Aurious Hightower

Aurious was the first born son of Lord Marco Hightower and Lady Julianne Hightower when they were but eighteen years of age and were quite wealthy by that time. Being born into such an affluent family, Aurious was given opportunity, convenience, and anything he desired. At the age of eighteen, he departed from his home in Stratholme and became a cleric under Archbishop Alonsus Faol in the Holy Order of Northshire Clerics. At the age of thirty, he was inducted into the Knights of the SIlver Hand as one of the first paladins and was a part of the Argent Dawn and is currently within the Argent Crusade.

Background
Aurious was born about two and a half decades before the beginning of the First War to Lord Marco Hightower and Lady Julianne Hightower in the city of Stratholme. He was the first son out of three to be born to Marco and Julianne Hightower and the first son out of four that Marco fathered. When he turned eighteen, he left his home and became a Cleric under Archbishop Alonsus Faol in the Holy Order of Northshire Clerics where he served during the First War. In the year 597 by the King's Calender, 5 years after the beginning of the First War, he was inducted into the Knights of the Silver Hand as one of the first paladins behind the more notable such as Uther the Lightbringer, Saidan Dathrohan, Tirion Fordring, Turalyon, and Gavinrad the Dire. Like many within the Knights of the Silver Hand, Aurious served in the Second War.

Family Ties
Although Aurious' departure from the family to become a Cleric under Archbishop Alonsus Faol did not sit well with his father, Aurious became well spoken of and respected from all of the members within the House of Hightower for his efforts in the First War as well as his Knighthood in the Order of the Silver Hand and his participation in the Second War. Aurious' younger brothers, Auron and Andrew for Zanian was too young at the time, began to train in the arts of the Light and wished to become a Paladin, like their eldest brother, and join the ranks of the Knights of the Silver Hand. However, their training was cut short with the events at what is now known as The Culling of Stratholme.

The Culling of Stratholme.
Aurious was one of the Knights within the Order of the Knights of the Silver Hand to accompany Uther the Lightbringer to Stratholme along with Prince Arthas Menethil. As a result, due to Prince Arthas' command, he along with the other Knights of the Silver Hand were suspended from service. It was here, at the Culling of Stratholme, that the majority of the Hightower family were confirmed killed, including Lord Marco Hightower, Lady Julianne Hightower and one of Aurious' younger brothers, Auron. However, there were many reports of missing family members, such as his youngest full-brother, Andrew, and his half-brother, Zanian.

After the Third War
Aurious, much like the remaining paladins of the Knights of the Silver Hand followed Lord Commander Saidan Dathrohan and Highlord Alexandros Mograine, the wielder of the Ashbringer, in their fight against the Scourge within the Plaguelands from their base at Hearthglen in what is now known as the Western Plagueland. Worried about the Forsaken entrenching themselves in the Ruins of Lordaeron, Aurious, along with the other Knights, established a base in what is now known as the Scarlet Monastery in Tirisfal Glades. With the betrayal by Renault Mograine with the assassination of his father, Alexandros Mograine, the Ashbringer, Aurious was appointed by Grand Crusader Dathrohan into the Crimson Legion, an elite group of Crusaders in high-ranking positions within the Scarlet Crusade. With the discovery that Balnazzar had been possessing the Grand Crusader, Aurious, along with other paladins that felt betrayed, broke away from the Crusade and formed the Argent Dawn.

Service in the Argent Dawn
Aurious' service in the Argent Dawn was virtually uneventful save for the repelling of the necropolis, Naxxramas. It was during his service that he met young Dilan Ravenshield, who had defected from the Scarlet Crusade after realizing their corruption had taken root and wished to join the Argent Dawn. The two became close friends and served together in the Dawn; however, after the Battle of Light's Hope Chapel, when Lord Tirion Fordring merged the Argent Dawn and the remaining Knights of the Silver Hand to form the Argent Crusade, the two split and would not be reunited until the Battle of the Wrathgate.



Service in the Argent Crusade
Although Aurious was one of the first to join the Argent Crusade, he witnessed very little action until the Battle of the Wrathgate where he was reunited with his friend, Dilan Ravenshield. During the battle, Aurious witnessed Dilan receive a critcal injury to the eye by none other than Marcus Ravenshield, Dilan's older brother now turned Death Knight. Aurious witnessed Marcus carry Dilan off of the battlefield and followed suit; however, he lost the two in the midst of a blizzard and chanced upon a gr oup of Argent Crusaders and joined them. They were shocked to stumble upon no ne other than Dilan, laying in the snow with what appeared to be minimal first aid on his eye. They managed to heal the warrior, but could not awaken him from his co ma. From there, Aurious and the rest brought Dilan to Westgarde Keep in the Howling Fjord, out of the way of the war. They returned to Icecrown just before the final assault on Icecrown Citadel and joined.



