User:Joshmaul/Kel'theris Decibelius

"'What do we do now that Arthas is dead? We carry on, that's what.'"
 * - Lord Kel'theris Decibelius, to Taeril'hane Ketiron

Lord Kel'theris Decibelius was the Patriarch of the House of Whitehair and one of a select few members of the Convocation of Silvermoon to survive the scouring of Quel'Thalas. Trained in Dalaran by Prince Kael'thas himself, Kel'theris now lends his growing magical skills to the efforts to not only preserve what remains of Quel'Thalas, but to also combat the enemies of the greater Horde.

During the war in Northrend, Kel'theris decided to step down in favor of his son, Ordevaas Portalseeker. After Ordevaas' death, he became the chief advisor to the new leader of the House - his best friend, Master Taeril'hane Ketiron.

Biography
The Whitehair family is so named because every single one of their children have been born with white hair for the last ten thousand years, even when the men married a woman with a different coloration. The Whitehair line, nobles all, has been seen as touched by destiny, and is renowned in modern times for its two better-known members - Ordevaas, who became known as Portalseeker...and his father, the family patriarch, Lord Kel'theris.

Kel'theris was born in Silvermoon nearly six centuries years before the First War. As he grew older, he was sent to Dalaran by his father, Lord Dath'Kunam - who had served alongside King Anasterian Sunstrider during the Troll Wars - to be trained as a mage, eventually coming under the tutelage of none other than Prince Kael'thas himself. Upon Dath'Kunam's death fifteen years before the fall of Quel'Thalas, Kel'theris was named to succeed him. It was while he was in the Convocation of Silvermoon that he met Lor'themar Theron, the future Regent Lord of Quel'Thalas, and the two became friends. When Prince Arthas led the attack on Silvermoon during the Third War, King Anasterian ordered Kel'theris to Dalaran; officially as an ambassador, but informally to link up with Kael'thas and save him from the destruction that Anasterian knew was coming. Leaving his own son and young granddaughter behind, Kel'theris met up with Kael'thas and served as his political advisor until Kael'thas dispatched him to return to Quel'Thalas with Lor'themar, while the Prince himself joined the Alliance resistance.

As he entered Quel'Thalas through the Thalassian Pass, Kel'theris saw the ruins of Quel'Thalas for himself - the legions of Scourge, the plagued landscape, the corpses of thousands of elven defenders. Falling to his knees, Kel'theris screamed with such rage and such intensity that, legend has it, his voice could be heard as far away as Dalaran. Lor'themar, upon recovering from the shock of the man's rage, named him Decibelius, for the sound of his rage was enough to make even a Pit Lord cringe...and forever, the name would stick. When Silvermoon - at the urging of former Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner, Queen of the Forsaken - joined the Horde, Kel'theris became a full-fledged mage in the service of Silvermoon. It was around this time that he developed a secret addiction...

Bloodthistle, an herb that grew in Eversong Woods, was known as a very addictive substance, and those who became hooked were known as thistleheads - and Kel'theris, in his despair over the fall of Quel'Thalas, often resorted to using bloodthistle...in private, of course, for no respectable blood elf would be caught publicly using the stuff. In fact, Kel'theris became an herbalist just so he could easily collect the bloodthistle for himself...it did not take too long to become a fully-fledged addict afterwards. His friend Lor'themar was disheartened, but knew that Kel'theris would have to battle his demons himself.

Though he is distrustful of the Horde - particularly the orcs, responsible for burning the borderlands during the Second War - Kel'theris realizes that the Alliance will no longer support them; the Alliance leaders believing that the entire blood elf race has been damned by the actions of Prince Kael'thas and his contemporaries in the harnessing of demon magics in the place of the Sunwell. He often sympathizes with this mindview, relying entirely on tried-and-true magic as practiced by the Kirin Tor. He is vehemently opposed to the Blood Knights, the elitist order of blood elf paladins; he is particularly repulsed by the haughty, cruel disposition of most members of the order and the use of torture against a creature of the Light - the naaru known as M'uru - to feed their powers. In fact, he has had bitter arguments with his surviving son, Ordevaas Portalseeker, because of his decision to become a paladin in this manner. Despite this, the two maintain a fairly good relationship - it was through Ordevaas, in fact, that he became a member of a special order known as the Legion of Anasterian - and aided in the overthrow of the ineffectual Princeps Octavianus. When the Legion fell into inactivity, Kel'theris departed first to join his son in the Royal Undercity Mounted Police, then again with his son and their entourage to the Knights of the Blue Sky.

Dar'Khan
Through his dealings in the Convocation of Silvermoon and his acquaintanceship with Lor'themar Theron, Kel'theris also befriended a magister by the name of Dar'Khan Drathir - now reviled by all as the Traitor of Quel'Thalas. Before his fall, Dar'Khan was a powerful magister who became embittered and vengeful for his people's failing to recognize his contributions to Quel'Thalas; Kel'theris was among the few who acknowledged Dar'Khan's achievements (though in private he grew tired of Dar'Khan's constant complaints about Council meetings "interrupting important work"), but this praise came far too late. Dar'Khan provided the Betrayer of Lordaeron, Prince Arthas, an opportunity to circumvent Quel'Thalas' defenses - the magical ward put up at Kel'theris' suggestion - in order to reach the Sunwell. Though he was believed to have been obliterated by the avatar of the Sunwell, Dar'Khan somehow survived...and now controlled the Scourge in Quel'Thalas.



