Dunlain

Information

Player: Hawk

Character Full Name: Romaren Dunlain

Character In-Game Name: Dunlain

Nickname(s): Rom, Dun, Dunny

Association(s): The Alliance, The Scarlet Crusade (former)

Race: Human

Class: Runemaster (Warrior)

Age: 30

Sex: Male

Hair: Black

Eyes: Blue

Scale: 1.05

Weight: 256lbs

Height: 6'3

Skills and Ablities

Rune of the Horse – Painted onto the Runemaster's legs, the magic of the Rune allows him to run with the speed and endurance beyond a regular humanoid, however the energy required means the rest of his runes are deactivated for the duration.

Rune of Inner Fire - Tattooed across both his pectorals, the Rune of Inner fire allows his punches to deal additional fire damage as well as strike multiple opponents. Keeping this rune activated too long will burn out the magic completely for a short time.

Rune of the Mountain – Decorating the Runemaster's back, the Mountain rune passively grants an armour rating equivalent to leather. When activated, the Runemaster's skin toughens to that of stone for a short duration.

Rune of the Charging Bear – The markings of the bear are inked into the Runemaster's biceps, forearms and knuckles. When activated, this allows for strikes to deal as much damage as normal blunt weapons as well as granting a boost to strength and tenacity.

Rune of Regeneration – Inked into his abdomen, the rune of regeneration passively grants the ability to naturally regenerate at a quicker rate. Once per day, the Runemaster can activate this to grant a large burst of restorative energies in an emergency situation. Doing so disables his boosted regeneration.

Rune of Ghosts - A minor rune that is marked on the Runemaster's feet which allows him to escape weaker non-magical bindings (such as getting caught in bramble). In addition, for a set distance, when activated it allows the Runemaster to walk without leaving any footprints, though not masking his scent or making him invisible to scrying effects.

Rune of the Predator – A minor sigil inked into the back of his neck. When activated, this grants the Runemaster heightened senses. His eyes are sharper and can see much further away than he normally would be able to, his nose can pick up many more non-magical odours in the air, and his hearing is greatly augmented.

Appearance

He wears very little as to not reduce the effectiveness of his runes, though he covers as much of himself as he can.

Other: He has the crest of Lordaeron branded into his right and left hand. Other than that, nothing notable.

Personality

Although attempting to improve by learning how to let go, Dunlain is a stubborn individual and doesn't enjoy admitting defeat, nor does he like to admit when he needs help. If there's a chance he can do it by himself with no one's assistance, he'll often take it. It can also take a while for him to warm up to people. In a battle he will be guaranteed to watch your back, but he won't be so quick to call you a friend after. In his old life he used to have a distrust for everything, and whilst he still clings to some prejudice of the other races, he is attempting to make up for this old actions by being more neutral to those he meets. Those who follow a faith or religion will be met with immediate skepticism and questioning no matter how good a person they may be.

His old way of thinking would be to strike first and deal with whatever comes, but this too is another aspect of his life he seeks to improve. Not only to think first, but to show more compassion. Despite all he may try to do, he is merely human and will be met with many lapses along the way. Particularly when emotions and stakes are high, he may sometimes revert back to his old ways.

It would be unwise to underestimate just how far down the line he'll go to protect the ones he loves. He will take extreme measures no matter the cost to himself if it means his loved ones escape.

History

Romaren Dunlain was raised in a nondescript village, one of the many that dotted the plains of what used to be Lordaeron. His childhood was spent in a large farmhouse, with an equally large family. Uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins, brothers and sisters, all of them lived as one family and worked together to make a living. They had a strong sense of faith, following the Light and thanking it everyday for what they had, but Romaren had never felt a strong tie to it. Whilst not abominating it, there were simply too many questions left unanswered for his liking.

Until he was 6, life was as good as could be. Loud, exhausting and usually smelling of manure, but still worth living. Change, however, was on the horizon. His family had neglected to tell him of the first war, but now he was being told that most of the adult males of the house were off to help defend their race against Orcs during the second war. As a child he didn't understand why it had to be THEM who had to leave, and for the next few years he harboured resentment towards the people who left and took it out on those who were close to him. Not even his mother could get through to him.

