Eldaraes Shademoon

[Silverstride 7]

 

 

Name :

Eldaraes Shademoon

Age :

14,756yrs

Race :

Kaldorei, (Highborne)

Class :

Demon Hunter

 

 

Description

Eldaraes is a tall man of a well defined build. His skin's blue hue is comparable only to that of the mystical moon wells, and his eyes are, or at least once were shinning with inner silver light. He has a handsome face with a well-groomed beard framing it, and long, flowing dark blue hair cascades down his back. Now ritualistic tattoos and scars of battle cover his form, and two burning sockets of fel have replaced his once mystical eyes.

 

Personality

Eldaraes as he was in a past life was an unusual individual for his caste, a kindness and generosity about him despite his intense loyalty to Azshara. He often felt a sense of duty to his people being in the position he was in, and wanted to see them grow in power just as the Highborne had, even if his selfless acts earned him the ire of others.

 

Now he is a twisted version of his former self, his heart growing cold and mind conspiring. He is distrustful of  the authority he once held in the highrest regard, having been betrayed by both Queen Azshara and then by Prince Tortheldrin. He still cares for his people, however who have suffered greatly, Highborne or not. Beyond this his primary focus has become his lust for revenge against the Prince, and beyond him the demons that unraveled his world.

 

Affiliation :

Independant

Darnassus [Loosely]

Shen'dralar [Loosely]

 

History

Fortunate Son

 

Eldaraes was born long before the War of the Ancients, among the upper castes of the Kaldorei Empire. He found himself among the ranks of what would become known as the Highborne, yet he did not share the greed and lust for power that enticed many of the rest of the caste. Where others abused this title to hoard arcane and power to themselves, Eldaraes did what he could to share his knowledge and power, particularly with the Moon Guard. In doing this he came to train an aspiring arcanist named Salera, and although she wasn't highborne herself, the two fell in love. Knowing this could be used against him the two agreed to keep their relationship a secret, her posing his final and permanent "apprentice". Yet while others assumed his generosity would only set him back, he proved quite the contrary as his colleges still had to stay on their toes keep up with his own natural talent and political prowess. After all, these two things were enough to make him prominent in his own right.

Because of this he was often invited to the grand capital of Zin'Azshari, where he eagerly reported due to his strong loyalty to Azshara. Eventually he earned his place within the ranks of the Shen'dralar, an elite order tasked with guarding the Queen's most precious tombs and treasures. Placed under the command of Prince Tortheldrin, Eldaraes and the rest of the Shen'dralar traveled into the misty heart of Kalimdor's southern jungles, of course bringing Salera along with him, and it was there the city known as Eldre'Thalas was founded.
 

War of the Ancients

 

All was well for the couple within the walls of the bustling city, from studying in it's grand, exquisite libraries to wandering beautiful moonlit gardens, they both grew in their arcane masteries and got the privacy they needed for their budding romance. He knew very well the city had eyes everywhere, but by then neither of them cared. Many spoke against him behind his back as the rumors spread about him, but none challenged him. His superiors decided he still had his use to them, therefore deciding that if he wanted to taint his bloodline with impurity then so be it. Their opinions didn't phase him, but what did was a true threat casting it's shadow over the world. Soon they would suddenly found themselves under attack by anunknown enemy one morning, and chaos erupted as the demonic hordes reached them before even word of the invasion had. Quickly both the greatest magi and the most novice began fighting back the invaders from their homes and their skies, the bloody battle to ensure lasting quite a long while. 
 

Eldaraes used every spell he knew to preserve the lives of his allies and destroy the demons, even being forced to resort to his bladesmanship alone to overcome some enemies. He even caught glimpses of the mighty Goldrinn arriving to their aid, tearing through demonic forces with an untamed violence. He used that to his advantage, helping guide as many of the woman and children to safety as he could, even Salera. He could not join her, as he knew his place was not with her at this time, and he rejoined the fray, joining Prince Tortheldrin and the others to begin weaving a great spell-shield over the city, which safeguarded them from the majority of the Sundering. Yet earthquakes still sundered their walls and shattered their homes, and bodies from the conflict filled their bloodied streets.

