User:Joshmaul/Caro'thel Vendross

"'One has to wonder why they would leave the safety of their homes if they knew that home was safe enough to stay in. Oh, we had our issues with the Gordok ogres in Eldre'Thalas, but we survived them for years...just as we survived millennia of Tortheldrin's insanity. Ever since we left the city, though, we have had to contend with many threats - Deathwing, the Horde, even evil within this 'Alliance' that Tyrande has aligned herself with. I cannot help but wonder: Would it not have been simpler to just remain in exile?'"
 * - Lord Caro'thel Vendross, personal journal, after the death of his brother, Lord Tara'thel

Archmage Caro'thel Vendross was a Highborne nobleman and sorcerer in the service of the Alliance and the Kirin Tor of Dalaran. The younger brother and chosen heir of Lord Tara'thel, patriarch of House Vendross, he was born in exile in Eldre'Thalas until the Highborne were allowed to rejoin their people after the Shattering. Though immensely proud of his heritage and (for a time) overly chauvinistic, his learning of the "wide world" from the death knights Artimus Devaneaux and Taliea Duskmyre gave him a new outlook on the world beyond his ruined home city. After a period spent in the service of the Kirin Tor, Vendross eventually joined the Stormwind City Watch, the police forces of the Alliance capital, until going AWOL and returning to his home city, where he was defeated in a wizard's duel with his hated nemesis, Professor Rakeri Sputterspark.

Biography
Relatively young for a Highborne, Vendross was born in the Highborne enclave of Eldre'Thalas about a hundred and sixty years before the Battle of Mount Hyjal. Because of the long lifespans of his people - aided by the War of the Ancients and the creation of Nordrassil - Vendross was only fourth-generation. While he is a natural spellcaster, he only began learning his trade as his brethren began to return to night elf society in the wake of the Shattering. His great-grandfather, Lord Tara'thel, was patriarch of House Vendross - resident in the city of Kel'Theril in Winterspring - during the "Great Exile", when Malfurion Stormrage banished the Highborne from kaldorei society. His father, Lord Tierna, was killed by the Gordok ogres, and his elder brother, also called Tara'thel in honor of their forebear, is the current head of their house.

Teleported to Teldrassil along with his mentor, Mordent Evenshade, and other mages and apprentices, Vendross journeyed to the Shadowglen, where he began his training in earnest. Like most of his people in the past, Vendross sneered at the other night elves, who had been content to leave the Highborne to rot in exile until they suddenly found their world collapsing around them, and desperately came to them for help...

Entering the Alliance's Service
Learning of the Battle of Mount Hyjal and the serious issues that had assailed the kaldorei in the last decade, including the growing of Teldrassil and the corruption that had plagued it from the start, Vendross' attitude changed somewhat, and he became much more willing to aid his reunited people in their struggle against the chaos caused by the Cataclysm. On leaving Teldrassil, Vendross was met by a powerful draenei shaman named Jaeden'laek. Having heard of Vendross from allies in Darnassus, Jaeden'laek offered the mage a place in the coalition of Alliance and Horde forces. But the Highborne declined, wishing to focus solely on aiding his people. In understanding, the shaman gave Vendross a skull-topped stave that would augment his powers - the Staff of Sekhesmet, wrested from the hand of the Forsaken shadow priest by Jaeden'laek himself.

The Exploration of the World
After aiding his people in Darkshore and securing Malfurion Stormrage's efforts to keep the region from cracking itself apart, Vendross journeyed the world, from the woods of Ashenvale, besieged by the Horde, to the jungles of Stranglethorn Vale and the great Nesingwary hunt, to the dark forests of Duskwood and the tale of one of its infamous enemies, to the garrison of Northwatch in the southern Barrens and the strange overgrowth nearby. Eventually, his journeys brought him to the Western Plaguelands in Lordaeron, which were recently beginning to recover following the defeat of the Lich King. In Hearthglen, the stronghold of the Argent Crusade, Vendross offered his services to Highlord Tirion Fordring, clearing out traitors in their ranks and defeating the necromancy-practicing gnolls of Redpine Dell.

where he was put on the front lines of an increasingly brutal conflict between the Forsaken and the Alliance. Though the Alliance troops fought valiantly, the Forsaken - aided by Sylvanas Windrunner's val'kyr allies - overwhelmed them, forcing the surviving Alliance militia to retreat. The Alliance commander, the death knight Thassarian, went west into Tirisfal to hunt down Sylvanas and locate his old comrade, Koltira Deathweaver, who had commanded the Forsaken forces. Fleeing north to a camp of paladins and druids, Vendross aided a young troll named Zen'Kiki in learning his powers, and working to carry on the restoration of the blighted land.



