OUT OF CHARACTER:
Name/Handle: lyn
Contact: runehallow @ plurk
Reference: saffy!!
Other characters: n/a

IN-CHARACTER:
Character name: Adrasteius Anor'thalion
Character journal: hymnals
Series name: World of Warcraft (OC)
Canon notes: During the Battle for Lordaeron

Species: Blood elf

History:

Adrasteius was born to merchant parents in a secluded part of Eversong Woods, the eternally autumnal forest that surrounds his people's capital city of Silvermoon. His mother sold magical reagents and his father sold leather goods; the two were frequently traveling for the sake of their business. As a result, they often left Adrasteius and his twin brother Aurelius in a state of benign neglect. Though they never really wanted for anything materially, and though both their parents were kind and involved during what time they could spare for their children, the twins still often found themselves relying mainly on each other. Aurelius, born bigger and stronger, defended Adrasteius from wildlife and schoolyard bullies. Adrasteius took care of the house: keeping things clean, cooking meals, mending torn clothes and so on. Their life was idyllic, if often isolated.

But adolescence doesn't last forever. Eventually, they both had to decide what to do with their lives: Adrasteius followed the call of the Light and chose to enlist as a combat medic, and Aurelius, having really nothing better to do and no other plans, trailed along after him into the military. They fought in several important wars, most notably against the invasive forest trolls, and witnessed countless acts of atrocity on both sides. The horror of war numbed Aurelius, but it inspired righteous anger in Adrasteius; after several lengthy tours of duty, he became a pacifist, left the military, and went to study the Light more closely in the great human cathedral of Stormwind. Aurelius, adrift and haunted, turned to indulging his various addictions: sex, alcohol, and whatever else he could get his hands on.

Thus, when the unstoppable armies of the undead Scourge came to ravage the elf homelands, neither of them were prepared. Their forests burned, and their parents along with them. Adrasteius was still in Stormwind during the initial invasion, and Aurelius was dead drunk in some seedy inn far from the front. By the time Adrasteius made it home, he found his world shattered, his people sick, his parents gone, and his brother insensate. 90 percent of the elves were dead, and those that remained were suffering: the Scourge had destroyed the Sunwell, a font of magical power that sustained their land and their bodies. In its absence, the elves realized that they were actually dependent on it, and on magic itself. They were now in withdrawal, and many elves rapidly lost their sense of self.

Adra remained in Silvermoon, calling upon the Light to help heal and comfort the survivors. But he, too, felt weakened and empty. Rage and sorrow burned in his heart, and he also keenly felt the Sunwell's loss; he, like everyone else, had taken its strength and presence for granted. Ultimately, Prince Kael'thas offered his people a solution: demon's blood. Fel energy. Drink of it, Kael'thas promised, and be restored. In his agony, Adrasteius did not reject the offer. However, as he watched the fel energy sully him and further ruin his brother, he quickly decided that they were following a shameful path. This was only confirmed when the Light receded from the sin’dorei, leaving Adrasteius without the one solace left in his life.

From there, Adrasteius turned to magecraft. He tried to find a solution to the blood elf craving for magic, subjecting himself to many arduous experiments and trials, and all to no avail. Meanwhile, his brother grew increasingly unstable; though Aurelius now lacked the strength and discipline of a true warrior, he turned to the mangled version of the Light that the sin'dorei now practiced, becoming a violent and decadent blood knight instead.

Blood elf society began to decay, too. Anyone who questioned the blood elves' new alliances--with the Horde, and with other, darker powers--was silenced, even outright brainwashed. Magical golems patrolled the streets, ordering citizens to be happy, and to obey.

The truth at last came to light: their prince betrayed them. Kael'thas had not just fed them demon's blood; he now actively allied with demons, and sought to summon them into Azeroth. Adra stood against him and all other loyalists to Kael'thas's misguided cause. As this new war raged on, Adrasteius once again turned to the Light. He found that it had never abandoned him; in fact, he concluded that the situation was the opposite--in his despair, he had abandoned the Light. Taking up his religion with renewed zeal, Adra vowed never to let his despair control him again. This served him well when he participated--as just one of a great army--against the final battle to prevent Kil'jaeden (a massive demon) from crossing over into Azeroth. In the aftermath of that fight, Kil'jaeden was defeated and--miraculously--the Sunwell was restored. While this restoration was not a cure for the blood elves, it did reset their path towards one of spiritual renewal, rather than spiritual degradation. Adrasteius was elated.

Of course, many problems still remained. Arthas--now the Lich King--mobilized forces once again. His brother was a growing problem. Adrasteius met and befriended a number of people in the city, in particular a paladin named Avali. He developed strong feelings for her, and it was their relationship that finally sent Aurelius off the deep end. Adra's brother went into the ruined forest, cut open his own throat while standing on a circle of corrupt runes, and willingly gave himself to the Lich King.

Horrified, Adra withdrew from Avali and everyone else he'd grown close to, fearing for their safety. He dedicated himself to containing and neutralizing Aurelius, while still also trying to help with the rising specter of Arthas's might. Though he loved Avali still, they lost contact, and he doesn't know what became of her. He resigned himself to a life alone, until he met, befriended, and eventually adopted a young man named Belthazar. Though their initial relationship was one of mentor and student, he eventually came to see Belthazar as his true son.

