Cristovao

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Information

Player: CappnRob

Character Full Name: Cristovao di Silvio

Character In-Game Name: Cristovao

Nickname(s): Cris, Cristo, di Silvio

Association(s): The Alliance, the Silver Hand, the Order of Virtue

Race: Human

Class: Paladin

Age: 32

Sex: Male

Hair: Light Brown

Eyes: Blue

Weight: ~211 lbs

Height: 6'

Appearance

Knight of the Silver Hand armor

Other: n/a

Personality

Alignment: Neutral Good.

Cristovao is a man who has built his entire persona around the Virtues of the Light from as far back as he can remember. Raised in a religious household by a mother in the clergy and a father in the knighthood the idealist values of respect, tenacity and compassion come virtually second nature to him. Because of this, he can be a good deal naive when dealing with individuals, as he always tries to appeal to the good in things first.

Running contrast to his dyed in the wool idealism, Cristovao is a very emotional and somewhat irrational individual as well. His empathy for others makes him something of a bleeding heart which can smother an individual rather than support them, and he is prone to blaming himself for mistakes and shortcomings that can not be helped so long as he is involved with them. He hides it all behind a mask of pride, though, thinking that he is only trying to help others.

Apart from his emotional insecurities and religious piety, Cristovao is an intelligent and artisitic fellow with a passion for all things creative, such as music, writing, painting and history. He treasures the romantic and beautiful, finding a solace in expression that even religion can not provide. This all fuels his curiosity and adventurous side, though his duties as a paladin come first.

History

Cristovao was born the son of Atilio and Maeia di Silvio, a Kul Tiras immigrant and Lordaeronian cleric in the Church of Holy Light, in the Capital City of Lordaeron. His birth preceeded the First War resulting in his childhood being sculpted by stories of demonic green monsters who destroyed the country of Stormwind and the formation of the great Alliance of Lordaeron to fight back the evil beasts. These romantic notions would be the seeds of the boy's desires to become a paladin, strengthed by the fact his own father was one of the first to become a Knight of the Silver Hand to protect the world from evil-doers.

The Second War proved to be a trying and fearful period for the child Cristovao. His father was dispatched to Hillsbrad to fight the sudden orc invasion by sea, leaving the boy and his mother alone in Capital City. Throughout the tumultuous time, his often exchanged letters with his father, reassuring him of the Alliance's just cause to drive the demonic orcs back, and creating an almost sacred image of Atilio in his young impressionable mind as a saint and hero. After the war ended, Cristovao only had two short years to spend with his beloved father before he marched through the Dark Portal with the Alliance expedition, leaving the boy to be raised alone by his now-widowed mother.

Life after the Second War was peaceful and happy for him as it was for many people of Lordaeron at the time. His mother attempted to influence Cristovao into joining the clergy as a scribe, providing him an excellent education in reading, writing and the arts, but her efforts were in vain: the proud image of the Silver Hand and the idealised memory of his lost father drove Cristovao to the path of the paladin. He also enjoyed the company of a few friends, including a long distance relationship with a Dalarani girl named Odetta Mosle through letters.

As the years went by and the child Cristovao matured into a teenager, then young adult, he showed great promise in his training in the Silver Hand. While his skills at martial arts were merely adequete, all the schooling and religious upbringing his mother gave him granted Cristovao a profound grasp of the Light's divinity. With Lordaeron currently at a general peace and his training looking promising, the young man's future was looking as bright as the fairy tales he grew up with.

Cristovao undertook his last trials for paladinship in the city of Tyr's Hand. In the summer of his twentith birthday, he departed his home for the far end of the Lordaeron nation. Over the following months, he passed his final tests in arms, scripture, and magic arts. All the while, a plague began to spread across the nation, bringing death to hundreds of people. For a while it seemed as if the whole country would fall into chaos and war, especially with the destruction of Stratholme following its massive plague infection. Yet instead, things fell silent. Prine Arthas's soldiers traveled to Northrend, and the undead went quiet in Lordaeron. With the trouble passed, Cristovao received his induction into the Knights of the Silver Hand. Badge emblazoned with his name and pinned proudly to his cape, armor fitted to his person, he proudly made his way back home to Capital City, eager to bring the good news to his mother of his knighthood.