Journeying across the Thondroril to the Eastern Plaguelands, Vendross met a Gilnean trader named Fiona, who maintained a caravan running from the river to the Argent Crusade's outposts in the east. The Gilneans - many of whom had been transformed into fierce worgen - were recent allies of the night elves; several night elf commanders had aided King Genn Greymane and his people during the Horde invasion of Gilneas, and had offered them shelter in Darnassus. He was accompanied by the worgen druid Zherron, one of Jaeden'laek's allies, who believed that the efforts in Lordaeron would allow for an easier liberation of his homeland. The mage and the druid joined the caravan on its journey across the Plaguelands, learning more as time went on.

The Liberation of Tyr's Hand
Vendross was formally inducted into the Argent Crusade by Lord Maxwell Tyrosus during a caravan stopover at Light's Hope Chapel, and was dispatched to provide aid to its operations in the Eastern Plaguelands. One of those operations was led by Crusade Commander Eligor Dawnbringer, a veteran of the war against the Lich King. Dawnbringer was leading a force of the Brotherhood of the Light, an extremist sect of the Crusade (as it had been of the old Argent Dawn), against the city of Tyr's Hand. Prior to and during the war in Northrend, Tyr's Hand had been a major stronghold of the Scarlet Crusade which had managed to avoid destruction after the Crusade was annihilated by the Scourge. The survivors there, and in the garrison in Stratholme to the northwest, had been turned to undeath by their true master, the dreadlord Balnazzar - an ironic fate for those who persecuted undeath, Scourge or otherwise, to the fullest. These undead Scarlets became known as the "Risen".

Dawnbringer, Crusade Commander Korfax and Archmage Angela Dosantos tasked Vendross with slaying the undead Scarlets, retrieving holy relics (including the shroud of Uther the Lightbringer, the sigil of Gavinrad the Dire, and other artifacts) that the Scarlets, now undead, could no longer use. He opened portals for the Argent troops to take control of the abbey, and finished by marching into the Scarlet Basilica itself to slay the undead Scarlet commander, Crusader Lord Valdemar, which Vendross did - quickly and nearly without opposition. With Valdemar gone, Tyr's Hand was firmly in the hands of the Argent Crusade.

The Pilgrimage
During a brief confrontation with Artimus Devaneaux in Hearthglen, Vendross was challenged to "make himself into something", and make it a worthwhile "something". At the rate he was going, the death knight firmly believed, Vendross was destined for a dagger between the ribs at the hands of irate drunkards due to his constant sneering at people and his overbearing belief in Highborne supremacy. His mind left to wonder about Artimus' dire prediction, Vendross travelled to Darnassus, where he met with his elder brother, Lord Tara'thel, who had found a place for himself in Darnassus' army. Tara'thel agreed with Artimus' counsel, and offered a possible solution. A scout had recently found "an item of interest" in the ruined city of Kel'Theril in Winterspring. Kel'Theril had once been the location of an estate of House Vendross before the Sundering and the Great Exile.

Travelling to the frigid lands, Vendross located the item, a great tablet carved in ancient Quel'dorei runes, a dialect of Darnassian spoken during the War of the Ancients. It was a testament by his great-grandfather, Tara'thel the Elder, hoping his descendants would find it and know the truth about the crimes committed by the Highborne as a whole. He knew that later generations would raise people like Dath'Remar Sunstrider, who would later become the first High King of Quel'Thalas, as heroes, but Tara'thel the Elder bitterly stated that Dath'Remar and his comrades - including the Vendross patriarch himself - willingly aided Queen Azshara in working to bring Sargeras to Azeroth, saw what monstrosities were being summoned (in the forms of creatures like Mannoroth and Archimonde), saw the monstrosities their own people were becoming when Xavius and others were transformed into satyrs...and yet did nothing until it was nearly too late, when Azshara and her advisors began using the Well of Eternity itself as the portal to summon the Dark Titan.

