathiel could utter. The figure looked up at him and said "Well, ya don't have ta act like ye never seen one before... Aye lad, I'm a dwarf. Vargrim is the name." Rathiel sat back down, and repeated the name "Vargrim...". The dwarf responded "Aye, indeed it seems ye been trough a lot. I saw to yer friend out there, gruesome sight indeed. Will ye help me bury him when ye get to?" the dwarf said as he cut off a piece of the roasted meat and offered it to Rathiel on a small wooden trencher. As he extended his arms to recieve it, he paused for a second, staring at the meat, deep in thought. First after a few seconds have passed, Vargrim understood what he was thinking. "Wolf", he said. "Don't worry, I wouldn't serve ye something I would not eat myself. I'm a dwarf, not a troll, ye know". Troll. The mere mention of the word woke Rathiel up from his befuddlement. He took the trencher and started eating right away. "Bury him... yes." was all he could say before the dwarf went back outside.

It turned out Vargrim was a paladin. One of the first of his kin to be accepted into the legendary Knights of the Silver Hand. Rathiel had heard of using this "power of light" to heal and protect, he was shocked when seeing how Vargrim could easily use the same source of power to slay that which opposed him. When they journeyed onward to Dalaran, the two of them were assaulted by a horde patrol. It was a desperate fight, but it seemed to go Rathiel and Vargrim's way... until Rathiel finally found himself face to face with a great ogre. He thought himself lost when Vargrim showed up. The dwarf swept the ogre off its feet with ease, and smote it with a single blow of his great hammer.

'''When they finally reached Dalaran, it was under siege by the horde. It was apparent that the city had suffered great damage, but the defenses held. When the attacks were in a calmer period, Rathiel and Vargrim managed to gain entry to the city, thanks to their combined effort to keep themselves free from harm of arrows from both sides until they were close enough to the city walls to be identified and hastily taken in as refugees. Finally in safety, Rathiel quickly notified an officer that he was a member of the Kirin Tor and was allowed acces to the Violet Citadel. Meanwhile, Vargrim rested and was treated of wounds at the inner city infirmary. Several weeks went by before the attacks had subsided enough for Rathiel to be able to send a message to Silvermoon about the ambush and the loss of the regiment. Vargrim left for Northshire, while Rathiel chose to stay in Dalaran for the time being, taking his place among the Kirin Tor as well as helping with the rebuilding of the city. Rathiel never saw Vargrim again, but never forgot the stubby paladin and how he wielded the powers of the Light.'''

'''In the following years, Rathiel stayed in Dalaran. When it was deemed safe to travel from Silvermoon to Dalaran, Rathiel sent a letter to the ranger general of Silvermoon, Alleria Windrunner, that Narilya be released from her service and move with her and Rathiel's children to Dalaran, where they would be provided everything they needed, until battle should call Narilya back to Silvermoon. The answer he got was from her sister, the ranger captain Sylvanas Windrunner. Apparently Alleria had joined an Alliance expedition trough the Dark Portal from which the orcs had come. The letter Rathiel recieved accepted his plea, and Narilya and the children moved to Dalaran where they lived in an apartment near the Violet Towers. In the years that went by, Rathiel spent nearly all of his time in the libraries of the Kirin Tor, where he read more on things that he had learned of in the previous years; Dwarves, the Silver Hand, Uther Lightbringer, the Holy Light, and even the orcs, the Dark Portal, and the accounts of Archmage Khadgar on the Grand Magus Medivh.'''

Character Description
Above average height, somewhat tan skin, characteristic blue High Elf eyes sometimes magically disguised as green to blend more in with the younger blood elves.. Has a strong magical aura about him, and a stern look on his face, sometimes adorned with a sly smile at the corner of his mouth. Moves and behaves with grace and dignity, but also a touch of arrogance and anger, with a misanthrope mindset. Has a very toned and well-muscled, but yet lithe figure.

Rathiel looks like a High Elf in his physical prime, a young adult. His eyes, however, tell a different story, a story perhaps hundreds of years old. Only recently has his hair begun to lose its platinum sheen toward a solemn silver.

((I approximate his age somewhere in his mid-200s, the equivalent of a human in his late fourties.))

Character Backstory
Rathiel was born the youngest of the noble family Stormlight of Quel'Thalas. His father and his father's fathers were warriors and generals of the elven armies, his lineage said to go back to the founding of Quel'Thalas. Rathiel was heir to the title of General, but at a young age showed more magical prowess than martial. He learned and later taught magic at the mage schools of Silvermoon and Dalaran, and come adulthood was trained in combat and warfare at the Military School of Nobles. He spent most of his time in Dalaran, where he was recognized as a teacher and scholar, taking part in research and debates. He was well liked by most, and eventually he was also recognized and taken in by the Kirin Tor.

At the time of the first war he was called into military duty, but as the war progressed there was no threat to the elves, so he settled down in Silvermoon for some years, took a wife and had two children. When the second war started he was given the rank of Lieutenand Commander and given command of a platoon that fought in Alterac and for Dalaran. After the siege of Dalaran was broken, he had his wife and children move to stay with him in Dalaran, where he did his part in the city's mending.

When the scourge surfaced, he set off on his own. He told noone where he went or why, except his wife. When he heard the news that Dalaran and Silvermoon had been destroyed, his entire family dead by the hand of the Scourge and the Legion, he disappeared. What happened to him during this time noone asked or cared to know. He first came back to Quel'Thalas after four years ((When TBCs launched)), only to find his family legacy and nobility forgotten, and all his stature in Silvermoon for naught. Decided to take revenge on the new rulers of the elven people and reattain his noble name. He joined the Blood Knight order, the reasons for which he kept secret. Upon his arrival in Outland and meeting with the Scryers and learning the truth behind the fate of his people, he abandoned his desire for vengeance and pledged his allegiance to Scryer Lord Voren'thal and the great naaru A'dal of the Sha'tar.

After the betrayal of Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider became apparent to all, and the Blood Knights swore fealty to the Sha'tar, he became happier, more optimistic, assured and content. Having become both a high-ranking Blood Knight and Scryer, he embraced the change and acted with leadership and dignity in the fight to reclaim the Isle of Quel'Danas, becoming an officer in the ranks of the Shattered Sun Offensive. His marked return and service to his homeland also caused the Scryers and Blood Knights to aknowledge his noble heritage as Lord General of the elven people, though the Regent Lord did not.

When the Horde and the Alliance started sending expeditions northward to face the growing threat of the Scourge, A'dal urged a joint desicion by the elven factions not to sit idle, and send ambassadors to the factions of Northrend. Rathiel was one of the chosen. He has since cooperated strongly with the Wyrmrest faction, and been entrusted a drake companion by the name Athearostrasz.