Neo Starstrider

Lord Neo Starstrider (Born 15th December, -156 L.C.) is the current Count of the Eastern Expanse, located within the Autarchi of Quel'Anaris, and is a Knight-Champion of the Silver Hand, as well as a prominent member of the 217th Infantry Division of the Protectorate Military Force, acting as the head of the 1st Company, bearing the rank of Force Commander. Through him, the Protectorate Military has earned the nickname 'Phoenix Guard' amongst the civilians of Quel'Anaris.

The most recognized characteristic of Neo, other than his odd choice of garments for a paladin of his stature, is that he chooses neutrality rather than fighting in the war between the Horde and the Alliance. This has created issues for him and his comrades in the past, most notably when he stood between what seemed to be a mob of Alliance militants and a single Sin'dorei. This leads most who cross his path within Alliance territories to shout phrases like 'traitor' or 'Horde sympathizer' when in reality he would rather see a united Azeroth instead of a divided one. On a more recent turnout, Neo now has the appearance of a Sin'dorei; his eyes glow a fel green rather than the arcane blue. This appearance change came during the battle on the Broken Shore, where he was attempting to save his brothers life and he absorbed fel energy as a result.

Childhood and Pre-First War History
And so were born, three children to the House Starstrider. Triplets, they were. Two boys and one girl. Neo, Leon, and Ryoni. They grew together, loved and played, and all three showed promise and faith in the Light. They would eventually grow to become priests and serve out most of their adolescent lives devoting themselves to the Light.

Opening of the Dark Portal and the Second War
The Starstrider family knew all kinds of war. Their ancestors fought in the Troll Wars, which eventually lead to their distrust toward the race that has lasted to this day. The triplets, however, knew only peace for most of their time on this planet. That was, until, the opening of the Dark Portal.

The Starstrider triplets were sent to Stormwind to increase their knowledge of the Light when they first heard the rumors of strange, green skinned monsters attacking the villages within the Kingdom. They assumed it must have been trolls until they were asked to lend aid to lend aid to injured troops in the Westfall. They couldn't believe the amount of injured within the camp and the kinds of injuries. There were men with severed limbs and corpses with bashed in skulls. Most of the time the soldiers were explaining that it was only a small squad of Orcs that did this.

They had to get used to the struggle of their patients, however. They helped as much as they could with healing but never really saw a lot of battle. That is until a day came when their camp was over run. This is where they finally saw these Orcs up close and personal. They were monstrous beings compared to them. The soldiers eventually slew the beasts, with the help of the Starstrider Triplets giving them combat healing. It was the first time they ever tried such a thing.

The entirety of the first and even the second war for the Starstrider Triplets revolved around these small skirmishes and patching up encampments of Stormwind soldiers. It wasn't until the end of the Second war where things began to change for them.

Order of the Silver Hand
After the Order of the Silver Hand was formed, Neo and Leon joined their ranks as squires for the great Paladins of the order. Their sister, Ryoni, remained as a priest of the Church of the Holy Light. The three of them were luck enough to stay together in Stormwind during the boys training. After a few years of training in hand-to-hand and weaponry combat, Neo and Leon were knighted as Paladins of the Silver Hand.

The Fall of Quel'thalas and The Argent Dawn
Rumors spread of a mysterious plague spreading through Lordaeron. Neo was still stationed in Stormwind while his siblings were in Quel'Thalas. It didn't take long for the news of Uther the Lightbringers death to reach the city, however. Neo was on edge at that point. And even sooner after that, more news had been delivered to him; Quel'thalas had fallen. Neo didn't know what to believe at this point. He rode north as quick as he could.

The borders of Lordaeron were covered with undead. But it didn't stop Neo from trying to get back home. He slew any of the creatures that got in his way as he continued north. Before he even hit the borders of Quel'Thalas, he came upon an encampment of elven refugees under attack by the undead. Neo rode in to aid in protection and fended off the undead minions single-handedly. After the battle, he looked among the group, hoping to find his siblings. Unfortunately they were not among the refugees here. He asked if anyone had heard of or seen his siblings but no one had.