This left Vendross in such a state of contemplation, he did not leave Winterspring for several weeks. Finally, he returned to Hearthglen, where Artimus set Vendross on another quest, to better understand those two groups he had most openly decried - the death knights of Acherus and the worgen of Gilneas. First, he journeyed to Acherus, where he was given a guided tour by Artimus and his comrades to understand what exactly the death knights had to go through in order to gain their freedom - and their vengeance. Afterward, at the suggestion of a Gilnean death knight named Taliea Duskmyre (who would guide him "the rest of the way" - he flew across Lordaeron to Chillwind Camp, where he went on foot from there into the Alterac Mountains, past the crater left by the city of Dalaran and into the southern part of Silverpine Forest, to the gates of Gilneas, sneaking past Forsaken patrols. Entering the Gilnean capital and standing within Light's Dawn Cathedral, he meditated for a long period within its halls, awakening more than a day later to find people - members of the Terra Incognita, a holy order - undergoing a knighting ceremony.

After remaining for as long as politely possible, Vendross returned to Hearthglen. Even his detractors noticed a great change in the Highborne's attitude, finding him far more approachable and willing to lend aid to those he had previously scorned as "inferior".

In the Service of the Kirin Tor
As his powers grew with weeks of intensive work in the service of the Alliance, Vendross realized he had reached the limits of what his Highborne mage instructors could teach him. Inspired by seeing the crater where it had once stood in Lordaeron, and knowing it had moved far to the north as part of the war against the Lich King, the Highborne sorcerer offered himself as an initiate to the Kirin Tor of Dalaran. Ever seeking new magi, the Kirin Tor accepted, and Vendross travelled across the sea to Northrend, flying the remainder of the way. It was in Dalaran that Vendross began to study the finer points of portal magics, in order to teleport himself great distances and also provide gateways for his comrades to quickly reach the major cities of Azeroth, as well as Shattrath City in Outland, where he had studied the effects of the war against Illidan - a figure he had known only from the legends of the War of the Ancients.

Under the tutelage of the Archmage Inar of Borealis, a veteran of the Nexus War and the war against the Scourge, Vendross' powers grew tenfold, as he tapped more fully into the third school of his calling - frost magic. His knowledge in that skill was relatively rudimentary - the simple action of encasing himself in ice to protect himself from attackers; he also used the bolt of Frostfire that had been taught to him in Stormwind. With the human mage's patient guidance, the Highborne learned how to summon and control a water elemental to aid him in battle, rain ice from the sky against multiple foes, and launch quick, piercing ice lances. His work in Dalaran also granted him access to the rebuilt libraries of the Kirin Tor, a great repository of sorcerous knowledge.

Lord Vendross
During the ongoing shadow war with the Forsaken shadow priest Sekhesmet of Stratholme, both Caro'thel and his brother Lord Tara'thel offered their support to Saavedro of Stratholme, the former apprentice of Sekhesmet and leader of the battle against him. Caro'thel's Dalaranian mentor, Archmage Inar, had become embroiled in the conflict when Artimus Devaneaux was captured by the Forsaken; the Highborne mage was forced to kill his deranged master by running him through with the sharp crystalline speartip of his staff. Artimus himself would die not long afterwards, destroying Sekhesmet's puppet general, Varan Metheius.

As the conflict intensified, Lord Tara'thel expressed an interest in offering his services to the Argent Crusade in Hearthglen, which would put him close enough to Forsaken territory to provide aid in the battle against Sekhesmet. However, while en route via hippogryphs from Menethil Harbor, Lord Tara'thel and his entourage disappeared, and Highlord Fordring informed Caro'thel that the party had never arrived. Concerned, Vendross went first to Genevra Stoneheardt, a friend of Saavedro and Artimus, and then to the worgen Packleader Eidan Zherron. Zherron flew back into Lordaeron to investigate and found the dismembered, shredded corpses of the Highborne lord and his party in the woods west of Andorhal; the Packleader deduced that they were probably ambushed. He found Tara'thel's signet ring amidst the carnage, and returned it to Caro'thel in Stormwind.

