Clovis
Information
Player: Clovis
Character Full Name: Clovis Briarthorn
Character In-Game Name: Clovis
Nickname(s): Big Purple, Cloves
Association(s): The Alliance, Dalaran
Race: Human
Class: Paladin Skills and Abilities: Basic Paladin skills and talents. Emphasis on offensive casting. Two Handed Swords. Plate Armor. Dalaran Education (World History, Literacy, Mathematics), Speaks Common.
Age: 28 Sex: Male
Hair: Dark Brown/Black
Eyes: Hazel
Weight: 265 Height: 6'3
Usual Garments/Armor: Clovis had donned an impressive suit of armor that was gifted to him by the widow of his former Paladin Trainer after Arthas's raided Dalaran. The Lawbringer Armor is made of thick sets of a purple and silver metal and blessed by the Paladin who originally owned the armor. The metal plates are held together by chain-mail and leather under-neath them. The 'cassock' part of Clovis's armor is not slit down the middle - thus, Clovis must sit side saddle while on a mount. Clovis is almost never without his Great-sword, Endbringer.
Alignment: Neutral Good
Personality: With the fall of the Lich King, modern day Clovis is a much different person than who he used to be. Marching with the Crusade into Northrend on a quest for vengeance, Clovis's righteous fury has been sated, resulting in a much more calm and tempered man, though he can easily be whipped up into a fury in the face of injustice.
Being able to reconnect with his parents in the flesh after several long years has helped to make Clovis a more well balanced man. Love for his family is the most critical aspect of Clovis's mental harmony. Clovis is very observant and opportunistic, a trait forced on him by his mother. His father, an infamous snarker, can be blamed for Briarthorn's deadpan sense of humor. Clovis's father can also be attributed for his sons curiosity and occasional bouts of passion.
Clovis has an eccentric taste in the people he affiliates himself with. Though smart enough to stay in the good graces of the powerful, Briarthorn has a secret fetish for the 'weird'. Weird not necessarily meaning not good, of course. Loners, eccentrics, extremists, ect. These are the sort of people Clovis finds himself attracted to.
Clovis has a very set 'Papa Bear' attitude in regards to how he treats his close friends and allies, being highly protective of them. Sometimes this causes issues with friends and allies who may be higher ranking than him and offended by his actions around them.
History: Clovis Briarthorn was born around the same time the Dark Portal was created. Dalaran would remain Clovis's home physically for well over 20 years, and his home in his heart for years after. Briarthorn's parents were middle class Kirin Tor members, his father an Alchemist, his mother an Arcanist.
Growing up as a child, Clovis had little to no affinity for magic. He showed no real interest in it and seemed doomed to a life as a basic laborer or tradesman, which just wouldn't do for his parents, who wanted better for him. Clovis did had a remarkable amount of strength and endurance in his little body native to his Grandfather on his fathers side, and a sharp mind and strong moral fiber native to his grandmother on his mothers side. It seemed fitting then, that Clovis would be eyed by a Paladin who had settled down in Dalaran with his wife, and would take the boy in as his squire at the insistence of Clovis's parents.
Squirehood was a natural fit for Clovis. As hard as the training was, there wasn't a day where Clovis so much as uttered a complaint. For his good behavior, his master would give Clovis the occasional day fully dedicated to hang out with his circle of childhood friends. His parents continued to groom him in the social sense while his master groomed him for battle. Clovis was lucky enough to have the morals his master instilled in him never clash with the morals his parents passed on to him.
Clovis's days heavily emphasized learning to use great-swords as his primary weapon - Clovis's Master did not share the same appreciation for the war-hammer that other Paladins did - and his fists in a pinch. Clovis quickly learned a variety of fighting styles - from blitzing his enemy hard and fast in one on one combat, to swinging his blade in slow, strong, methodical arcs against large numbers. Although showing mediocre talent for healing, Clovis definitely knew how to use the Light to prevent injuries, rather than undo them...and without a doubt, he knew how to cause them with the Light too.
Becoming a fully realized Paladin at 18, Clovis was inducted formally into the Knights of the Silver Hand, where he was immediately put to work aiding his now former master in dealing with rogue bands of orcs in the countryside - supposedly a task that many paladins had to deal with at the time.
The busy work kept Clovis occupied for quite a while. Honing his skills against corrupt orcish cultists helped ensure that the Paladin wouldn't flinch at the thought of beheading any green skinned bastard that proved too dangerous and needed to be put down. Clovis and his Master eventually caught wind of an outbreak of some kind in Western Lordaeron, and were one of many paladins to answer the call, eventually being teleported onto the scene alongside greats like Uther himself.
It was here that Clovis experienced the true horrors of undeath, and made his stomach do back-flips. As the Paladins in the area advanced on the undead threat, Clovis was quickly becoming paranoid for his home, but honoring his duty, he never let that fear take over him. Until the Culling, that is.
With the Silver Hand disbanded at the command of Prince Arthas, and news of what had happened in Stratholme coming Clovis's way, the young man was disgusted and disillusioned. Rejecting his Masters desire to follow duty till the bitter end, Clovis returned home to help prepare for any possible danger the undead would pose against Dalaran.
There was no true right or wrong answer. Duty, or Protect the ones he loved. No matter what, there would be consequences.