 

Post Sundering

 

The two were reunited after order had been restored, but the Well of Eternity was no more, and they all felt their power and immortality become sapped from them. Once the Prince came up with a solution Eldaraes was quick to give his undivided attention for both his sake and that of his beloved's, assisting the best he could to construct the pylons that would create a powerful prison. From there Tortheldrin revealed his drastic trump card, and summoned the powerful demon known as Immol'thar and imprisoned it. From there he began to siphon it's energies, shocking many including Eldaraes. Salera warned him not to partake, but he had faith in the Prince who had ensured their survival thus far, and was revitalized by the demon's power. Soon he convinced her to do so as well, despite her hesitation.
 

 

Fall of the Prince

They carried on like this for thousands of years, unraveling arcane mysteries and making magical breakthroughs their fallen brethren had bee robbed of. However the Shen'dralar had quite the interest in the world around them, yet the way they went about things was very one-sided. They would go to great lengths to gain knowledge, often making deals with outsiders to fetch ancient artifacts and texts for them to examine in hoard, but as much as they learned about life outside their walls, the world itself grew to know very little about the reclusive elves themselves. Eldaraes in particular did his best to be as in tune with his people as possible, as well as all the fates of the other Highborne, who now ranged from mere spirits, naga, satyr or even the Quel'dorei. Unfortunately as time passed his attentions would shift to much more grim matters, like so many others. They had finally felt their powers beginning to wane again. Salera looked to Eldaraes for answers, and he looked towards the Prince. However all of the highborne had begun to lose power, and soon suffer from a greater addiction than they had before, thanks to their siphoning from Immol'thar. Tortheldrin's plan began to unravel before him, and so him and his most trusted servants formulated another drastic plan. 

They were to begin culling their own people, as there were simply "too many mouths to feed" to sustain their power. When Eldaraes was approached with this proposition he was appalled. It was one thing to stoop low enough to drain energy from a demon, but to then begin killing his own people? He refused and opposed in an outrage. They're first thought was to kill him, but one of the Princes Advisor's stopped them, declaring that they would shed Lowborne blood before that of their own.

On his way home that night he stumbled across a horrifying sight that shattered his heart, Salera's broken and bloodied form laying cold and still within the gardens they so often visited. Even as he collapsed by her side in grief, he was no fool. He knew who had done this, and soon he would be next, just like so many others. Outnumbered and outmatched he fled the city, stepping outside it's walls into the wilds for the first time in thousands of years.
 

Recovery

 

He wandered the wilds, the hunger within him growing as he put more and more distance between himself and his former source of power. It soon became unbearable by the time he had wandered into the lands of Desolace. He himself was resting in a ruin before somthing surged towards him in the shadows. He found a knife plunge into his side and a clawed hand of a satyr reach for his throat. He desperatley expended what little power he had left, unleashing an arcane explosion to expel his foe. From there adrenaline rushed through his veins as he drew his own blade and rushed after the satyr, attacking it in a violent fury. He began to overcome the twisted elf, who was suprised at the other's blind rage instead of fear. 

Once he cut down the other he held his blade high above the demon's head, the injured foe beginning to cowardly attempt to talk his way out of his execution with a series of offers, ranging from money, to treasures, to power. Power, yes. That was it. Eldaraes was wounded and magically crippled, he needed something to help sustain him, so he lowered his blade much to the other's satisfaction. Yet what the demon didn't expect was for Eldaraes to suddenly begin draining his power, invigorating himself while sucking the strength to survive from the other who began frantically begging him to stop, yet he only stopped when his victim stopped kicking.

He felt refreshed, yet this was only a small step towards a long recovery. Eldaraes now knew what he had to do, and after tending to his physical wounds he began to scour the land, hunting isolated and weak demonic entities and through a combination of magic and melee defeated and drained them of their magic to fuel his own.

