A Shaded Figure Takes the Stage

[Shroud]

First and foremost: Tell us about yourself, as a player:

I'm an American role-player with a few years of experience behind my back. Keeping RP as a hobby aside from typical video games, I have a certain affinity for darker settings. The grittier side of Warcraft, the truth of the Azerothian underground calls on my attention. Blood elves, worgen, Forsaken, night elves--I do what I can to present myself in a slightly more "edgy" light that feels more like a "race" that has been as war-torn and battered as much as they have. I've been a bit of a closet role-player in terms of my real life interactions. The idea of being someone who sits around at his keyboard writing stories for characters in a video game doesn't come off as what is accepts as "normal." People usually see me as a guy who plays a bunch of shooters. But it doesn't impede my ambitions. Story-writing and entertainment are what RP is all about, at least in my book.

What country do you come from? What is your primary language?:

Well, I prematurely stated that. I'm American and I speak English (with a hint of Spanish capability thanks to graduation requirements in high school).

How did you get into Warcraft?:

Well, it was really just a chain of online games that brought me up to WoW and other MMOs. The first MMORPG that I played was Runescape, and that was back about seven or eight years ago. Moving on to WoW was only natural. I wasn't ever much of a PvE or PvP person. The grinding never really suited me. I have to say that my first steps into RP were the least honorable that they could possibly be. There's nothing I regret about admitting that Moon Guard was where I started off. Believe what you will, but I've ascended far beyond those... troubling roots. It was the immense story of Warcraft and deep history that no other MMO really seemed to have that drew me in. I eventually abandoned the bland concept of basic WoW and turned completely to RP, since it was the only thing that felt fluid and unpredictable. It engaged me. Nothing else did.

How did you find us? Did anything in particular draw you to the server?:

Google is a wonderful tool. I search for RP servers regularly. Sometimes I migrate; sometimes I juggle. I've been to Millennium, Imperium, Paragon, Prologue, and even Echeloned (way back in the old days). It's hard for me to just settle down when there are countless individuals across the expanse of the Internet that I haven't had the privilege of getting to know and interacting in that special Warcraft setting yet.

What kinds of roleplay do you enjoy?:

As explained earlier, I take pleasure in experiencing the darker side of things. Azeroth unmasked, the truly medieval aspects. Warlocks, necromancers, assassins, barbarians, and any other of the styles of RP that I feel are often misrepresented. It's really enjoyable to take off that layer of happy-go-lucky, generic good-guy characters and then show the world how it actually is. Put aside those tree-hugging druids, those white knight paladins, those diplomatic shamans; give me my feralkin, my grey paladins, my elemental ragers. It's never black and white. It's never one way or the other. There's a spectrum, and infinite choices. Show it all, have diversity, be spontaneous.

What is your favorite race/class? Why?:

I'm stuck between a few things. Druids have always been of great interest to me, as have the Blood Mages of the sin'dorei. Equally, everything Forsaken is immensely addictive. Forgive me for sounding too snowflake-y, but I do love the concept of demon hunters. The misunderstood, reclusive anti-hero who did what was necessary to defend his people in the face of imminent doom? Pretty badass. Regardless, it's hard to say why I love a particular race/class combo. Certain things just "click" with me. Knowing you can take a plain concept and really develop upon it and make it the most fun thing for you to play and others to be involved with really appeals to me.

What are your expectations of this server?:

I'm hoping for a community that's mature and inclusive. The last thing I want to encounter is a bunch of people who reject someone they don't agree with without hearing some amount of reason or attempting to be somewhat reasonable. I'm not saying I RP outlandish concepts, but that I've seen communities crumble because of how they treat newcomers that aren't entirely familiar with the way the server functions just yet. What I guess I'm getting at is that I desire some patience and flexibility. As far as the environment itself, I hope for an open-ended, creativity-encouraging atmosphere with as much freedom of choice you can have (aside from the obvious restrictions where they're due) to permit the greatest experience anyone can have.

Out of all of our rules and regulations listed on our server, which appeals to you the most?:

I've never heard of an off-topic section referred to as "Barrens chat." It brought back some fond memories of retail play. Ah, Barrens. The rules related to what should be kept in off-topic gave me a giggle.

Lastly, tell us a story! It can be short, it can be long; but most importantly, we want to see your work in action. Go!:

This is a character's backstory that I haven't really completed yet (for a pre-WC3 setting). I gave it a cliff-hanger conclusion for when I posted it in a character profile. It's kinda long. Enjoy!

Spoiler:

The son of a tailor and a guardsman, Mal'athir Sunfire didn't enjoy the benefits of a childhood other high elves may consider satisfactory. Making enough to get by, the Sunfire family took up an apartment in Silvermoon City. Mal'athir's mother, Taeré Sunfire, was a skilled robe weaver who worked for a relatively popular yet notoriously cheap clothing line. It was a company that didn't use much magic in production and was frequently dubbed as 'old fashioned.' Taeré's inability to cast magic kept her from getting better jobs. The man of the house, Aldrin Sunfire, was no more than a guard, risking his life daily to manage civil disputes and misdemeanors in Quel'thalas. It was a meager existence, but one day--one fateful day--Mal'athir was surprised with a letter from Falthrien academy. It was a letter of acceptance. Little Mal'a, only eighteen years old at the time, would study to become a magister.

