Alexander Verdun

Alexander is the first born son of Count Braxton Verdun and Countess Madeline Abbott-Verdun, two very well respected nobles of the Stormwind Peerage, and was conceived when both were only sixteen years of age. Originating from a noble family, Alexander was taught the education expected of a nobleman's son and was offered opportunities, convenience, and nearly anything he desired. When he came of age, he threw it all away and enlisted in the Alliance Military, resulting in his father denouncing him from the family out of rage.

Background
Alexander was born about the same time the First War began to a noble family of the then Kingdom of Azeroth, specifically to the Verdun lineage, a relatively powerful family that was given lands within the Redridge Mountains. At the time of his birth, the household was headed by Count Chandler Verdun, the father of the then Viscount Braxton Verdun. The Verdun lineage truly despised violence, and as such, a vast majority of the bloodline had never properly learned how to wield a sword, truly rare for a family of their stature. Instead, the head of the household appointed a small amount of knights to serve as the protectors of their lands. As a result of their incompetence, the entire house was forced to pack as much as they could and flee to Stormwind when the First War began, causing their manor and lands to be taken by the Orcish Horde.

As the Orcs pushed even further to Stormwind, the Verdun household fled north to Lordaeron, like many other noble families; however, in their haste to elude the Orcs, Count Chandler had been mistakenly left behind and was slain like a commoner on the streets, thus forcing Braxton to become the head of the household along with his wife, Madeline. Both were only sixteen at the time and used the death of Chandler as proof that violence only led to destruction and despair, furthering their beliefs on the matter. Upon reaching Lordaeron, Alexander's father decided to move the household to Alteraci lands to stay with an old family friend.

Alexander was raised in Alterac with the proper education expected of a nobleman's son. Along with these teachings, he was force fed the belief that violence equated to a life of rejecting the Holy Light; however, he would still always admire the soldiers of the Alliance of Lordaeron, believing them to be courageous to face the Orcs and believing their violence to be for a just cause. When he came of age at fourteen, he enlisted into the military of Lordaeron behind his father's back. Upon his departure with the rest of the soldiers, his father denounced him, thus unofficially stripping him of the honorary title of Viscount, which is traditionally a courtesy title granted to the first born son of a Count or Marquess. In official records, he is still named as the Viscount of Everstill. The house, without Alexander, would stay in Alteraci lands until Stormwind was retaken at the conclusion of the Second War. As he served with the Alliance forces, he caught the eyes of Lord Cathael Adamar, who believed the young Alexander to be a promising soldier. As he progressed within the war, he was selected to be the squire of Lord Adamar, who was well aware of his noble heritage and the beliefs of the household in terms of violence. He fought with the Alliance forces and was able to aid in the retaking Stormwind from the Orcs when he turned twenty. As a result of his actions during the course of the war, he was knighted by Lord Adamar in Stormwind a year later, dubbed as Sir Alexander the Honorable, for his honor in serving the Kingdom of Stormwind in their just cause even with the ramifications of defying the ideals of his household.

Family Ties
Because his enlistment angered his father so much, his relationship with his family was near non-existent for fourteen years. His father refused to mention Alexander's name throughout the household, and only the oldest, most loyal servants of the family know who he is. In retaliation for his father's denunciation of him, Alexander refused to even contact the family and was unaware of his younger sister, conceived after he had already departed with the Alliance forces in their march against the Orcs.

When the Verdun household finally left Alteraci lands to return to the newly reclaimed Kingdom of Stormwind, they happened to witness the knighting ceremony performed for Alexander; however, still clinging to the hatred of his son, Braxton refused to acknowledge him and stalked away with the rest of the household, leaving Alexander completely oblivious of his family's return to Stormwind. His sister - fourteen years his younger - does not even know he exists. As far as she is concerned, she is an only child and the Verdun lineage will come to an end when her father passes.

With his return from Draenor, Alexander finally reconciled with his father. His father, after believing he had perished to the wars, was quite elated to find his eldest son was alive and it was here that Alexander learned of his little sister, Fion, who had run away from home at the age of barely thirteen. In the time he had been away, his father's opinions of soldiers had changed, witnessing the bravery of a select few of his own Knights stand in the face of peril to defend the house and its lands. With his return to the family, Alexander was renamed as the Viscount of Everstill.