Years after the fall of Quel'Thalas, Kel'theris received a communique, found on the corpse of a dead Tranquillien ranger, from Dar'Khan - informing him of the fate of his son Kel'tanis, who had lived on the spot where Deatholme is now:


 * Kel'theris:


 * Your son refused to acknowledge my power, and the power of my master. Do you send mere whelps to fight me now?
 * If so, I pity you. If this is the extent of your power, you have no chance against the Scourge...
 * Still, if you must insist on fighting, I invite you to my tower for a little...entertainment.
 * In case you don't know where it is...just follow the Dead Scar.
 * Don't keep me waiting forever.


 * - Dar'Khan

Kel'theris flew into a rage, and swore vengeance against Dar'Khan for the murder of his son. In a surprising display of sympathy for one who followed the Blood Knight path, Ordevaas set his differences aside and pledged to help his father, and avenge his younger brother. Eventually, it would be proven that Kel'tanis' death was a lie...

A Father's Revenge
Aided by his son Ordevaas, his granddaughter Areinnye, his friend Ludovicus and Ordevaas' former priest master, Sekhesmet of Stratholme, Kel'theris battled across the Ghostlands, destroying legions of both the Scourge and Quel'Thalas' most ancient enemy, the Amani forest trolls. As he gained in power in the art of the arcane, he chose the path of the frost mage, in order to slow his opponents before he finally killed them. In time, Kel'theris became strong enough to do battle in the Scourge fortress of Deatholme, and - aided by one of Joshmaul's blood elf warlock students - decided to accept Dar'Khan's earlier "invitation".

Kel'theris fell early in the battle against Dar'Khan, but despite his serious wounds, his iron will kept him from surrendering to death long enough for the Blood Knights to restore him...and long enough for Dar'Khan to fall dead at his feet. At last, Kel'tanis was avenged, and Kel'theris' status among the people of Quel'Thalas and the Legion of Anasterian was solidified. With Ordevaas and Sekhesmet, Kel'theris travelled to Silvermoon, where he tossed the head of Dar'Khan at the feet of Lor'themar Theron, now Regent Lord of Quel'Thalas. Lor'themar was pleased that Dar'Khan had fallen, and dispatched him to the Undercity with a letter addressed to the leadership of the Horde, asking for Silvermoon's full entry into the Horde. The Banshee Queen, Sylvanas Windrunner, put her personal seal on the letter, which was then taken to Warchief Thrall, across the sea in Orgrimmar. But despite this victory, Kel'theris knew his duties in Quel'Thalas were not yet done, and returned immediately to Tranquillien. At the behest of Tranquillien's leaders, the four combatants confronted Kel'gash the Wicked, chieftain of the Shadowpine forest trolls that resided around Zul'Aman, and defeated him, taking his head as well.

The Mage Training Continues
With Dalaran in shambles, Kel'theris continued his tutelage with some of the others in Silvermoon. In time, he had gained a great deal of understanding in his chosen path and was called upon to create a wand.

Travelling to meet the hermit mage Tabetha in the swamps of Dustwallow, he was sent to the East (a task made easy by his ability to teleport himself to the capital nearest the location he wished to go to) to gather Witherbark totem branches from the trolls who lived south of Hammerfall, and take them to the Circle of Outer Binding - one of the circles imprisoning the elemental princess Myzrael - where they would be charged by the power of lightning into a bolt-charged bramble. Afterwards, he was sent into what remained of the library of the Scarlet Monastery (what had not been despoiled by many an adventurer who laid waste to its leaders) and took a book on the rituals of power back to Tabetha, where she used the spells to create a special wand for him. Kel'theris chose the frost magic wand, which boosted his powers slightly but noticeably.

Resignation


As Ordevaas fought in Northrend, Kel'theris decided that "new blood" was needed to lead the House of Whitehair in the global war against the Lich King. Despite protests from Master Ketiron, Kel'theris stepped down as head of house and subsequently named Ordevaas as his successor, which was approved by the Regent. Kel'theris now devotes more of his time to his mage studies - "a mage's life is 99% study and 1% spellcasting", as he has often put it. Kel'theris remained as Ordevaas' chief advisor, believing that a warrior was necessary to lead the family to glory in a world beset by conflict.

After his resignation, Kel'theris removed the jade clasp of Kal'manis Whitehair that had held his hair in its characteristic topknot; this style was a symbol of the Whitehair patriarch's status, and out of respect to Ordevaas' ascendancy and the traditions of his House he removed it and bestowed it upon his son. After Ordevaas was killed by Joshmaul's troops, Kel'theris went into seclusion as Ordevaas' successor, Master Ketiron, ascended unchallenged. During the war for Icecrown, Kel'theris joined him in the Citadel.

Current Status
Kel'theris resides in Silvermoon at the side of Master Ketiron.

The Whitehair Runeblade
As the former patriarch of the House and as the eldest remaining member of the Whitehair bloodline, Kel'theris holds the Whitehair Runeblade, a sword that has been in the family for nearly seven thousand years. It was one of the swords cast in the image of Quel'Delar, the sacred blade of the Highborne, and granted to the heads of the Great Houses of Quel'Thalas upon Dath'Remar Sunstrider's coronation. As a mark of respect, both Ordevaas and Ketiron have eschewed taking it up themselves, leaving it in Kel'theris' possession. It was this blade that Kel'theris carried into Icecrown Citadel.