Though he was glad to have his little family, as time passed, more trials arose: he faced Arthas, he faced the mad dragon Deathwing, and he journeyed to the mysterious land of the mists to help the pandaren people against the Sha. He battled the tyrant Garrosh after Garrosh ate the heart of an old god and fell to corruption. He confronted his brother, and expended a great deal of energy and power in bringing Aurelius back to himself. They are still on a fragile road to reconciliation, and they're often hindered by the many conflicts afflicting their world.

But then the Burning Legion returned, and it was a fight that demanded their attention like nothing before it. Adrasteius joined with countless other priests across Azeroth, eventually rising in their ranks to become the leader of their unified order. His brother is still a shadow over his life, but his overriding concern became the encroaching Legion and the preservation of his increasingly imperiled world. The fight was long and difficult, but Azeroth emerged victorious, if not unscathed. Adrasteius, too, was not unscathed: he learned uncomfortable truths about the nature of Light and Shadow during his campaign against the Legion, and it lead him to rethink how he approached his deep fidelity to his religious values. In the end, he reaffirmed what he believed to be right: though the Light could be used as a force for tyranny, it is ultimately transformed by whoever wields it, much like the Shadow. So he has dedicated himself to using both responsibly, even as all-out war once again breaks out between the Horde and the Alliance.


Personality:

• Compassionate, warm, faithful, and intense. Above all, Adrasteius seeks good and to do good. He is a passionate person of great conviction and deep devotion, dedicated to his religious beliefs and to bettering the lives of people around him.
• As a young person, he was idealistic and gentle, and much of this softness is with him still. However, the horrors of war have hardened his passion into something sharper, something more aware, something much less tolerant of intolerance, of violence, of depravity.
• He encourages questioning of authority, independent thought, and--above either of those two things--compassion for the vulnerable, the sick, the struggling.
• Perceptive, but still vulnerable to being manipulated. Because he believes so strongly that redemption is a path available to everyone, he will pursue even unwise relationships in the hopes of acting as a moderating influence. Does not understand the naivete or the arrogance of this.
• Straghtforward, often to the point of being blunt or upsetting. Adrasteius is a no nonsense kind of guy, especially when it comes to topics he considers too serious for jokes: i.e., war, suffering, cruelty, freedom, justice, and so on. He doesn't like to talk in circles, doesn't mince words, and has little patience for those who do.
• Though he has a strong sense of self and is thus very self possessed, Adra nevertheless suffers deep and unrelenting guilt over many of the mistakes and tragedies in his past. He regrets not being there to save his parents, he regrets not saving Aurelius from himself, and he regrets placing so much trust in Kael'thas. He often wishes that he'd had the moral strength to refuse drinking the demon blood to survive, even though many who did refuse either perished or fell to madness.
• Values honesty and connection. The Light preaches that all are one in the universe, part of an endless tapestry. The universe is improved through positive emotions: optimism, kindness, forgiveness, understanding. Adra does his best to practice those things, and he genuinely likes meeting new people, learning about them, and caring for them. But ...
• He is also fussy, self righteous, often irritable, and a little judgmental. Although age and experience have cooled his tendency towards snap judgment and bettered his patience, he has limits, especially for anything properly defined as 'shenanigans'. He is definitely that friend who thinks he knows what is best for everyone, and who gets irritated if his ideas are rebuffed. He also has a very clear and rigid notion of what is right and what is wrong, and swaying him from his perception of morality is difficult.
• Might disagree with everything about who you are (your actions, your ideology, your fashion sense, etc.), but will still constantly check on you and try to ensure that you are safe, that you're eating well, and that you're living your best possible life. Even if it's a life of horrible immorality that he finds fundamentally repulsive.
• Ultimately, he simply believes in the basic, intrinsic value of life itself. Everyone is worth something, because life is a miracle, and the possibilities are forever endless. Anyone can choose good at any time. Anyone can be loved and forgiven. He believes this deeply: he has to believe it, because it's what he wants for his brother, and it's what he wants for himself.

Abilities:

Adrasteius is a Priest; his powers are centered on both Holy and Shadow abilities, though he prefers not to stray too far into the latter if he doesn't have to. In terms of nerfs, he has the Resurrection spell, which can bring the dead back to life. If this needs to be inert for game balance purposes, I'm fine with it!


In addition to priestliness, he is a scribe and herbalist, which is to say he's good at gathering flowers, crushing them up for ink, and making pretty books out of said ink. He is adept at most domestic tasks: cooking, cleaning, sewing, and so forth. He spent a good amount of time as a mage, but he is out of practice with using those powers for anything but heating and cooking food.

As a blood elf, he is also capable of sensing and draining magic from people or inanimate objects. He needs to do this less often since the restoration of the Sunwell, but he was pretty into magic, so it still comes up from time to time.

Augment Skillset: Lab support
Sample: here!

Adrasteius is a Warcraft OC + obnoxious and extra. If you're not into that or into tagging me generally for whatever reason, please let me know right here; no worries. Comments are screened.

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