He continued into Quel'thalas, into the lands that are today known as the Ghostlands. His destination was his brothers home, which lay on the border of the Eversong Woods and the Ghostlands. When he came to the estate, he found the bodies of a female elf and a boy, their skin tattered and broken as if they too had been inflicted by this plague. He recognized them as Leon's wife and son, both slain and left for dead. He took time to bury and mourn them before he set forward to Silvermoon, running into another group of eleven refugees along the way.

One of the elves in the group knew the fate of Leon and Ryoni, stating they had followed Prince Kael'thas on a mission through the Dark Portal.

He rode south to the Blasted Lands to travel through the Dark Portal himself. By the time he had reached his destination, the Dark Portal was closed. He had lost his chance and the fate of his brother and sister were unknown to him. He did not know what to do. For weeks he camped near by, just in case the portal would open once again. He would use the remaining demons in the area to satisfy his vengeance. But it wasn't enough.

Months had gone by. The portal was still closed. He stuck his sword in the dirt and spoke a prayer to the light and vowed that as long as he drew breath, he would defend Azeroth so that no one else would feel his pain. After this, he packed his things and headed back north to Lordaeron. Once there, he came upon a sight he had never seen before. Light worshipers gathered near a building known today as the Scarlet Monastery.

He learned that among the ranks of these light worshipers were what remained of the Order of the Silver Hand. Neo was brought before the leaders and soon he was accepted into the ranks of the Scarlet Crusade. However, it wasn't long after that till Highlord Alexandros Mograine was murdered by his own son in Stratholme. Soon the Scarlet Crusade had changed. Its members becoming zealots and seeking any and every way to eradicate evil from the world. It didn't sit well with Neo. He left with other paladins and joined the ranks of the newly formed Argent Dawn. Whatever prejudice he had before joining the Argent Dawn was quickly abolished as the Dawn let any and all races of Azeroth join their ranks. He learned much about the people of this world during his time spent there.

For the missions he ran and his resilience on the battlefield against the forces of the Scourge, Neo quickly became known as the Undead Slayer, having destroyed thousands of Undead over time.

Beyond the Dark Portal
The Dark Portal opened once again. In his time in the Argent Dawn, Neo had quickly risen in its ranks. He was given command of his own squadron of soldiers, known as the Starstrider Squadron. They were made up of some of the best soldiers the Argent Dawn had seen at that time. There were six total members including Neo: Nethran Morrison, a young Human Paladin who rivaled Neo in his strength and commanding of the Light. Kitch, an Orc Warrior who had next to no equal in battle. Raelian Firefall, a very experience Quel'dorei Mage. Reyca Fallcrest, a Human Priestess. And finally, Thurdrael Firefist, a Dwarven Hunter.

When word reached that Demons were starting to pour from the Dark Portal once more, Neo requested that his squad venture into Outland to help push them back. The permission was granted and they rode south to the Blasted Lands and entered through the Dark Portal. There, they were met by squads of demons fighting with Alliance and Horde soldiers. They helped where they could till a break in the battle was had. From there, they ventured all over Outland to push back Illidan's forces. But there was still one thing Neo wanted to find out: the whereabouts of Ryoni and Leon.

Speaking with many who had traveled with them, following many clues and visiting places they had been, Neo finally found Leon within the city of Shattrath, set up as a member of the Scryers. Their reunion was precious. They embraced each other after many years apart. Though the joyous occasion was cut short. Leon informed Neo that he did not know where Ryoni went. One day she had just left without a word. So the search continued. Leon joined Neo and his squad in search for their sister.

Months went by and clues were exhausted. But they still had one trail left that lead them to Shadowmoon Valley, to the already defeated forces of the Black Temple. They searched the grounds, avoiding detection from the Ashtongue forces that took over the temple after Illidan's defeat. But there were no clues to be found. They assumed the worst; that she had fallen in the battle for the Temple. They mourned their loss and set up a memorial for her and made their way back to Shattrath.