In the autumn of that year, Cristovao returned home just before Hallow's End. Excitedly he returned to Maeia, and the two made plans to gather their relatives for a celebration that evening. Cristovao himself set out into town to deliver the news to his cousin, Stefano Ricci, a rather unimportant event that would save his life as he was not the only paladin to return home at the time. Prince Arthas returned from Northrend, and the streets were filled with celebration as Lordaeron's beloved prince had come back from supposedly destroying the Scourge at the source. No one could see his betrayal coming, and almost in the blink of an eye the streets of Capital City were erupting into a panic. People who were just moments ago tossing flower petals onto the streets were being chased and devoured by rampaging undead ghouls who seemed to come from nowhere.

When Cristovao reached his cousin's house, he was not at home. Dissapointed, he began to make the long walk back to the other side of town when the panic broke out. Fortunately he was dressed in his armor and carrying his gavel in hopes of impressing his family, so he successfully, if fearfully faught off a handful of ghouls that came his way. Instantly his thoughts turned to his mother, and he rushed as best he could to get back home. Unfortunately he was unable to do so, the horrified masses crowding the streets in a panic, keeping Cristovao back. Tried as he could to fight against the sea of people, the city guard were fighting their way out of the main gates to help as many as they could survive. Overwhelmed, the young paladin was almost trampled, but a senior paladin who was helping lead the escape named Dalikan Godford saved him. Together, they battled their way out of the main gates as fire and death consumed the city.

The streets outside Capital City were a massive panic. People scattered to every direction in fear, uncontrolled. Some tried to take refuge in Brill, others went to the Tirifal Monastery for sanctuary. Others still fled to the east for the safety of Hearthglen and Tyr's Hand. Cristovao, however, felt that the entire nation of Lordaeron was unsafe. Stricken with grief and guilt over the certain death of his mother and indeed almost all of his extended family, the paladin set his path south towards a place he was certain to find safety: the walled nation of Gilneas.

Cristovao had hardly began his travels south when he saw even the southern forests of Silverpine were not safe from the seemingly omnipresent undead scourge. He came across holdouts of refugees, isolated soldiers without leaders, and families who had fortified their homesteads. However, when many of these people saw Cristovao and his Silver Hand colors, they flocked to him for help and safety. He was a paladin of Lordaeron, surely wasn't it his duty to protect his people from these terrible dangers? While he was unsure of his ability to lead them, he could not bring himself to turn them down. He was a hero of the Light! He must bear their burdens as his own! As such he proudly volunteered to deliver these people to salvation, to the safety of Gilneas's walls.

The journey was long and taxing. For over a month, the weak and weary-hearted survivors walked through the imposing pine trees of the forests. They were constantly under attack by the undead, and every few days, someone was certain to die. A few fell to hunger or the plague, rising into ghouls and having to be slain on the spot. Others still lost hope, and ran off to never be seen again, or took their own lives out of despair. Of the several dozen or so civilians and soldiers that followed Cristovao, only a fraction survived the entire way. The young man was not fit for leadership, and every loss hit pierced him deeply. If not for the emotional support of a few refugees who wanted to befriend him, such as Julie Emeth, he would have perhaps given up himself.

At long last, the survivors arrived at the Greymane wall. Overwhelmed to the point of tears, Cristovao rattled on the gates with his gavel to cause as much noise as possible. Someone had to hear them, had to know they were sick, hungry, and dying, in need of shelter and salvation. Yet, there was no response. No one turned them away, nor did anyone open the gates. All that could be heard was the paladin's clamoring on the great wall, echoing in the silence of the forest. Cristovao had not delivered his people anywhere, he merely brought them to a dead end. Turning back to his troupe, his expression said it all to them: there was no hope to be found here. Some broke down on the spot, others just stood in silent shock at their fate. Cristovao could not bear the dissapointment and failure, and so he ran off to the east, abandoning everyone at the wall.

