Kraine

Information

Player: Kepora

Character Full Name: Kraine Scarhorn

Character In-Game Name: Kraine

Nickname(s): None

Association(s): Scourge (former), The Purge

Race: Tauren

Class: Death Knight

Skills and Abilities: Proficiency with Unholy powers, particularly Death and Decay; Frost and Blood powers severely impaired.

Age: 78

Sex: Male

Hair: Black

Eyes: Runic blue

Weight: ~660 (prior to being resurrected by Zalthiel), ~850 (Post-resurrection, armor weight included)

Height: 8'8"

Appearance

Usual Garments/Armor: Primarily Red and gunmetal saronite plate; post-resurrection, a few parts of his armor are attached to help hold him together, his helmet/mask is melded to his head, and the bulk of his armor that covers non-vital areas are made of random pieces of steel, cobalt, iron, etc.

Other: Ebon Greatsword

Personality

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Cruel, vindictive, and hot-tempered. He is easily provoked into violence, and believes that there is no such thing as "excessive force". When he fights, he fights to kill; no less, but more is fine. Post-resurrection, his temper is far more easily contained thanks to Zalthiel's control.

History

Kraine is an older bull, a seasoned veteran in every form of war that the Tauren have ever engaged in. Born in the Southern Barrens during the chaotic times before the coming of the Orcs, Kraine learned early in life that one must be willing to kill in order to survive-that the survival of the fittest is truly the way of life, the way the Earthmother made it, and the way she intended it.

In the early years of his life, Kraine spent much time on the move, moving from one tent city to another as the Centaur continued to pillage, plunder, and murder. Sometimes he followed his father in battle to strike back against the centaur, but-as the years wore on-more and more of the people Kraine had grown close to had either dispersed into other tribes or were killed in the raids, and more even in their Great Hunts. He eventually learned to despise all that was not of Tauren blood; everything that could be a threat to his race was to be either held under Tauren grasp, or trampled under their hooves.

By the time Kraine was in his 30's, the Centaur threat had grown exponentially worse. His tribe - the Scarhorns - were pushed to the border of Mulgore and the Barrens. He was angered by his father's "cowardly" actions, and lead many of the younger - and the more violent elder bulls - in a furious charge on a Centaur encampment under the cover of night. Kraine spearheaded the assault himself, and when the sun was up, the Centaur had been killed-as well as 14 tribesman. His father attempted to punish Kraine, but retribution for the attack came swiftly; before mid-day, the remaining members of the Centaur's war party had arrived on the Scarhorn's doorstep, assaulting the weakened tribe. The centaur were pushed back, but many men, women, and children were killed - including Kraine's father, the Chieftain.

Despite protest, Kraine took his birthright title of Chieftain and led the Scarhorn tribe as he saw fit. They changed from surviving at all costs to wiping out the Centaur at all costs, hunting down Centaur rather than defending Tauren lands. Under his guide, many young Tauren were led to believe in his hateful ways, and - with as few elders that remained - there was no unified majority to speak against this new direction for the Scarhorn tribe. They became hyper-aggressive as a whole, going as far as to hunt down and slaughter an entire Prowler pride for a single attack made on a scout.

Despite their ferociousness and resolve, the Scarhorns were pushed back into Mulgore, forced into the confines of the canyon with the 'inferior' tribes that would eventually ally themselves - or join - the Bloodhoof Tribe. It was here that he had finally found a mate in Hirowata, a female whom had been inducted from another tribe. His daughter Attara was born when he was 54, and Kared when he was 56. This normally joyous occassion was disrupted, however, when his authority was challenged when elders from another tribe spoke up about Kared's possible future concerning his place in the tribe. He "dismissed" them in a fit of rage, Hirowata preventing any physical violence.