So much knowledge! Mal'athir didn't know where to begin. Libraries with seemingly no end, avid instructors lecturing massive audiences, massive, floating billboards lining the pathways--it never ended! One morning, in the conjuration library, Mal'athir was pacing up and down a long row of bookcases. The indecision was apparent in his wavering, calamitous, midnight blue eyes. He couldn't pick a single tome to draw from the countless columns and rows to read. A few rows down, sitting at a desk with her own stack of colorful, runed books, was an auburn-haired magistrix with a cyan hue to the arcane resonance of her eyes. She had been observing the aimless apprentice for some time, amusedly grinning while she did so in considerate silence. After a few more minutes of being the bystander, she decided to rise up and lend her hand. Graceful and celeritous in her steps, the magistrix strode to Mal'athir's side and clasped her hands behind her back. Head tilted to one side, she asked, "There's a good beginner's guide to conjuration on the other side of the library; ever read it?"

The sudden break in silence caused Mal'athir to stir in surprise, his entire body rotating to the left and stepping backward. Mouth agape, eyes wide and cheeks flushed crimson from embarrassment, the youngling stuttered anxiously while at a loss for words. He continued being abashed, averted his gaze, shut his mouth and bowed his head, murmuring softly, "No, ma'am. I've only been here for a week. I don't really know what I'm looking for." The boy's eyes shifted from his toes to hers, back to his, and then upward as he looked in the general direction where the magistrix had referenced the beginner's book.

"Come with me," she beckoned kindly. The magistrix's left hand raised to Mal'athir's shoulder and held him reassuringly. "I'm Magistrix Myrii Sunbreeze, in case you were wondering," she declared, "and I teach a wide assortment of introductory classes here at the academy--all schools." Guiding him to the area she had recommended, Myrii drew out a large, light violet book from the shelves. The Thalassian runes inscribed across the cover glowed when touched and read "Conjuration: Creating Creation." The woman giggled lightheartedly as she read the title. "The author was a little quirky, but intelligent nonetheless," she explained.

The two sat together and worked cooperatively on introducing Mal'athir to the intricacies of magic. Growing closer by the day, they became a great teacher-student pair. Though Myrii was specialized in conjuration, there became a notable rift forming between the two as Mal'athir began to learn the ways of the school of evocation. Even as he learned the basics of all schools and came to be ready to choose his specialization, Myrii's wary oversight was keen enough to see that there was something off-putting about her student's skills, and she knew that he would not become her apprentice. When Mal'athir was aged fifty-nine, Myrii came across something disturbing.

"Little rat!" called Mal'athir.

A fireball launched across a courtyard and crashed into a young student. It sent him tumbling down a hill and near the cove beneath the academy. The scorched elf rose to a knee and glared fiercely back at the rising evoker. "Irritable, are you, whelp? So incapable of thought that you had to resort to evocation?" taunted the man, only to be met by yet another fireball to the face. That one left him out cold.

"Mal'a! What do you think you're doing?!" Myrii cried as she raced over to the blazing student. His fingertips sparked occasionally. The magistrix suppressed the magic on his body and placed herself between him and his victim. Her hands were gripping his arms tightly, ensuring that he wouldn't move until she was sure that he had calmed down. Other magisters had retrieved the injured boy and a pair of anti-magic guardians were encroaching dangerously toward Myrii and Mal'athir. Seeming oblivious to everything around them, Sunbreeze kept her gaze locked on her pupil and whispered, "You're better than that."

"I..." he started incomprehensibly, his mind now absent. The spells Mal'athir used had really drained him. His balance began to falter, and he fainted into his instructor's arms. Myrii barely had the strength to hold him up on her own, but the guardians helped her to carry him back into the academy and to a bed in the infirmary. What was a blink for Sunfire was a long stretch of painful hours for Myrii as she was interrogated for the actions of the one she officially had responsibility for.

The harsh truth was that he nearly killed that student with the second fireball, but all Myrii could think about was how talented he would have to be to pull that sort of thing off. She hadn't even taught him that much evocation, because she was preparing to help him became a magister of conjuration. Was he getting lessons elsewhere? Did he study and practice independently? The questions couldn't be answered until he was awake, and that fact made the time that passed only more grueling.

Is there anything else you would like to add, ask, or otherwise clarify?:

Not really. Just hoping for the best with this server! Can't wait to see everyone in-game.

[Nikodemos]

Hello and welcome to COTH!

I myself am currently delving into some of the "grittier" facets of Warcraft and may have some rp opportunities available for your new characters. I would note that while we maintain, as you would say, a mature player base there also players of many age groups and beliefs. There are some subjects that should be handled with care or are best left avoided all together and are explained thoroughly in the rules and policies sections of the forum which I have linked below. Also, thank you for spinning us a tale. This is an often overlooked aspect of the application.

If you haven’t already, please do make sure to double-check the rules and policies so you remain familiar with the server’s expectations!
As for making your first character, there are a number of fantastic articles and guides available and they are an excellent resource even if you are familiar with the lore. The wiki also contains helpful tips for developing your character and for constructing your first profile, such as the official timeline, character development questionnaires and weight/height guidelines.


When you get your account created, make sure to /join Chat and /join Barrens in-game (I don't personally advise joining barrens chat, due to its ridiculous nature ;p) if you have any questions not answered in the forums. Feel free to contact me via PM whether I am online or off, should you require any assistance.

I hope you find our community to your liking. Have fun!

[Shroud]

I myself am currently delving into some of the "grittier" facets of Warcraft and may have some rp opportunities available for your new characters.

I'd love to hear about this and where my blood may be spilled. Refer me to wherever I need to go to learn more about your ideas when the time suits you, and I'll be happy to see if I can get involved!

[Jason]

Oh man, you came from Echeloned? We are the few, my friend. That was a long time ago.