Halford Ramsey



Halford Ramsey is a famous human special investigator from Gilneas. Halford and his partner Cox were investigating the murders made by the so-called Starlight Slasher, but in the process, he found something he did not expect: the worgen.

Childhood
Halford Ramsey had an older sister named Ana, who he admired as beautiful smart and courageous, and who lived in a house in the Blackwald with her two sons. During the Northgate Rebellion, she offered safe harbor to Crowley's rebel soldiers and sent her own sons off to war, only to see them returned to her in pine boxes. Struck with grief, Ana committed suicide, and young Halford found her later hanging in the barn. Halford cursed his sister for leaving him behind, seeing her as selfish, cowardly, and stupid for taking the path of least resistance. A grudge he held long into adulthood, becoming a hardhearted detective.

Day one
Four days before the attack, Halford Ramsey, along with partner Cox, questioned Maxwell Wiggins, the owner of a newspaper, who Halford believed to be a member of the Wolf Cult. During the interrogation, one guard alerted the detectives about a new victim.

As Halford analyzed the body, Cox was angered by little respect toward the dead, angered further when Halford tried to interrogate the young son of the victim without success or remorse. Cox confronted him and mentioned the suicide of his sister, and the two exchange blows. Halford did not apologize and instead explained his findings to Cox, which lead the two to a nearby antique shop.

Both burst into the store and found four men performing a ritual. The suspects fled, pursued by the detective on horseback to the Blackwald, where one of the suspects turned into a worgen and bit him. He awoke in a candlelit building to find he had been given the worgen curse. Alpha Prime had abducted him, but claimed the man was a guest and could leave at any time, and gave him a copy of Purity of Essence. While Halford was racked with pain in his head and shoulder, the worgen leader proceeded to retell the War of the Satyr from his point of view. Eager to gain more evidence of the Wolf Cult, and racked with pains, Halford stayed and listened, dubious of every word.

Day two
Three days before the attack, Cox reported to Genn Greymane, who mourned the disappearance of the nation's best investigator. In the Blackwald, Halford continued to fight the worgen curse slowly gripping his mind and body, while Alpha Prime spoke of the Pack Form.

Day three
Two days before the attack, Halford had spent three days fighting the worgen curse. His clothes were torn, his eyes bloodshot, his body starving, and his wound healing. The more Halford fought the curse, the more difficult the transformation would be. Hours of pain had exacted a heavy toll, numbness taking over, pervading the detective to the very core. His prized intellect had crumbled. Alpha Prime offered food and claimed Halford's transformation was near. Alpha Prime left to attend a meeting with a room full of his human followers, and Halford followed, witnessing the cult leader bite an aspirant on the shoulder. Horrified, Halford ran panicked into the Blackwald, where he found Ana's old house. Discovering again the barn where he found her, memories inspired great emotion and was overcome by the worgen curse.

Day four
One day before the attack, Halford ran wild through the Blackwald as he enjoyed the speed, agility, and heightened senses of the worgen form. His blood sang, and he had never known such strength, speed, and vigor. He noted his heightened senses, including that of scent, and able to see as never before, clearer than he had ever dreamed possible. Instinct and fury warred within him, but were calmed when he encountered flowers near a large tree, where he also saw two strange figures. A shift in the wind brought the scent of blood to his attention, and the excited worgen rushed towards the source.

Halford followed the scent of blood and the urge to feast, he found himself in Stormglen, which had been attacked by the cult. He was overcome by his blood lust, and killed a tied up sheep to eat. Two worgen appeared behind him and though his instinct was to defend his kill, he saved one leg and tossed the rest to the two worgen. They fought amongst themselves for it instead of attacking him. As he walked through the deserted town, he met with Alpha Prime once more who was impressed by his display of logic and self-discipline, even as a worgen. As they walked, Alpha Prime told him the origins of the Druids of the Scythe and the worgen. Alpha Prime attempted to recruit Halford into the Wolf Cult, but he declined the offer. Nevertheless, Alpha Prime gave him an ultimatum to join the cult or be denied their "blessing" and that his answer had to be given by midday.

Halford spent the night in the Blackwald, reading the Purity of Essence: a manifesto by Alpha Prime. Unable to think clearly, he returned to the tree in the Blackwald that had calmed his mind. With no elves in sight, he sat down to read again. Now with his detective's intellect refocused, he realized that the book was from Wiggins' printing press, deduced that Alpha Prime and his Wolf Cult were responsible for the Starlight Slasher murders, had attacked and turned the people of Stormglen, and were planning to attack Gilneas City with a worgen army so that they could spread the worgen curse.

