Veron

Information

Player: Ben

Character Full Name: Veron Rockhoof

Character In-Game Name: Veron

Nickname(s): The Chief

Association(s): The Tauren, Rockhoof Tribe

Race: Tauren

Class: Warrior

Skills and Abilities: Veron is highly trained in crushing skulls with his hammer. He has an iron will when it comes to clan matters.

Age: 79

Sex: Male

Hair: Greying black

Eyes: Brown

Weight: 300 kg

Height: 9'

Appearance

Usual Garments/Armour: Scaled mail armour that allows him to move in combat, and still offers protection. He carries a large, very heavy, hammer which is his primary weapon.

Personality

Alignment: Neutral

Personality: Veron is a brutal Tauren, raised to the position as Chief of the Rockhoof tribe at a young age, due to the centaur. Without the advice of those around him, he can quickly fly into a rampage over trivial matters, leading to the tribes Seer, his brother, usually being easily contactable, or at hand. He seeks to aid the Horde in whatever way he can, including the talents of his tribe out of a sense of respect and honour for the Green and Blue ones who killed off the centaur. To the Forsaken and Blood Elves, however, he does not see their ways as being good, and does not enjoy their presence. Especially not the presence of the Forsaken in Thunder Bluff.

Veron looks upon the Alliance with mixed feelings. He holds next to no respect for the Humans or the Gnomes, due to their races affinities for destruction and the perversion of the natural world. He will work with them, if it is some way beneficial to his people, but would be more than happy to war upon them should he be asked to do so. The Dwarven and Draenei are slightly more respected by Veron. For the Dwarven, out of respect for the Wildhammer Clan he has been told about, and the Bronzebeard's apparent spirit. He sees Magni as someone like himself, who does what is best for his people. Unlike the Human King. The Draenei were brought to this world fleeing from harm. This, according to Veron, is a noble cause. Their apparent capability for Shamanism also intrigues him, but their belief in the Light is something he does not see as good. Night Elves are the most respected of the Alliance members by Veron, as both races have been wandering the earth under the gaze of the Earthmother since time began. They share many things, and Veron respects their love of nature.

History

Born into the Rockhoof tribe during the nomadic times, times when the Tauren were not unified under the Bloodhoof tribe. His mother led the tribe, a Crone. She spoke with the Earthmother and told the tribe her will, something which the whole tribe revered, earning her the respect of the Rockhoof warriors. Her mate, Veron's father, was a warrior himself, often skirmishing with the Centaur to protect them all. Shortly after Veron's brother was born, however, his father was killed and trampled down under the hooves of the marauding centaur. Veron's mother was in despair, leading the tribe into battles it could not win in an attempt to take revenge upon his father's murderers. Over time, the tribes numbers dwindled as the Crone became more bitter; some left to go into other tribes, many more died facing the horse-men. When the time came for the Crone to pass away, the tribe was a mere shell of its old self.

Veron was still young when the Crone passed away, and so the mantle of leadership fell to another tribe member, until he was old enough to fully understand his responsibilities. With the good of the tribe at heart, this veteran of the Crone's madness began to lead the people west, out of the Barrens, and into what is now known as Mulgore, for the Seer of the tribe had interpreted signs showing that there would be an event of great importance for the Tauren as a whole occurring there. On their way, Veron undertook the Hunt, the rite of passage for Tauren that signifies them becoming a man. Veron's prey was a Thunder Lizard.

The Thunder Lizard was not usual prey for the Rockhoof Tribe, as they did not live in the area they had wandered before. The occurrence of this hunt specifically was foretold by Veron's own brother years before but disregarded as none of the tribe members had ever seen such a beast in their lifetimes. Veron was given a hammer and short sword to take down the beast with, and so fought the creature as best he could using the implements. The traditional spear, which Tauren normally use to complete the Hunt, was not given to Veron in honour of an old ancestor, one of the first leaders of the Tribe, who himself used a blade made from bone and a hammer to hunt a great blue panther who had stalked the Tribe and stolen away it's children for many days. The battle became a legend amongst the Rockhooves, as it was said that the Hammer-user had commanded the air itself to land the finishing blow upon the beast, calling a great bolt of lightning down to strike the panther. So powerful had the panther been that it still struck the ancestor's face, taking his eye, before it was crushed underneath his hammer and his jaw crushed underneath the ancestor's hoof.