After the Reclamation of the Kingdom of Stormwind, Fighting with the League of Arathor
When the Second War concluded, Alexander remained in Stormwind, eternally sworn to the King of Stormwind, Varian Wrynn. As is customary of anyone knighted, he was granted a small portion of land in Elwynn despite his noble roots already owning a large piece of land in Redridge. He was also tasked with aiding the forces of the League of Arathor up in the Arathi Highlands in their fight against the Forsaken, Trolls, and the Ogres in the region. His service would go unnoticed until years later, when the League of Arathor recalled records of his service and dubbed him as an honorary Knight of Arathor, granting him a tabard of the Arathi forces, to wear with honor.



The Northrend Campaign
Alexander was originally sent to Wintergarde Keep to aid in the defenses of the town; however, with the constant attacks of the Scourge, the town was quickly overrun. He remained there in a desperate attempt to fend off the Scourge until he was tasked to the battle of the Wrathgate. As circumstances would have it, by the time he arrived, he was far in the back of the crowd, allowing for him to slip away quickly as the Forsaken traitors doused both armies of the Alliance and the Horde with their plague. When King Wrynn joined the forward forces on their march against Arthas, Alexander was also called to the front lines and was tasked with fending off the Scourge whilst heroes defeated the Lich King's lieutenants and eventually Arthas himself. When Arthas was slain, he returned to Stormwind and was promoted to the rank of Knight-Lieutenant.

The Cataclysm
With the coming of Deathwing, Alexander was tasked with remaining in Stormwind in order to be able to fend off any Twilight's Cultists that decided to attack the city itself. This proved to be useful for the city as he aided in the investigation heroes undertook in the infiltration of Twilight Cultists into the ranks of Stormwind. With the knowledge of Major Samuelson's betrayal, he swore to always protect the citizens of Stormwind from any evils that may plague them.

The Pandaria Campaign
When the mists surrounding Pandaria cleared, Alexander was held back whilst heroes cleared the path for the Stormwind Navy to land on the beaches of Krasarang Wilds. With Operation: Shieldwall occurring, he was sent to the front lines of Pandaria where he served until near the end of the campaign. For his actions in Pandaria and his slaughtering of Horde troops, he was granted the title of "The Hordebreaker". For his prowess in battle, leadership abilities, and the deaths of several of his commanding officers, Alexander was field promoted several times until he finished the campaign at the rank of Commander as well as being granted the honorary title of Knight-Champion of Stormwind for his valor and combat prowess.

The Tournament of Ages
At the Tournament of Ages, held in the Tournament Grounds of Icecrown, Alexander fought well, placing second within the Tournament of Might, the bracket designated for warriors. He placed higher than Marshal Kasper Ke'tar and General Beolrik Orcgrinder, but unfortunately was bested by a Sin'dorei who was only introduced to Alliance forces as Tychus.

The Second Invasion of Draenor
With the invasion of the Iron Horde into the lands of Azeroth, Alexander was sent to the front lines at the Dark Portal to subdue the invasion and eventually was one of the first sent through the portal with his men in Azeroth's decision to mount a counter-attack. Once through the portal, he fought for days on end, most of the time being separated from his men and other Alliance troops.

Wrynn's Vanguard
When he was finally found and brought to Stormshield, he learned that all of the men within his command had perished to the brutality of the Iron Horde. Although disheartening, he vowed to continue on fighting in their honor and was appointed by Grand Marshal Tremblade as a Commander of Wrynn's Vanguard on the front lines of the conflict between the Alliance and Horde in Ashran.

The Order of Everstill
After his reconciliation with his father, and being renamed as the Viscount of Everstill, Alexander formed the Order of Everstill, an order of knights that convene once to twice a month in Lakeshire and are called upon whenever Everstill Manor is attacked or to defend his Majesty's lands of Redridge from Orcs. The Order serves not only the King, but the Church of the Holy Light as well. Notable members include Sir Miles Avery and Sir Kavid Thorson.