Seldszyne
Information
Player: Scout
Character Full Name: Seldszyne Rubysong
Character In-Game Name: Seldszyne
Nickname(s): none
Association(s): The Black Dragonflight, The Twilight’s Hammer
Race: Blood Elf
Class: Arcane Warrior (Dragonsworn)
Age: 237
Sex: Female
Weight: 184 lb
Height: 6' 6" (1.13 scale)
Appearance
Seldszyne dwarfs most other women of her race, and even rivals the height of full-grown men. Her body is shaped into a perfect machine from constant training, but even with powerful muscles, her elven heritage lends her a lithe figure. Her skin is pale, though not deathly so, and her hair is long and black, worn in one of many styles...whether with thin strands braided to either side of her head, tied back out of the way, or simply let down.
Seldszyne’s exact appearances vary drastically depending upon the circumstances she’s in. Among the Twilight’s Hammer, she almost always dresses in full plate armor with clawed gauntlets, unwilling to show weakness to her peers at any moment. The armor is composed of obsidium, striking a dark and imposing silhouette. She wears a circlet and mask that obscures the lower half of her face completely, tracing a line from beneath her eyes to the root of her nose. When incognito, Seldszyne favors plainer red armor and casual cloth garb, preferring to remain more covert.
Regardless of the time, Seldszyne always wears a necklace with a thin silver chain and numerous small gemstones along it, including sapphires, onyx, and mother of pearl. The largest gemstone is a ruby in the center of the chain, easily twice the size of the other gems. One of the onyx gems is the devotional gem of the Black Dragonflight, but it’s unclear which one it is.
Personality
Seldszyne is a demanding and dominant individual. She enjoys subtly manipulating people, exercising fine control over their feelings and actions, and potentially even purposely misleading them for the sake of her own amusement. Such plots can be drawn out in their nature, and often she prefers for the end result to barely be noticeable to its victims. At other times, she’s entirely willing to take direct action and shock her subject into submission. She does not tolerate insubordination, but those who do as she says are likely to escape her wrath, or even gain her favor. While she does not always like being subservient to others, she knows well the importance of duty, and will bow her head even when her instincts may say otherwise.
Seldszyne can be slightly aloof at times, but at such times she still keeps a keen eye on the situation, surveying it in her mind and drawing connections and conclusions to her benefit. Her outward appearance is often peaceful at this time, hardly betraying whatever thoughts may cross her mind. When necessary, however, she is more than willing to step in and be vocal in her will and opinions. She does not always favor intimidation, and is perfectly capable of expressing herself with alluring language and well-concealed lies.
More than anything else, Seldszyne loves the rush of combat--whether a simple spar with wooden weapons, or a full-blown battle with death all around her. She goes into somewhat of a battle trance during those times, her perspectives and awareness of the world shifting toward more visceral instincts. There are few other times where she feels more alive.
History
Seldszyne was born with only one natural parent. Her father Dreylaen had died at some time during her mother Cellan’s pregnancy, but by the time Seldszyne was born, she had a stepfather, whose name was Ochnalae. At first Cellan tried to convince Ochnalae that Seldszyne was his child, but over time Ochnalae learned that Dreylaen was Seldszyne’s actual father, much to his chagrin. Seldszyne was too young to know any better, but even from a young age, Ochnalae continually instilled the feeling in her that she was somehow imperfect.
As Seldszyne matured, Cellan wanted to pass down martial arts of war, but Ochnalae insisted that it would be better for their daughter if she learned arcane magic instead. In the high society of Silvermoon, Cellan eventually conceded that knowing some arcane magic would be good. While Ochnalae taught Seldszyne of the arcane arts, Cellan took Seldszyne more or less in secret and taught her how to fight with a sword. In the end, Seldszyne took more to martial combat than she did to arcane, though she did manage to learn some spellwork...but not enough to please Ochnalae.
It wasn’t for a long time that Seldszyne learned from Cellan that Ochnalae was not her birth father after all, but that it was Dreylaen. Dreylaen had also been a great warrior, and one that Cellan had enjoyed fighting alongside. Seldszyne learned that not only had Cellan taught her her own knowledge, but she had also taught techniques that Dreylaen once used. She informed Seldszyne of her father’s family name, the one she had wished to bequeath her: Rubysong. Seldszyne then received an heirloom gift of her father’s family: a silver necklace inlaid with gemstones, with a single large ruby.
After Ochnalae found out about what Cellan had done, he murdered her, much to the shock of Seldszyne. Hatred from decades of frutration and powerlessness finally boiled over, and late one night, she and Ochnalae did battle. Had she only known the magic that Ochnalae taught her, the duel would have been hopeless...but Seldszyne had inherited the skill of both her mother and her father. After a drawn out affair of both clashing steel and flaring spells, Seldszyne killed her stepfather, and reclaimed her father’s surname of Rubysong.
Seldszyne departed from Quel’thalas for a time after that. The rage in her heart had not subsided with the death of Ochnalae. She felt only alone now, as she now had no one left to turn to. She had never done well with others, so she had no good friends, and now she had no family as well. Loneliness turned to frustrating, and frustration turned to rage once again. The only course of action she could conceive was to vent it on others, as that was the only way she perceived she could mediate it. She did not care about the consequences of her actions. She only cared that, at least for brief moments, she could find some relief from her emotions.
Her initial targets were travelers, usually solitary. In the wilderness, there was no one to run to, and single targets never told tales. She often deceived them into traveling with her for a time, and then, once they had safely gotten off the main roads, she murdered them. Her skill improved even from what her mother had taught her as time went on, but she swiftly grew bored of murdering hapless wanderers on the road. Even with some fighting back with skill, she found that the thrill of it waned after some time. Desperate and frightened of what this might entail, she sought other, more drastic means of feeding the emptiness inside her.
