Thalion

"Your footsteps are unique, Thalion. They are the footsteps of one who knows how to be hidden, but is not afraid of being found."

-- Xanthe Novalight

Information

Player: Sadron

Character Full Name: Thalion Novalight

Character In-Game Name: Thalion

Nickname(s): Thal, Lord Novalight, Lord.

Association(s): Silvermoon, the Horde, Noble House Novalight, the Holy Light, Farstriders (former)

Race: Blood Elf

Class: Holy Archer

Age: 957

Sex: Male

Hair: Thalion's hair is neatly groomed and black, as is common among his kin. Due to stress, the roots of his hair nearest his forehead and temples are beginning to gray. His facial hair is a soul-strip on his chin.

Eyes: Fel-green

Weight: 155

Height: 6’4”

Appearance

Usual Garments: Though he is usually in his armor, his ‘casual’ attire consists mostly of robes, because pants are for the plebs. Around his neck at all times is a silver pendant with an emerald dragonhawk. On his arms are tattoos of swirling black snakes that he had applied to him after the cultural shift of the Sin'dorei, and permanently marked upon his back are scars that have been carved in the shape of letters. They spell out, "I am not a person".

Personality

Alignment: Chaotic Good.

Thalion is similar to a sword, in that as a weapon is annealed in the fires of a forge, Thalion has been hardened by the hardships life has put him through. His exterior is at all times composed and calm, confident and cool. He maintains a constant vigilance over his emotional and physical states, and he strives to be in control of himself at all times. This aspect of his personality is fundamental to him, because without it he would fall into the easy traps of melancholy and despair.

When not assailed by mental or physical stress, Thalion is an amiable enough person. He has a healthy sense of humor, rife with sarcasm though it may be, and is generally friendly towards other people. This is especially true for members of the Horde, though Thalion will be tolerant of the Alliance in neutral circumstances. However, stress instigates a change in Thalion's demeanor. His mien becomes stricter, harsher in voice and posture and he is more easily irritable. In such situations where Thalion's mental state is assailed he begins to lose his hold on his self-mastery, and there is a violence in his heart that seeps into the surface like viscid rage.

Thalion’s loyalties are first and foremost to himself and . His actions are always based on what he believes to be right rather than what he will accomplish. He would rather do the right thing and have a negative outcome than the inverse, because to him the good he would accomplish by sacrificing his ideals would be tainted and made wrong by what he had done. By doing this, Thalion always at least knows he did the right thing despite whatever intervention of fate or accident created a negative outcome. His values themselves are mostly based on honor and mutual-respect. He would not attack an unarmed opponent, torture a prisoner, will seek revenge and exact judgment upon those who wrong him and so-on.

Thalion is no stranger to self-sacrifice, and personal cost is typically irrelevant in decision making. This is a remnant of Asphodim’s breaking of his self-worth; Thalion believes that he is expendable. He has a fairly consistent reckless streak, and has no qualms about putting himself in danger. Despite this self-image, Thalion has a powerful sense of pride. Whether he wins or loses is often inconsequential to him; though the former is preferable. His body and spirit may break, but as long as Thalion is still fighting his pride still runs strong.

This determination is perhaps Thalion’s most defining trait. When something important is on the line, when love, freedom or life itself is at risk, Thalion lets his heart become as hard as rock, and he becomes as bitter and persistent as a falcon diving for its prey. He has a strong will that has been strengthened like an elvish blade: by being broken and reforged. He always strives to see things through to the end and he commits himself completely to his goals.

His calm perseverance and aura of confidence create a loyal ally and a powerful friend, but Thalion’s demons reside below the surface. He is haunted by the mistakes, failures, betrayals and great wrongs he has committed through his life, and he constantly strives to find a way to forgive himself for his own faults. Thalion’s connection to his weaknesses is palpable, and he hopes that by being lucid of his shortcomings he might overcome them. He cannot control his fate or the circumstances of his life, but he can at least be his own master.

History

Thalion Novalight, the first child of Jidaeo II and Cerice Novalight, was born in the heart of spring nine-hundred and fifty-seven years ago. He grew up with the best education that nobility could provide, and he took to it with alacrity. As a child he was infatuated with the heroic deeds of his ancestry, and by learning of his past relatives he came to believe that greatness was in his blood. His father was the head of his house, dubbed the ‘Nova’, and as such Thalion was next in line of succession. He dreamed of leading his house into an age of glory someday, and perhaps being remembered as his family’s progenitor, Jidaeo I.