When Veron approached the thunder lizard it shocked him from afar, with a similar commanding of lightning seen by the ancestor. Veron was cast to the floor, his fur smouldering. He slowly turned to face the lighting thrower, stubbornly refusing to give up so quickly. The beast however, snorting loudly due to the apparent victory, left itself open to attack. Veron picked himself up and charged for the beast trying to catch it unawares. He crushed its nose, and then cut to its heart, guessing where it was according to the beast's similarity to a Kodo. The hunters of the Rockhoof Tribe then came and took the meat and materials carved from the beast back to the rest of the Tribe, as the beast was so large he was not physically capable of taking the spoils back alone. The hunters of the Tribe received new armour over the coming days, forged from the beast's scales, and that night the air was alive with the sound of drums while the Rockhooves danced and ate for the joyous occasion. He had succeeded in the hunt, leaving only the Rite of Passage for Veron to undertake.

The Seer of the Tribe prepared him some herbs to take with him, and soon after his Hunt he took a skin of water and left the Tribe. He travelled to a high place, where a tree had grown. He rested in the shade and began to eat the herbs provided by the Elder Shaman. As he remained in the shaded area, Veron quickly began to run out of water. At the foot of the mountain, there was a small spring of water, tempting the young Tauren to leave the mountain, drink, and return. Almost succumbing to the temptation, he reminded himself that the Earthmother always provides for her children, and remained under the tree. During the night, rains came, and Veron collected the water, thanking the Earthmother and drinking. As Veron thanked the Earthmother, he saw Mu'Sha – the moon- and was transfixed by her. The sight was humbling, as such a small part of the Earthmother, her eye, created such a great presence on the land, that he himself seemed tiny. Until Mu'Sha fell into the horizon and An'She – the Sun – rose again the maturing Tauren meditated on his place in the world. Feeling at peace and calm, a sprit thunder lizard came to Veron, confusing him. The spirit lizard was beaten away by another form, a boar, which remained with Veron, and began to guide him back to the Tribe, away from the mountaintop. Upon returning to the Tribe, he told the Elder Shaman of the thunder lizard and boar and she told him of his brother's vision.

Veron's brother had seen a vision of a boar goring a thunder lizard, and then the boar leading a plethora of other animals, like a Tribe. Over time, the vision had been forgotten, and the more cynical of the Tribe hailed it as the child's daydream. This vision, combined with Verons own, seemed to show Veron could become the leader of the tribe, and while the Elder Shamen of the Tribe debated the credibility of this, Veron was sent to contact the ancestors to see for himself what they wanted to tell him. He set about carving a series of wooden idols to burn, these idols were of a waterfall falling into a lake, a kodo, an eagle, and scattering leaves. He burned these to honour the ancestors and was contacted by his mother. She gave him blessing, but the image of his father's hammer stuck in his head after the event. Spurred on by this, he set to honour his father in the same way, this time carving a male hunter, a hammer, a bear, a tree with roots, and an owl. Unsure of what to ask his father, he asked for guidance in the battles to come, giving him the judgement to protect and nurture the tribe, ensuring that they prosper in whatever it is that is coming in Mulgore. The Elders agreed with the sentiments of his mother, that he should be made Chief of the Tribe. The older hunters of the Tribe were not sure of the meaning of this new, young, Chief but did not raise their voices against the change, as to do so would be against the Earthmother's wishes. The Tribe again celebrated this occurrence with a feast and party, culminating in the presentation to Veron of his father's hammer.

As leader of the Rockhoof Tribe, he continued to lead them to Mulgore, but on the final approach was attacked by a stampede of centaur, fleeing Mulgore. The Rockhooves survived the attack, but barely. Most of the adults of the tribe were killed in the attack, leaving a young tribe remaining. There was but a handful of warriors left to take the tribes remnants to Mulgore, the rest being either the young, or the old. Upon reaching Mulgore, and continuing through the fields, they came across Thunder Bluff, where they were welcomed. Veron sent one of the old shaman to speak to Cairne, the Chieftain of the Bloodhoof, while he sought to speak to the short Green men, and less-short Blue men. They spoke to him of conquering the centaur, and the formation of the Horde. When the shaman returned, having pledged allegiance to the Bloodhooves in Veron's best interest, something he had agreed to when becoming Chief because of his lack of experience, Veron pledged to aid the Horde in any way that he, or his tribe, could, for the safe and bountiful world they had helped create for the Tauren.

Now, Veron fights alongside the Horde as a warrior, lifting his hammer to smite whoever raises a weapon against the honourable people of the Horde so that his young Tribe will be treated with prestige because of his actions.