Veris

Information

Player: Absolutionist

Character Full Name: Veris Gansul

Character In-Game Name: Veris

Nickname(s): Rogue, traitor, Scourge-lover, murderer, monster.

Association(s): Alliance (former), Scarlet Crusade (former), Ebon Blade (former)

Race: Human

Class: Death Knight

Skills and Abilities: Aside from his skills with a blade, his talents as a Death Knight focus heavily into the necromantic arts: both those inherent within a Death Knight's conscious, and those taught amongst necromancers and their hopeful acolytes - the former to complete his own mastery over the dead and the latter in order to attempt a counter against them.

Age: 32, pre-death. 34, post-death.

Sex: Male

Hair: Pale, wispy smoky-blonde hair.

Eyes: Death Knight blue.

Weight: 237 Ibs.

Height: 6'0"

Appearance

For the vast majority of the time since his release from the Lich King's control, and his desertion of the Ebon Blade, it is a rarity to ever see him outside of the armour he's so carefully modified to his whims. Of midnight-black saronite and heavily engraved with runes to empower his dominion over the dead, no skin ever shows from within. Of his body, one can only see his two eyes, leering out from the horned helm he wears.

Very rarely, when he ventures to civilized lands and requires something less attention-catching, he wears a hooded cloak over loose leather armour, with the hood retaining a mask to hide his face and a thin gauze to hide his eyes.

Other: As in life, so too in death. Veris' body is lean and wiry, whereas most might consider those who become warriors as brawny and large-set. His hair, once a bright golden-blonde, has become a pale, smoky remnant of its past self. If one is ever vigilant enough, and cares enough, they might see him without his armour and realize what he is - or they might not. His body is scarred from battles in life and in death: the scars where swords bit into flesh, the tears where a ghoul's claws tore through armour, and the bite-marks along his left leg where his body was nearly fed to a ghoul, only to be retrieved by a necromancer for other uses.

These marks are, to him, clues that he hopes will reveal his past.

As a final note, his voice retains the echo that marks him as one of those resurrected by the Scourge as a death knight.

Personality

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Of Veris's personality, there is little that can be said. Intent upon finding his past, to the root of the rage that has filled him ever since his awakening, he cares little for others nor their endeavours. For his future, he seeks control: dominion over the Scourge, at least in part. Whether it be to carve out a small place for himself, solitude away from the rest of the world, or to create his own private kingdom, not even he is sure. His goal is to seek that control, further distancing him from the endeavours of others. Whether this may cause a clash between his past and future... only time will tell.

When addressing another, he does nothing to hide his hatred and rage: rather, he keeps it controlled, just barely. His humour, or what there is of it that he's developed, tends to be sardonic.

History

Much of Veris's past remains shrouded by his death and time as a Scourge minion, subservient to the Lich King's will and decree.

Yet, if one goes back to the events preceding the fall of Lordaeron to the Scourge, back to the purge of Stratholme, there was once a family of mercantile nobles. Their influence remained firmly in trading, with greater nobles backing their endeavours and bringing them and their benefactors great wealth. Of this family, little to no record remains beyond the memories of those who claim the name of Forsaken. And even then, the truth is hard to find.

So the past recorded here shall be simply one record of many, as ever error-filled and without bias as it can be. We are, us caretakers of knowledge, only mortal....

The Gansul nobles, before their influence declined and they became mere merchants, were originally mages who dabbled behind closed doors in the arcane for selfish designs. Using their magics, they manipulated their fellows and killed those who proved resilient, all with the aim of seizing Stratholme for themselves. This treachery was discovered by a wandering mage who, as it later came to be, would prove to be an instructor of the arcane within Dalaran. The name of Gansul was tarnished irrevocably, the mage-bloods executed as traitors and those who had no inkling of their brethren's plans were cast out of the city in disgrace, taking new names and starting new bloodlines.

One of the resulting bloodlines was the branch that became the Gansuls of modern import.

This branch of the various bloodlines was founded by Zaerik Gansul, who was the child of a Lordaeron noblewoman and Yizel Gansul. With the wealth of his mother, Zaerik bought businesses throughout Lordaeron and in the kingdom of Stormwind. Most of it was shipping: exporting and importing goods between major and minor ports. Zaerik Gansul's trading empire continued through the generations, expanding its influence further and further. Gilneas, Stormwind, Stratholme... these cities became the epicenter of their trading routes. In Stratholme, their money bought them influence among the nobles, power that was theirs for the taking with the right price. They prospered, while they hid a buried secret behind the business: they helped smuggle free orcs to the clans nearest the coasts, receiving Orc-crafted weapons and armour to be sold as novelties to the wealthy and the eccentric. It was during the years before the Second War that Veris was born, the last child of his mother's, who died giving birth to him.

From the start, Veris made it plain that the business of trading was of no concern to him - only the sword did. He idolized the knights of lore, worshipped the Light in hopes of becoming a Paladin so that he could have a chance to be a hero as they all were.... But his dream wasn't to be.

