Hand of Venstroyer - Dramatis Personae & Codex

[Dizzy 26]

(The characters of a play, novel, or narrative. In this case: NPC's)

This thread is mostly used to contain the frequently updated dossiers and descriptions of locations visited by the Hand of Venstroyer during events and passive roleplay. When they learn something about a place of a character they meet in the field, this thread will be updated to reflect their newfound knowledge. I will do my best to keep this organised and well-updated for clarity of reading and ease of use for new members who might be unfamiliar with the narrative woven by the players and their characters.

If you're looking for player characters, check here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CAeKv6DpDrsxd4T6egxpTkv9wqvPOYL9MNqk1vU8vsw/edit
If you're looking for the actual guild page itself, refer to bottom of thread.

High Commander

Dzhonovan appears is a paladin in his late forties, he acts as the high commander of the Hand of Venstroyer. It is very likely he served amongst the ranks of the Scarlet Crusade before he went dark, only appearing recently to band the remnants of the Scarlet Crusade together under his banner. While little remains of his past thanks to the purification of history by Flameweaver Koegler in his final moments against a party of adventurers, he seems to be a skilled tactician and venerable paladin, although rarely participating in the frequent skirmishes against the Forsaken. 

He will inform the party about the quests they undertake and comment on events quite frequently. During events he will provide the necessary intelligence and alert the party of any threats they might face.


Captain

Volker was one of the men brought in for conscription. He is a wiry man, barely past his twenties and obviously born from a life of crime as the right hand to the bandit lord they'd slain in the Venomweb Vale. He earned his rank as an archer, serving under Ranger-Captain Everhallow as her adviser on the country of Lordaeron. As the weeks have ticked by, he has proven himself to be a staunch ally and skilled survivalist in the wilds of the Tirisfal Glades.



Head Bishop

Father Swaine. The leader of a former travelling clergy of priests. A beard as white as snow and a complexion darker than most of the oaks native to Tirisfal. Never satisfied being apart of a cloister, after his ordination some twenty years ago, he set out into the world and has never stopped travelling. Swaine is arguably one of the more pragmatic priests, having left the Cathedral before Balnazzar could work his twisted magic.

Now Swaine has sworn loyalty to the Hand and has joined their rebellion against the Forsaken and any other scum that wish to push them from their rightful land.

Edited October 2, 2017 by Dizzy

[Dizzy 26]

(A list of locations and/or history that is discovered.)


Tirisfall Glades
(Under the control of the Forsaken)

The Farmsteads: Balnir & Solliden
(Liberated)

Venomweb Vale
(Infested)

The North Coast
(Under patrol by the Forsaken)

Garren's Haunt
(Under control of the Forsaken)

The Scarlet Pallisade
(Under control of dissident elements)

Brightwater Lake
(Stagnant)

Agamand Mills
(Haunted)

Coldhearth Manor
(Abandoned)

Brill
(Under control of the Forsaken)

Deathknell
(Under control of the Forsaken)

The Bulwark
(Under the control of the Forsaken)

The Undercity
(Under the control of the Forsaken)

If you find most of this confusing, you might find that confusion elevated by checking out our guild page:

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by Dizzy

[Dizzy 26]

(This thread will be updated as repairs are done and wings are recovered thanks to the work of the Hand of Venstroyer.)

The den of the beast. The heart of the crusade.

The Crusade's most fanatical leaders once directed their followers from the Scarlet Cathedral, at their home inside the monastery grounds. Perched on the bluffs overlooking Venomweb Vale in northeastern Tirisfal Glades is one of the last bastions known to Azeroth. This once heavily guarded location once functioned as the order's headquarters in the years that it took to separate the heads from the hydra and finally bring the Scarlet Crusade into ashes.

With the fall of High Commander Goodchilde and the rise of both his successor, and the proposed 'successors' of the Hand of Venstroyer. The roaming crusaders have turned to milling refugees and once pristine stonemasonry has been scoured broken and bloody by the siege of the Ebon Blade. While such an assault would have spelt doom for any other stronghold in Azeroth, it is the Monastery that is one of the last truly stubborn bastions of humanity.

At first glance, the monastery is overgrown and heavily damaged. While it may be what is left of a once great fortress, much work must be done to ensure it will stand the test of time in the years to come.

The Grand Vestibule
Once a foyer for welcoming the many eager minds of the clergy into the cathedral. The Grand Vestibule is the entrance tot he rest of the monastery itself. With battle-scarred walls and pitted floors, Grand Vestibule is the outermost chamber of the Scarlet Monastery. The vestibule itself is decorated with pillars and long-forgotten statues of crusade heroes dot either side of the Vestibule. Burning candles atop simple stands cast a yellow light up into the vaulted ceilings of the chamber.

A simple portcullis and reinforced doors separate the world from the hallowed halls of the Monastery. It is through here that many are able to access the rest of the fortress-monastery.

Crusader's Chapel
A stunning behemoth of a church and towering testament of the advocacy of human architecture. An expansive lobby lit by scores of low burning candelabras and flanked by dozens of hand-carved stone pews. Thick stone pillars hold up a vaulted ceiling painted with scenes from the crusade's storied history. These murals are obscured by a thick cloud of smoke and ash from the thousands of candles burning within the Sanctuary.