The Sunwell
Upon returning to Shattrath, Neo and Leon learned that Prince Kael'thas had survived his encounter in the Tempest Keep with the Heroes of the Horde and Alliance and was planning to take the Sunwell for his bidding. It was unclear what he intended to do but Neo and Leon weren't going to stand by and let it happen. They joined the ranks of the Shattered Sun Offensive and took their fight to the Isle of Quel'danas. There, they helped the forces of the Offensive take ground on the Isle so the heroes of Azeroth could vanquish the forces in the Sunwell itself.

After the Battle for the Sunwell, Leon decided to stay with the Blood Knights of Silvermoon and Neo went back to Light's Hope Chapel to continue his work with the Dawn and keep the vow that he made so long ago.

Battle for Light's Hope Chapel
A dark terror flew over the Eastern Plaguelands. The necropolis known as Acherus, The Ebon Hold situated itself over the lands near Light's Hope Chapel. The soldiers of the Argent Dawn kept a close eye on the forces that were coming from the necropolis. Neo, at this time, had been promoted to Knight-Lieutenant and still had his own squadron at his command. Though none of them would have anticipated what would happen on this day.

As the forces of Acherus gathered on the outskirts of Light's Hope, Neo and his squad readied themselves. His scouts came back with the numbers of Scourge Death Knights that gathered. They outnumbered them greatly. Things were looking grim.

The battle started and the numbers of Scourge grew as the Death Knights raised the dead of the land to fight for them. The Argent Dawn soldiers fought with great strength and conviction. The holy ground they stood on bolstered the Dawn into action and soon eliminated the threat of the Scourge forces. Neo bore witness as Highlord Darion Mograine surrendered to the Argent Dawn and the events that followed truly shocked him.

He watched on as the butcher of his people and the one who had caused him so much grief; Arthas Menethil, The Lich King, appeared before his eyes. Soon as his intentions were made and his attack on Highlord Tirion Fordring started, Neo rushed the Lich King with his brothers in arms and was tossed back as if he were a rag doll. He completely underestimated the Lich Kings power. He began to lose hope. Was this the end of his story?

Then he saw it. Darion threw the Ashbringer to Tirion and saw the holy light cleanse the sacred sword. He watched as Tirion charged Arthas and nearly destroyed the Lich King right then and there and watched as Arthas ran like the coward he was.

He stood by as he listened to Tirion give a rising speech, uniting the Argent Dawn and the Order of the Silver Hand together as one: The Argent Crusade.

War in the North
Neo and his squadron were the first to sign up to traverse the continent of Northrend, to take the fight to the Scourge and end this war once and for all. They landed on the shores of the Howling Fjord and campaigned all the way through the Dragonblight. His reputation as the Undead Slayer was ever more apparent during this time. There wasn't a single battle with the Scourge where he made sure the undead weren't slaughtered.

But he also made sure that his entire squad would make it home alive. They grew very close over the years, almost as if they were a family themselves.

Naxxramas
Time eventually came where the dread citadel Naxxromas would have to be taken out of the game. Starstrider Squadron were among those that initially raided the dread citadel. There were many horrors that they witnessed from within. They saw a soldier melt as they walked into a puddle of slime left by an Abomination. They watched in horror as they entered the chamber of Thaddius and saw what had become of all the women and children captured by Naxxromas' forces. Their stomachs churned as they cleared through the plague quarter of the citadel. But they pushed through none the less.

During the battle with Kel'thuzad, Nethran Morrison was slain and his body was taken before the rest of Starstrider Squadron could do anything about it. They didn't even know he was gone until the end of the battle. They searched the room frantically but couldn't locate him at all. They mourned their loss and planted a memorial near their camp before they moved on.

Entering Icecrown
Starstrider Squadron were called to the front lines to help assist in entering Icecrown Glacier. They met up with their brothers and sisters in arms at the Argent Vanguard, helping to clear the area and set up the encampment.

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The Argent Tournament
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