Injury During the Battle Against the Lich King
During the final battle against Arthas, Aurious sustained a near mortal injury whilst protecting one of the healers by several ghouls the Lich King had risen and fell into a coma. This caused him to miss the entirety of the Cataclysm.

Recovery
Days after the demise of Deathwing the Destroyer, Aurious awoke in the care of the priests and paladins of the Cathedral in Stormwind City. Even though they insisted that he rest for a few more weeks due to his old age, he immediately donned his armor from his days of the Knights of the Silver Hand and went through vigorous training in order to make up for the loss in muscle tone he had due to his coma.



Reuniting with Dilan
It was during Aurious' training that he happened upon Dilan Ravenshield, who had just returned from Northrend, once again. It was at this time that Dilan named Aurious a Cadet Lord of the House of Ravenshield and the two remain friends. Even today, one can see the two old men in quick witted banter with one another.

Reuniting with Zanian
In the year 621 K.C., Aurious heard reports that his half-brother, Zanian, was discovered within the cities of Stormwind City in the attendance of the warlocks in the Pig and Whistle Tavern in the Mage Quarter. He immediately investigated and did indeed find his brother. However, during their reunion, Aurious claimed that Zanian was his full fledged brother and left out that Zanian was a bastard child. Zanian, being raised by the warlocks for twenty years, was extremely skeptical of his story, but generally accepts it.

Formation of The Hand of Uther
A week after reuniting with his brother Zanian, Aurious followed Balledor the Lightbinder, a paladin within the Order of the Silver Hand, and seven other knights to form The Hand of Uther. Aurious is to serve as the Ninth Knight of the Council within the Order which is a reformation of the Knights of the Silver Hand which would bring together both the Southern Chapter and the old Knights of the Silver Hand. The Order would take on the responsibilities of the old Order and become protectors of the realm like they once were. The Order has already gained the approval of Lord Tirion Fordring, King Varian Wrynn, and High Commander Danath Trollbane.

Reuniting with Andrew
A few weeks after discovering that his half-brother, Zanian, was alive and well, Aurious received news that a man had emerged in Stormwind claiming to be Andrew Hightower, Aurious' youngest full-brother who he had thought to have been killed at the Culling of Stratholme as well. The two met and exchanged a few words that only the Hightowers would know and Aurious confirmed the identity of Andrew, who had been in Northrend until that time, still serving in the Argent Crusade.

Death of Zanian
With the Death of Zanian sometime after reuniting with Andrew, Aurious became distraught, utterly devastated that his favorite brother had died. The cause of death was determined to be multiple stab wounds to the torso during a prison riot.

Death of Uheda
A mere couple of weeks following Zanian's death ushered in another tragedy in Aurious' life. His lover, Uheda Lampheart, pregnant with what would be his first child, passed away in her sleep due to her liver failure. With her death, Aurious fell to shambles, abandoning his position as Commander in the Argent Crusade as well as his position of a Raven Guard in the House of Ravenshield. He also passed down Lordship status to his last remaining relative, Andrew, who would give it right back in a few days.

Death of Andrew
Just a few months after Uheda had died, Aurious was forced to endure another tragedy. A few weeks after Uheda's death, Andrew, Aurious' last remaining relative, and only hope at continuing on the Hightower name, left to Northrend to train. Whilst there, he was captured by a rogue Death Knight and brought to a camp alongside other prisoners where Cultists of the Damned experiemented on them. After several months, Andrew finally escaped with the help of a mage imprisoned alongside him, but in the last moments that the mage had conjured the portal for them to escape in, he was struck by a bolt of shadow magic, causing him to die in Andrew's arms as they passed through the portal. The combined effects of the torture and experiments upon him as well as the death of his accomplice caused him to drink heavily, and finally caused him to hang himself. The death of Andrew has weighed heavily upon Aurious, who is now constantly reminded that after his death, the Hightower name will cease to exist all simply because he was too concerned with his duty as a young man instead of wanting to start a family.