This emotional breakdown had been a blessing in disguise: by raw luck and chance, Cristovao found himself at Southshore, where Jaina Proudmoore was gathering survivors of Lordaeron to abandon the nation for a chance at survival across the sea. With nothing left to lose back home, Cristovao solemnly boarded a ship, regretting his abandonment of the survivors. Had he not broken down, they could have escaped to Kalimdor with him. The voyage was dangerous, with encounters with the Orcish Horde dotting the way as well as stormy seas and the fronteir of Kalimdor. Despite it all, Cristovao was involved very little: he was too emotionally devastated to contribute, and so he often stayed behind with the more helpless survivors as a token guardian while the real soldiers fought for their lives against the orcs, and then against the Burning Legion at Hyjal.

Cristovao lightened up after the Third War came to a close, if just slightly. The defeat of a the Burning Legion, the demonic armies that destroyed his life brought some small sense of catharsis to the emotionally broken young man. For a year he helped with the foundation of Theramore, thinking it would be good to make a new home for himself here with other people of Lordaeron. That was suddenly changed though when Daelin Proudmoore took over the city with the Kul Tiras navy, and declared a state of war on the Horde of Durotar. Then when the Horde marched their armies through Theramore and killed many who sided with Proudmoore, and Cristovao had seen enough. There was no peace to be had in this savage wilderness, and he was not going to stay any longer. As soon as trade routes were established, Cristovao sailed back to the eastern kingdoms.

Back in the homelands of humanity and dwarves, Cristovao wandered to find a new purpose in life. He generally resided in Ironforge or Stormwind, but never owned a home of his own. He would travel to the still-scourge controlled fields of Lordaeron to battle with the Argent Dawn against them, but he remained independent. However, it was progress, and knowing he was fighting back against the enemy that stole his family and home from him gave him some small happiness, no matter how tiny the progress was. In truth, though, the paladin was listless and simply could not stay in any one spot for long.

Cristovao would find his focus soon enough though when the Draenei came to his world. Curious as to their alien nature and allured by the fact they hold a strong connection with the Light, he traveled back to Kalimdor for the first time in years to see them when he heard they were being admitted into the Alliance. Working for the Alliance out of Stormwind, he worked to provide relief aide to the victims of the Exodar crash. He befriended a handful of draenei personally, including a priestess named Diwaata who became as fascinated with Cristovao's human culture as he was the Draenei's. During his few weeks stay in Azuremyst, Cristovao became acquainted with Diwaata's brother as well, and attempted to help find a missing child named Saya with no luck. When it was time for him to return to the eastern kingdoms, Diwaata chose to travel with him, curious about the world he called home.

What came in the following months was an event almost thought impossible: the Dark Portal re-opening, and coming forth from it the armies of the Legion. Resolved to not let his world become endangered again like the Third War, Cristovao embarked into the portal with many other soldiers of the Alliance to subdue the broken world of Draenor. When he arrived, though, he was amazed by a single discovery: the Sons of Lothar lived still! Overwhelmed by the possibility of his father being still alive, he and Diwaata set out to try and find him. Over the course of several months, the pair searched through everywhere they could, but no evidence of his survival was found. An old roster dating back twenty-two years ago was eventually discovered, marking Atilio's last recorded appearance at the battle of Shadowmoon Fortress, where he was marked missing in action. Cristovao resigned himself to the fact his father is in all likelihood dead.

His time on Draenor was not completely disheartening, however. Cristovao was immensely fascinated with Outland, and aside from the relief that came with seeing the Sons of Lothar alive, he engrossed himself especially in the Draenei settlements where he expanded his knowledge on their written and spoken language, customs, and culture. During his time among the exiled ones, he also grew closer to Diwaata, and their friendship forged into love as they found respite in each other's strengths and spirituality. Completing his newly-forming, if alien family was the rescue of a small Draenei child. She was about two years in age, alone in a ruined village. While at first the two planned to just drop the toddler off at the Shattrath orphanage, they became emotionally attached to her and decided to raise her themselves, naming her Melodia.

Cristovao was called back to Azeroth when news came of outbreaks of plague beginning to appear in the Alliance cities. Determined to do what he could to prevent another land befalling Lordaeron's fate, the paladin made haste to battle the Scourge as their armies attacked. When the fighting was over, he all too eagerly accepted a chance to travel to Northrend and wage war on the heart of the Scourge. Passion and vindication filled his heart, hungry for justice and revenge over his homeland. For months he battled the undead alongside the Alliance, his old armor still holding strong through it all. As pushes were made deeper into the frozen island, Cristovao made the restored Dalaran his home away from home, where he frequently rested and reflected on his thoughts.