Infuriated, Caro'thel - now lord of House Vendross - swore vengeance, and offers his offensive magicks for the coming battles against Sekhesmet.

Appearance and Personality
Vendross' hair is white, a throwback to his genetics (the same predilection is found in the aptly-named House Whitehair of Quel'Thalas), and runs untied nearly to his waist, and also wears a neatly-trimmed beard (it was originally longer and more pointed). Prior to his Winterspring pilgrimage, he wore his hair tied in a ponytail, the rest kept short in place, and was clean-shaven. Being relatively young, his face is unlined and has yet to feel the ravages of age.

Vendross is proud of his Highborne heritage, to the point where it could be described as chauvinism. Before his journey to Winterspring, he often displayed arrogance and contempt towards all who crossed his path, especially non-Highborne night elves, or those who "betray the blood" by marrying beneath their station; in one case, he spat insults at a Highborne mage who stated he was married to a human. He also nurses a fanatical hatred of the elves of Quel'Thalas, particularly the sin'dorei, for fleeing Kalimdor in ages past and corrupting themselves with dark magic (an emnity he maintains even after his journey of self-reflection, calling the Thalassian elves "blood-traitors" and "felspawn"). He also bitterly blamed Malfurion and Tyrande for the Great Exile and the resultant chaos - including Prince Tortheldrin's madness that resulted in the death of his great-grandfather.

Vendross' "attitude problems" resulted in his draenei mentor, the Farseer Jaeden'laek, sending him to Artimus Devaneaux. The farseer believed that being trained by a battle-hardened warrior and experienced explorer would show him the truth of things, and that being made to serve will broaden his mindset about others, and also teach him humility (Artimus joked that most elves tend to be "haughty", but Vendross was so full of himself that he could probably choke the most vain blood elf with his ego). While his tutelage under Taliea worked well in that regard, he maintains his disgust for blood elves, believing them to be corrupted.

Despite his less-than-charming personality traits, Vendross is an accomplished spellcaster. He has lately made an extensive study of pyromancy - the art of fire magic - though he also trained in pure arcane magic early in his tutelage. While under the tutelage of the Kirin Tor, Vendross also took up frost magic and learned how to control his own water elemental. He saw that such magic has limited use in a place like Northrend or the underwater realm of Vashj'ir, but it was used to spectacular effect while battling the legions of Ragnaros on Mount Hyjal. He vehemently eschews dark magic of any sort, believing that those who use necromancy and warlock powers vindicate the belief of Malfurion and other night elves who condemn magic as evil. He hopes that with the service of the Highborne and those night elves who study with them that they can prove that "pure" arcane magic is not evil, only used towards evil ends by the insane.

The Staff of Tara'thel
This stave was originally the Rod of Stratholme, carried by the city's High Priest - a position held by Father Sekhesmet, now a Forsaken shadow priest, and later his apprentice Saavedro, a paladin and veteran of the wars for Outland and Northrend. The staff was reworked by Forsaken artisans and given to Sekhesmet by the hand of Sylvanas herself, with a new staff head crafted from the bones of slain Scarlet Crusaders, carved by master scrimshanders. Despite the rather dark nature of its construction, it is not an evil weapon; it can be wielded by any caster, Light, Arcane, Nature or Shadow. It was taken from Sekhesmet's hands by Jaeden'laek himself during the war for Northrend. After undergoing the tasks Artimus and Taliea set him, the Farseer gave the Highborne mage this staff to rework as he saw fit.

Upon receiving the gift, Vendross modified the staff, removing the human-bone scrimshaw (and incinerating it, as "unholy work") from the head and base. He reworked a small chunk of charged crystal from the Exodar, the star vessel that became the draenei capital city on Azeroth, given to him by Jaeden'laek himself. When it was done, he named it in honor of his great-grandfather, the first Lord Tara'thel, who was slain by Prince Tortheldrin. The staff was expanded with more powerful crystals as he was inducted into the Kirin Tor and rose to the title of Archmage.