His parents had two more children while he was among his family, first his sister Alteryia and then his brother Zariel. As Zariel grew, rumors began circulating that he was the favorable child for leadership. Thalion believed that he would be passed over for his younger brother, and jealousy began to fester within him. A grudge against his family began to form that would be ever-present for centuries took form.

It was in this youthful stage of his life that Thalion came to admire his uncle, Riael. A Farstrider, like his own father, Riael was different from Thalion’s other relatives (and indeed, most High Elven nobles) in that he was a free spirit. Thalion developed distaste for nobility and the lifestyle that had been foisted upon him. He adopted ideals of individuality and freedom in his aspiration to emulate his uncle, and he began to desire adventure.

He stumbled upon a book that gave a glimpse into the shadowy life of assassins. He began to fantasize about the passionate lifestyle they lead, filled with romance, danger and intrigue. When it became clear to him that he had been passed over for Zariel, he severed ties with his family altogether and disappeared into the vast world of Quel’thalas. He found an instructor, an Ex-Farstrider, and convinced him to train him. The training was painful, difficult and long, but he gained valuable skills from it. He grew fast and strong, able to climb almost any surface, and dexterous enough to effectively wield a weapon in each hand. He has since forgotten the other skills he learned, such as basic illusion magic, but they were valuable to him while he possessed them.

However, as is often the case, fantasies and dreams are brighter than what reality offers. Where Thalion looked for adventure, life gave him a vocation in which he was a murderer. Where he sought love and passion, he was given coin and solitude… and fear. He did the dirty work of nobles for three centuries. He murdered their enemies and helped them find power, and through it all his dislike for nobility grew. They were petty, greedy, immoral and pathetic to him. Thus, he came to abandon his chosen vocation and live among the proletariat of Silvermoon. He became a commoner.

Only when he gave up his daggers did Thalion find what he wanted. He met a woman named Inaria Bloodfeather, and the two quickly fell in love. Despite his own fear that he would face judgment for the victims of his mistakes—the nobles that had met their ends at his knife—he stayed with her for a time. Thalion’s fear grew, however, and before long the paranoia that had been drilled into him in his training took hold. He could not stay in one place, and he abandoned Inaria without notice or word after they had conceived a child. To this day, he regrets that decision, and his failure as a father haunts him still.

He returned to his family after nearly four hundred years of absence. To his surprise, he was greeted with open arms by his siblings and parents. His four siblings and he split leadership of the family amongst themselves, and Thalion felt he had finally found his place again. The lost son returned home.

His time away from his family had done one good thing for him: it had given him new perspective. He saw corruption and immorality within his own family now, and his siblings and he worked together to change it. Thus began the Civil War of his household, and through struggles, confrontations and conflicts, they rooted out the corruption in the power-hungry members of the family and removed it. At one point, a distant relative, Tialis Novalight, attacked Zariel and Thalion and gravely wounded them both. Zariel escaped the fight, but Tialis overpowered Thalion and left him for dead. He was rescued by his great-uncle, who saved his life when he was on the brink of death. He spent a great deal of time recovering, but being prepared to sacrifice himself to protect his brother changed him. Once he was content that his family was safe and no longer in need of him, he resigned from his position, feeling he had repaid his family for his absence.

He joined the Farstriders and learned archery and some basic tracking skills. His abilities as an assassin gave him an edge in getting through training, though he did not disclose where he had learned them. He was a rank-and-file member of the Farstriders through the First War, in which he played no part, and the Second War, in which he saw real warfare. Thalion fought mostly as an archer, but he was in the thick of combat once or twice. He was not among those who left Eversong; his part in the war was combating the assaults from the Amani, whom he came to despise.

The conflict ended and Thalion received a promotion for his efforts. He became the captain of a small squad of Farstriders, and they were stationed at Farstrider Enclave in the southern section of Quel’thalas when the Scourge came.

Every member of Thalion’s squad died in the waves of undead hordes that poured through the wood. The genocide of the High Elves went almost unchallenged into the Sunwell. Thalion ended up alone in what was now dubbed the Ghostlands, and after the genocide he had to survive in the unclaimed, corrupted wilds for some months.

Under the banner of Kael’thas, the High Elves rebranded themselves as Sin’dorei—or Blood Elves—and reclaimed their lands. Thalion joined his people and helped reclaim Eversong, and he took in fel magic to ease the withdrawal pains he experienced from the lack of magic. After the dust settled, Thalion considered returning to the Farstriders but decided against it. He chose independence. He grew close with his youngest sister, Xanthe, who gave him a new way of seeing the world with her unique philosophies. She helped him master his use of the bow and taught him the ideals that formed the base of the man he is today.