By his 69th year, Kraine's son had fled Mulgore after Kraine's failed attempt to do away with his "failure" of a son, Attara having saved Kared and disowning her father. Hirowata had been killed years before in yet another Centaur aid, and without her inluence their small family had been shattered. It was durign this time that Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms had begun to communicate, allowing Kared to elude Kraine's wrath for good. Thrall had taken control as Warchief, and the "inferior" Tauren had united upon Thunder Bluff under the banner of the Bloodhoof tribe. Others were not as fond of the idea, and joined the Grimtotems - most of Kraine's tribe included. With no tribe left, Kraine's title as Chieftain was null and void, and his anger and violent tendencies began to fester and grow.

Years passed still, and the threat of the new Lich King arose. Seeing a chane to re-establish his tribe's former glory - and to redeem himself, as well as absolve his tribe's name of the failures of his children - he joined the initial waves of Horde soldiers whom traveled to Northrend to fight the Lich King's forces; fate had another plan for him, though, and he was eventually slain. His raw fury, hatred, and sheer physical power interested the Scourge whom were collecting bodies, and he was spared the fate of mere undeath; he had been chosen to join the ranks of the Third Generation Death Knights.

Kraine proved to be an excellent candidate, going as far as to slaying nearly a dozen other candidates to prove himself. He was not present at the assault on Light's Hope, and thus remained under Arthas' grasp until the Lich King fell. This extended time warped his mind further, and he came to believe that even the Grimtotem's ways were not enough; he began to see that is wasn't just the Centaur that had to be exterminated, but all forms of civilization on Azeroth. The kingdoms and politics had become a disease, one he believed in his twisted mind that the Earthmother wished to be rid of. He saw himself as her tool, the scalpel to carve out the cancer that was the kingdoms of men, Dwarves, Orcs, Elvenkind, everyone. This mindset became so deeply-rooted into his being that it persisted well after the Lich King's fall. He was not the only one whom was tainted by deep-rooted hatred, and he found an ally in an Orcish Death Knight by the name of Duktagarg. This relationship would be the foundation of Kraine's future as one of the evils of Azeroth.

Years passed, and under his guide - and the eventual death of his ally, Duktagarg - the Purge was formed, a gathering the spurned forces of Azeroth under his banner; Forsaken, Warlocks, even other Death Knights came to his call. He drew them in with the argument that they would never be accepted by the "ruling" classes and races, and that they had to strike first before the races of Azeroth could amass against them.

His dream - his delusion - truly manifested first in an assault on Westfall, and again when he and The Purge amassed and razed a plantation in Hillsbrad over an artifact that his then second-in-command Zalthiel required. During this time, though, he had been struck down (though not actually killed) on multiple occasions, and his psyche began to deteriorate, matching his physical condition. Eventually, he made a foolish mistake thanks to his lessening cognition, and - aided by three others - his daughter, Attara, finally struck him down for good. She retrieved his skull and journeyed to Thunder Bluff, having it consecrated and laid to rest. However, the rest of Kraine's remains - armor, sword, bones, and all - were confiscated by Zalthiel.

It was in the darkened, foul catacombs of The Purge's lair that Zalthiel took advantage of his "condition", building a new body upon his old armor and bones from unfortunate fools she found suitable for the task. He is almost nothing more than a clumsy walking tank now, an anchor for the offensive lives of The Purge; Saronite plates melded to his chest and the hump on his back, formed into powerful hinges for his elbows and knees, and a large formidable mask to his skull, and various other heavy metals formed into the rest of his amor. What he lacks in speed and mobility now he gains in the sheer weight he throws into his attacks, sowing fear into the hearts of those unable to avoid his wide, sweeping swings. Blood and Frost powers are virtually lost to him, Kraine relying on their latent powers to keep himself in undeath. While on his own his Unholy abilities are diminished as well, his strength returns when he is coupled with another powerful in the Unholy arts. In these situations, he no longer has to rely on himself for sustenance, able to unleash the full fury of his favorite powers - namely Death and Decay, the power he's made his signature. He now travels almost exclusively by Death Gate or by Deathcharger, and wherever he is seen, it can be safe to assume that his puppetmaster, Zalthiel, is not too far off. Despite being reduced to a pawn in her schemes, he still serves The Purge as a powerful asset, acting as their line-breaker, the butcherer of formations and the slayer of heroes, the sword arm guided by Zalthiel's twisted mind.