In the center of the ceiling, a massive brazier holding an eternal flame contributes to the light and smoke filling the room. Stark red banners of the old faith hang from every wall, flanked by proud statues of the monastery's forerunners that once loomed over the zealous masses of the Scarlet Crusade.

The atmosphere is oppressive and every footfall is usually accompanied with an echoing click. At the very end, a raised pulpit separates the mass from the altar with a communion rail, a rare use of wood in a monastery almost entirely made from grandiose stone.  A vulnerable lectern just left of the stone altar itself, perhaps it will find use in addressing mass once again.

From there, the chapel interior splits into two wings while going forward will bring you to a pair of doors leading towards the former High Inquisitor's sanctum. Inside is a circular chamber at least several stories high. The room is cast in a sickly red pallor as light streams in through scarlet coloured stained glass windows covering much of the tall walls. Ringing the room are decorated sarcophagi, containing the bodies of some of the crusade's greatest matyrs.

A left wing contains two small rooms containing sarcophagi and lit candles but very little else and the right wing leads to a small cramped prayer room.

The Forlorn Cloister
This once peaceful resting place of the fallen has suffered much. Once a simple graveyard, then a blighted and scorched battlefield, and now an overgrown mess of vines, hedges and gravestones.

A paved path leads down the center of the courtyard, to the west, one could access the Chapel Gardens and the Crusader's Chapel if the doors were not dead-bolted from the outside. Even the Hand of Venstroyer dares not risk step foot into the infested Cloister until they feel up to the task. On either side, blackened husks of trees intermix with greenery that has slowly begun to reclaim the Cloister. Two mausoleums also flank this path, their entrances caved in to prevent the rise of more undead within the walls of this cloister. Venstroyer himself is not sure wither to chalk the source of the undead up to the siege by the Ebon Blade or something deeper in the crypts.

If one could fight their way through the undead, they would find themselves able to access the massive underground catacombs housing thousands if not millions of bodies that men, women and children that died during the Fall of Lordaeron.

Athenaeum
The Athenaeum is the repository of the crusade's knowledgeand teachings. The portraits of the prior chamber have been replaced with densely filled shelves, straining under the weight of countless tomes and scrolls. It was here in a library that could rival even Medievh's personal library at one point in time that students and aspirants of the Crusade were taught the way of their forefathers.

If there was any knowledge to be found about the crusade or the matter sit taught, one would find it here. Although the years have not been kind, with no monk, cleric or mage to organise the shelves and dust the floor, the Athenaeum has lapsed almost into the history it contains. It was only recently that the Hand of Venstroyer were able to recover this wing of the cathedral, and it will take longer still to set every book back into it's rightful place.

At the end of the hall is a circular chamber containing the crusade's priceless tomes and an endless font of knowledge. Unfortunately the walls are covered in scorch marks and many records when Flameweaver Koegler burned away the Crusade's shame. The damage has not just burned the shelves black, but the very stone pillars that circle the chamber.

A grim reminder of the lunacy of their leaders.

Hall of Champions
A set of open doors lead into a circular chamber, ringed by eleven massive stone statues depicting the fallen Champions of the Scarlet Crusade. Ornamented candelabras and light streaming through blue glass windows cast light and shadows across the hall. A platform rings around the edge of the room, both directions ramping down towards the ground floor.

A set of short stairs on the northern end of the platform leads down
to the center of the room which is flanked by rack upon rack of weapons. This is where the true martial champions of the Crusade were truly tested if the dents in the stone floor and occasional patch of dried blood was to believed; All under the watchful eye of the legendary champions that ring the arena around the,

The eleven statues that flank the room are as follows:
 

•  Arellas Fireleaf 
  High Wizard of the Scarlet Crusade
  Citizen of Quel'Thalas
  Locked in eternal combat with the Necromancer Diesalven
•  Admiral Barean Westwind 
  Grand Admiral of the Scarlet Fleet
  Citizen of Kul'tiras
  Lost off the Frozen Coast of Northrend
•  Dorgar Stoenbrow
  Warrior of the Scarlet Crusade
  Lord of the Red Caverns
  Last seen in the Mountains of Alterac
•  Fellari Swiftarrow
  Ranger Captain of the Scarlet Crusade
  Citizen of Quel'Thalas
  Lost in the forests of Silverpine
•  Ferren Marcus
  High Abbot of the Scarlet Monastery
  Citizen of Stratholme
  Killed defending the Scarlet Monastery at the First Summertide Assault
•  Harthal Truesight 
  Lord Paladin of the Scarlet Crusade
  Citizen of Azeroth, Paladin of the Silver Hand
  Last seen entering the cursed city of Stratholme
•  Holia Sunshield
  Defender of the Scarlet Crusade
  Killed while slaying the Dreadlord Beltheris
•  Invar One-Arm
  The first Chief Assassin of the Scarlet Crusade
  Citizen of Dalaran
  Last seen on the shores of Northrend
•  Orman of Stromgarde
  The first Captain General of the Scarlet Crusade
  Citizen of Stromgarde
  Lost at the mouth of Icecrown Glacier
•  Valea Twinblades
  Warrior of the Scarlet Crusade
  Citizen of Alterac
  Last seen deep in the Eastern Plaguelands
•  Yana Bloodspear
  The Second Chief Assassin of the Scarlet Crusade
  Citizen of Dalaran
  Lost in the Tirisfal Glades

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by Dizzy