His people rose from their ashes and became strong again, but Thalion was not allowed to live in the glory of their achievements. A man from a rival Noble House, Asphodim Seregon, kidnapped him. He claimed that he was aiding in Thalion’s ‘redemption’, and that he was being punished for the transgressions of his family. He carved ‘I am not a person’ into Thalion’s back, and convinced him that he had killed his youngest sister Xanthe to break his spirits. Then, when his courage and strength were depleted, Asphodim released him into the wilds.

Thalion almost died of dehydration in the escape from Asphodim’s spire, but he survived long enough to find help. In the years following the event, Thalion boiled in his own hatred. He lusted for revenge, became consumed with directionless rage and spent two years trying to hunt Asphodim down. Then, the storm of anger inside him was calmed. Thalion found the light, and he was trained in the ways of a Holy Archer. He combined his knowledge of combat and of the bow with the philosophies and powers of the light to soothe the beast he had become, and he learned to heal the emotional scars that Asphodim gave him with control, meditation and self-mastery. Xanthe was exiled from the family for consorting with an enemy while he trained, and while his family shunned her Thalion identified with her deeply, as he too had been loathed for his choices once.

Thalion completed his training and found himself on a ship between continents when the Shattering came. Black clouds rolled over the sky and Deathwing broke the world in the wrath beneath his wings. Thalion’s ship was destroyed by the tumultuous seas and he washed up on the shore of Kalimdor. He returned to his family in the months following the Cataclysm and became the leader of a military branch of the family’s will called the Phoenix Knights.

In the ashes of a broken world, Thalion’s story continues.

Skills and Abilities

Thalion is a Holy Archer, and as such he combines the Holy Light with a bow to increase his effectiveness at range. He has his shortcomings of course: Thalion lacks the closeness to animals exhibited by regular rangers, as his relationship with the light brings him closer to people than beasts. If his wolf, Draugath or dragonhawk, Aranduriel were ever to die he would be hard-pressed to find new companions. Finally, he relies on agility rather than strength, so going head to head with a warrior would be a bad plan and his light armor prevents him from taking too many hits. There are several defining characteristics and abilities that go along with this occupation:

• Light Arrow: Thalion may summon an arrow out of materialized light, negating the need for him to carry a quiver or even have a string on his bow. The arrow may deliver a concussive blast of light, explode in holy fire on impact, or function as a regular arrow to name several examples. All possibilities of this ability are limited to the various types of shots Hunters possess in-game. As this ability is inherently magical in nature it is useless against enemies who negate magic, such as Death Knights or other magic users.

• Consecration Trap: Thalion places a holy sigil upon the ground. When triggered by proximity, the sigil will explode in waves of holy fire and consecrate the ground beneath it. The sigil fades over time before disappearing completely, so this skill is best suited to a chase or situation where Thalion needs a fast method of escape rather than setting up an ambush.

• Annealing Fire: Thalion may call upon the light to cauterize his own flesh wounds. The light manifests itself in flame and sears his flesh together instead of accelerating the natural healing process. Thalion may only use this ability on himself--if he tries to heal another being with this painful ability the light will not answer him. Because he must use it during a state of communion with the light, he cannot use it in combat. This ability is used mainly for storytelling purposes as the pain it causes is an outlet for Thalion to release intense emotions through the incredible pain it causes. The spell is a last resort to mend flesh wounds because of the physical and mental pressure it puts him under. In addition, the ability will not repair anything beyond a wound in his body's tissue--damaged bones will be left untouched. After the healing is done his body will be so exhausted he’s likely to pass out. It is not an ability to be used lightly or often.

• Aspects of the Light: As a Paladin has Auras the Light blesses him with to make him a bastion of hope for the meek, Thalion can call upon Aspects of the Light to bolster his natural attributes. He can call upon the light to increase his running speed, empower the force of his arrows, or improve his reaction time for the duration of the blessing.

• Physical Mastery: Just as the Light requires Thalion to dedicate himself to his beliefs, being a Holy Archer requires that Thalion keep his body in good health and strength. As long as circumstances permit, Thalion will keep his speed and dexterity at their best by dedicating himself to practice and constant training to push his limits. Thalion's endurance is high as a result of this training and being an archer has given him a strong upper body. While he is strong his body is still fragile and cannot sustain much damage, and to compensate Thalion relies on dodging and parrying in order to stay safe in melee combat.

• Mental Sharpness: Thalion is well educated and through consistent meditation and self-control he keeps his senses sharp. He keeps an eye on his surroundings at all times and he focuses on having a good perception of the physical world. This does not mean he is all seeing or cannot be surprised by a stealth-attack, but rather that he makes use of his environment and tends to be shrewd when dealing with people.