Cristovao broke away from the official Alliance operations in Northrend when he came across the Argent Crusade. Displeased with how much the Horde would fight with the Alliance instead of the -true- enemy, Cristovao felt compelled to follow the crusaders as they made their own push against the Scourge. It was at this time he was reunited with his presumed dead cousin, Stefano, whom had joined the Argents after surviving the Third War. The joy of having another piece of his family given back to him helped the emotionally wary paladin endure the final months of the conflict, which had dragged on for over a year. He was reunited with his comrade in the Silver Hand, Dalikan Godford as well. Finally, the gates of Icecrown Citadel were broken down, and the Traitor Prince was slain by Crusade's efforts along with the Alliance and Horde armies. At long last, justice was delivered, but there was still work to be done.

The death of the Lich King did not mean the death of the Scourge as a whole. Indeed, now without a single leader, many pockets of undead vied for domination amongst themselves, provoking the Argent Crusade to return to Lordaeron and stop them. Cristovao, however, was exhausted from his time in Northrend, and instead took a short holiday in Stormwind. During this time he became acquainted with Matthew Hunter, a veteran of the Second and Third Wars. Before long, though, he felt compelled to return to serving the Light. Traveling north with the Argent Crusade, Cristovao saw that Hearthglen had been reclaimed and made a neutral settlement. Reminiscent of his youth in Lordaeron, Cristovao took up residence there for most of the following year to assist the Crusade in fighting the Scourge.

There was more than just scourge waiting for Cristovao back home, though. During his time in Hearthglen, the paladin became well-acquainted with the Forsaken soldier Jared Richter, who struck the man as an oddity for his feverish loyalty to his homeland, despite being undead. Such a character was completely new in Cristovao's mind - he had never thought more of the Forsaken than hateful, vengeful corpses living in the shadow of a dead city. To this end, Cristovao's eyes were opened and he became more respectful of the Forsaken who could look past a pulse and see each other as countrymen, even making a good friend in a few of them, such as the farmer girl Flora Venfield.

Jared's solidarity would not be the only surprise the Forsaken would give Cristovao, however. A dark twist would come into the status of his surviving family, and that was his long-lost mother, Maeia, was among the forsaken. At first shocked and even repulsed by this revelation, Cristovao managed to recompose himself and agreed to her request to reunite with him. His heart skipped a beat when he finally saw her hideously altered form, yet she still seemed to be the very same person who raised him. Embracing the teachings of compassion, Cristovao accepted Maeia's new form and respected her as his mother still, regardless of her state of being.

Unfortunately, the delicate reunion quickly became strained under the biases of other living humans, along with the increasingly military hostility of the Forsaken against Hillsbrad. As quickly as Cristovao had begun to mend bridges with his undead countrymen, it began to break and crumble away by the strains of world politics. Unsure what to commit himself to without offending, or worse yet, fighting with those close to him, Cristovao resigned himself to other business. He returned to Stormwind with the intent of using his skills to help the helpless and avoid being pressed into a war that could be personal, and to that end he formed a small, private charity group called the Order of Virtue. However, the Order existed for only a short while before yet another danger came to Azeroth, hot on the heels of the impending war between the Alliance and the Horde: Deathwing.

When the Worldbreaker attacked Stormwind, Cristovao almost did not survive the ordeal. He was in the park district, working on his papers when the dragon demolished the whole place. As the city walls crumbled into the sea, Cristovao was barely able to get people to safety before the building collapsed on top of him. Had he not protected himself with the Light's barrier in time, he would have died. In the aftermath of the destruction, Cristovao was pulled out from the rubble along with handful of other survivors, but his body was badly wounded, and his armor terribly ruined. He was placed under hospital care in the Cathedral for several months to recover.

Following his recovery to full health, Cristovao returned to a very different world. In his time away, the Forsaken had destroyed Hillsbrad, the Blackrock orcs invading Northshire, and Ironforge recently recovering from a political coup, and who knows what else there could be? Commissioning himself a new set of armor, Cristovao reorganized his Order with intent of helping the victims of the Cataclysm as best he can. Light willing, it shall be done.

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