 

Revelations

 

As the years went by a feeling of isolation began to set in, for despite keeping his practices secret he was still rejected by other kaldorei for simply being highborne, and thus became little more than a drifter. On top of his he began to notice both physical and mental changes taking root, and not for the better. He began to remember Illidan and his fate, feeling as if he could relate to the outcast before an idea struck his mind. He knew others had attempted to follow in the Betrayer's footsteps before, but if he could locate one of them he could learn a better way to continue his practices and perhaps take control of what he was becoming.

Eldaraes began to search wide and far for any sign of the elusive hunters, but every lead he tracked down came up empty handed. He grew increasingly frustrated yet this was to be expected, for he was searching for something or someone that might not even still exist or be alive. Eventually he was lead to a collapsed ruin high in the misty mountaintops between Feralas and Desolace, it is there he found what appeared to be the sight of an ancient battle. Scattered remains of demonic skeletons riddled the area and tainted the pond the ruins were centered around, but no signs of life could be seen. 

He was about to give up when a glimmer of light caught his eye. Upon investigation he found half of a broken warglaive, his interest piqued. Despite this, his still came up empty-handed upon further searching the area, though what he did know was a fierce storm was headed his way. Having no where to be and seeking shelter he decided any dangers that have been here had long past, and chose an abandoned house against a cliff wall to make camp. 

A crack of thunder would awake him from his slumber in the middle of the night, jumping up and reaching for his blade as the heavy rains poured outside. Slowly he recollected himself, gathering some broken wood and other items to start a small fire to warm himself with. Though with the doors closed and the windows boarded/shut he still felt a small draft come from deeper within the house, one that had come to annoy him for quite some time. Upon further investigation he found some rubble that had collapsed in front of a strange door leading out of the house, yet he knew there was nothing but the cliff the house was built into beyond that wall, or so he thought. He spent some time clearing the way before revealing a poorly made door draped in tattered purple tapestries. 

He forced open the broken doors, revealing a putrid cave within. His eyes widened as he found an ungodly amount of demonic remains within, all surrounding what appeared to be an elf they overran, one clutching a single, unbroken warglaive identical to the broken one he had found before. It appeared he had found his hunter, only many years too late. He grew disheartened, but then turned his eyes to another portion of the cave, one that appeared to be used for rituals of some sort. Nearby were piles and piles of scrolls and dusty old tombs. Many were water-damaged, burned or had pages missing, but under all of the jumbled piles he sifted through he found one in particular that stood out, a journal of some sort, one that seemed to have belonged to the fallen demon hunter. It contained various tales of his travels, dating back to when he was first accepted as a Thero'shan, including the training he endured. Despite an annoying amount of the book being difficult to read, restoring old tombs was a common practice among the Shen'dralar, and he needed only time to decipher the life of it's author.

 

A Dark Pact

 

Eldaraes began closely following the journal's writings, carefully attempting to replicate what the other had accomplished under his Shan'do many years ago. He traded in his sword for the hunter's warglaive, and began to hunt demons far more effectively than he had before, still preforming his same practices until finally hunting down a sayaad that had been luring in the unwary and making short work of them. Upon locating her he too posed as a lone passerby-er and faked being seduced, playing along until she believed he was ripe to be plucked. Right when she made her move however, she only met his blade much to her surprise. Eldaraes ripped out her cruel heart, as it was a key reagent for the ritual. 

Upon returning to the lair of his fallen predecessor he spent much time studying the ritual, memorizing and consistently re-reading it's teachings. He came to the conclusion it would be tricky to accomplish this alone, so he had to make some compensations. For one, he applied the runic tattoos upon his body first instead of later, as he knew he wouldn't be in the state of mind to do it once the ritual began. He then hesitated, knowing what he was about to put himself through, but it had to be done if he was to control what he was already becoming, as well as acquire the power to potentially get revenge on those who murdered his spouse. 

