Haplo

Information

Player: Areninekay

Character Full Name: Haplo

Character In-Game Name: Haplo

Nickname(s): Loner

Association(s): Cult of the Forgotten Shadow

Race: Forsaken (Human)

Class: Priest (Shadow)

Age: 56

Sex: Male

Hair: Black, long

Eyes: Yellow

Weight: 200lbs

Height: 6'1"

Appearance

Shadoweave garments

Personality

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Haplo is most noted for his deathly and cold aura around him, especially when entering a Shadowform. He is terse in general conversation, but when pressed, he exudes information and advice rarely considered by the general population. He is devoted to the Cult of Shadow, and he follows the Three Virtues to the core. When asked to pass judgment on a civil case presented to him, it is automatically accepted that what he says is considered well-conceived truth, that he is not out to cheat either party, but maintains balance and delivers fair justice. When angered, he doesn't attack the physical body of those who are against him -- rather, he recognizes that the weakest part of the body is the mind, and will attempt to drive those against him into insanity. Many Forsaken have been found going into mindlessness after opposing Haplo's frozen command...

History

Haplo, formerly Daniel Penn, was a devoted member to the Church of the Holy Light, born into the Church, and essentially immersed in the environment to believe that the Light was the only divine creature in the world, and no other religions existed. He was trained to be an acolyte by the Clerics of Northshire abbey, where his devotion blossomed into near-zealotry.

When he was 27, the First War happened, with the orcs ravaging all of Elwynn. Penn, smiting with pathetic energy of light, and healing only the smallest of wounds, did what he could to help the Clerics, who were brimming with the Light, in fighting back the onslaught. Though he did little to help in combat, he was able to assist in dragging the wounded and the dead northward to avoid the razing of the orcish legion. His mother and father, however, did not. It was the first time Penn felt truly alone, and a dire change twisted his heart.

Six years later, Archbishop Alonsus Faol and Uther the Lightbringer began to establish the Knights of the Silver Hand. Penn hastily accepted the invitation; though he did little to assist in Northshire, he was still considered a veteran. His zealotry was growing more and more as the number of clerics around him became less and less, either from being slaughtered or from old age; he had a macabre sense of importance at surviving what happened in Northshire, that the Light was safeguarding him. His mind had small, quick thoughts that those who died in Northshire deserved it.

He returned back to Elywnn with Faol. Penn assisted the rebuilding of Northshire Abbey, where he was promoted to no longer being an acolyte, but rather becoming a true, albeit weak, cleric. He spent most of his middle years studying tomes of knowledge, and gaining weight, secluding himself more and more from his peers. His devotion to the Light became one of self-mutilation, atoning for his transgressions and the transgressions of others by causing himself pain, an act that he kept hidden to prevent the rebuking of his fellow brothers in the Light.

Though Penn was devoted to the Light, the Light did little to answer him. His feelings of loneliness and desperation became more intense, his desire to feel the Light becoming an overwhelming obsession. Others noticed the wretch he was becoming, and challenged him in his pursuits. Penn, his soul reflected in his eyes, cut down the other cleric's stares, penetrating them to their hearts. Everyone knew Penn was twisted, but they could not find the reason why. Many speculated that while his tenacity was at its zenith, he did little to respect the Light, much less show compassion to the poor and downtrodden in the streets. Nonetheless, they let him preach in the newly-constructed Cathedral of Light, his sermons universally powerful, true, and inspiring.

While on missionary work in Lordaeron when he was 47, he found himself suffering from a bad cough. This cough developed into more serious complications, until he found himself suffering from the Plague. He went under, and was raised again into undeath, serving the Lich King. Entirely unaware of the fate that had befallen him, he pledged himself to the whispers of the Lich King, believing he had simply recovered from his plague, and was now finally in contact with the Light. He, as numerous other priests, were found to have a particular power over certain mindless; this form of control was encouraged by the Lich King in order to keep the Scourge in shackles, while Penn, believing he was in control (and unaware of the true reality around him) was merely a puppet. A sort of chain-of-command was created, with Penn believing himself independent of others, yet entirely controlled in his actions.

When word got out that Sylvanas Windrunner had attempted to assassinate Arthas, and had escaped the Scourge, he became furious, pure spite coming forth in his teachings, reminding the undead under him to always listen to their masters, and to never question the teachings of the divine. Penn was one of many that were instrumental in preventing many of the undead from leaving their mindless state.

Recognizing the position of several of the priests in the Lich King's service, he was contacted by Windrunner's associates to finally break free, and develop a will of his own. Strongly resistant at first, Penn finally suffered a spiritual breakdown. Realizing that the whispers he had been receiving were not from the Light, the world melted around him. He saw the masses of undead, he saw the destroyed flora and cities, he finally recognized that his hands were cold and dead. Borderline mindless, he was soothed before going unconscious, and awakening in the Undercity, which was still undergoing construction. Faced with the ultimatum of unlife or true death, Penn accepted unlife, and changed his name to reflect his true loneliness: Haplo.

After nine years of preaching in the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow, Haplo's personality has become nothing more than cold and calculated. He is a man who has no conscience, and is unwilling to admit a mistake. The Shadow responds to him, something the Light never did (more than likely that his pursuits into the Light did not reflect the virtues of the Holy Light accurately, much less showing true compassion to the souls he worked with). His progression quest to personal power has convinced him that the Light is for the weak, and true power rests solely in the Shadow. However, there is a warning among his familiars about not balancing Light and Shadow...

Skills and Abilities

A basic understanding of first aid, cooking, and fishing, with a more in-depth, though poor, knowledge of alchemy and herbalism. Can also assume a Shadowform; is able to attack with shadow tentacles while in Shadowform in melee range. (Shadow Tentacles -- School: Evocation; Element: Shadow; Mana Cost: 10% Maximum Mana; "The caster unleashes warped shadows from his body, attacking up to three enemies in front of the caster in melee range for X to Y Shadow damage every three seconds for six seconds, and reduces the chance melee and ranged attacks can hit the caster by 25%. While chanelling the spell, the caster cannot move or cast any other spell. Can only be used while in Shadowform.)