Clovis spent his time from then on preparing to defend Dalaran till the bitter end. Around this time, he was successful in convincing his parents to leave for Stormwind, and take his masters wife with them. It was this act of mercy that would cause Clovis such grief, as going to inform the woman of the situation, she sobbing presented Clovis with his masters armor and great-sword, inherited to the young paladin by a widow wishing to avoid reminders of her husbands absence. His Master was not coming back from this war.
The knowledge haunted him. What if he had stayed? Would his Master still be standing here today? But would his parents be safe in Stormwind as well? The choices and their respective consequences would drive Clovis to grief...and at the worst time. Arthas had made his move. The kingdom of the Elves had fallen. He was marching on Dalaran.
It was horrifying. It was really happening. His Home was going to die. Clovis battled as if processed by a mad-man. Injuries that would of sent Clovis stepping away to heal did not slow him down. Clovis intended to live or die in this city, and nothing would send him running. The Paladin had lost count of the undead he attacked. The magi he rushed to protect, intercepting Scourge attacks against them. The friends that had died. Briarthorn battled until his muscles ached, and his heart felt ready to swell and burst from his chest. Unlucky then, that Clovis would be dragged away from his home, very much alive, thanks in part to a force out of his power.
The cries of the Banshee's in the distance pierced deep into Briarthorn's mind. His body convulsed and his eyes rolled back, ears bleeding and the sound around him being drowned out by pain. Clovis collapsed among the corpses of fallen magi, blackness overtaking him. How cruel the Light had been, to heal his wounds, and let him awake to the horrified faces of Tavren, a childhood friend, and the raven haired mans allies. Before his very eyes, Dalaran crumbled to dust from the magics of an otherworldly force.
His Master was dead. His home was destroyed. To add to his turmoil, he later found out his parents had teleported back to the city before the battle in order to help, completely going against Briarthorn's wishes. They survived, at least. But there was one more kick to the gut the Paladin needed to endure.
With many of his friends dead, Clovis had to part ways with the few that remained, some going off to warn other towns and kingdoms, others fleeing in panic. One in particular stood out. Clovis had battled the undead alongside Tavren, who at the time, seemed to of been slinging around dark and corrupt spells that would of been red flags to Clovis, if not for the cities immediate danger. Clovis, no fan of the dark arts, had approached Tavren to condemn him, but Briarthorn found himself going gentle on his old friend.
Tavren would be leaving the Dalaran refugee's, to continue pursuing a civilian life elsewhere. Unable to steel himself for the loss of another friend, Clovis reluctantly dismissed Tavren's alignment for the time being, if only to be able to say goodbye to his friend on good terms.
Clovis would have to decide what to do with his life as well. But such choices were not in his immediate future. Grand Marshal Garithos was in charge of an effort to retake Dalaran, and Clovis fully intended to be present to lend his blade to the effort. Clovis had no love for the Grand Marshal, who was an insufferable ass, for lack of a better term. However, intent on retaking his home, Clovis bit his tongue and followed the man's orders, even when Briarthorn disagreed with the Grand Marshal's treatment of the elves, Dalaran's past allies.
Surviving the retaking of Dalaran, the betrayal of the Blood Elves, and the Scourge's attempt to retake Dalaran again, Clovis immediately abandoned the Grand Marshal's cause when Garithos joined forces with Sylvanas Windrunner, whom Clovis would of preferred seeing very very very dead and in the ground. With the magi of the Kirin Tor preparing to erect an impenetrable barrier around Dalaran that would seal them all in - including Briarthorn's parents - Clovis decided to part ways with his parents and go to join with the remnant of the Silver Hands forces in the area that were combating the undead. Clovis had abandoned his duty for his personal ties once, he didn't intend to do it again, not after his Master's death.
Clovis's skills advanced rapidly while fighting the undead menace alongside the Silver Hands remnants. Clovis didn't know a day without slaying undead at the time. Battle seemed to consume him. It could of led him down a dark path, but the morals taught to him by his family and Master helped guide his path. Clovis showed no fear against the undead hordes - his real fear came from the actions of fellow Paladins who seemed to be going down the same dark path Prince Arthas had gone down. Clovis was one of the many paladins who decided to leave and reform under the Argent Dawn, while the corrupt Scarlet Crusade was born.
The years following, Clovis never left the realm of the once great Lordaeron. The world outside Northern Eastern Kingdoms was irrelevant. Retaking these lands was all that mattered. Clovis toughed out the uneasy alliance between the Dawn and the Scarlets. He just barely stomached the presence of Orcs, Trolls, Forsaken, and other human-friendly races within the Dawn's ranks. He was one of many who held the line at The Battle for Light's Hope. He watched the Argent Crusade be born.
The war against the Lich King was when Clovis truly felt he could call himself a Paladin not living in the shadow of his master. Righteous Fury guided his blade and threatened to consume him. With the news of Dalaran fully rebuilt and now hovering near the Gates of Icecrown, Clovis was quick to let emotion overtake him. Reuniting with his parents - still very much alive and healthy - soothed his soul. The love of his family made Clovis a complete man. The fury that drove his powerful blows against undead would not overtake him outside of the battle field. Clovis felt whole, and that harmony in his mind and heart steeled him for the assault on Icecrown.
With the death of the Lich King came an uneasy peace. While the Horde and Alliance were indeed at war, the time after the assault on Northrend was fairly quiet. Clovis took his time to be with his family, formally parting ways with the Crusade. Clovis remained with his parents for almost a year before deciding to return and aid the Crusade once more, and see where his life would take him now.