Day five
Halford remembered Alpha Prime's words from the day before, and rushed to Gilneas. Though he was struggling with the bloodthirsty and savage nature of his worgen form, Halford was able to make it to Gilneas City and saved a woman and her young son from two worgen, though he had to fight off the worgen instinct to attack and eat them afterward. He also rescued Belysra, who also happened to be there and was about to be killed by Alpha Prime. Alpha Prime and Halford fought for a while but before Alpha Prime could land a fatal blow, Belysra used a prayer to Elune to blast him into the moat. The two then escaped into the Southwest Gate while being pursued by a horde of worgen. Belysra again prayed to Elune to blast the horde of worgen as they were crossing the bridge. They then encountered Lord Vincent Godfrey and a contingent of Gilnean soldiers. Though they declared to them that they were non-hostile, Halford was shot by Godfrey who showed nothing but disdain for his kind and left Belysra behind simply because she wasn't a human.

Attack on Duskhaven
Days later, the Gilnean human refugees had fled to Duskhaven. Gilneans that had been bitten in the worgen attack either joined the cult, were caught by the humans in Duskhaven, joined Belysra at Tal'doren, or held up in Stormglen. Belysra took Halford to Tal'doren and was able to get the bullet out and Halford was able to survive. Halford awoke and learned of the Wolf Cult occupying the city, and the tremors making an already terrible situation worse. Halford was speaking with Belysra under Tal'doren when two more elves - Talran and Valorn - arrived with the Scythe of Elune, which had been liberated from the worgen of Duskwood mere days before, and had used secret tunnels under the Greymane wall to enter the city. Halford recognized the mud on their robes, and realized Alpha Prime had been using the tunnels as well to speak with the Forsaken. Halford deduced that the worgen attack on Gilneas City and the recent Forsaken invasion were no coincidence and that the two parties were in league with one another.

As the worgen detective debated strategy with Belysra, he encountered Darius Crowley, one of many Gilneans that Belysra and her night elves had been trying to help with their worgen affliction. Halford still thought of Darius as a rebel and a traitor - and responsible for the death of his sister - and attacked. The fight was broken up by Belysra who reminded them that past disputes didn't matter anymore and that they needed to put it behind them in order to preserve the future of Gilneas. Both agreed to put the past behind them and work together to capture feral worgen and make them sane again, thus building a worgen army to combat Alpha Prime's Wolf Cult and eventually, the Wolf Cult's Forsaken allies.

While the Gilneans in Duskhaven were beset by the Forsaken, and Crowley recruited the worgen of Stormglen, Halford was shown how to control his worgen side. Halford agreed to undergo the night elf ceremony of balance, which forced him to confront his doubts and fears. Given the extent of his difficulties, he was indisposed for some time as he experienced visions of Ana, who urged him to forgive her and to move on. He did, and awoke in his human form. At last, Halford was able to bring balance to his human and worgen forms.

The unseen fight
While Halford was indisposed, Genn Greymane had met with Darius at Tal'doren. Both revealed themselves as worgen, the two lords worked together to unite Gilneas against the Forsaken invasion. Darius stayed behind in Tal'doren, while Greymane set off to meet survivors in Tempest's Reach; a trap set by Lord Godfrey. While Greymane was away, Halford, Belrysa Starbreeze, Crowley, and his Gilnean worgen were confronted by Alpha Prime, his worgen followers, and the Forsaken at Tal'doren. Belrysa attempted to use the Scythe of Elune to seal away Alpha Prime and his Wolf Cult beneath Daral'nir in the Emerald Dream, but before she could do so, a Forsaken dark ranger shot her in the arm. This caused her to drop the Scythe of Elune, and Alpha Prime signaled for the army of Wolf Cult worgen and Forsaken to surround them. Halford took worgen form and attacked Alpha Prime, who told Halford he had chosen the wrong side. Alpha Prime took possession of the scythe, but just as he was about to finish Belysra off with it, the spirit wolf of Belysra's old lover — — killed Alpha Prime. With the death of their leader, the Wolf Cult scattered; leaving the Forsaken without their lupine allies and open to attack from the night elves and Gilneans.

Halford was last seen watching Genn reveal the truth about himself to his people and uniting the Gilneans, both human and worgen, for the Battle for Gilneas City. He contemplated that it was truly ironic that he had to become a beast in order to find his humanity. It certainly lacked logic, but as he learned in his adventure, much of what is important in life does exactly that.

Trivia

 * Halford is based on Sherlock Holmes.
 * His first name is taken from the last name of, lead singer of.

Relatives
He may be related to Barrett Ramsey.