When he came of age to go to the priests and ask for induction into the teachings of the church, he was turned aside with but a single word. (Remaining records indicate that of the two priests present at the time, one was a soothsayer who detected Veris' lies when questioned by the other priest. The soothsaying clergyman was the one to deny Veris' request, rather brusquely.) Confused, hurt, and feeling like he'd been betrayed, he forswore the Light and immersed himself wholly into the mastery of the sword. Where once he'd revered all that the paladins and their Light represented, he began to have doubts: was he not pure enough to join them, he who had only wished to defend the Light and all that was good? Who were they, the priests, to decide who was pure? Was it not every man who chose a path for himself, who decided whether he was worthy or not? And if the Light was all-knowing, why did its representatives in mortal coil not find him and calm his rage against them?

At the age of twenty-two, Veris was raised to knighthood in response to his skills with a blade and his prowess in battle. This followed after his victory in a tournament melee, hosted by a minor noble and attended by the reigning family of Stratholme. Of the melee, Veris was one of the last to remain standing and the only one to remain undefeated. Veterans and knights, men-at-arms who'd fought in battles written in history... he bested them, the rage that fueled his sword-arm driving him ever onwards no matter how many hits he took. By the end of it, he was too tired to even so much as speak and it was there that he collapsed, unconciousness taking him. Two days later, a messenger came to his family's small but prosperous estate and informed them that the host of the tournament wished to take Veris into his service, as a household knight.

When he was informed, Veris gave his agreement and the ceremony for his knighthood was hosted in a small chapel. Most overlooked it, but others noticed: when the chaplain asked if Veris commited himself to defending his lord, his liege, his people, and the Light, he only accepted the first three charges, forgoing to swear to defend the Light. Thus, Veris was raised to knighthood.

For four years, he served that noble: defending him and his wife, his sons and daughters... dispensing justice and keeping the peace... and above it all, fostering a slow-growing hatred for the excess of the nobles. He buried his secrets away, every last one: the childhood friend he'd kept hidden from even his own family, the games he'd played which had, ultimately, blemished his soul, and the self-hate which had turned to rage against the Paladins and their Light. Those four years in which he served as a knight, he did so amidst dark moods and violent action. Only a little good came from him, rarely - a kindness to the noble's youngest son, who was often neglected and even beaten for his mistakes; the time in which the middle daughter fell and had to be carried, lest she dislocate a bone in her leg before a healer could mend it; and the one occurence when a riot broke out outside the noble's estate, when only Veris and the noble's wife and children were in residence. For that, Veris had gone out alone and spoke the mob down, until they finally dispersed.

His knighthood was one of mixed feelings, mixed beliefs: a contradiction of itself and of who he thought he was.

And then, the plague... and the purge led by Arthas Menethil. When Arthas came and faced Mal'Ganis, the city was in utter chaos: the dead rose and the living wept. The guards fought against zealot and dead alike, dying between them both. For Veris, he took the noble's family beyond the city, while the noble himself remained behind with the rest of his household knights, two oldest sons, and men-at-arms. Veris's first encounter with the plague came once outside the city: the noble's wife had been infected and when she tried to turn upon her own children, Veris hesitated... too long. The youngest of the daughters had her throat torn out and it was then that Veris struck, beheading the woman. He built a fire and burned the bodies, while the noble's youngest son and last two daughters alternated between weeping and screaming at Veris, calling him a murderer and monster.

When dawn came, the forces of Uther Lightbringer found them and gathered them back to the city. It was there that Veris and the noble-born children were faced with the horrible reality of it all. Those who had survived the purge burned the dead and dying, amidst screams of pain and sorrow, amidst tears that never stopped falling. Of Veris' family, there remained no trace - their estate was burned to the ground, the bodies around it scorched too badly to discern any features... only a single ruby-signet ring remained amidst the ruins, the sign of the Gansul. Veris showed no sign of his despair as he returned the children to their father's home. There, bodies littered the street: Lordaeron colors, Stratholme markings, and the dead. The cleanup was just beginning there. Within the noble's estate, they found the noble and the three children flocked to him, sobbing and screaming. Veris simply watched and waited, 'till the noble had another knight send them away. The noble asked him what had happened to his wife and his dear daughter, and Veris answered him.

No more words needed to be said between the two. The nobleman was grateful that he still had his kin, but the despair and accusation he wished to fling at Veris was ever clear. In the hour, Veris had gathered all that remained to him and left Stratholme behind, never to see it again...

After this, there remain few records until the Scarlet Crusade was formed, in which Veris Gansul once again appears. And of these records, none are of much note: Veris Gansul fought the Scourge, garnering a staggering three-hundred-and-thirty-eight exorcisms before falling in battle outside the undead-infested ruins of Stratholme, just beside the main gate.

Supposition places his resurrection around this time. The last place in which a possible mention of him can be found is from Ebon Blade records, using only the name Veris. The lack of his family name may, possibly, be due to the lack of memories most of the Blades suffered. Beyond the mention, Veris has been missing since his release form the Lich King's control. Where he's been, only he can really say.