Finally he held the heart before him, sinking his fangs into it without further delay. Immediately he began to coil over in pain, feeling as if he just poisoned himself. The feeling of something within trying to rip and tear it's way out of him made him groan in pain, his vision becoming blurred before he fell unconscious. He awoke in a dreamlike state, but he was not in the cave. No, much to his surprise he was in Eldre'thalas again, before the Sundering. He saw a single figure, that of Salera, alone in the gardens. She looked at him and smiled, gesturing him over to her. Slowly he began to approach her, unable to believe his eyes, but as he drew nearer something rose in the back of his mind. 

A brief glimmer of reality slipped through for a second, and he began to slowly recall that he was in the middle of a deadly ritual. At the last second he came to his senses and jerked away from Salera's reach, her form twisting and distorting in anger and revealing the twisted sayaad's true form. He attempted to cast a spell, but found no magic coming to him in this state, instead drawing his old blade. From there he clashed with the demon in a dangerous battle for control, yet he was eventually able to sever her wicked whip and strike her down.
 

He awoke to the same pain as before, a surge of power violently pulsing through his veins as he found the runes on his body glowing with power. Whispers of temptation through Salera's voice began to flood his mind, and the world around him began to melt away in favor of dark, twisted visions. He began to see world after world, civilization after civilization, all fall and burn before the Legion's might. He grabbed his head, now writhing in pain on the ground, and to top it all off every time he opened his eyes he saw nothing but chaos and destruction. But every time she tried to recruit him into the Legion's fold, he recalled when they invaded Eldre'thalas, and all of the atrocities they committed to not only his people but countless peoples. He knew the Legion and their demons had doomed his world, his people, his home, and by extension Salera who they now attempted to impersonate. Enough was enough, for being driven to the edge of madness he began frantically clawing his eyes out while he still could, ripping each out with frantic roars of unfathomable agony. Blood trickled down his face as fel erupted from his sockets. Eldaraes fell limp, once more falling over and blacking out.

Days later he awoke in the darkness, covered in his own dry blood. Every part of his being ached and his head throbbed as he crawled out of the cavern into the ruined household. The disgruntled elf pulled himself to his feet, stumbling out into the daylight. He could see, yet everything appeared strange to him, as if he was gazing upon an alien world. The tattoos across his body were glowing with energies, and he felt an untold power within him. He had done what was thought to be the impossible.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 23, 2017 by Silverstride

[Traius 41]

Wonderful read, though I do suggest scaling down the images.

[Eva 20]

Lovely read, can't wait to RP with him.

Edited July 23, 2017 by Mercer

[Silverstride 7]

1 hour ago, Traius said:

Wonderful read, though I do suggest scaling down the images.

Ty but I dunno how lol

[Gigglebox 8]

5 hours ago, Silverstride said:

Ty but I dunno how lol

I actually figured it out yesterday when playing around with the forums. Place your mouse over the image and CTRL+Right-Click and choose the option Edit Image. The numbers in the middle are the dimensions and reduced similarly to photo editing programs (if you ever used one).

[Romeo 320]

54 minutes ago, Gigglebox said:

I actually figured it out yesterday when playing around with the forums. Place your mouse over the image and CTRL+Right-Click and choose the option Edit Image. The numbers in the middle are the dimensions and reduced similarly to photo editing programs (if you ever used one).

:O! Thank you!

Also great job on this character. One of the few demon hunter characters that struck me surprised with how you brilliantly you execute it.

[Silverstride 7]

56 minutes ago, Gigglebox said:

I actually figured it out yesterday when playing around with the forums. Place your mouse over the image and CTRL+Right-Click and choose the option Edit Image. The numbers in the middle are the dimensions and reduced similarly to photo editing programs (if you ever used one).

Ah thank you, you're a lifesaver

[Avalia 45]

eldaraes is here!

im so happy

[Norshar 50]

Another Demon Hunter just like Elandris, highborne demon hunter squad man.

[Hardcandy 8]

22 minutes ago, Norshar said:

Another Demon Hunter just like Elandris, highborne demon hunter squad man.

Yup, more Demon Hunters, glad there are more. a bit