The following years had lost their spark. There were fewer laughs, less games, and dinner was often the one time they would all get together, but always in utter silence save for the scraping of knives and forks. Once again, change would tear his family apart, and he longed for the clatter of plates. It was now Romaren's time to leave, for Lordaeron had been hit by the plague. The countryside was ravaged and people fell by the thousands. The farmhouse now belonged to the dead, and for days he and his mother wandered alone whilst they tried to find aid. They got what they wished for, but not the way they hoped.

The Scarlet Crusade had found them, starving and desperate for water. It was only thanks to Romaren's mother that they weren't mistaken for undead and executed after a demonstration that she followed the Light. The remaining pair of their once large family were taken to a church for care and examination. Taken in without question, Romaren could feel there was something amiss. He soon discovered that they could stay for as long as they like... because leaving wasn't an option. These fanatics would never let a heretic live under their roof, and Romaren soon learned to keep the faith. They would sit him down for hours and force him to read through holy scriptures and memorise the teachings of the Light over and over. When he failed, or if he spoke against them, they would beat him, even going as far to threaten to harm his mother if he didn't repent.

His solution to all of this was to lie. Lie no matter, and keep playing the role of the pious young man. The commanding officer, however, was less easily fooled at first. Driven to extremes to keep his mother safe, Romaren told the officer to place two brands into a fire. Despite being a mere teenager, he then took the searing hot brands and pressed them into the backs of his hands by himself. The crest of Lordaeron, used by the Scarlet Crusade, was now with him eternally. Despite having a strong willpower at a young age, it only got him so far. He soon forgot that the lies he told himself over and over were false. The words and the scars on his skin took root like a parasite and he slowly became a fully turned Scarlet Crusader.

Unable to endure the torment any longer, his mother too was driven to extremes. In the dead of night, with nothing left behind but a single note, she committed suicide. The now fanatical Dunlain was convinced she was secretly a heretic and repented an honourable way. He resumed training as a Monk, wielding holy fire within his fists and creating a brand of his own. He learned the ways of unarmed combat quickly, growing stronger by the day and pushing his body to new limits.

When he was fit enough, he was moved away from the simple churches and crude base camps. He was stationed at the great fortress of Hearthglen, where he frequently participated in scouting missions. Both friend and rival often died on the field, and he was able to keep pushing on. But his true test came when a member of the Argent Dawn was captured. Her beauty was breathtaking, and a ring on her finger indicated she was married. She was taken to the dungeons and to test his resolve, the commanders put her in Dunlain's charge. He personally extracted every ounce of information that he could out of her through the horrific torture machines they had beneath the church.

Even when she had her own blood pooling beneath her feet, even when she was mutilated almost beyond recognition, she still refused to admit her faith in the Light was false. She begged and pleaded for Romaren to stop, and even though he wanted to, he kept telling himself he was being tested. This was all to strengthen him. She was impure and had to be cleansed. Yet, something gave him pause. He reported to his commanding officers that he refused to believe she was a nonbeliever. Despite his claims, she was still executed. The night before, she gave Romaren her wedding ring and asked her to keep it safe, for it was the only thing precious to her in the world. She told him that she saw good in him as he tried to spare her.

Romaren was speechless, and sound of the guillotine dropping to her neck haunted him from that day and forever onwards. Even when a man had made her go through untold amounts of pain, she was the one giving him mercy. He never forgot her face, nor her captivating green eyes. He spent the rest of his years not only trying to forget that night, but carrying on his sworn duty to the Scarlet Crusade. He wouldn't break his oath so easily. Fate had different plans for him entirely.

He was never given the "privilege" of being stationed in Northrend, something he was later grateful for. But when there was word that the Lich King had been slain, he was confused why the troops deployed there had not already returned. Soon there was word that men had been spotted, but it was not their own. The Argent Crusade had come and liberated Hearthglen. Though he fought valiantly, Dunlain was defeated and given mercy. It took a long, long time for them to return Dunlain to his old self, the wedding ring he was safeguarding a key part in uplifting his insanity.

Whatever coin Dunlain could scrape, it was spent on living at the bottom of a bottle. He couldn't stand remembering everything he had done and all that he had lost in his quest to become a monster. He drank to forget, and was worth as much as the mud he rolled in. It wasn't until a hooded stranger took pity on him that he was able to get his life back together. Later revealed as a Runemaster, he offered to teach him what he knew only as long as he promised to use his new strength to redeem himself. A barely sober Dunlain agreed, and though it took a long time to get back on his feet, he rose a changed man.