At first, Seldszyne turned to torturing her victims before slaying them. Despite how it invigorated her, she felt herself craving more. It dawned upon her that there was a way that she could revel in all the violence she wished, and that she could do so without fear of retribution: by joining the Farstriders. She ventured back to her homeland and sought out service in the military, and she was assigned to a unit near Zul’Aman, keeping guard against the trolls there.
Unfortunately for Seldszyne, the trolls attacked less frequently than she would have liked, and she never participated in a full-scale battle. She became restless with the lack of combat, even with the control that duty over her exercised. She felt as though there was no point to what she was doing, and wished that she had never joined in the first place. Eventually, her unit came across a troll encampment on a reconnaissance mission. They deemed that they wouldn’t disturb it unless the trolls moved out, but Seldszyne wasn’t satisfied. The beginnings of a plan wormed their way into her head.
Later during the night, she snuck out of camp, and took some torches with her, evading the night watch. She traveled to the troll camp, and as they all slept, she lit one of the torches and burned one of their tents to the ground. She fled into the night as swiftly as possible, but not before some trolls saw her...as she had planned. The trolls, enraged with the transgression the elf had committed, struck out into the forest in search of the one who had challenged them. They came across the camp of Farstriders, and invaded them while the majority were still asleep. Seldszyne watched from afar as the camp was destroyed, then set off away.
It was barely an hour later before the consequences of her actions caught up to her, as she heard the swooping of huge, leathery wings above her. Before she could hide, a black drake landed directly in her path. For the first time in ages, Seldszyne felt fear for her life. She had finally encountered a foe that she knew she couldn’t face. She dropped her weapons to the ground, as she awaited a swift death at the hands of the black drake. But, the drake had other plans for her.
The drake informed her that he was amused and impressed by what he had seen her do, and told her that the Black Dragonflight needed mortals with her penchant for manipulation and chaos to serve them. He gave her two options: pledge her eternal loyalty, or die. Seldszyne, very nearly at a loss for words, chose loyalty, and the dragon swept her away to his lair.
The drake sent her back to Silvermoon with severe wounds, allowing that to be the first test of her loyalty. Seldszyne did not dare object to the violence inflicted on her, for she knew if she refused, then it would be her life instead. Upon arriving back at the capital, she was rushed to the clergy. It took her days to recover, even with magical healing. She told the story of the troll ambush to her superiors, omitting her betrayal. She was honorably discharged from the Farstriders, and assigned to an officer position off the battlefield. The drake visited her in elven form, and informed her that she would remain in this position and relay information to him until she received further orders.
For the first while, Seldszyne was simply too afraid to even consider resisting the drake’s commands, but as time went on she felt more and more like she was serving a greater power...a power unstoppable, perhaps, if she contributed her part. Even as a simple pawn in Silvermoon, she saw hints of her work paying off, as drakes would relay her orders, and she would ever so slightly destabilize one thing, or make setup for another.
When the Second War struck, Seldszyne found herself called to the front lines in Draenor. She knew she was an instrumental tool for the Black Dragonflight, and continually and gleefully gave them detailed information on the army’s whereabouts and plans, as much as she knew. With Deathwing’s defeat in Draenor, however, one of the drakes extracted Seldszyne from the Alliance Expedition. She was informed that there were greater duties back in Azeroth that required her presence. The dragonflight planted her in Dalaran, and she continued to feed them information as she awaited further orders, posing as a bodyguard to a mage.
Upon the destruction of Dalaran, Seldszyne fled into the wilderness again, mana-starved and frightened. She contacted the dragonflight for further orders, but they were not interested in entertaining her, and she found that she was on her own again. Wandering led her back to Silvermoon, where she assisted in reconstruction, but with joining the Horde, Seldszyne felt that perhaps she would be more useful to the Black Dragonflight in other locations, reporting on the status of the Horde as a whole. She traveled to Kalimdor, and there, by chance, she met the Twilight’s Hammer.
It was a quiet affair at first. She met a man who wove a tale to her of a place where the lost would be accepted unconditionally, and a place of salvation in the coming destruction of the world. The doctrine appealed to her, and the Black Dragonflight informed her that her orders were to join the Twilight cult and assist them in any activities they may present to her, as they would be instrumental in the dragons’ plans.
Seldszyne ascended the ranks of the Twilight’s Hammer, first serving in Blackfathom Deeps, then relocating to Silithus, and finally moving to Northrend and Ulduar. Skilled warriors were in short supply among the cult, so even with preference toward those who could harness the elements more powerfully, she managed to make her name known among the upper echelons of the Twilight’s Hammer.
The plans culminated as Seldszyne was told, and, as fate decreed, Deathwing rose from the heart of the world and brought forth the Shattering. With no need for secrecy deemed anymore, Seldszyne was instructed to reveal her status as a black dragonsworn to the Twilight’s Hammer. She was assigned to the assault on Mount Hyjal in a prestigious command position, directing many significant operations on the front lines. There, she continues to serve the Twilight’s Hammer...but ultimately, her loyalties still lie with the Black Dragonflight.
Skills and Abilities
Seldszyne is proficient with a wide range of weapons. She favors dual-wielding swords, or polearms, but has skill in shields, greatswords, and greataxes. Her combat style is fluid, well suited for dueling and eliminating single targets, and the deadly focus she experiences makes her a formidable opponent.
Seldszyne is also capable of augmenting her martial abilities with magic, applying elemental forces to her weapons, shielding herself from spells, and even causing arcane shockwaves when she hits the ground. She is also an enchanter and inscriber worthy of note.
